Chapter 1355: Isn

Because at this moment, it was not only the return of the Donglin faction to the court; the pillars of the capital were men like Sun Chengzong and Wang Zaijin, powerful figures who held military forces, and their views were relatively prudent. Even the leaders of the Donglin purists, Yang Lian and Zuo Guangdou, felt the same way. The reason they thought this was that, after witnessing the might of the Zhao Family Army, they increasingly realized how correct Wei Zhongxian's seemingly absurd actions back then had been, even showing a certain regard for the bigger picture.

With the opinions of these men in play, even the Chongzhen Emperor could not pursue the matter too deeply. Thus, most members of the eunuch faction met a good end—merely demoted, dismissed, or banished to distant lands. Those with blood on their hands who had gone too far naturally faced retribution, but the others were even left a chance to rise again.

Wei Zhongxian, Wang Tigan, and the rest were dispatched to Fengyang to sweep the imperial tombs. Now, everyone believed that place was a death trap, because Fengyang was an isolated city, surrounded on all sides by Xuzhou's territory. Given Wei Zhongxian's hostility toward Xuzhou, how could someone as ruthless as Zhao Jin possibly let him live? Going there was simply walking to one's death.

Moreover, everyone knew in their hearts that this journey to sweep the tombs in Fengyang was, in reality, a death sentence. The enemies made over the years would surely strike along the way; that old wretch was doomed. Now, the focus was on the situation within the capital: Wang Cheng'en, who now controlled the Directorate of Ceremonial, Cao Huachun, who controlled the Directorate of the Imperial Stables, and those lucky ones who had curried favor back when the emperor was still Prince of Xin—court politics would now revolve around them. Who would bother with those old wretches already destined for ruin?

However, those with keen eyes could see that the developments after the new monarch's ascension were somewhat different from previous occasions. Normally, a new monarch would inevitably appoint his trusted men to the Grand Secretariat. Sun Chengzong had been the teacher of the Tianqi Emperor and had little connection to the Chongzhen side; not to mention, his stance toward Wei Zhongxian was not clear-cut. Such a man should naturally be replaced. And Wang Zaijin had suffered several major defeats; back when Zhu Youjian was still Prince of Xin, he had explicitly stated that such a man could not be employed. Yet these two remained firmly in the Grand Secretariat, and from top to bottom, there was no voice calling for their replacement.

The reason was simple: Sun Chengzong held control of the Ji-Liao border army, while Wang Zaijin commanded the remnants of the forces that had jointly besieged Zhao Jin. Though they were remnants, they still amounted to tens of thousands of troops gathered from various places. Because they had once been under Wang Zaijin's command and were left behind to guard the strategic capital region, and later had to rely on Wang Zaijin in the Grand Secretariat for supplies and coordination, a relationship of subordination naturally formed.

With troops in hand, who would dare act rashly? These rough soldiers were liable to cause trouble with their blades at any moment. Even if you replaced the grand secretaries and they themselves were content to abide by the law, what if those soldiers used the opportunity to riot and storm the capital?

Furthermore, the Chongzhen Emperor greatly disliked Xiong Tingbi, who was now defending western Liaoning, yet there was no way to replace him. He was even given the concurrent title of Minister of War. Why was this? It was precisely because this Xiong Tingbi was at odds with both Sun Chengzong and Wang Zaijin. If there was to be any check and balance, this was the only way to do it.

Because the Zhao Family Army had crossed the sea and advanced north, the Chongzhen Emperor also urged the Liaodong garrison and the Liaoxi military households to advance east, demanding they secure a major victory over the Jurchen slaves before the Xuzhou bandits did.

Once the edict was issued, aside from a few purists who jumped on it to curry favor, even the Donglin faction itself opposed it. The Grand Secretariat and the Six Ministries would certainly not approve it. The Chongzhen Emperor, however, lacked his elder brother Tianqi's political skill and was instead exceptionally stubborn. Since it would not pass here, he simply sent the edict directly to Xiong Tingbi.

But such an edict was called a "palace decree," issued without the countersignature of the outer court. Strictly speaking, it had no legal force, or rather, over the years, there had been many precedents of court officials ignoring palace decrees. Xiong Tingbi rejected it without the slightest courtesy. Xiong Tingbi's temperament was equally poor, and he stated bluntly in his memorial that if the Liaodong troops were forced to advance east, it would likely lead to total defeat and might even bring about a great calamity.

The so-called great calamity referred to two things: one was the complete loss of western Liaoning, with the Jianzhou Jurchens pressing close to Shanhai Pass; the other was the so-called Guanning Iron Cavalry turning hostile and refusing to recognize their masters. After all, with more options now available, if they were unwilling to bear the stigma of surrendering to the Jurchen slaves, they could always go over to the Xuzhou side.

There were also rumors that the Chongzhen Emperor smashed his tea set in the palace and had several tactless eunuchs beaten to death. But everyone knew that this new monarch had lost immense face right at the start of his reign.

Recently, the winds in the capital had shifted again. No one said it openly, and it was rarely even discussed at private banquets, yet a certain notion spread mysteriously: that the Xuzhou bandits were arrogantly overestimating themselves, and their sea crossing to advance north would surely meet with a major setback. The Jianzhou Jurchen slaves had spies everywhere within the passes—how could such news possibly be hidden from them? When the time came, with one side tossed about at sea and the other waiting in strict formation on shore, the outcome would be very clear.

Regardless of the truth, this rumor did expose one thing: at the very least, some people thought this way, and they very much hoped for it. As for the rumored tale of the Chongzhen Emperor burning incense and praying in the palace, that might not necessarily be for this reason...

The Great Ming capital hoped for the Zhao Family Army's sea crossing to meet with disaster, while the rest of the realm was in a state of bewilderment tinged with vague excitement. But Dengzhou Prefecture was different, and the port of Dengzhou City was even more different. Everyone who witnessed the Zhao Family Army's sea crossing felt differently.

Many had seen the Great Ming transport military supplies and soldiers from Shandong to Liaodong—over a hundred ships, fully laden with supplies, sailing over in a grand and mighty procession, a rather spectacular sight.

But that spectacular sight of the past was nothing compared to what they saw now. The gentry and commoners of Dengzhou Prefecture had seen large armies pass through, and they had seen vast quantities of provisions pass through, but they had never seen a sight like this.

This Xuzhou army did not seem large in number; it was said to be nearly ten thousand. Yet when ten thousand government troops moved, the momentum was enormous, but not like the scene before them. If a regular army of that size passed a county seat, it might take a day or two to finish passing, and there would be chaos and uproar, disturbances everywhere, and no peace for the local area.

When the Zhao Family Army passed through, although the counties of Qingzhou, Laizhou, and Dengzhou Prefectures had heard of the Zhao Family Army's strict discipline, they still made preparations. Wealth, goods, and grain were all hidden away; young women were sent far away or up into the hills, ensuring absolute safety. Then, following past experience, the local strongmen took the lead in pooling together a sum of silver and supplies as a troop-comforting gift, to be presented when the army passed through.

They waited in constant fear, even assembling local militias and village braves as a precaution. But after several days, they grew puzzled, thinking the Zhao Family Army was moving far too slowly—why hadn't the main force arrived yet? When they sent someone to inquire, they learned that the Zhao Family Army had already passed through...

It wasn't that they hadn't seen troops pass through, but looking at that scale, at that marching order, they had assumed it was merely the advance guard. Only when the county's liaison personnel told them did they realize that what they had taken for a small vanguard was, in fact, the main army itself. Such a tight and orderly formation, such a marching speed—they had simply never seen anything like it.

Of course, the locals had also never seen a passing army that did not extort, plunder, or harass. When they heard that the Zhao Family Army had purchased some supplies at market price, everyone was dumbfounded, thinking it utterly impossible.

What puzzled them even more was that the Zhao Family Army did not carry much in the way of military provisions. Government troops carried marching rations for five or three days; once those were exhausted, they would plunder the local area or the entire army would collapse. Xuzhou was so wealthy—how could they make such a foolish mistake? Could they rely on silver to buy supplies the whole way? Within the passes, you could still rely on silver to buy, or on blades to loot, but once you went to Liaodong, what would you do?

All these doubts vanished into thin air upon reaching Dengzhou Port. So many large ships, so much matériel, piled like mountains and seas—with all this, everything was more than sufficient. And these large ships were constantly unloading cargo, because they needed to free up hold space to transport soldiers and equipment. It was said that some ships had not even appeared at the port. From Changshan Island to Dazhu Island to Huangcheng Island, from the Dengzhou naval port to Jinzhou in Liaodong, the sea was dotted with islands. This island chain was a natural route and line of staging posts. Those colossal sea-going vessels, rarely seen at Dengzhou Port, transported full loads of grain to island after island, then continuously shuttled back and forth.

The gentry and commoners of Dengzhou Prefecture knew the Zhao Family Army had connections at sea, but they never imagined connections on this scale. Compared to the official ships at the Dengzhou naval port, the vessels mustered by the Zhao Family Army could all be called gigantic, floating on the sea like cities. There were even fishermen returning from the sea who spoke of large foreign carracks, covered entirely with cannons, though they had not entered the port.

Covered entirely with cannons? Looking at the many cannons already on these large ships in the port, what kind of concept was a ship covered entirely with cannons? They could not even imagine it.

The gentry and commoners of Laizhou and Dengzhou Prefectures were different from those within the passes. They knew the sea; they knew what lay upon that vast expanse of ocean, and what it all meant.

The gentry and commoners of Dengzhou and Laizhou did not view the ocean as a death trap. They also knew what the "capsizing and drifting losses" of past military grain sea transports were really about. When they saw the Zhao Family Army's naval power, they knew how they should choose.

From the time the Jianzhou Jurchens invaded Liaodong and the soldiers and civilians of Liaodong fled to Shandong, the people of Liaodong and Shandong had never been so united. Everyone gave their full support to the Zhao Family Army's sea crossing and northern advance. Although the Zhao Family Army did not need their help—some wanted to donate money, some wanted to enlist—everyone eagerly wished to participate.

Talk of the transition between old and new, talk of the spirit of a new dynasty—it could all be seen clearly at this moment. This was where the hearts of the people lay.

Besides the personnel of the Provisional First Division, large numbers of people from the Shandong Cloud Mountain Firm and the agricultural settlement farms had also gathered at the Dengzhou naval port. The Cloud Mountain Firm was purchasing military supplies locally, hiring civilian ships, and even finalizing future supply deals for Liaodong goods with top-tier merchants. There were even major merchants coming to inquire about the price of farmland in Liaodong. They knew the strength of the Jianzhou Jurchens, but this was the time to place bets. Accepting the outcome of a gamble was the bottom line—what if they won?

As for the people from the agricultural settlement farms, they had drawn a large number of farm managers, overseers, and soldiers of Liaodong refugee origin, and even ordinary tenant farmers. What they were going to do in the future was very clear: establish the same system in Liaodong, organize the Han people, and even the Jurchens and Mongols of Liaodong into this system, to supply grain and soldiers to the Zhao Family Army, and to help Zhao Jin consolidate and strengthen his rule over that region.