Chapter 5: Li Ruolian Memorializes the Ills of the Times

Fang Zhenghua was easy to find—he was a brush-holding eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, and in the fifteenth year of Chongzhen he had even been sent by the Emperor to supervise the army in Baoding.

Many eunuchs had been sent out to supervise armies before, but most ended up defeated, surrendered, or fleeing, often at odds with the local generals and commanders. The worst case was Gao Qiqian, who had gotten Lu Xiangsheng killed, hastening the Ming dynasty's decline.

But Fang Zhenghua had not only avoided failure—he had gotten along harmoniously with both the court officers and soldiers in Baoding. According to the soldiers there, this army supervisor showed none of the airs of a Son of Heaven's inner attendant and was very easy to deal with.

When the current Chongzhen Emperor heard of this deed, he was quite surprised. He had studied it back and forth for several days before finally settling on the candidate.

Fang Zhenghua was easy to find, but Li Ruolian was another matter entirely.

Although this fellow had been a military jinshi in the first year of Chongzhen, after more than a decade in the Embroidered Uniform Guard, he was still only a hall commander of the Southern Town Palace. That title sounded impressive, but in truth it was a rank as tiny as a sesame seed or mung bean.

The Southern and Northern Town Palaces each administered five guard stations, whose commanding officers were called Chiliarchs, Centurions, Platoon Leaders, and Squad Leaders, while the ordinary soldiers were called lieutenants and men-at-arms, elegantly referred to as "mounted constables."

Generally speaking, the rank of hall commander did not even count as official rank. Even if one forced a grade onto it, it would sit below Centurion and above Platoon Leader.

Despite serving for over a decade as a minor official outside the official ranks, Li Ruolian was extremely steady and hardworking, often pleading on behalf of the common people. The Embroidered Uniform Guard was an institution that made people pale at the very mention of it, yet Li Ruolian was deeply loved by both the people and his subordinates—truly out of the ordinary.

Speaking of it, the Chongzhen Emperor had a deep impression of this man Li Ruolian. He was the only Embroidered Uniform Guard officer recorded as having died fighting on the city walls during the Jiashen Incident, so his loyalty was certainly beyond question.

It was said that Li Ruolian had drawn lots to defend Chongwen Gate at the time—he had been set up, arranged to a sector where fighting was fiercest. Before long, the Hui opened Chongwen Gate and surrendered, and most of the Capital Camp officers and soldiers went out to greet the enemy. Only Li Ruolian and Vice Regional Commander Dong Qi fought to the death.

The two of them—one leading a handful of Capital Camp soldiers, the other with a small number of Embroidered Uniform Guard—used their own flesh and blood as the final defenders of the Great Ming.

For someone like this, naturally he should be promoted and put to important use.

After the initial panic of utter chaos had passed, the Chongzhen Emperor slowly began sorting through his thoughts.

Right now, nothing mattered more than keeping his own life safe. Whatever could be done that would work, he would do boldly—I'm the Emperor, who am I afraid of!

Never mind that pack of Donglin civil officials with their mouths full of righteousness and morality—at this critical juncture, they were probably all eagerly awaiting Li Zicheng, who had raised troops in Xi'an. Even thinking with one's ass, one knew these scholars were utterly unreliable.

Though the current Chongzhen Emperor was unwilling to admit it, eunuchs truly were more reliable.

The most pressing task at hand was to get the capital firmly in hand. Without an efficiently functioning capital, every other plan was nothing but empty talk and nonsense.

According to the Chongzhen Emperor's plan, he intended to rebuild the Eastern Depot that Grandfather Ancestor Chengzu had established. Wang Cheng'en was certainly the best candidate—no question about it.

Beyond that, the Embroidered Uniform Guard that Grandfather Ancestor Hongwu had created should also serve his purposes. What the ancestors had left for him naturally ought to be used—after all, it was remarkably effective against the Donglin Faction.

The next step was to find some reliable, clever, and daring young eunuchs within the palace to handle affairs and run messages for him everywhere. Of course, these people had to be absolutely loyal.

Wang Cheng'en was loyal, loyal enough even to die alongside him.

But he was already the chief eunuch of the inner palace, and in the near future he would also be put in charge of the Eastern Depot. As an old hand in the palace, he knew everything he should know and everything he shouldn't. He handled matters as slippery as a loach, and when it came to every minute detail, he might not truly satisfy the Chongzhen Emperor.

As things stood now, that young eunuch named Li Chun was truly not bad—he could be sent out more often to run errands and gain experience.

"This servant Fang Zhenghua (Your subject Li Ruolian), pays respects to Your Majesty, ten thousand years, ten thousand times ten thousand years!"

After the two of them shouted their greetings, they heard no response for a long while. Fang Zhenghua raised his head—not that he was particularly bold, but he frequently came and went from the inner palace, was familiar with both the Emperor and his consorts, and did not fear strangers.

In contrast, Li Ruolian, entering the palace for the first time, seemed rather timid and hesitant, lying prostrate on the ground not daring even to breathe loudly, feeling both reverence and fear toward the Emperor before him.

"Snap~!"

Suddenly, a crisp sound rang out. The two instinctively raised their heads to look, only to find the Chongzhen Emperor holding a white stone in his hand, deliberating, while beckoning with his other hand and saying:

"Fang Zhenghua, come take a look—where should I move next in this game of Go?"

An imperial command could not be disobeyed. Fang Zhenghua cautiously shuffled forward a few steps, craning his neck from a distance to take a look, then kowtowed and said:

"Your Majesty, this servant does not understand Go and truly cannot see it clearly."

The Chongzhen Emperor, seated at the head, nodded without saying more, then beckoned again to indicate Li Ruolian should come forward, and said with a blank expression:

"Li Ruolian, come take a look—where exactly should I move next?"

At first Li Ruolian was perhaps a bit afraid and did not answer immediately. Feeling Fang Zhenghua tugging at him, he hurried forward to stand beside the board and examined it carefully for a few moments.

Fang Zhenghua saw that this fellow was actually observing seriously, and grew even more anxious than Li Ruolian himself. He thought to himself, where did this blockhead come from—when the Emperor tells you to look at the Go board, you actually look at the Go board?

If he provoked the Emperor's wrath, he would inevitably be buried alongside this blockhead. Thinking this, Fang Zhenghua's eyes darted around, and with a sly chuckle, he stepped forward and said:

"When it comes to Go, Your Majesty is a master. As for where the next move should be, we servants need only await your command."

At this moment, Li Ruolian, who had been silent all along, suddenly clasped his fists and knelt on one knee, saying:

"Your Majesty, this humble one does not understand Go and truly cannot see it!"

Hearing these words, Fang Zhenghua finally breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that this Li fellow of the Embroidered Uniform Guard wasn't completely stupid after all. But the Chongzhen Emperor pressed a finger down, "snap"—suddenly placing a stone—and said again:

"Li Ruolian, the Southern Town Palace is responsible for military discipline and military justice in the guard stations. Tell me—the Great Ming's guard stations are everywhere, so why do they fail to serve their proper function?"

This time Fang Zhenghua wisely did not interrupt. He thought to himself, the Emperor is asking you, Li Ruolian—I already helped once, and if you still can't act sensibly and answer wrongly, that's none of my business. By all reason, I have to protect my own life first.

Li Ruolian's expression shifted between overcast and clear, his fists clenched tightly. After a moment, he finally said:

"To answer Your Majesty, the Great Ming's guard stations are spread across the two capitals and thirteen provinces, but to this day they have long existed in name only, serving no effect whatsoever. The reason, in the end, comes down to two words: taxation."

The Chongzhen Emperor's expression shifted, and he said with considerable interest:

"Continue."

Li Ruolian acknowledged with a "yes" and said:

"Your subordinate once went to Niwa Village outside the capital. There, each farming household's per-mu yield was worth about three taels, yet the various taxes they had to pay each year amounted to as much as eight taels. Your Majesty, if even at the very feet of the capital it is like this, one can only imagine what the situation is like elsewhere."

Having said this, Li Ruolian knelt on one knee and said earnestly:

"Your Majesty, those who are truly rolling in wealth are the merchants, great households, and gentry—even the various lords of the Donglin faction at court. Which one of them does not have abundant family riches? None of these people pay any taxes at all. What is collected comes only from the toiling common folk."

"They don't even have a single grain of food to keep themselves alive. Even if you killed them and skinned them, you could never squeeze out a single copper coin!"

By the end, the fear Li Ruolian had shown upon first entering the palace was nowhere to be seen—only a chest full of pent-up indignation with nowhere to vent, and the helplessness of watching the world go bad and the people displaced while being utterly powerless to do anything.

Fang Zhenghua had listened comfortably at first, thinking that although this fellow was a minor official outside the ranks, everything he said made sense—it seemed the Embroidered Uniform Guard bore considerable resentment toward the Donglin civil officials as well.

But as he continued listening, things began to feel wrong. How dare this blockhead say such things? Out of goodwill, Fang Zhenghua began tugging at Li Ruolian's sleeve from behind, whispering a warning:

"Shut up now—do you want to die?!"