Ming Dynasty: Moral blackmail? I, Emperor Chongzhen, have no morals!

Chapter 83: The Outbreak of Plague in Shanxi, the Most Critical Moment (Please Read On)

A few days later, in the Shenwu Guard camp in the capital, Zhu Jian, Sun Chuanting, and Lu Xiangshan were inspecting the five hundred warhorses that Sun Chengzong had sent from Ningyuan.

These warhorses are well-proportioned and have glossy coats, clearly indicating that they are top-quality warhorses.

Zhu Jian pointed at the warhorses, a broad smile on his face, and said, "Look at these Jurchen warhorses, they're truly magnificent!"

"Your Majesty is absolutely right! From the Yongle to the Wanli reigns, the Eastern Barbarians maintained a horse trade with the Ming Dynasty for over two hundred years. It was only in recent years, with frequent wars, that the trade was closed!"

"It seems that raising horses is a technical job!" Zhu Jian nodded repeatedly after hearing this.

Zhu Jian felt that the Zhou Dynasty's grooms had raised the Qin Dynasty, and now the Jurchen grooms had raised the Qing Dynasty. It seemed that they couldn't just let anyone raise horses anymore...

"The current horse administration in the country is in a state of disarray. If it is not rectified soon, there will be no horses available in the future!" Lu Xiang-sheng stepped forward and said.

Lu Xiang-sheng had always wanted to reorganize the garrisons, horse administration, and other key military departments, but Zhu Jian had suppressed his efforts. The reason was that Zhu Jian wanted to maintain stability, and these things that took a long time and had slow results could be postponed.

"No need for 'later,' we have no warhorses available now. The accounts show hundreds of thousands, but we're probably lucky to have half of them now!" Zhu Jian now realized that accounts were the least reliable thing, often exaggerated. That's why people always said the Ming Dynasty emperors were prone to drowning...

"Your Majesty is right. Currently, the Guan Ning army has the most horses, and they are of the best quality. Next are the troops stationed in Shaanxi! Qin Liangyu's army also has a lot of horses, but her horses are different from the horses from beyond the Great Wall. They are mostly short and suitable for mountainous terrain, but not for galloping across plains!" Lu Xiang-sheng continued.

Now that Zhu Jian has expanded his and Sun Chuanting's scope of authority, he has naturally memorized the entire military strength and equipment of the Ming Dynasty.

"Zhou Yuji! Equip these warhorses to the Divine Martial Guard!" Zhu Jian said.

"Yes!" Upon hearing this, Zhou Yuji quickly turned around and bowed.

"Your Majesty, a few days ago, Wang Tingchen, the Governor-General of Xuanfu and Datong, also traded several hundred warhorses with the Chahar tribe! They were sent to the Shenyong Guard in Taiyuan, and General Sun Yingyuan of the Shenyong Guard has already received them!" Lu Xiang-sheng said, recounting the recent developments in the warhorses!

Upon hearing Lu Xiang-sheng mention the Shenyong Guard in Taiyuan, Zhu Jian asked, "Is the Shenyong Guard at full strength with 7,000 men?"

"It's at full strength! Sun Yingyuan has recruited more than 3,000 soldiers on the basis of the Yongwei Battalion! These people are almost all border soldiers who have become refugees from various towns and garrisons in Shanxi and Shaanxi!" Lu Xiang-sheng said truthfully.

After a moment's thought, Zhu Jian slowly asked, "How many men are in the fierce and powerful Divine Valiant Battalion?"

Lu Xiang-sheng pondered for a moment before speaking, "More than two thousand four hundred, two-thirds of whom are Mongol soldiers. These people were all slaves of the Mongol nobles. After Ligdan Khan's death, the various tribes split, and they fled to the Ming Dynasty with their families! The remaining third originally lived near the Great Wall, and now their families have all moved to the capital! They have been settled in Liangxiang and Fangshan to farm and live!"

"Recall Sun Yingyuan's Divine Valiant Guard from Taiyuan and have him and the Divine Valiant Guard stationed in Xishan!" Zhu Jian said softly.

"yes!"

The Western Hills originally had a garrison camp and beacon towers, which were previously under the jurisdiction of the Beijing Garrison. Now, the Beijing Garrison has been completely disbanded and is vacant, mainly used to defend against war in the Shanxi direction.

As he spoke, Zhu Jian handed the memorial sent by Sun Chengzong to Sun Chuanting and Lu Xiangsheng: "Grand Secretary Sun sent it back from Ningyuan!"

""

After listening, the two men took the memorial, huddled together, and began to read it. After a moment, Sun Chuanting slowly closed the memorial, looked up at Zhu Jian, who was standing with his hands behind his back, watching over the warhorses, and cautiously asked, "Your Majesty, does Grand Secretary Sun mean that the Guan Ning Army has changed somewhat compared to ten years ago?"

Sun Chuanting's statement was vague. Ten years will naturally bring changes, but these changes are not brought about by time, but by ambition.

"I recall that Wu Sangui's father, Wu Xiang, is still in prison, isn't he?"

Sun Chuanting and Lu Xiangshan were taken aback upon hearing this, as they genuinely knew nothing about it. Lu Xiangshan immediately said, "Your Majesty, I will go back and investigate!"

"No need. Let Li Ruolian, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, investigate! Release him if he finds out! The Military and Political Bureau should draft an edict appointing him as the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of War!" Zhu Jian said softly.

This was a friendly signal from Zhu Jian to the Guan Ning Army. Wu Sangui's father, Wu Xiang, was the first to flee during the Battle of Dalinghe, which led to the defeat. After the battle, he was detained by the court and has been imprisoned ever since.

Wu Sangui's stepmother was Zu Dashou's sister, so Wu Xiang was the link between the Guan Ning Army and a key to stabilizing the Guan Ning Army!

"Your subject obeys the decree!" Sun Chuanting said, bowing.

The current Vice Minister of War is a nominal position; he has no real authority over the army and it's essentially a retirement post.

Just as the group returned to the Wuying Hall from the Shenwuwei camp, Li Ruolian, the commander of the Jinyiwei, brought Wu Xiang into the hall.

"Your Majesty, I, Li Ruolian, Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, pay my respects!"

"Your Majesty, I, Wu Xiang, kowtow to you!"

Zhu Jian looked in the direction of the sound and saw a listless old man with disheveled hair kneeling in front of him, still wearing his prison clothes.

"Rise!"

As Zhu Jian finished speaking, Li Ruolian slowly rose to her feet, while Wu Xiang remained kneeling on the ground, his voice weak: "This sinner has failed His Majesty's grace, and hesitated to advance in the Battle of Dalinghe!"

"It's all in the past!"

"There's less work at the Ministry of War right now. Go home and rest for a couple of days to recover before you go back!" Zhu Jian said softly, his tone revealing neither joy nor sorrow.

"As you command!" Wu Xiang said, then kowtowed and bowed before slowly rising and leaving the Wuying Hall.

After Wu Xiang left, Lu Xiang-sheng, who was standing to the side, asked in a low voice, "Your Majesty, what about the military pay for the Guan Ning Army this year?"

"Disburse as usual!"

"As you command!"

If Lu Xiang-sheng were in charge, he would definitely check the troop numbers first, and then distribute them to each battalion like the new army, to avoid any deductions.

But Prosecutor Zhu knew that it was better to lose Shaanxi province than to recklessly close the Ningxia defense line; that location was far too important, and under the current circumstances, it couldn't be touched! Fan Jingwen wanted to inspect a granary, but the granary was already on fire. If you were to investigate these matters, it wouldn't be as simple as just starting a fire...

Just then, Li Banghua rushed into the Wuying Hall, his face full of anxiety: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty! Zhang Bingwen, the governor of Shanxi, has reported that a plague has broken out in many parts of Shanxi!"

"Plague?!" Sun Chuanting and Lu Xiangsheng exclaimed in unison.

Zhu Jian had known about this plague for a long time, but it was much smaller than he had expected. It was probably due to the tax exemption policy and the reduced movement of people that it had only appeared in several parts of Shanxi, rather than the entire North China region.

"What do you mean?" Prosecutor Zhu asked in a calm voice, as usual.

"I believe we should isolate and prevent the spread of the disease, and immediately purchase medicinal herbs to prevent it from spreading further to the capital!" Li Banghua suggested.

Zhu Jian offered no comment, instead turning his gaze to Sun Chuanting and Lu Xiangshan. The two noticed Zhu Jian's gaze and pondered for a moment. Sun Chuanting then cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, I believe we should seal off the routes out of Shanxi to prevent the spread!"

Sun Chuanting realized that the real danger lay if the plague spread beyond Shanxi, affecting even more displaced people in Henan, Beizhili, Shandong, and other areas, which would then become a catastrophe...