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

Chapter 44: We're a large and wealthy family, we can afford to lose, let's just treat it as training!
Zhu Youjian pondered for a long time behind closed doors but couldn't find a suitable candidate to manage Liaodong. The two capable officials, Sun Chuanting and Lu Xiangshan, were still young and lacked the experience to command respect. Zhu Xieyuan, the governor of five provinces, was indeed a master strategist, but he was the "stabilizing force" of the southwest and was currently dealing with the aftermath of the She-An Rebellion.

Transferring Zhu Xieyuan here might mean dealing with some kind of monster or demon that might emerge in the southwest. Furthermore, the intensity of the wars between the North and South is vastly different; transferring him to Liaodong might cause him to suffer from acclimatization issues.

Zhu Youjian understood that although he was not stupid, he was just an ordinary person. Recovering Liaodong was too difficult for him; he was more like a three-legged toad.

Emperor Gaozu of Han said, "In strategizing and winning battles from afar, I am inferior to Zhang Liang." Zhu Youjian decided to have a talk with Sun Shiwan.

At Chuxiu Palace, the Sun sisters were engaged in a contrasting activity: Sun Shiwan was engrossed in reading Qi Jiguang's "True Records of Military Training," while her younger sister was practicing with a spear in the courtyard.

"Your Majesty!" Sun Shixiu's eyes lit up when she saw the emperor arrive. She dropped her spear and rushed to him. Zhu Youjian reached out and touched her face. Sun Shixiu felt a tingling sensation in her heart, her skin tingled, and her ears turned red.

"You're all sweaty, go away!" Zhu Youjian lifted Sun Shixiu's skirt to wipe his hands, then left her behind and walked into the house, leaving Sun Shixiu bewildered in the wind.

"Wow, Your Majesty, you're so biased!!!" Sun Shixiu cried, her eyes brimming with tears.

"Wipe your sweat, lest you catch a cold. The imperial physicians can't cure illnesses!" The words had barely left her lips when a cotton towel flew out of the room and landed precisely on Sun Shixiu's head. Sun Shiwan stood up, looking at the two of them, feeling a sense of helplessness.

"Ignore her, I need to talk to you." After saying that, Zhu Youjian pushed Sun Shiwan aside without any politeness, sat in the seat she had just been sitting in, and then patted his thigh, gesturing for her to sit down.

Sun Shiwan stiffened, ignoring him, and continued standing to the side, saying, "What business does Your Majesty have with me?!"

Zhu Youjian flipped through the military books on the table, revealing an expression of interest. This book was extraordinary; it was a companion piece to "Jixiao Xinshu," a manual by Commander Qi on how to organize training chariot battalions.

The cart camp is the key to the Ming Dynasty's current predicament, which is barely managing to stabilize its position in the fight against the wild boar. Although it is still outmatched, the situation is much better than before when it was on the verge of collapse.

The fact that Sun Shiwan was able to find this book among so many military treatises shows that she has good taste; it's certainly better than some duke who said he wanted to rebuild the capital garrison based on the *Jixiao Xinshu*, isn't it?

"Wanwan, you are now the Governor-General of Jiliao. How do you plan to recover Liaodong?" Zhu Youjian asked seriously.

"Huh? Me?!" Sun Shiwan pointed her index finger at her nose, looking both amused and exasperated.

“That’s right, I am Wu Ding, and you are Fu Hao now,” Zhu Youjian said affirmatively.

Sun Shiwan thought for a long time, but finally shook his head, indicating that he was at a loss and that the emperor should seek a more capable advisor.

"Wonderful! Wanwan understands me best!" Zhu Youjian exclaimed, clapping his hands.

"Huh?!?" Sun Shiwan was completely confused.

Zhu Youjian told Sun Shiwan about the farce that had occurred at the court meeting that day. Zhu Youjian said that he also felt that the Ming Dynasty was currently incapable of recovering Liaodong, and that it would be good enough if they could hold the Liaoxi Corridor and the Yanshan defense line. However, no one in the Ming court understood him; everyone was clamoring to pacify Liaodong and to fight a decisive battle with the Jurchens, which annoyed him.

“Your Majesty, according to Minister Wang’s words, we must definitely save Korea; as for the Western barbarian Ligdan Khan, he has always been fickle, so we should be cautious,” Sun Shiwan said softly.

"Then, in your opinion, who should be appointed as the military commissioner of Jiliao?!" Zhu Youjian nodded and continued to ask.

Upon hearing this, Sun Shiwan looked bewildered.

"Never mind, I've put you through this." Zhu Youjian said with a hint of helplessness.

However, he didn't really expect to solve the problem entirely by relying on Sun Shiwan. He just wanted to find someone to confide in, have more people to discuss things with, and relieve some pressure.

Sun Shiwan was intelligent, but not born with innate knowledge, and she was unfamiliar with the situation at court. Even her father, Sun Chuanting, was questionable in his current abilities. Everyone needs a process of growth, except for exceptional figures like Han Xin and Huo Qubing. Seeing the emperor's disappointed expression, Sun Shiwan stamped her foot in frustration. Outside the door, Sun Shixiu squatted under the eaves, looking at Zhu Youjian with pleading eyes, her little face truly pitiful.

Zhu Youjian reached out his hand to her, and Sun Shixiu's eyes lit up. She grabbed Zhu Youjian's hand and jumped up quickly.

In the Qianqing Palace, Zhu Youjian was reviewing old archives from Liaodong.

"Your Majesty, my hands are sore!" She had been tricked by the emperor once again, reduced to a tool for massaging him!
"Go back if you're tired, let your sister take over," Zhu Youjian said calmly.

“Oh~” Sun Shixiu readily agreed and was about to slip away when she heard the emperor say, “I was originally planning to have you serve me in bed.”

"Huh?!" Sun Shixiu pulled her foot back from the threshold and silently stood behind the emperor.

"Aren't you tired?" Zhu Youjian asked, suppressing a laugh.

"I'm so tired," Sun Shixiu said weakly.

"Then sit down."

"Where should I sit?!"

"On my lap."

“This isn’t a good idea…” Sun Shixiu hesitated.

"Found it!" Zhu Youjian stood up abruptly. "Wang Chengen, draft an edict summoning Yuan Keli, the former governor of Dengzhou and Laizhou, to court!"

Old Yuan was the Grand Marshal of the Bohai Navy! The Dengzhou-Laizhou Navy he built was the only force in the Ming Dynasty that could boast of crushing the enemy every time. Ambushes, defections, and the recapture of lost territory—Yuan Keli's record was outstanding.

The reason Zhu Youjian didn't think of him immediately was because he assumed he was dead, just like Xiong Manzi. If Xiong Manzi were still alive, Zhu Youjian wouldn't have needed to think so much; he could have simply let the old Xiong take over. In fact, the old Xiong could even help him criticize the civil officials in the court during his spare time.

Yuan Keli was active during the early years of the Tianqi reign, but remained largely unknown during the Chongzhen reign. It was only after reviewing the archives that he discovered that Yuan had recently resigned, and that the person who forced him to resign was none other than the infamous Wei Zhongxian, the "Nine Thousand Years Old."

Zhu Youjian glanced helplessly at Wei Zhongxian. If the civil officials were to call him a scourge to the country and its people, they were absolutely right! Faced with the emperor's ill-intentioned gaze, Wei Zhongxian couldn't help but shrink back.

Zhu Youjian sighed inwardly, hoping this meeting with Yuan Keli would yield a satisfactory result. Otherwise, he truly didn't know what to do. Should he, the emperor, take matters into his own hands? Perhaps even Yuan Chonghuan would be less capable!

In truth, both Sun Chengzong and Wang Zaijin were masters of strategy, but they lacked experience in frontline command. The Ming Dynasty's enemies, whether Nurhaci or Huang Taiji, had fought their way through mountains of corpses and seas of blood; their decades of war experience far surpassed that of these armchair strategists. Ultimately, their biggest problem was their lack of battle achievements.

Yuan Keli was different; he had a proven track record of defeating Nurhaci multiple times. Zhu Xieyuan, the governor-general of five provinces, also had an impressive record. After the situation in the southeast was pacified, Zhu Youjian planned to transfer him to Liaodong to test the waters. Since Qi Jiguang could fight his way from the southeast all the way to Shanhaiguan, there was no reason why Governor-General Zhu couldn't do the same.

"Damn it! My family is big and powerful, I can afford to lose. Just treat it as training!" Zhu Youjian slammed his hand on the imperial desk and roared.

"Your Majesty, what's wrong with you?!" Sun Shixiu was terrified when she saw the emperor having a series of seizures.

"It's alright, Elbow, come back to the palace with me to see the cat."

(End of this chapter)