Chapter 645: The Scheme of Peace Negotiations

After Ni Yuanlu left, the Chongzhen Emperor summoned Minister of War Chen Xinjia to discuss affairs.

In recent days, Chen Xinjia had felt His Majesty grow considerably colder toward him, so his every word and action was extremely cautious and careful.

"...Nanyang has fallen. The Pacify-the-Bandits Garrison urgently withdrew its troops to Xiangyang. The Chuang bandits halted their eastward advance and joined forces with the Ge-Zuo Five Camps; their momentum is clamorous..."

The Chongzhen Emperor's face was ugly. He said bitterly, "Ding Qirui is nothing but a waste!"

In the fourteenth year of Chongzhen, the Chuang bandits had just suffered a great defeat, the Xian bandit had died, and of the major bandits only Cao Cao and the Ge, Zuo, and other factions remained. The Chongzhen Emperor ordered Ding Qirui to supervise the campaign, commanding the armies of Huguang, Henan, Sichuan, Shanxi, and those of Jiangnan and Jiangbei.

He had thought that the Cao bandit and the others could be wiped out in the blink of an eye; he never expected they would instead grow ever more vigorous.

Ding Qirui's explanation was that the government troops were at best three-tenths cavalry and seven-tenths infantry, sometimes even two-tenths cavalry and eight-tenths infantry, while the Cao bandit, the Ge, the Zuo, and the rest had many mounted soldiers under their command, numbering in the tens of thousands, some even riding with two horses per man, making pursuit extremely difficult.

Every time they could only chase behind their rear; the fat were dragged thin, the thin were dragged to death, and then the bandits would wheel around and strike — the government troops suffered unspeakably.

Moreover, the common people everywhere inclined toward the roving bandits; often the government troops could not even find a single guide. Wherever they went, the terrain was unclear, and they were frequently ambushed from left and right. Not only did the Chongzhen Emperor rage when he read the reports, even Ding Qirui himself felt utterly exhausted in mind and body.

Now, with Nanyang fallen, Meng Ruhu killed in battle, and the Prince of Tang murdered, this was already the second feudal prince to die.

The Chongzhen Emperor seethed inwardly. He wished to replace Ding Qirui, even to punish him, but unfortunately there was no suitable candidate for the moment.

Originally, Hong Chengchou was the best choice, but he was gravely ill and could not undertake a long journey, so that had to be abandoned. He hoped that Cao Bianjiao and Wang Tingchen would go south and could change the situation.

He leafed through several memorials without raising his head. "The Earl of Jingnan and the Earl of Ningnan — have they reached Kaifeng?"

Chen Xinjia answered with extreme caution, "Yes. Ding Qirui sent a summons inviting the Earl of Jingnan and the Earl of Ningnan south, but the two earls consulted with Provincial Governor Gao and have massed their troops at Kaifeng without moving, waiting for an opportunity to press toward Henan Prefecture, Luoyang, and other places. They call it a strategy of besieging Wei to rescue Zhao!"

The Chongzhen Emperor said, "Attack what the enemy must rescue. The Earl of Jingnan and the Earl of Ningnan are correct. Should they, like Ding Qirui, go south and chase behind the bandits' rear, only to be dragged into collapse?"

"The Chuang bandits are holding cities in Henan Prefecture as defense. If government troops attack Luoyang, they will certainly pull back their troops to relieve it, and the imperial army will have an opportunity to exploit. It is also good that the Chuang bandits are holding cities — the monk may run, but the temple cannot."

Chen Xinjia said, "His Majesty is sagacious."

He glanced at the Chongzhen Emperor's expression. "...Also, when the two earls went south, they impeached the local authorities along the way for negligence and insufficient supply of provisions and fodder. At the same time, many officials and officers along the route have impeached Cao Bianjiao and Wang Tingchen. The various ministries are now investigating and verifying, and officials everywhere are submitting memorials to defend themselves..."

With a great crash, the Chongzhen Emperor slammed the table and rose. His voice and expression were fierce: "Punish all these traitors! What do they intend? What do they want to do to my new army? If provisions and fodder are not supplied, how can the soldiers fight? A pack of petty rats, harboring malicious intent!"

The Emperor's thunderous rage terrified Chen Xinjia so much that he dared not even breathe loudly. He said repeatedly, "Yes, yes... yes, yes..."

"The Central Plains are the heart of the realm, and Kaifeng is the heart of the Central Plains. If it should one day fall, what then can be said of the empire's affairs? The Ministry of War must take the Henan campaign to heart with urgency. And the provision and fodder supply for the armies of the Earl of Jingnan and the Earl of Ningnan must also be given the highest priority."

"Yes, yes..."

To counter Wang Dou's rise, the court's current strategy was to support Yang Guozhu, Cao Bianjiao, Wang Tingchen, Tang Tong, and others as much as possible. The court and the public were full of confidence and expectation for Cao Bianjiao and Wang Tingchen's southern campaign, and the Chongzhen Emperor in particular placed great hopes in it.

If the roving bandits of the Central Plains were exterminated, he could free his hands to do a series of things. He also refused to believe that without Wang Dou, the realm would stop turning.

After finishing the discussion of bandit suppression in the Central Plains, what vexed the Chongzhen Emperor and the others was the current struggle over provisions and pay among the various frontier garrisons, especially the increasingly fierce fight over provisions between the Liao Garrison and the Ji Garrison.

In the past, among the Nine Frontier Garrisons, the Liao Garrison's supply was the most generous. In the mid-Wanli period, the total pay and provisions for the Nine Frontiers amounted to about 2.8 million taels, distributed among the garrisons with relatively equal shares. The change came with the rise of the Later Jin.

The Liao Garrison quickly took an enormous share of the Great Ming's military expenditure. Even now, Liaodong — including the territory beyond the passes and Shanhai Pass — though its provision and pay allocation had been cut again and again, still amounted to nearly five million taels a year. The other garrisons generally received only a few hundred thousand taels, and the Ji Garrison was the same.

As for the Great Ming's revenue, in the mid-Wanli period the court collected about 26 million shi of grain annually from the summer and autumn taxes. Of that, the Ministry of Revenue's Taicang silver treasury took in about 3.6 million taels of silver each year. Military expenses plus other expenditures already ran a deficit each year. Once the Liaodong war began, the finances fell even further into shortfall.

The three surtaxes, imposed from the forty-sixth year of Wanli to the present, had collected a total of about 20 million taels of silver over these years. Yet in recent years, annual military expenditure alone had reached over 8 million taels. With other expenditures added, it still fell short. The Liaodong military tax was one of the heaviest burdens.

After the great battle at Jinzhou, observing the situation of the Qing state, it seemed the Liao Garrison's expenses could be reduced. In particular, the Chongzhen Emperor wanted to focus on supporting Yang Guozhu, so the Ji Garrison's military funding needed a great increase. Given the Great Ming's current situation, opening new revenue sources was impossible; only cutting expenditures and shifting funds remained.

Thus, many people fixed their eyes on the Liaodong military tax for the Ji Garrison's expenses. Not much was needed — just shifting half over would be enough for Yang Guozhu's use and could train many new troops.

Of course, it was easy to say but extremely difficult in practice. Like the Shanxi merchants, the Liaodong military tax was an enormous interest group spanning high and low. How many people profited from it? Was there even one person in the Grand Secretariat who did not take a share of its benefits?

Cutting off a man's wealth is like killing his parents. Officials at every level understood this deeply, so none dared to clearly state their position; they only dared to mumble a few vague words.

The supporters of the Liaodong military tax also had eloquent arguments. They said that the Liao Garrison and Shanhai Pass currently had one to two hundred thousand troops.

Calculated at one shi of grain per soldier per month, that required two million shi of grain a year, plus all manner of other expenses. In fact, the current troop pay was far from sufficient; the soldiers were in arrears every year, let alone any talk of reducing military expenditure.

Furthermore, after the great Liaodong battle, although the eastern slaves had suffered setbacks, their overall fighting strength still exceeded the Great Ming's (if Wang Dou was excluded). They needed only a brief period of rest and recuperation to maintain offensive pressure on Liaodong, so it was even more necessary to repair city walls and increase arms and armor. All this required money.

Therefore, the Liaodong military tax could not be reduced, still less shifted. Not only that, because the Liaodong defense line had extended to the Yizhou area, it even needed a partial increase.

Recovering cities, though it had roused the people's spirits at the time, brought bitter consequences that now had to be borne. Aside from a very few, no one dared advocate abandoning Yizhou and shrinking the defense line back to Jinzhou. Thus, the Earl of Pingxi, Wu Sangui, the Liaodong Provincial Governor Qiu Minyang, and others were fully justified in demanding provisions and pay.

For the Chongzhen Emperor, the Liaodong officers and soldiers had to be placated. He feared that these rough soldiers might, at the slightest provocation, mutiny or even defect to the eastern slaves. The consequences of that were something he dared not bear, for a large proportion of the officials and officers who had surrendered to the Qing state over the years came from the Liao Garrison — there were plenty of precedents.

At this critical moment of exterminating the roving bandits, Liaodong must not fall into chaos. But if the Liaodong military tax was not cut, where would the Ji Garrison's funding come from?

Watching the strife in court and among the public, with even the Minister of War, Chen Xinjia, speaking in equivocations, the Chongzhen Emperor had a splitting headache.

Finally, Chen Xinjia brought up another matter in a low voice: "The eastern slaves have sent envoys, who are lodged in secret at the Huitong Hostel. Observing their intent, they have a mind to negotiate peace. I do not know His Majesty's will..."

Three days later. The capital. The Huitong Hostel.

In all the capitals of successive Chinese dynasties, there were establishments for receiving guests. After the Han, this was mostly the Court of State Ceremonial, one of whose important functions was to receive tributary envoys from vassal states — what could be called the foreign ministry of ancient times.

In the Ming, the Huitong Hostel was established, under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of War. It had one Ambassador, of the principal ninth rank, and two Vice Ambassadors, of the auxiliary ninth rank, replacing the functions of the Court of State Ceremonial. However, the supervising official of the Huitong Hostel still held the concurrent title of Vice Minister of the Court of State Ceremonial.

The Ming Huitong Hostel was also the general hub for the empire's postal relay stations. It was located beside the Wuman Post Station on Prince's Street in Daxing County. At this moment, a middle-aged man dressed in Han Chinese attire hurried back to the Huitong Hostel. Upon reaching the gate, he spat and thought, "This Southern Court, the Ming state, is growing more and more decrepit. Even the streets in the capital are like this."

On the capital's roads, in many places the blue stone slabs had long vanished; everywhere were pitted and rutted dirt roads, thick with accumulated mud, sand, and dust. When this man went out on business, to avoid drawing attention, he walked in many places, and as a result his whole body and face were covered in grime.

Returning to a certain place within the hostel, he pushed open a door. Inside were several other men dressed as Han Chinese, each face bearing a dark, fierce, and baleful look.

The atmosphere in the room was solemn. A man of about fifty, who looked very much like a military man, tapped his fingers lightly on the table and mused, "After days of probing discussions, it seems these southern barbarians are not very enthusiastic about negotiating peace with our Great Qing. They are even more dismissive of equal dealings, annual payments, and border matters. The peace terms will be difficult to advance..."

This man was Bao Chengxian, a scholar of the Qing state's Hongwen Academy. He had formerly been an Assistant Commissioner-in-Chief and Vice General of the Shenyang New Courage Battalion. During the Tianqi era, he was ordered to bring reinforcements, but was ambushed and defeated, his entire army wiped out. After hiding alone for several days, he finally surrendered to the Later Jin.

Because he was loyal to the Later Jin, the Later Jin strategist Ning Wanwo recommended him for a post in the Literary Academy. Thereafter, he, along with Ning Wanwo, Gao Hongzhong, and others, served the Qing state with utter devotion.

This time, he had further received secret orders from Dorgon to come to the Great Ming. Besides peace negotiations, he also bore a series of important tasks.

After spending a great deal of money, Bao Chengxian gained a secret audience with the Minister of War, Chen Xinjia. However, although the Manchu Qing had considerable sincerity about peace negotiations, Chen Xinjia and the others did not take it seriously. Not to mention that the Great Ming had always been tough in foreign relations, this very campaign had been loudly proclaimed by the Great Ming as a victory, making peace negotiations with an enemy state even more impossible — public opinion alone would not permit it.

Moreover, for several thousand years, the Central Plains' foreign relations had known only two extremes: receiving tribute and declarations of vassalage, or humiliating submission. There was generally no concept of other kinds of treaties.

Perhaps, among all the treaties in Chinese history, only the one made by local officials in Guangzhou in the tenth year of Chongzhen reflected the point of a superior and equal treaty.

That year, the Guangdong local naval forces defeated the six ships led by Captain Weddell, dispatched by King Charles I of England, forcing them to sign a guarantee, express regret for the Humen incident, and pay 2,800 taels of silver in compensation. The first conflict between China and England ended in a Chinese victory.

And a few years earlier, in the great Battle of Liaoluo Bay, the Ming navy had heavily defeated the Dutch fleet, yet still following old thinking, did not demand reparations from the Dutch.

So, the unenlightened Dorgon, for better or worse, following old precedents, still wanted the Great Ming to grant a sum of annual payments. Although it was phrased euphemistically, the meaning within was plain for any discerning eye to see, which of course made Chen Xinjia thunderously furious, and he had the envoy who came to his door beaten out with clubs. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, welcome to Qidian to cast recommendation votes and monthly votes. Your support is my greatest motivation.)