Chapter 189: Little Devils Are Hard to Deal With

Changping was not far from the capital. On the afternoon of the second day after setting out from Changping, the group could already see the majestic silhouette of the capital.

As the great capital of the Great Ming, the capital was indisputably the foremost city under heaven, even the largest city in the world at that time — the Forbidden City with a perimeter of six li, the Imperial City with a perimeter of eighteen li, and outside that an Inner City with a perimeter of forty-five li. During the Jiajing reign, due to population growth, an Outer City was built south of the capital, with a perimeter of twenty-eight li.

Its area was nearly a hundred square kilometers, its population over a million. In the West of the same period, even by the early eighteenth century, London and Paris each had fewer than five hundred thousand people. The Great Ming capital had once been the most flourishing place in the world, drawing the yearning of countless people. But after that burst of prosperity, the capital at this moment already showed the decay of a dying age.

As soon as one approached the capital, one could see refugees and disaster victims spreading like a blanket over the land, their clothes so tattered they were a hundred knots. They shivered ceaselessly in the cold wind, merely waiting for relief from the government offices. There were also children crying from hunger and cold, their voices either mournful or feeble. The misery of the scene was unbearable to witness.

Wang Dou saw soldiers outside the city distributing relief, but there were too many people and too little gruel — they likely could not provide for everyone. Moreover, winter clothing was scarce. In the bitter cold of the twelfth month, he feared that many among them would not survive this winter.

Xie Yike beside Wang Dou had been gaping at the grandeur of the capital, but seeing so many refugees, he opened his eyes wide and said, "Even at the feet of the Son of Heaven, there are so many disaster victims? At least in Baoanzhou there aren't this many people freezing and starving. Those refugees there at least get a bowl of gruel to eat."

The several guards beside him also nodded. Seeing so many people enduring hunger, though the capital was large, they thought it over and still felt Baoanzhou was better.

Wang Dou glared at Xie Yike. "Too much chatter."

He glanced unobtrusively at Chen An beside him and saw him frowning, apparently having not heard what Xie Yike and the others said. Only Wang Dou seemed to hear a heavy sigh come from Lu Xiangsheng inside the carriage.

The group entered the city through Deshengmen. The street layout of the capital's inner and outer cities took the roads leading to each city gate as the widest, serving as the city's main thoroughfares. These great streets leading to the various city gates were also mostly named after the gates, such as Chongwenmen Street, Chang'an Street, Xuanwumen Street, West Chang'an Street, Fuchengmen Street, Andingmen Street, Deshengmen Street, and so on. The residential districts within were called fang, and the subdivisions below fang were called pu. The whole city had thirty-three fang, over one hundred and six pai, and over seven hundred and five pu.

Wang Dou saw that the streets and alleys within the city were dense, and many roads were not straight. In particular, the sanitary conditions he cared about were indeed very problematic. The city streets were full of dust, refuse, and excrement. The drainage ditches were especially badly clogged, and many streets were collapsing into potholes, clearly long neglected and in disrepair.

Wang Dou had read relevant historical records. Since the founding of the Great Ming capital, all manner of road repair, ditch dredging, and even various sanitary matters had been specially managed by officials of the Six Ministries and the Wucheng Bingmasi. There were even regulations that anyone scattering filth or dumping garbage along the streets would be punished by wearing the cangue for a month. At least during the Wanli reign, the capital was still famous for its cleanliness.

From the Tianqi reign onward, all this had changed. The environment deteriorated day by day. Whenever there was heavy rain, the whole city flooded, muddy and impassable. Whenever the weather was clear and dry, dust flew everywhere and flies and gnats swarmed. With such sanitary conditions, no wonder plague broke out repeatedly, causing heavy casualties among soldiers and civilians.

After entering the city via Deshengmen Street, the streets inside the city were likewise everywhere filled with refugees and beggars. With no one to take them in, they could only sleep under the eaves on both sides. Many of them seemed already stiff, clearly frozen to death. The Great Ming had once established various almshouses, soup kitchens, and gruel factories to distribute money and rice to the hungry, aid them with medicine, and bury abandoned corpses. But clearly the relief capacity was severely inadequate, and the aid was merely a drop in the bucket.

Wang Dou sighed deeply. Lu Xiangsheng watched the scene on the streets from behind the carriage curtain, frowning in silence, his face full of grief.

Contrasting with the refugees filling the streets was another, entirely different scene: the richly dressed powerful merchants and the servants of wealthy households on the streets. They came and went surrounded by retinues, everything they wore and used luxurious and extravagant. Looking at these people, some of the refugees on the streets were numb, some envious, and some had eyes full of hatred.

This scene fell into Wang Dou's eyes, and he could not help but ponder. On one side, wine and meat went to waste; on the other, people froze to death. It is not scarcity that troubles people, but inequality. No wonder the hearts of the Great Ming's common people were unsettled.

The carriage and horses moved forward, entering deeper into the capital. After all, it was the foot of the Son of Heaven, the foremost place of virtue. Though refugees covered the ground, the commerce within the city was excessively flourishing. The streets and alleys they passed were all lined with densely packed shops. Carts and horses transporting goods streamed endlessly, also leaving countless droppings on the streets, and no one came to manage it.

In Wang Dou's view, such advanced commerce had already become deformed and brought no benefit to the state. The closer a dynasty drew to its end, the more excessively commerce flourished.

They reached the central district of the capital, close to the Imperial City and the Forbidden City, where the streets and alleys were densest. Qipan Street by the edge of the Imperial City was not far from the various government offices of the Great Ming such as the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Personnel, the Ministry of Revenue, and the Ministry of Rites. Here it was even more bustling and extraordinary. Xie Yike and the others were dumbstruck.

The group from the three garrisons of Xuanda arrived before the Honglu Hostel. Here, officials from the Honglu Temple specially received Lu Xiangsheng and his party, arranging matters for their audience and performance review. Lu Xiangsheng alighted from the carriage and said to Wang Dou, "Wang Dou, do you have a residence in the capital?"

Wang Dou said, "No need to trouble yourself, Viceroy. I will find an inn to stay at. Once I have received the certificate of appointment, official seal, and such, I will return to Baoanzhou."

Lu Xiangsheng said, "Very well. Once you take up your post and receive your certificate of appointment, return at once. Do not become infatuated with the capital's splendors. The proper affairs of the prefectural city are pressing."

As he spoke, he gave Wang Dou an expectant look, nodded to him, and then led the various officials into the Honglu Hostel.

Seeing Lu Xiangsheng and the others leave, Wang Dou felt entirely at ease. Although Lu Xiangsheng appreciated him, being with this group of civil officials was still uncomfortable, especially that Wu Zhi, the Department Magistrate of Yanqing. He had never given Wang Dou a pleasant look, as if Wang Dou owed him ten thousand taels of silver and had not repaid him.

Wang Dou, Xie Yike, and the others found an inn near Zhengyangmen to stay at. Over the next two days, Wang Dou led Xie Yike and the others around various parts of the capital to observe the people's conditions, deeply exploring every main street and small alley of the capital. On the third day, Wang Dou went to the Ministry of War office to handle the procedures for taking up his post.

The Ministry of War office was not far from the Honglu Temple, just past the Ministry of Works office. As soon as they reached the office gate, they saw clusters of shrewd-looking men gathered in twos and threes beside the main gate. Whenever they saw an official approach, a group of them would swarm around him, incessantly peddling something.

When Wang Dou passed by, a group also surrounded him. One man said in a low voice, "My lord, would you like to borrow at interest? Today my master is celebrating a happy occasion, and the terms are especially favorable. A rare opportunity — do not miss it..."

Wang Dou paid no attention. Xie Yike glared and shouted, "Your master is the one who needs to borrow money."

As the few of them walked forward, that man still did not give up, following behind and calling out, "Truly a rare opportunity, my lord, you must not miss it."

When Wang Dou reached the main gate, he was stopped by a gate officer and several guards. The gate officer frowned as he examined Wang Dou's military registration papers for a long time. Seeing his manner, Wang Dou signaled Xie Yike. Xie Yike reluctantly took out a few taels of silver and gave them to the gate officer, who then let them pass with satisfaction.

After Wang Dou and the others entered, the man from earlier also followed them in. The gate officer merely grinned and paid no attention. This man trailed behind Wang Dou for a long time, like one of Wang Dou's guards. Only when Wang Dou truly gave no response did he leave, cursing under his breath.

The Great Ming's Ministry of War office, besides the Minister and the Left and Right Vice Ministers, also had several sub-bureaus: the Bureau of Military Appointments, the Bureau of Operations, the Bureau of Military Transport, and the Bureau of Military Armory. Among them, the Bureau of Military Appointments was responsible for the appointment and dismissal, promotion and demotion, personnel transfers, evaluations, and conferral of honors for all military officers of the Great Ming. Although the supervising Director and Vice Director held only official ranks of fifth grade and junior fifth grade, their power was immense.

At this moment, the person on duty in the Bureau of Military Appointments office was a Vice Director surnamed Liu. He was raging furiously at Wang Dou: "Why do you not kneel upon seeing this official?"

His hand pointed straight at Wang Dou's face. "So domineering and discourteous — Wang Dou, how can you be fit to guard the frontier for the state?"

The matter was simple. All of Wang Dou's documents and procedures were in order, except that upon meeting this Vice Director Liu, Wang Dou merely cupped his hands in a bow and did not kneel. This immediately sent the Vice Director into a thunderous rage, and he rebuked Wang Dou for his discourtesy.

Seeing this Vice Director Liu's anger, the several clerks beside him all wore expressions of gloating schadenfreude.

In the end, needless to say, regarding Wang Dou's collection of his certificate of appointment and official seal, this Vice Director would still need to handle it with due deliberation for a few days.

After leaving the Ministry of War office, Xie Yike's face was twisted with fury. Wang Dou had not expected such complications either, but his expression remained calm. After returning to the inn, he was just concentrating in thought when suddenly a commotion arose inside the inn, and then a eunuch, leading several Embroidered Uniform Guard members, strode in haughtily.