Chapter 396: Firepower Deficiency Phobia

The results of doing this were now becoming apparent—Zhu Youxiao could at any time obtain information that he previously couldn't get but could now easily acquire.

These people were now able to play their role as well.

For Zhu Youxiao, this investment was worth it.

Hearing Zhu Youxiao's words, Chen Hong hurriedly said, "Yes, Your Majesty. This servant will pass the order down immediately."

Zhu Youxiao nodded and said nothing more.

Once this matter was delegated, there was nothing left on the court that required his continued attention. His main task for the coming period was consolidation.

The new army continued its training and drilling—two Imperial Guard Command offices had already been established—but it would likely still take some time before they grew into real combat strength.

The Ministry of Revenue matter had also come to a close; the money had basically been distributed, those who should have received it got it, and those who shouldn't have didn't.

As for the Ministry of War's desire to strengthen the border troops, Zhu Youxiao had also approved it.

The expansion of the Hundred Crafts Institute and the steelworks—Zhu Youxiao had approved that too.

The Ministry of Personnel's push for official oversight was still under Zhu Youxiao's consideration. The most important issue there concerned the Assessment Law, which still needed careful study; there was no need to make too many moves for now.

As for the Ministry of Rites' academy matter, that was already in progress, and results were believed to be forthcoming soon.

Aside from that, there was nothing else on the agenda for the moment—stability was the prevailing current in the court. Let this transitional period pass; as long as no problems arose during this stretch, that would be the best possible state.

He couldn't rush. This period had to be steady. Zhu Youxiao could afford to wait.

Just then, footsteps suddenly sounded from outside, and a figure strode quickly in.

It was a minor messenger come to report.

Before Zhu Youxiao could speak, Chen Hong had already turned and gone to meet him.

The minor messenger came up to Chen Hong and said hurriedly, "Your Excellency, several Grand Secretaries of the Grand Secretariat have arrived."

Chen Hong waved his hand, signaling the minor messenger to withdraw, then turned and came to Zhu Youxiao's side, saying directly, "Your Majesty, the four Grand Secretaries of the Grand Secretariat request an audience."

Hearing this, Zhu Youxiao was taken aback.

There was nothing on the court right now that should bring all the Grand Secretaries together at once—could something have happened?

Zhu Youxiao said, "Let them in."

Since he couldn't figure out what the matter was for the moment, he might as well see them.

Seated on the dragon throne, Zhu Youxiao wore a grave expression as he awaited the arrival of the Grand Secretaries.

Before long, Han Kuang and the others walked in from outside.

After paying their respects to Zhu Youxiao, Han Kuang spoke with an agitated expression: "Great fortune for Your Majesty! A report of victory has just arrived from Liaodong—Xiong Tingbi has routed Wild Boar Skin outside the walls of Shenyang!"

Hearing this, Zhu Youxiao stood up.

His face showed no joy at all—instead, there was tension, even a hint of gravity.

He asked urgently, "Xiong Tingbi fought against Wild Boar Skin?"

This was something Zhu Youxiao had expressly forbidden before Xiong Tingbi departed.

The reason was simple: Zhu Youxiao didn't need Xiong Tingbi to win any battles in Liaodong. One or two local victories could never fundamentally reverse the situation in Liaodong; while a single defeat would lead to the collapse of the entire Liaodong front.

For Zhu Youxiao, solving the Liaodong problem meant solving it at the root—at the very least, overturning the offensive-defensive dynamic in one stroke, seizing full initiative in Liaodong, and thereby giving the Ming army the capacity to push westward from Liaodong.

That was what Zhu Youxiao wanted to do. A local victory was utterly irrelevant.

Now that Xiong Tingbi had won, Zhu Youxiao was even more worried. As the saying goes, an arrogant army is doomed to defeat. Liaodong hadn't won a battle in years—it had been losing all along. Ever since Sarhu, Liaodong had shifted entirely to a defensive posture.

But Zhu Youxiao knew full well that both in Liaodong and at court, there were plenty of people eager to resume hostilities.

Those who supported going to war, who supported the full recovery of Liaodong, were even more numerous. They weren't necessarily thinking of the nation—their motives might stem from all sorts of private interests.

Xiong Tingbi's victory would likely stir up these people's desire for war and provoke strife at court. These people would shout about marching on Liaodong, and as Emperor, he couldn't forcibly suppress them.

If he suppressed them by force, he would appear weak and incompetent, and people would also think he was an Emperor without strategic vision. More importantly, it would wound the hearts of those who were genuinely earnest—that was absolutely unacceptable.

But if he supported going to war, in Zhu Youxiao's view, they simply weren't ready.

Han Kuang and the others were old hands, naturally masters at reading expressions and moods. They had expected His Majesty to be delighted at the news, but to their surprise, His Majesty's expression was so grave. Was there something here they didn't know about?

It shouldn't be! Xiong Tingbi was promoted on His Majesty's own initiative. Since Xiong Tingbi had gone to Liaodong, the situation there had remained very stable—nothing had happened at all except His Majesty giving him a bit more money. The court officials had nearly forgotten about Liaodong.

Combined with the war in the southwest and the Shandong affair, everyone's attention was no longer focused on Liaodong—though that didn't mean they didn't care about it. After all, the Battle of Sarhu was the greatest rout the Ming army had suffered since the Tumu Crisis, something the proud Ming court could not accept.

Now Xiong Tingbi had won, proving the might of the Ming and, at the same time, indirectly proving His Majesty's keen eye for talent. How could His Majesty possibly not be pleased?

Han Kuang could only steel himself and say, "Wild Boar Skin attacked Shenyang. Xiong Tingbi ordered all the cannons of various sizes atop the city walls to fire in unison, directly routing Wild Boar Skin's forces. He then led his men out of the city in pursuit, slaughtering them until Wild Boar Skin suffered a complete and utter defeat."

"Your Majesty, this is the routine memorial." As he spoke, Han Kuang presented the memorial to Zhu Youxiao.

Chen Hong hurried over to Han Kuang's side, took the memorial in hand, and holding it with both hands, quickly came before Zhu Youxiao and respectfully handed it to him.

Taking the memorial, Zhu Youxiao quickly scanned through it.

This routine memorial was a report of victory, not a memorial requesting rewards.

In this memorial, Xiong Tingbi wrote in detail how the battle had been fought, especially the might of the cannons. The power displayed by that one great cannon was described very clearly by Xiong Tingbi.

In particular, Xiong Tingbi had also made clear in the memorial that a single shot from that cannon had struck Nurhaci directly. As for Nurhaci's current condition—whether he had been blown to pieces on the spot—there was no word yet.

However, Xiong Tingbi had also said that he had already sent people to investigate in detail, and he believed news would arrive soon.

Zhu Youxiao glanced at Chen Hong but said nothing.

This kind of matter was better and faster handled by the Embroidered Uniform Guard—they had secret agents in Liaodong for exactly this sort of work, and they were far more skilled at it.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard's intelligence had surely arrived by now as well.

Setting the memorial down, Zhu Youxiao nodded and said, "Xiong Tingbi showed proper restraint in this battle. Well done."

"Spread this report of victory to all civil and military officials." Zhu Youxiao said with a smile, "I imagine Xiong Tingbi's request for commendation will follow shortly. This time, you should deliberate on it—reward him as he deserves, and don't be too stingy with money and grain."

Hearing this, Han Kuang hastily bowed and said, "Yes, Your Majesty. Your ministers will discuss it upon returning."

"Do my beloved ministers have anything else?" Zhu Youxiao looked at Han Kuang and the others and said directly.

Zhu Youxiao's meaning was obvious—if there was nothing else, the four of them could take their leave.

The four men present naturally understood this, and couldn't help exchanging somewhat awkward glances with one another.

Your Majesty was not that pleased, and clearly this was no illusion on their part.

This left people rather baffled. What was wrong with His Majesty?

Sun Chengzong stood up and said directly: "Your Majesty, your minister believes that the time to recover Liaodong is now ripe."

Hearing Sun Chengzong's words and looking at his resolute expression, Zhu Youxiao's heart sank.

It was indeed a case of fearing what would come — Zhu Youxiao dreaded them raising this very matter, and Sun Chengzong truly had not let him down in that regard.

Zhu Youxiao said with a stern face: "Sun Aiqing, this was merely one victory. Speaking of recovering Liaodong at this time is somewhat premature."

"Your Majesty, it is no longer premature." Sun Chengzong continued with a grave expression: "You must understand, after the Battle of Sarhu, in Liaodong, the Great Ming's official army suffered more defeats than victories. The garrison troops everywhere were panicked and utterly devoid of morale — one could say they were on the brink of collapse. When the Liaodong army fought against the Wild Boar Skin, they were filled with fear and completely lacking in courage."

"But ever since Xiong Tingbi went to Liaodong, not only did he stabilize the situation there, he also trained the Liaodong troops so well, reshaping their courage, and they were even able to win a field battle outside the walls of Shenyang. This shows that Liaodong now has the strength to fight the Wild Boar Skin on equal terms. With this, the Great Ming stands in an unassailable position in Liaodong."

"Now the court has ample funds and grain, our arms and armor grow stronger by the day, and the new army trained by Qi Jin has been formed, more than ready to be brought to Liaodong for battle. Added to the cannons and muskets produced by the Hundred Works Bureau, the Great Ming has established an advantage over the Wild Boar Skin. With this victory on top, one can say our morale is ready for use."

"Now the Great Ming has the favor of heaven, the advantages of terrain, and the harmony of men — naturally this is the time to recover Liaodong. Your minister requests permission to go to Liaodong, to command the Great Ming army, to recover territory for Your Majesty and annihilate the Wild Boar Skin!"

In Sun Chengzong's view, the Great Ming truly could win now — the Liaodong army had recovered its strength.

Especially during this trip to Shandong, Sun Chengzong had witnessed the might of the Great Ming's new army. The firearms manufactured over this past year or more — those cannons and muskets — were enough to form an overwhelming force against the Wild Boar Skin in Liaodong.

Though the court's silver was not abundant, there was still enough to use.

Moreover, Your Majesty had already ordered people to gather large amounts of grain before the new year, enough to support the army's departure.

Under such circumstances, winning this battle was simply not a problem. Even if they could not destroy Nurhaci, recovering Qinghe and Tieling would not be difficult.

Under such circumstances, there was no reason not to fight this battle.

Zhu Youxiao glanced at Sun Chengzong, somewhat hesitant.

In Zhu Youxiao's heart, the advantages Sun Chengzong perceived were far from being advantages at all, let alone an overwhelming advantage.

Zhu Youxiao's vision had not yet been realized, and the army had not finished being built.

Though over this past year or more, Zhu Youxiao had invested close to ten million taels of silver into the new army and the Hundred Works Bureau's steel mills, in Zhu Youxiao's view this was still far from enough — it was not at all what he had envisioned in his mind.

Zhu Youxiao currently had only fifteen thousand new troops. These fifteen thousand had just completed their organization, their equipment had just arrived, infantry-artillery coordinated training had just begun, cavalry and artillery cooperation was not yet harmonious — everything was still being explored.

Sending an army like this into battle carried far too much risk.

Moreover, cannon development was incomplete, musket manufacturing was incomplete, and the flintlock had only just been successfully developed. Metal fixed-case artillery shells and other such things had not yet been developed. Zhu Youxiao felt this battle would not be easy to fight.

As for Liaodong, there was no rush anyway — let the Wild Boar Skin make trouble; they couldn't cause anything major.

In the original history, even by the seventeenth year of Chongzhen, the Wild Boar Skin had not managed to break through. If not for the endless peasant uprisings, the Great Ming losing the capital, and Wu Sangui's surrender — could the Wild Boar Skin have gotten in?

Since they couldn't break through anyway, why rush to destroy them?

Putting the domestic realm in order was the key. The Great Ming was such a vast country that its war potential was terrifying — especially in this era.

Never mind developing all of the Great Ming's war potential — even if only one-fifth were developed, only then would a crushing superiority be formed.

So in Zhu Youxiao's view, now was simply not the time to start a war in Liaodong.

Seeing Zhu Youxiao hesitate, Sun Chengzong glanced at Xu Guangqi.

Though the two were not of the same faction and occasionally argued, there was one point on which they were the same — their attitude toward Liaodong, their attitude toward war.

Both had once thought of training new armies, and both were dissatisfied with the Great Ming's military. Now that they had such an army, naturally they wanted to bring it to Liaodong to fight a battle, wanting to restore the army's prestige.

They did not know what the Emperor was hesitating about. The current situation was one where victory was certain — what was there to agonize over?

When Xu Guangqi saw Sun Chengzong looking at him, he naturally understood his meaning.

So Xu Guangqi also stepped forward and said directly: "Your Majesty, the Hundred Works Bureau has already prepared a great many weapons, and will soon be able to fully equip all fifty thousand of General Qi Jin's men. Your minister has confidence in this battle — victory is certain."

Zhu Youxiao glanced at Xu Guangqi and said: "Can you guarantee one flintlock for every man?"

Hearing this, Xu Guangqi was momentarily speechless.

His Majesty actually wanted one flintlock per man?

That idea was far too naive.

Glancing at Zhu Youxiao, Xu Guangqi said hesitantly: "At the Hundred Works Bureau's current production rate, roughly a thousand flintlocks can be produced each month."

This production rate was something Xu Guangqi would not have dared to imagine before. Even now, it was only possible because of the water-powered forging machines and the adoption of assembly lines and various other new techniques.

If following Your Majesty's thinking, equipping Qi Jin's fifty thousand men would require at least four years. Even with increased investment and expanded production, it would be impossible to complete the equipping in such a short time.

Right now, Qi Jin's new army had only just been equipped with five thousand flintlocks — that was the entirety of previous production capacity.