Chongzhen's domineering

Chapter 191 Bizarre and Outlandish Rebellion Ordered by Imperial Decree (Part 2)

What kind of person is Pan Guozhong?

The next morning, around 7 a.m., Zhu Jue had just sat down in the main hall of Yuxi Palace when a voice announced from outside: "Pan Guozhong is here to pay his respects by imperial decree."

Without hesitation, he loudly proclaimed, "Announce!"

Soon, a burly general strode in, cupped his hands and bowed, saying, "This humble general greets Your Majesty."

Zhu Jue nodded slightly, then looked at it carefully again, and felt half relieved.

This man had a square face, thick eyebrows, and big eyes. He looked imposing yet capable, and seemed completely out of place with a treacherous person.

Of course, appearance doesn't tell the whole story.

He pondered for a moment, then asked, "Guozhong, the number of rebels is expanding rapidly. Last year, during the Spring Festival, it swelled from over 200,000 to 400,000 to 500,000. This year, it is very likely that it will swell from 400,000 to 500,000 to over a million. Do you think we should try to curb it?"

Is Your Majesty testing me?

How do you say this?

His Majesty seems to be somewhat lenient towards the rebels.

The rebels have captured Fengyang Prefecture and dug up everything, yet His Majesty seems to have no reaction.

How should I put it?

Pan Guozhong thought for a moment, then cautiously said, "Your Majesty, if I may be so bold as to speak the truth, I believe that the rebels are expanding so rapidly that it is time to curb them. Even if we do not mobilize a large army to encircle and suppress them, we should at least find a way to weaken their strength."

Well, you know that I basically let the rebels go unpunished, and you can still speak the truth like this, which proves that you are not a person with ulterior motives.

If you are someone with ulterior motives, then you should speak according to my previous actions or thoughts.

Zhu Jue nodded slightly and then asked, "So, how do you think the rebels should be contained without mobilizing a large army to encircle and suppress them?"

This is a bit difficult.

Now the rebels number in the hundreds of thousands. How can we stop their rapid expansion without mobilizing a large army to encircle and suppress them?
Pan Guozhong pondered for a long time before cautiously saying, "Your Majesty, in my humble opinion, the only way to curb the expansion of the rebels without mobilizing a large army to encircle and suppress them is to use a counter-espionage strategy."

We can try to recruit a few rebel groups, and then use money, military merit rewards, high-ranking positions, and even titles as bait to lure these rebel groups into annihilating other rebel groups.

In this way, regardless of whether the few rebel groups we recruit can wipe out the other rebel groups, it will only deplete the rebels' strength. If we can recruit a few powerful rebel groups, we should be able to curb the rapid expansion of the rebels.

However, this would require a huge amount of money and supplies, and it would also very likely cultivate one or even several powerful rebel groups. If these rebels surrendered and then rebelled again, we would likely suffer a backlash.

Yes, as expected of the runner-up, he considered everything very thoroughly.

Emperor Chongzhen had tried this tactic before, but Zhang Xianzhong and Li Zicheng were both treacherous individuals who never intended to surrender. As a result, Chongzhen suffered the consequences.

This person seems usable.

This is because Pan Guozhong spoke the truth from beginning to end, focusing solely on the facts without any ulterior motives.

If someone harbors ulterior motives, they will inevitably have other thoughts in their heart, and their words will inevitably reveal some flaws.

Unfortunately, Pan Guozhong has been in the public eye for too long, and no matter how well he disguises himself, there is still a chance of trouble.

Anyone with a keen eye could have guessed that a martial arts examination runner-up and a military officer in the capital suddenly disappeared, and then a very powerful rebel king suddenly appeared. Would anyone with a keen eye not have thought of that?
There were many scheming people in the Ming Dynasty court.

How can we prevent those with ulterior motives from thinking of this?

By the way, these days, anyone who can afford to eat wants to have as many children as possible.

Pan Guozhong was able to pass the garrison examinations and the provincial examinations to participate in the metropolitan and palace examinations, so he must not be someone who couldn't even afford to eat.

Zhu Jue thought for a moment and then asked, "Do you have any brothers in your family?"

Without hesitation, Pan Guozhong replied, "I have a younger brother at home."

Younger brother?

You're not even thirty yet, how old could your younger brother be?

Zhu Jue pondered for a moment, then simply asked, "How old is he? Have you taught him military strategy or martial arts?"

Why does Your Majesty ask these questions?
Pan Guozhong thought carefully for a moment before cautiously saying, "Your Majesty, my younger brother Yun Teng is just twenty years old this year. As for military strategy and martial arts, I dare not boast nor deceive Your Majesty. Yun Teng's talent is far superior to mine, and he is better than me in both military strategy and martial arts."

Your talent is even greater than yours! Doesn't that make you a top scholar?

Are you telling the truth or not?
Zhu Jue thought for a moment, then asked, "His military strategy and martial arts are better than yours, so why didn't he come to participate in the imperial examination?"

How do you say this?

Pan Guozhong hesitated for a moment, but still told the truth: "Your Majesty, Yun Teng passed the provincial examination and became a military officer in the seventh year of the Tianqi reign. In principle, he is eligible to participate in the metropolitan military examination."

However, he was only seventeen years old that year. His parents couldn't bear to see him go so far away, and besides, he had already decided to serve his country loyally, and the family needed to continue the family line. Therefore, Yun Teng stayed at home to marry and have children, and did not participate in the military examination of the first year of Chongzhen's reign.

Oh, so the two brothers wanted to keep one to continue their family line.

Pan Yunteng must be truly remarkable; he passed the martial arts examination at the age of seventeen, which shows his exceptional talent.

The key point is that Pan Yunteng stayed in Hanzhong and never came to the capital, so those in the court who had ulterior motives certainly didn't notice him.

When someone like that suddenly disappears, only their family knows the truth; no one else can see anything amiss.

This person is also usable.

Zhu Jue thought about it carefully for a while before solemnly saying, "Guozhong, I want to entrust you with the important task of curbing the momentum of the rebels. Are you confident?"

So you wanted me to curb the rampant expansion of the thieves' influence.

Can I say I'm confident?
Those were hundreds of thousands of rebels!

You can't just make empty boasts about this kind of thing.

Pan Guozhong readily cupped his hands and said, "This humble general dares not say that he is confident. This humble general can only say that he will be loyal to the country, give his life, and die for it."

This means if you fail to complete this task, you'll have to pay with your head!

Yes, he is indeed a good general, who disregards life and death and goes into battle whenever called upon.

Zhu Jue nodded slightly, then decisively said, "Then have Yun Teng raise the banner, recruit men, and rebel!"

I!
I want Yun Teng to rebel?!
Upon hearing this, Pan Guozhong was stunned and didn't know how to respond.

Seeing this, Zhu Jue explained in detail: "Your suggestion that Yun Teng rebel is not a real rebellion. We want to cultivate Yun Teng and his men to wear down other rebel kings. Only in this way can we curb the rampant expansion of the rebels."

Oh, so it was a fake rebellion, actually a war of attrition with the real rebels.

Pan Guozhong quickly cupped his hands and bowed, saying, "This humble general obeys the order."

Yes, that's really good. No questions asked, no matter how difficult it is, just follow orders.

Rebellion is not something that can be accomplished with a single word, and it is even more difficult to rapidly expand to the level of Gao Yingxiang and Zhang Xianzhong in a short period of time.

Fortunately, I have already considered it for you. You just need to follow my orders.

Zhu Jue nodded slightly, then ordered Wang Chengen to bring out the Northwest map that had been prepared beforehand, and spread it out on the table.

Immediately afterwards, he stood up and pointed to the map, saying, "Guozhong, I believe you are more familiar with the terrain of Hanzhong than I am, and you also know better than I how many ships can navigate the main stream and tributaries of the Han River."

You took my secret decree to Xi'an Prefecture to serve as the Deputy Commander-in-Chief of Shaanxi. On the surface, you were in charge of guarding Xi'an Prefecture and Hanzhong Prefecture, but secretly you used your power to transport grain and supplies to Yun Teng.

I will assign you ten 1,600-ton steamships, twenty 800-ton steamships, and fifty 400-ton fast naval vessels. I will have the steamships loaded with pig iron ingots for you to forge weapons and equipment for Yun Teng.

To prevent anyone from suspecting that you brothers were secretly cooperating, you cannot let Yun Teng start an uprising directly in Hanzhong Prefecture. You must first find a large valley in the Hanyin and Xing'an areas that can accommodate ships of 400 or even 800 liang.

When the time comes, you should lead your fleet to Huguang, first secretly hoarding pig iron ingots in the Hanyin and Xing'an areas, and then secretly hoarding the tax grain from Huguang as well. Once the tax grain has been hoarded, you should have Yun Teng recruit troops and prepare for the uprising.

Also, you need to make Yun Teng change his name to Zhang Yun, call himself the Celestial Master, and then use this to proclaim himself the King of Hanzhong. At first, he can order people to spread the word throughout Hanzhong, Guanzhong, and even the Central Plains that anyone who joins his ranks will be guaranteed to have a good meal.

Only in this way can his forces expand rapidly. This winter, he must recruit more men than Gao Yingxiang or Zhang Xianzhong, and he must also forge their weapons and equipment and train them thoroughly; otherwise, it might be too late.

You asked Yunteng to boast like this?
After Zhang Tianshi, Zhang Lu could indeed feed his men. That was because joining Zhang Lu's ranks required paying five dou of rice, and at that time, Hanzhong had fertile land and favorable weather, so food supply was not a problem.

Things are different now. Hanzhong doesn't have that much fertile land anymore, and this drought has had a significant impact on Hanzhong. Although Hanzhong hasn't yet become a barren wasteland with no harvest, most areas have experienced reduced yields, and many have suffered total crop failure. Right now, there are many people there who are starving.

If Yun Teng were to exaggerate like that, disaster victims from Hanzhong, Guanzhong, and even the Central Plains would definitely flock to him. At that time, the number of people bringing their families would not be just tens or hundreds of thousands, but could reach millions or even tens of millions!
These days, which disaster victim in Northwest China doesn't want to have enough to eat?
Your Majesty probably doesn't realize how tempting it is for the disaster victims in the Northwest to be provided with food.

(End of this chapter)