Chapter 136: Surprise, Shock

On the twenty-sixth day of the ninth month of the ninth year of the Chongzhen reign. Inside the Battalion Commander’s official hall at Shunxiang Fort.

The weather already carried a distinct chill, and everyone inside and outside Shunxiang Fort had changed into thick winter clothes. At this moment, waves of laughter and merriment drifted out from the great hall.

“Come, precious son, give me a kiss.”

Wang Dou paced back and forth inside the hall holding his son Wang Zheng, teasing him from time to time. His son Wang Zheng simply giggled ceaselessly in his arms. Beside Wang Dou, his mother Lady Zhong, his uncle Zhong Xiancai, and his wife Xie Xiuniang all watched with smiles.

Xie Xiuniang’s gaze followed the figures of her husband and son as they moved. Her face was full of blissful smiles, and it also glowed with the radiance of motherhood.

At the beginning of the eighth month, Xie Xiuniang had given birth to a son for Wang Dou. The process was perilous but ended safely; both mother and child were well.

Yet at the time, both Wang Dou and his mother Lady Zhong had been drenched in cold sweat. Xie Xiuniang was small and slender, making childbirth difficult. Many midwives said that with the lady’s build, there was a risk of obstructed labor. Wang Dou had considered this too, and at the time he thought he would have to face the choice of saving the mother or the child. In the end, by the blessing of the infinitely merciful Guanyin Bodhisattva, after a painful struggle Xie Xiuniang smoothly delivered a plump, healthy son.

Wang Dou racked his brains and named his son Wang Zheng.

With an heir to the master, the whole fort rejoiced. For a time, all of Shunxiang Fort was submerged in the crackling of firecrackers. When Wang Dou held the one-month celebration feast for his son, guests thronged to his door.

Wang Dou was now a man in the limelight. After the military merits of Shunxiang Fort spread, they caused a great stir, and voices of disbelief were everywhere. Everyone spread the word that with such great merit, Wang Dou was certain to be promoted and granted an official post. Many were even spreading rumors that Wang Dou would very likely be honored with a promotion to Garrison Commander of the department city, making him the master of all Baoan Department.

A twenty-four-year-old Garrison Commander inevitably drew the envy and jealousy of many. Yet jealousy aside, taking the opportunity of Wang Dou’s one-month celebration feast, people still came in an endless stream to forge ties and offer congratulations. Not only did Garrison Commander Lord Xu come in person, but the department city’s Grain Commissioner Zhang Gui also arrived beaming with joy, and Garrison Commander Shi Min from Zhang Family Fort hurried over to build connections. Garrison Commander Yang Zhichang of the Five Forts also came, albeit reluctantly.

Speaking of this Yang Zhichang, Wang Dou had once had a minor episode with him. At the start of the eighth month, Yang Zhichang sent men to demand the return of population from Wang Dou. When Abatai led his troops to attack Shunxiang Fort, he had overrun several of the garrison forts under Yang Zhichang’s jurisdiction and carried off a number of military households and commoners. Apart from those who had died, the remainder had all been exchanged by Wang Dou using Qing soldier corpses and had become military household population of Shunxiang Fort.

Yang Zhichang confidently and righteously sent his men, but to his surprise, these men were beaten away with clubs before they could even see Wang Dou’s face. Not daring to move against Wang Dou, Yang Zhichang appealed to the department city’s Garrison Commander Xu Zucheng, but there was never any follow-up. Yang Zhichang hated it bitterly, yet he could do nothing. From many sources he heard word that Wang Dou might very well become his direct superior. After several sleepless nights, Yang Zhichang finally decided to take the initiative to show goodwill to Wang Dou. On the day of Wang Dou’s one-month celebration feast, he brought a large quantity of congratulatory gifts and paid a visit.

During the banquet, the two talked with great cheer. Not a trace of their past discord could be seen.

Beyond this, all the important figures from the department city and the guard city sent congratulatory gifts one after another. What Wang Dou did not expect was that the Garrison Commander’s son, Li Shouqin, came in person and delivered a lavish gift. Wang Dou’s good friend, Fu Mingqi, the Director of the Confucian School of Baoan Department, even acknowledged Wang Dou’s son Wang Zheng as his godson on the spot, making the military men present endlessly envious.

The lively scene before the gate of the Battalion Commander’s official hall only gradually quieted down by mid-ninth month. The victory report and the list of military merits had already been submitted. All sides were holding their breath, quietly awaiting the outcome. Wang Dou took the chance to enjoy some peace and quiet, staying home to keep his wife and child company.

Holding his son Wang Zheng, the more Wang Dou looked, the more he loved him. Look how much his son resembled him — these eyebrows, these eyes, this hair… there was no part that did not look alike. Holding his son, Wang Dou felt a sense of flesh-and-blood connection. This was his crystallization in this era, the essence of centuries. With a son, Wang Dou had truly merged into this era.

Wang Dou kissed his son on the face. Wang Zheng had been giggling all along, but unexpectedly, after Wang Dou kissed him, his little mouth crumpled and he burst out crying with a wail. Wang Dou was rather embarrassed. He said, “Precious son, why are you crying?”

Lady Zhong had experience. She said, “He’s probably hungry. It’s time to feed him milk.”

Xie Xiuniang came over with a smile and said, “Husband, let me hold Zheng’er.”

Xie Xiuniang took the child away. A personal guard came in to report that Lord Lin Daofu was outside requesting an audience.

…

Lin Daofu strode in with a vigorous, powerful gait. This tall officer was brimming with energy from head to toe. Shunxiang Fort had achieved great merit this time, and once the rewards from above came down, a large number of people should be promoted. Everyone in Shunxiang Fort had also heard the rumor that Wang Dou might be promoted to Garrison Commander of the department city. This made Lin Daofu’s heart stir considerably. If Wang Dou were transferred, after so many years at Shunxiang Fort, shouldn’t he himself be able to rise to Garrison Commander?

Driven by this notion, his enthusiasm for work burned even higher. Every day he busied himself inside and out — reclaiming wasteland inside and outside the fort, digging irrigation wells, distributing grain rations, and many other matters all required his management. Over these days, he had visibly grown thin and dark, but Lin Daofu’s spirits were exceedingly high, and his eyes grew ever more piercing and bright.

He had come in to report to Wang Dou on affairs inside and outside the fort. From the eighth month onward, Shunxiang Fort had begun constructing barracks for the newly arrived military households to live in, along with autumn plowing and sowing, reclaiming wasteland, and a series of other tasks that all had to be pressed forward urgently.

According to what Lin Daofu said, over these two months the results had been satisfactory. The hearts of the more than five thousand commoners seized from the Qing troops had already settled. The bright prospects of Shunxiang Fort had drawn them in. Along the northwest sides of Shunxiang Fort, rows of barracks had already been built, giving the new military households an ideal place to shelter before the winter cold arrived.

With the efforts of the large population, a good deal of wasteland within Shunxiang Fort’s territory had also been reclaimed, and many irrigation wells had been dug. Only…

Lin Daofu said, “My lord, over these two months, the consumption of grain, rice, silver, and coin within the fort has been enormous.”

After pursuing the Qing troops, Wang Dou had over three thousand dan of grain and rice in stock, over five hundred head of cattle, over a thousand pigs and sheep, over five hundred mules and horses, over three hundred taels of gold, and over seven thousand taels of silver. In the eighth month, Garrison Commander Li Yi’an and Garrison Commander Xu Zucheng had also transferred one thousand five hundred dan of grain from the guard city and the department city.

The wealth seemed considerable, but Shunxiang Fort now had a population of over twelve thousand people, equivalent to the population of two full-strength Battalion Commander garrisons. With so many mouths to feed, Wang Dou’s pressure was immense. Although from the seventh year of Chongzhen onward, the nearly five thousand mu of new fields reclaimed over at Jingbian Fort could yield tax grain, it was still a drop in the bucket. The livelihood of most of the fort’s soldiers and civilians depended on Wang Dou’s support.

Outsiders saw Wang Dou as leisurely, but they did not understand the troubles of the man in charge.

In order to achieve self-sufficiency as quickly as possible, and because Wang Dou estimated that there would be no major battles within the Baoan Guard for several years, of Shunxiang Fort’s five companies of soldiers, apart from one company and the fort’s night scouts who continued to garrison the city and drill, the remaining four companies of troops all went down to the fields to work. From then on, these five companies would rotate garrison duty, one company every two months. Only during the agricultural off-season or when there was a military campaign would the five companies assemble together.

As for the problem Lin Daofu mentioned, Wang Dou of course knew it. He paced a few steps inside the hall with his hands behind his back, then said to him, “There is no need for you to worry about this matter, Lord Lin. I will naturally find a way to resolve it. For the various affairs within the fort, I must still entreat you to labor diligently.”

Lin Daofu said, “My lord’s words are too weighty. This is my duty; what labor is there to speak of?”

This old ox who toiled without complaint went off elatedly. Sure enough, as long as Wang Dou was there, he only needed to work hard. The most vexing matters did not require his worry.

After Lin Daofu left, Wang Dou paced a few more circles inside the hall, then finally stopped to drink tea and ponder.

Just as he was thinking, another personal guard reported that Han Chao had come to see him.

Han Chao hurried in. As soon as he saw Wang Dou, he said, “My lord, quickly, quickly make preparations.”

Wang Dou asked curiously, “Brother Han, why such urgency? What preparations?”

Han Chao said, “Garrison Commander Lord Xu sent a retainer with an urgent report, saying that the new Grand Coordinator Lord Lu is already on his way to Shunxiang Fort, and that my lord should make ready to receive him.”

“Lord Lu… Lu Xiangsheng?”

Wang Dou jumped up in shock.

…

Before the south gate of Shunxiang Fort, with Wang Dou at the head, a crowd of Shunxiang Fort’s officials and officers stood covering the ground. Lin Daofu, Judicial Commissioner Chi Dacheng, Han Chao, Han Zhong, Wen Fangliang, Sun Sanjie, Zhong Diaoyang, Clerk Feng Dachang, and the rest were all in place. At this time, the city was being guarded by Han Chao’s Right Company. The others — Han Zhong, Wen Fangliang, Sun Sanjie, and Zhong Diaoyang — had all originally been working in the fields. Upon hearing the news that the new Viceroy Lu Xiangsheng was arriving, every one of them had rushed over at top speed.

Everyone’s breath came fast and short, their faces flushed red with excitement. Among these people, many had only ever seen a Garrison Commander; even a Garrison Commander was a rare sight. Each of them calculated: above Garrison Commander was Garrison Commander, above Garrison Commander was Mobile Corps Commander, above Mobile Corps Commander was Assistant Regional Commander, above Assistant Regional Commander was Vice Regional Commander, and Vice Regional Commander was only equivalent to an Army Preparation Circuit Intendant among civil officials. Above the Army Preparation Circuit Intendant was the Provincial Governor, and above the Provincial Governor was the Viceroy of the Three Garrisons. Everyone gasped. A Viceroy — what a tremendously high official this was.

A high official who was Viceroy of the Three Garrisons would actually come to Shunxiang Fort. It was truly too unexpected.

The news of the new Viceroy Lu Xiangsheng’s arrival was truly soul-shaking.

Wang Dou’s heart was also tense. Not to mention that Lu Xiangsheng was a high official like the Viceroy of the Three Garrisons, he was also a famous figure in history. It would be false to say his heart was not nervous. Yet even if Wang Dou racked his brains, he could not figure out why Lu Xiangsheng would come to Shunxiang Fort.

Behind Wang Dou and Lin Daofu, Clerk Feng Dachang was meticulously adjusting his appearance, smoothing his three-stranded long beard and arranging his clothes and hair again and again, presumably wanting to leave a good impression on the soon-to-arrive Lu Xiangsheng. Seeing Feng Dachang’s manner, Wang Dou’s uncle also hurriedly inspected and adjusted his own appearance, muttering to himself, no one knew what he was saying.

Lin Daofu had completely lost the composure of a steady middle-aged officer. He nervously said to Wang Dou, “My lord, are our preparations this time sufficient? Could there be anything improper?”

He said anxiously, “The time is too tight. The welcoming arbor, ceremonial protocols, and drummers are completely unprepared. It is truly too discourteous.”

Seeing everyone’s nervousness, Wang Dou could not help but laugh. “My lords, there is no need to be overly anxious. The Grand Coordinator Lord Lu is coming; let us all welcome him with calm and steady hearts.”

Hearing Wang Dou say this, everyone’s tense nerves finally relaxed slightly.

Thinking that Wang Dou was at the front to bear the brunt, everyone also felt somewhat reassured.