Traveling through the late Ming Dynasty to promote Chinese civilization

Chapter 584: Before fighting against the outside world, one must first make peace with the inside

The capital city, the Forbidden City, the Golden Palace.

At this moment, Emperor Chongzhen was summoning his civil and military officials to discuss a plan to repel the enemy, and the atmosphere in the hall was very oppressive.

The Jurchens have been invading the Great Wall for almost two months, capturing prefectures and counties one after another. The government troops in Beizhili have suffered repeated defeats and are simply no match for them. Since the Jurchen invasion, Emperor Chongzhen has not slept soundly, his eyes bloodshot. Suppressing his frustration and anger, he asked his officials, "The Jurchens are rampant, martial law is in effect in the capital, and I watch helplessly as the people of Beizhili suffer terribly. Do any of you have a good plan to repel the enemy?"

Wang Jiayan, a supervising secretary of the Ministry of Personnel, stepped forward and said loudly, "Your Majesty, the Jurchens invaded, causing immense suffering and shock to the imperial tombs. I, the soldier in charge of military affairs, stood by and did nothing to help. I should be punished."

As Minister of War, Zhang Fengyi was primarily responsible for devising resistance strategies. However, he was mediocre and lacked effective solutions, leading to a chaotic and ineffective response. He could only watch helplessly as the Jurchen chieftain Ajige led his army in rampages, unable to stop them. Now, hearing Wang Jiayan openly impeach him, he was speechless. It wasn't that he was indifferent; he simply didn't know any way to force the Tartars to retreat beyond the Great Wall.

Emperor Chongzhen frowned and replied, "Expelling the Jurchens is the top priority right now. Whether this soldier should be punished can be discussed after the battle." He was also dissatisfied with Zhang Fengyi's performance, but for the time being, he could not find a more suitable candidate for the position, so he would just have to deal with it for now.

Zhang Fengyi's eyelids twitched as he heard this. "We'll discuss it after the war." There was a hidden meaning in those words. Could it be that the emperor's dissatisfaction with him had reached its limit and he was just waiting for the Tartars to retreat before settling accounts with him?

No, he had to seize the initiative and salvage his image in the emperor's eyes. After weighing the pros and cons, Zhang Fengyi gritted his teeth, stepped forward, and said, "Your Majesty, I humbly request to leave the capital to oversee the army. I will not return to the capital until the Jurchens withdraw their troops!"

This request came as a surprise to everyone. Neither the civil nor military officials expected that this mediocre Minister of War would have such courage, and Emperor Chongzhen was also surprised that Zhang Fengyi would volunteer.

After the initial surprise, Chongzhen was quite pleased. In any case, the fact that the soldier dared to leave the capital to command the troops and drive out the Tartars was commendable. He immediately granted the request: "Since this soldier has volunteered, I grant it. I also order Liang Tingdong, the governor of Xuanfu and Datong, to go and provide reinforcements despite his crimes. We will support each other and I hope you will not hesitate to ask me to do so and defeat the enemy as soon as possible."

Liang Tingdong was the former Minister of War, appointed in the third year of the Chongzhen Emperor's reign. While his abilities were considered decent, his character and conduct were questionable, leading to repeated impeachments. He was dismissed after only a year in office. Last year, he was reinstated, succeeding Yang Sichang, who was in mourning, as Right Vice Minister of War and concurrently Right Censor-in-Chief, overseeing military affairs in Xuanfu, Datong, and Shanxi. The Tartar invasion passed through his territory without resistance, advancing unimpeded. The Chongzhen Emperor was very displeased, but with a formidable enemy at hand, replacing the border governor would undermine morale. Therefore, he had no choice but to allow Liang Tingdong to redeem himself by leading troops from Xuanfu and Datong to reinforce Beizhili.

Zhang Fengyi sighed inwardly, “Repel the enemy in a day”, it was easy to say, but could he really defeat tens of thousands of Tartar troops just like that? However, he dared not say more on this topic, and wanted to avoid the impeachment in the court first.

The Minister of War volunteered to lead the troops, but apart from that, none of the officials offered any good suggestions. After the court session, Chongzhen returned to the Qianqing Palace in a sullen mood.

Seeing that he was in a bad mood, Wang Chengen dismissed the palace maids and eunuchs in the hall, thinking that he should choose something to tell His Majesty to make him happy, otherwise his gloomy mood every day would really harm his health.

After thinking for a long time, Wang Chengen remembered that Yang Sichang, the former governor of Xuanfu and Datong who had been deprived of his mourning period by imperial decree, had returned to the capital and requested an audience with the emperor. He thought that telling the emperor this news might distract him.

Wang Chengen: "Yang Sichang, the former Right Vice Minister of War and Governor-General of Xuanfu and Datong, has returned to the capital and requested an audience with the Emperor. Does Your Majesty wish to summon him?"

Upon hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen was greatly encouraged and immediately said, "Wenruo has returned to the capital? Summon him to an audience immediately."

Even before his parents passed away, Yang Sichang enjoyed the trust of Emperor Chongzhen. His father, Yang He, was punished for his failed campaign against bandits, but this did not diminish his favor with the emperor. Within a few years, he rose through the ranks, serving as the Military Supervisor of Shanhaiguan, the Right Vice Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate concurrently serving as Governor of Shanhaiguan and Yongping Prefecture, and the Right Vice Minister of War concurrently serving as Governor-General of Xuanfu, Datong, and Shanxi. Had he not returned home to observe mourning for both his parents, the position of Minister of War might not have belonged to Zhang Fengyi. Emperor Chongzhen, distressed by the lack of capable military leaders in the court, issued an edict to expedite Yang Sichang's return to the capital.

Soon after, Yang Sichang entered the palace and was taken to the Qianqing Palace by eunuchs. At this time, he held no official position, was dressed in plain clothes, and knelt down to kowtow and pay his respects: "Yang Sichang of Wuling greets Your Majesty."

Emperor Chongzhen quickly raised his right hand in a gesture of respect, indicating that he should rise. "There is no need for such a grand gesture for someone of your weak character. I have issued an edict to summon you back to the capital, which is of great importance. Guards, bring a seat."

Yang Sichang was naturally aware of this, but he still had to maintain appearances. After repeatedly declining, he finally sat down at the small table that the eunuch had brought over.

Emperor Chongzhen's greatest worry was the invasion of the Tartars, but he had no one to discuss countermeasures with. Now that Yang Sichang had arrived, it was as if he had found a kindred spirit. He confided his innermost thoughts and asked, "The Tartars are invading. Do you have any good strategies? Also, I am thinking of sending Hong Chengchou, Lu Xiangshan, and others north to guard the capital region. What do you think?"

Yang Sichang pondered for a moment, but instead of answering Chongzhen's question directly, he asked in return, "I have something to say, but I don't know if I should say it or not?"

Emperor Chongzhen nodded repeatedly: "Speak frankly, there's no need to worry."

Yang Sichang cleared his throat and began to speak eloquently: "Your Majesty, the overall situation of the world is like the human body. The capital is the brain, the towns of Xuan and Ji are the shoulders and arms, and the Central Plains south of the Yellow River and north of the Yangtze River are the heart. Now, the situation is that the flames of war have appeared outside the shoulders and arms, and they are spreading rapidly; while the bandits are causing havoc in the heart, and they are deeply affecting us. While we cannot delay dealing with external threats, we cannot ignore internal troubles, because they are spreading poison to the heart. If we allow 'poison to spread in the heart, causing internal organs to fester and the vital essence to dry up day by day,' what use are the shoulders and arms if we have only these?"

The meaning of this statement is clear: the Tartar invasion is an acute ailment, while the roving bandits are a more pressing threat. It is evident that Yang Sichang did not agree with the decision to send Hong Chengchou, Lu Xiangshan, and other key figures in the anti-bandit campaign northward.

Emperor Chongzhen paused for a moment, then said, "The roving bandits ravaging the Central Plains are indeed a major threat, but the Jurchens are causing trouble in the capital region, we can't just ignore it, can we?"

Yang Sichang replied, “I have three strategies to offer: First, to repel foreign aggression, we must first secure the internal situation; second, sufficient food is necessary before we can have sufficient troops; and third, protecting the people is essential to defeating the bandits.”

Emperor Chongzhen perked up and said, "I would like to hear the details."

"The saying goes, 'To repel external aggression, one must first pacify the internal.' We can feign compliance with the Jurchens, use peace talks to restrain them, stabilize the situation in the capital, and then concentrate our forces to suppress the bandits. Once this threat to our heart is removed, the Jurchens are nothing more than a minor ailment. Whether we fight or make peace, we can deal with them calmly."