The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 130: Save the People, Not the Ming Dynasty

During the Ming Dynasty, dukes and marquises were rare. Starting from Emperor Yingzong, there were fewer than 100 dukes and marquises. They were hereditary, and except for relatives outside the emperor's family, all were established through military merit (excluding Qiu Luan, Shi Heng, and others).

Only those with military merits could be granted titles. Even prime ministers like Xu Jie, Gao Gong, Zhang Juzheng, Shen Shixing, Shen Yikuan, and Fang Congzhe did not have titles.

Liu Zhaosun led his army to fight the first battle at Sarhu and turned the tide at Hunjiang; he fought the second battle at Kaiyuan and revitalized Liaodong; he fought the third battle at Hunhe and wiped out the Jiannu.

After three great victories, it is reasonable for him to be granted a title of nobility.

But what does this cracked earth mean?
Could it be that the emperor wants to grant Liaodong to me?
Liu Zhaosun quickly rejected this idea, because as far as he knew, the Ming Dynasty seemed to have never had a precedent of granting territories to dukes and kings of different surnames, except for the Mu family in Yunnan, but there was only one Mu family in the Ming Dynasty.

But Yuan Yingtai continued, "General Liu, the main purpose of this trip is to verify military achievements and check the old accounts in Liaodong. As for the imperial edict, we have to wait for the eunuch Wang from the Imperial Household Department to send someone to read it out."

The eunuch Wang mentioned by Yuan Yingtai was actually Wang An, the chief secretary of the Imperial Household Department.

Wang An was grateful to Wei Zhongxian for promoting him. Shortly after Tianqi ascended the throne, Wei Zhongxian came to power. Eunuch Wei quickly killed Wang An, expelled Wang An's followers, and became the eunuch in charge.

The appearance of Liu Zhaosun made the struggle between the two eunuchs even more intense.

Of course, Liu Zhaosun didn't know who Eunuch Wang was, and he didn't realize that danger was approaching him.

Yuan Yingtai and his entourage entered Shenyang that day and lived in the governor's official residence. The 2,000-man standard-bearing battalion he led was stationed at the South Gate City Wall.

In the next few days, Yuan Yingtai, along with Liaoxi generals and censors, began to inspect the city. They visited the city openly and secretly, went into shops to inquire, and even went to the north gate once, watching the training of Kaiyuan recruits with complicated expressions.

On November 19th, General Liu led Kang Yingqian, Ma Shiying, Deng Changxiong, Wang Erhu and others to host a banquet at the Qixing Tower to entertain the governor Yuan Yingtai, the military supervisor He Tingkui, Cui Ruxiu, the censor Zhang Quan and his party, to formally welcome these superiors.

The Qixing Restaurant is located next to the Hunhe River in the northeast corner of Shenyang City. According to Kang Yingqian, it is the most upscale restaurant in Shenyang.

The crowd filled the entire floor.

From where Liu Zhaosun was sitting, he could see the famous Seven-Star Pagoda on the north bank by opening the window. Kang Yingqian said that if it was a clear evening, one could look out from the tower at the sparkling Hunhe River and enjoy one of the eight scenic spots in Shenyang - "Sunset over the Hunhe River".

Kang Yingqian traveled between Kaiyuan and Shenyang some time ago. In a short period of time, he had a very clear understanding of the history of Shenyang. Liu Zhaosun felt inferior to him.

The Seven Star Tower was personally selected by Kang Yingqian.

In the six months or so since he traveled through time, Liu Zhaosun rarely visited such luxurious places. Since the Battle of Hunjiang, he had been leading troops, and the poverty of the foreign soldiers was beyond imagination and shocking.

All his energy was spent on fighting wars and raising military funds, and he didn't even have time to touch a stunning woman like Jin Yuji. I'd like to add that things might be different in the future.

He was a generous person by nature, and seeing his soldiers suffering from cold and hunger, he naturally did not want to spend money.

Under Kang Yingqian's suggestion, General Liu followed the official rules and gave the governor a red envelope of two hundred taels.

In addition, he gave one hundred taels each to the military supervisors He Tingkui and Cui Ruxiu, one hundred taels to the censor Zhang Quan, fifty taels to the lieutenant general Fan of the standard battalion, and fifty taels each to the two generals who came to accompany Liaozhen.

In this way, five or six hundred taels of silver were gone in the blink of an eye, and this was just a gift for meeting.

No one refused the silver. In this era, the unspoken rule in officialdom was to give silver. If someone did not give it, it would be a strange thing.

After receiving the silver, the atmosphere at the table immediately relaxed a lot, and everyone looked at Liu Zhaosun more favorably.

Kang Yingqian had originally booked this official banquet several days in advance, spending forty taels of silver on the deposit alone. The banquet cost Liu Zhaosun eighty taels of silver in total, not including the cost of entertaining actors and singers, which totaled an estimated two or three hundred taels.

Kang Yingqian had originally thought that Yuan Yingtai was easy to deal with, and that a simple meal and some silver would be enough to win him over. Unexpectedly, Yuan Jinglie had just arrived in Shenyang and was already giving him a show of force. It seemed that a few thousand taels of silver was not enough to appease him.

Kang Yingqian had been reprimanded by Yuan Jinglie at the South Gate that day, leaving him humiliated and disgraced. But he was a seasoned official after all, and at the banquet today, he immediately put on a fawning smile.

He ran around to pour wine and add food to the governor, and sometimes whispered in Yuan Yingtai's ear. The two of them talked and laughed. People who didn't know him would think that this person was the confidant of the new governor.

The wind was biting cold on the banks of the Hun River, but it was warm inside the house.

Charcoal fires were lit in the four corners of the private room. Amid the crackling sound of the burning charcoal, a small table was placed in front of each person.

It's a bit like a buffet in later times. Of course, the dishes on the small tables are much more exquisite than those at a buffet. Each person's dish is unique.

Liu Zhaosun took a quick look and saw: quail cooked with flowers, chicken tongue soup, venison stuffed with Jiangyao, fried beef tendon with mandarin duck, shredded rabbit with chrysanthemum, fried deer leg, and golden and silver trotters with ginger vinegar.

There are also some dried fruit preserves.

He didn't recognize the rest of the dishes.

The time traveler was dumbfounded. He had some knowledge in his previous life, but he had never expected that the food in the Ming Dynasty could be so exquisite.

"Even the meal Guo Jing treated Huang Rong to back then wasn't this sumptuous."

Thinking that the soldiers' salaries had been spent again, Liu Zhaosun couldn't help feeling heartbroken.

Two delicate and tender actors began to sing Yiyangqiang Kunqu opera, which seemed to be "Du Shiniang's Fury and Sinking of the Treasure Chest." Liu Zhaosun had visited Suzhou and Hangzhou in his previous life and had heard Kunqu opera before, so he had some understanding of it.

I didn’t expect that I could listen to Kunqu Opera in Liaodong. I guess it must be very expensive.

Looking at the delicacies on the table, thinking of the refugees in the city who are homeless and the soldiers who are still starving in the city, he couldn't help but shake his head and sigh.

These days, Kang Yingqian spent a lot of money without feeling any regret. At this moment, Old Kang was leaning in front of Yuan Yingtai and whispered:

"Yuan Jinglue, this Qixinglou is the most famous restaurant in Shenyang. The chef who cooked today is from Shaanxi. I wonder if it suits your taste?"

Yuan Yingtai, who was born in Shaanxi, took a sip of the duck tongue soup, frowned slightly, and like a food critic, gently put down his chopsticks and commented:

"It's a bit bland, and still lacks the flavor of Liufangzhai in the capital."

Liu Zhaosun looked at him coldly.

Yuan Yingtai, a Jinshi (Jinshi) in the 23rd year of the Wanli reign, was, to be fair, one of the few capable individuals in the Donglin Party. During his tenure as magistrate of Linzhang, he built a 40-mile-long dike to protect the Zhang River, diverted the Fanhe River through the Taihang Mountains, and diverted the Qinshui River to irrigate tens of thousands of hectares of farmland.

He was appointed as the military advisor for Huai and Xu. It happened that a great famine broke out, so he set up a porridge factory to provide relief to the victims.

Later, because he used extra taxes and horse price silver to provide relief to disaster victims, he was impeached by the censors for "unauthorized transfer of official granaries" and resigned.

This person can be a good local official, but he is not qualified for a commanding position like Liaodong Jinglüe.

Historically, during the Battle of Shenyang, Yuan Yingtai ignored his subordinates' advice and let the Mongolian surrendered soldiers into the city. Later, the Later Jin army joined forces from both inside and outside to break Shenyang.

However, he showed great courage. After the Later Jin army broke into the city, he wore his official seal and sword and hanged himself in the Kanhua Tower in the northeast of Liaoyang.

Later generations commented on Yuan Yingtai's administration of Liao as follows: Xiong Tingbi was strict in enforcing the law and keeping his troops in good order, but Yuan Yingtai was lenient in correcting him. He was not good at commanding troops and his planning was rather poor. (Note 1)

Simply put, Yuan Yingtai did not know how to use troops, lacked planning, and was too tolerant of foreign invaders.

Liu Zhaosun was not familiar with these historical details, but looking at what Yuan Yingtai did today, he felt that this person was not at all as great and upright as recorded in history books.

It can be seen that historical books often only conceal the truth and whitewash the facts to honor the respected.

"Xiong Manzi, the governor of Liaodong, spent one million taels of our emperor's treasury in just one year. It's simply outrageous! It's said that he has more than a dozen cooks alone. Supervisor Kang, why don't you call all of them here and let the two supervisors taste their cooking skills?"

Yuan Yingtai pushed the duck tongue soup aside as he spoke, a look of disgust on his face. He Tingkui and Cui Ruxiu, the military supervisors sitting nearby, only smiled apologetically. Everyone, smelling the scent of gunpowder, dared not respond. A Liaozhen general waved his hand fiercely, and the opera singer who was singing Du Shiniang quickly withdrew, and the surrounding singing girls and maids all moved away.

Kang Yingqian suppressed his anger and said with a smile, "I saw it with my own eyes in Liaodong. General Xiong doesn't care about food. Besides his official uniform, he doesn't even have many pieces of brocade clothes. I don't know which shameless censor spread these rumors. Don't believe them!"

After saying that, he turned around and filled Yuan Yingtai's glass with wine. Yuan Yingtai put out his hand to block the glass, his face suddenly changed, and he didn't even look at Kang Yingqian.

When Censor Zhang Quan saw that the censors were involved, he immediately said in a sarcastic tone:
"General Kang is wrong. There is no smoke without fire. Censors like us have the right to speak out what we hear. How can we be afraid of power and cover up? There has long been discussion in the court that Xiong Manzi enriched himself with Liao taxes, slaughtered Liao garrison officers in Shenyang, and embezzled Liao taxes. Everyone says so, and there must be a reason. Unfortunately, Xiong Jinglue's whereabouts are unknown, and there is no way to find out where the one million treasury given by the emperor was spent. General Kang has been in Liaodong for so long, he wouldn't have..."

When Liu Zhaosun heard this, he was already furious. He was good friends with Xiong Tingbi, and now Xiong Tingbi's body was still warm, but he was being insulted like this.

Tolerable or unbearable!
He clenched his fists, not caring about whether there was a welcoming party or not, and was ready to pick up the censor and give him a beating first.

Seeing this, Ma Shiying quickly advised:

"General Xiong devoted all his energy to preserving Liaoshen, and ultimately died a heroic death. The Liao people witnessed it all. His body is still warm, and it's inappropriate for Censor Zhang to say this."

Zhang Quan was so excited when he saw someone speaking up for Xiong Tingbi that he shouted angrily at Ma Shiying:

"Haha, everyone in the capital is saying that General Xiong has a young friend who is much older than him, a young hero who has received many benefits from General Xiong. Ma Shiying, you were a top-ranked Jinshi when you were recruited by General Liu to Liaodong. I don't know what benefits you received. Now he doesn't know the whereabouts of the Liaodong military pay. You should know more about this matter!"

Seeing that there was no way to retreat, Kang Yingqian suddenly stood up and said angrily:

"Zhang Quan, you've instigated your colleagues and framed loyal officials. Today's banquet is supposed to be joyful, but what exactly do you want?! There are gods above us, aren't you afraid of retribution?"

"Retribution? Do you dare to threaten the dignified Imperial Censor?!"

Officials on both sides stood up at the same time. The Liaozhen general on the opposite side was about to draw his sword, but was stopped by Yuan Yingtai's angry shout.

Liu Zhaosun also waved his hand for everyone to sit down, and said calmly: "Yuan Jinglie is used to fine clothes and delicious food in the capital, and even these delicacies are looked down upon."

"The soldiers under my command receive two taels of silver per month. The food and wine we spent today is enough to support one soldier for ten years. This extravagance and wastefulness is so overwhelming that the governor still feels helpless. I have nothing to say."

Everyone was intimidated by his aura and dared not speak. The surroundings suddenly fell silent.

Zhang Quan shouted, "General Liu, Yuan Jinglue and I didn't come to Liaodong to argue with you about this!"

Liu Zhaosun suppressed his anger and retorted, "Then why did Shangguan come to Liaodong? Is he here to steal your military merits?"

Zhang Quan was furious. He had never thought that this warrior would dare to speak to him like that:
"Xiong Tingbi squandered three million taels of Liao military pay. This time, we, following the imperial decree, are inspecting Liaodong to investigate the whereabouts of this Liao military pay! We must purge these rats who are eating the empty pay and sucking the blood of the soldiers!"

The censor glared at Liu Zhaosun, but pointed his finger at Qi Jin and other generals. "I advise certain people not to think that just because they've won a few battles by chance, they can do whatever they want and disregard the laws of the court! Qi Jin, others may not know, but you should know what happened to those southern soldiers in Jizhou who used the victory of the Korean army to extort military pay!"

The generals were in an uproar.

Liu Zhaosun's face turned pale.

Don't hit someone in the face. I don't know what provoked Zhang Quan to rub salt into Qi Jin's wound.

Kang Yingqian hurried over to hold Qi Jin.

Qiao Yiqi slammed the table and stood up, cursing loudly, "Are they all blind?! General Xiong has been in Shenyang for the past six months, repairing the city and dredging the river, raising funds to rebuild the border wall, reinforcing seven forts, building seventy-four watchtowers, enforcing military discipline, and purchasing armor and firearms. The account books are here, and every expense can be checked..."

Zhang Quan could already sense the murderous aura around him, but his status as a civil servant made him not care about the feelings of these warriors. More importantly, he was now an imperial censor and represented the imperial court.

"Hahaha, watchtowers? Forts? Armor and firearms? Where are they now? If the money had really been spent, Shenyang's outer city wouldn't have been conquered by the Jiannu in one day! Xiong Tingbi wouldn't have died! The account book you mentioned? Where is it now?"

Qiao Yiqi clenched his fists, almost wanting to punch someone: "The account book is at Li Ruzhen's house! Xiong Jinglie also has it, why don't you go ask them for it now!"

Zhang Quan angrily said, "The Li family's house was burned down, and we don't know who did it. Where can we find them?"

"Qiao Yiqi, as a military supervisor, you dare to threaten your superiors here! How dare you! If the Liao military pay is messed up, you two military supervisors will not be able to escape..."

·····
"shut up!!"

Dragons roar and tigers howl, and the wind and clouds change.

The cups and plates were shaken and fell to the ground.

Everyone was shocked and looked towards General Liu. Lieutenant General Fan of the Standard Battalion turned pale and fell to the ground.

Liu Zhaosun clenched the wine glass tightly and crushed the ceramic wine glass into pieces:
"The bloody battle at Hunhe resulted in nearly 20,000 casualties among the Kaiyuan Army, Standard Battalion, Zhejiang Army, Sichuan Army, and Liaozhen."

"Since you are here, bearing the Emperor's grace, please quickly verify the military merits and distribute compensation to the soldiers. Do not accept the over 30,000 head bounties for the time being. The compensation, totaling 200,000 taels, please distribute it as soon as possible to prevent the soldiers from feeling disheartened!"

"As for the rest, I won't bother with you!"

Yuan Yingtai, who had been silent all this time, finally twisted his fat body and looked up at Liu Zhaosun, his already small eyes narrowed into a line.

"General Liu, I know you are brave and skilled in battle, and have made many great achievements. Now that Jian is in the emperor's favor, you have been very successful over the past six months, rising through the ranks. You are completely unaware of the ups and downs of the political world."

"To be honest, I can only give you a maximum of 100,000 taels of silver in compensation. How you distribute it is up to you. I'd also like to say that I don't need to reveal to you today what you did in Kaiyuan. You're young and impulsive, so go back and think it over carefully."

Liu Zhaosun said word by word:

"Two hundred thousand taels of compensation silver were paid for by the soldiers with their lives! Countless orphans and widows depend on this silver for their livelihoods. I and the Kaiyuan soldiers can refuse it, but those foreign soldiers deserve it, and they must not lose a penny!"

Yuan Yingtai stared at Liu Zhaosun carefully for a long time.

Due to the financial situation of the Ming Dynasty, not only could the military salaries in the nine frontiers not be paid in full, let alone pensions.

In Yuan Yingtai's view, Liu Zhaosun was threatening the imperial court with his achievements in pacifying Liao, which was simply treason.

This time when he came to Liaodong, he thought about saving as much as possible and spending as little money as possible. One hundred thousand taels was enough to give Liu Zhaosun enough face.

Unexpectedly, Liu Zhaosun became more and more demanding.

"The censors impeached Xiong Tingbi for embezzling Liao military funds. Several Liaozhen generals were killed by you and the account books were burned. Now there is no evidence. This time, I am here not only to commend him for his achievements, but also to thoroughly investigate this matter!"

Liu Zhaosun said sadly, "Xiong Jinglie devoted himself to the pacification of Liao! In the end, he was beheaded by the chieftain and died a heroic death for his country! I didn't expect that this would be his fate after death, framed by a group of treacherous people. How sad! How lamentable! How pitiful!!"

Yuan Yingtai ignored Liu Zhaosun and glanced at the angry Deng Changxiong and Wang Erhu behind him.

"At Sarhu, the imperial court formed an alliance with the Yehe tribe. Currently, Xuanda and Jizhen are negotiating trade with Mongolia."

"General Liu's words are full of vehemence, but in reality, you've been slaughtering people without mercy. You didn't even spare the surrendered soldiers from Yehe. I heard you slaughtered thousands of Khorchin people. You disregard the laws of the court and kill people like crazy. Even if Bai Qi were reborn, he wouldn't be able to surpass you."

Liu Zhaosun slammed the table and stood up, arguing: "Yehe slaughtered the Liao people, how can I ignore it? What if they surrendered? I only regret that I killed too few people!"

Yuan Yingtai waved his hand, not wanting to argue with the warrior, and turned away with everyone.

He took a few steps and turned back to say:
"General Xuanwu, I have said everything I need to say. Xiong Tingbi's deficit of one million taels must be filled by someone. I believe the court will issue the pension silver that General Liu mentioned as soon as possible. General, please wait and see."

Note: (1) Wan Sitong, History of Ming Dynasty, Volume , “Biography of Xiong Tingbi”

(End of this chapter)