Chapter 212: 210. Pacification and Enlistment? (For Alliance Leader

The Luling rebel Zhao has routed government forces at Nanchang and Ganzhou in succession, and on that momentum has seized the prefectural seat of Ganzhou.

When this news reached Beijing, officials, commoners, and gentry alike had long since grown numb.

As the saying goes, when lice multiply you stop feeling the itch. The Tartars treat the capital region as a public latrine — they come and go exactly as they please. Can anything under Heaven be worse than that?

The northwestern roving bandits have even dug up the ancestral tombs of the Zhu clan; what does the Luling rebel Zhao amount to by comparison?

For the common folk of the capital, hearing news from Jiangxi provoked no more than this reaction: What? The Luling rebel Zhao has seized several prefectures in Jiangxi and already done away with quite a few governors-general and governors. Oh — well, he must be fairly formidable, then.

Only the grand ministers at court understood that the rebel Zhao was a mortal affliction striking at the very heart!

The tax revenue Jiangxi contributed to the Great Ming was neither large nor small; it had always ranked at the upper end of the middle tier.

But Jiangxi was the thoroughfare linking eight provinces. Once the rebel Zhao grew into a tail too heavy to sever, northward he could strike the Southern Metropolitan Region, westward he could strike Huguang, eastward he could strike Zhejiang, and southward he could strike Fujian and Guangdong!

The Palace of Heavenly Purity.

This time Chongzhen did not hold deliberations in the Hall of Literary Splendor, but instead summoned Yang Sichang for a private audience.

The Minister of War, Zhang Fengyi, had taken his own life out of fear of punishment after the Tartars ran rampant through the capital region, and Yang Sichang was precisely the candidate to become the new Minister of War.

Chongzhen asked, "The roving bandits of the northwest, the Tartar rebels of Liaodong, the Zhao rebel of Jiangxi. If you were to serve as Minister of War, how would you proceed to exterminate them?"

Yang Sichang answered at once, "It comes down to three points, nothing more."

"Elaborate in detail," Chongzhen said quickly.

Yang Sichang spoke with assurance and fluency: "First, to repel external threats one must first pacify the interior. Second, only when provisions are sufficient can troops be sufficient. Third, only when the people are protected can the bandits be swept away. The greater situation under Heaven is comparable to the human body. The capital is the head and brain; the garrison towns of Xuanfu and Jizhou are the arms and shoulders; the lands south of the Yellow River and north of the Yangtze are the belly and heart; the provinces of Fujian, Guangdong, Jiangxi, and Zhejiang are the legs and feet. At present, the Tartar rebels have appeared beyond the arms and shoulders — the attack upon them is most urgent. The roving bandits wreak havoc within the belly and heart — the wound they have inflicted runs very deep. The Zhao rebel runs rampant through the thigh and leg regions — the sickness there is still shallow. External calamity admittedly cannot be dealt with slowly, but internal affliction is even less to be ignored. If the poison spreads through the belly and heart, and the vital blood withers day by day, of what use are the arms and shoulders? Of what use are the thighs and legs?"

Chongzhen asked, "By your reasoning, we should first eliminate the roving bandits?"

Yang Sichang said, "The national treasury is now empty; we absolutely cannot deploy troops on three fronts simultaneously. We may first negotiate peace with the Tartar rebels to stabilize the situation in the capital region and settle the hearts of the court officials. Then we may attempt to pacify and enlist the Jiangxi rebel Zhao, bestowing high office and rich emoluments upon him — that might perhaps wear down his resolve."

Chongzhen frowned and said, "The Tartar rebels are barbarians; they fear power but do not cherish virtue, so true peace negotiations will likely prove difficult. The rebel Zhao is a fierce and ambitious man; I observe that his aspirations are rather grand, and he is not one to be lured by high office and rich emoluments."

"All of it is merely feigned compliance, to buy time for the extermination of the roving bandits," Yang Sichang explained. "We could enfeoff the Tartar chieftain as Prince of Liao, and enfeoff the rebel Zhao as Prince of Gan. Once the roving bandits have been wiped out, we then pacify that Jiangxi rebel Zhao, and finally extinguish those Liaodong Tartar rebels!"

Chongzhen rose to his feet and paced back and forth across the room; he was truly loath to enfeoff rebels and bandits as princes.

Moreover, he felt the court officials would never agree to it. Far from succeeding, this scheme would cause him to lose all face.

That said, Chongzhen held Yang Sichang in particularly high regard and considered him a man of great talent. With any other grand minister, no matter what one asked, they would just stand there dumb as a block of wood, hemming and hawing like imbeciles — one could scarcely fathom how they had ever passed the jinshi examination.

This Yang Sichang, by contrast, was exceedingly astute — quick of thought, fluent in discourse, clearly a man capable of shouldering great responsibility.

Most important of all, Yang Sichang was a solitary minister who formed no factions!

Chongzhen dropped the matter of enfeoffing the bandits as princes and changed the subject: "How does one ensure sufficient provisions and sufficient troops? How does one protect the people and sweep away the bandits?"

Yang Sichang did not quite know what to say. His three proposals were interlocked like links in a chain; erase the first, and the second and third ceased to exist.

Carefully composing his words, Yang Sichang replied, "Your Majesty, if we neither enfeoff princes nor negotiate peace, then hostilities will erupt on three fronts simultaneously. Military expenditures will swell by the day, making sufficient provisions impossible, and still less will it be possible to grant the people respite."

As though he had not understood a word, Chongzhen asked again, "How does one exterminate the roving bandits?"

Yang Sichang steeled himself and said, "Four fronts and six corners — a net cast from ten sides. The calamity of the roving bandits lies in that word 'rove.' We must lock them inside a box and deny them room to maneuver. Take Shaanxi, Henan, Huguang, and Jiangbei as the four fronts, with the four provincial governors dividing the offensive. Take Yansui, Shanxi, Shandong, Jiangnan, Jiangxi, and Sichuan as the six corners, with the six governors dividing the defense and coordinating the offensive. This is what is meant by a net cast from ten sides. The two supreme commanders, the Governor-General and the Director-General, shall follow the bandits wherever they turn and devote themselves exclusively to the campaign."

"Jiangxi has the Zhao rebel and can barely look after itself — how could it coordinate in an offensive against the roving bandits?" Chongzhen shook his head.

Yang Sichang said, "I observe that the Luling rebel Zhao is indeed a mortal affliction of the heart. However, the troops of Jiangxi and Fujian have been annihilated to the last man, the troops of Liangguang are still suppressing bandits in Liangguang, and the troops of southern Huguang have not even finished drilling. Against this rebel Zhao, there are simply no troops available to send — we can only temporarily offer pacification and enlistment. Abolish the appointment of the Governor-General of the Five Southern Provinces, to demonstrate sincerity in summoning the rebel Zhao to surrender. The rebel Zhao styles himself Regional Commander of Jiangxi; since Your Majesty is unwilling to enfeoff him as a prince, then simply appoint him Regional Commander of Ji'an. Order him to march north at once and join the encirclement and extermination of the roving bandits!"

"And if he refuses to obey the imperial command?" Chongzhen asked.

Yang Sichang said, "The rebel Zhao will certainly not dispatch his troops north. Once the roving bandits have been annihilated, that will serve as the perfect pretext to launch a punitive expedition against him. After this recent great victory, the rebel Zhao did not go on to seize cities and expand his territory, but merely occupied Ganzhou. This shows that, unlike the roving bandits, this rebel fancies himself a minor court; he will likely not leave Jiangxi for several years. Seizing this window, the court can draw off troops and devote its full strength to exterminating the roving bandits!"

Although the Datong Collection had left Chongzhen feeling deeply displeased, he had no choice but to admit that Yang Sichang's reasoning here was correct.

In truth, never mind Zhao Han — the situation had deteriorated to such an extent that, in the coming year of the original history, the court would even attempt to pacify and enlist Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong.

Because they could not win!

Since they could not win, they might as well try pacification and enlistment — what if it succeeded, after all?

Chongzhen said, "A ten-sided encirclement is indeed an excellent stratagem for exterminating the roving bandits. It is only lamentable that we lack sufficient troops."

"Raise and train new armies," Yang Sichang said.

Chongzhen sighed. "Funds and provisions are insufficient."

Yang Sichang said, "We can only impose supplementary levies."

"Supplementary levies disturb the people," Chongzhen said, professing to hold the myriad commoners in his heart.

Yang Sichang helped the Emperor dispel his misgivings: "Supplementary levies are apportioned equally by acreage of farmland, and all the farmland under Heaven is in the hands of the gentry and powerful families. A few supplementary levies will not afflict the common people."

"That may be done," Chongzhen nodded.

This meant they were about to impose the bandit-suppression surtax!

Apportioning the bandit-suppression surtax by acreage of farmland did indeed direct the spearpoint at the landlords — but the landlords would simply pass the burden on to their tenant farmers.

And those small landlords and freeholding peasants would, as a result, find life even harder, and would, as a result, support Zhao Han's rule all the more fervently.

Among the entire civil and military officialdom of the court, Yang Sichang was the sole remaining grand minister who formed no faction and yet still dared to shoulder responsibility, so Chongzhen could only place his trust in him with utter sincerity.

In fact, Yang Sichang was still in his mourning observance at the time; both his parents had passed away within the span of two years. He had returned to the capital on this occasion only because the Minister of War had taken his own life out of fear of punishment, and Chongzhen had personally issued an edict recalling him to court under the "expedited recall from mourning" provision.

After this long and free-flowing conversation, the imperial heart was greatly pleased.

He felt more and more that Yang Sichang was a man of talent. Other grand ministers either dared not offer any policy, or else spouted nothing but nonsense — where among them was anyone who could speak with such assurance and fluency as Yang Sichang?

In truth, serving as a high official in the Chongzhen reign was very simple: so long as you dared to voice an opinion, and what you said was reasonable, and you further dared to shoulder responsibility, then the Emperor would immediately promote and entrust you with heavy responsibility, and would choose to believe in you unconditionally!

As for what happened after you botched the job — well, a Minister of War had just taken his own life out of fear of punishment.

Yang Sichang, for his part, was trusted by Chongzhen to the very end, because later he fell ill and died while still in office. At the same time, he was attacked by the host of officials both before and after his death, which only made Chongzhen all the more convinced that he was a solitary minister. Thus, after Yang Sichang's death, Chongzhen, in a rare departure from his habit, did not shift the blame, but of his own accord took that black pot onto his own head.

At this very moment, beset by troubles within and without, Chongzhen grasped Yang Sichang's hand and said, "I regret not employing you sooner; otherwise the rebel bandits would have been eliminated long ago!"

The next day, Yang Sichang took up his post, and came under attack from a host of grand ministers.

Because he truly dared to defy overwhelming taboo and put forward the proposal of negotiating peace with the Manchu Qing, and furthermore recommended summoning the Luling rebel Zhao to surrender and appointing him as a Regional Commander.

In truth, there was little to debate. The Great Ming was caught in the Little Ice Age, and the bitter, frozen lands of Liaodong fared even worse.

The Manchu Qing had already subjugated the various Mongol tribes. If Hong Taiji wished to deflect internal tensions, he had no choice but to keep dispatching troops to plunder the Great Ming. It was impossible for Hong Taiji to negotiate peace with the Great Ming — even enfeoffment as a prince would not make peace possible. The Manchu Qing was like a ravenous wolf; it had to feed on the flesh and blood of the Great Ming to survive.

After a round of fierce verbal clashes, the matter of negotiating peace with the Manchu Qing was dropped.

But the proposal to pacify and recruit the Luling rebel Zhao actually won the approval of the court officials, who all felt that the rebels in Jiangxi could be put on hold for the time being.

Consequently, Zhu Xieyuan was dismissed from his post as Governor-General of the Five Southern Provinces, while Shen Youlong, the Governor-General of Liangguang, was told to focus on suppressing bandits in his own territory and not to rush his troops north into Jiangxi.

The court extended such considerable goodwill purely out of a sincere desire to pacify and recruit him.

If Zhao Han refused to give them face, then they would simply reappoint a Governor-General of the Five Provinces to continue the extermination campaign!

Xiong Wencan, who had once successfully won over Zheng Zhilong, was transferred to Jiangxi to serve as Governor. If he could pacify and recruit the Luling rebel Zhao, he would then raise troops to help exterminate the roving bandits in the northwest.

This fellow seemed to have been pigeonholed — his one unique skill was "pacification and recruitment."

Historically, in the tenth month of next year, Xiong Wencan would take overall command of military affairs in six provinces and pacify and recruit all the roving bandits except Li Zicheng. Only, in less than half a year, Zhang Xianzhong and the others would all turn their coats, infuriating Chongzhen so much that he dismissed Xiong Wencan from office but kept him on in his duties.

That winter, Xiong Wencan hurried to Jiangxi, while Zhu Xieyuan fell ill and died on his journey back to the capital.

At the Nanchang docks, Xiong Wencan saw a notice posted by the rebel Zhao recruiting craftsmen. He was at once shocked and furious, only now realizing just how great the rebel Zhao's influence in Jiangxi truly was.

After assuming his post, Xiong Wencan did not go to meet the three provincial offices of Jiangxi, but instead paid a visit to the Jiangxi Garrison Eunuch, Wang Yongzhong (originally the Army Supervisor; after the decision to pacify and recruit Zhao Han, his title was changed to Garrison Eunuch).

The moment Wang Yongzhong saw Xiong Wencan, he heaved a great sigh of relief and lamented, "Governor Xiong, you have finally come. There are far too many insolent commoners in this place!"

"Does Garrison Wang have any plan in mind?" Xiong Wencan asked.

Wang Yongzhong cast aside all face and said bluntly, "I dare not even leave the city anymore!"

It turned out that this fellow, while throwing his weight around and seizing land outside the city, had been beaten back by members of the peasant association.

Xiong Wencan clicked his tongue in wonder. The common folk of Jiangxi were truly formidable, to have frightened the Garrison Eunuch so badly that he dared not leave the prefectural seat.

Wang Yongzhong went on, "You must go at once and pacify and recruit that rebel Zhao. Make him disperse the peasant associations outside Nanchang, or else this post of Jiangxi Garrison Eunuch is impossible to hold!"

Xiong Wencan deliberately said something disagreeable: "The New Year is near. Why not wait until after the Lantern Festival to go?"

"Don't wait for the New Year — pacify and recruit him now!" Wang Yongzhong said anxiously.

(Thanks to book friend BirdZ for the alliance leader reward, and thanks to all book friends for your rewards and subscriptions.)

(End of chapter)