Chapter 29: Paying Silver (1)

  The backyard garden of the Governor's Mansion in Northern Zhili has something different, set up like a martial arts hall, with eighteen kinds of weapons such as swords and spears displayed on both sides, several servants standing beside the weapons, looking at someone practicing martial arts in the middle of the field.

  Looking at the man in the middle, what a fine physique, broad shoulders and long arms, tiger's back and bear's waist. On a cold winter day, he wore a short jacket, holding a full-body iron-made guandao knife. His movements were strong and powerful, his knife guarding his whole body as fast as lightning. The eyes of the crowd of family guards were dazzled and their minds were shaken.

  Suddenly, a yamen runner hastily walked in and reported to the person practicing swordplay: "Master Prefect, there is a group of commoners outside the gate seeking an audience."

  The one who was practicing swordplay was originally a provincial governor, wasn't he a civil officer? But no matter how you look at him, he seems like a military general.

  He suddenly stopped his movement, not panting at all, calm and composed, and asked the official: "Do you know what this is about?"

  "The plaque has arrived, inscribed with 'Lu Qingtian', sir."

  Lu Zhi Fu threw the crescent moon knife in his hand to the house servant by his side and said: "Go, go to the gate."

  "Does the master want to change his clothes?" The bailiff hesitated a little.

  "It doesn't matter, it's nothing official, just a casual visit, I'll lead the way." The magistrate said as he walked.

  The servant who caught the knife stumbled, and just managed to catch it. One of his companions jeered: "You can't even catch a knife properly, you're useless." Then he followed Lu Zhifu and ran off. Faintly heard from behind was the servant who had caught the knife arguing: "You try it, a 140-jin knife, see if you can catch it!"

  The people at the gate of the prefecture's office saw the prefect come out, and they all bowed down to the ground, presenting their nameplates. Prefect Lu cupped his hands in greeting to the people: "My predecessor, Prefect Guan, was corrupt and lawless, colluding with local bullies to oppress the weak, engaging in forced buying and selling, bringing harm to the countryside. I have only done my duty as prefect, and I am ashamed to accept the praise of being a just official."

  Just as they were at a stalemate, a fast horse came from afar, shouting from a distance: "The Jurchen invaders have invaded the capital, the Emperor has issued an edict to the whole country to defend the king."

  Lu Zhi Fu immediately stopped worrying about whether to accept the plaque or not, and directly accepted it. He politely sent the villagers away and then quickly grabbed the person who had brought the plaque to ask him what was going on.

  After inquiring about the situation, he immediately ordered the county magistrates and the deputy commander of the military preparations to come and discuss the matter of saving the king.

  At this time, a family servant advised: "Your Excellency, you are only the Vice Commissioner of Shandong and the Magistrate of Daming Prefecture, in charge of one prefecture and handling criminal cases. Assisting the king is a matter for military generals..."

  He didn't even let the family servant finish speaking, and directly interrupted: "I, Lu Xiangsheng, have deeply received your kindness. Now that you are in trouble, how can I not help with national difficulties due to differences between civil and military affairs? There's no need for more words, hurry up and pass on the order."

  On the fifteenth day of the eleventh month in the second year of Chongzhen, the sky had already darkened, and even the most diligent people had returned home to eat and rest. However, in the Wenhua Hall of the Imperial City, the lights were still shining brightly, and the eunuchs outside stood upright, motionless, as if unaffected by the howling north wind. From the window paper of the grand hall, several figures could be faintly seen, but only one voice echoed within, sounding a bit lonely in the silence.

  "I see that you are all well-versed in poetry and rhetoric, each one more skilled than the last. But when it comes to actual events, all you can do is boast and brag. What 'building a nest' won't take a detour, what 'following the rules' will hold firm without issue - which one of these statements has been proven accurate?"

  The Chongzhen Emperor stood behind the imperial desk, his body leaning forward, and his angry voice echoed in the hall: "Look, now you've been slapped in the face! The bandits have invaded Jizhou, successively occupying Sanhe, Xianghe, and Shunyi. These places didn't even put up a decent resistance, and there are even officials who have defected to the bandits!"

  The chief assistant Han Zhen knew that the Chongzhen Emperor was referring to him. Although he was old and thick-skinned, he couldn't withstand the repeated slaps in the face, so he knelt down: "I am guilty!"

  Other cabinet ministers and six departmental chiefs saw that the chief assistant had knelt down, so they also knelt down together.

  The Chongzhen Emperor seemed to have not seen them all kneeling down, and continued to vent his anger and helplessness: "What are the troops I've raised for? Are they all just pigs, placed there to be slaughtered by the Li Zicheng one by one? Even if they were afraid, wouldn't they last a bit longer than this?"

  The people kneeling below did not dare to argue a single sentence, fearing that they would bring disaster upon themselves.

  "Moreover, there are several memorials here impeaching the Minister of War: The enemy has bypassed and attacked Zhuozhou, secretly crossed into Jizhou, and now has successively occupied several places in the western suburbs. Previously, we had no knowledge of this at all, so that we were forced to respond passively, resulting in a difficult situation. What is the opinion of the Grand Council?"

  The several ministers below raised their heads, looked at each other, and finally stared at Han Yu, then lowered their heads again without speaking. Han Yu knew from their appearance that he was being asked to take the lead, after all, he was the chief assistant.

  "Your Majesty, the Cabinet's intention is to have the officials discuss and decide on the punishment." Han Zong said.

  "Approved!" The Chongzhen Emperor agreed succinctly, really being too incompetent.

  After a while, one of the people kneeling was missing. This was also an expected thing, as the capital was in crisis and the Minister of War would definitely have to take responsibility for leading the defense against the invading enemy.

  Chongzhen Emperor had been playing a solo show for so long, it was getting a bit boring. After venting his anger, he felt a little better and stopped talking. He flipped through the other memorials on the imperial desk, but as soon as he did, another wave of rage surged up: "And what's more, I don't care about face, I issue an edict to call for loyalist troops, but who comes? Every single one of these loyalist armies is a bunch of bandits, almost all of them are just looting their way here, looting my people. What's the difference between this and building a den of thieves?"

  Chongzhen Emperor threw the several memorials in front of everyone: "Take a look, these are all memorials from various counties along the way, accusing his troops of being like bandits, and wherever they pass, chickens and dogs are not at peace. The generals of each department defended themselves by saying that they had not been paid for several months, and also said that if the court did not pay again, the troops would disintegrate. What does the Ministry of Revenue say about this?

  The Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, Bi Ziyuan, styled Jingceng and also known as Baiyang, kneeled down to pick up the memorial and flipped through it before responding to Emperor Chongzhen: "Your Majesty, most of the provinces have already been issued their salary silver, but due to the Ministry of Revenue truly having no more silver, only half was issued. Only Gansu and Shaanxi provinces have not yet received theirs."

  "It is now deep autumn, and all the troops have come to support the king. Can they be issued with the back pay that is owed to them?"

  "Your Majesty, it is not that I am unwilling, but there is actually no silver to be issued. Last month, 100,000 taels of silver were allocated for the Liaodong military expenses and another 100,000 taels for the cost of cannons from Macau Portugal. The remaining silver is still insufficient for the nationwide militia's food and grass payments, and there are several items that should have been issued but not yet issued, including the year-end tax silver from the two capitals and thirteen provinces."

  "What method is there to solve the present urgent situation?"

  Bi Ziyan remained silent and did not speak.

  "The cabinet and the Ministry of Revenue will go back and discuss it again. In any case, they must resolve the issue of providing part of the military expenses for the Loyalist Army."

  The Chongzhen Emperor saw that no one opposed him, so he took it as consent. He then said: "All of you officials, stand at ease."

  Everyone thought it was over today and let out a sigh of relief. Everyone stood up to go home, fortunately, only Wang Qia had bad luck today.

  But then the voice of Emperor Chongzhen sounded again: "The position of Minister of War, who among you thinks can take on this responsibility?"

  No one speaks out now, the situation is that the Minister of War's position is on a hot stove, and not many people can sit steadily, so no one dares to recommend, fearing to be implicated.

  The Chongzhen Emperor remained silent, waiting for others to speak, and the hall fell into silence.

  After a while, still no one spoke, and the officials below were like clay Buddhas in a temple, with their eyes cast down. The hall fell into an awkward silence.

  Just then, footsteps were heard outside the palace, and in this silence, they sounded particularly clear. After a while, an imperial attendant flashed in to report: "Sun Chengzong, the former Liao Dong Jinglue, requests an audience."

  It's so late, and yet he still comes to ask for an audience. What kind of play is this old Sun fellow performing? Almost everyone present had the same thought, but thanks to him, they were able to breathe a sigh of relief, ending the awkward atmosphere in the hall.

  Chongzhen Emperor immediately changed his furious expression and hastily ordered: "Quickly pass it on."

  After a while, a steady footstep came from afar and approached. A lean white-bearded old man wearing linen clothes strode into the grand hall, glanced at the dignitaries standing in the grand hall and above them Emperor Chongzhen, stepped forward steadily, knelt down before Emperor Chongzhen, and said with full energy: "Your humble servant pays homage to Your Majesty, may Your Majesty live forever."

  Chongzhen Emperor had met Sun Chengzong many years ago when he was teaching Tianqi Emperor, now after so many years, he looked much older than his impression, and couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. Gong Jingwei recommended him, I thought the person I wanted to reuse was already so old.

  After being stunned for a while, he suddenly remembered that Sun Chengzong was still kneeling and hastily said: "Get up."

  After Sun Chenzong stood up, Emperor Chongzhen said in a normal tone: "Someone has recommended Master Sun to me, which is also what I wish for, so I sent someone to deliver the imperial edict to Master Sun."

  The people below and Sun Chengzong were all stunned, who recommended it, how come there was no wind at all.

  "I don't know who recommended me, a humble villager, and what for?" Sun Chengzong's voice was very loud, the eunuchs outside the palace didn't need to listen in specially, they could all hear it clearly.

  "Who recommended him? Sun Shifu will know later." The Chongzhen Emperor paused and then said, "Now the matter of the Jurchen invasion, has Sun Shifu heard about it?"

  "I've heard rumors among ordinary people, but I still need to learn more about the details."

  Then, Emperor Chongzhen ordered Han Guang, the chief assistant of the Grand Secretariat, to explain the events of the past few days to Sun Chengzong. Sun Chengzong also understood why Emperor Chongzhen had allowed him to have an audience as soon as he arrived in the capital.

  Sun Chenzong turned to Emperor Chongzhen and asked: "Your Majesty has summoned me, what does Your Majesty want a humble subject like me to do?"

  Chongzhen Emperor looked at Sun Chenzong's white beard, feeling a bit worried, and asked: "Master Sun, I remember you are sixty-seven this year? How is your body?"

  Sun Chengzong loudly replied: "Your Majesty, in a time of national crisis, if the common people stay at home and do not eat."

  Chongzhen Emperor understood the meaning behind Sun Chengzong's words and couldn't help but feel delighted. A person who dares to take responsibility will not give a bad impression at first.

  "I know that Sun Shifu is familiar with Liao affairs. Thinking back to when Sun Shifu was in charge of Liao affairs, the Khitan did not dare to trifle with him. Now that the Khitan are invading the capital, can you help me share my worries?"

  "I'd rather die a thousand deaths than betray my conscience!" The loud and clear voice echoed through the Wenhua Hall.

  "All right, I am very relieved." The Chongzhen Emperor was overjoyed and walked down from the imperial desk to stand before Sun Chengzong, saying: "I appoint you as the Grand Secretary of the Zhongji Hall and concurrently as the Minister of War, in charge of coordinating the defense of the capital."

  "Yes, sir!" Sun Chengzong seemed to be completely unaware of the difficulties and dangers of defending against the construction of the enemy's lair, and he agreed in one breath.

  The Chongzhen Emperor finally found someone who could get things done. The Grand Council and the various ministers were also relieved of the pressure from the emperor to provide silver for military expenses. Everyone was delighted, so they all returned to their respective homes.

  Just after sending away the crowd, Wang Chengen came running over: "I just received a report that Mr. Zhong can swallow food on his own now."

  "What? Mr. Zhong has woken up?" The Chongzhen Emperor was overjoyed upon hearing this.