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

Shen Xun's breathing became heavy.

He glanced at Liang Tingdong, then at Li Jiantai, and finally fixed his gaze on the indistinct face in the corner.

"What...what do you mean by that?" Shen Xun's voice trembled.

"A mutiny in Dongjiang? That'll kill people!"

The person in the corner ignored him and just looked at Liang Tingdong.

Liang Tingdong sat in the main seat, his fingers tapping lightly on the table.

One tap, two taps, three taps. He stopped on the seventh tap.

"Minister Li," he said.

Li Jiantai responded, "Yes."

"Who's in charge of the Dongjiang area now?"

Li Jiantai thought for a moment: "Sun Yuanhua is the governor of Dengzhou and Laizhou. After Mao Wenlong died, he incorporated the old Dongjiang troops into his own forces, with some remaining on Pi Island and others transferred to Dengzhou and Laizhou."

"There are still more than 10,000 people in total, but their food and pay have been insufficient, and they are three months behind on their pay."

What kind of person is Sun Yuanhua?

"He was a scholar who believed in Western religion and knew about firearms, but he was clueless about military affairs. The Dongjiang soldiers under his command did not obey him at all."

"There was a small-scale riot last winter, which he suppressed, but people's hearts have remained unsettled."

Liang Tingdong nodded.

He looked at the person in the corner.

"Go on."

The man moved forward, and the candlelight illuminated his face—he was over fifty years old, with a sinister expression and eyes as deep as a stagnant pool.

He was a senior official in the Ministry of War, surnamed Zhou, who had worked there for twenty years, specializing in managing reports from border towns and canals.

Chief Clerk Zhou said, "You all know the current state of the investigation into the military expenditure case."

"The ledger in Chen Zhiyuan's hands has thoroughly investigated the vacancies, deductions, and embezzlements in the nine border regions."

"If he continues his investigation, how many people from the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Revenue, the Grand Canal, and the border towns, from top to bottom, will lose their heads?"

He paused, then continued, "But the Emperor is now determined to investigate, and the Cabinet has also issued an official document. No one dares to stop us openly. If we can't stop him openly, we have to think of other ways."

Li Jiantai asked, "What method?"

Chief Clerk Zhou said, "Something has happened in the border town. Whenever something happens in the border town, the entire imperial court's attention will have to be focused on it. The military expenditure case? We can't afford to deal with that. Chen Zhiyuan? We'll have to put that aside for now."

Shen Xun grew anxious: "But if the Dongjiang soldiers really mutini, how many people will die? How far are Dengzhou and Laizhou from the capital? What if things escalate..."

"It won't cause much of a stir," Chief Zhou interrupted him. "The Dongjiang soldiers' mutiny isn't about rebelling; it's about demanding their pay."

"They've been in arrears with their wages for three months. If they make a fuss, the court will appease them with money, and the matter will be over. They won't march on the capital, nor will they defect to the enemy—at least not this time."

He looked at Liang Tingdong and said, "Lord Liang, there are three benefits to succeeding in this matter."

"First, the Emperor's attention has shifted away from the military expenditure case. With the incident in the border town, his first thought is how to stabilize the situation. Chen Zhiyuan's matter will have to be delayed for at least three months."

"Secondly, they put Chen Zhiyuan in a very difficult position. Why did the Dongjiang soldiers mutini?"

"It's because of unpaid wages. Why are the wages unpaid? Because military funds were embezzled. Who found out? Chen Zhiyuan."

"If someone in the court were to submit a single word that Chen Zhiyuan investigated military spending and discovered instability within the army, or mutinies in the border towns, could he bear the consequences?"

"Third, give the Emperor a way out. The military expenditure case has been investigated for a long time, and the Emperor wants to investigate, but there is too much resistance in the court."

"Now that this upheaval has occurred, it's the perfect opportunity to back down. It's not that the Emperor doesn't want to investigate, it's that he can't continue."

"When the time comes, kill a few scapegoats, the case will be closed, the court will be stable, and the emperor will save face."

After he finished speaking, he shrank back into the corner.

The room fell silent again.

Shen Xun opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but found himself speechless.

Every word that Chief Zhou said made sense.

But he always felt that something was wrong.

Li Jiantai pondered for a moment before speaking.

"This matter... is too risky. What if the Dongjiang soldiers mutini and we can't suppress it? What if someone takes the opportunity to cause trouble? What if the Later Jin takes advantage of the situation and invades..."

Zhou, the steward, said, "What Lord Li said is all possible. But do we have any other options now?"

Li Jiantai fell silent.

Liang Tingdong remained silent.

He sat in the main seat, his fingers still tapping the table. Once, twice, three times.

I knocked for a long time.

Then he stopped.

"Master Zhou."

"exist."

"Who can start a fire on the Dongjiang side?"

Chief Clerk Zhou said, "There is a man surnamed Kong, named Kong Youde. He was originally a subordinate of Mao Wenlong. After Mao Wenlong died, he followed Sun Yuanhua to Dengzhou and Laizhou."

"This man is skilled in warfare, but he is not easily managed. Sun Yuanhua both uses him and guards against him. He has more than three thousand men under his command, all of whom are old subordinates from Dongjiang, and they only listen to him."

Liang Tingdong asked, "Can this person be persuaded?"

Manager Zhou smiled and said, "We don't need to tell him. He already wanted to do something, but he just needed a pretext."

"What's the reason?"

"Payment arrears. If the payment is delayed for another month or two, he'll get it on his own without anyone having to do anything. What we need to do is get the Ministry of Revenue to slow down the payment of salaries in Dengzhou and Laizhou."

Li Jiantai frowned: "Will the Ministry of Revenue listen to us?"

Zhou, the clerk, said, "The Ministry of Revenue is currently overwhelmed with its own problems. Chen Zhiyuan is investigating military expenditures, and the Ministry of Revenue handles the most accounts, so they are even more anxious than we are."

"Just let them know that the salaries for Dengzhou and Laizhou will be put on hold for now—they'd be more than happy to do that."

Liang Tingdong remained silent for a moment.

"Let's do it that way."

Shen Xun grew anxious: "Lord Liang! This matter..."

Liang Tingdong looked up at him.

That gaze was cold, as cold as ice.

Shen Xun's words got stuck in his throat, and he couldn't utter a single word.

Liang Tingdong said, "Steward Shen, you know how many holes there are in the accounts you handled. After Chen Zhiyuan finished investigating the Ministry of War, the first person he came to was you."

Shen Xun's face turned pale.

Liang Tingdong stopped looking at him and turned to Li Jiantai.

"Minister Li, you're in charge of this matter. It needs to be swift, but without leaving a trace."

Li Jiantai nodded: "This subordinate understands."

In the corner, Manager Zhou smiled.

The smile looked particularly sinister in the candlelight.

Three days later.

The Dengzhou-Laizhou Governor's Office.

Sun Yuanhua sat in the back hall, a document in front of him. The document was from the Ministry of Revenue, and its contents were very simple: the monthly salary for Dengzhou and Laizhou garrisons would be temporarily suspended due to insufficient funds in the treasury.

He looked at it three times, then put it down.

Sitting opposite him was Zhang Tao, the General of Dengzhou and Laizhou, a veteran general in his fifties with a weathered face.

Zhang Tao asked, "Governor, what did you say?"

Sun Yuanhua pushed the document over.

Zhang Tao's expression changed after reading it.

"Another delay? They said they'd delay it last month, and they're saying they'll delay it again this month? The soldiers haven't received their pay for three months. If they delay it again, something really bad will happen!"

Sun Yuanhua rubbed his temples.

He knew Zhang Tao was telling the truth.

The town of Denglai currently has 12,000 soldiers, of whom 3,000 are former Dongjiang troops who came from Pi Island with Kong Youde.

These people were already rebellious and harbored a lot of resentment towards the imperial court.

For the past three months, Sun Yuanhua has barely managed to stay alive by paying for food and distributing porridge out of his own pocket.

But now, he can't take it out either.

"General Zhang, go and tell the soldiers to wait another month. Once the imperial funds arrive, I will personally distribute them, not a single tael less."

Zhang Tao smiled wryly: "Governor, I've said this three times already. The soldiers don't believe me anymore."

Sun Yuanhua remained silent.

He recalled the letter that Chief Zhou had sent a few days earlier.

The letter stated that the imperial court was investigating military expenses, and the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of War were holding hearings, making it temporarily difficult to allocate funds for military pay.

Instruct Sun Yuanhua to keep the Dongjiang troops calm and prevent them from causing trouble.

Once the case is investigated, the salary will be paid in full.

Sun Yuanhua didn't think much of it at the time.

Looking back now, it seems like this letter was written a long time ago.

Outside Denglai City, in Kong Youde's camp.