roccoschili Chapter 1: The Young Emperor Zhu Houzhao!
Chapter 1: The Young Emperor Zhu Houzhao!
In May of the eighteenth year of the Hongzhi reign, Zhu Youcheng, the ninth emperor of the Ming Dynasty, passed away, and his temple name was Xiaozong.
In the same year, the fifteen-year-old Crown Prince Zhu Houzhao ascended the throne.
In the same month that Zhu Houzhao ascended the throne, a strange battle took place in Xuanfu, the gateway to the Ming capital.
The enemy launched a large-scale invasion of Xuanfu, and Zhang Jun, the general of Xuanfu, led 20,000 Ming troops to meet the enemy.
Huang Zhen, the deputy commander of Xuanfu, was killed in battle, as was Zhang Xiong, the guerrilla general of Xuanfu. The Ming army suffered more than 2,000 casualties and lost countless horses and valuables.
Historically, this is known as the defeat at Yutailing.
……
Forbidden City.
Qianqing Palace.
"I've transmigrated! I've become Zhu Houzhao, the tenth emperor of the Ming Dynasty?"
Zhu Houzhao looked at the files in front of him and felt somewhat incredulous.
Historically, this man could be considered the number one playboy of the Ming Dynasty.
During the Zhengde era, secret police and imperial guards were rampant, treacherous officials held power, and the people suffered greatly.
Thinking of these words, Zhu Houzhao felt a lot of pressure. Could he, an ordinary modern man, manage such a country well?
Just then, a commotion broke out outside the door.
Zhu Houzhao frowned: "What's all the commotion outside?"
The next moment, Liu Jin walked into the hall and said with a smile, "Your Majesty, Grand Secretary Liu Jian requests an audience, but Your Majesty can rest assured, this old servant has already kept him outside."
"Why don't you let him in?" Zhu Houzhao asked coldly.
"This old servant was just afraid of disturbing Your Majesty's rest."
Liu Jin, oblivious to Zhu Houzhao's change in demeanor, continued to laugh and joke, "This old servant will handle this matter for Your Majesty."
In an instant, a surge of anger rose in Zhu Houzhao's heart.
Zhu Houzhao was furious because Liu Jin had overstepped his bounds and dared to covet the power in his hands!
"Will you handle state affairs for me?"
"Then why don't you come and help me become the emperor?!"
Liu Jin was terrified, his face turning ashen, cold sweat pouring down his back. He immediately knelt down and kowtowed, begging for mercy: "Your Majesty, please calm your anger! This old servant would never dare!"
"This old servant was worried that Your Majesty would be overworked, which is why I wanted to share Your Majesty's burdens. I would never dare to have any disloyal thoughts!"
Liu Jin was filled with fear. He had thought that, based on his relationship with Zhu Houzhao, he should be deeply trusted by Zhu Houzhao.
He could then take advantage of Zhu Houzhao's youth and unwillingness to attend to state affairs to seize the opportunity to exercise the emperor's power on his behalf.
But he never expected that the young emperor would suddenly value the power he held so much.
Zhu Houzhao naturally didn't have a good impression of this person who attempted to seize his power: "Take him out and give him one hundred strokes of the cane."
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
Immediately, the eunuchs from the Eastern Depot guarding outside the Qianqing Palace took Liu Jin, who was crying and shouting incessantly, away.
Liu Jian, who was waiting outside, saw Liu Jin being punished by Zhu Houzhao. A hint of pleasure flashed across his face, but it was quickly replaced by worry.
"Let Liu Jian in."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Having received permission, Liu Jian hurriedly entered the Qianqing Palace, his anxious expression evident on his face!
"Your Majesty! Xuanfu is in grave danger! The Ming Dynasty is in grave danger!"
Liu Jian presented Zhu Houzhao with a military dispatch delivered by express courier, his expression particularly earnest: "Your Majesty, I implore you to dispatch troops and hasten to Xuanfu. If Xuanfu falls, the enemy will advance unimpeded and march straight to the capital!"
"What?!"
Zhu Houzhao was suddenly startled and quickly took the military dispatch to read it.
Xuanfu is only four hundred li away from the capital. If Xuanfu is lost, the capital will be in grave danger.
Is he destined to become the last emperor of the Ming Dynasty, after just transmigrating into his body?!
The emperor guards the nation's gates; the monarch dies for the state.
The two important military strongholds guarded by the Ming emperor were Xuanfu and Datong.
Now that Xuanfu is in dire straits, how could Zhu Houzhao not be terrified?
But after reading the military dispatch, Zhu Houzhao hesitated.
Something's wrong with this military dispatch!
There are at least three points of doubt in this military letter.
First, we don't know how many enemy troops have come.
The military dispatch only stated that the enemy's camps stretched for twenty li, but there was no specific number, not even an estimated figure.
Secondly, we don't know who the enemy leader is.
The military dispatches stated that Zhang Jun, the general of Xuanfu, led 20,000 Ming troops to meet the enemy. If the enemy was able to defeat 20,000 Ming troops, then the enemy must have numbered at least tens of thousands.
Xuanfu corresponds to the Northern Yuan. The only person who can muster so many troops on the grasslands is the current Great Khan of Mongolia, Borjigin Batumonke.
The Ming Dynasty called him the Little Prince.
However, the Ming army's military records showed that they didn't even know who they were fighting, which was quite strange!
More importantly, just the year before, the little prince had written a letter requesting to pay tribute to the Ming Dynasty.
From this perspective, the Little Prince had even less of a clear motive to attack the Ming Dynasty.
Third, we don't know why the enemy invaded our border.
Generally speaking, when the Tartars from the grasslands raid the border, they simply want to plunder some grain and valuables to take back for the winter.
It is May, not winter, and there is no historical record of the Tartars invading in May.
Moreover, when the Tartars plunder, they tend to target smaller border towns, rather than attacking important military strongholds like Xuanfu.
How could Zhu Houzhao possibly believe such a suspicious military letter?
Seeing Zhu Houzhao's hesitation, Liu Jian urged, "Your Majesty, quickly order the troops to march!"
"The longer we delay, the more dangerous Xuanfu becomes!"
Zhu Houzhao turned to look at Liu Jian, and his deep gaze suddenly made Liu Jian's breath catch in his throat, and he felt uneasy.
Is this the kind of gaze a fifteen-year-old boy would have?
Your Majesty, have you discovered something fishy?
Zhu Houzhao held the military dispatch, paced back and forth for a while, and suddenly asked, "Grand Secretary Liu, in your opinion, what should I do?"
Liu Jian calmed down and, following his prepared statement, said loudly, "In my opinion, we should immediately stop investigating military camps and granaries across the country, and also stop investigating the number of troops in each region."
"Order the Ministry of War to dispatch troops, appoint a commander-in-chief, and lead the three major battalions of the capital to reinforce Xuanfu!"
As Zhu Houzhao listened, a sudden thought struck him, and he noticed something suspicious.
Audit?
Another audit?!
Zhu Houzhao quickly went to the desk and found the record about the audit in the mountain of memorials.
From the very first day of Zhu Houzhao's ascension to the throne, he ordered eunuchs Zhang Yong, Ma Yongcheng, Gao Feng, and others to investigate the army in the capital.
During the investigation of the military garrison pastures in Jizhou, it was discovered that they had been simultaneously encroached upon by numerous departments, including the Ministry of War, the Five Military Commissions, and the Imperial Horse Administration.
During the investigation of the 71 garrisons in the capital region, it was discovered that of the originally designated 339,000 soldiers, only 155,000 were actually on duty.
The number of people receiving salaries without working is more than 184,000.
Based on the calculation of ten taels of silver per person per year for military pay, these garrisons would siphon off 1.84 million taels of silver from the Ming emperor every year as a form of empty pay.
Embezzlement!
This is unacceptable!
These are the Beijing troops! Right under the emperor's nose, they dare to do this.
As for the border troops, they were even more lawless and unruly.
Only then did Zhu Houzhao finally understand why the defeat at Yutailing had occurred.
But even if he knew, what could he do?
Apart from eunuchs like Liu Jin, he had no one he could trust in the entire court.
Even if he knew there was embezzlement, he couldn't investigate any further.
If this investigation continues, the world might turn upside down!
Liu Jian stared at Zhu Houzhao, pressing him relentlessly: "Your Majesty, quickly order a halt to the military purge and immediately dispatch troops to Xuanfu!"
Zhu Houzhao took a deep breath, his heart filled with despair.
Just as he was about to comply with Liu Jian and order a halt to the investigation of the army, a heavenly sound rang in his mind.
"Ding! A check-in location has been detected. Would you like to check in?"