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

As evening fell and the sun began to set, the twilight cast long shadows. The mottled bloodstains on the walls still exuded a pungent smell, and arrows lay scattered on the ground, all testifying to the great battle that had taken place here.

Inside the central command tent, Zhu Jian sat on a wooden stool, munching on a military-style hard biscuit. In front of him was a ceramic bowl, the hot water inside still steaming.

Just then, Sun Kewang, Li Dingguo, Liu Wenxiu, and Ai Qineng were brought to the central command tent by the Ming army, followed by dozens of soldiers.

Zhu Jian waved his hand, signaling the soldiers to distribute two hard ration cakes to each soldier.

After receiving the hard-packed cakes, the four men looked at Prosecutor Zhu with suspicion.

"Military rations! Not poisoned! There's not much good food in the army!" Zhu Jian said softly.

Li Dingguo clutched the hard biscuit and said, "His Majesty promised the Commander-in-Chief to spare our lives!" Li Dingguo was not yet twenty years old, young and impetuous, and wanted to leave right away.

Zhu Jian narrowed his eyes and looked at the four men: "I promised Zhang Xianzhong I would spare your lives, but I didn't say I would let a tiger return to the mountains!"

The four men were startled by his words. Li Dingguo scoffed, "If Your Majesty has any reservations, you are welcome to come and kill us!"

"That's right, it's perfect to travel with the General!" Liu Wenxiu chimed in from the side.

"I have witnessed the military talents of the four of you; they are second to none among generals! I would like to ask you whether you would rather live a carefree life in your residence until old age, or follow me on my campaigns across the land!"

"Don't even think about making us point our swords at the rebels. We're not spineless cowards like Gao Jie and Liu Guoneng!" Li Dingguo glanced at Gao Jie and Liu Guoneng and refused without hesitation.

"Hmph!" Gao Jie and Liu Guoneng, who were standing next to Zhu Jian, snorted.

Upon hearing Li Dingguo's words, Prosecutor Zhu laughed: "Spineless?"

"In your eyes, is leading a bunch of soldiers and waging guerrilla warfare a sign of being a tough nut to crack? Or is it robbing and looting graves that makes you a tough nut to crack?"

Then Zhu Jian's tone became increasingly sharp: "Let me tell you, in the battle of Shuntian last year, facing Dorgon and Yue Tuo's main forces, neither of them ever backed down an inch!"

"If you truly care about the people, then take up your swords and go to Liaodong to kill the Jurchens!"

After saying that, he sneered again: "Do you know what those Jurchens in Liaodong call the Han people of Liaodong?"

"Boat slave!"

He then sighed, "I know that there are no dynasties that last a hundred generations. The Qin, Han, Tang, and Song dynasties will eventually come to an end, and the Ming dynasty will follow in their footsteps!"

"Even if I follow in their footsteps, I will not hand over the Han dynasty's empire to the Jurchens!"

"Even now, if I hand over the imperial power to you, can you uphold it? Or can Li Zicheng uphold it? From the time Huang Taiji proclaimed himself emperor in the ninth year of Chongzhen's reign, I knew that the Tartars' desire to destroy our Han people had never died!"

Zhu Jian put down the half-eaten hard biscuit in his hand and said meaningfully, "Think about the former Song Dynasty. After the Battle of Yamen, the land of China was submerged, and the Han Dynasty was in a state of turmoil for a century. Our founding emperor rose from humble beginnings, drove out the Tartars, and restored China. Now, before the Song Dynasty has even ended, the Tartars have returned with renewed force!"

"This Han dynasty's land and its people must ultimately be protected by us, the sons and daughters of Han!"

After he finished speaking, Sun Kewang, Li Dingguo, Liu Wenxiu, and Ai Qineng looked at each other, all of them seeing shock in each other's eyes.

"This..." Li Dingguo was speechless for a moment, not knowing what to say!

"Then why doesn't Your Majesty save the people first, but instead increases taxes? With natural disasters happening now, the people are suffering. Isn't this putting the cart before the horse?" Liu Wenxiu asked from the side.

"You're right, so the Ming Dynasty will exempt all taxes and corvée labor for the next three years. However, to guard against the Jurchens from Liaodong invading southward and plundering and killing the people, we still need to prepare for war!"

Then, changing the subject, he said, "To be honest, I've already secured the source of the military funds!"

"It's the wealth of those traitors in Shanxi!" Li Dingguo said angrily.

Zhu Jian nodded: "Not only them, but all the surplus wealth of corrupt officials in this area will be used for military expenses!"

"All four of you are military talents. I hope you will use your skills against the Tartars, instead of wasting your time or fighting in civil wars with the Ming army and peasant armies, ultimately benefiting those Tartars!"

Having said that, Zhu Jian waved his hand, signaling the soldiers to take the four men away: "You four go and rest first, and think carefully about what I have said!"

The four men bowed and turned to leave, followed closely by the soldiers.

Zhu Jian watched Li Dingguo's departing young figure, feeling a mix of emotions. This man, who was praised for having the ambition of Yue Fei, was determined to launch a northern expedition to restore the Ming Dynasty, but he did not encounter Emperor Longwu, who also had a northern expedition in mind!

Thinking of Emperor Longwu, Zhu Jian slowly stood up, put his hands behind his back, and pondered: Emperor Longwu should still be imprisoned in Fengyang. This Prince Tang took the initiative to write a letter to Emperor Chongzhen Zhu Youjian requesting to come to the aid of the emperor when Emperor Chongzhen Zhu Youjian summoned troops from all over the country to come to the aid of the emperor, but was rejected by Emperor Chongzhen Zhu Youjian.

However, he still recruited several thousand soldiers and marched north from his fiefdom of Nanyang. Without encountering the Qing army, he fought several battles with peasant rebels along the way, with victories and defeats on both sides, before being ordered back by the court... He was subsequently deposed and imprisoned in Fengyang... This Longwu Emperor was quite a figure...

Just then, Xiong Wencan strode into the main tent.

He didn't dare to stop for a moment after receiving Zuo Liangyu's notice, and rode his horse for more than 100 miles in two hours!

"Your subject, Xiong Wencan, pays his respects to Your Majesty!"

"Rise!"

"I called you here to ask you, besides Zhang Xianzhong, what other major peasant armies are there now? And where are they located?"

Without hesitation, Xiong Wencan blurted out, "There's also Luo Rucai's troops in Yunyang, numbering about 20,000! They were recruited last autumn! A small portion remains in Jiangxi, some numbering a thousand or two, others only a few dozen—it's too chaotic!"

Upon hearing this, Prosecutor Zhu nodded slightly: "Thank you for your hard work!"

Xiong Wencan was an obedient but unlucky fellow. He had persuaded Zheng Zhilong to surrender and thought he was all that was needed. Later, he got drunk at a banquet and said in front of the eunuchs that he was going to suppress bandits and that it would not take long to wipe them out. Not long after he finished speaking, the eunuchs reported this to the emperor.

After hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen (Zhu Youjian) discussed it with Yang Sichang and found it feasible. He then appointed Yang Sichang to oversee five provinces and suppress the peasant army. However, with the rebellion of Zhang Xianzhong and Luo Rucai, Zuo Liangyu's forces suffered heavy losses and were eventually executed by Emperor Chongzhen (Zhu Youjian)...

Before he finished speaking, Hong Chengchou lifted the tent flap and entered the tent. Seeing Xiong Wencan there, he bowed slightly and said, "Greetings, Lord Xiong!"

"Greetings, Lord Hong!" Xiong Wencan returned the greeting slightly.

Zhu Jian beckoned, "Chengchou, please sit!"

"Wencan is acquainted with Zheng Zhilong. I intend to transfer Wencan to Fujian as governor. What does Chengchou think?"

"Although Zhang Xianzhong has been defeated, there are still bandits in the south, so it is not advisable to withdraw troops!" Hong Chengchou thought that Zhu Jian wanted to withdraw troops, so he suggested not to replace Xiong Wencan.

Zhu Jian shook his head: "I am not prepared to withdraw the troops, but there are some matters that Wencan needs to discuss with Zheng Zhilong in Fujian!"

Upon hearing this, Xiong Wencan immediately replied, "Your subject is willing to go to Fujian!"

In Xiong Wencan's view, he would go anywhere as long as he could escape this hellhole; he couldn't continue fighting bandits... If he did, he might even lose his life...