Traveling through the late Ming Dynasty to promote Chinese civilization

Chapter 480 Withholding of Food and Salaries

Emperor Chongzhen stopped Wang Chengen from reminding him and said with a smile, "It's alright, this is even better. It's been a long time since I've had such a relaxed conversation."

Since he ascended the throne from Prince Xin, neither ministers nor members of the imperial family had ever seen him as a powerful emperor, but rather as a living, breathing human being. Even his concubines and children harbored deep estrangement from him. Aside from the cold, rigid imperial etiquette, the entire palace was devoid of any human warmth. Now, he had finally encountered a military officer who didn't play by the rules, and Chongzhen found it quite amusing. He no longer needed to maintain a stern, imperial demeanor and could temporarily escape the daily grind of worrying about the country and burdened by paperwork, allowing himself a moment of relaxation.

However, such a thing could only happen to Lin San; anyone else wouldn't be so oblivious. He grew up in a tribe and had never left Chengmai County before being subdued by Liu Ye. Although he had been to Japan, Shandong, and Anhui thanks to Liu Ye, those were all on the battlefield, so it's normal that he didn't know the layout of the palace or the emperor's attire.

Lin San sat down without ceremony, reached for a pastry on the stone table, and popped it into his mouth. As he ate, he said, "Since Your Highness wants to hear, I'll tell you about how we captured Gao Yingxiang..."

Seeing that this military officer was not only oblivious but also rude and disrespectful, Wang Chengen was about to speak up to stop him, but Chongzhen smiled and shook his head.

Lin San began his story by recounting his encounter with the allied forces of Gao and Zhang after crossing the river, and then moved on to the Battle of Qiuyu Mountain. Although he was clumsy with words, his firsthand experience captivated both Chongzhen and Wang Chengen. Chongzhen was unaware that warfare was so perilous, far beyond what a few words of strategic planning from a civil official could resolve.

When he heard that the cannons had caused Sun Kewang to flee in disarray, Emperor Chongzhen couldn't help but pump his fist and mutter to himself, "That's satisfying! Those cannons are truly formidable!"

Wang Chengen interjected, "Your Majesty, we also have Hongyi cannons, and their power won't be much less..."

Lin San said disdainfully, "The Hongyi cannon is very heavy and can only be used for defending cities. It is absolutely unsuitable for field battles. Our heavy cannons weigh only a little over a thousand catties. Even with the cannon carriage, front trailer, and ammunition boxes, they weigh less than two thousand catties. Three or four horses can pull them. The Hongyi cannon must weigh at least three or four thousand catties, and that is only the net weight of the cannon barrel."

Emperor Chongzhen couldn't help but snort: "With such a powerful weapon, why not present it to the court?"

Lin San took a bite of pastry and explained, "Our general said that casting this cannon is a very complicated process. We need to take coal from Shandong and iron from Qiongzhou Prefecture, refine the iron first, and then pour it into an iron mold. If we are not careful, there will be tiny cracks, which will cause the barrel to explode. It is not only time-consuming, but also expensive. However, the rations and pay allocated by the court are deducted at every level. At most, 30% will be left after the first 10%. We can't even feed our soldiers. How can we expect to cast cannons and present them to the court? It would be good if we could use them ourselves."

Emperor Chongzhen asked Wang Chengen in confusion, "Isn't the Ministry of War allocating rations and pay based on the number of people? How can it be insufficient?"

Wang Chengen shook his head. "This servant doesn't know either. Why don't we call Minister Zhang over and ask him?"

Chongzhen nodded: "Send someone to summon him." Then he said to Lin San, "Let's skip this matter and continue talking about the war."

Lin San continued recounting the Battle of Qiuyu Mountain. When he described the allied forces' 50,000-strong general offensive against Qiuyu Mountain, while the Qionghai Army had only 5,000 men, Emperor Chongzhen, now immersed in the first-person narrative, clenched his fists tightly, as if he himself were facing a massive army. When he heard that the First Battalion's defensive line was crumbling under the onslaught of the allied forces' veteran troops, he couldn't help but interject, "Why not gather the remaining forces and annihilate them together?"

Lin San stared at him speechlessly: "Your Highness, our Qionghai Army is fighting against ten enemies at once, surrounded on three sides. Each camp can barely take care of itself, so how can we spare the strength to gather and annihilate them? It would be good enough if we could just hold our ground and avoid being wiped out by the bandits."

Emperor Chongzhen blushed, realizing he had been somewhat presumptuous; theoretical discussions and actual combat were two different things.

Wang Chengen changed the subject: "Then how should we deal with this?"

Lin San said smugly, "Now it's my turn to show my skills. I've been protecting the general on the mountaintop. When things got desperate down below, we called for reinforcements from the mountaintop, and the general sent me down. I led a thousand men down the mountain and utterly defeated them. I've often heard how formidable the bandit camp is, but in my eyes, they're nothing but a bunch of worthless bastards."

Wang Chengen clicked his tongue in amazement and said to Chongzhen, "Your Majesty, I have heard that bandits always manage to rise from the ashes after a defeat, relying on the foundation of these old camps. I never thought that in Commander Lin's eyes they were nothing but chickens and dogs."

Huang Linsan proudly puffed out his chest and continued with the rest of the story.

Gao Yingxiang and Zhang Xianzhong were defeated and fled. Guided by spies, a special forces team pursued Gao Yingxiang into the mountains. The tone shifted from a war film to a spy thriller, but Emperor Chongzhen listened with rapt attention. When they finally lured Gao Yingxiang out and captured him without bloodshed, Chongzhen clapped his hands in satisfaction and exclaimed, "A victory against overwhelming odds, a pursuit of a hundred miles, capturing a thief deep in the mountains—from encountering the enemy to capturing him, it was all done in one go. This battle was brilliant, and I thoroughly enjoyed listening to it."

After hearing the story, Chongzhen looked at Lin San with admiration, wondering if he should keep him in the capital and give him an important position. Just as he was about to speak, a young eunuch outside the pavilion came to report: Zhang Fengyi, the Minister of War, has arrived.

As soon as Zhang Fengyi entered the pavilion, he knelt on the ground and respectfully greeted His Majesty: "Your subject greets Your Majesty."

Emperor Chongzhen casually raised his left hand and said, "Rise."

Lin San choked on a piece of pastry, staring at Chongzhen in astonishment: "Your Majesty? You're the emperor?"

Chongzhen smiled slightly, but did not answer him. He turned to Zhang Fengyi with a serious expression and asked, "I heard from this Commander Lin that the Ministry of War has been embezzling funds from various garrisons at each level. Is this true?"

Zhang Fengyi was startled, and large beads of sweat immediately appeared on his forehead. The practice of intercepting payments for military funds allocated to various regions, from the Ministry of War to the local authorities, was a long-standing unspoken rule in the Ming Dynasty—an open secret, only kept from the emperor. Although many would suffer if the emperor found out, everyone from civil officials to military officers was a beneficiary; no one would be foolish enough to expose such a thing to the emperor. It seemed risky, but it was actually very safe. After assuming the position of Minister of War, Zhang Fengyi quickly chose to blend in, becoming a link in this chain of vested interests, and one of the biggest beneficiaries. He never expected the emperor to suddenly bring this up today.

How could he have known that the emperor would suddenly summon a mere captain? He also couldn't have imagined that the Qionghai Army wouldn't even consider the paltry sum allocated by the court, nor was it part of this vast chain of interests. Lin San casually exposed this open secret.