Ming Empire

Chapter 283 The Situation Gradually Calms Down

Establishing arsenals, gunpowder workshops, and new-style military camps in Beijing are some of the things Cao Yue thinks he needs to do most after the situation in Beijing is basically under control.Beijing is nearly [-] miles away from Nanjing. Even if the canal is unblocked, it would take months for a ship to arrive from Nanjing, and at least a few days or even ten days to arrive from Shandong.It takes longer to travel by land. If the military supplies of the northern army must be transported by canal or land, there is no way to support a larger-scale war.

Military manufacturing in the north will soon be established and restored, and we will strive to produce artillery, muskets, and ammunition in a relatively short period of time.

Originally, there were firearms workshops in Beijing and other important towns in the north. After Jiannu occupied the northern provinces, these firearms workshops were not destroyed, but some of them were taken over by Jiannu.Although these workshops cannot produce new firearms and muskets, they can produce old-fashioned artillery and muskets, not to mention the production of gunpowder.Gunpowder is one of the most necessary raw materials for firearms warfare. With it, there is no artillery or muskets, and wars can still be carried out. Therefore, including Beijing, the firearms workshops in the recovered cities have started large-scale production.

Cao Yue plans to build new arsenals in Beijing, Datong, Taiyuan, Wuchang, Jinan and other important cities in the next time to manufacture new firearms and ammunition.But Cao Yue also knew that it would take at least one or two years for the arsenal in the north to produce weapons and ammunition. After all, it would take a lot of time to purchase and install machines and various raw materials.

What Cao Yue lacked the most was technology and craftsmen. After the situation calmed down, he was going to find a way to find more talents in this field from the West for use by Daming.Not only talents in weapon manufacturing, but also talents in various other natural sciences and humanities must find ways to find ways to develop Ming's scientific and technological productivity, build more new schools, and train more talents.

The threat of establishing slavery can be said to have been temporarily eliminated. The remnants led by Dorgon and Duoduo who fled in embarrassment can hardly pose a threat to the Ming army living on the front line of Beijing.What Cao Yue needs to be most wary of now is the resurgent bandits.Cao Yue didn't expect the situation to become like this. If he had known earlier, he would have let Jiannu fight the rogues a little more tragically, so that Li Zicheng would never have a chance to make a comeback.

It is Cao Yue's helpless feeling that people are not as good as heaven.The matter of cleaning up the bandits and quelling the rebellion in Shaanxi and Sichuan can only be done by the Ming Guards.But Cao Yue was not in a hurry, he didn't think about sending troops to fight against the bandits now, but was prepared to wait.

Waiting for the strength of the Daming Guards to become stronger, so strong that even the rogues would be afraid to hear it.Restoring the places controlled by the imperial court, so that all the people can live a good life, then the rogues will have no reason to rebel and resist the imperial court. Even if they continue to rebel, they will gradually lose popular support and eventually decline.Maybe at that time, there is no need to send troops to exterminate them, and the bandits will automatically disband.

Cao Yue told Cao Bianjiao what he meant. After Cao Bianjiao heard this, he also agreed with Cao Yue's proposal. He would not use troops against the rogues for the time being. Some able persons from the outside world dug over and gradually weakened the strength of the rogues.

What the Ming court has to do now is to eliminate the slaves, rebellious soldiers, and bandits in the five northern provinces first, stabilize the order in this newly recovered land, resume production, and let those displaced people have homes, houses, and fields. .

Because of the defeat of Jiannu, Bumbutai, Zhezhe, and Fulin announced that they would surrender to Ming Dynasty. The situation in the five northern provinces changed in a short period of time. In the past, there were officials and people welcoming Wang Shi everywhere. Those former officials of the Ming Dynasty who had thrown themselves into the arms of Jiannu changed their appearances and regarded themselves as officials of the Ming Dynasty.Cao Yue had issued a secret order for these sloppy officials, and they must be severely punished, but when the occupation had just resumed, he had to rely on them to maintain order.

Cao Yue sent a secret letter to Sun Chuanting, asking the court to immediately send a large number of officials northward to manage the recovered lands, and at the same time, asked Sun Chuanting to work out how to deal with these traitorous officials.Those who have been traitors are destined to end badly. This is the minimum requirement given by Cao Yue.As for how to deal with it, I will leave it to Sun Chuanting and other ministers in the court to discuss.

What Cao Yue wants is the stability of the north, and also to teach those traitors a lesson, and use the fate of these people to teach future generations, don't be a traitor again and harm the people, there will be no good end.

The strategy of combining suppression and appeasement was very effective. The important towns in the five northern provinces returned to Daming in a very short period of time.The troops of the Northern Expedition of the Ming Dynasty Guards were stationed in these important military towns to maintain local law and order, and to guard against possible sneak attacks by slaves and rogues.

After Cao Yue arrived in Beijing, the fighting did not completely subside.The war with Jiannu and Wu Sangui's Guanning army continued.After Beijing was recovered, Shanhaiguan was still occupied by Jiannu, and later Cao Yue sent Huang Degong to attack Shanhaiguan.Jiannu originally planned to abandon Shanhaiguan, and Dorgon did not send heavy troops to guard it. This important town guarding the pass and the throat passage in the pass was quickly captured, and Huang Degong personally led the army to guard it.

Wu Sangui's Guan Ning Army acted as the vanguard of massacring the Han people when Jiannu entered the customs. The Wu Sangui brothers knew that Cao Yue would not spare them, so they gave up the idea of ​​returning to Ming Dynasty and followed Jiannu all the way. I went out of customs.However, many generals and sergeants in the Guanning Army were unwilling to leave their homeland and wandered on the grasslands. They chose to escape secretly, escape home or surrender to the Ming Guards. In the end, only less than 3 people followed the Wu Sangui brothers. People and horses.Cao Yue didn't send troops to chase them down, and let them escape from the pass.

Winter was approaching, and it was not the time to go out to fight. In addition, Cao Yue also wanted the Ming Guards to rest for a while and consolidate the rear, so he allowed Jiannu and Wu Sangui's troops to withdraw outside the pass.

The rogues led by Li Zicheng, after chasing Azig's troops to Henan, because they were afraid of the Ming Guards and were afraid of being hit hard by the Ming Guards, they wisely chose to retreat and retreat to Shaanxi.Cao Yue did not order the Ming Guards to pursue them, but only ordered a few guards to garrison Henan. If the enemy came to attack, they would resolutely fight back, but did not take the initiative to attack.

When winter came, the fighting in the north basically calmed down. There was no trace of slavery in the south of the Great Wall, and the bandits retreated to Shaanxi and Sichuan, not daring to provoke trouble easily.For a moment, it seemed that the whole world had calmed down, and many people even had the illusion that the war was over, even the soldiers of the Ming Guards stationed in the north were like this.

Before the severe winter, Cao Yue chose to leave Beijing and return to Nanjing.

(End of this chapter)