Chapter 132: Abdication of the Surabaya Swimming Competition
The ministers who followed him this time were composed of Liao generals such as Shang and Kong, and surrendered generals from the Beijing camp and Jizhen. The Liao soldiers who came out of Ningyuan City did not have time to join.

Therefore, Marshal Li only accepted the crown and robes. The rest of the scenes such as refusing and abdicating the throne three times had to wait until the main force of the Liao army arrived and the generals could participate.

After capturing Tongzhou City, the New Liao soldiers did not stop for long, but directly attacked Baoding and Hejian Prefecture south of Tianjin with 30,000 surrendered soldiers and civilians in order to cut off the Ming army's escape route to the south.

Only Marshal Li's three adopted sons and 20,000 soldiers were left in the capital, and the elite troops brought from Liaodong were basically all left behind in Beijing.

The task of attacking Tianjin was left to the Liao soldiers who came out of the pass. Most of them were cavalry and mounted infantry, and their marching speed was much faster than that of Marshal Li.

……

Tianjin Sanwei.

In the Wei Office, which served as the central military meeting hall, the generals leading the various reinforcements were arguing fiercely.

"Since Marshal Sun has died in the battle, why don't we each go back to our own homes and settle our affairs!" This was the voice of Wang Guoliang.

He was the deputy general of Xuanfu, and most of his family fortune had been lost. None of the generals in Xuanfu wanted to stay in Tianjin City any longer, so it was right for him to return to his territory as soon as possible to observe the situation.

Although a large number of low-level soldiers from the two towns of Xuanfu and Datong fled, generals such as Wang Guoliang and Yang Zhaoji still took the remaining troops to join forces with the reinforcements from Tongzhou, and then retreated together to the Tianjin City.

The reason for not retreating to Jizhou in the north is very simple. Tianjin is an important water transport town, and part of the military rations for Liaodong will be diverted from here, so the reinforcements will still have food to eat after retreating here.

If they run to Jizhou, the reinforcements will most likely surrender to Li Ni after eating the rations they carry with them.

It is said that more than 100,000 people were killed in the capital, saving enough food.

"That's right. Most of your soldiers in Yongping and Guancheng are recruits. Their families are not involved, so they can go wherever they want. Our men all have families. The situation is so chaotic now. If we don't go back, I'm afraid the servants will make a scene."

Yang Zhaoji, the general of Datong, also agreed with Wang Guoliang's opinion. The Liao army was powerful and these people near Tianjin Wei could not fight at all. If they ran away early, they could still save a few routes. If they really waited until the two groups of rebels surrounded them, the only ones who could escape would be the generals and their horse-riding servants.

"It's better to withdraw to Shandong. Many of the soldiers in Guancheng Camp are from Shandong Wei Suo military households, so they can still hold out."

"If it were up to me, we should retreat directly to Nanjing, confront each other across the river, and then call on all the loyal ministers to come to our aid."

"The soldiers are all from the north. If we can't flee to the south, you and I will be tied up. Shandong is still safe."

The generals had different opinions, but none of them proposed to defend Tianjin City to the death.

The rebels have 60,000 to 70,000 border soldiers who have just received double pay. All the generals in the city have a clear understanding of their subordinates. To go up and start a war now would be a suicide move.

"Silence!" Governor Yuan, who was dizzy from the noise, stopped the generals. "Generals who want to leave should leave as soon as possible. Soldiers from Yongping and Guancheng camps who want to go to Shandong should follow Marshal Manchu, and those who don't want to go to Shandong should follow me to the south. The court has become like this, and we have to find someone to take charge."

Sun Chengzong had previously recommended Wang Zaijin to be the Nanjing Minister of War. If he led the troops there, he would surely be given an important position.

The entire Liaodong area fell into the hands of the enemy. Governor Yuan only had an official position in name only. All the power in his hands was temporarily delegated by Zhang Ruitu and Sun Chengzong. One of them was captured and the other died in Tongzhou. Most of these generals no longer obeyed his orders, and he also wanted to find a way out for himself.

This proposal was agreed by most of the generals, so they left the city as quickly as possible and gave the order to march out.

No matter which direction you retreat, it is right to run first. If you run too late, the rebels will catch up with you.

However, the marching speed of the Liao soldiers was far beyond the imagination of the Ming troops. The ground was solid in winter, suitable for large-scale cavalry marches. The Haihe River and its upstream rivers did not hinder the advance of the Liao soldiers. The two sides met in Jinghai and Cangzhou south of Tianjin, and the Ming army dispersed at the first touch.

The most common task for the Liao soldiers who went out of the pass was to capture prisoners and Ming army generals.

After the Ming army was defeated, Marshal Li integrated the two armies in Tianjin, and then led his troops back to the capital to begin the formal abdication process.

Although the three main halls have not yet been completed, the base in front of the Huangji Hall, the Inner Golden Water Bridge and other areas have taken shape, and there is no problem accepting the kneeling worship of officials.

"To you, Prince Yong: In the past, our royal ancestors drove out the Tartars and held the highest position in the world. However, the succession of light and darkness is subject to change. Your majesty, your grandfather and father, has been obedient to the wise and assisted our royal family, and your merits and virtues are known to the world. When the country was overthrown, your majesty saved it; when Liaodong was overgrown with weeds, your majesty saved it. You should accept the command of God and serve the emperor. I, one person, will only follow the order of heaven and respectfully grant you the throne. The succession of generations is in your body. If you hold to the middle position, the blessing of heaven will last forever."

Shang Zhouzuo, representing the old ministers of the previous dynasty, read out the abdication edict of Emperor Tianqi. The meaning was simple: I, the Hongwu Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, drove out the Tartars and thus won the world. Your ancestors, Prince Yong, were wise men who assisted the Zhu family of the Ming Dynasty. Their moral character and merits were known to the world.

Previously, Liaodong was overthrown by the troops of Prince Yong, Li Qing. Therefore, by God's order, I abdicate the throne to Prince Yong. I hope that you will hold on to the sacred artifact and be blessed by God forever.

This Prince Yong was a transitional title bestowed upon Li Hao, to avoid the embarrassment of both parties if the title was passed to someone without the title.

After completing the necessary procedures of refusing three times, Li Hao held a ceremony to receive the abdication in front of the Huangji Palace. Hundreds of generals, civil servants, representatives of the four barbarians and others of the new dynasty came forward to offer their congratulations.

"I conferred upon Emperor Tianqi the title of Duke of Wu, and granted him a residence in Beijing and a thousand acres of land, so that he could live with the country. I appreciate the virtue of Zhu Ming in protecting the people of the world, and I specially appointed Zhu Youxiao as the King of Wu, and allowed him to follow the Zhu Ming's official calendar and dress in his residence. The original King Xin was renamed Marquis of Fengyang, and was granted the job of guarding the mausoleum and offering sacrifices to the temple."

Before conferring titles on all the generals, the new emperor Li Hao first secured the title of the Zhu family. The other princes of the Zhu family were not given titles and were naturally demoted to commoners.

Among all the generals, those who were in charge of a battalion were given the rank of deputy general of the second grade, as well as titles such as General Longhu, General Dingguo, and General Pinglu.

Those who did not command a battalion on their own were also given official titles such as lieutenant general, guerrilla general, and garrison commander.

"Li Tianyang, Cao Wenzhao, Yang Shigong... were given the title of first-class marquis, and were granted 500 mu of land and a mansion. Cao Bianjiao and Liu Maocai... were given the title of first-class baron, and were granted 300 mu of land and a mansion."

Li Hao was quite cautious about awarding titles. Now that the Liao army actually controlled most of northern Zhili and Liaodong, these generals were still needed to work hard to capture the remaining territories, so there was room for further awards.

The rewards for the soldiers were relatively simple. If they had followed him for more than half a year, they would be promoted one level and receive fifty taels of silver, and the rest would be rewarded thirty taels of silver.

Just this one time, more than two million taels of silver were spent.

The country's name was naturally Tang, and the reign title was Xianqing, which had been used by Emperor Gaozong of Tang, Li Zhi.

It is not a big problem to use the reign title used by previous emperors. The reign title Yongle has been used three times before, and all of them were used by separatist regimes. Fang La in the Northern Song Dynasty also used it. Emperor Chengzu of the Ming Dynasty certainly knew this. He used Yongle probably to show that he was the emperor of great unification.

Li Hao used Xianqing because the territory of the Tang Dynasty had expanded to its maximum under Li Zhi, and he wanted to use it to motivate himself and his soldiers to actively expand the territory.

Because he nominally abdicated and the new year had just passed, he would still use the seventh year of Tianqi to date, and would only change the era name to the first year of Xianqing next year.

After the generals were appointed, the structure of the six ministries began to be established. Wang Tingshi, who was originally in charge of supervising food and salaries in Liaodong, was promoted to the position of Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, in charge of food and salaries for the army and tax collection in the jurisdiction.

When the new dynasty was first established, it was natural to reduce taxes and levies. Emperor Xianqing issued an edict to collect only regular taxes, and all other miscellaneous taxes were suspended, including the Liao salary.

In this way, the taxes collected were not enough to support an army of 80,000. So half a month after abdicating, Emperor Xianqing began to divide his troops into two groups. He led one group and fought all the way from Shandong and Nanzhili.

Another route was led by General Cao Wenzhao and other generals, with Li Tianyang as the military supervisor. They entered Shanxi through Juyong Pass and attacked Shaanxi and other places.

……

Shandong Provincial Administration and Yanzhou Prefecture.

It took Emperor Xianqing two months to pacify the six prefectures in Shandong, mainly because the land distribution policy he implemented caused local gentry to fight desperately.

Even if the policy of keeping the women but not the men was implemented for the gentry who owned more than a thousand acres of land, as soon as the main force of the Tang army left, the distant relatives of the gentry jumped out and claimed that the fields were theirs, making it seem like a returning home group. So Li Hao had to dispatch small troops to encircle and kill the remaining dishonest gentry in the territories that had already been occupied.

Land is the largest property of the gentry. It is more difficult to touch their interests than to touch their souls. In order to ensure the living space of the poor people at the bottom, Emperor Xianqing can only take tougher measures against the gentry.

Li Hao did not forget his original intention to deal with the cancer of Beikong. He ordered the confiscation of all land and the men to hold a swimming competition on the Sishui River.

"Don't take off your cotton clothes. Anyone who can swim for an hour will survive."

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(End of this chapter)