Ming Dynasty: Moral blackmail? I, Emperor Chongzhen, have no morals!

Chapter 108 The Qing Dynasty Version of Factional Strife

Wang Dehua thought about what had happened, and after a long while, a glint of light suddenly flashed in his eyes.

Wang Chengen had seen the eunuch from the Eastern Depot when he arrived. Now, Wang Chengen was his last straw, but the situation was not yet clear. He still needed to wait, wait for Xue Guoguan... wait for the emperor's intentions.

The following morning, sunlight bathed the Forbidden City, reviving this palace that had stood for over two hundred years.

Grand Secretary Xue Guoguan strode into the Wuying Hall and knelt down with a thud: "Your subject Xue Guoguan pays his respects to Your Majesty."

When Zhu Jian saw Xue Guoguan arrive, the corners of his mouth curled up slightly. He thought to himself: Wang Dehua must have gone to see him to inquire about information.

No need for formalities.

"Why did you come in such a hurry, Minister Xue?" Zhu Jian asked knowingly.

Xue Guoguan slowly stood up and cleared his throat: "After His Majesty reformed the tea tax in Southern Zhili last year, the tea tax amount for the first half of the year has been submitted."

"How many?"

"It's worth 1.82 million taels of silver, plus 530,000 taels of silver for the smuggled tea seized from various places." Xue Guoguan said, handing the memorial in his hand to Wang Chengen, who then presented it to Zhu Jian.

Previously, the tea tax in the Ming Dynasty was practically non-existent. Now, with officials' salaries linked to tea tax, the total amount of tea tax collected in various regions and the efforts to combat smuggling have increased.

The intensity has been directly increased.

Prosecutor Zhu casually flipped through the documents: "How is smuggling handled?"

"Well..

"..." Xue Guoguan paused, "...they only confiscated the tea and released them after paying a fine..."

'

Zhu Jian raised an eyebrow, slightly surprised. In the past, these local officials were like blind men, unable to see smuggling at all. Now they were able to take the initiative to crack down on smuggled tea. They had made progress.

Local officials used to collude with tea merchants to line their own pockets, but things changed after Zhu Jian linked tea tax to their salaries. All the officials in the government offices were eyeing this little bit of money from tea tax. If you still try to keep it all to yourself, it means you don't want to work anymore. So, various places collected some money and reported it to the imperial court, while also seeing what the imperial court's attitude would be.

"As I have said, the tea tax is to be used for officials' salaries. This 1.82 million taels should be given to local officials as their salaries."

Zhu Jian had no intention of going back on his word. After all, this money came from tea permits issued by several tea-producing regions in different provinces. It would be unreasonable to take it all away and then stop paying salaries.

"Yes."

"The confiscated smuggled tea doesn't need to be transported to the capital. Let them pay the back wages owed from previous years locally," Prosecutor Zhu said.

Zhu Jian knew that doing this would have consequences; local officials might confiscate the normal tea as smuggled goods and use the money to pay their salaries.

But he didn't care. Ordinary people couldn't afford tea; only the wealthy could. Tea merchants were the ones who suffered losses? That wasn't his concern. As for which prefecture or county saw tea prices skyrocket? Let them be. First, let these people feast and fatten them up before dealing with them all at once. That way, he could make a fortune and gain a good reputation.

"As you command." Xue Guoguan finished speaking, then cautiously added, "Your Majesty, I have heard that some people intend to impeach officials who hold their positions without performing their duties..."

After listening, Zhu Jian asked in return, "What does Grand Secretary Xue think?"

"That's pure slander!"

"That settles it then. According to the laws of the Ming Dynasty, those who defame others are first imprisoned, and then tried jointly by the three judicial departments!"

The joint trial by the three judicial organs—the Ministry of Justice, the Court of Judicial Review, and the Censorate—was the highest form of trial in the Ming Dynasty, second only to the imperial prison.

However, such trials are slow and complex, often taking several months to reach a preliminary conclusion. What Zhu Jian wanted was for the Directorate of Ceremonial, the Grand Secretariat, the Donglin Party, the Fushe Society, and the gentry of Jiangnan to be embroiled in infighting, so that he could free up his resources to deal with the Jurchens. The autumn harvest was underway, and once it was over, the Jurchens would likely make a major move.

"As you wish!" Xue Guoguan got the result he wanted.

"Remember, a trial is a trial. Before there's a result, don't let anyone die!" Prosecutor Zhu said.

Prosecutor Zhu's original intention was to let them compete, not for one side to dominate the other. As long as they competed, the military, the reclamation area, and commerce would receive less attention, preventing them from causing trouble for themselves. Therefore, Prosecutor Zhu planned to stir up some trouble for them, so that these people wouldn't be idle.

"Yes, Your Majesty, I will obey your command."

After saying this, Xue Guoguan quickly left the Wuying Hall. He had gotten the answer he wanted. Although the emperor did not say it explicitly, he was clearly biased towards him.

Now, it's time to focus on dealing with Wu Changshi and the Fushe Society.

Meanwhile, in August, the weather in Liaodong is clear and crisp, and the grains in large fields are ripe and being harvested.

In Shenyang, Liaodong, Huang Taiji sat high on the dragon throne in the palace of the Jurchens, coldly watching the high-ranking officials in the hall arguing amongst themselves.

The Jurchen court was similar to the Ming court in that it also had disagreements and factional struggles, but the issues they disputed were different. The Jurchen Eight Banners leaders were fighting for the interests of their own banner, while the Ming side was arguing about who was more morally upright...

"Your Majesty, I believe that we can enter the pass from Shanxi after the autumn harvest this year!" Dorgon said calmly.

Dorgon had always wanted to conquer the south, and if Huang Taiji hadn't been suppressing him, he would have entered the Central Plains a few months ago.

"Yes, Your Majesty, two years ago, the two armies marched south but did not obtain any supplies. Now, the slaves, cattle, sheep, gold, and silver in our banners are almost exhausted!" Ajige chimed in.

Ajige was Dorgon's elder brother, born of the same mother. He, Dorgon, and Dodo were all sons of Nurhaci's principal wife, Abatai, and relied on each other. However, Huang Taiji forced Abatai to commit suicide for Nurhaci. The three brothers were now all on the opposite side of Huang Taiji, although...

They were subdued, but they still had their own agendas.

Dorgon's plan to enter the Central Plains was the most direct way to obtain military merits and supplies, which could strengthen the power within his own banner.

"Last time when we entered the Great Wall, His Majesty made a meticulous plan, with two armies advancing side by side. It was supposed to be a perfect victory, but the commander was incompetent and was defeated by the young Ming emperor. He was driven out of the Great Wall and didn't dare to look back. Why are you still thinking about entering the Great Wall?" Jirhalang said sarcastically.

Jirgalang was Nurhaci's nephew. Because his father, Shurhaci, was convicted of a crime, he was adopted by his uncle Nurhaci and raised in the palace from a young age. He grew up with Huangtaiji and was an important political ally of Huangtaiji. He was a political rival of Ajige, Dorgon, and Dodo, and naturally he would not let go of the opportunity to kick Dorgon while he was down.

"Jirhalang, stop talking nonsense without understanding the situation," Dodo said, pointing at Jirhalang. "It's true that His Majesty's plan is meticulous, but after entering the pass, the Ming Dynasty has two or three hundred thousand elite troops in Jizhou and Yutian, waiting in ambush. Even the Guan Ning Army has been recalled. We only have eighty thousand men. How can we fight?"

"Are we going to waste all of the Qing Dynasty's elite troops on attrition warfare?"

Dodo was a staunch supporter of Dorgon. Although he did not go on the last invasion of the Great Wall, he heard from Dorgon that the Ming emperor had gone mad and was willing to fight to the death. The morale of the Ming army was also boosted, and they had no choice but to make a strategic retreat.

Dorgon told him privately that he thought someone had leaked the Qing Dynasty's battle plan, but they investigated for a long time without any results and let it go. He didn't expect that Jirgalang would bring it up again today, which made him furious.

Jirhalang snorted and said contemptuously, "Incompetence is incompetence!"

"The late emperor (Nurhaci) defeated the Ming army, which claimed to have 470,000 men, with only 70,000 men at Sarhu. You had 10,000 more men than the late emperor, yet you ran away when you encountered 200,000 Ming soldiers."

The Battle of Sarhu was considered a god-like and classic battle by the Jurchens, so they liked to bring it up and talk about it whenever they encountered problems.

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