Chapter 174: Tengri Khagan, the Chongzhen Great Emperor

Chongzhen did not stay overnight in Xuanfu city at all.

After summoning the Shunyi Prince Boshetu and the Joriktu Khan inside Xuanfu city, and then holding a preliminary discussion with Lu Xiangsheng and others about the army's arrangements, Chongzhen left the city and returned to the military camp outside.

Before he transmigrated, the Chongzhen Emperor's head had been filled with nothing but thoughts of how to enlist in the dirt-poor army, especially the legendary special forces — that was practically Chongzhen's dream.

But he never made it in; during the physical exam, the scars on his body shattered his dream on the spot.

However, thanks to the existence of that hand-chopping treasure which countless women love and hate and which ruins their finances, Chongzhen did get to live out a little of the fantasy — he'd gotten quite a lot of camouflage uniforms in every pattern, combat boots, and all sorts of other gear at home.

Now that he'd transmigrated, never mind what era this army was from — even if the Great Ming's troops were a total mess, they were still an army. Ever since the last time he'd chased Hong Taiji and harried him from behind, Chongzhen had grown even fonder of this feeling of staying in the army.

The Chongzhen Emperor acted the part of a commander who loved his soldiers like his own sons, eating the same food as the common troops and not putting on any special treatment at all — if you ignored the greasy roast chicken that Fang Zhenghua secretly slipped into Chongzhen's tent, then the Chongzhen Emperor truly did share hardship with his soldiers.

And eating while loudly shooting the breeze with the other troops also proved that the Chongzhen Emperor was willing to drop his airs and mingle with the soldiers — although it was all him doing the talking, while the other troops listened with respectful attention.

Since they had not yet set out from Xuanfu, the Chongzhen Emperor, feeling they ought to have a gathering first, very humanely announced an order: no curfew; that night, light torches throughout the entire camp; go over to the Shunyi Prince's nearby camp and get some sheep to roast whole for a feast; send scouts far out and post plenty of hidden sentries; and let the troops in camp make as much noise and bluster as they pleased.

Only, after Chongzhen announced this order, he gave the Duke of Ying and his son, as well as Liu Xingzuo, a terrible headache, and even several other commanders who understood military affairs began to worry right along with them.

Since ancient times, no one had ever heard of anyone in a military camp daring to fool around the way the Chongzhen Emperor did; curfew was always enforced.

This curfew was not the same as a curfew in a city: loud noise was forbidden, moving about was forbidden, gathering in crowds was forbidden, and so on through a whole series of prohibitions.

Violating any one of them meant getting your head chopped off — the fear was that it would trigger a camp panic.

"Camp panic?"

Back in his tent, the Chongzhen Emperor, faced with the Duke of Ying's concerns, indicated that We had never even heard of such a thing — did it mean the entire camp's soldiers all shouting and howling together? If they want to shout, let them shout.

This is inside the passes; there's no fear of being discovered by those savages of Ligdan Khan.

Seeing Chongzhen's look of curiosity, Zhang Weixian helplessly bowed and said, "Reporting to Your Majesty, though Your Majesty is well-versed in military matters, you do not know that a camp panic is more terrifying than a mutiny."

Chongzhen's expression turned serious. He didn't know about the other thing, but he knew about mutinies.

On the forums in the later age, someone had once said that it was precisely because the troops mutinied that a certain man named Bi got hacked to pieces by the soldiers. He just couldn't remember whether that Old Bi was Bi Ziyan or Bi Zisu — his memory on that was fuzzy.

Seeing that Chongzhen's solemn expression still held a trace of curiosity, Zhang Weixian knew that Chongzhen now understood the danger but still did not know the cause, so he continued, "A so-called camp panic occurs when someone in a dream suffers a fit of hysteria, either shouting and screaming or swinging a blade and cutting people.

If one man in a camp has a hysterical fit, it is very likely that others will follow with the same affliction. When that happens, it becomes utter chaos, and nothing can stop it."

Only then did Chongzhen understand what a camp panic was.

Damn it all, it was either raw recruits just hitting the battlefield who couldn't handle the pressure, or veterans who'd killed too many and developed psychological problems — at night, in a tent where you couldn't see a damn thing, someone would yell out to vent, and as a result, no one could see anyone else, so everyone got jumpy.

Once chaos broke out, of course it would escalate from shoving and jostling into drawing blades and hacking people.

And on top of that, there were always people you got along with or didn't get along with in daily life — wouldn't they seize the chance to settle grudges and grievances? To put it bluntly, it was all caused by excessive mental stress, damn it.

In the later age, there were plenty of military units — drilled to death by day, watching TV and shooting the breeze by night — and he'd never seen any unit have some kind of camp panic incident. So Chongzhen said, quite calmly, "This is no great matter.

When there's not a bit of light or sound at night, a man can't stand it. With some sound and some firelight, the troops can actually sleep more soundly.

On this point, the Duke of Ying might ask the young lord — he has experience."

Zhang Zhiji, hearing this, went red in his old face. Seeing his father's gaze turn toward him, he bowed and said, "Father, was your child not put in solitary confinement some days ago?

At the time, in that little room, all I could think of was having someone to talk to. Fortunately, it was only three days.

Had it been one or two days more, your child does not know whether he could have endured it."

Only then did Zhang Weixian recall that when his own son had been put in solitary confinement, on the first day he had been fairly normal, on the second day he had gone mad trying to get out, and on the third day he had quieted down — only, when they dragged him out, he was like a dead dog, never again showing his usual arrogant and domineering manner.

Zhang Weixian and Liu Xingzuo exchanged a glance. Although they felt the Chongzhen Emperor's words made sense, after they withdrew, they still secretly ordered men to tighten security, lest a camp panic truly occur.

With the Emperor in camp, no amount of caution, even multiplied ten thousand times, could be too much.

After Zhang Weixian and Liu Xingzuo withdrew, Chongzhen looked at Wanyan Cheng, who still stood there like a wooden post, and asked curiously, "Does Our beloved minister Wanyan have some matter to speak to Us about alone?"

Wanyan Cheng had been holding it in for a long time, his face nearly turning red from the effort, and finally he simply knelt and said, "Reporting to Your Majesty, your slave—" At that moment, he suddenly recalled that Chongzhen forbade him from calling himself a slave, and hastily corrected himself: "Your subject, your subject wishes to request that Your Majesty break up the three thousand cavalry under your subject's command and mix them into the forces of the Duke of Ying and General Liu.

Additionally, the ten thousand cavalry under Boshetu Khan and Joriktu Khan should also be broken up and reorganized."

Chongzhen had thought this fellow had some great matter to discuss, but after all that holding back, this was all he had to say. So he asked Wanyan Cheng, "Your reason? Give Us one reason."

Wanyan Cheng's face flushed even redder, and then suddenly, as if having made up his mind, he said, "In reply to Your Majesty, we are all foreign tribes. This northern expedition against the Chahar tribe is a matter of tremendous importance.

If anyone harbors disloyal intentions, it will be a great disaster."

Chongzhen had not expected that Wanyan Cheng was worried about this issue. After pondering for a moment, Chongzhen then said, "That will not be necessary."

Wanyan Cheng's face filled with disbelief, but then he heard Chongzhen say, "When We first made Our promise to the Xibe tribe, it was that they would be treated the same as the Han people. Whatever the Han people are, so shall the Xibe tribe be.

What is more, you all came here accompanying Consort Wan. We trust you."

"As for that ten thousand cavalry of Boshetu and the Joriktu Khan, in any case they are to be the vanguard.

With the fifty thousand Capital Camp cavalry We command, plus your three thousand, they cannot possibly stir up any real trouble. At the very worst, We still have you guarding Us — what more does We have to worry about?

On this northern expedition, you shall lead the three thousand cavalry of the Xibe tribe as Our personal guard."

Having delivered this show of magnanimity with no escape route, Chongzhen moved Wanyan Cheng to the devotion of a loyal Tibetan mastiff, as if, given Chongzhen's order, they would dare to pounce and tear apart whatever was in front of them, be it lions or tigers.

After shooing Wanyan Cheng out, Chongzhen listened to the clamorous noise throughout the camp and slept beautifully, simply waiting for the next day when, after seeing the ten thousand cavalry of Boshetu and the Joriktu Khan, the great army would directly break camp and march out.

Because of the territory and border-market terms Chongzhen had previously promised, Boshetu and the Joriktu Khan did not delay in the slightest. The next day, after breakfast, the two of them came over early with the ten thousand cavalry.

Chongzhen looked at the ten thousand cavalry kneeling before him. Though their formation was strict and orderly, every single one of them was barehanded.

Chongzhen pretended not to notice, knowing full well that their weapons had been confiscated beforehand, lest some hothead charge straight at him — that would be the greatest joke under heaven.

Pulling on the reins, Chongzhen rode from east to west, galloping one circuit in front of these ten thousand cavalry, then stopped again at the center position. Only then did he speak: "Your Shunyi Prince and the Joriktu Khan have all told you, haven't they?

On this northern expedition against the Chahar tribe, of all the plunder, We shall take only one part in ten! The rest will be distributed according to your battle merits, regardless of whether you were previously a noyan or a slave!"

"Follow Us, and We shall lead you to seize wealth! Seize women! Seize the steppe!"

At that moment, Zhang Weixian and Liu Xingzuo wished they could just bury their heads in the dirt.

An emperor who spoke so bluntly right in front of the barbarians — counting back to the Three Sovereigns above, and tracing down to Hongwu and Yongle below, there was probably no one like this one, nakedly clamoring about seizing wealth, seizing women, and seizing the steppe.

Even if Your Venerable Majesty thought this in your heart, you still couldn't shout it out, could you?

Chongzhen, however, felt it didn't matter. What damn use were flowery speeches from Us? Could these fellows, all muscle and no brain, even understand them? Besides, on the steppe, the strong had always been revered. As long as We led them to gain benefits, would they not follow Us closely?

No matter what others thought, and no matter what Chongzhen thought, the ten thousand cavalry kneeling on the ground suddenly heard someone nearby shouting loudly: "Tengri Khagan! Tengri Khagan!"

The ten thousand cavalry, already worked into a fever of excitement by Chongzhen's speech about seizing wealth and women, and driven further by the basic human instinct to follow the crowd, now joined in and shouted loudly together: "Tengri Khagan! Tengri Khagan!"

Why do other authors all have so many alliance masters... We want some too!!!

(End of chapter)