Chapter 24: The Reckoning, Heads Rolling

"Brother Hu, it is not that your brother here will not help you, but in this situation, whoever tries to help you will be dragged out and beheaded by His Majesty. Rest assured, afterwards, I will certainly burn plenty of spirit money for you, so that you may continue to be a wealthy man in the afterlife."

Zhou Yingqiu, the Minister of Personnel, who had been named, stepped out of the ranks and recited a few words silently to himself.

He then spoke with ruthless severity: "Your Majesty, according to the Great Ming Code, if there is a disaster in a region and the local officials fail to report the truth, colluding to deceive their superiors, they shall be punished with death."

After Zhou Yingqiu finished, he remained silent. None of the officials in the court dared to plead for Hu Yanyan; after all, it was better for a friend to die than for oneself to suffer.

"Zhou Yingqiu, immediately conduct a thorough investigation into the officials of Shaanxi. Any who have concealed or failed to report the situation shall be executed without exception! If any have colluded with the rebels, their households shall be confiscated and their entire clans executed."

After the Chongzhen Emperor finished speaking, he ignored Zhou Yingqiu’s response and fixed his cold gaze upon Cui Chengxiu, the Minister of War.

"Cui Chengxiu, the courier stations fall under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Provisions in the Ministry of War. Courier officers have deserted, public funds have been misappropriated for private use, and the checkpoints are treated as child's play. For such important facilities, what is your crime?"

"Your Majesty, your servant is guilty!"

Cui Chengxiu knelt to the ground: "Your Majesty, most of the courier officers are now commoners living near the stations. Their duties are heavy, and their pay is severely in arrears. To my knowledge, many places have been owed wages for as long as three years. Coupled with the local natural disasters and total crop failure, the officers have no choice but to desert. This... this is beyond my control!"

Facing Cui Chengxiu’s response, the Emperor fell silent. What Cui said was the truth.

Why would courier officers and soldiers desert? In the end, it was a matter of money.

Without pay, combined with starvation, heavy duties, and harsh punishments, only a fool would not desert.

"Enough. Although you do not bear the primary responsibility, you are guilty of gross negligence. You are demoted to Senior Vice Minister of the Ministry of War, temporarily overseeing the Ministry. If there are any similar occurrences in the future, I will have your head."

Without waiting for Cui Chengxiu to express his gratitude, the Emperor shouted angrily: "Tian Ergeng, as the Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, the disaster in Shaanxi has become so severe that it has led to popular uprisings... Tian Ergeng, where is he?"

Halfway through his angry outburst, he realized that Tian Ergeng had not stepped out to kneel.

Wang Chengen, standing to the side, whispered: "Your Majesty, Master Tian was recently given twenty strokes of the court cane because of the Chen Derun incident. He suffered internal injuries and was unable to attend the morning court."

The Emperor paused, momentarily blinded by rage and having forgotten the matter. But the next moment, he roared again.

"He only suffered internal injuries, he is not dead!"

"Since he likes resting so much, I will let him rest to his heart's content."

"Guards! The Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, Tian Ergeng, has been derelict in his duties, remaining ignorant of the frequent uprisings within Shaanxi, thereby delaying critical state affairs. Strip Tian Ergeng of his post and throw him into the Imperial Prison. Without my edict, no one is to visit him."

A glimmer of schadenfreude flashed in the eyes of some officials in the hall. Tian Ergeng was finished.

...

Another two quarter-hours passed before the Emperor ceased his accountability measures.

In a single morning court, more than twenty people had been reprimanded; half of the officials in the Six Ministries and Nine Ministries had been demoted or docked of their salaries.

It was hard to tell if the Emperor had done it intentionally, but the Eunuch Faction and the Donglin Faction each accounted for a third, while the remaining members of the Qi and Chu factions had also been dealt a blow.

"Very well, my esteemed ministers, how do you suggest we handle this matter?"

After a long while, the Emperor calmed down and began to address the aftermath.

Most of the ministers remained silent, as if the matter had nothing to do with them. At this moment, Shaanxi was a hot potato—lacking food and money, plagued by over a dozen uprisings, and riddled with corrupt local officials.

Doing well was expected, but doing poorly could cost them their heads.

The Emperor, standing on the nine-tiered platform, took in everything: which ministers were pondering, which were numb and indifferent, and which were gloating.

A flash of murderous intent crossed his eyes. When the White-Pole Soldiers arrived in the capital, he would purge the court, executing some, imprisoning others, and replacing the rest.

"Your Majesty!"

After a long silence, Guo Yunhou, the Minister of Revenue, stepped out: "Your servant believes we can proceed in three steps. First, Your Majesty should issue an imperial edict, the general content being to persuade the refugee rebels to surrender. As long as they lay down their weapons, the imperial court will overlook their past transgressions. If they remain stubborn and foolish, a great army will be deployed to suppress them, and they shall be executed without mercy. Second, the imperial court should send an imperial envoy to serve as the Viceroy of the Three Frontiers, responsible for disaster relief in Shaanxi. Third, transport grain from the Jiangnan region to alleviate the urgent food shortage in Shaanxi."

"Among these, the first step is the most important. Most of these rebels were forced into rebellion out of desperation; if they had even a morsel of food, the common people would not rebel. This edict will combine grace with severity to instill fear in them, and the subsequent opening of granaries and arrival of grain will be the final straw that convinces them to abandon resistance."

"Absolutely not!"

No sooner had Guo Yunhou finished speaking than a military officer stepped out and roared. The Emperor glanced over and saw it was Duke Cheng, Zhu Chunchen, and a flash of murderous intent flickered in his eyes.

The lineage of the Duke of Cheng had reached its twelfth generation with Zhu Chunchen. The previous eleven generations had been loyal to the Ming, serving the country with their lives until the end.

Yet, this twelfth Duke of Cheng, when Li Zicheng besieged Beijing, was ordered by Zhu Youjian to lead the various armies and assist the Crown Prince, Zhu Cilang. As it turned out, this wretch had opened the Chaoyang Gate.

It could be said that the Duke of Cheng bore the primary responsibility for the fall of Beijing.

"Your Majesty, your servant believes that Minister Guo’s proposal is improper."

"There is a great drought in Shaanxi, and millions of commoners have nothing to eat. Even if we open the granaries, how much grain can there be? Who can guarantee that the drought will ease next year? Furthermore, transporting grain from Jiangnan will take at least two months; there is not enough time."

The Emperor said blandly: "Duke of Cheng, what is your suggestion then?"

"Kill them!"

"Kill all the refugees participating in the uprising, and even kill their relatives. Kill until no commoner dares to rebel ever again."

Zhu Chunchen provided his reasoning, and the civil and military officials in the court were shocked, looking at him as if he were a madman.

"Duke of Cheng, what you say is simple, but have you considered that this action will ignite even larger uprisings? How would the imperial court handle that then?"

"And what of it?"

The Duke of Cheng sneered: "Our Great Ming has an army of over two million; why should we fear the uprisings gathered by a mere few thousand refugees?"

"Your Majesty, your servant believes that the Duke of Cheng’s method can eliminate future trouble."

The Marquis of Yangwu, Xue Lian, stood out, agreeing with the Duke of Cheng’s proposal, and explained: "Shaanxi has a population of eight million. Even if only ten percent are affected by the disaster, at one catty of grain per person per day, that is 800,000 catties a day, equivalent to nearly 6,000 shi. In a month, that is 180,000 shi. It will be at least eight or nine months until the next harvest. Even if we reduce the ration to half a catty per person per day, we simply cannot provide that much grain."

After Xue Lian, several other nobles stepped out to agree with the Duke of Cheng’s proposal.

"You, you... you are unworthy of being called human."

Guo Yunhou, the Minister of Revenue, was so angry his face turned purple, his finger trembling as he pointed at Zhu Chunchen.

He knelt on the ground, his voice trembling as he cried out: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, you must not do this! The Duke of Cheng is pushing our Great Ming into an bottomless abyss. Those are the subjects of our Great Ming... Your Majesty!"

The sound was so sorrowful and desperate that it moved those who heard it to tears.

"Minister Guo, please rise!"

The Emperor looked at the Minister of Revenue, Guo Yunhou, who was kneeling on the ground with a wretched expression: "What about the others? Are there any other proposals?"

"Shi Fenglai, you are a Grand Secretary of the Cabinet. What do you say?"

Shi Fenglai, being named, was startled, his face looking somewhat pained: "Your Majesty, your servant..."

Just as Shi Fenglai was about to speak, Li Ruolian suddenly burst into the Huangji Hall, his tone urgent.

"Your Majesty, your servant has an urgent matter to report!"