In the fifth year of Chongzhen, on the eighth day of the twelfth month, the Laba Festival, on January 17, 1633 in the Western calendar, Zhu Daolin and his 21,000 soldiers all arrived in Weihaiwei and stationed down.

Due to the sudden change in the weather, the continuous days of heavy snowstorms and snowstorms, and the continuous march and extremely fierce battles consumed the physical and mental strength of most of the officers and men, and the number of injuries and illnesses increased several times in just two days, Zhu Daolin had no choice but to cancel all training and construction projects, and on the morning of the ninth day of December, he led the officers and men of the whole army to gather on both sides of Weihai Harbor to see the bodies of 329 sacrificed soldiers loaded onto a 300-ton cargo ship and transported back to the martyrs' cemetery at the eastern foot of Qixia Mountain in Longtan for burial.

At the end of the farewell ceremony, Zhu Daolin immediately issued an order: the whole army rested for half a month, and 83 medical officers and 320 doctors were divided into four teams and entered the various departments!

Immediately after that, the three-day commendation meeting and the army reorganization meeting were solemnly held.

The 3,000 soldiers who performed well in the long-distance march and the Battle of Dengzhou were commended, and 6 soldiers including Lu Dingbang and Ding Erxiong, who detonated the city wall and captured the enemy chief Geng Zhongming alive, were awarded the title of first-class meritorious service, 37 officers who commanded Ruoding in the Battle of Dengzhou and soldiers who killed more than 10 enemies were awarded the title of second-class meritorious service, and 176 infantry cavalry, medical officers, healers and 329 soldiers who died were awarded the title of third-class meritorious service; The Jinzhou Guard Artillery Battalion was awarded the title of second-class merit for the collective merit of manipulating mortar artillery to destroy the defensive positions of the rebels, and the title of collective third-class merit of the Jinzhou Guard Garrison Battalion that blew up the city and the first battalion of the Longtan Arms Musket for the first time to rush into the city to open up the situation for the whole army.

According to the "Regulations on the Evaluation and Reward of Meritorious Service" formulated by Zhu Daolin, the Military Affairs Department recorded all meritorious soldiers and collectives, and took the lead in issuing meritorious service bonuses before the military merit medals arrived.

The first-class meritorious service is awarded 100 taels of silver, the second-class meritorious officer is awarded 70 taels of silver, and the third-class meritorious officer is awarded 50 taels of silver. All officers and men of the army were rewarded with an additional three months' military salary.

As soon as the decision was announced, the morale of the whole army was greatly boosted, the officers and men were in high spirits and rejoicing, the officers and men who had made meritorious service and received awards were extremely proud, and the commanders of various departments were full of joy and laughter.

The commendation meeting was over, followed by a meeting on the reorganization of the whole army.

Based on months of marching training and performance in the Battle of Dengzhou. A total of 419 officers were promoted, officers at all levels of the Longtan Army, Jinzhouwei, and Weihaiwei were enriched, and each army was in full swing to set up its own military order office, military affairs office, quartermaster office, and military law office in accordance with the newly formulated "Daming Army Charter."

On the last day of the meeting, Zhu Daolin issued five orders in the form of official documents:

First, all armies and guards conducted in-depth discussions and summed up the military training, ideological education, marching, and combat performance since the formation of the army, and submitted a report to the army headquarters seven days later.

Second, a 10-day ideological education was launched, and the commanders of each army and guard were required to go down to each battalion. The chief and deputy battalion commanders and the pacification officers of each battalion go down to each unit to listen to the opinions of the soldiers with an open mind, improve their working methods, and deepen the feelings of the officers and men.

Third, the song "Loyal to the Country" was set as the military song of the Ming Army, and sung together with the newly compiled "I am a soldier" and "Battle Flag Flying", requiring all officers and soldiers to sing it;

Fourth, each army and each guard will assign 10 officers or soldiers who can write and calculate to enrich the navy. Assist the commander of Qingdao Wei, General Xu Wentao, and the naval instructor corps to form the North Sea Fleet;

Fifth, the commander will deploy General Guo Zhongjun, director of the Military Law Division, to be responsible for the overall command. The Navy Instructor Corps is responsible for the specific implementation, and the various military and military law departments have fully cooperated to screen and educate the more than 3,800 prisoners of the former Denglai Navy Division and Dengzhou Defenders who were imprisoned on Liugong Island, truthfully telling all the soldiers how our army is different from other armies, who we are fighting for, and how the military salaries and officers and soldiers are treated. Complain about all kinds of corruption and crimes in the old army, try to help the soldiers solve the difficulties, and win over all the soldiers who can be won over, so as to enrich the North Sea Fleet and quickly start training.

At the end of the meeting, the generals and colonels of all armies hurriedly left with the official documents issued.

Zhu Daolin stayed with the four acting chiefs of the Army Command. Discussions on specific matters such as garrison security, internal and external liaison, military law supervision, and logistical supply will continue.

The existing reserves of grain and grass in all armies and guards are sufficient to last for 50 days, and the Qingdao Guard, where the veteran general Li Yiliang is in charge, has a large amount of grain and materials to be transported, and Zhu Daolin no longer needs to worry about grain and grass, but only needs to bring enough weapons and ammunition to equip the newly formed Qingdao Wei and Beihai Fleet, and supplement the two main forces that will leave for Jinzhouwei and Phi Dao two months later.

Since the emperor's edict on appointment had not yet been issued, Zhu Daolin, in order to avoid the suspicion of the imperial court and the emperor, continued to hide the army building plan and military rank system that should have been announced.

Zhu Daolin will take advantage of this rare opportunity to recuperate and establish a complete and highly efficient command system and supervision mechanism in his army; therefore, the burden on the shoulders of the acting chiefs of various departments of the army headquarters is very heavy, and Zhu Daolin needs to draw up work plans for them one by one and point out the direction of their work.

The meeting didn't end until 11 o'clock in the evening, and Zhu Daolin, who was like an arrow, and his junior brother Guo Zhongjun walked out of Weihai Acropolis, whispered their itinerary, and explained a few precautions to him:

"I estimate that it will be difficult for the establishment of the Yamen of the Governor of Haiphong to be approved by the imperial court, but it is easier to appoint me as the commander-in-chief of Dongjiang Town, and it will be fast for the appointment edict to come down within a month, before I made some arrangements, and took this opportunity to go to Tianshu Pavilion, one is to visit my parents, and the other is to bring back the weapons and equipment of the 5,500 soldiers of Qingdao Wei and 2,000 soldiers of the North Sea Fleet Marine Corps, as well as a large number of machines ordered for the Ziyangguan Pharmaceutical Factory a few months ago, and I will be busier if I don't hurry up."

"When will Senior Brother leave?" Guo Zhongjun asked.

Zhu Daolin pointed to the dark sea to the south: "I'll leave later, the boat that picks me up has already arrived, I'll go over by myself later, and the army will rely on you in the next month, and if you can't make a decision, you will discuss it with Xu Wentao, Wu Jicheng and Tang Zhenglin, the three of them, they are all brothers and sisters who are worthy of trust." ”

Guo Zhongjun suddenly felt a heavy responsibility, and his eyes became solemn: "The little brother is worried that his ability is not enough. ”

Zhu Daolin explained: "Looking at the whole army, who else has this ability except you?" ”

"Lao Li, who is in charge of Qingdao Wei, is old enough, but he is too old and in poor health to stay on the front line for a long time; Xu Wentao's overall performance is good, with rich qualifications and experience, but his horizons are not broad enough; Lao Wu and Lao Tang are both fierce generals, more than brave and not enough scheming, so I had to equip them with two deputies with a steady personality and send two of the best teams to join the army. ”

"Only you are the most balanced, both civil and military, fair, selfless and fearless, so the soldiers obey you, not because you are my junior brother!"

"Let it go, set up the military intelligence team when you have time, and when you see a suitable candidate or a good seedling worthy of training, you will boldly recruit them, first conduct secret training in the name of the law enforcement team of the Judge Advocate General's Office, and then the army headquarters will be sound in the future, and then the military intelligence department will be assigned to the military command department, and the internal supervision and anti-espionage department will be left in the military justice department."

Guo Zhongjun nodded heavily: "Understood, little brother obeys orders!" ”

Zhu Daolin patted Guo Zhongjun's arm: "Okay!" Go back and rest, I'll just go over by myself. ”

"Senior brother, take care!"

Guo Zhongjun stood straight at the gate of the Acropolis, watching Zhu Daolin, who was dressed in a black coat, cross the snow-shrouded checkpoint in the south and gradually disappear at the end of the misty snowy night. (To be continued.) )