Chapter 256: She Chongming Has Rebelled

Zhu Youxiao nodded, a slight look of approval appearing on his face, and said in a calm tone, "Then get this matter done as soon as possible, and don't let there be any mistakes."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Wei Zhongxian bowed and quickly acknowledged.

Zhu Youxiao lightly waved his hand.

Wei Zhongxian tactfully said, "Your Majesty, please rest well."

Having said that, he withdrew.

Zhu Youxiao had just let out a sigh of relief when he saw Chen Hong hurrying in from outside with rapid steps.

Chen Hong's expression was somewhat anxious, and his forehead was covered with beads of sweat. Clearly something had happened, and it was something quite serious.

Zhu Youxiao said nothing, quietly waiting for him to arrive.

Coming before Zhu Youxiao, Chen Hong said with some urgency in his voice, "Your Majesty, Sichuan Governor Zhu Kuiyuan has submitted a routine memorial — She Chongming of the Yongning Pacification Commission has rebelled!"

As he spoke, Chen Hong presented the memorial in his hand before Zhu Youxiao.

Without changing his expression, Zhu Youxiao reached out and took the memorial, slowly unfolding it.

This matter had finally erupted after all.

In fact, Zhu Youxiao had long anticipated this, only it was somewhat beyond his reach.

He had been busy with the Liaodong matter, busy sorting out affairs at court — Yunnan and Sichuan were simply too far away for him.

Even if he had wanted to dispatch troops earlier, there were no good troops to send; he could only draw from nearby, and the result probably wouldn't have been much different anyway.

Now that She Chongming and his forces were powerful, if he wanted to destroy them, relying solely on the strength of the Great Ming's southern military would be very difficult.

Zhu Youxiao was very clear on this point, which was why he had never moved against the southwest. There was also another matter — he had been waiting for this rebellion of She Chongming's to do certain things.

Handing the memorial back to Chen Hong, Zhu Youxiao said expressionlessly, "Summon the Grand Secretaries of the Grand Secretariat and the Ministers of the Six Ministries to discuss affairs."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Your Majesty's attitude gave Chen Hong a shot in the arm; Chen Hong instantly felt his anxious heart find its footing, and he hurriedly acknowledged with respect before running off to summon everyone.

Zhu Youxiao did not linger there but returned to his own palace.

Soon, the Grand Secretaries and the Ministers of the Six Ministries arrived.

Along the way they had naturally already learned the course of events, and every one of them wore a grave expression on his face, one that was also very unpleasant to see.

Tusi rebellions had never been anything new in the Great Ming.

It was only that this time it came shortly after the new emperor's ascension, when they had just taken power, so they felt somewhat embarrassed by it.

In fact, in their view, this rebellion of She Chongming's was nothing more than a local tusi revolt — sending someone to suppress it would be sufficient.

Zhu Youxiao knew very well that neither the current She Chongming nor the Liaodong matter was taken seriously by the court officials, especially now that Liaoyang and Shenyang were being underestimated.

After everyone had entered, Zhu Youxiao slowly swept his gaze over them and said, "Gentlemen, you must all know of the matter by now. Minister Sun, tell us the course of events."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Sun Chengzong quickly stepped forward and acknowledged.

He was the Minister of War, and this matter truly did fall under his purview.

Taking a step forward, Sun Chengzong said, "Sichuan Governor Zhu Kuiyuan wrote very clearly in his memorial: She Chongming, the tusi of Yongning in Sichuan, has rebelled. He has killed the local officials and is now besieging Chongqing with his troops."

Zhu Youxiao nodded.

In fact, this was the butterfly effect. Liaodong had not suffered as badly, so the court had not mobilized Yunnan's officers and soldiers to reinforce Liaodong, and thus certain things had not happened.

If it had followed the course of history as originally written, the court would have drawn troops from Yunnan and Sichuan, leaving local defenses hollowed out.

That had let She Chongming see an opportunity — he volunteered to dispatch twenty thousand cavalry and infantry to aid Liaodong, sending his son-in-law Fan Long and his partisan Zhang Tong and others to lead troops to Chongqing.

On the seventeenth day of the ninth month, She Chongming raised troops, killed Governor Xu Keqiu and more than twenty other military and civil officials, launched his rebellion, occupied Chongqing, attacked Hejiang, broke through Luzhou, took Zunyi (now part of Guizhou Province), and established the state name "Daliang."

But in this life, the court had not mobilized the forces of Yunnan and Sichuan. She Chongming had no opportunity to send men to aid Liaodong, and therefore no reason to send troops to Chongqing, and even less opportunity to kill the officials great and small throughout Chongqing.

Thus there was also no reason for She Chongming to have the chance to occupy Chongqing and then strike out in all directions.

Originally Zhu Youxiao had harbored a wishful hope — thinking that without the opportunity to send men to aid Liaodong, She Chongming might not rebel for the time being.

But the facts proved he had guessed wrong; She Chongming had rebelled anyway.

Only this time She Chongming had no way to directly occupy Chongqing, and instead led his army to besiege the city, preparing to take it by force.

But the border troops were still very weak and understaffed. This was a problem the court needed to solve, and at the same time it was the opportunity Zhu Youxiao had been waiting for.

Sweeping his gaze over everyone present, Zhu Youxiao said, "The southwest cannot be allowed to fall into chaos. What suggestions do you gentlemen have?"

Everyone exchanged glances, and in the end their eyes fell upon Sun Chengzong's face.

The situation in this life was far better than in the previous one, because the court had not drawn troops from the southwest — there would be no situation where the great city of Chengdu had only two thousand defenders; Chongqing had also stockpiled heavy troops, and the Sichuan Governor's hands would not be left without men to use.

Several pairs of eyes all fell upon Sun Chengzong's face. He was a Grand Secretary of the Grand Secretariat and also the Minister of War, so this matter naturally fell to him to offer his opinion.

Zhu Youxiao's gaze also fell upon Sun Chengzong's face, wanting to see what he thought.

Sun Chengzong stepped forward and said respectfully, "Your Majesty, your minister believes that Sichuan Governor Zhu Kuiyuan should mobilize nearby forces to suppress the rebellion. If Sichuan's forces are insufficient, troops can be drawn from Yunnan and Guangxi; if still insufficient, forces from Huguang can be drawn from nearby, or troops can be dispatched directly from Nanjing."

Sun Chengzong's approach could be said to be very sound, and it also represented his attitude — that he simply did not take She Chongming's rebellion seriously at all.

In fact, since the founding of the Great Ming, danger had always come from the north; even if the southwest made a fuss, it could not stir up any great waves.

For the court as a whole, one Governor was more than enough to deal with the southwestern rebels — it did not require much of the court's energy at all. This was also the view of the others.

Zhu Youxiao helplessly let out a sigh. The Great Ming was just such a mess.

But he had long anticipated this too; now the only thing left was internal peasant uprisings.

If anyone else rebelled from within, the Great Ming would have both north and south poles unstable, with people rebelling and rising up in the middle as well.

"The southwest — it's time to clean things up there." Zhu Youxiao said slowly.

The several Grand Secretaries were all startled, and at the same time understood the emperor's attitude.

Clearly the emperor was very dissatisfied with the rebellion in the southwest, and this meant a thorough cleanup. It seemed Sun Chengzong's opinion had been rejected.

Xu Guangqi stepped forward and said slowly, "Your Majesty, in that case, your minister believes that a high-ranking court official should be dispatched to the southwest to establish the post of Governor-General of the Southwest and thoroughly clean things up."

Governor-General of the Southwest — commanding the military and civil affairs of three provinces.

Guangxi, Yunnan, and Sichuan — the military and civil authority of all three provinces vested in a single person.

Such a post was never lightly established by the court, but whenever it was established, it signified major action.

Zhu Youxiao glanced at Xu Guangqi and nodded appreciatively.

This was exactly what he had in mind—the southwest definitely needed to be properly dealt with.

The reason he hadn't bothered with She Chongming before was that, on the one hand, without the excuse of Liaodong reinforcements, the man couldn't stir up much trouble, and perhaps he might not even rebel at all.

He couldn't very well move troops from the surrounding areas before She Chongming had actually rebelled, could he?

If She Chongming didn't rebel, then what was he supposed to do with all those troops?

After all, mobilizing troops cost money.

Now that She Chongming had rebelled, it gave him exactly the excuse he needed.

One had to understand that after the She-An Rebellion, there was also the Sha-Pu Rebellion, proving that the Ming Dynasty's rule over the southwest had completely broken down.

Without digging out the root of the problem, there was no way to settle it once and for all.

If he wanted to devote his full strength to dealing with the north and responding to the coming peasant uprisings, the southwest had to be stabilized.

Historically, the "She-An Rebellion" and the later "Sha-Pu Rebellion" were massive in scale and lasted a long time. They not only shook the various southwestern provinces at the time and tied down the military and economic strength of Shu, Chu, Qian, and Dian, but also greatly weakened the Ming Dynasty's defensive capacity against the Later Jin.

Objectively speaking, they also served to relieve pressure on the Ming court from Li Zicheng and other peasant rebel armies, putting the Ming court in a three-front war, attacked from front and rear, throwing all personnel and financial mobilization into chaos.

In Zhu Youxiao's plan, if She Chongming didn't rebel, then he would maintain the status quo and focus entirely on the north; once the north was settled, the southwest would be nothing more than a wave of the hand.

If She Chongming did rebel, then he would first stabilize the situation in the north, then thoroughly resolve the southwest.

Now that She Chongming had truly rebelled, Zhu Youxiao had his justification to conduct a complete purge of the southwest.

That was why Xu Guangqi's proposal to establish a Governor-General of the Southwest received Zhu Youxiao's approval.

"Do you have any suitable candidates?" Zhu Youxiao said, looking at the assembled officials.

This person naturally had to understand military affairs, possess sufficiently high prestige, and most critically, be someone who could get things done without dragging his feet. So the choice wasn't easy, and Zhu Youxiao hoped they would offer him a recommendation.

"Your Majesty, your minister recommends Liaodong Governor Wang Xiangqian." Sun Chengzong spoke up at this moment.

Wang Xiangqian?

Sun Chengzong's recommendation didn't surprise Zhu Youxiao in the least—the man indeed had seniority, prestige, and ability. Sending him to the southwest would certainly pose no major problems.

But Zhu Youxiao didn't want to send Wang Xiangqian; he wanted to keep him in Liaodong.

One had to understand that the reason Liaodong was currently stable was the harmonious unity of policy from top to bottom—no one was fighting over anything.

Liaodong Governor Wang Xiangqian, Guangning Governor Wang Zaijin, and Liaodong Military Commissioner Xiong Tingbi—all three men shared the same strategy.

That strategy was: develop in peace, defend steadily, reinforce the cities; hold the line, don't sally out, don't fight. Only when enough strength had been accumulated to annihilate the Jianzhou barbarians in one stroke would they strike.

So right now, Liaodong was extremely harmonious, with no conflicting orders coming from multiple sources—the three men coordinated excellently.

In the short term, Zhu Youxiao didn't want to change this dynamic, so he wouldn't touch the personnel in Liaodong.

"Wang Xiangqian is in Liaodong, and he's doing well there. I won't move him." Zhu Youxiao thought for a moment and said: "My dear ministers, please consider whether there are any other suitable candidates."

"Your minister recommends Denglai Governor Yuan Keli." At this point, Han Kuang stepped forward and said respectfully.

Hearing Han Kuang recommend Yuan Keli caught a few people by surprise.

Because Yuan Keli was one of Sun Chengzong's people—the two were very close friends. Sun Chengzong had originally recommended Yuan Keli, but Yuan Keli had been sent by Zhu Youxiao to Denglai to serve as Governor.

But soon several of them realized what was happening—Han Kuang had his eye on the Denglai Governor position. He wanted to transfer Yuan Keli away and install his own people there.

The expressions on their faces varied.

Sun Chengzong didn't immediately step forward to object; instead, he was weighing the feasibility of this matter.

Although Han Kuang meant no good, Sun Chengzong had to admit—he was tempted.

Denglai Governor was only a governorship. But Governor-General of the three southwestern provinces—that was an entirely different level of status.

If the three southwestern provinces could be completely pacified this time, Yuan Keli's merit would be enormous. Upon returning to the capital, he would receive at least a ministerial post in one of the Six Ministries, and might even enter the Grand Secretariat.

Most critically, Sun Chengzong trusted Yuan Keli's abilities. He felt that as long as Yuan Keli went, there would certainly be no major problems.

Under these circumstances, Sun Chengzong seemed to have no reason to refuse. At the same time, he understood that Han Kuang wasn't poaching from his turf—he was making a trade of interests.

Han Kuang would support Yuan Keli, and the Denglai Governor position would go to Han Kuang.

The scheming and infighting among the Grand Secretaries of the Grand Secretariat was nothing new—it had been going on for ages. Zhu Youxiao was well aware of this, and as long as it remained benign, he wouldn't oppose it.

Take this instance: although it was Han Kuang who recommended Yuan Keli, to be fair, Yuan Keli was indeed a suitable candidate.

He had sent Yuan Keli to Denglai precisely so that if anything went wrong in Liaodong, Denglai could respond at a moment's notice.

But the current situation was that Liaodong had already stabilized, making the Denglai Governor position considerably less critical.

Under these circumstances, keeping Yuan Keli in Denglai would be a waste of talent.

So Zhu Youxiao said: "Then let it be Yuan Keli. Have him go to the southwest as Governor-General. As for the Denglai Governor candidate, the Grand Secretariat may deliberate and report its recommendation."

With its strategic importance diminished, the Denglai Governor appointment was no longer within Zhu Youxiao's sphere of concern. But he still had another person to arrange.

After glancing at the assembled officials, Zhu Youxiao continued: "Ministry of War Bureau Director Sun Chuanting is decisive and understands military affairs. Have the Grand Secretariat draft an edict promoting him to Vice Minister of the Ministry of War and Right Assistant Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, to accompany Yuan Keli to the southwest and serve under his command."

Everyone was taken aback and couldn't help but look toward Sun Chengzong.

Who was this Sun Chuanting?

He shares the surname Sun—could he be related to you?

But they also knew this wasn't the time to ask, and no one stepped forward to object.

First of all, the two offices Zhu Youxiao had granted were both nominal positions. Although there was a suspicion of excessive promotion, someone like Xu Guangqi had received an even more excessive promotion. Such matters were sensitive, so it was better not to speak rashly.

Additionally, no one knew what was going on with this Sun Chuanting, nor what His Majesty was thinking. Speaking carelessly could invite trouble. In any case, having him accompany Yuan Keli to Yunnan was nothing major.

So the assembled officials bowed and said: "Your ministers accept the decree."

Zhu Youxiao nodded and said: "Draft the edict immediately upon your return. Have Yuan Keli come to the capital."

"Your ministers accept the decree." The officials hastily acknowledged once more.