To be honest, when Zhang Mingwei received the urgent call from Babaili, he would have thought that Jianlu had entered the pass if the messenger hadn't first said it was a great victory.
Once in a while, it’s a good thing to rush eight hundred miles!
After opening the good news, he had to say that Li Laiheng's performance surprised him.
However, if you think about it carefully, it seems that such a great victory is reasonable.
First of all, Li Laiheng was born as a bandit and had experience in guerrilla warfare. He knew when to advance and when to retreat in the enemy's hinterland.
In addition, he was also very lucky. When he first landed in Liaodong, he met someone who was a messenger sent by Zu Dashou, and he knew a lot about the inside story of Jianlu in Liaodong.
The last and most important factor was that Huang Taiji happened to mobilize all the cavalry except the front line and had left Liaodong for the Mongolian grasslands.
Add these factors together, and with a little luck in this battle, this is the result.
Of course, Zhang Mingwei will not publicize this, he only needs to emphasize the results.
Emperor Chongzhen even mentioned in his letter to him that he had mentioned to Emperor Chongzhen before that he should set Li Laiheng as an example to attract more bandits to accept the recruitment and quell the civil strife as soon as possible. Therefore, Emperor Chongzhen asked, what should he do under this great victory?
Zhang Mingwei asked people to pass on the good news, and he began to think about this matter that he had already considered before. Soon, he called out the excited Zhu Nuao and asked her to ghostwrite the memorial.
First, start rebuilding Dongjiang Town immediately. The attack on the hinterland of Liaodong cannot be just this one time. Li Laiheng can serve as the commander-in-chief of Dongjiang Town, accept the jurisdiction of Governor Shanyong, and cooperate with the commander-in-chief of Shanhaiguan in combat. We must attack Jianlu from the east and west and pin Jianlu firmly to Liaodong to avoid invading the pass.
Second, the significance of this victory is extraordinary. It is a very important victory. It is recommended to confer Li Laiheng the title of Liaodong Bo and to posthumously confer the title on his ancestors to emphasize the meaning of honoring the ancestors.
Third, the soldiers who were killed or injured this time were carried out with great fanfare in accordance with the "Regulations on Pensions and Preferential Treatment of Military Personnel of the Ming Dynasty".
Fourth, the Ming Dynasty people who were rescued must be sent home with great fanfare by the court, and a certain amount of compensation should be given to show the court's responsibility.
Fifth, since the Jianlu plan to bypass the Mongolian grassland to invade Qin has gone bankrupt, it is recommended that Sun Chuanting, the governor of the three sides, immediately dispatch troops to fight in Shu. He is not required to eliminate all the rebels and bandits who have entered Shu. At least he must ensure that the rebels and bandits will not flee to Qin through Sichuan. Of course, sufficient troops must still be left on the northern border, at least to defend the city.
After this memorial was sent out, Zhang Mingwei had a clearer goal for the next war arrangement.
Immediately, he began to issue a series of military orders. Jiangxi was asked to gather troops to prevent Zhang Xianzhong's troops from going south. There is also Changsha Prefecture in the south of Huguang, which needs to be more vigilant.
Zhang Mingwei planned that if Zhang Xianzhong's troops could not be eliminated on the spot, he would also rush Zhang Xianzhong's troops to Sichuan and put an end to all the bandits and rebels in Shu. The terrain over there is suitable for hunting dogs behind closed doors.
Afterwards, he immediately summoned the backbone of the literary and art soldiers through Zhu Yuluo to create artistic creations on the story of Li Laiheng's victorious return, and immediately launched a new round of public opinion war against the current traitors. He even wrote some sample stories himself.
The main focus is to emphasize that Li Laiheng suddenly woke up, abandoned the darkness and turned to the light, fought for the country, was entrusted with important tasks by the court, trusted him, and led the army alone, ultimately saving the people of the Ming Dynasty and honoring his ancestors.
I advise the thieves on the other side to learn from Li Laiheng and stop being thieves, harming the people and bringing shame to their ancestors, and they will not end well.
As soon as this new round of propaganda offensive started, it immediately caused a huge sensation among the bandits on the other side.
Of course, this sensation doesn’t mean that everyone is talking about it. Military strategist Xu Yixian was watching and arrested deserters one after another and hung them to death. Who dared to stand out?
However, in private, they all started talking about this matter.
People are like this, they are most afraid of being compared to others.
Look at Li Laiheng. He cared about brotherhood and hoped that his brothers would one day repent. Instead of beating their former brothers, he went to fight the rising Jianlu, but he came back victorious.
This ability, this ability, this is what we call a hero, this is what we call a reputable man, he is the one who honors his ancestors!
As for what I am doing here, the folks in my hometown are all stabbing their spines!
A similar situation also occurred with the bandit leader Li Dingguo. His belief began to waver again.
On one occasion, he even asked Xu Yixian: "Military advisor, didn't Li Laiheng also participate in the burning of the Fengyang Emperor's Mausoleum? Why did the imperial court let him lead the army alone? Now that he has made great achievements, will he still settle accounts later?"
"Of course, there will definitely be a settlement later!" Xu Yixian heard this and replied without hesitation, "Didn't you notice? Is there any reward from the court for Li Laiheng's great contribution? I'll tell you, people like us , If you really want to be recruited, you will be used until death. If you want to bring glory to your ancestors, it’s a beautiful idea!”
"But I heard that it was Li Laiheng who asked to fight the Jianlu!" Li Dingguo objected a little after hearing this, "He didn't want to fight with his original brothers, and the court agreed!"
Xu Yixian was stunned for a moment after hearing this, but then he immediately explained: "So, I'm right, right? The imperial court wants to use him until he dies. If he fights against Jianlu, it doesn't make any difference whether he dies or Jianlu is killed." no!"
Li Dingguo was still confused and immediately asked a new question: "But I heard that the brothers he brought were only a thousand people, but the imperial court gave him nearly four thousand Guan Ning cavalry to command. If If they are going to be used to death, then will the imperial court also want to use these Guan Ning cavalry to death?"
"..." Xu Yixian was speechless when he heard this. This point cannot be explained by his point of view.
Seeing Li Dingguo staring at him, waiting for his answer, Xu Yixian suddenly became a little irritated, and immediately replied regardless: "That's what the court said, do you really believe it?"
This answer seems to be reasonable. But it's definitely not the best answer. After all, Li Dingguo didn't agree with his statement.
Xu Yixian was a little afraid of him. Seeing his appearance, he immediately took the lead and shouted with a stern face: "You have to remember your identity. You are still old and can't tell the rumors. From now on, stop listening to the nonsense from the other side. It’s right!”
Seeing that he was lecturing, Li Dingguo suppressed the doubts in his heart and said no more.
However, Xu Yixian was still a little worried, so he immediately sent someone to inform Zhang Xianzhong of the situation. Zhang Xianzhong was reminded that the rumors about the imperial government and the army were very powerful and the morale of the army was unstable. Defense lines in other directions should also be dealt with carefully.
Zhang Xianzhong was originally unhappy because the Fifth Battalion of Gezuo abandoned him, and he became even more irritable after hearing this. His first instinct told him that Wuchang could no longer be defended.
So, he immediately issued an order asking Ai Nengqi, who was in charge of the south, to try to attack Changsha Mansion as a retreat for the army, because he did not want to go west to join the fun in Shu.
Half a month later, the news about Li Laiheng's success and the imperial court's reward for Li Laiheng officially spread to the south.
Of course Emperor Chongzhen accepted all Zhang Mingwei's suggestions.
It is said that Emperor Chongzhen personally received the cavalry officers who had triumphed in the Liaodong campaign, and asked Li Laiheng to take the lead in parading through the streets to accept the congratulations of the people in the capital. Not to mention the great honor, the emperor finally named Li Laiheng the uncle of Liaodong.
The news of this knighthood immediately shocked the military generals in the imperial court and the bandits. Nowadays, among the generals who lead the army, only one Zhou Yuji has been awarded a title. And Li Laiheng was a gangster. According to later generations, he was not the kind of upright Miaohong. The emperor didn't care at all and actually made a Liaodong uncle. This is really a glorious ancestor!
Needless to say, after hearing this, Li Dingguo's belief was completely shaken.
The court is getting better, and the rebel soldiers have a way out, so why continue to fight? The people's support is already with the imperial court, so what will happen if we fight again?
As long as he has a certain amount of time, his situation will probably be solved.
………………
At the same time, news of the great victory in Liaodong also reached Fujian.
In the Fujian Navy Guerrilla House, Zheng Zhilong was furious.
Originally, his son was valued by the prince and was taken by his side. His future prospects could be expected. Of course, he was very happy.
However, the son suddenly came back. Not only did he come back, he also brought back news that the imperial court had appointed him as the deputy general in charge of the Denglai Navy, and that he would lead the navy to be transferred north to Dengzhou to report. This incident immediately made Zheng Zhilong angry.
In the past, Emperor Chongzhen had actually issued a special edict to Zheng Zhilong. Anyway, he said good things and asked Zheng Zhilong's squadron to go north to rebuild Dongjiang Town.
However, Zheng Zhilong naturally followed Emperor Chongzhen's will and violated it. Sending the fleet to the north has far more benefits than being the king of the southeastern coast and collecting so much protection fees every year!
Because, while he was shouting that the imperial court had never added a warship to the Fujian Navy, and he had few warships in his hands, he meant he was poor. It is said that the red barbarians on the opposite side are uneasy. If the troops in his hands are too few, the red barbarians may come to attack the coastal areas of the Ming Dynasty again.
After crying and feeling poor, he said that he must obey the emperor's will. No matter how difficult it was for him, he would still meet the emperor's request. He reluctantly gathered a few boats, that's all, you can do it. !
In the end, he didn't say it himself, but he let his men faintly reveal that if your court forces you hard, believe it or not, he will go back to being a pirate!
Originally, Zheng Zhilong thought that this would settle the matter with the court, but unexpectedly, it turned out that the court had set its sights on his son.
