roccoschili Chapter 109 Nurhaci's New Plan
Chapter 109 Nurhaci's New Plan
Chapter 110 Nurhaci's New Plan
Chapter 109 "Wang Xiaoer is only seventeen years old and has only been married for three months. His wife is still waiting for him to come back. Zhao Da's mother is blind and depends on him for support."
Chen Ying realized he was being very hypocritical. To be fair, the losses in this battle were much lighter than in the previous battle on the Sanjiang Plain. The problem was that Chen Ying didn't know the soldiers of the Shahe New Army who died last time. The soldiers were recruited from the Xingzhou Zhongtunwei or from the refugees near the capital. The soldiers were trained by Zhou Bin. Chen Ying didn't have much contact with them. At that time, Chen Ying felt very heavy-hearted, but not as heavy-hearted as this time.
He could name almost all 523 of the soldiers who died in this battle. After a year and a half of living and working together, Chen Ying's relationship with these guards was no longer just that of superiors and subordinates, but more like that of brothers.
Standing amidst the corpses of these fallen soldiers, Chen Ying stood motionless like a statue. His heart was heavy, and he couldn't understand why these people, who could have avoided death, chose to perish with the Jurchens, clinging to the belief that they were destined to die.
"Human life is precious, dog life is cheap, you—"
Chen Ying felt as if a wad of cotton was stuck in his throat, making it hard for him to breathe. Of course, he wasn't stupid, and he knew why these soldiers wanted to die with the Jurchens. It was because these soldiers had lived too hard a life, and they wanted to use their lives to exchange for a better life for themselves and their families.
Chen Ying's standard for compensation for fallen soldiers was based on the imperial court's standard, with an additional 40 taels of silver given to the families of the fallen soldiers, and they were also granted 100 mu of land near Yongming City.
This generous reward made all the soldiers only think about completing the mission; they didn't care about their own lives. Chen Ying pointed at the cold corpses and cursed, "You're all idiots, all fucking idiots—"
Chen Ying felt dizzy and lightheaded. Zhou Bin rushed forward to support him, saying, "General, please take care of yourself."
"Zhou Bin, do you know what? I used to think I could become an excellent general. War is war, and death is normal. But today I realized I was wrong."
Chen Ying's voice trembled with a sob: "I knew them. I knew how many people were in their families, what they liked to eat, when they would laugh and when they would cry. They weren't just numbers; they were living, breathing people. But they died, because of something I said."
Zhou Bin didn't know how to answer Chen Boying's question. As the saying goes, "Righteousness doesn't manage finances, and compassion doesn't command troops," which seemed to be wrong to Chen Boying.
Chen Boying was always extravagant when it came to spending money. For example, he established a research and development group called Fire Ox in Shahewei. In just half a year, he poured 140,000 taels of silver into it. You should know that 140,000 taels of silver is enough to establish an army of nearly 10,000 people. Even the standard of the Shahe New Army is enough to support more than 7,000 people for more than a month.
The problem is that the 140,000 taels of silver were thrown in, but not a single sound was heard. Instead, the explosion killed 19 craftsmen, injured more than 30 people, and resulted in compensation of more than 6,000 taels of silver.
The total number of military households and refugees under Chen Boying's command has now exceeded 500,000. Anyone in need can borrow money from him for emergencies. In particular, if a military household or artisan's family member falls ill, this is practically the death knell for all those below the middle class in the Ming Dynasty.
However, Chen Boying's Shahe Health Center provides free medical treatment every month, yet the health center alone loses tens of thousands of taels of silver every month. This is only because Chen Boying has a good reputation, and countless military households have listened to the health center's needs. They have started to grow their own medicinal herbs, and many military households have followed the doctor into the mountains to collect herbs. Some of the medicinal herbs are even developed by themselves, which reduces costs. Otherwise, they would not have been able to keep up with the losses of 20,000 taels of silver.
Logically, someone like Chen Boying should have gone bankrupt. But the problem is, Chen Boying not only didn't go bankrupt, but he was also incredibly lucky. He had countless skills and a variety of ways to make money for him. Take Lao Cao, the kiln master, for example. He was best at counterfeiting. He produced a batch of imitations of Jingdezhen imperial kiln porcelain. Even the master kiln craftsmen couldn't tell the difference. This batch of porcelain earned Chen Boying more than 60,000 taels of silver. These porcelains were sold directly to Huizhou merchants and exported to Westerners.
Impersonating imperial kilns is a crime punishable by the extermination of nine generations of one's family. Yet, this old Cao secretly carried out the deed. If Zhang Changgeng hadn't discovered the extra sum of silver during his audit, the matter would never have been discovered. There were actually many craftsmen like old Cao who directly imitated the artifacts bestowed by the Tianqi Emperor, making large quantities of porcelain, brocade, and even the folding bed invented by the Tianqi Emperor highly sought-after.
Now Chen Boying not only has no shortage of money, but he is also making more and more money.
In terms of leading troops into battle, which of those famous generals didn't wish their soldiers to become tireless and painless war machines? But Chen Ying was different. With only five hundred or so casualties, plus the number of casualties in the Wolf Cavalry, it was only a little over a thousand. They killed twenty or thirty thousand enemy soldiers, which can be considered a great victory.
But Chen Boying was heartbroken, and this didn't seem like an act; Chen Boying was genuinely sad and distressed.
Just as Zhou Bin was lost in thought, Chen Ying suddenly said, "Pass down the order: all fallen soldiers shall receive double the compensation according to the previously established standards, with each person receiving eighty taels of silver and two hundred mu of military land. Those who are beheaded shall be granted ten mu of land. Their families shall be allocated the best land, exempted from taxes for three years and half tax for five years. Those with children shall be sent to school, with all expenses covered by public funds."
"ah----"
Zhou Bin stared in disbelief: "Sir, in this way, our expenses—"
"Money is not your concern; that's my responsibility. You only need to carry it out!"
Chen Ying had finally figured it out. The soldiers were willing to risk their lives for a better life for their families, so he would let them have their way. If they wanted land, he could give it to them. After all, he had already occupied the coastal plain downstream of the Sanjiang Plain, which covered more than 60,000 square kilometers. In the future, he could occupy the entire Sanjiang Plain.
Of course, the Sanjiang Plain today is not the Sanjiang Plain of later generations. It is not easy to develop. The Sanjiang Plain today is okay in winter, when it freezes as hard as stone. In summer, it is full of grasslands and a lot of marshes, just meadows. Not to mention here, even in Kuandian Liubao, the current terrain and climate are not suitable for farming.
The only area that can be developed under the existing conditions is actually the coastal plain area around Shuangchengwei. Even if it is only more than 60,000 square kilometers, it is enough for him to settle hundreds of thousands or even millions of people.
"Yes, Your subordinate obeys!"
"Furthermore, a cemetery for the martyrs of the Daning Army should be established here. Every year on this day, the government organizes the people to pay their respects. If I were still in office, I would personally pay my respects every year!"
"Yes."
Chen Ying took a deep breath and stepped out of the tent.
The sunlight outside was dazzling, but he felt cold inside. Just then, a commotion arose in the distance.
Chen Ying looked up and saw a group of people walking towards them. The leaders were wearing scarlet official robes of the Ming Dynasty. Although they were covered in dust, they could not hide the shock on their faces.
Zhou Bin whispered, "General, it's the commander and his associates of the Four Garrisons of Xingzhou."
Chen Ying nodded, straightened his robes, and went to greet him. The leading men, upon seeing Chen Ying, quickly stepped forward and knelt down in unison: "This humble general, Liu Yuan, Commander of the Left Garrison of Xingzhou, along with all the officers and soldiers of the Left Garrison of Xingzhou, pays respects to Your Excellency, Commander-in-Chief!"
"This humble general, Wang Han, Commander of the Right Garrison of Xingzhou, along with all the officers and soldiers of the Right Garrison of Xingzhou, pays respects to Your Excellency, Commander-in-Chief!"
"This humble general is Li Chengdong, Commander of the Former Garrison of Xingzhou —"
"Zhang Chengying, Commander of the Rear Garrison of Xingzhou —"
Chen Ying raised his hand: "Get up. You all have had a long journey."
The eight commanders, led by the four leaders, along with sixteen other commanders and their assistants, and twenty-four officers, and dozens of other officials, remained bowed, not daring to raise their heads.
When they arrived, they still held a degree of contempt in their hearts. What real ability could a young man in his twenties, who had climbed to a high position by relying on the favor of the Tianqi Emperor and Wei Zhongxian, possibly have?
Can he clean up the mess left by the Da Ning Commandery?
But at this moment, they were convinced.
Looking around, the battlefield was littered with the corpses of Jurchen soldiers, some mangled beyond recognition by bombs, others charred black by fire. In the distance, groups of prisoners were being led away, their heads hanging low, their faces ashen.
Further away, there were mountains of spoils: warhorses, swords, spears, armor, flags, drums, and countless cattle and sheep. All of this was won by this young man with a thousand personal guards.
They even found it somewhat absurd, but of course they dared not ask Chen Ying. Looking at Chen Ying's back, they slowly asked, "Prefect Zhou, Commander-in-Chief, may I ask—last night, did the Commander-in-Chief really only bring a thousand men?"
Zhou Bin nodded: "One thousand personal guards, eight thousand draft horses."
Liu Yuan gasped.
One thousand men and eight thousand horses pulled grenades and charged into Nurhaci's army of hundreds of thousands.
What kind of insane fighting style is this?
Li Chengdong asked in a trembling voice, "Zhou Da, casualties—what are the casualties?"
"Five hundred and twenty-three members of the Imperial Guard were killed in action, and less than eight hundred horsemen remain."
Everyone looked at each other.
Five hundred and twenty-three, exchanged for more than twenty thousand Jurchen slaves?
This casualty ratio is simply unheard of!
Wang Han suddenly knelt down and kowtowed heavily: "General, you are truly valiant! If we, your humble servants, have been negligent in any way, please punish us!"
Everyone knelt down as well.
Looking at these devout officers, Chen Ying knew very well that as soldiers, no one didn't want to follow a capable general. Huo Qubing was very rude to his soldiers, but he was able to win battles, and his soldiers respected him greatly.
Chen Ying is in a similar situation. He came from a humble military family with no reputation. He entered the Tianqi Emperor's sight by creating the Tianqi model. Thanks to Wei Zhongxian's support, he has now gradually become the commander of the Da Ning region.
As the youngest second-rank military officer in the entire Ming Dynasty, he now commands five guards and thirty-three thousand-household garrisons. However, the officers do not look down on him because of his age and background.
Chen Ying remained silent for a moment, then said calmly, "Get up. You've come at the right time. I have something to tell you."
The officers rose and stood respectfully, their faces filled with reverence, saying, "Please give your instructions, Commander!"
"Men, clean up the battlefield, collect all the Jurchen corpses, chop them up, and leave them in the military fields to fertilize the land."
""
Chen Ying was also very clear that when there was no chemical fertilizer, the newly reclaimed wasteland had very low yields because there were a lot of grass roots and weeds in the land, which competed with the crops for nutrients.
In fact, Chen Ying also knew that after a person dies, the body begins to decompose, but its main chemical components are still organic matter, such as proteins, fats, and carbohydrates. These organic substances are gradually broken down into inorganic matter, such as carbon dioxide, water, and inorganic salts, by decomposers such as bacteria. These substances are actually excellent fertilizers.
Some people grow flowers without using manure or fertilizer, instead collecting animal entrails. Chen Ying's intention was to harvest more grain. After all, even if each of the 20,000 to 30,000 corpses could only yield an extra dou (a unit of dry measure) of grain, it would still add 2,000 to 3,000 shi (another unit of dry measure) of grain. Even a mosquito, however small, is still meat.
The problem is that when the generals heard this order, they subconsciously thought that Chen Boying was too ruthless. The Jurchens were dead, but he still didn't let go of their corpses and piled them up into a mound of corpses. They could understand this, and they knew that this was something many people had done.
To everyone's surprise, Chen Boying actually ordered them to chop up the corpses and use the fertile soil—this was truly fertile soil.
Chen Ying's decision to involve these military households in this work was actually a selection process, designed to acclimatize them to the bloody environment of the battlefield.
"All spoils shall be registered, cataloged, and stored in a unified warehouse."
Chen Ying thought for a moment and said, "From each of your four guards, I will select three thousand able-bodied men, totaling twelve thousand, to be incorporated into the Daning Army. Their treatment will be the same as the Shahe New Army. Those who wish to come are welcome. Those who do not wish to come will not be forced. These twelve thousand men will be stationed in Yongming City and Yongning Port!"
"This subordinate obeys!"
Chen Ying judged that although Nurhaci had been defeated and suffered heavy losses, he was a very proud man. More importantly, he used his military force to intimidate the Haixi Jurchen and other Mongol tribes. If he showed signs of being no match for the Ming Dynasty, the other tribes were likely to betray him. Therefore, he had no choice but to continue fighting and had to win.
Now, Chen Ying's actual combat experience in Shuangchengwei has proven that he is a tough opponent, and Nurhaci will not gain any advantage. He will definitely attack Yongning Port and Yongming City again. Now, nearly 300,000 military households from the four guards have arrived in Yongning, and they can only be temporarily pulled up there.
Just as Chen Ying judged, Nurhaci was indeed unwilling to accept defeat. After three days of rewarding his troops, he sent the Khorchin army to bring over a batch of cattle, sheep and Mongol soldiers, preparing to attack Yongning Port.
Of course, this was not a real attack on Yongning Port. Yongning Port was previously poorly defended, but with hundreds of thousands of people, even if they stood still and let them kill them all, they couldn't kill them all. More importantly, Yongning Port had the cover of warships.
He decided to besiege Yongning Port and force Chen Boying to fight in the field outside the city.
The ideal was very ambitious, but before Nurhaci could put it into practice, he received news that Sun Chengzong had dispatched Ma Shilong, the general of Liaodong, with more than 20,000 Liaodong troops to launch a surprise attack on Liaoyang.
The sky is falling!
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