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

Chapter 254 No War in Liaoxi

On the second day of the second month of the fourth year of the Chongzhen reign of the Ming Dynasty, which was the second year of the Tianci reign of the Jurchens, there was no war in Liaoxi.

Cuckoo, cuckoo! A hawk-like figure pierced the sky, striking like lightning. Several black-backed albatrosses flying sideways showed obvious disgust towards this uninvited guest, whose size was significantly smaller than their own. They retracted their three-meter-long wings and plunged into the sea without looking back.

However, this uninvited guest showed no remorse whatsoever. It merely watched enviously as its distant relatives glided freely in the seawater, their webbed feet swaying in the breeze. Looking down at its own unremarkable claws, it displayed a hint of helplessness. This was a large female cuckoo, having just returned from south of the Sahara Desert in Africa.

This intercontinental journey took her less than a month, and she was nearing its end. Her eight-hour workday and daily travel speed of 800 miles astonished all other modes of transportation at the time. Though she was alone, her soul was not lonely, for she was now pregnant with ten children and was searching for the perfect offspring to carry her to the next generation.

Suddenly, a massive fleet came into the cuckoo's view. Overjoyed, she swooped down towards the largest ship. Her feathers were gray, and against the backdrop of the Qingshui Ocean, her presence resembled a painting of flowers and birds; but against the backdrop of the current gray sky, she almost achieved invisibility.

"Quezhou, did you hear anything just now?!" Old Yuan looked at his trusted general Liu Zeqing with some uncertainty. Recently, he had been suffering from insomnia and nightmares, and occasionally tinnitus. He had seen a doctor who said it was caused by disharmony between the heart and kidneys, so he was prescribed calming and sedative medicines such as Poria cocos, Ziziphus jujuba var. spinosa, cinnabar, and lead oxide.

After taking the medication, he did sleep much better, but it also made him feel drowsy and lethargic during the day, making it difficult for him to muster his energy. He felt that he was really getting old; sometimes, you can't deny the effects of aging. Now, he even suspects that he is experiencing auditory hallucinations.

"I heard it, it's a cuckoo's call." Liu Zeqing gripped the edge of the boat, looked up at the sky, his gaze sweeping back and forth, but ultimately saw nothing. Suddenly, he seemed to see a gray shadow flash by, heading straight for his flagship. Liu Zeqing was startled and cursed under his breath, "Foolish bird."

The sea is rough, and it's not uncommon for birds to be killed on the side of large ships. Although they can't cause any damage to the ship, sailing at sea is all about having smooth sailing and good fortune, and having your face covered in blood is always a bit unlucky.

This time, however, he didn't hear a crash. Suddenly, a large bird, about the length of a forearm, soared into the sky from below the ship's edge. From the deck, it looked as if it had emerged from the seabed. It took flight, flapped its wings, adjusted its posture, and landed steadily on the deck. The young cuckoo "lady" and Old Yuan locked eyes.

"Cuckoo!" the cuckoo called out loudly, and seeing the old man staring blankly, she tilted her head.

"Go away!" Liu Zeqing was somewhat annoyed and wanted to chase the cuckoo away because it was considered unlucky!

Bai Juyi wrote in a poem: "What do I hear between dawn and dusk? The cuckoo's mournful cry and the gibbon's lament." Among literati, the cuckoo has always played a less than honorable role, symbolizing sorrow and misfortune.

"Quezhou!" Yuan Keli stopped Liu Zeqing's actions. "Let her stay and rest for a while." He looked at the rather intelligent cuckoo, his eyes revealing a hint of joy, and sighed, "Unconsciously, it's time to sow again. Time flies so fast. I wonder if I will be able to eat this year's new grain."

Liu Zeqing turned away reluctantly, his mouth agape, and lowered his head, sobbing silently.

In the past, with Old Yuan's keen senses, he would have certainly noticed Liu Zeqing's unusual behavior. After all, Liu Zeqing was the kind of person who could even turn Nurhaci's son-in-law to the enemy, and his shrewdness far surpassed that of ordinary people. However, he was somewhat drowsy now and did not notice Liu Zeqing's abnormality.

"My lord, you are not well. You should go back first. You can't keep traveling at sea. Let His Majesty send an imperial physician to examine you. The medicine prescribed by those quacks is only treating the symptoms, not the root cause. What will happen if this continues?" Liu Zeqing said anxiously.

Upon hearing this, Yuan Keli remained silent for a while before saying with great composure, "The flourishing and withering of plants is the cycle of nature. As for people, birth, aging, sickness, and death are all normal."

I'm almost seventy years old! It's rare for someone to reach seventy, so Heaven has been kind to me. The *Huangdi Neijing* says, "At seventy, a man's liver qi declines, his tendons become weak, his *tiankui* (menstrual blood) is exhausted, his essence is scarce, his kidneys weaken, and his body reaches its limit." My lifespan is almost over; what good would Bian Que (a legendary Chinese physician) do?!

Liu Zeqing, who used to obey the old man without question, stubbornly shook his head and said, "Since you refuse to leave, then I will petition the Emperor to issue an edict to summon you back!"

"Well, you think you're all grown up now? You think I'm in your way and want to get rid of me so you can take control all by yourself?" Old Yuan coughed violently, almost passing out.

Liu Zeqing was shocked and quickly stepped forward to help the old man and pat his back.

"Fine, I'll disembark when we reach Liaonan this time. I won't keep running around at sea with you. I know my own condition, but do you want me to die of old age on my sickbed? Don't I have any dignity? Don't talk nonsense. Let me die in office, okay?!" The old man gripped Liu Zeqing's arm tightly and said with burning eyes.

Liu Zeqing's lips were trembling; he could barely bear the old man's desperate pleas, but in the end, he resolutely turned his head away and said firmly, "No!"

"Hmph!" The old man angrily pushed Liu Zeqing away and sullenly hid in the cabin.

Standing on the edge of the boat, it hopped left, then right. A cuckoo?!

"Go away!" Liu Zeqing roared, raising his arm and startling the large cuckoo, causing it to stumble. It frantically flapped its wings, but a sudden gust of wind prevented it from taking off.

Liu Zeqing's arm froze in mid-air as he stared at the bird, then suddenly deflated and lowered it. The old man had let this stupid bird stay; if he had tried to chase it away, he would have been scolded again.

This fleet was the Dengzhou-Laizhou naval fleet, which had just celebrated the Lunar New Year and Lantern Festival. It was clearly visible that most of the ships in the fleet had very deep drafts; some transport ships, lacking cannons, had seawater that could be felt by standing on their decks. After the Lantern Festival, the fleet sailed south, loading 1.6 million blue bricks at the mouths of the Yellow and Huai Rivers in northern Jiangsu.

These are all bricks from Linqing. They should have been transported down the Tonghui River to Tianjin and then loaded onto ships, but now the Tonghui River has a severely insufficient water flow.

Although the government has been recuperating for the past two years, it has not followed the Huang-Lao philosophy of reducing taxes and burdens to allow the people to accumulate their own strength. The court has been very busy. The Grand Canal has never stopped operating, even in the dead of winter. All the water in the five water tanks along the route has been drained, and by spring there was not a single drop left.

After these five lakes were drained, wild grass grew rampant, and they became temporary horse pastures, making the most of the land. After all, two of the lakes were named Mata Lake and Machang Lake, and as the saying goes, the Han people didn't name places without reason. The Tonghui River section is navigable, so we can only take a long detour south along the Huitong River in the middle of the Grand Canal.

Even though it involves taking a detour of hundreds of miles, water transport is still faster than land transport—it's faster, better, and cheaper!

Zhu Youjian realized that he had been so busy these past few years that he hadn't paid much attention to a huge political entity in the Ming Dynasty: the Nanjing court! This was a huge oversight. Even if he were to pack up and move to Nanjing later, he should first clean up the place where he would be staying.

The things Zhu Youjian and the Beijing court did over the years can be summarized in one sentence: that is, to draw as much blood as possible from the south to support the northern army and then fight against foreign enemies.

Clearly, this would cause great dissatisfaction in the south. Even in the small western Guangdong region, the people of all the cities and counties hated Nanning Prefecture, let alone the large-scale transfer payments between the north and south made with the will of the state.

Of course, from the perspective of the central court, this was understandable. Zhu Youjian was well aware of the apocalyptic scene that would unfold after the north fell and the flames of war spread across the Yangtze River. But the people in the south didn't know that. The north was engulfed in war, and the Jurchens had even reached Beijing, yet it didn't affect the peaceful and prosperous life in the south, with its "small bridges, flowing water, singing and dancing."

The emergence of capitalism wasn't just a theoretical concept. Although the imperial court didn't organize any campaign to convert rice paddies to mulberry fields, this conversion was an objective reality. Without government intervention, driven by profit, it was common for grain fields in the Jiangnan region to be converted to mulberry and hemp cultivation. The court increased tax revenue, and local officials and gentry made a fortune—why wouldn't they? How much could growing grain possibly be worth?!
This model wouldn't pose a major problem in peacetime, but now, with natural disasters raging in the north, the country is completely unable to produce its own food and relies entirely on aid from the south. This situation in the south is already jeopardizing the nation's food security, as large-scale food imports from abroad are still very difficult to achieve.

Southeast Asia was also in turmoil, plagued by natural disasters and wars. Amidst this chaos, these Southeast Asian warlords, though not exactly as formidable as Japan, possessed a strong sense of martial prowess. All Zhu Youjian could do was become a "hoarder," obsessively stockpiling grain under the incomprehensible gaze of others. But what good is silver compared to grain?

Even if silver is eaten by termites, it can be restored by refining it with fire. Grain, however, is susceptible to insect infestation, mold, and fire. Storing grain is an extremely costly undertaking, so unscrupulous merchants hoarding grain to drive up prices are only engaging in short-term schemes. Even if someone like Zhu Youjian hoarded hundreds of millions of shi (a unit of dry measure) of grain, it would at most be used to stabilize grain prices; forget about making a profit, breaking even would be considered a success.

Because the emperor did this, no one else dared to hoard grain. After all, the emperor held a huge amount of grain, so the price of grain simply couldn't be driven up. As a result, the price of grain in the capital region remained ridiculously stable for the past few years. The common people benefited, while grain merchants and gentry hated the emperor.

Zhu Youjian's understanding of the South was very vague; he could only rely on the Nanjing court and officials dispatched from the capital to remotely direct operations. So far, nothing major had gone wrong, but this was bound to cause trouble in the long run. He was considering a southern tour, but he hadn't told anyone his idea yet. Even a fool could tell that if he were to go on a southern tour, the court would be in uproar; nobody would support him, and half the officials would be out on the streets blocking his carriage!
The last emperor to make a southern tour was "General Zhu Shou." He won a great victory at Yingzhou and used the prestige of that victory to go south of the Yangtze River. But the result was that he never returned and "dissolved in the water"! I'm scared, I can't afford to offend him, I really can't afford to offend him!
Zhu Youjian felt he had become too arrogant; after a few pyrrhic victories, he had lost his sense of self. The idea of ​​a southern tour was best left unsaid; replacing the Nanjing garrison eunuch would suffice.

"Zhouzhou, do you want to be the emperor? How about your father passes the throne to you?!" Zhu Youjian said, carrying his youngest daughter.

"No! I want to be a little princess!" Zhouzhou said in her childish voice.

Zhouzhou rode on Zhu Youjian's neck, tugging at his winged crown. Children are always full of curiosity about things they don't have. Clearly, she was more interested in the hairpin on her father's hat than the elusive throne.

"Father, why do you and Mother both have hairpins, but Zhouzhou doesn't?!"

"That's because you have too little hair. Du Fu wrote a poem that says, 'My white hair grows even shorter from scratching, barely enough to hold a hairpin.' You can't wear a hairpin with too little hair. When you grow up, your father will give you many hairpins—gold, silver, jade, crystal, and glass." Zhu Youjian said happily.

"Tofu?!" Zhouzhou wiped her mouth greedily.

“It’s Du Fu, a poet from the Tang Dynasty. You’re illiterate!” Zhu Youjian said with a hint of helplessness.

"When will Zhouzhou grow up?" The little one lay on Zhu Youjian's head, flattening his crown.

Zhouzhou strained her neck, trying to see if she could see her father's eyes. Although she didn't know anything about the saying "the eyes are the windows to the soul," she instinctively felt that it was inappropriate for Zhu Youjian to speak with his back to her.

"Stop fooling around, or you'll fall down," Zhu Youjian said, somewhat angrily.

"Stop it! Father hasn't answered Zhouzhou's question yet!" The little one was getting a bit angry.

Well, Zhu Youjian somewhat helplessly lifted his youngest daughter above his head, then lowered her from the front. He tugged at his hair ornament, as if he had overcorrected, turning it from an oval into a square.

He placed his palm on his youngest daughter's head, ruffled her hair, and said, "You'll be all grown up when you're as tall as your father's shoulder."

"When will Zhouzhou grow up to Father's shoulder? Father is so tall, Zhouzhou has to look up to see Father. Father, hug me!"

Sigh, kids are such a pain. Zhu Youjian felt a little helpless, but still obediently picked her up.

"Do you remember when it snowed before?" Zhu Youjian asked.

"I remember we all built a snowman together, and Father and Aunt had a snowball fight!"

"You'll be all grown up after ten more snowfalls."

Upon hearing this, Zhouzhou stretched out her hands and started counting one by one, from one to eleven. Zhu Youjian was somewhat amused and suggested that she count again.

"But ten will take a long time, I want to grow up quickly," Zhouzhou said, fluttering her long eyelashes.

"Eat your food properly and sleep well, and you'll grow up faster," Zhu Youjian said earnestly, trying to coax him.

……

Zhu Youjian actually envied Japan's succession system, but the death of King Wuling of Zhao was too abstract, causing all subsequent retired emperors to feel uneasy and dare not actually transfer power while still alive. In fact, no emperor would want to become a retired emperor unless forced by circumstances.

Almost all wise and powerful emperors in history failed to maintain their integrity in their later years, including unparalleled figures like Emperor Wu of Han, Emperor Taizong of Tang (Li Shimin), and Emperor Hongwu (Zhu Yuanzhang). Zhu Youjian was far from being a powerful figure, and he wasn't sure if he would become senile in his old age.

He's already twenty years old this year. Considering the average lifespan of Ming Dynasty emperors is forty-two, he's practically in his grave. He's getting old and his strength is waning. He's starting to understand his brother. Isn't it normal for a man to enjoy woodworking? He's thinking about retiring. That damned Zhao Yong, with his abstract art, ruined his path and prevented him from retiring!
If history hadn't gone awry, Tokugawa Hidetada, that old Japanese devil, should be dead by now, and Tokugawa Iemitsu would be the one ruling Japan. Meanwhile, the Jurchens would have quietly replaced their Khan.

Now things are much better. The three biggest "monsters" in this East Asian monster house—the Ming Dynasty, the Jurchens, and Japan—are all led by young people in their twenties. The changing of the guard has completely rewritten the landscape of gerontocracy. Thinking about this, it truly feels like a scene of vibrant life and flourishing vitality.

It could be said that he has undeniably rewritten history, and whether this is a good or bad thing is unknown. As the situation changes more dramatically, his precognitive abilities will eventually fail. History has its inevitability, but it is often influenced by chance events. He truly fears that the perfectly healthy Ming Dynasty might suddenly die after his intervention!
He was supposed to lie down and wait to die, but Da Ming, on his deathbed, suddenly sat up as if he were about to live. His escape plan hadn't even been put into action yet, and it was completely disrupted. How distressing!

"We've arrived at the station, get off!" The father and daughter arrived at Kunning Palace, and Zhu Youjian handed his youngest daughter back to Empress Zhou.

Empress Zhou, her face flushed with spring-like joy, took Zhu Youjian's hand and whispered, "Your Majesty, would you like to rest here with me tonight?!"

The couple had been married for five or six years, but had yet to produce a prince, putting Zhou under considerable pressure!
Zhu Youjian was somewhat tempted upon hearing this. He pointed to his youngest daughter and mouthed, "What about our daughter?"

Yes, her daughter has grown up a lot, unlike before when her memory only lasted seven seconds. Zhou Yufeng was quite distressed. After thinking for a moment, she said, "You can ask your sister-in-law to help put her to sleep."

"You've gone too far!" Zhu Youjian felt quite sorry for his sister-in-law. "But is Zhouzhou willing to do this?!"

Empress Zhou bit her lower lip lightly and said resentfully, "She will agree!"

Zhu Youjian scratched the back of his head, gave his daughter a helpless look, and then turned and left. He hadn't finished his work for the day and couldn't just lie around at home.

Today's task is a political show. Since it was said before that the main goal of the court in the past two years has been farming, the emperor's standard "personal plowing ceremony" must be performed. He wants to prove to the people that the emperor is not really carrying a golden hoe to plow the land!
Cuckoo, cuckoo! The Dengzhou-Laizhou navy docked at the mouth of the Liao River in southern Liaoning. The cuckoo's boat arrived at its destination, and she took off from the deck, soaring up and continuing to penetrate deeper into the Liaodong land.

After a year of unremitting efforts, Haizhou has now built a medium-to-large castle comparable to Ningyuan City, three satellite cities, and more than 200 miles of low walls.

These low walls, roughly shoulder-high and slightly higher than a horse's belly, were half a meter thick made of stone, while the earthen walls were wider. They were made with whatever was available, prioritizing affordability. People could easily climb them. These were rudimentary defensive structures designed to protect against cavalry. While this approach might seem simplistic, it was a proven effective tactic during the Hundred Years' War between the Ming and Mongol empires!

However, due to the constant threat of a Jurchen counterattack, construction was rushed, so the city was built of rammed earth. With the rainy season approaching, the rammed earth walls were clearly not safe enough, so it was necessary to add shelters to the walls to protect them from the wind and rain; where possible, the walls could be edged with blue bricks to enclose them.

(End of this chapter)