The Ming Dynasty: A bookstore sells the history of the Ming Dynasty, leaving Emperor Chongzhen bewil

An envoy from the Jin Dynasty?

Why would an envoy from the Jin Kingdom suddenly arrive? And why did it happen at exactly the time of the Emperor's arrival?

In fact, Mao Wenlong has been very careful.

In preparation for the Emperor's arrival, Mao Wenlong not only arranged for soldiers to keep watch day and night, but also ordered the closure of some of the less reputable businesses on the island.

To prevent any unforeseen circumstances, martial law was imposed on the entire island of Pi.

Not long ago, he even killed the Liao woman who was suspected to have been sent by Huang Taiji and whom he liked very much, just in case something unexpected happened.

But an accident still happened.

Just what I feared most has come to pass. His reputation in the court is now very bad. Mao Wenlong is well aware of his situation. Some time ago, when he wrote a letter to his wife in Hangzhou, he said, "With powerful enemies outside and high-ranking officials inside, I am doomed to die soon."

Mao Wenlong really wanted to slap himself twice; what a foul mouth he had!

wrong.

Pi Island is under martial law; how could the Jin envoy possibly get in?

What exactly happened?

There were spies involved?

It's not surprising that he had spies, because he also had spies in the Jin state. He was intimately familiar with the Jin's movements, and even the Tianqi Emperor praised him, saying, "They dare not turn westward, only because of you!"

But now, he has been outmaneuvered by the other side, who has confirmed in front of the emperor that he was having private dealings with the enemy's envoy. Isn't this putting him to death?

If it were the Tianqi Emperor, he might still have a glimmer of hope, but now that there's a different emperor, who knows what will happen?

Mao Wenlong's head was buzzing, and he panicked for a moment.

"Quickly! Go and twist the head off that Jin... no, that Manchu envoy!"

Mao Wenlong was somewhat exasperated.

"Wait a minute."

At this moment, Emperor Chongzhen spoke up, "When two countries are at war, envoys are not to be killed. How can our Great Ming break this precedent? Since the Manchus have sent an envoy to see you, you may go and see him."

"minister……"

Mao Wenlong was sweating profusely and didn't know what to do for a moment, so he knelt down with a thud.

"Was I not clear enough? I told you to go and meet the envoy, what are you still standing here for?" Chongzhen's voice was not loud, but it was like a thunderclap on Mao Wenlong's head.

"yes!"

Mao Wenlong's mind was in a complete daze, and he had no choice but to obey the order, leading the few people from the General's Mansion to quickly go out and deal with the situation...

……

After Mao Wenlong led the group from Pi Island away, only Chongzhen and the people he brought to the island remained in the General's Mansion, along with Yuan Chonghuan.

"Shuai Yuan, are you alright?"

Zu Dashou finally had the chance to say a few words to Yuan Chonghuan.

Zu Dashou was Yuan Chonghuan's most trusted general and savior. The two shared a deep friendship. In his early years, Zu Dashou was almost beheaded by Sun Chengzong for disobeying orders, but he was saved by Yuan Chonghuan's protection. From then on, he vowed to follow Yuan Chonghuan to the death. Whether it was the Ningyuan Victory or the Ningjin Victory, Zu Dashou, as Yuan Chonghuan's subordinate, twice defeated the Later Jin army and became the core executor of Yuan Chonghuan's strategy against the Later Jin.

Therefore, their relationship can be described as a bond forged in life and death.

Zu Dashou had wanted to visit Yuan Chonghuan on the island for a long time, but he hadn't found the opportunity yet.

This time, the Emperor happened to be on an inspection tour of the island, and one of the important purposes of him coming along was to see his former elder brother.

"Don't worry, everything is fine."

Yuan Chonghuan patted Zu Dashou on the shoulder, but he did not reminisce with Zu Dashou for long. Instead, he stepped forward and came to Chongzhen.

"Your Majesty, when you previously appointed me as the Grand Commander, I requested that the court officials not nitpick at every minor flaw in my words or actions, nor use their words to mislead Your Majesty. However, I myself, in my capacity as a court official, impeached the border general Mao Wenlong, which was tantamount to slapping myself in the face. Your Majesty's decision to exile me to Pi Island is something I wholeheartedly accept."

"but!"

Yuan Chonghuan abruptly changed the subject, resolutely stating, "Now, this sinner will impeach Mao Wenlong again!"

"This guilty subject still wants to impeach Mao Wenlong for twelve major crimes! This is evidence that I collected over six months after arriving in Pi Island, proving that what I said before was not just empty talk."

As he spoke, Yuan Chonghuan handed over a folded book with both hands.

Emperor Chongzhen did not go to receive it, but looked at Yuan Chonghuan for a long time before speaking, "Minister Yuan, I increasingly fail to understand why you are so hostile towards Mao Wenlong?"

Yuan Chonghuan spoke righteously and sternly: "According to ancestral rules, a general in the field must be supervised by a civil official. You have monopolized a region, and your military supplies and provisions are not subject to verification; you deserve to be executed. The greatest crime of a subject is deceiving the emperor; your reports are full of deception, and you have killed surrendered people and refugees to claim credit; you deserve to be executed. A subject without a general must be executed. Your report that you can take Nanjing from Dengzhou with ease is treasonous; you deserve to be executed. Every year, you pay hundreds of thousands of taels of silver, but you do not use it to feed the troops, and you only distribute three and a half dou of rice per month, thus embezzling military provisions; you deserve to be executed. You have opened a horse market on Pi Island without authorization and have been secretly communicating with foreign tribes; you deserve to be executed. Thousands of your subordinates have all claimed credit for your crimes." "His surname is not mentioned. He abused his power by giving gifts of thousands of coins to those below the rank of deputy general, and even his servants and porters were given gold and scarlet robes. He deserves six strokes of the death penalty. Since returning from Ningyuan, he plundered merchant ships and became a bandit himself. He deserves seven strokes of the death penalty. He forcibly took children from the populace without restraint, and his subordinates followed suit, causing unrest among the people. He deserves eight strokes of the death penalty. He drove refugees to steal ginseng, and those who refused starved to death, leaving the island's bones like a thicket. He deserves nine strokes of the death penalty. He carried the imperial carriage to the capital, worshipped Wei Zhongxian as his father, and had his imperial portrait erected on the island. He deserves ten strokes of the death penalty. After the defeat at Tieshan, countless soldiers were lost, yet he covered up the defeat as a victory. He deserves eleven strokes of the death penalty. After eight years of establishing the garrison, he failed to recover an inch of land, instead watching and nurturing the enemy. He deserves twelve strokes of the death penalty!"

"Mao Wenlong has committed twelve capital offenses. If he is not executed, how can military discipline be maintained to serve as a warning to others?!"

Emperor Chongzhen took a deep breath, forcefully suppressing the anger rising within him, and said, "Yuan Chonghuan, even if Mao Wenlong deserves twelve strokes of the cane, if Mao Wenlong is executed, then who will guard Dongjiang Town? Who will restrain the Manchus?"

Yuan Chonghuan replied, "Mao Wenlong disregards discipline and acts recklessly, yet he was still able to defend Dongjiang. I ask the generals of Liaodong, who among them could not defend it?"

Emperor Chongzhen couldn't help but argue, "Then why has no one opened up the Dongjiang River all these years? Why did Mao Wenlong open it up?"

"No."

Yuan Chonghuan shook his head and said, "Dongjiang Town was originally named Pi Island. It was not founded by Mao Wenlong, but belonged to Joseon, a vassal state of our Great Ming. It was under Joseon's protection that Mao Wenlong was able to settle on Pi Island to avoid disaster. Therefore, Pi Island was not founded by Wenlong, but rather occupied by him!"

Emperor Chongzhen remained silent, seemingly speechless.

"This wasn't the first time that slave chieftain's envoy had come. Moreover, Mao Wenlong and the slave chieftain often correspond. Knowing that His Majesty was coming, Mao Wenlong stopped most of the illegal activities on the island, and martial law was imposed on Pi Island. When I was patrolling the island, I happened to discover the slave chieftain's envoy's trail, but I deliberately let them into the island."

"I did all this so that Your Majesty could see the true face of Mao Wenlong. Your Majesty, please look at the folded document, and you will know immediately."

With that, Yuan Chonghuan knelt on one knee and presented his memorial again: "Your Majesty, I request that Mao Wenlong be executed! If I fail to recover Liaodong within five years, Your Majesty may also execute me; I will have no objection!"