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

The next morning.

The snowfall had long since stopped.

The fire in the furnace inside the Wuying Hall was blazing, but it couldn't dispel the bloodshot veins in Zhu Jian's eyes, which were filled with the marks of a sleepless night.

"Cheng'en!" Zhu Jian said, handing three letters to Wang Cheng'en, who had also been up all night: "This one is for Hong Chengchou. Tell him to hand over command of the troops to Sun Chuanting and then return to the capital as fast as he can!"

"This letter is for Qin Liangyu, instructing her to lead troops into Hanzhong and train new recruits! This letter is also for Qin Liangyu, to be personally delivered to Uncle Rui after arriving in Hanzhong!"

"yes!"

After Wang Chengen received the letter with both hands, before he could even turn around, he heard Zhu Jian's voice again: "Call Wang Dehua here!"

"Yes!" Wang Chengen accepted the order again, bowed, and slowly withdrew from the Wuying Hall.

The purpose of recalling Hong Chengchou was to formulate a plan to resist the Qing Dynasty. As for Li Zicheng, who had fled, he was left to hide in Shaanxi.

Qin Liangyu went to Hanzhong not only to train new soldiers, but more importantly, to borrow money from Prince Rui of Hanzhong.

Zhu Jian wrote a letter to Prince Rui, Zhu Changhao, in the tone of a nephew asking his uncle for money, not in the tone of an emperor.

Prince Rui, Prince Fu, and others had a special relationship with Zhu Jian. They were all sons of Emperor Wanli (Zhu Yijun), his uncles, and of the same generation as his father, Emperor Guangzong (Zhu Changluo). With these people, one could only appeal to their family ties.

As for the King of Qin and the King of Jin, we can just seize their weaknesses and eliminate them directly. These relationships are too distant, and there will be very little resistance from the court.

Even if Zhu Jian's own nine generations were executed, it wouldn't extend to people like the King of Qin and the King of Jin. If this were during the Han or Tang dynasties, these people would have been weaving straw sandals long ago, and they wouldn't still be occupying the throne!

Not long after.

Wang Dehua ran all the way to the Wuying Hall, not even catching his breath, and then kowtowed, saying, "This servant Wang Dehua greets Your Majesty!"

"Is everything arranged?"

"Your Majesty! The censors and officials have been arranged and are awaiting Your Majesty's instructions!"

Zhu Jian nodded: "Cao Huachun is gone, and the Eastern Depot is leaderless. Arrange for a trusted confidant to take charge of the Eastern Depot!"

Upon hearing this, Wang Dehua's heart skipped a beat, and his voice trembled slightly: "Director of the Eastern Depot, this servant truly dares not make such an arrangement! I beg Your Majesty to make the decision!"

Wang Dehua desperately wanted to make the arrangements, but he dared not yet. Who knew if the emperor was testing him? If he aroused the emperor's suspicion, he didn't know when his head would be chopped off...

"Just do as I say! Stop with the nonsense!" Zhu Jian said angrily, glancing at Wang Dehua.

Zhu Jian currently has no suitable candidates to oversee the Eastern Depot. As for having Wang Dehua, the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, directly oversee the Eastern Depot, there would be too much resistance and it would not be in accordance with ancestral rules. It would be better to avoid causing trouble.

After much deliberation, a compromise was reached: Wang Dehua would appoint a trusted confidant, thus keeping the Eastern Depot under Wang Dehua's control and silencing the censors.

"This servant thanks Your Majesty for your trust!" Wang Dehua's joy was overflowing.

Zhu Jian slowly rose, bent down, and whispered in Wang Dehua's ear, "I've heard that the Earl of Jiading has a lot going on... Have the Eastern Depot investigate secretly and send me a note! Don't let anyone notice!"

When Wang Dehua heard that Inspector Zhu had ordered him to investigate the Emperor's father-in-law, he was startled and quickly bowed, saying, "Yes, Your Majesty!"

"Go ahead!" Prosecutor Zhu waved his hand lightly.

After Wang Dehua left, Zhu Jian was just about to take a nap when Yang Sichang, the Minister of War, requested an audience outside.

Zhu Jian, who had not yet lain down, had no choice but to get up.

"pass!"

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty!" Yang Sichang shouted before even entering the room.

Zhu Jian, slightly displeased by Yang Sichang's shouting, said, "I'm not dead yet, what's with the mourning!"

Upon entering the room, Yang Sichang noticed that Inspector Zhu was somewhat displeased and quickly bowed to apologize, saying, "It was my fault for being rude!"

"What is it?"

As Zhu Jian spoke, he sat down in the chair, gently stroking his forehead with his hand.

"Intelligence has come from Liaodong that the Jurchens have been amassing troops in the direction of Shenyang, with no clear purpose!" Yang Sichang said, then stepped forward and placed the report in his hand on the table.

"The Jurchens are gathering?" Zhu Jian suddenly stood up, grabbed the report, and began to read it, his voice filled with urgency.

After reading it, Inspector Zhu slammed the report shut with a snap.

He thought to himself, "Damn it! The Jurchens should start assembling now! Preparing for the Southern Campaign in September!"

After thinking for a moment, Zhu Jian slowly sat down again. He suddenly felt that there was nothing wrong with it. With 70,000 to 80,000 troops, provisions, and a battle plan, wouldn't it take several months to assemble them?

Only Emperor Yingzong of Ming, Zhu Qizhen, had the ability to assemble 200,000 troops and set off in just two days...

"What is your opinion on the actions of the Jurchens?" Zhu Jian asked.

Yang Sichang: "I believe an imperial edict should be issued ordering the garrison along the Guan-Ning-Jin defense line to be on high alert, in case the Qing army attacks Jinzhou!"

After listening, Prosecutor Zhu nodded slightly: "Continue!"

"I believe that to repel external aggression, we must first pacify the internal situation! We can first feign peace with the Jurchens and then focus all our efforts on eliminating the rebel Li Zicheng!" Yang Sichang had always wanted to negotiate peace with the Qing army, first wipe out Li Zicheng, and then fight the Qing with all his might!

"To repel external aggression, we must first pacify internal strife?" After saying this, Zhu Jian subconsciously glanced at Yang Sichang's hair. Seeing the thick white hair on Yang Sichang's head, he felt relieved.

Zhu Jian thought to himself, "If we follow the principle of 'pacifying the internal before resisting the external,' in a few years I'll be hanging from a tree branch, and three hundred years from now, another bald man will have used it too, eventually ending up on an island..."

"Send intelligence to the Liaodong front to gather intelligence on the Jurchens' movements!" Zhu Jian said in a very low voice, leaning slightly forward, and then asked, "If we're negotiating peace, who can take on this important task?"

Yang Sichang pondered for a moment, then bowed and said, "I believe that Chen Xinjia, the Right Vice Censor-in-Chief, is capable of undertaking this important task!"

Zhu Jian's lips curled slightly, and he nodded: "Go and do it. First, draft a note, then secretly negotiate peace with the Jurchens!"

"As you command!" Yang Sichang took two steps back, satisfied, and left the Wuying Hall, preparing to discuss peace talks with Chen Xinjia.

After Yang Sichang left, Prosecutor Zhu's face instantly turned cold.

He narrowed his eyes and looked towards the door where Yang Sichang had left.

He thought to himself: Negotiate peace with the Jurchens? It would be better to move south. Yang Sichang only knows how to make stupid moves... Huang Taiji has been preparing for months. Do you think you can just negotiate peace like that?

Zhu Jian viewed Huang Taiji's proposed peace talks as nothing more than a delaying tactic that would only exacerbate internal conflicts within the Ming court. Since Huang Taiji could use delaying tactics, Zhu Jian could also play along.

While secretly sending envoys to negotiate peace, they simultaneously mobilized troops to prepare for war, without wasting a single moment...

a few days later.

Hong Chengchou, who had just defeated Li Zicheng in Zitong, led his army to Hanzhong when he encountered the messenger eunuch sent by Zhu Jian.

The young eunuch dismounted and approached Hong Chengchou: "Lord Hong, receive the imperial decree!"

"Your subject Hong Chengchou..." Hong Chengchou hadn't finished speaking and was about to kowtow to receive the imperial decree when the young eunuch helped him up: "Lord Hong, see for yourself. We still have to go to Sichuan to deliver the decree, so we won't stay here any longer!"

The young eunuch handed the letter written by Zhu Jian to Hong Chengchou, then mounted his horse and continued his journey towards Sichuan...

Hong Chengchou was left standing there, bewildered, watching the little eunuch's departing figure...

......

A moment later, Hong Chengchou, regaining his composure, eagerly opened the letter and began to read it, fearing that Emperor Chongzhen might suddenly decide to order the army to attack again...

After reading it, Hong Chengchou clutched the letter tightly, closed his eyes, and felt resentful.

This is exactly what I feared.

He then sighed deeply, "How can we win if we distrust our frontline commanders so much?"

This was an imperial edict ordering him to hand over command of the army to Sun Chuanting, the governor of Shaanxi, and to recall him to the capital.

In Hong Chengchou's view, this letter was solely due to the fact that he commanded too many troops and had defeated Li Zicheng, and that the latter feared Li Zicheng would establish himself independently in Sichuan, which was why he was being recalled to the capital...

Hong Chengchou lowered his head, mounted his horse, and rode up behind Sun Chuanting, calling out, "Lord Sun! Lord Sun!"

Hearing the sound, Sun Chuanting turned around and saw Hong Chengchou riding towards him. He turned his horse around and went to meet him, asking, "What brings you here, Lord Hong?"

Hong Chengchou reined in his horse and handed Zhu Jian's decree to Sun Chuanting: "The Emperor has ordered me to return to the capital and hand over command of the troops to you. You are to garrison Tongguan and guard against the eastward advance of the rebel leader Li Zicheng!"

"This?..." Sun Chuanting was speechless for a moment.

He blankly accepted the imperial decree handed to him by Hong Chengchou and read it carefully.

"Someone in the court has slandered Hong Chengchou to the Emperor, wanting to transfer him back to the capital!" Sun Chuanting also felt that the Emperor was afraid that Hong Chengchou would become too powerful with his troops, so he transferred him back to the capital.

Seeing that Hong Chengchou remained silent, Sun Chuanting spoke up again: "We and the other generals jointly submit a memorial, requesting His Majesty to grant some time for Lord Hong to return to the capital after the rebel Li Zicheng is defeated."

"No!" Hong Chengchou quickly stopped him.

He then sighed deeply, "We will obey the decree! After Lord Sun leaves Hanzhong, he can proceed to Tongguan!"

Hong Chengchou already felt that the emperor was suspicious of him, so how could he dare to let these generals submit a joint memorial again? That would only confirm the emperor's suspicion.

"Sigh~"

Sun Chuanting sighed and clasped his hands in a fist salute: "Take care on your journey, Lord Hong!"

"Take care of yourself!"

After returning the greeting, Hong Chengchou left the army and rode alone towards the capital.

"Why doesn't the Emperor trust loyal ministers and generals?!" Sun Chuanting watched Hong Chengchou's departing figure, his heart sinking, his left hand gripping the reins tightly...

He thought to himself: If they were given a few more months, they might be able to eliminate the rebels in Shaanxi and quell the rebellion in the west. But just then, the commander-in-chief was recalled... Censors and officials in the court impeached them; the emperor didn't trust them. How could they possibly win battles... If things continued like this, the fall of the country was not far off...

.......

at the same time.

Zhu Jian, in the Wuying Hall, looked at the memorial on peace talks personally delivered by Yang Sichang.

The corners of her mouth turned up slightly.

"Sichang, the terms of this peace negotiation are acceptable. Let's proceed according to them!"

The memorial to the throne, besides proposing reparations, territorial cessions, and the establishment of trade and mutual recognition, would be a blatant act of treason if these "treaties" were actually signed...

Upon hearing that the emperor had not changed a single word, Yang Sichang, who was standing to the side, was overjoyed: "Your Majesty, I will immediately arrange for Chen Xinjia to go to Liaodong!"

Inspector Zhu nodded: "Hurry up and prepare, let's set off the day after tomorrow!"

"As you command!"

After Yang Sichang left, Zhu Jian turned to the eunuch beside him and said, "Call Wang Dehua over!"

"yes!"

Not long after.

Wang Dehua strode to the Wuying Hall: "This servant greets Your Majesty!"

Zhu Jian leaned back in his official chair and said softly, "Everyone else, get out and close the door!"

As the eunuchs slowly withdrew from the east wing of the Wuying Hall, Zhu Jian waved to Wang Dehua.

Seeing this, Wang Dehua stepped forward and bowed to Zhu Jian's side.

Zhu Jiandao said, "From the Eastern Depot, send a few trusted confidants and Chen Xinjia out of the pass!"

Wang Dehua was taken aback upon hearing this, his tone tinged with doubt: "Go beyond the Great Wall?"

Zhu Jian nodded slightly: "Chen Xinjia has gone to negotiate peace with the Jurchens!"

"Discuss...discuss...!" Wang Dehua exclaimed in surprise, then lowered his voice, "Your Majesty, if the court officials find out about this...they will surely..."

Wang Dehua dared not even imagine the chaos that would escalate if the court officials found out that the emperor was secretly negotiating peace with the Later Jin...

Zhu Jian lowered his voice: "Don't concern yourself with Chen Xinjia's peace negotiations. Your trusted confidants will accompany Chen Xinjia to Liaodong to secretly do two things! First, spread the rumor that Huang Taiji's eighth son died under a witchcraft curse! Second, spread the rumor that the ninth son is the son of Dorgon and Bumbutai (Empress Xiaozhuang)!"

According to historical records, Huang Taiji's eighth son with his favorite concubine Hailanzhu died a few days ago. When the eighth prince was born, Huang Taiji granted a general amnesty and summoned all the princes and nobles to show his favor. His treatment was better than that of any other newborn prince. If he had lived, he would very likely have become the crown prince. So now Zhu Jian is trying to use rumors to stab Huang Taiji in the heart.

The same applies to the rumors about the ninth prince.

The Jurchens believed in shamanism and were deeply convinced of witchcraft and sorcery. They took advantage of this peace talk to spread rumors and let Huang Taiji know what a propaganda war was.

While this cannot cause internal strife within the Jurchen people, it will certainly create a rift.

Upon hearing this, Wang Dehua was startled, secretly sensing that this matter was top secret. He nodded repeatedly, "This servant will certainly handle this matter well!"

Zhu Jian leaned down beside Wang Dehua and whispered, "From this day forward, the Eastern Depot will have agents under the rule of the Jurchens in Liaodong, primarily for spreading rumors and gathering information about internal Jurchen affairs!"

"yes!"

Then a hint of difficulty appeared on Wang Dehua's face. The Eastern Depot was currently short of funds, making it difficult to proceed with the Liaodong matter. However, he did not tell Zhu Jian, fearing that it would displease the emperor.

Seeing this, Zhu Jian knew where Wang Dehua's difficulty lay, and then said, "I've heard that Wang Zhixin is the richest eunuch, having embezzled over 100,000 taels of silver?"

"Ten...more than one hundred thousand taels?" Wang Dehua found it hard to believe.

Zhu Jian nodded: "And the Embroidered Uniform Guard, that Luo Yangxing, he also embezzled tens of thousands of taels! These two are now under your Eastern Depot!"

"This servant obeys the decree!"

"This servant will definitely keep an eye on the Eastern Depot for Your Majesty!" Wang Dehua still dared not attribute the Eastern Depot to himself, especially in front of the emperor.

"Is there any progress on the matter of the Emperor's father-in-law?" Prosecutor Zhu asked again.

"There is indeed some evidence that has been confirmed, but..." Wang Dehua still didn't know whether Prosecutor Zhu was going to deal with the Emperor's father-in-law Zhou Kui or give him a warning.

If dealt with, these charges would become serious crimes; if dealt with lightly, they would become minor crimes.

Zhu Jian: "Go back and arrange for personnel to go to Liaodong first, then bring me the matter of the Emperor's father-in-law!"

Zhu Jian wanted to examine Zhou Kui's incriminating evidence. He needed Zhou Kui's assets to fund the military, but Zhou Kui was involved with the Empress and the Crown Prince, so he couldn't be executed. He had to carefully weigh the pros and cons...

As for the embezzled funds of Wang Zhixin and Luo Yangxing, they were used by the Eastern Depot itself.

Zhu Jian wouldn't leave such a useful tool of violence as the Eastern Depot idle, so he had to ensure the Eastern Depot's funding while also guaranteeing the military's pay.

"Yes! This servant will go and make the arrangements immediately!"

After speaking, Wang Dehua slowly took two steps back, then turned and left...