Chapter 172: Opening the Hustling Mode (4,000 Characters, Two Chapters in One)

Wen Tiren had by now gradually formed a rough idea of the lord on the dragon throne — he never played by the rules, did whatever came into his head, was black-hearted, ruthless, and thick-skinned, and once he had made up his mind about something, unless you had a good enough reason, don't even think about getting him to change it.

Now that this lord meant to lead the campaign in person, and had even picked out the regent, the personal expedition was a settled matter. All Wen Tiren could do now was fill in the gaps for the Emperor and handle things as neatly as possible.

Seeing Chongzhen look toward him, Wen Tiren bowed and said, "Your Majesty, Ligdan Khan's forces are mostly cavalry, and our Great Ming is short of warhorses at present. If Ligdan Khan flees far away, what will Your Majesty do?"

Chongzhen thought it over. The horse shortage was indeed a headache, but no matter — if his own house had none, his father-in-law's house still did.

Besides, since Bushitu and those other tribes, the Jarud and the Barin, had all already fled to Bushitu's side, those people always had horses. Bring them along to seize grain, seize horses, seize territory, kill cattle, kill sheep, kill Tartars — all settled.

His mind made up, Chongzhen said, "Isn't the Prince of Shunyi about to enter the capital? And Jorightu Khan, who is coming with him — they are never short of warhorses and cavalry.

When the time comes, bring them along as well. As for their clansmen, since they have submitted to us, they should act like it.

Order their clansmen to enter the passes and be placed temporarily under Xuanfu's command. The cavalry will follow Us on the campaign against Ligdan."

Very good, very formidable. Not only had the horse shortage been lightly brushed aside by Chongzhen, but now there was even a surplus of cavalry.

Wen Tiren thought for a moment, then continued, "Your Majesty, there is also the matter of the corvée laborers, which still requires Your Majesty's decision. This is the planting season.

Conscripting able-bodied men will inevitably delay the farming."

Chongzhen grunted, then said, "There's no help for that either. We can't just sit and wait for Ligdan Khan to attack — that would delay the farming just the same.

Strike first and you gain the upper hand; strike late and you suffer. Surely Minister Wen understands this principle.

As for the able-bodied men, conscript those who ought to be conscripted. Where are the Minister of Revenue and the Minister of War?"

Guo Yunhou and Cui Chengxiu, hearing the Chongzhen Emperor call their names, hurried out of the ranks and said, "Your servants are here!"

Chongzhen said, "The Ministry of War will conscript the able-bodied men. The Ministry of Revenue and the local officials will keep a proper count of who has been conscripted.

Those who should be exempted from taxes will be exempted; those who should have taxes reduced will have them reduced. In addition, every man will be paid wages and grain each day.

Great Ming must not take advantage of the common people."

His tone shifted, and Chongzhen's words turned cold: "If anyone in between seizes the chance to work both ends, embezzle, and harm the people, let them know that Our Embroidered Uniform Guard is not so easy to deal with! When the time comes, let no one say We did not warn them!"

Guo Yunhou and Cui Chengxiu both trembled inwardly at these words and hurriedly bowed.

"Your servants obey the decree."

In their hearts, however, they had already resolved to go back and knock some sense into everyone below them first, lest some blind fool get himself marked by those all-pervasive Depot and Guard agents and drag them down with him — that would be real trouble.

The grandees in the court who had figured out Chongzhen's temperament all fell silent, only inwardly calculating whether they might gain some advantage from this campaign.

At the very least, they must not make the Emperor unhappy, lest they cross the Chongzhen Emperor and make trouble for themselves.

But the censors thought otherwise.

Acting on the principle that one should make a name for oneself early, the censor who had earlier been going on about weapons being instruments of ill omen now stepped out of the ranks, knelt, removed his black gauze cap, placed it before him, and kowtowed: "Your servant memorializes Your Majesty.

Your Majesty's person is worth ten thousand in gold and truly should not lead the campaign in person. Has Your Majesty not seen the old affair of Emperor Yingzong?

A mere Ligdan Khan — whether we grant him an annual bestowal or order a senior general to lead troops against him, either would suffice without risk. Why must Your Majesty campaign in person?

Your servant is so bold as to say that on the battlefield, blades and arrows have no eyes. If something too dreadful to speak of should occur, it would be a great upheaval that shakes the court.

Your servant begs Your Majesty to think thrice."

Chongzhen, who had been about to sweep his sleeves and leave, felt a chill in his heart at the words "upheaval that shakes the court," and said with a cold laugh: "Annual bestowal?

In the three hundred years since the founding of Great Ming, passed down to Us, when have you ever heard of Us sending a princess to marry into a foreign tribe for peace? When have you ever heard of annual tribute payments?

When have We ever paid tribute to a foreign tribe? When have We ever declared Ourselves a vassal to a foreign tribe?

All of you, remember this well: the proud descendants of the Yan and Huang Emperors do not yield to threats! If he wants an annual bestowal, then let Ligdan Khan come to the capital and take it himself!"

Without waiting for the censor to say anything more, Chongzhen looked at the assembled ministers and said with a cold laugh: "Though We will not be in the capital, the Depot and the Guard will be.

Today We shall also make Ourselves clear, so that no one can later say We punished without teaching. Upheaval?

We would like to see who dares to jump!"

"If any of you dares to drag Us down at this critical moment, or to harass and harm the people — every last one of you, We will hang you all from the trees over on Coal Hill!"

Only then did the court officials remember: the Chongzhen Emperor, who had not shown his temper much in the final stretch, was still that unfathomable emperor — the tyrant who, at a single word of disagreement, had the Chief Grand Secretary Huang Liji and a censor flayed and stuffed with straw, then hung from the palace gate to dry; who exterminated nine degrees of kinship at the drop of a hat; who far surpassed Emperor Chengzu and approached the founding Emperor Taizu Gao.

Yes, it was still the same familiar recipe, still the same familiar flavor. The day after the former Chief Grand Secretary Huang Liji was flayed and stuffed with straw, the Chongzhen Emperor had stood in this very hall and spoken of hanging the assembled officials from trees.

Having finished threatening the court officials, the Chongzhen Emperor went straight back to the inner palace, changed into that flashy, showy suit of armor, then slipped away from Empress Zhou, Empress Zhang, and their party, and ran directly to the Capital Camps — leaving the Empress alone in the palace with the regency edict, quietly fretting.

Lu Xiangsheng and Qin Liangyu in Xuanfu, looking at the Chongzhen Emperor before them, were also quietly fretting. Last time, the Emperor had personally led troops to hunt down the Jianzhou barbarians.

This time, even better — he was going to lead troops himself against Ligdan Khan, just like Emperor Chengzu's five campaigns against the steppe, rolling up his sleeves and taking the field in person.

But the Emperor had already come running to Xuanfu, so there was no use in them trying to dissuade him. After dithering for a long while, they could only pick out the most important matters and report them to Chongzhen.

Chongzhen, however, said, "So you are saying Ligdan Khan will be beneath the walls of Xuanfu in three days?"

Lu Xiangsheng bowed and said, "Your Majesty, barring the unexpected, that is indeed so. The equipment, grain, and fodder currently in Xuanfu are probably not enough to fight a major battle."

Chongzhen laughed coldly.

"Then let us set Ligdan Khan aside for the moment.

Now that the great army has reached Xuanfu, why fear Ligdan at all? We will simply strike back.

As for equipment, grain, and fodder, We have already ordered the Ministry of War to conscript able-bodied men. And what of the Prince of Shunyi and Jorightu Khan?

Summon them in."

After Bushitu and Jorightu Khan came in and paid their respects to the Chongzhen Emperor of Great Ming, a speech from Chongzhen let Lu Xiangsheng and Qin Liangyu see what true shamelessness looked like: "What Ligdan Khan has done this time, We already know in full.

That Jorightu Khan has led his people to submit to Us gladdens Our heart. We cannot stand by and watch the Prince of Shunyi and Jorightu Khan be so bullied by Ligdan Khan.

Therefore, We have personally brought troops. We have come in person to win justice for Our two beloved ministers."

As the saying goes, when everyone carries the bridal sedan chair, everyone looks good. The Prince of Shunyi, Bushitu, and Jorightu Khan bowed together in gratitude: "Your outer subjects thank Your Majesty!"

Chongzhen made a gesture of helping them up, then with utter shamelessness added: "It is only that the main energies of our Great Ming are still in Liaodong. So, on this side, although We have personally brought troops, this war will still need Our two beloved ministers to fight together with Us."

Bushitu and Jorightu Khan thought to themselves that they had known all along the little Emperor was up to no good — he probably wanted to use them as cannon fodder.

While they were grumbling inwardly, they heard Chongzhen ask, "Prince of Shunyi and Jorightu Khan — how many men fit for battle can Our two beloved ministers muster?"

Bushitu and Jorightu Khan had both only thought of fleeing to Great Ming after being beaten like dogs, so how many usable subordinates could they still have? Even getting them to scrape together ten thousand riders now would already be difficult.

After each calculated inwardly for a moment, Bushitu spoke first: "Your Majesty, your outer subject has no more than five thousand riders available."

Jorightu also said, "Your Majesty, the Little Khan's two tribes can only scrape together five thousand cavalry."

Chongzhen nodded and said, "In that case, these ten thousand riders will be organized into a ten-thousand-man unit, following the old example of Genghis Khan, with a commander of ten thousand, down to commanders of ten.

In this northern campaign against Ligdan Khan, Great Ming does not have much cavalry to use, so these ten thousand riders will serve as the main force.

When Our two beloved ministers return, tell them this: no matter how much is captured on this campaign, We will take only one part in ten. The rest will be distributed according to battle merit."

Jorightu Khan felt nothing in particular, but Bushitu's heart gave a thump, and he began to wonder whether coming to Great Ming had really been the right choice.

For one thing, ever since the Mongol Empire had conquered its vast territory, this game of ignoring status and granting rewards solely by battle merit had changed in nature. The noyans always took the lion's share, while the men below basically got nothing good.

There had even been cases, in the late Yuan period, of Mongols selling themselves into slavery to Han people.

But that had been built on a situation where there was no one left to fight, so battle merit and rewards were essentially unobtainable. Now that this little Emperor was playing this trick again — as long as they plundered Ligdan Khan, wouldn't there be rewards to grant?

Cursing himself for a fool for not having thought of this scheme earlier, Bushitu wished he could slap himself. But now that he was under someone else's roof, he had no choice but to bow his head.

Sure enough, the Chongzhen Emperor continued: "When the time comes, Ligdan Khan's territory will all belong to Our two beloved ministers. We only wonder how many chiliarchs and myriarchs there will be among Our two beloved ministers' tribes after this war.

In addition, We intend to establish several more cities beyond Xuanfu as places for border markets."

The Great Ming Emperor did not want Ligdan Khan's territory! It would all be theirs!

And more border markets would be opened! Eternal Blue Heaven, had You finally opened Your eyes?

Once the border markets opened, the steppe would be able to obtain from the frontier markets the salt, tea bricks, cloth, and ironware it desperately needed.

At this moment, Bushitu's heart was stirred to excitement. He even began inwardly thanking Ligdan Khan for beating him like a dog — for if not for that, how could the Great Ming Emperor have been provoked into a personal campaign, and how could such generous terms have been promised?

Just as he was rejoicing, he heard the Chongzhen Emperor continue: "The land where these cities are built, however, will be placed under Great Ming's jurisdiction. Our two beloved ministers must not be too pained by this."

Who the hell would be pained! Right now he didn't have a damn thing anyway. Better to agree to the Great Ming Emperor's terms first, get the territory back, and then worry about all this other stuff. Right now, those lands belonged to Ligdan Khan, not to him!

Just as he was about to agree, he heard the Chongzhen Emperor say: "In addition, Xuanfu is about to become a battlefield. The clans of Our two beloved ministers should move inside Xuanfu."

Bushitu and Jorightu Khan inwardly suspected the Chongzhen Emperor's intentions. Once they entered the passes, would they still be the Mongol iron cavalry of old?

Could the two of them still hold onto their power? Would they only be able to live out their days as rich old men?

For a moment, the two could not tell whether the Chongzhen Emperor truly meant to swallow up their tribes, or sincerely wanted their people to enter Xuanfu to escape the war.

But circumstances were stronger than men. By submitting to the Ming Emperor, they could at least keep their lives. If they surrendered to Ligdan Khan, wouldn't they be dragged to death by horses across this vast, endless steppe?

Then, unexpectedly, Chongzhen continued: "We consider this Ligdan to be muddled and worthless, unfit to be the common lord of the Mongols. The Prince of Shunyi was enfeoffed by Our Great Ming, and when the time comes, he shall be the screen defending Our Great Ming's northern frontier."

Like a man at the end of his rope in later ages who suddenly picks up a lottery ticket from the ground, and that ticket happens to hit the five-million grand prize, Bushitu did not know what to feel at this moment.

His mind was filled with a single voice: "The Great Ming Emperor still wants this Prince to rule over the Mongols! This Prince still has a chance!"

Hearing this, Jorightu Khan thought, what about me? Like a dog hoping for a treat from its master, he gazed eagerly at the Chongzhen Emperor, hoping to hear good news.

Chongzhen did not disappoint Jorightu Khan, and continued: "As for Jorightu Khan."

His fingers tapped the table — a habitual little gesture of the Chongzhen Emperor from later ages when thinking, but now it struck Jorightu Khan's heart like a minister's hammer: "With these ten thousand riders as the foundation, after Liaodong is pacified, the Barin and Jarud tribes under Jorightu Khan's command will move somewhat northward, and together with the eight Sibe tribes, jointly govern the lands north of Khorchin in the northeast."

Overjoyed, Jorightu Khan hurriedly fell to his knees. Had he not been some distance from the Chongzhen Emperor, he would have longed at that moment to kiss Chongzhen's boots.

His heart bursting with delight, Jorightu Khan kowtowed in thanks: "The Little Khan is willing, for generation after generation, forever to be a screen for Great Ming.

If I break this oath, may Eternal Blue Heaven not suffer me, may I fall into the eighteenth level of hell, and sink forever into perdition!"

Inwardly, Chongzhen sneered. What was so great about swearing an oath? He could rattle off ten or eight of them anytime for show. To hell with Eternal Blue Heaven — if not for profit and advantage, you'd obey obediently only if Eternal Blue Heaven herself showed up as a ghost!

But while sneering inwardly, he still put on a pleased expression, saying "Rise" while making a gesture of helping Jorightu Khan to his feet.

Chongzhen thought for a moment, then added: "In a little while, when Our two beloved ministers return, you must convey Our meaning to everyone below. Whether noyan, commoner, or even slave, as long as they earn battle merit, the rewards will not be meager.

Also, We will assign army supervisors down to the hundred-man units, to make it convenient to tally battle merit and the like. They will not interfere in any military matters; they will only see whether battle merit is genuine.

Our two beloved ministers should tell the men below not to overthink it."

Seeing Chongzhen lay the matter of the army supervisors out in the open, and explain that the supervisors would only handle the tallying of battle merit and nothing else, they did not suspect any other problem in their hearts, and both indicated that upon returning they would certainly relay the Chongzhen Emperor's great instructions, and that certainly no one would overthink it, and so on.

Highly recommended: "Poetry and the Blade"

A youth transmigrates, landing in the home of an old soldier who cannot die. The teachings of the sages pass through his heart, and a long blade remains in his hand.

The blade cleaves the four directions and the songs of lament cease; poetry settles the rivers and mountains and the dynasty endures.

And more — overturning clouds and rain, covering the sky with one hand!

Overturning clouds and rain are the affairs of the jianghu: the youth wields a sharp blade and slaughters every ox-demon and snake-spirit. Covering the sky with one hand is the scheming of the court: the youth rides the wind and sweeps away all rot and sorrow.

A gentleman has bearing; to stand with him is to see true loyalty. A beauty topples cities; in white robes she dances with the sword, versed in zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting. The fair one yearns for spring — it is not in vain to walk this world once.

(End of Chapter)