Chongzhen's domineering

Chapter 323 It's Hard to Guard Against a Thief Within Your Own Family: North and South Seas (Part 2)

During the Chongzhen era in history, the nine garrisons of the Ming Dynasty were indeed completely abandoned.

Let alone Xuanfu Town, Datong Town, Pianguan Town, Yansui Town, Guyuan Town, Ningxia Town, and Gansu Town, Liaodong Town and Jizhou Town are already riddled with holes.

The Jurchens were as if divinely aided, able to invade the Ming Dynasty from any border town they wished to. Jizhou Town was breached by the Jurchens twice, and the capital region was ravaged by them twice.

Emperor Chongzhen and many of his court officials did not understand why the Ming Dynasty's border troops had become so incompetent.

At this moment, Emperor Chongzhen, also known as Zhu Jue, understood very well that the reason why the Jurchens were so divinely aided was because there were too many traitors colluding with the enemy within the Ming Dynasty.

The three powerful clans and eight imperial merchants of Puzhou were in cahoots with the Jurchens. They not only informed the Jurchens of their secrets, but also helped them recruit spies within the border army. Under these circumstances, the Jurchens naturally had divine assistance.

Alas, it's true that you can guard against thieves within your own household day and night, but it's hard to guard against those in the south.

Zhu Jue looked at the map of the nine border regions in front of him and felt somewhat helpless.

What could he do?

At this time, apart from Liaodong Town and Jizhou Town, all other border towns are full of spies bribed by the three powerful clans and eight imperial merchants of Puzhou.

Even in Liaodong Town and Jizhou Town, there were many spies bribed by the three major clans and eight imperial merchants of Puzhou. However, because Sun Chuanting and Lu Xiangshan had strong control over the situation and most of their generals were newly selected military scholars, these spies had no opportunity to take advantage of the situation.

Perhaps we could consider sending Sun Chuanting, Lu Xiangshan, or even Yang He and Yang Sichang with a large number of military graduates to govern Xuanda or the three border regions of Shaanxi, and to control the military forces of other border towns.

However, before that, he must deal with the traitors who colluded with the enemy and betrayed the country. Otherwise, Sun Chuanting, Lu Xiangshan, Yang He, and Yang Sichang would probably be in danger.

It was already past 9 a.m. the next morning. After reviewing the memorials, he did not go to the Haihe Shipyard; he was waiting for someone.

A moment later, Lu Wenwei strode in, cupped his hands and bowed, saying, "Your humble servant greets Your Majesty."

Zhu Jue nodded slightly, then asked, "How's the investigation into the traitor going?"

How do you say this?

Lu Wenwei thought carefully for a moment before cautiously saying, "Your Majesty, please forgive me. The three powerful clans of Puzhou have too many in-laws, and it is not easy to find out in a short time. The eight imperial merchants seem to be deliberately concealing their in-law relationships and even their place of origin, making it even more difficult to investigate. Your humble servant has not yet found out the truth."

I didn't tell you to investigate immediately.

Zhu Jue nodded slightly and said simply, "Tell me what you've found out."

That's a bit much.

Lu Wenwei thought for a moment before explaining in detail: "Your Majesty, I started with the three major powerful clans of Puzhou that are publicly known."

Wang Chonggu had few descendants, but his son Wang Qian was a Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) in the fifth year of the Wanli reign and eventually became the Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Stud, in charge of horse administration.

His grandson, Wang Zhizhen, was a military scholar who rose to the rank of Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard during the Wanli era.

He also had another grandson, Wang Zhicai, who was a Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) in the 26th year of the Wanli reign and rose to the position of Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of War.

Furthermore, his younger brother, Wang Chongya, was only a Juren (a successful candidate in the provincial civil service examination) but rose to the position of Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Stud in Shaanxi, where he was in charge of horse administration.

That's all I've found out about the Wang family for now.

Zhang Siwei didn't have many descendants, but he had quite a few brothers. Among those I found were Zhang Siduan, Zhang Sijiao, Zhang Sishi, and Zhang Sixiang. It seems that none of these brothers held official positions; instead, they were in business.

Zhang Siwei's fifth brother, Zhang Sixiang, seems to be related to the eight great imperial merchants. His first wife was a member of the Fan family from Jiexiu, and Xinglonghao was founded by the Fan family from Jiexiu. After his first wife died, Zhang Sixiang seems to have married a member of the Wang family from Qixian.

Among the eight imperial merchants, there are two women surnamed Wang. The Wang woman from Qixian was Zhang Sixiang's second wife, while the Wang woman from Taigu seems to have been Zhang Siwei's first wife.

Zhang Siwei had six sons. His eldest son, Zhang Jiazheng, was a Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) in the eleventh year of the Wanli reign and rose to the position of Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works. His second son, Zhang Taizheng, was a Jinshi in the eighth year of the Wanli reign and rose to the position of Provincial Judicial Commissioner of Shaanxi.

The other sons, Zhang Dingzheng, Zhang Jiuzheng, Zhang Yuanzheng, and Zhang Xianzheng, have all not appeared in officialdom, and I am still investigating.

He also had three daughters. His eldest daughter married Ma Cao, the son of Ma Ziqiang, the former second-in-command of the cabinet; his second daughter married Yang Xuan, the son of Yang Xiang, the former deputy provincial judicial commissioner of Shandong; and his third daughter married Han Kuang, the current chief minister of the cabinet. It seems that only one of Zhang Siwei's grandsons entered officialdom, namely Zhang Lian, the son of Zhang Jiazheng, who was a Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) in the 47th year of the Wanli reign.

At this time, Zhang Nian had risen to the position of Deputy Provincial Surveillance Commissioner of Shaanxi. Before Zhang Xianzhong's attack on Shaanxi, Lord Yang He was being escorted back to the capital for trial, and Hou Xun had not yet taken up his post. It seems that Hou Xun had used the excuse of reorganizing the military preparations of the three border regions to go to Yansui Town. Therefore, when Zhang Xianzhong captured Xi'an, most of the officials of the three provincial judicial commissioners of Shaanxi perished, but Hou Xun remained unscathed.

Did Zhang Siwei's grandson, Zhang Nian, run off to Yansui Town?

Upon hearing this, Zhu Jue couldn't help but ask, "Have you investigated those generals that Zhang Nian went to Yansui Town to find?"

Uh, how do I look this up?
Lu Wenwei cautiously replied, "Your Majesty, the secret guards are currently all in Shanxi and have not gone to Shaanxi. I am not yet aware of the generals that Zhang Nian sought out in Yansui Town."

However, I have found out that Zhang Nian seems to have always served in Shaanxi. Before becoming the Deputy Provincial Judicial Commissioner of Shaanxi, he was the Prefect of Yansui, which was precisely when Gao Yingxiang and Zhang Xianzhong rebelled in Yansui.

When rebels were rising up in Shaanxi, this guy happened to be the prefect of Yansui.
There's probably something fishy going on here, since 99% of the 72 rebel groups came from Yansui!

The Northwest was not just Yansui that suffered from the disaster, so why did 99% of the 72 rebel groups come from Yansui?
Now it seems like we have the answer.

Zhu Jue thought about it carefully, then said solemnly, "This Zhang Nian has a big problem. Send your secret guards to Yansui Town to investigate this guy thoroughly."

Lu Wenwei nodded repeatedly and said, "Your Majesty, I understand."

What's next?

Zhu Jue asked bluntly, "What about Yang Bo's Yang family? How's your investigation going?"

The Yang family is even harder to investigate.

Lu Wenwei thought carefully for a moment before cautiously saying, "Your Majesty, Yang Bo has too many descendants, making it quite difficult to investigate. I have only been able to find out about his descendants and relatives by marriage in official positions."

Yang Bo's eldest son, Yang Junmin, was a Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) in the 41st year of the Jiajing reign (1562). He rose to the position of Minister of Revenue during the Wanli reign. His second son, Yang Junshi, was a Jinshi in the 3rd year of the Wanli reign (1572). He served as a judge in Fengyang Prefecture of Zhongdu (Central Capital) but died young. His fourth son, Yang Junqing, was the top military scholar in the 2nd year of the Longqing reign (1573). He rose to the position of Left Commander-in-Chief of the Five Military Commissions and also once commanded the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

His grandson, Yang Yuanxiang, was a Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) in the eleventh year of the Wanli reign and served in the Hanlin Academy. His great-grandson, Yang Shifang, was a Jinshi in the forty-seventh year of the Wanli reign and is still serving in the Hanlin Academy at this time.

As for his relatives by marriage, they are numerous. For example, Feng Shunyu, the former governor of Yansui, Pei Shen, the former governor of Shaanxi, and Wang Lun, the former governor of Gansu, are all his relatives by marriage. The current Grand Secretary Han Kuang is not only Zhang Siwei's son-in-law but also Yang Bo's grandson-in-law.

Furthermore, it seems that the Jin family of Yuci, the Tian family of Jiexiu, and the Zhai family of Qixian, among the eight great imperial merchants, are all related to the Yang family by marriage. I am still investigating these matters.

The three powerful clans of Puzhou wielded terrifying power; they produced two Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet, and their territory essentially encompassed Shanxi and Shaanxi.

There are six border towns in Shanxi and Shaanxi, and Xuanfu Town has also been infiltrated by them. What should we do now?
These traitors who colluded with the enemy and betrayed their country, it seems we can't just kill one wave, we have to kill several waves, otherwise we simply won't be able to kill them all.

Zhu Jue thought about it carefully, and then decisively said, "You should investigate quickly. After the New Year this year, I plan to let Yun Teng take action. At that time, Yun Teng will definitely attack Puzhou, Jiexiu, Yuci, Taigu and other places. Your secret guards should keep a close eye on the traitors they find."

I'll let Yun Teng do a wave of attacks first and see how it goes. If that doesn't work, I'll let Yun Teng attack repeatedly and kill repeatedly. If Yun Teng can't kill them all, I'll do the killing myself.

In short, no matter how many waves we kill, these traitors who collude with the enemy must be wiped out. You need to distinguish them beforehand. If they still have value and can implicate other spies, then keep them for now. If they have no value, then have Yun Teng's men kill them directly.

Uh, how many more waves do we need to kill?
The three powerful clans and eight imperial merchants of Puzhou are likely to be wiped out.

Upon hearing this, Lu Wenwei was taken aback for a moment before nodding repeatedly and saying, "Your Majesty, I understand."

Zhu Jue thought for a moment and then asked, "Do you have any secret guards under your command who are from the Mongol Yuan tribes?"

What does this mean?
Lu Wenwei thought for a moment before carefully saying, "There seem to be some members of the secret guards who come from various Mongol tribes, but I can't remember exactly who they are or how many there are. I'll have to go back and check carefully."

Zhu Jue nodded slightly and said, "Well, then pick out all the people from the Mongol tribes and send them to the grasslands beyond the Great Wall to gather intelligence."

Oh, so they were going to the grasslands beyond the Great Wall to gather intelligence.

Upon hearing this, Lu Wenwei nodded repeatedly and said, "Your Majesty, I understand."

(End of this chapter)