Volume 1: Birth! Seven time travelers Chapter 160 His Royal Highness the Crown Prince Goes to War (I)
"No! This is absolutely not possible! Dong'er, Grandpa can agree to anything you ask, but I won't agree to this!"
"Grandpa Emperor, didn't you just say that the Jiannu were just clowns who would be wiped out once our Ming army arrived? With such a weak enemy, I will only go with them for the sake of adding a name and gaining some experience. Where will the danger be? I promise that I will stay far away from the battlefield and just watch from the back."
"No! Absolutely not! Dong'er, you are the crown prince of my Ming Dynasty and the future emperor. Grandpa is going to tell you something unpleasant. Even if your father wants to go to war, grandpa might agree to it, but you, grandpa will never agree."
In August 1611, the news that Nurhaci had launched an uprising and openly eliminated the Ming Dynasty's official army in Tieling Wei reached Beijing, and the entire Ming Dynasty officialdom was shocked.
What's going on? Didn't the Jianzhou Jurchens used to be extremely submissive to the Ming Dynasty? Any small guerrilla or small commander who went to Jianzhou was respected as the master. How could such a humble Jianzhou dare to take action against the Ming Dynasty?
Moreover, if these guys didn't take action, it would be fine. Once they took action, they directly wiped out the entire Tieling Guard's 2,000 soldiers. When did the Jianzhou Jurchens become so good at fighting?
However, no matter what, since Jianzhou had already taken action, there was no reason for the Ming Dynasty not to fight back, so without the need for the censors to write letters, the Ministry of War submitted a report to the Cabinet, requesting the mobilization of troops to wipe out the Jianzhou Jurchens.
Zhu Youdong, who had been paying close attention to this, actually got the news earlier than the Ministry of War in Beijing. After receiving the news that Nurhaci had finally raised the flag, Zhu Youdong felt happy but also under great pressure.
Although he was the one who took the initiative to provoke the other person at the beginning, the other person did not accept it. Unexpectedly, the Japanese time traveler gave him a great assist .
However, now that Nurhaci had raised the flag ahead of schedule according to his plan, Zhu Youdong was still a little scared when he really had to face this military genius who, in the historical dimension, had conquered the entire Liaodong region of the Ming Dynasty as a chief of a backward tribe!
This is of course normal. After all, I was just a loser before I traveled through time. Of course, I had no psychological pressure to complain in front of the keyboard before I traveled through time. But now...
However, Zhu Youdong quickly made up his mind: I am a little scared, but I still have to face you in person!
After receiving the news that Jianzhou had raised the flag, Zhu Youdong first asked Liu Zhaosun to lead a team of people, board the inland warship sent by Li Ruzhang, and escort 200,000 taels of silver along the river westward: Liu Jing, Ma Qiancheng, you should prepare in advance.
Then he immediately asked for permission from Beijing: Grandpa Emperor, since the matter of building a prefecture involves Kuandian, I want to discuss it with you in person. And if we have to go to war, it will definitely cost a lot of money. I have some money here and want to send it to Beijing.
Of course, Wanli would not refuse such an offer of money: the Ministry of Revenue in Beijing was so clean that rats could starve to death, and the money for the war had to come from the inner treasury. This made Wanli feel painful. It was great that someone was willing to take the initiative to pay at this time.
After Zhu Youdong arrived in Beijing, he first proposed: I will pay for this, and you can pay more. But Grandpa Huang must not underestimate Nurhaci's flag raising this time. The Jianzhou Jurchens are already strong, and this time they have colluded with the Japanese, which should not be underestimated. Therefore, this time the troops cannot be sent by Liaodong Town alone, and elite soldiers must be drawn from all over the world to eliminate them in one fell swoop.
Wanli agreed to this request: as long as someone is willing to pay.
But Zhu Youdong’s second request was that he should participate in the expedition against the Jianzhou Jurchens!
"Grandpa Emperor, our Taizu and Chengzu had led the army to war many times. When Emperor Xuanzong was the crown prince, he followed Chengzu to war many times. Later, when the King of Han rebelled, Emperor Xuanzong led the army to war and forced the King of Han to surrender without a fight. My ancestors of the Zhu family were all so brave. As a descendant of the Zhu family, I should follow their example and fight in person to live up to the glory of my ancestors! "
Seeing Wanli still hesitant, Zhu Youdong took another step forward and whispered in Wanli's ear: "Grandpa, although suppressing the military with civil officials can indeed prevent the country from the separatist regimes of the late Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties, isn't it too much for our Ming Dynasty to suppress the military officials now? A general of the second-rank military official has to call himself a junior general and pay his respects to the prefect of the fifth-rank civil official. If the military officials are crushed like this, how can the future generals of our Ming Dynasty have the strength to defend their country? Moreover, after the civil officials have completely suppressed the military officials, it has also posed a hidden danger to the imperial power. Although they will not rebel like the military officials, they are constantly digging out the foundation of our Ming Dynasty. By then, our Ming Dynasty will still be destroyed! And what about these civil officials? They can still be officials if they change their masters... Grandpa, your grandson must take this opportunity to establish contact with the military officials. I don't seek to restore the situation when our Ming Dynasty was founded, when both civil and military officials were given equal importance, but at least I must be able to use military officials to counter the civil officials when necessary!"
These words really touched Wanli.
"Dong'er, do you promise to just stay at the back?"
"I can guarantee it! Grandfather, Nurhaci is a great hero, and he is not stupid. No matter what, when the Ming army arrives in Liaodong, he will never enter the border wall. So, if I can go this time, I will never step out of Yagu Pass."
"In this case, Grandpa can promise you."
"Grandson thanks Grandpa Huang!"
"Hehe, don't thank me yet. Since you are the nominal commander this time, how much will this expedition cost?"
"Don't worry, Grandpa Emperor. I have already ordered Nanjing to send two million taels of silver. If that's not enough, there are another three million taels ready to be shipped."
"Why would it take so much silver to conquer Jianzhou? Grandpa Emperor conquered Bozhou for so many years, and it only cost him more than two million taels. Jianzhou? Humph, the army can conquer it everywhere in one fell swoop!"
Uh... never mind. Right now, the entire Ming Dynasty doesn't take Jianzhou seriously. The idea of underestimating the enemy is prevalent, and Zhu Youdong is too lazy to distinguish and emphasize it.
In September 1611, the Ming court issued an order to draw garrison troops and military garrison troops from all over the country to gather in Liaodong.
Liaodong Town itself was responsible for sending out 30,000 troops (including 5,000 garrisons at Shanhaiguan).
The three major military towns of Datong, Xuanfu and Jizhen each sent out 10,000 troops.
The three towns of Yansui, Ningxia and Taiyuan each sent out 5,000 troops.
The Beijing camp sent out 3,000 soldiers.
All 5,600 combat soldiers of the Henghai Guard in the south were mobilized, Sichuan Town sent out 5,000 soldiers, and the Shizhu Qianhu Suo of the Chongqing Guard sent out 1,000 soldiers.
In addition, the emperor ordered the vassal state of Korea to send 10,000 troops, and the Kuandian Guard outside the border wall was to prepare 5,000 garrison soldiers on its own, ready to attack Jianzhou from the rear at any time.
The total number of troops mentioned above was more than 105,000 combat soldiers. The logistics support troops were equipped by the various towns and guards that sent troops. According to rough statistics, the support troops should be no less than 30,000. In short, the total number of troops was about 135,000, but they were claimed to be 400,000.
The Ming court required that, except for the Liaodong garrison and Kuandian guards, all troops from all over the country should arrive at Shanhaiguan by the 39th year of Wanli (1611). The Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of War, and the Ministry of Works should prepare food and laborers before then, and renovate the road from Beijing to the outside of the pass in advance.
At the same time, the imperial court issued an imperial decree to first pay one million taels of silver from the treasury to make up for the military expenses owed to the nine important border towns over the years. After receiving the decree, each military town must quickly organize its troops and set out to gather at Shanhaiguan as soon as possible.
In the same month, Yang Hao, the former Liaodong governor who had just resigned and returned home, was appointed as the Minister of War and Liaodong Governor, responsible for leading the Ming army that was about to gather and go out to fight.
There was no objection to the above matters in the Ming Dynasty, whether from top to bottom or from bottom to top. Even in the appointment of Yang Hao, although some imperial censors wrote letters to express their opposition, it did not cause much response.
However, when Emperor Wanli issued an order to the cabinet to discuss the title of the expedition of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, the civil servants of the Ming Dynasty went crazy!
