[{"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-155":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},1205444,1561,"Chapter 155: Volume Three: Defender of Shunxiang Fort, Chapter 150: Marriage Alliance","a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-chapter-155",155,"\u003Cp>Volume Three: Defender of Shunxiang Fort, Chapter 150: Marriage Alliance\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The dignified Department Magistrate came out in person to welcome Wang Dou into his residence. His bearing was impeccable, and he kept inquiring after Wang Dou's well-being with warm concern. When it came to official etiquette and manner, Wang Dou could not match him even if he flattered him to death.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After the military turmoil, Wang Dou could clearly sense that Li Zhen's civil-official arrogance and sense of superiority toward him had diminished considerably.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After they exchanged pleasantries for a while, Li Zhen probingly asked Wang Dou about the matter of land distribution and tax exemption.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou said, \"Military farming is a great state policy — it harvests the land's bounty, eases the people's strength, and provides ample military provisions, giving the state something to rely on. At present, military farming within the department has fallen into neglect, and the yield cannot cover expenditures. If we mobilize soldiers and civilians to reclaim wasteland, next year the farming policy will flourish, and it will be enough to sustain both troops and civilians.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Department Magistrate stroked his long beard and gave an \"Mm.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou said, \"As for exempting next year's military household grain levy, that is also a consideration for giving the people rest. At present, the department's population is desolate and has long ceased to resemble its former state. The common people are utterly destitute, yet corvée quotas have not been reduced in the slightest. The government offices, bound by strict merit regulations, have no choice but to press harshly for tax collection. The people flee with resentment, drifting to strange lands, and the population dwindles further. If we drain the pond to catch the fish, how will there be any fish next year? Reducing or exempting military and civilian tax grain is truly inevitable.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Zhen let out a long sigh: \"The suffering of the common people — how could this official not know of it? It is just that...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou made a bow: \"I beg the Department Magistrate to consider the myriad people and the common folk, and also mobilize the people to reclaim wasteland and reduce or exempt tax grain.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It is just that...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou said, \"If the Department Magistrate reduces or exempts the civilian household tax grain within the department, the people will be grateful for your kindness, and you, my lord, will surely leave your name in the annals of history.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It is just that...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Zhen's face flushed slightly. He said, \"Reducing or exempting the tax grain of the department city's people is not a problem in itself, but where will the tax grain come from? On what basis will next year's imperial court tax grain be submitted? And where will the sustenance grain for the military clerks be?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Scholars love fame. It was not that Li Zhen did not wish to accomplish something — if he exempted the tax grain, the people would certainly be overwhelmed with gratitude, and that floating, blissful sensation was something Li Zhen also wished to savor. But he was not like Wang Dou; too many practical concerns weighed on him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou said, \"My lord, set your mind at ease. If you are willing to mobilize the civilian households under your governance to reclaim wasteland, the reclamation expenses will come from me. If you are willing to reduce or exempt the tax grain for the department city's people, next year the grain forwarded to the imperial court from the department administration will also come entirely from my storehouses. Not only that, next year I will also send you, my lord, five hundred taels of silver as retained surplus.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Oh...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Zhen's eyes widened, and he stared at Wang Dou in disbelief.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After Wang Dou left, Li Zhen suddenly came back to his senses. In his heart, he secretly regretted it — how had he agreed to Wang Dou's proposal? What if Wang Dou could not produce the grain when the time came? But since things had come to this, it was hard to dismount the tiger; the Department Magistrate had no choice but to steel himself and go through with it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the twenty-third day of the eleventh month, the Baoan Department administration office also issued a proclamation: the government would organize the department city's civilian households to reclaim wasteland. The related matters were all in accordance with the Garrison Commander's office's public notice. At the same time, next year's tax grain levy for the department city's civilian households was also exempted. For a time, the department city was again in an uproar. As the news spread, the common people wept with gratitude, and Li Zhen immediately received the title \"Li the Clear-Skied.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Faced with the people's praise, Li Zhen maintained a composed expression outwardly, but behind the scenes, when no one was around, he grinned so wide his teeth were all visible, deeply intoxicated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though the weather was cold, inside and outside the department city, activity blazed with fervor. An endless stream of soldiers and civilians came to reclaim wasteland. In recent days, Li Zhen's visits to consult Wang Dou or to personally call at the Garrison Commander's residence grew more frequent. Wang Dou promised him that after the soldiers and civilians finished reclaiming the wasteland, matters such as constructing irrigation wells and waterwheels, renting out plow oxen and farming tools, and so on — he would help the Department Magistrate find solutions for all of them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was already aboard the pirate ship; besides trusting Wang Dou, what other option did Li Zhen have? Although he was uneasy inside, he could only console himself that Wang Dou seemed young and promising, with a character that appeared quite decent, and probably would not swindle him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Counting the acreage of wasteland and registering household names and populations — this was a complex undertaking requiring a large number of literate clerks. Wang Dou's military administration clerks in the department city consisted only of Order Clerk Zhang Xuejiao and six or seven other scribes and civil clerks, clearly far from sufficient to meet his needs. Moreover, to be honest, Wang Dou also held a skeptical attitude toward the character of Order Clerk Zhang Xuejiao and the others.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the end of the eleventh month, Wang Dou transferred Feng Dachang, the Order Clerk of Shunxiang Fort, to the department city. The clerical affairs of Shunxiang Fort were then placed under the principal management of Han Yu, the Jail Warden of Shunxiang Fort.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Accompanying Feng Dachang were Wang Dou's maternal uncle Zhong Zhengxian, Administrative Clerk Zhong Rong, and six or seven others. In the seventh year of the Chongzhen reign, when Zhong Rong was transferred to Jingbian Fort, he was merely a Junior Clerk. Over the past few years, Wang Dou's evaluation of him had been quite favorable, so Zhong Rong was promoted one rank to become an Administrative Clerk.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After the several military forts of Shunxiang Fort were merged, Zhong Rong also followed Zhong Diaoyang and the others to Shunxiang Fort. Zhong Rong was one of the old hands who had followed Wang Dou from the beginning. Within Shunxiang Fort, Wang Dou could not help but regard him with special favor. Administrative Clerk Li Chao and others who had once squeezed him out at Dongjiazhuang now had to fawn over Zhong Rong instead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now that Zhong Rong was even being transferred to the department city together with Order Clerk Feng Dachang, it inevitably drew envious stares.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou had found Feng Dachang quite handy to use at Shunxiang Fort. Although the man was an old bureaucratic fox, he was still diligent in his duties. Zhong Rong had followed Wang Dou from the earliest days and worked with diligence and conscientiousness; Wang Dou also trusted him deeply. As for Wang Dou's maternal uncle Zhong Zhengxian, Feng Dachang said he was an expert at accounting and was his capable assistant in statistical registers. He recommended Zhong Zhengxian, and Wang Dou also transferred his uncle to the department city.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Also accompanying them were his wife Xie Xiuniang, his mother Madam Zhong, and others. Now that Wang Dou had gained a firm foothold in the department city, it was time to bring his wife and mother over.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The family reunion was joyful for all. The luxury of the Garrison Commander's residence also left Madam Zhong exclaiming in endless astonishment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In addition, Wang Dou also paid a visit to Fu Mingqi, the Director of the Confucian School of Baoan Department.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"My young friend, the things you have done recently in the department city are truly earth-shaking.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In Fu Mingqi's small courtyard, with a pot of mutton soup boiling vigorously and a flask of heated wine, Wang Dou and Fu Mingqi sat drinking together without the slightest regard for appearances. Flushed with wine and warmed by the food, the Director of the Baoan Department Confucian School said to Wang Dou with a serious expression.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Slaughtering the mutinous troops, distributing land, and exempting grain — which of these matters was not a hot topic in the teahouses and wineshops inside and outside the department city? Even within the Confucian School, the students were arguing spiritedly over Wang Dou's actions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fu Mingqi said, \"What is too rigid is easily broken. In many matters, my young friend, you must think thrice before acting.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fu Mingqi greatly admired his young friend's boldness and resolve in handling affairs, but he worried that Wang Dou would offend too many people and ultimately plunge himself into an abyss of utter ruin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Once a thing is done, I will not regret it. If you fear wolves ahead and tigers behind, then just muddle along and wait for death.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou said this flatly, then tilted his head back and poured a cup of hot wine down his throat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fu Mingqi gazed at Wang Dou for a long while. He struck the table and rose, saying, \"Good! 'Though thousands oppose me, I press onward.' We who have read the sages' books to satiety are not your equal.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He straightened his sitting posture and solemnly performed a bow to Wang Dou: \"For the sake of the myriad people and the common folk, please accept this old man's bow, Garrison Commander.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou stopped him, saying, \"Old Fu, what are you doing?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After insisting on completing the bow, Fu Mingqi shed the image of a Confucian School Director. He grinned at Wang Dou and said, \"Speak. I know you, boy — you never come to the temple without a reason. What matter brings you here this time?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou said, \"Indeed, I have come this time to ask for your help, Old Fu.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He sighed: \"Distributing land and fields within the department city, measuring and tallying the acreage — it requires a great many hands. You know that most of my subordinates are rough fellows. They can go into battle and kill the enemy, but when it comes to registering acreage figures, they are utterly dumbfounded. A mere handful of clerks is also insufficient. So I must borrow the students from your school.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Within Baoan Department City there was the Baoji Academy, known before the Wanli years as the Baoji College, with an enrollment of over a hundred students, as well as a Director, Instructors, Assistant Instructors, and several other teaching staff. Given the caliber and ability of these people, having them come out to tally acreage figures would naturally be no problem at all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fu Mingqi mused, \"So that's how it is.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou said, \"What do you mean 'so that's how it is'? I know the students at your academy only have classes for half a day. They have plenty of time to come out and help.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fu Mingqi drawled, \"It is just that...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou said, \"Rest assured, every student who comes out to help will be given a stipend by the Garrison Commander's office — five dou of grain per month. How about that? Satisfied?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Oh.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fu Mingqi's eyes lit up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou said, \"If you, Old Fu, are willing to come out and work, I will give you one dan of grain per month. The several Instructors and Assistant Instructors in the academy will receive the same.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fu Mingqi's eyes lit up even more, but then he glared angrily at Wang Dou: \"Do you think I would come out to help for the sake of a mere dan of grain?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou ignored him and continued on his own: \"In the future, the department city will need a large number of clerks. If the students of your academy are interested, they can come work as clerks at my office in the future, with a monthly salary of one dan.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not all students could pass the examinations and obtain official rank, and many of them were from poor families. If they could not obtain rank, they could only fend for themselves. Although promotion for clerks was extremely difficult, it was at least a livelihood to support a family, and it was refined and respectable — few scholars would not be tempted. Especially in times like these, how difficult it was to find a livelihood that could support a family; those clerk positions would probably have many people fighting tooth and nail over them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fu Mingqi nodded. Then he gave Wang Dou a strange look: \"Where did you, boy, get all this grain and money?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou said irritably, \"Why do you care so much? One word: are you in or not?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fu Mingqi said angrily, \"Of course I'm in! You stinking brat, you're getting more and more arrogant and domineering, not even putting your old friend in your eyes anymore.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>……\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the prefectural city, military households and civilian households divided up the land and threw themselves into clearing and plowing with fiery enthusiasm. From the beginning of the twelfth month of the ninth year of Chongzhen, Clerk Feng Dachang and Clerk Zhang Xuejiao from the Garrison Commander’s residence led a large group of clerks everywhere to measure the land, register the acreage of wasteland reclaimed by the people, the location and terrain of each household’s fields, the number of people in each household, the names of family members, and so on, finally compiling everything into registers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>During this process, Fu Mingqi, the Director of the Confucian School of Baoan Department, also brought students from his academy to help. On the surface, it was a glorious undertaking for the country and the people, and they could also earn a writing fee, as high as five dou of rice per month, which not only supported themselves but also provided for their families. If they performed well and caught the eye of the Personnel Office, they might later become clerks themselves, so the students were all brimming with motivation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for Wang Dou’s series of actions, since they did not touch upon the interests of the local gentry, the gentry did not obstruct him, merely watching coldly from the sidelines.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, many among them harbored doubts. Wang Dou was making a grand, vigorous show of it, but could he actually produce such a huge sum of money and grain? They feared that once the new year passed, when it came time to forge well-irrigation waterwheels and lease out plow oxen and farming tools, his true colors would be revealed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the sixth day of the twelfth month of the ninth year of Chongzhen, Li Tianxu, the militia chief of the prefectural city, came to the Garrison Commander’s residence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After paying his respects to Wang Dou with the utmost deference, he beamed and said, “Congratulations, my lord, congratulations, my lord!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou looked at him and said, “Where does this joy come from?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Tianxu said, “My uncle, deeply moved by your lordship’s wholehearted devotion to the people and filled with admiration, wishes to betroth my niece to your lordship as your wife.\u003C\u002Fp>",2650,"2026-06-03T14:05:19.908Z",1,"Novelzhen Translator","f32972003e7070a73e4a77e7432bd7485265daedeeb3b1efc636cb94154b603f","a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-chapter-156","a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-chapter-154",896,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fa-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-cover.jpg"]