The Ming Dynasty: Starting with Emperor Chongzhen's crackdown on factionalism

The next day.

At 3:45 AM, on the platform.

The spring sunlight slanted across the white marble steps, dividing the blue brick floor of the platform into two halves of light and shadow.

Zhu Youjian sat on the throne, with several memorials laid out on the long table in front of him.

He was dressed in casual clothes, without his winged crown, his hair was neatly tied on top of his head, and his face showed no expression.

Cheng Jiming stood at the head of the left side, with Zhou Yanru, Qian Shisheng, and He Wuzhou behind him.

The four cabinet ministers, all dressed in red official robes, stood out conspicuously in the sunlight.

Chen Zhiyuan stood at the very end on the right, wearing a fourth-rank scarlet robe, his position considerably behind that of the other cabinet ministers.

There was a low table in front of him, with a dozen or so account books piled on it.

A dozen or so eunuchs and imperial guards stood around the platform; no one spoke, only the sound of the wind could be heard.

Zhu Youjian glanced at the people present and spoke.

"The reason I have summoned you all here today is to discuss the case of Yuan Chonghuan. Chen Zhiyuan has been investigating for half a month, and today I will have him tell me what he has found."

He looked at Chen Zhiyuan.

"Speak."

Chen Zhiyuan stepped forward and bowed.

"I obey your decree."

He straightened up, walked to the low table, and picked up the top account book.

"Your subject was ordered to investigate the relevant memorials and military expenditure accounts related to the Yuan Chonghuan case. After half a month of investigation, the general situation of military expenditures handled by Yuan Chonghuan during his tenure as commander of Liaodong from April of the first year of Chongzhen to October of the second year of Chongzhen has been clarified."

He opened the account book.

"From April to December of the first year of the Chongzhen reign, the Ministry of Revenue allocated a total of 1.23 million taels of silver and 450,000 shi of rice and beans for military expenses in Liaodong. From January to October of the second year of the Chongzhen reign, the Ministry of Revenue allocated 1.56 million taels of silver and 520,000 shi of rice and beans."

He turned the ledger to the crowd so that everyone could see the numbers on it.

"The total for both items is 2.79 million taels of silver and 970,000 shi of rice and beans."

Cheng Jiming remained silent.

Zhou Yanru looked at the numbers and his brows twitched slightly.

Chen Zhiyuan continued.

"These are the figures for the disbursement. But what the towns in Liaodong actually received is a different story."

He picked up the second ledger.

According to the receipts from various garrisons in Liaodong archived by the Ministry of War, from April to December of the first year of the Chongzhen reign (1644), Liaodong actually received 940,000 taels of silver and 380,000 shi of rice and beans. From January to October of the second year of the Chongzhen reign (1645), the actual amount of silver received was 1,170,000 taels and 430,000 shi of rice and beans.

He presented the two sets of numbers side by side.

"Two million seven hundred and ninety thousand taels were allocated, and two million one hundred and one hundred thousand taels were actually received. The difference is six hundred and eighty thousand taels. Nine hundred and seventy thousand bushels of rice and beans were allocated, and eight hundred and one thousand bushels were actually received. The difference is one hundred and sixty thousand bushels."

The platform was quiet.

Chen Zhiyuan didn't stop; he continued flipping through the account books.

"Some of these discrepancies are recorded. The Ministry of Revenue's archives contain deduction records under various categories such as 'transportation losses,' 'discounts,' 'transport fees,' and 'warehouse losses.'"

"From April of the first year of Chongzhen's reign to October of the second year, the total amount of such deductions was 230,000 taels of silver and 70,000 shi of rice and beans."

He looked at everyone.

"But this is only the accounting record. There are also 450,000 taels of silver and 90,000 shi of rice and beans, which have no record or explanation."

He put the ledger down.

"I have reviewed the transport records of the same period from the grain transport authorities, the handover documents from the prefectures and counties along the route, and the receipts from the various towns."

"The transit route of this batch of silver and grain can be traced, but after a certain point, it can no longer be found."

He paused.

"It's not that the ledgers were lost, it's that they were never recorded in the first place. Or rather, they dared not record them."

Zhou Yanru spoke.

"Does Chen Qianxian mean that the money was embezzled?"

Chen Zhiyuan looked at him.

"I am merely stating the facts. The silver and grain were allocated from the Ministry of Revenue, passed through the Grand Canal, the prefectures and counties along the way, and the generals of the border towns, before finally reaching the soldiers."

"This process involves more than a dozen steps, and there's a possibility of interception at any of them. Who intercepted it, and how much was intercepted, needs further investigation."

Zhou Yanru did not ask any further questions.

Cheng Jiming said, "What you've said are all numbers. Numbers can only show that there's a discrepancy, not who embezzled. The key is whether Yuan Chonghuan himself embezzled."

Chen Zhiyuan nodded.

"Numbers alone cannot identify who embezzled. But numbers can illustrate one thing—this money was not used where it should have been."

He picked up the third ledger.

"This is a payroll record from Ningyuan Town in March of the second year of the Chongzhen reign. The record shows that 76,000 taels of silver and 12,000 shi of rice and beans were paid out that month."

He turned to another page.

"This is a letter written home by several soldiers from Ningyuan Town in the same month."

"The letter stated that they only received four taels and two mace of silver and three dou of rice that month. Based on the fact that Ningyuan Town had a troop strength of 7,800 at the time, each person should have received about nine taels and seven mace of silver and about one shi and five dou of rice."

He held up the two ledgers side by side.

"The records in the books don't match what the soldiers actually received."

None of the cabinet ministers spoke.

Chen Zhiyuan continued.

"I have reviewed the letters sent home by soldiers from various garrisons in Liaodong from the first to the second year of the Chongzhen reign. A total of forty-seven letters were archived by the Ministry of Justice."

"In these letters, the soldiers mentioned the pay, rice, and beans they received, but none of them matched the records in the account books."

He put down the ledger.

"The biggest discrepancy occurred last August. The Ningyuan Town account book records 'full payment,' but the soldier's letter states 'only 30% received.'"

He Wuzhou suddenly spoke.

"Can the letter from Chen Qianxian, the soldier, serve as evidence?"

Chen Zhiyuan looked at him.

"Lord He, the soldier's letter was written by the soldier himself and sent to his family; it was not written to serve as evidence."

"But the figures mentioned in these letters are based on the soldiers' own experiences. They had no reason to lie, nor did they have any opportunity to collude."

He Wuzhou did not ask any further questions.

Zhu Youjian remained silent, sitting on his throne, watching Chen Zhiyuan present the account books one by one and read out the numbers in groups.

He only spoke after Chen Zhiyuan stopped.

"You're saying there's a difference of 680,000 taels of silver and 160,000 shi of rice and beans. Such a large difference?"

Chen Zhiyuan nodded to Zhu Youjian.

"Your Majesty, I can use the prices in the capital to calculate it."

He picked up a piece of paper from the low table.

"When I was in the Hanlin Academy, I compiled the price records of Shuntian Prefecture for nearly three years."

In the second year of the Chongzhen Emperor's reign, the average price of rice in the capital was 1.2 taels per shi (a unit of dry measure), pork was 3 fen (another unit of dry measure) per jin (a unit of weight), eggs were 0.5 li (another unit of dry measure), coarse cloth was 3 qian (another unit of dry measure), and salt was 0.2 fen (another unit of dry measure) per jin.

He read slowly so that everyone could hear him clearly.

"At these prices, 10,000 taels of silver can buy 8,300 shi of rice, or 330,000 jin of pork, or 33,000 bolts of coarse cloth."

He raised his head.

"Six hundred and eighty thousand taels of silver can buy fifty-six thousand bushels of rice, enough to feed one hundred thousand soldiers for a year."

"We can buy 22 million catties of pork, enough to feed 100,000 soldiers for three years. We can buy 2.2 million bolts of coarse cloth, enough to make clothes for one million people."

The atmosphere on the platform has changed.

Cheng Jiming narrowed his eyes.

Zhou Yanru's lips moved, but no sound came out.

Qian Shisheng lowered his head, seemingly lost in thought.

He Wuzhou stared at the paper in Chen Zhiyuan's hand, motionless.

Zhu Youjian remained silent.

Chen Zhiyuan continued.

"160,000 shi of rice and beans, at the price of grain in the capital, are worth 190,000 taels of silver."

"If these grains were transported to Liaodong, they would be worth more than 300,000 taels of silver based on the grain prices in the border towns."

"Grain prices in border towns are higher than in the capital because there are costs associated with transporting grain, grain merchants need to make a profit, and generals need to take a cut."

He paused.

"I have calculated that in the second year of Chongzhen's reign, the average monthly salary received by soldiers in Liaodong was only one tael and one mace."

"According to the Ministry of War's standards, combat soldiers should receive one tael and five mace per month, while auxiliary soldiers should receive eight mace."

"This average is lower than the standard for combat soldiers but higher than the standard for auxiliary soldiers because many combat soldiers did not receive the full amount, and many auxiliary soldiers did not even receive half of it."

He picked up the fourth account book from the low table.

"This is a military register from Jinzhou Town dated September of the second year of the Chongzhen reign. The register records 5,400 combat soldiers and 2,800 auxiliary soldiers, totaling 8,200 men. According to the standard, their monthly pay should be 10,600 taels of silver."

He turned to another page.