From the early Ming Dynasty to the middle and late Ming Dynasty, the precautions and restrictions on generals could be said to be very strict.

But generally speaking, civil and military forces are still in check with each other. As the saying goes, "Those who are in charge of the army must not plan their pay, and those who plan their pay cannot be in the army; those who are in control must not conduct their troops, and those who conduct their troops must not be in control."

That is to say, financial power, military training power, and command power are separated and held by civilian officials and military generals respectively, creating a situation where no one has absolute control over the army.

But at the end of the Ming Dynasty, when internal and external troubles arose, the feudal rulers of the Ming Dynasty were struggling to their death, no different from those in the Eastern Han, Tang, Yuan, and Qing dynasties in history, which was to decentralize power to military generals.

Decentralization of power means that military generals have the possibility of becoming warlords. Whether it is Dongjiang Town or Liao Town, there is actually a tendency of local warlords.

After the rise of the army, someone said to the Emperor: "Today we do not value military ministers, so our military achievements are not established."

Dongjiang Town is located in a remote location overseas. Emperor Tianqi did not set up civilian officials to supervise the army and gave Mao Wenlong Shangfang the sword. It can be said that it gave Dongjiang Town the right soil to become a warlord.

What Guo Dajing did undoubtedly accelerated this process. But for him, he had no regrets and even did it intentionally.

In the late Ming Dynasty, if one was not independent, he would not be killed by Yuan Chonghuan, but would be crippled by Chongzhen, the court bosses, and the Donglin gentlemen.

It is precisely because Dongjiang Town continues to develop towards independence that it has undergone changes that are completely different from those in history.

It was only then that the Jianlu were suppressed and their decline was fully demonstrated. Only then did thousands of barbers and people in the capital avoid the tragic fate of being slaves, being treated harshly, and even being killed at will.

If nothing unexpected happens, it will be the people of the entire Ming Dynasty and the Chinese nation that will change their destiny.

However, in history, Chongzhen's decentralization of power to military generals did not achieve effective results and the loyalty of military generals was rewarded. On the contrary, many military generals who received uncontrolled power became rogue warlords.

You must know that separatist warlords do less damage to people and places. After all, they live in fixed places and understand the importance of people's livelihood.

The rogue warlords are different. They wander around like locusts, eating wherever they go. They burn, kill and loot wherever they go. They are even more hated than the rogues. They are also described as "thieves are like combs and soldiers are like combs".

These bandit-like warlords are different from warlords like Dongjiang Town. They are not thinking about saving the country or the people, but are desperately seeking personal gain.

As for quelling civil unrest and fighting against the slave establishment, they had long forgotten about it. They had no military achievements, but they did a lot of things that harmed the country and the people.

From this aspect, Chongzhen still had the habit of seeking medical treatment in a hurry. He regarded improving the status and power of generals as a good medicine to fight against chaos.

Chongzhen did not learn the lesson from the various disasters caused by his excessive trust in Yuan Chonghuan, and it happened again and again with generals such as Bai Guangen, Zuo Liangyu, and Wu Sangui.

The lack of understanding of people can be said to have reached its extreme in Chongzhen.

Loyal ministers and brave generals such as Sun Chuanting and Lu Xiangsheng were not only frequently suppressed, but also arrested and imprisoned. Finally, they were forced by the court, civil servants, and eunuchs to die heroically for their country.

However, Chongzhen's full-time commander-in-chief, Zuo Liangyu, Bai Guang'en, Wu Sangui and others, who were not restrained, feared the enemy like a tiger and tried to kill the people. There were even some eternal traitors who surrendered to the enemy and betrayed the country.

Fortunately, Chongzhen made the most correct choice in his life, which was to believe in Dongjiang Town and Guo Dajing, even though he was forced to do so due to the circumstances.

Guo Dajing has taken another big step towards becoming a warlord, but he will become a good warlord who has feelings for his family and country, can turn the tide, be considerate of the people, and benefit the Ming Dynasty.

In Liaodong, Guo Dajing sent away Lin Qingye and Cui Xiaoyi, readjusted his deployment, and waited for Jianlu's "counterattack."

However, after Jianlu advanced to Fengcheng, they launched a symbolic attack and then withdrew again. The defenders of Fengcheng had been reduced to a thousand men, and they had no intention of holding on to the end, but Jianlu had no intention of capturing it.

After receiving the report, Guo Dajing was a little stunned at first, but after thinking about it carefully, he understood what Jianlu meant.

This was not a real counterattack, just Dorgon's bluff to save some face.

Guo Dajing guessed that Jianlu would say in the propaganda that he would pursue the Dongjiang Army all the way to Fengcheng and that the enemy would suffer heavy casualties. Whether you believe it or not, there will always be people who believe it.

Why did such an operation happen? Jianlu probably realized that his own strength was insufficient. Even if he captured Fengcheng or even grabbed more territory, he still couldn't garrison troops to guard it.

In this case, why should we pay casualties and occupy territory that we don't even want?

Moreover, if you want to severely damage the Dongjiang army and horses in Liaodong, it will be a lot of difficulties if the season is not right at this time. The Dongjiang army also has the help of the navy, so if it cannot be defeated, it can still retreat back to Pidao.

After Guo Dajing made his analysis and judgment, he basically calmed down and began to retreat from the former Xie Xie and You Xie Xie in the Zhenjiang area, as well as the soldiers of the Feiqi Battalion.

The wounded had already been transported back to Pi Island for recuperation and treatment, and those left behind were all capable troops. If the Jianlu dared to go deep, they would probably suffer another heavy blow.

From this point of view, Jianlu's bluff did not increase casualties, so it was considered a wise move.

Guo Dajing's estimate was also quite accurate. Jianlu suffered heavy losses and could not mobilize enough troops in a short period of time.

With the strength of the Dongjiang Army in Liaodong, they should be able to compete and win again in the defensive counterattack.

After everything was settled, Guo Dajing gave some instructions to the generals of the special operations camp before setting off by boat and returning to the Liaonan base.

Liu Qishi yawned as if he hadn't woken up. He walked up to the deck and came to Guo Dajing's side. He looked at the sea and said, "It's so fast. I didn't sleep for a while, and we are now at sea."

Guo Dajing smiled and said: "We boarded the ship in the morning, it's already past noon, how long can we say?"

Liu Qishi laughed twice and said, "Although I have adapted a lot, when I get on the boat, I still want to sleep when I am shaken."

"From now on, eldest brother will try to stay in southern Liaoning as much as possible, and leave cross-sea battles to other flying cavalry troops." Guo Dajing said considerately: "The main battlefield is still in southern Liaoning, and fighting is inevitable."

Liu Qishi shrugged his shoulders and said: "As the eldest brother, I have to protect you well. If you are commanding in southern Liaoning, I will naturally not come to Liaodong."

Guo Dajing was very grateful, and it came from the bottom of his heart. It was rare that there were not many people on the deck, so the two of them could call themselves brothers, regardless of their official positions for the time being.

"Brother, you haven't found a woman you like yet?" Guo Dajing asked with concern: "She's not ugly and has a gentle personality, so that's enough! As for feelings, we can cultivate them slowly after we get married."

Liu Qishi laughed and said, "You, don't worry about this. Someone once said that we will talk about marriage after Ping Liao, how can we not keep our word?"

"When did you say that?" Guo Dajing was a little confused and turned to look at Liu Qishi.

Liu Qishi blinked his eyes and said without guilt: "You must have forgotten it in Qinhuangdao."

Guo Dajing scratched his head and felt that there was no need to delve into the authenticity. Since Liu Qishi didn't have the intention, he couldn't force it.

"Three years of Ping Liao, tsk tsk." Liu Qishi changed the subject, smacking his tongue and said: "You are more ambitious than Yuan Manzi. If these words are to be spread to the court, will the emperor have any ideas?"

Guo Dajing patted the side of the boat and smiled indifferently: "What do you think, do you think that someone is bragging and imitating Yuan Chonghuan's invitation to be favored?"

"I'm afraid the emperor took it seriously and ordered you to complete it within the deadline." Liu Qishi said, "It's better to let nature take its course. If there is a deadline, it will inevitably affect your thinking and actions, and you will easily make mistakes."

Guo Dajing nodded and said: "What the elder brother said is reasonable. But the emperor has requirements, and I also have conditions. If you can't meet them, how can you impose a strict deadline?"

"For example, the number of war horses supplied, the number of immigrants, grain and grass supplies, etc." Guo Dajing added: "If you want a horse to run fast, you must feed the horse. The emperor must understand this truth and will not make unreasonable demands."

Liu Qishi nodded gently and said, "Since you have thought everything through, I can feel relieved."

Of course he didn't know that Guo Dajing deliberately revealed the secrets to Chongzhen through Fang Zhenghua in the three years of Pingliao. He believed that this bargaining chip was enough to make Chongzhen agree to his conditions.

The most important thing is to successfully annex Liao Town. There will be basically no problem in pacifying Liao Town in three years, and it may even be significantly ahead of schedule.

After the annexation of Liao Town, even the 30,000 or so Guan Ning troops were unable to be used for much purpose and were sent to farming. The 30,000 or so war horses were enough to significantly increase the Dongjiang Army's combat effectiveness.

Moreover, Guo Dajing has led Dongjiang Town to move firmly towards the path of warlords, and other warlords will never be allowed to exist. Not only in Liaodong, but also in other places, as long as they are within the Ming Dynasty.

Nearly a hundred large ships on the sea cut through the waves, carrying the victorious division, marching forward boldly, with stars surrounding the flagship flying the "Guo" flag like a moon.

Guo Dajing looked at it, feeling proud in his heart.

With such naval strength alone, Dongjiang Town is already in an invincible position. Pingluo's elimination of the captives is now just a small goal. Navigating the four seas and leading the Ming Dynasty to the top of the world is his ultimate ideal.

……………

The shaved-headed Liao people, who had been tortured by the imperialists and had almost escaped death, arrived in southern Liaoning in batches seven or eight days before Guo Dajing and were resettled in Fuzhou and Gaizhou.

Of the four states in southern Liaoning, the Dongjiang Army has already occupied three and a half of them. Only half of Haizhou north of the Haicheng River is still occupied by the Jianqi.

Not counting half of Haizhou, among the three states, Jinzhou has the largest population and the highest degree of development. Even so, compared with later generations, Jinzhou still has a high forest coverage rate and has great development potential.

.

Even if no new territory is occupied, the amount of cultivated land can maintain an increase of about 10% every year just by continuing to develop the three prefectures.

It is precisely with the support of such data that the government has the confidence to recruit immigrants and has a relatively accurate estimate. The current land of Dongjiang Town can support four to five million people.

What's more, for the sake of safety, no people have been resettled in the coastal zone, which stretches for more than 600 miles from Jinzhou to Zhenjiang. Without going too far into the land, how much more land can be added and how many people can be resettled in just twenty or thirty miles?

In fact, based on the current contraction of Jianlu, they have been forced to retreat more than 200 miles inland. It is almost impossible to attack the seaside again.

Therefore, the government has sent people to conduct survey and planning in the coastal areas. When the number of immigrants becomes larger and they need to be resettled outside southern Liaoning, they can migrate here quickly.

It is another sunny morning. For the Yang mother and son who have completed their arrangements and are enjoying rare peace and comfort, it seems that they have been so comfortable every day these days.

Yang's health got better again. There was nothing wrong with her, but she was weak due to lack of food and clothing. In nearly a month, she was able to eat and clothe herself, and she recovered well.

After Yang Xiaohe had breakfast, he took the rope and ax and went to the nearby mountains to collect firewood. As the weather became colder and colder, he had to store more firewood for the winter.

Mrs. Yang was pleased to have such a sensible son, and she was not idle either. She took out her needle and thread to mend her winter clothes.

By growing potatoes, rye, corn and other crops, as well as grain transferred by the imperial court, and purchased from Jiangnan or overseas, Dongjiang Town not only kept the soldiers and civilians well fed, but also had a large number of warehouses for storage.

When it comes to clothing, we basically have to purchase it from outside. Cotton cloth and cotton are the largest purchasing items. Although we are also engaged in woolen spinning and fur, but it has just started and the quantity is small, which is far from meeting the needs of the military and civilians.

This requires the government to find a way to spend as little money as possible to allow the military and civilians to survive the cold winter.

In Shandong, Gyeonggi, and Dongjiang Town, many people were sent to engage in the business of buying used clothes. At that time, it was called Clothes Appraisal Shop.

In addition, a lot of captives killed on the battlefield can also be captured. After being washed and mended, they can be used as clothing for the people to keep out the cold.

For the poor people at that time, it didn't matter what bad luck was, as long as they could wear warm clothes and avoid freezing to death.

The Yang mother and son were given some cotton, a few pieces of fur, and a few clean old clothes. There were also some minor damages, which they could only mend by themselves.

Even so, Ms. Yang felt like she was in heaven. There was food at home, a hot bed to sleep on, and no need to worry anymore. It made people feel safe and relaxed.

After piecing together a few pieces of fur into a coat, Yang used old clothes and cotton to make another cotton-padded jacket. In this way, both mother and son would have clothes for the winter.

At this moment, there was a shout from outside, and it could be heard that it was calling her. Mrs. Yang quickly put down her sewing and hurried out of the house.

There was a middle-aged woman standing in the courtyard. When she saw Yang coming out, she said with a smile: "Sister Yang, the army has sent us some work. If you want to do it, go to the village office to get it."

"Okay, thank you, Sister-in-law Zhao." Mrs. Yang quickly thanked her and asked in more detail, "Is it needlework? I can do it, right?"

Mrs. Zhao nodded repeatedly and said, "It is for making cotton-padded clothes for the army. Women can do it."

After a pause, she added: "I told you, it won't be for free, you will be given money or food."

Even if it is for nothing, Yang will rush to do it. When he comes to a foreign place, what he fears most is that people will think he is useless and eat the food distributed by the government in vain.

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Chapter 437: The Road of Warlord is free to read.
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