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

Chapter 274 Stabbing Voodoo Dolls to Curse Huang Taiji to Death!
Zhu Youjian planted a small plot of farmland in the palace to try to study hybrid rice technology. He successfully treated barnyard grass as male sterile plants. Then he pulled out the normal rice and left the barnyard grass, successfully harvesting a bundle of straw, which became the funniest thing in the palace this year.

Even the emperor's tutor, Sun Chengzong, knew about this and specially pulled Xu Guangqi and several other agricultural experts aside to give him a crash course on what grains and leeks were! It was too embarrassing for the emperor to be unable to distinguish between the five grains; he could sit at the same table as Emperor Hui of Jin.

Zhu Youjian was incredibly frustrated: What's wrong with straw? An army marches on its stomach, and straw is just as important!
Zhu Youjian had the eunuchs help him harvest and dry the barnyard grass. Hybrid rice was too advanced; he gave up on it. He found the foot-operated waterwheel made by the late emperor in the warehouse, installed it, filled the rice paddies with water, and switched to growing wild vegetables!
The waterwheel was for him to pedal, to help him lose weight. Every time Zhu Youjian used it, he had a strange feeling, as if he wasn't the true emperor, but a round hamster!
"Your Majesty, what are you doing?!" Zhang Yan had been curious for several days because Zhu Youjian was always sneaking in and out of the late emperor's carpentry workshop. Finally, she couldn't help but ask.

"N-nothing!" Zhu Youjian hurriedly hid the things in his hands behind his back.

"Father, is this a doll you made for me?!" Suddenly, a small head peeked out from behind Zhu Youjian.

"Oh no, the little cotton-padded jacket is letting in the wind!" Zhu Youjian said helplessly, showing the things in his hand.

"Uh, Your Majesty, what you're doing is... making a scarecrow?!" Zhang Yan asked, somewhat bewildered.

"Father, Father, is this for me?!" Ugly said, hopping around excitedly.

"No, you want dolls? I'll have someone buy you a few at the market."

“Your Majesty, I can weave scarecrows,” Zhang Yan said, reaching out to take the indescribable object made of dried barnyard grass from Zhu Youjian’s hand.

She was skillful and quickly wove a decent-looking doll, much better than Zhu Youjian's abstract art, which was bound to fall apart at any moment.

"What is Your Majesty doing weaving scarecrows?!" Zhang Yan asked, frowning. She knew it wasn't good to pry, but she worried that Zhu Youjian would become like his brother, indulging in frivolous pursuits and neglecting his duties.

Zhu Youjian replied awkwardly, "I'll use voodoo dolls to curse Huang Taiji to death!"

Zhang Yan was utterly speechless and could only offer words of comfort: "The Liao situation is thorny, and the Jurchens are fierce. Neither the late Emperor nor Emperor Shenzong could resolve it, so Your Majesty need not be hasty. Moreover, I have heard that Your Majesty has made significant progress in military affairs compared to the past, and this Jurchen chieftain will be beheaded sooner or later!"

"I understand, sister-in-law, you don't need to worry about me. I was just doing this for fun when I had nothing else to do! Fine, you can play with this!" After saying that, Zhu Youjian shoved the scarecrow into his eldest daughter's hand and fled in a panic.

"Grandma, what is 'pinching a voodoo doll'? Why can it kill a big bad guy?!" Ugly asked.

Faced with her niece's question, Zhang Yan was momentarily speechless. She chose to deflect the question: "Auntie doesn't know, Auntie is illiterate. Your mother is very knowledgeable, you should go back and ask her."

Zhu Youjian fled hastily, only to encounter Wang Chengen, who was rushing towards him. Wang Chengen, holding up the hem of his robe in one hand and a memorial in the other, gasped, "Your Majesty! A great victory!!!"

"Huh?!" Zhu Youjian wondered if he was still half asleep.

"Congratulations, Your Majesty! Congratulations, Your Majesty! Chieftain Huang Taiji of the slave tribe is dead!" Wang Chengen said with a joyful expression.

"Looks like I really haven't woken up properly. Strange, why do I keep dreaming about my sister-in-law lately?!" Zhu Youjian thought to himself.

"Your Majesty?!" Wang Chengen couldn't help but worry when he saw that the emperor didn't seem surprised at all.

"How dare you intrude into my dream! Go away, go away!" Zhu Youjian waved his hand dismissively. "Your Majesty!" Wang Chengen raised his voice, "Your Majesty, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell? I will go and summon the imperial physician immediately!"

"Wait, stand there for a moment, let me catch my breath. You mean Huang Taiji is dead? Why? How could he die so suddenly? Did I curse him to death?!"

"Your Majesty, please read the report. I didn't believe it at first, but it's true! Huang Taiji's head has been sent to the Ministry of War for verification. Grand Secretary Zhu is personally holding Huang Taiji's head and requesting an audience outside the palace!" Wang Chengen quickly replied, relieved that the emperor was alright.

Zhu Youjian spread out the report and, under the intense glare of the sun, read it over and over again three times. Perhaps the light was too dazzling, for tears welled up in his eyes. He laughed and cried at the same time, repeatedly saying, "Good, good, good!"

"What else do you need to see? Come to court!" Zhu Youjian was so excited he spun around in circles. "No, never mind, we'll talk about it tomorrow. Let Grand Secretary Zhu in!"

"Yes!" Wang Chengen replied and quickly left.

After taking two steps, he turned back: "Your Majesty, look at me, I'm so flustered, I haven't even asked Your Majesty where to see Grand Secretary Zhu!"

"You old fox, I clearly forgot to mention it!" Zhu Youjian pointed at Wang Chengen, both amused and exasperated. "Send him to the East Warm Pavilion of Qianqing Palace. Have the imperial chefs prepare a good meal, and invite the Grand Secretary, Grand Secretary Li, Minister Bi, Xu Guangqi, and Zhang Weixian over for a gathering as well."

A few minutes later, Zhu Youjian saw Huang Taiji's frozen head: a round face, a mustache, no chin, his forehead shaved raw, and a thin braid that could just pass through a Chongzhen Tongbao coin.

Huang Taiji's head had clearly been carefully cleaned; there was little blood on it, only a slight fishy smell rising from the cold steam of the ice. For some reason, the Aisin Gioro family all had small eyes, and Huang Taiji stared at those small eyes, dying with unfinished business.

"Are you sure this is Huang Taiji? Could it be a double, or perhaps his brother?" Zhu Youjian still found it hard to believe. The Ming Dynasty's greatest enemy, the Ming Emperor's archenemy, gone so easily?!

Holy crap, there wasn't a single warning beforehand! Zhao Shuaijiao looks so honest and unassuming, I never expected him to be so ruthless! At least they succeeded. If they had lost, it would have been considered disobeying orders and underestimating the enemy, which would have been a death sentence, or even worse, it could have implicated their families and brought disaster upon their descendants!

"Judging from the Jurchen army's response to the reinforcements, this should be true. Further investigation into the internal changes within the Jurchens can also verify this," Zhu Xieyuan analyzed carefully.

He didn't actually doubt the truth of the matter; he said it to appease the emperor. He wanted to discuss the follow-up arrangements for the Liaodong war with the emperor.

But Zhu Youjian has not thought about this aspect, or perhaps he has long outsourced military affairs and has become accustomed to ignoring tactical arrangements.

"When Zigong asked about governance, he replied: 'The people trust me.' I have decided to enfeoff Zhao Shuaijiao as Duke of Liao. What do you think?!" Zhu Youjian asked with great interest.

“It’s too big,” Zhu Xieyuan replied.

"We agreed beforehand that the reward for Huang Taiji's head would be the title of Duke!" Zhu Youjian frowned.

"I didn't mean that the title of Duke was too grand; it's just that the title 'Liao' is too grand," Zhu Xieyuan said helplessly.

(End of this chapter)