Chapter 1764: Grand Assembly of the Mongols — Let's Go Plunder Together

"A grand assembly of the Mongols?" The Grand Princess of the Uriankhai found Zhu Youjian's proposal rather strange. "Your Majesty, you are the Son of Heaven of the Great Ming, and you want to convene a grand assembly of all the Mongol tribes?"

The legitimacy of the Mongol tribes, after all, lay with the Northern Yuan, and the Great Ming and the Northern Yuan were ultimately enemies. For the Son of Heaven of the Great Ming to personally convene a grand assembly of the Mongol tribes — no matter how one looked at it, the whole thing seemed a bit odd!

"Heh heh," Zhu Youjian laughed as he explained, "Hong Taiji can convene a grand assembly of the Mongol tribes, but We cannot? Besides, We are not going to become Great Khan of the Mongols. We are the Son of Heaven of the Central Plain; We will not covet your brother's grassland realm."

"Then what does Your Majesty intend by convening the Mongols?"

Zhu Youjian looked at the Grand Princess, whose face had been tanned somewhat dark by days of riding and marching, and said with a chuckle: "My dear Grand Princess, rest assured. We do not intend to convene the Mongols alone, but to convene a grand assembly of all the Mongol tribes together with your brother Ligdan Batur. An alliance against Jianzhou — and after the alliance, We will also help the Chahar tribe counterattack and retake the Liao River bend!"

"Truly?" The Grand Princess of the Uriankhai blinked. "Your Majesty truly means to help the Chahar tribe counterattack the Liao River?"

Zhu Youjian nodded and said with a smile: "Of course it is true! Right now the Jianzhou Jurchens have gathered up many Kharachin people and plan to settle and farm pastures east of Mameng Mountain. It is only the tenth month now, so they can probably make it in time for next year's spring planting.

So We have been thinking: late next summer, We and your brother Ligdan Batur will hold a grand assembly of the Mongol tribes on the Saihanba grasslands, and then everyone will go together to the east side of Mameng Mountain and the Liao River bend to plunder — before the Kharachin harvest comes in, we will cut down all their wheat! Seize all their livestock! Uriankhai, what do you think of Our plan?"

So Zhu Youjian's idea of convening the Mongols was not to imitate the Jurchens and lay hands on Mongol khanship, but to bring together Khutugtu Khan and other like-minded Mongol tribes to go plunder the Kharachin, who had switched to farming. After so many years as proper bandits, switching to farming and settling the land — how could they not lose money? Even if they did not lose money, they would still be robbed until they had lost everything!

Zhu Youjian now understood that being an emperor, a khan, or a ruler was just like running a small business — one feared losing capital. Lose too much, and even an emperor who "possesses all within the four seas" would find his position untenable!

Hong Taiji was a pauper khan to begin with — how much capital could he possibly have to lose?

The Grand Princess of the Uriankhai was herself a "grassland woman bandit." Hearing such a wicked, smoke-belching scheme from Zhu Youjian, she actually raised her thumb and said with an admiring look: "Your Majesty is truly a hero among heroes. Uriankhai admires you more and more. By then, this slave will have finished bearing Your Majesty's son and can take to the field again. Please permit this slave to lead the warriors of two tumen ordos as Your Majesty's vanguard, to seize the grain and livestock of the Kharachin tribe!"

At these words, Zhu Youjian burst into loud laughter, and even reached out to wrap an arm around Uriankhai's now-swelling waist. "You are indeed Our good ox and horse. We did not seize you in vain! Can you still ride today? It has been quite some time since We touched a woman!"

Uriankhai was not the least bit bashful at these words, and nodded emphatically: "I can ride, I can ride. This slave is sturdy enough; My Lord may ride however he pleases."

And so the two of them went back and forth, discussing matters of horsemanship as they walked toward a golden-domed great tent pitched in the town of Hushiha.

Fortunately, they were speaking Mongolian, and the officials and young personal guards following behind could not understand — and even if they could, they would have to pretend to be deaf and dumb!

Winter was gradually deepening in Beijing as well. Compared with last year, this year's winter seemed to have arrived a few days earlier, and was drier and colder. And this year's winter market in Beijing, like the weather, was even more desolate and bleak than in previous years. The reasons for the bleak market were, apart from the widespread poor harvest around Beijing this autumn and the ravages of war in some places, the Ming court's total blockade of trade beyond the passes, and the fact that the purses of Beijing's military-noble aristocracy had begun to tighten starting this year. In addition, since last year, the eunuchs of Beijing had begun living on a tight budget — and their numbers had also decreased considerably!

In Beijing, there were quite a few people involved in the trade beyond the passes, people with some connection to the military-noble aristocracy, and people with ties to the eunuchs in the palace! With so many people's purses all tightening at once, how could the market not be desolate? How could it not be bleak?

And once the market grew desolate and bleak, it dragged down many merchants and peddlers doing business.

In short, from the first year of Chongzhen onward, nearly everyone in Beijing, at the feet of the Son of Heaven, had become poorer!

When people became poorer, their mood naturally soured. And when their mood soured, they would not speak well of the Chongzhen Emperor. Moreover, since the middle period of the Ming dynasty, control over speech had grown looser and looser. The Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Eastern Depot, those two secret-police organs that had once made men tremble, had gradually lost their former power to intimidate. What was more, the middle and lower ranks who managed affairs and carried out work in the Depot and Guard were mostly hereditary Embroidered Uniform Guard imperial troops — men who could also be counted as having some connection to Beijing's military-noble aristocracy. They too had suffered losses because of Zhu Youjian's governance, so would they still help him control speech?

And so this winter, a foul, hostile atmosphere pervaded every corner of Beijing. In the streets and alleys, what people discussed were the "absurd doings" of the current sage ruler, the Chongzhen Emperor, who was worthy of being called a second Zhengde. This and that — his love of pleasure and neglect of court affairs; his reckless personal command of a campaign against the remonstrance of all his officials; his opening of border hostilities for the sake of a Mongol woman, bringing ruin upon the people; his distant expedition to Datong, leaving the capital region empty so the slave bandits could slip through; his incompetent command, costing the Capital Camps eighty thousand troops; the desecration of the imperial tombs at Changping, shaming his ancestors. All manner of things, every one of them highly unfavorable to Zhu Youjian. People of every class discussed them endlessly, and in their words they all made Zhu Youjian out to be the most fatuous ruler in the history of the Great Ming.

"Ai, how many days has it been since he returned to Beijing? Beijing has been at the feet of the Son of Heaven ever since the temple-founding ancestor — and now look, the Son of Heaven has been out wandering for half a year, and doesn't even know to come home!"

"Come home for what? Out there with a Mongol woman, having the time of his life — why come home? Once he's back in the capital, he'll be under the thumb of a pack of Grand Secretaries and censors!"

"Probably too ashamed to come back. The battle at the Wenyu River cost the Capital Camps eighty thousand troops! And the battle at Changping let the slave bandits dig up the imperial tombs at Tianshou Mountain — how could he have the face to return to the capital?"

"Keep your voice down. That's going too far. If the Embroidered Uniform Guard gets hold of you..."

Such was the mood among the common folk of the markets and alleys, while the nobles and officials — by the start of the tenth month, they too were all secretly waiting to enjoy the spectacle. These officials saw more clearly than the common folk below. This ruler Zhu Youjian was either the most fatuous ruler since the founding of the Great Ming, or the third great sovereign since the dynasty opened its doors!

As for whether he was fatuous or great, the key lay in how this war within the passes against the slave bandits and eastern barbarians was fought. And how the war was fought could not be judged by battle reports alone. How many killed? How many lost? How much plundered? All these could be fabricated. If they wanted the Chongzhen Emperor to be a wise ruler, they would inflate the victories and understate the losses. If not, they would shrink the victories and magnify the losses.

After all, with a brush in a civil official's hand, if he could do nothing else well, could he not at least spin a story well? But the problem was that stories could be spun at will, while maps could not be drawn at will!

According to the courier reports just received, the little emperor had this time suddenly opened up new territory — and not a thousand li from Beijing, but just one or two hundred li outside Beijing, where he had taken two prefectures: Xingzhou and Huizhou!

In addition, on the Liaoxi front, Yuan Chonghuan and Zu Dashou had already invaded the territory of Yingzhou, which had originally belonged to the Beiping Regional Military Commission, and were advancing smoothly, with irresistible momentum.

This was the recovery of three prefectures in one stroke! Who could make that disappear? Impossible! The little emperor had already decided to establish Yanshan Garrison on the territory of Xing and Hui prefectures, and Liaoxi Garrison on the territory of Yingzhou. Both military garrisons would require a garrison commander and a governor, and below them a host of officials great and small — how could that possibly be made to disappear?

Moreover, this little emperor really could seize territory back from the Tartars and the slave bandits! Last time he had seized back the vast lands beyond the border walls of Datong and Xuanfu, and because they were handed over to the Uriankhai tumen ordo to manage, everyone could pretend not to have seen it.

But this time that would not do. Three prefectures and two garrisons recovered! This was an unprecedented great victory! And the little emperor had even used the great victory to do away with the Capital Camps entirely!

And such a great sovereign — why did he still not return to Beijing? What exactly did he want? Now that even the Capital Camps were gone, what did he still have to fear?

(End of Chapter)