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

"Marshal, I'm not thinking about anything." Wu Sangui replied very straightforwardly.

He didn't know why the young marshal always called him like that. He was already 29 years old this year and was much older than the young marshal.

Besides, this title always sounds a bit disrespectful.

But at this time, Wu Sangui was very nervous and dared not make Zhang Shikang unhappy because of such a small matter.

After all, Wu Sangui had half the blood of his Zu family, and the imperial court did not trust the Zu family, including Wu Sangui.

"Do you know why I asked you to take over as the vanguard general of the expedition to Liao?" Zhang Shikang asked with a leisurely smile.

"My Lord, I think it must be to recover both sides of the Liaohe River." Wu Sangui still didn't think too much and answered directly.

This is what the vanguard of the expedition to Liaoning should do.

Wu Sangui actually knew clearly that the young commander had asked him to take over as vanguard general not for this reason.

Although he didn't fully understand it, he knew in his heart that this was the safest way to answer without any problems.

"Then can you?" Zhang Shikang asked bluntly.

"No, Marshal," Wu Sangui replied again.

His uncle and a lot of cousins were all good in military affairs. If Guan Ningjin had the ability to recapture Liaohe River with just these few soldiers, why would it have come to this?

"There is only one reason why I appointed you as the vanguard general, and that's because you are very smart." Zhang Shikang gave the answer himself.

Zhang Shikang knew about this as early as when he and Wu Sangui cooperated in fighting outside Jinzhou City to ambush the Jianlu.

This boy looks dull, but he is actually very smart.

In fact, if the Zu family had not been so deeply rooted in Guanningjin, although these Zu family generals were not as capable as Lu Xiangsheng and Sun Chuanting, they would have no problem being generals defending the city.

The reason why Wu Sangui was promoted was, firstly, to allow for a transition, and secondly, this guy had good military capabilities.

After all, fools are incapable of rebellion, but Wu Sangui's rebellion against the Qing Dynasty almost brought the Qing Dynasty to its knees during its most prosperous period.

Wu Sangui was smart and never tried to be clever, which was very much to Zhang Shikang's liking.

Of course, there is another point. He got the girl first, so it’s not excessive to give her some compensation.

"I am stupid and just want to be loyal to the court. Under the leadership of the Marshal, I will one day recover the lost territory for the court." Wu Sangui gave a perfect answer.

He could not recapture the Liao River, but if he was under the wise leadership of the Marshal, there would be absolutely no problem.

"Don't flatter me. I want you to remember three points." Zhang Shikang said seriously.

"Please give your advice, Marshal. I will keep it in mind." Wu Sangui stood up and bowed.

“First, from now on, the Guanningjin defense line must not be in the same situation as before. You must take Zujia’s incident as a warning. I will have the factory guards conduct secret inspections from time to time.

The warlord system, whoever touches it will die."

"I will remember this."

"Second, you must not withhold soldiers' salaries, take up empty quotas, bully the people, or extort money. This is a military rule that all the soldiers of the Ming Dynasty must remember.

Those who have made contributions will be rewarded, and those who have made mistakes will be punished. The court now conferring you the title of earl. If you make further military achievements in the future, His Majesty will not be stingy with your rewards.

But you cannot take what His Majesty does not give you."

"I will remember this."

"Third, you must intensify the training of Guan Ningjin's 40,000 Liao soldiers. I will give you the 4,000 Mongolian war horses given by Huang Taiji.

I want you to use one year to reorganize a cavalry of 8,000 and revive the might of the Guanning Iron Cavalry."

"I obey your command!" Wu Sangui was somewhat excited.

Cavalry was the main theme of this era, and the Marshal handed over a full 4,000 excellent Mongolian war horses to him. At least one thing was certain, the Marshal trusted him.

“In addition, when training the Liao soldiers, you must deliberately guide their resentment towards the Tartars.

You are the vanguard general. If we conquer Liao, I will take you with me. You, the successor, will help recover the lost land of our ancestors." Zhang Shikang stared at Wu Sangui and said.

"Replying to the commander, I, an old soldier from Liaodong, have never forgotten my hatred for the Tartars. I can guarantee this.

The Marshal has entrusted me with the important task of conquering Liao. I feel deeply honored and will never let you down!" Wu Sangui knelt on one knee and said.

"Get up." Zhang Shikang said casually.

"Liu Zhaoji was transferred to Jinzhou and appointed as the general of Jinzhou.

As for Ningyuan, Songshan, Xingshan and other places, you are more familiar with the generals of the Liao army at all levels, so you can select generals from the army to appoint.

Remember, loyalty is respected and ability is important.

Finally, I gave Guan Ningjin's 40,000 Liaodong soldiers a number. "

Wu Sangui raised his head slightly and asked what the number was.

"Let's call it the Resentful Army." Zhang Shikang said calmly.

The Yuan Army was originally the name of the team led by General Guo Yaoshi of the Liao Kingdom. At that time, the situation of the Liao Kingdom was similar to that of the Ming Dynasty at that time.

When the land of Liao was occupied by Jin, Guo Yaoshi recruited people from Liaodong as soldiers, trying to take advantage of the Liaodong people's resentment towards the Jurchens to regain the land of Liao.

History is so similar. In the present Ming Dynasty, Liaodong is occupied by the Jurchens again. The Jin Dynasty and the Later Jin Dynasty were all inhabited by the Jurchens. The people of Liaodong are also resentful and angry about the Jurchens occupying their hometown.

After this meeting, Guanningjin returned to peace again. Officials from the Ministry of Revenue had arrived in Guanningjin, and the only three cities outside the Great Wall of the Ming Dynasty also began a series of reforms.

On February 20th, Zhang Shikang led 10,000 guards from Shanhaiguan and headed westward to Xuanfu Town.

On the same day, the Zu family, led by Zu Dashou, set off for Beijing.

They have been guarding Guanningjin for decades, and many of them have never even been to the capital.

But the Zu family did not seem to be frustrated by the removal of their military power. With four titles in one family, no one dared to provoke such an honor, at least in the current court.

Their faces were filled with longing for a new life in the future, and they never bowed their heads even in the biting cold wind.

Zhang Shikang even arranged accommodation for them. Now, not only do they no longer have to worry about the court's distrust, the younger generation such as Zu Zeyuan have even begun to plan for the future.

The future that Zhang Shikang gave them.

Zhang Shikang himself, with his 10,000 loyal guards, headed westward and finally arrived at Xuanfu Town eight days later.

Xuanda Governor Lu Xiangsheng personally went out of the city to welcome him.

Speaking of which, Zhang Shikang hadn't seen Lu Xiangsheng for more than a year since the Battle of Jingshui.

At this time, Lu Xiangsheng's face no longer had the gloom of oppression from Gao Qiquan and Yang Sichang. He was wearing bright armor, and although his face was weathered, he was in good spirits and full of energy.

"Governor Lu, how are you?" Zhang Shikang dismounted from his horse and bowed to Lu Xiangsheng.

……

PS: I’m not in good shape, I’ll update tomorrow.