Chapter 78: Who Should Be Sent to Liaodong?

Sun Yunhe hastily replied, "Yes, Commander!" At the same time, he turned to his subordinates and ordered, "Wake him up, and apply the heavy torture!"

The Eastern Depot was conducting its interrogation with intense urgency, while the Donglin Faction was beside itself with anxiety.

The Donglin members had originally thought this was a golden opportunity to topple Wei Zhongxian, and even to bring down Xiong Tingbi along the way and take back Liaodong.

But now it was clear that things were not at all what they had seemed—they had all fallen into Wei Zhongxian's trap.

Under such circumstances, self-preservation became the most pressing concern of the moment.

Everyone in the court knew full well that His Majesty was unwilling to listen to what men like them had to say, especially after Wei Zhongxian had presented that sorcerer from the Azure Cloud Sect to the throne.

And so it was—while Wei Zhongxian cruelly persecuted them on one side, that sorcerer was pulling His Majesty into seclusion on the other.

And His Majesty truly refused to see anyone at all, which made it quite obvious that this was a joint effort between Wei Zhongxian and that sorcerer.

Zou Yuanbiao and Yang Lian were confined to their homes, but those outside were racking their brains for ways to save them. Though they could not visit their residences, rescue was absolutely necessary.

Because everyone understood clearly that this was a time to stand together in the same boat!

Once Zou Yuanbiao and Yang Lian fell, then everyone would be finished.

This time it was a matter of life and death, and no one dared to take it lightly.

Outside, chaos reigned, but the imperial palace was not greatly affected. Since Zhu Youxiao refused to see anyone, the people inside the palace had no place to stir up trouble even if they wanted to.

The Emperor was in seclusion, and the only attendant serving him was Chen Hong—no one else. Even Wang An, the seal-holding eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, could only stand aside.

The matter of selecting the Empress within the palace was still ongoing, and none of it required Zhu Youxiao's attention.

Of course, there were still matters that did require Zhu Youxiao's attention. One of them was confirming the candidate for Liaodong Governor.

Xue Guoyong, the Liaodong Governor, had died, and the court needed to appoint someone to take his place—and Zhu Youxiao could not possibly choose another Donglin man.

One Yuan Yingtai, one Wang Huazhen, and then one Yuan Chonghuan—three men had left Liaodong in an irredeemable mess, or rather, a complete shambles.

Though Yuan Chonghuan might not be as useless as Yuan Yingtai and Wang Huazhen, the fact remained that ever since he killed Mao Wenlong, the situation in Liaodong had indeed taken a sharp turn for the worse.

Liaodong might still be defensible, but the cost was too great. Liaodong had already become a gaping hole in the Ming treasury's finances, one that simply could not be filled.

Zhu Youxiao would absolutely never believe the Donglin Faction's clamor about recovering Liaodong—they just wanted to fight in Liaodong, wanted to recover Liaodong, and then embezzle the military funds there.

This matter had never been a secret to begin with; it was only that the original Tianqi Emperor had not known. If Wang Huazhen had not defected to Wei Zhongxian's side, perhaps the imperial house still would have had no evidence.

They themselves paid no taxes, embezzled military funds in Liaodong, and colluded with the frontier generals there. Corruption and graft ran from top to bottom, and they squeezed the soldiers dry—under such conditions, if Liaodong could actually defeat the Jianzhou barbarians, that would be a ghost story!

In Zhu Youxiao's view, the difficulty of rectifying Liaodong was simply too great. Expecting the Ming army in Liaodong to defeat Nurhaci was basically a lost cause.

As for cleaning up Liaodong, the investment simply did not match the returns.

First of all, the soldiers in Liaodong had no will to fight, the civil officials only thought about embezzlement, and the common people were suffering beyond words.

Solving these problems was absolutely not something that could be accomplished overnight.

Rather than spending a great deal of time investing in this, it would be better to start fresh elsewhere—wait until he had trained his own troops before dealing with it.

So Zhu Youxiao's policy toward Liaodong was very simple: maintain stability. Even just preserving the status quo was fine—holding the line was the greatest victory.

Therefore, in appointing the Liaodong Governor, the primary choice was a minister who advocated defense, not someone shouting about recovering Liaodong.

Given the current state of the Ming, recovering Liaodong was basically impossible. So those who cried out for recovering Liaodong—whether they genuinely could not see this or did so deliberately—could not be used.

That such people were not dragged out and beheaded was already Zhu Youxiao's mercy!

Those who could not see it were fools; those who could see it but kept silent while loudly shouting for the recovery of Liaodong—such people deserved death!

Zhu Youxiao flipped through the documents in his hands—all of them were the qualified candidates he had selected.

As for the list submitted by the Grand Secretariat, Zhu Youxiao had long since tossed it aside.

The intention behind that list was very simple: it was pushing Wang Huazhen.

There was no way he himself would use that man, and this time he would even drag him into the affair.

Wang Huazhen was currently the Guangning Governor. That fellow was the Donglin Faction's vanguard for embezzling military funds in Liaodong, and he had no moral scruples whatsoever—he could be made to bite back at the Donglin Faction.

After searching for a long while, Zhu Youxiao finally settled on a suitable man—that man was Wang Xiangqian.

Unlike Wang Huazhen, Wang Xiangqian was not a member of the Donglin Faction; he belonged to the Qi Faction. Most crucially, he shared Xiong Tingbi's views—both believed that the Liao people could not be relied upon, that destroying the Jianzhou barbarians could not be rushed, and that since the Jianzhou barbarians had already grown strong, they must be dealt with gradually.

Unfortunately, his way of putting things boosted the enemy's morale too much and deflated their own. Compared to the Donglin Faction's rhetoric, Wang Xiangqian's words were far too unimpressive and utterly failed to sway the Emperor.

So this strategy had never become the mainstream of the Ming's Liaodong policy.

In history, Wang Huazhen abandoned Guangning and fled, and all the cities fell in succession. Hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians, men and women alike, sought to enter through the pass, but Xiangqian shut the gates and refused them entry—the sound of weeping shook the mountains and valleys.

After three days, Xiong Tingbi arrived, and only then did Xiangqian open the pass gates to admit the soldiers and civilians, and discuss military matters with Tingbi.

From this, one could see that Wang Xiangqian and Xiong Tingbi had a good relationship—Xiong Tingbi's arrogance and overbearingness did not show itself at all. It seemed that only when facing the so-called gentlemen of the Donglin Faction did Xiong Tingbi become arrogant and overbearing.

With Wang Xiangqian as Liaodong Governor, the Guangning Governor also needed to be replaced—so who should it be?

Zhu Youxiao quickly thought of a man—that man was Wang Zaijin.

He too was a steady official who advocated defense. He had once said: one must first have the strength to recover all of Liaodong before one can recover Guangning; one must first have the strength to destroy the barbarians before one can recover all of Liaodong. Otherwise, one would only open an endless conflict, leave an unfinished situation, and exhaust supplies that are hard to sustain—this cannot but be considered.

In plain terms: when we have the strength to recover all of Liaodong, then attack Guangning. When we have the strength to destroy the Jianzhou barbarians, then begin attacking all of Liaodong. Otherwise, do not start a war—it would only increase consumption.

At that time, Guangning had already been lost, and Wang Zaijin felt that the Shanhai Pass fortress itself harbored major hidden dangers.

He suggested building a second wall. Once the second wall was completed, only then could the Shanhai Pass fortress truly become an impregnable natural stronghold.

Mark out the ground and build walls, erect towers and establish stockades,

Construct barracks and set up official residences,

Deploy troops and light beacon fires, watching over one another in mutual aid,

Establish layered passes and set up defenses,

To guard Shanhai,

And thereby guard the capital.

In a word: build fortifications and defend to the death, so that you cannot break in, and then I will slowly accumulate strength. When my strength is sufficient, I will annihilate you in one stroke.

Wang Zaijin's proposal was opposed by Yuan Chonghuan, the Ningqian Military Defense Assistant Commissioner, Bureau Secretary Shen Qi, and staff officer Sun Yuanhua, among others.

Yuan Chonghuan demanded that fortifications be built all the way to Ningyuan, two hundred li away, but Wang Zaijin would not listen.

Yuan Chonghuan twice reported his opinions directly to Chief Grand Secretary Ye Xianggao, but Ye Xianggao, unaware of the situation at the front, could not make up his mind.

At this time, Grand Secretary Sun Chengzong, who was overseeing the Ministry of War, volunteered to inspect the border and personally travel to Shanhai Pass.

After Sun Chengzong returned to the capital, he reported to the throne in person that Wang Zaijin was unfit for the post—"his tongue and pen are swift enough, but he lacks depth and breadth of vision"—and Wang was reassigned as Minister of War in Nanjing.

Not long after, Wang Zaijin resigned from his post.