How can one be Emperor Chongzhen without money?

Chapter 16 One Head for One Hundred Acres of Land! (Please read on, vote with monthly tickets!)
On the seventh day of the ninth lunar month, just as dawn was breaking, the Shuntian Governor's Office in Santunying was already packed with people.

Emperor Chongzhen, Zhu Youjian, dressed in a black arrow-patterned robe with a long sword at his waist, sat behind an elmwood desk, his gaze sweeping over the crowd standing below.

Duke Zhang Weixian of Yingguo and Duke Zhu Chunchen of Chengguo stood on either side, their faces grim. Wei Zhongxian huddled in the shadows, his back hunched, his eyes darting around. Sun Zushou, the commander-in-chief of Jizhou, and Zu Dashou, the deputy commander-in-chief of Liaodong, stood ramrod straight, their hands on their sword hilts.

A huge map of Jizhou was spread out on the desk. Chongzhen's finger slowly traced the Yanshan Mountains north of the Great Wall, finally stopping at a place three hundred miles away—Daning City.

“Da Ning…” Chongzhen murmured, “During the Hongwu era, Prince Zhu Quan of Ning was enfeoffed here, in charge of the Doyan Three Guards, with 80,000 soldiers and 6,000 chariots under his command. If the Ning fiefdom were still in existence today, how could the Jurchens have gotten so big?”

He pressed down hard with his fingers, the knuckles striking the map with a dull thud.

"A mere tribe of six thousand tents dares to offend the might of the Great Ming Dynasty!" Emperor Chongzhen's voice suddenly rose. "I will annihilate them!"

He suddenly looked up, his gaze piercing Zu Dashou like a knife: "Zu Dashou!"

Zu Dashou shuddered and immediately stepped forward, clasped his hands in a fist and said in a deep voice, "Your subordinate is here!"

"I hereby order you to lead three thousand Liaozhen iron cavalry out of Panjiakou, march three hundred li, and strike directly at Daning City!" Chongzhen's voice was resolute and left no room for discussion. "Now that the elite troops of the Doyan have come out, our old base is empty... This is a golden opportunity!"

These words startled everyone in the room.

Zhang Weixian's expression changed drastically, and he hurriedly stepped forward: "Your Majesty! General Zu's three thousand Liaozhen cavalry are all battle-hardened elites! If they all launch a distant attack on Daming, the defenses of the Three Garrisons will be weak, and if something goes wrong..."

Zhu Chunchen quickly chimed in, "Your Majesty, it would be safer to leave General Zu to assist in the defense of the city..."

What? We still need to defend the city? We have 30,000 troops from Jizhou, over 1,000 elite soldiers from Beijing, and 3,000 cavalry from Liaodong. Do we still need to defend the city when dealing with a few thousand Mongol soldiers?
Zhu Youjian was speechless for a moment, but then he remembered that it was Zhu Chunchen who had said those words, and he felt relieved. In his past life, he had actually let this coward become the governor of the Beijing garrison... He really brought it on himself when he was hanging on Coal Hill!

"Sun Zushou, tell me!" Chongzhen turned his head, not looking at Zhu Chunchen's cowardly appearance, but looking at Sun Zushou with expectation in his eyes.

Sun Zushou cupped his hands and spoke in a booming voice: "Your Majesty! I have already reorganized the troops. There are more than 10,000 elite soldiers from Jizhou in the three camps! The rest are more than enough to defend the city! As for the mere few thousand Tatars, my men are more than capable of handling them!"

In fact, the Jizhou soldiers gathered at Santunying, if they could have enough to eat for a few months and undergo rigorous training, would all be elite border troops capable of fighting in the field. However, the fact that they were owed thirteen months' pay and that their military rations were being embezzled has starved these capable border troops to the point of collapse.

If Emperor Chongzhen had failed to properly feed and strengthen the 100,000 border troops in Jizhou and instead allowed them to continue starving, by the time of the Jisi Incident in the second year of his reign, he would have been willing to kill the rebels but powerless to reverse the situation.

Thinking of this, Chongzhen slammed his hand on the desk: "Good! The defense of Santun Camp will be under the full command of Minister Sun!" He then turned to Zu Dashou, his voice suddenly turning cold, carrying a bloodthirsty tone: "Zu Dashou! Go out of Panjiakou and break through Daning City! Execute all the men! Women, children, and property will all belong to your unit!"

"Your Majesty!" Zhang Weixian cried out, "The Doyan people have always been submissive. Even if they couldn't stop the rebellion, they shouldn't have implicated the entire tribe! Such ruthlessness will surely discourage the tribes beyond the Great Wall!"

Zhu Chunchen also became anxious: "Your Majesty, the Doyan Guard has been a subject of our Great Ming for over two hundred years. Even if we cannot restrain their wolfish ambitions, their followers..."

"If we don't eliminate them today, they will surely become the Jurchen's lackeys in the future!" Chongzhen interrupted sharply, his eyes icy cold. "The Chahar Huduntu Khan (Lindan Khan) moved west in April, and it's a foregone conclusion that the various Kharachin tribes have submitted to the Jurchen! The Doyan have lived in the Yanshan Mountains for a long time and are familiar with the terrain. If they are used by the Jurchen, the passes of the Great Wall in Jizhou will be in danger! Since Shubude dared to invade the border, he has cut himself off from the Ming Dynasty! Today, I will take swift and decisive action to wipe them out and eliminate any future troubles!"

He ignored the two men and stared intently at Zu Dashou: "Zu Dashou! Break through the city! Slaughter them all! Execute them all! Do you dare?"

Zu Dashou took a deep breath, his blood boiling, and clasped his hands in acceptance of the order: "This humble general obeys! I will certainly not fail Your Majesty's trust!"

Emperor Chongzhen rose, walked to Zu Dashou's side, and lowered his voice: "I know about your 'great victory' at Ningyuan and Jinzhou, how many kills you made... it's all exaggerated!" He smiled slightly, "The opportunity has come. The Mongol Tartars are still Tartars. Remember, eradicate evil completely, nip it in the bud!"

Zu Dashou clasped his hands in a deep fist salute: "This subordinate understands! We will leave not a single blade of grass alive!"

Emperor Chongzhen turned around, his gaze sweeping over the crowd, and gave the order again: "Sun Zushou!"

Sun Zushou stepped forward solemnly: "Your subject is here!" "Gather all the capable soldiers of Jizhou and bring them to the drill ground for a swearing-in ceremony!" Chongzhen's voice boomed like thunder. "I want to announce to them—one true enemy head will be exchanged for one hundred acres of farmland!"

He paused, then pulled out a waist tag for a personal guard from his waist and flashed it in front of everyone: "You can even serve as my personal guard!"

Then, his gaze turned to Zhang Weixian and Zhu Chunchen: "Duke of Yingguo and Duke of Chengguo, send your family retainers and servants as well... One head, one hundred acres... equal to the land you two families occupy!"

Zhang Weixian and Zhu Chunchen's expressions changed drastically, but under the emperor's piercing gaze, they ultimately dared not disobey and could only bow and accept the order.

On the training ground of Santunying, the autumn wind made the banners flutter. More than 10,000 soldiers from Jizhou stood in formation, most of them dressed in tattered clothes and their weapons were rusty. Some had to lean on their spears to stand, and some had half of their sleeves empty, but at this moment all their eyes were fixed on the figure in a plain white battle robe on the high platform.

Emperor Chongzhen's gaze swept over the emaciated soldiers, and seeing their sunken eye sockets and chapped lips, he felt a tightness in his chest.

"Soldiers of Jizhou!" Emperor Chongzhen's voice boomed across the drill ground. "I know you've suffered! You haven't seen your pay for thirteen months! Your rations have been embezzled at every level, and your wives and children at home are so hungry they're gnawing on tree bark and chewing on grass roots!"

The drill ground was deathly silent, save for suppressed breathing and low sobs.

"But I'm not here today just to distribute wages!" Chongzhen's voice suddenly rose. "I'm here to give you a chance to turn your lives around! A chance to earn a hundred acres of fertile land and bring glory to your ancestors!"

With a clang, a dragon's roar rang out, and a three-foot-long sword was drawn, pointing straight to the sky!
"I have investigated! The ones who breached the walls and invaded, causing havoc on my homeland of Jizhou, were not the Jianzhou Tartars! They were the ungrateful Doyan Guards outside the walls! They have already surrendered to the Jurchens and become their lackeys and henchmen!"

"I hereby issue this military order!" Emperor Chongzhen's voice boomed like thunder, each word striking deep into everyone's heart.
"One genuine enemy head in exchange for one hundred acres of prime military farmland! The deal will be hereditary!"

"One head in exchange for a personal guard badge! From now on, you'll be paid a royal salary and receive a generous wage. Whether you're in Jizhou or the capital, you'll be considered my personal guard!"

"Anyone who beheads three enemies will be granted the rank of a hundred-household commander! Their name will bring glory to their family!"

Deathly silence! A deathly silence!

Then, it erupted like a long-suppressed volcano!
"Long live! Long live! Long live!"

"Kill the Tartars! Exchange for land!"

"Death for His Majesty!"

A frenzied roar swept across the training ground like a tsunami, shaking the very earth. Those hunched bodies straightened instantly, their numb eyes replaced by blazing flames! Rusty swords and spears were gripped tightly; they had seized the chance to change their fate!
Emperor Chongzhen raised his hand, suppressing the deafening roar, and his voice suddenly became deep and powerful:
"Soldiers! Think carefully! If we don't wipe out these treacherous Doyan Tartars today, they will surely lead the Jurchens' iron hooves, bypass Ningjin Fortress, cross the Yanshan Mountains, and break in through the breach in the border wall of Jizhen!"

His gaze, sharp as a torch, swept across the excited and ferocious faces:
"At that time, it will be your parents who die! It will be your wives and children! The beautiful land of Jizhou will become a second Liaodong! Corpses will be strewn across the fields, and rivers of blood will flow!"

These words, like cold steel needles, instantly punctured the frenzied bubble, plunging everyone into anger and fear. The fervor to defend their homeland instantly overwhelmed their desire for land!
"So today!" Emperor Chongzhen raised his sword high, "you are not fighting for me! You are fighting for yourselves! For your parents, wives, and children! For every inch of this Ming Dynasty's land!"

"Kill! Kill! Kill!"

"Long live! Long live! Long live!"

A roar like a mountain collapsing and a tsunami surged into the sky once more, even more violent than before, the sound waves rolling and soaring straight into the clouds, even the distant mountains seemed to tremble!

Zhang Weixian and Zhu Chunchen stood to the side, their faces ashen and their lips tightly pressed together. They had never seen such a scene before—these soldiers, who should have been too hungry to even lift a knife, now had a burning flame in their eyes that sent chills down their spines.

Wei Zhongxian shrank back, and for the first time, an inexplicable fear arose in his cloudy old eyes as he looked at this young emperor. This young emperor... he actually possessed such methods!
(End of this chapter)