pjbooks Chapter 36 Chenghua Plows the Court (End)
Chapter 36 Chenghua Plows the Court (End)
Lin Ke's voice continued to come from the small screen.
"As we mentioned earlier, the first campaign to wipe out the Jurchens did not completely exterminate them. Following this battle, the Ming Dynasty decided to reinforce its troops and build fortifications, strengthening border defenses and expanding into areas like Liaodong by 'establishing beacon towers, deploying troops, clearing wilderness, and expanding agricultural settlements.'"
"The Ming Dynasty also reinforced the eastern wall to prevent the Jianzhou Jurchens from retaliating and harassing the people."
"The Jianzhou Jurchens lay dormant under the strong pressure of these policies until January of the fourteenth year of the Chenghua reign (1448), when the Jianzhou Jurchens joined forces with the Haixi Jurchens to launch a major invasion of the Ming Dynasty."
"The Ming Dynasty failed to intercept them in time, and the Jurchens returned with a full load."
"Chen Yue, the governor of Liaodong, wrote a memorial to the emperor, believing that the strength of the Jurchens was slowly recovering and requesting permission to launch a campaign against the Jianzhou Three Guards."
Lin Ke: He's absolutely right!
"Chen Yue ultimately broke through 53 strongholds and beheaded 200, marking the second Chenghua purge."
"But somehow a rumor spread that Chen Yue had murdered an innocent Jurchen tribute envoy, which aroused strong resentment among the Jurchens."
Jurchen: I'm reporting that brat Chen Yue for killing my innocent tribute envoy.
Chen Yue: ...
Jurchens: We refuse to accept this!
……
"Left with no other choice, Zhu Jianru dispatched Ma Wensheng, the Minister of War, to appease the Jurchens."
"Ma Wensheng sent horses and cloth to the victims' families to quell the incident and also tried to appease some rebellious Jurchen leaders, but he still believed that the Jurchens harbored rebellious intentions."
"Sure enough, not long after, the Jurchens rebelled again. The Ming army suppressed them at Fengji Fort. Knowing they couldn't win, the Jurchens immediately surrendered to Ma Wensheng. Ma Wensheng didn't pursue the matter; instead, he repeatedly comforted them, ordered the return of the prisoners, and still ordered them to pay tribute."
"Unfortunately, this matter did not end there. Not long after, the Jurchens rebelled again, the Ming army defeated them once more, and the Jurchens accepted the offer of amnesty again. This series of events entered a cycle."
Jurchen: Haha! We're here!
Ming army: Attack!
Jurchen: Hahahaha! We're back again!
Ming army: ...
Zhu Bajie of the Ming Dynasty (speechless): ...
All the Ming emperors (speechless): ...
Just when Ma Wensheng was struggling to cope, the imperial court sent Wang Zhi, the director of the Western Depot, to assist him.
"Wang Zhi was a controversial figure, often grouped with Wang Zhen during the reign of Emperor Yingzong, Liu Jin during the reign of Emperor Wuzong, and Wei Zhongxian during the reign of Emperor Xizong as the 'Four Great Eunuchs of the Ming Dynasty.' We'll skip over them for now!"
Zhu Baba of the Ming Dynasty: Very good. We have completely forgotten the rule we established at the beginning that eunuchs should not interfere in politics, and that those who interfere should be executed!
Zhu Houzhao, the number one mischievous child of the Ming Dynasty: Great-grandfather, Wang Zhen knocked down that stele!
Zhu Bajie of the Ming Dynasty: !!! Good, good, good! This damned eunuch doesn't respect us at all!
……
"At this time, both of them were still in favor of appeasement, but the Jurchens still insisted on their own way. According to the Ming Shilu, the Jurchens repeatedly invaded and even killed government troops."
"Wang Zhi had had enough of the Jurchens' fickleness and gradually became a proponent of war. However, Ma Wensheng disagreed with his view, believing that the border was a strategic location and not easy to mobilize troops. He impeached Chen Yue for wantonly killing innocent Jurchens and taking credit for them, which is why the Jurchens were so fickle."
"When Chen Yue found out, he also impeached Ma Wensheng, arguing that the crime was that he did not sell agricultural tools to the Jurchens. However, this policy already existed before Ma Wensheng arrived and was a border policy granted by the court, so the crime did not lie with Ma Wensheng. However, Wang Zhi sided with Chen Yue, and he was backed by the powerful Emperor Chenghua. As a result, Ma Wensheng was demoted by Emperor Chenghua, Zhu Jianru."
"In addition, after several migrations, the Jurchens encountered fertile soil and a suitable living environment, which led to rapid development in agriculture. As a result, their ambitions grew and they set their sights on the more resource-rich Ming Dynasty."
"After the Jurchens invaded the border, they always plundered the Han people and treated them as slaves, just like horses, cattle, and sheep. Chen Yue hoped to lead another expedition against the Jurchens until they were defeated and the Han people were freed."
"Emperor Chenghua also thought this decision was very feasible, and specially appointed Zhu Yong, Wang Zhi and Chen Yue to be in charge of this battle."
"Some people say that Wang Zhi and Chen Yue only took action against the Jurchens to gain military merits, but such a conclusion is not credible. First of all, military action is not launched unless it is unnecessary. After all, war is expensive and there are officials who will criticize it. Would they go to such lengths just to gain military merits?"
"In this battle, the Ming army defeated the Jurchens and beheaded 695 people, marking the third time that the Ming army had wiped out the Jurchens."
"The aftermath of this battle is not well recorded. It is difficult to find any further records of Jurchen invasions in the 'Ming Shilu' (Veritable Records of the Ming Dynasty). Furthermore, the Ming Dynasty later reopened the Fushun horse market, which indirectly indicates that the Jurchens suffered significant losses and needed a considerable amount of time to recover."
"In short, Emperor Chenghua Zhu Jianru's three campaigns to wipe out the Jurchens were relatively effective in suppressing the rebellion. In addition, the construction of border walls and control of the Liaodong border prevented the Jurchens from launching large-scale invasions of the Ming Dynasty and wantonly plundering Han people."