Ming Dynasty 1627

Chapter 66 The Butterfly Effect Arrives So Quickly?
The main room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

A young eunuch hurriedly entered from outside, carrying two stacks of exam papers.

Upon seeing this, Gao Shiming frowned almost imperceptibly, gently shook his head, and signaled him not to make a sound and disturb the emperor.

The young eunuch quickly slowed his pace, gently placed the two stacks of exam papers on the table, and then quietly withdrew.

Zhu Youjian was right behind the desk, completely unaware of what was happening, his brows furrowed.

While the students outside were taking their exams, he, being a master of time management, simply asked Gao Shiming to bring over today's exam paper to check it against his own.

This pairing has revealed two major problems.

The first report reads: "Yang Chao, the eunuch of Taolinkou Town, reported that Han Hudun Tu Han, drunk, was stabbed to death by Hatun."

The second half, which appears to be a jumbled mess of characters, is actually a result of the Ming Dynasty's transliteration of some Mongolian tribal names.

The so-called Chahan refers to the Chahar tribe.
It belongs to Southern Mongolia, bordered by Khorchin to the north and Ningjin and Jurchen to the east.

The so-called Huduntuhan is none other than Ligden Khan.

As for Fuhatun, it is Qatun.

To put it simply, it's a transliteration of Mongolian into Chinese.

(P.S. I could only find maps of Mongolia from the Wanli era. In reality, at that time, the Ming Dynasty only had Pi Island and Lushun left outside of Jinzhou.)
When you put all this information back together, the meaning of that sentence becomes incredibly clear and incredibly impactful.

Ligdan Khan of the Chahar tribe was killed by his wife because he was drunk?
When Zhu Youjian finally understood what was going on, he was completely stunned.

Lin Dan Khan... is he dead?
The man in the original history, the ambitious "Great Khan of the Mongol Tribes," was first defeated by the Later Jin, then turned west to conquer the Mongol tribes, which shattered his own forces, and finally died of illness in Qinghai—that foolish Ligdan Khan…

Just die?
Or was he stabbed to death by his wife because he was drunk?

Zhu Youjian felt his mind was a bit confused.

How long has he been in spacetime? Isn't this spacetime disturbance a bit excessive?

Just a few days ago, he had ordered the Embroidered Uniform Guard to send flag officers to the Nine Border Regions to investigate military and civilian situations.

Judging by the time, those flag officers might not even have left the capital region yet.

What kind of time-space butterfly wings do I have that can slap Lin Danhan, who is thousands of miles away, to death?

……

That said, is Lin Danhan's death a good thing or a bad thing for the future situation?

Zhu Youjian pondered deeply, but couldn't figure it out at all.

He was prepared for history to be completely altered as his reforms progressed.

But I never expected that such a big change would happen so quickly.

—But why was it Ligdan Khan who was stabbed to death, and not Huang Taiji who fell off his horse and died?

I'd gladly trade ten Lin Dan Khans for one Huang Taiji!
Ligdan Khan was indeed a menace while he was alive. He waged wars all over the grasslands, and wherever he went, the Mongol tribes surrendered at the mere sight of him.

Yes, they surrendered at the mere sight of the enemy, but it was all the Later Jin who surrendered...

But now he's dead...

Will the Later Jin take this opportunity to subdue the Chahar tribe and then bypass it to move south?

The Yisi Incident of the second year of the Chongzhen reign was moved directly to the seventh year of the Tianqi reign?!
Zhu Youjian became increasingly agitated as he thought about it, his mind filled with a myriad of thoughts, yet he couldn't make sense of them all.

Suddenly, an idea flashed in his mind.

wrong……

Given the Ming Dynasty's current incompetent military intelligence system, I probably shouldn't be asking whether this is a good thing or a bad thing first.

You should ask yourself first...

Is this real or fake?

Damn it!

The intelligence network of the Ming Dynasty's border towns relied entirely on the generals themselves to send out night scouts and merchants.

Who knows how much exaggeration there is in a report submitted by a eunuch in a border town?

Having figured this out, Zhu Youjian's emotions calmed down.

He raised his head, handed the memorial to Gao Shiming beside him, and said directly:

"Issue my decree, ordering the garrison commander of Jizhou to investigate further and report back." "Where did this news come from? Who heard it, and who witnessed it? Is it true? On what day did it occur?"

"After the Han tribe was established, what were its next moves? If this is true, who will succeed them?"

"Investigate all these matters thoroughly and report back to me via express courier! There must be no errors!"

"The slaves obey the order."

Gao Shiming bowed and agreed. He immediately went to a table to the side, picked up a vermilion brush, and meticulously wrote the emperor's decree in red at the end of the memorial.

He then resealed the test paper, handed it to the young eunuch waiting outside the door, and whispered a few instructions.

The young eunuch received the order, picked up the question book, and hurried away again.

Deal with this mess that's likely a misunderstanding—hopefully it is.

Zhu Youjian picked up the second document: "Commander-in-Chief Mao Wenlong of Dongjiang Town lodges a petition on five injustices!"

Upon opening the memorial, one is immediately struck by an overwhelming sense of resentment and hostility.

The lengthy text, spanning hundreds of words, can be summarized into five heart-wrenching questions.

Firstly, I, Mao Wenlong, have been struggling behind enemy lines, fighting bloody battles against the Jurchen chieftain, while those people in Liaodong only know how to cower in their cities and watch the Jurchen chieftain grow stronger. Is that fair?

Secondly, the money, provisions, and military pay of my Dongjiang garrison are constantly being embezzled, leaving our soldiers poorly clothed and starving. Meanwhile, the troops in Liaodong have ample funds and provisions, yet they have achieved no victories. Is this fair?

Thirdly, Li Kuang, the military commander of Lushun, Gao Wanchui, the guerrilla commander of Shicheng Island, and others abandoned the city and fled in the face of battle. Their crimes were unforgivable, yet they were eventually reinstated to their original positions. Is this fair?

Fourthly, my loyalty is as clear as day and night, yet some people have slandered me as the reincarnation of An Lushan, claiming that I am a powerful figure with an army. Is that fair?

Fifthly, during the Korean campaign this spring, I personally led my troops in a fierce battle against the Jurchen cavalry at Tieshan. Some people actually said that I "avoided the Jurchen cavalry's sharp edge" and watched my ally suffer defeat. Is that fair?
Fairness! What I, Mao Wenlong, want is fucking fairness!
……

numb.

Zhu Youjian was numb again.

He really didn't know how to answer those five questions.

Later generations have produced countless explanations of Mao Wenlong and Yuan Chonghuan, with various short videos and marketing accounts flooding the internet with them, raking in all the traffic.

He watched with great interest, observing the two groups fighting fiercely.

But now that he himself is sitting on this dragon throne, facing this real memorial, he realizes that all those explanations are utterly useless.

We can't just rashly judge Yuan Chonghuan as loyal and Mao Wenlong as treacherous based on some impressions from hundreds of years later.

Or should we make the judgment the other way around?

This is utterly ridiculous, playing with the fate of the Ming Dynasty!
He looked at the test paper over and over for a long time, his fingers unconsciously tapping lightly on the table.

After hesitating for a long time, he called Gao Shiming over again.

"Gao Banban" (高伴伴).

"The servant is here."

"There's no need to wait for the list of officials to be summoned this afternoon to be announced." Zhu Youjian's voice was somewhat hoarse. "Sun Chengzong's hometown is Gaoyang County. You should immediately send someone with my edict to invite him to the capital by fast horse."

He paused, then added, "The imperial decree can be sent by express courier. As for Master Sun himself, let him take his time. There's no need to rush."

"Fast horse" means very urgent, extremely urgent.

We walked slowly because we were afraid he would get bumped and die on the way, after all, he is already 65 years old.

Anyway, Gaoyang County is only 200 li away from Beijing, so we can wait five or six days.

Gao Shiming bowed and said, "This servant understands."

"As for this memorial..." Zhu Youjian picked up Mao Wenlong's memorial, hesitated for a moment, and finally put it aside.

"Let's hold off on issuing it for now, and wait until I get Master Sun's opinion before making a decision."

"According to the order."

Gao Shiming accepted the order once again.

Yes, Zhu Youjian dared not arbitrarily trust either Yuan Chonghuan or Mao Wenlong.

But Sun Chengzong, the imperial tutor and former governor of Jiliao, was a capable minister who had personally traveled inside and outside Shanhaiguan Pass, so he felt he could still trust him to some extent.

Before his influence truly extends to the Nine Borders, the only person he can trust is Sun Chengzong.

(End of this chapter)