Responsibility can indeed be evaluated in this way.

Compared with Chongzhen, who neither dared to say "peace talks" openly nor was afraid of what others would say about "moving the capital", and was so stubborn as to suffer for the sake of face, Zhu Youxiao can indeed be considered responsible.

Abandoning land and territory and retreating without fighting will definitely become a stain in the history books written by some scholars.

But Zhu Youxiao bravely issued an imperial decree, not looking for a scapegoat or anyone to take the blame. This is my will, if you have anything to say, come to me.

Just for this, Xiong Tingbi was extremely grateful.

He was not afraid of the storm and blocked all the verbal attacks that might be fired at him, which was no different from Wanli's protection of him.

Xing Shenyan and Han Chuming both nodded in agreement. It is probably rare among monarchs in history to have the courage to sacrifice oneself for the country.

"As for whether to abandon or defend Jinzhou, His Majesty still has doubts." Xiong Tingbi stroked his beard and asked, "You don't know this, but it's not too late to tell you now."

Retreating to Ningyuan was certain, but Zhu Youxiao was not sure whether to defend Jinzhou.

Although the historical lessons are profound, the Ming Dynasty paid too much for Jinzhou. Some people in later generations even said that it was a city that brought down an empire.

But Zhu Youxiao also felt that Jinzhou was very important in terms of its geographical location. Wouldn’t it be better if he could defend this key throat that controlled the Liaoxi Corridor?

Xing Shenyan thought for a while and said, "Since a large number of troops are stationed in Ningyuan, if there is a war, Jinzhou may be difficult to rescue."

Jinzhou is located between the Big and Small Linghe Rivers. To go north from Ningyuan to Jinzhou, one has to pass through Tashan, Songshan, Xingshan and other places.

Once the war breaks out, the Later Jin will definitely cut off the route of reinforcement. If any fort is occupied, Jinzhou will become an isolated city.

Han Chuming nodded in agreement and said, "Jinzhou is too far away. If we want to hold it firmly, we need to build forts and strongholds around it as corners and store food for siege. This is very costly and it is not a strategic location."

Xiong Tingbi pondered for a long moment, then nodded slightly, gave a wry smile, and said, "I'm worried about this too, but I'm also trying to reassure His Majesty. I didn't expect this, so I still have to report the truth."

Han Chuming and Xing Shenyan exchanged glances and shook their heads helplessly. Fortunately, the emperor was humble enough to consult Xiong Tingbi. Otherwise, with just one imperial decree, Jinzhou would have become another Guangning.

Throughout history, many people have seen the dangers of defending Jinzhou.

"Jinzhou is a remote and secluded area, not a strategic location. The proposal to repair it back then was a misstep. Now, a tiny project has almost shaken half the world. Although fortunately nothing happened, the situation is still very dangerous."

Yan Mingtai, the governor of Ji and Liao, had a bad reputation, but his analysis in advocating the abandonment of Jinzhou was correct.

Xiong Tingbi did not tell the whole story. Zhu Youxiao wanted to defend Jinzhou in order to see if he could cut off the connection between the Later Jin and Mongolia.

But in Xiong Tingbi's view, Jinzhou's location was not far enough north, and defending it would not achieve the goal of blocking the Later Jin and Mongolia. In other words, Jinzhou was useless.

Reaching out and patting the battlement, Xiong Tingbi showed an expression of emotion.

Once an important city in Liaodong, it has to be abandoned when spring comes and the ice melts. I don’t know when we will see it again.

No, I must recover Liaodong in my lifetime and stand on this towering city wall again to look out in all directions.

……………..

In three years, Xiong Tingbi should be able to train a strong cavalry, as long as it is not as strong as the Guanning Cavalry.

Zhu Youxiao couldn't help but have a lot of random thoughts in his mind when he heard Liu Ruoyu reading the memorial.

"Yuan Chonghuan, Director of the Military Affairs Department, has a report..."

Huh? Zhu Youxiao frowned and looked over, attracted by the name.

According to historical records, when the Guangning Campaign broke out, Chonghuan rode out alone to inspect the area inside and outside the Great Wall. He was surprised to find his subordinate Yuan missing, and his family had no idea where he had gone. Afterward, he returned to the court and reported the situation at the Great Wall, saying, "Give me troops, horses, money, and grain, and I alone can defend this place."

To put it bluntly, Yuan Chonghuan left his post without permission and lost contact with his unit. Even his family didn't know where he went.

It turned out that he had gone to Shanhaiguan and the area outside the pass for a tour, and after coming back he reported: I can defend Shanhaiguan by myself, please give me money and food quickly, don't waste time!

Haha, the young emperor laughed with an ambiguous meaning. Liu Ruoyu couldn't help but stop and look at the emperor.

"What a talent!" Zhu Youxiao sighed, stroking his chin and thinking for a moment before saying, "Go to the Ministry of Rites and the Department of Respect and Justice!"

The Ministry of Rites was mainly responsible for guest etiquette and reception of foreign guests. It was a very leisurely position with no particular authority.

Isn't he a talented person? Why was he assigned to this position? Liu Ruoyu responded, but he was puzzled.

Go and fool the foreigners, well, it seems that there are no foreigners for him to fool.

Zhu Youxiao pursed his lips slightly and quickly put the matter aside.

Zhu Youxiao thought it was impossible for a Later Jin spy to betray the Ming Dynasty.

However, Yuan's ability was only that of a general defending a city. It was just that he was bold and boastful, and was valued by some court officials.

"Shaanxi Governor Zuo Guangdou has reported: After preliminary investigation, the quality of local officials is very low..."

Shaanxi is not a wealthy province, and officials are reluctant to go there, resulting in few Jinshi graduates. This was the problem that Zuo Guangdou believed when he first took office.

Zhu Youxiao nodded and decided to send more of the current Jinshi candidates there. In any case, most of the current Jinshi candidates were sent to local areas for training, rather than being assigned to the Hanlin Academy or other ministries.

As for the newly qualified military scholars, they first studied martial arts, learned the "Officers' Drill Manual", and became familiar with the operation of weapons such as muskets.

The "Officers' Drill Manual" was excerpted and pieced together from Marshal Qi's "Records of Military Training", "New Book of Effectiveness", and "Records of Military Preparations". It was compiled by Sun Chengzong, Sun Yuanhua, Mao Yuanyi and others, and Emperor Zhu Youxiao personally reviewed and revised the book and wrote the title.

The teaching of martial arts was done by Mao Yuanyi and Sun Yuanhua, who were selected from the imperial army, as well as several musket instructors selected from the Beijing camp.

The framework was set up, and as for the staffing, any deficiencies would be corrected and suitable people would be added. Zhu Youxiao also knew that this would take a process.

At the same time, Zhu Youxiao also ordered the Ministry of War to send letters to the Beijing camp and various border garrisons, selecting generals to go to Beijing for study, further expanding the scale and influence of martial arts, and preparing for the next step of military system reform.

In addition to normal admissions, Zhu Youxiao designated several people as special recruits or selected students, and transferred them through documents from the Ministry of War.

Among them were He Kegang, Zu Dashou, and Cao Wenzhao from the Liaodong Army, Kong Youde, Zhang Pan, and Mao Chenglu from the Dongjiang Town, and Sun Yingyuan and Zhou Yuji from the Beijing Camp.

After the Guangning War ended, Zhu Youxiao issued a special decree, requiring all tribes to present prisoners to the imperial court, and designated 500 soldiers from each town to transport heads, flags and other trophies.

Two thousand soldiers from Liaodong, Jinzhen, Dengzhen, and Dongjiangzhen will report to the capital together with the generals and officers from various departments who come to study martial arts.

It can be said that Zhu Youxiao recruited almost all the capable generals and those he was not very confident in to the capital, and trained and redistributed them as the first batch of generals of the new army.