Late Ming Dynasty: So what if Emperor Chongzhen was inactive?!

Chapter 25 Urgent Message?! Don't disturb my sleep!
On the third day of the ninth month of the seventh year of the Tianqi reign, at dawn, Zhu Youjian was sleeping soundly in his wife's arms, drool dripping onto Zhou Yufeng's breasts.

Just then, the muffled sound of the rooster-crowing drum and the metallic clang of the cloud-shaped clappers rang out, forcibly pulling Zhu Youjian from his sleep.

Zhu Youjian sat up abruptly, his back covered in a cold sweat. The deafening drumbeats made his heart pound, and he felt as if he were about to die suddenly.

A flurry of footsteps sounded, and before the people arrived, their voices preceded them: "Your Majesty, urgent military news! Yan'an Prefecture is in dire need of assistance!!!"

It was good that it wasn't a palace coup; Zhu Youjian felt somewhat relieved. He had almost thought he was going to fall into the water, and was terrified. He had been thinking, "Are these officials so sensitive? I only made a small move, and they're already going to attack me?"

Zhu Youjian quickly got up, changed his clothes, and opened the door to find that the people knocking on the palace gate were Grand Secretary Huang Lijie, Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard Tian Ergeng, Duke of Yingguo Zhang Weixian, and Wei Zhongxian was also present.

Taking the urgent letter from Huang Liji, he glanced at it briefly and immediately felt an urge to punch someone. This was nothing! Was it really necessary to storm the palace? If this continued for several years, would he never sleep?

"Take it, we'll discuss it at the court meeting later," Zhu Youjian said with a gloomy face, and then turned to go back into the house.

"Your Majesty, the military situation is urgent and cannot be delayed!" Zhang Weixian said, tugging at Zhu Youjian's sleeve.

"Hurry! It's been almost two months, and the court hasn't received a single message. What's the rush?! Great generals have always remained calm even when Mount Tai collapses before them. Let go! What kind of decorum is this, pulling and tugging like this!"

Bang! The palace doors slammed shut, leaving the group looking at each other in bewilderment.

"Please go back first," Wang Chengen said, bowing slightly and gesturing with his hand.

"Your Majesty, what's going on?!" Suddenly awakened, Zhou Yufeng was completely unaware of what was happening, unlike Zhu Youjian who had the ability to see the heavens. She was somewhat bewildered by the disturbance.

"It's alright, the world is at peace, let's continue the music and dancing." After saying that, Zhu Youjian threw himself back onto the bed.

"Wang Banban, wake me three quarters of an hour before the court assembly and prepare breakfast," Zhu Youjian said. After saying that, he closed his eyes and began to snore softly. Zhou Yufeng held him in her arms, feeling both amused and exasperated.

Around eight o'clock in the morning, Zhu Youjian was gently woken up by Zhou Yufeng. Unlike the emperor, she was not so carefree as to be able to sleep.

After finishing a bowl of hot porridge, Zhu Youjian walked out of the palace as usual to go to work at the Hall of Supreme Harmony. However, the Hall of Supreme Harmony was already bustling with noise, and the sounds of everyone talking blended together to create a buzzing effect.

"The Emperor has arrived!!!" the eunuch shouted at the top of his lungs. The noise in the hall gradually subsided, and then it fell completely silent.

Zhu Youjian, full of vigor, sat imposingly on the dragon throne. The official in charge of ceremonies frowned slightly, but ultimately dared not go to correct the emperor's mistake.

"Your Majesty, I request that you impeach Hu Tingyan, the Governor of Shaanxi, and Yue Hesheng, the Governor of Yansui." After three cracks of the whip, an official from the Censorate jumped out and shouted impatiently.

The group of officials who speak out against corruption is very strange. Their performance is determined by how high-ranking officials they bring down. Regardless of whether they are truly working for the country, as long as a high-ranking official shows his true colors, this group will swarm to them like sharks smelling blood.

"Put the impeachments aside. Qin Shiwen, why don't you read the 'Chicken Feather Letter' to everyone?" Zhu Youjian said calmly.

Qin Shiwen was the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of War. Generally, major military intelligence was announced by the Minister of War at court assemblies, but the emperor specifically named Qin Shiwen?! Minister of War Cui Chengxiu's face turned ashen, and the people around him cast strange glances at him, some even showing expressions of schadenfreude.

Qin Shiwen was taken aback for a moment, then straightened his back and stepped forward, not even glancing at Cui Chengxiu as he passed. This caused Cui Chengxiu's face to turn from white to black; his fingers clenched so tightly that he almost crushed his ivory tablet. The plagiarism of his two subordinate vice-ministers' essays, recorded in small regular script on it, became the perfect footnote to his mockery. "Urgent report from Yan'an Prefecture, Shaanxi"
Your subject: Zhu Tongmeng, Prefect of Yan'an Prefecture, Shaanxi Province
Kneeling and weeping, I submit this memorial:

This year, northern Shaanxi suffered a severe drought, leaving the land barren and the vegetation withered. People were forced to eat grass and weeds, while unscrupulous merchants hoarded grain, selling rice for only three coins a bushel. Starving people littered the roads.

Zhang Douyao, the magistrate of Chengcheng County, demanded the collection of taxes by "comparing grain taxes in court," and even had people beaten to death, causing widespread resentment.

Wang Er and Zhong Guangdao of Baishui County incited the people to revolt, leading hundreds of starving people to smear their faces with ink, break through Chengcheng, and kill Zhang Douyao.

The Shaanxi governor, Hu Tingyan, "concerned about the bandits and turned a blind eye," refusing to appease them or appease them. This allowed the bandits to run rampant, with the number of rebels increasing to several thousand, sweeping through more than ten counties, and becoming uncontrollable.

Yue Hesheng, the governor of Yansui, held considerable military power but remained a bystander, allowing the rebels to run rampant, causing suffering to the people and allowing the rebel army to run rampant.

Wang Lian, the deputy commander of the Yan'an Guard, forcibly seized a thousand acres of farmland, leading to a mutiny among the Yan'an Guard soldiers. The soldiers destroyed farmland and burned contracts.

Now, the rebel army and the refugees are surrounding the area on three sides.

There are neither elite troops nor enough money and food in Yan'an Prefecture. I have no choice but to lead the three shifts of yamen runners and all the people of the city to demolish houses and destroy buildings to defend the city.

Your subject requests the court to send troops immediately to relieve the siege of Yan'an. Your subject requests the execution of Hu Tingyan and Yue Hesheng.

August 30th, the seventh year of the Tianqi reign.

After the report was read aloud, the court officials were in an uproar.

Although they already knew the general situation and that things had changed in Shaanxi, they did not expect the situation to have become so serious.

Hu Tingyan is more than just "concealing theft"; he didn't even report the drought in Shaanxi. Did he also participate in price gouging and land embezzlement? Although the officials standing here aren't exactly clean either, causing trouble during a year of disaster is like playing with fire; they could easily get burned. Hu Tingyan is doomed!

Qin Shiwen presented a letter to the emperor and continued, “Your Majesty, this is a report from Yue Hesheng, the governor of Yansui, and Du Wenhuan, the general. The report says: ‘Ten thousand Tuo barbarians have invaded the border, plundering Xuanda and Yansui. The Tuo barbarians have committed a great massacre, with thousands dead. The Tuo barbarians and the roving bandits are powerful and difficult to eradicate.’ If what the report says is true, there are more than just Wang Er and his group of refugees in northern Shaanxi; war must be raging everywhere.”

Well, Yue Hesheng is now alive, because he has found a legitimate reason not to send troops. The expressions of the ministers are quite interesting.

"Your Majesty, as Prefect Zhu Tongmeng of Yan'an said, the court should quickly send troops to rescue Yan'an Prefecture." Grand Secretary Huang Lijie stepped forward and uttered a correct but useless statement.

Zhu Youjian was having a bit of a headache. He had already sent the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Ministry of War to investigate the situation in Yan'an a few days ago, but he was still a step too late.

Those Mongols were also cowardly bullies who preyed on the weak. They were soundly defeated by Nurhaci and Huang Taiji and had no choice but to migrate westward, running rampant in the Hetao and Shaanxi regions. This group was nothing but troublemakers; they were so weak that they could be beaten by the Ming army, who were barely able to get enough to eat.

"Let's discuss this: where to send troops, how many troops to send, who to send, how to solve the problem of money and food, and how to quell the subsequent rebellion in northern Shaanxi!" Zhu Youjian said calmly.

The crowd observed the emperor's expression and found him frighteningly calm, prompting some to nod in approval. A ruler chooses his ministers, and ministers choose their ruler. Zhu Youjian had only been on the throne for half a month, and the ministers were not yet familiar with him. One's true character is only revealed in times of great crisis. So far, Zhu Youjian, the new emperor, seemed quite satisfactory.

(End of this chapter)