"Your Majesty, it's getting late. You should rest early," Wang Chengen said cautiously, standing beside Zhu Youjian.
"There's an early court session tomorrow."
Zhu Youjian subconsciously looked up at the sky before remembering that a clock sent by a foreigner had already been placed in his study.
He glanced at the time, shook his head, and sighed, "It is indeed getting late."
"Master Gao also told me that going to bed early and getting up early is indeed good for health."
"But I just can't sleep!"
Zhu Youjian rubbed his shoulders and turned to look at the map behind him.
"Qin Liangyu submitted a memorial to me, saying that the newly recruited canal workers were completely disobedient and many of them ran away along the way."
"She could only lead the White-Clad Soldiers on repeated patrols."
"Alas, if I had known this would happen, I would have conscripted laborers from Beizhili."
He was starting to regret it.
This later group of canal workers was far inferior to the group that Yuan Chonghuan and Zhang Xianzhong took to Goryeo.
Ultimately, the number of canal workers arrested at the beginning was not large, and they were all guilty of crimes.
After arresting them, locking them up and training them for a few months can barely make them obey.
However, not long ago, the imperial court suddenly conscripted hundreds of thousands of laborers, and naturally, a series of troubles followed.
In fact, many ministers in the court also noticed something was wrong at the time.
However, Zhu Youjian's authority grew stronger day by day, and no one dared to remind him.
When Wang Chengen heard Zhu Youjian blaming himself, he quickly said, "Your Majesty, please don't say that. The matter of those canal workers is nothing at all."
"As long as General Li can break through Guangning, everything will be fine."
“Yes, as long as we can break through Guangning…” Zhu Youjian nodded slightly, his gaze falling on the location of Guangning City.
On the map, the area around Guangning City is already covered with Ming army flags.
Next to the flag representing the army, there were also several wooden cannon models.
Zhu Youjian's eyes gradually burned with passion.
"After the recapture of Guangning, the balance of power between the Ming Dynasty and the Jurchens shifted!"
However, after saying that, he felt somewhat discouraged.
"But I've also heard that things aren't going very smoothly in Guangning."
Since the Beijing garrison left the pass, the Ming army built many outposts along the way in order to send intelligence from the front back to the capital as quickly as possible.
Even so, Zhu Youjian could only know what had happened three days prior.
Just three days ago, Li Ruolian had led his troops to the walls of Guangning.
In Zhu Youjian's view, Mangultai was guarding the city with 10,000 Jurchens of the Plain Blue Banner.
That city was indeed not easy to breach.
Wang Chengen wanted to say a few more words of advice to the emperor, but at that moment, a young eunuch rushed in.
"Your Majesty, Lord Luo requests an audience."
A glint flashed in Zhu Youjian's eyes: "Let him in right away!"
He knew in his heart that it was so late, and if Luo Yangxing didn't have something urgent to attend to, he certainly wouldn't dare to enter the palace to see him.
"Could it be that some urgent military intelligence has arrived from the front lines?"
"I don't know if it's good news or bad news!"
As Zhu Youjian was pondering, Luo Yangxing jogged in.
"Your Majesty, this is a great joy!"
He held up a memorial and handed it directly to Wang Chengen, asking him to pass it on to the emperor.
Then, without waiting for Zhu Youjian to look at the memorial, he began to explain it to himself.
"It's news from Korea!"
"It is said that the new Khan of the Jurchens, Haoge, led his troops south to besiege the Han capital, but was defeated by the Ming army of our Great Ming Dynasty."
"The whole of Goryeo was overjoyed when it heard the news."
"Tens of thousands of righteous soldiers have risen up and blocked the Jurchens' path home!"
Upon hearing this, Zhu Youjian quickly took the memorial.
After reading it, he found that the contents of the memorial were exactly as Luo Yangxing had described.
He laughed loudly, "Yuan Chonghuan and Zhang Xianzhong really did a brilliant job!"
But after laughing, he shook his head.
"However, Yuan Chonghuan's old illness has relapsed!"
"The memorial mentions some kind of Goryeo righteous army... Hah, if the Goryeo people really have that ability, why should I send troops across the sea to save that little Goryeo court?"
"He's lying to me again."
Having reigned as emperor for over a year, and with Gao Qingyun's personal guidance and instruction, he was able to achieve his goal.
Zhu Youjian could not yet be called a wise ruler, but he could no longer hide the tricks of his ministers.
"It was probably that King Goryeo who took advantage of the Jurchens' retreat to recruit a few thousand able-bodied men from the surrounding area."
Luo Yangxing quickly replied, "Your Majesty is wise."
"According to the Embroidered Uniform Guard, the situation is indeed as His Majesty described."
Zhu Youjian said indifferently, "Alright, stop flattering me."
"Make copies of this memorial and let all the officials in the capital see it."
"That way, they won't have to live in fear!"
Zhu Youjian did not make this statement out of thin air.
Since the imperial army set out on its expedition, many officials in the capital dared not say anything openly.
But behind their backs, they were saying unpleasant things.
Some even drew parallels between the Ming Dynasty's current eastern expedition and the Battle of Sarhu several years prior.
These remarks, though seemingly insignificant, displeased Zhu Youjian.
Now that news of victory has arrived from Goryeo, he naturally wants to spread the word and shut those people up.
Luo Yangxing nodded and said, "Your Majesty, rest assured, I will take care of it immediately."
After Luo Yangxing left, Zhu Youjian felt much better and also felt sleepy.
He went straight to sleep in the Imperial Study.
But two hours later, he hurriedly got up and went to the main hall to attend court.
After Zhu Youjian entered the main hall, he glanced around and a hint of satisfaction appeared in his eyes.
"My dear ministers, you've arrived quite early."
The ministers all smiled bitterly to themselves.
"This is the morning court session. If we don't arrive on time, do you think you can forgive us?"
They said in unison, "We serve the country and dare not slacken in the slightest."
Zhu Youjian didn't take these polite words to heart.
He gestured to the ministers that they need not stand on ceremony and should rise.
Then they asked about the good news.
"You must all know about what happened in Goryeo."
"What do you think the imperial court should do next?"
After exchanging glances, the ministers stepped forward again, this time from the Ministry of War.
This time, however, they didn't undermine their own minister.
"Your Majesty, Minister Yuan has dealt a heavy blow to the Jurchens in Goryeo. I'm afraid that Hauge will not be able to return to the Liaodong front in a short time."
"In that case, Your Majesty should order General Qin to rush to Guangning as soon as possible, join forces with General Li, and take Guangning down as quickly as possible."
"In this way, our Great Ming will be in an invincible position!"
This time, what the Vice Minister of War said was actually quite reliable.
Zhu Youjian was silent for a moment, then asked in return, "Are you suggesting that I should stop while I'm ahead?"
The Vice Minister of War nodded.
"Your Majesty, that is indeed what I meant."
"War is a matter of vital importance to the state, and it is imperative to examine it carefully."
"Our Great Ming Dynasty covers a vast territory, while the Jurchens merely occupy a small corner of Liaodong."
"Even if we were to wage a war of attrition against them, our Great Ming would still have the upper hand."
"Your Majesty, there is really no need for you to achieve everything in one battle!"
This is also the wisdom of an experienced strategist.
Zhu Youjian hesitated.
He glanced at Bi Ziyan.
"Minister Bi, haven't you been constantly complaining about being poor and saying that the Ministry of Revenue has no money?"
Why aren't you saying anything this time?
In Zhu Youjian's view, Bi Ziyan would definitely support a swift and decisive victory.
Who knew that Bi Ziyan would change his ways this time as well.
He smiled broadly: "Your Majesty, I also suggest proceeding gradually!"
As Bi Ziyan spoke, he actually bowed his head twice.
This left Zhu Youjian somewhat bewildered.
However, after Bi Ziyan got up, he immediately began to explain:
"His Majesty has great foresight; at the beginning of the year, he sent troops to reorganize Jiangnan."
"Then they took the initiative to open up the sea and conduct maritime trade with Western merchants."
"In just a few months, the Jiangnan Arsenal and the Maritime Trade Office collected twice as much silver as in previous years."
"With this source of revenue, why should our Great Ming Dynasty fear a protracted war with the Jurchens?"
At this point, Bi Ziyan burst into laughter.
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