Chapter 205: The Donglin Faction vs. the Imperial Party Struggle

The troublemaker's bloody skull hung overhead, and the deterrent effect was immediate—the foreigners stared at each other with wide eyes, then hurriedly knelt and raised both hands, submitting even faster than most common folk in the Central Plains.

At this moment, on the one hand he could hardly continue killing wantonly, and on the other, Qi Lai no longer had that frame of mind either—he had genuinely been shaken by that misfired gunshot. Now he stared at the broken firearm in Wang Cheng'en's hand and asked intently:

"Your Excellency the Director, this thing isn't even as big as my palm—how can it produce a sound like muffled thunder? Even an ordinary bird gun couldn't make such a noise."

Though long confined to the palace, as Director of the Eastern Depot, Wang Cheng'en's vision reached further than most men's. Since the current Emperor valued firearms, he too valued firearms. He put the gun away and said flatly:

"Don't ask what you shouldn't. All you need to remember is this: once you've collected all these foreigners' weapons, take your men and keep them under control together. If you truly can't control them, kill another batch.

I'll leave you these words: His Majesty only cares about those with skills. The rest are for you and Governor-General Shen to handle as you see fit. Every single item collected here—not one missing—is to be shipped to the Civil and Military Science Directorate in the capital, for Gentleman Bi and Gentleman Song to examine."

"This officer understands—I will see this matter handled properly."

Wang Cheng'en walked away with his hands behind his back, and Qi Lai, the Mobile Corps Commander of Guangzhou, accompanied him all the way with a fawning smile.

Several days later, looking at the little object on the imperial desk that was no different from a modern pistol, the Chongzhen Emperor felt profound anguish within—though of course, what pained him was not this little object, but matters reported from various regions in recent days.

Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong—one in the northwest, one in Sichuan—were both proclaiming kingdoms and declaring themselves kings without rest. And that wasn't all: not long ago, Pidao had stirred up trouble again. After Dorgon pacified the rebellion in Liaodong, he immediately turned his wolf-like gaze back toward the Central Plains.

But Mao Wenlong's fate served as a stark warning. Dorgon understood that to enter the Central Plains, Pidao was a nail that had to be pulled. When he heard the Ming army had established another military garrison on Pidao, Dorgon was so furious he nearly strangled Fan Wencheng to death—the very man who had sworn with absolute certainty that the Ming would never bother with Pidao again.

The civil and military nobles of the Manchu Qing all shared the same thought at this moment: smash Pidao and all those rotten little islands around it to pieces and sink them into the sea.

Our Tartar Qing is unmatched in land warfare, number one under heaven—do you Ming people only know how to play such petty tricks? Refusing to come out and fight in the open is one thing, but a small, insignificant island has now become a considerable stumbling block to our entry into the Central Plains.

This thing on the table is really just Western roadside junk—what good thing could a drunkard possess?

What Chongzhen's eyes were fixed on was a higher grade of merchandise; this one was clearly a crude product at first glance. Have someone take it out and test it, and you'd know—not only are its firing procedures as cumbersome as a matchlock's, its power isn't impressive either.

Within fifty paces it can pierce leather armor; at a hundred paces, even hitting the target is rare, and even with the greatest luck in a hit, it's no different from being tickled.

The Chongzhen Emperor set the pistol aside and asked the assembled Ministers and Grand Secretaries: "The Northeast Grand Camp has been added... the Northwest Grand Camp has been up for nearly a year now—has the Shanxi war situation improved at all?"

"To answer Your Majesty: since the Northwest Grand Camp was established, the Ministry of Revenue's expenditure on northwestern military expenses has increased by 1.3 million taels, including the pay for the Northwest Grand Camp, Datong, and Xuanfu, as well as the costs of replacing soldiers' armor, banners, and various weapons." At this, Ni Yuanlu, Minister of Revenue, stepped forward first to speak.

Ni Yuanlu's words had just fallen—clearly he had not finished—but Fang Kezhuang, a Censor of the Censorate known as 'one who impeaches the treacherous without mercy,' chose this very moment to stride out with his chin raised, cutting Ni Yuanlu off, and said sternly:

"I report to Your Majesty: the day before yesterday, when the Grand Secretaries met to discuss affairs, the Ministry of Revenue refused to draft a rescript for the Ministry of War's request of three million taels in northwestern military funds—what exactly is the meaning of this?"

"I report to Your Majesty: the Ministry of Revenue's refusal to draft the rescript for the Ministry of War's military funds was done for good reason." Ni Yuanlu, neither humble nor overbearing, stepped forward to speak, but Wang Duo, Minister of Rites, hurried out to cut him off, stepping forward to echo Fang Kezhuang:

"Your Majesty, Censor Fang speaks with righteous loyalty, and it is true. The day before yesterday, when the six ministry heads met with the Grand Secretaries to discuss affairs, it was one thing for Minister Ni of Revenue to refuse the draft rescript for the Ministry of War's three million taels in military funds—but the 1.2 million taels in expenses my Ministry of Rites reported last year for various ceremonies and observances, Minister Ni likewise refused to draft the rescript. This truly conceals ulterior motives. I beg Your Majesty to investigate strictly!"

"It must not be investigated strictly."

Li Banghua, Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate and Superintendent of the Capital Camps, stepped out, glanced at Shi Kefa standing beside him, and also spoke: "This matter is grave. If henceforth the Ministry of Revenue refuses to draft rescripts for all expenses reported by the various ministries in deliberations, what will become of the state? For this reason, your minister requests the removal of Ni Yuanlu to reassure the hearts of the people under heaven."

The Chongzhen Emperor remained silent until sixty or seventy percent of the officials in the hall had all bowed in agreement, then he looked again at Ni Yuanlu, whose expression had dimmed, and asked: "If you have anything to say, say it all—I will investigate everything one by one!"

The Chongzhen Emperor knew Ni Yuanlu's character very well. The reason these Donglin Faction members attacked him in unison before he could even finish speaking was absolutely treachery on their part. But that Li Banghua, a man without factional affiliation, would also join in chorus with the Donglin Faction this time—that was genuinely puzzling.

Looking at the officials below, the Chongzhen Emperor suddenly became aware of a problem. His eyes narrowed slightly—perhaps there were still too many Donglin Faction members in this court.

Ni Yuanlu showed not the slightest trace of panic on his face. He bowed and reported: "Your Majesty, Governor-General Chen's audit of the Northwest Grand Camp's military expenses came to 800,000 taels; Regional Commander Gao and Regional Commander Bai's audit of the Xuanfu-Datong military expenses came to 500,000 taels, totaling 1.3 million taels.

However, Minister Zhang of the Ministry of War reported northwestern military expenses totaling as much as three million taels—exceeding the audited amount by a full 1.7 million taels!

Furthermore, Minister Feng of the Ministry of Works reported expenses for building the Shrine of Loyal Martyrs, crushed-stone roads, and repairs to various capital-region cities and border walls totaling only 600,000 taels. The Ministry of Rites, apart from last year's Grand Review Ceremony, had no major events at all, yet reported expenses as high as 1.2 million taels.

Your minister found this suspicious and therefore refused to draft the rescripts, awaiting Your Majesty's judgment." Having finished, Ni Yuanlu turned to look at Fang Kezhuang and Wang Duo, waiting for what came next.

The Chongzhen Emperor asked: "Minister Zhang, Minister Wang—where exactly did the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Rites spend all this excess silver?"

Seeing the Emperor's slightly murderous expression, Zhang Guowei, Minister of War, and Wang Duo, Minister of Rites, exchanged a glance. Zhang Guowei stepped forward first and said: "I report to Your Majesty: last year, establishing the Northwest Grand Camp required a great quantity of weapons and armor, and the capital's stores were insufficient. The excess 1.7 million taels was used by the Ministry of War to lease seventeen cargo ships from the Shen family of Nanjing for transporting goods back and forth along the canal.

Now, all the ships have been returned to the Shen family, but the accounts can be verified—please review them, Your Majesty."

The Chongzhen Emperor's expression did not change at all. He glanced at the account ledger Zhang Guowei had submitted, gave a cold laugh, then looked at Wang Duo and asked again: "And the Ministry of Rites—where did over a million taels of silver all go?"

Compared to Zhang Guowei's composure under pressure, Wang Duo appeared somewhat flustered. He even stumbled and nearly fell when stepping out of the ranks, stammering: "I r-report to Your Majesty: at the start of the year, the Grand Review Ceremony's entertainment of envoys from various nations, officials from various regions, and the matters of the ceremony's opening and closing were all borne by the Ministry of Rites, totaling 950,000 taels in expenditure.

The remaining various ceremonies and musical arrangements cost 250,000 taels, totaling 1.2 million taels. Here are the accounts—please review them, Your Majesty."