[{"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-328":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},1205617,1561,"Chapter 328: Volume 2: A Different Village Chief – Chapter 316: Stirrings Everywhere, the Armaments Industry – Lao Bainiu","a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-chapter-328",328,"\u003Cp>Word of Wang Dou establishing his own headquarters staff had reached the outside world, but those involved kept their lips tightly sealed, so outsiders understood little of the inner details.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was not what the outside world focused on. That Wang Dou set up a headquarters staff, adjusted and expanded his subordinate aides — there was nothing strange about that. As for the matter of aides and headquarters staff, no commoner or scholar in the Great Ming was unfamiliar with it; which civil official or military officer did not have one?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although since the founding of the Great Ming, that model of diligence Zhu Yuanzhang had meticulously stipulated the essential knowledge for every official upon assuming office — a catalogue of thirty-one items, from the first, offering sacrifices to the spirits, all the way to the thirty-first, keeping watch on suspicious persons — what each official must know and do upon taking up a post, every matter and every thing was laid out with absolute clarity and precision.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was the theory, but after assuming office, most officials of the Great Ming still relied on their subordinate aides and petty clerks to get things done, civil officials and military officers alike. This unwritten rule would develop to its fullest extent by the Qing era, when the Shaoxing private secretaries spread across the realm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the imagination of the outside world, it was entirely normal for Wang Dou to establish a headquarters staff and vigorously recruit aides. Unlike governing a single department or a single city, the entire Eastern Circuit was burdened with a multitude of official documents; without the assistance of aides, it would be impossible for Wang Dou, a military officer alone, to manage governance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What the outside world was eagerly fixated on was that since Wang Dou was vigorously recruiting aides, would not literate scholars like themselves find a use for their skills?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou's prestige was ever more at its zenith — illustrious battle achievements, a powerful army in hand, externally courted by various Grand Secretaries vying to win him over, internally backed by his conveniently located prospective father-in-law Ji Shiwei in Xuanzhen. The literati throughout the Eastern Circuit were all stirring restlessly; the opportunity would not come again, and boarding this favorable ship would surely maximize their families' interests.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if they could not squeeze into the headquarters staff, at the very least, securing a livelihood for their own sons and younger brothers in the new garrison villages would be good enough. In the eleventh year of Chongzhen, Wang Dou had established garrison villages at Heishan Temple, Wofo Temple, Fanshan, and other places south of Baoan Department. At that time, over two hundred literati in Baoan Department had successfully secured a livelihood, gaining a stable income to support their families, which made many impoverished households deeply envious.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the present Great Ming, with unending natural disasters, land annexation, and the big fish devouring the small, literati and gentry families were going bankrupt daily. How difficult was it, in these times, to find work that could keep one alive? Whatever else might be said of the State-Founding General, no one had ever heard of monthly salaries being in arrears; during festivals and holidays there were even red envelopes, wine, and meat. Where else could one find such a stable livelihood now?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Having hesitated briefly back then, many were now filled with regret, and now the opportunity had come. The State-Founding General had rescued two hundred thousand people, and the imperial court had decreed that all these commoners be converted to military households and resettled locally throughout the Eastern Circuit. Word had it that the State-Founding General would establish several dozen garrison villages. Reckoning ten civil clerks per garrison village, fifty garrison villages would require at least five hundred civil clerks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This enormous figure made the literati of the Eastern Circuit and Baoan Department burn with envy and greed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Toward Wang Dou's rise, the literati of Baoan Department still maintained a cautiously welcoming attitude; after all, Wang Dou's development up to now had not yet infringed upon the interests of the local gentry and landowners. As for those who muttered that serving a military man was disgraceful… even Provincial Governor Ji was intent on marrying his daughter to the State-Founding General as his wife, not shying from taking a roundabout route, and the Li family of Baoan Department was even more eager to send their daughter into the General's household as a concubine. What scruples did lesser literati like themselves have?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Eating was what mattered most. Throughout the Great Ming there were plenty of impoverished scholars; if you were unwilling to go seek employment, throngs of others would gladly fight tooth and nail for the chance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From the fourth day of the fourth month of the twelfth year of Chongzhen, somehow, the doors of the various offices of the headquarters staff suddenly became thronged with visitors. In particular, before the doors of Civil Affairs Commissioner Zhang Gui and Baoan Department Clerk Zhong Zhengxian, the petitioners seeking audience nearly wore down the thresholds.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In front of the small courtyard of Fu Mingqi, the Director of the Confucian School of Baoan Department, visitors were also unending, keeping him utterly occupied. On the sixth day, with great difficulty, he saw off a wave of former classmates who had made a special trip from Huailai and Yanqing, and only then, somewhat wearily, returned to his own courtyard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment, two men dressed as scholars were sitting in the main hall. Seeing him enter, they both half-rose in greeting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One of the two was tall and thin, the other of medium build; both wore blue scholar's robes. They were Qin Yi and Ye Xizhi. After traveling for several days in Baoan Department, they had finally found the opportunity to visit Fu Mingqi. The three had hit it off at first meeting, their conversation flowing freely, and for the past few days, Qin Yi and Ye Xizhi had been staying in Fu Mingqi's residence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Returning to the hall, Fu Mingqi sighed: \"These few classmates of mine are exceedingly zealous. At first they begged me to secure them a post in the State-Founding General's new garrison villages, but upon arriving in Baoan Department they immediately changed their minds. Now they hope to obtain a position in the Bureau of Moral Edification instead… It is hard to refuse them face to face.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou's headquarters staff was to establish a Bureau of Moral Edification, and word had it that this bureau would specialize in studying how to edify the common people of the Eastern Circuit. Free from the drudgery of official paperwork, requiring only lofty discourse each day, both honorably esteemed and face-saving — such an excellent post instantly drew the attention of many literati.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They bustled about everywhere, precisely hoping to secure a position in the Bureau of Moral Edification. Fu Mingqi's doorstep was the main focus of everyone's activities, and the repeated visits left him unable to attend to everything at once.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fu Mingqi sat down with a troubled expression. Seeing his demeanor, Qin Yi smiled faintly, but Ye Xizhi declared boldly: \"The State-Founding General's establishment of the Bureau of Moral Edification is a great undertaking for transforming the hearts of the people. Brother Zhongtai, I observe that most of your classmates are office-seekers and fortune-hunters, men blinded by greed. My humble opinion is that you must be cautious and not usher such worthless riffraff into the bureau.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ye Xizhi was forthright by nature and prided himself on his talent. Speaking to Fu Mingqi, his words showed not the slightest restraint, his sharp and spirited manner aggressively imposing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fu Mingqi laughed heartily. He was broad-minded by disposition, a man not bothered by trifles. After several days of association, he understood Ye Xizhi's character quite well and took no offense at his words. He said with a smile: \"Brother Shaobai's blunt honesty is something I have long since learned to appreciate, only just now those few classmates of mine were thoroughly exasperated by you.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ye Xizhi gave a cold snort: \"When it comes to serving the state, I act according to my own judgment. Toward such people, I never put on a pleasant face.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Qin Yi said with a smile: \"In my humble observation, among the various classmates and friends who have visited Mr. Fu, there are several who are quite decent, but it is a pity they have eyes set too high and are ignorant of practical affairs. In ordinary times they fold their hands and discourse on mind and nature, vowing to repay their sovereign with a single death — such people are also not suitable candidates for the State-Founding General's headquarters staff.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fu Mingqi fell into deep thought. His good friend Wang Dou had asked him to recommend talented individuals to enter the various offices of the headquarters staff. Over the past few days, Fu Mingqi had also considered several candidates. Two from the Confucian school, Jiang Hongsheng and Huang Riguang, both intended to enter the Bureau of Moral Edification.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Originally, in Fu Mingqi's view, Qin Yi and Ye Xizhi would also have been excellent candidates, but the two were more interested in the Staff Office and the Civil Affairs Office. Although Fu Mingqi had only revealed fragments of information about the headquarters staff to the two of them, the immense power hidden within had already left them deeply excited.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ye Xizhi asserted that Wang Dou harbored \"towering ambitions.\" In his view, the Civil Affairs Office was the best place for him to exercise his talents. That office also required people of strong ability and keen intelligence, capable of being entrusted with responsibility, to deliberate on the headquarters staff's plans, and he considered himself the undisputed candidate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Qin Yi was intensely curious about the headquarters Staff Office. He had heard that the Shunxiang Army excelled in regulations and ordinances, and with its superior surveying and mapping, it directed warfare according to these methods and regulations — advantageous and without drawbacks, and even more so free from the worry of armchair strategizing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From what he had heard, no general in the Great Ming had this way of waging war, nor was it like the various civil officials' paper strategizing — they would often produce a great heap of impressionistic strategies and tactics. That the State-Founding General could establish such an office truly marked him as a rare genius.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, both men agreed to hold a concurrent post under the Bureau of Moral Edification, where they could engage in lofty discourse and point out the lay of the land in ordinary times — something that very much suited the tastes of literati like themselves.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Having stayed in Fu's residence for several days, Ye Xizhi was already impatient. After speaking those words, he wanted Fu Mingqi to arrange an introduction for him that very day. Fu Mingqi chuckled and shook his head: \"It is rather unfortunate. The State-Founding General has gone down to Shunxiang Fort today on an inspection tour. The matter of introduction will have to wait for another day.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ye Xizhi was deeply disappointed, his eyes darting about restlessly, while Fu Mingqi continued discussing with Qin Yi the topic they had been debating over the past few days.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"In my humble opinion, the realm is now in turmoil. If the imperial examinations emphasize literary composition alone, they will only select and test those self-styled lofty talents who are ignorant of practical affairs — pedantic and rotten scholars. Civil and military should be combined into one, employing people according to their abilities. Those versed in both civil and military governance may be considered all-round talents; those proficient in either civil or military affairs are dual talents; those with a record of conduct but who are barren in both civil and military matters are merely partial talents…\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the sixth day of the fourth month of the twelfth year of Chongzhen, Wang Dou arrived at Shunxiang Fort.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By now, Shunxiang Fort had grown into a bustling large city. The local military household population exceeded twenty thousand, and there were also tens of thousands of people from outside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In an unending stream, commoners from various refugee camps were still being selected to enter the territory of Shunxiang Fort, or the Five Forts, or places like Heishan Temple south of the department, to farm, mine, herd, and do other work. These commoners were fortunate; once selected, it meant they could eat their fill. The rations in the refugee camps were clearly not comparable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>More importantly, they saw hope. They were sent under official arrangements to work in various places south of the department. If they performed well and passed strict inspection, they could obtain military household registration in Baoan Department, and in the future receive land allocations, have their sons and younger brothers join the army, and live the same good life as the current commoners.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only by comparison does one know happiness. Looking at the state of those outsiders, the military households of Shunxiang Fort could not help but feel fortunate and emotional.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Baoan Department originally had many civilian households. At first, some secretly converted to military household status; later this became a trend and appeared on a large scale. In particular, Wang Dou's original home, Xingzhuang, except for some of the Li family's original tenant farmers, had already entirely converted to military household status, and the same was true for the various wards of the department city, much to the frustration of Department Magistrate Li Zhenban.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now, in the Eastern Circuit, holding a military household registration of Baoan Department, especially a military household registration of Shunxiang Fort, was a very respectable thing. Those who had relatives in Shunxiang Fort kept bringing their entire families to seek refuge. After arriving, they could engage in small trade; Shunxiang Fort had a thriving population, every household had grain and silver, and doing business here was very easy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They could also help the local military households farm the land, when the sons and brothers of those households were away at war.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They could also go work in the mines, timber yards, or livestock farms — in short, there were many opportunities to make a living.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even the military households of the nearby Five Forts greatly benefited, and those forts had flourished considerably over the past two years.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Word had spread that the State-Founding General was going to undertake large-scale bridge and road construction throughout Baoan Department and even the entire Eastern Circuit. The General had also seized a great number of pigs and sheep from the Tatars, and the future construction of shops and factory buildings would all require large amounts of labor — these were all opportunities.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With the daily influx of people, the various garrison villages that had been abandoned and burned in the ninth year of Chongzhen were thriving once more.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The original dozen or so garrison villages within the territory and their surroundings had all become densely populated areas.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In particular, Shunxiang Fort itself, whose city walls had once been expanded threefold under Wang Dou's governance, clearly could no longer house so many residents as the population increased. Expanded housing extended in ring after ring outside the city walls.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In Baoan Department, the Tatars could not fight their way in, nor did any bandits dare to set their sights on the common people. Even living outside the city walls, everyone felt quite at ease.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, since the territory of Shunxiang Fort concentrated most of Wang Dou's key departments — the silver vaults, grain depots, mines, armaments factories, livestock farms, and other vital sectors — and was also an important site for training new recruits, entering Shunxiang Fort was no easy matter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Refugees were not permitted to enter. Outsiders wishing to reside in Shunxiang Fort had to hold a letter of introduction and a letter of guarantee from a local military household. When entering Shunxiang Fort via any of the roads, one also had to pass through a series of strict inspections. In particular, the armaments area around the Yaozi River west of the fort was strictly off-limits to strangers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Wang Dou arrived at Shunxiang Fort, there was a grand welcoming ceremony. Neither soldiers nor civilians were stingy in expressing their reverence for the State-Founding General. Seeing the present state of Shunxiang Fort, Wang Dou was also very satisfied. He had come to this world and changed the fates of many people — thinking on it, it was something to be quite proud of.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The main purpose of Wang Dou's trip was to inspect the armaments affairs of Shunxiang Fort. After the Logistics Department was established, it included an Armaments Section, which oversaw all the gunpowder factories, military uniform factories, fire-lance factories, armor factories, and other workshops in Shunxiang Fort. In the future, if possible, cannon factories and the like would also be established.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Considering the importance of armaments, Qi Tianliang proposed placing the ironworks, coal mines, and the like under the Armaments Section. The former clerks of Shunxiang Fort, Guo Zhongju and others, would serve as clerical staff in the section. Also, Lai Yuanlong would serve as the head of the Armaments Section, with Li Maosen and others as deputies. Wang Dou had no objections.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this moment, Lin Daofu, Qi Tianliang, and others surrounded Wang Dou like a host of stars circling the moon. The two, as Commissioners of the Training Division and the Logistics Division, continued to reside in Shunxiang Fort. In particular, Lin Daofu still concurrently held the post of Garrison Commander of Shunxiang Fort.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, Wang Dou considered that in the future, the new recruits gathered from across the Eastern Circuit would all be assigned to Lin Daofu's camp for training. With all the myriad affairs, Lin Daofu would certainly not have the energy to manage matters within the fort. Wang Dou intended to have his old superior from the Fire Beacon Tower days, Zhong Dayong, take up the post of Garrison Commander of Shunxiang Fort.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Over the past two years, Zhong Dayong had been managing the garrison villages at Heishan Temple with great diligence, and had even recommended the poultry-raising expert Long Kun to him, utilizing the grasslands for large-scale raising of chickens and ducks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Combined with his own cattle and sheep farms across Baoan Department, there would be large-scale production of chickens, ducks, cattle, and sheep in the future. In the present Great Ming, where grain output could not be increased, shifting the dietary structure of soldiers and civilians to rely mainly on meat and milk, supplemented by grain, would not only strengthen their bodies but also reduce the demand for grain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In this matter, Zhong Dayong could be said to have rendered the greatest service, and there was no problem with him serving as Garrison Commander of Shunxiang Fort.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, Wang Dou did not reveal this thought; he merely inspected the various factory buildings in detail, from the gunpowder factory all the way to the matchlock factory. Compared to the initial disorder, each factory was now much more complete, and there was no longer any worry about a shortage of craftsmen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Among the two hundred thousand commoners Wang Dou had rescued, plus those disaster victims and refugees who had streamed into Baoan Prefecture, there were at least several thousand craftsmen. These craftsmen were counted one by one and sent in batches to the various factories and mines in Shunxiang Fort. As long as Wang Dou's funds and provisions kept pace, he would have no shortage of craftsmen for the next several years.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou had come primarily for the flintlock muskets. This technology was fairly mature in Shunxiang Fort; Lai Yuanlong had successfully developed it two years earlier, not to mention that Wang Dou had the allegiance of Yang Guodong, Company Commander of the Viceroy's Personal Battalion. In his army, there were over two hundred self-igniting firearms, which were flintlock muskets. With physical specimens for reference, manufacturing them became even easier.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Compared to matchlock guns, which were cumbersome, unusable in the rain, and required dragging a long, lit match cord in battle, flintlock muskets held considerable advantages. Of course, flintlock muskets were not without flaws; the sparks struck from the flint were often insufficient to ignite the powder, causing misfires to occur from time to time. Pulling the trigger required great force, which affected accuracy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Flintlock muskets also had one serious drawback: delayed firing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From the moment the trigger was pulled to the actual discharge, there was a noticeable delay. When firing at any moving target, the shooter had to account for this before shooting, and there was no method whatsoever to solve this problem.\u003C\u002Fp>",3441,"2026-06-03T14:05:36.780Z",1,"Novelzhen Translator","381ae1a5b2bcf7dfdeffa5c97cece5480c80486572a03ad90d04c93d1b643ea5","a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-chapter-329","a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-chapter-327",896,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fa-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-cover.jpg"]