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

After the cabinet meeting concluded, Zhu Jian, along with the Ministers of Military and Political Affairs, Sun Chengzong, Sun Chuanting, Li Banghua, and Lu Xiangshan, returned to the Wuying Hall together.

This side hall will become the highest power center of the Ming Dynasty in the future, directly surpassing the Six Ministries of the Cabinet.

Inside the Wuying Hall, the dim candlelight flickered constantly, casting long shadows of everyone present.

Sun Chengzong approached Zhu Jian, bowed slightly, and said, "Your Majesty, is the matter of the temple name a bit too urgent?"

Sun Chengzong felt that Zhu Di's achievements were too great, and the fact that his descendants repeatedly changed his temple name gave a bad impression in historical records. Apart from the Zhu family's descendants changing their ancestor's temple name every hundred years, which dynasty before that had ever done this...?

"There's nothing to rush. Emperor Taizong's temple name was originally chosen by imperial edict and changed when Emperor Shizong ascended the throne. Now that I've changed it back, it fulfills Emperor Taizong's wishes!"

In Zhu Jian's mind, Zhu Laosi (Emperor Jiajing) purged the emperor's corrupt advisors, ultimately eliminating the emperor as well, while still retaining the title of "ancestral temple name." This was tantamount to accusing him of usurping the throne. He figured if Zhu Laosi knew in the afterlife that Jiajing had changed his temple name, he would beat Jiajing to death...

Moreover, Emperor Chongzhen, Zhu Youjian, ascended the throne without any blemishes in terms of legal procedures or morality, making it a completely reasonable and legitimate succession. This is quite different from Emperor Jiajing, who, in theory, had at least 22 members of the imperial clan who were eligible to succeed him. Therefore, Zhu Youjian's authority was much higher than that of Emperor Jiajing.

His carpenter brother had no sons. His father, Emperor Guangzong, was the eldest son of Emperor Wanli and also the crown prince. After his ascension to the throne, his only heirs were his brother and himself. Therefore, the cabinet's disagreement could only vie for cabinet power, but could not shake the legitimacy of the imperial authority...

"Your Majesty, when Bi Maokang came to the capital a few days ago, he brought two complete muskets. I believe that these muskets can be deployed on a large scale to increase the army's combat effectiveness!" Sun Chuanting had little interest in the political struggles for power; he was more pragmatic.

"These muskets were obtained by Zheng Zhilong from the Portuguese. When he came to Nanjing, he left me ten, and I entrusted him to purchase another 20,000 from the Portuguese. They cannot be deployed to the troops on a large scale right now!"

"If everyone had one, our combat strength would definitely double!" Sun Chuanting said with a hint of regret.

Zhu Jian nodded slightly: "Li Zicheng and Luo Rucai have both fled to Shaanxi. I am preparing to cease the pursuit and suppression in order to deal with a surprise attack from the Jurchens. Now that the Shanxi merchants have been wiped out, the Jurchens have no source of supplies and will definitely increase the frequency of their looting!"

Everyone nodded in agreement, agreeing with Zhu Jian's statement. Moreover, the natural disasters in Shaanxi were too severe, and suppressing them would be too costly and unsuitable. Confining Li Zicheng and Luo Rucai would give the court some breathing room!

"I believe we should deploy defenses along the Grand Canal and in Tianjin to prevent the Jurchens from raiding southward!" Lu Xiang-sheng stepped forward and said.

Zhu Jian tapped his fingers lightly on the table, pondered for a moment, and said, "Hong Chengchou's troops, Qin Liangyu's troops in Hanzhong, and Zheng Chongjian's troops in Tongguan have 100,000 elite soldiers. Currently, there are 140,000 new troops in the capital, 30,000 in Xuanda, Miyun, and Jizhen, and 70,000 in the Guan-Ning-Jin defense line! There are also 20,000 defense and pay troops. In total, the Ming army has more than 300,000. I believe that the next step should be to strengthen training and equipment, rather than the number of soldiers!"

He paused for a moment, then said, "How about this: Xiang Sheng will lead 50,000 troops, plus 20,000 soldiers to pay wages, for a total of 70,000, to be stationed in Tianjin. Wu Aheng of Jizhou will be forced to retreat to Yutian, and he will be given another 20,000 new troops, for a total of 30,000 troops stationed in Yutian!"

"In this way, the capital, Tianjin, Yutian, and Guan-Ning-Jin regions will form a triangular defensive line, allowing each side to support each other and respond to any surprise attacks from the Jurchens!"

Before he could finish speaking, Sun Chengzong stepped forward and asked, "This arrangement in Zhili is sufficient to deal with a crisis. Should we reinforce the troops in Shanxi?"

Zhu Jian waved his hand: "Just keep the current troop strength as is. If the Jurchens invade, prioritize defending Taiyuan! Then, the capital's army will enter Datong from Xuanfu and trap the Jurchens who have invaded Shanxi in Shanxi!"

It wasn't that Zhu Jian didn't want to continue training troops, but rather that money and provisions were tight. The country was exempt from taxes for three years, and there were also natural disasters to deal with and equipment to upgrade. Everything required money. If he could just wait two more years, he could wear down Huang Taiji and get through the natural disasters. There was no need to wage war at this critical juncture.

After all, the thirteenth and fourteenth years of the Chongzhen reign can be considered the peak of natural disasters! As long as we get through this period smoothly, things will get better day by day. However, the industries in Huguang, Nanzhili and other places have not yet started operating. It is estimated that specific accounts will not be sent back until the end of the year. Therefore, Zhu Jian must be extremely cautious now and spend all the money he has on the most important things.

"Your Majesty, many troops now need new armor to replace their old armor. Should we reorganize our military equipment in this regard, or continue using the old ones?" Sun Chuanting continued to ask.

Within the Military and Political Bureau, every major matter and financial transaction required the emperor's approval, rather than following procedures. This efficiency impressed Sun Chuanting, Lu Xiangshan, and others, making them more willing to submit memorials to the emperor within the Military and Political Bureau rather than discuss matters in court. Therefore, they tried to keep as many issues as possible within the Military and Political Bureau.

"We will replace them, but the style needs to be changed. The original armor plates are too numerous, expensive to manufacture, and inconvenient to maintain. My next step is to replace them with a large number of cloth armors. What do you all think?"

Sun Chengzong chimed in, "I believe it is appropriate to replace them. I have heard that His Majesty has established a weaving bureau in Yanzhou specifically for weaving cloth, presumably also to replace the armor?"

"Excellent, that's the idea!" He paused, then continued, "I brought back ten thousand bolts of cloth from the Yanzhou Textile Bureau. Based on two bolts of cloth per set of armor, we'll equip five thousand sets initially!"

Sun Chengzong smiled and said, "I've also seen those blue fabrics. They'll probably resemble the Plain Blue Banner armor of the Jurchens!"

Zhu Jian curled his lip and said disdainfully, "It's not that we're similar to them, it's that they're learning from us. When Nurhaci rebelled, he wore the same clothes as the Ming generals. Now their armor is just a different color to match the Ming border troops!"

Everyone nodded slightly upon hearing this.

Then Zhu Jian asked, "Banghua, were all the confiscated antiques, paintings, and other valuables from shops in the capital and Shanxi converted into silver and grain?"

"Your Majesty, the exchange has been completed. The large quantities of silver, gold, and grain are now stored in the Imperial Treasury!" Li Banghua stepped forward and said.

According to the law, the proceeds from the confiscation of property should be stored in the emperor's private treasury. Li Banghua also preferred to keep the money and grain in the private treasury to avoid complicated procedures at the Ministry of Revenue and the possibility of problems affecting expenditures. However, the management of the private treasury was no longer handled by eunuchs, but by Lu Xiangshan's army, which was directly under the Military and Political Bureau. This way, it could be transferred to the military at any time without procedures.

Zhu Jian nodded: "Send the loose silver to Cheng Guoxiang and have him mint it into one-tael silver coins. From now on, all army pay will be in silver coins!"

"silver?"

Zhu Jian took out two one-tael silver coins from his pocket and handed them to everyone: "These are convenient for distributing pay; one is a standard one-tael! Two months' military pay is three silver coins!"

Everyone took it and examined it. Sun Chengzong looked up and said, "Cheng Guoxiang has acquired a piece of land in the southern part of the city, called the Beijing Mint, which is used specifically to mint these, right?"

"That's right, all silver coins will be minted by the Mint. The Mint is under the jurisdiction of the Military and Political Bureau. From now on, the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Revenue will no longer be responsible for minting silver!"

Lu Xiang-sheng, who was standing to the side, took the silver coin and examined it for a moment before saying, "This is feasible! The Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Revenue have been corrupt for too long, and their accounts are unclear. Reforming the silver coin system will benefit the country and its people!"

Zhu Jian nodded: "Everyone, go and rest. Take care of yourselves; that is the good fortune of the nation!"

"yes!"

Then everyone took two steps back, turned around, and stepped out of the Wuying Hall...

Attached is a picture! This is what happened to the Ming army during their mutiny!