In truth, he could easily muster an army of 100,000 men if he wanted to. But that wouldn't make any difference. He didn't need those makeshift legions. What he needed were elite troops capable of fighting tough battles.
With 40,000 elite soldiers and an unlimited stockpile of firearms, Lu Xuan's current strength far exceeds the imagination of the Ming Dynasty's high command. In fact, if Lu Xuan wished, he could completely pacify the entire Liaodong region within a month. Li Rubai's army simply wouldn't be able to contend with him.
In fact, most of the Ming soldiers were hoping day and night that Lu Xuan would attack. That way, they could surrender legitimately and then feast on Lu Xuan's army.
However, Lu Xuan never made a move. He simply continued to stockpile supplies, cultivate wasteland, and forge weapons and equipment. This stockpiling continued uninterrupted for three years. By then, he had been in this world for five years.
During this period, the Qing Dynasty also encountered several mishaps. Unfortunately, two leaders died in succession. The Qing Dynasty's fortunes seemed to have run out. Those Tartars completely lost their previous arrogance. They even showed fear of battle when they saw Lu Xuan's army. The reasons for this phenomenon were both internal and external.
After Daišan and Dorgon were both removed by Lu Xuan, Huang Taiji finally ascended the throne. Having learned his lesson, he never personally appeared on the battlefield again. This thwarted Lu Xuan's plan to sell out another emperor.
However, the consequence of his actions was that the Tartars felt betrayed. Their former Khans had always led them into battle. How could the current emperor have become a coward? These Tartars were uncultured and simple-minded. This only made things more perplexing, leaving Huang Taiji with no way to explain himself.
He was a veteran of battle, so how could he be afraid of fighting? But he was afraid of Lu Xuan... Don't think the Tartars weren't superstitious. In reality, these mountain savages were extremely superstitious. Without Lu Xuan's side even needing to spread the word, rumors of Lu Xuan's divine intervention against the Qing Dynasty appeared on their own.
This infuriated Huang Taiji, but he was helpless. The best way to dispel the rumors was to defeat Lu Xuan. But he couldn't...
Since the battle four years ago, which severely weakened the Qing Dynasty, its subsequent battles with the Ming Dynasty have lacked the same dominance as before. Even without Lu Xuan's army participating, the Ming soldiers were able to hold their own against these 'Qing warriors'.
Inspired by Lu Xuan, the generals in Liaodong began to issue muskets on a large scale. These weapons were simple to operate and highly lethal. The key was that to get a soldier to kill a Tartar with a broadsword, you needed to invest significant resources in training him. He needed to be well-fed, strong, courageous, and skilled enough to engage the Tartars in hand-to-hand combat.
But muskets are different. Once you've learned the basics, even if you've only eaten half a meal, you'll still have the strength to wield a gun. A flick of the finger deals damage. It's actually quite a good deal when you think about it.
Lu Xuan was also pleased to see this situation. Because of the troop rotation, the obsolete weapons were successfully sold to them, saving a significant amount of military funds. Lu Xuan himself used the money to equip the army with brand-new firearms.
............
The capital city, the imperial palace.
Zhu Changluo stood by the lake, gazing at the blooming lotus flowers, with an old eunuch standing behind him.
"Wei Zhongxian, tell me. That General Lu has taken all the benefits for himself, without even sharing a drop of soup with the other 'officials.' Why are all these 'officials' so quiet? For five years, apart from submitting memorials to me every day, not a single official in the entire court has been able to restrain that hunter?"
Wei Zhongxian lowered his head, speechless, utterly at a loss for words. That General Lu was simply an oddball. His actions were completely out of step with the style of our Ming Dynasty. But behind his absurd behavior lay a different set of rules. As a result, in just five short years, he had become a regional warlord.
What puzzled Wei Zhongxian most was that Liaoyang had long since become Lu Xuan's personal fiefdom. Yet, Lu Xuan remained steadfast in upholding the court and carrying out the emperor's orders. He would suppress bandits or quell rebellions as ordered, fulfilling every command meticulously. Furthermore, Liaoyang now enjoyed complete autonomy over its military finances, even proactively requesting reductions in its own pay from the court.
After comparing them all, only one conclusion can be drawn: apart from General Lu, all the other border garrison commanders are utterly useless...
Everyone is waiting for Lu Xuan to rebel, so they can legitimately use all their strength to wipe out this barbarian who makes all the officials of the Ming Dynasty uncomfortable. But instead of rebelling, he's been very obedient!
No one knows what Lu Xuan is thinking.
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Chapter 160 A Sudden Major Move (Please Subscribe)
When Lu Xuan rose to power, everyone understood the emperor's intentions. He wanted a troublemaker to disrupt the power structure of the court and seize the opportunity to reclaim power.
What's frustrating is that Lu Xuan's approach is completely detached from the court. He doesn't care about anything, doesn't participate in anything. He doesn't expand his network in the court, doesn't support the system of cultivating talents from humble backgrounds, and has no interest in getting promoted. He just buries himself in doing business and making money in his own territory.
When the imperial court learned that Lu Xuan was manufacturing guns and cannons, many people submitted memorials accusing him of plotting a rebellion.
However, Lu Xuan directly took out the imperial edict he had obtained from the emperor earlier. It clearly stated that Lu Xuan was permitted to procure his own military equipment. Firearms and cannons were, of course, all military equipment, and warships and the like would also count.
Later, Lu Xuan expanded his army, which led to another impeachment. People accused him of privately expanding his army with the intention of rebelling.
So Lu Xuan took out another imperial edict. It stated that due to the Jurchen threat, Liaoyang Guard had suffered heavy losses. As the commander-in-chief, Lu Xuan was authorized to expand his army. Crucially, the edict didn't specify an upper limit for this expansion!
Zhu Changluo was also thoroughly exasperated. He knew Liaoyang was 'short of money.' The imperial court couldn't provide the pay, and even with an expanded army, they simply couldn't afford to maintain it. He never imagined an oddball like Lu Xuan would appear. Lu Xuan earned his own money and kept the army afloat. Why was it that other generals charged the court tens of millions of taels a year and still couldn't win battles? This barbarian, on the other hand, not only didn't need so much money, but he was also incredibly fierce in battle...
In short, Lu Xuan's manufacture of guns and cannons and expansion of the army were all rights granted by imperial decree. Nominally, there was no problem. The biggest problem lay in his blockade of the coast, his unauthorized taxation, and his pocketing of all the trade.
This matter was the crux of the conflict among the high-ranking officials in the court, because their money had been intercepted by Lu Xuan. This was a matter of tangible interest, and therefore irreconcilable. Initially, they resorted to their old method: impeaching Lu Xuan in court, hoping the emperor would intervene and deal with him.
Zhu Changluo was quick to act; he immediately issued an imperial edict condemning Lu Xuan and sent a minister to Liaoyang to read it aloud.
Then came the much-anticipated part: the minister, traveling by water, encountered pirates and was immediately fed to sharks.
How could those ministers not understand that Lu Xuan's rise to power was originally the emperor's way of checking and controlling them? Although the method was simple, crude, and utterly lacking in sophistication, the emperor's move undeniably weakened their influence and even cut off a vital source of revenue for them. It was a win-win situation. Unfortunately, it's now clear to everyone that Lu Xuan has spiraled out of control.
No matter how obedient Lu Xuan was, or how much he feigned submission, his act of intercepting and killing the imperial envoy revealed that he had absolutely no respect for imperial authority. The emperor's move had backfired spectacularly. What frustrated them was that they were powerless to do anything about Lu Xuan.
Unable to reach the emperor directly, they resorted to their own influence, blocking the flow of grain from the Jiangnan region to Liaodong. However, they soon discovered this blockade was ineffective… those merchants, faced with Lu Xuan's exorbitant prices, had long forgotten their place. Payment was upon delivery, with no delays whatsoever. Once inside Liaodong, they were even escorted to ensure their safety. In those days, such simple and easy business was rare.
Do you think you can shut down these businessmen's desire to make money with just a few words? You're seriously underestimating the power of capital. In reality, a considerable number of businessmen have already unknowingly sided with Lu Xuan. Profitable businesses aren't so easily manipulated.
After that, they used various court methods to restrict the transport of goods to Liaodong, but what was the use? Lu Xuan had already launched maritime shipping. A group of desperados and foreigners were vying to do business with Lu Xuan. The Ming navy would probably sink halfway before even reaching Liaodong.
Moreover, Lu Xuan has always been actively expanding trade routes, with business dealings in Southeast Asia, the West, and even Japan, which is something they simply cannot prohibit.
Soft tactics failed, and hard tactics were ineffective. A group of Ming Dynasty elites discovered they couldn't subdue a barbarian hunter, even using low-level assassination methods. Not to mention the barbarian's exceptional martial arts skills, surpassing even the bravest in the army, he also had a large group of martial arts masters gathered around him from across the Ming Dynasty.
These江湖人士 (jianghu figures) possessed all sorts of unorthodox methods. When they came to Lu Xuan, he organized and utilized them. Those assassins simply couldn't get past this line of defense. After all, we're all in this business; I have the support and training from the official system, while you can only do things for money. How can you fight me?
Five years have passed in a long and winding road. Lu Xuan has not only survived, but has become a behemoth they can no longer look at directly. Indeed, most of the court officials are well aware that the Ming army is simply no match for the powerful force under Lu Xuan's command. This general doesn't take a single penny of military pay, pouring all the money into the lives of these commoners. It is said that after five years as general, the general's residence is still arranged as it was before.
How could anyone in this world not be greedy for money? Having earned so much, how could he bear to spend it all on those peasants? Later, it became clear to everyone that taking over the entire Liaodong region would have been a piece of cake for Lu Xuan. Yet, he stubbornly refused to do so.
In reality, this matter was the most troublesome for Li Rubai, the Liaodong Military Commissioner. Of course, he was now not only the Liaodong Military Commissioner, but also held various honorary titles and even a hereditary peerage. All of this was thanks to his capture of the emperor in the previous battle. However, the Li family's power base was in Liaodong, so he chose to remain in his post.
His current feeling is that Lu Xuan has already put a knife to his throat, but he just won't make a move. Every night when he goes to sleep, he worries that Lu Xuan will call. Sometimes he even feels hopeless, thinking that Lu Xuan should just call and kill him already, so he doesn't have to live in fear like this. This constant feeling of being on edge is driving him to the brink of collapse.
He had considered resistance, desperately training his troops and purchasing firearms (from Lu Xuan...) in an attempt to create an army like Lu Xuan's. But how could that be possible? His officers were military households who had been entrenched in Liaodong for years. Drawing salaries without working and using inferior equipment were commonplace. Where would they get the money to arm their soldiers to the same standard as Lu Xuan? If eating dirt was enough to survive, they'd probably feed their soldiers a handful of dirt and expect them to fight to the death.
Li Rubai had to put his own money into it. But he realized that even if he poured all of the Li family's savings of decades into it, he still couldn't build an army of Lu Xuan's caliber. Because such an army couldn't be maintained by embezzlement alone. You had to know how to make money work for you, with a continuous stream of income, to afford the enormous expenses of a firearms-equipped army.
And so, the sleepless nights continued.