Chongzhen's domineering

Chapter 344 The Zhang Family's Scheme of Surrendering and Then Rebelling

Gao Yingxiang's order for Li Zicheng to find Zhang Nian proved to be a wise one.

At this time, Zhang Nian was the only one in charge among the three powerful clans of Puzhou.

This was all because the Wang family had declined. Among Wang Chonggu's sons, only Wang Qian barely passed the imperial examination and became a third-class Jinshi, eventually becoming the Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices. Among Wang Chonggu's grandsons, only Wang Zhicai barely passed the imperial examination and became the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of War. Although Wang Chonggu's eldest grandson, Wang Zhizhen, became the Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard through his family's influence, his performance in the case of the seditious book was so poor that it angered Emperor Wanli, and he was eventually dismissed.

In other words, the Wang family has basically no one left in officialdom.

The Yang family fared better. Yang Bo's son, Yang Junmin, passed the imperial examination with the rank of second-class Jinshi and eventually rose to the position of Minister of Revenue. Furthermore, his grandson, Yang Yuanxiang, and great-grandson, Yang Shifang, both passed the imperial examination and entered the Hanlin Academy.

However, those who entered the Hanlin Academy were aiming to become the Grand Secretary and wield power. After Zhang Siwei became Grand Secretary, Han Kuang immediately took over as Grand Secretary. Yang Yuanxiang's position as a Hanlin scholar was somewhat wasted. They could only wait for Yang Shifang to succeed Han Kuang.

The Zhang family was different. Zhang Siwei's sons, Zhang Jiazheng and Zhang Taizheng, both passed the imperial examination and became Jinshi. One of them held power in the Six Ministries of the Imperial Court, while the other served as the Provincial Judicial Commissioner in Shaanxi.

Immediately afterwards, Zhang Siwei's grandson, Zhang Lian, passed the imperial examination and became a Jinshi. He then took over the power in the local area, rising from county magistrate to prefect, then to prefect of Yansui, and finally to deputy provincial judicial commissioner of Shaanxi, and finally to provincial judicial commissioner of Shaanxi.

In other words, Zhang Nian was the highest-ranking member of the three powerful clans in Puzhou at this time, and he was even of a higher generation than Yang Shifang.

Yang Shifang, a Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) of the 47th year of the Wanli reign, still needed time to hone his skills, so it was unlikely that he would make the decision.

As for Han Kuang, although he is Zhang Siwei's son-in-law and Yang Bo's grandson-in-law, he is still an outsider. He cannot make decisions about the affairs of the three major clans in Puzhou. He is just someone pushed out by the three major clans of Puzhou to control the power in the court.

Therefore, at this moment, the one in charge of the three powerful clans in Puzhou is Zhang Nian, the eldest grandson of Zhang Siwei.

This guy is really quite capable.

When he was the prefect of Yansui, he somehow managed to create dozens of rebel kings!
Leaving aside other rebel kings, Gao Yingxiang, the "Chuang King," and Zhang Xianzhong, the "Eighth King," are definitely inextricably linked to them.

This is because Gao Yingxiang and Zhang Xianzhong were horse traders and salt traders, respectively. They had no connection with the three major powerful families of Puzhou in the Northwest, so they shouldn't even think about doing these two most profitable businesses.

Regardless of their true relationship behind the scenes, Gao Yingxiang certainly made the right choice in sending Li Zicheng to find Zhang Nian.

Hou Xun happened to come looking for Zhang Nian as well.

Around 9 a.m. that day, in the main hall of the back courtyard of the Yansui Prefectural Government, Zhang Nian and Hou Xun sat as host and guest, looking very serious, as if it were a normal meeting between two officials.

However, their positioning was problematic to begin with.

Hou Xun was, after all, a governor-general and also the Right Vice Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, while Zhang Nian was merely a local judicial commissioner, far inferior to Hou Xun in terms of authority. Logically, Hou Xun should have sat in the main seat, and Zhang Nian in the subordinate seat.

At this moment, Zhang Nian was sitting in the main seat, and Hou Xun was sitting in the lower seat.

Hou Xun, seemingly quite respectful, asked, "Lord Zhang, do you think Zhang Xianzhong can be granted amnesty?"

It's just a matter of me saying a word to persuade Zhang Xianzhong to surrender.

Among the Donglin students, you are considered quite sensible, as you actually knew to come and ask me questions, unlike those hotheads who just shout nonsense.

Zhang Nian said seriously, "We can't generalize about this; we have to see how things go."

If they had followed their previous plans, they would naturally not have allowed Gao Yingxiang and Zhang Xianzhong to accept the amnesty. Back then, they were even thinking of having Gao Yingxiang and Zhang Xianzhong cooperate with Huang Taiji, using feints to the east and attacks in the west, so that the young emperor could mobilize his troops to run around everywhere.

The problem is, now that the young emperor has recovered Liaodong and Beiping Commandery, and Huang Taiji seems to be so scared that he is hiding in the Khorchin grasslands and dares not move, what kind of feint attack are they still playing?

In this situation, the feint attack strategy is no longer viable, and they need to consider other options.

What is most important to them now?

That's naturally their stronghold.

Their strongholds have been occupied by the Hanzhong army.

Right now, they're like stray dogs, hiding everywhere outside.

If the Hanzhong army doesn't go, not only will they be unable to return to their stronghold, but they'll also have to be careful not to be caught by these rebels, who will kill them as soon as they catch them.

In other words, whether Zhang Xianzhong accepts the amnesty is not the key point now; the key point is that the Hanzhong army must accept the amnesty.

If the Hanzhong army does not accept the amnesty, they will not only be unable to return to their home base, but they will also have to be careful not to be slaughtered by these guys.

If the Hanzhong army accepts the amnesty, things will be different. They can go back to their old base and start doing business again. Mansions, shops, houses, workshops, fields, and even goods are all readily available.

Then they will be as wealthy as before, and more importantly, once the land is returned, they will be able to produce food to support the Jurchens.

As for Gao Yingxiang and Zhang Xianzhong, they had long seen through that these two were incompetent rulers.

Originally, in order to cooperate with Huang Taiji's feint attack, Gao Yingxiang and Zhang Xianzhong, no matter how incompetent they were, had to find a way to support them.

Now that Huang Taiji can no longer use the feint attack, why are they still supporting these two guys?

If supporting these two guys didn't require any effort, they could easily help them up.

The problem is, these two guys still have hundreds of thousands of troops under their command. If we let them leave behind hundreds of thousands of troops, it would be a waste of food. Once they've used up the food they plundered from the vassal kings, they'll definitely come back to ask us for more.

Where will they find food?

If they can't get back to their base, they won't have any food at all.

Therefore, the most important thing now is to figure out how to get the Hanzhong army to accept the amnesty so that they can return to their home base.

As for the hundreds of thousands of troops under Gao Yingxiang and Zhang Xianzhong, they could not possibly help support them. Accepting amnesty and letting the young emperor support them was a good idea. In fact, they could use Gao Yingxiang and Zhang Xianzhong to force the young emperor to find a way to amnesty the Hanzhong Army as soon as possible.

Originally, whether Gao Yingxiang and Zhang Xianzhong accepted the amnesty had nothing to do with the Hanzhong Army. However, they could easily make a far-fetched connection between the two and link it to the Hanzhong Army.

That's what he meant.

The problem is, Hou Xun is only good at currying favor with the powerful and wealthy; his abilities are truly negligible. He doesn't even know what "seeing the situation" means.

It depends on the situation.

He thought about it carefully, but still couldn't help asking, "Lord Zhang, what situation are you referring to?"

That guy is a complete idiot!

Don't you know how much of a threat the Hanzhong army poses to us?

Zhang Nian feigned patience and explained, "Nowadays, the Hanzhong Army is the real threat to the court. Zhang Xianzhong was driven to Shaanxi by the Hanzhong Army."

This guy even attacked Hanzhong. Do you think Zhang Xianzhong would accept the amnesty if the Hanzhong army didn't? Wasn't he afraid of running out of troops and being captured and killed by Zhang Yun, the King of Hanzhong?

Oh, so you were checking on the situation of the Hanzhong army?

Will the Hanzhong army accept the offer of amnesty?
Hou Xun thought about it carefully again, and then couldn't help but worry: "The Hanzhong army is strong and well-equipped right now. It will be very difficult to get them to accept the amnesty."

How long do we have to wait? If the Hanzhong army refuses to accept the amnesty, are we just going to keep dragging this out?

This probably won't work. The Emperor appointed Yang He as Governor-General of three provinces, responsible for pacifying the rebels. I suspect he wants Yang He to keep an eye on us, and even constantly pressure us.

What are you afraid of?

Zhang Nian shook his head slightly and said, "You don't need to worry about that. Yang He has already gone to recruit the Hanzhong army. He has been recruiting for so long without making any moves. What face does he have to urge you?"
You can certainly use this as an excuse: Yang He has been in the Central Plains for over a year, and he hasn't managed to recruit the Hanzhong army during all that time. Why should you immediately recruit Zhang Xianzhong?

Is this a question of what basis?
In officialdom, no one cares about the basis of their position.

Upon hearing this, Hou Xun said with some concern, "Lord Zhang, a higher rank can have a crushing effect. The young emperor has clearly sent Yang He to keep an eye on us. Even if Yang He hasn't done anything, he can still pressure us."

Is your brain filled with mush?

Don't you understand why I'm emphasizing the Hanzhong Army?
Zhang Lian bluntly advised, "You can report this directly. Zhang Xianzhong is afraid of retaliation from the Hanzhong army. If the Hanzhong army does not accept the amnesty, Zhang Xianzhong will not dare to accept the amnesty."

That makes sense. Hou Xun nodded slowly upon hearing this, saying, "That's not a bad idea. Zhang Xianzhong is definitely afraid of retaliation from the Hanzhong army, so this excuse is perfectly plausible."

However, this excuse cannot be used for too long. Delaying it for a year or two might not be a problem, but if it drags on too long, His Majesty might take his anger out on me.

This estimate shouldn't take too long.

Zhang Nian thought for a moment, then asked, "Have you heard that tens of thousands of cavalry from the capital garrison are heading south from Jizhou Town towards Xuanfu Town?"

what?
Is there such a thing?
Hou Xun said, puzzled, "I've never heard of that before."

Zhang Nian then asked, "You mean neither the Emperor nor the Ministry of War has issued you any official document ordering you to mobilize a large army to cooperate with the capital garrison cavalry in the campaign against the northern barbarians?"

Were the tens of thousands of cavalrymen from the Beijing Garrison here to conquer the northern barbarians?

Hou Xun shook his head slightly and said, "No, the Ministry of War did not issue any document. I only received an imperial decree from the young emperor, instructing me to go and recruit the rebel Zhang Xianzhong."

It seems that the target of the Beijing cavalry is not the northern barbarians.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Nian pondered and said, "Since you haven't received any official document from the Ministry of War or any imperial edict, then these tens of thousands of cavalry from the capital garrison are probably here to coerce the rebels into accepting amnesty."

They didn't inform you, so these tens of thousands of cavalrymen are most likely heading to Shanxi, and the most troublesome force in Shanxi is the Hanzhong army.

The Hanzhong Army was notorious for its fear of cavalry. Whenever the Jurchen cavalry attacked, they would turn tail and run. If the Jingying cavalry arrived, the Hanzhong Army would withdraw from Shanxi even if they did not accept the amnesty.

Let's wait and see if the Hanzhong army will accept the offer of amnesty after the Jing garrison cavalry arrives.

He's just making things up again.

The cavalry of the Beijing garrison were there to seize horses from the northern barbarians' territory; they weren't there to threaten the Hanzhong army at all.

He was probably thinking that the Hanzhong army could withdraw from Shanxi and return to their home base, so he kept thinking about it.

Unexpectedly, before they even received news of the Beijing cavalry, they were greeted by Li Zicheng.

That afternoon, around 5 PM, just as the sun was setting, Li Zicheng arrived at Yansui Prefecture.

How they communicated is still unknown. In any case, Li Zicheng was not stopped by the border soldiers on his way here, and soon after he entered the city, someone led him to the main hall in the backyard of the prefectural government office.

At this moment, Zhang Nian was still sitting there waiting.

Li Zicheng immediately cupped his hands and bowed, saying, "This humble one greets Lord Zhang."

This guy seems to be Gao Yingxiang's nephew.

Zhang Nian nodded slightly, then asked, "What's wrong? What are you doing here?"

Li Zicheng cautiously asked, "Sir, the Shanxi governor Huang Daozhou suddenly arrived in Baode Prefecture, saying that we should accept the imperial court's offer of amnesty. What do you think we should do?"

Oh, it's still about the matter of being granted amnesty.

That's perfect. Let's stall both sides and force Yang He to recruit the Hanzhong Army.

Zhang Lian advised, "You've all been driven to Baode Prefecture by the Hanzhong army. If you accept the amnesty, aren't you afraid that Zhang Yun, the King of Hanzhong, will take advantage of the fact that you've lost your troops and deal with you?"

What does this mean?
Should we be afraid of the Hanzhong army coming to deal with us?

Oh, I see.

Li Zicheng nodded repeatedly and said, "We are indeed afraid that Zhang Yun, the King of Hanzhong, will take advantage of our lack of troops to deal with us."

Wow, this kid's not bad, at least he's better than Gao Yingxiang.

Unfortunately, we don't have time to train them now.

Zhang Nian nodded slightly and said, "Then tell Huang Daozhou the truth. You are afraid that Zhang Yun, the King of Hanzhong, will take advantage of your lack of troops to deal with you. Therefore, the Hanzhong army does not accept the amnesty, and you dare not accept the amnesty."

Do you want the Hanzhong army to accept the imperial pardon?
What about us?

I'm not here to ask you whether the Hanzhong army accepts the offer of amnesty.

Li Zicheng nodded slowly, then asked cautiously, "Sir, do you mean that if the Hanzhong Army accepts the amnesty, we will accept the amnesty too?"

This problem is not that simple.

Keeping so many troops around is a waste of resources.

However, if you accept the offer of amnesty, you will be wasting the young emperor's food.

You can't just break up like this.

Huang Taiji is at a disadvantage right now and can't threaten the young emperor. Therefore, you'd better lie low, accept the offer of amnesty, and waste the young emperor's food.

We will not stand idly by and watch Huang Taiji be suppressed by the young emperor. Huang Taiji will eventually retaliate, and then you will be of use again.

You could accept the offer of amnesty first, lie low, and then, when the time is right, surrender and rebel again, continuing to cooperate with Huang Taiji in playing a feint attack.

This is a bit complicated; I don't know if you guys can handle it.

Zhang Lian nodded slightly and said, "You can accept the amnesty at that time, but this amnesty is only temporary. You still need to negotiate with them and preserve your strength in order to make a comeback. Do you understand?"

Oh, I see. You mean you want us to temporarily accept the offer of amnesty, and then surrender again when the time is right?

Upon hearing this, Li Zicheng thought for a moment before slowly nodding and saying, "I understand. We are ready to await your summons at any time."

You're definitely much better than Gao Yingxiang.

Zhang Lian nodded with satisfaction and said, "Yes, you will certainly receive your share of the benefits then."

The advantage of this is that once the birds are all gone, the bow is put away; once the rabbit is dead, the dog is cooked!

However, Li Zicheng did not know that while he was stronger than Gao Yingxiang, he was not by much.

He still had his mind full of ideas about rebelling and becoming emperor.

He originally thought that if he accepted the amnesty, he could no longer rebel, and if he couldn't rebel, he couldn't become emperor.

Zhang Nian's order for them to prepare for surrendering only to rebel again was exactly what he wanted.

Therefore, he thought of it immediately.

Zhang Nian had actually considered this problem for a long time. At this moment, Gao Yingxiang and Zhang Xianzhong seemed to be like chicken bones to them—tasteless to eat, but a pity to throw away. However, he did not want to just throw these two chicken bones away. He still wanted to make use of them.

More importantly, he didn't want to waste food supporting the useless bunch of good-for-nothings under Gao Yingxiang and Zhang Xianzhong.

After much thought, he concluded that the only way to utilize these two seemingly useless individuals without wasting food was to force Gao Yingxiang and Zhang Xianzhong to surrender and then rebel again.

After Li Zicheng left, he ordered his confidants to rush to Xi'an overnight to give Zhang Xianzhong some instructions.

Could Zhang Xianzhong understand what he meant?

This guy also dreams of rebelling and becoming emperor.

Therefore, Zhang Xianzhong immediately understood that Zhang Nian was telling them to prepare to surrender and then rebel again!
What happened next was bizarre.

Gao Yingxiang and Zhang Xianzhong had not yet refused the offer of amnesty, but they both expressed the same fear that the Hanzhong army would take advantage of their acceptance of the amnesty and the resulting lack of troops to deal with them.

Their meanings were all roughly the same: they would only accept amnesty if the Hanzhong army accepted it, and they would also leave behind a certain number of troops for self-defense!

(End of this chapter)