Chapter 184: Lu Xiangsheng

Wang Dou coughed once and said, “I won’t hide it from the Viceroy. Every time I train a unit of soldiers, I send them out to suppress bandits — on one hand to protect the territory and keep the people safe, on the other to seize money and grain, which is just what’s needed to support the troops and civilians.”

Lu Xiangsheng stroked his beard and said, “Taking the bandits’ money and grain to enrich and support the troops and civilians — that’s not a bad method. But a mere Bao’anzhou alone, even the proceeds from bandit suppression would be a drop in the bucket. And seeing how well-ordered your governance is, it seems there are no more bandit troubles — how then do you continue to provide support?”

Wang Dou lowered his voice and said, “Oh, I also conveniently have the soldiers take a stroll beyond the borders.”

“…Conveniently take a stroll beyond the borders?”

Lu Xiangsheng jabbed a finger at Wang Dou, so furious he could barely speak: “Wang Dou, you’ve got some nerve — sending troops beyond the borders without authorization. Do you have any regard for military discipline and the laws of the realm?”

“‘Take a stroll’ — you make it sound so casual!”

Wang Dou hung his head and said nothing.

Seeing Wang Dou’s unrepentant expression, Lu Xiangsheng grew even angrier.

At that moment, only Lu Xiangsheng’s trusted personal commander Chen An and several of his younger brothers were in the hall. They exchanged glances, all looking at Wang Dou.

Lu Xiangsheng glared at Wang Dou for a long while, then shook his head and sighed, “Enough, enough.”

He sighed deeply: “One must adapt to circumstances. After all, the money and grain you’ve brought in have been used to drill the troops and benefit the common people — you still have a heart for the country. Among all the officers in Xuan-Da, those who can do what you’ve done are few and far between.”

As he said this, a note of bleak desolation crept into his voice.

Wang Dou looked at him. Perhaps from excessive worry and overwork, though not yet forty, his temples were already streaked with white hair. Wang Dou felt as if something were lodged in his chest, and he said, “Viceroy, you… you work far too hard. You must take care of your health…”

Lu Xiangsheng glanced at Wang Dou with some surprise. Wang Dou’s tone was like a son speaking to a father, or a younger brother to an elder brother — it struck Lu Xiangsheng as rather strange, yet also gave him a feeling of warmth. He smiled and shook his head: “As a subject of the Great Ming, what does a little toil and hardship matter?”

He looked at Wang Dou and gently admonished him: “Wang Dou, the way you’ve governed Bao’anzhou is truly rare and commendable. Only you must always keep a heart full of loyalty.”

Wang Dou said, “Viceroy, my loyal and righteous heart — the heavens and the sun can bear witness!”

Lu Xiangsheng said, “That you can think this way gives me great comfort.”

His face was wreathed in smiles, clearly genuine delight.

He walked over and sat down on a chair, then gestured for Wang Dou to sit beside him, and said, “Wang Dou, tell me in detail how you open up farmland and train troops.”

…

Lu Xiangsheng said, “Wang Dou, are you saying you’ve never issued grain or pay to your soldiers?”

Wang Dou said, “I allot them fields and land, and I also lease them plow oxen, waterwheels, and the like. If they still came asking me for grain and pay, wouldn’t they be far too greedy and ungrateful? Men so lacking in gratitude — I never keep them in my ranks.”

Lu Xiangsheng gave a wry smile and shook his head. His trusted personal commander Chen An, standing nearby, said, “Isn’t it a matter of course that soldiers receive grain and draw pay for their service?”

Wang Dou pondered and said, “Perhaps that’s so for camp troops, but what I train are the garrison troops of the guard battalions. I distribute farmland to them, and then when we go out to suppress bandits and fight, I reward them with the grain and money we seize. Naturally, they’re willing to fight to the death. The money and grain we bring in can then be used to train troops and strengthen the army, and to open fields and farm the land. One stroke, many gains.”

Chen An said, “Warden Wang supports his army with the proceeds of bandit suppression. But if there are no bandits left to suppress, what then?”

Wang Dou laughed and said, “When the realm is free of bandits, then the realm is at peace. We’ll simply lay down our armor and return to our fields, and live as contented, wealthy gentlemen.”

Everyone laughed, and Lu Xiangsheng smiled and shook his head. Wang Dou’s method could solve part of the problem, but then…

Wang Dou said, “The Viceroy commands only camp troops. I have a suggestion that might be of use for the Viceroy’s consideration.”

Lu Xiangsheng was very interested — everything Wang Dou had done had made him see him in a new light. He said, “What suggestion? Wang Dou, speak in detail.”

Wang Dou said, “As the saying goes, to kill bandits you need troops, and to use troops you need pay. Yet I have observed that among the various camp officers and men, false musters have long been the custom: they draw pay for ten thousand men but have only three thousand troops, and those are old, weak, and a mixed lot. Generally speaking, for the troops each camp is authorized to have, there is an authorized payroll. The Viceroy could train only those truly fit for service, demanding that troops not be falsely mustered — one soldier draws one wage. By streamlining and drilling in this way, you could greatly save money and grain. If the troops are not truly trained, then even if you raise the funds, it will do no good.”

“A hundred thousand hollow troops are not as good as five thousand elite troops — real troops.”

Wang Dou concluded with that final statement.

Chen An and the others nearby all looked at Wang Dou in astonishment. A mere Warden, yet he saw through the deep-rooted abuses of the Great Ming military garrisons as clearly as looking at fire, and could even offer his own insights and solutions. This young man was no simple figure.

Chen An said, “And what should be done with the soldiers who are discharged?”

Wang Dou said, “They can be converted to garrison farmers, opening fields and planting crops, building up stores of grain and rice.”

Lu Xiangsheng gazed at Wang Dou for a long time, then slowly nodded: “Verify the troops and the pay will be sufficient. Wang Dou, what you say makes sense. Only…”

He let out a long sigh. To stop the various officers’ vile habit of eating empty payrolls — how difficult that would be. It would require tremendous resolve and tremendous determination.

He pondered for a long while, then suddenly said to Wang Dou, “In the ninth year of Chongzhen, when the slave troops invaded, those two hundred and eighty-one heads on the Eastern Route of Xuanzhen — were they all taken by you?”

Everyone present looked at Lu Xiangsheng in surprise, then at Wang Dou. Those two hundred and eighty-one heads were all taken by him? Last year, Wang Dou had been merely the Garrison Commander of a small fort. At the time, when they heard Wang Dou had taken eighty heads, they already thought him exceptionally fierce and brave. Could it be that his achievements went far beyond that, and the greater part had been falsely claimed by others?

Wang Dou gave a bitter laugh: “Indeed. Those two hundred and eighty-one heads were all taken by me.”

Chen An cried out, “Sir Wang, your achievements were stolen by others — why did you not speak up?”

Wang Dou smiled bitterly: “At the time, I was only the Garrison Commander of a small fort. That my superiors could leave me eighty heads was already quite generous.”

Everyone present felt it was both unbelievable and deeply unjust that Wang Dou’s achievements had been seized by others.

Lu Xiangsheng said, “Wang Dou, how did you take those heads? Tell me in detail.”

Wang Dou recounted the circumstances of that time. When Lu Xiangsheng heard that Wang Dou had gone out of the city to fight in the open field, and had personally led his cavalry in pursuit, retaking several thousand captured soldiers and civilians, he was visibly moved. He said, “Wang Dou, how many troops did you have at that time, and how many did the slave bandits have?”

Wang Dou said, “That day, my soldiers and militia together numbered about seven hundred. The slave troops, including their attendants, numbered over a thousand, though two niru had already suffered heavy losses beneath the walls of Shunbao. After that battle, counting both the defense of Shunbao and the field engagement, I took a total of two hundred and eighty-one heads of slave regulars and attendants. As it happened, the ones escorting the captured commoners within Huailai were precisely the troops of that same jalan of slave soldiers.”

Chen An said incredulously, “That jalan of slave bandits saw you pursuing, didn’t dare to give battle, and just fled like that?”

Wang Dou laughed and said, “The slave bandits are fierce in appearance but cowardly within — they haven’t shed their bandit nature. When they encounter our Great Ming’s soldiers who dare to fight, it’s nothing more than that.”

Lu Xiangsheng let out a long sigh, rose, and paced about the hall.

Wang Dou ventured, “Viceroy, the matter of the heads is already past. I have no wish to bring it up again, lest it stir up needless trouble.”

Lu Xiangsheng said, “If you do not wish to bring it up again, then let the matter rest.”

The seizure of subordinates’ military merits by higher officers was widespread among the officials of the Great Ming. If this matter were pursued, it would involve far too many people, and in the future it would bring Wang Dou no benefit. Lu Xiangsheng and the others merely felt it was unfair to Wang Dou.

Lu Xiangsheng pondered for a long while, then said, “Wang Dou, with your achievements, even holding the rank of Assistant Regional Commander or Mobile Corps Commander would be nothing extraordinary… Very well. The city of Bao’anzhou is a key location for farmland settlement. To entrust it to a mere Warden would likely prove inadequate in a crisis. I shall petition the Ministry of War to establish a Garrison Commander post there. This Garrison Commander — you shall fill it. And you shall train another two thousand crack troops for me.”

He looked at Wang Dou and addressed him by the courtesy name he had chosen for him: “Guoqin, once you’ve put in a bit more time, I will request for you a Mobile Corps Commander’s commission.”

…

That night, Lu Xiangsheng rested within the Warden’s residence, a fact that made Department Magistrate Li Zhen quite envious. That night, though the cock crowed and he washed and combed, Lu Xiangsheng still tossed and turned, unable to sleep. In the end, he simply threw on a robe and rose, standing for a long while by the window. Finally, he strode quickly to his desk and began to write a memorial.

On the paper, he wrote in large characters the title: “Memorial Requesting the Establishment of a Garrison Commander at the Old City of Bao’an.” Then he concentrated in thought for half a moment, and his brush flew across the page: “Your servant, the Viceroy of Xuan-Da, Lu Xiangsheng, respectfully submits…”

…

After Lu Xiangsheng’s memorial reached the capital, it stirred up a round of debate within the Ministry of War, and in the end the matter reached the Grand Secretariat. As for establishing a Garrison Commander post at the city of Bao’anzhou, there was little disagreement among the various parties.

During the Wanli reign, the city of Bao’anzhou had once had a Garrison Commander, which was later abolished. Lu Xiangsheng reported that farmland settlement was flourishing there, and as a key location for settlement policy, there was nothing wrong with re-establishing a Garrison Commander for its defense. The problem was that Lu Xiangsheng proposed that the local Warden, Wang Dou, fill the post of local Garrison Commander — and that stirred up controversy.

Although Wang Dou had rendered meritorious service, he had been promoted year after year; just last year he had only just been substantively advanced two grades — could it be that this year he was to be promoted again? Wang Dou was now the Vice Guard Commander of Baoan Guard. If he were to fill the post of Garrison Commander of the old Baoan city, he would at least have to be promoted by brevet to Guard Commander of Baoan Guard. For a young man in his twenties to rise so quickly was perhaps no good thing.

Hence some said the Viceroy of Xuan-Da was suspected of indiscriminately conferring garrison commands, and in the end the matter became so contentious that no decision could be reached for a long time.

……

Regardless of how the outside world clamored, after Lu Xiangsheng departed, Wang Dou still devoted himself solely to drilling his troops. With Lu Xiangsheng’s assurance, at least the soldiers of his original six companies no longer needed to be overly secretive, and could soon become lawful officers and soldiers on the muster rolls again.

When Wang Dou selected able-bodied young men, he also took all the qualified officers and soldiers on the rolls from the various forts of Baoan Department and enrolled them into the newly trained New Army. Now, under Department City Company Commander Tian Changguo, Five-Fort Garrison Commander Yang Zhichang, and Zhangjiabao Garrison Commander Shi Min, apart from their own retainers, the men under their command were mostly the old, the weak, the sick, and the disabled.

Moreover, because these old, weak, sick, and disabled men had reclaimed wasteland before the autumn sowing, they no longer had any mind to stay in the barracks and had all gone home to farm. Of the three men’s subordinates, only the retainers at their side remained, and even these men were restless and unsettled in mood; many wished to enter the New Army camp at Shunxiang Fort and fight for a good future. The examples of Wen Fangliang and Sun Sanjie’s retainers from the old Shunxiang Fort were right before their eyes.

Seeing the troops at their side dwindle by the day, the three men could not help but harbor strong thoughts. Yet the Grand Coordinator Lu Xiangsheng had just left, and word had it that during this inspection of Baoan Department City he had greatly praised Wang Dou. With the Grand Coordinator backing him, even if Wang Dou did whatever he pleased, what could any of them do about it? Wang Dou indeed had no time to bother with the three men’s thoughts. His steps would not halt; if these men could not keep pace with him, they would be shut out of his circle and eventually marginalized.

While Yang Zhichang and Shi Min still hesitated, Company Commander Tian Changguo was the first to make a choice. In the department city he commanded a force the size of a grand squad commander’s, among whom were over a hundred retainers led by his personal general Tian Zhijue. This Tian Zhijue was also a nephew and trusted confidant from his clan, holding the official rank of a battalion commander of Baoan Guard.

Tian Changguo had Tian Zhijue lead the retainers to Shunxiang Fort. Whether these troops were to be broken up or reorganized thereafter would be entirely up to Wang Dou. Look at Sun Sanjie and Wen Fangliang from the old Shunxiang Fort — they now each led a force the size of a squad commander’s, and were they not living quite comfortably?

Tian Changguo had originally been the drill officer of the department city camp. Now that his troops had all dispersed, he was even more at leisure. He mused that, seeing his attitude, the Probationary Officer would surely regard him in a new light. Wang Dou indeed greatly appreciated Tian Changguo’s stance and praised him warmly. Wang Dou promised him that if Tian Zhijue rendered military merit in the future, he would certainly promote him vigorously. A portion of any future military merit Tian Zhijue earned would also be credited to Tian Changguo.

In the early eleventh month of the tenth year of the Chongzhen reign, Wang Dou made a trip to Baoan Guard city. He intended to ask the newly appointed Garrison Commander Xu Zucheng for a man — that young man called Zhao Xuan, who, he had heard, came from the Baoding wagon corps and possessed a deep understanding of war wagons and firearms.