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

Chapter 134 Mutual suspicion leads to unanimous opposition to peace talks!

Zu Dashou was dishonest; he himself was the vanguard commander-in-chief stationed in Jinzhou; his younger brother Zu Dabi commanded the elite "Yiding Tuqi" cavalry of Guan Ning; and his cousin Zu Dale served as the deputy commander-in-chief of the Liaodong vanguard battalion, commanding elite infantry.

Of the 60,000 men in the entire Liaoxi Army Corps, the Zu family could directly command about 10,000, and these 10,000 were elite troops. Their wealth was arguably even greater than that of the emperor. If the current elite troops of the Beijing Garrison were sent out to fight the Zu family army, they might not be able to win.

What's even more interesting is that Zu Dashou had a nephew named Wu Sangui!

The Zu family has been rooted in western Liaoning since the Imjin War, and has been operating there for decades. It is no exaggeration to say that they are a deeply rooted and powerful family. The Zu family is the embodiment of a military family in western Liaoning.

When Xiong Tingbi was defending Liaodong, he said, "The people of Liaodong are unusable, and the generals of Liaodong are good at fleeing." In fact, it proved that the generals of western Liaodong were indeed disloyal to the court: first, Zu Dashou surrendered to the Manchus twice, and then Wu Sangui opened the gates to welcome the enemy. This group of people was really too strange.

Was it the imperial court that wronged the Liaodong people, or the Liaodong people that wronged the Ming Dynasty? Zhu Youjian was too lazy to sort out these grievances. But it was better to deal with unstable factors like the Zu family as soon as possible.

It must be said that there were loyal ministers of the Ming Dynasty in western Liaoning. Among them, Zhao Lüjiao, the general of Shanhaiguan, was the most brilliant, not only because he died for the Ming Dynasty, but also because of his keen battlefield intuition.

He was always the first to notice the Jurchens' unusual behavior and quickly took countermeasures, but unfortunately, these measures were often ignored. He was a general with extremely high potential, but a great general who died young due to a lack of sufficient platform to showcase his talents.

But here's the problem: should we bring back this potential traitor and keep him by our side, or should we keep loyal and valiant generals by our side? It feels like we're going to get stabbed whether we stick our necks out or not.

When Sun Chengzong was in charge of Liaodong, he was determined to recover lost territory and often took the initiative to attack. In fact, he did successfully recover large areas of lost land, but at an extremely high cost. Whether it was worth it is hard to say.

After Zhu Youjian ascended the throne, the Ming Dynasty did not launch any proactive attacks. There were minor skirmishes between the two sides at the front, mostly between border patrol cavalry, and the two sides were locked in a stalemate.

The Ming Dynasty's current tax revenue, after deducting 70% of its expenditures, can cover the military expenses of the nine border regions, provided there is no war at present. During the period when the court was busy recovering lost territories, the Ming Dynasty's military expenditure once reached over 90%, truly risking its life.

When the news broke that the emperor intended to abandon Liaodong, the court officials made a fuss for a while. It was only because Zhu Youjian was thick-skinned enough and his will to give up was firm enough; if it were any other young emperor, after being provoked by these court officials with sarcastic remarks, he would probably have shouted and stubbornly insisted on fighting the Jurchens.

Later, these court officials found it surprisingly appealing. With money from the court, they could receive salaries; without war, the pressure wasn't so great, and they didn't have to be yelled at by the emperor every day. Their lives actually became quite enjoyable.

Against this backdrop, Huang Taiji's letter of peace was passed from Zu Dashou in Jinzhou to Yuan Keli, the military governor.

Although the old man sensed something was wrong, he dared not conceal or make a decision on his own regarding such an important matter as peace negotiations.

Therefore, the letter was passed on to the emperor, but because it was too sensitive, it was delivered in secret and did not go through the court.

After Zhu Youjian looked at it, he originally wanted to throw it to the imperial chefs as firewood, but then he thought, this is damn not right!

Let alone the Liaodong Military Commissioner being attacked with rumors of "secretly colluding with the Jurchens and making private peace negotiations," even if such accusations were pinned on the emperor himself, he would not be able to withstand it!
This matter must be taken seriously and urgently, and it needs to be discussed openly.

Just as Huang Taiji liked to use the phrase "this decision was the result of discussions and deliberations among all the princes" to shut Amin up, he also needed to share responsibility on such important and sensitive issues.

On the afternoon of October 10th, the first year of the Chongzhen reign, which was supposed to be a day when court was suspended, Zhu Youjian was taking his eldest daughter, Chou Chou, to inspect her younger siblings.

Now, however, an emergency court meeting has to be convened to prevent any unforeseen complications. There's a saying: "It takes only a mouth to spread rumors, but running around like a headless chicken to refute them," and "Mud falls down your crotch, a camera is hidden in the sole of your shoe!" This savage Huang Taiji, though, wrote a peace letter in a rather ornate style; it's unclear whether he had Fan Wencheng write it for him.

Jiang Xikong, the Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies, loudly read aloud Huang Taiji's letter of peace negotiations in the court, the gist of which was:

After Huang Taiji ascended the throne, he often thought of the protracted war in Liaodong and the suffering of the people, and his heart was filled with unbearable grief.

His father, Nurhaci, raised an army because he had suffered greatly from the humiliation of the Ming Dynasty's border officials and was forced to rebel.

The two countries have been at war for many years, with countless soldiers and civilians killed or wounded. This tragic situation is not what he and His Majesty wished for.

He had always admired the etiquette and culture of the Central Plains and hoped to quell the war and appease the people.

Given the current situation, if the two countries continue their war, it will only increase the suffering of the people and will not benefit the country.

Therefore, he decided to send envoys to the Ming Dynasty to establish friendly relations, hoping to discuss peace with the Ming emperor and end the war.

To show his sincerity, he proposed the following terms:

I. The two countries shall demarcate their territories with Ningyuan and Jinzhou as the border, and thereafter each shall guard its own territory and not invade the other.
Second, the Ming Dynasty would send 10,000 taels of gold, 1 million taels of silver, and 1,000 bolts of silk to Jianzhou every year, while the Later Jin would reciprocate with 1,000 catties of ginseng and 1,000 sable furs, exchanging goods and services.
Third, both sides exchange envoys and congratulate and mourn each other on good and bad occasions, thereby enhancing diplomatic relations.

IV. If migrants from either country cross the border, they must be repatriated by their respective authorities and shall not be accepted.
Fifth, immediately cease hostilities and open border trade to alleviate the suffering of the people.

As soon as Jiang Xikong finished speaking, a loud "hum" rang out, causing an uproar among the officials!
Right Vice Censor-in-Chief Shan Mingxu jumped out and shouted: "The Jurchens are traitors beyond the reach of civilization. Nurhaci invaded the border for no reason, and now he is demanding gold and land. This is not a peace negotiation, but forcing us to cede territory and pay reparations! In the past, the Song Dynasty paid tribute, which ultimately led to the humiliation of Jingkang. How can Your Majesty follow suit?"

“Speak properly! I just asked you to discuss this, how did you start imitating Emperor Huizong?!” Zhu Youjian said, very displeased.

"Your Majesty, please forgive me. I was too indignant and behaved improperly before Your Majesty. I beg Your Majesty to punish me. However... what is there to discuss in this matter?! Those who advocate peace talks should be executed!" Shan Mingxu said with a righteous expression.

Zhu Youjian frowned, feeling extremely unlucky.

“Your Majesty, the price of ginseng is now very low, unlike in the past. Ten bundles of ginseng can only buy a bushel of rice, and a thousand sable furs are worth no more than ten thousand taels of silver. This is far less than demanding ten thousand taels of gold, a million taels of silver, and a thousand bolts of silk from our Great Ming. Such demands are nothing more than empty extortion, no different from paying tribute, and their desire for peace is not sincere!” Bi Ziyan said.

“Oh dear, my Lord Bi, what time is it? Still talking about money?! Your Majesty, the soldiers are sharpening their swords, ready to die for you, eagerly anticipating the expedition to Liaodong and the recovery of lost territory. If we were to negotiate peace now, it would likely damage morale and discourage the soldiers! I oppose peace talks!” Zhang Weixian shouted.

“Huang Taiji is untrustworthy. He also sought peace after the Battle of Ningjin in the past, but then still attacked and plundered Zunhua. Whether this proposal is a genuine peace agreement still needs to be investigated,” Wang Zaijin said.

His attitude was rather ambiguous. He had personally witnessed the battle between the Jurchens and the Ming army. As a witness to the "disastrous defeat at Guangning," he did not actually have much confidence in his own army.

(End of this chapter)