How can one be Emperor Chongzhen without money?

Chapter 213 Beeldorgon the Fetcher

We must have confidence!

Zhu Cunshu and Kong Yinzhi shuddered and quickly exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with fear, heartache, and a determination to remain loyal.

This isn't asking about confidence; it's asking if you want your head!

If it were any of the other emperors of the Ming Dynasty besides Taizu and Chengzu, they might not have dared to kill a prince and a Duke Yansheng.

The prince in front of him had already killed one of them and even detained the Prince of Qin from Xi'an to Beijing. Meanwhile, the Duke of Yansheng, Kong Yinzhi, was currently in a state of "protective loyalty." If Chongzhen truly wanted to kill them both, it would be a matter of a single word.

Zhu Cunxu pounded his chest, his voice trembling yet resounding: "Your Majesty! I have complete faith in Your Majesty and in the Ming Dynasty! The Prince of Qin's mansion will sell everything it owns to deliver the 500,000 taels on time!" He forced a resolute expression on his face, "I will immediately write letters to the Prince of Zhou and the Prince of Shu! This is a deal that shares the fate of the nation; I will take the lead, and let's see who dares not follow!"

As expected of a descendant of the second son of the founding emperor, so righteous! Not only is his own family righteous, but he also leads other princes of the Ming Dynasty to be righteous. Just for this, he has done right by the founding emperor.

Kong Yinzhi took a deep breath, his face filled with sorrow and solemnity: "Your Majesty! The thought of the people beyond the Great Wall shaving their heads and changing their clothes breaks my heart! If the Sage Confucius could know this in the afterlife, I don't know how he would weep!" He raised his sleeve as if to wipe away tears, "Although I am unworthy, I am a descendant of the Sage. In this time of crisis, I can only do my utmost to protect the legitimate dynasty of our China! Not to mention 500,000 taels, I would give my life to protect it! Your Majesty's grand plan, I will support it to the death!"

Great, that's the spirit of a descendant of Confucius!

Emperor Chongzhen smiled with satisfaction as he watched the two actors' superb acting skills.

"Excellent! My two ministers are both very wise and understanding, which greatly pleases me! With the example set by the Prince of Qin and the sage Duke Wenwang, what worries do I have about the success of this official silver bank? The lifeline of the Ming Dynasty's finances will surely be in the hands of you and me, my subjects! As long as we manage this official silver bank well, why should we worry about not having enough silver to destroy the Jurchens?"

Money alone can destroy the Jurchens? If the Jurchens were so easy to destroy, would they have remained so arrogant until now?

To be honest, Zhu Cunshu and Kong Yinzhi didn't quite believe it, but that didn't stop them from looking incredibly loyal!

Nestled at the foot of a mountain within Miyun County, there stands a garden left behind by a former Grand Secretary of the previous dynasty, named "Qinfang Garden." This exquisitely constructed garden, with its pavilions, terraces, bridges, and flowing water, is strikingly beautiful in this northern border region. Now, however, this elegant place is filled with burly Tartars—it has become the encampment of Huang Taiji, the Khan of the Later Jin dynasty.

The largest hall in the garden was called "Shuyu Hall," an elegant name, but at this moment it was filled with the stench of mutton and leather. Huang Taiji sat in a large armchair at the head of the table, his hands gripping the armrests tightly. The armrests were fine, and the chair was comfortable, but he was burning with rage, with nowhere to vent it.

Hauge, Yuetuo, and several other princes and taijis sat on either side, all looking rather grim. Yanguli had just finished reporting the military situation and was standing below with his hands at his sides.

“Your Majesty,” Yang Guli’s voice was a little hoarse, “that old bastard You Shiwei really got away fast! Right now, Changping, Huairou, and Shunyi are all guarded like iron barrels by him. What’s even more infuriating is that the rear city of Miyun, Shixiaying, and those rich landlords’ estates along the Chaobai River have all been turned into hedgehogs!”

He paused, recalling the difficulty of attacking those earthen fortresses, his tone becoming even more agitated: "They're all low rammed earth walls, so thick that our cannonballs only leave a white dot on them. The trenches outside are deep and wide, some even diverting river water. What's most disgusting is that the walls are built with twists and turns, with several protruding corners. No matter which side our men go up from, they're hit by arrows, lead bullets, and crossbow bolts that can pierce through two layers of armor! We've launched several strong attacks, losing many warriors, but we still haven't been able to take them down."

When Yanguli talked about the "crossbow," he almost ground his teeth to powder.

The so-called waist crossbow was simply a type of crossbow with a draw weight, nothing new. The Later Jin army had encountered it long ago when fighting the Ming army outside the Great Wall, and didn't find it particularly formidable. However, this time in Miyun, they encountered a combination of waist crossbows and earthen bastions—bastions, the "five-pointed star" type! When the Later Jin soldiers attacked one corner, their backs were inevitably exposed to the defenders at the other corner. The waist crossbows would then strike their backs! This was dangerous, as the Later Jin's padded armor was generally sturdy in the front, but less so in the back, and shields usually had to protect the front—which also needed to be used to fire arrows!

So you can defend the front but not the back, and sometimes you get a sneak attack from the side! How hateful!
Yue Tuo couldn't help but curse, "These southern barbarians are all cowards! If they've got the guts, let's come out and fight them for real!"

Hauge also said in a muffled voice, "Father Khan, this can't go on! We don't have much food. Although we've broken into some poorly defended villages, we haven't dug up much food. We've only gotten some fancy but useless things."

The gardens they broke up were all belonging to nobles or military families. They had some nice things, such as furniture made of huanghuali wood, antique porcelain vases from Jingdezhen, landscape paintings with high artistic conception, and large calligraphy with dragon and phoenix strokes. There was just not much food and drink.

Huang Taiji remained silent, his gaze sweeping over the generals below before finally settling on the ever-silent Dorgon. "Fourteenth Prince, what do you think?"

Dorgon stood up. He was young, but his face showed no signs of immaturity, and he was also sly and mischievous: "Great Khan, it's perfect that You Shiwei is hiding in Changping! What's behind Changping Garrison City? It's Tianshou Mountain, the ancestral tomb of the Zhu family emperors!"

His words shocked the entire room, and everyone looked at him.

Dorgon's lips curled into a cold smile: "Let's make a big show of it, spread the word that the Great Jin army is going to loot all the treasures from the Zhu family's ancestral tombs! Let's see if Zhu Youjian can tolerate it, and whether he can still sit on that dragon throne! I bet he'll mobilize the elite troops of the capital garrison, and even reinforcements from all over the country to come to his rescue! As long as they dare to leave the city and fight in the open..."

He was about to become a "Prince of the Tomb Raiders"! He didn't say what he meant next, but everyone present understood. The Eight Banners cavalry feared nothing more than the Ming army hiding in the city and firing cannons; when it came to open field battles on the plains, they had never been afraid of anyone!
"Excellent! This plan is brilliant!" Hauge was the first to applaud, and Yue Tuo and the others nodded in agreement, all agreeing that it was a good way to break the deadlock. Even Huang Taiji nodded slightly, agreeing that this "grave-digging plan," which prioritized winning hearts and minds, was indeed feasible.

Just as he was about to give the order, Fan Wencheng hurriedly entered from outside the hall, holding a small piece of paper in his hand, his expression somewhat strange.

"Your Majesty, a secret report has been sent from Beijing by Hou Xingguo."

Huang Taiji took the note, unfolded it, and his brows first furrowed, then relaxed, then tightened again. His expression changed several times before he finally sneered.

"Good, good indeed, Emperor Chongzhen!" He slammed the note on the table, his voice neither angry nor mocking. "My mighty Eight Banners army has breached the border walls, its might pointing towards the capital. Guess what our Great Ming Emperor is doing right now?"

The generals below held their breath.

Huang Taiji looked at Fan Wencheng: "You tell us!"

Fan Wencheng, steeling himself, bowed and said, “Your Majesty, according to Hou Xingguo’s report, the nine gates of Beijing are not closed, and there is no martial law, only stricter checks. There has also been no imperial edict to summon the emperor to come to his aid. As for Emperor Chongzhen… he… he has been summoning Prince Qin and Duke Yansheng for days, and is secretly discussing with the inner court and imperial merchants, busy with something called… ‘Imperial Estate Silver Bank,’ which seems… seems to be trying to manipulate the money market…”

"What? The official silver bank?"

"Open a money exchange? At this time?"

"Has he gone mad with fright?!"

The Shuyu Hall erupted in chaos. Hauge slammed his hand on the low table beside him, his face contorted with arrogance, and said, "The Empty City Stratagem! This is absolutely the Empty City Stratagem! He's imitating Zhuge Liang from 'Romance of the Three Kingdoms,' opening the city gates and playing the zither on the city wall. He's treating Father Khan and our Great Jin army like fools like Sima Yi, making a fool of them!"

The generals were filled with righteous indignation and volunteered to fight, wanting to immediately raze Beijing and capture Emperor Chongzhen alive.

They are the Eight Banners soldiers who are well-versed in "Romance of the Three Kingdoms," how could they be as stupid as Sima Yi? If they encounter the Empty City Stratagem, they will definitely charge in and capture Zhuge Liang alive!

"Shut up, all of you!" Huang Taiji shouted in a low voice, and the hall fell silent instantly. He stood up, walked to the center of the hall, and his gaze swept over the group of intelligent faces.

"Zhuge Liang? Does Zhu Youjian even deserve that title?" Huang Taiji sneered. "I am no Sima Yi either! Does he think that by putting on such a show, he can make me suspicious and afraid to advance?"

He walked back to the map, first pointing to Changping, then slowly moving south, passing over the densely packed strongholds marked with fortifications, and finally stopping at Tongzhou on the banks of the canal.

"The Fourteenth Prince's 'treasonous expedition' plan must still be carried out." Huang Taiji looked at Dorgon. "I order you and Yue Tuo to lead the troops of the Bordered White and Bordered Red Banners, along with the Mongol tribes, to march to Changping with great fanfare! Make the news as loud as possible, so that everyone in Beijing knows that my Great Jin is going to Tianshou Mountain to 'treason'!"

"Yes, sir!" Dorgon and Yuetuo answered in unison.

Huang Taiji's gaze then turned to Hauge, Yang Guli, and the others: "As for you, you will follow the main force of the two Yellow Banners, along with all the troops of the Han Army and the Bondservant Camp, and later lower your flags and cease your drums, and secretly head south."

His finger jabbed heavily at the location in Tongzhou.

"Tongzhou! The final destination of the Grand Canal, Beijing's granary! It's stockpiled with countless grains, provisions, and cloth transported from the south!"

He surveyed his generals, his voice resolute: "Dorgon's actions in Changping are a bluff, a feint! Our main force must strike Tongzhou like a knife!"

"I want to see if Chongzhen's so-called 'official silver bank' can still open for business when my banner appears at the gates of Tongzhou! I want to see if he can remain calm!"

“Even if he doesn’t send troops to rescue Changping, he’ll have to send troops to rescue Tongzhou. We’ll fight and annihilate the enemy in the open outside Tongzhou! If he keeps hiding and doesn’t move, then the grain transported to Beijing will be completely cut off. I want to see how long that little Chongzhen can keep hiding.”

(End of this chapter)