How can one be Emperor Chongzhen without money?

Chapter 70 The Prince's Mansion, Time to Serve! (Please read on and add to your favorites)
In the back hall of the Datong governor's office, the charcoal brazier was burning brightly.

Governor Zhang Zongheng, his face etched with worry, was discussing in hushed tones with Wang Zaijin, the Minister of War who had just arrived in Datong to inspect the border before the New Year. On the table lay account books and documents, the ink faded to gray, all detailing crucial matters concerning Datong—inspecting military settlements and verifying troop strength.

“Old Minister,” Zhang Zongheng said in a hoarse voice, pointing to a huge number in the ledger, “the occupation of military farms in Datong and the vacancy of military quotas are actually two sides of a bad debt.”

Wang Zaijin frowned, waiting for him to continue.

“Look,” Zhang Zongheng said with a wry smile, “the land has been taken over, especially the best irrigated land. Without the supplies from the military farms, how can we raise enough rations and pay? If the soldiers are not well-fed and clothed, will they not desert or starve to death? With more and more desertions, the troop quota will naturally be empty. Moreover, the higher-ups are not paying according to the troop quota, but rather with a heavy discount! The actual number of soldiers is even more insufficient. The generals will draw some salaries without actually serving... but not all of these salaries will go into their own pockets! They have to use a portion to support some truly capable guards, otherwise, how will they defend the border, how will they go beyond the border to fight the tigers and rabbits head-on?”

He lowered his voice: "The elite troops that General Li (Li Huaixin) and the Ma family generals took out to fight Hudun and Tuhan the other day... were all their hired thugs whom they had raised by selling their pots and pans! Where could they possibly find any decent soldiers from the regular army?"

Wang Zaijin sighed deeply. He knew a little about these things, but only after arriving in Datong and seeing them with his own eyes did he realize the deep-seated problems. He had done the math in his mind: Datong had a quota of 135,000 soldiers, and even if you halved that, there were still at least 60,000 in actual combat. The annual military pay, soldiers' and horses' provisions, plus the freezing weather, difficult roads, and staggering costs of transporting grain and beans… maintaining these 60,000 soldiers, if you really break it down, would cost at least two million taels of silver! Is this how the nine border regions and thirteen garrisons are being maintained? The foundation of the Ming Dynasty will be completely hollowed out!
The root of the problem lies in this land. The best land has all been taken!

“The Prince of Dai’s Mansion…” Zhang Zongheng uttered three words with difficulty, “…30%. 30% of the fertile land in Datong belongs to the Prince of Dai’s Mansion!” He added, “It’s not all forcibly seized; much of it was ‘bestowed’ and ‘requested’ by imperial decree throughout the ages. Given by the founding emperor, approved by the late emperor… in black and white, in ironclad decrees, it cannot be touched, old minister!”

Wang Zaijin's heart sank even further. He understood the reasoning! The Prince of Dai's Mansion had occupied Datong Town for over two hundred years, draining the land dry. The best land was under the Prince's name, and the rest was divided among the hereditary officials of the garrisons and military nobles. How much actually ended up in the hands of ordinary military households? Without returning the land, military settlements could not be established, and military pay would forever remain a pipe dream.

Moreover, eight and a half towns in Shanxi and Shaanxi (including Xuanfu Town, where most of the civil affairs work was carried out by Shanxi) among the nine border thirteen towns actually had similar problems—they were already in barren lands, and yet they were crammed together with a bunch of vassal kings.

These princes were originally supposed to lead the soldiers of the nine border regions to fight the Tartars. But ever since the Jingnan Campaign, the princes and their descendants have been kept in captivity... and they even seized the military farms that should have belonged to the border troops!
Without military settlements and with little military pay, these soldiers on the nine borders will rebel sooner or later!

Can the Ming Dynasty, this dilapidated ship, withstand even a storm?

Just as he was in a state of panic, his attendant rushed in, his face filled with anxiety: "Your Excellency, Your Excellency! The garrison eunuch, Eunuch Liu, has come to visit, saying there is something extremely urgent!"

Wang and Zhang's hearts skipped a beat. Without saying a word, they immediately stood up, straightened their sleeves, and hurried toward the second gate.

Upon reaching the second gate, they saw the garrison eunuch Liu Wenzhong approaching with a livid face and hurried steps. Beside him was another man, travel-worn and dressed in inconspicuous plain clothes—it was Xu Xianchun!
Wang Zaijin and Zhang Zongheng were both taken aback. Wasn't Xu Xianchun supposed to be stationed in the capital, overseeing the Northern Garrison? How did he manage to sneak off to Datong without a word?

Before they could even exchange greetings and ask questions, Liu Wenzhong's shrill voice pierced the winter's gloom: "Disaster! Minister Wang! Governor Zhang! That traitor, Duke Cheng, Zhu Chunchen, has infiltrated Datong!"

"What?!" Wang Zaijin and Zhang Zongheng's expressions changed drastically. Just as they were about to ask further questions, Xu Xianchun stepped forward and spoke rapidly: "This humble servant was ordered to investigate the case. We followed him with undercover agents and discovered that the traitor Zhu Chunchen, escorted by his trusted retainers, secretly slipped out of the capital. He entered Datong City the night before last and stayed at the outer residence of Pang Yugui, the chief eunuch of the Prince of Dai's residence! This morning, servants changed clothes and left the residence, their movements suspicious. This humble servant suspects that the traitor Zhu has probably already infiltrated the Prince of Dai's residence to hide!"

what……

Wang Zaijin felt a jolt in his head, his hands and feet turning ice-cold. Zhu Chunchen! Wasn't he supposed to be fleeing from punishment? How did he end up in Datong? And even sneak into the Prince of Dai's residence? What was Prince Zhu Naijun of Dai planning? To harbor a criminal? Could it be… a plot, a treason!?

Zhang Zongheng was terrified, his lips trembling. What was the state of Datong Town now? Outside, the armies of Hudun and Tuhan were still lurking, fighting was still raging in Xuanfu, and Dushikou was still under Han control! Inside the town, supplies were running low, and morale was wavering… Was the Prince of Dai hiding Zhu Chunchen at this crucial moment? Was this being revealed now because Datong was too stable, and they wanted to set things on fire?!

What to do? Take action against the Prince's residence? Search it? Forget about searching, even sending troops to monitor it would be stirring up a hornet's nest! The Prince of Dai is a descendant of the founding emperor, a prince of the first rank. Without solid evidence and an imperial edict, who would dare to touch him?
Their faces were frighteningly pale.

"Minister, Governor!" Xu Xianchun's deep voice instantly quelled their panic. "This matter is of utmost importance! I believe we must immediately send a secret report to the Emperor via the 600-li express courier! In addition to the report, we should also secretly strengthen the city's defenses under the pretext of preventing Tartar spies from infiltrating Datong and inciting unrest! Especially... the area around the Prince's residence!"

He emphasized the last four words. Yes! Wang Zaijin suddenly realized. A legitimate reason! He needed a proper reason!

“Eunuch Liu, Commander Xu is absolutely right!” Wang Zaijin immediately turned to the garrison eunuch Liu Wenzhong. “I trouble you to immediately take my Ministry of War token and Governor Zhang’s command arrow and quickly inform Ma Dengyun, the deputy commander of Datong, to immediately muster reliable troops under the pretext of guarding against enemy chieftains and spies! Martial law must be imposed throughout the city! Especially… in the area where the Prince of Dai’s residence is located, no idlers are allowed to gather or cause trouble! Strict checks must be conducted on those entering and leaving!”

He then said to Zhang Zongheng, "Governor Zhang, this is an urgent dispatch! Use the same document that Commander Xu submitted to the Emperor... We will affix our names and seals! In this urgent situation, we must act expediently and send it out immediately!"

"Good! Good!" Zhang Zongheng exclaimed repeatedly, as if waking from a dream.

No one dared to delay any longer. Liu Wenzhong took the token and command arrow and set off immediately. Xu Xianchun took out a secret memorial he had already written and sealed with sealing wax from his bosom and handed it to Zhang Zongheng. Wang Zaijin and Zhang Zongheng took it, signed their names without hesitation, sealed it in the emergency memorial box, and ordered their most trusted and reliable attendants to take the Ministry of War's official warrant and set off immediately!

The fast horse carried the secret memorial and sped away, heading straight for the capital.

……

Tsinghua University, in the western suburbs of Beijing.

As dusk fell, the Yihai Hall was brightly lit. Emperor Chongzhen, Zhou Yufeng, Tian Xiuying, and Madam Yuan sat around a table laden with simple home-style dishes and a steaming bowl of freshly stewed duck soup. It was a rare moment of relaxation.

Emperor Chongzhen had just taken a sip of soup, not yet swallowed, when he suddenly heard a series of hurried and chaotic footsteps outside the hall, accompanied by Xu Yingyuan's almost distorted scream: "Your Majesty! Your Majesty! Six hundred... six hundred li urgent dispatch! Datong Military Town!"

Clang! The spoon in Chongzhen's hand fell into the bowl, splashing soup all over his hand.

"Bring it in!" He stood up abruptly, not even bothering to wipe it.

Xu Yingyuan practically rolled in, carrying a tightly sealed casket with conspicuous chicken feathers stuck to its corner.

Chongzhen snatched it away, smashed off the sealing wax in a few swift movements, tore open the wax seal, and pulled out the memorial inside. It was written in Xu Xianchun's own handwriting, with the signatures and seals of Wang Zaijin and Zhang Zongheng! His gaze swept quickly across the memorial.

Emperor Chongzhen read those few lines three times.

"Zhu Chunchen... Pang Yugui... Prince Dai's Mansion... Good! Good! Very good!" Chongzhen suddenly looked up, his eyes bursting with joy, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but turn up.

Zhou Yufeng, who was holding a bowl, saw his expression and asked with concern, "Your Majesty, is it... bad news?"

"Bad news?" Chongzhen laughed loudly, his voice shaking the roof tiles. He slammed his hand on the table, making the dishes jump. He abruptly stood up:

"This is incredibly good news! It's our ancestors blessing our Great Ming Dynasty!"

He clutched the report and said, slowly and deliberately:
"The Prince of Dai's residence...it's time to serve!"

(End of this chapter)