[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army":3,"chapter-a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-chapter-144":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","A Little Soldier of the Late Ming Border Army",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1205433,1561,"Chapter 144: Civil Officials Amuse Themselves While Military Officers Idle","a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-chapter-144",144,"\u003Cp>The Baoan Department seat was not far from the Garrison Commander's residence. When Wang Dou arrived at the department seat, Department Magistrate Li Zhen had already led a group of officials, great and small, to wait in welcome at the gate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou saw that the department magistrate was in his forties, with a long three-strand beard and a dignified, imposing appearance, wearing a cyan fifth-rank official robe with a silver pheasant rank badge. This Li Zhen was in the prime of his life, and from him, Wang Dou also sensed an air of pride — that sense of superiority inherent to a civil official.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou wore the scarlet third-rank Assistant Guard Commander's official robe, with a tiger-and-leopard rank badge. In rank, Wang Dou far surpassed Li Zhen. Yet in the Great Ming, civil officials were honored and military officers debased; though Wang Dou's rank was higher, in former days Li Zhen would not have taken Wang Dou seriously at all, let alone hosted a banquet and personally come out to welcome him as he did today.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The main reason was that Li Zhen had heard Wang Dou had won the favor of the newly appointed Grand Coordinator Lu Xiangsheng, and that Huailong Military Defense Circuit Intendant Ji Shiwei also thought rather highly of him — only then did he come out to receive him. He smiled and exchanged pleasantries with Wang Dou, but that deep-seated sense of superiority still made others uncomfortable. Behind Wang Dou, Xie Yike curled his lip; Wang Dou himself remained composed, chatting and laughing easily with Li Zhen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After the pleasantries, the department magistrate introduced the cohort of colleagues behind him to Wang Dou. Wang Dou saw a great swath of minor civil officials and clerks wearing black gauze caps and green official robes embroidered with quail or magpie rank badges — most of them ninth-rank petty officials or miscellaneous staff. Strictly speaking, the only civil official in Baoan Department was Li Zhen himself; the rest were all clerks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Among this crowd, Wang Dou also spotted several familiar faces. Fu Mingqi, the Director of the Baoan Department Confucian School, smiled as he looked at Wang Dou. That his young friend of former days had risen to high rank and now guarded a city gave him a sense of comfort. Behind him were the Confucian School Instructors Jiang Hongsheng and Huang Riguang, both of whom Wang Dou had met before.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was also Baoan Department Jail Warden Chen Yuwen, Famine Relief Granary Commissioner Li Ju, Head Clerk Qi Guan, and others. Wang Dou had once come to the department city to ask them for help with matters. Seeing that the insignificant military man of the past had now become the Garrison Commander of a city, they all found it inconceivable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was also Wang Biao, the Medical School Director. Wang Dou had once taken Wang Tianxue from his hands. And behind Yongxing Granary Commissioner Deng Fu was that lean, wiry middle-aged man — Wang Dou remembered his nickname was Deng Yijiao. That kick he had heavily planted on the measuring dipper back then had left a deep impression on Wang Dou.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Behind Wang Dou, Han Chao also remembered this man and kept looking at Deng Yijiao, making this Yongxing Granary Vice Commissioner, named Deng Zisheng, utterly baffled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was also Baoan Department Commandant Han Daguan, a powerfully built middle-aged man. He commanded over two hundred local militia in the city. These militia were normally under the department magistrate's jurisdiction, and in wartime under the Garrison Commander's control. Han Daguan seemed to hold Wang Dou in great admiration. Among the several men behind him, two — one rather lean, one tall and burly — both stared at Wang Dou and Han Chao behind him with expressions of disbelief.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou swept his gaze over them and recognized the two: they were Li Tianxu and Li Tiancheng, brothers who had once clashed with him in the department city as militia platoon leaders. Wang Dou gave them a faint glance, then paid them no further attention. Only Han Chao looked them up and down, a cold sneer on his face, which made the two Li brothers even more terrified and filled with deep regret over their past conflict with Wang Dou and his men.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Department Commandant Han Daguan noticed the strange behavior of the Li Tianxu and Li Tiancheng brothers. He questioned them in a low, sharp voice, and once he understood the reason, his expression turned ugly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Han Daguan had once been on good terms with Yang Dongmin, the trusted personal general of the former department city Garrison Commander Xu Zucheng. He knew about Wang Dou's feat of taking over two hundred and eighty heads. Moreover, just yesterday he had seen the iron-armored army Wang Dou had brought with him; afterward he had sighed repeatedly, saying he had never seen such a formidable force in the Great Ming.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Those nearly four hundred men Wang Dou had brought — even if all the officers and soldiers of Baoan Department City plus the militia were combined, they would be no match for them. And now Wang Dou was the newly appointed Garrison Commander, holding both power and high position — and his own subordinates had a grudge with him? They truly did not know how the word \"death\" was written!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was already rapidly calculating how to bring the Li Tianxu brothers to apologize to Wang Dou and resolve this enmity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Behind Department Magistrate Li Zhen were also the local gentry of Baoan Department. Among them was Li Shichen, the head of the Li family of Xinzhuang. Speaking of Li Shichen, after the Qing troops withdrew, he had returned to his Xinzhuang. Besides his own household slaves and tenants, he had also urged the villagers of Xinzhuang to go back, even though some of them had already joined the military household registry of Shunxiang Fort.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The population of Xinzhuang was mostly civilian households under the department city's jurisdiction. Over who owned these commoner populations, Garrison Commander Xu Zucheng had even fought a lengthy legal battle on Wang Dou's behalf against Department Magistrate Li Zhen. In the end, a small portion of Xinzhuang's population had been persuaded by Li Shichen to return, which left Wang Dou feeling rather displeased.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Li Zhen introduced Li Shichen, Li Shichen looked at Wang Dou and smiled. \"So it is Worthy Nephew. I never imagined that in just a few years, Worthy Nephew would rise to the high post of Garrison Commander. Truly unexpected.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou also smiled. \"So it is Elder Uncle Li. Meeting Uncle here is indeed a coincidence.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing the exchange between Li Shichen and Wang Dou, Li Zhen found it somewhat strange. A Garrison Commander and a Licentiate — how could the two have any connection?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He asked Li Shichen a few questions. Li Shichen smiled and said, \"My lord may not know, but this student once lived in the same fortified village as Lord Wang. Lord Wang even grew up under this student's watch. Who would have thought that in a mere few years, Lord Wang would rise from the status of an ordinary garrison soldier to such a high position? Truly the affairs of the world are hard to predict.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Zhen glanced at Wang Dou and smiled. \"Indeed, the affairs of the world are hard to predict. Lord Wang is young and capable; he will certainly not remain a creature of the pond forever.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Compared to the unrestrained debauchery of yesterday's military banquet, the banquet among the literati was even more tedious and insipid. Li Zhen entertained Wang Dou with a round of ceremonial pleasantries — empty words about civil and military cooperation, jointly building the department city, and sharing the worries of the sage sovereign. After that was done, the assembled literati and gentry proposed composing poems and lyrics, to be sung and played on the spot by the courtesans with zithers. Their spirits were exceedingly high; poem after poem was composed, lyric after lyric set to music, and the more they composed, the more elated they became.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xie Yike yawned. Han Chao stared blankly into space. What could Wang Dou do besides smile?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Zhen had, as a matter of courtesy, invited Wang Dou to compose a few poems as well. Wang Dou knew nothing of poetry, and he believed that among a hundred transmigrators, ninety-nine would lack the ability to compose poetry. Li Zhen, of course, did not believe that a military man like Wang Dou had any poetic talent. Seeing Wang Dou politely decline, he did not press him, but simply displayed his own prowess. His poetic inspiration surged, and he composed one poem after another; his cadenced recitation drew waves of applause.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After composing poems, they launched into lofty discourse, chatting about Laozi, Zhuangzi, Confucius, and Mencius. Wang Dou listened carefully, but found no particularly profound insights.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Watching those officials chatting with such elation, Wang Dou sank into contemplation. Through yesterday's and today's banquets, Wang Dou felt deep disappointment in the officials of the department city. Whether the civil officials or the military officers in the city, they were all of the same character — cowardly yet arrogant, corrupt yet greedy, and on top of that, fond of lofty discourse without the corresponding ability. The \"empty-talking, reckless-debating types\" and \"armchair strategists who merely sit and shout, paint and sign\" that Lu Xiangsheng spoke of — he probably meant exactly these people.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The larger the city, the more degenerate the officialdom. If even the civil and military officials of a mere Baoan Department city were like this, then more prosperous places must be even more unsightly. The Great Ming's three-hundred-year realm, having passed through a brilliant civilization, had by now — at least within officialdom — rotted to the very bone. The only type Wang Dou had yet to meet was a eunuch, and he imagined they would be no better.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From Wang Dou's impression of Li Zhen, the man seemed to have a certain ambition, but he preferred empty talk and did not attend to practical governance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou finally stopped listening and concentrated on eating. There was no point in listening further. Though the assembled officials and gentry were polite to Wang Dou and their manners were proper, there was a coldness at their core. Wang Dou could not blend into their circle, so what else could he do but eat? Fortunately, the dishes at this banquet were still very sumptuous. Looking at these fine foods and wines, one would never imagine that outside, great numbers of soldiers and civilians were on the verge of starving to death, and would think the Great Ming was now in an era of peace and prosperity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou saw that Fu Mingqi across from him was also eating heartily. Though he was the Director of the Confucian School, he rarely joined the others in composing lyrics and songs or engaging in lofty discourse. Seeing Wang Dou look his way, he smiled faintly, moved over beside Wang Dou, and said in a low voice, \"Brother Wang, feeling stifled? Why don't we go out for a walk?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou chuckled quietly. \"This kind of scene should be Old Fu's specialty. What, you can't stand it either?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fu Mingqi shook his head. \"The stench of pedantry in here is too strong. I've eaten my fill anyway — just the right time to go out and get some fresh air.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou excused himself to Li Zhen, saying he needed the latrine. Li Zhen, seeing that Wang Dou only knew how to eat in great mouthfuls, inwardly thought Wang Dou was truly a boor, a mere rice bucket — had he stuffed himself now? But on his face he wore a broad smile and wanted to send a servant to accompany Wang Dou.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fu Mingqi volunteered to accompany Wang Dou out. Xie Yike and several guards quickly followed behind Wang Dou.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Stepping outside the great hall, a gust of cold, crisp wind blew over them. Wang Dou immediately felt invigorated. He stretched his arms wide in a great yawn. Fu Mingqi laughed and said, \"Brother, with that posture, you have no official dignity at all. Be careful someone sees — you'll lose face.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou said dismissively, \"I'm just a military man. Why would I care about all that?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After breathing in some fresh air, his mood improved considerably. But then he suddenly heard Fu Mingqi's voice: \"Ah, so it is the Young Madam and Young Lady Ji. What a coincidence.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then two women's voices rang out: \"So it is Mr. Fu.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou looked over and saw that Fu Mingqi had already resumed his sanctimonious demeanor, bowing courteously to the two women.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two women likewise curtsied in return.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou looked — it was again that Young Madam and Young Lady Ji he had seen before. The two stood gracefully there: one elegant and serene, full of the charm of a noble young matron; the other incomparably alluring, the image of a fresh, lovely young maiden — their temperaments completely different.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing Wang Dou, both women cast surprised glances his way. Young Lady Ji's eyes in particular fell upon Wang Dou's Assistant Guard Commander's official robe. Suddenly she giggled and pointed at Wang Dou. \"I know you — you're Wang Dou, the newly appointed Garrison Commander of the department city. I heard you took eighty heads, and people out there say you have three heads and six arms. But looking at you, you're just an ordinary person.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her crisp laughter rang on and on, her bright eyes sparkling with allure, more bewitching than ever.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Young Madam stood quietly at her side, merely looking Wang Dou up and down.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Young Lady Ji laughed and left with the Young Madam. Wang Dou watched her retreating figure and thought to himself, \"This woman is inexplicable!\"\u003C\u002Fp>",2317,"2026-06-03T14:05:19.908Z",1,"Novelzhen Translator","950aa8e6f780444bade4bdcb3d4436fb3db355a6f13a0c10ae530060e498cfb0","a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-chapter-145","a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-chapter-143",896,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fa-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-cover.jpg"]