How can one be Emperor Chongzhen without money?

Chapter 53 Wei Zhongxian: I'll Borrow Your Head for a Purpose (Please Read and Add to Your Favorites)
Tiger Mound Rabbit Sweat is truly enraged this time!

He, Lindan Batur, the mighty Genghis Khan, a direct descendant of the Golden Family, actually dared to confront a Ming Dynasty eunuch at the gates of Xuanfu? Winning would be dishonorable, but losing... ugh! Absolutely impossible!
It's one thing if they can't defeat Nurhaci and Huang Taiji, but if they can't even defeat Wei Zhongxian...

Besides, didn't Wang Dengku's family say that a mutiny was imminent in Xuanfu and that the army's morale was low? How come they've suddenly become so fierce? Arrows rained down from the city walls, suicide squads charged like tigers, and there was that conspicuous banner of the Directorate of Ceremonial... This isn't a mutiny; it's clearly something they've been preparing for!
"Wang Dengku's nephew!" Hudun Tu Khan suddenly turned his head, his eyes flashing with ferocity. "And Wang Shiqin's retainer... what's his name? Bring them all here to me!"

"Yes, Great Khan!" The guards pounced on the back of the tent like ferocious tigers.

Before long, Wang Youcai, a distant nephew of Wang Dengku, and Wang Degong, a trusted retainer of Wang Shiqin, the deputy commander of Xuanfu, were dragged like dead dogs to the front of the golden tent and forced to kneel in the snow. The two men were ashen-faced and trembling all over.

"Speak!" Hudun Tu Khan roared, his face contorted with murderous rage. "Didn't you say that the Xuanfu mutineers were refusing to pay their wages, had no fighting spirit, and were just waiting for me to arrive so you could break through the city?! And now?! Who's that on the city wall?! What kind of flag is that?! Wei Zhongxian! The Grand Eunuch of the Ming Dynasty's Directorate of Ceremonial is right here in the city! He's feeding the border troops with silver and using muskets and spears to slaughter my warriors!"

He leaned down, his shadow completely enveloping the two trembling men, his voice chilling and murderous: "Tell me, what's going on?! Your mutiny?! Your easy defeat?! Huh?!"

Wang Youcai was already terrified. Wang Degong forced himself to remain calm, his forehead slamming heavily against the snow: "Your Majesty, please calm down! This...this must be a delaying tactic by that eunuch Wei! He has temporarily suppressed those scoundrels! But Xuanfu has been owed wages for more than a day or two, and the morale of the army has long been in chaos! Wei can suppress them for a while, but not forever!"

He suddenly looked up, his eyes gleaming with cunning: "Great Khan! Now is the perfect opportunity! Wei Zhongxian's personal arrival shows how much the Ming Emperor values ​​this place! Why doesn't the Great Khan use his military might to send envoys into the city to negotiate with him? Demand the market rewards owed over the years! As long as he's willing to give us silver and grain, the Great Khan can temporarily retreat and wait for them to descend into chaos..."

Tiger Mound Rabbit Khan was tempted. He had come to plunder, and if he could take advantage of the chaos to storm into the outer city of Xuanfu and loot it, and then force the Ming court to submit, that would be the best outcome; if not, he could accept the next best option.

The Lama Choerji, who had been meditating with his eyes closed, suddenly opened his eyes and clasped his hands together: "Amitabha! Great Khan, General Wang is absolutely right! Wei Zhongxian is a confidant of the Ming Emperor, wielding great power, yet he is greedy and cowardly! Now that he is in danger, he must want to live! This humble monk is willing to go to Xuanfu in person to meet Wei Zhongxian, explain the situation, and demand that he make up for the lost reward and promise to restrain the border generals from killing my troops again!"
If he agrees, the Khan can withdraw his troops, gaining both practical benefits and prestige!

Tiger Mound Rabbit Sweat's chest heaved as he stared intently at the glaring banner atop the city wall, then glanced at the two trembling figures at his feet and the confident lama. He also thought it was a brilliant plan. Wei Zhongxian must be terrified by the Yuan army, forced to fight desperately to survive. If given a chance to buy his life, he wouldn't hesitate. It was simply a matter of the price.

They might not be able to agree to 300,000 taels of silver and 100,000 shi of grain, but they could still squeeze out 100,000 taels of silver and 30,000 shi of wheat.

Moreover, this deal wasn't a loss for Wei Zhongxian either; once his own troops withdrew, he could lie to the Ming emperor and report a great victory.

Having grasped the crux of the matter, Hudun Tuhan straightened up abruptly, taking a deep breath: "Alright! As you say, Great Lama! You prepare immediately, take this Khan's golden arrow into the city! Tell Wei Zhongxian—"

His voice suddenly rose, carrying the murderous aura of a steppe overlord: "Either hand over 300,000 taels of silver and 100,000 shi of grain, make up for the market reward, swear never to invade my tribe again, and severely punish Sun Zushou and Zu Dashou! I will immediately withdraw my troops! Or... I will flatten Xuanfu and use Wei Zhongxian's head as a sacrifice to my flag!"

……

The West Gate Tower of Xuanfu Town.

A cold wind, carrying the stench of blood, swept across the battlements, causing Wei Zhongxian's sable cloak to flutter loudly. He gripped the bricks with both hands, his eyes fixed on the outside of the city—the Mongols, after their initial attack failed, did not launch another assault, nor did they retreat; instead, they loosened their encirclement.

"Grandfather!" Du Xun ran up quickly, "The Tartars... Tiger Mound Rabbit Khan has sent an envoy!"

Wei Zhongxian didn't even lift his eyelids: "Who?"

"Chorji Lama!" Du Xun swallowed hard. "The Imperial Preceptor of Hudun Tu Khan! He came with a golden arrow, saying he wants to meet with the Ancestral Master to negotiate peace!"

"Peace talks?" Wei Zhongxian's lips curled into a smirk. "Let him come up here."

……

Before long, Lama Choerji, dressed in a crimson robe and wearing a golden-topped rooster-shaped hat, held aloft a gold-inlaid wolf-tooth arrow in both hands and steadily ascended the tower, accompanied by two bodyguards. His face was solemn and holy, resembling that of a highly enlightened monk.

Nine steps away from Wei Zhongxian, Choerji stopped, bowed, and loudly proclaimed in broken Chinese: "Chorji, the Imperial Preceptor before the Great Yuan Khan Hutuktu Khan, pays respects to Eunuch Wei, the Grand Eunuch of the Ming Dynasty's Directorate of Ceremonial! I have come to deliver a decree from my Khan with his golden arrow!"

Wei Zhongxian sat imposingly, not even glancing at him: "Speak." Choerji took a breath, his tone suddenly rising, carrying a condescending compassion: "Eunuch Wei! Our Khan is merciful and cannot bear the suffering of the people, so he has specially sent his foreign minister to negotiate peace and end the war!"

He paused briefly, glanced at the grim-faced guards on the city wall, and continued, "As long as you agree to three things, my Khan will immediately withdraw his troops and ensure lasting peace in Xuanfu and Datong!"

"Oh?" Wei Zhongxian finally raised his eyes, a half-smile on his face. "Which three?"

Choerji straightened his back and said loudly:
"Firstly, the Ming Dynasty will make up for the market rewards owed over the years with 300,000 taels of silver and 100,000 shi of grain!"

"Secondly, severely punish the culprits in the murder of the Duoyan Guard by the Jizhou Garrison—Sun Zushou and Zu Dashou!"

"Thirdly, we shall make a covenant and oath to bind the border generals and ensure they never invade our Mongol tribes!"

Actually, the conditions proposed by the lama are not unnecessarily negotiable... The Chahar tribe and the Ming Dynasty's Liaodong garrison have been fighting and negotiating for years, always making an exorbitant demand first and then waiting for a counter-offer.

Moreover, the Ming Dynasty's Liaodong garrison has never killed any Chahar envoys in all these years, otherwise, how would this lama dare to come?
But today he encountered Eunuch Wei, who had no intention of negotiating at all—if Wei Zhongxian agreed to any of these three conditions, he would be beheaded when he returned!
What's the point of discussing this? Are we talking about how to cut off your own head?
It's no exaggeration to say that everyone in Xuanfu Town is open to negotiation, except for Wei Zhongxian... For Wei, the best course of action is to tie the entire Xuanfu Town to his own war machine and fight Hudun Tuhan to the bitter end!

Wei Zhongxian listened quietly, then suddenly burst out laughing. His laughter grew louder and louder, his shoulders shook, and he patted the armrest, tears welling up in his eyes.

Choerji's expression changed slightly: "Why is Eunuch Wei laughing?"

Wei Zhongxian's laughter abruptly stopped, his face instantly turning grim. He slowly rose, approaching Choerji step by step, his old eyes fixed on the man, his voice low but each word chilling: "I laugh at you... for being courting death!"

He raised his hand and pointed to the dark red ice mound below the city—left behind by the first wave of Mongol soldiers: "That bastard Hudun Tu Khan just killed dozens of dogs under our city walls. The blood hasn't even dried yet, and he sends you, you bald monk, to demand silver? Grain? And to punish our Heavenly Dynasty's general?"

Wei Zhongxian's voice rose sharply: "Who do you think we are?! Do you think Xuanfu is a vegetable market?! You think you can haggle like this?! Men, take it away!"

Startled by this outburst, Choerji took a step back, his face turning pale: "Eunuch Wei! In times of war, envoys are not to be killed! This is..."

"Bullshit!" Wei Zhongxian spat at his feet. "What two countries?! The Great Yuan? It's been dead for over two hundred years! What kind of thing is Hudun Tuhan? Does he even deserve to be called 'two countries' with our Great Ming? He's a stray dog, a bandit leader!"

He waved his hand and shouted sharply, "Guards!"

"Present!" The four guards responded with their swords drawn.

"Tie up this bald monk who's spreading heresy..." Wei Zhongxian pointed a finger, his eyes flashing with malice, "Tie him up! Tie him to the flagpole at the west gate!"

"How dare you!" Choerji was terrified and screamed, "This humble monk is the Grand Preceptor of the Great Yuan Dynasty! I have come with a golden arrow! You...you..."

The Jingjun soldiers pounced on him like ferocious tigers, quickly binding him like a dumpling, tearing his robe, and causing his monk's hat to fall to the ground, where it was stepped on by their military boots.

"A golden arrow?" Wei Zhongxian bent down to pick up the gold-inlaid wolf-tooth arrow, weighed it in his hand, and sneered, "Scrap metal!" He casually tossed it away, and the golden arrow arced down from the city wall and disappeared into the snow.

"Drag him away!" Wei Zhongxian flicked his sleeve.

Choerji Lama was dragged like a dead dog toward the flagpole of the West Gate Tower, his howls distorted in the cold wind: "Wei Zhongxian! You dare kill me! My Khan will slaughter the entire Xuanfu! Leave no one alive! Buddha will punish you! You will die a horrible death..."

(End of this chapter)