I was living at the end of the Ming Dynasty, and I dealt a brutal blow to the Eight Banners!

Ningyuanwei was the official residence and government office.

The supervising officer, Zhang Ruoqi, was drafting a memorial, hoping to embellish the situation in Liaodong so that he could ask the court for more grain and money.

But after trying for a long time, he couldn't utter a single word.

Just as he was deep in thought, he heard shouts coming from outside:

"Great victory! Great victory! Great victory!!!"

"Great victory at Jinzhouwei! General Zhang Jingchuan of Liaodong has captured Jinzhouwei and recovered lost territory!"

"A great victory at Donghai Fort! General Zhang Jingchuan of Liaodong annihilated thousands of Qing troops with only a dozen wounded and old soldiers! Prince Regent Dorgon was seriously wounded! Huang Taiji was so enraged that he vomited blood and fell seriously ill!"

Zhang Ruoqi was taken aback. He had just finished compiling his own memorial, how come there were already reports of victory outside?

Could it be that Ma Shaoyu beat him to it?

Thinking of this, Zhang Ruoqi quickly ran out of the mansion and asked the messenger who was shouting in the city, "Who told you to shout here?"

"Reporting to the military supervisor, it was the commander-in-chief who ordered me to spread the news of this great victory throughout the city," the messenger reported truthfully.

This Ma Shaoyu fabricated a great victory without even informing me, leaving me here racking my brains.

After letting out a cold snort, Zhang Ruoqi pulled the messenger off his horse, then mounted his own horse and went to the north gate tower to reason with Ma Shaoyu.

After Hong Chengchou and Zu Dashou surrendered to the Qing Dynasty, the court appointed Ma Shaoyu as the temporary military commander of Jiliao, in charge of the troops in Liaodong.

Zhang Ruoqi climbed the north gate tower and saw the soldiers on the city wall cheering and celebrating their great victory at the front. He became even angrier.

He stormed into the military council chamber where Ma Shaoyu was, and saw Ma Shaoyu writing furiously. He was immediately enraged and said in a fit of anger:

"Ma Chengyu (Ma Shaoyu, courtesy name Chengyu)!"

Ma Shaoyu looked up and saw that it was Zhang Ruoqi. He grinned and said, "Brother Tianshi, have you heard the news?"

"You idiot Ma Chengyu!" Zhang Ruoqi said indignantly, "You fabricated military achievements, fine, but why didn't you inform me?"

"Huh?" Ma Shaoyu looked at Zhang Ruoqi with a puzzled expression.

“Listen to these fabricated military achievements you’ve made up,” Zhang Ruoqi said angrily. “Recapture the lost territory of Jinzhouwei? Does Zhang Jingchuan have that ability? With just his few dilapidated ships in Donghai Fort?”

Ma Shaoyu was taken aback, staring blankly at the furious Zhang Ruoqi.

"And that Donghai Fort, with just a dozen or so wounded and old soldiers, annihilated thousands of Qing elite troops, severely injured Dorgon, and even made Huang Taiji vomit blood!" Zhang Ruoqi gritted his teeth and said, "Even the storytellers in the capital wouldn't dare write something like that. Do you think those ministers in the court are all fools?!"

Ma Shaoyu frowned, but still didn't say anything.

Zhang Ruoqi sighed and said, "Even if you want to fabricate military achievements, you should at least discuss it with me first. How are you going to clean up this mess by having messengers shout it all over the city like this!"

"Pfft!" Ma Shaoyu suddenly burst out laughing: "Hahahaha..."

"You're still laughing!" Zhang Ruoqi glared at Ma Shaoyu. "Do you know how much trouble you've caused?!"

"Hahahaha," Ma Shaoyu laughed and said, "Brother Tianshi, calm down and sit down for some tea."

As he spoke, Ma Shaoyu took a cup and poured tea for Zhang Ruoqi.

"Hmph!" Zhang Ruoqi snorted coldly, picked up the teacup, drank the tea in one gulp, and then slammed it down on the table.

“Brother Tianshi, please calm down,” Ma Shaoyu said with a smile. “This good news came from Songshan and Donghai Fort, not from me.

then,

Ma Shaoyu handed the two folded documents on the table to Zhang Ruoqi.

He opened his mouth and said:

"The one above was sent by someone after Huai'an captured Jinzhouwei, and the one below was passed back by the Embroidered Uniform Guard's spies in Songshan."

Zhang Ruoqi paused for a moment, then quickly flipped through the memorial.

The memorial detailed how Zhang Jingchuan used the ships lent to him by Zheng Zhilong to capture Jinzhouwei, and the purpose of capturing Jinzhouwei.

The purpose, of course, was to force the Qing army to divide its forces and return to reinforce Ningyuanwei, thereby relieving the pressure on Ningyuanwei.

Of course, Zhang Jingchuan also hoped that the imperial court would support his development in Jinzhouwei.

The second memorial is actually a record, which concisely records what happened when Dorgon led his army into Donghai Fort, as well as Huang Taiji's reaction after learning about it.

After reading the two volumes,

Zhang Ruoqi turned his gaze to Ma Shaoyu and exclaimed, "If these two memorials are sent to the capital, they will surely cause a stir in the court and among the people!"

Ma Shaoyu smiled and nodded.

"Aren't you afraid that Zhang Jingchuan will become the next Mao Wenlong?" Zhang Ruoqi asked hesitantly.

“As long as he’s one of us,” Ma Shaoyu said slowly, his eyes narrowing slightly, “so what if he’s the second Mao Wenlong?”

“He’s one of Wu Sangui’s men!” Zhang Ruoqi said solemnly.

“Huai’an and Wu Sangui have always been at odds,” Ma Shaoyu said with a smile. “That’s why he has long since pledged allegiance to our side. Otherwise, why would I have petitioned the court to appoint him as the General of Liaodong?”

Zhang Ruoqi raised the corners of his mouth and said in a calm tone, "In that case, let's submit a memorial to Lord Chen together."

……

"Great news! A major victory in Liaodong!"

A rider galloped swiftly along the main street of the capital, whipping his horse and shouting at the same time.

Upon hearing the shouts and the sound of horses' hooves, the people on the street quickly made way for the riders. Many of them lost their balance and fell to the ground, but they did not curse the galloping couriers. Instead of brushing the dust off their clothes, they cheered excitedly after getting up.

"Good news? The battle in Liaodong has been won?"

"The Ming army is mighty!"

"After so many years, our Great Ming has finally given the barbarians a good beating!"

The people of the capital were initially skeptical, but after confirming from the surrounding people that the news of victory came from Liaodong, they were all deeply moved.

The old man with gray hair, leaning on his cane, looked shakily at the courier riding away. He didn't speak, because his wrinkled face was already streaked with tears.

The child licked the candy in his hand, turned to his father and asked, "Dad, what's the good news?"

The young man picked up his son, pinched his nose, and said affectionately, "The good news is that our soldiers have driven the bad guys away."

The child tilted his head and asked, "Aren't we going home?"

"Go buy two ounces of meat first, and have your mother stew it for you!" the young man grinned.

Inside the restaurant, the manager had just come from the back courtyard to the front hall when he saw the waiter looking anxious, so he asked, "What happened?"

The servant replied, "Manager, we've sold out of drinks today!"

The shopkeeper frowned, puzzled, and asked, "What's going on?"

"Great victory in Liaodong! Lots of people are coming to buy wine!"

"What!?" The shopkeeper was shocked and asked incredulously, "You mean the great victory in Liaodong?"

The servant nodded.

"Hahahaha," the innkeeper laughed loudly, "Quickly, tell the customers in the shop that this meal is on me!"

……