The Ming Dynasty: Starting with the border troops, it was overthrown and the Qing Dynasty was destro

Chapter 222 Zhu Youjian, the Master of Micro-Management
When the report of the great victory at Chexiang Gorge was delivered to the Forbidden City at the fastest speed, Zhu Youjian burst into the most hearty laughter since he ascended the throne.

"Excellent! Excellent, Chen Qiyu! Truly a pillar of the nation!"

He hadn't heard such good news in a long time.

The Tartars in Liaodong were eyeing the country covetously, bandits were rising up one after another in the interior, and years of natural disasters had strained the empire's finances.

Since ascending the throne, he has worked tirelessly day and night, and his temples have even turned white at an early age.

The news of victory sent by Chen Qiyu was like a ray of dawn, giving him hope of pacifying the world.

"I knew I hadn't misjudged you!"

"This time, we must wipe out these bandits in one fell swoop!"

Zhu Youjian paced back and forth excitedly in front of his desk, but just then, Wang Chengen handed him a memorial.

"Your Majesty, there is also a memorial from Fang Jin. He says that the rebels want to be granted amnesty."

Zhu Youjian took the memorial with some surprise, quickly glanced at it, and frowned.

He casually handed the memorial back to Wang Chengen and asked:
"Daban, do you think this time the enemy soldiers truly surrendered or were they feigning surrender?"

"The enemy soldiers are cunning and treacherous; we must be on guard."

But Wang Chengen did not reply immediately. He bent down to take the memorial, his tone cautious:

"This is a matter of national importance, and I, a mere eunuch, am ignorant of it and dare not speak out of turn."

"It would be best if His Majesty discussed these matters with the Grand Secretaries and Ministers."

Zhu Youjian sighed after hearing this:

"You are good in every way, except that you are too cautious."

"Now that it's just the two of us, master and servant, what is there to worry about?"

"Never mind, go and inform the Grand Secretary and the ministers of the Six Ministries that a court meeting will be held tomorrow."

The following day, high-ranking officials gathered in the Chongzheng Hall.

The white marble steps are so smooth they reflect light, and the golden pillars with coiled dragons are solemn and majestic.

However, the atmosphere inside the hall was unusually tense, with the pro-appeasement and pro-suppression factions arguing fiercely.

"Start your Majesty!"

Grand Secretary Zhou Yanru was the first to step forward; his face was flushed, and his tone was impassioned.
"The siege of Chexiang Gorge is a golden opportunity bestowed upon our Great Ming Dynasty by Heaven, and most of the bandits in the Central Plains are now caught in the net."

"I believe that we should immediately issue a proclamation to Chen Qiyu to launch a general offensive, and make sure to capture all the rebel leaders, escort them to the capital, and execute them by a thousand cuts, as a warning to others!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Li Changgeng, the Minister of Personnel, stepped forward and echoed him:

"The Grand Secretary is absolutely right."

"The danger of bandits lies in their fickle nature; they are like wildfire that cannot be extinguished, but spring up again with the spring breeze."

"Now that we've wiped out their main force, I think it would be best to simply kill them all!"

"Only in this way can we deter the villains of the world, and only in this way can we comfort the spirits of the fallen soldiers!"

Inside the Chongzheng Hall, apart from Wen Tiren and Minister of War Zhang Fengyi who remained silent, important officials such as Minister of Rites Huang Ruliang and Minister of Justice Hu Yingtai all stood up to express their agreement.

But Emperor Chongzhen shook his head:

"My dear ministers, I have an idea. Please listen to it."

"The supervising eunuch Fang Jin submitted a memorial, saying that the rebel soldiers were earnest and wanted to surrender and be granted amnesty in order to atone for their crimes."

"I think this suggestion is not bad. If we were to kill all tens of thousands of rebel soldiers, it would probably be against the will of Heaven."

As soon as Chongzhen finished speaking, a chorus of objections rose and fell in the hall.

"Your Majesty, you must not do this!"

"The rebels were cunning and treacherous. It was only thanks to Governor Chen's strategic planning and the frontline soldiers' selfless dedication that the rebels were finally cornered in Chexiang Gorge."

"If one harbors any illusions, many unforeseen changes may occur, leading to endless troubles."

Most of the officials in the hall nodded in agreement, and shouts of "annihilate them all!" were heard everywhere.

In their view, this was not only a military necessity, but also a matter of political correctness.

Any mercy shown to traitors is cruelty to oneself.

At this moment, Bi Ziyan, the Minister of Revenue, walked out shakily.

The old man, who controlled the empire's purse strings, spoke in a hoarse voice. He neither objected nor agreed, but instead gave Zhu Youjian a thorough account of the economic situation.

"Your Majesty, please hear what this old minister has to say."

"Once the war started, the expenses were enormous. Governor Chen's army was besieged for more than a month, and the cost of food and supplies for the men and horses was already considerable."

"If we cannot quell the banditry this time, and if this drags on any longer, the national treasury will be empty."

He slowly raised his head and scanned the surrounding ministers.
"Gentlemen and ministers, please don't forget that there is an even more troublesome group of rebels in Sichuan."

"These rebels are strong and well-equipped, and their fighting strength goes without saying. When they advance to suppress northern Sichuan, not to mention the casualties, the cost of weapons, gunpowder, compensation, and rewards alone will be an astronomical figure."

"National Treasury. National Treasury in Action"

Bi Ziyan didn't say anything more, but everyone understood what he meant. Even Zhu Youjian put away his smile and looked serious.

To be honest, his personal treasury and the national treasury were already nearly empty.

In the process of suppressing bandits, Zhu Youjian allocated funds to Hong Chengchou and Chen Qiyu, and in total, nearly two million taels of silver have been spent.

In order to raise this sum of money, Liang Tingdong, the Minister of War, had specifically requested an increase in the national land tax two years ago.

In addition to the existing levy of 5.2 million taels, a new 1.65 million taels of silver will be added as a supplementary salary.

When this proposal was put forward, it caused an uproar throughout the court.

Almost everyone was against it, even Bi Ziyan of the Ministry of Revenue expressed his deep regret, saying that they should not add any more burden to the people.

This veteran official even submitted ten suggestions, earnestly requesting the emperor to reduce taxes across the land as appropriate, giving the people who were on the verge of being crushed a chance to breathe.

However, in order to suppress the bandits and maintain the crumbling empire, Zhu Youjian ultimately rejected Bi Ziyan's proposal.

The words "money and grain" weighed heavily on him and the Ming Dynasty, making it hard for them to breathe.

The argument inside the hall continued, with the pro-suppression faction still holding the majority, and only a few weak voices agreeing to the offer of amnesty.

But Zhu Youjian fell into deep thought.

His fingers tapped unconsciously on the dragon-shaped table in front of him, and a bold and ingenious plan gradually took shape in his mind.

Didn't Bi Ziyan mention Jiang Han, the notorious bandit leader from Sichuan?
Why can't we use one thief to fight another?

Although Gao Yingxiang and his gang were notorious bandits, they were now desperate and homeless.

It would be better to recruit these desperate bandits, give them a legitimate status, and send them to Sichuan to suppress the notorious bandit Jiang Han.

Ultimately, regardless of who wins or loses, the imperial court will be the one to benefit.

This not only solved the problem of bandits and rebels, but also saved a lot of money.

Thinking of this, Zhu Youjian's tightly furrowed brows relaxed.

He felt he had found a way to break the deadlock.

"My lords, there is no need to argue any further."

He straightened his back and interrupted the argument in the hall with an unquestionable tone.

"Appeasement is a poor strategy; there is simply nowhere to settle these tens of thousands of bandits."

“Suppression is the best option; after we wipe out this band of bandits, there will be another group of rebels waiting.”

"Now, I have a superior plan!"

Zhu Youjian's gaze swept over the assembled officials, and he slowly explained,

"I have decided to grant them their surrender, to pacify this band of rebels, and then to send them to Sichuan to wipe out the notorious bandit Jiang Han!"

Upon hearing this, all the ministers in the hall looked at each other, speechless.

Grand Secretary Zhou Yanru was dumbfounded. He couldn't understand why the emperor would make such a naive decision.

Just as he was about to retort, Wen Tiren, who had been silent behind him, suddenly spoke up:

"Your Majesty is wise!" "This is a plan to use one tiger to devour another. It can save us the trouble of paying for the bandit soldiers and also get them to serve the country. Isn't that wonderful?!"

Wen Tiren was a typical representative of the corrupt political ecology at the end of the Ming Dynasty.

He rose to power through political maneuvering, yet lacked the talent to save the world; he protected himself by being honest and upright, yet allowed the crisis to worsen.

The thing he did most in his life was figuring out what his superiors wanted and eliminating dissidents.

Just then, Zhang Fengyi, the Minister of War, also stepped forward and echoed:
"Your Majesty is wise beyond compare. This is a foolproof plan, and I believe it is worth a try!"

Seeing that someone was supporting him, Zhu Youjian was overjoyed and, disregarding the desperate attempts of other important officials to stop him, went his own way and issued an approval to Chen Qiyu to grant him amnesty.

Soon, the imperial edict was sent by fast horse to Chen Qiyu at the front line.

Upon receiving the imperial edict, Chen Qiyu could hardly believe his eyes. He examined the roll of yellow silk several times, the crimson seal on it so glaring.

He clutched the imperial edict, standing in the tent like a petrified statue, motionless for a long time.

He couldn't understand it, he really couldn't understand it!
Why destroy your own Great Wall when victory is so easily within your grasp?

Releasing a pack of hungry wolves from their cage and expecting them to become loyal dogs?

What an absurd idea!
But when the emperor commands a subject to die, the subject dares not disobey. Even if Chen Qiyu were to become the governor-general of five provinces, he would not dare to disobey the imperial decree.

He sighed deeply, as if he had aged ten years in an instant.

Therefore, with the personal approval of the highest authority of the Ming Dynasty, in April of that year, Chen Qiyu, representing the imperial court, reached an agreement with the rebel army in the valley to grant them amnesty.

As for how to prevent the rebels from rebelling again, Zhu Youjian even personally issued extremely detailed instructions.

He ordered Chen Qiyu to assign a pacification officer to monitor and register every hundred bandits, based on their numbers.

Furthermore, after the righteous army reorganized, it should immediately go to Sichuan to fight against the rebels.

The local governments of the prefectures and counties they passed through supplied them with provisions.
At the same time, an order was issued to all government troops to halt their advance and clear the road to avoid unnecessary conflict.

And so, an extremely absurd drama unfolded in the mountains of Hannan.

More than 30,000 rebels, who not long ago were starving and emaciated, marched out of Chexiang Gorge in a mighty procession.

They took the silver, their faces adorned with humble and submissive smiles, and kept bribing the Ming soldiers and pacification officials who were guarding them.

With money to pave the way, everything becomes much easier.

Surprisingly, Chen Qiyu's soldiers were not angry at all when facing their former mortal enemies. Instead, they lined up to welcome these "gods of wealth".

Soon, the two groups were arm in arm, acting as if they were old friends who hadn't seen each other for years.

The officers and soldiers took out their treasured military rations and wine, and feasted with the bandits.

Meanwhile, in a large tent not far away, Luo Rucai was holding a wine bowl, arm in arm with the garrison commander Tang Tong, addressing him as brothers, as if they were old friends who had not seen each other for many years.

As he poured wine for Tang Tong, he laughed loudly:
"General Tang, if it weren't for Governor Chen's excessive pressure, why would we brothers have come to this point?"

"From now on, we will all serve the imperial court, and we hope that General Tang will take good care of us!"

Tang Tong, stepping on the gold and silver that Luo Rucai had given him, beamed with joy:

"Easy to say, easy to say!"

Zhang Xianzhong, leading a group of his confidants, swaggered into the government army's supply camp.

He drew his rusty longsword from his waist and said to the quartermaster in charge:
"Sir, look at our weapons, they're practically rusted fire sticks."

"I'll be going to Sichuan to serve the Emperor in the future, so I'll need some handy weapons!"

"Could you perhaps make an exception for me?"

As he spoke, Zhang Xianzhong waved his hand behind him, signaling his personal guards to present the reward.

Thus, lured by the money, the quartermaster actually opened the warehouse and let them start a trade-in business, taking the opportunity to exchange a large number of weapons.

According to records: "The righteous army then marched out of the inn, where they drank and chatted with Qi Yu's soldiers, exchanged horses, and slept side by side; those without armor were now properly dressed, those without bows and arrows were now sharpened, and those who had not eaten for several days were now well-fed."

Just when the officers and soldiers thought that the battle to quell the rebellion had finally come to a successful conclusion, a dark night suddenly brought a deadly threat.

Just after midnight, sharp whistles rang out in the government army camp. Upon hearing the signal, the rebels scattered throughout the camp launched a simultaneous attack!
The bandits, who had been chatting and laughing all day, used their newly acquired longswords to cleanly and swiftly behead the government troops.

While Luo Rucai was drinking and feasting with the pacification official, he suddenly splashed the wine in his bowl onto the official's face, then grinned maliciously and slit the official's throat.

Zhang Xianzhong, who had been waiting for a long time, personally led his team to secretly eliminate the guards of the supply camp and seize all the government troops' grain and fodder.

The entire process was fast, accurate, and ruthless, and full of tacit understanding.

Most of the officers and soldiers were tied up like dumplings in their sleep. Those who resisted were killed on the spot, and the rest had their ears and noses cut off or their hands and feet broken.

In this way, the rebel army not only recovered its strength and replenished its supplies, but also upgraded its equipment.

"Brothers, follow me south! Let's take Jingzhou!"

With a flick of his whip, Gao Yingxiang unleashed his army like a flood, sweeping across the unsuspecting Central Plains.

……

When the news reached the capital, it caused a stir in the court and among the people.

Another court assembly was held in the Chongzheng Hall.

This time, however, the atmosphere inside the hall was completely different from the last time; the previous jubilation had turned into a deathly silence.

All the ministers lowered their heads, remained silent, and even their breathing was carefully controlled, for fear of angering the emperor, whose face was ashen, on the dragon throne.

Zhu Youjian felt a burning pain on his face as he watched this scene, as if he had been slapped several times.

He dared not think about how his ministers would view him, or whether they would treat him as a joke.

But as the emperor, he simply couldn't bring himself to admit his mistakes.

So he instinctively started looking for a scapegoat, trying to absolve himself of responsibility.

But the officials in the court all knew that this "brilliant plan" of driving one tiger to devour another was proposed by the emperor alone.

Even Wen Tiren and Zhang Fengyi were merely echoing each other.

Left with no other choice, Zhu Youjian could only turn his attention to Chen Qiyu, who was still thousands of miles away.

At this moment, Chen Qiyu was extremely busy and overwhelmed.

On one hand, he was busy organizing the army to continue pursuing the bandits, and on the other hand, he was in a hurry to write a memorial to the emperor to apologize and shirk responsibility.

Although the fault did not lie with him, he still had to show the right attitude. This was an experience that Chen Qiyu had gained over many years as an official.

In his memorial, he first blamed the supervising eunuch Fang Jin, denouncing him for "obstructing the pacification of the government and killing surrendered soldiers and inciting unrest."
Subsequently, Chen Qiyu shifted the blame to Lian Guoshi, the governor of Shaanxi, who was assisting in the defense on the periphery, saying that he had failed to cooperate effectively and had not settled the surrendered soldiers in a timely manner.

Upon receiving the memorial, Zhu Youjian's eyes lit up. Here comes the scapegoat!
He immediately seized the opportunity. Once the imperial edict was issued, he first arrested the pacification official Li Jiayan, and then dismissed and imprisoned more than 50 people, including the Shaanxi governor Lian Guoshi.

Then, he swiftly appointed Li Qiao, the Left Provincial Administration Commissioner of Shaanxi, to take over as governor and clean up the mess.

But things did not end there.

Emperor Chongzhen managed to absolve himself of all responsibility, but the officials below him were not happy.

Soon, Gu Guobao, a censor, Fu Yongchun, the Shaanxi provincial inspector, and others submitted memorials, pointing their fingers directly at Chen Qiyu, the commander-in-chief.

They condemned his ineffective attempts to appease the tiger, which led to its release back into the mountains and caused a major disaster.

Seeing the public outcry, Zhu Youjian had no choice but to "go with the flow."

He then dismissed and arrested Chen Qiyu on the grounds that "his poor management and mismanagement of the enemy led to the collapse of the overall situation."

Although Zhu Youjian knew very well that the real reason for the failure of this encirclement and suppression was his decision to go against the opinions of others.

But in order to save face as a wise and benevolent ruler, he was eager to shirk responsibility and unhesitatingly pinned the blame on Chen Qiyu.

Thus, Chen Qiyu, the first commander-in-chief of the Ming Dynasty's suppression campaign, was sent back to his hometown of Baode Prefecture by imperial edict and was to live in seclusion, never to be employed again.

During the Chongzhen reign, countless civil officials rose and fell from grace; many who were demoted one day might be reinstated the next.

But Chen Qiyu waited until the seventeenth year of the Chongzhen Emperor's reign, even after the emperor hanged himself on Coal Hill, and still did not receive the edict to reinstate him.

This marked the complete end of the political life of the governor-general of five provinces.

The reason is simple: the emperor could not tolerate a minister who had witnessed the failure of his decisions continuing to hold an important position.

　Based on my research, Chen Qiyu was likely made a scapegoat for Emperor Chongzhen; otherwise, he wouldn't have ended up being permanently banned from public service.

　　Although Chen Qiyu rebelled against the Qing Dynasty, he still refused to shave his head and submit to them when the Qing offered him a way to surrender. He was eventually reported to the authorities and died at the hands of the Manchus.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)