Ming Dynasty: Moral blackmail? I, Emperor Chongzhen, have no morals!

Chapter 80 The Guanningjin defense line is transformed into the Ningta bunker group defense line.

On the third day after Sun Chengzong arrived in Liaodong, Huang Taiji in Shenyang received the news.

"Abatai, are you saying that Sun Chengzong has returned to Liaodong?" Huang Taiji asked in surprise.

Sun Chengzong's first stint as commander-in-chief was in 1622, after the Ming army's disastrous defeat at the Battle of Guangning, when Xiong Tingbi, the Liaodong military commissioner, took command.

Governor Wang Huazhen retreated in disarray to Shanhaiguan. By this time, the Ming court had lost almost all of its territory outside the Great Wall. The capital was shaken. In this time of shock and desperation, Sun Chengzong, the teacher of Emperor Xizong and knowledgeable about border affairs, was sent to Liaodong.

During his four years as commander-in-chief of Liaodong, he implemented a prudent defensive strategy outside the Great Wall, constructing nine major cities including Ningyuan and forty-five fortresses, pushing the defense line forward by more than four hundred li, thus building the present-day Guan-Ning-Jin defense line. Later, due to the defeat in the Battle of Liuhe launched by Sun Chengzong, he was impeached by the eunuch faction led by Wei Zhongxian and forced to resign due to illness, thus ending his first term as commander-in-chief.

The second time Sun Chengzong served as the military governor of Liaodong was in the second year of the Chongzhen Emperor's reign. Huang Taiji bypassed the Mongol route and entered the pass, besieging the capital. Yuan Chonghuan, the military governor of Liaodong at the time, was imprisoned as a result. Sun Chengzong was reinstated and led the Ming army to counterattack Huang Taiji's capture of four cities inside the pass, including Yongping and Zunhua. The following year, he successfully recovered the four cities, achieving the great victory of Zunping and Yongping, driving the Jurchens out of the pass and stabilizing the situation once again.

Subsequently, Sun Chengzong ordered Zu Dashou to build Dalinghe City before advancing to Jinzhou. It was during this siege that Zu Dashou was besieged, leading to the defeat at Dalinghe. Officials in the court seized this opportunity to fiercely impeach him for "losing the army and disgracing the country," and Sun Chengzong eventually resigned in disgrace.

Now, in the twelfth year of the Chongzhen reign, Zhu Jian appointed Sun Chengzong as Minister of Military and Political Affairs and Commander-in-Chief of Liaodong for the third time, which shocked Huang Taiji.

They were also surprised that the Ming emperor had suppressed the impeachment by the censors, allowing Sun Chengzong to return to Liaodong ten years later!

What Huang Taiji was unaware of was that the majority of the Ming court's censors were now controlled by the eunuch faction appointed by Zhu Jian, and the remaining censors were engaged in a fierce struggle with the eunuch clique, leaving them no time to attend to other matters. Under the direction of Wang Dehua, the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, the Eastern Depot was searching everywhere for the remaining censors' dirty deeds, intending to use this information to suppress the remaining censor system...

The censorate system in the Ming Dynasty is now on the verge of collapse... This is exactly the result that Zhu Jian wanted to see!

"The intelligence came back from our spies in Jinzhou!" Abatai, a Qing army general at the front, said truthfully.

After hearing this, Huang Taiji paced back and forth in the hall. The Ming court was now acting completely out of the ordinary, and he had no idea what the Ming emperor was planning to do. During this time, Huang Taiji had reviewed all the information about the Ming court and the Ming emperor. He found that the Ming emperor did not consider the consequences of his actions at all. He was either killing people or on his way to kill people.

From Shanxi, Huguang, and Southern Zhili, to Shandong and the capital, the army slaughtered everyone in its path—princes, merchants, gentry, and officials—indiscriminately striking. This had reached the breaking point for Huang Taiji; in his view, the Ming emperors, despite reigning for over a decade, still did not understand the art of imperial checks and balances…

In Zhu Jian's eyes, as long as he held the reins, what was there for him to control? Those who obeyed prospered, those who resisted perished! He was too lazy to waste words; Confucianism, Mencius's teachings, and Neo-Confucianism were worth less than dog shit in Zhu Jian's eyes! If the emperor wanted to learn these things, he would be wasting his life!

After much deliberation, Huang Taiji slowly stopped in his tracks: "I understand! Didn't the Ming emperor say during the peace negotiations that we could exchange warhorses for salt? Let's exchange for salt enough for five hundred warhorses first! Let's test their attitude. Mention the other supplies as well!"

Huang Taiji used peace negotiations to lure the Ming court while simultaneously preparing for military action. This was a psychological tactic to harass the Ming court. If the Ming court didn't have a clear objective and remained indecisive about war, it would ultimately be dragged down and destroyed...

"yes!"

"This humble general will return to the front lines immediately and communicate with the Ming army in Jinzhou!" After saying this, Abatai turned around and quickly walked out of the Shenyang Palace, heading towards the front lines.

Two days later, the Jurchens arrived at Yizhou City with five hundred fine warhorses and sent messengers to Jinzhou to deliver a message.

Yizhou City was the original location of Dalinghe in the Ming Dynasty. Zu Dashou did not finish repairing it before it was besieged by the Jurchens. After the Jurchens occupied it, they continued to repair it, mainly to ensure the safety of the passage from Mongolia into the pass!

General Zu Dashou of Jinzhou stared blankly at the letter from Abatai requesting to exchange warhorses for salt, muttering to himself, "Peace talks? Grand Secretary Sun didn't mention peace talks? Why does Abatai want to exchange salt?"

When they were in Ningyuan, Sun Chengzong only mentioned repairing Ningyuan Tashan to defend against the Qing army, without mentioning any peace talks, which left Zu Dashou completely confused!

"Brother! Send the letter to Grand Secretary Sun! Whether it's war or peace, it has nothing to do with us!" Zu Dabi said from behind Zu Dashou.

Sun Chengzong is currently in charge in Liaodong. Since the court officials are focused on peace talks and trade, any impeachments they might face would be directed at Sun Chengzong, not them. Therefore, Zu Dabi thinks it's better to get rid of this hot potato to avoid implicating himself!

Zu Dashou nodded slightly after hearing this and handed the letter to Zu Dabi: "Deliver it to Tashan by express horse!"

As dusk fell, the setting sun cast its golden rays upon the lonely Tashan Fortress!

Groups of laborers are repairing Tashan Fortress and the satellite fortresses on either side of the newly built Tashan Fortress. The three fortresses are lined up in a row, connected by sentry posts and deep moats. In front of the three Tashan Fortresses, horse traps are being dug extensively to prevent cavalry attacks!

Tashan Fort is about sixty li away from Ningyuan City, in the middle. Sun Chengzong plans to build a new transit city to connect Tashan and Ningyuan, and build a gun emplacement and several sentry posts every five li around it for mutual support.

Just then, a shout shattered the tranquility of the construction site: "Report!"

A group of fast horses galloped to Sun Chengzong, who was supervising the construction at Tashan. The riders dismounted and knelt on one knee: "Reporting to Grand Secretary Sun, a letter from General Zu!"

Sun Chengzong strode forward, grabbed the letter, and began to read it. After reading it, he breathed a sigh of relief and thought to himself: This is the Eastern Barbarians trying to test us by wanting to establish trade, not a war!

Sun Chengzong gripped the letter in his hand, turned slightly to the side, and said in a deep voice, "Go tell Wu Sangui to send some salt to Jinzhou! Also, send some silk, tea, and porcelain!"

"yes!"

These items were all taken out of the imperial treasury by Zhu Jian when he came to Liaodong. They were all items confiscated in the capital and had not yet been used. They could be used to trade with the Jurchens or as silver for the construction of the Ningta fortress complex.

Originally, conscripting laborers did not require spending money, but Zhu Jian had already exempted them from corvée labor. If they were suddenly conscripted again, the court would lose credibility, which Zhu Jian felt would be a loss. So he asked Sun Chengzong to pay for the laborers. This would not only avoid the court losing credibility, but also encourage the people of Songshan and other places in Jinzhou to move south to build forts, and make them move south quickly!

When Zu Dashou, who was in Jinzhou, received Sun Chengzong's reply and supplies, he was quite surprised. Zu Dabi, who was standing next to him, asked curiously, "Brother, do you think this was Grand Secretary Sun's own decision, or was it tacitly approved by the court?"

Zu Dashou pondered for a moment, then slowly said, "It must have been tacitly approved by the imperial court!"

Zu Dabi nodded: "I think so too! The court wants to guard against the Qing army on one hand, and trade with them on the other. I really don't know what they're thinking!"

Zu Dashou also felt a bit strange after hearing this. Logically speaking, the court should be extremely opposed to trade, so how could it tacitly approve it?

After thinking for a long time without figuring it out, he waved his hand and said, "Never mind! Go and reply to Abatai! Tell him to send someone to trade five miles before Jinzhou!"

Zu Dashou didn't want to go too far, lest something unexpected happen. If Abatai didn't come, it wasn't his problem; after all, it was the Qing court that had proposed it...