Chapter 182: Victory Report Enters the Capital, Reactions from All Sides

When the Chongzhen Emperor entered the city, he paid absolutely no attention to the strange looks from the common folk — today they had witnessed the first emperor in the history of the Great Ming, or even the entire Central Plains, who treated his own hair as worthless and made it look like a dog had gnawed on it!

The Chongzhen Emperor, who had always been thick-skinned to the extreme — or rather, had never understood what use shame was — had long wanted to coax the army into cutting their hair short. What was the point of keeping such long hair?

It was a hassle to manage and unhygienic. A buzz cut was so much more convenient; in later eras, those crew cuts all looked so sharp and spirited!

Now it was perfect: under the lofty pretext of not growing his hair until the Tartar barbarians were exterminated, he had finally gotten his hair cut short. Once he tidied it up properly after returning, just thinking about it made him feel energized.

When entering Xuanfu, Chongzhen paid special attention to the expressions of the onlookers. The result satisfied him greatly.

That proud bearing of a great nation's people, the kind never seen in later ages, was exactly what he felt the common folk of the Great Ming ought to have — I was born noble; who can make me bow my head!

Inside the Xuanfu yamen, the Chongzhen Emperor, seated in the high seat of honor, also wore a very composed expression.

This expedition had not only smacked Ligdan Khan around, but more importantly, it had won the hearts of the tens of thousands of troops in the Capital Camps and the New Army. As long as he had these seeds, matters afterward would be far easier to handle.

Hadn't the great man said it? First solve the problem of whether you have it or not.

Going from zero to one is far harder than going from one to a hundred.

Chongzhen looked at Lu Xiangsheng and the others before him and spoke calmly: "Pass the word down later: rest for one night, and we return to the capital tomorrow."

Lu Xiangsheng objected: "Your Majesty's northern expedition has weathered wind and rain for over a month. Why not rest temporarily in Xuanfu for some days before returning to the capital?"

Chongzhen waved his hand and said: "Rest for what? Even if We return to the capital, We won't get any rest. After sending the ashes of these fallen officers and soldiers into the Shrine of the Loyal, We will immediately head for Liaodong."

Chongzhen had not discussed this plan in advance with the Duke of Ying, Zhang Weixian, or Qin Liangyu and the others at all, so upon hearing the Chongzhen Emperor's idea, Zhang Weixian objected: "Your Majesty, you must not!"

Qin Liangyu also objected: "Your Majesty absolutely must not campaign in Liaodong again. It would be better for this general, the Duke of Ying, and General Liu to lead the troops there. Your Majesty must not take such risks again."

Liu Xingzuo was also thoroughly exasperated. He cupped his hands and said: "Once Your Majesty returns to the capital this time, who knows how much quarreling there will be in the court, let alone how many government affairs will have piled up.

If Your Majesty personally campaigns in Liaodong again, I fear the various ministers at court will not agree either."

Chongzhen, however, said: "It's not as if We are leaving the same day We return to the capital. Dealing with government affairs will only take three to five days; then We will hurry off to Liaodong. We still don't know how things are going on Mao Wenlong's side."

Zhang Weixian cupped his hands and said: "Your Majesty, by now it has been over a month since the Jianzhou barbarians dispatched troops to Dongjiang. Reckoning the time, they should have already engaged Mao Wenlong's forces.

With Wang Zaijin at Shanhai Pass and the Duke of Hu's Xibe tribe providing a diversion, Mao Wenlong's forces should not have a major problem."

After pondering for a moment, Chongzhen said: "Whether the problem is major or not, let's not discuss that. In short, Dongjiang absolutely must not be lost."

Others might not know the consequences of losing Dongjiang, but did Chongzhen not know? The moment Dongjiang fell, Joseon would be unable to withstand the Jianzhou barbarians and would inevitably surrender.

Even if it was only a superficial surrender, the Jianzhou barbarians would at least have a stable rear area. Then if they pulled another move like detouring through the Mongols to breach the passes, could the Great Ming even survive?

Zhang Weixian cupped his hands again and said: "Your Majesty, why not let your minister and General Liu lead the troops there, then assemble Zhao Shuijiao's forces and others at Shanhai Pass to jointly besiege Shenyang?

At that point, forcing the Jianzhou barbarians to pull back their army would achieve the same result."

Chongzhen, however, said: "What if the Jianzhou barbarians are dead set on taking Dongjiang? They might abandon Shenyang for us to attack and pacify Dongjiang first.

After all, Shenyang City has been managed by the Jianzhou barbarians for so many years; it can be considered a strong fortress and cannot be taken in just a day or two."

Zhang Weixian thought it over, then continued: "Then abandon the matter of attacking Shenyang and strike the Khorchin tribe directly. In fact, to the Jianzhou barbarians, the Khorchin tribe is even somewhat more important than Shenyang."

Chongzhen asked curiously: "Explain."

Zhang Weixian said: "Reporting to Your Majesty, the reason the Jianzhou barbarians dominate Liaodong is, first, the savage physiques bred by the bitter cold of Liaodong, and second, because they can continuously obtain warhorses from the Khorchin tribe, using war to sustain war and building up the Eight Banners cavalry."

At this point, Zhang Weixian gritted his teeth and added with hatred: "And also those bastards who fear death and surrendered to the Jianzhou barbarians.

Once they surrender, they serve the Jianzhou barbarians with all their hearts, fighting far more viciously than when they served in the Great Ming's army.

In truth, the so-called Eight Banners of the Jianzhou barbarians are not worth worrying about at all; it is these Han Eight Banners who are the real bastards."

Upon hearing this, Qin Liangyu also bowed and said: "Your Majesty, in the forty-fourth year of Wanli, your minister's elder brother Qin Bangping and younger brother Qin Minping once fought a bloody battle against the Jianzhou barbarians at the Hun River.

Over two thousand White Rod Soldiers died in battle, yet they killed several thousand barbarians. From this, it can be seen that the Jianzhou barbarians are nothing special.

This time, your humble minister can lead the White Rod Soldiers to Liaodong and teach the Jianzhou barbarians another lesson."

Chongzhen, a complete novice in history, knew that the White Rod Soldiers had once been incredibly formidable, their reputation making the Jianzhou barbarians tremble just like the Qi Family Army, but he truly had not known that over two thousand White Rod Soldiers could kill several thousand Eight Banners cavalry.

After all, later generations were full of nonsense like 'When the Eight Banners number less than ten thousand, they are invincible; when they number ten thousand, none under heaven can withstand them.'

After sighing inwardly for a moment, Chongzhen said: "Let's not discuss this for now. First, return to the capital. Once we reach the capital, we can deliberate further."

In truth, the ones who most wished for the Ming army to suffer a crushing defeat were precisely the numerous dignitaries in the capital.

Aside from Wen Tiren, Shi Fenglai, and the eunuch faction, who had been appointed as regency supervisors, the rest of the court officials were each calculating their own petty schemes, wishing that the Emperor would suffer a great defeat at Xuanfu.

Personally leading a campaign — what was that about? With us upright gentlemen assisting the governance of the state, you're still not satisfied?

The Emperor does not rule with folded hands but instead personally leads troops on expeditions — what are you trying to do?

Raise the status of military men? Then what about us civil officials?

Are the old rules of the civil being esteemed and the military being base no longer to be observed? You want those crude warriors to step all over us?

This cannot be tolerated! Once you suffer defeat, you'll know those warriors are all unreliable, and in the end, you'll still have to rely on us upright gentlemen to govern the state!

For a time, beneath the surface calm of the capital, fierce undercurrents surged in private.

However, facts proved that one should not act pretentious, for pretension invites lightning strikes. Just as the court officials were incessantly making petty moves in private, the Chongzhen Emperor slapped everyone's faces without even trying, leaving them all with a hot, stinging sensation.

"His Majesty has personally campaigned! A hundred thousand slain in battle! Great Ming, ten thousand victories!"

The red-plumed messengers, deliberately left disheveled, galloped into the capital. The worldly-wise commoners at the foot of the imperial city hurriedly cleared the road.

If you were careless enough to get trampled by a red-plumed messenger, your death would be in vain, and if you were unlucky enough to also be charged with delaying military intelligence, that would be even more screwed up.

But what on earth were those dozen or so fellows galloping wildly through the capital shouting? A great victory?

A hundred thousand slain in battle? Holy crap, the Chongzhen Emperor is awesome!

The Martial Ancestor Emperor did personally campaign once, but I heard he only killed two. Look at our current Chongzhen Emperor — he directly killed a hundred thousand.

Now that's good, that's thrilling!

Galloping all the way, even when they reached the foot of the Forbidden City, they continued shouting 'Great victory, ten thousand victories' without the slightest pause.

The guards at the palace gates hurriedly opened the gates and led these dozen or so riders, the red-plumed messengers, straight to the Grand Secretariat.

When Wen Tiren and Shi Fenglai received the news of this great victory, Wen Tiren rubbed his eyes.

After repeatedly confirming that he had not misread the battle report, he handed it to Shi Fenglai and said: "Brother Cunmei, shall we go together to request an audience with Her Majesty the Empress? News of such a great victory must not be delayed."

With the Chongzhen Emperor's victory report entering the capital, some mourned as if their parents had died — most of the civil officials felt as disgusted as if they had swallowed a fly; some were wild with joy — these were the noble and meritorious cliques and the military families, who now finally saw hope of rising again; and there was one who clutched the victory report and cried out that the ancestors were protecting them — this was Empress Zhou.

(End of Chapter)