The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 485: Suffering the common people

On the ninth day of the ninth month in the second year of Taichu (1630), the third round of negotiations between Qi and Ming continued in Xuzhou, an important city on the north bank of the Huai River.

After more than two months of bargaining between the two sides, all terms have been basically agreed upon and the peace talks are about to make a breakthrough.

Since this "alliance" was similar to the "Chanyuan Alliance" between the Song and Liao dynasties in history, historians called it the "Xuzhou Alliance."

In order to express its sincerity in peace talks, the Hongguang court not only sent important officials such as Huang Gongfu, Lu Zhenfei, Xiong Ru, and Du Yinxi, but also asked famous Jiangnan scholars such as Zhang Dai, Yao Yunzai, Zeng Jing, and Chen Hongshou to come to Xuzhou to show their support. Unfortunately, many of these literati and scholars never returned, which was a great misfortune for the literary and painting circles of Jiangnan.

Among these famous scholars of the late Ming Dynasty, the time traveler only knew one, Zhang Dai.

Zhang Dai's given name was Weicheng, his courtesy name was Zongzi, and his pseudonyms were Taoan and Diean. He was from Shanyin, Zhejiang Province, and came from a family of officials. When he was young, his uncle Tao Chongdao called him "the modern Jiang Yan" because of his intelligence and good repartee.

Zhang Dai later commented on himself: "I loved the opera, the music of drums and instruments... I was addicted to tea and tangerines, a bookworm obsessed with poetry. From a young age, I was a dandy, extremely fond of luxury, fine houses, beautiful maids, young men, fine clothes, delicious food, fine horses, bright lights, fireworks, the opera, the music of drums and instruments, antiques, flowers and birds, and I also loved tea and tangerines."

In simple terms, this is a 17th-century refiner who has certain pursuits in life and is a bisexual.

In addition to Zhang Dai, several Yiyangqiang and Kunqu opera troupes and dozens of white-faced and charming little singing boys also crossed the river to Xuzhou. It is said that these were all gifts to the Emperor of Qi.

On the Qi side, there were Ma Shiying, Qiao Yiqi, Sen Ti, Qian Qianyi and others. Emperor Wu Ding arrived in Xuzhou in early September and was busy investigating the customs and people along the Huai River every day. Specifically, he took Empress Dowager Cisi and Daphne out for food and drinks.

The local Huaiyang cuisine is quite famous, with large portions and enough to satisfy the emperor's appetite.

Liu Zhaosun can now eat one stone (120 kilograms) of food every two or three days. His appetite is astonishing, which puts a lot of pressure on the imperial chef Tan Er and others.

On the tenth day of September, officials from both Qi and Ming dynasties gathered at the Huanglou Scenic Spot in Xuzhou to bargain over the details of the peace talks.

Huanglou, also known as the Huanglou Tower in Xuzhou, was built by Su Shi when he was the prefect of Xuzhou. When the Yellow River burst its banks and the ferocious flood threatened to destroy the city walls, Su Shi, fearing his own safety, lived in a shed on the wall and directed the military and civilians to build a dike and protect the city. Later, a tall tower was constructed on the east gate wall, plastered with yellow earth, as it was believed that earth could overcome water, hence the name Huanglou.

The Qi officials sat facing south, opposite the Ming delegation, and the Huanglou was filled with Qi soldiers.

The two sides argued endlessly over the cession of Jiangxi. The Southern Ming delegation stated that annual tribute was acceptable, but ceding territory was absolutely unacceptable.

Fengyang Governor Lu Zhenfei slammed the table and stood up, pointing at Ma Shiying's nose and cursing, "Ma Shangshu, you are also well-read. How can you allow Jiangxi, a place with flourishing literary culture, to fall into the hands of the tyrannical Qi? I heard that the Qi emperor is planning to abolish the imperial examinations. Aren't you pushing all the scholars of Jiangxi into the fire?"

Ma Shiying snorted lightly and sneered without saying anything. Under the training of Emperor Wuding, not to mention the scholars of Jiangxi, even tens of thousands of lives had to be sacrificed as long as they could stop the advancement of Da Qi.

"The imperial examinations only produce corrupt scholars who write eight-legged essays. Our emperor is determined to make progress and reform corrupt policies. His intentions are far-reaching, and how can you, a bunch of scoundrels, understand them?"

Ma Shiying has a bad temper and looks unruly. He does not show any of the gentleness and humility of a scholar.

"If we cede Jiangxi, the Ming Dynasty will only have a small corner of the country left, even smaller than the Southern Song Dynasty. The country will be ruined. I would rather die than obey!"

The speaker was the old minister Huang Gongfu. This time, Emperor Hongguang sent him to Xuzhou, and the bottom line for peace talks was to preserve Jiangxi.

The Hongguang emperor and his ministers all knew that Liu Zhaosun was asking for too much and wanted to swallow up an entire province in one bite, so they started to bargain.

Ming Dynasty Minister of War Du Yinxi stepped forward and said to Ma Shiying, "I've heard that your country's northern border is in turmoil, and that the Russians and Koreans may invade at any time. Since you have already occupied Hubei, Henan, and Shandong, you should have stopped immediately. Now you are greedy and want more. You have swallowed so much and now you want Jiangxi. You are only 30,000 or 40,000 people. Your stomachs are too small, but you eat too much. Be careful not to burst them!"

Qiao Yiqi and Du Yinxi were old friends, so he comforted the Minister of War and sat him down, advising him, "Your Excellency, what you said makes sense. My emperor is simply worried about the people of Jiangxi. I heard that this summer, Jiujiang and other places in Jiangxi suffered a flood that hadn't been seen in a century. My emperor is worried about the people's lack of food and clothing, so he wants to take advantage of the situation and go south to help them with disaster relief..."

What Qiao Yiqi said sounded too ridiculous, and even Du Yinxi was too lazy to refute it. No one else said anything, and the situation suddenly became a little awkward.

As the Minister of War had stated, the Qi army had only about 50,000 to 60,000 men entering the Great Wall. For over six months, they had been conquering cities and territories, occupying and defending several provinces, including Shandong, Henan, and Hubei. Their forces were already stretched thin. Furthermore, it was rumored that Zhao Lujiao and Pu Gang were facing unfavorable results in Korea and Sakhalin. The Qi army inside the Great Wall was already exhausted and desperately needed rest and recuperation. If they were to make another hasty advance into Jiangxi, they would be ambushed by the Southern Ming, and the situation between the north and the south could suddenly reverse.

Each and every one of these people in the Southern Ming delegation was considered a tough nut to crack in history. Huang Gongfu had already told the others about the interests involved. These people worked together, seized the Qi army's weakness, and dragged them into bargaining with Ma Shiying and others.

"Minister Ma, Minister Qiao, epidemics are rampant in the army this autumn. I wonder if the Kaiyuan soldiers can adapt to the climate of Huaiyang. If any soldiers fall ill, I can dispatch military physicians to assist your army in treatment."

~~~
Ma Shiying called Qiao Yiqi and Senti aside and whispered to each other. The three of them finally decided to give up while they were ahead and give up Jiangxi. However, they wanted the Ming Dynasty to pay another sum of money as a "ransom for Jiangxi." Dongguanzi, who had not had time to speak, came to Huang Gongfu and emphasized in his rich Cantonese:

"My wretch, my emperor is so kind that he cannot bear to see the lives of the two families suffer. You can leave Jiangxi alone, but you must pay another 10 million taels as a ransom..."

Before Sen Ti could finish, Lu Zhenfei jumped up in anger:

"What? Ten million taels of silver?! Why don't you want eighty million taels? Why not just give you the entire Ming Dynasty treasury? Even if we sell Jiangxi, we can't get ten million taels!"

At this time, Zhang Dai came out to smooth things over: "My dear superiors, if you really want silver, you can use the opera troupe to exchange, each for 50,000 taels of silver. These Yiyang Operas, I have plenty of them in my hometown, and these little singings, each for 5,000 taels of silver, I will sell them to you, Qi State..."

Qiao Yiqi was furious when he heard this:
"My emperor doesn't want to listen to opera, nor does he want any singing. Take him away!"

Unfortunately, Emperor Wuding did not like this and had no particular demand for Xiaochang.

In his previous life, he had no good impression of the essays of Lin Yutang and Liang Shiqiu, not to mention Zhang Dai, the ancestor of these Republican literati.

Sen Ti stood up and said loudly:

"Negotiations aren't like entertaining guests, writing essays, or painting or embroidering. They can't be so elegant. Raise enough money quickly. Otherwise, I'll make Zhu Youxiao the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty! I'll exterminate all of you, the traitors of the Hongguang era!"

~~~~~
After four hours of fierce arguments, repeated bargaining, and marathon negotiations, the two sides finally reached an agreement.

This alliance is known in history as the "Xuzhou Alliance," and its main contents are as follows:

1. Qi and Ming were brother countries. Emperor Wuding was young, so he called Emperor Hongguang Zhu Changling his younger brother. Later generations still used the seniority as the basis for judging.

2. The Qi and Ming dynasties will withdraw their troops, with the Huai River in the east (Qi will give up Hefei and Wuchang) and Chongqing in the west as the boundary. From then on, neither side will be allowed to harbor any thieves or fugitives who cross the border. Everything along the border cities of the two dynasties will continue as usual, and no new city gods will be built.

3. Ming must provide Qi with 4 million taels of silver, 200,000 pieces of silk, 250,000 pieces of cloth, 100,000 dan of grain, and 10,000 jin of tea every year to "support military expenses". The goods must be delivered in Xuzhou during the Dragon Boat Festival every year.

4. Ming State shall repay Qi State 5,000,000 taels of silver as ransom for Gan, and the payment shall be made in one lump sum before the end of the second year of Taichu.

5. Both sides shall set up trading posts at the border to conduct mutual trade.

6. Every year on the Emperor of Qi’s birthday and New Year’s Day, the emperor would send envoys to offer congratulations.

7. Qi allowed the return of Emperor Tianqi’s son Zhu Cilang, Princess Changping, and other members of the imperial clan.

Lu Zhenfei and others strongly opposed the clause.

After the Qi army occupied Jingxiang, the Ming Dynasty was left with only Jiangnan, Guangdong and Guangxi, Huaiyang, Fujian, Jiangxi, Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan and half of Hubei.

Four million taels of silver were a heavy burden, not to mention cloth, tea, and grain. Even if one squeezed the people of Jiangnan dry, it would be difficult to raise the money.

The taxes collected in the fifth year of Hongguang's reign would probably have been collected until the eightieth year of Hongguang's reign...

However, under the threat of the Qi army, especially in the face of the trump card of the late Emperor Zhu Youxiao, the Southern Ming had no choice.

In the end, Huang Gongfu, on behalf of the Southern Ming Dynasty, signed the terms tremblingly.

Ma Shiying picked up the three copies of the rice paper document and said with great joy:

"Hahaha, good! Good! Good! From now on, we Qi and Ming will be brotherly nations! Let's go, everyone, there's a banquet tonight, and we won't leave until we're drunk! A few skinny Yangzhou horses are also very iconic..."

Mr. Huang staggered, leaning on the railing and gazing into the distance at the millions of people living on the south bank of the Huai River. He stroked his beard with a look of compassion, and turned back to Lu Zhenfei and the others and said:
"Warfare is dangerous, and life is difficult. For the sake of the Ming Dynasty, I have no choice but to make the people suffer a little longer, and I will bear the blame."

(End of this chapter)