How can one be Emperor Chongzhen without money?

Chapter 9 New Tumu Fortress?

Wenhua Hall.

Xu Yingyuan, the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, bowed and withdrew from the palace, holding the newly stamped imperial edict. Zhu Youjian let out a long sigh; the weight of the burden he had just begun to lift was now pressing down on him again. He rubbed his throbbing temples, his face showing some fatigue, but his eyes remained bright.

Jizhou cannot be delayed any longer! But before leaving the Forbidden City, he must meet with that person in Kunning Palace.

On the 27th day of the eighth month of the seventh year of the Tianqi reign, the sun was already setting. Emperor Chongzhen walked steadily through the deep palace alleys, accompanied only by two trusted eunuchs. Since he had swiftly subdued Wei Zhongxian the previous morning, the palace appeared calm, but undercurrents were still flowing. Therefore, he needed to ensure that the pillar of Kunning Palace—his sister-in-law Zhang Yan—remained firmly in control.

The main hall of Kunning Palace remained solemn as ever. Empress Zhang, dressed in plain white robes, was as dignified as ever. But when Zhu Youjian stepped over the high threshold and his gaze swept over the slender figure beside her, he froze on the spot!
That's Zhou Yufeng!
She wore a brand-new yet simple palace dress, her black hair was simply tied up and adorned with a plain jade hairpin, which complemented her still-childish face, exactly the same as in her memories from her previous life!
That's right, this is his wife of more than fifty years, who was only fifteen years old when she was his first wife! She is Empress Zhou, who died with him when Beijing fell!
In her previous life, she entered the palace and received her title on October 17th of the seventh year of the Tianqi reign, when Wei Zhongxian was on the verge of falling from power. In this life, he was more experienced and subdued Wei Zhongxian in a day and a half, so Empress Zhang sent people ahead of time to bring her to the palace.

The overwhelming joy of a long-awaited reunion suddenly struck Zhu Youjian's heart. His eyes welled up with tears, and he strode forward, taking her soft, warm hand in the slightly surprised gazes of Empress Zhang and Zhou Yufeng, exclaiming, "Yu... Yufeng! You've come?"

Empress Zhang was taken aback. Had she missed him so much after only two days apart?
A smile of relief appeared in her eyes. She said gently, "The Emperor and the Princess are so deeply in love; this is a blessing for the imperial family. Now that Wei the Rebel has been brought under control, the harem cannot remain vacant for long. In my opinion, the Emperor should welcome the Princess into the palace as soon as possible, hold a grand investiture ceremony, and make her the Empress."

Zhou Yufeng's cheeks flushed, and her heart pounded wildly.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Youjian regained his composure slightly, but did not loosen his grip. He took a deep breath, turned to Empress Zhang, and his face regained its imperial solemnity: "What my sister-in-law says is true. However... the matter of bestowing the title of Empress will probably have to wait a few more days."

Empress Zhang and Zhou Yufeng were both taken aback. Empress Zhang asked sharply, "What does Your Majesty mean by that? Has something happened in the court again?"

“It’s not a change in the court,” Zhu Youjian shook his head, “it’s an urgent military situation in Jizhou! A recent border report says that the soldiers in Jizhou have mutinied because they haven’t been paid for too long! That’s the key to the capital, a vital town on the nine borders. If they get into chaos, the consequences will be unimaginable! I’ve decided that I will leave the capital tomorrow to pacify the army, personally escorting the imperial treasury’s silver to Jizhou to pay their wages and stabilize morale!”

"What? His Majesty is going to Jizhou in person?" Empress Zhang's face paled, and Zhou Yufeng's face turned deathly pale as she stared at Zhu Youjian in disbelief. Her husband, the mighty Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, was going to the perilous border region to pacify the army? Jizhou was in turmoil! What if…

"Your Majesty! Absolutely not!" Empress Zhang cried out urgently, her tone changing drastically. "A son of a noble family should not sit under a dangerous roof! Your Majesty is the supreme ruler, of inestimable health. How can you lightly tread such a perilous path? As for the matter of Jizhou, we can simply send a capable minister with the Imperial Sword to appease them. Why must Your Majesty personally lead the expedition? This... this is too dangerous!" The painful lesson of Tumu Fortress, like a bloody shadow, instantly loomed over her heart.

Zhou Yufeng dared not utter a sound, her eyes filled with tears.

Zhu Youjian sensed Zhou Yufeng's fear and gently patted the back of her hand. He then turned his gaze to Empress Zhang, his expression unusually firm: "Sister-in-law, don't worry. I'm not going to fight a war; I'm going to distribute pay and reassure the troops! My personal presence is the only way to demonstrate the court's sincerity and quell the situation as quickly as possible. If I send ministers to relay messages through layers of bureaucracy, it will drag on and on, and I'm afraid it will cause even greater trouble."

He paused, then continued, "As for the danger... hey, I've made all the arrangements. Wei Zhongxian will go with me!"

"Wei Zhongxian is accompanying us?" Empress Zhang and Zhou Yufeng were startled again, their worries deepening.

"He must stay with us!" Zhu Youjian sneered. "His presence in the capital is the biggest variable! With him by my side, his followers won't dare to cause trouble in the capital. When I leave the capital, Xu Yingyuan, the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, and Wang Chengen, the eunuch in charge of the inner court, will remain in the palace to manage inner court affairs. As soon as Wei Zhongxian leaves, they will immediately set about taking over the Eastern Depot! In this way, the inner court will be safe. As for the outer court, with the cabinet ministers in charge, Huang Lijie, Li Guopu, Shi Fenglai, and their ilk are all shrewd old foxes who know how to adapt to the times, and with my decree pressing them down, they can't cause any trouble."

These words were clear and well-organized. Empress Zhang's tightly furrowed brows relaxed slightly, but her worry remained: "That's true, but ultimately, we've left our homeland..." Zhu Youjian's gaze swept over Empress Zhang, finally settling on Zhou Yufeng's worried face. He lowered his voice: "Sister-in-law, Yufeng, don't worry. This trip of mine is not only to quell the rebellion in Jizhou, but also to bring back a truly battle-hardened army, one that has seen blood and is willing to die for me!"

His voice was not loud, but every word was firm and resounding: "With this army in hand, the day I return to the capital will be the day of peace and order! At that time, I will welcome Yu Feng into the Empress's palace in a grand and glorious manner!"

It turns out that Chongzhen's trip to Jizhou was not only to resolve the mutiny, but also to seize the opportunity to firmly grasp a military force of his own that was capable and willing to fight—political power grows out of the barrel of a gun! How could the "new Chongzhen," who had been trained and educated by the organization for many years, not understand this?
With this force as a foundation, Wei Zhongxian and the remnants of the eunuch faction are nothing but clay chickens and earthen dogs! We'll have more confidence to collect the fines for punishment and the land for redemption!

"Your Majesty... is wise!" Empress Zhang let out a long sigh of relief. "Your Majesty understands. You can rest assured about matters in the palace. With me here, and with Eunuch Xu and Eunuch Wang here, we will surely ensure the safety of Kunning Palace and await Your Majesty's triumphant return!"

Although Zhou Yufeng was clueless about military and political affairs, seeing her sister-in-law's earnest support for the emperor, her fear dissipated considerably. She raised her tear-filled eyes, glanced at Zhu Youjian, and nodded vigorously.

Having appeased the harem, Zhu Youjian felt much more at ease. He then released Zhou Yufeng's hand, nodded to Empress Zhang, and strode out of Kunning Palace. He still had many pre-departure arrangements to make; time was of the essence.

At the same moment, in the secret room of the Suning Marquis's residence.

The candlelight flickered, casting a dim, yellowish light that made Wei Liangqing's face, contorted with anxiety and anger, appear ghostly. Sitting opposite him was Hou Xingguo, the son of Madam Ke, who had just lost his official position. Hou Xingguo's face was ashen, his hands gripping a letter tightly, his knuckles white—a handwritten letter from his mother, Ke Baba, which she had sent out of the palace that morning!
"...Mother... has been fined 1.5 million taels of silver!" Hou Xingguo's voice was hoarse, choked with sobs, and filled with fear. "300,000 taels... 300,000 taels! They have to be handed over to the Imperial Treasury immediately! The remaining 1.2 million taels have a six-month deadline! This... this is like cutting off my flesh!" Although Madam Ke had accumulated a lot of savings over the years, suddenly having to take out such a huge amount of cash was a devastating blow to the Hou family.

Wei Liangqing slammed his fist hard on the rosewood table, making the teacups rattle. He gritted his teeth and said, "Hmph! One and a half million taels? What a huge appetite! The young emperor is trying to force us to our deaths! What 'temporary suspension of confiscation'? It's nothing but cutting flesh with a dull knife! Liangqing, haven't you seen it yet? His face in the Wenhua Hall yesterday, and this decree today, which one of them is a genuine intention to let our Wei family go? He's squeezing us dry, waiting to crush us under his foot!"

He suddenly stood up and paced anxiously in the cramped room like a trapped beast: "My uncle is senile! He was frightened by that brat's empty words, saying something about 'confessing and accepting punishment, awaiting the emperor's judgment'? Judgment of what? Our heads! The young emperor hates us to the bone. Once he gains complete control, you, me, and my uncle will all die without a burial place!"

Hou Xingguo trembled at Wei Liangqing's roar. Thinking of his mother still suffering on Nantai Island and the imminent loss of his family's property, he was completely at a loss: "Then...then Lord Suning, what...what should we do? Are we just going to sit here and wait to die?"

"Sitting and waiting to die?" Wei Liangqing stopped, a sinister smile twisting his face. "No! We absolutely cannot stretch out our necks and wait to be hacked! Isn't the young emperor going to leave the capital to 'pacify the army' in Jizhou? Good! Excellent! This is truly a godsend!"

He leaned closer to Hou Xingguo, his voice extremely low: "Jizhen is right next to the Great Wall, and outside the wall are the Mongol tribes! Those barbarians only recognize gold and silver, they don't know loyalty and righteousness! Why don't we spend a lot of money to bribe one or two fierce tribes? Let them cause an 'accident' on the emperor's 'pacification' route, or even near Jizhen?"

Hou Xingguo gasped, his face turning deathly pale: "Bought... bribed the Mongols? Attacked... attacked the Emperor?! This... this is a crime punishable by the extermination of nine generations of one's family!" The three bloody characters "Tumu Fortress" flashed through his mind.

"Execute nine generations of relatives?" Wei Liangqing scoffed. "If we don't do it, do you think we'll live? Do you think that young emperor will let us go? Rather than waiting for him to kill us, we might as well strike first! As long as we do it cleanly, who can trace it back to us? We can just blame it on a mutiny by the border troops or a Mongol invasion, and there will be no way to prove it! Once the young emperor dies, the capital will surely be in chaos. When that happens, who will choose the youngest one? It'll be my uncle... or you and me, who will decide? Even if he doesn't die, after the Doyan tribe caused trouble, he will surely lose all his prestige and will have to rely on my uncle in the future."

A fierce battle raged within Hou Xingguo's heart between immense fear and the "hope for survival" described by Wei Liangqing. The thought of the enormous fortune about to be seized, the agonizing existence of his mother on Nantai Island, the treacherous and ruthless young emperor… the last vestige of hesitation in Hou Xingguo's eyes was replaced by resentment and madness. He abruptly raised his head, his eyes bloodshot, his voice hoarse and cracking:
“Let’s do it! My Hou family still has some savings! As long as we can save our lives, we’re willing to go bankrupt! But… contacting the Mongol tribes is no small matter; it must be done with utmost secrecy and with reliable people…”

Seeing that he had finally boarded the ship, Wei Liangqing's eyes flashed with a smug glint. He smiled sinisterly and said, "Don't worry! I have my own connections. There are plenty of 'all-powerful' Shanxi merchants in Zhangjiakou... As long as you pay enough silver, it'll be a piece of cake for them to deliver the letter to the Taiji's tent in Tumet or Kharachin! The most important thing right now is to raise the gold to buy your life! The sooner the better! After you hand over 300,000 taels, how much cash do you have left? If not, I'll cover the rest!"

(End of this chapter)