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

Chapter 80 Qin Liangyu: What a slippery emperor!
Rumors circulated in the capital that the late emperor enjoyed carpentry, while the current emperor preferred culinary delights and loved to host banquets for his ministers in the palace. It was said that anyone who ate at the emperor's banquet would immediately be promoted three ranks, enjoying a meteoric rise in their official career.

According to popular joke, those who passed the imperial examination could attend the "Deer Cry Banquet," while the banquets the emperor privately hosted for his ministers were called the "Azure Cloud Banquet," meaning that by attending this banquet, one could gain favor with the emperor and rise rapidly in rank.

During the court audience, Zhu Youjian and Qin Liangyu began to sized each other up. They had met once before at the late emperor's funeral, but had not spoken privately on that occasion. At court, Qin Liangyu stood among the nobles, and apart from standing out somewhat because of her female status, she did not participate in the discussion. Therefore, this was the first time Zhu Youjian had spoken to Qin Liangyu.

As the only female general listed in official history, Qin Liangyu doesn't appear to have that heroic and valiant air. Perhaps she did when she was young, but now that she's older, she looks rather kind and gentle.

Qin Liangyu was somewhat plump, with a large frame and a robust physique, no less impressive than Zhu Youjian's Imperial Guards. It's important to understand that Imperial Guards weren't necessarily skilled fighters, but they were selected from among handsome, burly men, chosen to carry the ceremonial guards and enhance the emperor's image.

"My dear Qin, I am often troubled by the lack of capable people in the court. I would like to keep you in the capital to assist in military affairs. What do you think?" Zhu Youjian asked politely.

Qin Liangyu thought to herself, "Just as I thought." She was about to get up to reply when the emperor gestured for her not to stand on ceremony and to continue eating and chatting. She said, "Your Majesty, I will obey any orders you may give. However, my late husband and I have only one son, who is the Pacification Commissioner of Shizhu. I hope Your Majesty will grant him permission to return to his hometown to fulfill his duties."

"This is only right. Alas... I and Commander Ma hit it off immediately. Although we are ruler and subject, we are like brothers. It is truly hard for me to let him leave so suddenly." Zhu Youjian sighed, then his eyes suddenly lit up, and he said, "Minister Qin, I wonder if Commander Ma and your daughter-in-law have had any grandchildren? How old is your eldest grandson now? If he has already come of age, why not pass on the position of Pacification Commissioner of Shizhu ahead of schedule, so that Commander Ma can continue to serve in the capital?"

Qin Liangyu's eyes twitched slightly as she thought to herself, "Why does the emperor always target my family?"

"Your Majesty, my two grandsons are twelve years old and not yet ten. They are both too young to shoulder heavy responsibilities," Qin Liangyu said earnestly.

Zhu Youjian felt a little regretful. The Ming Dynasty was in such a state of transition: the older generation, such as Wang Xiangqian, the governor of Xuanda, was already over eighty years old, and it was unknown how many more years he could be exploited; the younger generation, such as Sun Chuanting, Lu Xiangsheng, Hong Chengchou, and Cao Bianjiao, were less experienced, and even if they were promoted, they could not be directly placed in core positions.

To make matters worse, he had previously made a huge blunder that had serious consequences. When he instructed Zhu Qin, the governor of Fujian, to negotiate with Zheng Zhilong, he sent Zheng Zhilong's son, Zheng Sen, to the capital as a hostage. However, Zheng Sen was only four and a half years old, still in diapers. Zheng Zhilong felt the emperor was toying with him; how could he bear to be separated from his young son? Therefore, he continued to cause trouble for the court and put pressure on it, resulting in the disastrous defeat of the Fujian navy.

After learning the whole story, Zhu Youjian remained silent for a long time. "The King of Chu loved slender waists, and many starved to death in the palace." His unintentional actions had indeed caused such serious consequences! Even now, he had not found a good way to deal with Zheng Zhilong.

Zhu Xieyuan suggested that he appoint Yuan Chonghuan, but the problems in Fujian could not be solved by simply changing a governor or a general. It required troop deployment, shipbuilding, and funding. He had to either make up his mind, be prepared to spend several years and invest tens of millions of taels of silver to eliminate Zheng Zhilong, or go around in circles and continue with the policy of granting amnesty.

Unfortunately, the situation is becoming increasingly urgent. Once Huang Taiji has dealt with the Chahar Mongols, he will come to cause trouble for the Ming Dynasty. Liaodong is right on the capital's doorstep, so it's easy to distinguish which is more important. Therefore, we cannot pay too much attention to Zheng Zhilong.

After deciding that Qin Liangyu would replace her son Ma Xianglin, Zhu Youjian began to chat with her about various things, including family matters. However, Qin Liangyu was clearly not very interested in daily life, and the conversation soon veered off to military topics.

The greatest pain in Qin Liangyu's life, besides her husband's wrongful death in prison, was the incredibly brutal Battle of Hunhe, where her brothers died for their country and all her soldiers perished. It was this battle that forged a deep-seated hatred between Qin Liangyu and the Jurchens. Therefore, since the emperor wanted to keep her in the capital, knowing she would inevitably encounter the Jurchens again, she, driven by her thirst for revenge, did not reject the emperor's appointment. She simply did not intend to put her son in danger; the hearts of parents are always filled with compassion.

"Your Majesty, please allow me to report. In the Battle of Hunhe, the Sichuan, Zhejiang and Liaodong troops were not under each other's command, and the conflict between the guest troops and the local troops was deep-seated. This was the root cause of the great defeat. I have observed that since Your Majesty ascended the throne, you have paid special attention to military affairs. Your selection of generals and governors-general has been wise, and your measures have not been inappropriate."

"However, on the battlefield, if orders are issued from multiple sources and generals fight independently, coupled with the difficulty in distinguishing true from false information on the battlefield and the lack of an intelligence system, if these fundamental problems are not eliminated, our Great Ming will likely still be unable to escape defeat when fighting against the Jurchens!" Qin Liangyu said with a heavy expression.

Zhu Youjian nodded emphatically and said, “I am well aware of the flaws in the Ming Dynasty’s military system. However, this system has been in place for many years, and everyone has become accustomed to it. Even if I wanted to change it, I would not know where to begin! The court usually appoints a governor-general before every major battle. Let me ask you: if we appoint only a governor-general and do not send a military commander or a supervising eunuch to check him, do you think we can turn the tide?” Qin Liangyu nodded and then shook her head, saying, “Your Majesty is wise! If a single commander-in-chief is selected before a major battle and granted the imperial sword, making his authority unassailable and his orders strictly enforced, the situation should be greatly improved. However, I believe this strategy still has shortcomings.”

This is because the governor's garrison usually numbers no more than a few thousand, and even the general's personal guards rarely exceed three thousand; the rest are each under the command of their respective commanders. If the battle goes smoothly, the various armies can still obey orders and advance; but once the battle becomes stagnant and their momentum falters, those subordinate generals and soldiers will inevitably become hesitant, either avoiding battle to protect themselves or deserting in the face of the enemy. Even if they are severely punished according to the law later, the opportunity has already been lost, and morale has been dampened; what benefit will that bring to the overall situation?

“Your Majesty, I have some ideas in mind,” Sun Shiwan suddenly said. Qin Liangyu frowned slightly upon seeing this, but as Sun Shiwan slowly expressed her thoughts, Qin Liangyu's eyebrows relaxed, and she was somewhat surprised that this young girl could have such insight.

Sun Shiwan said, “Your Majesty, General Qin: The problems with the military system you just mentioned are that the regulations are too complicated and the orders are not easy to issue. Is that right? If so, why not learn from the Jurchen military system? Their system has no more than three levels, which is simple and efficient. 300 men are organized into 1 Niru, 5 Niru into 1 Jiala, and 5 Jiala into 1 Gushan.”

“Wanwan, you are too naive. That old servant was originally a Dragon and Tiger General appointed by our Great Ming Dynasty. His military system was originally learned from our Great Ming Dynasty. Our Great Ming Dynasty’s garrisons were originally divided into three levels: 112 people for a 100-household garrison, 1128 people for a 1000-household garrison, and 5600 people for a guard. Each guard was headed by a commander.”

Nowadays, the garrisons of our Great Ming have long been corrupt and in disarray, and eight or nine out of ten of the garrison soldiers are unusable. The reason why the military system is currently in such a chaotic state is that recruited soldiers, garrison soldiers, household guards, and barbarian soldiers are all mixed together, each with its own command, making it difficult to issue orders.

The Jurchen banner has at least several thousand and at most ten thousand men, while our Ming general can command over ten thousand soldiers. On the surface, the forces are comparable, but in reality, our ten thousand men are just numbers; the actual combat soldiers are probably only a few thousand.

In small-scale skirmishes, our Ming elite troops are not afraid of the Jurchens. But in a major battle involving tens of thousands of men, it becomes the Jurchens using tens of thousands of soldiers against our few thousand elite troops and tens of thousands of laborers. How can we not be defeated in such a situation?

Qin Liangyu listened to the emperor's eloquent speech and nodded repeatedly. The emperor was young and had never been to the battlefield; it was already remarkable that he understood these basic military matters. One couldn't expect him to truly understand all the intricacies of military affairs or possess real command abilities in battle, could one?
Sun Shiwan suddenly realized and said, "Your Majesty is wise! Although I often read military books, I have never understood such insight from Your Majesty."

Zhu Youjian said, "Theory without practice is ultimately superficial, and military books are only for reference. If you really want to know how to deploy troops and fight on the battlefield, you have to rely on real battles! I'm just spouting a few words on the spot. If you want to talk about real ability to lead troops into battle, you have to look at pillars of the army like Marquis Zhongzhen!"

"Your Majesty flatters me." Qin Liangyu was a little embarrassed by the praise.

"If only Father were here, I could always ask him for advice whenever I had doubts about military books..." Sun Shiwan said with a disappointed look.

“Alas, your father bears heavy responsibilities, and his separation from you is unavoidable. Once he has achieved fame and success, I will summon him to the capital to enjoy a peaceful and comfortable life. At that time, you can often seek his advice. Besides, even your father needs to consult with veteran generals like General Qin. Why don't you ask General Qin directly?” Zhu Youjian said.

“Yes.” Sun Shiwan’s eyes lit up as she looked at Qin Liangyu. But she quickly became disappointed again and said, “General Qin is busy with many affairs of state. How could he have time to instruct me? Besides, I am just a concubine in His Majesty’s harem. I can’t ride a horse and fight on the battlefield. What use would it be for me to learn these military books and battle formations?”

“It will be useful! If you learn it, you can help me advise on military affairs. Alas… that is to say, but General Qin is ultimately busy with important military and national affairs, and I'm afraid he won't have the time to be your teacher,” Zhu Youjian said regretfully.

Good heavens! Qin Liangyu's eyes widened as she watched the Emperor and Consort Xian's coordinated performance. She finally understood why the Emperor had given her the pass to enter and leave the palace earlier—it was all a setup! What a cunning Emperor!

(End of this chapter)