The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 799: Chess piece or chess player?

"My dear, Zhu Youjian has taken Xiong'er to Nanjing and is ready to kill him at any time. This child has suffered a lot in Liaodong since he was a child. I'm afraid he is in great danger this time. You must find a way to save him quickly."

With tears in her eyes, Liu Rushi begged the Grand Marshal to send someone to negotiate with the Ming court in exchange for her son Qi Yingxiong's return to Beijing.

Qi Meng consoled her, "In these chaotic times, filled with blood and gore, how can you not punish Qi Yingxiong even if you can punish others? Madam, don't worry. I doubt Chongzhen will dare to kill him. Just consider it a test for Xiong'er."

Liu Rushi was speechless.

But then the Grand Marshal continued, "I have secretly sent Ma Shiying south to negotiate peace with the Ming court. One of the conditions is to protect Qi Yingxiong, and he will not refuse."

Liu Rushi's sadness turned into joy, and she quickly asked, "So, we won't fight anymore? That's great..."

Qi Meng was silent for a moment, then shook his head and said, "We must fight a war, a big war, but this time, it's not against Chongzhen. I want to unite with him to deal with a more powerful enemy."

Liu Rushi's eyes welled with tears as she spoke emotionally, "My dear, do you remember what we said back in Shenyang? You said that when we grow old, you'd spend time with me, reading by the lamp, enjoying the nights and rains of rivers and lakes, and then retire to the south of the Yangtze River, where we'd plant bamboo and mulberry trees, raise a few chickens, cultivate a few acres of land, and live a pastoral and carefree life."

Qi Meng sighed deeply:

"Planting beans in the southern mountains requires capital. Tao Yuanming retired to his countryside, where he had thousands of acres of fertile land and the protection of a prominent family. What did I have in Liaodong back then? There were sieges from the Jiannu in front, and impeachments from the censors behind. If I wasn't careful, I'd be dead without a burial place. Well, let's not talk about those days... Now I'm second only to the emperor, but it's hard to turn back. In troubled times, we're like duckweed, with no control over our own lives. We can't just retire if we want to."

~~~~~
On August 19, the fourth year of the Chongzhen reign, the six-year-old prince Zhu Ci Miao entered the city through Zhengyang Gate and was grandly welcomed by the Grand Marshal. The music for the emperor's official enthronement ceremony was composed by Feng Quan, who had previously been commissioned, along with Li Mingrui, to formulate the ceremonial rituals for the Taimiao and Jitan.

In the Ming officialdom, despite the poor reputation of the forty-year-old Feng Quan, who faced widespread opposition from the Qingliu faction, he was widely regarded as a master of etiquette, particularly the enthronement ceremony. After all, this veteran of three dynasties had presided over the enthronement ceremonies for three short-lived emperors. Inspired by the Grand Marshal, Feng Quan devoted all his efforts to ensuring that the new emperor's enthronement fell on the double-tenth day of the lunar calendar (November 1628, 11). Consequently, for the next two weeks, Feng Quan, Li Mingrui, and other officials of the Ministry of Rites rehearsed the enthronement ceremony repeatedly, with the young Zhu Cimiao in tow. These ritual rehearsals were less a pursuit of perfection in the enthronement ceremony than a recognition of the Grand Marshal's illustrious military achievements.

It was not until the first day of the tenth lunar month that Zhu Ci Miao was taken to the Temple of Heaven in the southern suburbs of Beijing, where he was scheduled to worship heaven and earth. At the same time, officials from the Ministry of Rites came to the Taimiao and Sheji Altar in the Forbidden City to perform the ceremony that Feng Quan and others had already prepared.

On the second day of October, Zhu Ci Miao appointed Confucius' 65th-generation grandson Kong Yinzhi as Duke of Yansheng, and the descendants of the saint inherited the titles of Doctor of the Five Classics and other officials. On the second day of October, "because of the great achievements of Qi Meng, the King of Liao, the Ministry of Rites was ordered to erect a monument to commemorate his achievements."

On the tenth day of the tenth month, Zhu Ci Miao ascended the throne in the Hall of Supreme Harmony and established the reign title Mingqi, designating this year as the first year of the Mingqi era. On the seventeenth day of the tenth month, the Mingqi Emperor moved to the Hall of Mental Cultivation and exempted the people from arrears of head tax and additional tax. In November, he announced a policy of "combining leniency and severity" and issued a general amnesty. On the eighteenth day, the Mingqi Emperor issued an edict, exaggerating the achievements of Qi Meng. The edict not only attributed the victory in the Jingnan Campaign to the King of Liao but also praised Qi Meng's outstanding military exploits in the campaigns against the Chahar Mongol tribes, the settlement of Yizhou, the siege of Songshan, the battle of Jinzhou, and the campaign to expel the false emperor Chongzhen from the Pass. Qi Meng helped the Ming court achieve a revival, achieving a great feat unseen since the reigns of Taizu and Hongwu.

The King of Liao gave the Ming Dynasty a new life, which is also the origin of the Mingqi era name. Everything will start again.

Emperor Qidi of the Ming Dynasty praised the King of Liao in this way in his edict:
He also assisted me in ascending the throne, and ministered to me. His merits and virtues surpass those of Duke Zhou. Duke Zhou, in accordance with King Wu's will, assisted King Cheng in governing the country, and exercised his utmost loyalty and filial piety. These were also the achievements of King Wu.

The drafter of this decree was either Grand Secretary Qian Qianyi or the Chief Minister Wen Tiren. In short, in their descriptions, Qi Meng became a magical being who surpassed Zhou Gong.

"The King of Liao led a large army into Shanhaiguan, defeated 300,000 bandits, and recovered Yanjing, pacifying Central China. He welcomed me to the capital and accepted the imperial seal."

Soon after, with the six ministries short of staff and the capital in ruins, Emperor Qi of the Ming Dynasty appointed the Prince of Liao as Minister of War and Supervisor of Works, tasked with training a new army and rebuilding Beijing. Furthermore, with the Prince of Liao's confidants spread throughout the court and the country, no one in the Ming Dynasty could rival Qi Meng. On November 18th of the first year of the Ming Dynasty, Grand Secretary Ma Shiying, who had gone to Nanjing to negotiate peace, returned dejected and listless, a complete loss of his former refined demeanor.

Qi Meng and others were surprised to find that the special envoy sent to negotiate peace with the Southern Ming court had half of his ear cut off by Zhu Youjian, and was beaten on the buttocks with a stick, so that he walked with a limp. The dozen or so followers who accompanied him had all disappeared, and were said to have been beheaded by Zhu Youjian.

"General! Zhu Youjian refused to negotiate. Not only did he cut off my ear, he also said that if you dare to raise an army to invade the south, he would kill you first. My mission has failed. Please ask the King of Liao to punish me!"

Qi Meng quickly helped Ma Shiying, who was kneeling and wailing on the ground, up and shouted angrily, "This damned hanged man has no shame! How dare he hurt my envoy!"

Ma Shiying covered his injured buttocks and said weakly: "Marshal, he didn't hit my buttocks at all, he hit your face!"

Qi Meng nodded, then quickly shook his head and kicked him: "What ass cheek? Didn't you tell them the conditions I offered?"

Ma Shiying ignored the pain in his buttocks and said quickly, "I told you, I told you right after we got to Nanjing, that as long as Zhu Youjian gives up his imperial title, submits to the young emperor, and pays an annual payment of 10 million taels of silver, 120 beauties, 30,000 kilograms of tea, 50,000 rolls of silk, and 1 million kilograms of fine rice...the Marshal will let him stay safely in the South and continue to be his local emperor."

Qi Meng laughed. If Zhu Youjian could accept such conditions, it would be a blessing in disguise.

Ma Shiying trembled and said, "I was in the Forbidden City in Nanjing, in front of all the civil and military officials of the Southern Ming court. I only half-spoke of the conditions outlined by the Grand Marshal before they beat me out. If it weren't for my old friend Ruan Dacheng's intercession, I would have lost my life in Nanjing."

Seeing Ma Shiying sobbing and about to cry again, Qi Meng hurriedly comforted him, "Don't expect to get what you can't get on the battlefield at the negotiation table. We still have to negotiate peace, but before that, I will have Deng Changxiong, Pu Gang and others launch another large-scale attack to let Zhu Youjian know my determination to negotiate."

Seeing that the King of Liao was staring at him, Ma Shiying quickly stood up and prepared to leave.

After taking a few steps, Qi Meng's gloomy voice came from behind:

"Grand Secretary, please stay in the capital for now. Don't go anywhere else. I'll have the imperial physician treat your injuries. Once Deng Changxiong and Pu Gang have defeated the Southern Ming court, I'll send you to Nanjing for peace talks."

Ma Shiying was speechless.

"Next time, I will offer Zhu Youjian a better offer, one he can't refuse. You should tell him whether he wants to be a chess piece with no control over his fate in the Eastern World or a chess master who controls the situation."

~~~~~
Qi Meng faces three main tasks:

1. Restore public order in the capital and allow officials and civilians to live and work in peace, so that the wealthy and powerful will no longer flee to the south, making it easier for them to reap the spoils later;

Second, to pacify the unrest in the rural areas of northern Zhili and neighboring Shandong Province, and to continue southward to put pressure on Zhu Youjian's army and promote peace talks;
3. Reform the Ming system and gradually replace the "elegant but corrupt" civil service elite system with the cruel and bloody polar system in the Liaodong region.

(End of this chapter)