Chapter 1100 - The Benefits of Factional Strife
The Emperor first skimmed through the endorsement summaries of the memorials. Most of this batch concerned the Dengzhou situation and included a large number of impeachment documents, many targeting Zhou Yanru and Sun Yuanhua.
The Chongzhen Emperor had long harbored suspicions about Zhou Yanru's corruption and bribery. He had quietly ordered the Eastern Depot to investigate, but the reports came back as "allegations with cause, but lacking concrete evidence." This left the inherently suspicious Emperor even more troubled.
In recent years, as state affairs grew increasingly intractable, he constantly hoped his ministers would serve wholeheartedly. Yet from the mountains of memorials, what he perceived—beyond the empire's pressing crises—was the endless mutual denunciation among officials.
By comparison, although Zhou Yanru faced continuous impeachment, he remained effective in handling affairs—able to satisfy the Emperor's administrative needs. Moreover, the Emperor vaguely sensed that behind this latest wave of attacks on Zhou Yanru, someone was pulling strings.
You all say Zhou Yanru is corrupt and incompetent—but if you replaced him, would you not bungle things just as badly? He sneered inwardly, yet felt utterly helpless. Whether in court deliberations or memorials, most were empty talk. He was well aware that many current policies were merely stopgap measures that solved nothing—even amounted to drinking poison to quench thirst—but what else could be done?
Zhou Yanru had several times indicated his willingness to resign and withdraw from the controversy. Each time, the Emperor had issued decrees of reassurance. But facing the relentless flood of impeachment memorials, he found himself wavering once again.
Next came several more impeachment memorials—but these were not aimed at Zhou Yanru or Sun Yuanhua. Rather, Liu Zongzhou was impeaching Minister of Revenue Min Hongxue.
Min Hongxue was one of Wen Tiren's men—this the Emperor knew perfectly well. Liu Zongzhou's attack on Min Hongxue was clearly aimed at Wen Tiren.
The Emperor noticed that in recent days, the memorials from various quarters had undergone a subtle shift. Impeachments of Wen Tiren and his allies had noticeably increased, mostly submitted by Donglin partisans. These memorials tirelessly reminded the Emperor that Wen Tiren had once "attached himself to the rebel faction." Since entering the Cabinet, he had attempted to rehabilitate the "rebels" and overturn the "Imperially Defined List of Traitors." Some memorials enumerated in excruciating detail the various words and deeds of Wen Tiren and his confederates.
Beyond targeting the Wen Tiren faction, various officials implicated in the Dengzhou mutiny had come under fierce attack. County Magistrate Bi Ziyin of Wuqiao had been dismissed for condoning a "market strike" that allegedly provoked the mutiny. His elder brother Bi Ziyan was also under heavy fire.
Additionally, several officials of the Xincheng Wang clan currently at court were likewise being blamed for the "provocation."
"Is there not one good man among them!" The Chongzhen Emperor set down the memorials in exasperation. He dimly perceived that the Dengzhou mutiny was no longer simply a mutiny—it had unmistakably become an opportunity for court factions to wage political warfare.
Head propped in his hands, he fell silent, unwilling to open another memorial. The surrounding eunuchs and palace women stood mute as cicadas in winter, daring not utter a word.
As he brooded, Cao Huachun, the Supervisor of Ceremonies on watch, brought in another stack of documents. The topmost was a confidential military dispatch from Shandong. His heart clenched—he almost couldn't bear to break the seal. The news from Shandong lately had been one disaster after another.
Just half a month ago, the court had discussed deploying Tongzhou soldiers under Yang Yufan—appointed Military Governor-General with authority over all Shandong armies. Tianjin forces under Commander-in-Chief Wang Hong and Baoding forces under Commander-in-Chief Liu Guozhu were also ordered to march. Deadlines were set for the campaign to annihilate the mutineers.
On the twenty-fifth day of the first month, Yang Yufan had led his personal guards along with the Duo, Yi, and Qing battalions toward Zhuqiao Town. That evening, Wang Hong's Tianjin troops arrived as well. On the twenty-eighth, they advanced together toward Xincheng. On the twenty-ninth, the mutineers sallied forth from Dengzhou to meet them in battle—but the Tianjin troops broke and fled first, with Wang Hong escaping in the rout. Yang Yufan's forces were surrounded. By midnight he managed to break out and flee toward Laizhou, his army scattering in all directions. Yang Yufan reached the Laizhou walls with only three hundred personal guards, and was nearly refused entry—he barely managed to get inside.
Had Laizhou now fallen as well? Terrible premonitions crowded his mind. Though uninitiated in military matters, the avalanche of dispatches concerning Dengzhou had taught him Laizhou's importance. Sun Yuanhua's memorial had stated his intention to hold Laizhou to the death, lest the mutineers spread across the province and cause "all Shandong to collapse and disaster to reach the Metropolitan Region."
Yang Yufan's catastrophic defeat with the Tianjin troops just days earlier seemed to presage that the Dengzhou mutiny would not be easily quelled—it might even spawn yet another roving horde.
"Sun Yuanhua deserves death!" the Chongzhen Emperor muttered. Reluctantly, he picked up the confidential dispatch and broke the seal.
Then he noticed the memorial was from Sun Yuanhua himself. His spirits lifted slightly. Sun Yuanhua already bore the crime of losing Dengzhou. If Laizhou fell too, he would surely die with the city rather than "break out" again.
If so, then Laizhou still held!
He hurriedly scanned the "purpose" summary at the head. Disbelieving, he read it again, and a smile flickered at the corner of his mouth. He read the entire text, and color returned to his face. With a great exhalation, he leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes for a moment. Still not fully convinced, he quickly unsealed the reports from Censor Wang Daochun, the new Shandong Governor Xu Congzhi, and Commander-in-Chief Yang Yufan.
When he finished reading them all, a smile spread across his face. As if to release his excitement, he rose and paced back and forth within the hall.
All the reports carried the same news: Sun Yuanhua had defeated the mutineer Mao Chenglu's forces at Huangxian, killing several thousand and slaying the rebel officer Mao Chenglu. He had then repelled an assault on Laizhou's city walls, beheading several hundred more. Government casualties were light.
"Who would have thought Sun Yuanhua still had some capacity!" He recalled that several memorials in recent days had argued that Sun Yuanhua, having long administered Dengzhou, was familiar with Shandong's situation and Dongjiang affairs, and still commanded respect among the Liaodong soldiers. They had recommended allowing him to atone through meritorious service.
He had been prepared to dismiss and arrest Sun Yuanhua, but the current situation gave him pause—particularly now that the Shandong front had its first victory. Though furious at Sun Yuanhua for losing Dengzhou, he reflected that the man's ability to halt the mutineers' momentum with Laizhou's few thousand demoralized troops likely stemmed from the residual authority he had built as Dengzhou-Laizhou Governor. Just days earlier, a confidential memorial on the Shandong situation had strongly urged "no change of commanders mid-campaign."
If he removed Sun Yuanhua now, a new governor might not gain the soldiers' trust and loyalty—might even trigger another mutiny. The Emperor understood his armies all too well. Since the late Tianqi era, they had grown increasingly insolent, demanding pay at every turn, erupting in riot over the slightest provocation. With fires breaking out in every direction, troops were needed everywhere to maintain order...
Thinking thus, he decided not to replace Sun Yuanhua for now, leaving him to "atone for his crimes through merit" at Laizhou. He had already demoted him three grades at year's end; this time he chose not to record his achievement. For Yang Yufan—having just been demoted for his recent defeat—this merit would cancel the penalty. For Xu Congzhi, Prefect Zhu Wanxing of Laizhou, the Ye County magistrate, and others, rewards and promotions would follow. The memorial also listed local gentry and commoners who had contributed to the defense; these too would receive appropriate recognition. The Emperor did not scrutinize the details, issuing an edict directing the Ministry of Rites to handle the matter.
Even so, he remained uneasy. Lately he had grown to distrust his external officials, feeling his own eunuchs more reliable. He therefore decided to select two trustworthy and "military-savvy" eunuchs to go to Laizhou as supervisors for Sun Yuanhua and Xu Congzhi, respectively. Among the Imperial Stables eunuchs, he pondered who might be suitable. The ideal choice was Gao Qiqian—one of the rare eunuchs with genuine military knowledge. He felt Gao should be reserved for more critical assignments: once the Dengzhou campaign was properly organized, he would dispatch an eunuch to supervise there as well.
As he deliberated, he noticed Cao Huachun of the Directorate of Ceremonies about to withdraw. A thought struck him. Cao Huachun was a eunuch from his Princely Residence days who had served him long ago. During the Tianqi era, Wei Zhongxian had exiled Cao to Nanjing—making him a fellow sufferer from those dark years and a companion since before his enthronement. The Emperor therefore trusted him implicitly. He asked:
"While you were outside, have you heard anything concerning Zhou Yanru and Wen Tiren?"
Cao Huachun bowed and replied: "This slave attends upon Your Majesty within the palace all day. I only occasionally hear rumors of external affairs. Moreover, these are weighty matters of state—how would this slave dare speak of them?"
"Just speak frankly to me."
Some days earlier, Cao Huachun had already received a request from Eunuch Yang and accepted various favors. He had also received silver and a petition from Qian Qianyi—the Donglin partisan residing at home—asking him to intercede for Zhou Yanru. His relationship with Qian Qianyi was special: Cao Huachun had been mentored by Wang An, and Qian Qianyi had written Wang An's tomb inscription. Thus he had long been prepared to speak on behalf of Zhou Yanru and Sun Yuanhua. But ordinarily he had no opportunity to raise such matters directly. Now that the Emperor asked, he seized the chance and knelt to make his submission.
The memorial's contents he had already carefully considered. The core strategy was to play upon the Emperor's deepest aversion—factional strife—and hint that the attacks on Sun Yuanhua and Zhou Yanru were driven by the factional rivalry between Wen Tiren and Zhou Yanru's camps.
These words indeed had their intended effect on the Chongzhen Emperor. Since ascending the throne, nothing had disturbed him more than court factionalism, and nothing did he detest more fiercely than cliques. Though the Donglin faction had been rehabilitated under his reign, throughout the Chongzhen era—with the brief exception of the early years when "righteous ministers filled the court"—Donglin partisans never secured dominant positions in central government. His long toleration of Wen Tiren—whom others reviled as a "remnant of the eunuch faction"—as Chief Grand Secretary was in part a counterweight to Donglin influence. He had already suspected factional maneuvering lay behind the current crisis. Now Cao Huachun's veiled implications put him on heightened alert.
He dismissed Cao Huachun. Having decided not to replace Sun Yuanhua, these words only strengthened his resolve. Yet he was not entirely willing to let Sun Yuanhua off so easily: Dengzhou, after all, had consumed 800,000 taels annually as a military stronghold. For Sun Yuanhua's loss of troops and territory, even capital punishment would not be excessive. After much deliberation, he decided to have the officials who had "broken out" from Dengzhou punished instead: Wang Zheng, the Army Supervisor, and Song Guanglan, the Dengzhou-Laizhou Intendant, were dismissed and exiled to Datong Garrison. Zhang Tao was dismissed but retained at the Laizhou front to render meritorious service. All others were dismissed and stripped of their official status.
(End of Chapter)