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

Chapter 27 The Ming Dynasty will not grant amnesty or accept the surrender of traitors!
Three days later, Sun Chengzong rode his horse from his hometown of Gaoyang County in Beizhili to Beijing. The old man was over sixty years old. He rode all the way, his lips were cracked by the autumn wind, and his hands, with their prominent veins, trembled slightly from the cold.

"Your subject, Sun Chengzong, pays his respects to Your Majesty!" His voice was melodious and full of emotion, which moved Zhu Youjian deeply.

Zhu Youjian hurriedly stepped forward and personally helped Sun Chengzong up. He reached out and grasped Sun Chengzong's cold, rough hand, just as Sun Chengzong had held his hand years ago.

"Teacher, you must be tired from your journey!" Zhu Youjian said with emotion. The warmth of his palm was transferred to Sun Chengzong's hand, warming Sun Chengzong's heart.

The court session was adjourned today, and Zhu Youjian escorted Sun Chengzong into the inner palace. As they passed the late emperor's coffin, the old man was overcome with grief at the sight, a sudden wave of sorrow washing over him as a white-haired man burying his black-haired son, and tears streamed down his face. He instinctively reached out to touch the coffin, but then withdrew his hand as if struck by lightning.

"Before the late emperor passed away, he said that his greatest regret was not being able to see you one last time," Zhu Youjian said softly. However, this was actually a well-intentioned lie he made up on the spot.

The old man was indeed easily swayed by this, and he immediately knelt before the coffin and began to sob. Zhu Youjian stood quietly to the side, waiting for Sun Chengzong to compose himself.

"Your Majesty, this old minister has been rude," Sun Chengzong said somewhat embarrassed.

"Wipe it off, otherwise when I see the cabinet ministers later, they will say that I deceived my teacher and made him cry," Zhu Youjian said, handing over a handkerchief.

Sun Chengzong was greatly embarrassed. He looked up and carefully examined his disciple Zhu Youjian, and found that he seemed to have become much more confident than before, even daring to joke about him, which was unimaginable before.

In Sun Chengzong's memory, Zhu Youxiao was more opinionated than Zhu Youjian, who always played the role of a well-behaved boy.

In the imperial study, Zhu Youjian took down the Yongle sword that he couldn't sell and handed it to Sun Chengzong, saying to him, "I entrust the military and political affairs of Shaanxi and the three towns to you, sir. Holding this sword is like having me personally overseeing things. If you disobey, I will execute you first and report later!"

Then, Zhu Youjian instructed his cabinet ministers to draft an edict, explicitly incorporating his words into the imperial decree:
Sun Chengzong was appointed Governor-General of the Three Border Regions of Shaanxi, in charge of the military and political affairs of the Shaanxi Provincial Administration Commission, Gansu Garrison, Yansui Garrison, and Ningxia Garrison. All officials below the garrison commander level were under his command. Those who disobeyed orders in the army were to be dealt with according to military law. Those who disobeyed orders or paid lip service to the government were to be dismissed and investigated. He was also given the title of Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate.

The emperor's order astonished everyone, even Sun Chengzong himself couldn't sit still. The old man bluntly stated:
This is far too much power! Isn't this equivalent to a provincial governor in the Han Dynasty or a military governor in the Tang Dynasty? Such an appointment is the root of chaos. Moreover, he is old and his energy is limited; he is already struggling to oversee military affairs, let alone have the capacity to manage political affairs. We hope the emperor will rescind his order.

The cabinet ministers were utterly speechless. Putting themselves in their shoes, they realized that if they were faced with such a powerful temptation, they certainly wouldn't be able to resist. They wondered what Sun Chengzong was thinking.

But this time Zhu Youjian chose to be willful. He shook his head and said, "I have no choice but to entrust this important matter to you, sir. I hope you will not refuse. The peasant uprising in Qin cannot be quelled by ordinary relief efforts. Without absolute power, we will be hampered by others and will find it difficult to move forward."

Sun Chengzong opened his mouth, thinking that he should consult with the former governor, Wu Shuqing, before taking office. Sun Chengzong did not covet power; in the Ming Dynasty, responsibility and power were equal, but he was never hesitant to step forward in times of national crisis. Therefore, he accepted the sword and imperial edict, solemnly saying, "Your Majesty, I thank you for your trust. This old minister will certainly not fail Your Majesty's expectations!"

At this moment, the lion-shaped beast on the Yongle sword opened its ruby-inlaid eyes and stared at Sun Chengzong, a recognition of the old man's courage.

However, Sun Chengzong still couldn't forget about the situation in Liaodong. He repeatedly urged the emperor not to lower his guard against Liaodong and not to let the problems in Shaanxi distract him.

He even predicted that the Jurchens would invade the pass again within two years. He went further, adding a challenge for himself by stating that since the emperor had entrusted him with both military and political affairs, he would forgo the court's funds and reserve them for Liaodong.

Zhu Youjian was somewhat worried. He knew he couldn't let his guard down in Liaodong, but the situation in Shaanxi was also very serious! Could they manage without spending money?
In the original history, the rebel army and the Later Jin army cooperated with each other, and the Ming Dynasty fought on two fronts. It wasn't until the fifteenth year of Chongzhen's reign that the national natural disasters reached their peak, and drought affected all the northern provinces. The Ming Dynasty could no longer hold on, and Chongzhen chose to take a desperate gamble.

The western front was essentially abandoned, with most of the troops being diverted to fiercely attack the Later Jin. At one point, the Jurchen population was reduced to only 50,000 men, forcing their army to only dare enter and leave Shenyang after dark. The Manchu population was treated as a top secret, lest the surrendered Han Chinese and Mongols discover their weakness. Unfortunately, Emperor Chongzhen lost his gamble; before he could eliminate the Jurchens, he was forced to his death by Li Zicheng.

That's why Zhu Youjian was so cautious in dealing with the Shaanxi peasant uprising. He didn't want to get himself into trouble because of something that wasn't right.

If Li Zicheng could truly uphold the Han Chinese rule, then relinquishing the throne to him wouldn't be unacceptable. However, Li Zicheng was utterly incompetent! From the defeat at Sarhu in 1618, when the Ming Dynasty lost Liaodong, until its demise, it hadn't allowed Li Zicheng to establish a foothold within the Great Wall for over thirty years. Yet, Li Zicheng, like a spoiled brat, sold off his father's land without a second thought, losing the entire north in just eight months.

Bandits are just bandits; they only fight when things are going well, and once they suffer a setback, they only know how to run away. Shanhaiguan, Juyongguan, and Tongguan—these passes that were invincible in the hands of the Ming Dynasty—were like paper in the hands of these bandits. They retreated from Liaodong to Beijing, then abandoned Beijing and retreated back to Guanzhong. They couldn't even hold Guanzhong, so they could only head south to Huguang.

The Han Chinese in the north cowered under the iron heel of the Manchus, trembling in fear. Even kneeling and begging for mercy could not save their lives. Wives and daughters were taken away, able-bodied men were reduced to serfs, and the old and weak were simply slaughtered. Under the Manchus' low human rights system, people were treated like pigs and dogs, or even worse. It was thought that the Ming Dynasty was so corrupt that it would be unjust if it did not perish. Little did they know that even the most corrupt feudal dynasty was better than a slave-owning empire.

At that time, the bandits were like locusts, devouring everything in their path. They did not consider protecting the people, but instead raised their swords against them. The Manchus massacred the people in the north, while the bandits ravaged the people in the south.

Originally, natural disasters were limited to certain regions of the empire. The country was so large that there were still places where people could survive. However, the bandits spread disaster throughout China, turning an entire nation into slaves.

Class narratives cannot conceal the reality of ethnic conflicts, and the moment these people raised their knives against their unarmed compatriots, they had already betrayed their own class.

Zhu Youjian saw Sun Chengzong off outside the palace gates, instructing him: "Teacher, you should first suppress the rebellion and then appease the rebels. The people who have been coerced can be pardoned, but the leaders of the rebels must never be spared! The Ming Dynasty will not grant amnesty, nor will it accept the surrender of rebels!"

(End of this chapter)