Zhu Youjian's order, once it reached the palace, was merely a few words spoken lightly.
However, several Hanlin scholars copied these orders into imperial edicts and sent them out of the palace.
This became the will of the Ming Dynasty.
Like a snowball falling from a mountaintop, it starts out as small as a fist.
But by the time it rolled to the foot of the mountain, it had become an avalanche.
Jingying.
When the more than 70,000 soldiers heard that the court was going to conscript them for battle, there was no opposition.
"We've been eating the Emperor's food for most of the year, and now it's finally time for us to go into battle."
"I just don't know how powerful the Jurchens really are?"
"I've heard that the Jurchens are incredibly powerful; they even inflicted a major defeat on our Great Ming Dynasty a few years ago!"
Immediately, some people shook their heads.
"Stop talking nonsense! That's ancient history, from so many years ago!"
"Let me tell you, ever since our Emperor ascended the throne, our Great Ming Dynasty has never lost to the Jurchens!"
The other soldiers nodded in agreement after hearing this.
This is, after all, a fact, and there's nothing to argue about.
But not long ago, they were just ordinary people.
If you actually let them go into battle, they're bound to be a little nervous.
"Sigh, let's hope there are fewer Jurchens."
The soldiers of the Beijing garrison began packing their belongings, preparing to leave Beijing for the front lines.
But before they set off, Li Ruolian announced another piece of news in public.
"Gentlemen, His Majesty has issued a new imperial edict."
"The imperial court will be generous in rewarding anyone who makes meritorious contributions during this campaign in Liaodong!"
As soon as Li Ruolian finished speaking, someone asked, "General, what is the reward?"
This wasn't because Li Ruolian was lax in disciplining his troops, but because he had made arrangements for them well in advance.
To have this person sing in harmony with you.
He nodded with a smile, and continued, "His Majesty has really gone all out this time!"
Sure enough, his words piqued the curiosity of the soldiers present, who stared at Li Ruolian with eager eyes.
I want to see what this so-called huge investment is all about.
Li Ruolian laughed loudly: "My lords, do you still remember when you followed me south last year?"
The soldiers nodded hastily, but were even more impatient: "General Li, stop rambling and get to the point."
"What exactly is this reward?"
Seemingly sensing their anxiety, Li Ruolian then began to speak.
"Actually, I'm not beating around the bush."
"The reward bestowed by His Majesty this time was given in Jiangnan."
"Jiangnan?" Everyone looked puzzled, but soon someone realized something, "Could it be..."
Li Ruolian nodded.
"That's right! It's the same Yintian gentry that I raided in Jiangnan last time!"
Upon hearing this, the soldiers' eyes turned red.
"General, is this true?"
"Are you really going to give us land?"
Li Ruolian waved her hand and said, "It's not about distributing land! It's about rewarding those who have made contributions!"
"His Majesty has already said that anyone who makes a great contribution during this expedition to Liaodong will be directly rewarded by the court with 50 mu of paddy fields in Jiangnan!"
"In addition, His Majesty was worried that there were not enough paddy fields in Jiangnan, so he transferred more than one million mu of fertile land from the Huguang region as a supplement."
In fact, all the fertile fields in Huguang were "sponsored" by our Prince Fu.
However, these soldiers of the Beijing Garrison were unaware of this.
They genuinely believed that it was Emperor Zhu Youjian who was treating them with utmost sincerity.
Before the battle even began, they had already gathered all the rewards for them.
"Long live the Emperor!"
They had already shouted "Long live the Emperor" countless times before.
But this time, it was genuine and heartfelt, without a trace of falsehood.
These former migrants from the Northwest know best the importance of land.
Especially the rare paddy fields of Jiangnan.
That's farmland!
"We're incredibly lucky to have encountered an emperor like this!"
Many people immediately became eager to fight and stopped saying things like "hoping that the number of Jurchens would be smaller".
Instead, they worried that the Jurchen population was too small to allow them to achieve merit.
If we don't get a share of the paddy fields in Jiangnan, won't we regret it for the rest of our lives?
"Let's go, let's set off now!"
"Slaughter the Jurchens completely!"
In just a few words, the morale of the Beijing garrison soared to its peak.
If the Jurchens suddenly appeared before them, they would probably bite off several pieces of flesh even if they had to use their teeth.
On a distant tower, Zhu Youjian was observing the situation through a monocular telescope.
This telescope was also made by Western craftsmen not long ago, based on the principles explained by Gao Qingyun.
It is far superior to ordinary telescopes at this time.
Zhu Youjian was also somewhat excited as he looked at the extremely excited soldiers.
He said to Wang Chengen behind him, "Now I understand how the Taizu Emperor drove out the Tartars and restored China!"
"The rewards I gave to those soldiers were about the same as the rewards that Emperor Taizu gave to the garrison soldiers back then."
"My mere 70,000 soldiers are already so powerful."
"Emperor Taizu had hundreds of thousands of garrison troops back then, no wonder he was able to unify the six kingdoms!"
Wang Chengen nodded with a smile, while inwardly complaining:
"That's true, but Emperor Chengzu killed most of the hundreds of thousands of garrison soldiers that Emperor Taizu had.
"Later, they were completely wiped out at Tumu Fort."
"It seems rather ominous that His Majesty would say such a thing before setting off on the expedition."
But of course he didn't dare to say what he was thinking, so he had to change the subject.
"Your Majesty, the Beijing Garrison is of course utterly loyal to you."
"But there seems to be some problems in Liaodong."
As he spoke, Wang Chengen looked at Luo Yangxing beside him.
Luo Yangxing nodded quickly.
"Your Majesty, Eunuch Wang is right. There are indeed some complaints from Liaodong."
As he spoke, he took out a memorial from his pocket and handed it to Zhu Youjian.
Zhu Youjian waved his hand and said, "I'm too lazy to read it. Just tell me."
Luo Yangxing had no choice but to explain.
"Your Majesty, the garrison troops in the Ningjin area do not want to just guard the city."
"Most of them were originally from Liaodong and had a blood feud with the Jurchens. Now they saw that the court had the upper hand."
"Then naturally they want to seek revenge against the Jurchens, so they can return to their hometown."
Zhu Youjian nodded: "That's only human nature."
"After I return to the palace, I will discuss with the Ministry of War the possibility of drawing several thousand men from the Ningjin garrison and having them advance as well."
"That will fulfill their wishes."
"Is there anything else?"
Luo Yangxing nodded again quickly.
"There are still some."
"The other thing is about Shanhaiguan."
"It seems that the Guan Ning cavalry is not very willing to move around."
Zhu Youjian sneered, "Heh heh, what kind of trick is that old fox Wu Xiang up to now?"
"Luo Yangxing, you should immediately convey the imperial decree to him, saying that he should either obey orders and go on the expedition with the army, or I will consider him a rebel."
"The Beijing garrison will first use Italian cannons to bombard their Shanhaiguan Pass, and then go to fight the Jurchens!"
This was obviously a threat.
In reality, even if Wu Xiang wanted to rebel, he simply didn't have the ability to do so at this time.
Moreover, he never intended to rebel.
The so-called unwillingness to move the local area was actually just bargaining with the imperial court, hoping to get more money for the relocation expenses.
Luo Yangxing cupped his hands and said, "Your subject will go and convey the imperial decree immediately."
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