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

Chapter 53 Father, you're so biased towards my sister, and so is the Emperor.

Grand court assemblies were held on New Year's Day, Winter Solstice, and Emperor's Birthday. Among them, the New Year's Day Grand Court Assembly was the largest in scale. In addition to officials from the capital, local officials such as provincial governors and judicial commissioners, as well as retired officials and foreign envoys participated. The scale was several times larger than that of the Winter Solstice Grand Court Assembly, with thousands of participants.

At the grand court assembly, Zhu Youjian issued his edict changing the reign title, announcing that the Tianqi era had passed and the reign title of the Ming Dynasty was now officially changed to Chongzhen.

In addition to announcing the new era name, the edict on changing the era name also included the new emperor's policy direction for the coming period.

Compared to the lengthy content in the original history, Zhu Youjian only wrote a few words, declaring that the Ming Dynasty was the legitimate successor of China, that everyone was a subject of China, that the rise and fall of the Ming Dynasty was closely related to everyone, and that everyone should work together to uphold the legitimacy of the Ming Dynasty; he promised that as long as everyone did not let down the Ming Dynasty, he, as the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, would never let them down.

The officials generally believed in Zhu Youjian's political promises. Although the emperor had rebelled from time to time and often caused trouble during the past six months, he could not escape the title of "benevolent ruler."

The factional strife continued, but Zhu Youjian curbed its destructive potential. They could argue all they wanted, but getting the emperor to kill anyone was out of the question. The appointment of officials to important positions also wouldn't go as they pleased.

The day after the grand court assembly, Zhu Youjian summoned the principal officials of various regions, including Hong Chengchou, the governor of Shaanxi, and Sun Chuanting, the governor of Yansui!

Yansui was part of Shaanxi, but because of its strategic location as a military town, an additional governorship was established there. Hong Chengchou and Sun Chuanting were in similar situations, both being promoted exceptionally young officials, so Zhu Youjian simply summoned both of them together.

"Your subjects Hong Chengchou and Sun Chuanting pay their respects to Your Majesty!" the two said in unison.

"No courtesy, stay on your own!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

The emperor and his minister were meeting for the first time, so they began to sized each other up.

Sun Chuanting was undeniably handsome, but his eyes seemed to look like he wanted to kill someone, and Zhu Youjian felt a chill run down his spine. Hong Chengchou was considerably older than Sun Chuanting, with a calm face and deep-set eyes, revealing little emotion.

"I would like to hear your account of the situation in Shaanxi and Yansui," Zhu Youjian said.

"Your Majesty," Hong Chengchou said, "Shaanxi has suffered from numerous disasters, especially northern Shaanxi. Last year, northern Shaanxi was ravaged by drought, resulting in a complete crop failure and the starvation of many people. When I served as the Shaanxi Grain Supervisor, I fought against bandits and observed that their forces not only included starving people but also deserters from their garrisons. Such a situation demands our utmost vigilance. I earnestly request Your Majesty to allocate grain to relieve the disaster victims and to exempt the people of Shaanxi from taxes, so as to reassure the people and strengthen the foundation of the nation."

Sun Chuanting thought for a moment and said, “Your Majesty, much of the military farmland in Yansui has been encroached upon. The 30,000 hectares of military farmland established during the Yongle era have been reduced to only 5,000 hectares. Corruption is rampant among military officials; falsifying troop numbers and embezzling rations are commonplace. This chaos has led to desertion among more than 30% of the soldiers. Although the current roster lists more than 40,000 soldiers, less than 20,000 are truly capable of fighting. Only elite guards wear heavy armor and ride fine horses, while ordinary soldiers are forced to use wooden sticks as weapons. I intend to reorganize the military farmland and restore discipline in Qingyuan.”

Zhu Youjian used the same old trick: if they didn't have money or grain, he told Hong Chengchou and Sun Chuanting to find their own way to raise it. As for causing trouble, he just told them not to involve the emperor, and he would try his best to protect them.

Sun Chuanting was not surprised by the emperor's attitude, as he had already witnessed soldiers "robbed on imperial orders" in Yansui. As the governor of Yansui and the head of the local civil officials, he had naturally received many complaints from powerful local figures, but he only told Du Wenhuan, the general of Yansui, to restrain himself and not cause too much trouble, and then turned a blind eye to it.

Hong Chengchou was somewhat conflicted. He had been an official longer than Sun Chuanting and had inevitably picked up some of the habits of officialdom. He had almost been killed for impeaching his superior before, and now he had become much more cautious, just like his military style, which was also based on caution.

Zhu Youjian only briefly discussed the situation in Shaanxi and Yansui with them; he had already anticipated the dire state of affairs there. His main reason for summoning the two men was to have these two military geniuses advise him on military matters. Zhu Youjian inquired about the bandit suppression efforts in Shaanxi, and Sun Chuanting stated that the bandits were nothing more than a rabble and not worth worrying about; given five thousand elite troops, they would be enough to sweep through the entire Shaanxi region. The primary issue now was maintaining the stability of the military towns; otherwise, if more soldiers deserted and joined the bandits, the situation would be completely different.

Hong Chengchou agreed with Sun Chuanting's statement, but since his jurisdiction was much larger, he still hoped that the court would pay more attention to disaster relief. He argued that if heavy taxes were continuously levied on the people of Shaanxi, and disaster victims received no aid during years of great calamity, rebellions would never cease.

Zhu Youjian certainly understood these principles, didn't he? But Shaanxi was a bottomless pit; disaster relief and such could never fill it!

Shaanxi had five major vassal states and three border regions and four garrisons. In the past, when the Hexi Corridor still existed, Shaanxi could still make money through trade with the Western Regions. Now, it could only make a living by farming and relying on the imperial court for grain transport. After Bi Ziyan's salt tax reform, the situation of transport would slowly improve, but it would still be difficult. The only solution was to fight against the local vassal kings and gentry.

Zhu Youjian then inquired about their opinions on the Liaodong situation, and both expressed their respect for the senior official Yuan Keli. Hong Chengchou suggested training more chariot formations and advocated "advancing step by step, fighting and defending simultaneously"; Sun Chuanting also believed that the current situation only allowed for holding the city and waiting for an opportunity to counterattack, and that more elite troops should be trained.

After finishing his business, Sun Chuanting couldn't help but say, "Your Majesty, I wish to see my daughter. I humbly request Your Majesty's permission."

"My dear minister, you're too kind. Even if you hadn't asked, I would have invited you anyway. Wanwan and Shixiu miss you very much," Zhu Youjian said with a smile.

Zhu Youjian invited Sun Chuanting to stay for dinner and allowed him to meet his two daughters.

"Father, I'm pregnant," Sun Shiwan whispered.

Sun Chuanting was stunned, feeling both surprised and heartbroken.

He forced a smile and said, "Now that you are pregnant with the dragon's child, you must take good care of it. Let's put aside your martial arts practice for now. Shixiu, you must also take good care of your sister."

"I know, Father, you're biased towards my sister, and so is the Emperor," Sun Shixiu said, pouting.

Hearing this, Sun Chuanting felt somewhat helpless. At home, he relied on his wife's authority to suppress his two daughters. He spoiled them rotten and couldn't bear to scold or beat them. However, his two sons were quite afraid of him.

"Where did you get the information about those confidential matters of the outer court that you mentioned in your letter?!" Sun Chuanting asked in a low voice. This was his biggest concern and the fundamental reason why he had asked the emperor to let him see his daughter.

Sun Shiwan opened her mouth, somewhat hesitant to speak, but Sun Shixiu interjected and told Sun Chuanting the answer: "Father, you don't know how much the Emperor favors my sister. He even had her help review the memorials!"

“No, His Majesty will still read these memorials in the end,” Sun Shiwan retorted without any persuasiveness.

Only Sun Chuanting stood there dumbfounded, his mind buzzing. He just wanted to ask one question: "Why is this happening?!"

(End of this chapter)