Take control of Wei Zhongxian at the start and confiscate 100 million from him!

Chapter 77 Man Gui's Imagination and Shame (4K Chapters)
As the bell rang to signal the end of the court session, Zhu Youjian left the Wenhua Hall expressionlessly, leaving behind the silence and the lingering fear of the assembled ministers.

Qian Longxi and the others felt a great sense of relief, but then felt an even deeper chill rising from the soles of their feet.

Zhu Youjian did not return to the Qianqing Palace, but instead walked slowly along the palace road accompanied by his personal eunuch Wang Chengen.

“They are afraid.” Zhu Youjian’s voice was soft, yet it carried a power that pierced through people’s hearts.

Wang Chengen bowed and said, "Your Majesty's swift and decisive actions will naturally make even the most despicable people submit."

Zhu Youjian remained noncommittal, but gazed at the towering corner tower in the distance and said calmly, "The parasites in the court have kept quiet for now, and it's time to see the sword that guards the nation's gate for me."

He stopped and turned to Wang Chengen, instructing, "Summon Man Gui to the platform to see the Emperor."

Wang Chengen felt a chill run down his spine and immediately accepted the order and left.

……

The wind blew from the northwest corner tower of the Forbidden City, sweeping over the layers of glazed tiles, passing through the empty palace passage, and finally brushing against Man Gui's weathered face.

The wind was cold, like a knife.

But what was colder than the wind was his heart.

Since receiving that secret imperial edict and rushing to the capital day and night, Man Gui's heart has been sinking in ice water for the past two weeks.

He was confined to the reception hall and never left the premises. No one came to ask about him or care about him. He was like an old knife forgotten in a corner, waiting for a fate that was unknown—whether it would be sharpened or melted down.

Man Gui couldn't understand it.

What exactly does this young emperor, who has only recently ascended the throne, want to do?
I still remember that after the Battle of Ningjin, when the court was recognizing merits, Man Gui was promoted to Vice Commander-in-Chief for his contributions and received great favor from the emperor.

But in the blink of an eye, a new emperor ascended the throne, and a strongly worded edict was sent to the border town, admonishing Governor Wang Zhichen and criticizing him for his man Gui. The edict was full of warnings and distrust.

That imperial edict was like an invisible slap across the face of this man who had shed blood and broken bones for the Ming Dynasty.

He didn't understand the intricacies of court politics; he only knew that he was guarding the country's gates for the emperor. Yet the emperor said he was "catering to his superiors' wishes," implying that Man Gui was a snobbish and opportunistic man who only knew how to scheme.

Humiliation grew wildly in his heart like weeds, so he submitted a memorial requesting to return home due to illness.

But the emperor rejected it again, saying it was not allowed.

They neither believe nor let go.

What is this? The art of imperial rule?

Man Gui didn't understand, nor did he want to understand. He only felt stifled, as if a huge rock was blocking his chest, making it hard to breathe.

Today, he was finally invited into this sea of ​​red walls and golden tiles.

The eunuch leading the way was expressionless, his steps light and hurried, like a paper doll. The surrounding palace walls soared into the clouds, cutting the sky into neat, oppressive squares. Everything here exuded a suffocating sense of order and coldness that made him, a man accustomed to the battlefields and wilderness, feel suffocated.

Man Gui thought he would be taken to the Wenhua Hall or the Wuying Hall, and under the watchful eyes of the officials or the Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet, receive another admonition from the emperor.

However, the eunuch led him through the Qianqing Palace and towards a high platform at the back.

platform.

This was where the emperor secluded himself and summoned his trusted officials. It lacked the solemnity of the imperial court but possessed a more enigmatic intimacy.

Man Gui's heart grew increasingly uneasy.

He stepped onto the last step and saw the young emperor.

The emperor stood with his hands behind his back, gazing at the outline of the Western Hills in the distance. His figure appeared somewhat thin on the empty platform, but his solitary back exuded a composure beyond his years, as if he were carrying not a piece of clothing on his shoulders, but an entire sky!

"Your subject, Man Gui, pays his respects to Your Majesty."

Man Gui knelt on one knee, but Zhu Youjian did not turn around immediately. His voice came calmly, and seemed to drift in the wind.

"Man Gui, I know you harbor resentment."

It was direct and to the point, like a sharp sword drawn from its sheath, instantly piercing through all of Man Gui's prepared rhetoric.

Man Gui was taken aback, then prostrated himself and kowtowed: "Your subject dares not."

"I dare not, it's not that I didn't." Zhu Youjian slowly turned around, his gaze falling on him. "When I criticized you, you feigned illness in a fit of pique. When I summoned you to the capital, you thought I was going to settle scores with you."

Man Gui lowered her head even further, her forehead pressed against the cold stone bricks, and sweat had already soaked her temples.

Zhu Youjian did not continue the topic. He walked to a huge stone table in the center of the platform and gently flicked his sleeve.

"Get up. Come here and look at something."

Man Gui got up as instructed and walked to the stone table with a belly full of confusion and unease.

When he saw what was laid out on the stone table, the veteran general, who had spent half his life fighting in the midst of countless battles, suddenly had his pupils contract. It was a map.

A huge, detailed, yet incredibly eerie map of the northern frontier, from Shanhaiguan in Liaodong to Jiayuguan in the west, showing all the important border towns, Great Wall watchtowers, rivers, and mountain ranges.

But the map was marked with countless arrows and symbols that he couldn't understand, using cinnabar and ink.

What alarmed Man Gui even more was that the map not only marked the territory of the Ming Dynasty, but also the distribution, nomadic routes, and troop strength estimates of all Mongol tribes beyond the Great Wall, from the Khorchin grassland to Chahar and then to Tumed. The map was so clear that it was outrageous.

How...how did this come about?

"look here."

Zhu Youjian's finger landed on the northeast corner of the map, the location of Liaodong.

"Everyone thought that Huang Taiji was preparing for war in Shenyang, and that his next target was still the Ningjin line. The entire court, from the Minister of War to the generals of the border towns, was watching this area closely, right?"

Man Gui nodded. This was an unquestionable piece of military common sense. The main force of the Jurchens was in Liaodong. What else could they do but confront the Ningjin defense line head-on?
Zhu Youjian's finger stopped on a vast and desolate area north of Datong.

"They are all wrong."

The emperor spoke in a nonchalant tone.

Man Gui's heart stirred slightly, and he respectfully said, "Your Majesty, I know. Yesterday, the news spread throughout the court that Huang Taiji had led his army on a western expedition. Ligdan Khan of Chahar was defeated in one battle and fled westward in panic. Although this move can integrate the southern desert, the Jurchens have exhausted their troops on a long expedition and will surely be severely weakened. I'm afraid they will be unable to advance southward in the short term."

These words reflected the consensus of the vast majority of civil and military officials in the court. In their view, this was an internal struggle between the Later Jin and the Mongols, and the Ming Dynasty could sit back and watch the two fight, or even be happy to see it happen.

"Severely weakened?" Zhu Youjian let out a slight, cold laugh, as if mocking such a naive view. "Mangui, you are wrong. Defeating Ligdan Khan was never Huang Taiji's goal; that was merely a means to an end. His goal was to clear a path, a path straight into the heart of our Great Ming!"

Zhu Youjian's fingers were like a cold, sharp blade, starting from the Horqin Grassland and sweeping westward without hesitation, bypassing the entire fortified Liaoxi Corridor, before suddenly turning, like a venomous snake raising its head, pointing directly at Xuanfu and Datong!
"He will use a detachment to feign an attack on Ningjin, thus tying down the main force in Liaodong, while his main army, the real elite, will take advantage of the strength of the recently subjugated southern Mongolian tribes to march straight towards the capital from the west!"

Man Gui's mind went blank, and she could barely think.

The westward expedition to Chahar was just a pretext!
Its true purpose was to use the integrated Mongol forces to open up an offensive direction that the Ming Dynasty had never anticipated!
“This…” Man Gui’s voice was a little dry. He instinctively wanted to refute, but found himself speechless.

As a seasoned general who had been through many battles, he instantly understood the terrifying nature of this strategy!
The Guan Ning Jin defense line is like a sturdy shield, but it can only protect the front. If the enemy attacks from the flanks or the rear, what use is this sturdy shield?

"What about logistics?" he struggled to voice his final concern. "Although the western border wall of our Great Ming is not as strong as that of Ningjin, it is still heavily guarded. How can Huang Taiji's army sustain a prolonged battle outside our border wall?"

"Logistics?" Zhu Youjian's gaze turned icy cold. "When the Khorchin, Kharachin, and Tumed tribes all kneel at his feet, the entire southern grasslands will be his supply line! The Khorchin will offer him cattle and sheep, and the Tumed will act as his guides."

His army isn't on a distant expedition; it's strolling on its own pastures! They can amass strength and tear through our defenses at any unexpected pass! Then, Xuanfu will face not a harassing flanking force, but the entire Jurchen army descending upon us!

Man Gui stared blankly at the map, at the scarlet route drawn by the emperor's finger like the movement of a venomous snake. His mind raced, and the more he deduced, the more his heart sank, and cold sweat trickled down his palms.

Man Gui thought of the emperor's decree, which everyone thought was just a routine appeasement measure—to reward and provide relief to the various Mongol tribes.

Those tribes, the Khorchin, the Shubu... their locations!

In Man Gui's mind, the huge military map instantly became incredibly clear, as if illuminated by a bolt of lightning. The names of those tribes were no longer distant and vague symbols, but rather precise chess pieces, firmly stuck on that deadly westward route!
While the entire court, including himself, was secretly rejoicing over Huang Taiji's defeat of Ligdan Khan, thinking they could sit back and watch the tigers fight, the emperor had already seen through the real killing move behind it and prepared countermeasures in advance!

Those seemingly gentle "appreciation" and "trade" were by no means a pacification strategy to appease distant peoples!

The cold sweat no longer seeped out slowly, but instantly soaked through Man Gui's back. A chill from the depths of his bones made him tremble uncontrollably.

"Your Majesty...you...how could you..." His voice was hoarse, filled with unbelievable horror. Such a bold and accurate prediction was beyond human capability, almost like that of a ghost or god!
Zhu Youjian seemed to have anticipated this question, calmly withdrew his hand, and said indifferently, "For the past few months, I have not had a single day of rest. I have ordered the Embroidered Uniform Guard to collect all intelligence about Southern Mongolia, no matter the cost, even if it is just a single word."

He paused, "Two months ago, grain prices in Guihua City and its surrounding areas began to skyrocket for no apparent reason, far exceeding the usual levels. A month ago, the official silver of the Later Jin Dynasty and the finest sable furs, which should have been circulating in Liaodong, began to appear in large quantities in the trading markets of the Tumed and Khorchin tribes, who used these to exchange for ironware and salt."

Half a month ago, the secret agents of the Embroidered Uniform Guard in Liaodong risked their lives to send back news that a large amount of grain and fodder requisitioned by the Later Jin from Korea and its headquarters was not transported to the Ningjin front as usual, but was secretly transferred westward and its whereabouts are unknown.

Meanwhile, several key Taiji leaders of the Khorchin tribe suddenly began a large-scale requisition of cattle, horses, and fodder, far exceeding their own needs for the winter.

Zhu Youjian looked at Man Gui's stunned face, his gaze becoming incredibly profound, as if he could see through people's hearts: "A single piece of intelligence is one piece of evidence, but when grain prices, silver, the whereabouts of provisions, and the unusual movements of the tribes all point in the same direction—"

The emperor's voice deepened, each word like a boulder crashing into Man Guixin's heart:
"Huang Taiji is not on a distant expedition; he is using the resources of the entire Southern Mongolia to pave a carpet for his attack on the western route of our Great Ming! He is using money to buy people's hearts, using force to coerce them into submission, and then using the grain sold to them by the border people of our Great Ming to feed his iron cavalry that is about to march south! It is already obvious from which tiger will pounce!"

These words terrified Man Gui even more than the earth-shattering strategic simulation he had just witnessed.

This is not a wild guess, nor is it inspiration that came out of thin air!
Rather, it was a conclusion drawn from countless real, trivial intelligence gathered at great personal risk by countless people, which was personally sorted, deduced, and analyzed by this young emperor day and night, and was extremely cold-blooded!
At this moment, he truly saw the young emperor before him, and how chillingly far-sighted and capable of controlling the overall situation was hidden beneath his calm exterior!
The imperial edict that the court officials ridiculed as "womanly benevolence" and "waste of national funds," the edict that humiliated him and criticized him for pandering to the king's ministers... all of these things came together at this moment!
Wang Zhichen advocated for a full-scale defense of Ningjin. The emperor criticized him not because of personal grudges or imperial scheming, but because his strategic vision was far behind the emperor's from the very beginning!
He saw only walls, but the emperor saw the entire chessboard of the world!

Man Gui, unable to understand the emperor's strategy, and because of the ridiculous humiliation and the pride of a warrior, harbored resentment and almost became a real deserter!

A foolish soldier who was still sulking because his post had been moved, even though the commander had already pointed out the location of the decisive battle!

After the sudden realization, I felt a deep-seated fear and an overwhelming sense of shame.

What he feared was the emperor's all-knowing wisdom; what he felt ashamed of was his own shortsightedness and shallowness!

Man Gui had always thought he was facing a young monarch who needed to be mentored and assisted. Only now did he realize with horror that he was facing a strategic commander who truly had the entire border defense of the Ming Dynasty and even the world order in his heart!

(End of this chapter)