Chongzhen's domineering

Chapter 9 Stealing Border Merit and Framed Loyal Officials
Shi Gongsheng, an assistant secretary in the Ministry of Justice, impeached Wei Zhongxian for lavishly bestowing titles and rewards upon his relatives.

Everyone in the imperial court knew about this.

The credit for the victories at Ningyuan and Ningjin was entirely taken by the Wei family. Wei Zhongxian used these two victories to bestow titles and honors upon his relatives. Every member of the Wei family, even an infant in swaddling clothes, could be ennobled and promoted for their military achievements!

How could the emperor ignore such an absurd thing?
Zhu Jue acted as if nothing had happened and simply kept the impeachment memorial in the palace without issuing it!

Wei Zhongxian even threatened to imprison Shi Gongsheng in the imperial prison to hand over his ill-gotten gains. This was only because the emperor had changed and was no longer allowed to act lawlessly. If Tianqi had been the emperor, Wei Zhongxian would have imprisoned Shi Gongsheng and tortured him to death long ago.

Who was Shi Gongsheng?
This guy seems to be a clean slate, he hasn't embezzled or broken the law at all, and he's like a hothead, not afraid of Wei Zhongxian's threats at all.

The next day, this fellow actually submitted another memorial!
Early that morning, around 7 a.m., just as Zhu Jue arrived at the entrance of the Imperial Study, Liu Ruoyu bowed and said, "Your Majesty, the Grand Secretariat has sent another scribe to deliver a memorial."

Are Gu Bingqian and Feng Quan planning to fight Wei Zhongxian to the bitter end?
well.

Zhu Jue nodded slightly, took the lead in entering the imperial study, sat down on the dragon throne, and then took the memorial to read it carefully.

The first memorial to the throne was submitted by Shi Gongsheng.

This time, Shi Gongsheng impeached Wei Zhongxian for framing loyal officials!
At that time, Gao Di, a trusted confidant of Wei Zhongxian, was in charge of the Ji-Liao region and intended to abandon the Guan-Ning-Jin defense line and lead the main force of the Liaodong border army to retreat to Shanhaiguan. Yuan Chonghuan wrote a letter in blood, vowing to live and die with Ningyuan, which inspired the Liaodong soldiers. Only then was Ningyuan defended and a great victory was achieved.

Wei Zhongxian not only stripped Yuan Chonghuan of all his military merits and bestowed great rewards upon his relatives, but also falsely accused Yuan Chonghuan of secretly negotiating peace with the Jurchens!
The claim that Yuan Chonghuan negotiated peace with the Jurchens is entirely fabricated. At the time, the Jurchen chieftain Nurhaci died from a recurrence of cannon wounds sustained during the Battle of Ningyuan. Yuan Chonghuan sent people to investigate the truth, and it turned out that Huang Taiji had made the peace request. Yuan Chonghuan, in order to build city walls and fortifications and strengthen defenses, feigned agreement and went along with the request.

As the saying goes, all's fair in war. Afterwards, Yuan Chonghuan won the Ningjin victory by relying on the well-constructed defenses, without any intention of negotiating peace. Huang Taiji even said that Yuan Chonghuan was "pretending to make peace and taking advantage of the situation to repair the city", which made him very angry. Wei Zhongxian, however, accused him of privately negotiating peace with the Jurchens, which was a trumped-up charge.

After reading it, Zhu Jue was speechless.

It is a historical fact that Wei Zhongxian trusted Gao Di and intended to abandon the Guan-Ning-Jin defense line.

This matter has been quite controversial in later generations. Many people believe that building the Guan-Ning-Jin defense line was a way to commit suicide because it cost too much money and food.

However, there are also different opinions, saying that the Guan-Ning-Jin defense line must be held, otherwise the Ming Dynasty will surely perish.

This claim is based on the fact that Liaodong Garrison had over 100,000 border troops and over 4 million civilians.

If the Guan-Ning-Jin defense line is abandoned, how can the Ming Dynasty feed so many soldiers and civilians?

Even if these four or five million soldiers and civilians only drank porridge for a month, they would still consume at least a million shi of grain, while the Ming Dynasty's tax grain was only four or five million shi per year.

In other words, if all the tax revenue of the Ming Dynasty were used to feed these four or five million soldiers and civilians, it would only last for three or four months at most. For the remaining eight or nine months, these four or five million soldiers and civilians would starve. It would be strange if they didn't starve to death!
As for abandoning the four or five million soldiers and civilians in Liaodong and letting them fend for themselves, that would be suicide!

This is also a historical fact.

On the sixth day of the third month of the seventeenth year of Chongzhen's reign, the emperor ordered the abandonment of Ningyuan and the retreat to Shanhaiguan. On the nineteenth day of the third month, the capital fell. Afterwards, Wu Sangui, Kong Youde, Shang Kexi, and Geng Zhongming led the surrendered soldiers from Liaodong all the way from Beizhili to Yunnan!
This is the result of abandoning the military and civilians in Liaodong.

The Ming Dynasty disregarded the lives of millions of soldiers and civilians in Liaodong, and they turned against the Ming Dynasty in anger, destroying it. Who could do anything about it?
This is also one of the reasons for the fall of the Ming Dynasty. In the seventeenth year of Chongzhen's reign, the Jurchens only numbered four or five hundred thousand, and even if all able-bodied men were included, they numbered less than one hundred thousand. If it weren't for the surrendered soldiers from Liaodong charging into battle, the Jurchens, with less than one hundred thousand troops, would have had no chance of destroying the Ming Dynasty, which had a population of hundreds of millions!
Therefore, the millions of soldiers and civilians in Liaodong must not be abandoned. The Guan-Ning-Jin defense line must be held so that the millions of soldiers and civilians can still use Liaodong to support themselves.

If the Guan-Ning-Jin defense line is abandoned, the Ming Dynasty will not be able to support these millions of soldiers and civilians. If it is abandoned, these millions of soldiers and civilians will surely turn against the Ming Dynasty in their grief and anger!
This is a fact, and it is also a historical fact.

Gao Di meant to abandon the Guan-Ning-Jin defense line, regardless of the lives of millions of soldiers and civilians!

Is this possible?
As for Yuan Chonghuan, he was indeed wronged; at least at this moment, he was only wronged and not guilty.

He fought desperately to win the Ningyuan and Ningjin victories, but not only were all his military achievements stolen, he was also framed for secretly negotiating peace with the Jurchens!

This injustice is enough to drive anyone mad with anger.

However, no matter how wronged Yuan Chonghuan was, he could not be used, because this fellow had intricate connections with the Donglin Party. If he were to be used to guard Liaodong, something bad would surely happen.

Upon realizing this, Zhu Jue suddenly understood.

Shi Gongsheng risked his life to impeach Wei Zhongxian, probably so that he would reinstate Yuan Chonghuan!

He opened the second memorial and saw that it was indeed true.

Huo Weihua submitted a memorial stating that Yuan Chonghuan had made outstanding military achievements and was a rare military talent. Only by appointing Yuan Chonghuan as the governor of Jiliao could the Jurchens be resisted. This fellow was even willing to give up his titles of Minister of War and Grand Tutor to the Crown Prince to Yuan Chonghuan. He requested that Yuan Chonghuan be reinstated as the governor of Jiliao!

The Donglin faction is trying to seize military power in Jiliao!

If the military power in Jiliao is under the control of the Donglin Party, the capital of the Ming Dynasty will be like an undefended city, and the Jurchens can easily break in!

Huo Weihua was a member of the Donglin Party!

Isn't this guy Feng Quan's confidant? No, even if this guy is from the Donglin Party, this memorial wouldn't have been submitted without Feng Quan's approval.

The mastermind behind this must be Feng Quan.

Feng Quan had a deep-seated hatred for the Donglin Party, so why did he allow Yuan Chonghuan to take control of the military power in Jiliao?

This person is no ordinary individual.

Nowadays, none of the people in the imperial court are simple characters.

These guys are all ostensibly part of the eunuch faction, but in reality, most of them are just using Wei Zhongxian.

The talk of godson and godson was just a way to fool Wei Zhongxian.

If these guys really considered themselves Wei Zhongxian's descendants, how could they possibly turn around and bite Wei Zhongxian?
The eunuch faction wasn't a monolithic entity, but the Donglin Party was; if the eunuch faction started fighting amongst themselves, wouldn't the Donglin Party also fight amongst themselves?
Was Feng Quan truly at odds with the Donglin Party?
If this guy truly harbors a deep-seated hatred for the Donglin Party, then he should eliminate Han Kuang, the leader of the Donglin Party!

The Donglin faction was mostly purged, so why is Han Kuang still unscathed?
Perhaps Feng Quan and Han Kuang are in cahoots!

His father, Feng Shengming, was the military commander of Liaoyang. He fled at the first sign of trouble on the border and was guilty of a crime punishable by death!

Feng Shengming didn't escape at all; he went to inform the Jurchens.

At that time, Liaoyang was the seat of Liaodong Garrison, and Liaoyang City was one of the most powerful cities in the nine border regions, with a circumference of more than twenty li.

Xiong Tingbi was able to defend Shenyang, a small garrison town only a few miles in circumference, for more than a year, while Yuan Yingtai's defense of Liaoyang, a formidable city among the nine border towns, fell in just three days. Why is that?
Yuan Yingtai was a member of the Donglin Party, as was Feng Shengming. Yuan Yingtai was committed to the fate of Liaoyang and committed suicide to atone for his sins when the city fell. However, Feng Shengming disappeared without a trace!
This proves that there were those in the Donglin Party who advocated war, and there were also those who colluded with the enemy and betrayed the country.

Yuan Yingtai and Sun Chengzong were clearly in favor of war, while Feng Quan belonged to Han Kuang's faction and was a traitor. Yuan Chonghuan was probably a fence-sitter who sided with both sides!
That makes sense.

Feng Quan was a powerful figure in the Qing court for over twenty years. If he hadn't been in cahoots with the eight most powerful imperial merchants at the time, he would never have been able to hold power in the Qing court!
Thinking about this, Zhu Jue had already vaguely seen through the layers of mystery that Feng Quan had fabricated in the History of Ming.

He announced loudly, "Summon Wei Zhongxian to come and pay his respects."

Not long after, Wei Zhongxian strode over, bowed respectfully, and said, "Your humble servant greets Your Majesty."

Zhu Jue nodded expressionlessly, then picked up two memorials and gestured for Wang Chengen to read them to him.

Wei Zhongxian was so frightened that his face turned pale and he broke out in a cold sweat.

He did indeed steal Yuan Chonghuan's military merits and then ordered someone to frame Yuan Chonghuan. Even though Yuan Chonghuan built a shrine for him and tried his best to flatter him in every memorial, it was all in vain, because he needed the military merits in Liaodong to reward his relatives!

He did go quite too far in this matter. At the time, many people within the eunuch faction had reservations about it, and Huo Weihua even advised him to his face not to go so far.

Yuan Chonghuan had such outstanding achievements, yet he not only stole their military merits but also framed them. The soldiers in Liaodong were furious.

Shi Gongsheng has already brought this matter to light, how could the young emperor not be angry?
Unexpectedly, after Wang Chengen finished reading, Zhu Jue simply asked, "What kind of person is Wang Zhichen? Does he still listen to you?"

What does this mean?
Wei Zhongxian thought for a moment before cautiously saying, "Wang Zhichen is obedient, but his abilities are too poor. During his time as governor of Ji and Liao, he has been hiding in Shanhaiguan and has not made any achievements."

Well, just be obedient. I don't need him to achieve any merits; he didn't achieve any merits in history anyway.

Zhu Jue nodded slightly, then asked, "Where are the people I asked you to summon? Why haven't I seen a single one yet?"

They're all far away.

Wei Zhongxian quickly explained, "Your Majesty, I have already ordered the post stations to send a message to inquire. Sun Chuanting and Lu Xiangshan, who are the closest, are both rushing here at full speed and should arrive before dark today."

Are Sun Chuanting and Lu Xiangsheng arriving?

Just right.

The most important thing right now is to protect the capital region.

Zhu Jue nodded slightly, then waved his hand.

Is that all?
Upon seeing this, Wei Zhongxian was momentarily stunned.

He thought that by framing loyal and virtuous people like this, he would at least receive a scolding.

To everyone's surprise, the young emperor only asked two questions and that was it!
(End of this chapter)