I founded a heavy industry group in the late Ming Dynasty.

Chapter 174 Chen Boying is extremely worried

Chapter 173, the capital city, Wei Zhongxian's residence, inside the study.

Wei Zhongxian smiled and poured tea for Chen Ying: "Boying, what do you think of this tea?"

Drinking tea is just an excuse.

Chen Ying actually understood Wei Zhongxian's intentions. Given his current position in Emperor Tianqi's heart, Emperor Tianqi would definitely ask for his opinion on major events like the defeat at Liuhe. Unbeknownst to him, Emperor Tianqi had already regarded Chen Ying as a strategist. Emperor Tianqi himself even admitted that there was nothing in this world that Chen Ying could not accomplish.

Chen Ying did not directly answer Wei Zhongxian's question. Instead, he asked directly, "Does Your Excellency wish to ask what my opinion is on the defeat at Liuhe?"

"Indeed!"

Wei Zhongxian looked at Chen Ying with a forced smile, his gaze making Chen Ying feel uneasy. In terms of military responsibility, Sun Chengzong was the Jiliao Supervisor, in charge of military affairs in Liaodong, Liaoxi, Tianjin, Baoding and other places, equivalent to the commander of a major military region in later times. He did bear unshirkable leadership responsibility for the defeat at Liuhe. However, the problem was that this defeat was, to be precise, due to an intelligence failure. He believed the false intelligence of the surrendered student Liu Boqiang that "Huang Taiji's army was less than three hundred" and decided to launch a surprise attack on Yaozhou.

To be precise, although the battle was initiated by Sun Chengzong and General Ma Shilong of Liaodong, it was actually executed by Deputy General Lu Zhijia. There were more than 20 generals of his rank in Liaodong alone. If we look at Tianjin, Baoding, and Jizhou, there would be 40 to 50 generals of that rank.

As for Li Chengxian, a lieutenant general, there were many more generals of his rank. To be fair, Sun Chengzong issued the battle orders and formulated a combined land and sea plan, but overlooked the crucial influence of wind direction on naval navigation. His strict stipulation that the land and sea forces meet on the 27th revealed his lack of understanding of naval warfare.

Ignorance of patterns.

In summary, Sun Chengzong's tragedy lies in the fact that, as a civil official commander, he bravely shouldered the heavy responsibility of saving Liaodong from its perilous situation, yet he could not escape the inherent arrogance, shortsightedness, and impetuosity of the civil official group of that era. He was a builder of the Liaodong Great Wall, while some consider him a sinner.

In fact, during the more than three years that Sun Chengzong spent in Liaodong, most of his energy was spent on wrangling and bickering. The defeat at Liuhe not only severely damaged his personal political career, but also seriously undermined the military confidence and national foundation that the Ming Dynasty had painstakingly built up in Liaodong.

In truth, Sun Chengzong was not suited to serve as the Liaodong Military Commissioner. However, the problem was that the Ming Dynasty was an era of competition among the worst. Sun Chengzong was unsuitable, Gao Di was unsuitable, Yuan Chonghuan was unsuitable, and Wang Zhichen was even less suitable. Apart from Sun Chengzong, the others were even worse.

Chen Ying's biggest headache was how to persuade Wei Zhongxian to put aside his political prejudices. As a leader of the Donglin Party, Sun Chengzong's resignation would mean the Donglin Party would lose a major figure. However, the situation in Liaodong was about to collapse. After Gao Di took over, more than forty cities in Liaodong fell one after another, and even Chen Ying's current location in Lushun would be affected, which would impact his development plans in Lushun.

After careful consideration, Chen Ying said, "Eunuch Wei, do you know the saying, 'When the birds are all gone, the good bow is put away; when the cunning rabbit is dead, the hunting dog is cooked'?"

Wei Zhongxian broke out in a cold sweat. Since Wei Dazhong, Yuan Huazhong, Zuo Guangdou and others were imprisoned by him, the last big obstacle in the Donglin Party's power structure was Sun Chengzong. If Sun Chengzong were to leave office, the Donglin Party would definitely be in a state of decline. However, as Chen Boying said, if the Donglin Party were to be destroyed, would he still have any reason to exist?

"Boying, do you mean we should keep him?"

"What else?"

Chen Ying smiled and said, "Father-in-law, think about it. Grand Secretary Sun bears an unshirkable responsibility for the defeat at Liuhe. He will face consequences in Liaodong and in front of the people of the world."

Having lost all face, those Donglin Party members are all all talk and no action. They're good at empty words, but when it comes to practical matters, they can't even manage a single county. They're good at reading and writing, but when it comes to concrete administrative tasks, they'll be exposed like Grand Secretary Sun—"

"Boying, there's one more thing. I heard he's preparing to lead troops—"

"Father-in-law, you've been deceived. Although he is the military commissioner of Liaodong, can he really bring back the troops from Liaodong? Bringing troops back to the capital without an imperial edict, what kind of rebellion does he intend to commit? Although the Guan Ning Army is known as the strongest army in the Ming Dynasty, I'm not bragging, but I can crush 10,000 Guan Ning soldiers with just 1,000 men, and disarm them with 3,000. As for hundreds of thousands of Guan Ning soldiers, they're not even enough to fill my teeth!"

Chen Ying explained, "Your Excellency should know what kind of bastards those in the Armory Bureau are. The armor and guns they make are all junk. Are they the same as the equipment of the Warriors' Battalion? Even if the Warriors' Battalion soldiers under your command stood there without moving, could they even cut you with their swords?"

Chen Ying is now just trying to appease Wei Zhongxian. What Wei Zhongxian is most worried about is that Sun Chengzong holds military power. He could bring his troops back and use the pretext of "purging the court of corrupt officials" to deal with him. Wei Zhongxian knows that Sun Chengzong is no good, and people inside and outside the court are calling for his execution. If Sun Chengzong returns, it is estimated that the more than 200,000 troops of the Beijing Garrison will open the city gates to welcome Sun Chengzong into the capital.

However, upon hearing Chen Ying's words, Wei Zhongxian's eyes lit up instantly. The court had originally intended to relocate Shahe Guard to Daning as well, and Wei Zhongxian was almost tempted. After all, Chen Boying was now the Commander of Daning, and Daning had already moved to Daning. As a guard under the Daning Commander, it would be somewhat improper for Shahe Guard to remain in Changping. More importantly, compared to the more than 200,000 troops of the Beijing Garrison, Shahe Guard's new army was like a tiger mixed in with sheep. Their officials were constantly worried that Chen Boying would lead his troops into their homes at the slightest provocation.

"Boying, do you mean we should keep Sun Chengzong alive?"

Chen Ying smiled faintly and said, "Whether to keep him or not depends on your decision, Father-in-law. Life is a matter of personal choice. Now, Wei Dazhong of the Donglin Party..."

"Yuan Huazhong and Zuo Guangdou are gone, but has the Donglin Party quieted down? Actually, no. Qian Qianyi and Wen Zhenmeng have already emerged, and they're still making trouble. With elders like Grand Secretary Sun keeping them in check, their second and third generations have no chance to rise. If Your Excellency were to expel Grand Secretary Sun from the court, the happiest people would probably not be Your Excellency, but Qian Qianyi and others. They've been waiting for this opportunity for far too long. Otherwise, the Donglin Party would have made up two-thirds of those impeaching Grand Secretary Sun. Your Excellency can surely guess the reason for this!"

Wei Zhongxian immediately realized his mistake, slapped his thigh, and laughed, "That's right! How come I didn't think of that!"

Chen Ying continued, "Your Excellency, what is even more crucial is that His Majesty's most pressing task now is not to assign blame, but to stabilize Liaodong. The Jurchens' success at Liuhe will undoubtedly boost their morale and deter those tribes that have become disloyal to the Jurchens due to the defeat at Sanjiang. They will certainly return to the Jurchen banner. If the court falls into disarray again, they will seize the opportunity to invade."

"Boying, aren't you overthinking this? You've deployed over ten thousand troops in Lushun, what are you afraid of, the Jurchens?"

"The problem is, Lushun is Lushun. They only need to send a few thousand cavalrymen to prevent the Da Ning New Army in Lushun from making any moves. The Jurchen cavalry are numerous, highly mobile, and have the initiative. They can harass Yongning at any time, leaving Chen unable to attend to both sides and exhausted!"

Wei Zhongxian nodded and said, "I understand. Boying means that Sun Chengzong should be kept alive, and that keeping him is more beneficial than harmful?"

"That's right!"

Chen Ying explained, "What the enemy wants to do, we must not let them succeed. I am not speaking on behalf of Grand Secretary Sun, but think about it, the Donglin Party impeached Grand Secretary Sun because he is the Emperor's man and an obstacle to their power. If you also impeach him, wouldn't that be helping the Donglin Party?"

Wei Zhongxian finally felt relieved. He said angrily, "Those people below are truly idiots. Otherwise, I almost did something foolish!"

As Chen Ying and Wei Zhongxian laid out the issues, Wei Zhongxian hurriedly called a halt to the eunuch faction's impeachment of Sun Chengzong. This time, the eunuch faction was no longer involved in the impeachment of Sun Chengzong; instead, only the Donglin Party remained.

Although the Qi, Jin, Wu, Chu, and Luo factions were not as powerful as before, they could still influence the Donglin Party behind the scenes. When Emperor Tianqi summoned Chen Ying, he went straight to the point and asked how to deal with Sun Chengzong: "What should I do?"

Chen Ying then changed his tune, saying, "Your Majesty, not only should you not blame Grand Secretary Sun, but you should also issue an edict to comfort him and allow him to stay in Liaodong with peace of mind. You should also allocate a batch of firearms, ammunition, and food to replenish the losses of the Liaodong army. I will run newspapers in Liaodong and promote public opinion in the capital, so that the people know that the defeat at Liuhe was not Grand Secretary Sun's responsibility alone, but was caused by the accumulated problems of the court."

The Tianqi Emperor pondered for a moment, then slowly nodded: "Good, Boying, your opinion is very pertinent. Unlike some others, all they do is hold people accountable. But can holding people accountable really kill the Jurchens?"