Late Ming Dynasty: So what if Emperor Chongzhen was inactive?!

Chapter 104 Zhu Youjian was shocked: "Oh no! I've become Huang Taiji's brother-in-law?!"

If he wins, everything will be fine. Zhu Youjian noticed that recently there were many more memorials praising him, and far fewer memorials impeaching others and causing him trouble. Some people began to boast that he had swept away the decadence of the Tianqi era and that there were signs of a revival.

Zhu Youjian decided to reward himself, as the pressure had been immense lately. Advocating for war wasn't easy; if they lost, there would be consequences. Don't think the emperor could escape responsibility; you'd either have to admit fault or shift the blame. Admitting fault meant admitting incompetence, but shifting the blame? Everyone wasn't stupid.

Shen Yourong's granddaughter's name was Shen Peiqing. Although she came from a military family, she was not as fierce as a daughter of a military family. Her skills were misplaced, and she was instead very proficient in music, chess, calligraphy, painting, and needlework. She was also gentle and weak, allowing the emperor to do whatever he wanted.

Zhu Youjian, mindful of her grandfather's great achievements and her own beauty and gentle nature, bestowed upon her the title of Consort Shen.

Hong Chengchou is about the same age as Sun Chuanting, but unlike Sun, he has three daughters. This time, Zhu Youjian didn't capture them all; he only brought one into the palace and made her Consort Hong.

If Sun Chuanting's actions that time were so sudden that no one had time to react because the emperor had just ascended the throne and no one expected him to be so lustful, then his actions now could not be kept secret from the other officials.

The nobles began to complain, accusing the emperor of favoritism: if women from humble families were no longer being chosen, why couldn't women from their own noble families be selected? So the nobles also began trying to send women into the palace. Wang Chengen and Wei Zhongxian received considerable bribes. Zhu Youjian naturally did not resist, with only two requirements: the woman must be good-looking, and her family must be of high status.

Zhang Weixian's concubine, Zhang Fei, had a granddaughter from each of the Dukes of Wei and Ding, who became the two Xu concubines. Since the family had produced two dukes, two more concubines had emerged. Zhu Youjian asked Bi Ziyan and Zhu Xieyuan if they wanted to join in the fun. The two criticized the emperor for being outrageous and then each sent a granddaughter.

Zhu Xieyuan felt he was getting old and didn't know how many more years he had left. Although he had reached the pinnacle of his power, his descendants were not very promising; once he was gone, their wealth and status became the object of envy. Being a relative of the emperor might mean being ostracized, but at least the emperor would protect them, ensuring their safety, right?

Bi Ziyan, on the other hand, went all the way down the wrong path, also thinking of returning the favor. After all, he was already a loyal member of the imperial faction and a henchman of the emperor, so there was nothing wrong with going further and becoming a relative of the emperor.

Seeing this, other officials went even crazier. At first, everyone disliked becoming relatives of the emperor because it would affect their careers. But now that the chief minister and the second minister were leading the charge, what did they have to worry about? As a result, the trend of bribing the emperor with people became more and more intense: those with daughters would bribe with daughters, those without would bribe with granddaughters, those without granddaughters would bribe with nieces, and those without nieces could adopt goddaughters, right?

Later, the Ming emperor's reputation for being a womanizer spread to the grasslands. Envoys from the Tumed and Khorchin tribes who came to pay homage each brought a Qiqige (a type of noblewoman), claiming she was a noblewoman from their Golden Family and wishing to marry into the Ming emperor's family.

Putting aside the question of whether the woman was of noble birth or not, the more important question was: why was the Khorchin tribe here too? Zhu Youjian was somewhat bewildered. Wasn't the Khorchin flirting with Huang Taiji? The two sides had engaged in numerous marriages, with Huang Taiji himself marrying several women. Zhu Youjian was shocked: "Oh no! I'm now brothers-in-law with Huang Taiji?!" The impact of this battle on Zhu Youjian was far greater than he had imagined. Sixteen tribes from Southern Mongolia, including the Khorchin, Chahar, Kharachin, and Tumed, had all come. The Chechen Khanate of Northern Mongolia and the Dzungar Khanate of Western Mongolia had also sent envoys. Thirty out of thirty-three major Mongol tribes had arrived. Ligdan Khan claimed to be a descendant of the Golden Family and the overlord of the steppe—how laughable! It was as if everyone wasn't a descendant of the Golden Family!
The rise of the Chahar tribe came at the cost of bullying other tribes. The major tribes on the grasslands had long harbored resentment towards the Chahar, especially the Southern Mongols. Previously, the Khorchin, having been bullied to the point of desperation, had sought refuge with Huang Taiji, but their relationship with him wasn't particularly good. Now, seeing that the Ming Dynasty still seemed strong, they decided to hedge their bets, playing the fence-sitter.

This time, the Court of State Ceremonial, the Ministry of War, and the Ministry of Revenue are in for a busy time. The harsh climate is difficult for the Ming Dynasty, but even more so for the people on the grasslands. The drought is not limited to Shaanxi; the Northeast Plain, the Mongolian Plateau, the Junggar Basin, the Pamir Plateau, and the Kazakh steppe are all severely affected. The lower reaches of the Amu Darya and Syr Darya rivers have repeatedly dried up, making irrigation for oasis agriculture difficult. It is said that even the snow line in the Tian Shan Mountains has moved upwards.

Autumn and winter brought snow disasters, with snow several feet deep, freezing livestock to death; spring and summer brought droughts, turning grasslands into deserts, and even the roots of grass were dug up by cattle and sheep. Upon hearing that the Ming Dynasty intended to open up trade, they all rushed over. Previously, a large portion of the trade market had been taken by the Tumed tribe, leaving other tribes subject to secondary exploitation by the Tumed.

Now that the Prince of Shunyi has been defeated by the Chahar, and the Chahar have been crippled by the Ming Dynasty, a large piece of the pie has opened up in the border trade, and everyone wants to see if they can grab this benefit. In fact, the Mongol invasion of the south wasn't out of boredom; if they were living well, they wouldn't want to fight. Now these tribes want to come to the Ming Dynasty to get some grain.

The Ming Dynasty also faced food shortages, as did the entire Northern Hemisphere. During the Little Ice Age, obtaining food was extremely difficult. In contrast, Liaodong, influenced by warm ocean currents, was in a humid period. It was the only region in the entire north suitable for cultivation, with fertile soil and adequate humid and hot conditions.

But the Jurchens didn't farm in such good land, nor did they allow the Han people to farm. They wanted to use it to raise horses, and they used rice paddies to raise horses! Other places lacked food because of climate issues, but the food shortage in Liaodong was purely caused by Nurhaci and Huang Taiji. Even the harvest from the military farms in western Liaodong during the Ming Dynasty was quite good.

The Ming Dynasty's usual tactic was to impose an economic blockade on the Manchus and Mongols, and to embargo iron. The court repeatedly issued orders and the emperor repeatedly issued edicts to strictly prohibit smuggling along the border. Zhu Youjian, however, felt that since it was impossible to prevent or control, it would be better to simply lift the ban.

There's no need to set up the complicated horse markets of the past. Trade can be opened directly, and the imperial court and the people can trade freely with the Mongol tribes. Ironware will not be banned from being transported, except for one thing: firearms! After trade is opened, checkpoints will be set up to collect customs duties. The nine border regions are natural checkpoints, and it is not as easy for merchants to evade taxes here as it is for merchants in the interior.

It must be said that Zhu Youjian's ideas were extremely radical, practically a complete rejection of the border policies of the previous two hundred years. The ministers complained bitterly, expressing their incomprehension: "We were originally willing to fight to the death, but Your Majesty is leading the way in aiding the enemy. What can we do?"

Zhu Youjian explained that the Ming Dynasty had previously banned the export of ironware because warfare relied on sturdy iron armor and sharp weapons. Now, times had changed; even triple-layered iron armor could not withstand the bombardment of cannons.

The once mighty Iron Pagoda has become a sitting duck, its former glory gone. There's no need for us to continue the iron embargo. The Mongols want grain, but we don't have much. We might as well give them more weapons and let them fight each other for pastures and water, making the battles even more intense.

(End of this chapter)