On February 18, the second year of the Tianqi reign, Shen Yourong led the troops to recapture Changsheng Island and Xizhong Island, and made exploratory landings at Nanxinkou and Beixinkou, making a feint to attack Fuzhou.
On February 19, the second year of the Tianqi reign, the Tianjin Navy not only cruised along the southern coast of Youtunwei to show support, but also sent a part of its troops to reoccupy Donghai Fort (belonging to Guangning Youtunwei, now the southeast beach of Linghai City, Liaoning Province).
Although Donghai Fort was voluntarily abandoned by the Ming army and was not guarded by the Jiannu, and the Ming army that occupied the fort only raised its flags and boarded the ship to evacuate before the Jiannu arrived, it did serve to contain the Later Jin army under the Youtunwei City.
On February 19, the second year of the Tianqi reign, Shen Yourong led his troops into Pulandian Bay at night, landed and attacked, and captured Shiheyi. Over the next day, the soldiers burned down all the surrounding villages and towns, relocated thousands of people, and left on ships.
On February 20, the second year of the Tianqi reign, Mao Wenlong led the Dongjiang Army to reoccupy Hongzui Fort, and another round of village destruction and relocation was launched. He also cooperated well with Dengzhen in the east and the west, making the Jiannu in Jinzhou and Fuzhou lose sight of one thing while focusing on another.
On February 22, the second year of the Tianqi reign, the Dengzhen troops and the Dongjiang Army took joint action, landing on the east and west sides at the same time and besieging the South Gate.
Nanguan, also known as Nanguanling and Nanguan Island, is located at the narrowest part of the Liaodong Peninsula. It is surrounded by the sea on the east and west sides, only more than ten miles apart.
Historically, after Zhang Pan, a general of the Dongjiang Army, occupied Lushun, he proposed to open a canal. This meant digging deep trenches and wide trenches at the narrowest part of Nanguan Island, diverting seawater for self-defense, and setting up forts for defense.
There were only 200 Jiannu soldiers in Nanguan. Seeing the aggressive momentum of thousands of Ming troops, they dared not defend the city and fled to Jinzhou in panic. Nanguan was then recovered.
After occupying Nanguan, thousands of Ming soldiers took advantage of the cold weather to cut wood to build fences and pour water to make ice. In two days, they built a wall of more than ten miles, completely cutting off the retreat route of the Jinzhou Jiannu.
On February 25, the second year of the Tianqi reign, the Tianjin Navy received a report that they were coming to the rescue with all their strength. The three Ming armies had reached 26,000 soldiers, so they went south to surround Jinzhou and besieged this city which was guarded by only more than 1,000 enemies.
At this point, from harassment to siege, the Ming army took advantage of the large number of ships sailing at sea, and also took advantage of the weakness of the main force of the Later Jin army being away and the empty guard, and began the largest encirclement and annihilation operation since the rise of the Jiannu and the repeated defeats of the Ming army.
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In the Imperial Study, Palace of Heavenly Purity.
Zhang Yuer looked at the young emperor in confusion, wondering what had happened to the emperor these past two days.
Zhu Youxiao was seen holding Xiaobai in his hands, sometimes holding it on his head, sometimes holding its two little paws and gazing at it affectionately, and sometimes carrying the cat on his back, holding its two little paws and putting them on his shoulders.
On the one hand, he made all kinds of strange shapes and movements, and on the other hand, he closed his eyes from time to time, muttering to himself, looking weird.
Fly, fly, take me flying, take me to act cool, I will carry you and fly!
Zhu Youxiao finally gave up and put down the cat, which looked like it had lost all hope and kept meowing in protest.
"Meow!" Xiaobai shook his big head, glared at Zhu Youxiao with his heterochromic eyes, jumped a few times, and escaped into Zhang Yuer's arms.
"Your Majesty, would you like to take a rest?" Zhang Yu'er stroked Bai Niangniang with some heartache and smoothed the hair on her head and body.
Zhu Youxiao waved his hand, looking helpless and disappointed, and walked to the sand table, stroking his chin and thinking.
The Later Jin army's defenses of forts and cities close to the sea, such as the Liaodong Peninsula, were mostly lax. They also knew that there were so many forts along the coast and there were simply no troops stationed in all of them.
Historically, Zhang Pan recaptured Lushun and even Jinzhou without much effort, and with only a handful of troops. Strictly speaking, it was the Later Jin army that voluntarily gave up and took them without a fight.
Of course, now is not the time for Mr. Yuan to manage Denglai for several years, show his prowess in naval attacks, and force the Jiannu to retreat.
But from a local perspective, the situation was quite favorable for the Ming army. With over 20,000 men besieging Jinzhou, the defending enemy consisted of only a few hundred Jiannu and a few hundred Mongol vassals, totaling only a few thousand men. This gave them a strong chance of victory.
What is worrying is that the Jiannu from Fuzhou and Gaizhou will come to rescue. Even if they come out in full force, there are only more than 2,000 troops. Relying on the ten-mile ice wall, can the Ming army withstand it?
Zhu Youxiao turned around and looked at Xiaobai again, really hoping to fly again!
Without telephones or telegrams, it took several days for messages to come and go. It was so damn slow.
Shaking his head, Zhu Youxiao sighed and returned to his desk. He picked up the memorial, looked at it for a while, and then threw it away. He ordered the palace servant, "Send Liu Ruoyu over."
It’s not that I can’t understand the memorials, it’s just that there are no punctuation marks, and it’s too tiring to read.
Before Liu Ruoyu arrived, a palace maid reported that Zou Yuanbiao, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, came to see him.
Zhu Youxiao asked the palace maid to summon him, waved his hand, and asked the palace maid to bring the embroidered cushion.
"This old minister pays homage to the emperor. Long live the emperor!" Zou Yuanbiao knelt down and kowtowed as soon as he entered the hall.
"Mr. Zou, please excuse me." Zhu Youxiao raised his hand from the imperial throne and said, "Please take your seat."
Zou Yuanbiao kowtowed again, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace."
After Zou Yuanbiao sat down on the embroidered cushion, Zhu Youxiao asked, "Mr. Zou has repeatedly requested to resign. Is it because of the impeachment petitions filed by Zhu Tongmeng, Guo Yunhou, Guo Xingzhi, and others?"
Zou Yuanbiao bowed and said, "I am old and frail, and can no longer serve the state. I am writing this petition to resign. I hope Your Majesty will grant my permission."
Zhu Youxiao pursed his lips. Zou Yuanbiao didn't file a complaint, which he considered a gentlemanly act. But he had already investigated the motives of those who had been making these incessant accusations.
As the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, Zou Yuanbiao's job this year is to be in charge of the assessment of officials from other places. Next year is the time for the imperial examination. Guo Yunhou and others want to drive Zou Yuanbiao away because they are worried that it will be disadvantageous to themselves.
Besides, because he called on his officials to eliminate their prejudices and work together, some people wondered if he was old and had lost his temper.
Even within the Donglin faction, many people laughed at him for being indecisive. This was also one of the reasons why Zou Yuanbiao asked to leave.
After a pause, Zhu Youxiao said slowly, "Since Mr. Zou is so eager to leave, I will grant your permission."
"Your Majesty, I thank you for your grace." Zou Yuanbiao knelt down and saluted. He then took out a memorial from his sleeve and presented it with both hands. He said, "Your Majesty, I can no longer serve you. Before leaving, I present this 'Your Majesty, I ask you to leave and express my deep concern for the country.'"
Zhu Youxiao signaled the palace maid to bring it over, opened it, looked at it, and nodded, saying, "Lord Zou's loyalty to the country is very gratifying to me." Then he said, "Issue an order to grant Zou Yuanbiao the title of Prince Taibao and allow him to return home in a post carriage to enjoy his retirement."
Zou Yuanbiao kowtowed to express his gratitude and stood up to take his leave.
Zhu Youxiao looked at Zou Yuanbiao who disappeared outside the palace gate and sighed softly.
As one of the Three Lords of the Donglin Sect, Zou Yuanbiao certainly could not have imagined that the Donglin Party, with which he was directly associated, would become a group of civil servants who harmed the country. Only in old age did he see things clearly and realize the importance of harmony, but now he was already a man of seventy, and his time was running out.
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