weaving

Zhang Cheng naturally knew where Emperor Chongzhen's focus lay, so he paid meticulous attention to matters concerning Henan, adhering to the basic principle of submitting a small report every three days and a large report every five days.

Which county was recaptured the day before yesterday? How many scattered civilians were pacified yesterday? Where was the fierce battle with the bandits fought today? How many heads were beheaded and how many bandit soldiers were killed?

Of course, there was some truth to it, but Zhang Cheng's brilliance lay precisely in this: most of the information he reported to Emperor Chongzhen was true, with only a small portion containing some exaggeration.

For example, if three prefectures and counties were recovered today, he would only report one to Emperor Chongzhen and leave the other two for later.

After all, good news doesn't come every day, so when things were progressing quickly, he had to leave some news behind. This way, he could avoid making Emperor Chongzhen mistakenly think that things were easy at the front, and he could also frequently report good news so that he wouldn't neglect the emperor because there was nothing to report.

Furthermore, most of the news, such as encounters with bandit forces, was actually fabricated out of thin air.

Military reports of simple encounters with bandits were sufficient to report as merit as long as the enemy's head was captured. The officials in the capital would never care about the details of the battle.
However, the fact that the court officials did not care about the details of the battlefield did not mean that others did not care either—for example, the Chongzhen Emperor himself, who was high above the throne, was particularly concerned about the details of the fighting on the battlefield.

Of course, Emperor Chongzhen's hobby was gradually spoiled by Zhang Cheng, the Earl of Yongning!

Since leading his army into Henan, Zhang Cheng, the Earl of Yongning, began to use his talent for writing short reports, and would report his progress to Emperor Chongzhen every now and then.

At first, he was a little reserved, and his essays were quite sincere and well-organized. But when he discovered that Emperor Chongzhen had actually issued a secret edict specifically for him...

In this secret edict, Emperor Chongzhen praised his performance after entering Henan, especially commending his timely reports. He then went on to do something unstoppable, fully activating his divergent thinking. He gradually incorporated many trivial matters from the march into his short essays, and even some content that he deliberately fabricated.

For example, if the army encounters enemy scouts during a march, the entire army must halt its advance until the situation is clear before proceeding again.

Furthermore, when encamped, the army had to make various arrangements. In order to prevent surprise attacks by bandits, they had to take precautions every time they encamped, and even specially assigned a group of people to keep watch at night.

Furthermore, the reports incorporated many of the soldiers' emotional changes. For example, some soldiers missed home, and the solution was to have those who received the good news letters from home read their letters aloud in public to encourage other soldiers to fight bravely against the enemy so that they could return home and reunite with their families as soon as possible.

When the Yongyi Army advanced into Xincheng and began to confront the rebel army, they sent a secret memorial every day. Even if there was nothing in it, they would fabricate some encounters between scouts to please Emperor Chongzhen.

Marquis Yongning, Zhang Cheng, would even describe the specific process and details of this encounter in great detail, as if it were a wonderful storytelling performance.

Emperor Chongzhen was so captivated by it that he would sometimes watch it three or five times in a row, completely engrossed in it and wishing he could be there in person and experience the thrill of fighting on the battlefield.

When the Earl of Yongning reported some impending dangers to him, Emperor Chongzhen was unable to sleep at night, constantly worried about the safety of the Earl of Yongning's army, and even had many nightmares because of it.

With this, Zhang Cheng's wish was completely fulfilled.

Emperor Chongzhen finally became his first fan in the Ming Dynasty, and even his number one fan!

It was precisely because of the Yongning Earl's frequent reports, though some of the content seemed trivial, that Emperor Chongzhen perceived the Yongning Earl's loyalty as utterly undisguised. Moreover, Zhang Cheng would even use these reports to set traps for Emperor Chongzhen…

In his reports, he frequently consulted Emperor Chongzhen about his opinion on trivial matters. Whenever Emperor Chongzhen conveyed his opinion, Zhang Cheng would report back a few days later that he had handled the matter according to the emperor's wishes, with very satisfactory results.

In reality, he didn't even act according to Emperor Chongzhen's wishes. What's more, the matter of him asking the emperor for his opinion on how to handle the situation never even happened.

However, Zhang Cheng's actions satisfied Emperor Chongzhen's curiosity and his desire to command, giving him an unprecedented experience.

The current Chongzhen Emperor has practically come to regard Yongning Earl Zhang Cheng as a confidant, or even an indispensable figure!

Now, seeing that the situation in Henan was very favorable, Zhang Cheng began to report daily, detailing the direction of the Yongyi Army's advance and which prefectures and counties had been recovered, all to Emperor Chongzhen.

Sometimes, when there was really nothing to write about, I would write in short essays about how local governments had helped to appease the fleeing people, such as the people's gratitude to the emperor for providing relief.

As for the matter of military settlements, it was naturally a top priority for the Earl of Yongning to report to the Emperor.

For example, in Henan, especially within the territory of Kaifeng Prefecture, wealthy households only knew how to flee for their own lives, completely disregarding the lives of ordinary people. What was even more infuriating was that they preferred to leave their land uncultivated rather than rent it out to ordinary people at low prices.

But military settlements are different. The scattered people who have been recruited back need to have land to cultivate before they can settle down in the local area. This is especially true for the starving people who have been coerced by the rebels.

From another perspective, if the land is left uncultivated, it would be better to let the people cultivate it. At least that would keep people tied to the land and prevent them from becoming a source of soldiers for rebels.

From this perspective, the behavior of those landlords and wealthy households who would rather leave their land uncultivated than rent it out at low prices to landless people is, in effect, aiding the enemy and providing soldiers to the rebels.

Although the Earl of Yongning did not explicitly state that landlords, wealthy households, gentry, and officials were aiding and abetting the thieves, that was indeed the meaning he conveyed—in any case, Emperor Chongzhen understood it.

However, Emperor Chongzhen was also aware that the foundation of his rule ultimately rested with scholars, gentry, and officials, so he did not say anything in court.

But in secret, the Emperor Yongning revealed a meaning in the imperial edict: You are allowed to act as you see fit when you are suppressing bandits in the Central Plains!

This meaning was actually stated in the imperial edict when Zhang Cheng, the Earl of Yongning, was appointed as the Commander-in-Chief for Suppressing Bandits in the Central Plains; now it is simply being further affirmed.

It is confirmed—the Earl of Yongning can convert unclaimed and abandoned land, as well as newly reclaimed land, into military settlements, which falls under the category of expedient measures stipulated in the imperial edict.

However, Emperor Chongzhen also implied that the establishment of military settlements should be limited to the Central Plains, where banditry was rampant, and should not be forcibly promoted in other places.

This shows that Emperor Chongzhen was still quite clear-headed! (End of Chapter)