How can one be Emperor Chongzhen without money?

Chapter 131 Zhongxian is in grave danger! (Third update, another 10,000 words a day)
The back hall of the eunuch's office in Datong Town was tightly closed.

Although it was summer, the house in this northern border town still had a chilly atmosphere.

Wei Zhongxian, dressed in a satin undergarment and an imperial robe, sat in a grand chair, his face grim. Several of his personal guards, dressed in brown shirts, stood silently in the shadows, their hands on their swords.

A person was kneeling below the hall.

It was none other than Zhu Chunchen, the Duke of Cheng. Gone were his former brocade robes and jade belt; now he wore only a filthy gray prison uniform that reeked of mildew. His hair was matted together with sweat and grime, and his face bore not only abrasions but also bruises around his eyes and mouth. His once well-maintained hands were now raw and bleeding from the heavy shackles. His sunken eyes, like those of a dying wolf, emitted a fierce light mixed with extreme fear and a mad, vengeful rage.

"Zhu Chunchen," Wei Zhongxian spoke, his voice high-pitched and flat, "I'll ask you one last time: inciting unrest in Xuanfu, secretly colluding with the enemy chieftain... do you admit to these things or not?"

Zhu Chunchen let out a hoarse "hoarse" sound, like a broken bellows pumping in and out. He suddenly looked up, the iron chain around his neck clanging: "To admit it or not to admit it? Eunuch Wei, does it make a difference? You and I both know in our hearts that if I enter Beijing, I'm doomed! Tortured to death! My entire clan will be exterminated! Hahaha..." He suddenly chuckled nervously, the laughter abruptly stopping as he stared intently at Wei Zhongxian, "But I have something even more interesting here, concerning the life and death of your Wei family! I must ask you, Eunuch, to dismiss everyone else!"

Wei Zhongxian squinted at him for a moment, then gently waved his hand.

The servants silently withdrew and closed the door tightly.

"Speak," Wei Zhongxian said in a low voice, tinged with impatience and wariness.

Zhu Chunchen suddenly crawled forward half a step, the shackles dragging on the ground with a piercing noise. His low voice trembled slightly with urgency and a kind of morbid excitement: "I want to be the first to accuse! The first to accuse a high-ranking and powerful, treacherous, and treacherous villain who has colluded with foreign powers and intends to overthrow the foundation of the country! His crimes are heinous and far surpass my own!"

"Who?" Wei Zhongxian's eyelids twitched suddenly.

"It is your good nephew, the current Earl of Suning—Wei Liangqing, Lord Wei!" Zhu Chunchen's eyes gleamed, as if he had grasped the last straw, or as if he were a demon trying to drag the other man into hell. "Last October! Outside Zhengyang Gate, at the Tingyu Pavilion of Zuixian Tower! I met with him in secret! He said in person that he hated the current emperor's 'clearing of land and recovering of stolen goods,' his suppression of nobles and eunuchs to the bone! He wanted to join forces with me to incite a mutiny in the Xuanfu army! He also wanted to use Xuanfu as a route to secretly communicate with Hudun Tuhan, using border troubles to force the court to submit! His purpose was to ruin His Majesty's new policies! To let His Majesty know that without people like us, he can't accomplish anything! He still has to rely on us!"

He was panting heavily, coughing violently from excitement. It took him a long time to recover. He wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand, and a grim and eerie smile appeared on his face: "Eunuch Wei! This merit of reporting the crime is a tremendous achievement! I'll give it to you in exchange for my life! Just don't send me back to Beijing and stage a sudden death, and let me go quietly... From now on, there will be no more Zhu Chunchen in this world! How about it?"

Wei Zhongxian slowly put down his teacup, his facial muscles tense, and his voice squeezed out through clenched teeth: "Zhu Chunchen, you framed a powerful official, adding insult to injury!"

“Framed?” Zhu Chunchen scoffed, his laughter filled with endless mockery and despair. “At this point, do I still need to frame someone? My Duke! Your Earl of Suning! We’ve been in this together for ages! If I fall, can he escape unscathed? Your Excellency… how clean can your dragon robe be? We’re accomplices! Accomplices! Hahaha!” He burst into wild laughter again, tears streaming down his face.

Wei Zhongxian stared at him, his gaze so cold it could freeze a person to death: "Aren't you afraid that we'll kill you right now to silence you?"

Zhu Chunchen's smile vanished instantly, replaced by a desperate and resolute expression of desperation. He roared, "That's better than being locked up and taken to the capital, imprisoned, and then dragged to the West Market to be torn to pieces! Eunuch Wei! Give me a way out! Just nod your head! Otherwise..." His eyes turned completely cold, filled with venomous resentment, "Otherwise, I will be your living evidence of your crimes! As soon as I get to Beijing and say a single word, you! Wei Liangqing! The entire Wei family! Every single one of them will have to take my place! We won't be alone on our journey to the underworld! Hahaha!"

Wei Zhongxian's chest heaved violently, and he suddenly shouted in a shrill voice, "Guards!"

The door was pushed open with a bang, and the guards rushed in.

"Drag him away!" Wei Zhongxian said through gritted teeth, pointing at Zhu Chunchen. "Keep him under strict guard! No one is allowed to see him without my order! No one is allowed to listen to his nonsense!"

The guards stepped forward and roughly lifted Zhu Chunchen up.

Zhu Chunchen stopped struggling, only turning his head to stare intently at Wei Zhongxian, letting out a hoarse curse and maniacal laughter with all his might: "Wei Zhongxian! Think about it! We're in the same boat! I'm waiting for you! I'll be waiting for your whole Wei family in the underworld! Hahaha..."

The maniacal laughter and the dragging sound of shackles faded into the distance until they disappeared completely.

The door closes again.

Wei Zhongxian slumped back into his chair, his forehead instantly beaded with cold sweat, his face ashen white.

He raised his hand to pick up the tea, but found that his hand was shaking so badly that the teacup hit the table with a crisp sound.

"Last October... Zuixianlou... Tingyuxuan..."

He muttered to himself, each word like a shard of ice, popping out from between his teeth.

Suddenly, he froze as if struck by lightning.

“Last October…” His eyes flashed with extreme fear, and his voice trembled. “At that time… the Eastern Depot… the Eastern Depot was no longer in our hands… it was Xu Yingyuan… it was Xu Yingyuan who was in charge!”

"You two had a secret meeting...The Emperor...The Emperor..." He dared not think any further, a chill ran down his spine, and he was instantly drenched in sweat.

He slumped in the chair, panting heavily, his back beneath the python robe already soaked with cold sweat.

It’s over.

The thought popped into my head uncontrollably.

If the Emperor knew all along... then what does all of this mean now?
He shook his head violently, forcibly suppressing the thought that was almost driving him to the brink of collapse.

We must not panic! We absolutely must not panic!

He panted heavily, took a few quick steps around the room, and his eyes hardened again. Protect Zhu Chunchen? Absolutely not.

What about Wei Liangqing?
That stupid pig! He actually left behind such a fatal weakness! And he even thought he had succeeded!
This case was a scheme personally orchestrated by the Emperor; no one can escape it!
The Wei family... cannot be buried with this fool!
A chilling glint completely replaced the fear and panic in Wei Zhongxian's eyes.

He slowly sat back in his chair, his fingers unconsciously tapping the armrests at an alarmingly fast pace.

Suddenly, footsteps sounded outside the door.

Wei Zhongxian immediately suppressed all his outward emotions, sat up straight again, but his face was still somewhat pale.

A young eunuch bowed and reported, "Your Majesty, Governor Yuan has arrived. He said he was summoned by you earlier."

Wei Zhongxian then suddenly remembered that before interrogating Zhu Chunchen, he had indeed sent someone to invite Yuan Chonghuan after receiving a new imperial edict. The recent ordeal had almost made him forget this.

He took a deep breath, suppressing the turmoil in his heart and the urgent "family matters" he needed to deal with, and said hoarsely, "Please let him in."

As the door opened, Yuan Chonghuan, dressed in casual clothes, walked in with a steady gait. He wore a gentle smile and bowed slightly to Wei Zhongxian: "Eunuch Wei, what urgent official business has summoned you?"

At this moment, he suddenly noticed that Wei Zhongxian's expression was not good, but he didn't ask any questions.

Wei Zhongxian, preoccupied, didn't waste any words. He took out the edict from Emperor Chongzhen that had just been delivered and pushed it over, his voice a little dry: "This is an edict that His Majesty just sent. Governor Yuan, please take a look."

Yuan Chonghuan stepped forward, took it with both hands, and examined it carefully.

The ink on the paper was still fresh, and the handwriting was vigorous.

"Zhongxian, as you have met me."

"News of victory has arrived from Korea. King Yi has reached Ganghwa, and the Eastern Barbarians have suffered a setback. This is a godsend opportunity for us, and also for the Western Barbarians."

Upon seeing this, Yuan Chonghuan's eyes lit up, and he nodded slightly.

The brushstroke pauses here, then the force increases.

"The main force of the Jurchens is tied up in Korea, and the situation in Liaoxi is temporarily delayed. You must quickly handle these three matters without fail."

"Firstly, we must immediately join forces with Governor Yuan Chonghuan and head north to pacify Hudun Tu Khan. We can offer him market rewards, provisions, and weapons to jointly resist the Jurchens. Now is the time; we must not hesitate."

After reading it, Yuan Chonghuan slowly put down the paper. Of the three things Chongzhen mentioned, only the first one, namely the pacification of Hudun Tuhan, was related to him; the other two were none of his concern.

"Your Majesty is wise and insightful, and you have seized the opportunity perfectly." Yuan Chonghuan praised him first, then changed the subject and talked about practical matters, "I just received the border report yesterday about the matter of pacifying Hudun Rabbit, and I was just about to report it to you, Your Majesty."

"Oh?" Wei Zhongxian forced himself to stay awake and raised his eyelids.

"Then Hudun Rabbit sent someone to convey that he agreed to use 2,500 fine warhorses to ransom Su Tai's wife and her 2,000 followers," Yuan Chonghuan said, his tone calm but with a hint of pride. "This is 500 more than the minimum requirement His Majesty gave me."

Upon hearing this, Wei Zhongxian finally managed a faint smile on his gloomy face and nodded, saying, "It seems that our strategy of playing the bad cop and shouting for war in Datong, while Governor Yuan plays the good cop and appeases with gentleness and pacification... is quite effective."

He said this as if he were speaking to Yuan Chonghuan, but also as if he were encouraging himself, telling himself that the emperor's strategy was correct and that he was still useful.

“Exactly,” Yuan Chonghuan replied. “Once Su Tai returns, he will surely explain the advantages and disadvantages to Hu Duntu. At that time, our Great Ming can continue this good cop/bad cop act. I can send an envoy to show goodwill, while you, sir, can deploy troops on the border to demonstrate your power. Using both soft and hard tactics is the best strategy.”

As he spoke, he tapped the edict with his finger: "However, the amount of the reward, grain, and weapons promised by the Emperor is unclear, and I estimate that the Emperor's public display will not be too grand. That Tiger Mound Rabbit Khan is greedy by nature, and if he sees that I speak kindly to him, he may take advantage of the situation and demand exorbitant prices."

Wei Zhongxian narrowed his eyes, a ruthless and calculating glint in his old eyes. The fear and anger brought by Zhu Chunchen seemed to have found an outlet, distortingly merging with the current state of affairs.

“Governor Yuan’s concerns are absolutely correct.” Wei Zhongxian’s voice lowered, carrying a chill. “I know those Mongol chieftains well. If you talk to them properly, they will treat you like a fat sheep to be slaughtered! You have to make them genuinely afraid and truly submit, so that they will obediently offer their best in exchange… Words alone won’t do.”

He paused, then almost spat out the rest of the words through clenched teeth: "We still have to send troops!"

Yuan Chonghuan smiled, this seemed to be exactly the result he wanted, and immediately cupped his hands and said, "Your Excellency is wise! Only when a knife is held to one's throat can the conditions negotiated be truly realistic! This humble official will immediately go and prepare the military and gather provisions for Your Excellency's use!"

Wei Zhongxian, however, seemed not to hear what he said afterward. He squinted and muttered to himself, as if he were calculating or venting some kind of emotion: "This time... we can't just put on a show. We have to really fight, we have to see some blood... that's what we need!"

The wind outside grew stronger, howling loudly.

After Yuan Chonghuan left, the fierce look on Wei Zhongxian's face slowly faded, replaced by weariness and a deeper worry. He glanced out the window, remained silent for a moment, and then shouted again, "Summon Liu Yingkun immediately!"

(End of this chapter)