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

Chapter 464 Be wise and protect yourself
The fundamental reason why Sun Yuanhua was valued by Yuan Chonghuan and why he personally asked Emperor Chongzhen for him was Sun Yuanhua's skills in firearms.

Yuan Chonghuan knew very well that it was impossible for the Liaodong Ming army to fight against the Eight Banners in the field. The only advantage they had was defense. In defense, the use of firearms was the most important. As a firearms expert, Sun Yuanhua was the most suitable candidate he could find. Moreover, Sun Yuanhua had worked with him before and they had a good relationship. That was why he tried to get Sun Yuanhua to Liaodong.

Before Sun Yuanhua came to Liaodong, he came with confidence and ambition. After all, he had a good impression of Yuan Chonghuan, and he had also heard about how Yuan Chonghuan pacified Liaodong in five years in front of Emperor Chongzhen. After Yuan Chonghuan officially became the commander-in-chief of Ji-Liao, Sun Yuanhua had even greater expectations for him.

Sun Yuanhua felt that it was a good thing to work under such a man. Pacificating Liaodong was not only a national event, but he could also play his role on the Liaodong battlefield. As a firearms expert, he was looking forward to inflicting the greatest damage to the Jiannu through firearms on the Liaodong battlefield. When the day came to pacify Liaodong, as a subordinate of Yuan Chonghuan, he might even go down in history.

But not long after arriving in Liaodong, Sun Yuanhua regretted coming to Liaodong. After staying in Ningyuan for a few days, he suddenly heard the news that Mao Wenlong was killed by Yuan Chonghuan. When he heard the news, Sun Yuanhua couldn't believe his ears. He thought it was a joke, but who would have the courage to make such a joke?
When it was confirmed to be true, Sun Yuanhua was dumbfounded on the spot. Compared with others, Sun Yuanhua did not feel happy at all. As a former head of the Ministry of War, how could Sun Yuanhua not know the importance of Mao Wenlong in Liaodong? Moreover, Sun Yuanhua was an out-and-out civil servant. He was different from those soldiers. As an orthodox civil servant, he certainly understood the illegality of Yuan Chonghuan's actions.

It was too outrageous that a general of the first rank was executed with the imperial sword on charges without any substantiation, without the emperor's decree or trial by the three judicial officials.

This kind of thing is unheard of. Even when Wei Zhongxian was at the peak of his power, he never did this. But Yuan Chonghuan did it anyway.

When Yuan Chonghuan returned to Ningyuan, Sun Yuanhua directly questioned Yuan Chonghuan why he did this and why he had to kill Mao Wenlong. Although Yuan Chonghuan gave some reasons and Emperor Chongzhen covered up for Yuan Chonghuan afterwards, the matter was eventually left unresolved. However, in Sun Yuanhua's heart, he still believed that Mao Wenlong should not be killed, and thus had a different view of Yuan Chonghuan.

Now Yuan Chonghuan sold a large amount of military rations in Liaodong. These rations were ostensibly given to the Mongols, but in fact they fell into the hands of the Jian Nu. What is even more incomprehensible is Yuan Chonghuan's suppression and exclusion of Zhao Rujiao. How can this be done by a gentleman who serves the country and the people? In Sun Yuanhua's view, Yuan Chonghuan's actions completely deviated from his original intention. The current Yuan Chonghuan is no longer the Yuan Chonghuan he remembered.

Disappointment and loss grew in Sun Yuanhua's heart, but he did not have the courage of Zhao Rujiao, let alone openly opposing Yuan Chonghuan. Sun Yuanhua had always been a good-tempered person, but this temper was actually a bit weak. In terms of personal ability and firearms technology, Sun Yuanhua was not bad, but unfortunately, Sun Yuanhua's personality destined him to be unsuitable to be the top leader, let alone take the same fierce opposition or even report reaction as Zhao Rujiao did.

So when faced with these situations, Sun Yuanhua finally adopted an attitude of turning a deaf ear and dumb. Although he did not go along with the corruption, he did not have the courage to oppose Yuan Chonghuan. He could only be an ostrich with his head buried in the sand.

Sun Yuanhua felt very uncomfortable with the depression and conflict in his heart, and he could only tell his good friend Xu Xiancheng about the situation through letters.

Not long after, Xu Xiancheng received a letter from Sun Yuanhua. He was very happy when he opened the letter at first. The two had not seen each other for nearly three months since he sent Sun Yuanhua to Liaodong. He didn't know how Sun Yuanhua was doing in Liaodong. It was of course a happy thing to receive a letter from a good friend.

But when he opened the letter and read it carefully, Xu Xiancheng's expression became serious after not long. When he finished reading the letter, his brows were even more furrowed and his face looked very ugly.

"What's wrong? What did Brother Sun say in the letter? Why do you look like this?" Li Xin couldn't help asking when he saw his serious expression.

"Read it yourself." Xu Xiancheng casually handed the letter to him. Li Xin took the letter and started reading it at a glance. After he finished reading the letter, an undisguised look of anger appeared on his face. He raised his hand and slapped the table heavily.

Sun Yuanhua did not speak directly in the letter, but only said some things in a tactful way, and explained his distress and entanglement in facing these things. But Xu Xiancheng and Li Xin were not ordinary people. They knew the court very well, and because of Sun Yuanhua, they had been paying close attention to the situation in Liaodong recently. With what was said in the letter, plus actual confirmation and speculation, the basic situation was almost certain.

"I thought Yuan Chonghuan was a capable minister. With him in Liaodong, the Ming Dynasty was safe and sound. But who would have thought that he was such a person, so deceiving his superiors and subordinates and so bold and reckless. His actions are simply outrageous!"

Li Xin cursed without any hesitation. Although Li Xin was a scholar, he had a very straightforward personality and temper. Moreover, he loved martial arts since he was young. Not only did he have good martial arts skills, but he was also well-versed in military books and had a lot of research on military affairs.

He had always had a good impression of Yuan Chonghuan. After all, Yuan Chonghuan not only defended Ningyuan in the great victory of Ningyuan, but also injured the old slave with artillery fire, and the old slave eventually died of his injuries. Last year, the court re-employed Yuan Chonghuan and appointed him as the governor of Ji-Liao to preside over the military and political affairs of Liaodong. Yuan Chonghuan even promised to pacify Liaodong in five years in front of Emperor Chongzhen and the ministers, which made the whole court have great expectations for Yuan Chonghuan. But he didn't expect that Yuan Chonghuan would cause so many troubles in just a few months after he went to Liaodong. Not to mention the matter of Mao Wenlong, he actually negotiated peace with the Jiannu in private and even sold military rations to the Jiannu. Isn't this aiding the enemy?
Five years to pacify Liaodong? Is that how Yuan Chonghuan did it? He first killed Mao Wenlong, the highest military commander of the Ming Dynasty in Liaodong and a thorn in the eyes of the Jiannu? Then he negotiated peace with the Jiannu and sent them food when his own food was scarce? If this was enough to pacify Liaodong? Could it be that the Jiannu were fools? Li Xin was well-versed in military books and history books. He had never heard of such an operation by the warring parties. It was simply unbelievable.

What made Li Xin even more angry was Yuan Chonghuan's suppression of dissidents, and the fate of Zhao Lujiao made Li Xin feel even more unfair. With such a person as the governor of Ji-Liao, how could Liaodong be pacified? Not to mention five years, it might take fifty years. It was possible that the Jiannu would pacify the Ming army in Liaodong.

After cursing a few times, Li Xin could no longer sit still. He stood up and walked around the room in circles, looking indignant.

Compared to Li Xin's excitement, Xu Xiancheng looked unhappy but he could still sit firmly.

"Brother Xu, you are an official appointed by the imperial court. Now you are not only a Langzhong of the Ministry of Works, but also a Censor. Now Yuan Chonghuan is deceiving the emperor and secretly communicating with the Jian Nu. Are you just going to sit back and do nothing?" Seeing Xu Xiancheng sitting steadily, Li Xin could not help but ask.

"Brother Li, sit down... sit down and talk."

"Sit? How can I sit still now? With such a Ji-Liao governor here, it is simply a fantasy to pacify Liaodong. What's the point of pacifying Liaodong in five years? Haha, hahaha! It's just a foolish dream." Li Xin didn't sit down at all. He waved his hands and spit everywhere, almost spraying Xu Xiancheng in the face.

Xu Xiancheng dodged to the side, thus avoiding the fate of being "washed of face". He stood up with a wry smile, pulled Li Xin and forced him back to his seat, and then persuaded him: "This matter is indeed infuriating, but what can we do if we are angry? Yuan Chonghuan is now in the emperor's favor, and your majesty favors him more than anyone else. Let's not talk about whether this matter can be impeached. Although the censor has the right to impeach based on rumors, once the impeachment is made, it is still unclear whether your majesty will believe it."

"Don't forget, Brother Sun mentioned the matter of Zhao Rujiao in his letter. You don't know about this matter, but I have heard a little about it. General Zhao reported it to Your Majesty as the general, but Your Majesty was not moved at all and even issued an order to reprimand General Zhao. If you impeach Yuan Chonghuan again with this matter, Your Majesty will still not be moved by it and may even misunderstand..."

"What? You, Xu Xiancheng, are still afraid of this? As an imperial censor, it would be fine if you didn't know, but now that the facts are like this, are you going to sit back and watch with Guang Hechen? Where did the courage and ambition you had when you were studying go? Could it be that the Xu Xiancheng I know has become what he is now?" Li Xin asked back coldly, looking at Xu Xiancheng with a serious expression.

"You, you still have such a straightforward temper. It's a good thing you are not in the officialdom, otherwise you would be sent back home after just a few days in office." Seeing Li Xin like this, Xu Xiancheng smiled bitterly and shook his head.

As soon as Li Xin said this, he opened his mouth to refute again, but Xu Xiancheng quickly calmed him down and patiently explained to him.

Xu Xiancheng told Li Xin that it was not a good time to impeach Yuan Chonghuan under the current circumstances. Yuan Chonghuan was highly valued by the emperor, and Emperor Chongzhen already knew about this and had drawn a conclusion. Even Zhao Lushio could not do anything to him.

Although Xu Xiancheng held the post of Supervisory Censor, he was only a censor in name only. To be honest, he was not a real censor. It was not easy to impeach court ministers, especially important ministers like Yuan Chonghuan. From the current situation, even if Xu Xiancheng wrote a letter to impeach, it would be useless. Emperor Chongzhen would not go back on his word, right? Not to mention that he could bring down Yuan Chonghuan, who was at the height of his power, with his impeachment.

Besides, they have no real evidence in their hands. Even if it is a rumor of impeachment, they have to verify it. When the investigation is verified, Sun Yuanhua will inevitably be implicated. By then, Xu Xiancheng may be fine, but what if Sun Yuanhua is implicated because of this matter?
Don't forget that Sun Yuanhua is now under Yuan Chonghuan's command, and Liaodong is a battlefield. Once Yuan Chonghuan knows that Xu Xiancheng's impeachment was due to Sun Yuanhua, no one can guarantee what the outcome of Sun Yuanhua will be.

Yuan Chonghuan was ruthless and merciless. He killed a general like Mao Wenlong and excluded a general like Zhao Lujiao, not to mention Sun Yuanhua. If something happened to Sun Yuanhua, wouldn't it be like harming a friend? Are you willing to watch Sun Yuanhua suffer misfortune? Or even die in Liaodong for no apparent reason?

(End of this chapter)