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

The Qianqing Palace was so quiet that you could hear the faint sound of candles burning.

"The Dengzhou-Laizhou mutiny." Zhu Youjian repeated these four words.

"Three thousand men mutinied, killed officials, looted the treasury, and besieged the city. Liang Tingdong, you say it's because of unpaid wages?"

Liang Tingdong bowed and said, "Yes. Since December of last year, the military pay for Denglai Town has not been paid in full."

"Half of the funds were allocated in January and February of this year, but not a single penny has been allocated since March. The Ministry of Revenue has held back three copies of Sun Yuanhua's memorial requesting funds."

Zhu Youjian looked at Cheng Jiming.

Cheng Jiming was silent for a moment before speaking: "Your Majesty, the Ministry of Revenue is indeed short of funds. As for the silver in the Imperial Treasury, I just inquired with Bi Ziyan yesterday, and it is less than 450,000 taels."

"The monthly pay for the nine border regions is over 400,000, and the documents demanding payment in Liaodong have piled up to half a person's height. The officers and soldiers who are suppressing bandits in Shaanxi and Shanxi are also in arrears with their pay."

"It's not that we don't want to give them these three thousand men from Dengzhou and Laizhou, it's that we simply can't."

Zhou Yanru continued, "What the Grand Secretary says is true. The court's expenses all depend on additional taxes. The Liaodong tax, the suppression tax, and the military training tax are already an unbearable burden on the people."

"Last year, Shaanxi suffered a severe drought, and this year, Henan is plagued by locusts. Taxes were already meager. If we were to increase them further, it would only incite rebellion among the people and lead to even more bandits."

Zhu Youjian tapped his fingers lightly on the imperial desk.

He looked at Chen Zhiyuan.

Chen Zhiyuan lowered his eyes and remained silent.

Zhu Youjian turned his gaze back to Liang Tingdong.

"Liang Tingdong, you just said that Kong Youde was a former subordinate of Mao Wenlong?"

"Yes. After Mao Wenlong's death, the old Dongjiang troops were incorporated by Sun Yuanhua. Some stayed on Pi Island, and some were transferred to Dengzhou and Laizhou. There were still more than 10,000 people in total. The 3,000 under Kong Youde were the most valiant among them."

"Were these people also owed wages when they were under Mao Wenlong's command?"

Liang Tingdong was stunned for a moment.

Zhu Youjian didn't wait for his answer and continued, "When Mao Wenlong was on Pi Island, he falsely reported a troop strength of 200,000, when in reality it was less than 40,000, and embezzled huge sums of money in pay every year. Did his soldiers ever owe him pay?"

Liang Tingdong opened his mouth, but did not answer.

Cheng Jiming spoke up: "Your Majesty, the matter of Mao Wenlong has been thoroughly investigated. He embezzled military funds, was arrogant and disloyal, and deserved to die. However, his soldiers were indeed not owed any pay. Of the money Mao Wenlong embezzled, some was used to support his troops, and some he kept for himself."

Zhu Youjian nodded.

"So Mao Wenlong was corrupt, but his soldiers didn't riot. Now the court isn't corrupt and follows the rules, but the soldiers are rioting?"

That's too blunt.

Cheng Jiming, Zhou Yanru, and Liang Tingdong all lowered their heads, and no one responded.

Chen Zhiyuan stood aside, understanding what the emperor was saying.

Zhu Youjian wasn't ignorant; he was asking a question: Why don't the soldiers under corrupt officials cause trouble, but the soldiers under the imperial court do?

The answer is actually quite simple.

Although Mao Wenlong's money came from illegitimate sources, he spent it on the right things—raising troops.

The imperial court's money came from legitimate sources, but after layers of deductions, very little ended up in the hands of the soldiers.

But we can't talk about that now.

By saying this, they are admitting that the investigation into the military spending case was correct and that those corrupt officials truly deserved to die.

But what good will it do to admit it?

The Dengzhou-Laizhou mutiny is imminent; three thousand men are besieging the city, and the threat could spread to other areas at any moment.

Saying "investigating the case is the right thing to do" at this point won't solve the problem.

Cheng Jiming finally spoke.

"Your Majesty, this old minister dares to speak."

Zhu Youjian looked at him.

Cheng Jiming said, "The Dengzhou-Laizhou mutiny, on the surface, was due to unpaid wages, but the root cause is still insufficient funds and provisions. In recent years, the imperial court has needed money for war, for maintaining troops, for disaster relief—everything costs money!"

"But where does the money come from? It can only come from the people. If the people can't pay, they'll flee, they'll rebel, they'll become bandits. The more bandits there are, the more money it costs to suppress them. It's a dead end."

He paused, then lowered his voice: "Now that Vice Commissioner Chen has investigated military expenditures and uncovered problems, it is naturally a good thing."

"But now that the case has been investigated, the people in the Six Ministries are in a state of panic, and there is a lot of discussion in the border towns. Why are the Dongjiang soldiers rioting? Because they have heard that the imperial court is investigating military expenses, which may lead to troop reductions and pay cuts. They are afraid, so they started to riot."

Zhu Youjian looked at him.

"Mr. Cheng, do you mean that this mutiny was discovered by Chen Zhiyuan during his investigation?"

Cheng Jiming shook his head: "That's not what I meant. I was just saying that things have all come together at once. The court is short of money, the border towns are in arrears with their pay, and the military expenditure case is under investigation. People's hearts are unsettled. It's not surprising that something like this has happened."

Zhou Yanru continued, "The Prime Minister is right. I also believe that the most urgent task is to stabilize Dengzhou and Laizhou and prevent them from causing trouble. If Kong Youde were to lead three thousand men to surrender to the Jurchens or join forces with the rebels, the consequences would be unimaginable."

Zhu Youjian asked, "How can we be sure? What can we use to be sure?"

Zhou Yanru said, "Money. If they're protesting for their pay, then give them their pay. First, make up for the three months' worth of arrears, then give out some bonuses to appease them. Once the people disperse, the matter will be settled."

Zhu Youjian asked, "Where will the money come from?"

Zhou Yanru fell silent.

Cheng Jiming remained silent.

Liang Tingdong remained silent.

Chen Zhiyuan, who was standing to the side, suddenly spoke up.

"Your Majesty, I have something to say."

Zhu Youjian looked at him.

"explain."

Chen Zhiyuan took a step forward.

"The Dengzhou-Laizhou mutiny was indeed caused by unpaid wages. But I would like to ask, why are Dengzhou and Laizhou in arrears with wages? Where did the wages allocated by the Ministry of Revenue go?"

Liang Tingdong's expression changed slightly.

Zhou Yanru glanced at Chen Zhiyuan but said nothing.

Cheng Jiming said, "Chen Qianxian, is it inappropriate to ask this now?"

Chen Zhiyuan said, "Grand Secretary Cheng, I believe now is the most appropriate time to ask you."

He looked at Zhu Youjian.

"Your Majesty, I have checked the military expenditure records and found a figure. In the second year of the Chongzhen reign, the imperial court allocated a total of 280,000 taels of silver to the Dengzhou and Laizhou garrisons."

"The actual number of soldiers in Denglai Town is 12,000 according to the Ministry of War's register, and 15,000 according to the number of soldiers reported by each town."

"No matter which number you use, this money is enough to pay salaries, at least until the end of last year."

He paused for a moment: "But Sun Yuanhua's memorial stated that Dengzhou and Laizhou began to default on their salaries starting last December."

"In January and February of this year, the Ministry of Revenue allocated half of the funds each month. From March until now, not a single penny has been allocated. I would like to ask, where has the money allocated by the Ministry of Revenue gone?"

Zhu Youjian looked at Cheng Jiming.

Cheng Jiming was silent for a moment, then said, "Chen Qianxian, the money allocated by the Ministry of Revenue is not directly given to Dengzhou and Laizhou."

"It involves the canal transport, passing through prefectures and counties along the way, and undergoing transshipment. Each step incurs losses, depreciation, and transportation costs. You've already researched these details; you should be aware of them."

Chen Zhiyuan said, "I understand. I have also checked. Of the 280,000 taels allocated to Dengzhou and Laizhou in the second year of Chongzhen's reign, about 20% was deducted for transportation losses, discounts, and freight charges, leaving approximately 220,000 taels actually reaching Dengzhou and Laizhou."

"Based on 12,000 soldiers, with each soldier receiving a monthly salary of 1.5 taels of silver, the annual cost would be 216,000 taels. This amount is just enough."

He looked at Cheng Jiming: "Grand Secretary Cheng, since it's just enough, why are Dengzhou and Laizhou still in arrears with their salaries?"

Cheng Jiming did not answer.

Zhou Yanru said, "Chen Qianxian, what you're saying is just on paper. In reality, the number of soldiers in Dengzhou and Laizhou is more than 12,000. After Sun Yuanhua incorporated the old troops from Dongjiang, the number of soldiers increased, but the Ministry of Revenue did not increase the allocation."

Chen Zhiyuan said, "Grand Secretary Zhou, I have investigated. Sun Yuanhua incorporated the old troops of Dongjiang in September of the second year of Chongzhen's reign. He submitted a memorial requesting an increase in the number of troops, but the Ministry of War did not approve it. Therefore, he could only use the original salary to support more people. This was his own choice."

Zhou Yanru said, "So you mean that Sun Yuanhua brought this upon himself by owing wages to Dengzhou and Laizhou?"

Chen Zhiyuan said, "That's not what I meant. I was just saying that the reason for the arrears in wages is not just that the Ministry of Revenue has no money."

"Having money that hasn't arrived yet is not having enough money; these are two different things."

Zhu Youjian listened without saying a word.