Zhu Jinsong expressed his sincere gratitude to Grand Secretary He: "If Ji Xiaolan were truly executed by that old dog Qianlong, His Majesty would not have found anyone to replace Ji Xiaolan for a while."
Grand Secretary He hurriedly bowed and said, "This is what your servant should do; I dare not accept His Majesty's praise."
Zhu Jinsong continued, "No, no, you deserve it, you deserve it. Otherwise, His Majesty would not be able to make Ji Xiaolan kneel outside the main hall of the Wenmiao Temple day and night to repent."
After finishing, Zhu Jinsong waved his hand and ordered, "Take Grand Secretary He away and arrange him with that old dog Qianlong to enjoy the same treatment."
After Grand Secretary He was also taken away, the city walls of Shenyang were almost destroyed.
Then, Zhang Jia Qinggui, the General of Shengjing, led his troops to surrender.
Following that, the imperial censor accompanying Zhu Jinsong recorded this in the daily notes: "In the 4488th year of the Yellow Emperor's reign, the 6th year of the Holy Emperor, in the twelfth lunar month, His Majesty, in disguise, patrolled and pacified Shenyang, capturing the leader of the Jurchen, Qianlong, and Grand Secretary Niuhulu Heshen. The Jurchens of Liaodong surrendered at the sight of our troops, thus the region was pacified."
This was similar to a record from the reign of Emperor Wen of Sui: "At that time, the realm was peaceful, and all the ministers claimed that the nomadic state possessed many rare treasures. Thus, a great general was dispatched, leading over ten thousand troops and several thousand convicts into their capital and capturing their ruler."
Translated, this meant that Yang Shuo was bored for a period, so his ministers suggested that the nomadic state harbored treasures, and thus they should conquer the nomadic state, and then the nomadic state ceased to exist.
In any case, it was merely a notation on paper to prove that such an event had occurred. The detailed process would be recorded in historical texts such as the "Veritable Records" and "Compendium."
Of course, regardless of how simple the daily notes were, they did not affect the fact that Liaodong had been pacified at the mere sight of the imperial army. After Emperor Qianlong, Grand Secretary Heshen, Grand Secretary He, and Shengjing General Zhang Jia Qinggui were either captured or surrendered, the Jurchens of Liaodong completely lost their backbone, with many fleeing and others surrendering.
Zhu Jinsong, the Emperor of the Great Ming, finally entered Shenyang City, the great city of Liaodong that had been in the hands of the Jurchens for two hundred years, as the Emperor of the Great Ming.
Zhang Dequan acted as a tour guide: "Your Majesty, this is the pseudo-palace built by the Jurchens in Shenyang. Construction began with Old Slave Nurhaci and continued until the time of Old Dog Qianlong. This pseudo-palace has over a hundred buildings and more than five hundred rooms, and can be broadly divided into three parts: east, central, and west."
"The eastern section is mainly composed of the Hall of State Affairs and the Ten King Pavilions built during Old Slave's reign, which were the places where Old Slave's Later Jin pseudo-dynasty held grand ceremonies and where the Eight Banners ministers conducted official business."
"The central section is the Hall of Chongzheng and the Palace of Qingning, which were later additions during the reign of Huang Taiji. They were mainly used for Huang Taiji's official duties and for his relatives to reside in."
"As for the western section, it was where the pseudo-emperor read and watched plays during his eastern tours, and also where the 'Siku Quanshu' was stored."
After a brief introduction, Zhang Dequan led Zhu Jinsong on a tour of the Imperial Palace of the Great Qing in Shenyang, occasionally explaining the buildings they passed along the way, without saying too much or boring Zhu Jinsong.
As for posting notices for the pacification of the people... thanks to the efforts of Old Slave and Huang Taiji, there were no Han people in Liaodong, especially in Shenyang City, except for the Jurchens. To whom would the notices for the pacification of the people be posted?
...
The changes in Liaodong brought about astonishing effects.
First were the various tribes on the grasslands.
Before this, although the princes and Taijis on the grasslands had expressed their submission to Zhu Jinsong, Old Dog Qianlong was still alive and had over a hundred thousand Eight Banners troops. These princes and Taijis were somewhat worried that Old Dog Qianlong would suddenly make a comeback and seek retribution from them.
Now, there was no need to worry. Old Dog Qianlong had been captured and was on the verge of death. If the Great Qing could still make a comeback, it would truly be against heaven's will.
The second group affected was the situation in Joseon.
Originally, Li San and Li Xun could fight each other evenly, and Li Xun's subordinates were somewhat restless, constantly thinking about how to maintain their status as outer vassals, lest they engage in the kind of troublesome affairs like suppressing corrupt officials and redistributing land, as was happening in the Great Ming.
After Old Dog Qianlong was captured, Li San decisively surrendered to Li Xun and was exiled. The noble families and great clans under Li Xun also became more compliant and began to voluntarily hand over their land to the Joseon government.
As for Japan, it was even more so. Upon learning that Emperor Zhu Jinsong of the Great Ming had personally led troops to retake Shenyang and that Joseon was beginning to annex, Tokugawa Ienari and Matsudaira Sadanobu directly issued an ultimatum to the Satsuma domain: either move, or Satsuma would become Akita.
Zhu Jinsong was pleased with the changes in the grasslands and Japan, but he was not happy about those in Joseon.
On the surface, the attitude of Joseon seemed very respectful. Li San was exiled to an island, the noble families collectively handed over their land, and Li Xun had prepared the "fish scale" yellow register and the dragon robe and imperial seal, all waiting for the Great Ming father to send people to receive them.
The problem was, all of this was just a facade.
Li San leaning towards the Great Qing and Li Xun submitting to the Great Ming was the appearance. Li San winning meant Li Xun would be exiled; Li Xun winning meant Li San would be exiled. The fundamental reason was that Li Xun and Li San were brothers.
The Li family, which had ruled Joseon for nearly four hundred years, was not as simple as it appeared on the surface.
However, Zhu Jinsong did not pay much attention to the performances of the two brothers, just as a normal person would not care about the performance of an ant.
For Zhu Jinsong, the most troublesome problem had returned to the Great Ming itself.
For example, the capital.
The Great Ming would definitely return the capital to Beijing. The problem was that this city, ruled by the Jurchens for over 150 years, had not made the slightest progress during this period. Instead, there were a host of issues to be resolved regarding layout, sanitation, city walls, the Imperial City, and the Imperial Palace.
Another example was Liaodong.
The Great Ming had recovered Liaodong, but it had only just recovered it. In the future, it would be necessary to migrate people to cultivate the land, otherwise, what was the point of recovering it?
There was also the grasslands, the Us-Tsang Pacification Commission, and a host of other messy issues piled up, enough to give one a headache.
In desperation, Emperor Zhu Jinsong, who had just had a leisurely time, had to return to Jinan Prefecture and convene a meeting of all the big shots.
The first to speak up was Zhu Sanshun: "Next year, the recruitment of soldiers must be expanded. The entire grasslands and the entire Liaodong should be expanded by at least six to eight armies. If we include Joseon and Japan, ten armies might not be enough."
Next, Minister of Works Song Yucheng spoke: "The renovation of the capital will commence in March next year, and it is expected to be completed in two years, requiring about 100,000 young and strong laborers. In addition, there is Old Dog Qianlong; his tomb is also a problem."
Then Minister of Rites Meng Fanzhi spoke: "The problem is that Old Dog Qianlong has already been captured, and the Great Qing has perished. Your Majesty should go to the capital to announce to heaven and earth, pay homage to the mausoleums of Emperor Chang and other previous emperors, and also send people to pay homage in Fengyang and Jinling."
"Furthermore, what Minister Song said is correct; his tomb must also be considered, in terms of what specifications he should be buried."
Minister of Revenue and keeper of the Great Ming's treasury, Liu Huaiwen, immediately became anxious: "Announcing to heaven and earth, paying homage to the mausoleums of Emperor Gao, Emperor Xiaoling, Emperor Chang, and other previous emperors, this is a matter for the Ministry of Rites. It is also appropriate for your Ministry of Works to request young and strong laborers to renovate the capital. But what about the tomb of Old Dog Qianlong?"
"Let me tell you, if you want to build a tomb for him, please take the money out of your own pockets to build it, and don't ask the treasury for money. The treasury is empty now, and so many mice have starved to death!"
Speaking of which, Liu Huaiwen also glared at Zhu Sanshun: "And ten armies? Do I look like I have the military expenses for ten armies?"
Zhu Sanshun felt he couldn't afford to offend Liu Huaiwen, while Meng Fanzhi glared at Liu Huaiwen and said, "I don't want to deal with the troublesome matters of Old Dog Qianlong either! The problem is that when the Great Qing entered the pass, they at least buried Emperor Xiaolie in the Mausoleum of Si according to rites. If our Great Ming directly digs a pit and buries Old Dog Qianlong, wouldn't that be a bit..."
Liu Huaiwen also got angry: "If you say that, then I can also say that it was precisely because his Great Qing was constantly causing trouble outside the pass that Emperor Xiaolie committed suicide in Coal Hill. It would be benevolence and righteousness for our Great Ming to dig a pit for Old Dog Qianlong and erect a monument!"
Zhu Jinsong couldn't help but tap the table with his finger, frowning: "Stop arguing for now! Old Dog Qianlong is still alive. We can discuss the matter of his tomb after he dies. For now, the annexation of Joseon, the resettlement and return of the grasslands, and the immigration to Joseon and Us-Tsang are more important."
As Zhu Jinsong's words fell, Zeng Cheng, who had been silent, couldn't help but speak: "Not only these, but also the affairs of Japan, and the matter of the 'what pot' and the 'little broken ball' sports event..."
Scratching the back of his head, Zeng Cheng said with emotion, "My hair is really getting thinner."
Following Zeng Cheng's lament, all the big shots present unconsciously reached out and touched their hair. Before, the Great Qing forcibly shaved their queues into the "money rat tail" style, so it was not obvious whether they had more or less hair. But after growing their hair, when it fell out, it was very noticeable.
Zhu Jinsong suppressed the urge to touch his hair, coughed, and said, "There will definitely be difficulties, but they are only temporary. As long as we get through this period, things will be much easier afterward."
Zeng Cheng and the other big shots thought, "Are you trying to fool ghosts?"
Yes, things would be much easier after getting through this period, but the key was that before they could get through it, they might die of exhaustion!
While Zeng Cheng and others were grumbling in their hearts, Zhu Jinsong continued, "As the saying goes, there are priorities. Although these matters are all piled up before us, they are not things that need to be done in a day. Let's tackle the most urgent ones first."
Upon hearing Zhu Jinsong say this, Zeng Cheng and the other big shots were somewhat bewildered.
What was the most urgent matter?
It seemed that all these messy affairs were quite urgent, but none of them were so urgent that they were life-threatening.
After pondering for a long time, Zeng Cheng finally said: "Apart from the matters of the Five Military Commissions' guards and the renovation of the capital, the most urgent matters are the envoys sent by King Shang Hao of Ryukyu and the Lanfang Republic. King Shang Hao of Ryukyu requested enfeoffment and annexation, while the Lanfang Republic requested to be recognized as an outer vassal."
"Furthermore, King Louis XVI of France has arrived in Guangzhou, and other European monarchs, big and small, are likely to arrive soon. The 'what pot' that Your Majesty mentioned before should now be put on the agenda."
Zhu Jinsong hummed and said, "Regarding King Shang Hao of Ryukyu's request for enfeoffment and annexation, I already know about it. It shall be granted."
"As for the Lanfang Republic requesting to be recognized as an outer vassal..."
Zhu Jinsong chuckled and said, "They truly have a clever plan."
Zeng Cheng looked at Zhu Jinsong in bewilderment and asked, "Why does Your Majesty say that?"
Zhu Jinsong chuckled and said, "When the Great Qing had not yet perished, the Lanfang Republic had always wanted to be recognized as a vassal. Now that the Great Qing has completely perished, they have come to request vassal status again, all because they intend to use the banner of the Great Ming to intimidate the Dutch barbarians."
"Send someone to tell them that there is no problem with being recognized as a vassal, but the Great Ming will only accept their annexation, and the Great Ming will directly establish prefectures and counties to govern the Lanfang region."