How can one be Emperor Chongzhen without money?

Chapter 278 The Ingenious Use of the Ming Dynasty Cossacks and the Hetao Soldiers

In the spring of the fifth year of the Chongzhen Emperor's reign, the drill ground of the Qinghua Garden military camp in Beijing was covered in dust. A thousand elite cavalrymen stood in neat ranks, their armor gleaming coldly in the sunlight. This was the most elite cavalry under Chongzhen's personal command—the Imperial Guard Vanguard Cavalry Battalion led by Li Hongji. Five hundred of them were pistol-wielding cavalrymen, each carrying two flintlock muskets, with hand axes and sabers hanging from their saddles; the other five hundred were lance-wielding cavalrymen, wielding twelve-foot-long lances with gleaming tips.

Emperor Chongzhen, dressed in military attire with a scarlet cloak, rode a tall Mongolian horse. Li Guo led the imperial guards closely behind him. Zhang Xianzhong, accompanied by Gao Guiying and several generals from the Hetao region, stood quietly beside the reviewing stand.

With a wave of the signal flag, the drill began. The lancers charged forward first, their cavalry pressing down on the distant wooden targets like a wall. Immediately afterward, the pistol-wielding cavalry flanked them, drawing their short muskets as they galloped and firing wildly at the targets twenty or thirty paces away, billowing white smoke. After firing, they swiftly sheathed their muskets, drew their swords, and charged into the target range, hacking and slashing.

The formations shifted swiftly and decisively, their firing clean and efficient. Further away, several lightweight four-pound bronze cannons were quickly pulled into position by mules and horses, the gunners loading and aiming with practiced ease, assuming a support stance. Yan Yingyuan, Li Yan, and several other editors from the Tsinghua Military Academy hurriedly took notes and sketches on the sidelines.

Li Hongji's battalion was considered the "training battalion" of the Imperial Guard cavalry. After returning from the front lines, they were stationed in the military camp attached to the Tsinghua Military Academy. The editors of the Tsinghua Military Academy would often come to watch their drills, and would also make records and draw battle diagrams. After these materials were sorted out and refined, they would become teaching materials for the Military Academy.

Gao Guiying stared in disbelief. Her Hetao cavalry, though somewhat brave, had never seen anything like this. The equipment, training, and coordination were worlds apart. The leaders of the Hetao Gao family who had come with her whispered amongst themselves, their faces paling.

The drill was over, and the field was quiet. Chongzhen spurred his horse to Gao Guiying and gently pulled on the reins. Today he wore a dark gold armor with fine scales, covered by a black cloak, which accentuated his tall and straight figure. His face was somewhat thin, and his skin was fair and healthy, but his brows exuded authority and composure.

Gao Guiying snapped out of her daze, quickly dismounted, and knelt on one knee: "Gao Guiying from Hetao greets Your Majesty!" Behind her, a whole group of Hetao generals knelt down in quick succession.

Unexpectedly, Chongzhen also dismounted and, under the astonished gazes of Zhang Xianzhong and Li Guo, stepped forward and reached out to support her arm: "General Gao, there's no need for such formalities, please get up!"

His hands were strong and warm. Gao Guiying looked up and met Chongzhen's gaze. His eyes held undisguised fondness. Today, Gao Guiying wore clean leather armor, and her faded blue robe accentuated her straight posture. Her wheat-colored face was smooth, her ponytail was neatly tied, revealing her full forehead and spirited oval face. Dark eyebrows, bright eyes, a high nose, and tightly pursed lips—she exuded competence and courage.

Emperor Chongzhen naturally held her hand and led her a few steps forward. Pointing to the drill ground, he asked with a smile, "General Gao, how do my elite troops compare to the Hetao lads you lead?"

Gao Guiying felt the warmth of his palm and her face flushed, but she still answered honestly, "Your Majesty, the might of Heaven is overwhelming, and my Hetao cavalry is far inferior. Their armor, firearms, warhorses, and training are all inferior." She knew in her heart that these were elite troops selected from the Nine Border Regions and raised with the best resources; her own men simply could not compare.

Emperor Chongzhen's smile deepened, and he squeezed her hand tightly: "General Gao is truly admirable! But my soldiers are too difficult to support. They are good at fighting tough battles, but they are far inferior in terms of endurance and hard work! Your heroes of the Hetao region can take root in this harsh land, take in refugees, and cultivate wasteland. In the past two years, they have helped me stabilize the Northwest and taken in no less than 200,000 disaster victims from northern Shaanxi—this kind of tenacity is something my soldiers do not have!"

He changed the subject, his tone becoming more serious: "I have read the reports on the drought in Shaanxi this year, and it is even worse than last year. There will only be more people fleeing famine. We must continue to hold on to the Hetao region. Every extra mouthful we can harvest is a life saved, and it will also help stabilize the northwest corner of the Ming Dynasty."

Upon hearing this, Gao Guiying's face also showed worry: "Your Majesty, the Hetao region is vast, but water and grass are limited. Too many people pouring in at once will require iron farm tools for resettlement and land reclamation..."

“I know,” Chongzhen interrupted her, his tone decisive. “I will instruct the Imperial Horse Administration to allocate 50,000 catties of wrought iron to your uncle Gao Yingxiang. Use it to forge plowshares and hoes for him, so that the disaster victims can be resettled as soon as possible and settled down in the Hetao region.”

Gao Guiying was stunned, and subconsciously looked up, her eyes filled with disbelief and wariness: "Your Majesty... you just gave us tens of thousands of catties of iron? Aren't you... aren't you afraid that my uncle will take this iron and not make farm tools, but secretly forge arrows and swords? He has men, horses, and grain now..."

Looking at her wary yet frank demeanor, Chongzhen laughed instead: "Guying, if your uncle Gao Yingxiang is only thinking about grand schemes and doesn't care about the lives of his fellow villagers in northern Shaanxi, what he should do most is to prevent the disaster victims in northern Shaanxi from going to the Hetao region to seek a living. Cut off the people of northern Shaanxi's means of survival, force them to rebel, and then profit from it!"

Gao Guiying shook her head: "My uncle is not that kind of person."

Emperor Chongzhen nodded: "I know that your uncle has a reputation for chivalry and would not do such a thing, otherwise so many people would not follow him." Gao Guiying nodded in agreement. If Gao Yingxiang really did that, neither he, Gao Jie, nor Yi Gong would follow him, let alone others.
Chongzhen's smile faded, and he looked at her sharply. "So I'm not afraid that he'll use the wrought iron to forge arrowheads and weapons. He doesn't have that kind of heart!"

He only said half of what he meant. The other half was that Gao Yingxiang was already a "million-stone official" in the Hetao region. Would he really give up the blessed land of Hetao and his million-stone official position to become a bandit? Even if he were willing, his subordinates wouldn't be!

As long as he's unwilling to give up that "million shi" (a unit of dry measure), he poses no threat. Even if he were to raise an army, where could he possibly take it? Would he march across the southern grasslands to clash with the elite troops of Datong, Xuanfu, and Jizhou, along with the imperial guards? He couldn't win! Take northern Shaanxi? He'd be responsible for feeding the remaining famine victims there!
Therefore, Gao Yingxiang's current focus is only on taking in more disaster victims and reclaiming more wasteland. Taking in hundreds of thousands of them and reclaiming two or three million mu of land sounds daunting, but the destructive power of hundreds of thousands of refugees is completely different from that of hundreds of thousands of farmers with homes and livelihoods.

Even if Gao Yingxiang could rule over hundreds of thousands of farmers cultivating the land in the Hetao region, he would at most be a regional overlord, not even reaching the level of Li Yuanhao. Of course, he shouldn't aspire to become a second Later Jin. The Later Jin was an extremely reactionary regime that "consumed population"! In essence, Gao Yingxiang's Hetao regime was an armed colonial group forced out by natural disasters and inhumane landlords.

Emperor Chongzhen's gaze swept over the grim cavalry on the drill ground and the distant cannons: "In truth, the Gao family and the sons of the Hetao region are of paramount importance to me and to the future stability of this land. I will not only provide them with iron farm tools, but in the future, I will also give them better weapons and armor."

Emperor Chongzhen led her along the drill ground, his voice deepening: "My cavalry may look elite, but they are only used to defend our homeland. The Hetao cavalry, on the other hand, possess the resilience to overcome all difficulties and are capable of expanding our territory. Therefore, I place greater hopes on the Gao family and the men of Hetao."

When Gao Guiying heard him address the "Gao family," her heart skipped a beat, and she looked up at him.

Emperor Chongzhen met his gaze, his voice gentle yet firm: "The world is vast. To the west of the Hetao region lies the Western Regions, a land of fertile water and grass, which should have long since returned to China. To the east of the Hetao region..." He paused, his gaze lingering on the distance, "...across the ocean lies a new continent, a vast and fertile plain, waiting for us to cultivate it and build an everlasting legacy for the Chinese people!"

Gao Guiying was stunned. "To the west is the Western Regions, I know that. But to the east...cross the sea?" This was completely beyond her expectations.

Emperor Chongzhen smiled at her expression: "Yes, beyond the Pacific Ocean lies the New World. It's a pity that my elite troops guarding the homeland can't go that far; they can't be separated from the Central Plains for sustenance."

He said with great anticipation, "The only ones capable of expanding the territory for the people are the soldiers from the Hetao region led by your Gao family, who have taken root in such distant places! This is why I invited you to the palace. I want the Zhu family and the Gao family to join forces and create an everlasting dynasty!"

He stopped, turned around, and took her hands in his. His eyes shone as he looked at her, his tone unusually tentative: "Guying, I invited you from the Hetao region for these grand plans, but I didn't ask for your opinion first. You... won't blame me for making this decision on my own, will you?"

Looking at the young, valiant emperor before her, a man of boundless ambition who valued her so highly, Gao Guiying felt the warmth of his hand penetrate her very being. Her face flushed, her heart pounded, and all her previous grievances vanished.

This emperor not only saw the value of the Hetao region, but also thought about the suffering of the disaster victims, and was willing to give them real trust and resources!

Such magnanimity was enough to win her heart.

This is the kind of good man she wants to entrust her life to!
She took a breath and said in a steady voice, "Your Majesty is a man of great talent and vision. Guiying... can only admire you and is willing to serve you like a dog or a horse. How could I dare to blame you?"

Upon hearing this, Chongzhen burst into laughter and squeezed her hand tightly: "Good! Good! With you saying that, I am relieved!"

(End of this chapter)