Transmigrating to the Chongzhen Emperor of the Ming Dynasty: Becoming a Great Emperor Through Idlene

On the 22nd day of the first lunar month, Sun Chuanting "died of illness" in the imperial prison.

The news caused a great stir in the imperial court and among the common people.

Although Sun Chuanting was only a fifth-rank official, his death affected many people because he was imprisoned for "impeaching the Grand Secretary."

The remnants of the Donglin Party used this as an opportunity to attack Wen Tiren for "persecuting loyal and virtuous people." Wen Tiren retorted, "Sun was already in poor health, and it was fate that he contracted an illness in prison and died."

So the two sides started arguing in the court, but in the end nothing came of it.

When Sun Chuanting's family came to claim the body, they wept bitterly. The body belonged to a prisoner who had died of a serious illness. He had been disguised as Sun Chuanting, placed in a thin coffin, transported out of the capital, and buried in Daizhou, Shaanxi.

No one knew that the real Sun Chuanting had already left through the secret passage of the imperial prison a day earlier.

He changed into a businessman's clothes and made some disguises on his face, making him look ten years older than before.

He carried a new identity document in his pocket: Sun Ting, a Shanxi merchant, traveling to Shaanxi to trade medicinal herbs.

There were also 10,000 taels of silver notes sewn inside his padded jacket.

He exchanged 500 taels of silver at the "Huitong Silver Shop" in Tongzhou, bought three large carts, and hired ten employees, all of whom were "his own people" arranged by Wang Chengen. After leaving Chaoyang Gate, he headed west.

As he left, he glanced back at Beijing. The city walls were very high, but the dragon flags fluttering atop them looked somewhat tattered in the cold wind.

"Boss, it's time to go," the waiter reminded him.

Sun Chuanting nodded, then turned around.

Who knows when he will return?

Perhaps, we'll never be able to come back.

At the same time, inside the Forbidden City, Emperor Chongzhen was meeting with a second person.

Lu Xiang-sheng.

Unlike Sun Chuanting, Lu Xiangshan was not a criminal but a meritorious official at this time. He was a Jinshi in the second year of the Tianqi reign and had served as the principal of the Ministry of Revenue and the prefect of Daming. During the Jisi Incident in the second year of the Chongzhen reign, he recruited soldiers to join the defense and made military achievements. At this time, he was the Right Vice Censor-in-Chief and the governor of Daming, Guangping and Shunde prefectures.

Emperor Chongzhen wanted to issue an edict to demote him to a remote area.

It wasn't a demotion on purpose, but rather a veiled compliment disguised as a demotion.

"Does Minister Lu know why I summoned you?" In the Qianqing Palace, Emperor Chongzhen looked at the civil official in front of him: thirty-four years old, not very tall, but very capable, with dark skin, and he didn't look like a civil official, but more like a military general.

"I do not know," Lu Xiang-sheng said in a calm voice, "but Your Majesty's summons must be for important matters."

"This is indeed an important matter," Chongzhen said. "I want you to go to Nanjing and serve as the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of War."

Lu Xiang-sheng was stunned. The Vice Minister of War in Nanjing. That was a promotion in name only, a demotion in reality. The Six Ministries in Nanjing were essentially retirement positions with no real power; going there meant being far removed from the center of power.

"Your Majesty... what crime have I committed?" he couldn't help but ask.

"You are innocent," Emperor Chongzhen shook his head and said, "but I need you to go to Nanjing to handle a very important matter."

"event?"

"Rebuild the navy," Emperor Chongzhen said, emphasizing each word. "I will rebuild a great Ming navy on the Yangtze River."

Lu Xiang-sheng was increasingly confused. Nanjing did indeed have a navy, but those were all converted old grain transport ships, only suitable for transporting grain, not for fighting.

Furthermore, why rebuild the navy in Nanjing? Why not go to the more forward-deployed areas like Tianjin or Dengzhou-Laizhou?

"Your Majesty, I... do not understand."

"You don't need to understand everything," Chongzhen said. "You only need to know a few things: First, this navy cannot fly under the banner of the Ming Dynasty, at least not for now. Second, this navy cannot use the imperial rations, at least not ostensibly. Third, this navy is entirely under my command and will only obey my orders."

Lu Xiang-sheng frowned. This request was too strange. Without flying the Ming Dynasty's banner and without using the imperial court's provisions, how could they build a navy? Could it be…?

He suddenly thought of a possibility: private soldiers.

The emperor wants to build a private army.

Thinking about this sent a chill down his spine. Throughout history, emperors have only established private armies for two reasons: one is for a major purge, and the other is... a lack of trust in the existing military system.

"Your Majesty," he asked cautiously, "Do you have any concerns about the Capital Garrison and the Nine Border Garrisons?"

Emperor Chongzhen smiled.

Lu Xiang-sheng was indeed very clever; he understood immediately.

"It's not doubt, it's despair," he said bluntly. "The capital garrison is corrupt, the nine border regions have become warlord-like, and the military garrisons exist in name only. The Jurchens have invaded the border three times as if it were their own territory. How could I dare to use such an army?"

Lu Xiang-sheng was speechless. He was a former soldier and knew that what the emperor said was true.

"Therefore, I want to start anew." Chongzhen added, "On the surface, you were demoted to Nanjing because you offended Wen Tiren."

In reality, taking advantage of the Yangtze River's water transport, they secretly built warships, recruited sailors, and trained a naval force in Nanjing.

"I will provide the money through other means. As for the men, you can recruit them yourself—they can be canal workers, fishermen, or even scattered remnants of the navy. But be careful to do so discreetly and swiftly."

"Then... what about the warship design? What about the weaponry?" Lu Xiang-sheng asked, getting to the point.

"Use Fujian ships." Chongzhen had already made preparations: "But we can't use the blueprints from the official shipyards; we must find private shipbuilders in Fujian. The ships need to be larger, with sturdier keels, thicker decks, and enough space for cannons. As for the cannons, I have my own arrangements."

Fujian ships were the main type of seagoing vessels in the Ming Dynasty, but in order to save on materials and costs, the Fujian ships built by the official shipyards often cut corners.

Private shipbuilders are more reliable; if you pay them enough, the quality of their ships will be much better than that of government ships.

Chongzhen added, "In addition to warships, we should also build merchant ships. We will use commerce to support the war effort and the war effort to protect commerce. You can get involved in the business on the Yangtze River; you can trade in grain, salt, and cloth. The profits will be used to support the navy."

Lu Xiang-sheng fully understood. The emperor wanted him to establish a "state within a state" in Nanjing, with an army and an economy, completely independent of the existing bureaucratic system.

This is very dangerous. But... it's definitely exciting.

"Your Majesty, how much time will you grant me?"

"Three years." Chongzhen held up three fingers: "Within three years, I want to see a navy capable of controlling the Yangtze River. I don't require it to be able to fight at sea, but at the very least, I must ensure that the river from Nanjing to Wuchang is under my control."

After pondering for a moment, Lu Xiang-sheng knelt down and said, "Your subject...accepts the decree."

He didn't ask "why," nor did he try to bargain. That's Lu Xiang-sheng's character: decisive, willing to take responsibility, and once he sets a goal, he'll go all out.

"If I go to Nanjing, I might be ostracized, ridiculed, or seen as an official who has lost power."

Emperor Chongzhen helped him up: "But you must hold back and not reveal your true intentions until I give you a signal."

"Your subject understands."

"Go ahead. Leave tomorrow. Be careful on the road."

Lu Xiang withdrew. Watching his departing figure, Chongzhen felt a little more at ease.

Lu Xiang-sheng died in battle, but he proved himself to be an excellent commander before his death. Given three years to manage things in the relatively stable city of Nanjing, he should have achieved some success.

Both knives have been placed.

A stick was planted in the loess soil of Shaanxi.

It plunged into the waves of the Yangtze River.

Next up is the third knife, the technical knife.