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

After seeing that Dodo had been taken away, Huang Taiji continued, "Minister Fan, please continue!"

Fan Wencheng cupped his hands in a respectful gesture: "Yes!"

"This servant believes we can use a large force to besiege Jinzhou as a feint attack to distract them! Then we can send two cavalry units! One unit will bypass Jinzhou to probe and attack Ningyuan! The other will enter the pass through Qingshankou and attack the rear of the Guan-Ning-Jin defense line!"

"At that time, the Ming court will surely concentrate its forces on Jinzhou and Ningyuan. As long as we wear them down for a long time, we can reverse the current stalemate! When the Ming court runs out of supplies, we can take Jinzhou and Ningyuan! And eliminate the last elite force of the Ming court outside the Great Wall!"

After hearing this, Huang Taiji paced back and forth in the hall. In his view, Fan Wencheng's words were a prudent approach. The last invasion of the border not only failed to yield any benefits but also consumed a large amount of grain. Although the casualties were not heavy, they could not withstand another large-scale invasion...

If the raid succeeds, all will be well; but if it fails, not only will the siege of Jinzhou be impossible, but the Qing Dynasty will also face a food shortage...

"This year, we should stockpile enough grain for a year, and then find some places within the Ming court where we can trade!" Huang Taiji said.

The loss of the Shanxi merchants, a constant source of supplies and intelligence, left the Qing court crippled. Not only were many resources gone, but they were also unaware of the latest developments in the Ming Dynasty. Although some information was being relayed intermittently from the Guan-Ning-Jin defense line, it was already a month or two late. This uncertainty made Huang Taiji uneasy…

"The Ming court still has some commercial networks in the south, but we can't contact them yet!" Fan Wencheng said helplessly.

Huang Taiji thought for a moment, then suddenly asked, "What about maritime transport? I remember Mao Wenlong on Pi Island was doing business with maritime transport before, wasn't he?"

Fan Wencheng shook his head: "This commercial route has been discontinued for ten years. Restarting it would require a powerful maritime force!"

Fan Wencheng was also helpless. Maritime trade was simply beyond the Qing Dynasty's capabilities. Not only did they lack ships, but they also lacked sailors. A hasty voyage could result in the loss of both people and goods. While the Manchu cavalry was formidable on land, their horses were useless at sea…

Just then, Abatai strode into the Shenyang Imperial Palace: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, I captured several Ming soldiers harassing the military farms at the front lines and learned the reason!"

Abatai was Nurhaci's seventh son, and Huang Taiji was his eighth son. In terms of status, Abatai was Huang Taiji's elder brother, but in terms of political structure, he was far less powerful than people like Dorgon.

Huang Taiji looked at Abatai and asked, "What's the reason?"

Fan Wencheng, who was standing to the side, also cast a curious glance!

"They say the Ming emperor established a military merit system! The heads of three Qing warriors can be used to send their entire families to the capital to receive double military pay, plus fifty acres of tax-free land! Five Qing warriors can receive three military pay!" Abatai recounted the interrogation results. In his view, the Ming soldiers who received several military pay were weaklings and not worth worrying about at all. It was just that these people on the front lines were as annoying as flies!

"Bang!" Huang Taiji slammed his fist on the desk in his study, his voice filled with rage: "The young emperor of the Ming Dynasty is going too far!!"

Huang Taiji truly hadn't expected that the Ming emperor would use their heads as a reward. This might be understandable on the battlefield! But now it was all about heads, regardless of whether they were civilians! Anyone under the Qing court could have three heads beheaded and then be sent to the capital for a reward—wasn't this practically a bounty on the streets?

"Many soldiers have already moved their families to the rear to avoid being ambushed by the Ming army!" Abatai said, describing the situation at the front.

Fan Wencheng pondered for a moment, then exclaimed in alarm, "This is bad!"

"The Ming emperors had already become aware of the Qing Dynasty!"

Upon hearing this, Huang Taiji and Abatai both cast questioning glances at Fan Wencheng!

"Your Majesty! The Ming court has always regarded the peasant army as the greatest threat. Now, the Ming court has stationed a large force of over 100,000 troops in Shaanxi, yet it is not attacking to suppress the peasant army, but merely confining them within Shaanxi! Relying on natural barriers such as Hanzhong, Tongguan, and the Yellow River to restrict their movement! And all other military forces are aimed at us!"

Fan Wencheng grew increasingly alarmed. If the Ming court were to shift its main focus of warfare to the Qing, it would be a lose-lose situation for both sides. He didn't know what would happen to the Ming Dynasty, but the Qing Dynasty would definitely suffer! And the fact that the Ming emperor had no intention of transferring his main forces in the capital to Shaanxi was the best proof of that!

Abatai became increasingly puzzled by Fan Wencheng's words, muttering to himself, "Didn't Minister of War Yang Sichang keep seeking peace and suppressing the peasant army first? Why has he suddenly changed his mind?"

"Your Highness, you may not know this! Yang Sichang is no longer the Minister of War!" Fan Wencheng explained, "Yang Sichang is now the Second Grand Secretary and the Governor of Southern Zhili, stationed in Nanjing! And the military policy in Beijing comes from a newly established department of the Ming Dynasty called the Military and Political Bureau!"

"Military and Political Bureau?" This was the first time Abatai had ever heard of this newly established department in the Ming Dynasty. In his mind, the Ming Dynasty still relied on the traditional model of the cabinet assisting in governance and the six ministries and local governors carrying out their duties.

Fan Wencheng continued, "This Military and Political Bureau was established by the Ming Dynasty emperor. Although it faced opposition from many officials at the beginning, the Ming emperor dismissed Liu Yuliang, the second-in-command of the cabinet, and more than forty other officials, forcibly establishing it! All military and political power was placed under the Military and Political Bureau!"

"The Ming Dynasty's cabinet and six ministries are now just empty shells; all power over military affairs, finance, and personnel appointments rests with the Military and Political Bureau! Even the Ming emperor has suspended the normal drafting process and court deliberations!"

Abatai paused for a moment after hearing this, then looked at Huang Taiji: "Your Majesty, the Ming court has undergone such a great upheaval, should we also carry out reforms?"

Abatai's position and power were never high. In his view, the Qing Dynasty had always been learning from the Ming Dynasty. If the Qing Dynasty also established a military and political bureau, he would like to go a step further.

"I'll think about this matter!" Huang Taiji neither agreed nor disagreed. He was still unsure about this matter. The original system of establishing the Six Ministries and other departments, which he had learned from the Ming Dynasty, was working well. However, the Ming emperor had changed this system, and he was not sure if the current system was suitable for the Qing Dynasty. After all, the term "military and political bureau" was appearing for the first time in history!

"Your Majesty need not worry. Currently, the authority of the Ming court's military and political affairs rests entirely with you. The young Emperor Chongzhen is too ruthless and will not last long. If he passes away, the new emperor will not have the prestige of his father and will certainly find it difficult to control the military and political affairs. Therefore, this servant believes that this should be a temporary institution of the Ming court!"

Fan Wencheng, as a traditional Confucian scholar-official, deeply disliked this kind of autocratic government. He always wanted to implement a system of shared governance by scholar-officials in the Qing Dynasty, but Huang Taiji disagreed, only agreeing to a system of Manchu-Han co-governance. After all, to replace the Ming Dynasty, it was impossible without uniting the Han people; the Ming Dynasty had over 100 million Han people, while the three Jurchen tribes only numbered in the hundreds of thousands…