Chapter 57 Beating
"Yes, I am also worried about this." Chongzhen sighed falsely, "So I have no choice but to let Sun Chengzong rest in his hometown for a while longer."

"If there is really no other way in the end, let's talk about it later."

"Gudong." Yuan Chonghuan swallowed his saliva. The meaning of Chongzhen's words could not be more obvious.

If he could not control the situation in Liaodong, Chongzhen would have to use Sun Chengzong.

Yuan Chonghuan couldn't imagine what would happen to him if the old commander-in-chief took office.

It’s not that he had any grudge against Sun Chengzong. On the contrary, Yuan Chonghuan admired Sun Chengzong very much, otherwise he would not have listened to Sun Chengzong’s words back then.

It’s just that the feeling of being scolded like a dog, not even daring to bark, is really too uncomfortable.

But on second thought, he felt a lot more relaxed. After all, Chongzhen finally said that he could let Sun Chengzong rest at home for a while. At least Sun Chengzong would not be used for the time being.

But if Sun Chengzong is not appointed, who will be appointed to preside over Liaodong?
Originally, Yuan Chonghuan was determined to get the position of Liaodong Commander-in-Chief, but ever since Chongzhen mentioned Sun Chengzong, even he did not realize that the inexplicable self-confidence in his heart had dissipated a lot, and he no longer felt that many things were certain.

However, Chongzhen did not disappoint Yuan Chonghuan and chuckled, "I originally planned to let you gain experience in the capital for a period of time and get familiar with the operation of the six ministries, but I suddenly feel that this is not necessary."

Historically, although Yuan Chonghuan was reinstated by Chongzhen in November of the seventh year of the Tianqi reign, he was not transferred to Liaodong immediately.

It was not until May of the first year of Chongzhen that Yuan Chonghuan took office after Wang's ministers caused the Battle of Jinxing, which angered the court.

But now Wang An had told Chongzhen about the Battle of Jinxing in advance, and the Ningyuan Rebellion was imminent, so Chongzhen was too lazy to find any excuse to replace Wang's ministers.

In extraordinary times, extraordinary things must be done. Chongzhen is the emperor anyway, so what if he directly dismisses Wang Zhichen? Do you still dare to come back and question me?
"Your Majesty means..." Yuan Chonghuan had a vague intuition and felt that happiness came too quickly.

Just a moment ago, I was still reminding myself that you, Yuan Chonghuan, are not the only one who can be the governor of Liaodong. My Ming Dynasty is full of talented people.

The next moment, he seemed to want to appoint me immediately.

This made Yuan Chonghuan start to take the young emperor Chongzhen seriously and no longer dared to look down on him.

Chongzhen did not hesitate and said directly: "My dear minister, pack up and leave for Liaodong immediately."

"I obey your command!" Yuan Chonghuan said happily.

But before he could be happy for long, Chongzhen's attitude suddenly turned cold: "Just don't say anything about pacifying Liao in five years after you take office. Although I hope that the border troubles can be pacified as soon as possible, I don't want to let the important officials of the border towns bear such pressure and act too hastily. You should understand that haste leads to failure."

In the past, Chongzhen was extremely happy when he heard that Liao would be pacified in five years. On the one hand, Chongzhen really hoped that the Jiannu, who had been a disaster at the hands of his father and brothers, could be pacified in his own hands to prove his ability;
Secondly, the Ming Dynasty's treasury was empty and could not support the increasing military expenditure in Liaodong, so it sought a quick victory.

But now, realizing that neither Yuan Chonghuan nor anyone else has the ability to quickly pacify Liaodong, he temporarily suppressed this unrealistic idea.

What completely changed Chongzhen's mind was, of course, that the Ming Dynasty was now, or was not, so short of money. The eight million taels sent by Wei Zhongxian filled the inner treasury to the brim, and the Jinyiwei and the East and West Factories that were going to Huizhou to confiscate property had also set out. It was believed that Chongzhen would soon receive another huge sum of money.

Even if the Huizhou merchants had a property of 30 million and 2, excluding the land, houses, antiques, calligraphy and paintings, which were assets that were difficult to liquidate at the moment, the cash alone would not be less than the proceeds from the confiscation in Yangzhou.

Even Wanli, when Zhang Juzheng had just died, was not as rich as he is now.

Thinking of the mountains of silver in the inner treasury, Chongzhen felt a sense of domineering "who else?"

In this case, it seems that the strategy of taking steady steps and slowly forcing the Jiannu to death is more prudent.

In fact, no matter whether it was Xiong Tingbi, Sun Chengzong or Yuan Chonghuan, these three great men who successively governed Liaodong all adopted a step-by-step and gradually pressing tactic, which is enough to show that both the strategies of a quick victory or shrinking the defense line are unrealistic and inappropriate.

And when all the great men died, it was the turn of Zu Dashou, Wu Sangui and other monkeys who called themselves kings to rule Liaodong. The entire Guanning Defense Line was nothing in Huang Taiji's eyes. He could invade the border whenever he wanted, which fully proved that it was meaningless to simply shrink the defense line and defend the Guanning Defense Line.

Today, Chongzhen shocked Yuan Chonghuan so much that he could only agree to it, completely losing the wisdom he had when he proposed to pacify Liao in five years.

At that time, in Yuan Chonghuan's eyes, Chongzhen was just a young emperor who could be easily deceived.

But now, he has transformed into an unpredictable leader.

Under this sudden pressure, Yuan Chonghuan became much more obedient and said, "After I arrive in Liaodong, what do you think I should do?"

Chongzhen felt this subtle change and was once again grateful for the assistance of Wang An, Chongzhen's version of "Liu Bowen". Otherwise, how could he have subdued such an arrogant person like Yuan Chonghuan.

While admiring Wang An, he stroked his beard and smiled, "The strategy you originally proposed is very good. Don't be too hasty and proceed step by step. But there is one thing. Whether you want to warn or teach Mao Wenlong a lesson, you must not kill him. Pi Island is not as easy to control as you think."

"Secondly, Liaodong Governor Bi Zisu is a good helper in handling internal affairs. You should listen to his opinions more and not be arrogant! Thirdly, Liaodong has been in arrears of military pay for several months, which has affected morale. I will allocate 740,000 taels of silver from the treasury, and another 40,000 taels of silver owed to the Imperial Household Department for horse money and rewards, a total of 780,000 taels."

"When you take office, immediately start paying the arrears of wages. Don't let the soldiers at the border be left without food and clothing and cause a mutiny."

Chongzhen did not say anything empty, but instead gave all the details that needed to be implemented, and Yuan Chonghuan was terrified by what he said one by one.

Not only did he guess that Yuan Chonghuan had been dissatisfied with Mao Wenlong for a long time, but he also directly warned him not to touch Mao Wenlong, and bluntly stated that Pi Island was not something Yuan Chonghuan could control. This made Yuan Chonghuan both unconvinced and shocked, as if Chongzhen saw through everything about him.

As for Bi Zisu's affairs, Yuan Chonghuan didn't care.

Although this person was not a man of extraordinary talent, he was indeed a down-to-earth person as Chongzhen said, and he was an honest and fair official.

It was just that the last issue about military pay made Yuan Chonghuan wonder whether there were any Jinyiwei spies around him.

(End of this chapter)