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

In the end, Zhang Shikang reluctantly accepted the goodwill of the Mongolian tribes.

If this is the price to recapture the south of the desert, then who else but Zhang Shikang can do it?

But he also had his own little plan. If those Mongolian beauties were all fat like Boroch, the worst that could happen was that he would just give them all to Brother Chongzhen.

Anyway, the work is for him, and I am just a poor worker. It is already commendable that I have put in my energy, so how can I also spend my blood and energy?

The meeting lasted for more than an hour. Finally, at Zhang Shikang's instruction, Lu Xiangsheng drafted the charter and listed all the key points mentioned by Zhang Shikang into a document.

In addition to the series of clauses mentioned by Zhang Shikang, the document also stipulated that the Khans of various tribes would personally go to the capital in September to pay homage to the emperor and formally accept the title.

The document was made in multiple copies, and Zhang Shikang stamped it with the seal of the Grand Marshal, and the special envoys of the Mongolian tribes also stamped their own seals.

This deliberation is known in history as the naturalization and flag change. From then on, Mongolia south of the Gobi Desert was officially incorporated into the territory of the Ming Dynasty and became an integral part of the Ming Dynasty.

On July 14, Zhang Shikang returned to the capital at Guihua City, and five days later he joined forces with the Imperial Guards at Shanhaiguan.

This expedition lasted two months, which was neither long nor short. It involved dozens of battles, large and small. The Battle of Guanshan is destined to go down in history.

On the way back, all the officers and soldiers of the Guards were in high spirits.

It can be imagined that with such achievements, the emperor would definitely lead all civil and military officials out of the city to welcome him, and perhaps even give him great rewards.

What does it mean to return home in glory and honor? This is it.

Strangely enough, after we entered Shanhaiguan, it rained heavily for three days in a row, and the roads were extremely muddy.

Zhang Shikang had to temporarily camp on a high ground more than 20 miles away from Yongping City and wait for the rain to stop.

This made Zhang Shikang very depressed. He was wondering why the weather was so abnormal since it was a small glacier.

If this rain falls in Shaanxi, Henan and other places, it will be considered a blessing.

While thinking, Zhang Shikang took a sip of tea. Ma Lingqi was proofreading the book dictated by her husband.

According to Zhang Shikang's plan, this book will be handed over to Song Yingxing and others from the General Administration of Manufacturing when he returns. Since it concerns the important affairs of the country, Ma Lingqi naturally does not want to make any mistakes.

The two were chatting casually when Liu Wenbing asked for an audience outside. Bored Zhang Shikang immediately let him in.

Seeing that Liu Wenbing looked unhappy, Zhang Shikang asked:

"What's going on? Is there a problem with the Jiannu?"

During this expedition, Liu Wenbing did a very thorough job of intelligence work. Otherwise, Zhang Shikang would not have dared to fight in the Guanshan battle.

In Zhang Shikang's mind, military merit is not only earned by soldiers who participated in the war, but also by those who modified new equipment and firearms for soldiers and made outstanding progress.

In addition, intelligence personnel naturally made an indelible contribution.

According to Zhang Shikang's estimation, the military merits accumulated by Liu Wenbing in the wars in the past few years are almost enough to make him a Duke.

"Sir, three days of heavy rain have caused several rivers in Yongping City to swell rapidly, flooding many fields.

I just received the news that the river in Yongping City burst its banks and a flash flood broke out. One side of the city wall was damaged by the impact and many people were washed away by the flash flood.

Wherever the flood passed, the people had no place to live.

My Imperial Guards want to return to the capital as soon as possible, so we may have to take a detour."

Finally, Liu Wenbing said what he thought was most important.

If you want to bypass Yongping, you have to walk at least 300 miles more, which is certainly not a good thing for tens of thousands of troops. People and horses need food, and when there are too many people, it is easy to cause trouble.

But Zhang Shikang frowned when he heard this:

"A detour? Why a detour?"

"But sir, Yongping has become a vast ocean..."

"It's a hell, even the Guards won't take a detour!" Zhang Shikang put the tea bowl heavily back on the table.

He then stood up, paced around the tent for a moment, and called the messenger with a resolute look on his face:

"Pass on my command. All the soldiers of the Imperial Guard must assemble immediately and prepare to rush to Yongping City!"

"As you command!" The messenger took the flag without asking the reason and rushed into the pouring rain.

Liu Wenbing was very puzzled by this. Even though the Guards were elite, there was no need for them to endure hardships.

While taking a detour would increase uncertainty, it would be better to go to the floodplain.

"Your awareness needs to be improved." Zhang Shikang said this for no reason, and then asked Liu Wenbing to put armor on him.

"I have said before that the soldiers of the Ming Dynasty should not be feared by the people.

I used to hear that bandits are like combing out a bushel, and soldiers are like rakes. In the past two years, I have repeatedly issued orders and dealt with dozens of generals, both big and small, and finally improved the situation.

But this is not enough.”

While Zhang Shikang was tidying up his armor, he continued:

"We have been shouting about defending our country for thousands of years. Now I ask you, what does it mean to defend our country?"

Liu Wenbing remained silent, and Zhang Shikang continued:

“I’m afraid all the generals, including the civil and military officials in the court, have confused this word?

Everyone thinks that defending the country means fighting a war, and few people regard defending the country and defending the country as two different things.

This is what I want to do."

It was raining heavily and the Guards camp became very chaotic.

After all, it was an emergency gathering of tens of thousands of troops. Without the assistance of advanced communication equipment of later generations, even elite troops like the Guards could not avoid chaos.

Two quarters of an hour later, the camps were basically integrated. Under the rain, all the soldiers were neatly dressed and holding weapons.

The Guards have strict discipline, and once a military order is issued, it will be carried out resolutely without asking reasons.

However, this emergency assembly made the soldiers somewhat puzzled. Some speculated that the Jianlu were causing trouble again and were unwilling to accept the situation, and they were afraid that the Marshal would lead them to fight back.

There were also speculations that the Mongols might have gone back on their word, and even more outrageous speculations that a coup had taken place in the palace and the Marshal wanted to take them to defend the king.

In short, there are all kinds of guesses.

When Zhang Shikang came in front of the soldiers wearing a straw raincoat, all of them looked straight at the Grand Marshal, because only the Grand Marshal could give them the answer.

"I just received news that the river outside Yongping City has burst its banks, and a flash flood has occurred. The people's fields have been flooded, and their homes have been washed away by the flood."

Zhang Shikang said loudly.

He didn't waste any words and told everyone the answer directly.

The soldiers present, including Sun Weifan, were very puzzled and didn't know what this had to do with their guards.

Disaster relief has always been the responsibility of the imperial court and the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Works. Could it be possible that they, the Imperial Guards, were asked to take part in this?

With the Grand Marshal present, no one dared to speak, just waiting for the Grand Marshal's latest military orders.

After a moment of silence, Zhang Shikang's high-pitched voice sounded again:

"Brothers, I once said that protecting our home and defending our country are not the same thing.

You have just fought a bloody battle with the Jiannu to defend the country, which is a very honorable thing.

But now, the people of Yongping City are suffering, and we need you to protect our home.

I hope you understand that the three armies of the Ming Dynasty are not only the three armies of the imperial court, but also the three armies of the hundreds of millions of people in the Ming Dynasty.

Now, the people of Yongping City need us, and the disaster is a military order!

Spread my military order, all guards, immediately march to Yongping City to provide relief!"

……