The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 505: Bumbutai Returns to the East
"You absolutely must not divert military rations to the people. The army's rations are already insufficient and there is no surplus."

Sun Chuanting stood up and told the emperor what he was thinking.

Sun Chuanting's sudden remarks are really frightening.

Several former Kaiyuan officials quickly came to their senses and realized that Sun Chuanting had always been known for his cruelty.

In the Battle of Hetuala in the second year of Taichang, Sun Chuanting mobilized more than 3,000 Han people, forced them to fill the trenches, and captured the Khan's palace in one fell swoop, forcing Huang Taiji to death.

Now, for the sake of Da Qi, we are willing to sacrifice the lives of tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of people.

No one dared to speak. Emperor Wuding was moody and offending others because of words had become the norm in the Qi officialdom.

"Lord Sun! You! If you don't provide aid to Liaodong, how many people will starve to death this time? Tens of thousands of lives! Can you bear the responsibility?!"

The person who spoke was Xie Yang. He pointed at Sun Chuanting and yelled, ignoring the presence of the retired emperor.

Xie Guangkun became more and more angry as he spoke. He pulled off his wig cap, revealing his bald scalp underneath. Whether it was because of anger or excitement, his scalp was glowing red, as if flames were about to come out.

"The emperor summoned us here to talk about war!"

Sun Chuanting looked around at his colleagues and added:
"They won't all starve to death. At most, three to five thousand will die. The floods will recede, the soil will become fertile, and next year we'll have a good harvest. As long as we survive the winter, everything will be fine."

"Get over it, you idiot! You're taking human life lightly!"

Ge Yewen cursed and looked at Lord Sun angrily, almost rolling up his sleeves and punching him.

Sun Chuanting remained calm, glancing at Ge Yewen with a nonchalant look between his brows.

As the deputy prime minister of Da Qi, he had long been aware of the logic of the empire's operation.

Although he still couldn't fully understand the meaning of terms such as totalitarianism, extreme exploitation, and the scissors gap, Sun Chuanting's intuition told him that he had to let the people suffer a little longer.

The rich and powerful, as well as the corrupt officials and clerks, have been exploited to the point of exhaustion, and the only thing left is to exploit the common people.

Seeing that everyone seemed dissatisfied, Sun Chuanting quoted from the classics and said:

"An army should be restrained and only move when necessary. When it moves, it is powerful. When it is observed, it is playful. When it is playful, it is without awe (Note 1). When the sword is unsheathed, blood will be drawn. If we withdraw our troops due to lack of food and fodder, all our previous efforts will be wasted. Where will the prestige of the Great Qi be? What can a bunch of scoundrels think? If there is another war in the south, it will not be just a few thousand people who will die!"

Xie Yang angrily said, "You've read all the sage books into a dog's stomach. Sun Chuanting, you're not a military commander, but you're even more vicious than a warrior! As poisonous as a snake and scorpion!"

~~~~~
Emperor Wu Ding put down his chopsticks, ending this cruel and bloody Mid-Autumn family dinner.

He wiped the coral snake debris from the corner of his mouth, opened his scarlet eyes, and was furious without even being intimidating.

"Have you had enough of the quarrel?!"

Xie Yang and Sun Chuanting stopped talking.

"Because we have to rely on the enemy for food, we are collecting taxes from Korea. What's the point of making the people suffer? Liaodong has been at war for so many years, the people have suffered enough. If they suffer any more, they will rebel! I established the Great Qi to ensure that the people have enough to eat, not to use it as an excuse to exploit them!"

No one was moved by the emperor's noble character and they whispered to each other in low voices.

The tactic of taking food from the enemy may be useful against Annan, Japan, and Champa, but it is unnecessary against Korea.

Sun Chuanting showed an expression as if he felt he had lived too long, and retorted again:

"When I was stationed in Kuandian, I understood the situation in Korea just as well as Your Majesty does! Aside from the Han River Plain, all of Korea is barren and impoverished. Rice only harvests once a year, and wheat is scarce, less than half the amount grown in Shandong. How can we meet the needs of our army? Desperate for food, we will perish. Has Your Majesty forgotten how Yang Jinglue was defeated at Ulsan?"

Liu Zhaosun didn't say anything. He didn't know much about the details of the Wanli Aid Korea War. He only knew that his father-in-law, who had been dead for many years, seemed to have betrayed his teammates on the Korean battlefield, and more than once.

"The Eastern Expedition has long been decided. The whole world is watching. Hundreds of thousands of troops are waiting across the Yalu River to attack Pyongyang, their eyes bleeding! Just because a few civilians starve to death, you're going to postpone the plan?! While the army's morale is still high, strike immediately. If the troops grow old and run out of money, and hundreds of thousands of people are running back and forth to no avail, that would be a disaster!"

His words were powerful and clear, and could not be refuted.

Ma Shiying no longer remained silent and said that he could still make the people suffer a little more.

He suggested that the Ministry of Civil Affairs reduce the daily supply to the people, reducing the amount of grain from half a catty to two taels per day, and stopping the consumption of sugar and tea. Sugar is a food that can help with hunger, so it should be sent to Korea for the soldiers to eat.

"A seventeenth-century march of suffering?"

Deja vu.

They exploited the people harshly and plundered the outside world, stealing all the food.

In this case, a massacre is inevitable. Based on the time traveler's understanding of the Korean character, if this is really done, the other party will probably resist to the end.

"Let me think it over."

Liu Zhaosun waved everyone away and fell into deep thought.

~~~~
When Jin Yuji heard about this, she advised her husband not to massacre the city, otherwise the resistance would only become stronger.

Kublai Khan invaded Korea nine times, which was extremely costly. In the end, the Koreans were forced to Ganghwa Island, where they still put up a stubborn resistance.

It was still unknown whether the Great Qi could accomplish what the Mongol Empire could barely do, and he was unwilling to take risks with his army.

~~~~
Tens of thousands of Mongolian cavalrymen approached Yehe City. Zheng Yishi felt like he was facing a formidable enemy and immediately dispatched the 10th Corps to closely monitor the situation and request help from Shenyang.

Laughter is close to tears, and calmness and anxiety are only one step away.

Before the attack on Korea, war was about to break out in Liaodong.

The imperial fleet, which was transporting soldiers to Incheon, began to approach southern Liaoning.

At the same time, the infantry and cavalry of the two corps formed up in the direction of Yehe.

There was news that Lin Danhan's army was heading here to take revenge on the Kaiyuan soldiers and split Emperor Wuding in half with his scimitar.

Liaodong will suffer another catastrophe, and Shenyang will be transformed from the rear of the Korean War to the front line against the Mongols.

Fortunately, the last invading Mongol Tatars transformed into a vast army of cattle, sheep, and horses, each carrying sacks of grain on its back. The Raincoat Guards and the Imperial Guards smiled at each other; they had just learned the news.

The elite cavalrymen of the cavalry camp put down their lances with a wry smile. The people of Shenyang survived the disaster and rumors spread:

The stunningly beautiful Bumbutai, along with her tribe, more than 80,000 cattle and sheep, and a load of food, traveled thousands of miles to seek refuge in the Great Qi.

~~~~
"How is Lin Danhan doing?"

"He died of illness in Qinghai,"

Liu Zhaosun smiled coldly. Now that Khorchin's enemy was dead, Bumbutai had nothing to worry about, so he came to support the Qi army.

With the help of Korchin, he didn't have to become an unforgivable warrior, and he could also give an explanation to Jin Yuji.

"You've grown up."

In ecstasy, Emperor Wuding looked up and down at the little sister whom he had not seen for ten years, and spoke incoherently.

At night, Shenyang Cining Palace.

The three sisters got together. It had been three years since Jin Yuji and Bumbutai had seen each other, and ten years since Yang Qing'er last saw Khorchin Khan.

Under the shadow of the whale oil lamp, Bumbutai was dressed in a blue emerald smoke shirt and a misty green grass pleated skirt. Her shoulders were cut into a slender waist, her skin was as white as cream, her eyes were full of spring water, and a hollow gold hairpin was inserted diagonally in her Japanese-style bun. Her every frown and smile was captivating.

She is no longer the little gangster who used to beat teachers and classmates.

Jin Yuji praised: "Girls change a lot when they grow up. They become more and more beautiful. She has grown into such a beautiful girl. No wonder they call her the Pearl of the Grassland."

Yang Qing'er said jokingly, "Deng Changxiong's eldest son is in the city, why would he beat him?"

Bumbutai chuckled.

The three of them recalled the various situations in Kaiyuan, getting drunk on Dragon Boat Festival and playing mahjong on New Year's Eve, as if they all happened yesterday and were still vivid in their minds.

Bumbutai asked, "Is the private school teacher still here?"

"They are no longer here. They are all studying in schools. The Ministry of Revenue has hired many teachers to teach children."

“There’s no tuition fee.”

Yang Qing'er added.

When she heard that there was no tuition fee and all children could go to school, Bumbutai rolled her eyes:
"Does the little emperor also need to study?"

"Of course you should read it. He was much worse off than you were back then."

Jin Yuji said with sympathy.

~~~~~
The Empress Dowager Cisi was right. The young Emperor Liu Kan was much more miserable than Bumbutai was back then.

In accordance with the order of the retired emperor, the two great scholars Qian Qianyi and Zhou Yongchun had already arranged the schedule for the young emperor to attend court and give lectures.

This little emperor, who was less than five years old, had to attend court and manage government affairs every day (although it was just a formality), and he had to continue teaching after the court was dismissed. He was much more miserable than the children of the same age in later generations who were still eating, drinking and playing in kindergarten without any worries.

Liu Kan had to attend court on the second, fourth and eighth days of every month, and on the rest of the time he had to go to Wenying Hall to study with several imperial teachers.

Liu Zhaosun devoted all his energy to the education of his son Liu Kan and pushed him to the extreme.

He personally stipulated that the books the young emperor had to read were "The Great Learning" and "The Book of History". Qian Qianyi was responsible for "The Great Learning", while Zhou Yongchun explained "The Book of History" to the young emperor, requiring him to read and memorize it thoroughly. Before the teacher started his lecture, Liu Kan had to recite the two books five times. As for whether he understood it and could remember it, that depended on luck.

Liu Zhaosun felt that he was not a good student, so he was extremely strict with his son in this regard. He used a completely rote learning method. After reading the Shangshu University several times, he immediately let the little emperor practice reviewing memorials without caring whether the child understood it or not.

The commander-in-chief Dongfang Zhu sent people to put the memorials from various government offices and provinces in a red lacquered wooden box and present them to the little emperor for his perusal.

Qian Qianyi and Zhou Yongchun retreated to the east wing and waited. If Liu Kan didn't understand something, they would step forward and report it to the emperor one by one.

They were busy like this until noon, when Qian Qianyi led the little emperor to read the "Tongjian" (Note 2), and used the most popular and straightforward language to tell the little emperor about the rise and fall of dynasties.

After finishing the lecture on "Tongjian", it was lunch time. The imperial chef would deliver the food directly to Wenying Hall. After a fairly sumptuous lunch, Liu Kan took a nap for half an hour, and then woke up to start a new learning task.

The afternoon was the emperor's time for art and natural sciences. Wang Xijue's grandson Wang Shimin came to the Wenying Hall. After a round of formalities between teacher and student, monarch and minister, Wang Shimin spread out the rice paper, stared intently at the brush in his hand, and began to splash on the white paper as if no one was around. The brush tip made a slight rustling sound on the rice paper, filling the little emperor's eardrums, as if silkworms were gnawing on leaves.

In the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, a picture of a vast landscape suddenly appeared before him.

"It's so lifelike," the little emperor couldn't think of any other words. He stared at it for a long time and just clapped his hands in approval.

Wang Shimin waited until the ink on the rice paper dried up, then carefully rolled up the painting and handed it to the little emperor, saying:

"Your Majesty, you can practice copying more often. Your hands will be sharpened and your skills will be refined."

At this time, Francesco and Ginnigo were gently knocking on the windows outside. They were holding a huge globe and walked deep into the hall with their hairy arms, raising their middle fingers, signaling the painter not to delay the work any longer.

"Mr. Wang, what do you mean by that?"

Liu Kan suddenly asked.

Wang Shimin, who was packing up his paintbrushes, was slightly stunned, obviously not expecting the little emperor to ask this question.

"The Emperor Emeritus overcame numerous obstacles to establish the territory of Great Qi today. We, the ministers, hope that Your Majesty will take power soon and expand the vast territory of Great Qi, so that no one in the world will suffer from hunger and cold..."

~~~~
By the time Liu Kan finished all his art and science classes, it was already afternoon.

Bumbutai lay on the window of Wenying Palace and looked inside through the gap. When she saw the exhausted look of the little emperor Liu Kan, she cursed and subconsciously wanted to pick up a bench to beat the two red-haired barbarian imperial teachers.

Note:
1. When King Mu was about to conquer the Quanrong, Ji Gong Moufu advised him against it, saying, "Don't do that. The previous kings displayed virtue without observing the troops. When troops are restrained and moved at times, they are powerful; when they are moved, they are cautious; when they are cautious, they are free from shock." — "Guoyu·Zhouyu·Ji Gong's Advice to King Mu on the Campaign against the Quanrong"

2. The content of Emperor Taichu's childhood lectures is identical to that of the historical Wanli Emperor, who ascended the throne at the age of ten. See "Memorials II: Proposed Daily Lecture Ritual Notes" in Volume of "The Complete Works of Zhang Wenzhong." "The Veritable Records of Emperor Shenzong of the Ming Dynasty," Volume , August .

(End of this chapter)