Chapter 1692: If You Want War, Then War It Shall Be!

The breach in the border wall at Deshengkou in Datong Garrison was torn open by the main army of the Chahar tribe on the second day of the sixth month in the first year of Chongzhen. Barely a day later, the urgent relay of mounted couriers had delivered word of the Chahar incursion to the foremost capital of the Great Ming Empire. The news arrived at noon on the third day of the sixth month, just as the Grand Secretaries of the Grand Secretariat, the Ministers and Vice Ministers of the Six Ministries, along with the censors and supervising secretaries and the Commanders and Superintendents of the Capital Camps, were gathered in the main hall of the Ministry of Personnel, drinking tea and chatting while waiting to attend the minor court session at the Hall of Literary Splendor.

Before the hour of the court session arrived, the six-hundred-li express dispatch from Datong came in.

Even Huang Liji, the Chief Grand Secretary, who had long since weathered every storm and cultivated the deep reserve of a prime minister, frowned heavily as he held this relay report jointly submitted under the lead signature of Man Gui. Clutching his scalding tea bowl, he was unable to speak for a long while.

Hadn't the court already dispatched envoys to the Chahar tribe? How had it come to blows? Could the negotiations have already broken down?

Once the Grand Secretary Huang recovered his wits, he immediately flew into a rage and, in a rapid volley of orders, urged the ministers drinking tea with him to hasten to the Hall of Literary Splendor.

But before they could leave the main hall of the Ministry of Personnel, Cao Wenxue, the head eunuch of the Hall of Literary Splendor, came hurrying over and announced news that left everyone speechless.

His Majesty has caught a slight chill, and today's minor court session is cancelled!

To be honest, this current His Majesty was, among the Sons of Heaven of the Great Ming, comparatively diligent in governance. Although he basically never held the grand court sessions on the first and fifteenth — those two days were as good as holidays! — he almost never begged off from the minor court sessions at the Hall of Literary Splendor. Moreover, his thinking on administrative affairs was extremely clear, he was not easily fooled, and when faced with difficult problems he could produce a decision at once. Were it not for his excessive fondness for seizing the privy purse and the palace guard, and for frightening everyone with the label of "treasonous faction," this young Son of Heaven would basically have counted as a wise sovereign.

But how had this wise sovereign fallen ill at the very moment the Chahar had invaded Datong?

"Eunuch Cao, the matter is urgent. The main army of the Chahar tribe has invaded and already broken through the Datong border wall. Could you see whether His Majesty might—" Huang Liji naturally could not let Zhu Youjian off so easily. This was no ordinary time. With a foreign enemy invading, His Majesty must carry on working despite his illness!

At his words, the loyal ministers and treacherous ministers alike in the main hall of the Ministry of Personnel all turned into unreasonable overseers and chimed in one after another.

"Indeed! The matter is urgent. If His Majesty is still able, he should see us!"

"Exactly! The Chahar chieftain's hundred thousand troops have already broken through the Datong border wall—"

"Eunuch Cao, His Majesty was perfectly fine yesterday, wasn't he? He was reviewing the three armies at the Nanhaizi grand camp, so how—"

"Yes, how did he fall ill? Just yesterday he was riding and shooting arrows at Nanhaizi!"

"This won't do. We must go to Qianqing Palace to see His Majesty!"

"Eunuch Cao, take us into Qianqing Palace at once! Datong Prefecture has sent an urgent appeal, and we must have an audience!"

At the mention of Datong Prefecture's emergency, Cao Wenxue grew anxious as well. He could only say to the ministers, "Since Datong has sent an urgent appeal, this servant will take you all to Qianqing Palace... But so many people cannot all go. His Majesty is ill and cannot receive so many! How about just the several Grand Secretaries and the Duke of Yingguo accompany this servant to Qianqing Palace?"

Hearing this, the ministers all grew worried. Originally they had assumed Zhu Youjian had merely overexerted himself yesterday and genuinely could not get out of bed today.

But from Cao Wenxue's words... could it be that he was truly gravely ill?

His Majesty was only eighteen years old! And he had no son yet. If he passed away, who would become Emperor?

The Forbidden City, Qianqing Palace.

By afternoon, the several Grand Secretaries of the outer court and Zhang Weixian, Duke of Yingguo and Commander of the Capital Camps, had finally gathered outside Qianqing Palace, clamoring to see the Chongzhen Emperor.

"Your Majesty, the Chahar chieftain's main army has already fought its way through the Datong border wall. Please make a decision at once!"

"Your Majesty, Datong has sent an urgent appeal—"

"Your Majesty, please make a decision quickly!"

"Your Majesty, is your dragon body still well? Can you see us?"

"Your Majesty, are you all right?"

With a creaking sound, the doors opened, and a gorgeously dressed young woman emerged from the great hall of Qianqing Palace, supported on either side by Xu Yingyuan, the brush-holding eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, and Shang Fuming, the seal-holding eunuch of the Directorate of the Imperial Horses.

This woman was none other than Empress Zhou!

The ministers hastily kowtowed to Empress Zhou and paid their respects, then remained kneeling on the ground, stealing glances at this young and beautiful Empress.

The Empress was already with child — though whether it was a boy, no one knew.

But the birth was still some days off, and the state could not go a single day without a sovereign!

Besides, the Empress did not look like a woman about to lose her husband.

Just as the ministers were full of doubts, Empress Zhou produced a booklet for transcribing imperial edicts, opened it before the assembled ministers, and said in a low voice, "His Majesty already knows of the Chahar main army's surprise attack and breach of the Datong border wall. He now has an edict for you all!"

An edict?

Then listen at once!

Empress Zhou said, "His Majesty's edict: If you want war, then war it shall be!"

Today was the second day of the sixth month, so yesterday had of course been the first — Zhu Youjian's "rest day." Of course, it was not true rest — Zhu Youjian had rested for over fifty years in his previous life, and now that he had finally become Emperor again, how could he bear to rest? It was just that he had not thrown all his energy into the court.

Because in his view, the current court was still passable. Although there were rather many treacherous ministers, they were not very responsible, and there were not many ministers willing to do real work. But at least they did not drag him down much! The gang of treacherous ministers left behind by Wei Zhongxian, for all their countless faults, were ultimately fairly obedient, and Zhu Youjian held their little pigtails in his hand. So for the time being, Zhu Youjian made no major moves against the outer court. His main energy was now focused on two areas: first, the inner court; second, the palace guard.

Both areas gave him something of a headache, especially the inner court! In his previous life, Zhu Youjian had watched that unfilial son run the royal trading company with such ease — mountains of gold and silver seemed to materialize out of thin air. But now that he himself had taken the field, he realized that business was not so easy to run!

The inner court at present clearly possessed no small amount of assets — a great deal had been confiscated from the two great clans of Wei Zhongxian and Madam Ke! In addition, a group of powerful eunuchs in the inner court and the seventy fat-sheep treacherous ministers held in the Western Garden had purchased indulgences, so Zhu Youjian truly held a fair amount of assets in his hands.

Just the lands in the capital region, Shandong, Henan, Shanxi, and other places (at first only lands in Northern Zhili were demanded, but later many treacherous ministers could not produce Northern Zhili land, so the requirement was appropriately relaxed), after deducting the duty allotments for the palace guard, still amounted to three or four million mu. Beyond that, there were large numbers of shops, residences, curios, and debt instruments — the total value was surely several tens of millions of taels!

Yet all this property simply could not generate much profit!

And the inner court's expenses were enormous. Even after dismissing many eunuchs and palace maids, there was still a huge palace guard to pay for. Moreover, Zhu Youjian was now preparing to purchase poor children from Shaanxi, Shanxi, Henan, and elsewhere to fill out the boy soldiers... another enormous expense!

So he always felt there was never enough money to spend!

With so many fine assets that simply could not be turned into profit, Zhu Youjian had been missing that unfilial son somewhat these days. That unfilial son counted his earnings in the hundreds of millions! The problem was, that unfilial son was still in Empress Zhou's belly — Empress Zhou had already been diagnosed with a pregnancy pulse. It should be that unfilial son, right? But even if it was, it would be more than ten years before he could be of any use, wouldn't it?

What to do right now?

Driven to his wits' end, Zhu Youjian had, a couple of days earlier, dispatched Pang Tianshou, the supervising eunuch of the Directorate of the Imperial Horses, to Nanjing and Fujian to find Shen Tingyang and Zheng Yiguan — Chief Helmsman Shen should still be in the Imperial Academy in Nanjing working on his credentials, while Zheng Yiguan was in the middle of discussing amnesty terms with Xiong Wencan.

Of course, the matter of finding money was not urgent at the moment. The accounts of the Inner Supply Depot still held a fair amount of silver, enough to cover current expenses.

So the most pressing matter at hand was still the Headquarters Guard.

Because he knew that war with the Chahar tribe was about to break out, Zhu Youjian had, under the pretext of a review, concentrated all the Headquarters Guard at the Nanhaizi grand camp. He had also requisitioned a batch of warhorses and riding horses from the horse farms under the Directorate of the Imperial Horses, and ordered the Headquarters Guard to prepare ten days' worth of marching rations.

And from the first day of the sixth month onward, he had been residing in the Nanhaizi grand camp — Nanhaizi had originally been a hunting palace of the Ming emperors. Although it had fallen into disuse for some years, for Zhu Youjian to take up residence there was still in keeping with protocol, and the outer ministers could not object.

Still, Zhu Youjian kept it hidden from the outer court, lest they learn that he intended to lead the campaign in person.

(End of Chapter)