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

Wang Chengen stood aside, not daring to utter a sound.

Zhu Youjian stood up and walked to the window. He had his back to Wang Chengen, his shoulders rising and falling.

After a long time, he turned around.

His face was expressionless, but his eyes were bloodshot.

"Wang Chengen".

"This servant is here."

"Pass on the knowledge of Luo Yangxing. Now."

"As you command."

Luo Yangxing arrived very quickly.

When he entered the hall, Zhu Youjian was still standing by the window, without turning around.

Luo Yangxing knelt down.

"Your subject, Luo Yangxing, Vice Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, pays his respects to Your Majesty."

Zhu Youjian turned around.

"Is everything you wrote in your memorial true?"

Luo Yangxing lay prone on the ground.

"Your Majesty, it is all true. Every transaction is documented in the ledgers, and every person has given a statement with their signature."

"I investigated for half a month, personally spent seven days in Zhangjiakou, arrested eight accomplices, and pried three of them out of their mouths. The evidence is conclusive, and there is not a single lie."

Zhu Youjian remained silent.

He walked up to Luo Yangxing and stood still.

"120,000 catties of pig iron, 8,000 catties of sulfur, 6,000 catties of saltpeter, and 20,000 shi of grain."

He read it aloud, word by word.

"How many cannons could this money fund? How much gunpowder could it produce? How many soldiers could it support?"

Luo Yangxing lay prostrate on the ground, not daring to respond.

Zhu Youjian's voice suddenly rose.

"I calculated military expenses on the platform by one tael and one mace, while Chen Zhiyuan calculated how much rice 680,000 taels could buy using the prices in the capital. I believe that the money has been embezzled, deducted, and exploited at every level."

"What I'm thinking is to find out the truth, kill a bunch of people, change the rules, recover the money, and distribute it to the border troops."

"But what about these people?"

His voice began to tremble.

"They're not just greedy, they're traitors! They've taken my money, the money of the Ming Dynasty, the hard-earned money of the people, and given it to the Jurchens! To my enemies!"

"While I'm fighting on the front lines, they're sending me money from behind! My soldiers are starving while they defend the city, and they're using my money to buy iron, saltpeter, and sulfur, which they then send to Huang Taiji to forge cannons and manufacture gunpowder, so he can come back and kill my men!"

He grabbed the memorial on the imperial desk and slammed it to the ground.

"They deserve to die! They all deserve to die!"

Luo Yangxing knelt on the ground, motionless.

Zhu Youjian, panting heavily, paced back and forth in the hall. He suddenly stopped and looked at Luo Yangxing.

"You just said that Wang Chengyin, the general of Xuanfu, and Wang Pu, the general of Datong, both accepted money from them?"

Luo Yangxing said.

"Yes. Wang Chengyin received the most. His wife's surname is Wang, and she is from the same clan as Wang Dengku. After the two families became related by marriage, the Fan family's caravans never had their vehicles inspected when entering and leaving Xuanfu. Wang Chengyin even sent his own personal guards to escort the caravans across the border."

After listening, Zhu Youjian remained silent for a long time.

Then he spoke.

"Tell me, what would happen if I arrested someone right now?"

Luo Yangxing raised his head.

"Your Majesty, I dare not speak presumptuously."

Zhu Youjian said.

"explain."

Luo Yangxing spoke carefully.

"The two garrisons of Xuanfu and Datong together have about 80,000 troops. Wang Chengyin and Wang Pu have been in the garrisons for many years and have many confidants. If they are arrested openly, there is a risk of unrest in the two garrisons. Moreover, the eight Shanxi merchants have extensive connections with officials in the court. If they are investigated together, the court will inevitably be shaken."

He paused.

"I believe this matter should be handled gradually. First, stabilize the border towns, and then slowly close the net. It is not advisable to act rashly."

Zhu Youjian looked at him.

"Take it slow? Take it slow until how long? Until they sell out the entire Ming Dynasty?"

Luo Yangxing prostrated himself on the ground, not daring to speak again.

Zhu Youjian walked back to his desk and sat down.

He stared at the memorial on the ground for a long time.

Then he spoke.

"Keep investigating. Find out who took the money and where every penny went. Don't alert them, but get to the bottom of it."

"I obey your decree."

After Luo Yangxing withdrew, Zhu Youjian sat alone in the hall.

It was completely dark by then.

The candle had burned down to its last bit, and the wax dripped onto the candlestick, solidifying into white mounds.

Zhu Youjian recalled the accounts Chen Zhiyuan had calculated on the platform.

Six hundred and eighty thousand taels of silver. Fifty-six thousand bushels of rice. Enough to feed one hundred thousand soldiers for a year.

He recalled those numbers, those account books, and the words Yuan Chonghuan had spoken in prison.

"That's the rule."

Yes, the rules.

From top to bottom, from civil officials to military generals, from the imperial court to the border, everyone lived within these rules.

But now, he's going to break that rule.

The Ministry of War.

The back room.

The candles were lit very brightly, but the faces of the people sitting at the table were completely shadowed.

Minister of War Liang Tingdong sat in the main seat. He was fifty-four years old, with a thin face and sharp eyes. He had just taken office as Minister of War last December, and in less than half a year, he encountered a series of messy affairs, including the Yuan case, the military expenditure case, and the Shanxi merchant case.

Li Jiantai, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of War, sat to his left. A native of Zezhou, Shanxi, he was a Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) in the fifth year of the Tianqi reign and served in the Ministry of War for six years, in charge of the grain and provisions for the border towns.

Shen Xun, the chief clerk of the Department of Military Affairs of the Ministry of War, sat at the lower end of the table, his face pale, and he did not drink a drop of tea.

There was also a person dressed in plain clothes sitting in the corner. The light didn't reach his face; only his outline could be seen.

Liang Tingdong spoke first.

"I called you here today because there's something I need to discuss."

He paused.

"You've probably all heard about the news on the platform."

Li Jiantai nodded.

"I've heard. The Emperor wants to investigate military expenditures, make the accounts public, and reform the system. Chen Zhiyuan's plan is a four-step process: investigation, conviction, public disclosure, and reform."

Shen Xun's voice was dry.

"I've worked in the Ministry of War for eight years, handling at least 800,000 taels of silver, grain, and weaponry. If they really investigate, I..."

He didn't go on.

Liang Tingdong looked at him.

"Are you afraid that the accounts you handle won't stand up to scrutiny?"

Shen Xun did not speak.

Li Jiantai spoke for him.

"The Bureau of Military Affairs is in charge of verifying troop numbers and allocating funds. Each of the nine border garrisons reports its troop numbers, and the Bureau of Military Affairs verifies those numbers. After verification, the Ministry of Revenue allocates funds according to these figures. The Bureau of Military Affairs does not, and cannot, manage the actual number of troops in each border garrison."

He looked at Shen Xun.

"But on the books, it was you who approved it. The border garrison reported false troop numbers, and you didn't detect it when you were checking, so that's your responsibility."

Shen Xun's face turned even paler.

Liang Tingdong waved his hand.

"Now is not the time to assign blame. We need to think about what to do next."

The person in the corner suddenly spoke.

His voice was low and hoarse.

"Lord Liang, to put it simply, it boils down to this: if the Emperor wants to overturn the table, we can't let him."

Liang Tingdong looked at him.

"What's your plan?"

said the man.

"Border town".

Two words.

Li Jiantai frowned.

"What do you mean?"

said the man.

"What does His Majesty fear most when he wants to investigate military expenses? It's not opposition from the court, but trouble in the border towns. The nine border regions are currently behind on their pay, and the soldiers are already unstable. If someone causes a disturbance now, would His Majesty still dare to investigate?"

Shen Xun was stunned.

"You...you mean..."

The man ignored him and continued to look at Liang Tingdong.

"Lord Liang, Mao Wenlong's old subordinates are still in Dongjiang. Sun Yuanhua has incorporated them into his own forces and assigned them to Dengzhou and Laizhou. Those people were never going to submit to authority, and they harbor resentment because Yuan Chonghuan killed Mao Wenlong."

"What if someone were to set a fire right now..."

Liang Tingdong remained silent.

Li Jiantai said.

"You mean, incite a mutiny among the Dongjiang soldiers?"