Chapter 54

Far more brilliant than any talk of holding hostages!

Not only will it not force the officials to give their lives, but it will also bind every civil and military official in the entire court to the side of the Great Ming.

From this day forward, once an official of the Great Ming entertains the thought of surrendering to the enemy.

He will not only incur eternal infamy.

But also bear the consequence of total ruin!

With neither reputation nor profit to be gained.

Why the hell surrender?!

If one were to read this passage in the history books.

One would likely clap one's hands and acclaim its brilliance.

Pity that Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Youjian applied this move to himself.

Having grasped the crux of the matter, Hong Hong Chengchou was the first to prostrate himself, shouting "Long live Your Majesty!"

"Long live Your Majesty, ten thousand times ten thousand years!"

Led by Hong Hong Chengchou.

The hundred officials of the Great Ming instantly shouted in unison, "Long live Your Majesty!"

Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Youjian had entered the Forbidden City in the seventh year of the Tianqi era.

But only at this moment did Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Youjian clearly feel that he had truly ascended the throne and taken personal control of the government!

Only at this moment did Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Youjian truly become the Son of Heaven of the Great Ming!

Gazing at the assembly of ministers before him, Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Youjian's expression grew increasingly stern.

Staring fixedly at Hong Hong Chengchou, he proclaimed loudly:

"Grand Secretary of the Wenyuan Pavilion, Hong Hong Chengchou, hear this edict!"

Hong Hong Chengchou's body trembled, whereupon he rose and declared:

"This subject obeys the imperial decree!"

Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Youjian proclaimed loudly:

"Effective immediately, Hong Hong Chengchou is transferred to serve as Viceroy of Jiliao with the concurrent title of Minister of War. He shall lead Regional Commander Wang Pu of Datong, Regional Commander Cao Cao Bianjiao of the Eastern Coordination, Regional Commander Wu Wu Sangui of Ningyuan... totaling eight garrisons and 130,000 troops to march out of Shanhai Pass and engage Huang Taiji in a decisive battle in Liaodong!"

Upon hearing this, Hong Hong Chengchou could not help but tremble.

These troops from the eight garrisons.

Constituted the entire capital reserve of the Great Ming.

The relocation of the eight garrisons to Liaodong.

Sent a clear signal to the entire realm.

The Great Ming.

Has come to fight Huang Taiji to the death!

As soon as Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Youjian issued this edict, Wang Wang Wang Chengen immediately looked at Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Youjian with some anxiety and said:

"Your Majesty, Cao Cao Bianjiao and his forces are currently in Shaanxi; if they are deployed beyond the pass, the refugees..."

Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Youjian snorted coldly and said:

"We have our own strategy to pacify the bandits!"

At these words, Hong Hong Chengchou immediately knelt solemnly on the ground and proclaimed loudly:

"This subject, Hong Hong Chengchou, accepts the imperial decree!"

Immediately afterward, Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Youjian's gaze suddenly shifted to the assembly of ministers before him, and he proclaimed loudly:

"From this day forward, the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of War, and the Ministry of Works shall forge weapons and prepare grain and fodder; supplies required for the Liaodong war effort must not be delayed for even a moment! All grain and fodder required shall be transported immediately upon arrival in the capital!"

56, The Entire Court Gone Mad!

Su Qiao could never have imagined.

That the two flaps of his tiny butterfly wings, intended to urge Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Yuanzhang to kill him quickly.

Had caused the great Battle of Songjin, which originally occurred in the fifteenth year of the Chongzhen era, to advance by several years.

In original history, Hong Hong Chengchou advocated caution upon marching beyond the pass, favoring a strategy of gradual attrition; however, Minister of War Chen Xinjia and Chongzhen repeatedly urged Hong Hong Chengchou to engage in a decisive battle beyond the pass, ultimately leading to a complete defeat in the Battle of Songjin.

When later generations reviewed this, neither Hong Hong Chengchou was wrong, nor were Chongzhen and the Ministry of War at that time wrong.

Although the troops of the eight garrisons at that time advanced with fierce momentum, there was no guarantee of total victory; at best, the odds were fifty-fifty.

However, since the Ming army possessed superior numbers, Hong Hong Chengchou's best option was to advance step by step and fortify each position, wearing Huang Taiji down to death.

Nor was the choice made by the Ministry of War incorrect.

At that time, due to consecutive years of natural disasters in the Great Ming.

It was simply impossible to gather sufficient grain and pay to wear Huang Taiji down to death.

With odds at fifty-fifty now, if dragged out for several years until grain and pay were cut off, the odds would likely not even be twenty-eighty.

But this time was entirely different.

At the very least, Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Youjian had prepared sufficient chips this time.

Meanwhile, Huang Taiji on the other side had not made preparations as thorough as he had in the original history.

The scale of victory gradually began to tilt toward the Great Ming.

And at this moment, the only variable throughout the court and the realm had become Li Huang Zicheng, who was still engaged in fierce combat in Shaanxi...

Inside the Palace of Heavenly Purity, following the issuance of Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Youjian's edict.

The court and the realm completed their integration in an extremely bizarre manner.

Factional strife seemed to vanish overnight like smoke dispersing.

At this moment, there was only one major concern for the entire court and the countryside alike.

That was the decisive battle in Liaodong!

Only by winning the decisive battle in Liaodong against Huang Taiji

could they retrieve their coffin funds!

After the ministers departed the Qianqing Palace and returned to their respective offices,

all the clerks and Viceroy Viceroy Viceroy Viceroy Viceroy Yamen runners were completely dumbfounded.

Most of them had served in these yamens for the better part of their lives.

They had never seen their superiors act with such zeal.

Years of accumulated administrative matters were approved and dispatched to every prefecture and commandery across the realm in merely a single morning.

Meanwhile, several Vice Censors-in-Chief of the Censorate jointly submitted a memorial, touring the provinces as Provincial Governors to ensure that each allocation of funds reached its intended destination.

Zhang Zhang Fengyi, the Minister of Revenue, acted as if he had gone mad.

With bloodshot eyes, he approved fund after fund.

A clerk nearby quietly approached Zhang Zhang Fengyi's side and whispered,

"My lord, how much are we taking this time?"

This had always been the established practice.

However, what that clerk never expected was that Zhang Zhang Fengyi was different today from usual.

Gazing at the silver on the accounts, Zhang Zhang Fengyi gritted his teeth and raged,

"Take nothing! Did I not tell you? This silver is for disaster relief, for disaster relief!"

"Approve it, convert it into grain, and distribute it to the disaster victims!"

"Tell the prefects and county magistrates below: if anyone dares to take a single coin of this silver, this old man will pursue them until one of us is dead!"

Only these department heads knew the truth.

This was not the court's money at all!

This was their very own coffin funds!

Chongzhen had already spent over ten million taels on that side.

Even if they embezzled every ounce of this silver,

it would still fail to cover their respective deficits.

They knew clearly which burden was heavier and which was lighter!

There was only one way for them to recover this silver.

That was to kill Huang Taiji!