How can one be Emperor Chongzhen without money?

Chapter 154 North Korea: Why am I always the one who gets hurt? (First update, desperately seeking monthly votes and subscriptions)
In September of the second year of the Tiancong reign, the atmosphere in the Khan's Palace in Shenyang was unusually heavy these past few days.

The floor was scorching hot, and the hall was so hot that everyone was sweating. But Huang Taiji, sitting on the throne, felt a chill run down his spine. Standing below were the pillars of the Great Jin: the First Prince Daishan squinted as if dozing; the Second Prince Amin and the Third Prince Mangultai, who had just returned from Korea, looked weary and travel-worn; and there were also the lesser princes Jirhalang, Yuetuo, and Degelai. In the corner stood Fan Wencheng, pale-faced, and Fan Yongdou, a Shanxi merchant whose home had been confiscated—these two had previously worked with Xifu in Huduntu Khan's tent, making empty promises to Huduntu. However, Yuan Chonghuan was also a master of empty promises, and Huduntu had a beautiful concubine, Sutai, who constantly whispered in his ear, making the Mongol Khan dizzy and unwilling to accept the Great Jin's empty promises.

Just when no one was willing to take the bait, news came from inside the Great Wall that shocked Xi Fu, Fan Wencheng, Fan Yongdou, and the others—the young master Chongzhen, the emperor of the Ming Dynasty and a descendant of Zhu Hongwu, had actually become a kept man.
Fan Yongdou knelt on the ground, not daring to lift his head, his voice trembling.

"Your Majesty, Your Highnesses, Your Majesty ...

"Speak." Huang Taiji's voice wasn't loud, but it was so oppressive that it made it hard to breathe.

Fan Yongdou swallowed hard and began to recount what he had learned in Beijing. He started by saying that the great pirate Zheng Zhilong in the south had accepted amnesty and sent the young emperor countless ships, grain, and silver.

"...Roughly calculated, converted into cash, it would probably be no less than two million taels."

A few gasps rippled through the hall. Mangultai's eyes widened in disbelief. Two million taels? If the Jin dynasty managed to plunder Korea and recoup even a tenth, they'd consider it a great success!
But that wasn't all. Fan Yongdou went on to say that the young emperor had also taken a concubine.

"She was the sister of a pirate captain, surnamed Liu, and was granted the title of Consort Zhen. The dowry given by the Liu family... was said to be one million taels of silver."

"How much?!" Second Prince Amin suddenly stood up, his voice so loud it made dust fall from the rafters. "One million taels? He dares to ask for a million taels as a dowry to marry a wife? Damn it... Has Emperor Chongzhen gone mad with poverty? Has he lost all sense of shame?"

Daishan stroked his beard and muttered, "Three million taels... This... This is equivalent to many years' worth of our Great Jin's revenue..."

Fan Yongdou lay on the ground and added the most fatal sentence: "The Ming Dynasty emperor... called this 'showing favor.' He also said... that he had plenty of 'favor' to show and plenty of... free meals to eat."

The hall fell silent instantly. The previous liveliness vanished completely, leaving only a collective gasp.

Huang Taiji's face showed no emotion, but his knuckles were white as he gripped the throne.

He spoke slowly, trying his best to keep his voice calm—he absolutely could not let anyone see that he was a little flustered.

"Go on. What's the story with that female pirate?"

"Your Majesty, that Liu woman... I've heard she's not only beautiful, but she also manages her brother's accounts; she's quite a formidable character. The Ming emperor took her as a concubine and kept her in the palace."

Dorgon grinned, his expression strange, and muttered, "Taking a female pirate as a concubine and accepting a dowry of one million taels? Are there any female pirates like this in the southeastern seas of the Ming Dynasty?"

Huang Taiji shuddered upon hearing this—one million for each female pirate, ten for ten million. If Chongzhen wasn't afraid of "dying from exhaustion," the Great Jin Kingdom would be in big trouble!
However, Huang Taiji maintained an air of complete control, even revealing a hint of contempt for Chongzhen, the "soft rice emperor." He cleared his throat, his voice lowering.

"Did you all hear that? Chongzhen, not his brother Tianqi. He may be shameless, but he really wants money, he really wants soldiers, and he really wants our lives! His ability to make money is more than ten times better than his brother's!"

He changed the subject and looked at Amin: "How's it going on in North Korea?"

Amin quickly stepped forward, her face even more pained.

"Your Majesty, don't even mention it! That Yi Jong is holed up on Ganghwa Island, protected by the Ming Dynasty's navy. Our cavalry can't get through. We may have occupied a lot of land around Seoul and Pyongyang, but apart from the main roads, the valleys are full of Koreans who are eyeing Yi Jong! Stealing some grain feels like stealing, and we still have to be wary of sneak arrows!"

He grew angrier as he spoke: "What's most hateful is that Li Zong somehow managed to sell Jeju Island to Zheng Zhilong in exchange for ships full of muskets, gunpowder, and grain! Now Ganghwa Island is as impregnable as an iron fortress! Even we, the men of the two Blue Banners, can't launch a direct assault."

After Amin finished speaking, the hall became noisy again.

Ajige was the first to jump up: "We can't let Li Zong get away! How far is Jeju Island from the North Korean coast? Does it freeze over in winter? If it can freeze, we'll cross the sea, flatten that bird island, and capture Li Zong alive!"

As soon as he spoke, many princes, both big and small, who had scored eight points, joined in the clamor.

In western and southern Liaoning, Zu Dashou and Mao Wenlong have built some oddly shaped fortresses that look tough to conquer. Moreover, neither Jinzhou nor Lushun are surrounded by any populace; they're all bones and no flesh. The situation in North Korea is much more lenient; it's more practical to plunder them.

Daishan, being more mature, pondered for a moment and said, "Jinzhou is a tough nut to crack. It would be good to take over Korea completely first, thus cutting off one of the Ming Dynasty's arms."

Just as everyone was talking about attacking North Korea, a clear voice rang out, silencing the noise.

"Your Majesty! I believe that launching a large-scale invasion of Korea is precisely what Chongzhen has planned!"

Everyone looked up and saw it was the young Dorgon. He stepped forward, his gaze sweeping over the princes who were clamoring for war, a sharp edge in his eyes.

"Korea, and Liaoxi, are both graveyards that Chongzhen has prepared for us!" Dorgon's voice rose. "He has countless Koreans in Korea to wear us down, and in Liaoxi he has fortified cities and the 'Three Feudatories of Liaoxi' to wear us down! Every warrior we lose is a lost hero. But if Chongzhen loses soldiers or weapons, he only loses some silver."

He paused, his gaze fixed on Huang Taiji on the throne, and uttered the words that sent chills down everyone's spines:

"But all he needs to do is take another pirate's daughter as a concubine, and live off her! We're risking our lives, while he's living off her! If this war continues like this, how many of our lives will be lost?" The hall was deathly silent. Even Mangultai was speechless, his mouth agape. These words were harsh, yet utterly true. Chongzhen, this scoundrel, had used a very dishonorable method to mobilize the true financial resources of the Ming Dynasty!
Ten or twenty million taels of silver was an astronomical sum for the Jin Dynasty, Korea, and even the original Ming Dynasty. But for those pirates (merchants) who made money from Westerners by trading silk, porcelain, sugar, and tea, it was not a huge amount. Losing a few hundred thousand or a million taels of silver, sending their daughters to the palace as concubines, and becoming relatives of the emperor themselves, they might even think it was a good deal.

However, when these "silver rice bowls" become the warriors of the Ming army and the deadly weapons in their hands, the Jin dynasty will be plunged into a somewhat desperate war of attrition.

Huang Taiji looked at Dorgon, his eyes revealing undisguised admiration for the first time. He slowly stood up.

"Fourteenth Brother... is right."

He admitted it. He admitted this fact that gave all the big princes a headache.

"Chongzhen is using his dirty money to set a trap for us. He wants to wear down our main force in Korea and Liaoxi, and bleed us dry little by little."

He walked to the middle of the main hall, suddenly raised his hand, and pointed to the west.

"We can't let them lead us by the nose! Since there are pitfalls to the east and south, let's look to the west!"

His right hand pointed heavily to a corner of a huge map on the wall, where the word "Mongolia" was marked.

"That fool Ligdan Khan, relying on being a descendant of Genghis Khan, looks down on us. Let's deal with him first, and then take over the forces of the Mongol tribes..."

His finger slid up the map, past the Great Wall, and landed on the words "Xuanfu" and "Datong".

"Then, we'll storm in from the most unexpected place in the Ming Dynasty! We'll plunder them completely!"

Huang Taiji stared at the map, as if he could already see the scene of thousands of troops galloping.

"Then I'll see whether Chongzhen's soft rice lasts longer, or my blade is sharper!"

"Fourteenth Brother," Huang Taiji turned to Dorgon, "there's still the piece of meat that's Korea. It's stuck in our throats now; we can't swallow it, but it's a waste to spit it out. What do you suggest we do?"

A ruthless glint flashed in Dorgon's eyes: "Khan, we need to change the way we eat."

"Oh? Tell me carefully."

"First, loot everything. While we still control the area from Seoul to Uiju, move all the people, livestock, grain, and ironware we can carry back to Liaodong! Let's replenish our strength!"

Huang Taiji nodded: "That makes sense. We can't just occupy the space for nothing."

"Second, establish a foothold. After we've finished looting, we won't leave. We can take some cattle from each banner and station them in Pyongyang and Seoul respectively. We'll turn the Western Capital and the Royal Capital of Korea into our two large military camps, large estates."

"How exactly do you intend to establish a foothold?" Huang Taiji pressed.

"Let our Eight Banners soldiers be the masters, and organize the remaining Koreans into entire villages and hamlets as bondservants! Let them farm, forge iron, and do manual labor! We'll just sit there and watch, collecting their grain and conscripting their men! When the autumn harvest comes, we can also send troops from Pyongyang and Seoul to raid various places. Let's turn these eight provinces of Korea into a long-term granary and source of soldiers for our Great Jin!"

Hwang Tai-ji's eyes lit up. This wasn't just about grabbing a quick buck and leaving; it was about putting down roots and sucking North Korea dry for the long term!

"anything else?"

"Third, establish another King Yi!" Dorgon lowered his voice, but it sounded even more sinister. "Isn't Emperor Chongzhen supporting Yi Jong of Ganghwa Island? Let's establish another King of Joseon right here in Seoul!"

"Find an obedient descendant of the Joseon Dynasty, crown him, and let him sit in the palace in Seoul. Tell him that we, the Great Jin, recognize him as the legitimate King of Joseon. Let him levy taxes, grain requisitions, and conscript men from the eight provinces of Joseon under our swords! Let the Joseon people fight among themselves!"

After listening, Huang Taiji remained silent for a long time, only staring at Dorgon. This young man, so young, yet so meticulous and ruthless. This was no longer a simple robbery and escape; this was a plan to wipe out the entire family! It was to tear Korea apart and chew it up from the root! To rip off every piece of Korea's flesh and blood, bit by bit, and swallow it whole into the belly of the Great Jin Dynasty.

"Good!" Huang Taiji patted Dorgon's shoulder heavily. "We'll do as you say! We don't want Korea to surrender; we'll slowly drain it dry!"

He paused, then looked at Dorgon: "You will have to put in a lot of effort and help with the deliberations in this matter. In the future, you should listen to my opinions on important military and national affairs."

"Yes, Your Majesty! Your humble brother will do his utmost to share your burdens!" Dorgon knelt on one knee, his voice filled with suppressed excitement. He knew that from this moment on, he had truly entered the very core of the Jin Dynasty's power.

Huang Taiji's gaze returned to the huge map, slowly moving from Korea to the vast Mongolian grasslands, and finally settling on the winding curve of the Great Wall.

“Chongzhen, you little brat…” he muttered to himself, as if speaking to an unseen adversary, “Keep eating your soft rice. My blade will soon strike from where you can’t see it.”

(End of this chapter)