Chapter 335: If You Remain Obstinately Unrepentant, You Will Be Put to Death Without Mercy!

"General Dingguo has arrived!"

With Xie Yike's booming voice, Wang Dou, surrounded by trusted officers like Wen Fangliang, Zhong Xiancai, Sun Sanjie, and Wen Daxing, followed Xiong Tingrui into the great hall, his face wreathed in smiles. Only then did everyone in the hall see this legendary figure famed throughout the realm for the first time.

He was very young, not yet thirty, with a powerful build and an extremely commanding presence in his bearing.

The officers flanking him were each brimming with keen spirit, as if proclaiming the ascendant momentum of this group. Everyone in the hall rose to salute, their faces fixed with respectful smiles.

In particular, Baoan Garrison Commander Xu Zucheng and Yongning Garrison Commander Wang Yide smiled as brightly as flowers. Only Sihaiye Fort Commander Zhang Wenru rose carelessly, staring at Wang Dou from head to toe and back again with bleary, drunken eyes.

Wang Dou's smile was very gentle and warm. He put on no airs before his subordinates; on the contrary, he described himself as young and inexperienced, a newcomer who would need to rely heavily on the experience of his colleagues.

Seeing Wang Dou's manner, Yanqing Department Garrison Commander Chen Enchong and others felt a chill in their hearts. This new Assistant Regional Commander could be described as seasoned yet sharp, a man of profound cunning who would be difficult to deal with in the future. Of course, to the remaining garrison commanders and officers, Wang Dou left an excellent impression — this superior seemed a decent man.

That first meeting could be described as entirely harmonious; only Xiong Tingrui, who was introducing Wang Dou, felt a sour taste in his heart. The various officers of the Eastern Route were busy fawning over and currying favor with the new General Dingguo, casting him, their former superior, aside. How lamentable — when the man leaves, the tea cools; the ancients did not deceive me!

That day, Wang Dou saw Xiong Tingrui off with fanfare, and the garrison commanders of each city took their leave in turn. Looking at the slightly dilapidated general's residence before him, he reflected that from now on, he was the master of this mansion.

The staff of his headquarters also sprang into action without pause, dividing up the various halls and public rooms to use as offices. They sorted through the received laws, ordinances, charts, and books, the strategic mountain passes and river crossings, and the household registries of each locality, busying themselves methodically according to their respective departmental duties.

Wang Dou was particularly concerned with the population and farmland of the Eastern Route. According to the household registers, excluding Baoan Department, the Eastern Route had over eighteen thousand military households and over seven hundred qing of military farmland.

However, these were statistics compiled during the Hongzhi era. When Wang Dou examined the relevant historical records, he found that during the Wanli era, Xuanfu Garrison had once conducted a review of military households and farmland. The final result showed that both the acreage and the number of military households had shrunk by more than half.

Those vanished military households had either fled or were concealed under the names of various officers. The military farmland, needless to say, had been encroached upon by local powerholders on all sides.

The troop numbers were the same: the muster rolls listed over eight thousand officers and men, and over two thousand horses and mules. Wang Dou estimated that if even half actually existed, it would be considered good.

A single spot reveals the whole leopard. The malpractices of the Eastern Route mirrored the identical situation across Xuanfu Garrison, even the entire Nine Frontier Garrisons, and all the guard battalions of the Great Ming. Why the officers and men of the Great Ming's guard battalions could not fight could already be understood from the gradual decay of this guard battalion system.

On the twenty-fourth day of the fourth month of the twelfth year of Chongzhen, Wang Dou went to Huailai City to pay his respects to Army Preparations Officer Ma Guodian and Grain Administration Assistant Prefect Guo Shitong.

"Ha ha ha ha, General Wang, no need for excessive courtesy, no need for excessive courtesy."

Having finally awaited Wang Dou's arrival, Ma Guodian treated him as an equal, exchanging only a bow with no kneeling. The Grain Administration Assistant Prefect Guo Shitong beside him had to exert extreme self-control to keep from flaring up, yet Ma Guodian maintained his spring-breeze manner.

He warmly invited Wang Dou to take a seat in the guest chair, sized him up, and said with a chuckle as he stroked his beard: "I have long heard of General Dingguo's fame — the battles at Tongzhou, at Julu, at Pinggu, where the eastern slaves quaked at the mere rumor. Seeing you today, the reputation indeed proves true. With the General guarding the Eastern Route, this is a blessing for the people."

Ma Guodian's conversation easily engendered goodwill, and his beard, comparable in length to Lord Guan's, also left a deep impression on Wang Dou. From the corner of his eye, Wang Dou also caught the expression of Grain Administration Assistant Prefect Guo Shitong beside him. With his emotions so plainly displayed on his face, to Wang Dou, this man was not worth worrying about.

"I have long savored Lord Ma's fragrant name and lamented never having met you. Meeting today surpasses hearing of your fame."

Since Ma Guodian did not put on the airs of an Army Preparations Officer, Wang Dou did not mind sending a few flattering hats his way in return.

Ma Guodian indeed looked very pleased at Wang Dou's words.

Wang Dou suddenly stood and performed a respectful salute in the direction of the capital: "Dou is untalented, yet has received His Majesty's generous favor to guard the Eastern Route..."

Seeing Wang Dou stand and mention the Emperor, Ma Guodian also hurriedly stood, as did Guo Shitong beside him. Caught off guard, Guo Shitong could not help but curse inwardly.

Wang Dou continued: "...However, your humble officer is of shallow learning and talent, newly arrived at the Eastern Route, and must ask Lord Ma to guide this junior and younger generation."

Ma Guodian smiled slightly: "Of course. As we are all officials of the Eastern Route, father-and-mother officials to the people, we should naturally work together with one heart and support each other."

He invited Wang Dou to sit again and added meaningfully: "General Wang is accomplished in both civil and martial arts — a junior to be reckoned with."

He coughed once and said: "The court has ordered that two hundred thousand commoners be converted into military households. I wonder what plan General Wang has in mind?"

Wang Dou said: "Your humble officer's strategy is to have them reclaim wasteland, settling them in colonies of several thousand each. In this way, the commoners can be fully resettled. However..."

A troubled look appeared on his face: "Resettling the commoners requires vast amounts of funds, grain, draft oxen, and seed, which your humble officer lacks the capacity to provide."

Ma Guodian narrowed his eyes. How could Wang Dou lack capacity? His funds and grain were abundantly sufficient. Even if Wang Dou did not say it, Ma Guodian had heard something of it. In last year's campaign, his command had reaped rich spoils. The recovered silver, cattle, horses, fodder, and provisions could be described in astronomical figures.

Ma Guodian knew perfectly well how Wang Dou had built his fortune. If one spoke of the wealthiest officer on the Eastern Route, it was this military man before him.

Were it not for the heavy troops he commanded, the various officials would have swarmed in to feast on this wealthy household.

Of course, Ma Guodian still had to respond to Wang Dou's posture. He sighed: "This old man oversees the Eastern Route's military farmland and horse administration affairs. The General's worries and the people's suffering — this old man feels them as his own. As father-and-mother officials to the people, no matter the difficulty, this old man will find ways and means to properly settle the sons and brothers of the common folk."

Ma Guodian decided to hand over the entire military farmland matter to Wang Dou to implement, while he himself reaped the benefits. Of course, verbal support cost nothing and was worth plenty. When the new colonies were established, he could also insert some of his own people into them. The various civil officials of the Eastern Route were already salivating over the selection of clerks and officers for these colonies. Ma Guodian had already received considerable benefits in this regard.

By supporting Wang Dou — give a peach, get a plum in return — presumably Wang Dou would also agree to some of his own trifling requests.

Wang Dou rose and saluted Ma Guodian: "Lord Ma's lofty righteousness — your humble officer is deeply and endlessly impressed."

Ma Guodian laughingly stopped Wang Dou: "General, there is no need for this, no need for this."

The two men again exchanged courtesies and deferentially took their seats.

The Grain Administration Assistant Prefect Guo Shitong beside them, seeing the two treat him as if he were invisible, grew even more sullen.

At this moment, Ma Guodian looked toward him and chuckled: "The Eastern Route is about to train troops. Regarding provisions and pay, we will need Chief Guo to give the General his full assistance."

Wang Dou glanced thoughtfully at Ma Guodian, then smiled and saluted Guo Shitong: "The Xuanzhen Circuit Inspector has set the troop strength at five thousand. Your humble officer has roughly calculated the fodder, provisions, and silver required — the sums are substantial. I wonder if Chief Guo..."

Guo Shitong said expressionlessly: "The Eastern Route is broken and destitute; annual tax revenues fall short. To train troops, the court has imposed an additional training levy of over seven million three hundred thousand taels across the entire Great Ming. Collection takes time, and it will likely not be a matter of days before the Ministry of Revenue disburses the funds. Raising provisions and pay for the new army is extremely difficult."

Wang Dou glanced at him and said: "Oh."

"Of course, as the Eastern Route's grain administration chief, this official will naturally devise ways to raise provisions and pay for the troops."

Wang Dou nodded: "Understood."

As Wang Dou took his leave and departed, Guo Shitong was somewhat uncertain and suspicious: "What did Wang Dou mean by that?"

Watching Wang Dou's retreating figure, Ma Guodian also narrowed his eyes: "That young man is no simple character."

As the twelfth year of Chongzhen approached the fifth month, Wang Dou completed an inspection tour of the entire Eastern Route. To his lack of surprise, the entire Eastern Route was a magnified version of the old Baoan Department — the accumulated abuses were even more severe.

Only the governance of Sihaiye Fort Commander Zhang Wenru was slightly better.

That was because he did not embezzle military pay, did not accept bribes, and did not usurp labor or buy idleness. Though the soldiers suffered hardship, their spirit and morale were decent — the result of Zhang Wenru sharing weal and woe with his subordinates. This man also left a deep impression on Wang Dou. "Deep-rooted ills are hard to reverse; only by breaking before establishing can it be done. Perhaps I will have to repeat in the Eastern Route what I did in the departmental city."

At this moment, Wang Dou stood atop the western gate of Yongning City. From here, one could gaze upon the full panorama of the city. Yongning City was built during the Xuande era and was not particularly large, its circumference no more than six li, smaller than Huailai City. It had forty-eight subordinate forts and two subordinate stockades. Yanqing Department had ninety-eight subordinate forts and thirty-four subordinate stockades.

The city had four gates: east, west, south, and north. Twenty li west of the city was the "Feng"-character heated courier station; another twenty li further was the "Shi"-character heated courier station. Forty li beyond that was the "Zhu"-character heated courier station — all post stations. The guard battalions of the Great Ming were all filled with temples, and Yongning City was no exception, containing over thirty temples large and small within its walls. Most had thriving incense offerings; perhaps the more chaotic the age, the more the common people needed spiritual solace.

The city was surrounded by high mountains on its east, west, and south sides. Heading northeast, one would find successively distributed forts such as Sihaiye Fort, Zhousigou Fort, Heihanling Fort, Jinghu Fort, and Liubin Fort, guarding the various frontier passes and key routes leading from beyond the border into the Eastern Route.

In Wang Dou's view, aside from Sihaiye Fort, most of the remaining forts were practically nominal.

Because it was the garrison seat of an Assistant Regional Commander, the demand for troops was high, and with its proximity to the frontier, a fair number of merchants came and went. Looking out from the city wall, one could see from time to time merchant caravans with pack horses entering the city, as well as local military households and commoners coming and going, most dressed in tattered clothes with a famished look.

When they caught sight of Wang Dou and his party standing solemnly atop the wall, their eyes revealed expressions of awe and fear. And seeing this figure, a kind of hope emerged in each person's eyes. Everyone had heard of what General Dingguo had done in Baoan Department, and they hoped that after he came to Yongning, he could let the local people live the same good days as the soldiers and civilians of Baoan Department.

Looking at these people, Wang Dou felt some emotion. The Huailai and Yanqing area was considered a famously prosperous region of Xuanfu Garrison, ringed by mountains on three sides and facing water on one, with an excellent climate and fertile soil. Why then were the local soldiers and civilians so impoverished?

Wang Dou stood for a long while, then raised his eyes to gaze toward the northwest of the city. There, at the foot of the Western Hills, a great mass of people had gathered like ants, bustling with activity. Among them were soldiers and also local military households. When Wang Dou had led his troops to Yongning, troubled by the cramped and dilapidated barracks within the city, he had decided to build a new military camp at the foot of the Western Hills for his own soldiers to inhabit.

Because working meant having a full meal and wages to take home, not only the soldiers inside the city but even the military households inside and outside all scrambled to go.

Wang Dou pondered for a long time. Matters on the Eastern Route were numerous and complicated — one must eat a meal bite by bite, and handle affairs step by step.

As the saying goes, the worry is not poverty but unrest. Unlike the Baoanzhou area, the Eastern Route was a place of many mountains and dense forests, where bandits were as numerous as ox hairs. Each occupied a hilltop, raiding homes and plundering houses, utterly vicious and evil, severely affecting the livelihood and production of the local common people.

His first task was to exterminate these bandits and restore a stable environment to the locality. Only then could other matters be discussed.

On the first day of the fifth month, after careful planning, the Assistant Regional Commander's office in Yongning City issued a proclamation ordering all bandits within the territory to surrender within one month and await the authorities' disposition. Otherwise, the great army would annihilate them, leaving them the fate of ashes and scattered smoke.

The proclamation came from the hand of Ye Xi, brimming with killing intent, especially the final lines: "...If you reform and change your ways, willing to return to farming or herding, you shall also be granted amnesty with no further questions. But if you still cling to evil without remorse, rallying the masses and raising arms, you shall be killed without pardon — do not say you were not warned!"

Once this proclamation bearing Wang Dou's distinctive stamp was issued, the entire Eastern Route was shocked!