Late Ming Dynasty: Oops, I am surrounded by the Donglin Party

Zhang Shikang made fun of himself, which immediately caused everyone to burst into laughter.

The serious atmosphere disappeared in an instant.

Zhang Shikang was like this, serious when necessary, but now that they had won the battle, there was no need for him to be so tense.

"We have trapped Huang Taiji's 10,000 soldiers this time. Do you think Huang Taiji will be furious when he gets to know the news?" Zhang Shikang asked everyone after taking a sip of tea.

If Zhang Shikang remembered correctly, the total number of Jianzhou Jurchens at that time was no more than four or five hundred thousand.

This also includes the Haixi Jurchens and the Wild Jurchens. If we only count the Jianzhou Jurchens, it is estimated that there are no more than 200,000 of them.

Even though the Jurchens were brave and their rate of conscription was higher than that of the Ming Dynasty, the base number was there. The Eight Banners of Manchuria had only 60,000 to 70,000 elite soldiers at most.

In the two battles of Jiazhuang and Jingshui, a total of thousands of people from the Eight Banners of Manchuria were killed. Last autumn, Lu Xiangsheng designed a plan to trap Huang Taiji and killed nearly two thousand people.

In just one battle today, more than 4,000 elite soldiers of the Bordered Blue Banner were killed. This means that Zhang Shikang had killed more than 10,000 so-called elite soldiers of the Eight Banners before he even tried his best.

Zhang Shikang didn’t know what Huang Taiji was feeling, but if he were Huang Taiji, he would probably be very heartbroken.

After all, he was a man who could use artillery to attack the city, but he was unwilling to see his subordinates sacrifice their lives. So it didn't matter if he went slowly. He was not in a hurry anyway.

A group of Zu family members started to mock Huang Taiji one after another. After Zhang Shikang eased the atmosphere, the Zu family members also became lively.

"General, I originally wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to trick Huang Taiji into the city, but this plan is very risky.

Huang Taiji was very cautious. From the letter he wrote to me, we can see that he was not only cautious but also patient.

I was worried that I would not be able to catch any water with a bamboo basket, so I took the initiative to set my target on Jirgalang." Zu Dashou explained.

"You did a good job, but greed is not the way to go.

I will personally report this achievement to Your Majesty. Thank you all for your hard work.

I think Huang Taiji will be here soon, so you should go and arrange the city defense first." Zhang Shikang said to everyone.

Yizhou City is not far from Jinzhou. The scouts have just reported that Huang Taiji will lead the army to Jinzhou in half an hour at most.

He had betrayed so many people to Huang Taiji at once. There was no guarantee that Huang Taiji would get so angry that he would directly attack Jinzhou City. The necessary defenses should still be deployed with caution.

Zu Dashou also wanted to leave, but when he reached the door he turned back.

"If the Marshal has any orders, you can ask me to carry them out." Zu Dashou said very strangely.

Zhang Shikang immediately guessed what Zu Dashou was thinking, and said:

"Oh, you are probably still worried about your ancestral home, right?"

Zhang Shikang had previously told Zu Dashou that the imperial court wanted to completely win over Guan Ningjin and even the entire Nine Frontiers.

This is not just talk. The aristocratic and warlord-like nature of the nine important border towns can be seen by just looking at Zujia.

It doesn't seem easy to solve this problem. Zu Dashou knows that after this incident, he is probably safe, but the Zu family has complex roots in Guanningjin, and as the head of the family, he cannot just ignore it.

"Marshal, if I retire, could you please tell me how you plan to deal with them?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Shikang rubbed his temple with his index finger and did not answer immediately.

"My two brothers and I are not young anymore. If I tell them, they will agree to retire with me.

However, the nephews and nieces of the Zu family, Zeyuan, Zerun, Zukuan, Zuwen and others, are all in their prime.

My ancestors have been guarding the border for the imperial court for generations. They can do nothing but fight. If they don't lead troops, what else can they do?" Zu Dashou said with great worry.

"General Zu, you should know that there is nothing we can do about this." Zhang Shikang continued to rub his temples.

The Zu family treated the Liao soldiers like their own servants and used the military pay of soldiers from other garrisons in exchange for their loyalty.

This resulted in a situation where whenever someone from the Zu family was in charge of the army, the Liao soldiers would only know the Zu family and not the imperial court.

There is only one answer to solve this problem, and that is that there are no more people from Liaodong who have their ancestral home. This is the first step.

The second step is to let the court's grace fall upon everyone and let the Liao people understand that it is the court that is supporting them with real money.

Of course, this was Zhang Shikang's consideration from the perspective of the imperial court, but from Zu Dashou's perspective, as the head of the Zu family, it was indeed a very difficult matter.

After all, this concerns the future of many members of the Zu family. If they all retire, it will undoubtedly be a huge blow to the Zu family.

"How about this, Wu Sangui will stay, and I will make other arrangements for the others.

From now on, I plan to establish a school specializing in teaching military affairs in the suburbs of the capital.

Including military regulations, various tactics, battle formations, the use of cold and hot weapons, etc.

Those in the family who have command ability and combat experience can enter this school to teach.

You also know that I have suggested to your majesty that the household registration restrictions on the people be lifted completely. If the ancestral family has more descendants, they can also take the imperial examinations, engage in business, and of course, join the army, but they must avoid the Guanningjin defense zone. "

Zhang Shikang thought about it carefully and said.

Most of the people in the Zu family have mediocre military capabilities. For example, Zu Dashou is quite good at defending the city, but he is very ordinary in other aspects, far behind Lu Xiangsheng and Sun Chuanting.

On the contrary, Wu Sangui is a smart guy with no problem of loyalty, so he can serve as a transition to ending the familyization of Guanningjin.

In today's Ming Dynasty, whether it is the Imperial Guards or the Tiger Guards, the literacy rate is not high, and many middle and low-level generals are illiterate.

Zhang Shikang had long had the idea of building a military academy, so that generals stationed in various places could take turns to come to the capital for further studies.

It can not only enhance the army's command and combat capabilities, but also strengthen the relationship between the central army and local armies to a certain extent.

"Thank you, Marshal! Thank you, Marshal!" When Zu Dashou heard that Zhang Shikang was really thinking about the Zu family, how could he not be grateful.

No matter what, there will be no problem with making a living. If you are teaching military generals, it is also a decent job.

At this time, Sun Weifan came in from outside.

"Marshal, Huang Taiji has led his army to Jinzhou City." Sun Weifan reported.

"Well, I'll be there soon." Zhang Shikang sent Sun Weifan away, and then said to Zu Dashou, who was filled with gratitude:

"General Zu, there is no need to do this. Your Majesty has handed over the military affairs to me, and I have the power to deal with all the soldiers in the world.

I will never let the soldiers who have risked their lives for the court feel disappointed." Zhang Shikang patted Zu Dashou on the shoulder and walked out of the city lord's mansion.

When he climbed up to the top of Jinzhou City wearing golden armor, there were still traces of blood from the fight that took place several hours ago.

But this did not affect Zhang Shikang's mood at all. After doing such a big thing, he wanted to see what expression Huang Taiji had.

Even Zu Dashou said that Huang Taiji was cautious and patient, so he must have been a guy with a bad temper.

Zhang Shikang never believed it because someone had told him before that Chongzhen and Yang Sichang had good tempers.

But Zhang Shikang always made people very angry.

He looked outside the city and saw flags waving. Wow, there must be at least 20,000 to 30,000 people.

Especially at the front of the battle formation, the flags raised were all bright yellow. Zhang Shikang recognized the fat man in bright yellow clothes at a glance.

So he smiled and waved at the fat man, and said loudly:

"Hey, you are Huang Taiji, right?"

……