weaving

Everyone else left, except for Wei Zhice, who remained.

"Zhi Ce, your suggestion during the military council to divide the Jurchens and first eliminate those who have entered Southern Zhili was excellent. However, we need to buy time for Lao Guo and Lao Wu, so it is not advisable to exert too much force on the Jurchens for the time being."

Wei Zhice smiled awkwardly and said, "Commander, I didn't come here for that."

"Oh. Is there anything else?"

"Commander, you know that Zhi Ce's ancestral home is Huolu. However, in recent years, Zhi Ce has been living in Xuanzhen for a long time and is often away from home. He has been separated from his wife and son for most of the year. Therefore, he wants to bring his wife and son to Xuanfu to settle down. He has come to inform the Commander."

Marquis Yongning, Zhang Cheng, was slightly taken aback and smiled, "This is your family matter, you can decide for yourself."

Wei Zhice's meaning was very clear: he was using his family as a "pledge of allegiance," which was equivalent to giving his wife and children to Yongning Earl Zhang Cheng as hostages, and also showed his determination to follow him to the death.

“Commander, my son is of school age. I don’t want him to study the Four Books and Five Classics by rote. I want him to go to the military academy to learn practical skills.”

Zhang Cheng's eyes were full of approval as he looked at Wei Zhice, as if to say, "Well done, it wasn't for nothing that I nurtured you, Wei Zhice. You are indeed a grateful lad."

However, it's not appropriate to say these words directly.

The Earl of Yongning smiled and said, "Good, good lad, you should go to the military academy so that you can inherit your father's business and guard the country and expand the territory for our Great Ming."

He approached Wei Zhice and patted him lightly on the shoulder: "Once the war here is over and we return to Xuanfu, I will reward you with a large mansion."

"Thank you for the reward, Commander."

"Zhi Ce, would you like to walk with me?"

Wei Zhice was taken aback for a moment, but quickly recovered and said with a smile, "Well, it's been a long time since Zhice has taken a walk with the Commander-in-Chief."

“Okay. Let’s take a walk together then.” Zhang Cheng said as he walked out of the hall, saying as he went, “When there are no outsiders, don’t be so reserved. I’ll call you Brother Zhice, and you can just call me Zhongchen.”

Upon hearing this, Wei Zhice was taken aback again and hurriedly said, "How can this be? You are now a count of the current dynasty and a commander of a large army. How can Zhice be so ignorant of etiquette?"

"Okay, okay, I won't argue with you. Call me whatever you want."

In just a short while, Xiao Sanjie, the commander of the central army, had already brought a wool cloak. As he draped it over Zhang Cheng, he said, "General, it's cold outside. Put on this cloak so you don't catch a cold."

Zhang Cheng simply nodded without saying anything.

…………

"Brother Ce, what is your view on the current state of the world?"

Wei Zhice followed Yongning Bo slowly to a pavilion, where he stood and replied, "Judging from the current situation, our Great Ming Dynasty is on the verge of collapse, like an old man terminally ill, merely clinging to life." "Oh. Tell me more."

A gust of cold wind swept by, and Zhang Cheng couldn't help but tighten his cloak. He turned to Xiao Sanjie and instructed, "Go and get a cloak for Brother Ce as well."

Xiao Sanjie responded and left.

Wei Zhice did not refuse, but simply clasped his hands and smiled, saying, "Zhice thanks the Commander for the reward."

Zhang Cheng didn't say much, just smiled at him, and then gestured for him to enter.

"The officials in the court and the local governments are mostly corrupt and incompetent, only knowing how to make money and build connections. The military generals are also incredibly cowardly, both afraid of death and willing to kill innocent people to claim credit. They have caused chaos and unrest among the people, making them no different from bandits."

Domestically, bandits are rampant, causing unrest in the Northwest, Central Plains, Hubei and Hunan, and Southern Zhili. For more than a decade, not only have they failed to be eradicated, but their numbers have increased, threatening to shake the very foundation of the nation.

Meanwhile, the Jurchens of Liaodong have already controlled Korea to the south and connected with various Mongol tribes to the north. The territory they actually control surrounds the eastern, northern, and western sides of our Great Ming Dynasty. Not only is it impossible to defend against them, but we also dare not even fight them.

Including this year's invasion of our capital region, the Jurchens have probably invaded our territory no less than five times. They invade our interior as if it were their own land, burning, killing, looting, and coming and going with complete freedom—a truly unprecedented and utterly shameful disgrace.

Just then, Xiao Sanjie returned with a wool cloak. Wei Zhice took it, put it on, and then continued, "Of course, not everyone in the court is a good-for-nothing. Governor Lu, Grand Secretary Yang, Governor Hong, and Governor Sun are all great talents. Even Governors Fu and Wang are not mediocre. In their early years, they killed bandits so badly that they were terrified."

But now the world is in chaos. Although there are talented soldiers, there are no soldiers to use. Even fierce generals like Zuo Liangyu and He Renlong, who are often relied upon by governors and viceroys, tend to hold onto their troops and become arrogant, unwilling to exert themselves on the battlefield. When they see the enemy's strength, they flee at the first sign of trouble.

Wei Zhice suddenly looked at Zhang Cheng, the Earl of Yongning: "If it weren't for the presence of the commander-in-chief, Kaifeng would probably have already fallen into the hands of the rebel Li Zicheng, and the Central Plains would also be his. Take the Jurchen invasion this time, for example. The court mobilized more than 100,000 troops to defend the emperor, but still dared not fight the Jurchens. They allowed them to attack prefectures and counties and plunder the people, but only dared to follow behind them and did nothing."

Zhang Cheng knew that Huolu County, where Wei Zhice had lived, had been besieged by the Jurchens in the eleventh year of the Chongzhen Emperor's reign. When the county was in imminent danger, Wei Zhice came to its aid, and Zhang Cheng led his troops to its rescue, thus saving Huolu from disaster.

Wei Zhice's deep resentment towards the Jurchens stemmed not only from national hatred but also from personal grudges.

“Brother Ce, what you said is the truth. The court has no money, so it cannot support the army. If the soldiers do not receive pay, how can they be willing to fight hard on the front lines?”
The reason why our brave and resolute army is like this is because our pay and rations are not in arrears, and the soldiers' families all have land to cultivate. The soldiers have no worries about their families, so they are fearless and fight hard on the front lines.

I can maintain tens of thousands of soldiers without costing the court any money or grain. Even so, I am still attacked by court officials who say that I, Zhang Cheng, have privately levied commercial taxes and want to tear me to pieces to vent their hatred.

They didn't even consider that the common people didn't even have land, so how could they collect money and grain? And which of the local officials, gentry, and especially those princes from the Zhu family, didn't own vast amounts of fertile land and shops?
They are all incredibly wealthy, with granaries overflowing, yet they only know how to enjoy themselves, unwilling to contribute a single bushel of grain or a single tael of silver to the nation. Their hearts are despicable; in my opinion, kill them all. Perhaps some are innocent, but half of them certainly deserve to die!

Zhang Cheng paused, turned his head to look at the dim sky in the distance, and suddenly said, "I really hope that the bandits and the Jurchens will kill more princes and dukes, and more officials and noble families. But if they do that, the common people will inevitably suffer as well. It's a real dilemma!"

He turned to look at Wei Zhice and said, "Let's not talk about that for now. Tell me first, how should we deal with the bandits and the Jurchens? Which one should we concentrate our forces on eliminating first? There has to be a priority, right?"

"This... Zhi Ce fully agrees with the Commander-in-Chief's proposal, 'First eliminate the internal traitors, then pacify the Jurchens!'" (End of Chapter)