Chapter 1683: I Must Win Back the Honor I Lost in My Previous Life!

Zhu Youjian's ultimate purpose in withdrawing the defenses from Jinzhou was still to draw out a portion of elite troops and fierce generals from Liaoxi for the defense of Datong, Xuanfu, and Ji Garrison. Only by holding these three garrisons could Hong Taiji's eastern barbarian soldiers be kept north of the Great Wall. That way the eastern barbarians would have no way to plunder and kill in Shanxi, Northern Zhili, and Shandong.

After putting the great profits of salt on the table, he finally reached an agreement with Sun Chengzong and Yuan Chonghuan, pulling the Liaoxi Army Group, with over one hundred and ten thousand troops on paper, over to his own side.

With the support of the Liaoxi Army Group, reorganizing Datong, Xuanfu, and Ji Garrison became possible.

Don't think the Liaoxi Army Group was a bunch of useless pastries that only ever got bullied by the eastern barbarians in history — in the early Chongzhen years, they were still the foremost military force of the Great Ming. Although they had suffered enough at the hands of the eastern barbarians in field battles, they were still capable of defeating the eastern barbarians in defensive city battles.

That was far stronger than any other troops of the Great Ming, of whatever size or shape!

In the historical Deng-Lai Rebellion, the old Eastern River troops commanded by Kong Youde, who had been trained by Portuguese foreign officers, were beaten to a pulp by the few thousand Liao troops led by Wu Xiang.

From this one can see the strength of the Liao army — and of course, one can also see the strength of the eastern barbarians.

And the garrison troops of the three frontiers of Datong, Xuanfu, and Ji Garrison were far inferior even to the Eastern River army; when the eastern barbarians invaded, they simply could not withstand a single blow.

So the difficulty now before Zhu Youjian was not at all about attacking or defending in Liaoxi and Liaonan, but about reorganizing the three frontiers of Datong, Xuanfu, and Ji Garrison. If the three frontiers of Datong, Xuanfu, and Ji Garrison were not put in order, not only would they be unable to stop Hong Taiji's eastern barbarian troops, they would not even be able to deal with the Chahar tribe, which had been forced by the eastern barbarians to abandon grazing in their old homeland in the bend of the Liao River.

In Zhu Youjian's previous life, he had actually been defeated by the Chahar tribe — truly a disgrace that stretched all the way to Inner Mongolia.

So this time, no matter what, he had to win back his honor!

Yuan Chonghuan had already received his benefits, so of course he had to cooperate a little. He immediately said to Zhu Youjian: "Your Majesty, you may have Man Gui, Zhao Shuaijiao, and Zhu Mei lead thirty thousand troops through the pass. With He Kegang and Zu Dashou here under this subject's command, that is enough to defend Ningyuan and Shanhai Pass."

After hearing Yuan Chonghuan's report, Zhu Youjian asked one more question: "Are these thirty thousand actual troops?"

The meaning was: were there any empty slots?

Although the Liao Garrison had over one hundred and ten thousand troops on paper, its actual strength was at most sixty-some thousand.

"All are actual troops," Yuan Chonghuan replied.

"Good!" Zhu Youjian nodded. "Minister Yuan, Zhu Mei has long garrisoned Shanhai Pass and is loyal and reliable, so I will leave him to you. We will exchange him for Hou Shilu. In addition, transfer Cao Wenzhao and Wu Xiang to Us as well — how about it?"

Cao Wenzhao had been a favored general of Zhu Youjian's in his previous life, so of course he now had to be transferred to his side for service. And Wu Xiang had been the backer of that unfilial son when he first rose to power; the Wu family generals seemed quite capable too, and could also be of use.

As for Hou Shilu, he was also a rare fierce general, and moreover he was a guest army commander, having been urgently transferred from his post as Regional Commander of Guyuan to reinforce Shanhai Pass during the great battle of Ningyuan and Jinzhou.

"If Your Majesty wishes to employ Cao Wenzhao and Wu Xiang, it is naturally their good fortune; how would this subject dare obstruct it." Yuan Chonghuan immediately agreed to Zhu Youjian's request. "As for Hou Shilu, he was originally a guest general. Now that Guanning is quiet, there is no longer any use for him, so naturally he should leave."

Zhu Youjian then glanced at the Minister of War, Wang Zaijin. "Cao Wenzhao and Wu Xiang are both to be transferred into the headquarters army for service. Man Gui and Zhao Shuaijiao are both Left Commissioners-in-Chief — one with the additional title of Grand Preceptor of the Heir Apparent, the other with the additional title of Grand Tutor of the Heir Apparent — neither is an ordinary military officer, and Hou Shilu is also a great general. Minister Wang, how do you think they should be assigned?"

Wang Zaijin thought for a moment and said: "Man Gui and Zhao Shuaijiao can both serve as Regional Commanders of major garrisons. Hou Shilu has long been a Regional Commander of a major garrison. Now that Wang Wei, the Regional Commander of Ji Garrison, happens to be due for transfer, one of the three — Man Gui, Zhao Shuaijiao, or Hou Shilu — can be selected to take over."

"Let Zhao Shuaijiao take charge of the defense of Ji Garrison," Zhu Youjian said. "As for Man Gui, let him succeed Qu Jiazhen as Regional Commander of Datong!"

The Governor-General of Datong, Qu Jiazhen, was a useless man! In his previous life, when the Chahar tribe invaded, he had not dared to fight a single battle. In this life, he could go home and retire early.

"Hou Shilu will shift his garrison to Xuanfu," Zhu Youjian continued. "As for the thirty thousand troops drawn from the Liao Garrison, after deducting each general's household retainers, half will go to Datong and half to Ji Garrison. Hou Shilu was originally a guest general, so there is no need to divide the Liao Garrison's troops with him; he can take his own household retainers up to Xuanfu."

This troop deployment of Zhu Youjian's was of course the result of careful deliberation. Although Xuanfu Garrison was also one of the Nine Frontiers, compared with Datong and Ji Garrison it was far inferior.

Datong had always been known as the foremost of the Nine Frontiers! It administered seventy-two forts and had over one hundred thirty thousand troops on paper. Moreover, it was the frontline against the westward-migrating Chahar tribe, so it required a strong general to garrison it.

Ji Garrison went without saying — it was directly the gateway to the capital, and absolutely must not be lost. During the Jisi Incident, Hong Taiji had broken in precisely through Ji Garrison. So this time Zhu Youjian had sent Zhao Shuaijiao there early, and had him bring fifteen thousand Liao troops to properly hold the Great Wall at Ji Garrison.

Xuanfu, however, was not so important, because behind Xuanfu lay the natural barrier of Juyong Pass. The possibility of Hong Taiji first breaking Xuanfu and then breaking Juyong Pass was zero. In history, Hong Taiji had launched troops through the pass five times, and had never broken Xuanfu city or Juyong Pass.

So sending a Hou Shilu to garrison it was already quite reassuring.

The first year of Chongzhen, third month, Zhangjiakou.

Just as Zhu Youjian was busy transferring troops and generals and adjusting the defenses of the four garrisons of Liao, Ji, Xuan, and Da, Fan Wencheng — who had already shaved his head, parted from his wife, and disguised himself as a lama — had entered Zhangjiakou Fort with a caravan of the Mongol Aohan camp, flying the banner of the Chahar tribe.

At this time, Zhangjiakou was a trade route connecting the interior and the exterior. After the Anda enfeoffment and tribute, Xuanfu and Datong, these two major garrisons that had seen beacon fires year after year, began to settle into peace and quiet. Zhangjiakou Fort also transformed from a former frontline fortress into the greatest thoroughfare of exchange between the Great Ming and the Mongols. Mongol furs and livestock, and the tea bricks, ironware, and salt of the Central Plains, were all traded here.

Even against the great backdrop of the rise of Jianzhou and the westward migration of the Mongol Chahar tribe, the prosperity of Zhangjiakou was not affected in the slightest — and in fact advanced a step further.

The reason for this was that the warring parties always had some transactions to make — some in the open, some in secret. And Zhangjiakou, located near Xuanfu city, was a place of little strategic value but enormous economic value. Although Zhangjiakou was also a pass on the Great Wall, the Great Wall in the Xuanfu area was fortified layer upon layer, so breaking through Zhangjiakou meant little. Moreover, after entering Zhangjiakou, one could not travel far before reaching Xuanfu city. That was an extraordinarily sturdy fortress! In the early Ming it had been the fief of Prince Gu, and in the era of Emperor Wuzong of Ming it had even served as a place where the emperor stayed. So the city walls were extremely solid and not easy to break. Therefore the Chahar tribe, which already controlled the Bashang grasslands north of Xuanfu, had no intention of encroaching on Zhangjiakou either.

And the market of Zhangjiakou had become even more prosperous and bustling because of the arrival of the Chahar tribe.

The mutual market outside Zhangjiakou Fort was noisy and clamorous. Caravan after caravan of camels, caravan after caravan of carts and horses, continuously passed through the market. Merchants dressed in Mongol attire and Han attire loudly haggled everywhere in the market, speaking Chinese one moment and Mongol the next — extremely lively.

Lamas were also extremely common here. The Mongols beyond the pass now all devoutly believed in Lamaism, and because of this had taken a liking to vegetarianism and chanting Buddhist sutras, losing the ferocity of former times.

And on Han territory inside the pass, there were actually also "yellow temples," that is, lama temples, all left over from the era of Yuan dynasty rule, in the northern regions. The number of yellow temples was not small, almost enough to stand shoulder to shoulder with the green temples (Han Chinese Buddhism).

So Fan Wencheng did not even need to keep pretending to be a monk to travel freely within Ming territory.

However, after arriving at the Zhangjiakou mutual market, he did not immediately head south. Instead, he sought out the largest merchant house in the Zhangjiakou mutual market — the old Fan family firm from Shanxi!

The owner of the old Fan family firm was none other than Fan Yongdou, the famously renowned head of the Eight Great Imperial Merchants in history! The Fan Yongdou family had operated in Zhangjiakou for seven generations, specializing in dealings with the Mongols on the grasslands. They were old acquaintances of the Chahar tribe, and through the Aohan camp of the Chahar tribe had also established a line of contact with the Great Jin state.

(End of Chapter)