Chapter Sixteen: Facing the Saint

  When Shaanxi's grain supervisor Hong Chengchou received the imperial edict to immediately enter the capital and pay his respects, he found it very strange. When did the heads of rebels become so valuable? Over 200 bandit leaders' heads could get him an audience with the emperor.

  Even if you ask the imperial envoy, you won't get anything out of him. The person who came all the way to this godforsaken place to deliver the edict is naturally not a trusted figure, and it's likely that he doesn't know the inside story either.

  Hong Chengchou couldn't guess what it was, and didn't try to guess either. Anyway, it wouldn't be a bad thing, so he packed up his things and set off with the imperial envoy towards the capital city.

  Since Zhong Jingwei almost starved to death due to lack of care, Emperor Chongzhen ordered a daily report on his situation. He himself followed up every day, worried that he would not die of starvation and also feared that someone would be negligent.

  Unfortunately, the phone that Zhong Jinwei was talking about was messed up by the assassin before I could take a closer look at it again, and now the phone is broken and won't turn on anymore.

  Those posthumous photos on the mobile phone opened Chongzhen Emperor's eyes, and there were many things he wanted to ask Zhong Jinwei. He didn't know if he could create them at this time, and he also asked Zhong Jinwei to tell him about various aspects of later generations. Although it was wrong that the Jurchen would invade the capital, many other contents were very interesting, and he wondered if he could borrow some ideas from them.

  At this time, Wang Chengen came to report that the Shaanxi Grain Intendant Hong Chengchou had arrived for an audience. The Chongzhen Emperor was taken aback, then remembered that he was one of the candidates recommended by Zhong Xiang for suppressing bandits, and arranged to meet him on the platform.

  In ancient times, the selection of officials was particular about appearance, and appearance must be regular. Those who were ugly or deformed rarely became officials. At that time, Hong Chengchou was in his prime, thirty-seven years old, with thick eyebrows, long whiskers, and a dignified official appearance.

  The Chongzhen Emperor, at first glance, had a good impression of him. After he bowed, the emperor said: "Someone has recommended you to me, saying that you have a deep understanding of the northwest campaign against bandits. Can you tell me about it?"

  Hong Chengchou understood as soon as he heard it, and indeed it was not the merit of beheading more than 200 bandit chiefs. But who would have recommended him? He didn't seem to have any strong backing in the imperial court either.

  "I'm flattered, Your Majesty, but I dare not accept such praise. However, having been in the northwest for a long time, I do have some thoughts on the situation there."

  Chongzhen Emperor directly ignored what Hong Chengchou had just said and said: "Tell me."

  "Your Majesty, the northwest situation is first caused by natural disasters, and then due to improper local handling, resulting in disaster victims becoming famine victims, and famine victims turning into bandits. The entire northwest disaster area has unstable conditions, with a current trend of chaos and fire. Furthermore, if the disaster zone expands and is not handled properly, the consequences will be unimaginable."

  Chongzhen Emperor's heart sank as soon as he heard it, his body involuntarily leaning forward slightly, and asked: "What good strategy is there to deal with it?"

  Hong Chengchou calmly said: "Your Majesty, I have three plans - a superior one, a middle one and an inferior one."

  Oh, and there are the upper, middle and lower three strategies, sounds familiar. Emperor Chongzhen thought to himself, then asked in coordination: "My dear minister, what are these three strategies, speak quickly."

  Hong Chengchou replied: "The best strategy is to provide full relief to the disaster, and when the people have food, the bandits will disperse on their own, and the remaining few are not worth worrying about."

  If there were that many grains, I wouldn't have to worry about sleeping badly. The Chongzhen Emperor listened and thought, but didn't speak, just staring at Hong Chengchou.

  After a pause, without seeing the Chongzhen Emperor speak, Hong Chengchou continued: "The middle strategy is to seal off the borders of the disaster area, gather powerful troops, and thoroughly eliminate the rioters, so that we can achieve a lasting peace."

  Chongzhen Emperor was shocked in his heart, how can this be done, they are all my subjects, and killing them would harm the harmony of heaven, not to mention what people would say about me, I couldn't bear to do it.

  "The inferior plan is to use both annihilation and appeasement, first annihilating then appeasing, determined by the amount of grain. If there is little grain, annihilation will be the main approach; if there is much grain, appeasement will be the main approach. The court will have to spend a great deal of time and effort." Hong Chengchou did not wait for Emperor Chongzhen to ask him any questions, but instead said everything at once, then waited for Emperor Chongzhen to speak.

  The Chongzhen Emperor listened, silently not speaking, sighed in his heart, it's still a matter of money, but I don't have any money; thinking of Zhong Xiang's "Grass Folk Theory", the grass folk just want to survive, as long as there is a way to live, they won't rebel, it seems that they really can't make ends meet.

  Hong Chengchou waited quietly, knowing that Emperor Chongzhen was not good at choosing, in fact, the three strategies he mentioned were known to many people in the court.

  Chongzhen Emperor made up his mind and said to Hong Chengchou: "The military expenses in Liaodong have exhausted the national treasury, and there is currently no strength to fully relieve the disaster. However, the rioting people are also my subjects, and they were forced to follow the bandits due to desperation. Therefore, I think your secondary plan is the feasible one at present." Hong Chengchou stepped forward to receive his appointment.

  Hong Chengchou immediately knelt down upon hearing this.

  The Chongzhen Emperor said: "I appoint you as the Governor of Yunwei, fully responsible for the suppression of bandits in the northwest. Grain and fodder will be collected locally, and both military force and leniency will be used. As many disaster victims as possible should be rescued, and the northwest should be pacified as soon as possible."

  Hong Chengchou heard that the grain and grass had to be solved by himself, and he also wanted to save more disaster victims. This task was too difficult, but he couldn't not do it. He had been working hard for so many years to climb up, just to get rid of the fate of being busy with food and clothing every day. The experience of poverty in his childhood was deeply imprinted in his mind.

  Hong Chengchou then led the edict and thanked for his grace. (Due to Zhong Xing's recommendation, Hong Chengchou was promoted to Yanwei Circuit Intendant half a year earlier than originally scheduled.)

  When Hong Chengchou was about to leave, Emperor Chongzhen instructed: Do a good job, do it with confidence and boldness, my northwest is relying on you. I hope you can pacify the northwest as soon as possible and don't disappoint my trust in you.

  Hong Chengchou pretended to be fine on the surface, but secretly resented it. To make a horse run without feeding it grass, I'm easy, for now, might as well go back and kill one first then talk about it later.

  Not long after Hong Chengchou was sent away, Qin Liangyu rushed to the capital.

  Qin Liangyu's resume was much richer than Hong Chengchou, and she was also a female general. Chongzhen Emperor was very interested and immediately met Qin Liangyu on the platform.

  Qin Liangyu wore the uniform of a general, with a height of over 1.8 meters, wearing shiny armor, with an imposing demeanor, although he was already 56 years old and had some white hair on his temples, but still looked majestic and awe-inspiring.

  The Chongzhen Emperor couldn't help but praise Qin Liangyu silently, and then offered her a seat. After some small talk, he praised the loyalty of the entire Qin family. Finally, he began to ask Qin Liangyu about her experiences during the rebellion of Zhang Xianzhong and Li Zicheng.

  Qin Liangyu was somewhat dissatisfied with Emperor Chongzhen's decision to summon him to the capital at the final stage of suppressing Zhang Xianzhong and Li Zicheng, so he deliberately wore armor to meet the emperor.

  But now being praised by Emperor Chongzhen, a heart of dissatisfaction has dispersed with the wind.

  Qin Liangyu recounted her experiences to Emperor Chongzhen, telling a story that was reasonable and well-structured, with surprises and dangers. Emperor Chongzhen listened with great interest, as if he were there in person.

  After finishing speaking, Emperor Chongzhen suddenly discovered the white hair on Qin Liangyu's temples and couldn't help but reveal a hint that General Qin was once brave, but now she might be old.

  This is still tolerable, Qin Liangyu's expedition to the battlefield, what she dislikes most is others saying that she is old. Immediately, she expressed to Emperor Chongzhen, I am not old at all, don't believe me, I will show you.

  Then, in the Imperial Palace Square, first horseback archery, one hundred paces piercing willows, then a set of long whip guns, danced to make Emperor Chongzhen shout good. The female Lian Po was indeed not old.

  Qin Liangyu finished her performance and returned to the front of Emperor Chongzhen, not panting or sweating. Emperor Chongzhen nodded repeatedly, delightedly wrote a poem: Learned the Eight Trigrams of Western Sichuan, Mandarin ducks in sleeves grasping military symbols. Since ancient times, women have been willing to take on responsibilities, why must generals be men?

  Qin Liangyu was delighted and said that from now on, Your Majesty can summon me at will. Even if I am a thousand miles away, I will rush to your side without hesitation. Thus, Chongzhen Emperor's poetic inspiration was stirred again, and he composed another poem: The Shu brocade is tailored into a banner, Peach blossoms are requested to lengthen the horse's reins. How many extraordinary men are there in the world? Who would be willing to march thousands of miles on the battlefield?

  At the time of farewell, Emperor Chongzhen conferred upon Qin Liangyu the title of First-Rank Imperial Noblewoman and instructed her to train troops well, to help him clean up the Southwest, and if there were any unsatisfactory matters or difficulties, she should come to him for assistance.

  Qin Liangyu never thought that as a woman of humble origins, she would be so highly valued by Your Majesty. She is deeply grateful for your kindness and has decided that she will not forget it her entire life, and she is willing to die to repay you.

  Later, Hou Jin didn't gain much from the Ningjin line. After harvesting and counting the grain at home, it seemed like there wasn't enough to eat. What to do? Hold a meeting.

  Same place, same people, after everyone sat down, Huang Taiji introduced the situation and then said that since the Ming country's Dongjiang Town was abolished, it was a rare opportunity to let everyone come up with some ideas together to see if there was a good way to make a profit.

  Dai Shan and Amin, one seemed to be admiring his own fingers, turning them over and over; the other seemed to think that his ring had a flaw, and was examining it carefully.

  Sanbeile Menggutai saw that no one was speaking, so he spoke first and said: "What's there to discuss? The country with the most wealth is naturally where we'll go to take it."

  One of the four small Beile, Azige shook his head and said: "Third brother, we just went there, how can that cannon be dealt with?"

  Mongol T'ai glanced at him and replied, "Bring more Han dogs to drive and lure the Ming army into firing their cannons. Anyway, they can't fire many rounds before running out of ammunition."

  Several Beile looked at Huang Taiji after Manggultai said this. Because after Huang Taiji came to power, he greatly elevated the status of Han dogs, and it is unlikely that Huang Taiji would agree to such a method that cost countless lives.

  The emperor looked at them and smiled, saying: "Third brother, the Han slaves have all gone to fill the cannons. Who will help us with our labor? Do we have to do it ourselves? Moreover, even if we fill them up, can we be a hundred percent sure of taking the city? Even if we take one city, are there enough riches and manpower inside to sustain us?"

  Everyone listened, and it was a reasonable thing to say, but the atmosphere became gloomy again.

  After a while, the smallest of them all spoke up and said: "Then let's go to Korea, anyway they pretend to surrender to us on the surface but secretly still have dealings with Ming country, do you think we don't know?!"

  Emperor Taizong shook his head and explained: "Since Korea has surrendered to us, we cannot take action against it. If we do, the Mongolian tribes that have surrendered to us will have other intentions."

  Duoduo muttered in a low voice: "It's all right, let's fight together." But knowing that this wouldn't work, he didn't say anything.

  Finally no one came up with a good idea, and as it was getting late, they had to adjourn the meeting.

  When Huang Taiji returned to his residence in disappointment, the Imperial Guard reported that Fan Wencheng, an official of the Shu Fang House, had requested an audience and claimed he could dispel the Khan's worries. Huang Taiji was overjoyed and hastily summoned him.