Chapter 6: Yuan Yingtai

Yuan Yingtai, courtesy name Dalai, was a native of Fengxiang and belonged to the Donglin Faction.

In Zhu Youxiao's memory, the Yuan Yingtai recorded in the historical annals was an official who was shrewd, vigorous, and resolute, highly skilled in water management and financial administration—an expert in logistics—but commanding operations in battle was not his forte, and his strategic planning and deployment were quite poor.

The content of the routine memorial was very simple—Yuan Yingtai, replacing Xiong Tingbi as Military Commissioner of Liaodong, believed he should govern with benevolence and love for the people, reversing many of Xiong Tingbi's strict military regulations; coinciding with the Little Ice Age, the Mongol tribes were struck by great famine, and many entered the passes to beg for food, so he again displayed misplaced compassion, settling many Mongol tribal refugees and incorporating surrendered rebel generals and soldiers, accepting all who came to defect.

So in the routine memorial, Yuan Yingtai said a great deal about the benefits of doing this: first, recruiting these people would prevent them from defecting to the enemy; second, these people were all Mongols, skilled in horsemanship and archery, fierce and adept in combat, and could be used to expand Liaodong's troop strength and strengthen border defenses.

Yuan Yingtai had already settled these people in the two major strongholds of Liaoyang and Shenyang, and this routine memorial was on the one hand a report, and on the other hand a claim of merit.

Glancing at the Grand Secretariat's draft rescript below, it was actually one of commendation. Zhu Youxiao immediately laughed, reaching out to tap on the memorial in his hand, yet his eyes were cold as ice.

So this is how Shenyang and Liaoyang were lost, isn't it? Among these people, there are inevitably those secretly serving the enemy, or enemy spies mixed in as internal agents—do you know that, Yuan Yingtai?

Are refugees that easy to settle? And you settled them in Shenyang and Liaoyang—aren't you, Yuan, afraid they'll cause trouble!

The key point is these aren't even Great Ming refugees, but Mongol refugees—how do you solve the grain and fodder consumption? Giving them rations every month, letting them live mixed among the common people? How do you resolve the conflicts between Great Ming commoners and them?

If I remember correctly, these people secretly engaged in rape and plunder, "and the residents suffered greatly from them." Casually settling these Mongol tribal refugees is just asking for death!

Even without having transmigrated here, Zhu Youxiao knew this couldn't be done—just how much chaos did refugees cause in later generations? Those countries that shouted about righteousness and accepted refugees—what results did they ultimately get? The refugees' gratitude?

Don't be ridiculous—the Great Ming accepting Mongol refugees? The Great Ming only needs slaves, not refugees. Moreover, the Western Jin's southward retreat and the Hu peoples' rebellion in the north is a lesson from the past, already written in the historical records in a bloody stroke!

Setting aside these distant matters, even in the original history, on the twentieth day of the third month of the first year of Tianqi—that is, two months from now—the Jianzhou rebels would launch a massive attack on Shenyang, and the surrendered Mongols would begin wreaking havoc and attacking the defending troops, ultimately, through coordination from within and without, leading to Shenyang's fall. Regional Commander He Shixian and You Shigong died in battle, and the seventy thousand defending troops were completely annihilated.

Regional Commanders Chen Ce, Tong Zhongkui, and others led over thirty thousand relief troops for Liaodong—composed of Zhejiang troops, Sichuan troops, and private soldiers of Tujia chieftains—to rush to the rescue, fighting a bitter battle against the rebels at Hun River, where they too were defeated and killed in action.

Yuan Yingtai withdrew the garrison troops from strongholds such as Fengji and Weining, concentrating his forces to defend the main base of Liaoyang, channeling water to fill the moats, placing firearms in rows along the moats, and stationing troops in a ring on all four sides for defense.

He personally directed Regional Commanders Hou Shilu, Li Bingcheng, Liang Zhongshan, Jiang Bi, Zhu Wanliang, and others leading thirty thousand troops out of the city five li to meet the enemy.

Because of the divided forces, coupled with the elite troops having been nearly completely lost at Shenyang and Hun River, the government forces fought unfavorably and were defeated by Nurhaci's sixty thousand cavalry, suffering heavy losses.

Later Jin spies inside the city set fires to cause destruction, the rebels dug open the city's western sluice gate to drain the moat water, divided their forces to block the eastern water outlet, and defeated the relief troops of the various generals. After only three days of defense, Liaoyang fell, Yuan Yingtai was defeated, and carrying his official seal, he hanged himself facing south to atone for his guilt.

This stretch of history left a deep impression on Zhu Youxiao. Yuan Yingtai, lacking talent yet bearing great responsibility, ultimately lost Liaodong and over one hundred thousand of the empire's finest troops—the primary culprit was none other than the one who employed him.

Thinking of Xiong Tingbi, who had used illness as an excuse to recuperate at home, Zhu Youxiao's fingers lightly tapped on the armrest of his chair.

In history, Xiong Tingbi was classified under the Chu Faction, and it was recorded that as Vice Minister of War of the Right he replaced Yang Gao as Military Commissioner of Liaodong, gathering the displaced, rectifying military discipline, building war chariots, manufacturing firearms, dredging moats and repairing walls, making his defenses extremely solid.

It was said he was seven chi tall, had courage, understood military affairs, and excelled at shooting arrows with both hands. But he had a fiery temper, an unyielding nature, loved to curse people, and refused to be humble or deferential, and thus public opinion did not hold him in high regard.

In history, Xiong Tingbi was executed and his head was displayed at the Nine Border Garrisons—a truly miserable end.

Thinking of this, Zhu Youxiao gently set down the memorial in his hand, looked up at Chen Hong who had just returned to Qianqing Palace, and beckoned him over before speaking: "Convey my decree to the Grand Secretariat, ordering them to draft an edict: reinstate Xiong Tingbi as Vice Minister of War and Military Commissioner of Liaodong, to depart immediately without delay or negligence, on pain of severe punishment. Liaodong Military Commissioner Yuan Yingtai is to be transferred back to the capital for other assignment."

As for this "other assignment," Zhu Youxiao actually hadn't yet figured out how to use him. In short, in one sentence, Zhu Youxiao simply wanted to transfer Yuan Yingtai back.

"Yes, Your Majesty, this servant will go at once!" Chen Hong acknowledged, bowed, and retreated, moving very quickly—though it was tiring, he dared not complain. When the Emperor ordered him to do something, he dared not be negligent.

From the Ming dynasty onward, the Secretariat and the Chancellor were abolished, with the Emperor directly managing the affairs of the Six Ministries and all government offices—in effect, the Emperor concurrently served as Chancellor, expanding autocratic rule to its peak—but this was only a measure taken by the Ming founder under the circumstances of the early Ming, reflecting his personal traits (such as an extremely strong desire for power, a suspicious nature, rich governing experience, abundant energy, and so on).

But the later emperors of the Ming dynasty did not possess these traits and abilities, nor were they willing to follow the same model, yet the "ancestral instructions" were inconvenient to openly violate—so what was to be done?

Under these circumstances, after transformation, the Grand Secretariat system gradually took shape, playing a role in a new form of checking the Emperor's autocratic decisions.

At this moment, the Grand Secretariat looked like an old man on the verge of death, utterly devoid of vitality. Chen Hong quickly arrived at the Grand Secretariat's duty office.

In the duty office, Grand Secretary Liu Yijing was chatting with Han Kuang; both being Grand Secretaries of the Grand Secretariat, the two had a very good relationship. Both were jinshi degree holders, and both represented the same interest class, so naturally they had no major conflicts.

Liu Yijing appeared to be in his early fifties, yet his beard was already somewhat gray; over the years of his official career, he had worried plenty for the court.

Seeing Chen Hong, they were slightly startled—had His Majesty something to say?

"Greetings, Lord Liu!" Upon seeing Liu Yijing, Chen Hong bowed in salute. Although Chen Hong was Zhu Youxiao's personal attendant, he still had to show due respect to Liu Yijing, the Chief Grand Secretary of the Grand Secretariat—this man was the foremost civil official in the realm.

"Attendant Chen!" Liu Yijing also said with a smile: "Has His Majesty given some instruction?"

Chen Hong nodded, clasped his fists and raised them above his head, saying: "His Majesty's oral decree."

The assembled men dared not be negligent, their expressions somewhat tense as they hastily bowed in salute, waiting for Chen Hong to speak.

"Order the Grand Secretariat to draft an edict: reinstate Xiong Tingbi as Vice Minister of War and Military Commissioner of Liaodong, to depart immediately without delay or negligence, on pain of severe punishment. Liaodong Military Commissioner Yuan Yingtai is to be transferred back to the capital for other assignment." Chen Hong said in a very loud voice.

"We your ministers accept the decree!" When Liu Yijing and the others heard that Xiong Tingbi was to be reinstated, they were all taken aback, but none dared to be negligent and hastily acknowledged.

Not agreeing with the Emperor's thinking is one thing—you can remonstrate and advise—but you absolutely cannot defy the decree and refuse to accept it. This oral decree they had now accepted.

Chen Hong nodded, then said with a smile: "The decree has been proclaimed, so this servant will take his leave!" With that, Chen Hong clasped his fists and departed—he had no desire to have any dealings with these men of the Grand Secretariat.

For some unknown reason, Chen Hong always felt that someone in the Grand Secretariat was about to be in trouble—there was no reason, just an intuition. He might as well keep his distance, to avoid being struck by lightning and caught in the fallout.