Chapter 593: The New Army Debate

Not long after, Wang Dou and the others changed into civilian clothes and arrived at the Jade Flower Garden in the Western Park.

Nearly half a year earlier, the Chongzhen Emperor had hosted a banquet here for the departing generals and army supervisors. Counting the visits, Wang Dou had already been to this garden many times, but Wu Sangui, Tang Tong, Cao Bianjiao, Wang Tingchen, Liu Zhaoji, and the others were all visiting for the first time, and each of them was extremely stirred.

This small banquet was as frugal as ever, but clearly no one's mind was on that. To attend such a private imperial family feast meant one had entered the intimate core of the Emperor's regard — that was what mattered most. Coupled with their newly conferred noble titles, from Wu Sangui on down, every one of them was brimming with pride and radiant with spirit.

Of course, seeing such plain and rough fare, Wu Sangui, Tang Tong, and the others were not surprised that His Majesty was so diligent and frugal, stinting himself. Cao Bianjiao, Wang Tingchen, and Liu Zhaoji even felt their eyes redden, their hearts filled with emotion and pity.

The atmosphere at the gathering was still relaxed. The Chongzhen Emperor wore a smile and spoke some words of encouragement, and all the newly elevated nobles responded in kind. Only the Grand Secretariat officials and others wore expressions that were not particularly pleasant; even Senior Grand Secretary Zhou Yanru, whose depths were unfathomable, wore a smile that was strained.

Before his eyes, every one of them held at least the rank of Count. According to ritual protocol, even a first-rank grand minister had to perform a salutation upon meeting them. Setting aside their cabinet posts and official positions, none of those officials surpassed them in honor, and they could no longer be ordered about as in days past.

Moreover, Hong Chengchou would henceforth also be counted among the nobility — whether he would still be of one heart with them, the civil officials, was hard to say.

With so many Counts and Marquises, how should they be dealt with in the future?

There was one saving grace: none of these newly elevated nobles possessed the strength and mentality of Wang Dou. Yang Guozhu, whose strength came closest, was merely a pure military man. One could only hope that among these men, a second Wang Dou would never emerge!

After the border army agitation incident, the face of the capital's grand ministers had already been completely torn away by Wang Dou, making them a laughingstock and the butt of jokes. If each of them were to also possess his kind of twists and turns, fully versed in both civil and military strategy, would there still be any room for the literati to speak in the Great Ming's future? Surely there could not be another Tumu Fortress incident, could there?

Harboring such thoughts, the various Grand Secretaries and the ministers of the Six Ministries were rather silent. At the banquet, only the voices of the military nobles, brimming with pride, remained, and the sound of their hearty laughter seemed all the more grating.

Fortunately, the Chongzhen Emperor quickly shifted the topic, bringing up the matter of Liaodong.

The great battle at Jinzhou had ended, and the Great Ming's perilous situation in Liaodong had been alleviated. Yet the external threat remained; the Qing slaves' main force still existed. Perhaps after a period of lying low, they could at any time make a comeback. After all, given Liaodong's climate and soil, if the Tatar slaves did not plunder, they could not survive.

Therefore, the enormous supply of grain and pay for Liaodong perhaps still could not be halted; at most, a portion could be diverted to Ji Garrison or Shanhai Pass Garrison. The Great Ming's finances remained strained.

Most importantly, the Liaodong military tax involved too many intertwined interest groups — powerful interest blocs as formidable as the Shanxi merchants or the Donglin party. Those who tried to touch the interests within often did not even know how they died, unless they possessed Wang Dou's kind of ability and uncompromising attitude.

Looking around at the gentlemen of the Grand Secretariat, who among them had not derived benefit from the Liaodong military tax? It was merely a question of more or less.

The Chongzhen Emperor was fully aware of this and powerless to deal with it. Therefore, he did not bring up the Liaodong military tax supply at the banquet. Instead, he asked Wu Sangui with hopeful expectation: could the Liaodong army hold Jinzhou, hold Yizhou? He must know that if Liaodong were endangered again, the Great Ming would not have the strength to mount another multi-garrison rescue.

Wu Sangui's heart stirred. On the matter of Liaodong, the Emperor did not ask Viceroy Hong, nor did he ask the current Liaodong Regional Commander Liu Zhaoji, but instead asked him. Could it be that in the future, the post of Liaodong Regional Commander...

He very much wanted to speak bold words, but after thinking it over, he sighed. Although the Tatar slaves had suffered a severe setback, their main force still remained. Dealing with the Jingbian Army might be difficult for them, but casually pulling out a few banners to deal with his Ningyuan Army and the local Liaodong troops would be more than enough.

Looking at the varied gazes of everyone and at Wang Dou leisurely drinking his wine, he finally said sincerely, "In reply to His Majesty, in this humble minister's view, at present our Great Ming occupies the Yizhou line, but the supply route is far too long. Given the nature of the Eastern slaves, within a year at most they will dispatch troops to harass us. At that time, the defense of Yizhou, the supply of fodder and provisions..."

He gritted his teeth and said, "It would be best to withdraw the defense line back to Dalinghe Fortress, or even Xiaolinghe Fortress, linking Jinzhou and Xiaolinghe into a single line for mutual support. In this way, this humble minister is confident he can hold the two cities."

As he said this, his heart trembled. He knew that his words would be preserved in the historical records, to be periodically unearthed and savored by later generations, and might even become part of a case for attack and censure — abandoning territory, abandoning cities, handing over the fruits of victory with both hands. Such a charge could sometimes be fatal.

Yet thinking of his uncle Zu Dashou, and that his own enmity with the Qing slaves could not be shared under the same sky, for Liaodong, for the Great Ming... Moreover, he had been enfeoffed as a Count, which could be called profound imperial grace. He could only speak the honest truth to repay that sacred grace. If in the future the censors and remonstrance officials impeached and settled accounts, he would deal with it then.

The Chongzhen Emperor nodded with gratification. Wu Sangui truly was a man whom Hong Chengchou valued — his heart was entirely devoted to the Great Ming.

He knew that after Wu Sangui spoke these words, at some unknown time the crow-like remonstrance officials would likely swarm forth again. For them, impeaching a Count — if they could bring him down — would truly be a matter of great glory.

And to be honest, even with the Chongzhen Emperor's fervent mind, he did not hope to hold the Yizhou line. It was just that during the great battle at the time, he needed this kind of victory of recovering lost territory. Then the victory brought bitter fruit: Yizhou became a chicken rib — holding it wasted provisions in vain, abandoning it would cause an uproar among officials and people, with remonstrance officials attacking and censuring. Fortunately, it would still take time for the Qing slaves to move, providing a period of buffer. After this period passed, they could plan for it gradually.

Hong Chengchou coughed lightly from the side and cast an approving look at Wu Sangui. Speaking such words required tremendous courage, showing that Wu Sangui was genuinely thinking for the Great Ming.

He said with emotion, "The court established remonstrance officials to serve as its ears and eyes, originally for forthright discourse to assist in governance. It never expected that they would use remonstrance as a pretext, harbor private motives and give vent to whims, echo others blindly — their dereliction of duty is even worse than remaining silent. At present, current affairs are fraught with difficulty. If the remonstrance officials cannot understand and support, but instead hinder those who carry out duties, losing the meaning of offering counsel and criticism, this minister requests that His Majesty issue a constitutional guideline to rectify the source of the guidelines."

The Chongzhen Emperor slowly nodded: "I will personally instruct each official and issue a constitutional guideline. If any deviate from their duties, they will certainly be punished."

Toward these remonstrance officials, he too was extremely angry. If not for those crows, the embarrassing incidents of the previous days would not have occurred, and the torch would not have burned onto his own person, making him even more furious.

Wang Dou, Yang Guozhu, Wang Pu, and the others all had no good impression of the remonstrance officials and likewise agreed. Only the various members of the Grand Secretariat seemed not to have heard the words of Wu Sangui, Hong Chengchou, and the others. On these matters, speaking too much would inevitably lead to mistakes; it was better to say little.

However, their collective silence made the atmosphere seem strange and also drew the Chongzhen Emperor's dissatisfied gaze toward them.

Fortunately, the Chongzhen Emperor then brought up a core issue, giving them a place to contribute.

"With the great victory at Jinzhou, the border troubles are somewhat calmed. In this battle, the new armies of the various garrisons displayed their full prowess. If we could train tens of thousands more new troops, why worry that the Eastern slaves and roving bandits cannot be exterminated? I intend to train new armies on a large scale. What do my ministers think?"

He looked at everyone eagerly. The victory at Jinzhou had greatly encouraged him. If the court had tens of thousands more new troops, the Great Ming's restoration would be in sight.

Of course, these new armies had to be under the court's control. One effective method was for the court to supply their grain and pay and arrange their personnel.

Otherwise, if each border general trained troops on his own, would that not form one warlord after another, just like Wang Dou? In that case, even if the Eastern slaves and roving bandits were exterminated, in the end there would be warlord separatism and continuous internecine warfare. The calamity of the late Tang Dynasty was a lesson from the past.

These words he could not speak aloud; he would see what the court officials said.

When this matter was raised, every Count and Marquis present, except Wang Dou, had their eyes light up. Indeed, the new army was now the foundation that everyone greatly valued or was about to value. Tang Tong in particular concentrated intently; he was just worrying about having no grain and pay to organize and train a new army. If the court could supply it, that would be best of all.

Chen Xinjia stood up. These days, he had been much more silent. He knew it was time to stand forth and demonstrate his worth.

He said, "His Majesty speaks truly. The new army is now the foundation of each garrison's combat strength. If we had tens of thousands of them, the capital region could have Regional Commander Fu consolidate its defenses; Liaodong and Shanhai Pass could be garrisoned by Count Pingxi and Count Dongping; and with Marquis of Jibei reorganizing the defenses of Ji Garrison — in this way, Liaodong and Ji Garrison would be linked into a single line. If the Eastern slaves wished to breach the border and enter as in days past, it would be extremely difficult."

"And in Xuan Garrison and Datong Garrison, with Marquis of Yongning and Count of Dingxing providing protection, the Nine Frontier Garrisons would be as solid as a golden moat. The remaining new armies could largely be drawn away to march south and suppress the bandits!"

The Chongzhen Emperor nodded forcefully. Chen Xinjia's words made his heart bloom with delight. If it were truly so, with the Nine Frontiers consolidated, they could devote full strength to dealing with the roving bandits.

Yet as Chen Xinjia spoke, Zhou Yanru smiled faintly. The other cabinet members either sneered or remained expressionless. Meanwhile, Liaodong Regional Commander Liu Zhaoji's heart stirred: listening to the Minister of War's words, did the court deliberation intend for him to serve as Regional Commander of Shanhai Pass?

Cao Bianjiao, Wang Tingchen, and Tang Tong also pondered: could it be His Majesty's intention to have the few of them march south to suppress the bandits?

It seemed they had all forgotten the Marquis of Yongning.

They stole a glance at Wang Dou and saw that he was still leisurely drinking his wine, seemingly unconcerned about being forgotten by all sides.

Just as Chen Xinjia was gesticulating animatedly, suddenly Grand Secretary Chen Yan interjected darkly, "The Minister of War's intention is good, but where is the grain and pay for training troops?"

Chen Xinjia was immediately struck dumb, but he reacted extremely quickly and said with a smile, "That is a matter for Grand Secretary Ni."

The Chongzhen Emperor immediately turned an urgent, hopeful gaze toward the newly appointed Minister of Revenue, Ni Yuanlu. He had broken the ancestral system by appointing a man from Zhejiang as an official precisely because he hoped Ni Yuanlu could reform the disastrous fiscal system. He hoped that his beloved minister Ni would not disappoint him.

Under the Emperor's hopeful gaze, Ni Yuanlu slowly stood. He had a refined and elegant appearance, and his bearing carried much of the style of a man from Jiangnan.

He performed a salute and said, "In reply to His Majesty, at present the treasury's funds and grain are exhausted. Everywhere in the Great Ming, there is famine — natural disasters, pestilence, refugees everywhere. In many departments and counties, even the basic regular taxes can no longer be collected. Many frontier garrisons and prefectural counties are also in arrears of pay and salaries. If we add harsh and miscellaneous taxes, it will only swell the ranks of the roving bandits. Increasing revenue is already out of the question; we can only reduce expenditure. This minister believes that the proposal for a new army should be postponed. Let the people rest and recuperate, and plan for it gradually."

The Chongzhen Emperor furrowed his brow, and the various military Counts and Marquises present were also greatly disappointed.

At this moment, Chen Yan smiled again and said, "Not necessarily. Although the north is plagued by continuous famine, the regions of Jiangnan are still rich and populous. This minister believes that the main force of tax collection could be placed on the Jiangnan area."

As soon as these words were spoken, not only did Ni Yuanlu's expression change, but so did those of the newly appointed Minister of Personnel Zheng Sanjun, Minister of Rites Fu Shuxun, Minister of War Chen Xinjia, and even Senior Grand Secretary Zhou Yanru and others. These damned northern officials were once again setting their sights on Jiangnan, Huguang, and Sichuan.

In particular, Ni Yuanlu, Zheng Sanjun, and Zhou Yanru were all men of Jiangnan and members of the Donglin party. If in the future the court's tax collection focused primarily on Jiangnan, they, as Grand Secretaries of the cabinet, would lose local support, and their official positions would very soon reach their end.