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

A few days later, the capital was still bathed in the warm spring breeze.

Inside the Forbidden City, eunuchs and palace maids hurried along the corridors.

Hong Chengchou brushed past the eunuchs who were bowing beside him and strode into the Wuying Hall.

When he was inspecting the terrain of Shuntian Prefecture, he heard about Zhu Jian's dispatch of Chen Xinjia to negotiate peace, which greatly shocked him.

A mix of emotions welled up inside me.

In his view, the emperor wanted to resist the Qing on the one hand, and negotiate peace on the other. In this back-and-forth, he was bound to suffer a crushing defeat.

Hong Chengchou originally thought the emperor had changed, but now it seems he might have been overthinking things.

Inside the small east wing of the Wuying Hall, Zhu Jian was happily looking at the account books.

The ledger showed that the imperial treasury had 200,000 taels of silver, the confiscated property had 470,000 taels of silver, the Ministry of War had 270,000 taels of silver, and the Ministry of Revenue had 150,000 taels of silver, totaling 1,090,000 taels of silver, enough for a million taels of military pay, enough for a major battle with the Qing army that had invaded the border.

"Your Majesty, Hong Chengchou requests an audience!" a young eunuch said softly outside the small room.

"Enter!"

A moment later, the wooden door slowly opened, and Hong Chengchou strode into the room.

"Your subject Hong Chengchou pays his respects to Your Majesty!"

"Get up!" Before he finished speaking, Zhu Jian waved his hand, signaling the young eunuch to close the door, and then asked, "Chengchou heard about the peace talks and rushed back, didn't he?"

Hong Chengchou looked ashamed and nodded slightly: "Your Majesty is wise!"

Zhu Jian: "Don't worry! Peace talks are impossible! Even if Huang Taiji and I both wanted to negotiate peace, we couldn't!"

After saying this, Zhu Jian took a sip of tea and continued, "The Qing Dynasty's operating model was designed for war. Once the war stops, the Qing Dynasty will collapse on its own in no time. The Eight Banner soldiers have no military pay and do not engage in manual production. Although they have land, they need people to cultivate it. The raids into the border are for the purpose of robbing Han Chinese people and making them cultivate the land for the Banner masters."

"Furthermore, although Huang Taiji was the supreme leader of the Qing court, there were many other factions under him, such as Dorgon and Haoge. They would not be willing to stop plundering, so when necessary, they would have to divert internal conflicts. The Ming Dynasty was the best choice, as it could enrich the Qing Dynasty, plunder people, and weaken its strength."

Hong Chengchou was taken aback upon hearing this, his listless gaze gradually turning into shock as he stared wide-eyed at Zhu Jian, who was blowing on the teacup.

He never imagined that the emperor would have such profound and insightful views on the Qing court. If he hadn't known Zhu Jian, he would have thought he had met Huang Taiji!

He asked, "Your Majesty... if you have such views on the Qing court, then why did you...?"

Zhu Jian: "Back then, I was still young, and I rashly took over the Ming Dynasty from my elder brother. Many matters were complicated and chaotic, which was my fault!"

Hong Chengchou stared intently at the serious-looking Zhu Jian, thinking to himself: You've grown up so much after just one Spring Festival?

Although that's what he thought, he couldn't show it, and respectfully said, "Your Majesty is wise; with just a few words, you've clearly pointed out the state of the Qing court!"

Hong Chengchou thought and thought, but still couldn't figure it out! Since he knew that peace talks were impossible, why did he still send people to Shenyang, only to have them bound and sent back by the Qing court, causing a great uproar in the court? He felt that it was a losing proposition, as if there was no benefit at all.

Zhu Jian's gaze swept over Hong Chengchou, who was deep in thought: "Only by sending envoys can we make those cliques under Huang Taiji firmly believe that I am asking them for time to quell the internal strife!"

Zhu Jian did not tell Hong Chengchou that the purpose of sending the envoy team was to have the Eastern Depot personnel spread rumors and plant spies in Liaodong.

Although he employed Hong Chengchou, it did not mean that he would reveal all the secrets to him.

"Your subject understands!" Hong Chengchou bowed respectfully.

After Zhu Jian's explanation, Hong Chengchou was certain that Zhu Jian had no intention of negotiating peace. However, whether sending an envoy was truly to mislead the Qing court or if there were other motives remained to be determined. If it was to mislead the Qing court, he still felt it was somewhat counterproductive, but it was enough to be certain that the emperor's resolve to resist the Qing had not wavered.

"I have prepared one million taels of silver!" With that, Zhu Jian handed the account book to Hong Chengchou.

Just then, Sun Chengzong, who had been welcomed back by Qingliu, arrived at Wuying Hall with brisk steps.

Sun Chengzong had been away from the court for several years, but this time Huang Daozhou told him that the emperor had punished the emperor's father-in-law Zhou Kui in order to govern the court and restore the country. He hoped that Sun Chengzong could return to the court and contribute to the country and the people.

While in Gaoyang County, Sun Chengzong heard about the rectification of the imperial estates and the resettlement of the ruffians. He also felt that the emperor had changed compared to previous years, so he came to the capital with the Qingliu faction to meet the emperor.

"Your subject Sun Chengzong pays his respects to Your Majesty!" Sun Chengzong said, bowing to Zhu Jian.

Upon seeing Sun Chengzong arrive, Zhu Jian rose, strode forward, and personally helped Sun Chengzong up, saying, "Grand Secretary Sun is advanced in years; there's no need for such a grand ceremony!"

"The courtesies were impeccable; I dare not forget them!"

Zhu Jian helped Sun Chengzong to the official's chair and said, "Grand Secretary Sun, please take a seat!"

But in Prosecutor Zhu's mind, it was a different story: at such an advanced age, almost in his grave, he still doesn't forget all that bullshit about etiquette and morality...

Although that's what he thought, Prosecutor Zhu still nodded politely.

He then turned and said, "Chengchou, go and get busy!"

"Your subject takes his leave!" Hong Chengchou said, bowed to Sun Chengzong, and then departed.

Sun Chengzong glanced at Hong Chengchou's departing figure, then turned back and said, "Your Majesty, the rebels are now severely weakened; it is the perfect time to annihilate them in one fell swoop. Why recall Commander Hong?"

"They've come to demand military pay from me!" Zhu Jian casually made up an excuse to brush them off.

Upon hearing this, Sun Chengzong sighed deeply, "Alas!"

"Natural disasters are frequent these days, and taxes are heavy in various regions, yet the imperial court still faces a severe shortage of military funds..."

Zhu Jian ignored Sun Chengzong's question and instead asked, "Grand Secretary Sun, would it be alright if you rested for two days and then joined the cabinet for discussions?"

Zhu Jian was perfectly clear about what Sun Chengzong was saying. The people were hardworking but not rich, the country was large but the people were poor, and there must be bloodsucking parasites in society. Faced with this situation, no amount of reform would be of any use. The only thing to do was to kill all these bloodsucking parasites. Without killing the parasites, the seriously ill Ming Dynasty could not be cured!

"Your Majesty's decree will be obeyed!" Sun Chengzong readily agreed.

Zhu Jian: "The imperial court's increased military expenditure last year, which burdened the people, should be abolished this year as well. After you arrive at the cabinet, discuss this matter with the six ministries!"

Upon hearing this, Sun Chengzong abruptly stood up, his body trembling uncontrollably, and kowtowed, saying, "Your Majesty is wise!"

"Grand Secretary Sun, please rise quickly!"

"There's another matter, concerning the regular taxes and the Liaodong military allowance!"

"Since Zhang Juzheng's reforms, all taxes have been levied in silver based on the amount of land in acreage. However, in areas lacking silver, people have to exchange grain for silver, which has led to a situation where silver is expensive and grain is cheap in some areas! Therefore, I think it is better to levy taxes based on the amount of land harvest, with taxes paid in kind instead of in silver. What do you think, Grand Secretary Sun?"

Prosecutor Zhu planned to overturn the core of Zhang Juzheng's reforms, changing it to a system where taxes were levied based on the amount of a poor harvest and on the amount of a good harvest. As for what Zhang Juzheng originally thought, Prosecutor Zhu didn't care, nor did he have the inclination, since it was something from over fifty years ago.

However, in Zhu Jian's view, making the people pay taxes in silver at the moment would be like adding fuel to the fire. Silver was already in short supply, and paying taxes in silver would only exacerbate social conflicts. Therefore, it was better to pay taxes based on the acreage of land, but in kind. Even if the transportation was inconvenient, it was still better than escalating the conflict and causing a large number of hooligans to join the peasant army.

Sun Chengzong pondered for a moment, his eyes gleaming: "Your Majesty's move will completely alleviate the shortage of silver among the people and reduce the heavy burden of silver levies on them!"

After saying that, he muttered to himself, "It's just that transporting grain from the south to the north is not as convenient as transporting silver!"

Upon hearing this, Inspector Zhu waved his hand: "It's alright, let's reduce the burden on the people first! As for the local officials' feigned compliance, I request that Grand Secretary Sun find some honest and upright officials to investigate! If any are found, arrest or execute those who should be arrested!"

Zhu Jian believed that it was better for the Donglin Party members, these supposedly upright officials, to do these offensive things. After all, they didn't directly embezzle money; they just wanted fame, so he gave them the fame. If others wanted to impeach or fight, they would impeach the Donglin Party. In this way, the conflicts across the Ming Dynasty would shift from the imperial power to the Donglin Party...

They can choose not to go, but they'll lose their most prized reputation for advocating for the people...

Prosecutor Zhu never intended to eliminate factional strife, but rather to maximize the placement of the right people in the right positions, which is also a manifestation of the principle that existence is justified.

Sun Chengzong firmly replied, "Your subject obeys! After entering the cabinet, your subject will certainly focus on handling this matter well!"