Chapter 566: It

"On the road, don't let anyone do anything to them—this matter is very important. If anything really happens, none of us can bear the consequences." Lu Xiangsheng instructed once again with the utmost gravity.

This time, the warning was absolutely necessary. Lu Xiangsheng genuinely feared that his subordinates might do something out of line. Setting aside these women's appearances for the moment, the key issue was their identity.

His Majesty might not want them, but he would absolutely never allow his subordinates to defile them. If that happened, His Majesty would certainly punish him.

How to handle these women was His Majesty's business; he could not make decisions on His Majesty's behalf.

Cao Wenzhao also nodded and said with complete understanding: "Don't worry about this matter. I know exactly what needs to be done."

Having captured the enemy chieftain's family members, not a single problem could be allowed to arise. They had to be delivered safely and securely to the Emperor, or else trouble would easily follow.

Cao Wenzhao immediately arranged for subordinates he trusted completely to escort the captives properly and safely to Shanhai Pass.

After Cao Wenzhao finished his arrangements, the fighting in Liaodong continued. The three main armies kept up their mopping-up operations, and city after city fell.

Of the Jurchen who fled, some went north, but very few remained. Most had been annihilated, and many had surrendered.

The Liaodong campaign had reached the point where it was essentially complete.

What followed was the influx of others. As the fighting subsided, the Imperial Household Department and merchants moved in quickly. They wanted to select good locations, then negotiate with the court to purchase those places.

What they mainly bought were pastures, along with forest lands and mineral deposits.

In short, all of this now belonged to the Great Ming. The Emperor could not keep everything for himself—a large portion still had to be sold off; even the Jurchen slaves were included and had to be sold.

Under these circumstances, these people naturally had to spend money to buy. The court gained a substantial income, while they gained many things—money, people, and land—all of which would generate significant economic profits for them in the future.

Even some merchants who did business with Joseon were already preparing to build factories here; merchants from Liaodong were also swarming in, ready to establish their operations.

A portion of their goods was sold to Joseon, while another portion was sold out onto the Mongol grasslands. Under these conditions, with profits to be made, they naturally swarmed in. There was no doubt that Liaodong was about to experience a great wave of development.

The people of the Imperial Household Department handled matters in an orderly fashion, and things progressed very quickly.

First, the land was cleared and surveyed, then the various mines, and then the areas that could serve as training grounds. Once everything was finished, maps were drawn up, and sales were conducted according to those maps. After the sales, the money was sent to the national treasury.

As for Liaodong, they had been gathering intelligence on this region for many years, so drawing up the maps would not take long.

Meanwhile, at Shanhai Pass, as news of the war continued to arrive, many of the merchants there began heading north, and many others left the place entirely.

But the place did not become desolate—rather, it became even more prosperous. People and traffic flowed in an endless stream, and for a time it seemed to have become something like a transit hub.

In addition, places like Guangning also welcomed large numbers of people. Everyone was heading in this direction, all coming with the goal of getting rich.

And Zhu Youxiao was also preparing to leave Shanhai Pass. He was going to Shenyang.

The last time he had not gone to Shenyang, it was because that place was dangerous. Now that the war was over and Shenyang was perfectly safe, he naturally wanted to go to this great city.

And Shenyang was the focus of the next phase of construction. It would become the Great Ming's major city in Liaodong.

One had to understand that at this time, the major city in Liaodong was Liaoyang, not Shenyang. But from a strategic standpoint, Shenyang was far superior.

Once he expanded and built up Shenyang, it could serve as a bridgehead to the north, and also extend east and west—the entire Liaodong would be under his control.

The ceremonies to be held would also take place in Shenyang. Besides the alliance meeting, there would be a victory tribute ceremony in Shenyang, along with a simple military review and a military exercise—to show those in attendance the strength of the Great Ming. To put it bluntly, it was about intimidation, coaxing, threats, and fear, followed by overawing them into submission. All standard procedures, nothing particularly difficult.

Although they already knew of the Great Ming's military achievements, they still did not know how the Great Ming had won.

Zhu Youxiao had great confidence in his weapons. It was time to show their true strength. Let them understand just how powerful an existence the Great Ming truly was.

Inside Zhu Youxiao's residence.

Looking at Sun Chengzong before him, Zhu Youxiao said with a concerned expression: "Sun Aiqing, quite a few people came with us to Liaodong this time. If you have matters to handle, just leave them to others. It's only been a few days—how did you end up like this?"

Sun Chengzong, appearing before Zhu Youxiao, was now showing every sign of exhaustion, with a pair of enormous dark circles under his eyes. One look made it clear he had been run ragged with work and had worn himself out badly.

This worried Zhu Youxiao quite a bit. At such an advanced age, he must not be allowed to exhaust himself into illness.

Although the Great Ming was developing rapidly now and there were all sorts of matters to handle, for Zhu Youxiao, no one could be allowed to come to harm—especially old veterans like Sun Chengzong.

He still needed them to hold the line. Sun Chuanting, Lu Xiangsheng, and their generation had not yet grown into their roles. Sun Chengzong and the other veterans were not yet suited to step down, because there was no suitable replacement in between. Whether it was Sun Chengzong or Xu Guangqi, these were people to be treasured.

Zhu Youxiao glanced at Wei Chao beside him and said directly: "Go, send someone to fetch the imperial physician and give Sun Aiqing a thorough examination. We must not let his health be ruined."

Hearing these words, Sun Chengzong naturally felt warmth in his heart, though his face remained stern as he said: "Your Majesty need not worry. Your servant is perfectly fine. Coming to Liaodong this time has also fulfilled a long-held wish of mine. With so many matters at hand now, your servant dares not be negligent, for fear of any oversight. But the busy work is already done, and things will be much easier from here on."

In truth, a major reason Sun Chengzong was so busy was that Zhu Youxiao had delegated so much authority.

For Zhu Youxiao, he truly did not worry about losing his grip on power, so he handed many matters off to his subordinates, and Sun Chengzong was one of them.

Much of the Liaodong business this time was Sun Chengzong's responsibility.

Zhu Youxiao slacked off and was leisurely every day. Naturally, Sun Chengzong became busy.

But Sun Chengzong had not spoken falsely—he truly was nearly done with the busy work. Everything that needed arranging had been arranged, and what remained was just carrying things out step by step.

For him, this kind of work posed no difficulty and would not consume too much energy.

"Excellent, then." Zhu Youxiao nodded and said with satisfaction: "I called Aiqing over today because there is a matter I wish to discuss with you. I intend to go to Shenyang. I would like Aiqing to send people to make preparations, and then we shall set out."

That the Emperor wanted to go to Shenyang did not surprise Sun Chengzong.

Shanhai Pass was truly a bit small, and it was a fortress city. There was no room to maneuver there, and nothing was suitable to do in such a place.

Shenyang was different. The city was larger, and the space was more open. Previously, it had been inconvenient for the Emperor to go there, but now there was no such concern.

Sun Chengzong said: "Your Majesty speaks truly. May I ask when Your Majesty wishes to depart? Your servant will immediately send people to make arrangements. If a date is set, preparations will need to be made in advance."

Zhu Youxiao thought for a moment, then said: "Let us depart in three days, then."

Sun Chengzong did not answer Zhu Youxiao directly. After all, the Emperor's journey was not a matter of one or two days—certain things had to be prepared in advance. Supply provisions, city security, and the Emperor's personal guard all had to be planned ahead of time.

After thinking it over briefly, Sun Chengzong had a rough procedure in mind.

Sun Chengzong said: "There is no problem with this. Your Majesty may rest assured. Once your servant returns, I will arrange for immediate departure. Three days from now, we can set out for Shenyang early in the morning."

"I have put Aiqing to much trouble." Zhu Youxiao said gently.

Sun Chengzong nodded. This matter was settled, but he did not take his leave. Instead, he looked at Zhu Youxiao with some hesitation and said: "Before Your Majesty goes to Shenyang, would you not like to see those people?"

The people Sun Chengzong referred to were, naturally, the Mongols and Joseon envoys at Shanhai Pass.

In recent days, as news of the war continued to arrive, these people had grown increasingly anxious.

Since Zhu Youxiao kept refusing to see them, these people began pestering the Great Ming's ministers—especially high-ranking ministers like Sun Chengzong. It could be said that every day was filled with entertaining visitors and seeing off guests. All sorts of people tried all sorts of methods to get their requests passed through him, and Sun Chengzong was thoroughly annoyed by it all.

The tasks the Emperor had given him before, he could still endure—after all, it was a minister's duty. If the Emperor was lazy, they could not afford to be lazy.

But these trivial nuisances now, Sun Chengzong truly did not want to deal with. He did not understand what the Emperor was planning, nor why the Emperor was dragging his feet and refusing to see these people. Even if he wanted to delay, he should at least give a reason—otherwise, Sun Chengzong would be driven to death by annoyance.

After hearing Sun Chengzong's question, Zhu Youxiao directly shook his head and said, "It's not yet time to see them. Let's stall for now. Once we reach Shenyang, I will hold a victory ceremony presenting captives. At that time, we will invite them to observe the rites. Beyond that, I also plan to hold a small-scale military exercise—it just so happens they can watch that too."

"Once all these matters are done, then I'll see them. Meeting them now would only amount to mutual bickering, without much real meaning. As the Emperor of the Great Ming, I can't be bothered with all that idle talk. When the time comes, they will come to understand one thing: when I speak, all they need to do is listen."

Sun Chengzong did not find Zhu Youxiao's words excessive in the least; rather, he nodded in hearty approval.

The Emperor of the Great Ming was exactly like this—and the Great Ming itself should be exactly like this.