How can one be Emperor Chongzhen without money?

Chapter 43 Whoever can hold it, it belongs to them! (Please read on and add to your favorites)

December 2nd, Wenhua Hall.

The charcoal fire inside the hall burned brightly, dispelling the chill of the late autumn morning. Zhu Youjian sat upright behind his desk, looking at the three people below.

Sun Chengzong, the Left Censor-in-Chief and Grand Secretary of the Wuying Hall, and Li Banghua, the Right Vice Minister of War, stood close together, clearly forming a clique. The one isolated by them was Wang Zaijin, the Minister of War from Nanjing, who had just arrived after a long journey. He wore a worn white robe, his face showing the weariness of a long journey, deep wrinkles around his eyes, but his eyes remained sharp—in the eyes of Sun Chengzong and Li Banghua, this Wang Zaijin was somewhat "eunuch-like"! Not a eunuch, but a member of the eunuch faction.

"Your Majesty, we pay our respects." The three men greeted him in unison.

Zhu Youjian raised his hand in a gesture of support: "Rise, everyone, please have a seat." His gaze fell on Wang Zaijin, "Minister Wang, you must have had a long journey. Nanjing is a long way, I'm sorry to have troubled you."

Wang Zaijin bowed and said, "Your Majesty summoned me, and I traveled day and night without complaint. May I ask why Your Majesty has summoned this old minister in such haste?"

Zhu Youjian's tone was unusually calm for a young man: "I summoned Minister Wang here for the Liaodong affairs." He then turned his gaze to Wang Zaijin and Li Banghua, "The Liaodong affairs have deteriorated to this point, and this is not a matter of a single day. I summoned you three ministers not for empty words, but to seek practical solutions. Should we defend Jinzhou and Ningyuan? Should we defend Lushun and Pidao? If we should defend them, how should we defend them? Minister Wang, you speak first."

Wang Zaijin took a deep breath, his white beard trembling slightly: "Your Majesty, this old minister dares to speak frankly, Jinzhou and Ningyuan cannot be defended!" He paused, meeting Chongzhen's unreadable gaze, and continued, "The Liaodong military expenditure is four to five million taels of silver annually, like a bottomless pit! How much tax revenue does the court collect? The people of Beizhili, Shandong, and Henan are exhausted, and bandits are rising up everywhere! Forcibly collecting Liaodong military taxes is like cutting flesh to heal a wound, a losing proposition! It would be better to make a tough decision, abandon Jinzhou and Ningyuan, and retreat to Shanhaiguan! We should build deep trenches and high walls, train our soldiers well, and use the saved funds to reorganize the four garrisons of Jizhou, Xuanfu, Datong, and Changping! These four garrisons are the shield of the capital and the gateway to the Central Plains, and are the foundation!"

He then shifted his focus to Liaonan: "As for Lushun and Pi Island, these places are located overseas, controlling the throat of the Bohai Sea and restraining the Jurchens from the rear. Their strategic value is self-evident! However... the imperial treasury is so depleted that if we do not abandon Jinning, we have no surplus strength to support Liaonan. If Your Majesty can decide to abandon Jinning, the huge sum of money saved may be able to support the defense of Lushun and Pi Island. However, Mao Wenlong..." Wang Zaijin frowned, his expression deeply worried, "He has become too powerful, falsely reporting troop numbers and acting as a self-protective ruler, and has become an uncontrollable force! To defend Lushun and Pi Island, we must first strictly control Commander Mao; otherwise, it may not be a blessing for the imperial court!"

Emperor Chongzhen remained expressionless, turning his gaze to Sun Chengzong: "What does Mr. Sun think?"

Sun Chengzong stood tall and straight, his eyes blazing: "Your Majesty! Jinzhou and Ningyuan must not be abandoned! These two cities are the only remaining strongholds of our Great Ming in Liaodong! If we abandon them, Shanhaiguan will be directly exposed to the enemy's advance! The enemy chieftain Huang Taiji is ambitious. If he gains control of the Liaoxi Corridor, he can advance to spy on Jizhou, retreat to manage Liaoshen, and establish a firm foothold! At that time, it will be as difficult as climbing to heaven to subdue them! Defending Jinzhou and Ningyuan is not for an inch of land, but for gaining momentum and time!"

He paused briefly: "In my humble opinion, we should use the Liao people to defend Liao territory! Use Liao funds to support Liao soldiers! Eliminate the weak and retain the strong, and train our troops! Relying on the fortified cities and heavy artillery of Ningyuan and Jinzhou, we should advance step by step, building fortifications! At the same time, we should join forces with Mao Wenlong's troops in Dongjiang Town to launch a pincer attack from the east and west, harassing the Jurchen rear and forcing them to divide their forces! This is the strategy of 'using defense as offense, gradually seeking recovery'! Five years! Give me five years to reorganize our defenses, restore the military farms, and blockade the Jurchen's salt, iron, and grain routes. This will surely cause their economy to suffer and their foundations to crumble! At that time, the recapture of Liaoyang and the taking of Shenyang will not be empty talk!"

Speaking of Lushun and Pi Island, Sun Chengzong's expression was equally solemn: "Lushun controls the choke point of the sea route, and Pi Island is like a sharp blade inserted behind enemy lines. Both are key locations that must be defended! However, Mao Wenlong..." He snorted coldly, just like Wang Zaijin, "is arrogant and difficult to control, wasting food and supplies, and has become a chronic problem! He must be strictly controlled!"

Emperor Chongzhen sighed inwardly. Both Wang Zaijin's "contraction and consolidation" and Sun Chengzong's "advancement and recovery of Liaodong" were far more pragmatic than Yuan Chonghuan's empty talk of "pacifying Liaodong in five years"! That fellow Yuan Chonghuan was so radical that even Sun Chengzong, a radical himself, thought it was too radical! It was only because he was "truly a child" back then that he was so easily fooled by him!

His gaze finally landed on Li Banghua: "Li Qing, what's your opinion?"

Li Banghua, who had once served as governor of Tianjin and personally experienced the Liaodong situation, spoke calmly and slowly: "Your Majesty, I believe that what Minister Wang and Grand Secretary Sun said is both reasonable and has its drawbacks. Jinzhou and Ningyuan have become defensive lines; abandoning them suddenly would surely cause the morale of the army to collapse, and the risk is too great. However, continuing to pour the nation's resources into filling the bottomless pit in Liaodong is also a dead end. I dare to suggest a compromise?"

He reasoned clearly: "First, Jinzhou and Ningyuan cannot be abandoned lightly! However, the garrison troops must be drastically reduced! Eliminate the old and weak, and keep the elite! The supply of provisions and pay must also be strictly audited! We must not allow the Liaodong garrison to falsely report and embezzle funds again! Second, the additional Liaodong levy should be stopped immediately! An additional levy of even one or two fen has exhausted the people's strength! Further levies may lead to major unrest! Third, I deeply agree with Minister Wang's plan to reorganize the four garrisons of Ji, Xuan, Da, and Chang! We should start immediately! These four garrisons are the shield of the capital, and their importance is even greater than that of the Liaodong garrison! The funds saved from reorganizing the Liaodong garrison should be used to replenish these four garrisons first! Fourth, we should temporarily adopt a defensive posture against the Jurchens! Deep moats and high walls, train soldiers well, and restore our strength! Once the four garrisons are stable and the national strength has recovered somewhat, we can then plan an offensive!"

He looked towards southern Liaoning: "As for Lushun and Pi Island... Lushun is isolated on a peninsula, and in winter, sea ice blocks the roads, allowing the Jurchen cavalry to bypass it and launch surprise attacks, making it difficult to hold. Although Commander Mao of Pi Island is arrogant and difficult to control, wasting supplies, his role in restraining the Jurchens is indeed, as Grand Secretary Sun said, not to be ignored. I believe that he should be restrained rather than abandoned. At the same time, we should vigorously develop the Tianjin Navy! With the advantage of the navy, patrolling the Bohai Sea can not only support the coastal strongholds in western and eastern Liaoning, but also harass the Jurchens' long coastline when the opportunity arises, cutting off their supply lines, burning their granaries, and making it difficult for them to attend to both ends! This is a long-term strategy of using the sea to control the land!"

Emperor Chongzhen nodded repeatedly in approval. Li Banghua, despite being a member of the Donglin Party, did not engage in factionalism or attacks on dissidents; instead, he addressed the issues at hand and proposed practical and moderate solutions, which was especially commendable. This showed that there were indeed true gentlemen within the Donglin Party!
The hall fell silent for a moment. After a brief silence, Emperor Chongzhen glanced at the three senior officials again and slowly spoke:
"What you three ministers have said is all for the good of the country, and I am very pleased. However, the devastation in Liaodong cannot be recovered in a day; the court's financial difficulties cannot be resolved overnight either. Jinzhou and Lushun cannot be easily abandoned, yet both are difficult to defend... After much deliberation, I have an idea and would like to hear your opinions." He paused, his gaze sharpening: "That is, whoever can defend Jinzhou and Lushun, they will have it!"

Upon hearing this, the three people below the steps were all shocked! Wang Zaijin suddenly looked up, Sun Chengzong's white eyebrows furrowed, and a hint of astonishment flashed in Li Banghua's eyes.

"Your Majesty!" Wang Zaijin spoke first, his voice filled with disbelief, "Does Your Majesty intend... to emulate the Tang Dynasty and establish regional military governorships? Absolutely not! The calamities caused by these governorships are a stark warning! This is like drinking poison to quench thirst, leaving endless disasters!"

Sun Chengzong also said urgently, "Your Majesty, please think it over! The separatist rule of regional military governors is too powerful to be controlled and will eventually become a great threat to the country! The governors of the late Han Dynasty and the Jiedushi of the Tang Dynasty are all examples of the consequences!"

Although Li Banghua did not explicitly oppose it, his furrowed brows revealed his concerns.

Emperor Chongzhen gave a bitter smile, a smile filled with deep helplessness and a touch of world-weary desolation: "The scourge of the regional military governors? My three ministers, you only see the harm caused by the regional military governors, but have you ever thought that if the Tang Dynasty didn't have those regional military governors, it would probably have perished long ago? It was those regional military governors who extended the life of the Tang Dynasty!"

He stood up and walked to the imperial desk: "Nowadays in our Great Ming Dynasty, which military family in Liaodong doesn't maintain hundreds or thousands of retainers? Zu Dashou's Guan Ning Iron Cavalry and Mao Wenlong's Dongjiang Warriors are nominally soldiers of the imperial court, but can the imperial court's pay really be distributed to every soldier in full? Do those retainers recognize their generals or the imperial court? To put it bluntly, they have long had the ability to establish their own independent regimes; they only lack the official title!"

Chongzhen's gaze sharpened: "Since that's the case, why don't I bestow these titles upon them! I'll grant Jinzhou to a Liaodong general family willing to take on the responsibility of defending the territory, with the title being hereditary and permanent, to be stationed in Jinzhou forever! I'll grant Lushun to Mao Wenlong, to be stationed in Lushun forever! The court will give them a fixed amount of grain and salary every year, so that they can guard this border for me and for the Ming Dynasty!"

He turned and looked intently at the three men: "You do the math for me! If we have ten thousand elite troops, can we hold Jinzhou? Can we hold Lushun? Of these ten thousand elite troops, let's say two thousand cavalry and eight thousand infantry. I've done the math these past two days..."

Emperor Chongzhen's voice was clear and calm: "Based on the high salaries of the elite Liaodong troops, the monthly salary for cavalry is 2.4 taels, and the annual salary is 28.8 taels. For 2,000 cavalry, that's 57,600 taels; the monthly salary for infantry is 1.5 taels, and the annual salary is 18 taels. For 8,000 infantry, that's 144,000 taels. That's a total of 21,600 taels! I'll round it up to 250,000!"

"The soldiers' rations require 60,000 shi per year. The warhorses, numbering 2,000, consume 21,600 shi of beans and 10.8 million jin of hay per year! If all this grain and hay were converted into silver, at the fair price, one shi of beans would cost 1.2 liang, one shi of rice would cost 8 qian, and 100 jin of hay would cost 2.5 liang... Including transportation costs, the total would be approximately 308,000 taels!"

"Add in the costs of military equipment maintenance, pensions, and miscellaneous expenses, let's say 200,000 taels! The annual cost for these 10,000 elite soldiers, all told, is less than 760,000 taels!"

Chongzhen's voice suddenly rose: "Twenty thousand elite troops cost only 1.52 million taels! If another vassal state is established in Ningyuan, the annual cost for all three places combined will only be 2.28 million taels! Compared to the bottomless pit of four to five million taels in Liaodong military expenses, this is much more economical. The saved silver can be used to supplement the defenses of Jizhou, Xuanhua, and Datong! Otherwise, Jizhou, Xuanhua, and Datong would rebel on their own without Huang Taiji even needing to fight them!"

Moreover, what I provide is real pay! Real soldiers! Real territory to defend!

His gaze swept over the three dumbfounded ministers: "My three beloved ministers! Tell me! Compared to the current situation, where money has been spent, the army is weakened, land has been lost, and Jizhou, Xuanhua, and Datong have even rebelled due to starvation, what do you think of my plan?! Whoever can defend Jinzhou, Lushun, and Ningyuan for me, I will grant them that territory permanently! The court will provide their pay, and they will defend the land for the court! Is this a good deal or not?!"

A deathly silence fell over the hall. Wang Zaijin, Sun Chengzong, and Li Banghua were stunned by Chongzhen's words. All three were scholars, well-versed in history, and naturally deeply abhorred the idea of ​​regional warlordism!
But given the current situation of the Ming Dynasty, even if all the money allocated to supporting the Nine Border Garrisons and Thirteen Garrisons were used to protect Liaodong, it might not be enough! How will the Twelve Garrisons survive? If they can't survive, they'll all rebel. How can the Ming Dynasty survive then?
Seeing that the three of them remained silent, Chongzhen suddenly slammed his hand on the imperial desk. The rosewood made a dull, loud noise, startling the three of them!
"Speak!" Chongzhen's voice deepened. "My money! My soldiers! My empire! Rather than let those parasites slowly erode it, let those mediocre generals squander it inch by inch! I would rather entrust it to those who can defend it! To those who dare to fight to the death! This Ming Dynasty belongs to me! And to all the people! But ultimately..."

He took a deep breath and spoke slowly, word by word:
"It belongs to those who can protect it!"

(End of this chapter)