Yuan Chonghuan's face darkened.
He had always looked down on people like Zhou Yanru, and now that Zhou Yanru had jumped out to oppose him, he was even more unhappy.
"Hmph, I wonder if Lord Zhou has any evidence to support his claim?"
Zhou Yanru wasn't angry at being rebuffed like that.
His eyes darted around, and he actually came up with an excuse.
"Lord Yuan must know that our Ming Dynasty doesn't actually have many troops available right now."
"The troops on the Ningjin defense line, as well as the Guan Ning cavalry at Shanhaiguan, cannot be easily mobilized."
"While the newly trained Beijing garrison can be deployed, it would be best to advance eastward by land if we were to use them."
"They absolutely cannot be sent to Korea as cannon fodder."
"So, Lord Yuan, you said you wanted to support Goryeo, where will the troops come from?"
Yuan Chonghuan smiled dismissively.
He's someone who's actually led troops; he'd already considered something this simple.
"All we need to do is recruit a new batch of soldiers."
Yuan Chonghuan turned around and bowed deeply to Zhu Youjian.
"Your Majesty, those Goryeo soldiers are extremely weak, even weaker than the garrison troops of our Ming Dynasty in Jiangnan."
"The fact that the Jurchens could not achieve a quick victory against such a powerful Goryeo army shows how weak they have become."
"Therefore, even the newly recruited soldiers are more than capable of holding off the situation in Goryeo!"
Zhu Youjian remained noncommittal and turned his gaze to Qin Liangyu.
"General Qin, what are your thoughts?"
Qin Liangyu quickly stood up: "Your Majesty, this humble general also supports going to aid Goryeo, but Lord Yuan's suggestion..."
She shook her head.
"The Jurchens are not to be underestimated; relying solely on new recruits will definitely not be enough."
Qin Liangyu had fought against the Jurchens many years ago.
In the last major battle against the Jurchens, her White-Spear Soldiers were also the de facto main force.
So when she said that, it was practically the final word.
Upon seeing this, Yuan Chonghuan quickly raised his hand and swore an oath:
"Your Majesty, I am willing to sign a military pledge!"
"If I lead new recruits into Goryeo but fail to resist the Jurchens, then I am willing to be punished according to military law!"
After hearing this, Zhu Youjian gave him a strange look and thought to himself, "This Yuan Chonghuan is really courting death."
"If I were to truly punish him with military law, wouldn't that be setting him back on the old path of history?"
He was about to refuse Yuan Chonghuan on his first instinct, but before he could say it, he suddenly remembered something.
"Wait, Master Gao seems to have told me that a few hundred years after the Jurchens entered the pass, there seemed to be problems in Goryeo."
"At that time, the Jurchens also sent a man surnamed Yuan to lead troops to support Goryeo."
"Could this guy surnamed Yuan have some connection with Goryeo?"
After hesitating for a moment, he also put aside his previous thoughts.
"I need to think about this matter some more. I will give you an answer at tomorrow's grand court assembly."
The ministers nodded in agreement upon hearing this.
Although Yuan Chonghuan was somewhat displeased, he couldn't say anything.
"Then I will wait until tomorrow."
Zhu Youjian waved his hand, signaling all the officials to leave.
Then he summoned Luo Yangxing: "Prepare the carriage, I'm going to inspect the capital garrison!"
Luo Yangxing dared not be negligent and immediately ordered the Imperial Guards to prepare for Zhu Youjian's departure.
Soon after, they arrived at the military camp outside the city.
After nearly half a year of training, the new recruits already looked somewhat like a proper soldier.
Hearing the shouts of battle from the training ground, Zhu Youjian smiled and felt more relaxed than ever before.
"Master Gao was right after all. Only by firmly grasping the gun can my empire be secure."
"If it weren't for the Beijing Garrison, even if I had executed the Donglin Party and the eunuch faction, the civil officials in the court wouldn't have been so obedient!"
He walked into the training ground with a smile and watched the Beijing garrison's training up close.
Several commanders noticed the commotion and rushed over to investigate.
Upon seeing that the visitor was the emperor, they immediately knelt down to pay their respects.
However, Zhu Youjian stopped them, saying, "I am traveling incognito this time, so you don't need to be so polite."
"That way, we won't miss any training!"
Upon hearing this, the commanders dared not perform the grand salute again, but they were eager to impress the emperor.
So they jogged back to the group and whispered a few instructions.
Before long, they shouted at the soldiers, "Whose soldiers are you?"
The soldiers seemed to be asked this question frequently, and they answered without hesitation.
"We are His Majesty's soldiers."
The commanders were very satisfied and then asked:
"Whose food do you eat, and whose clothes do you wear?"
The soldiers shouted in unison, "Eat His Majesty's food, wear His Majesty's clothes!"
The households were immediately delighted upon hearing this.
"Haha, His Majesty will be extremely pleased to hear this."
But they didn't expect that Zhu Youjian's expression was already on the verge of breaking down after hearing these words.
He asked Luo Yangxing in a low voice, "Who gave them these words?"
Luo Yangxing lowered his head and smiled:
"Your Majesty, I entrusted them with all of these matters."
"Once, I overheard Master Gao telling you about Yuan Shikai. I immediately thought his methods of training troops were quite good, so I..."
Zhu Youjian glared at him, annoyed: "So you secretly copied it, huh?"
Luo Yangxing nodded quickly.
"Your Majesty is right."
Zhu Youjian looked somewhat helpless and covered his head.
"I am the emperor, not a usurper. I have no need for this kind of nonsense!"
Upon hearing this, Luo Yangxing became somewhat anxious.
He never expected that his flattery would backfire so badly.
"Then...then I'll have them change it?"
This made Zhu Youjian even angrier.
"How should we change it? Tell the soldiers that they're not eating my food?"
"Alright, alright, get out of here now."
He casually dismissed Luo Yangxing, his good mood from earlier already quite gone.
"Although Luo Yangxing is reliable, he did something wrong this time despite his good intentions."
"His actions have made it seem as if I am trying to win people's hearts."
Zhu Youjian leaned against the carriage, looking at the soldiers in the distance. After a long silence, he suddenly burst out laughing.
"It seems this is fate. I was just thinking about whether to send Yuan Chonghuan to Goryeo when this happened."
A slight smile appeared on his lips as he returned directly to the palace.
The next morning at court, before Yuan Chonghuan could ask any questions, he spoke directly:
"Minister Yuan, I have made my decision. I will send you to lead the troops to Goryeo."
"As for the troops you brought, there's no need to recruit them again; I've already prepared them for you."
Overjoyed, Yuan Chonghuan immediately accepted the imperial decree and expressed his gratitude.
Then, full of anticipation, he asked, "Your Majesty, are you going to give this to the Capital Garrison?"
Zhu Youjian smiled and shook his head.
"The Beijing Garrison still needs to be kept in place to guard the capital!"
"What if the Mongols make a move, or the Jurchens suddenly send a surprise force to bypass Shanhaiguan and besiege the capital?"
Yuan Chonghuan said nonchalantly, "They wouldn't dare!"
Zhu Youjian rolled his eyes, ignoring the previous comment, and casually said:
"Fine, I've already prepared soldiers for you anyway."
"You should lead your troops and set off now."
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