Chapter 1680: Pacifying Liao in Five Years — Where Will the Money Come From?

"Ziru, thank goodness you've come! The Son of Heaven has been deceived by Wang Mingchu and Yang Jingfu and is already resolved to abandon Jinzhou, Dalinghe Fort, and Xiaolinghe Fort, and to pull the western Liaoning defenses back to the line from Ningyuan to Shanhai Pass. Now only you can persuade the Son of Heaven!"

Inside Sun Chengzong's residence, in his study, Sun Chengzong, the Left Chief Censor who had just hurried back from the Censorate, exchanged a few pleasantries with the travel-worn Yuan Chonghuan before getting straight to the point and bringing up the military affairs of western Liaoning.

Yuan Chonghuan was taken aback. "Does the Son of Heaven no longer wish to recover Liaodong? And none of the court officials have spoken up either?"

Sun Chengzong sighed. "The Son of Heaven is young, but he has none of a young man's hot blood. He is more than prudent, but lacking in enterprise. As for the military affairs of Liaodong, I fear he is thinking of a prolonged standoff like the Song and Xia. And as for the civil and military officials of the court — ha! Seven or eight out of ten are scoundrels who attached themselves to the Wei traitor. That the Son of Heaven has not thrown them into the Imperial Prison is already boundless imperial grace. Would they dare say another word?"

Yuan Chonghuan drew a breath. "I did not think that even after the Wei traitor lost his head, the court situation would not improve in the slightest. By the way, when I was in Guangdong I received a letter from Sun Chuyang saying that the Son of Heaven is building up the Imperial Guard in force and even plans to go to Macao to recruit foreign officers and soldiers. Is that true?"

"It is true," Sun Chengzong said with a slight frown. "His Majesty is personally drilling troops and selecting commanders. It seems he intends to emulate the Martial Temple and lead the army in person!"

Ever since Emperor Yingzong of Ming was captured at the Battle of Tumu Fortress, leading the army in person had become politically incorrect in the Great Ming. Only Emperor Wuzong of Ming, remembered for his debauchery and absurdity, had done such a thing. And although Zhu Youjian had not openly said he would lead the army in person, the fact that he was pouring everything into the Imperial Guard had made the officials below sense that he meant to do exactly that.

Yuan Chonghuan grew worried as well and asked with a frown, "Have the court officials tried to dissuade him?"

Sun Chengzong shook his head. "The Imperial Guard was actually formed by reorganizing and expanding the three battalions of the Directorate of the Imperial Horses, so by establishing the Imperial Guard the Son of Heaven has in fact stripped the Directorate of its authority. And most of the court officials today once attached themselves to the Wei traitor — even those who were not of the traitor's party still count as eunuch-faction men! Who would dare say a word against reducing the military power of the palace eunuchs?"

Yuan Chonghuan nodded. "That is true enough."

Sun Chengzong looked up at Yuan Chonghuan. "Ziru, now it all rests on you to persuade the Son of Heaven! Since the Jianzhou slaves rose up, Liaodong has suffered defeat after defeat. The only battle worthy of being called a great victory was last year's Ningjin campaign, and that was commanded by you. With that achievement as your foundation, your words will carry weight before the Son of Heaven."

Yuan Chonghuan thought for a moment. "Chief Censor, what would you have me say to the Son of Heaven?"

Sun Chengzong said, "Naturally, the matter of recovering Liaodong! Now that the Chahar tribe has migrated west, the grassland of the Liao River bend has fallen under the control of the eastern barbarians. Jizhou, Xuanfu, and Datong — all three frontiers could be broken through by the eastern barbarians. And the three-frontier defense line stretches over a thousand li and several hundred more. How can it be tightly defended everywhere? The only strategy now is to use offense as defense, build fortifications and advance eastward, using one fort after another to pin the eastern barbarians' main army down in Liaodong!"

Yuan Chonghuan's frown deepened. Sun Chengzong could see he had something on his mind, so he asked, "Ziru, do you also think the plan of building fortifications and advancing eastward is unsound?"

Yuan Chonghuan nodded. "Chief Censor, we have only now managed to build forts as far as Jinzhou and Dalinghe Fort, and already we find our strength unequal to our ambitions. To continue further east would require even greater effort than building Jinzhou and Dalinghe Fort. To say nothing of anything else, the mere question of how to supply the troops and laborers needed to build the forts is a colossal problem."

Building fortifications at the front cannot be done slowly, taking a year or two. Do they think the eastern barbarians are dead? To finish within one or two months, the number of civilian laborers required would be enormous. Eighty or a hundred thousand would be essential, and with the covering troops added, it would be at least a hundred and several tens of thousands.

With over a hundred thousand men deep in Liaodong, what happens to logistics? How many men would be needed behind them to transport supplies? The expense would be immense — and what if their rear were cut off?

During the last great victory at Ningjin, didn't Hong Taiji cut the road between Jinzhou and Ningyuan? And didn't Yuan Chonghuan himself not dare leave the city to relieve Jinzhou?

Jinzhou is less than two hundred li from Ningyuan, and Yuan Chonghuan did not dare make the trip. To go further east — would that not be delivering heads to the enemy?

"So Liaodong is simply to be abandoned?" Sun Chengzong was somewhat displeased.

Yuan Chonghuan shook his head. "Of course not. But to recover Liaodong, we must train troops! Only when the troops are trained can the recovery of Liao be hoped for!"

"How do you train troops? How many troops do you need to train? How many years will it take?"

Yuan Chonghuan had long had a plan fully formed in his mind, and he said at once, "Train Liao troops to recover Liao territory. Train a hundred thousand elite soldiers, and in three years they can be fully formed, and in five years Liaodong can be recovered!"

No sooner had he spoken than Sun Chengzong's son Sun Zhen strode quickly in, came to his father's side, bowed, and said urgently, "My lord, someone has come from the palace to summon you and Governor Yuan to an audience."

The Forbidden City, outside the Gate of Imperial Supremacy — a platform audience.

Zhu Youjian gave Yuan Chonghuan, who had come from the north, a very high standard of reception, solemnly arranging the audience on the platform outside the Gate of Imperial Supremacy.

Accompanied by Sun Chengzong, Yuan Chonghuan ascended the platform and performed the full ceremony before Zhu Youjian on the dragon throne. Zhu Youjian then granted the two men seats, and only after that began to speak of the military affairs of Liaodong.

"Minister Yuan," Zhu Youjian said, looking at Yuan Chonghuan with a smile, "you have long supervised the army in Liaodong and must know Liao affairs thoroughly. Do you think Liaodong can be recovered?"

"It can!" Yuan Chonghuan gave a very definite answer.

Zhu Youjian asked again, "If you were made Supreme Commander, how many years would it take to recover Liao?"

"Five years!" Yuan Chonghuan said. "If Your Majesty grants me troops, funds, and grain, and orders the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Personnel, the Ministry of Works, and the Ministry of War to cooperate fully, I am confident that within three years I can train a hundred thousand elite soldiers, and within five years recover Liaoyang and Shenyang!"

Yuan Chonghuan spoke with complete confidence, but all he got in return was a sigh from Zhu Youjian.

Zhu Youjian looked at this Yuan Chonghuan who declared he would pacify Liao in five years, and thought to himself: We have already learned Our lesson — how is it that you are still the same as before? We have no wish to slice you to death a second time.

Hearing Zhu Youjian sigh, Yuan Chonghuan assumed his own words had not been specific enough and that the Zhu Emperor did not believe him, so he continued, "This subject knows that recovering Liao is no easy matter. But the strength of our Great Ming exceeds that of the eastern barbarians by several tens of times. If we commit ourselves fully, why should Liaodong not be recovered? In fact, the methods used in earlier years when Xiong Tingbi and Chief Censor Sun served as Supreme Commander, if only carried through to the end, still held great hope of success. And this subject's method is to improve upon that earlier foundation: use Liao men to hold Liao land, and use Liao land to sustain Liao men. First establish a firm defense, then carefully train troops and select commanders, while at the same time using negotiation to divide the enemy. I do not seek sudden, dramatic progress, but steady, solid advance. So long as Your Majesty is willing to trust this subject and give me three years to gather strength and train elite troops, recovering Liao in five years is by no means empty talk."

Zhu Youjian said, "Pacifying Liao in five years is of course excellent. But pacifying Liao requires training troops, building fortifications, and stockpiling grain, fodder, and equipment. All of that costs money! Where will the money come from?"

Sun Chengzong said, "Your Majesty, so long as the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of War, and the Ministry of Works cooperate fully, funds, grain, and troops can always be squeezed out for western Liaoning."

"If funds, grain, and troops are all concentrated in western Liaoning, will not other places be left empty?" Zhu Youjian said. "Yuan Chonghuan wants three years to train troops. Before the training is complete, if the eastern barbarians do not come through western Liaoning but instead detour through Mongol territory, cross the Yan Mountains, and descend upon us — what then?"

"Your Majesty," Yuan Chonghuan said loudly, "if this subject is given full authority, I will absolutely not allow the eastern barbarians to cross one step beyond the Ji Gate!"

"We do not believe it!" Zhu Youjian's tone suddenly hardened. "The eastern barbarians have tens of thousands of iron cavalry, and with the help of the Khorchin and Inner Khalkha Mongols, they can cross the grasslands and advance westward. They can attack not only Jizhou directly, but even Xuanfu and Datong. They march outside the Great Wall — how would you stop them from inside Ningyuan? You probably would not even know where they had gone!

Right now the defenses along the Great Wall at Jizhou, Xuanfu, and Datong are empty, and it would not be difficult for the eastern barbarians to break through. And with the main army massed in western Liaoning, even if word came of a crisis at Jizhou, Xuanfu, or Datong, it would be hard to rush reinforcements there in time. And even if reinforcements could be sent, could the Liao army's few thousand or ten-thousand-odd elite cavalry stand against tens of thousands of eastern barbarian iron cavalry?"

Yuan Chonghuan was left speechless by Zhu Youjian's barrage of questions. After standing stunned for a long while, he finally came up with one idea: "The court could grant funds, grain, and trade rewards to the various Inner Khalkha tribes, winning them over to serve the court and keep watch over the grasslands."

Zhu Youjian laughed aloud. "Where would We get funds and grain to give? And even if We had them — We give money, Hong Taiji takes lives. Tell me, would they choose the money or their lives?"

Well, that settled it — the whole matter was dead.

Just as Yuan Chonghuan and Sun Chengzong were losing heart, Zhu Youjian suddenly spoke again. "Yuan Chonghuan, your five-year plan to pacify Liao is not entirely unworkable. If you can find a way to obtain funds and grain, it can be put into practice!"

(End of Chapter)