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

Chapter 136 Yang Hao: "Your Majesty, have the Jurchens reached Beijing?!"

From the bottom up, people have to run themselves ragged to seek justice and petition; but from the top down, it's just a matter of saying a word.

In fact, the emperor himself has always been the most proactive in dealing with defeated generals, since punishing officials is an important part of the emperor's power. Since the emperor has spoken, overturning a verdict is quite easy.

Of course, overturning a verdict involves two aspects: conviction and punishment.

Overturning a conviction would involve too many factors and be virtually impossible. Furthermore, it is true that Xiong Tingbi "lost his army and abandoned his territory." Yang Hao, as the Liaodong Military Commissioner in charge of commanding the Battle of Sarhu, did indeed lose the battle. They all bear responsibility for these events. There is no evidence that the joint trial by the three courts was unfair.

However, conviction doesn't change anything; the emperor can grant a pardon. Furthermore, the Ming Dynasty adhered to the principle of "treating merits and demerits equally" when dealing with officials, meaning merits and demerits could offset each other.

Xiong Tingbi did achieve some success in his campaign in Liaodong, but he lost one battle and wiped out all his achievements. Yang Hao, on the other hand, had a strong foundation from his victory in the Battle of Ulsan in Korea, where he dealt a heavy blow to the Japanese. He was regarded as a revival by the Korean officials and people, and his prestige was even higher than that of their king. Killing Yang Hao was likely an international event.

Because of his significant merits and demerits, his punishment was put on hold, and he has been imprisoned in the imperial prison ever since, almost forgotten by others.

Led by Vice Grand Secretary Zhu Xieyuan, the three departments retrieved previous case files and, within three days, compiled a list of merits and demerits for Xiong Tingbi, Ma Lin, Yang Hao, and Wang Huazhen.

Xiong Tingbi was initially beheaded and his head displayed in the marketplace, his head sent to the nine border regions, his property confiscated, and his family members either humiliated or killed. Zhu Youjian believed that such punishment was excessive and ordered that his reputation be restored, his land and houses returned, and gold and silver be given to him. He also allowed Xiong Tingbi's second son, Xiong Zhaobi, to collect his remains and return his head.

His wife, Chen, was granted the title of Third-Rank Imperial Lady. Xiong Zhaobi was granted the title of Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Wang Eryu, the Magistrate of Jiangxia County, was dismissed.

Of course, Xiong Tingbi's death was also related to the eunuch faction. Emotionally speaking, Wei Zhongxian should have been executed, but rationally speaking, Wei Zhongxian was still useful.

Moreover, Wei Zhongxian did not have the power to kill a second-rank civil official; it was ultimately the emperor's will, that is, the order of his carpenter brother. As the saying goes, a son should not speak ill of his father, and having inherited the throne from his brother, Zhu Youjian could not criticize his brother.

However, the emperor could not make decisions unilaterally. Xiong Tingbi's death sentence was the result of the trial by the three judicial departments. He had a bad temper and offended all the ministers in the court. Overturning the verdict was one thing, but it was difficult to hold the original judges accountable. Once a precedent was set, everyone would feel insecure. It was a helpless but realistic situation. Zhu Youjian could only try his best to compensate Xiong Tingbi's family.

If he had become emperor earlier, or if Xiong Tingbi hadn't died, they could have tried to help him out, since the "redemption through merit" method could cover up any crime.

Ma Lin was initially convicted of "fearing the enemy and fleeing first." Later, while defending Kaiyuan, he and his two sons died in battle, and were neither held accountable nor posthumously awarded any honors. Zhu Xieyuan believed that he did not flee out of fear of the enemy, but rather that after a fierce battle, upon learning that his allied forces had been wiped out, he chose to lead the remaining troops in retreat.

Zhu Youjian agreed with this view and posthumously conferred upon Ma Lin the title of Left Vice Commander. His third son, Ma Kuang, inherited his father's merits and was promoted from Liaodong Guerrilla to Changping Assistant Commander, where he was assigned to guard Tianshou Mountain and was responsible for the maintenance of the imperial mausoleum guards.

Theoretically, the Beijing Imperial Tombs Guard consisted of twelve guards, each with 5,600 men, totaling 67,200 men. However, in reality, there were fewer than 5,000 men, and they were all weak and insignificant soldiers.

Yang Hao's merits and demerits canceled each other out, so he was pardoned; Wang Huazhen was primarily responsible for the defeat at Guangning, for underestimating the enemy, advancing recklessly, misjudging people, and abandoning the main army, fleeing the city with only a few close confidants, which led to the complete collapse of the Liaoxi defense line. He was executed, his property confiscated, but no one else was implicated.

The crisp autumn air is perfect for executions. Zhu Youjian could tolerate defeat, and even allow desertion, but you had to bring the army back! Deserting and abandoning allies in the face of battle deserves execution!

On October 13th, Zhu Youjian went to the prison again to bail someone out. Unfortunately, he ran into Yang Hao's family, who had bribed the Imperial Guards to visit him. The scene was extremely awkward. "Your Majesty!" The guard of the Northern Garrison slammed his forehead heavily against a brick. "This humble servant deserves to die! This old woman said she was bringing winter clothes..."

Behind him, a young man who appeared to be Yang Hao's grandson and an elderly woman who seemed to be Yang Hao's wife huddled together, their faces ashen. The food box that the old woman was tightly holding fell to the ground, and a dusty pastry rolled to Zhu Youjian's boots.

Zhu Youjian waved his hand at the guard, a little helplessly, and said, "Alright, this is the last time. Remember to return the money to them."

"As for you two, please wait outside for a moment. I have something to say to General Yang," Zhu Youjian said to the grandfather and grandson.
The Northern Garrison Command was initially established to oversee the imperial prison. While its powers evolved and its scale expanded, the imperial prison itself remained. The prison had few cells, was rather cold and damp, and many people died there without trial.

However, Yang Hao was not subjected to torture or abuse. His cell was relatively clean, and it was equipped with a table, writing materials, and books. It was just that the weather had indeed turned cold, and Yang Hao was wearing only a single layer of clothing. The slight breeze that blew in when the latticed wooden door of his cell was open made him instinctively tighten his clothes.

"Your subject Yang Hao greets Your Majesty!" It seemed that he hadn't spoken for a long time, and his tone of voice had become very strange. It took him a lot of effort to say those few words.

In a sense, Zhu Youjian cannot be considered his emperor, because he was imprisoned during the Wanli era, and he did not participate in the enthronement ceremony of the three emperors afterward, nor did he shout "Long live the emperor!" to establish the relationship between the emperor and his subjects.

"These are clothes your family sent you. Put them on." Zhu Youjian handed Yang Hao a dusty, faded garment, then placed the food box on the table and opened it.

Yang Hao's Adam's apple bobbed as he pleaded, "My family is behaving badly, all due to my lax upbringing. The blame lies entirely with me; I humbly beg Your Majesty's grace to pardon my family."

Zhu Youjian was speechless for a moment, wondering how the old man had survived so many years in prison; he seemed to have become overly sensitive.

"Yang Hao?!" Zhu Youjian took a deep breath and called out solemnly.

"Chen is here!"

"Can you still eat?!"

Upon hearing this, Yang Hao stood frozen in shock for a long time, tears welling up uncontrollably and soaking his clothes. His whole body trembled as he said, each word deliberate and deliberate, "Your subject, Yang Hao, is willing to die for Your Majesty!!!"

Zhu Youjian nodded, bent down to pick up the cotton coat from the ground and put it on Yang Hao. He then broke the dusty pastry that had fallen on the ground in half, handing one half to Yang Hao and putting the other half into his own mouth.

Zhu Youjian found the pastry to be sweet, which he disliked. The old man, however, found it to be a sweet and salty treat, and tears and snot streamed down his face. After swallowing the pastry with difficulty, he suddenly asked, "Your Majesty, may I ask if the Jurchens have reached Beijing?!"

"Cough cough cough!!!"

Zhu Youjian coughed violently and looked at the old man Yang Hao in astonishment.

(End of this chapter)