Chapter 835: Debating the Southern Relocation

On the nineteenth day of the first month, Senior Grand Secretary Zhou Yanru volunteered to lead the army south. He commanded roughly fifty thousand troops.

Though the Three Great Battalions of the capital had a nominal strength of one hundred thousand, plus one hundred sixty thousand rotating spring and autumn duty troops, after all manner of corruption, how many soldiers and horses actually remained was truly hard to say.

Fifty thousand horse and foot was also the maximum the Chongzhen Emperor could allocate to him. In truth, whether the southward army actually numbered fifty thousand, neither the Chongzhen Emperor nor Zhou Yanru could figure out — the capital battalions' troop rolls had always been a muddled account.

After Zhou Yanru marched south, his army moved slowly, covering only thirty li a day. By the time the army reached Zhuozhou, three thousand camp soldiers, unable to endure the bitter cold and exhaustion, abandoned the Grand Coordinator and fled back to the capital on their own.

When the army reached Xincheng, another three thousand ran off.

By the time they reached Xiongxian, yet another five thousand had fled.

At this point Zhou Yanru nominally still had forty thousand men, but when the army reached Hejian Prefecture, they had the misfortune of encountering a small band of roving bandit cavalry scouts, about three hundred or so.

The forty-thousand-strong army collapsed. In the end, those who remained by Zhou Yanru's side were only Regional Commander Ma Nian, Vice Regional Commander Guo Zhongqian, and a few others — fewer than ten thousand troops in total.

On the first day of the second month, Li Zicheng founded the Great Shun in Jinan, with the reign title Yongchang. When the relay-station reports arrived, the capital region was shaken.

On the tenth, the Chongzhen Emperor, while holding court, suddenly received a forged letter. Opening it, he found its language utterly treasonous. Sovereign and ministers could only look at each other, faces drained of color.

On the eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth, reports came that Great Ming Prefecture, Shunde Prefecture, Zhangde Prefecture, and other places had fallen. The officials of Hejian Prefecture fled until not one remained.

On the fourteenth, bandit scouts reached the Da'an Post Station outside the capital, proclaiming: "The Great Shun has dispatched officials to take up posts in every department and county of Shandong and Henan. Each official first sends a tablet ahead to the department or county. The gentry and commoners, each suffering under the urgency of levies and bitterly hating the old officials, seize the pretext to expel them, bearing incense to welcome and guide the new ones. Far and near, word spreads like wildfire."

That day, the Chongzhen Emperor issued a decree to all ministries: "The bandit menace blazes fiercely; the capital region is under martial law."

On the fifteenth day of the second month, at the Forbidden City, in the Hall of Imperial Supremacy.

Today the hall was again packed with beasts in official robes. After the false Shun state was established, the Chongzhen Emperor had held court deliberations for many consecutive days, yet in every audience, the courtiers all mouthed platitudes about drilling troops and allocating pay. Seeing the entire court devoid of capable men, the Emperor, after dismissing them, never failed to weep bitterly upon returning to his palace.

Today was the same. Looking out from the throne, the Chongzhen Emperor saw the dense mass of high and low officials all standing in silent stupor, and in his heart he felt only wave after wave of desolation and helplessness.

"My ministers, do you have any strategy to resist the bandits?"

The Chongzhen Emperor asked, full of hope.

Amid an awkward silence, at last Zeng Yinglin, Supervising Secretary of the Office of Works, stepped out of line and said: "Your Majesty, today's gentry and rich all live off rents and taxes, sitting idle and sucking the marrow of the common people. In ordinary times they manipulate profits to deceive the people and monopolize the gains. When trouble comes, they want the poor to expend their strength to protect them — there is no such principle. The various princely estates are also richer than anyone under heaven. Whenever the bandits sack one, its treasuries hold no less than a million, all of which goes to fund the bandits. If in ordinary times they had taken a little less from the people, and in crisis spent more to reward soldiers, perhaps things would not have come to this. Today's gentry and rich should also contribute a little to relieve the poor — this too is a strategy to save the people and quell disorder."

The Chongzhen Emperor nodded. These words were sound in principle, but unfortunately, saying them was useless.

At this moment, Wu Linzheng, Chief Supervising Secretary of the Office of Personnel, straightened his robes and cap. He solemnly stepped out of line and said: "Your Majesty, the bandit menace presses closer by the day, and the three capital environs tremble in fear. I petition to abandon the cities beyond Shanhai Pass — Yizhou, Jinzhou, Ningyuan, Qiantun, and the rest — and to summon Wang Tingchen, Cao Bianjiao, Wu Sangui, and the other generals inside the Pass, to encamp in the near suburbs and defend the capital!"

His voice was not very loud, yet it struck like a thunderbolt, reverberating throughout the Hall of Imperial Supremacy. The assembled ministers first froze, then one by one their eyes widened.

Especially those censors and supervising secretaries who had been standing around bored, feeling somewhat listless and weak — their eyes now all blazed with fiery light.

Then, as if a hornet's nest had been poked, murderous words echoed through the Hall of Imperial Supremacy.

"Outrageous!"

"Traitor!"

"Such insolence..."

"Abandoning the frontier without cause, losing territory and natural defenses — this is the equivalent of the Han dynasty's proposal to abandon Liangzhou! Wu Linzheng is nothing but a traitor. I petition to execute him!"

"Wu Linzheng, a treacherous minister and villain — every man has the right to slay him!"

"Your Majesty, if Wu Linzheng does not die, I fear it will chill the hearts of the frontier soldiers!"

"Wu Linzheng! In the Song-Jin campaign, our Great Ming lost Zu Dashou, Ma Ke, Bai Guangen, Zuo Guangxian, Li Fuming, and other generals, with over ten thousand casualties — only then did we secure the present Liaoxi territory! Wu Linzheng, you propose abandoning the frontier without cause — what are your intentions? Could you be a spy for the eastern slaves and the roving bandits?"

"Wu Linzheng..."

A tidal wave of condemnation and cries for his death instantly drowned out this Chief Supervising Secretary of the Office of Personnel who had proposed abandoning the lands beyond Shanhai Pass.

Although some courtiers felt that times had changed, that the bandit momentum was surging, with cities collapsing one after another, and that the urgency and priorities of the situation were vastly different from before — and that those attacking Wu Linzheng were merely mediocre officials clinging to rigid views, still unaware that they should relieve the worries of the frontier and rescue the peril at the heart of the realm —

Yet with public sentiment boiling over at this moment, no one dared step forward to forcefully support his proposal.

"Then summon Yongning Marquis Wang Dou!"

Wu Linzheng, battered and utterly discomfited by the attacks, suddenly thought of something and shouted out.

The entire Hall of Imperial Supremacy fell silent in an instant. Countless people stole glances at the expression of the Chongzhen Emperor on the throne.

Wu Linzheng secretly glanced at Minister of War Chen Xinjia and could not help wiping the cold sweat from his forehead.

Amid the silence, the Chongzhen Emperor's face flickered between dark and light. Suddenly a shrill voice rang out: "Summon Wang Dou? Have you not heard the tales of Cao Mengde and Dong Zhuo?"

Everyone's heart trembled. It was Guang Shiheng, Supervising Secretary of the Office of War, who leisurely stepped out of line. He was of medium build, his complexion somewhat pale, but the words he spoke were all designed to wound the heart: "I only fear that while driving the tiger from the front gate, a wolf enters through the back — repeating the calamity of Emperor Xian at the end of Han!"

The Chongzhen Emperor's hand trembled, and in an instant his face turned ashen.

Guang Shiheng's leisurely voice continued: "Killing gentry, killing officials and generals, killing merchants, killing eunuchs — how is this man any different from the roving bandits? If he enters the capital, will there be any path left alive for Your Majesty and the assembled ministers?"

The Chongzhen Emperor's fists clenched and unclenched, clenched and unclenched. Especially when he heard "killing eunuchs," the veins on his hands bulged.

The assembled ministers all remained silent. Only Chen Xinjia let out a long sigh.

"...Harboring the ambition of a wolf, secretly manipulating troops — the calamity of this villain Wang Dou is no less than that of the roving bandits and the eastern slaves!"

"Enough!"

Seeing that Guang Shiheng was about to continue his endless tirade, the Chongzhen Emperor could bear it no longer and suddenly bellowed.

Guang Shiheng smugly returned to the court ranks, secretly exchanging glances with Grand Secretary of the Eastern Hall Wei Zaode and Chen Yan.

The Chongzhen Emperor sighed and said: "Left Zhongyun Li Mingrui once submitted a memorial urging me to relocate south. Grand Secretary Li Jiantai also submitted a memorial urging me to relocate south, and further urged me to instruct the Crown Prince to go to Nanjing first. What do my ministers think?"

"Your Majesty, absolutely not!"

Immediately a large crowd of officials leaped out, led especially by Guang Shiheng, Supervising Secretary of the Office of War, who loudly declared: "This is heretical talk, intended to entrap the sovereign and father in unrighteousness! Your Majesty, I petition to execute Li Mingrui. Without killing this man, the people's hearts cannot be settled. Without killing this villain, how can the realm be governed?"

The Chongzhen Emperor stared coldly at him. Guang Shiheng showed no fear and loudly said: "In the Jingtai era, when Esen invaded, Xu Youzhen likewise advocated relocating south. At that time, his advice was not followed, and in the end they were able to hold firm and repel the enemy, leaving the altars of state secure. Therefore, the sovereign should defend the altars to the death — this has been the correct way of the ruler from ancient times to the present."

He continued: "Li Mingrui's proposal to go south also has sinister and imperfect aspects. If Your Majesty relocates south abruptly before the bandits arrive, then the people's hearts will be terrified, the capital's situation will seem to disintegrate, and later generations will surely say you lightly abandoned your state. If Your Majesty relocates when the bandits are about to arrive, then the long road will be fraught with thorns, and you will inevitably be watched by the bandits. Have you not heard of the humiliation of Emperors Hui and Qin during the Song dynasty?"

Courtiers spoke out one after another, all opposing the southern relocation. In particular, Grand Secretaries Chen Yan and Wei Zaode likewise opposed it.

At this point, Minister of Works Yuan Jingwen, Grand Secretary Li Jiantai, Junior Supervisor of Instruction Xiang Yu, and others stepped out of line, saying it would be better to first let the Crown Prince oversee the military in Jiangnan. They were willing to escort the Crown Prince and go ahead.

Guang Shiheng said sternly: "Escorting the Crown Prince south — what do you ministers intend? Do you wish to reenact the story of Emperor Suzong at Lingwu during the Tang?"

Yuan Jingwen, Xiang Yu, and the others were startled and dared not speak further.

The Chongzhen Emperor felt utterly exhausted in mind and spirit. He asked again for strategies of defense and warfare. The assembled ministers remained silent.

The Chongzhen Emperor sighed: "I am no sovereign destined to ruin a kingdom, yet all my ministers are the ministers who ruin it."

He flicked his sleeves and rose.

……

After the Nan'an Count Hong Chengchou took command of the capital battalions, his methods were ruthless and he advanced step by step, greatly improving the capital's military affairs. It was a pity he fell gravely ill and had long been unable to attend to his duties.

After court was dismissed, the Chongzhen Emperor was vexed and troubled, his heart both sorrowful and bitter. Hearing that Hong Chengchou was critically ill and might not have long to live, he came to visit him.

When he saw Hong Chengchou, he was lying in bed, already unable to move. Yet seeing the Emperor arrive in person, he still struggled to rise and perform the rites. The Chongzhen Emperor stopped him and sighed: "My beloved minister, dispense with the formalities. Rest at ease and recover."

He sat for a while, and finally could not help but speak of the court's affairs. Hong Chengchou said: "Your humble servant has also heard of today's events."

The Chongzhen Emperor sighed: "My beloved minister, do you have any strategy for defense or battle?"

Hong Chengchou said: "The best of the best strategies is to urgently summon the Marquis of Yongning to come to the Emperor's aid and guard the capital."

The Chongzhen Emperor fell silent.

Hong Chengchou said: "Failing that, swiftly relocate south."

The Chongzhen Emperor sighed: "Yet there is the precedent of the Jingtai era."

Hong Chengchou said: "The situation is vastly different."

He said: "The rebel bandits' momentum is already irresistible. Only the strategy of relocating south might buy a little more time. Guang Shiheng's argument for defending the realm is merely a desperate gamble to win fame, not an act of loyalty to the sovereign. In affairs of state, there are matters that require expediency; the Great Ming's rivers and mountains and the altars of the state are what matter most. Even if Your Majesty is determined to defend the northern capital to the death, you should order the Crown Prince to leave swiftly, and instruct the great ministers to silently assist him in traveling south, to secure the foundation of Nanjing. In an emergency, he could also summon the southeast to mount a campaign to come to the Emperor's aid. Moreover, it is not only the Crown Prince who should go south — the Princes of Yong and Ding should also be enfeoffed separately in Zhejiang and Guangdong, to prepare for unforeseen contingencies…"

The Chongzhen Emperor wished to hear more, but Hong Chengchou had already passed away peacefully.