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

Chapter 151: Smoke from the battlefield stretches for eight hundred miles in an instant; Jizhou is in dire need of help!
On the first day of the first month of the second year of Chongzhen's reign, the grand court assembly was held as usual, and Zhu Youjian issued the New Year's edict.

The emperor was sent to heaven to carry the order, and the edict said:
As the new year begins, everything is renewed. Since I ascended the throne, thanks to the blessings of Heaven and Earth, the protection of the ancestral temples, and the concerted efforts of all officials and common people, the political situation has gradually improved and the achievements of governance have begun to emerge within a year.

In the first year of the reign, the national treasury was long depleted, and the borders were not yet at peace. I and my ministers devoted ourselves wholeheartedly to rectifying official corruption, strictly enforcing taxes and corvée labor, and investigating hidden land to ensure sufficient tax revenue. Fortunately, the people diligently cultivated the land and did not miss the farming season. Although there were minor disasters, the harvest was not poor, and the national revenue far exceeded that of previous years. The military was well paid, and all industries had sufficient funds. This is all thanks to the hard work of the people.

Furthermore, they drove out the northern barbarians and defeated the eastern Jurchens, achieving victories and recovering lost territories. All of this was due to the bravery of the soldiers and the dedication of the civil officials. All meritorious officials were rewarded according to their achievements; local officials who could promote agriculture and sericulture and ensure the collection of taxes were promoted by the Ministry of Personnel according to their abilities, so as not to let their talents go to waste.

You officials should remember the weighty responsibility entrusted to the nation, strive for integrity, refrain from corruption that harms the people, and avoid shirking duties that leads to mistakes. Soldiers should consider their duty on the battlefield, strengthen their troops, prepare their horses, and firmly defend the borders, avoiding complacency and laxity. The people should diligently cultivate the land, practice filial piety and brotherly love, uphold the law, and share in the blessings of peace.

I wish for a year of timely winds and rains, abundant harvests, submission from all barbarian tribes, and no wars. May the ruler and his ministers be of one mind, and the court and the people be of one heart, so that we may all achieve peace and prosperity. This proclamation is hereby issued to the world, so that all may know.

Admire this!

After the imperial edict was read aloud, the imperial elephants neighed loudly, straightening their trunks, accompanied by the sounds of large horns and drums. Among the herd of elephants was a small elephant, several times its size. Inexperienced and still mischievous, it acted erratically and was kicked by its mother.

This year's grand court assembly differed slightly from previous years. Zheng Zhilong, the coastal defense guerrilla commander and general of the Eastern Barbarians, brought envoys from the southeastern kingdoms in a large ship. However, when Zhu Youjian summoned Zheng Zhilong to court, he hesitated, citing his elderly mother's serious illness as the reason, and dared not travel far.

In addition, there were other important figures: King Injo of Joseon and the new Khan of the Chahar tribe, Juntu Taiji. Seeing that the Ming Dynasty had recovered Liaonan and defeated the Jurchens, Injo seemed to have regained its strength, so he also straightened his back.

After entering the capital, Yi Jong made connections with court officials everywhere, spending money to bribe the emperor's close ministers and eunuchs, hoping that the Ming Dynasty would send a large army to rescue Korea, just as it had during the Wanli era.

However, the Ming Dynasty had shed blood and tears for Korea in the past, only to be betrayed by Korea at Sarhu. This time, Zhu Youjian (Emperor Zhu Youjian) had no intention of letting the Ming army shed blood for the Koreans again; rather, he was quite interested in the Ming army shedding the last drop of blood for the Koreans.

Of course, Zhu Youjian still gently comforted Li Zong, saying that the Ming Dynasty was not refusing to help Korea, but rather that it would do so in a planned and flexible manner, optimize the rescue process, establish a long-term mechanism, and deeply understand the importance, complexity, and long-term nature of rescuing a vassal state, and that it should take a holistic and systematic approach...

He told Yi Jong not to lose heart and to write edicts to officials and the people of the country, urging them to bravely resist the Jurchens. Although Yi Jong was somewhat naive, the shrewd and experienced Korean officials who followed him were not fooled by Zhu Youjian. But even if they knew, what could they do? A son shouldn't speak ill of his father; what could they do?

They'd tried every connection and every avenue they could, but nothing worked. They'd almost given away all the gold and jewels they'd brought, and with rice so expensive in the capital, they were nearly starving.

Zhu Youjian learned of the difficulties faced by the Korean king and his officials, so he rewarded him with a sum of money and grain, and also gave Yi Jong twenty shi of millet and a few taels of silver every month, so that he wouldn't starve to death. He also wanted to use Yi Jong to control Korea.

The rebellious son of Korea was easy to deal with, but Gongtu Taiji was not so easily fooled. He wanted to submit to the Korean Empire but refused to be separated from it, instead hoping the court would grant him the title of king. What right did this terrified, homeless dog have to offer advice?! His request was naturally rejected without hesitation.

The defeats and fall of Liaoyang and Shenyang were due to Yuan Yingtai, the Liaodong military commissioner, who trusted the Mongols and accepted a large number of Mongol refugees, only to be betrayed. Now, seeing the Chahar tribe's current situation, how could they dare let them into the pass? As a result, tens of thousands of Chahar remnants refused to leave the walls of Xuanfu, severely impacting the trade between the people of Xuanfu and other Mongol tribes.

The Chahar tribe survived caught between the Ming army, the Jurchens, and the Right Wing Mongols. It wasn't that they didn't want to migrate west; the west lay the territory of the Tumed tribe, and further west they might encounter their former master, Ligdan Khan, which would be very awkward. Mongolia, though vast, had no superfluous land. Even with a knife to his throat, the Tumutaiji refused to dance.

Envoys from various Western countries also arrived. The Dutch East India Company and Zheng Zhilong were at odds. Zheng Zhilong had originally been the Dutch East India Company's translator and comprador, but after gaining power, he began to betray his former master. Zhu Youjian did not care about the feud between the Netherlands and Zheng Zhilong; he simply wanted to make use of this maritime coachman.

Currently, European countries are unaware of the harm caused by the outflow of silver and are doing brisk business with the Ming Dynasty. In a few years, they will restrict silver exports. Westerners are difficult to deal with; their colonial rise was achieved through deception and fraud, and they love to bully natives. In their eyes, the Ming Dynasty is just a larger indigenous country.

Fortunately, Zhu Youjian also had ulterior motives. Zheng Zhilong had a black mercenary musketeer team and a Japanese ronin bodyguard group. Zhu Youjian also wanted the red-haired barbarians to shed blood for the Ming Dynasty, but he was not too willing to spend money.

For two hundred years, the Ming Dynasty had been continuously carrying out military reforms and equipment upgrades, but the process was somewhat erratic, and the results were not very satisfactory. Zhu Youjian was not superstitious about technology; in the end, warfare still relied on people.

The direction of military reorganization during the Chongzhen era continued the strategy of the Tianqi era: strengthening firepower, training wagon corps, and desperately building up cavalry. However, an all-firearms force was not invincible. Although the north was arid and the probability of being caught in the rain was not high, firearms were such inconvenient items that the barrels would freeze and crack in cold weather.

The Battle of Sarhu was affected by the weather; five or six out of ten gun barrels froze and cracked, and soldiers' fingers could not bend or straighten. During the battle, most of the Ming army's firearms misfired, making it a Jurchen version of a winter offensive.

The firearms troops were strong, but their resilience was much weaker, making them less reliable than traditional bows and arrows and cold weapons. Western cannons were excellent, but the so-called more advanced flintlock muskets were somewhat lacking—too expensive and less stable than matchlock muskets. Between the strongest and the most cost-effective, the Ming Dynasty could only choose the cost-effective option.

Zhu Youjian's anxiety was not unfounded; it stemmed from a fundamental problem he had failed to solve. Therefore, even with frequent reports of victories, he remained unsatisfied. This problem was: if the Jurchens were to invade, how would he defend himself?

The Ming Dynasty's inherent disadvantages were too severe. In fact, even if the Ming Dynasty concentrated its elite troops from all over the country, it could still muster hundreds of thousands of soldiers. However, this would leave the defenses of various regions weak. Even if they disregarded the situation and forcibly concentrated their forces, the Jurchens weren't stupid. Why would they want to fight the Ming army head-on? Their cavalry could flee at any time.

For peasant uprising armies, encirclement and suppression are effective, but for the rulers of the East Asian horse herds, as long as the battlefield is large enough, there is no possibility of suppression.

History is a combination of chance and necessity. After various disruptions, even Zhu Youjian (Emperor Yongle) couldn't quite understand the current situation of the Ming Dynasty. Could the peasant uprisings be suppressed? Would Huang Taiji still enter the pass this year? He had no idea. He also didn't know whether his arrangements were a positive or negative optimization compared to the original historical timeline. After all, no matter how good the numbers on paper were, they were ineffective; only a real battle would tell.

However, what was bound to happen still happened, and it happened so quickly and unexpectedly! Before the grand court assembly on New Year's Day had even ended, beacon fires had already been lit on the outskirts of the capital. Having enjoyed peace for so long, the garrisons near the capital had long forgotten how to handle such a situation.

Everyone was enjoying the festival in the garrison, but now, seeing the billowing smoke signals, they were all dumbfounded. The garrison's commanders of a thousand and a hundred were certainly familiar with beacon towers, but it seemed no one had told them how to handle such a situation.

Has the enemy already reached Beijing? The Tatars, the Oirats, or the Jurchens?! Damn it, why did they have to choose this time? They're still celebrating the New Year!
Zhu Youjian was aware of the corruption within the military garrisons. Zhang Weixian wanted to reform them, but he stopped him. There was no need to further turmoil the garrisons; they could just be treated as more manageable civilian settlements, at least they could still collect some grain, right?

The beacon fires were first lit at Da'ankou, and then spread at a speed surpassing all other means of transportation of the time. Under ideal conditions, a beacon fire could travel two thousand li in a day and night. From Da'ankou, through Zunhua, Gubeikou, and Shunyi, to Beijing, a distance of eight hundred li, the journey would take no more than six hours.

Wei Zhongxian looked hurried, which was definitely not a good sign, but this was the first time Zhu Youjian had ever seen this ruthless fellow so pale.

"Your Majesty, the enemy is coming from the east! They have set off three beacon fires, three cannons, nine piles of firewood, and nine urgent banners!!!" Wei Zhongxian said in a trembling voice.

Zhu Youjian was stunned for a moment. His heart was pounding, but at the same time he had a strange feeling of relief, like he had finally stepped into the examination hall after years of preparation.

Three smoke signals, three fire signals, and three cannon shots represent the highest level of alarm in the beacon fire transmission system, indicating a large-scale enemy invasion with more than 10,000 troops. Accumulated firewood and hanging urgent flags are alarms of an even higher level, indicating a very large enemy force, far exceeding 10,000 troops. Nine firewood signals and nine urgent flags clearly indicate that the garrison of Jizhou is calling for help, and it is even very likely that the border wall of Jizhou has already fallen.

The court assembly was not yet over, and the envoys from the outer vassal states were still watching. Zhu Youjian's expression was unusually calm. It wasn't that he was deliberately pretending, but rather that when an event has been rehearsed in his mind hundreds of times and pondered over for hundreds of nights, when the event actually occurs, everything becomes a natural progression.

But was he fully prepared? No, he just did his best. In the end, all he could do was hold out. What else could he do but pray for Huang Taiji's mercy?!

He whispered a few words to Wei Zhongxian, then calmly completed the formalities of the grand court assembly. Holding large meetings for minor matters and small meetings for major ones—if this news were discussed in court, it would inevitably cause an uproar among the officials, leading to a chaotic argument and making it difficult to reach a decision quickly. Therefore, Zhu Youjian only summoned a dozen or so trusted ministers and heads of important departments after the court assembly concluded.

Zhu Youjian received secondhand information; the Ministry of War was the first in the capital to know of the urgent report, and Zhu Xieyuan naturally knew as well. They were not intentionally blocking the news, nor were they trying to save face by concealing it from the envoys from the outer vassal states; they simply needed to maintain order and complete the martial law work in the capital and its surrounding areas before chaos broke out, preventing the capital from descending into chaos.

The White-Spear Soldiers changed from three shifts to two thousand on duty, with one thousand taking turns to rest; the Four Imperial Guards ascended the four walls of the inner city. Of course, they were not defending against external enemies, and perhaps they would never play a role in the end, but it was just a precaution.

The nine gates of the capital slowly closed, and five thousand elite soldiers of the Beijing Garrison ascended the city walls to replace the original guards of the nine gates. As it was the New Year holiday, the entire Ming court and army were in a state of semi-paralysis. Soldiers and officials who lived close to home had been given leave and were now being urgently mobilized.

The three thousand cavalrymen who remained behind galloped through the streets of the inner city. More and more soldiers were being found in their homes, perhaps eating lunch, and before they could even swallow, they were urgently ordered to assemble.

The officials were easy to deal with; they were already attending the grand court assembly. Although Zhu Youjian didn't immediately attend court, he informed them that their holiday was over and everyone should return to their respective offices to report for duty. The officials were at a loss, initially grumbling a bit, but they quickly realized something serious had happened!

"Your Majesty, Jizhou is the gateway to the capital. If Jizhou falls, the capital will be in grave danger. We must send troops to its aid immediately!" said Yang Sichang, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of War, urgently.

The vast Hall of Supreme Harmony now only had a dozen or so people gathered there, appearing rather deserted compared to usual. In truth, if Yang Sichang hadn't held the title of Left Vice Minister of War, Zhu Youjian wouldn't have wanted him to come. This fellow was neither one of his confidants nor did he seem to possess much talent; he was simply loud, boisterous, and prone to jumping around.

Oh right, this guy is Yang He's son, which makes everything much easier to understand—he has connections and is a second-generation official.

"What if the border wall has been lost, and the enemy is waiting in ambush?!" Zhu Youjian directly challenged.

"This?!" Yang Sichang's eyes lit up, and he was about to argue with the emperor, but Zhu Xieyuan pressed down on his shoulder. Now was not the time for debate, but to react quickly.

"Your Majesty, the capital has few soldiers and generals, and it is difficult to guarantee that everything will be safe. We need to mobilize troops to defend the capital!" Zhu Xieyuan said.

Zhu Youjian nodded and asked, "Where will the troops be transferred from?!"

"Shanxi, Datong, Xuanfu, Dengzhou, Henan, Liaoxi, and Jizhou!" Zhu Xieyuan said.

"Ji Town?! So you think Ji Town has been lost?!" Zhu Youjian's voice was somewhat hoarse.

Zhu Xieyuan nodded and said, "The walls of Jizhou have been in disrepair for many years, and in many sections, yellow sand has accumulated to the level of the city walls. If the enemy launches a large-scale invasion, perhaps with an army of 100,000, even if the defending troops are dutiful and fight to the death, they will ultimately be outnumbered. Therefore, Jizhou will inevitably fall!"

(End of this chapter)