Chapter 348: Reaction

Wang Dou proposed severely punishing Zhang Wanshan, Chen Enchong, and the others. Ma Guoxi had no objections. If the Zhang family and the rest had once been the local bosses of the Eastern Circuit, they were now a thing of the past after Wang Dou’s thunderous strike.

Ma Guoxi had never had much liking for such local strongmen. After his transfer to the Eastern Circuit, he had suffered plenty from these local bosses’ outward compliance and secret defiance. Now that they had been uprooted, Ma Guoxi could only secretly rejoice. If Wang Dou was willing to play the villain, why would he not gladly go along?

As for Zhang Wanshan’s backer being the current Vice Regional Commander of Xuanfu Garrison and concurrently Regional Military Commissioner of the Wanshan Regional Military Commission, Zhang Guoxu… Ma Guoxi did not much care. Guard battalion officers were growing cheaper by the day in the Great Ming; within the garrison city alone, there were several men holding the title of Regional Military Commissioner.

Zhang Guowei bore the title of Vice Regional Commander, yet his direct subordinates numbered no more than three thousand. In the Regional Military Commission, he was responsible for military farming, patrol and arrest, ordnance, and defense preparations. He collected grain taxes from every locality and each year had to select able-bodied men from the guard battalions to send to the various camps — in effect, he served as the logistics department and reserve force for the field armies.

With so many duties, the combat strength of his troops was easy to imagine. Moreover, any post with the word “vice” in it was never well-regarded. Above him, the Regional Commander kept him in check; the Provincial Governor meddled in every affair; the garrison city also housed the Prince of Gu’s estate, where ennobled magnates and powerful families flourished even more, with far too many masters to serve.

This was precisely why Wang Dou had been unwilling to take a Vice Regional Commander post in the garrison city back then — an awkward position, nothing like holding real power as an Assistant Regional Commander in the Eastern Circuit, where the mountains were high and the Emperor far away, and he could act freely.

To escape such an awkward status, perhaps the only path was to climb to Regional Commander — but how difficult was that?

Senior generals had to be produced through collective recommendation and finally chosen by the Emperor. Zhang Guoxu had never fought any major battle or desperate engagement; how could his standing in the Emperor’s mind compare to that of the current Regional Commander, Yang Guozhu? To put it bluntly, Zhang Guowei’s present rank and position only existed because Wang Dou had taken some Qing soldier heads back then.

The Zhang family’s influence in the Eastern Circuit likewise only came about after Zhang Guowei had garrisoned the Eastern Circuit in those years. Now that his painstakingly built foundation had been destroyed by Wang Dou, he would surely long to devour Wang Dou’s flesh and sleep on his hide. Ma, the Military Defense Circuit, was perfectly happy to sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight — after all, the whole series of events had been carried out by Wang Dou and had nothing to do with him.

In a few brief words, the two men decided the fate of a great many people.

Wang Dou’s thunderous strike this time also left a large batch of vacancies in the Eastern Circuit. How to place and adjust the new candidates — that was a problem.

Ma, the Military Defense Circuit, stroked his beard and smiled faintly: “Your subordinate, General Zhong Xiancai, is steady by nature and has always possessed a heart of loyalty and righteousness. Jinghu Fort is a strategic border post — for him to garrison it would be most fitting.”

“…Shen Shiqi, Yin Yijin, Lei Xianbin, and the other generals are loyal, righteous, and valiant. They are also suitable candidates for Zhousigou Fort, Heihanling Fort, and Liubin Fort.”

(continued from [13])

Ma Guoxi laid out his own chess pieces. He could enumerate Wang Dou’s subordinate generals as if counting his own family heirlooms — clearly, he had done his research.

Ma Guoxi’s words struck exactly what Wang Dou desired. In the future, he intended to expand beyond the frontier, so the several border forts of the Eastern Circuit absolutely had to be firmly in his own hands.

A peach for a plum. Wang Dou said slowly: “I thank the Military Intendant. For the candidates for Garrison Commander of Huailai and Yanqing Subprefecture, I must still ask the Military Intendant to deliberate.”

Ma Guoxi pondered briefly, then said: “As you, General, have said, Huang Changyi may have minor flaws, but he can turn back from the lost path, which is still rare. He also rendered some merit this time, so let his merits offset his faults, with a slight reprimand sufficing. The Huailai Garrison Commander post — let him continue to hold it.”

“In recommending the worthy, one does not avoid one’s own kin. My personal general under this old man’s command, Li Jincheng, is usually steady in handling affairs. This old man intends to promote him as Garrison Commander of Yanqing Subprefecture. I wonder what the General thinks?”

(continued from [19])

Huang Changyi had always been very respectful toward Ma Guoxi. This time, he was willing to throw in his lot with Wang Dou and had exposed a large number of crimes by Chen Enchong and the others to him. Wang Dou was also inclined to let him off the hook.

As for Ma Guoxi’s personal general from the circuit standard battalion, Li Jinwei, Wang Dou had also heard of him. He was an outsider with no roots in the Eastern Circuit. Greedy, yes, but he had generally maintained friendly relations with Wang Dou. Letting him hold a garrison city was acceptable.

The matter of candidates was thus settled. The two foxes, one big and one small, chuckled at each other. Next, they discussed an even more important issue — the spoils!

The local magnates of the Eastern Circuit had originally possessed deep, tangled networks of influence, with vast associated lands and properties. After their eradication, how to dispose of the various properties under their names — this was a critical matter.

Wang Dou could not monopolize everything; he had to let a portion go. Their final agreement: after confiscating the estates of the various spies and treacherous merchants, the land would be entered into the land registers to serve as places for settling new military households. After those people’s family assets were confiscated, one portion would be handed over to the state treasury, one portion would flow into Ma Guoxi’s coffers, and one portion would flow into Wang Dou’s coffers.

Of course, the greater part of the property would go to Wang Dou, but Ma Guoxi still expressed satisfaction. With the money and grain he received, apart from a portion offered upward as tribute, what remained was substantial. This year’s tax grain due from the Eastern Circuit would be worry-free, and henceforth local governance would be more unhurried. With grain in hand, the heart does not panic.

Of course, in this affair, Ma Guoxi was even more struck by Wang Dou’s strength and boldness. Wang Dou knew how to give him face and stopped at the right point, showing that this military man was extremely deep and calculating. With such a powerful military figure emerging in the Eastern Circuit, how to deal with him going forward was a question Ma Guoxi needed to ponder deeply.

That day, the two jointly wrote an official dispatch, reporting the entire matter, cause and effect, to the Regional Military Commission government office, the Regional Commander’s government office, the Provincial Governor’s government office, and the Viceroy’s government office. With so many spies arrested and so many implicated offenders, they requested the higher authorities to issue a formal directive on how to proceed.

They also requested a joint trial by the three judicial offices to deal with the implicated officials.

In those ancient times, roads were poor and there were no modern means of communication; news traveled slowly. Except for those with a special interest, while the Eastern Circuit had been in uproar for those few days, the garrison city had remained calm. Only on the third day after the suppression of the merchants and scholars — the very day Wang Dou and Ma Guoxi’s joint dispatch entered the garrison city — did it explode like a thunderclap, and every street and alley seethed.

Shock, upheaval — that was the reaction from the highest levels down to the common soldiers and civilians in the garrison city. In truth, the massive school strike and market strike in the Eastern Circuit this time might not have been without the secret instigation and agitation of the various powerful figures in the garrison city. After all, many of them had extensive interests spread throughout the Eastern Circuit. Wang Dou wanted to investigate and ban the Eastern Circuit’s private trade — they certainly did not wish to see that happen.

(continued from [31])

It was just that Wang Dou had moved too fast, and the matter had ended too quickly, catching them off guard. According to their assumptions, from the market strike to the conclusion of the affair, it should have taken at least half a month or a month. With these “pillars of the state” acting collectively, they reckoned Wang Dou would be overwhelmed and have no choice but to yield.

They never imagined that in a mere five days, all the turmoil would return to calm. Wang Dou’s style of handling matters was hard to accept, and his audacity was even harder to comprehend — striking simultaneously at local strongmen, gentry, and military bosses with such boldness was probably unique since the establishment of Xuanfu Garrison.

Yet Wang Dou’s seemingly brutal methods were so effective. Within a single day, all matters had vanished like smoke, and the Eastern Circuit was already at peace. This left those who had laid the plans deeply aggrieved; the great pains they had spent scheming seemed to have been utterly wasted.

Moreover, while Wang Dou appeared crude, he was in fact meticulously careful, having searched out a vast amount of incriminating evidence in advance. By suppressing them under charges of being Qing spies and traitors selling out the country, no one could find any fault. Many were even more worried that Wang Dou held a large amount of damning evidence in his hands, and that some handle of theirs might fall into his grasp in the future…

After this contest, many figures in the garrison city regarded Wang Dou with new eyes. They had not expected that besides being formidable in battle, his methods were also so outstanding. Wang Dou had already become the new local boss of the Eastern Circuit, a man of real power. How should they deal with this local boss in the future?

That day, who knows how many mouths uttered the name “Wang Dou,” and his life and career were also scrutinized.

Of course, the above was only the reaction of the more far-sighted in the garrison city. Wang Dou’s sweeping away of the local strongmen inevitably made many of their ilk in the garrison city feel that when one rabbit dies, the fox grieves. Wang Dou had cut off countless people’s financial routes in the Eastern Circuit with a thunderbolt. If he gained power in the future and was transferred to the garrison city, would there still be a path to survival for everyone else?

“Overbearing,” “tyrannical,” “failing to govern with benevolence” — such talk began to spread through the streets and alleys, the teahouses and wineshops of the garrison city.

Of course, no one dared criticize the legality of Wang Dou’s actions this time, so they turned to criticizing the brutality of his methods. In their words, even if the scholars and merchants were in the wrong, he should have won them over with virtue. Wasn’t Wang Dou’s way of doing things just the same as the tax eunuchs and mining eunuchs of old?

Yet another kind of voice also arose, a more covert one: “The General Who Stabilizes the State kills and decides with resolution — the aura of a hegemon. The court’s accumulated ills have festered long; it needs precisely such a figure to bring thunder and lightning and clear the clouds for a new day. The Eastern Circuit awaits revival from utter ruin; if we throw ourselves under his command, we will surely be given important posts and be able to put our learning to full use.”

As the news spread to various places, more and more people harbored such thoughts. That Wang Dou thereby attracted a large batch of talented people to his service was an unexpected gain.

There were also many merchants drooling over the territory of the Eastern Circuit. Perfect — the big local merchants had all been wiped out, and they could just fill the gap. Of course, for safety’s sake, before moving into the Eastern Circuit, they first needed to figure out the temperament and character of that new local boss.

Inside the majestic Regional Commander’s residence in the garrison city, Yang Guozhu shook his head repeatedly as he read the dispatch. His personal general of the central army, Guo Yingxian, exclaimed beside him: “That kid Wang Dou — his temper and boldness, I, old Guo, can only sigh in admiration… In one breath he toppled several Garrison Commanders and Defense Commanders, and even beheaded so many students and merchants. This brother’s guts — tsk tsk…”

He said to Yang Guozhu: “Military Commander, we and Brother Wang fought our way out together through mountains of corpses and seas of blood. For the sake of our old friendship, we must lend him a hand.”

Yang Guozhu’s expression did not change: “This matter has blown up too big. We still have to see what Provincial Governor Ji and Viceroy Chen intend… Don’t worry, no one dares touch him. That kid — even I am somewhat wary of him…”

As he said this, his expression grew solemn, as if pondering something.

Inside the Provincial Governor’s government office, Ji Shiwei looked at the joint dispatch. His first reaction was a start. This son-in-law of his — no matter where he went, he always stirred up earth-shaking momentum. It had been so in Baoan Department, and it was still so now that he had arrived in the Eastern Circuit. But looking at Ma Guoxi’s name signed at the bottom of the dispatch, Ji Shiwei felt considerably relieved. With Ma Guoxi’s joint signature, it diverted quite a bit of fire from his son-in-law.

Reading the dispatch carefully once more, Ji Shiwei was even more reassured. With the huge hats of “Qing spy” and “colluding with the barbarians and selling out the country” clamped down, and with detailed witness testimony and material evidence in hand, who could say a word in opposition? The only thing one could pick at was that his son-in-law’s methods were overly brutal — but that was already a minor detail, and his identity as a military man made it passable.

Provincial Governor Ji’s eyes narrowed. Ever since arriving at the garrison city, the various overbearing military bosses, the great gentry clans, and the ennobled magnates had all given him outward compliance but secret defiance, leaving him equally exhausted in mind and body. He had been waiting for an opportunity for a long time; this was just the moment to kill their arrogance and make them recognize the existence of him, the Provincial Governor.

Having such a son-in-law was also good. In the future, whoever dared stir up trouble would have to consider that powerful backing in the Eastern Circuit, making his own seat all the more stable.

As he was pondering, a servant delivered a gilded name card, saying that Mr. Wu of the garrison city invited Provincial Governor Ji to a banquet that evening.

Ji Shiwei snorted. In truth, this Mr. Wu was a trusted steward in the city’s Prince of Gu estate. By the Great Ming’s statutes, feudal princes were forbidden to associate with local officials or leave the city, on pain of being charged with plotting rebellion. However, the various stewards in their estates were not covered by this rule. The Prince of Gu estate’s vast lands, shops, and properties were all entrusted to these stewards to manage.

Because of his son-in-law’s affair, the Prince of Gu had finally taken notice of him. At tonight’s banquet, would they try to co-opt him or threaten him? Provincial Governor Ji intended to find out.

Xuanfu Garrison City had no Vice Regional Commander’s government office, but it did have a Wanshan Regional Military Commission government office, a vast architectural complex comparable in scale to the Regional Commander’s “General’s Residence.” Here were located the numerous subsidiary offices of the local guard battalions, managing matters of land, population, and taxation within the Regional Military Commission.

In the early Ming, the Regional Military Commission held military and administrative authority over an entire region, subordinate to the Five Chief Military Commissions. The Regional Military Commissioner was an extremely illustrious official position, ranking above the three provincial offices.

But times had changed. From the mid-Ming onward, the status of the Regional Military Commissioner had steadily declined. By now, the Regional Military Commission’s military functions had grown fewer and fewer; it existed more as a geographical unit. Moreover, it managed a multitude of affairs — toilsome and thankless.

General ar.