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

Chapter 422: Hard to take care of

Cao Huachun calmly told Emperor Chongzhen that he and Yuan Chonghuan had never had any friendship, because he was exiled to Nanjing by Wei Zhongxian before Yuan Chonghuan went to Liaodong. How could the two of them know each other when they had never even met.

The reason why he spoke for Yuan Chonghuan was because Yuan Chonghuan had made great contributions in garrisoning Liaodong. Not only did he block the Jiannu in Liaodong, but even Nurhaci, who was suffering from the attack by the Ming Dynasty, died under Yuan Chonghuan's artillery. After Yuan Chonghuan's victory in Ningyuan, his reputation spread far and wide and was known to the world.

Emperor Chongzhen had just ascended the throne and had stabilized the court after eliminating Wei Zhongxian, but the Liaodong war was still an important national affair for the Ming Dynasty. As a former governor stationed in Liaodong, Yuan Chonghuan was a pillar of the country. The fact that Liaodong was unstable after Yuan Chonghuan left proved this point. If he was in Liaodong, the northern defense line of the Ming Dynasty would have been safe.

In fact, Yuan Chonghuan claimed to be ill simply because of Wei Zhongxian. For the position of Liaodong Governor, Yuan Chonghuan once flattered Wei Zhongxian and took the initiative to write a letter suggesting that Wei Zhongxian should be given a new title. From this point of view, it is not an exaggeration to say that Yuan Chonghuan is a eunuch party.

However, Yuan Chonghuan was a very smart man. When Emperor Tianqi was critically ill, Yuan Chonghuan had a vague feeling that something was wrong. As the saying goes, a new emperor chooses his own ministers. Once the emperor was replaced, what would be the fate of Wei Zhongxian, the favorite of Emperor Tianqi? Wouldn't Yuan Chonghuan, who was well-read, think deeply about it?

What's more, although Yuan Chonghuan was attached to Wei Zhongxian on the surface, he was secretly on good terms with the Donglin Party. You must know that he was able to stand out from a mere county magistrate and be promoted to the Ministry of War, and then went to Liaodong to supervise the army, and was valued by Sun Chengzong and continuously promoted. The Donglin Party behind him also made a lot of efforts.

Everyone in the world knows that Yuan Chonghuan’s current success was inseparable from Sun Chengzong’s support, and it is not an exaggeration to say that he is Sun Chengzong’s disciple.

Sun Chengzong was a big shot of the Donglin Party, so Yuan Chonghuan could also be considered a member of the Donglin Party. In the court, Yuan Chonghuan was the only official who could walk between the two sides of the Eunuch Party and the Donglin Party and thrive.

After Tianqi became seriously ill, Yuan Chonghuan, who was far away in Liaodong, soon received news that the throne might be passed to Emperor Chongzhen. He keenly realized that the situation might change. Under such circumstances, if he continued to stay in the position of Liaodong Governor, he would probably become the target of public criticism. Once Wei Zhongxian fell, someone would use the previous incident to say that he was a eunuch party and liquidate him, which would be a big trouble.

Yuan Chonghuan responded decisively to this situation. He took advantage of the gap when Huang Taiji was defeated in the Battle of Jinzhou and once again submitted his resignation request to the court. The reason was also very legitimate, saying that he was in poor health and could not continue to serve the court, and wanted to return home to recuperate. At the same time, Yuan Chonghuan also took advantage of the previous meritorious service when the court only gave him a higher rank to express his extreme dissatisfaction. It happened that the seriously ill Emperor Tianqi was extremely dissatisfied with Yuan Chonghuan's peace talks, so he agreed to his resignation directly.

As a result, Yuan Chonghuan resigned from his post as the governor of Liaodong and handed it over to the governor Wang Zhichen.

It was natural for Yuan Chonghuan to do this, he was just retreating to advance. His purpose was to avoid the upcoming political vortex, and he was right to do so. Soon after Emperor Tianqi died, Emperor Chongzhen succeeded to the throne, and soon after he succeeded to the throne, he took action against Wei Zhongxian and the eunuch party. Countless officials who were attached to Wei Zhongxian and the eunuch party were dismissed, but Yuan Chonghuan resigned early and returned to his hometown, and because of his relationship with Donglin Party members such as Sun Chengzong, he easily avoided this disaster.

Cao Huachun mentioned Yuan Chonghuan today and spoke for Yuan Chonghuan out of public interest and had no ulterior motive.

I just hope that Emperor Chongzhen will not vent his anger on Yuan Chonghuan because of Wei Zhongxian. Besides, the crackdown on the eunuch party has been almost complete since Wei Zhongxian's downfall. For the sake of court stability and local politics, as well as the Liaodong issue, I hope that Emperor Chongzhen will show mercy to other officials who sided with the eunuch party at the time while cracking down on the core members of the eunuch party, and focus on stability.

In addition, Yuan Chonghuan was very capable and had the background of the Donglin Party. He had a brilliant record in Liaodong over the years. Now Liaodong is showing signs of instability. From this point of view, Liaodong cannot do without people like Yuan Chonghuan.

After listening to Cao Huachun's explanation, Emperor Chongzhen looked at Cao Huachun thoughtfully for a long time. At the same time, he also thought that it was impossible for Cao Huachun to have any contact with Yuan Chonghuan. He also thought of the hardships he had suffered in Nanjing over the years, and he couldn't help but feel relieved.

In addition, although Emperor Chongzhen had never met Yuan Chonghuan, he had long heard of his great reputation. In particular, it was said that Nurhaci died of wounds after being hit by Yuan Chonghuan's artillery in the Battle of Ningyuan, which alone can prove the importance of Yuan Chonghuan in Liaodong.

After taking down Wei Zhongxian and the eunuch party, Emperor Chongzhen's mentality these days is completely different from before. He no longer has the uneasiness he had when he first entered the palace, and has already faintly gained the momentum of a true emperor with great power. In addition, under the flattery of the ministers, Yuan Chonghuan feels good about himself, and the whole person is floating, thinking that he is an absolutely wise and heroic ruler, and the Ming Dynasty will definitely be revived in his hands.

After solving the internal problems, the next biggest problem for the Ming Dynasty was the Liaodong problem. Since the Battle of Sarhu during the Wanli period, the Jiannu in Liaodong had become a headache for several generations of Ming emperors. Facts over the years have also proved that the situation in Liaodong was very complicated and difficult to deal with. Yuan Yingtai, Xiong Tingbi, and Wang Huazhen not only failed to do a good job, but also suffered heavy casualties and even died for their country.

After Sun Chengzong took over as the commander-in-chief, he stabilized the situation in Liaodong and turned the critical situation around by defending instead of attacking. However, in the eyes of Emperor Chongzhen, Sun Chengzong was capable but too cautious. His strategy was extremely costly and took too long. In particular, since he took over as the commander-in-chief, he had only fought small-scale battles with the Jiannu in Liaodong but never a major battle. His actual record was not impressive.

Yuan Chonghuan was different. Compared with the aged Sun Chengzong, Yuan Chonghuan was much younger and more vigorous. After Sun Chengzong left office, Yuan Chonghuan held on to Ningyuan. Not only did he fight the Ningyuan War with the Jiannu, but he also fought several other battles, including the Battle of Jinzhou.

Yuan Chonghuan was a good fighter. Although he won and lost every battle, he showed the power of the Ming Dynasty and prevented the Jiannu in Liaodong from making further progress, thus blocking the enemy's attack. More importantly, Nurhaci's death brought Yuan Chonghuan's prestige to its peak. There were even rumors that as long as Yuan Chonghuan was in Liaodong, the Jiannu would not be able to move south, and the court would be stable. Thinking carefully, Emperor Chongzhen did not have a suitable candidate to preside over the Liaodong war, and Yuan Chonghuan's previous contributions were real. He immediately became very interested in Yuan Chonghuan. Since there were signs of instability in Liaodong again, why not re-employ Yuan Chonghuan?

"Cao Huachun!"

"The slave is here!"

"Draft an edict for me!" Emperor Chongzhen thought for a moment and said, "From today on, Yuan Chonghuan, the former governor of Liaodong, will be reinstated as the Right Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate... and he will also oversee the appointment of the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of War."

"Yes!" Cao Huachun responded quickly, walked to the side, ground ink, picked up a pen and wrote an edict. After finishing it, he held it with both hands for Emperor Chongzhen to read. After reading it for a few times, Emperor Chongzhen was very satisfied with the content of the edict drafted by Cao Huachun for him.

"That's it. Send this decree to the cabinet. After the cabinet approves it, the Imperial Household Department will use its seal. After receiving the decree, let Yuan Chonghuan return to Beijing on the same day."

"I obey your order!" Cao Huachun responded hastily, carefully putting away the imperial edict. When he was about to leave, Emperor Chongzhen suddenly called him again.

"When I go to the cabinet, I will discuss the taxation with the ministers. The court needs money in many places right now, and Liaodong also needs to make some preparations. Now is the autumn tax season, so let the local governments collect it as soon as possible without delay."

"I understand..." Cao Huachun responded quickly. Emperor Chongzhen then waved his hand at him and told him to go down. Cao Huachun backed out of the side hall. When he got outside, he recalled the last instructions from Emperor Chongzhen and couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

The taxes mentioned by Emperor Chongzhen were indeed a big deal. The Ming Dynasty’s taxation system was a two-tax system, which had been implemented since the Tang and Song dynasties and has continued to this day.

The two-tax system levies taxes twice a year, once in summer and once in autumn. The summer tax ends in August, and the autumn tax ends before February of the following year at the latest.

However, due to serious land annexation in recent years, the tax collection effect was not good. After Emperor Tianqi ascended the throne, the court collected very little tax a year. In addition, the war expenses in Liaodong were huge, and the court was unable to make ends meet, resulting in a serious fiscal deficit.

In order to solve this problem, Emperor Tianqi handed the matter over to Wei Zhongxian after he appointed him to the position. Wei Zhongxian was also quite capable. He knew very well where the problem of taxation lay, and he was even more aware of the drawbacks of private land annexation. If taxation was levied in the previous way, the only ones who would suffer would be ordinary people, while the gentry who were truly wealthy and had land could not be taxed at all.

In order to solve the financial problem, Wei Zhongxian, after seeking the consent of Emperor Tianqi, began his unusual way of taxation. Wei Zhongxian's method was very simple, and it could be described in one word as increasing revenue.

Wei Zhongxian knew that he could not get much money from the common people, so it would be better to start from the gentry and wealthy, especially those businessmen who owned land and had money.

In this regard, Wei Zhongxian relaxed the taxation on ordinary people on the one hand, but on the other hand he increased the taxation on gentry and merchants, especially the land tax and commercial tax in the financially important Jiangnan area. In addition, he also launched various aspects of foreign trade and used trade income for subsidies, which greatly improved the financial situation of the Ming Dynasty.

His approach was a good thing for the common people, as their taxes were reduced and their lives became much better. However, this also offended the gentry and merchants, and behind these groups were the civil service groups, especially the Donglin Party and the Qingliu Party. This was why these groups hated Wei Zhongxian and the eunuch party so much, because whether it was taxation or trade, it was clearly stealing money from them!
After Wei Zhongxian's fall, the civil service group celebrated and regained control of the government, and the previous policies were completely changed. Without Wei Zhongxian's powerful tax collection methods and ruthlessness towards the gentry and merchants, the current tax collection situation in various places is not optimistic.

Cao Huachun knew about this situation, but he couldn't tell Emperor Chongzhen, because Wei Zhongxian and the eunuch party were brought down by Emperor Chongzhen himself. He couldn't tell Emperor Chongzhen that although Wei Zhongxian had problems, he also made contributions to the country, right? Especially in terms of taxation, if the court officials followed their wishes, they would not be able to get money. Instead, Wei Zhongxian's previous methods were the best way to solve the problem.

Once such words were spoken, let alone what Emperor Chongzhen would think? How would he view Cao Huachun? It was just that those officials would turn their spearheads against him, and then not only would he fail to accomplish his mission, he might even lose his life.

"Forget it, forget it. What does this have to do with me? I'm just a servant. I will do whatever the emperor tells me to do..." Cao Huachun shook his head, said this in his heart, and left the Qianqing Palace at a leisurely pace.

(End of this chapter)