Wind Rises in North America 1625

Chapter 220: Expelling People
September 9, Lushunkou.

In the fourth year of the Hongwu reign of the Ming Dynasty (1371), Ming army generals Ma Yun and Ye Wang led their troops across the sea from Dengzhou and landed on the Liaodong Peninsula. Because the sea journey was smooth, they renamed the landing point Lushunkou, which means "smooth journey".

As early as the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the Liaodong Peninsula, including Lushun, was incorporated into the sphere of influence of the State of Yan.

At that time, Lushun was called Jiangjunshan. In the Qin and Han dynasties, it was called Dazhu, in the Wei and Jin dynasties, it was called Mashijin, in the Sui and Tang dynasties, it was called Dulikou, and in the Liao and Jin dynasties, it was called Shizikou.

However, for more than a thousand years, Lushunkou has always been a small fortress or a military stronghold. Even though there is the legend of Honglu Well, the story of Ma Yun and Ye Wang, the regret of Yuan Chonghuan killing Mao Wenlong, and it is also the garrison of the Dongjiang Town Navy Camp, Lushunkou is still an unknown "small place", and its strategic significance is far less important than in later generations.

Lushun Fort consists of two cities, north and south, which were reinforced on the basis of the old city during the Yongle period. It is made of rammed earth inside and brick-clad outside. It is equipped with several battlements and enemy towers. It is the most important military city of Dongjiang Town on the Liaodong Peninsula.

The north and south cities are about 200 meters apart. The circumference of the north city is 1,100 meters. The moat is four meters deep and six meters wide. The south gate is called Jinghai and the north gate is called Weiwu.

The circumference of the South City is 1,130 meters, and the moat is four meters deep and eight meters wide. The south gate is called Tongjin and the north gate is called Renhe.

The North City is mainly used for garrisoning troops, and the South City is mainly used for storage.

Since May, Huang Long sent troops from Pi Island to suppress the rebels such as Chen Youshi and Mao Chenglu. In less than a month, he gradually recovered the Liaohai islands, broke through Lushunkou, and drove all the rebels to Dengzhou, basically stabilizing the situation in Dongjiang.

After that, Huang Long made Lushunkou his headquarters and commanded all the troops in Dongjiang Town from there, thus indirectly getting rid of the constraints of the old Dongjiang forces in Pidao.

More than a month ago, Huang Long launched an uprising from Lushunkou and raided Dengzhou across the sea. Under the cover of several gunboats from Xinzhou, he successfully destroyed almost all the warships of the rebel navy, cutting off the rebels' escape route across the sea. This was a great victory in Dengzhou.

After the battle report was sent to the capital, it immediately shocked the court. Emperor Chongzhen was very pleased and appointed Huang Long as the Left General, the Chief of the Outer Guards, and awarded him 300 taels of silver.

Not long after, the Ministry of War also sent a reward of one thousand taels of silver, two hundred pieces of silk, and one hundred jars of imperial wine.

At the same time, he ordered the Liaodong New Salary Office to deliver all the food and wages owed to Dongjiang Town for more than seven months to Lushun to comfort the entire army.

For a time, Dongjiang Town became the most dazzling star among the Ming army, attracting the attention of countless people.

Lushunkou also became the focus of public opinion. Various forces such as the imperial court's Ministry of War, the Liaodong Governor, the Liaodong Regional Commander, and the Liaodong Military Preparations Commissioner came one after another to see how this Dongjiang Town suddenly became powerful again after several years of decline.

Ji Yanlin, the Deputy Director of the Military Affairs Department, finally stepped on solid ground with the help of two strong servants and immediately let out a long breath.

This mission is really going to cost me my life!

A few days ago, at the order of His Majesty and the Minister of War, Ji Yanlin came to Lushun with the imperial edict of rewarding merit and the imperial decree of evaluating merit to personally comfort the officers and soldiers of Dongjiang Town to show the court's grace.

He first spent two days traveling by carriage to reach Tianjin, then requisitioned three sand ships and spent another two days crossing the Bohai Sea, and finally arrived at Lushunkou safely.

For these "high-ranking officials" in the imperial court, pacifying local areas, evaluating merits and awarding rewards have always been lucrative jobs.

With just a simple trip, three to five hundred taels of silver can easily go into your pocket.

In the end, the local officials or military commanders who sent the silver looked so grateful that they were moved to tears. They were afraid that they had not entertained them well enough and had not served them diligently enough, so they tried their best to flatter them throughout the whole process, which made people feel inexplicably sour.

But a trip to Dongjiang Town is a tough job.

This is because the territory of Dongjiang is either above the Liaohai Sea or separated by the Jiannu forces. If you want to come here, you must take a ship and experience some waves before you can see these soldiers.

If you encounter strong winds and huge waves at sea, you will probably lose your life.

Of course, we were lucky enough to arrive in Lushun safely, but the two or three days of sea voyage would still be very painful. Under the rocking of the waves, we were almost vomiting gall, our legs and hands were weak, and our limbs were powerless, which was very embarrassing.

After the sand ship that Ji Yanlin was on arrived at Lushunkou, he called the sailors on board to go to the city to inform Huang Long, the general of Dongjiang Town, and his generals to come to greet him in person. With the help of his entourage, he changed into his official uniform and washed his face in the cabin, and then sat on the deck, waiting for the arrival of the generals of Dongjiang Town.

About half an hour later, a military officer who was waiting at the bow of the ship saw from afar a group of soldiers with the flag of General Huang Long rushing towards the dock. He immediately turned around and reported to Ji Yanlin.

After straightening his black gauze hat and adjusting his official uniform, Ji Yanlin stood up proudly, walked with the square official steps, holding the imperial edict and documents from the Ministry of War, and with full official authority, he was about to get off the boat to meet the soldiers of Dongjiang Town.

However, before he could take two steps, his frail body suddenly tilted and he fell on the deck in a very embarrassed manner. Not only did his official hat fall to the side, but his entire face also came into close contact with the deck, and his nose was bleeding. It was very embarrassing.

Two attendants hurried over, helped the imperial envoy up, and asked someone to bring a towel to wipe his face.

Ji Yanlin was both embarrassed and annoyed, and he waved his hand and slapped the two followers beside him loudly.

The attendant who was slapped immediately knelt down on the deck, kowtowed several times, and apologized repeatedly.

Several military officials who were traveling with them also looked at each other, with their heads lowered and their bodies shaking slightly uncontrollably, obviously trying to suppress laughter.

Perhaps because he was too tired from traveling too much on the sea, Ji Yanlin's legs really couldn't bear the strain. After scolding his followers, he asked them to help him get off the boat carefully.

Stepping on the hard ground of the dock, Ji Yanlin breathed a sigh of relief, and at the same time, he saw the generals of Dongjiang Town standing respectfully by the side, waiting for him to comfort them.

Well, these soldiers are quite considerate and their attitude is quite respectful.

"Your Excellency, Dongjiang Town is impoverished and the conditions are very simple. We are deeply troubled and feel sorry for neglecting you!" Huang Long stepped forward, clasped his fists towards Ji Yanlin, and bowed. He said sincerely, "The wind is strong at the seaside. Please move on and follow us to the city to rest. We will host a welcome banquet for you shortly to comfort you for your journey."

"Hmm..." Ji Yanlin nodded proudly and glanced at the Dongjiang Town military officers who came to greet him.

Wherever his eyes fell, all the generals bowed and saluted, repeatedly saying "Thank you for your hard work, Imperial Envoy", their expressions of humility being beyond words.

"Um?……"

However, when he shifted his gaze to the last row of generals, he couldn't help but frown, and a look of displeasure suddenly appeared on his face.

The Dongjiang garrison troops standing in the back row were naturally military officers of very low rank. Logically, when they saw him, the imperial envoy from the capital, they should have been submissive to show their respect for the court.

But what did he see?
Several military officers, whose uniforms were completely different from those of Ming Dynasty military officers, not only failed to show due respect to him, but instead stared at him with curiosity.

That look, that expression, was as if he were looking at something rare. Furthermore, when he looked over, the other party maintained a respectful attitude, not showing any fear or trepidation due to his status as an imperial envoy, like the other military officers in Dongjiang Town. Where did these killers come from?

"Sir..." Huang Long saw this and quickly said with an apologetic smile, "These generals are naval officers from Xinzhou Huaxia. ...Uh, over a month ago, our Dongjiang garrison defeated the rebel navy in the waters of Dengzhou. It was their tireless assistance and the support of five gunboats that led to this great victory."

"Oh?" Ji Yanlin couldn't help but glance at the Xinzhou generals a few more times after hearing this. He smiled and said, "Since you call yourselves Chinese, why don't you respect the etiquette of the Celestial Empire? Could it be that since you've been stranded in foreign lands, you've become barbarians?"

Oh, this imperial envoy is scolding us for not knowing etiquette and thinking that we are "Chinese people who have entered the barbaric land, so we are treated as barbarians"!
Shu Wendong wanted to say something to him, but when he opened his mouth, he didn't know what to say for a moment, so he stood there in a daze, staring at the other person.

"My lord, they have been away from our Shenzhou Continent for many years. Some subtle etiquette may be different from that of our Ming Dynasty. Please forgive them." Huang Long smiled awkwardly and quickly extended his hand to invite Ji Yanlin to take a sedan chair and go to the city to rest.

If this imperial envoy comes into conflict with the people of Xinzhou and drives them away, it will not be a good thing for our Dongjiang Town.

To intercept the Dengzhou rebels in Liaohai and to launch subsequent attacks against the Jiannu, we still need to rely on their strength.

By the way, these Xinzhou people are really nice.

After defeating the Dengzhou rebel navy and returning to Lushun, they still left a gunboat to assist their Dongjiang Town in blocking the rebels from crossing the sea to the north, in order to cut off their possible attempts to escape to the Jiannu territory, despite the threat of invasion from the Western Barbarians in their homeland of Xinzhou.

In order to enhance the defensive capabilities of Lushun Fort, they generously sold three powerful red cannons to Dongjiang Town at a preferential price.

During this month, they also transferred several gunners from the remaining gunboat to serve as artillery instructors for Dongjiang Town, guiding the officers and soldiers on how to operate the artillery correctly.

When the imperial court sent rewards and unpaid food and wages to Dongjiang Town, Huang Long took the initiative to give them a "thank you fee" of 5,000 taels of silver as a reward for their contribution.

But the other party "threw" the five thousand taels of silver back in exchange for various craftsmen and artists within the jurisdiction of Dongjiang Town, as well as a large number of pack horses, cattle, sheep and other large livestock, and transported them to their immigration transit base.

They did not seem to be very interested in silver, but instead attached great importance to the population, especially healthy young and middle-aged people. They accepted everyone who came and wanted to stuff all the Liao people they got into their ships.

It is obvious that these Xinzhou people are targeting the Liao people in Dongjiang Town and trying to transport more people to their Xinzhou continent to enrich and expand their population base.

To this end, they can provide maritime military support to Dongjiang Town, sell artillery, and jointly deal with the military threat from the Jiannu.

Needless to say, they also have the ability to bring northern goods such as furs, ginseng, deer antlers, and pearls provided by Dongjiang Town to the south for sale. At the same time, they also transport the urgently needed food to Dongjiang Town from the south to feed tens of thousands of Liao people.

Such an ideal partner should not be offended easily.

"Oh, that's right." Ji Yanlin smiled and turned to walk towards the gorgeous sedan chair. "You have indeed lost some of your civility after being stranded in a barbaric land overseas."

"If they were educated, learned etiquette, and had a wealth of knowledge, I wonder if they could withstand the trampling of the Jiannu, suppress the riots of refugees, or fill the empty treasury?" Shu Wendong replied coldly.

"Huh?" Ji Yanlin paused when he heard that, then turned around and looked over in surprise.

These overseas people are so bold!

How dare you argue with me?
"...Do you have any countermeasures?" Ji Yanlin asked sarcastically.

"I'm not from the Ming Dynasty, so what do these problems have to do with me?" Shu Wendong looked at the Ming Dynasty envoy with a half-smile. "Shouldn't resolving the Ming Dynasty's troubles be the responsibility of you, the well-read and strategic officials of the imperial court?"

"Rude and disrespectful!" Ji Yanlin's expression froze, he stared at him fiercely, then turned away.

"The Ming Dynasty was ultimately destroyed by people like this." Shu Wendong muttered to himself as he watched a group of Dongjiang garrison generals escorting the imperial envoy into the city.

When the Ming army generals beside him heard this, they all showed expressions of horror.

Damn it, these Xinzhou people dare to say anything!

"General Huang, are you in Dongjiang Town keeping these overseas barbarians to serve in the army?" When the team just entered the north gate of Lushun Fort, Ji Yanlin suddenly lifted the curtain of the sedan chair and asked Huang Long, who was accompanying the sedan chair, with a gloomy look on his face.

"..." Huang Long groaned inwardly when he heard this. This imperial envoy might be angry with those people from Xinzhou.

"Sir, we in Dongjiang Town can't afford to support those Xinzhou people."

"What do you mean, General Huang?"

"Your Excellency, the salaries of the people of Xinzhou are extremely high, far exceeding the salaries of our Dongjiang Town officers and soldiers."

"How tall is it?"

"The captain, first mate, navigator, gunner, and other officers on the Xinzhou gunboats received a monthly salary of twelve to fifteen taels of silver, while ordinary sailors received five to six taels of silver. In addition, after sailing long distances, they received various additional salaries such as sea allowances and food allowances, totaling around two to three taels of silver."

"Calculated this way, the monthly salary for ordinary soldiers in Xinzhou is as high as seven or eight taels of silver. Such a high salary is far beyond what Dongjiang Town can afford!"

"Hiss..." Ji Yanlin couldn't help but take a breath of cold air after hearing this.

These overseas barbarians are so generous that they pay their ships and soldiers such high salaries. Even the Guanning Army, which is famous for its generous salaries, is far inferior to them.

The Guanning Army had a total of more than 110,000 soldiers, 70,000 of whom were outside the pass and 40,000 were inside the pass. The annual military expenditure was as high as 5 to 6 million taels of silver. On average, each soldier spent more than 50 taels of silver per year.

You have to know that these fifty taels of silver cover the soldiers' salaries, clothing, weapons, food and fodder, etc.

"In this case, these Xinzhou soldiers may no longer be able to stay in Lushun and mix with your Dongjiang Town officers and soldiers, so as not to affect and shake the morale of the army." Ji Yanlin said lightly.

"The Imperial Envoy means..."

"I have no other intentions. General Huang should think about it himself." After saying that, Ji Yanlin lowered the curtain of the sedan chair, sat down in it, and said nothing.

“…” Huang Long was stunned.

Is this to drive the people of Xinzhou out of Port Arthur?
(End of this chapter)