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

Chapter 129 Chaos in Northern Shaanxi, Wilderness in Liaodong

In mid-September, autumn taxes were gradually submitted across the country. The timing of the autumn harvest varies greatly nationwide, and the collection of autumn taxes is not as concentrated as that of summer taxes; it begins in August, but in some places it may be delayed until December at the latest.

However, just as people across the country were busy harvesting rice and wheat and paying taxes to those damned tax collectors, bad news kept coming from the semi-locked-down northern Shaanxi:
Wang Jiayin, the leader of a rebellion in Fugu County, gathered thousands of people to start a riot. He captured Fugu County, killed county officials and clerks, looted government granaries, and later occupied Huangfuchuan and Qingshuibao.

However, the garrison inside the fort had already withdrawn beforehand. The Fugu Garrison Command notified the county magistrate when they withdrew, but unfortunately, the magistrate was a good official and was unwilling to leave.

He said, "What kind of county magistrate would abandon the people under his jurisdiction and run away? He wants to stay and provide relief to the disaster victims, and lead the people to survive."

He also tried to persuade the garrison commander not to leave and to stay and help with his troops, but Commander Zhang said that he only obeyed military orders and left anyway.

The county magistrate died. At first, he opened a porridge shop to provide thick porridge for the disaster victims, but later it became thin porridge. He did petition the prefectural government, but Zhu Tongmeng, the prefect of Yan'an Prefecture, told him that the Yan'an treasury was empty, the refugees were everywhere, and there was no way to provide relief. He had already reported to the provincial administration and petitioned the court for relief.

Unfortunately, they did not receive any relief supplies. Instead, they received the imperial court's order to withdraw troops and a decree allowing local officials to evacuate with the army.

The thin porridge slowly turned into rice water, so clear you could see the bottom. The people thought the magistrate and others had embezzled the disaster relief grain, until they opened the empty government granary and realized they had wrongly executed the magistrate. No, they were not wrong. The magistrate wouldn't let them into the city; the magistrate was too wicked!
The wealthy families in the county still have a lot of grain. The county magistrate must have hidden the grain in their homes! They sell a bushel of grain for several hundred coins; it's outrageous!

But now all these things can be taken for free. The young ladies and maids of these wealthy families are so beautiful, they look like celestial beings. It's just a pity that they can't withstand much hardship.

In Ansai, starving people rebelled and elected Gao Yingxiang as their leader; in Mizhi, there was Zhang Xianzhong, in Dingbian, there was Shen Yiyuan, and in Yanchuan, there was Buzhanni; in Shenmu, Suide, Yanchuan, Lingzhou... war raged everywhere in northern Shaanxi, bandits rose up everywhere, captured prefectures and plundered wealthy households, and almost no one offered any real resistance.

People discovered that the garrison in northern Shaanxi seemed to have vanished mysteriously, and even the guards along the border wall had long since withdrawn, leaving only empty walls and fortresses. Occasionally, Mongols could be seen riding horses around the border wall, some seemingly restless. They awoke from their victory with a sudden wave of fear!

Zhu Youjian discovered that his intervention had prematurely ignited the rebellion in Shaanxi, and that the fire was burning even more fiercely and quickly than before. He didn't know if what he was doing was right or wrong, but he didn't want the court to be burdened by the disaster in Shaanxi; he wanted to free up his resources to focus on dealing with Huang Taiji.

The first year of the Chongzhen reign marked the first minor peak of the severe drought. Shanxi, Henan, Hebei, Shandong and other places also experienced droughts of varying degrees. The situation in Liaodong was also bad; the entire Liaodong region suffered a severe drought this year, with the land barren for thousands of miles, crops failing to grow, and large areas of millet and wheat failing to yield any harvest.

The entire Liaoxi military settlement only yielded 100,000 shi of grain, requiring the imperial court to allocate 800,000 shi of military rations. Grain prices in Liaodong soared, with a dou of rice costing eight taels of silver, leading to widespread poverty, rampant banditry, severe famine, and even cannibalism.

At this time, smuggling grain to Liaodong was extremely profitable. If grain was transported from the north, the profit would be eighty times; if grain was transported from the south, the profit would be one hundred and twenty times. Who could tolerate this? Even the garrison in Liaoxi could not tolerate it.

Man Gui impeached Zu Dashou for smuggling military supplies to the enemy, while Yang Guodong, the General Commander of Dengzhou and Laizhou, impeached Mao Wenlong for "privately trading grain and silk with the enemy for ginseng and sable, using this as a means of protection." Zu Dashou denied colluding with the enemy, submitting a memorial to defend himself, saying that he had failed in his duties and requesting punishment. Mao Wenlong said that he traded with the Jurchens to gather intelligence, and that Dongjiang Town had too many people and too little pay to support them all; he had no choice but to do so. He said that he would stop trading with the Jurchens if the court provided sufficient supplies.

The court officials felt that Mao Wenlong was threatening the court and was arrogant because of his achievements, and strongly suggested that the emperor punish him severely, preferably by stripping him of his title.

Holy crap, a 120-fold profit! Who the hell could tolerate that? Even Zhu Youjian himself couldn't stand it! Enough said, sell! The imperial court directly sold grain to Liaodong!!!
"Your Majesty, you mustn't!!! The court's strategy in Liaodong was to cut off the Jurchens' profits from salt, iron, and grain, thus trapping and killing them. Now that victory is imminent, how can Your Majesty sacrifice the greater good for a small gain? If we supply the enemy with rice and grain, they will raise tens of thousands of troops and invade the border again, which would be helping the enemy to attack themselves."

"A severe drought has struck northern Shaanxi, causing the price of rice to plummet to two ounces per dou (a unit of dry measure), leading to widespread displacement. If the imperial court has surplus grain, it must prioritize providing relief to the interior of China; otherwise, bribing the enemy while neglecting its own needs will inevitably alienate the people!"

"Your Majesty, I have heard that Emperor Taizu Gao's strategy for controlling the borders was to cut off the barbarians' needs for gold, silk, salt, and iron, thus weakening them internally and troubling them externally."

Now that the Jurchens are entrenched in Liaodong, it is the right time to follow this old strategy, cut off their grain transport routes, so that there is no harvest in the fields and no goods to buy or sell in the markets, and they will perish without the need for war.

If Your Majesty were to readily believe the words of unscrupulous merchants and lift the ban on the rice trade, the Jurchen chieftain would surely use this to support his able-bodied men and repair his armor. One day, his iron cavalry would once again trample across Yuguan Pass. Wouldn't this be using the treasury's reserves to fund the jaws of wolves and tigers? This is truly an act of driving fish into a deep pool or birds into a thicket—absolutely unacceptable!

"Hiss!" Zhu Youjian, seeing the fervent fervor in the court, felt a surge of rage. A hundred and twenty times the profit! Weren't they all tempted?!
Zhu Youjian looked at Bi Ziyan, who said that the price of rice in Liaodong was eight taels of silver per dou (a unit of dry measure), because they had no grain. If the imperial court were to transport grain on a large scale to sell, the price would gradually decrease, and the profits would not be as substantial as expected. Moreover, transporting grain from the capital to Liaodong was not easy.

However, he did not say whether or not to sell grain. Such matters concerning Liaodong strategy were the responsibility of the Ministry of War and the Liaodong Military Commissioner. Although he was the Grand Secretary, he performed the duties of the Minister of Revenue; in military matters, he only concerned himself with finances and offered no other opinions.

This year's autumn harvest was severely affected by the drought, and the yield was indeed poor. Grain production in the north suffered widespread losses; the summer harvest was only 30% and the autumn harvest 70%, meaning this year's figures have almost evened out.

Summer taxes were mostly paid in silver, while autumn taxes were mostly paid in grain. Other miscellaneous taxes on silk and other silks were collected during the summer harvest, leaving only the silver tax on land and the remaining half of the Liaodong military pay during the autumn harvest.

Overall, the total autumn tax revenue in the north is even less than the summer tax revenue, and various regions also need to provide disaster relief, so the situation is not optimistic.

The south is not affected much. The problem is that the canal transport is at its peak from May to September, and it will stop after that due to the drop in water level and the freezing of the river. The south has plenty of money and grain, but it just can't be transported over.

Therefore, Zhu Youjian decided to sell!

(End of this chapter)