Chapter 2771: The Capital (Part 127)

If that man returned, Wen Tiren would be the first one he dealt with. To be precise, before Zhou Yanru could return, the Donglin-Restoration Society faction would first have to eradicate Wen Tiren himself.

As soon as this thought crossed his mind, Wen Tiren felt thorns piercing his back. This matter had to be resolved as quickly as possible.

But how? Zhou Yanru's reputation was abysmal, his misdeeds during his time at court too numerous to count. Back in his hometown, people had even wanted to dig up his ancestral grave. Yet relying on these alone would not be enough to destroy the Emperor's impression of him. After all, such things were considered "minor details."

Wen Tiren had served as an official for many years and understood deeply that "Sacred Favor" was exceedingly fickle. The Senior Grand Secretary stood at the very cusp of wind and waves; the slightest carelessness could make him a target of universal condemnation.

He needed to eliminate the threat as soon as possible.

In that instant, killing intent had already taken root in his heart.

Before he could continue thinking, the Emperor arrived.

Today, the Emperor's complexion looked somewhat better than in previous days—no longer dull and lusterless. The cabinet ministers understood that the situation had been stable recently, and His Majesty's mood was probably much improved.

After the sovereign and ministers exchanged greetings, the Emperor took his seat on the throne. Although he had experienced a strange dream the night before, he had slept very soundly afterward. Rising this morning, he felt his spirit was much better than it had been in some time. Ever since Consort Tian had begun offering Nanyang fruits each night, he noticed he felt more energetic than before—though he could not say for certain whether the fruit was responsible.

Regarding the efficacy of this fruit, the Imperial Physicians had engaged in considerable controversy. Having never encountered it before, they could not say anything definitive. Whether it caused "internal heat" or "dispelled heat" was debated endlessly. Chongzhen grew thoroughly annoyed and simply dismissed the Imperial Physicians' opinions entirely.

Seeing that the Emperor had no specific agenda, Wen Tiren selected several of the more urgent matters from recent reports to present. The Emperor had already read the "Tie Huang"—the Yellow Slip summaries—for most reports and did not need to examine them in detail. These could be directly drafted by the Grand Secretariat and handed to the Directorate of Ceremonial for the "Red Batch" of final approval. Only a few important military and national affairs required the Grand Secretariat's advice. In form, it was still "the Sage's Sole Discretion."

Chongzhen had ascended the throne at a young age and had never received complete imperial education and training. The handling of specific government affairs actually relied mainly on the suggestions of the cabinet ministers. Wen Tiren excelled at discerning the Emperor's intentions and proved adept at practical affairs, so his responses often aligned with the Emperor's own thinking. As for the other cabinet ministers, most were Wen Tiren's partisans and rarely offered contrary opinions. Thus, the court's political affairs were largely decided by his hand alone.

Wen Tiren dominated cabinet affairs single-handedly, treating his colleagues as wooden puppets while controlling the power to draft rescripts. The Emperor did not find this strange; rather, he felt Wen was "Loyal in Isolation." Therefore, people of that time said the Emperor had "Caught the Plague"—a pun on Wen's surname.

When the discussion of government affairs reached a natural pause, the Emperor spoke slowly: "The Kun thieves have been rampant for a long time and have already captured the lands of two provinces. Yet the Imperial Court can do nothing about them. Do you gentlemen have any strategies to cure this trouble?"

Since the Kun had raided Guangzhou, the "Kun Thieves" had ascended to the agenda of the Imperial Court's military and national affairs, frequently mentioned in both major and minor court assemblies.

Speaking of the momentum of the Kun, it actually far exceeded that of the Eastern Barbarians or the Roving Bandits. To date, the Eastern Barbarians had only taken the Liaodong Regional Military Commission and the old lands of Guangning. Not to mention seizing an inch of land inside the Pass—even strategic strongholds outside the Pass like Jinzhou remained under Imperial Court control. The Roving Bandits spread like wildfire but were suppressed as quickly as they rose, scurrying from place to place. Although they had once captured the Central Capital of Fengyang and wrought great destruction, they had never managed to hold prefectures and counties for long.

Only the Kun, in just two years, had seized the lands of two entire provinces—Guangdong and Guangxi. Since the founding of the Great Ming, except for abandoning Annam, there had never been such a catastrophic "loss of territory."

Over these years, court deliberations on punishing the Kun had occurred more than once, yet they never reached any conclusion. Too many places demanded troops and money. Compared to Guangdong and Guangxi on the distant southern frontier, thousands of miles from the Capital, the Eastern Barbarians who had breached the Pass several times and the Roving Bandits charging left and right through the Central Plains heartland seemed far more "imminent" threats.

Therefore, from the Emperor down to the officials—except for some officials of Guangdong origin—most paid little attention to the matter of "Conquering the Kun." Moreover, the strong mysterious aura surrounding the Kun made it impossible for officials to offer meaningful suggestions. When the Imperial Court had solicited strategies for suppression from the officials, memorials of all kinds poured in, and among them were quite a few that were absurd to the point of being laughable.

Some proposed that since the Kun's cannons were sharp and used for siege, spirit tablets of the Zhao Song ancestors should be hung on city gates. After all, the Kun claimed to be descendants of Zhao Song—presumably they would not be such a ruler-less and father-less generation as to fire upon the spirit tablets of their own ancestors. Others suggested sending agents to the Song Emperors' tombs to destroy the Feng Shui and scatter the Kingly Qi. Still others noted that while the Kun claimed descent from the Great Song, their official documents and notices never bore the seal of the Great Song. Word had it they were rebellious subjects of the Australian Song, so an envoy could be dispatched to locate this Australian Song and petition their Emperor to send troops for a joint extermination of the Kun.

This matter dragged on amidst indecision. In Jiangxi, Guizhou, Fujian, and other places, either by Imperial Court decree or by the governors' own initiative, some "Anti-Kun preparations" had been undertaken—building camps, casting new cannons, replenishing troop quotas. But compared to the Guan-Ning Army massing at Shanhai Pass, these preparations amounted to a single hair from nine oxen.

Now the Kun were considered "quiet." Why had the Emperor suddenly raised this question?

The group of ministers were yes-men to a fault. Before the Emperor set the tone, none dared speak recklessly.

Wen Tiren, however, understood the Emperor's mind. Previously, the Emperor had hinted many times in his words about "Pacification." As for whether to negotiate peace with the Kun, Wen Tiren personally felt indifferent either way. If the Emperor wished for peace, he would absolutely not oppose it. But he knew the Emperor's temperament deeply, and he understood the direction of court opinion. The two words "Peace Talk" were tantamount to "Selling the Country for Glory." The Emperor refused to bear the reputation of advocating peace talks and wanted the cabinet ministers to make the suggestion first.

In truth, the cabinet ministers all understood this bit of imperial thinking, but none was willing to speak up. The Emperor cherished his reputation extremely. Should the peace talks fail or the news leak out, the Emperor would not take the blame for them.

Seeing everyone remain silent, Chongzhen asked directly: "Mr. Liu?"

Liu Yuliang was the second-ranked person among the cabinet ministers. Hearing Chongzhen's question, he responded carefully at once: "The Kun claim to be descendants of Zhao Song and overseas loyalists, yet they wear their hair short and their clothes short, practicing the way of changing the Xia with the Yi. Nominally loyalists, they are in truth barbarians. These Kun mostly hail from the south and are unaccustomed to northern climate and water and soil. Although they are a pressing concern, they are not a great calamity. This humble official believes the current plan should prioritize suppressing the Roving Bandits."

These words could be called watertight. He spoke neither of "suppression" nor of "pacification," only saying "suppress the Roving Bandits first"—which aligned perfectly with the "Pacify the Interior" policy the Emperor had proposed not long ago. Even if the Emperor were inclined to find fault, he could discover none here.

Sure enough, Chongzhen showed dissatisfaction upon hearing this but said nothing further. He turned his gaze to Xue Guoguan.

This man Xue Guoguan was "sinister and harsh, unlearned and lacking literary talent," and had never possessed any consistent stance to speak of. During the Tianqi reign, he had served as a Supervising Secretary of the Office of Scrutiny for Revenue, attaching himself to Wei Zhongxian and impeaching Donglin officials. In the early Chongzhen reign, he had impeached remnants of Wei Zhongxian's party, drawing criticism from court opinion and forcing him to resign under the pretext of caring for his parents to avoid the limelight. He was only reinstated in the third year of Chongzhen. His entry into the Grand Secretariat relied entirely on Wen Tiren's recommendation; he was one of Wen's partisans through and through.

Seeing the Emperor turn to him, he had already formulated a response. He said: "Since the Kun claim descent from the Great Song—regardless of whether this is true or false—their heart of yearning for China is evident. Although they do not submit to the Kingly Transformation now, we have never heard of them usurping titles or proclaiming rival systems. Regarding officials of the Imperial Court who fell to them, they mostly sent them out of the border with courtesy. The captured Imperial Clansmen were also generally treated well. Presumably, they are not arrogant and rude people..."

Speaking thus far, he quietly observed the Emperor's expression. Seeing that His Majesty showed no displeasure, he emboldened himself to continue: "The Kun know shame. Presumably, they differ from the Eastern Barbarians and Roving Bandits. If we can enlighten them with loyalty, faith, benevolence, and righteousness, they are not stubborn stones."

These words went a step further than Liu Yuliang's, but the window paper still was not pierced. The statements that followed from others were largely identical with only minor variations—going around in circles, all implying "Pacification" while refusing to utter the word itself.

The Emperor felt a growing impatience and turned his gaze back to Wen Tiren.

Wen Tiren said: "The matter of the Kun should only be planned slowly, not rushed. Your subject believes we should instruct the new Governor of Southern Gan, ordering him to train troops and prepare for war, and to dispatch more spies to gather intelligence—all in preparation for the Imperial Court's future suppression campaign."

Everyone else had been speaking "moderate" words, but he alone sang a different tune, stunning the assembly. Then they heard him continue: "Since the Kun raised their troops, rumors claim they are invincible, inevitably breeding arrogance from top to bottom. If we do not blunt their sharp edge and display the might of our Celestial Dynasty, I fear it will be difficult for them to appreciate what loyalty and righteousness truly are..."

Wen Tiren's words seemed somewhat baffling on the surface. But the Emperor understood his meaning perfectly. For astute men, discerning the Emperor's wishes was not difficult—but discerning the Emperor's specific intended method depended on each person's cultivation.

Chongzhen nodded slightly. Although he had not received an explicit suggestion for "Pacification," at least the cabinet ministers had reached a "consensus." And what Wen Tiren had just said suited his mind very well. As for the specific handling, he did not want the cabinet ministers to know everything. After all, this was not a glorious affair.

"Recently, a minister reported that since Guangzhou has fallen and Moon Port has been abandoned, maritime trade is cut off. He requested opening Shanghai in the Southern Zhili as a port, permitting Chinese and foreign merchants to trade there, re-establishing the Supervisorate of Merchant Shipping, and measuring ships to collect taxes. The estimate is two hundred thousand taels of silver annually to supplement provisions. What do you gentlemen think?"

Strictly speaking, seventeenth-century China possessed only two foreign trade ports: Guangzhou and Moon Port. Guangzhou followed the "Old Precedent," and since the Portuguese served as trade middlemen, it meant little to Chinese maritime merchants. Most maritime merchants sailed to countries in the East and West Oceans through Moon Port instead.

The management models and trade forms of the two ports differed substantially, hence the distinction between the "Guangzhou Case" and the "Moon Port Case" as separate precedents. However, whichever case applied, the taxes collected had a strong local character. It was not until the Wanli Emperor dispatched eunuchs everywhere to serve as Tax Supervisors that maritime trade revenue became part of the Emperor's Inner Palace income.

Yet both precedents imposed many restrictions on maritime merchants, so Moon Port trade gradually declined by the end of the Tianqi reign. Trade shifted to Anping under Zheng Zhilong's control. As a result, both the central court and local government lost the maritime trade tax revenue of the Fujian port.

(End of Chapter)