Silence fell over the room once again.
Just as Zhu Yijun was feeling uneasy, an urgent report came from outside. A eunuch rushed into the palace.
"Congratulations, Your Majesty, on the great victory at the front!"
Although a sliver of hope still lingered in his heart, Zhu Yijun still felt a strong sense of unreality when that hope came true.
Say it again!
"Congratulations, Your Majesty, on the great victory at the front! General Li Rubai's Shun army has directly attacked Nurhaci's camp. The enemy chieftain hastily retreated to defend, only to be ambushed and killed on the spot by a sergeant under Li Rubai's command. His head is already on its way to the capital. The Jurchens have suffered a complete defeat and retreated back to Jianzhou. The front is safe!"
"Okay, okay, okay..." Zhu Yijun said "okay" three times in a row. But then he couldn't catch his breath and it triggered a violent coughing fit.
"Your Majesty, quickly summon the imperial physician..." the eunuch shouted hurriedly.
"No, I don't want the imperial physician." I don't want to see the imperial physician right now. Bring me the detailed battle report; I want to take a good look at it.
A strange look flashed across the eunuch's face. He handed over the intelligence with a hint of helplessness. Outside the palace, the imperial physician, who had been waiting there, was utterly exasperated. The weather in the north at this time of year was truly awful. He had received secret orders to wait here. He was to immediately appear before the palace once summoned him. But after waiting for so long, why hadn't anyone summoned him? If he didn't, I was going to freeze to death...
Zhu Yijun dismissed the eunuch and began to carefully read the intelligence report alone. When he read about Lu Xuan killing Nurhaci, he couldn't help but shout "Good!" But then he was followed by a violent coughing fit.
.................
Guo Zhen arrived a day later than the frontline battle report, even though they set off at the same time. However, he wasn't one of those professional messengers, and coupled with his injuries and exhaustion, he was ultimately much slower.
Upon arriving in the capital, without any rest, he was immediately summoned by Zhu Yijun.
"Guo Zhen, I've read the battle reports. It's said that you were present throughout the battle where Nurhaci was killed, and even personally fought alongside him, killing several Jurchens?"
"Your Majesty, I have no ability to fight the Jurchens. I only used crossbows to kill a few. The ones who actually fought were Lu Xuan, Lu Wenzhao, and Shen Lian."
"Is that so? The battle report says that the four of you, with just over a hundred men, dared to ambush Nurhaci. But I feel that this battle report is a bit unreliable. Guo Zhen, tell me the truth, what exactly happened in that battle?"
Zhu Yijun, as the longest-reigning emperor in Ming Dynasty history, was certainly not a fool. He did not completely trust the battle report. On the contrary, he trusted the eunuchs he had sent out to supervise the army more. In these important matters, these eunuchs were more trustworthy than some others.
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Guo Zhen rushed back without stopping, all for this moment.
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Chapter 119 Then I Won't Be Polite (Please Subscribe)
A faint glimmer of dawn appeared on the horizon. Before we knew it, it was already daylight.
The faint sound of the eunuchs striking the night watch could be heard from inside the palace. Zhu Yijun and Guo Zhen in the imperial study then realized that they had been talking all night.
"Very good... I never imagined that my Great Ming Dynasty would produce such a valiant general. It seems that Heaven still protects the Ming Dynasty. Lu Xuan, Lu Wenzhao, Shen Lian, I will remember them. Guo Zhen, you are also very good. It's a pity that although beheading Nurhaci can bring temporary peace to Liaodong, the threat of the Jurchens still exists."
"Your Majesty need not worry. Our country boasts many valiant generals, and the mere Jurchens are nothing to us."
"This is not conclusive... Look at Du Song, Ma Lin, and Liu Ting. Who would have thought that a hunter would save Liaodong? But now that he is a sergeant in the army, it will be easier to bestow rewards upon him. Guo Zhen, draft the decree for me."
The political system of the Ming Dynasty was very mature and complex. Take, for example, the positions of Liaodong Commander and General-in-Chief; these were not permanent positions. They were generally only created temporarily during wartime. They were similar to the Protector-General and General of the Cavalry mentioned in the previous volume.
However, due to frequent warfare in the Liaodong region, these positions were essentially no longer permanent by the end of the Ming Dynasty.
Half of Liu Ting's group returned. Liu Ting himself was dead.
The cause of this outcome can be traced back to Lu Xuan and his men's surprise attack. On that day, the main force of the Tartars suddenly retreated, giving Liu Ting a false impression. He believed that the other armies had already achieved a resounding victory and forced the Jurchens back. He felt he couldn't fall behind, so he led his troops in pursuit.
Grand Prince Daishan initially refused to engage with him. However, Liu Ting persisted relentlessly, eventually forcing Daishan into another confrontation.
This time, Daishan had no will to fight to the death and didn't gain much advantage. However, Liu Ting, that unlucky fellow, was shot in the eye by a stray arrow because of his overextended advance. He barely made it back before dying. Now, only Li Rubai remained of the four generals. Li Rubai rightfully took over the position of Liaodong Military Commissioner.
Lu Xuan, on the other hand, rose through the ranks to become the General of Liaoyang, the same position Li Rubai had held, stationed troops in Liaoyang. He was in charge of more than ten garrisons, including Dingliao, Fuzhou, Jinzhou, Haizhou, and Gaizhou.
The magnitude of this reward shocked everyone around. Even Lu Xuan hadn't expected such a high-level reward. However, considering the actual situation, the problem became clear. Even though the Battle of Sarhu seemed like a 'great victory,' everyone with discerning eyes knew it was self-deception.
The reality was that the Ming Dynasty suffered heavy losses and was severely weakened. However, the Jurchens were not fundamentally crippled. It was only Nurhaci's sudden death that caused internal chaos, giving Liaodong a brief respite.
One day, the Jurchens will return. Whether the Liaodong defense line can hold out then remains to be seen.
Meanwhile, in the Battle of Sarhu, three generals died. Countless officers under their command perished. A rough estimate suggests that around three hundred officers of mid- to high-ranking positions died, with countless more at the lower ranks. Although the Liaodong defense line still appeared impregnable, its interior was exceptionally vulnerable.
Take troop strength as an example. Before Yang Gao set out on his campaign, he announced an army of 470,000. However, later research revealed that the actual number was at most around 130,000. Nurhaci claimed to have an army of 200,000 capable warriors, but his actual number was at most 50,000.
It's understandable that the Jurchens had a small population. After all, coming from remote mountain valleys, 50,000 men was already quite an impressive number. However, the Battle of Sarhu involved not only soldiers from the Liaodong defense line, but also reinforcements from surrounding areas.
The main problem was that the practice of drawing salaries without working was extremely serious in this era. A garrison should have a full complement of 5,600 men. However, in Liaodong, the actual strength of each garrison was less than 3,000 men...
Can you imagine what this situation was like? It means that before the war even started, local officials in Liaodong had already helped the Jurchens wipe out half of their own forces.
Aside from the military officers' personal guards, most of the remaining men were old, weak, sick, or disabled. Why the old, weak, sick, or disabled? It's simple: they ate little and asked for little. Crucially, a group of the old, weak, sick, and disabled couldn't cause any trouble.
Throughout the Liaodong defense line, the garrison system had become obsolete. The garrison system itself wasn't the problem; the issue lay with the people and the land.
In later generations, when the Battle of Sarhu is mentioned, many people say that even if the Ming Dynasty had barely won the Battle of Sarhu, it would have had no chance. Lu Xuan was unconvinced, but after personally experiencing this world, he could only helplessly admit that such a claim was actually true.
Although he bought the Liaodong defense line a brief respite, he discovered that much of it was rotten to the core and beyond saving.
Of the four armies, two and a half were wiped out. Naturally, the major garrisons along the Liaodong defense line were severely lacking in manpower. Lu Xuan, having taken over as the commander-in-chief of Liaoyang, could not afford to be without troops.
In response, the imperial edict was evasive, ultimately issuing an order that left Lu Xuan feeling utterly exasperated. It ordered Lu Xuan to gather the remnants of the war, integrate them, and bring them under his command as his army. As for reinforcements from the court? Sorry, not a single one.
However, it seems to be as compensation to General Lu Xuan. The imperial edict states that Lu Xuan is free to gather the remaining troops and act as he sees fit.
Lu Xuan's favorite kind of imperial edict was this kind of ambiguous wording. With a little interpretation, it could grant him almost unlimited authority. What does "acting expediently" mean? It means doing whatever I want!