Gou was a member of the imperial family in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 337 Five Years of Ping Liao
Several days passed in a flash, and Yuan Chonghuan finally received the third imperial edict. This time, the edict still rejected Yuan Chonghuan's request to return home to mourn his father, and required Yuan Chonghuan to set off immediately, first to the capital to meet the emperor, and then return to the Liaodong front from the capital.

After receiving the edict, Yuan Chonghuan burst into tears and kowtowed towards his hometown, to show that as a son, he could not be both loyal and filial, and that he could not return to his hometown to observe mourning as state affairs were more important. Then, he selected two old servants to return to his hometown to offer sacrifices to his father on his behalf, to show his helplessness.

After doing all this, Yuan Chonghuan's cold was almost cured. The next day, he asked his younger brother Yuan Chongyu to lead his men back to Ningyuan first, while he himself set off with only a servant to meet the emperor in the capital and then return to Liaodong.

In early November, Yuan Chonghuan arrived in the capital. After arriving, he kept a low profile and did not go to meet his colleagues. He just found an inn to stay in.

That night, Yuan Chonghuan secretly went to see Wei Zhongxian and stayed there for a full hour before leaving Wei's house. Early the next morning, after changing into official uniform, Yuan Chonghuan went to the Forbidden City to meet the emperor. When he arrived at the palace gate, the eunuch who had been waiting there saw Yuan Chonghuan coming and hurried forward to lead the way, taking Yuan Chonghuan into the palace.

Yuan Chonghuan had only been to the palace once before, and that was when he was taking the palace examination. At that time, Yuan Chonghuan was just a candidate, and had not yet achieved the title of Jinshi. He did not meet Emperor Wanli during the palace examination because Emperor Wanli was already seriously ill at that time. The palace examination was presided over by Fang Congzhe, the then chief minister of the cabinet.

The venue for the palace examination was not the Qianqing Palace, but the Baohe Hall. In addition, Yuan Chonghuan was only a candidate at the time, and he was very nervous when he followed the crowd into the palace. He did not see the scene inside the palace clearly. How he got in, how he finished the exam and left, his memory had long been vague.

This time, entering the palace was different from the last time. There were only the eunuchs leading the way and Yuan Chonghuan walking behind. As Yuan Chonghuan looked at the interior of the palace, the towering palaces and the magnificent layout, he couldn't help but feel a lot of emotion in his heart.

In a few years, he went from being a fellow Jinshi to a third-rank official, and was able to enter the palace to see the emperor. Life is unimaginable. Yuan Chonghuan himself never thought that he would be in this situation today, but he felt proud in his heart. The path he was taking now was not the end of his official career, but just the starting point. With his ability, if he could go a step further in the future, maybe in a few years, he, Yuan Chonghuan, would be famous all over the world and become one of the highest-ranking people in the empire.

Thinking about his worries, he soon arrived at the Qianqing Palace. Seeing the eunuch in front of him stopped, Yuan Chonghuan also stopped quickly. Looking up, he saw Wei Zhongxian standing outside the Qianqing Palace not far away, looking at him with a smile. Yuan Chonghuan quickly saluted Wei Zhongxian, who nodded slightly to show his appreciation, and then waved his hand to signal Yuan Chonghuan to come forward.

He continued walking until he came to Wei Zhongxian's side. Wei Zhongxian whispered to Yuan Chonghuan, "Master Yuan, please come with us."

"Thank you, Eunuch Wei."

"Haha, this is what we should do. Remember to answer the emperor carefully when you see him in the palace, and remember what I said yesterday."

"Don't worry, eunuch. I won't worry about it." Yuan Chonghuan replied softly. Wei Zhongxian did not say anything else and turned around to walk into the hall. Yuan Chonghuan followed him in and when they reached the side hall, Wei Zhongxian asked Yuan Chonghuan to wait for a moment while he went in to report first. After a while, he let Yuan Chonghuan in.

After straightening his robe, Yuan Chonghuan stepped into the side hall. The side hall was not very big and one could see the layout inside at a glance as soon as he entered the hall.

There were many things placed in a side hall, including wood and other things. I'm afraid this was where Emperor Tianqi usually did carpentry work and tools, etc. Emperor Tianqi was good at carpentry work, which Yuan Chonghuan knew, but when he saw these things in the side hall for the first time, he couldn't help but take a closer look, and then he turned his eyes to other places.

On the south side, a young emperor was sitting there. He was wearing casual clothes, a black gauze scarf on his head, a square face, white complexion and no beard, and a slightly fat body. When Yuan Chonghuan looked over there, the Tianqi Emperor was also looking at him.

"Your Majesty, I, Yuan Chonghuan, the Right Counselor of the Shandong Provincial Government, the Assistant Censor of the Provincial Surveillance Department, and the Military Governor of Ningyuan, pay my respects to Your Majesty. Long live Your Majesty..."

With a slight start, Yuan Chonghuan immediately prostrated himself before the emperor and shouted "Long live the emperor".

The Emperor Tianqi was very kind. He looked at Yuan Chonghuan with a smile on his face, raised his hand and said, "My dear Yuan, please stand up."

"Thank you, Your Majesty..." Yuan Chonghuan kowtowed again and then got up from the ground. At this time, Emperor Tianqi said to Wei Zhongxian beside him: "Wei Banban, give Minister Yuan a seat."

"Yes." Wei Zhongxian responded, and moved an embroidered stool from the side and placed it not far from Emperor Tianqi. Yuan Chonghuan hurriedly thanked the emperor again, saluted Wei Zhongxian, and then took a few steps forward and sat down on the embroidered stool. Although Yuan Chonghuan knew that he should be terrified when meeting the emperor, after all, Yuan Chonghuan was bold and had always been nicknamed Yuan Bold. In addition, Emperor Tianqi was very kind to him, so Yuan Chonghuan quickly eliminated his previous uneasiness and regained his usual composure, so when he sat down, he did not just sit halfway with his buttocks, nor was he nervous.

Yuan Chonghuan's attitude made the Emperor Tianqi quite appreciative. The Emperor had a good first impression of Yuan Chonghuan, especially his frankness and generosity. When he thought about the fact that Yuan Chonghuan, as a scholar and civil servant, could control military generals on the Liaodong front and was valued by Sun Chengzong, he was indeed not an ordinary person. If he was like other civil servants, who looked terrified and even couldn't speak clearly after meeting the emperor, the Emperor Tianqi would think that such a person was useless.

At least, what Yuan Chonghuan showed now was exactly what the Emperor Tianqi was thinking. The Emperor Tianqi was happy and asked Wei Zhongxian to serve tea to Yuan Chonghuan. Wei Zhongxian was secretly delighted to see this. It seemed that Yuan Chonghuan was quite capable. He had served the Emperor Tianqi for many years and of course knew the Emperor Tianqi's character. He immediately served Yuan Chonghuan a cup of tea himself.

After taking the tea and thanking the emperor and Wei Zhongxian, Yuan Chonghuan sat quietly waiting for the emperor to question him.

Emperor Tianqi did not beat around the bush and went straight to the point by talking about the love affair. Yuan Chonghuan's eyes became moist after hearing this and he stood up and kowtowed to the emperor once again to thank him. Emperor Tianqi waved his hand and told him to mourn and focus on state affairs before he sat back down.

Then, Emperor Tianqi asked Yuan Chonghuan about the affairs of Liaodong.

As the person in charge of the Liaodong front, Yuan Chonghuan should have returned to Ningyuan as soon as possible after the seizure of power. However, in his last decree, Emperor Tianqi continued to seize power and asked Yuan Chonghuan to come to the capital, with the purpose of meeting Yuan Chonghuan in person and informing him of the situation in Liaodong.

Yuan Chonghuan had already made preparations for the news about Emperor Tianqi before coming. He had personally worked in Liaodong and was very familiar with the situation there. He could often answer questions without thinking, and his words were meaningful and not false.

Listening to Yuan Chonghuan's answer and explanation of the situation in Liaodong, Emperor Tianqi nodded slightly, with a look of appreciation. He subconsciously looked at Wei Zhongxian on the side, with a smile on his face, which was an affirmation of Wei Zhongxian's recommendation of Yuan Chonghuan. Before, he had only heard that Yuan Chonghuan was quite talented, and even Sun Chengzong recommended Yuan Chonghuan, it seemed that he was indeed quite capable.

Yuan Chonghuan was talking nonstop, especially when he saw that the Emperor Tianqi was listening intently, he couldn't help but feel proud. After talking for half an hour, and explaining in detail the situation in Liaodong and the military strength of both sides, Yuan Chonghuan began to brag. He first praised the wisdom and bravery of the Emperor Tianqi, and then praised Wei Zhongxian, saying that without the great assistance of the Emperor and Eunuch Wei, Liaodong would not have the good situation it has today. As long as they continue, with the support of the Emperor and Eunuch Wei, it is only a matter of time before the Jiannu in Liaodong are solved.

Upon hearing this, Emperor Tianqi immediately became interested and asked Yuan Chonghuan directly if he had any ideas on how to solve the Liaodong issue, or in other words, if he was in charge of the Liaodong situation, how would he completely solve the problem of the Later Jin and Jiannu.

Hearing the question from Emperor Tianqi, Yuan Chonghuan instantly became excited. He began to talk attentively about his strategic ideas for Liaodong and directly put forward his strategic ideas to Emperor Tianqi. Yuan Chonghuan said that if the court used him to fully preside over the Liaodong war, it would not take too much time. As long as the emperor fully supported it, it would only take five years at most to completely pacify Liaodong and completely solve the problem of the Later Jin.

"To pacify Liao in five years? Are you exaggerating, Minister Yuan? Are you so sure?" Emperor Tianqi was stunned. He looked at Yuan Chonghuan with confusion in his eyes.

"Your Majesty, since I said that I can pacify Liao within five years, I am naturally confident that I can do so. As long as your Majesty supports me and the court gives me absolute power, it will not be difficult to pacify Liao within five years." Yuan Chonghuan replied without thinking.

Frowning slightly, Emperor Tianqi was very skeptical about Yuan Chonghuan's five-year plan to pacify Liaodong. Emperor Tianqi was not completely in the dark about the situation in Liaodong. On the contrary, he was very clear about the situation in Liaodong. Under the leadership of Sun Chengzong, the situation in Liaodong had improved significantly, but the power of the Later Jin was still strong. The Ming Dynasty still adopted a step-by-step tactic, supplemented by the strategy of building cities and blockades to suppress the survival space of the Later Jin Jiannu.

Even so, the Ming Dynasty had no confidence of winning against the Later Jin in a field battle, and could only rely on cities and defenses to deal with the Later Jin's forces. By playing to their strengths and avoiding their weaknesses, the Later Jin had no choice but to engage in siege warfare with the Ming Dynasty. Both sides continued to consume the enemy, and the Ming Dynasty relied on its powerful strength and logistical strength that far exceeded that of the Later Jin to weaken its opponent.

As Sun Chengzong clearly stated in his memorial to Emperor Tianqi, the Liaodong War was a long and protracted war, because the Ming Dynasty had lost all its elite troops in several previous battles. At present, the Ming Dynasty did not have the military capability to win Liaodong in one battle, and could only use such strategies and tactics to gradually reverse the balance of power between the two sides.

Use your strengths to attack the enemy's weaknesses, advance steadily and press forward step by step, making it impossible for the Later Jin to break the Ming blockade with field battles. If this continues, the Later Jin will inevitably be weakened bit by bit, and when the Later Jin can no longer hold on, it will inevitably launch a fierce counterattack in order to survive. At this time, as long as the Ming Dynasty holds its ground and relies on its defense lines and cities to deal with the Later Jin, the Later Jin will eventually have no choice but to fail.

Sun Chengzong's strategic thinking may seem a bit crude, and it does not have the soul-stirring spirit of the ancient famous generals who rode their horses for thousands of miles, but in reality it is the best choice for the Ming Dynasty now. Moreover, this tactic has been well executed since Sun Chengzong took office as the commander-in-chief of Ji and Liao, and the Jiannu in Liaodong have indeed suffered a lot under this tactic.

(End of this chapter)