Chongzhen smiled coldly: "Execute all those in the banner. If there are any survivors left, you can discuss it among yourselves."
The Jiannu military force was mainly composed of four parts. In addition to the Eight Banners of Manchu, the Eight Banners of Mongolia and the Eight Banners of Han, there were also many foreign Mongolians.
These people are not very loyal to the Jiannu, so it would be great if we could persuade some of them to defect and use them for our own purposes.
The world is bustling with people seeking profit, and the Mongols are no exception!
If there is a Northern Expedition in the future, these people may be able to persuade more Mongols to join the arms of the Ming Dynasty.
Li Banghua blinked his eyes and said, "I obey your order!"
"Your Majesty, Duoduo is still causing chaos outside Juyong Pass. The cabinet intends to let Huang Degong continue to stay in the capital area. He can attack Duoduo if he advances, or defend the capital if he retreats, in case of emergency."
After a moment of silence, Li Banghua's voice was heard again in the Qianqing Palace.
"Do you all think so?" Chongzhen looked at the other three ministers in the cabinet.
"yes."
Chongzhen thought about it and sat back down.
What Li Banghua said does make sense.
Beijing’s current military strength is insufficient for offense but sufficient for defense.
If the news of Dorgon's defeat reached Duoduo, he would most likely abandon Xuanfu Town and turn around to enter the pass from the place where Dorgon entered the pass, or from Qingshan Pass or Xifengkou further east, and the capital would be in danger again.
By then, Huang Degong was confronting Li Zicheng in Zhangde Prefecture, and only Liu Wenyao and Wu Sangui's troops were available in Beijing.
It's difficult!
But if Huang Degong was left behind, it would be tantamount to handing over Zhangde Prefecture to Li Zicheng.
After Li Zicheng robbed the silver, he would soon become bigger and stronger.
To the south is Zhang Xianzhong...
In the third month of his journey through the Ming Dynasty, Chongzhen once again felt like he had no desire to live.
After thinking for a moment, Chongzhen slowly shook his head and said, "Give Huang Degong two days to rest, and then order him to go to Zhangde Prefecture to rescue Prince Zhao, Prince Zhou, and the people of Zhangde Prefecture."
"During these two days, the baggage soldiers and the merchant caravan carrying grain will go ahead, and Huang Degong can then travel with a small group of people."
"In order to boost the morale of the army, we need to reward the meritorious service as soon as possible. I will give you two divisions of the household and soldiers half a month to distribute the reward silver and pension silver for this battle."
"Submit the list of the dead to the Ministry of Works as soon as possible. The Martyrs' Shrine has been completed, and only the inscription on the stone tablet is missing."
"As for Duoduo..." Chongzhen paused for a moment: "Transfer a thousand men from the Beijing camp to Juyongguan to conduct siege drills. Remember, the noise must be loud, so that Duoduo outside Juyongguan will think that Dorgon has not yet been defeated!"
Li Banghua was startled, then he looked up cautiously and asked, "Your Majesty, will Duoduo believe it?"
Chongzhen looked calm: "Ahem, no matter whether Duoduo believes it or not, I believe it anyway!"
Will Duoduo believe it?
Chongzhen didn't know.
But he was not afraid of Duoduo attacking the capital.
After the last recruitment, the people of the capital were already familiar with defending the city.
Some people even wished that Duoduo would come soon in order to earn money from the imperial court to defend the city.
Want to capture the capital city with its strong fortifications and powerful artillery?
Difficult! Too difficult!
The only worry is that the Jiannu will not attack cities but only engage in guerrilla warfare.
That would be a fatal blow to the Ming Dynasty.
The Jiannu invaded the pass many times to plunder and rob the people. Stealing money and food was secondary. The most important thing was that every time they invaded the pass, it would bring the Ming Dynasty court to a standstill.
Every time they come, the order that was hard-won in the local areas of the Ming Dynasty will be destroyed!
Problems that arise below cannot be reported to the top, and policies formulated above cannot be implemented.
This kind of order is intangible and more valuable than those lost things!
The emperor and his ministers discussed for a while, then Fang Yuegong, Fan Jingwen and Qiu Yu bowed and left.
Li Banghua stayed.
"Is there anything Mr. Li needs?" Chongzhen asked.
"Yes!" Li Banghua said with a hint of helplessness, "In early April, His Majesty asked the Imperial Guard and the Eastern Depot to give a piece of paper to officials from various departments, asking them to record their family property on it for later verification."
"I wonder if Your Majesty still remembers it?"
Chongzhen nodded. This was the public property management system he established to prevent corruption.
However, he only asked the Jinyiwei and the Eastern Depot to issue a list and had not started the investigation yet.
"I have inquired privately. Among the thousands of officials in the capital, less than 10% have filled in the form! The officials who did not fill in the form privately spread the word that if the East Factory and the Embroidered Uniform Guard searched their homes for evidence, they would immediately resign and return home."
"And also..."
"What?" Chongzhen asked with a frown.
"They also said that they were officials of the Ming Dynasty, and that this was the dignity they deserved."
Chongzhen didn't say anything, but lowered his head and began to think.
In fact, from the moment he traveled to the Ming Dynasty, he knew that his real enemy was not the Jiannu in Liaodong, nor the Mongols in Mobei, nor the likes of Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong.
But the gentry landlords.
Gentry and landlords are a general term for a class. This force is so powerful that it can compete with imperial power.
In the pre-Qin period, this class was called princes.
From the Han Dynasty to the Tang Dynasty, this class was called the aristocratic families.
After the Huang Chao Uprising killed all the aristocratic families in the world, a situation emerged in which officials were selected without regard to their family background.
Since the Song Dynasty, the emperor began to rule the country together with the literati.
It was from this time that the gentry and landlords became the main helpers of local governments in governing the grassroots.
Most of the gentry landlords were officials who returned to their hometowns. They used to be officials in the court, and after retiring, they became gentry. Over time, they became landlords because of the large amount of land they owned.
This was tacitly approved and encouraged by the imperial court.
After all, they are needed to help maintain order at the grassroots level.
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