Traveling through the late Ming Dynasty to promote Chinese civilization

Chapter 641 Preparing for Negotiation

Wen Tiren asked calmly, "Leaving aside whether Liu Ye's actions were appropriate, what could possibly give a general the confidence to blackmail the Vice Minister of War?"

Yang Sichang was momentarily speechless. The matter of peace negotiations was something only he and Emperor Chongzhen knew; even Grand Secretary Wen Tiren hadn't been informed. It was truly difficult to explain clearly. Little did he know, Wen Tiren had already learned of it from Liu Ye the previous night and was merely feigning ignorance.

It was Chongzhen who came to his rescue: "Let's not talk about that for now, Changqing. I called you here to discuss how to deal with Liu Ye. Wenruo is right. Liu Ye is indeed skilled in training troops and fighting battles, and he has made meritorious contributions. However, he even dares to threaten his own superior. The greater the power of such an arrogant person, the greater the harm he can cause. How should we deal with him?"

Wen Tiren thought to himself, "You two, the emperor and his minister, are secretly trying to negotiate peace with the Tartars. Such a big matter, and you didn't even consult the cabinet. Now you want me to clean up your mess? I'm not stupid. Besides, with Liu Ye's abilities and ambitions as an ally, anything is possible in the future. There's no need to undermine our own people for Yang Sichang's sake."

Yang Sichang said, "While the Grand Secretary is still considering, I'll offer a suggestion to get the ball rolling: Summon Liu Ye to the palace for an audience, and order the palace guards not to remove his sword. I suppose this fellow is entering the palace for the first time and doesn't know the rules. We can arrest him on the grounds of carrying a sword, and then decide whether to kill or punish him, it's all up to His Majesty..."

Upon hearing this, Wen Tiren realized that the plan was indeed insidious. Seeing that Chongzhen was somewhat tempted, he quickly dissuaded him: "Absolutely not! The Qionghai garrison is still outside the city. If we kill their leader after they have just achieved unparalleled merit, do we want to force this army to rebel?"

Yang Sichang asked in bewilderment, "If the commander dies, the army will surely be leaderless. Wouldn't it be a win-win situation to take over this powerful army then?"

Wen Tiren sighed, "Wen Ruo has only recently joined the Ministry of War and may not be aware of some things. The Qionghai Army was originally just a band of strongmen in the mountains and fields. They were recruited because they caused unrest in Guangdong. They were trained by Liu Ye from the beginning and are no different from his private army. They are used to being lawless and only Liu Ye himself can keep them in check. If he dies, who has the ability to subdue Qionghai Town?"

Yang Sichang was taken aback and lowered his head without saying a word.

Wen Tiren continued, "You only see the strength of the Qionghai garrison's land forces, but you forget that their navy is even more unparalleled. Even the late coastal defense guerrilla Zheng Zhilong was no match for them." He turned to Chongzhen, "Your Majesty, have you forgotten that a few hundred Japanese pirates crossing the sea could wreak havoc in Jiangnan? Have you forgotten that a few barbarian boats with cannons could render Fujian unable to sail? If the Qionghai garrison's navy were to rebel, the disaster would be far greater than that caused by the barbarians and Japanese pirates. Tell me, from Tianjin, Songjiang, Fuzhou to Guangzhou, which seaport can withstand their navy's powerful ships and cannons? Under the cover of the navy, the land forces can land from anywhere. How can we defend against them? Are we to build another Great Wall along the coast?"

Emperor Chongzhen broke out in a cold sweat. The Tartar invasion had already given him a huge headache; if Qionghai Town rebelled again, coupled with the bandits from the Central Plains, how could anyone survive? Should he impose additional taxes on Qionghai just to deal with them?

Frustrated, he asked, "What good plan does Changqing have?"

"I have no quick and effective solution either. I can only take it one step at a time. Perhaps we should have Wenruo sit down and talk with Liu Ye first to see what his true intentions are?"

Emperor Chongzhen paced back and forth for a while before saying, "I will do as you say. Not only will Wen Ruo go, but you will go too. After all, he is new to the country and not very familiar with the affairs of the Ministry of War. You have been in the central government for a long time, so please help him out and make sure he doesn't fall into Liu Ye's trap."

Wen Tiren replied calmly, "Your subject obeys."

Yang Sichang replied somewhat aggrievedly, "Your subject obeys the decree."

After the two men left, Chongzhen asked Wang Chengen, "Wang, you heard the whole story. What's your opinion?" In his view, eunuchs were his servants and could not possibly have any disloyal intentions. They were more reliable than civil and military officials and had a more objective view of things. He thought that listening to his opinion might offer some insights.

Wang Chengen cautiously replied, "Your Majesty, if I may be so bold as to speak, Lord Yang's peace negotiations seem rather unreliable. If the Tartars had the strength to invade the Central Plains, why would they genuinely want to negotiate peace with the Ming Dynasty..."

“This is none of your business!” Chongzhen interrupted him impatiently. “Let’s talk about Liu Ye.”

Wang Chengen lowered his head, "Yes, yes, yes, I was too talkative." He sorted out his thoughts and carefully chose his words, "As the saying goes, 'Civil officials love money, and military officers fear death.' Whether it's Lord Yang or General Liu, they both have their own agendas. I think the peace negotiations are of great importance, and General Liu's insubordination is too outrageous. These two matters are intertwined, and Your Majesty should not listen to either of their side of the story. Besides sending Grand Secretary Wen to participate, you can also send an envoy from the palace..."

"Yes, how come I didn't think of that?" Chongzhen suddenly realized. "What you said makes a lot of sense. We'll select someone from the Directorate of Ceremonial to listen in. Their rank can't be too high or too low, so let's find a junior eunuch! Also, summon Luo Yangxing, and the Embroidered Uniform Guard should keep a close eye on him secretly..."

Although he admired Yang Sichang's talent, he both loved and hated Liu Ye, who was a skilled warrior but arrogant and domineering. However, as his subject, he could not judge based on personal likes and dislikes. He could not distrust him completely, nor could he completely trust him. Using appropriate means to check and balance him was also a kind of imperial strategy.

Upon returning home, Wen Tiren immediately sent someone to the military camp to inform Liu Ye that they would meet that evening at a brothel in the south of the city to discuss important matters. Since the emperor had arranged for him to participate in the discussions, he needed to devise a strategy with Liu Ye to deal with Yang Sichang in order to maximize his role as an "insider." However, at this sensitive time, receiving Liu Ye at home was no longer appropriate; there were undoubtedly many eyes watching him, and his comings and goings from his residence would expose their relationship. Therefore, he chose to meet at a place far from the Wen residence.

Liu Ye was naturally aware of the implications. After receiving the notification, he and a few others disguised themselves and quietly slipped out of the military camp after dark.

No sooner had he left than a large group of people rushed into the military camp. Xu Yifan was leading his soldiers back to camp after finishing their daily routine drills when he saw this large group trying to break into Liu Ye's residence. He stepped forward and shouted, "Halt! Who dares to trespass into my Qionghai Army camp?"

The leader shouted, "Is it Commander Xu? It's me!"

Xu Yifan looked up in the dim light of the lantern and saw that it was Lin San. He quickly stepped forward and asked, "Lin San, it's you! Where have you been all this time? Why haven't you come back?"

Lin San sighed and said, "It's a long story. Yang Sichang of the Ministry of War tried every means to prevent me from leaving the city and even tried to find a pretext to frame me. Fortunately, the Grand Secretary secretly protected us and arranged for us to be placed in a safe place..."