The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 295 Heaven Punishes Liu the Thief
The day after Ping Liaohou's old illness relapsed, the emperor's handwritten edict and rewards were delivered to the Grand Tutor's Mansion.

Wang Chengen, the chief eunuch in charge of the Imperial Household Department, respectfully held the imperial edict in his hands while directing the younger eunuchs to carry the imperial gift before the Grand Tutor.

"To Taifu Liu: I have not seen you for a few days. I heard you are recovering from your illness. I am giving you eighty taels of silver and a dragon robe as a token of my affection. You are kindly requested to accept this." (Note 1)

Liu Zhaosun led everyone to receive the imperial edict and express gratitude.

Emperor Tianqi showed great care for Tutor Liu and prepared the imperial gifts carefully.

One piece of fresh pork, one piece of fresh lamb, sweet pickled cucumbers, eggplant, two stone of white rice, ten bottles of wine, eighty taels of silver, two boxes of sweets, two boxes of dry snacks, and a portion of roasted meat.

Ping Liaohou asked Shen Lian and Wu Xiao to accept the gifts, and led everyone to kowtow to the emperor again to express their gratitude.

After Ping Liaohou finished kneeling, the fifteen-year-old Wang Chengen quickly stepped forward and helped Liu Zhaosun to his feet, saying, "Grand Tutor Liu, please get up quickly! The emperor heard in the palace that the Grand Tutor was ill, so he sent us here early this morning."

Liu Zhaosun had already guessed Zhu Youjian's intention. He wanted to see if he was really going to die. He suppressed his anger and said with gratitude:
"I am deeply grateful for the favor of the Holy Emperor."

After the Jingnan Campaign, Xu Xianchun was killed, along with Tian Ergeng, Liu Ruoyu, Li Yongzhen, and others. Most of the eunuchs in the Imperial Household Department had died, and the remaining eunuchs were either old and frail, or juniors like Wang Chengen, who were mostly unfit for duty.

Wang Chengen was a childhood playmate of Prince Xin, and as a close confidant of Zhu Youjian, he was naturally given important positions. As soon as Emperor Tianqi ascended the throne, he directly promoted him to the position of Chief Eunuch of the Imperial Household Department.

Wang Cheng'en was only fourteen or fifteen years old, and had not participated in the Kaiyuan assassination attempt, so Liu Zhaosun did not take action against him, tacitly allowing him to serve as the head of the Imperial Household Department. This young man was very smart, and after understanding the strength of the Kaiyuan army, he was also very sensible. He often spoke well of Liu Taifu in front of Tianqi, probably to leave himself a way out.

While the imperial edict was being read, Wang Chengen secretly looked around.

The Grand Tutor's Mansion was the same as usual, with no changes.

Ma Shiying, Qiao Yiqi, and the others all looked at him with smiles. Ma Shiying, in particular, came over to greet him, and when he heard that he and Wang Chengen were from the same hometown, he became even more friendly.

Wang Chengen was quite annoyed with this chatterbox. After all, he was in the Grand Tutor's Mansion, so he didn't dare to get angry. He could only chat with Ma Shiying in a random manner.

Suddenly, he noticed a woman in the crowd whose horse-faced skirt was a little disheveled. He knew that when listening to the emperor's orders, being untidy was a serious offense. He was about to reprimand her when he recognized her as Jin Yuji, the wife of the Marquis of Ping Liao and General Anyuan, a legitimate imperial consort.

He secretly felt lucky, because if he had spoken, things would have ended badly.

Looking at Jin Yuji's flushed face, the eunuch had guessed about 80% of what had happened and was surprised:
How strange! Marquis Ping Liao was clearly dying yesterday, but how could he be enjoying sex with a beautiful Korean girl today? It's really bizarre.

Wang Chengen thought for a while, and suddenly remembered that he was a eunuch, and a wave of sadness filled his heart...

After the ceremony, Ping Liaohou ordered Ma Shiying to escort Eunuch Wang back to the palace.

Ma Shiying had been accompanying Kang Yingqian on public relations tours for the past two years and was already very familiar with the officialdom. He escorted Wang Chengen out of the Grand Tutor's Mansion and, along the way, they chatted about some old news from their hometown.

A group of eunuchs would occasionally burst into laughter, attracting the attention of the Kaiyuan generals along the way.

"I heard that Eunuch Wang loves Kunqu Opera, so Grand Tutor Liu specially asked someone to buy a troupe from Jiangnan..."

Wang Chengen interrupted him with a wave of his hand and said coldly to Ma Shiying, "Thank you, Grand Tutor, for your kindness. The Emperor is waiting for your reply in the palace. Come to the Grand Tutor's residence another day to listen to The Peony Pavilion."

After saying that, he stood up and got into the sedan chair. Ma Shiying was quick-witted and quickly stuffed two silver notes worth one thousand taels into the sedan chair under the curtain.

Wang Chengen refused repeatedly and sternly warned his fellow townsmen that "eunuchs are not allowed to make friends with foreign officials and must not break the rules of the court"... but in the end he accepted them all.

~~~~
Dezheng Hall in the Forbidden City.

Emperor Tianqi Zhu Youjian summoned Li Banghua, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of War, and Li Mingrui, the Imperial Academy Scholar, and asked the two trusted ministers for "urgent plans to quell the rebellion."

Li Banghua looked around and saw two imperial censors from the palace looking in his direction. The Minister of War suspected that these censors must be spies planted by Liu Zhaosun.

In the distance, there were a few burly generals with shifty eyes.

I heard that Liu Ze has spies all over the imperial city, and it turns out to be true!
Li Banghua quickly winked at the Shujishi. Li Mingrui gathered his strength, picked up a newspaper from the imperial desk, and said in a rhythmic manner:
"The Ministry of War reported the other day that Mizhi, Yulin, and Yansui hadn't seen any rain for three months this year, and plague was rampant. The land was barren for thousands of miles, spring seedlings died from drought, and the summer grain harvest was completely lost. With all the vegetation gone, people were cannibalizing each other. The officials were greedy, extorting, and demanding taxes. On the sixth day of April, Wang Er, a bandit from Baishui, gathered hundreds of unruly people..."

While Li Mingrui was reporting loudly, his voice resounding throughout the Dezheng Hall, Li Banghua whispered to Tianqi:
"Your Majesty, since I was summoned, I have learned that Liu's minions, such as Shen Lian and Lin Yu, have a deep hatred for Japan and have recently planned to go to war with Japan."

Several palace maids suddenly looked over here, and Li Banghua quickly stopped talking.

Li Mingrui's loud and powerful voice echoed all around:
"Wang Er gathered bandits, armed with knives and weapons, and painted his face with ink as a mark. When he reached the city of Chengcheng, he led his men into the city and killed the magistrate, Zhang Douyao..."

The scholar read for a while, and Li Banghua continued in a low voice:
"This is truly a critical moment for our survival. Your Majesty must be cautious! I believe that Liu's intention to attack Japan is a pretense; his real intention is to control Korea. Furthermore, if we allow Liu to return victorious from his eastern expedition, his prestige will soar, and he will be even more powerful in his attempts to usurp power. The consequences are unimaginable!"

The twelve-year-old emperor was shocked by these words, but he pretended to be calm and said:
"Liu Zhaosun has usurped the throne and assumed the throne of regent, acting recklessly and recklessly. He is the envy of both humans and gods! I will execute this thief daily to avenge my father and brother! However, this matter is of grave importance and should not be addressed lightly."

At this point, Zhu Youjian pointed to the sky and said worriedly:
"Who knows?" Li Banghua encouraged:

"The will of heaven is subtle and depends entirely on human effort. Man can conquer nature. Your Majesty's execution of the traitor Liu is in line with the will of heaven. A slight error can lead to a huge mistake. Moreover, the situation has reached this extreme. If we do not make a decisive move, we will suffer the consequences!"

Zhu Youjian knew from his tone that there was a plan:
"According to Li Qing's words, what should we do?"

Li Banghua winked at the Shujishi, and Li Mingrui picked up another memorial from the imperial desk and continued reading:

"I believe that collecting tribute from all the land is my duty as an official. Unless it is extremely urgent, how dare I call on the gods? I have been besieged in Chengdu, holding out against the She'an bandits for two hundred days. I have gathered a force of fifty to sixty thousand men, but I am short of funds. I have negotiated with the Provincial Envoy Zhou Zhuo for every penny, and have already spent over a hundred thousand taels of silver, but the amount is still insufficient. We have signed a contract..."

In April, Sichuan Governor Zhu Xieyuan sent an urgent report from Chengdu, 800 miles away.

This letter asking for help was also signed by Lady Qin Liangyu.

However, when the memorial reached the cabinet, it was withheld by Xu Xianchun. After Xu Xianchun was killed, the memorial was sent to the Forbidden City.

Therefore, Ping Liaohou had no idea that the war in the southwest had deteriorated to this extent.

"Your Majesty, there are three strategies for the current situation: the best, the middle, and the worst."

"The best strategy is for Your Majesty to issue a decree to the entire nation, commanding the troops to eliminate the thief. Currently, the main forces in Xuanda, Shaanxi, and the Shaanxi border towns are still there, more than enough to fight Liu the thief, not to mention the million-strong army in Jiangnan. The middle strategy is to reward Liu the thief generously and allow him to return to Liaodong. From now on, follow the example of Korea and make him an eastern vassal of the Ming Dynasty. The worst strategy is to send assassins to kill Liu the thief."

After listening to this, Zhu Youjian remained silent.

He looked up at Li Mingrui who was still reading the memorial.

Li Mingrui read two memorials in one breath, his mouth was dry, he put down his teacup and continued reading:
"I beg Your Majesty to have pity on the vital southwest, which has suffered terribly. Furthermore, if Shu is safe, the neighboring provinces will all be protected. Shu survives and its taxes are self-sufficient. Its safety and security are of paramount importance. I humbly beg you to grant another 800,000 taels of silver, and have officials dispatched to deliver them gradually to Sichuan."

The memorial was submitted more than half a year ago, but the emperor has only just reviewed it now.

I don’t know whether Chengdu has been captured by the rebels.

Thinking of the mess his father and brother left him, Zhu Youjian felt at a loss.

None of Li Banghua's best, middle or worst options are feasible.

The Liu thief is powerful, and there are countless Liu Zhaosun's spies in the Forbidden City.

With Tianqi's current strength, he is simply unable to control the capital.

If Liu Zhaosun is killed, those arrogant and powerful generals in Kaiyuan will surely turn the capital upside down!
When it comes to killing people, this group of warriors will never be more lenient than Liu Zhaosun.

It is even more of a pipe dream to assemble the strongest army in the world.

After the Battle of Ningyuan, nearly half of the elite troops from the nine borders had defected to Liu Zhaosun, so how many elite troops were left?

The other border towns have become fence-sitters. Before the Kaiyuan Army was defeated, the military leaders in Shaanxi and Shanxi would never stand on the side of the court.

Zhu Youjian looked around and saw that the eunuchs and censors who were monitoring him were not there for the time being. He said anxiously:
"Although I am young, I know that assassination is absolutely not feasible. Please consider it carefully and we will discuss it later."

Li Banghua sighed, feeling that his good advice was not being used by the ruler. He was about to say goodbye to the emperor when he heard Tianqi's admonition:

"This matter is of great importance and must not be disclosed lightly, or you will be punished!"

Li Banghua said quickly:

"These are all my plans. How dare I reveal them? I beg Your Majesty to make a wise decision soon! Do not let these bandits harm the Ming Dynasty."

At this time, Li Mingrui was finally about to finish reading the petition for help:
"I, the Minister of Justice, and the Governor, will join forces with the troops of the three provinces to eliminate the rebellion within a certain timeframe, capture and surrender the main culprit, and use Zhang Tiantao to bring peace to the region. Once the Lin bandits are pacified, it will be easier to pacify the various vassal states. The southwestern half of the country will be able to see peace again. This report was submitted on December 30th, the third year of Taichang.

Zhu Youjian suddenly felt very sympathetic to this loyal minister of the Ming Dynasty who was still holding on in Chengdu.

A light bulb went off in his head, and he stood up and said:

"Why not send Ping Liao Hou to the southwest to suppress the bandits? When two tigers fight, one is bound to lose!"

Note:
1. Excerpt from Zhang Juzheng's Memorial No. , "A Memorial of Thanks for the Preserved Imperial Edict and the Gift of Silver and Other Goods"

(End of this chapter)