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

Chapter 486 To untie the bell, you need someone to tie it

The good ones don’t work, the bad ones work.

The old saying is absolutely true. The thing that Cheng Jimin was most worried about soon happened.

Just as Yuan Chonghuan was imprisoned, Emperor Chongzhen sent people out of the city to announce the matter and informed all the troops that Man Gui would replace Yuan Chonghuan as the chief general and ordered all the troops to be under Man Gui's command. Then something happened to the Guanning Army.

Zu Dashou felt something was wrong when he heard the news. As Yuan Chonghuan's staunch confidant, he had long been tied to Yuan Chonghuan.

Zu Dashou had a hand in everything Yuan Chonghuan did in Liaodong over the years. Not only him, but other Liaodong generals as well. They were all members of an interest group. If Yuan Chonghuan was the leader, then Zu Dashou was Yuan Chonghuan's right-hand man.

Now that his elder brother Yuan Chonghuan was imprisoned, Zu Dashou suddenly panicked. What would happen if Yuan Chonghuan implicated him? Compared with Yuan Chonghuan, Zu Dashou was just a general. Once the emperor set his eyes on him, Zu Dashou might end up worse than Yuan Chonghuan.

Thinking of this, Zu Dashou knew that he could not sit and wait for death, and had to respond immediately. However, it was impossible for him to decide the attitude of the entire Guanning Army alone, so the clever Zu Dashou directly used the fact that Yuan Chonghuan was wrongly imprisoned to spread rumors in the army, saying that there were treacherous officials in the court who wanted to target their Guanning Army, and believed that their Guanning Army was the culprit of the Jiannu attack on the capital this time. Imprisoning Yuan Chonghuan was the first step, and the next step was to deal with them one by one, and no one in the Guanning Army could escape.

These rumors quickly spread throughout the Guanning Army. Many generals, including ordinary soldiers, were shocked by the sudden arrest of Yuan Chonghuan by the imperial court. Coupled with Zu Dashou's rumors, they were furious for a while. Many people couldn't help but curse the imperial court for being blind. They had come from Liaodong to rescue the capital with great difficulty. Not to mention their merits, they had also worked hard, right? But now, not only did they arrest their commander, but they also slandered him for colluding with the Jiannu and selling out the country. They even wanted to purge the Guanning Army from top to bottom. This was intolerable!
In the midst of public indignation, Zu Dashou called all the generals together to discuss the situation and said directly that the current situation was very dangerous and if things went wrong, everyone would be doomed. Moreover, Emperor Chongzhen had now asked Man Gui to replace Yuan Chonghuan in commanding the armies. Everyone knew that Man Gui had been ostracized in the Guanning Army and had almost been killed by an accidental attack. Given Man Gui's attitude, it would be strange for him to be close to the Guanning Army.

If Man Guigong takes revenge and attacks the Guanning Army, none of them will be able to escape unscathed. Don't forget that they had Yuan Chonghuan to rule over them before, but now that Yuan Chonghuan has been imprisoned, they no longer have the protection of the higher-ups. If they continue to stay here, they will be at the mercy of others.

Zu Dashou's words touched everyone's heart. Now that Yuan Chonghuan was arrested, Zu Dashou was the highest-ranking officer in the Guanning Army, and he was Yuan Chonghuan's right-hand man, so everyone naturally looked up to him. Everyone immediately asked Zu Dashou what to do now? He couldn't just sit there and wait for death, right?

"What else can we do? Just leave it alone!" Zu Dashou gritted his teeth and said, "If we continue to stay in the capital, we will die. Now that Lord Yuan has been imprisoned, is there any chance for us to turn things around? In my opinion, we might as well just leave and go back to Liaodong!"

"Return to Liaodong?" He Kegang was shocked and shook his head quickly: "No, no, the capital is in crisis right now. If we withdraw our troops to Liaodong without regard for the safety of the capital, it will be a serious crime!"

"Serious crime? How serious?" Zu Dashou asked with a squint.

Seeing that He Kegang was about to speak, Zu Dashou spoke first, "The court has already begun to guard against our Guanning Army. If we don't save ourselves now, I'm afraid that all of our Guanning Army will have a bad ending. It's okay for ordinary soldiers, but you and I are both subordinates of Lord Yuan. If we don't leave now, when the court issues an order and directly escorts us into the city and imprisoned, do you think there is still a chance for us to come out alive?"

"If I stay here, I will die. If I want to survive, I have no choice but to return to Liaodong. Lao He, you and I have worked together for many years. Don't you still trust me? In this case, if you want to stay here, you will be left alone. I don't want to lose my life in vain. Those of you who are willing to go with me, tell me! Let's go together!"

"Grandmaster, I am willing to stand with you and fight together!"

"I am willing to follow Marshal Zu back to Liaodong!"

"Me too!"

At one time, all the generals expressed their attitudes, and almost all of them expressed their willingness to go back to Liaodong with Zu Dashou. As long as they returned to Liaodong, the emperor was far away, and these generals had soldiers, territory and soldiers, and it would not be so easy for the court to control them. However, it was different if they stayed in the capital, as this was not their territory, not to mention that there were the Eight Banners of the Jiannu army on the other side, eyeing them covetously.

The Liaodong generals are called generals, but in fact they are no different from warlords. They had become powerful as early as the Li Chengliang period. After Nurhaci started his rebellion, the Ming army suffered heavy losses in the Battle of Sarhu, and the Liaodong generals began to rise again. During the Yuan Chonghuan period, with Yuan Chonghuan's support, the strength of the Liaodong generals was further improved, and they were no longer like ordinary Ming troops.

This is why Zu Dashou had the confidence to bargain with the court. In his opinion, as long as he led the troops back to Liaodong, Emperor Chongzhen would be unable to do anything to them no matter how angry he was. After all, the troops were in his hands and the territory was also there. As long as Emperor Chongzhen was not stupid and did not want Liaodong to collapse completely, he could only hold his nose and endure them. In this way, their safety would be guaranteed.

He Kegang also thought of this. Besides, he couldn't fight against the entire Liaodong generals alone, not to mention that he valued his life. Seeing that everyone agreed, He Kegang, who had slightly opposed it before, stopped persuading them and immediately expressed his intention to return to Liaodong together.

Just like that, everyone reached a consensus, and Zu Dashou finally felt relieved. He immediately assembled the troops and ordered a withdrawal to Liaodong. When Zu Dashou led the entire Guanning Army to withdraw, and headed east without even saying hello, Emperor Chongzhen was very happy at first. He thought that the capture of Yuan Chonghuan would have an immediate effect, and the Guanning Army took the initiative to attack. But before he could be happy for a while, the person sent by Man Gui to report the news instantly gave Emperor Chongzhen a blow, because Man Gui told Emperor Chongzhen that the Guanning Army was not going to fight at all, but because of Yuan Chonghuan, the Guanning Army directly mutinied, and led by Zu Dashou and He Kegang, they ignored the capital and went directly back to Liaodong.

Upon receiving this news, Emperor Chongzhen was stunned. He never expected that Yuan Chonghuan's troops would just walk away after he captured him. As an emperor, Chongzhen could not imagine that this was still the army of the Ming Dynasty? The Guanning Army actually disobeyed the command of the court and launched a mutiny just because of Yuan Chonghuan. They broke camp and left without any orders, abandoning him? "Traitor! Traitor! Rebellion! Rebellion!"

Emperor Chongzhen was so angry that he cursed loudly, but at the same time he was also afraid. Fortunately, he had captured Yuan Chonghuan in advance and put this guy in the Jinyiwei prison. If Yuan Chonghuan was still in the army, wouldn't the Guanning Army follow Yuan Chonghuan to do whatever he wanted?

Unexpectedly, Yuan Chonghuan's influence on the Guanning Army was so great that the most powerful Guanning Army in the Ming Dynasty almost became Yuan Chonghuan's private army. What did Yuan Chonghuan want to do? Thinking of Yuan Chonghuan's several requests to bring troops to the capital for rest, Emperor Chongzhen was even more sweaty. Fortunately, he did not agree. If the ferocious Guanning Army was really allowed into the capital, Yuan Chonghuan would suddenly attack, and coupled with the Jiannu outside the city who had always been unclear with Yuan Chonghuan, the two would join forces, and the Ming Dynasty might be over.

For a moment, Emperor Chongzhen wanted to order the execution of Yuan Chonghuan immediately. He no longer trusted Yuan Chonghuan at all, and was only deeply afraid and angry. However, with the enemy at hand and the withdrawal of the Guanning Army, the defense of the capital was weakened by half. It would be difficult to defend the army of Xuanda alone, not to mention a direct battle with the Jiannu. This problem must be solved as soon as possible. Emperor Chongzhen, who was as anxious as an ant on a hot pot, now regretted taking down Yuan Chonghuan so quickly. If he had known this would happen, he should have listened to Cheng Jiming's advice and kept a hand first, and dealt with Yuan Chonghuan after solving the Jiannu problem.

But the thing had been done and there was no point in regretting it. In desperation, Emperor Chongzhen asked Cheng Jiming to come and discuss what he should do now.

Cheng Jiming hurried into the palace and soon met Emperor Chongzhen. Emperor Chongzhen did not beat around the bush and directly told him the situation of the Guanning Army and asked him how to solve the problem.

Upon hearing this, Cheng Jiming secretly groaned. He had long expected that the capture of Yuan Chonghuan would inevitably trigger a chain reaction, but he did not expect the reaction to be so quick, and that the Guanning Army was so bold that they actually disobeyed the emperor's will and withdrew to Liaodong without authorization. This kind of thing had never happened since the founding of the Ming Dynasty.

"Lord Cheng, how should we deal with this matter?"

Cheng Jiming did not answer immediately. He thought about it carefully before saying, "Your Majesty, I think the person who tied the bell should be the one to untie it. If this matter is to be resolved, it should be Yuan Chonghuan."

"Yuan Chonghuan? What? Are you going to plead for Yuan Chonghuan again?" Emperor Chongzhen was unhappy when he heard this.

Cheng Jiming said quickly, "Of course not. Yuan Chonghuan was imprisoned by your majesty's order. Your majesty was far-sighted and saw that Yuan Chonghuan had long had ulterior motives. I am ashamed that I did not see through it before. Now the unusual movement of the Guanning Army proves that your majesty was wise and decisive in arresting Yuan Chonghuan..."

To work under Emperor Chongzhen, one had to understand his temper. Although Cheng Jiming's words were half true and half false, they really touched the heart of Emperor Chongzhen and made him look much better.

"My dear minister, you are right. I think so too. I was originally wondering if I had wronged Yuan Chonghuan, but the current situation of the Guanning Army proves that I am right!"

"Your Majesty is right!" Cheng Jiming flattered him again, and then continued: "What I meant by tying the bell is to untie it. I don't mean that Your Majesty should release Yuan Chonghuan. With the Guanning Army in such a state, Yuan Chonghuan must not be released. Not only can he not be released, but he must be held accountable afterwards. How can a minister in this world hold an army and threaten the emperor with it?"

"But I think that the war is more important now, so we need to be cautious about this matter. Since the Guanning Army is under the banner of Yuan Chonghuan, I think it would be better to let Yuan Chonghuan write a letter to the generals of the Guanning Army and ask them to return to defend the capital."

"Is this... feasible?" Emperor Chongzhen hesitated.

"I think it might be feasible, but Your Majesty must promise me one thing."

Emperor Chongzhen said without thinking: "As long as what you say makes sense, I can agree to not just one but two things."

Cheng Jiming said immediately: "No need for two things, just need Your Majesty to pardon the generals of Guanning Army. Although the generals of Guanning Army have committed serious crimes, Your Majesty, please forgive them for the sake of the overall situation. In addition, Guanning Army is strong and will need their efforts to repel Jiannu, so I dare to ask Your Majesty to show mercy..."

Cheng Jiming hadn't said a few words yet, which was that the Guanning Army had become too powerful to be eliminated, and these soldiers were not ordinary civil servants. You, as an emperor, could arrest or even kill civil servants at will, but if the soldiers really turned against you, they could do so at any time, just like now, Zu Dashou and others had run away with their troops and did not listen to you as the emperor at all. For the sake of the overall situation, you had better hold your breath and appease these soldiers first, otherwise the problem could not be solved at all.

Hearing Cheng Jiming's words, Emperor Chongzhen's face was uncertain. With his temper, he wanted to capture Zu Dashou and others and cut them into pieces. But when he calmed down and thought about it, Cheng Jiming was right. Now he was begging the Guanning Army. If he forced the Guanning Army too much, Zu Dashou and others would not listen to his orders at all. By then, not only would the problem not be solved, but even the capital would be in danger.

For the sake of the overall situation, Emperor Chongzhen finally gritted his teeth and nodded. He told Cheng Jiming that he could agree to pardon the generals of the Guanning Army and guaranteed in the name of the emperor that he would not take revenge later. As long as the Guanning Army could come back, continue to guard the military and repel the Jiannu, then not only would they be exempt from fault, but he, as the emperor, also promised to reward them well.

(End of this chapter)