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

Chapter 118 Fujian is in dire straits, Shaanxi is blood-red, and Gansu is peaceful and tranquil.

The Fujian Circuit Censor led the charge, followed by more than a dozen officials from Fujian and Zhejiang, all impeaching Yuan Chonghuan. Occasionally, one or two people, perhaps on good terms with Yuan Chonghuan, would try to exonerate him, but they were drowned out by the barrage of criticism.

Their words were filled with anguish, and Zhu Youjian even thought that Yuan Chonghuan had slaughtered all the gentry in Fujian. If that were the case, that would be wonderful! Unfortunately, he was still dreaming too much.

Zhu Youjian refused to punish Yuan Chonghuan, citing the reason that "it is not possible to change generals on the eve of battle." Even if he were to punish him, he would wait until there were clear investigation results before making a decision, and he would not simply listen to the one-sided account of the censors. Then, he used the excuse that "the empress is pregnant and cannot sit for long periods of time" to leave.

Back in his study, he saw Yuan Chonghuan's memorial. After reading it, Zhu Youjian couldn't help but chuckle. He had to admit, Yuan Chonghuan was quite the clever fellow! The court had impeached him for all sorts of evil deeds, yet Yuan Chonghuan hadn't taken a single penny from the Fujian gentry; in fact, he had given them money, albeit in a somewhat insulting way.

He forcibly requisitioned the armed merchant ships of local Fujian tycoons and maritime merchants, which Yuan Chonghuan himself described as "renting". A large bird ship cost two thousand taels of silver to build and could be used for several decades. He took a charitable stance and compromised by calculating the service period to twenty years. Therefore, he rented a large bird ship and paid the shipowner one hundred taels of silver per year.

If it is damaged, no compensation will be given at the original price, supposedly "to avoid damaging the shipowner's interests by depreciating the price." Therefore, if there is any damage, they will be compensated with a brand new, government-built "Big Bird" ship. The Big Bird ship is an improved version of the Fujian ship, the most advanced warship in the Ming Dynasty at that time. It can carry twenty-four Hongyi cannons, has a high speed, and a sturdy and durable hull.

As for why government-built ships are cheaper than civilian-built ships, that's a much bigger question. You could say the two types of ships are completely different things. If you trade three government-built ships costing a thousand taels each for one civilian-built ship, people wouldn't be willing to do it!

Thus, Yuan Chonghuan acquired hundreds of large ships for only tens of thousands of taels of rent. He also anticipated being impeached, so he sent a memorial in advance to defend himself, hoping the emperor would protect him!
On the cabinet side, Bi Ziyan warned in a small note that Yuan Chonghuan's actions would affect silk exports from Fujian and Zhejiang, impacting tax revenue in both provinces and the local people's livelihoods. He didn't understand military matters, but he hoped Yuan Chonghuan wouldn't go too far and would quickly deal with Zheng Zhilong without delaying the situation.

Zhu Xieyuan's opinion was completely opposite to Bi Ziyan's. He reminded the emperor not to rush Yuan Chonghuan and to give him more time to train troops and make plans. At the same time, he also felt that Yuan Chonghuan was not honest and should be restrained. He suggested that the emperor inform Yuan Chonghuan to proceed step by step, not to be greedy for merit and to be reckless. As long as he could maintain the situation in Fujian and contain those few big pirates, that would be enough.

The rest is up to Governor Xiong Wencan. We must remain steadfast in our policy of appeasement. The military and financial resources of the Ming Dynasty are not worth wasting on those pirates.

Zhang Ruitu was from Jinjiang, Fujian. Zhu Youjian hadn't even settled accounts with him for bribing Zhou Kui yet! Because he ran away halfway, the people Wei Zhongxian was preparing to use to impeach him didn't have time to speak up. Now, he's recklessly coming to speak for the Fujian gentry.

Zhu Youjian directly dismissed him from his position as Grand Secretary of the Jianji Hall and removed his title of Junior Tutor, stripping him of all his power! The reason given was "colluding with Japanese pirates," but there was no evidence, so he ordered the Three Departments to investigate.

Zhang Ruitu was a favored courtier who died quietly, without even a voice lamenting his fate. He himself was rather sensible; after a year of living in fear, he finally got his comeuppance. His time in the cabinet wasn't good either; nobody took him seriously. The real power in the cabinet lay with the two officials who also held the position of minister; he could only do menial work, with advisory power but no decision-making authority. He was fifty-eight years old; returning to his hometown to enjoy his retirement wouldn't be a bad thing. Seeing that he was somewhat sensible, Zhu Youjian allowed him to retire and return home, granting him money and postal services, and no longer pursuing his charge of "colluding with Japanese pirates."

Yuan Chonghuan gave Zhu Youjian a small surprise, even though he had previously discriminated against him somewhat. However, Mei Zhihuan, the governor of Gansu, gave him a shock. He reported that he had suppressed over eight hundred bandits in the Hetao region and discovered that the Yellow River had become clear. He asserted that this was undoubtedly due to the emperor's wisdom, which had brought peace and prosperity to the Ming Dynasty.

He tactfully explained that he had been guarding the frontier for several years and missed his hometown very much. He had received a letter from home that his elderly mother was critically ill and hoped that the emperor could grant him a leave of absence.

Meanwhile, Shaanxi Governor Hong Chengchou submitted a memorial stating: "The sky over Shaanxi is as red as blood, yellow sand obscures the sun, and the people are terrified. Some disaster victims are even 'cooking human bones for firewood and boiling human flesh for food,' leading to cannibalism and the rise of bandits." He once again requested the imperial court to allocate funds for disaster relief!

Governor-General Sun Chengzong of the Three Border Regions submitted a memorial stating that since assuming office, he had been reorganizing the military, reducing the number of elderly and weak soldiers, and training new troops. In the past six months, he had consolidated three large wagon battalions of six thousand men each, and the three garrisons had gathered ten thousand cavalry. However, the three border regions, especially Gansu and Ningxia, were already sparsely populated and unable to support the border troops; therefore, he requested the court to allocate grain.
In reality, where is the peace and tranquility? It's simply that the Yellow River basin is experiencing less rainfall, resulting in reduced flow and velocity, less soil erosion, and consequently, sediment deposition, making the river appear clearer. The reddish sky over Shaanxi is merely a special optical effect created by dust particles under sunlight. Essentially, both things are the same thing: the severe drought in Northwest China!

Shaanxi needed grain, as did Gansu and Ningxia. Zhu Youjian wasn't completely without grain; the problem was that it couldn't be transported. He planned to have Sun Chuanting transport the grain back, but Sun Chuanting told him that it was nearly two thousand li (about 1,000 kilometers) from the capital to Yansui.

It was possible to head west out of Juyong Pass, cross the Great Wall at Badaling, and traverse the Taihang Mountains directly to Yansui. However, this route was difficult to traverse, making it impassable for large armies and impossible to transport grain. The only option was to take the Jingji Corridor: exiting Juyong Pass, passing through Xuanfu and Datong, and returning to northern Shaanxi from northern Shanxi. Compared to the straight-line distance, this would add over a thousand li to the journey, ultimately resulting in more grain being consumed during transport than actually delivered.

Zhu Youjian had no choice but to send three thousand cavalrymen back with several thousand shi (a unit of dry measure) of military rations. This amount of grain wasn't even enough for the army itself, let alone for disaster relief. These three thousand elite cavalrymen, now each riding two or even three horses, were incredibly fat. They carried a bag of grain on each side of their horses' backs in saddlebags, with each horse carrying a shi, roughly the weight of a person. This didn't significantly deplete their strength or slow their march.

For people of that era, traveling for ten days, half a month, or even several months was normal, but this made Zhu Youjian feel extremely uncomfortable. Both news and the transportation of supplies were severely restricted: news from the local areas often took half a month to reach the capital, and official documents from the court also took a long time to be sent out. If there was anything urgent, by the time it was sent back and forth, the news would be too late.

A vast territory isn't entirely a good thing. The country was already poor, and resources were difficult to allocate. If the Ming Dynasty's resources could be easily transported, Wild Boar Skin would have been crushed long ago! The Ming Dynasty was powerful, but it was also unstable and unable to form a cohesive force.

Throughout history, the solution to this problem has been to vigorously develop the postal relay system. These relay systems were the neural network of the empire; if they malfunctioned, the country would be paralyzed. The Ming Dynasty's postal relay system was already on the verge of collapse; sometimes, the emperor would send lychees not because he liked them.

(End of this chapter)