Late Ming Dynasty: So what if Emperor Chongzhen was inactive?!

Chapter 39 What robbery? It's a loan! We're just borrowing!
"Sister, you've gone too far! You won't let me cook, but you hide away and eat it yourself!" Sun Shixiu's face turned red with anger.

Sun Shiwan's eyes darted away slightly, but he still said firmly, "You're overthinking it. Last night I was just discussing matters with His Majesty, not what you think."

"Ha, Sun Shiwan, do you think I'm a three-year-old? I'm fifteen! Do we need to talk about things behind closed doors and with the lights off? Do we need to talk about things in bed?!" Sun Shixiu became angrier the more she thought about it. It wasn't jealousy, but she just felt like she had been fooled.

“But we were really just having a casual conversation…” Sun Shiwan looked at her sister with a hint of helplessness.

“Unless you let me undergo a medical examination!” Sun Shixiu said defiantly.

Upon hearing this, Sun Shiwan's expression turned cold, and he said, "Hmph! Believe it or not, it's up to you!"

After saying that, Sun Shiwan turned and went back into the house. Sun Shixiu hurriedly followed her, saying, "Hey, sister, don't go! Explain yourself!"

"Bang!" The wooden door slammed shut, leaving Sun Shixiu stranded. Her nose was nearly hit, which only fueled her anger. Inside, Sun Shiwan's face burned, her heart filled with helplessness. This was what the Emperor wanted; she hadn't wanted it either! Now, her sister probably hated her to the core.

At the court meeting, the upright officials began to impeach Zhang Heming, the governor of five provinces. This group of people was recruited by Wei Zhongxian at the behest of Zhu Youjian.

Zhu Youcha reviewed Zhang Heming's file and found that his resume was surprisingly rich: he had suppressed the Miao people's rebellion, served as the Governor-General of the Three Border Regions of Shaanxi, and suppressed Xiong Tingbi and promoted Wang Huazhen when he was the Minister of War.

After Wang Huazhen abandoned Guangning City and fled, he volunteered to take up the post of Liaodong Military Commissioner in order to atone for his sins. However, he delayed his arrival for more than ten days and accomplished nothing after taking office. How could such a person later become the Governor-General of Five Provinces?! It has to be said that the Ming Dynasty court was somewhat humorous.

Zhu Youjian couldn't quite tell whether he was incompetent or malicious, but he didn't need to. Whether he was incompetent or acting intentionally, removing him was enough. There were plenty of toads wanting to be officials, but not so many!

"Zhang Heming is old but still alive. He first lost Guangning, then suffered a defeat in Liaodong, and now he is the governor of the southwest, having completely ruined the previously favorable situation: Zunyi has fallen, and Guiyang has fallen. How can such a corrupt and incompetent person have the face to live on? I request that Zhang Heming be executed!"

The Ming Dynasty's censors were known for their ruthless criticism, and their ferocity even made Zhu Youjian (Emperor Youjian) a little uneasy. With that righteous and awe-inspiring demeanor, who could possibly guess that this guy was a member of the eunuch faction?!
“Governor Zhang has made great contributions. The situation in Liaodong was difficult, so how can we blame him entirely? As for the Southwest, isn’t the situation much better now? Doesn’t Governor Zhang deserve credit for that?” Someone couldn’t bear to see the old comrade suffer and defended him.

"The great victory in the southwest was achieved by General Qin's bravery, what does it have to do with Zhang Heming? He stole someone else's merits, he's a shameless rat, why doesn't he die?!" The official continued relentlessly.

"Alas, Your Majesty, Zhang Heming was forced to take over Zhu Xieyuan's post due to the death of his father. His hasty appointment, coupled with his unfamiliarity with military affairs in the southwest, has resulted in some flaws, but none of them are serious offenses. I believe we should not be too harsh on him, otherwise it might discourage the other ministers," said Grand Secretary Huang Liji, stepping forward.

"Minister Zhang is getting on in years, and the southwest is plagued by malaria. I think it would be better to allow him to retire. Let's not dwell on his merits or demerits. Zhu Xieyuan will continue to serve as the Governor-General of the Five Provinces. I order him to be reinstated despite his mourning period and continue to suppress the An family's rebellion. What do you all think?" Zhu Youjian said with a gentle smile.

Huang Liji frowned slightly, feeling that something was off about the matter, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. He could only return to his original position and remain noncommittal.

The others didn't think so much: seeing that Zhang Heming was about to be in trouble, the emperor was still quite humane and didn't pursue the matter. Although he lost his official position, wasn't this result already very good? You have to know that back then, Xiong Manzi was beheaded in the nine border regions because of his unsuccessful management of Liaodong!

So the ministers stepped forward and shouted, "Your Majesty is wise!" and agreed to the emperor's solution.

However, what was clearly a matter for the southwest had steered the court's discussion to Liaodong. The two major victories not only boosted Zhu Youjian's confidence but also that of the Ming court officials. Scholars of Ying (the Ming emperor) began to emerge, proclaiming that the recapture of Liaodong would make the Ming Dynasty great again!

The personnel appointed to manage Liaodong have once again become the focus of controversy. The former Liaodong governor, Yuan Chonghuan, resigned in anger and returned to his hometown in Guangxi. Wang Zhichen, the Liaodong strategist, had long been recalled due to a conflict with Yuan Chonghuan. The current Governor-General of Jiliao, Yan Mingtai, has accomplished nothing in his years in office and is utterly incapable of shouldering the heavy responsibility of recovering Liaodong. Moreover, there are rumors that he has built seven shrines in honor of Wei Zhongxian, which is intolerable to the other officials.

Regarding the selection of the Liaodong Military Commissioner, Zhu Youjian favored Wang Zaijin, the Minister of War in Nanjing. However, the court recommendation resulted in the selection of Sun Chengzong, Wang Zhichen, Yuan Chonghuan, and Zhu Xieyuan, with Sun Chengzong and Yuan Chonghuan receiving the most support. Since Sun Chengzong was already the Governor-General of Three Border Regions and Zhu Xieyuan was preparing to return to his post as Governor-General of Five Provinces, it seemed that only Yuan Chonghuan remained as a suitable candidate. Zhu Youjian now understood how Yuan Chonghuan had originally risen to power.

However, knowing about the "Jisi Incident," his selection of Yuan Chonghuan seemed utterly foolish. Therefore, Zhu Youjian refused, returned the list, and demanded a new court recommendation. This time, Wang Zaijin's name finally appeared on the list, along with Yuan Yingtai's.

"Then Wang Zaijin will do," Zhu Youjian decided. The ministers frowned. Wang Zaijin was a conservative. "Your Majesty is content with the status quo and lacks ambition!" Everyone felt somewhat disappointed.

In the northwest, the peasant uprisings in northern Shaanxi did not subside after the massacre at Yan'an. On the contrary, the scattered groups of people spread like wildfire, making the uprisings in northern Shaanxi even more serious and even affecting Shanxi, Gansu, Ningxia and other places.

Outside Xi'an, Hong Chengchou, dressed in a brand-new bright red official robe, seemed to be waiting for something. Soon after, a prison cart rumbled out of the city gate, inside which was Hu Tingyan, the former governor of Shaanxi, whom Hong Chengchou had previously had to rely on.

Hong Chengchou still had wounds on his face, the wounds had just scabbed over, but his eyes were very bright; while Hu Tingyan was unharmed, fair-skinned and plump, but his eyes were dull and lifeless. Hong Chengchou waved his hand, signaling the prison cart to stop in front of him.

"Hu Tingyan, did you ever imagine you'd end up like this?" Hong Chengchou asked with a smile.

Hu Tingyan slowly raised his head, glanced at Hong Chengchou, chuckled, and said, "Hong Chengchou, don't be too smug. Little do you know that my today is your tomorrow. This muddy water in northern Shaanxi is not so easy to wade through!"

“I, Hong Chengchou, am not as incompetent as you!” Hong Chengchou said calmly, his expression unchanged. After speaking, he waved his hand, signaling the soldiers escorting the prison cart to take Hu Tingyan away.

In Yansui Town, the soldiers finally received their pay from the imperial court, but unfortunately, they had only received two months' worth of pay after being owed for twenty-three months! Surely the imperial court wouldn't just use this small amount of money to get rid of them and wipe the slate clean?! The soldiers were extremely resentful, and even Commander-in-Chief Du Wenhuan was on the verge of losing control!

"His Majesty's decree!" Eunuch Cao Huachun shouted hastily, seeing the situation was turning against him. Fortunately, the current emperor still had some authority, and the crowd gradually quieted down.

Cao Huachun secretly broke out in a cold sweat and shouted, "His Majesty said that the court has no money; it's all been embezzled by those scoundrels. I only eat three dishes per meal and have only married three wives; I don't have a harem of three thousand beauties. People will die if they don't eat. Why are you all so stubborn? There's no military pay and no food to eat, can't you borrow from the local wealthy families?! Go! If they refuse to lend, beat them up, but don't cause any deaths. Don't say that I ordered you to do it. So be it!"

"Eunuch Cao, is this really what His Majesty said?!" Du Wenhuan, the General Commander of Yansui, doubted his own ears.

“Here, this is His Majesty’s edict,” Cao Huachun handed Du Wenhuan a stamped note, then whispered in his ear, “His Majesty instructs you to keep your men in check. Robbing is allowed, but try not to hurt anyone. If anyone impeaches you, His Majesty will not issue a statement and will pretend he didn’t see it. Do you understand?”

"Understood, understood!" Du Wenhuan nodded repeatedly, then took out a bag of silver and stuffed it into Cao Huachun's hand, saying, "It's just a small token of my appreciation, please don't find it offensive, sir."

A glint of greed flashed in Cao Huachun's eyes, but he still stuffed the silver back and said, "No need, your army needs the money more, keep it."

Audience:

"My goodness, this emperor is speaking human language!"

"What utter nonsense! If the emperor doesn't speak human language, does he speak bird language?!"

"Whatever he says, the emperor tells us to rob the rich. That sounds good to me."

"What robbery? It's a loan. We're just borrowing. Don't slander the emperor."

"Do I have to pay it back?!"

"We soldiers are so poor, how can we repay them?! We won't repay them!"

(End of this chapter)