How can one be Emperor Chongzhen without money?

Chapter 71: Not only will we target the Prince of Dai's residence, but also the Beijing Garrison!
On the fifteenth day of the first month of the first year of the Chongzhen reign, at Yihai Hall in Tsinghua Garden.

Emperor Chongzhen sat upright behind his desk, his face grim. Below him, the five Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet—Huang Lijie, Shi Fenglai, Sun Chengzong, Zhang Ruitu, and Li Guopu; Li Banghua, Vice Minister of War in charge of military affairs; Zhang Zhiji, acting commander of the Beijing Garrison; Tian Ergeng, commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard; Xu Yingyuan, the eunuch in charge of writing and concurrently the director of the Eastern Depot; Zhang Jiude, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review; and Xue Zhen, the Minister of Justice—stood on either side, holding their breath in concentration.

Xu Yingyuan read aloud the urgent memorial from Datong, word by word, in his high-pitched voice. The joint letter from Xu Xianchun, Wang Zaijin, Zhang Zongheng, and Liu Wenzhong was chilling—the wanted criminal Zhu Chunchen had indeed infiltrated Datong and was being hidden within the Prince's residence by Pang Yugui, the chief eunuch of the Prince's mansion!
The words fell silent. The hall was deathly still. The air seemed to freeze.

Emperor Chongzhen's gaze swept over the crowd, finally settling on Zhang Zhiji, the representative of the nobility.

"Zhang Zhiji," the emperor's voice was not loud, but it carried a chill, "tell me, why would the Prince of Dai's Mansion risk such a huge responsibility to protect Zhu Chunchen?"

Zhang Zhiji shuddered and knelt down with a thud, sweat beading on his forehead. Although his Zhang family and the Prince of Dai's mansion did not have a deep relationship, they were both noble relatives and inevitably had some connections.

Who knows what we might find if we really dig deep and investigate thoroughly?
"Your Majesty... Your Majesty does not know..." His voice trembled.

"Here, I will speak freely, and those who speak will not be punished!" Chongzhen raised his voice, his gaze sharp. "What do you know? Speak freely!"

He paused, his tone chilling: "Now, it is absolutely true that Zhu Chunchen has taken refuge in the Prince of Dai's residence! A former commander of the Beijing Garrison who colluded with Hudun Tuhan, instigated the Xuanfu mutiny, and fled to avoid punishment has hidden himself in the residence of a prince! Prince Zhu Naijun of Dai, what exactly does he want to do? Your Duke of Ying's mansion, with its generations of loyal officials, surely you... know nothing about this?"

That last sentence carries immense weight!
Zhang Zhiji kowtowed repeatedly: "Your Majesty, please be wise! My family knew absolutely nothing about this! I... I only heard rumors that the traitor Zhu Chunchen had been doing business with Pang Yugui, the head of the Prince's Mansion, and... he even mediated on behalf of the Prince's Mansion in a dispute with the military households of Datong over land for military settlements..."

"Explain yourself!" Emperor Chongzhen demanded sharply. "What kind of business are you doing? Are you secretly colluding with the Tiger Khan's army to enter the pass, assist the Prince of Dai, and rebel against my Great Ming Dynasty?!"

These words struck like a thunderbolt, sending chills down the spines of the ministers in the palace! Implicated in treason! A crime punishable by the extermination of an entire family!
Zhang Zhiji was terrified, waving his hands repeatedly: "No! Absolutely not! Your Majesty, absolutely not!" He suddenly realized something and quickly changed his story: "I...I have heard that Zhu Chunchen, perhaps through Pang Yugui, smuggled...smuggled the stolen firearms, gunpowder, and armor from the Beijing garrison through Datong, and sold them to the Mongols..."

"Snapped!"

Emperor Chongzhen grabbed the rosewood cup from his desk and slammed it to the ground, splashing tea everywhere!
"This is outrageous!!"

The emperor roared in anger.

The high-ranking officials in the hall all knelt down in a rush, their faces ashen.

Emperor Chongzhen's chest heaved, his voice trembling with rage: "What a fine Prince Dai's Mansion! What a fine Zhu Chunchen! What a fine imperial garrison of mine!"

His gaze swept over Zhang Zhiji, who was kneeling on the ground: "One year! More than a million taels of silver! Six or seven hundred thousand shi of grain! The Beijing Garrison, which I supported with my own frugality... has been emptied out by these parasites of the nation! They have eaten it all up! And even provided funds to the enemy!!"

The kneeling ministers were deeply shaken. At this point, who didn't understand? The Emperor wasn't merely questioning Zhu Chunchen and the Prince of Dai's residence; he was clearly using this as a pretext to target the entire corrupt practices within the Beijing Garrison! The Emperor wasn't just going to deal with the Prince of Dai's residence; he intended to use this thunderous force to thoroughly reorganize the Beijing Garrison!

Emperor Chongzhen took a deep breath, suppressing his anger, and said in a cold voice, "Speak up, all of you. One by one, tell me what I should do this time. Speak freely, and no one will be punished for speaking out!"

His gaze sharpened again: "This time, it's the Prince of Dai's Mansion and the Duke of Cheng's Mansion who are colluding to steal military supplies from the Beijing Garrison, conspiring with the Mongols, and inciting a mutiny... Zhang Zhiji! Your old Duke has been in charge of the Beijing Garrison for many years, you speak first! What are they planning to do?!"

Zhang Zhiji was so terrified by the reprimand that he dared not offer the slightest defense. He kowtowed violently, his voice trembling with tears, and hurriedly offered his loyalty: "Your Majesty! I believe... Zhu Chunchen's collusion with the Prince of Dai's mansion to this extent is utterly despicable! What they are after is not wealth, but... truly illicit desires! They are plotting a rebellion! Your Majesty!"

The tone has been set! Treason! Rebellion!

Emperor Chongzhen's gaze shifted to Grand Secretary Huang Liji.

Huang Liji felt a chill run down his spine and could only kowtow: "Your Majesty, what General Zhang said... is indeed shocking, but judging from his actions, he colluded with foreign invaders, secretly hoarded weapons, and incited unrest in the border towns, which is no different from rebellion!"

Then, Sun Chengzong, Li Banghua and others expressed their opinions one by one. No one dared to speak up for Zhu Chunchen and the Prince of Dai. They all followed the characterization of "treason" and "rebellion" to "show their loyalty".

The nobles are suspected of treason, have fled to the princes, and are also highly suspected of colluding with foreign powers. Who dares to speak up for them?
As Emperor Chongzhen looked at the kneeling officials, the last trace of warmth faded from his face.

“Since that’s the case,” he said coldly, “then let’s do what needs to be done!”

"Tian Ergeng!"

"Your subject is here!" The commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard looked up.

"Zhang Zhiji!" "Your subject is here!" Zhang Zhiji quickly replied.

"Zhang Jiude!"

"Your humble servant is here!" The Minister of the Court of Judicial Review prostrated himself to receive the order.

"The three of you shall depart immediately and travel to Datong overnight! To join Wang Zaijin, Zhang Zongheng, Liu Wenzhong, and Xu Xianchun!"

Emperor Chongzhen said, enunciating each word clearly: "Surround the Prince Dai's residence with absolute security! Arrest Prince Dai Zhu Naijun, Attendant Pang Yugui, the wanted criminal Zhu Chunchen, and all his accomplices! Investigate thoroughly! Find out the truth behind all the illegal activities of the Prince Dai's residence!"

His gaze swept over the three men: "This matter is top secret! If even the slightest word leaks out, allowing the traitor to escape... I will hold you all accountable!"

"Your Majesty, we obey!" The three men kowtowed deeply.

Chongzhen's gaze then focused on Zhang Zhiji's face.

“Zhang Zhiji,” the emperor’s voice was icy, “so many firearms, gunpowder, and armor—these are no small items. How did they manage to be transported out of the capital garrison so quietly? Are all of my hundreds of thousands of soldiers in the capital garrison blind and deaf?”

He paused, then said, "A year! More than a million taels of silver! Six or seven hundred thousand shi of grain! And this is the kind of useless bunch we raise? They can't even see that the foundation of their own wall has been dug up?"

Zhang Zhiji lay prostrate on the ground, trembling all over. He wanted to explain, but his throat felt like it was stuffed with cotton.

Just then, Li Banghua, the Assistant Minister of Military Affairs, stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, I have a memorial to present."

Emperor Chongzhen slightly raised his eyelids: "Speak."

Li Banghua's voice was calm: "The problems of the Beijing Garrison have been accumulating for a long time. It is not solely the responsibility of General Zhang; it is a chronic disease that has existed for many years. Since I took over military administration, I have reviewed old files and inspected the troops, and I am well aware of the situation."

He clearly stated the figures: "The Beijing Garrison has a registered strength of over 164,000 soldiers. However, after a preliminary verification by General Zhang and myself recently, the actual number of soldiers... is probably less than 40,000."

Several suppressed gasps echoed from inside the hall.

Li Banghua continued, "Among these tens of thousands of soldiers, most are old and weak, and five or six out of ten have been privately recruited and employed by various government offices, nobles, eunuchs, and even the generals of the Beijing Garrison, serving as laborers, craftsmen, and household slaves. The truly capable soldiers who can don armor and wield weapons, awaiting orders..."

He sighed heavily: "I estimate, at the risk of my life, that there are probably less than ten or twenty thousand men. Moreover, their equipment is incomplete and their training is lax, making them truly unusable. Zhu Chunchen and his ilk are taking advantage of this situation of redundant troops and empty quotas to embezzle military funds. There are those in the camp who have seen and heard about this, but some are involved in the conflict of interest, some are afraid of their power, and some are simply used to it, so no one dares to speak out and no one is willing to intervene."

His words were clearly and logically presented.

Emperor Chongzhen listened quietly. After Li Banghua finished speaking, he looked at Zhang Zhiji and asked, "Is what Minister Li said correct?"

Zhang Zhiji dared not conceal anything any longer, and cried out, "Your Majesty, please be wise! What Minister Li said... is all true! I... I am guilty! I am incompetent!"

Emperor Chongzhen stared at him for a long time before slowly nodding: "Good. Since the situation is true and the problem is so serious, we can no longer turn a blind eye to it."

His gaze suddenly sharpened: "The Beijing Garrison, my backbone, the emperor's personal guard, has rotted to such an extent! It has been eaten away by termites and turned into an empty shell! Zhu Chunchen and his ilk are not just one person; there are countless accomplices, henchmen, and those who hold positions without doing their jobs!"

He slammed his fist on the imperial desk: "Investigate! Investigate thoroughly! Start with the Beijing Garrison! I want to see how many demons and monsters are lurking beneath this murky water!"

"Zhang Zhiji!" the emperor shouted.

"Your subject... Your subject is here!" Zhang Zhiji hurriedly replied.

"Go now!" Chongzhen pointed outside the palace. "Immediately issue my decree: summon every officer of the Beijing Garrison, from the rank of sergeant and above, to Tsinghua Garden! I want to see them in person!"

"Your subject... obeys the decree!" Zhang Zhiji felt as if he had been granted a pardon, but also as if he had been given a hot potato. He scrambled to his feet, bowed, and backed away from Yihai Hall.

(End of this chapter)