How can one be Emperor Chongzhen without money?

Chapter 270 Chongzhen, Li Zicheng, and Zhang Xianzhong meet at Coal Hill

In the twelfth month of the fourth year of the Chongzhen reign, although the Shenyang Khan Palace was heated by an underfloor heating system, the air was so cold that it made people shiver.

Huang Taiji was furious, clutching a secret report from Beijing called "Huangming Tongbao." He was so angry that he was about to explode, and the fat on his cheeks was trembling.

"Good...good indeed." Huang Taiji gritted his teeth, while Fan Wencheng, kneeling below, shrank back. "That slut Zhong Muna, and that swindler Gao Yingxiang, cheated me out of a thousand fine horses, and then turned around and joined forces with that brat Chongzhen to put on a show, making a fool of me!"

He slammed the copy of "Huangming Baotong" on the table, making the pen holder shake.

"They're even vouching for each other! When Hu Duntu was alive, he didn't even have a trace of children. But now that he's dead, two sons suddenly appear: one given by Chongzhen and one by Gao Yingxiang."

He became increasingly agitated as he spoke, stood up, and kicked over a standing vase, which shattered on the floor.

"My thousand fine horses! And that loyal warrior from the Doyan tribe... and this is all I got in return?"

His eyes swept over Fan Wencheng, who was kneeling in front of him, his body trembling.

“Mr. Fan!” Huang Taiji said, emphasizing each word, “This is your ‘brilliant plan’? You even often compare yourself to Zhuge Liang? You’re not worthy of the title!”

Fan Wencheng pressed his forehead to the ground, his voice trembling: "This servant is foolish...this servant deserves to die! I never expected that Nangnang and Gao Yingxiang would be so shameless and utterly untrustworthy..."

"You didn't fail to foresee it, you're just stupid!" Huang Taiji grabbed a few pieces of divination sheep bones and smashed them on Fan Wencheng's bald head. "Get out of here! You're an eyesore!"

He then glared at Haug, who was huddled next to a pillar.

"And you!" Huang Taiji pointed at him and cursed, "Useless! If you hadn't underestimated the enemy and advanced recklessly in Daning, losing soldiers and generals, how could my Great Jin have been so powerful in front of the Mongol tribes? We wouldn't have needed to resort to such despicable means, making ourselves a laughing stock! You're not even as good as one of your fourteenth uncle's fingers!"

Haug's face turned bright red, and he gritted his teeth, not daring to utter a sound.

At this moment, Dorgon, who had been watching the spectacle unfold, quickly stepped forward, bowed, and said calmly, "Your Majesty, please calm your anger. Although Fan Wencheng's plan failed, it did prove that the people in the Ordos region are unreliable. In the future, we will have fewer concerns when dealing with them."

He paused briefly, then continued, “The most important thing right now is to stabilize our foundations. The Khorchin tribe has the deepest intermarriage ties, and there are also Taijis in the Kharachin who are loyal to our Great Jin. I believe we should reward these loyal tribes handsomely and let them become a bulwark for the southern Gobi Desert. In addition…” He looked up to the north, “The three Khalkha tribes in the northern Gobi Desert have always been wavering, and after Ligdan Khan’s defeat and death, they have lost their backbone. Now is the perfect time to send a capable person with generous gifts to the north to demonstrate the power and benevolence of our Great Khan and let them know who they should submit to!”

Hearing Dorgon's words, Huang Taiji seemed to calm down a bit. He took a few breaths, slowly sat back down, and then coldly glanced at Fan Wencheng and Hauge.

After a long pause, he finally snorted, "Fine. The fourteenth brother is right. If the fence around the house is strong enough, stray dogs won't be able to get in."

He tapped his fingers on the armrest, setting the tone: "Hauge, Fan Wencheng!"

The two men jumped in surprise and quickly replied, "Your subjects are here!"

"You two, one lost the battle, and the other gave bad advice, you should be severely punished!" Huang Taiji said coldly, "But I am merciful, and now I will give you a chance to redeem yourselves. Hauge, you will be the chief envoy; Fan Wencheng, you will be the deputy envoy. Select a team of capable men, bring generous gifts, and head north to the Chechen Khanate of the Khalkha!"

He stared at Hauge: "Tune your temper on this trip and listen to Fan Wencheng! If you mess this up again, you'll be punished for both crimes, and I'll skin you alive!"

He then looked at Fan Wencheng and said, "You lackey, aren't you full of schemes? This time, you should carefully calculate how to make the Khalkha Taijis willingly acknowledge my Great Jin as their master!"

"Yes, Your Majesty! Your humble servants will certainly live up to the Khan's trust!" The two quickly kowtowed.

Fan Wencheng, as if trying to redeem himself, carefully added: "Great Khan, the Khalkha tribes have long lived in the northern deserts and have little experience of warfare. They are unaware of the might of our Great Jin army. I think that on this trip north, besides bringing gold and silk, could we also select a Han army firearms battalion and Korean artillerymen to accompany us? If there is an opportunity, we can conduct a firearms demonstration on the frontier, letting those tribal leaders see firsthand what truly powerful weapons are. If they are frightened, their submission will be much easier to arrange..."

Huang Taiji squinted and thought for a moment. This idea was indeed good. Military intimidation worked best on the grasslands.

"Approved. You can choose yourselves. They need to be capable, quick-witted, and truly knowledgeable about firearms..." After saying that, Huang Taiji waved his hand, his face showing both fatigue and anticipation: "Go, prepare well. I await your good news from the northern desert."

Hauge and Fan Wencheng kowtowed again and carefully retreated from the suffocating hall. A gust of cold wind blew outside, and both felt a chill run down their spines, especially Fan Wencheng, whose back was covered in cold sweat!
Hauge is his own son, so it's impossible for him to be skinned alive, but whether Fan Wencheng will be skinned alive is really hard to say.

Being a lackey of the Great Jin Dynasty is no easy task!

The wind on Coal Hill in winter was exceptionally strong, howling and whipping against people's faces, reminding Zhang Xianzhong of the Hetao region.

He shrank his neck and wrapped his sheepskin coat tighter around himself, but his eyes were fixed on the tall figure in front of him—Li Hongji, the Imperial Guard Commander.

Li Hongji walked at a leisurely pace, his boots crunching on the frozen dirt road, each step heavy. Zhang Xianzhong, however, was inwardly wondering: Who is this Li fellow? Why does he make me a little uneasy?

As they neared the summit, Zhang Xianzhong spotted a crooked old locust tree standing bare in the distance, its branches sprawling out, looking particularly eerie under the gray sky. A man stood beneath the tree, dressed in a dark blue cotton robe with a black cloak over it, his hands behind his back, gazing at the bustling construction site west of the Forbidden City.

Beside that man stood a towering, dark figure with his hand on his sword, his eyes sweeping over like an eagle's—it was Li Guo, a third-rank imperial bodyguard. Zhang Xianzhong's heart tightened; this formation didn't look like a business negotiation.

Li Hongji stopped a few steps away, bowed, and whispered, "Your Majesty, the person has been brought."

The man slowly turned around, and Zhang Xianzhong recognized him; it was none other than the Chongzhen Emperor.

"You've arrived?" Chongzhen smiled, a genuine smile, the kind that comes from the heart, but also tinged with a sinister undertone, making Zhang Xianzhong feel like a rare and precious object in the other's eyes.
Zhang Xianzhong's heart pounded with anxiety. He steeled himself and, following the etiquette Gao Yingxiang had instructed him to observe before his arrival, knelt on one knee, clasped his hands, and said, "Your humble servant... Zhang Xianzhong pays his respects to His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Ming Dynasty!"

"Foreign minister?" Chongzhen repeated softly, as if he had heard something amusing. He took a couple of steps, walked to the crooked old locust tree, patted the rough trunk, then turned his head, his gaze falling on Zhang Xianzhong's lowered head. "Your father named you 'Xianzhong'... so you would offer your loyalty to Gao Yingxiang?"

Zhang Xianzhong's scalp tingled. Before he could think of a reply, Chongzhen's voice drifted over again, not loud, but every word pierced his ears:
"I remember you are from Liushujian, Yan'an Guard, Shaanxi. Your ancestors were genuine military households, eating the grain and receiving the titles of the Ming Dynasty. Do I need to tell you who your Zhang family should serve for generations?"

Sweat instantly beaded on Zhang Xianzhong's forehead. This emperor actually knew everything about him!

At this moment, Li Hongji, who was standing to the side, spoke up. His voice was loud and clear, with a heavy Shaanxi accent: "Brother Zhang! His Majesty thinks highly of you and is showing you the right path! What are you waiting for?"

Zhang Xianzhong instinctively tried to use Gao Yingxiang as a shield, stammering, "Your Majesty...King Gao, he..."

"What 'Chuang Wang'?" Li Hongji frowned, interrupting him rudely with a disdainful tone. "That doesn't sound like a proper title! It's the 'Hetao Pacification Commissioner' appointed by the imperial court, the High Pacification Commissioner!"

Upon hearing this, Chongzhen's smile deepened, and he continued, "That's right, Gao Yingxiang, the High Commissioner, is one of my own." His tone was relaxed, as if he were chatting about family matters. "He has been a great help to me in the Hetao region."

He turned to Zhang Xianzhong, as if to explain to him, or perhaps to the cold wind on Coal Hill: "Northern Shaanxi has suffered from severe drought for years, with famine everywhere, it's a powder keg. With Gao Xuanwei's actions in the Hetao region, how many refugees have been gathered up by seizing land? If these people have no way to survive in Guanzhong, there will be great chaos."

Chongzhen counted on his fingers, as if reciting a familiar story: "After he took the Hetao region, he had to settle people and horses, cultivate the land, and provide clothing. This year alone, the amount of farm tools and cloth purchased from Ningxia and Yulin was not small, and what he used to pay for the bills was Hetao wheat. I heard that he also sold a lot of the best Hetao wheat to Prince Zhou, who was providing disaster relief in Shaanxi..."

At this point, Chongzhen paused, his gaze fixed on Zhang Xianzhong's face again, and concluded, "He's doing what it means to secure external resources while maintaining internal stability. Tell me, isn't Gao Yingxiang's loyalty to the Ming Dynasty beyond question?"

The wind howled, making the withered branches of the crooked tree groan. Zhang Xianzhong knelt on the cold rocks, his mind in turmoil. He finally understood why, after Gao Yingxiang occupied the Hetao region, the court not only didn't suppress him but even granted him titles and opened border markets. This Emperor Chongzhen wasn't just incompetent; he was... completely insightful about Zhang Xianzhong and Gao Yingxiang's intentions!

Gao Yingxiang may have been plotting something wicked in the Hetao region, but in reality, he became a loyal and virtuous official who helped the court absorb displaced people and stabilize the border!
He clearly intended to rebel, but unknowingly became a great loyal subject!
Who can I complain to about this?
Seeing Zhang Xianzhong's ever-changing expression, Chongzhen knew the time was right. He leaned forward slightly, his voice softening, yet still carrying an air of determination to subdue Zhang Xianzhong:
“Zhang Xianzhong, the loyalty of Gao Yingxiang, has been devoted to the family. Now, the path of devotion is laid out before you.”

"The Emperor of the Ming Dynasty is right here. Your father gave you this name... Now, do you want to offer your loyalty to me in a dignified and honorable manner?"

Zhang Xianzhong abruptly raised his head, looking into Chongzhen's deep, sinister eyes, then glancing at Li Hongji's hand on the hilt of his sword, and Li Guo's hawk-like gaze. His throat went dry; he wanted to say something, but couldn't utter a single word.

He knew that climbing Coal Hill was easy, but getting down was difficult. He had to offer his loyalty, whether he wanted to or not!
(End of this chapter)