Ming Dynasty: I, Yan Maoqing, am truly radiating auspicious energy!

Chapter 44 Surprising Tactics
"Your Majesty, the Cabinet received an urgent report from the Governor of Shanxi today!"

After Xia Yan and Zhai Luan entered the hall, they immediately prostrated themselves and reported.

"The Tatars, led by Ji Nang and Anda, with nearly 100,000 troops, crossed the pass and marched south, plundering eight guards and twenty-one counties in Shuozhou and Shizhou in Shanxi. They killed and abducted more than 200,000 men and women, one million cattle, sheep and pigs, and countless pieces of clothing and money. They burned 40,000 public and private houses and trampled tens of thousands of hectares of fields!"

Zhu Houcong was furious upon hearing this news, and immediately kicked over the bench that Huang Jin had just officially placed on the throne.
"They're all useless! Not a single one of them can make my life easier!"

"..."

Xia Yan and Zhai Luan didn't dare to respond, but they were also a little puzzled.

Although this emperor was not a good-tempered person, he usually acted with an unpredictable and dignified demeanor, and rarely lowered himself to curse in front of them.

Moreover, the Tatars have repeatedly violated the border in recent years, almost every year, and there have been countless cases more serious than this. I have never seen him so agitated and jumping up and down before.

After venting his anger, Zhu Houcong finally exhaled a breath and sat down on the dragon bed, looking at the two of them and saying:
"Tell me, how does the cabinet plan to clean up this mess?"

"Your Majesty, after discussion, your humble servant and Grand Secretary Zhai have jointly drafted a proposal for your review."

Xia Yan immediately raised the urgent report and the draft bill attached to it above his head.

After Huang Jin presented it, Zhu Houcong only glanced at it briefly, his expression darkening further. He then casually tossed the urgent report and draft document onto the table beside him.

It's the same thing, the same recipe!

Relief for refugees, replenishment of military equipment, intensification of local militia training, allocation of military funds... In short, only a few numbers were changed, but all together it still boils down to two words.

—Approve the funding!
Compared to the previous times, the amount requested this time was not too much, and the total amount was just over 800,000 taels.

Every time Zhu Houcong saw such a draft bill, he felt a tightness in his chest.

The taxes collected over the years have been decreasing, while the amount of money demanded has been increasing. These people are treating him like a great victim!
If the money spent could actually have some effect, that would be fine. But instead, the more money was spent, the more unscrupulous the Tatars became in their southward advance.

In particular, Shuozhou and Shizhou are adjacent to Datong and Taiyuan, which are the nine border towns where the Ming Dynasty stationed heavy troops. In the face of the Tatar invasion from the south, the urgent report showed no victory. Could it be that the troops that the Ming Dynasty spends huge sums of money to support every year are just for show?

It would be impossible to say that Zhu Houcong had no clue about the problem.

For this reason, he issued an imperial edict last year, ordering Duke Guo Xun and Wang Tingxiang, the Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, to go and clarify the military service.

He knew, of course, that this was a thankless task, and that if Guo Xun and Wang Tingxiang had truly put their hearts into their work instead of colluding with the Ming army, they would have been mired in trouble.

But don't worry, he will lend them a hand when the time comes.

Who would have thought that Guo Xun, the Duke of Yi, whom he had single-handedly promoted, would turn out to be someone who wouldn't be led astray and would only back down when pushed? Not only did he refuse to accept the imperial edict, but he also complained bitterly when he submitted a memorial to defend himself. The sentence in the memorial, "What is it that I need to trouble you with an imperial edict?" was almost a direct complaint to himself about why he had pushed him into the fire!

Zhu Houcong will remember Guo Xun for the rest of his life. All those years of favoring him were for nothing, what a useless piece of trash!

However, through this incident, Zhu Houcong also indirectly confirmed one thing:

That is to say, Guo Xun, this useless nobleman, was relatively clean. At least he did not reach into the Ming army and collude with those treacherous people whose tails could not be caught.

Therefore, even though later censors and officials submitted memorials impeaching him on this matter, Zhu Houcong did not have the intention of getting rid of him.

After all, this was one of the few among the ministers and nobles whose background he had been able to ascertain thoroughly; keeping him around might prove useful in the future…

With these thoughts in mind, Zhu Houcong slowly spoke:
"Have you two found a source for the funds needed for the draft?"

"This……"

Xia Yan hesitated for a moment before answering.
"This matter came as a surprise, and I haven't had time to communicate with the Ministry of Revenue. However, I have reviewed the Ministry's summary documents from last month, and it seems that it would be difficult for them to allocate this sum of money from the treasury. Moreover, this matter is extremely urgent, therefore..."

"Therefore what?"

Zhu Houcong's eyes flashed fiercely.

Xia Yan's voice gradually faded:

"Therefore... this humble subject should first communicate with the Ministry of Revenue. If the Ministry of Revenue is truly unable to allocate the full amount, I wonder if Your Majesty's private treasury..." *Bang!*

Zhu Houcong slammed his right hand heavily on the table, causing the urgent report and the draft proposal to jump an inch high.

Xia Yan's heart skipped a beat, and she quickly changed her words:

"Your Majesty, I will go and communicate first. If there are still shortcomings, I will think of other solutions. Your Majesty need not trouble yourself!"

……

The next morning.

"The Tatars?"

The contents of the urgent report had already spread throughout the capital, and Yan Maoqing had heard about it several times while he was out drinking soy milk and torturing himself.

"I heard that the two Tartar brothers, Ji Nang and Anda, have entered the pass this time. These two Tartars are no ordinary men."

The vendor at the douzhi (fermented mung bean juice) stall was clearly a chatterbox. Seeing that someone seemed interested in the matter, he immediately perked up and began talking animatedly.

"You know the Uriyangkhai and the Oirats who repeatedly invaded our borders a few years ago, right? They're gone!"

"It was these two brothers who personally led their troops to wipe them out. Because of this, Anda was even granted the title of Khan by the Great Khan of the Tartars. What is that called?"

"Do you understand what 'one-word parallel kings' means? From the Yuan Dynasty to now, no Tartar leader has ever received this treatment. Don't you think these two brothers are amazing?"

Yan Maoqing naturally knew what he was talking about.

Besides these, he also knew the main reasons why Jiyang and Anda led their troops south.

—Tribute!

The term "Tonggong" simply means mutual trade and commerce.

Since the end of the Hongzhi era, relations between the Ming and the Tatars had soured and trade had ceased. Although the Tatars had no shortage of horses, they lacked essential strategic and living supplies. Therefore, they repeatedly demanded to establish tribute relations with the Ming Dynasty, threatening to send troops south if the Ming refused.

This time was no different. Ji Nang and Anda sent envoys to Datong Yanghe Pass to demand tribute, promising that once tribute was accepted, "they would restrain their people, order the border people to cultivate fields in the pass, and the barbarians to graze horses outside the pass, and never invade each other again, and would swear an oath by drinking blood," otherwise they would send their troops south to harass the Ming Dynasty.

Faced with such a threat and the Tatars' long-standing breach of trust.

The Jiajing Emperor and his court officials did not tolerate this. Not only did they refuse the shameless request to pay tribute, they also detained the envoy and offered a reward of a thousand taels of gold for the heads of Ji Nang and Anda.

Ji Nang and Anda were furious and indeed led their army south.

Moreover, according to Yan Maoqing, such things will continue to happen in the future. "Southern Japanese pirates and northern barbarians" have always been two major festering sores in the Ming Dynasty that have never truly been cured...

"awesome……"

Thinking about these things, Yan Maoqing casually agreed, left two copper coins and a half-full bowl of soy milk, and got up to leave.

It must be said that the political atmosphere in the Ming Dynasty capital was truly enlightened. Even a street vendor dared to openly discuss these matters on the street, without fear of being arrested and imprisoned for saying something wrong.

Anyway, Yan Maoqing didn't have the guts.

To be honest, he had another brilliant plan in mind that could solve the problem of the Tartars once and for all without losing a single soldier or a single tael of silver, and even while making money. Would he go around telling everyone about it?
Absolutely not!

Do you think making meritorious contributions is a good thing these days?
There are plenty of people in the court who are afraid of you making meritorious contributions, afraid of making them look incompetent, afraid of ruining their livelihoods, afraid of you surpassing them later... In the end, you might not even know how you died.

He should hurry up and retire to his hometown!

At most, before leaving Beijing, I would privately give this ingenious idea to a righteous person who wants to make progress, is responsible, has courage, and preferably has some background. In this way, I can consider it as doing my part for the country and the nation.

As for whether this righteous man will be blessed or cursed in the future, that depends on his own abilities...

(End of this chapter)