Chapter 98: A Man Who Could Have Lived

Yuan Chonghuan did not disappoint Dr. Chen, and with unusual decisiveness, he continued to advance down the path of self-destruction. Yuan Chonghuan's third step in his self-destructive journey was to kill a man who could have lived, but he still raised his sword on his own territory, and the man submitted to his fate, allowing himself to be executed.

Zuo Dudu, a general with a seal of authority, the commander of Pidao, Mao Wenlong. A first-rank military officer!

"Acting without the emperor's command!" This was not a casual statement by Mao Wenlong; it was a statement verified by his life.

Mao Wenlong, as the commander of Pidao, was largely left alone by the Jiliu Governor, not because he didn't want to manage him, but because he was too difficult to manage. Pidao's location was very remote, isolated overseas, accessible only by sea. The territory of Dongjiang Town was taken back from the Jurchens by Mao Wenlong, and from the beginning of the Tianqi era, he was the only one who had reclaimed lost territory and maintained it.

In Pidao, it was very difficult to receive aid, so for a long time, Mao Wenlong had to find ways to earn money to support his troops. Because he didn't need the Jiliu Governor to worry about his supplies, he could also occasionally land and give the Jurchens a few kicks. To be honest, Mao Wenlong's military achievements were not significant, and his desire for active attacks was not strong, but his existence did objectively tie down the Jurchens' attention.

"Use him if he is useful, and if not, it is not difficult to kill him." This was what Yuan Chonghuan said to the cabinet minister Qian Longxi. The target of this "not difficult to kill" was Mao Wenlong. This statement is quite interesting. If Mao Wenlong had indeed reached a surrender agreement with Huang Taiji as recorded in the "Old Manchu Archives," would Yuan Chonghuan still dare to say this?

The fact is clear: Yuan Chonghuan clearly knew that Mao Wenlong had no intention of rebellion. He just wanted to be a local emperor in Pidao. Therefore, he said, "It is not difficult to kill him." From this conclusion, Yuan Chonghuan did not misjudge Mao Wenlong. This statement was made in July of the first year of the Chongzhen era, indicating that Yuan Chonghuan had long planned to deal with Mao Wenlong.

To force Mao Wenlong, who had always ignored the Jiliu Governor, to submit, Yuan Chonghuan made a decision: all supplies sent to Pidao must first go to Juehua Island and then be transported.

This move hit Mao Wenlong's vital point. Why? Mao Wenlong said, "This is a cut to my throat, I will surely die immediately."

It was simple: Mao Wenlong's fleet also did some trading. How could they do business if they had to go to Juehua Island first? Mao Wenlong had no choice but to complain to the emperor, saying he could not survive. Zhu Youjian's response was only four words: "Consider it in the long term."

After Yuan Chonghuan cut off Mao Wenlong's financial resources, and when Mao Wenlong was so poor he could not even feed himself, Yuan Chonghuan specially approved 100,000 taels of silver for Mao Wenlong. The meaning was clear: "You must listen, or I will kill you!"

Mao Wenlong clearly misunderstood this, thinking there was still room for negotiation. So they talked, but Yuan Chonghuan had already raised his sword.

In the "History of the Ming" compiled by Zhang Tingyu, there are multiple records of Mao Wenlong harassing "our Great Qing," although the language used is extremely derogatory, it cannot hide the fact that Mao Wenlong caused a lot of trouble for "our Great Qing." These troubles were aimed directly at "our Great Qing's" vital points. This is a criminal fact that even "our Great Qing" had to acknowledge and record in the "History of the Ming." Therefore, the initial motive for Yuan Chonghuan to kill Mao Wenlong can be clearly seen.

"I won't let you ignore my commands!" That's it, that's the motive for Yuan Chonghuan to kill Mao Wenlong. The so-called 12 crimes, even if they could justify Mao Wenlong's death, the decision to kill him was still up to Yuan Chonghuan. Because Mao Wenlong was a first-rank official, killing him required an imperial edict. Did Yuan Chonghuan have one? No! He claimed that the emperor had given him the authority to kill, and Mao Wenlong believed him, offering no resistance on his own territory.

Should Mao Wenlong have died? Objectively speaking, compared to later figures like Zu Dashou, Mao Wenlong was indeed an unqualified warlord. When Yuan Chonghuan called him for a meeting, he went. When Yuan Chonghuan said he had the emperor's approval, he believed it. Look at Zu Dashou, who ignored the emperor's summons to Beijing and was recalled halfway by Yuan Chonghuan's letter.

Yuan Chonghuan acted first and reported later, and Mao Wenlong was killed. Legally, he died without injustice. But in the context of the late Ming dynasty, Mao Wenlong's death was truly unjust. The illegal activities he engaged in were minor compared to those of other warlords. Was it just illegal trade? Was it just unwillingness to be commanded to fight "our Great Qing" to the death?

Yuan Chonghuan, waving the banner of justice, killed Mao Wenlong illegally. The reason it was illegal was the lack of proper procedure.

After the platform meeting, Yuan Chonghuan again committed an act of "deceiving the emperor." At this point, Yuan Chonghuan would not be executed, but he soon committed a third act of "deceiving the emperor." A subjective conclusion: whether Mao Wenlong's death was unjust is not important; the key is Yuan Chonghuan's desire for control and Mao Wenlong's lack of intention to rebel. If a conclusion must be drawn, it is: a miscarriage of justice under specific historical conditions!

Three months after Mao Wenlong's death, the "hemorrhoids" on "our Great Qing's" buttocks healed without treatment. On October 27, Huang Taiji led his troops out of Xifeng Pass. On October 28, Yuan Chonghuan ordered the Shanhaiguan General Zhao Lujiao to reinforce Zunhua, and the Jinzhou General Zu Dashou followed.

On November 4, Zhao Lujiao died in Santunying, and Yuan Chonghuan led his troops to Shanhaiguan. On November 5, Yuan Chonghuan led his troops into the Jizhou region. On November 6, Yuan Chonghuan arrived in Yongping and learned that Zunhua had been captured on November 3, and the governor Wang Yuanya was killed. Yuan Chonghuan received an imperial edict in Zhenzitown, granting him the authority to command the reinforcements from various regions.

On November 9, Yuan Chonghuan arrived in Shunyi, Jizhou. On November 10, Yuan Chonghuan entered Jizhou and promised, "I will fight to the end and not let them cross the western border of Jizhou." At the time, Sun Chengzong pointed out that they should defend the line from Jizhou to Sanhe, but Yuan Chonghuan deployed the troops to other areas, allowing the Later Jin forces to easily pass through Shimen on November 13. On November 14, Yuan Chonghuan learned that the Later Jin forces had already crossed Jizhou, and he pursued them without engaging in battle.

On November 16, Yuan Chonghuan arrived in Beijing before Huang Taiji, requesting to let his troops enter the city to rest. Ha, ha, the third step of self-destruction. "Our Great Qing" was about to attack, and instead of repelling the enemy, he wanted to bring his troops into the city first. What did he want to do?

On November 18, the Qing army reached Beijing, and the city was put under martial law, with the central government urgently mobilizing troops to defend the capital.

In Dengzhou, two months earlier, an unprecedented bountiful harvest was about to come, further solidifying the reputation of the divine doctor. Chen Xie, who was buying land in a frenzy, bought many plots of dry land that other landlords considered worthless and planted 8,000 acres of sweet potatoes. This crop had already been proven to yield 40 stones of fresh fruit per acre without difficulty.

The key was wheat. Experienced farmers estimated a yield of no less than 4 stones per acre. This was shocking, equivalent to 500 pounds per acre. While others were going crazy with excitement over the impending bountiful harvest, Lord Chen was still overseas. Zhang Yao was so anxious that she cursed, "Rascal," and personally went to Zhangjia Village to oversee the harvest, only to find that she had no role to play. The villagers of Zhangjia Village and the surrounding areas, organized by Chen family managers like Gu San, were harvesting in an orderly manner.

First, they harvested the sweet potatoes. Every household pushed at least one wheelbarrow into the fields, divided into sections, with able-bodied men digging up the sweet potatoes, and the elderly and children filling burlap bags, which were then transported to the roadside by wheelbarrows. There, four-wheeled carts were waiting, and as soon as a cart was full, it was taken to the village, where the sweet potatoes were weighed on a scale and distributed to the households according to their numbers, stacked in the courtyards.

Soon, Zhang Yao discovered a problem: those responsible for transporting the sweet potatoes to the villagers by four-wheeled carts were all members of the Zhangjia Village militia. With their help and effective organization, the entire harvest of sweet potatoes was completed in just one week, with an average yield of 40 stones per acre. The total yield of fresh sweet potatoes was 320,000 stones. The most shocking part was that these were all grown on dry land.

The harvested sweet potatoes were divided into two parts: half went to the households, and the other half was sent directly to one of Lord Chen's noodle factories, where the villagers worked to turn the sweet potatoes into noodles before the wheat harvest.

The noodles were dried, bagged, and then merchants came to purchase them, loading them onto carts and taking them away. After these tasks were completed, it was time to harvest the wheat. By then, Chen Xie had returned from his sea voyage, bringing back supplies from several warehouses. The most abundant items were paper-wrapped compressed biscuits and canned luncheon meat, as well as thermos flasks.

The thermoses, with their bamboo-woven exteriors, were immediately reserved and divided among merchants from Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian, and Guangdong, with a total of 100,000 thermoses, many of which were sold even before they were fully assembled. The price was fair, 10 taels of silver each, with payment required before delivery, and buyers were urged to act quickly.

Business matters were naturally not a concern for Chen Xie, who had Liu Qing in charge. On the day he returned to Zhangjia Village, he received a scolding from Zhang Yao, who criticized him for leaving for the sea during the critical harvest period. Chen Xie smiled and accepted the scolding, unable to tell her that "our Great Qing" was about to attack, and he was making the worst-case scenario preparations. What could be the worst-case scenario?

This starts with the transfer of General Yang Guodong. Not long after Sun Guozhen was dismissed and before Mao Wenlong was killed, Yang Guodong was also transferred. Dengzhou now had no general, and Zhang Keda, the deputy general, was the highest military commander.

Yingniang, following Chen Xie's instructions, collected various intelligence and unexpectedly discovered that Zhang Keda had been sending people to monitor Chen Xie's militia camp. Despite receiving a lot of silver, he was still doing this, which made Chen Xie wary.

One should not fear the usual, but the unexpected. Zhang Keda would definitely be ordered to defend the capital when "our Great Qing" attacked. The problem was that if he had suspicions about Chen Xie, he would likely confront him first. Chen Xie always made the worst-case scenario predictions about people's intentions, and Zhang Keda's behavior on the road had already revealed his intentions.

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End of the chapter.