How can one be Emperor Chongzhen without money?

Chapter 114 How could Wei Zhongxian be so wicked? (First Update)
Deep within the governor's office in Datong town.

A clean room, with its doors and windows tightly shut, and an oil lamp burning, casting a dim yellow light on two faces.

The newly appointed governor of Datong, Yuan Chonghuan, sat facing Wei Zhongxian, the chief eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial. A bright yellow silk imperial edict was spread out on the table.

Wei Zhongxian tapped the imperial edict with his finger, his voice low:

“Governor Yuan, His Majesty’s meaning is very clear. All the land under the names of the Prince of Dai’s Mansion and the seven other Princes’ Mansions—regardless of how it was acquired—will be taken back! They will all be handed over to you, Governor Yuan, and General Li.”

He paused, his cloudy eyes fixed on Yuan Chonghuan:
"This is the 'lifeline' of tens of thousands of soldiers in Datong Town! It's their lifeblood! The Emperor said this matter is of utmost importance and cannot be compromised. If anything goes wrong..."

Wei Zhongxian's lips twitched, and he took out a heavy gold medal from his pocket, waving it under the light. The words "immunity from death" were very conspicuous.

"...We have this at home, maybe it can hold out. What about you? What about General Li? What about the people handling things below?"

Emperor Chongzhen's imperial edict was both straightforward and ruthless, clearly telling Wei Zhongxian and Yuan Chonghuan what the untouchable red line was.

Emperor Chongzhen had finally figured it out. His place in history was meaningless, merely the domain of scholars. Appeasing them in this declining era was useless! Preserving his military power and ensuring their survival was paramount. This was a truth proven by practical experience—the very method the neighboring "Sun Family" had used to survive.

The hundreds of thousands of acres of land carved out from these princely residences in Datong were untouchable. This was because they were crucial to whether the tens of thousands of soldiers guarding the border in Datong, and their families, would have enough to eat when the Little Ice Age's harsh drought ended, and whether they could continue to be loyal to the "Sun God" of the Ming Dynasty.

Yuan Chonghuan and Wei Zhongxian, one playing the good cop and promising the moon, the other the bad cop and confiscating property, went through all that trouble, relocating the idle princes and members of the imperial family from Datong City. What was their purpose? There were essentially two: first, to relocate tens of thousands of mouths to feed, saving grain to feed the border troops; second, to extract land from various princely residences (and possibly general's residences) to use as military settlements, accumulating grain for Datong Town—time was of the essence! To maintain morale in Datong Town after the tenth year of Chongzhen's reign, they would have to dig up their reserves.

As for the old foundation, we need to start saving now.

Yuan Chonghuan took a breath, calming his emotions. Wei Zhongxian had made his intentions clear: even if he didn't understand, he couldn't hold onto his position as governor. And this "life-sustaining field" was a hot potato, a death knell—it was a very difficult situation to handle!

He frowned, a troubled look on his face:
"Eunuch Wei, I understand. However... good land is scarce in Datong. The Dai family alone owns nearly 30%, which sounds like a lot, but it's at most 200,000 to 300,000 mu. The land of the seven princely mansions is a mess. There's land registered under the princely name, land that's been privately transferred, and land that's not recorded in the books—who knows how much there is. There are also more than a hundred generals' mansions in the city, which, added together, amount to at least 70,000 to 80,000 mu. But the land records for these lands are unclear, and they involve imperial relatives and princes. I... it's really difficult to deal with!"

Wei Zhongxian snorted, with a hint of disdain:
"Hmph! His Majesty is wise and foresaw this! That's why we're still keeping those two scourges, Dai Ni and Zhu Chunchen, in the guard post of the garrison eunuch's office! We haven't taken them away!"

Yuan Chonghuan was taken aback.

A ruthless glint flashed in Wei Zhongxian's eyes: "As long as those two are still in Datong, there will still be 'traitorous henchmen' in the city that haven't been thoroughly investigated! This case is not over!"

He leaned forward slightly and lowered his voice even further:

"Our villainous family can continue to play the villain! And you, Governor Yuan, the good man, can continue to use your 'pie-in-the-sky' skills! Understand? With them around, we have a pretext to turn Datong City upside down! Those lands, no matter whose name they're under, as long as they're related to a prince's or general's mansion, as long as they're acquired illegally, as long as they occupy military or government farmland... we can 'investigate' them all! Anyone who disagrees is a traitor!"

Yuan Chonghuan's heart tightened, and he immediately clasped his hands in a fist salute:

"Your humble servant obeys! I will follow Eunuch Wei's arrangements!"

Wei Zhongxian nodded, put away the gold medal, and took a sip of the now-cold tea.

Yuan Chonghuan hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Your Excellency, what about... the matter with the Chahan tribe? Su Tai, the wife of Hudun Tu Khan, was escorted back to Datong a few days ago and is currently at the post station. When can I see her? What will we discuss?"

Wei Zhongxian gave a strange smile:

"The old rules! We exert pressure, and you, Governor Yuan... offer empty promises! You offer empty promises to Su Tai, and you offer empty promises to Hudun Tu!"

"Please enlighten me, Your Excellency," Yuan Chonghuan said.

"In Xuanfu, the retainer of Lieutenant General Wang Tong has already passed on the message to Hudun Tu Khan through the Guanhua Taiji of the Chahan tribe," Wei Zhongxian said slowly. "Later, go see Su Tai. His Majesty has instructed her in a secret decree, and she will cooperate."

He paused, a glint of light flashing in his eyes:
"In short, from now on, we'll put on a grand show in Datong City, 'marching out of the pass and wiping out the Chahan tribe,' and you, Governor Yuan, will play the peace-loving card! His Majesty's bottom line: exchange Su Tai and her people for two thousand fine horses! Not a single one less! Understand?"

Yuan Chonghuan took a breath and nodded:

"Your humble servant understands! I will certainly cooperate with Eunuch Wei to complete the task!"

Inside Datong City, on a small street near the former site of the Prince of Dai's residence, there is a teahouse called "Qingyuan Teahouse." It used to be a place where idle members of the imperial family and disillusioned low-ranking generals would drink tea and chat. After the incident involving the Prince of Dai, it became much quieter, but today a few people have gathered there again.

The teahouse was filled with smoke. Several members of the imperial family, dressed in worn silk robes, sat around a table, their voices low, unable to conceal their alarm.

"Have you heard? Eunuch Pang and Zhu An, the steward of the Duke of Zhu's mansion, have confessed again in the prison of the eunuch's office!" said a tall, thin man. "Confessed what?" someone next to him asked anxiously.

"They say there are traitorous accomplices lurking in those 'princely mansions' and 'general's mansions' in Datong!" The tall, thin man's voice trembled. "They say these people might cause trouble in the city! What's even more frightening is... they say they might be colluding with the Tiger Mound Rabbit Khan outside the border wall!"

"Hiss..." A collective gasp filled the air.

"No wonder! No wonder Commander Wei and Commander Tian are making them stay in Datong and won't leave!"

"Yes! Neither Dai Ni nor Duke Zhu were taken away... So it turns out they wanted a thorough investigation! They wanted to get to the bottom of it!"

"My God... this... this isn't over yet? How are we little shrimps supposed to survive?!"

"But what does this have to do with us? We're all members of the royal family."

"It's good that they don't investigate; who knows what they might find if they really do investigate?"

Fear spread through the teahouse. The news quickly reached the princely and generally mansions in the city that hadn't yet moved out, or were still worrying about what to do with their "ancestral property."

The second hall of the governor's office.

Prince Zhu Chengyi of Xiangyuan and Prince Zhu Shi of Lingqiu, both of whom had requested a change of title but had not yet set off, sat with a list of gifts on their backs, looking at Yuan Chonghuan with longing eyes.

"Minister Yuan! Governor Yuan! You must save me!" The Prince of Xiangyuan cried, tears streaming down his face.

Yuan Chonghuan put down the official document, looking "surprised": "Why do you say that, Your Highness? Why haven't the two princes set off yet? The Emperor's decree approving the further conferment of titles was issued long ago. This is a divine favor! Why aren't you packing up and leaving this place of trouble? What are you still doing in Datong?"

Lingqiu King Zhu Shi, being young, couldn't help but say, "Your Excellency! It's not that we princes don't want to leave! It's just... it's that we can't raise the travel expenses! Also, we need to take care of the family property we inherited before we can leave! This whole family..."

Yuan Chonghuan frowned, his face showing helplessness, confusion, and even a hint of disappointment:
"Oh dear! Your Highness! Haven't you...haven't you heard the rumors circulating in the city?"

The two princes' hearts skipped a beat. They exchanged a glance and saw the terror in each other's eyes.

"Rumors? What...what rumors?" The King of Xiangyuan's voice changed.

Yuan Chonghuan leaned forward slightly, his voice extremely low:

"The cases of Dai Ni and Zhu Chunchen are still not closed! Eunuch Wei has unearthed more things… the implications are far-reaching! Who knows what else is hidden in Datong City? You two, along with your families and servants, staying here is risky! What if… what if you get implicated again…"

He didn't finish his sentence, but his meaning was crystal clear—get out of here! The sooner the better! Otherwise, if they find out anything, you'll be behind bars in Fengyang.

The two princes' faces turned pale instantly.

"Then...then the properties of the young kings..." King Lingqiu was still not giving up.

Yuan Chonghuan sighed, his tone "sincere," yet concealing a sharp edge:

"Your Highness! Those properties...where did they come from? Were they granted as stipends and estates by the imperial court? Then naturally they must be returned to the court! The court will grant them again in your new fiefdoms in the future! If...you acquired them yourselves?"

His gaze swept over the two of them:
"Then we need to think about this carefully! Are those lands military farms? Are they government-owned lands? Are there any fraudulent transactions? Are the paperwork clean? These... We need to investigate thoroughly with Eunuch Wei! Recently in Zhangjiakou, several Shanxi merchants who were 'colluding with the enemy' have been raided! Your Highnesses... have you had any dealings with them?"

The last sentence struck the hearts of King Xiangyuan and King Lingqiu like a heavy hammer. Their mouths gaped open, cold sweat soaking their inner garments, unable to utter a single word.

They really did have dealings with those Shanxi merchants!

Regardless of whether the dealings were legal or not, and whether they knew that only Wei Zhongxian, that devil, would relentlessly pursue those unscrupulous merchants who smuggled and colluded with the enemy, the high walls of Fengyang were their final resting place!

Looking at Yuan Chonghuan's seemingly concerned but actually cold face, they felt a chill run from their feet to the top of their heads.

I can't stay in Datong City for even a moment longer!

(End of this chapter)