Chapter 602: Advantage

"Lady Count, Lady Count, Lady Count…"

On the fourth day of the eleventh month, Lady Count, Wang Dou's principal wife Xie Xiuniang, began a tour of inspection through every city and fort of the Eastern Route. Her footprints even covered every single garrison settlement. Wherever she went, soldiers and civilians cheered, and people's hearts were greatly steadied.

And this was precisely the moment when the Eastern Route's crisis was at its most urgent.

The commercial warfare against the Eastern Route — waged by the Eight Great Families and the related powers behind them — had actually begun long before the rumors, counterfeit grain tickets, and supply cutoffs. In early to mid-October, before the Eastern Route had noticed, they had already used various methods — silver, trade goods, or other means — to begin buying up Eastern Route grain tickets in large quantities.

For the merchants in the market, as well as soldiers and civilians everywhere, the sudden appearance of people buying grain tickets at high prices was naturally something they were very willing to accept. Moreover, at that time, many large merchant caravans had followed the army beyond the frontier; the merchants who stayed behind lacked the crisis instincts of those who had gone out.

Unknowingly, vast quantities of grain tickets held by soldiers, civilians, and the market had already become concentrated in certain people's hands.

Subsequently, the great families began employing a series of tactics — spreading rumors, boycotting the export of Eastern Route trade goods, intercepting incoming trade goods — to block external goods and raw materials from entering.

Then those people began using silver and grain tickets to buy up grain commodities at high prices for hoarding or shipping out. Immediately after, they began using grain tickets to redeem grain step by step.

Such commercial warfare tactics could be described as tightly interlocked, each step pressing relentlessly forward.

Under their manipulations, some soldiers and civilians suddenly discovered that grain tickets on the market were growing increasingly scarce. No new grain tickets were being issued. Some people were forced to go back to using the silver or copper coins that had been gathering dust in their homes. Still others found that because too much of their own grain had been bought away at high prices, when they wanted to go to the grain shop to exchange grain tickets, their hearts were willing but their strength was insufficient.

Some soldiers and civilians who still held grain tickets also began to feel hesitant.

Market prices also began to fluctuate, now high, now low, and finally, as trade goods on the market grew ever fewer, they began to soar violently — especially salt and tea, whose prices rose ever faster.

In every city and fort of the Eastern Route, a sense of panic emerged among some of the civilian militia. The more this happened, the fewer trade goods appeared on the market.

Faced with this situation, the Shogunate adopted decisive measures: salt, tea, cooking oil, soy sauce, vinegar, and other trade goods were placed under rationing. All such trade goods on the market were to be uniformly allocated and dispensed by the Shogunate. Only grain remained unchanged, continuing under a free-market economy.

The Propaganda and Public Guidance Section under the Intelligence Department, joining forces with the propaganda apparatus of every city and fort, began a blanket propaganda campaign. On one hand, they exposed the schemes of the treacherous merchants; further, they proclaimed that they would, openly and honorably, defeat in commercial affairs every treacherous merchant power harboring sinister designs against the Eastern Route.

The Grand Dowager Countess and the Lady Count both led by example, implementing the minimum ration standards for salt and other goods.

At this time, the various officials remaining in the Shogunate also gathered together at the Grand General's residence to consult with the Grand Dowager Countess, Lady Zhong, and the Lady Count, Lady Xie, requesting that they tour the forts and calm the people's hearts.

For Lady Zhong, her impression of the imperial court was complex and vague. She only knew that His Majesty was diligent, but that treacherous ministers abounded throughout the court and the provinces — especially after her son returned from his campaign against the roving bandits, and from what she heard of her precious grandson's teachings, she felt even more that the Great Ming was pitch-black from top to bottom and could not go on unchanged. Even by her own side, she had seen plenty of petty scheming and sordid dealings over the years.

As for her precious son Wang Dou, ever since the seventh year of Chongzhen, when Wang Dou was promoted to Platoon Leader, she had taken immense pride in her son and believed in him unconditionally.

To her, ever since her son had come of age, he had campaigned south and north for the court, rendering service as great as a sweating horse — naturally he was a great and loyal minister. This Eastern Route territory was her son's family estate, the hope of the Great Ming. How could she permit others to destroy it?

So when the Shogunate officials consulted the Grand Dowager Countess and the Lady Count about touring the forts to calm the people's hearts, she readily agreed.

But after thinking it over, the Grand Dowager Countess, still very hale and hearty, pondered for a long while and sighed: "A bag of old bones — I can't walk anymore. Let my daughter-in-law go in my stead."

From the fourth day of the eleventh month, Lady Count Xie Xiuniang, accompanied by her eldest legitimate son Wang Zheng, and under the tight protection of the Pacification Office and the Intelligence Department, set out from Yongning City. Station by station, she toured every part of the Eastern Route. Wherever she went, cheers roared like thunder, and people's hearts were roused.

As Wang Dou's principal wife and Lady Count, Xie Xiuniang enjoyed the same ceremonial honors as her husband. The Jingbian Army's Guard Battalion had a dedicated squad of Lumi musketeers protecting the General's residence. When Xie Xiuniang went on tour, three ranks of Lumi musketeers — each carrying a flintlock Lumi musket and with several pistols tucked at the waist — accompanied her as guards.

Dense covert operatives from the Intelligence Department were also widely dispersed in the surrounding areas to keep watch.

Moreover, the entire Eastern Route enforced an extremely strict baojia system of mutual responsibility and collective punishment: if one household colluded with bandits, nine households were to report it; if they failed to report it, all ten households bore joint liability. Thus, in the Eastern Route, it was exceedingly difficult for any kind of spy to hide among the populace.

And so throughout the tour, Xie Xiuniang and her party encountered no sudden incidents.

More importantly, Xie Xiuniang's prestige in the Eastern Route was second only to that of the Grand General Wang Dou. Amid the increasingly fervent wave of fanatical worship sweeping the Eastern Route, many commoners enshrined portraits and spirit tablets of Wang Dou in their homes. When they performed their morning and evening prostrations, in those portraits, Xie Xiuniang stood gently at his side as well.

By this time, although Wang Dou had quite a few wives and concubines, the likes of Liu Qing, Liu Ji, Butterfly, and Dragonfly were merely chamber maids and concubines — naturally not fit to appear on the formal stage. In the people's minds, the Grand General's wives were only two: Xie Xiuniang and Ji Junjiao.

But Ji Junjiao was so peerlessly beautiful that anyone who saw her could not help feeling ashamed of their own appearance. She also disliked getting close to the common people at the bottom. The people only cherished her for Wang Dou's sake — loving the house and by extension the crow on its roof. There was affection in their hearts, but a sense of closeness was hard to come by.

Xie Xiuniang was different. Although she did not manage concrete political affairs, she often led the other ladies in participating in the relief of refugees and disaster victims, in comforting women and children, and in visiting widowers, widows, orphans, the childless, and the gravely ill. She frequently went deep into the fields and into the factory workshops. Among the common people, especially women and children, her reputation was extremely weighty, and she was long known as the Compassionate Mother.

Because she did not manage Shogunate political affairs and only handled charity, this also became one of Xie Xiuniang's advantages. As the saying goes, in holding office and governing, the more one does, the more mistakes one makes; the less one does, the fewer mistakes; doing nothing means making no mistakes.

Even officials and generals from outside who had heard of Xie Xiuniang's reputation could not help but praise her aloud, saying that the Lady Count showed compassion to the common people and pitied the orphaned and weak, and that the title "Compassionate Mother of the Eastern Route" was truly well-deserved. At most, they would mutter sourly in private: "This woman certainly knows how to buy people's hearts for her husband."

Openly, they dared not publicly denounce her.

In the various routes of Xuanfu Garrison and beyond, portraits of Xie Xiuniang had even circulated. In some commoners' homes, they were placed alongside the greatly merciful and greatly compassionate Guanyin Bodhisattva and worshipped together.

Xie Xiuniang's frail outward appearance also became one of her advantages. In the hearts of the Eastern Route commoners, the Grand General Wang Dou had always held towering prestige within the territory — like a great pillar holding up the heavens, his every word carrying the weight of nine cauldrons. Majestic as he was, that majesty inevitably inspired awe and fear. Xie Xiuniang was gentle, kind, and generous. Everyone wished to come forward, to speak with her, to chat about everyday matters.

Her frail body also stirred a protective instinct in many people's hearts — just as a gentle and virtuous woman draws people closer than a shrewish and fierce one.

She did not need to care about or display her own authority; she only needed to treat the people with compassion and love. Unknowingly, she had already penetrated deep into their hearts.

"Whether in sorrow or in joy, in worry or in grief, in peace or in suffering — the Grand General and I are with you all…" Xie Xiuniang's simple words greatly soothed the somewhat frightened hearts of the soldiers and civilians everywhere. They roared their cheers toward Xie Xiuniang in a blanket wave, shouting at the top of their lungs: "Lady Count!"

Not only Xie Xiuniang, but Wang Zheng's performance also drew endless praise from the soldiers and civilians. Though the Young General was still young, his bearing was steady and composed — surely he would be a wise lord in the future. The Grand General had a worthy successor. The people firmly believed that the difficulties were only temporary, and that no hardship or suffering could crush the united soldiers and civilians of the Eastern Route.

The people were further united in shared hatred against a common foe. The treacherous merchants and treacherous ministers harming the Eastern Route was one thing, but there was more: they had actually spread rumors attacking their revered and worshipped Grand General Wang Dou!

Under the blanket propaganda of the Propaganda Section's public notices, storytelling, opera scripts, and even simple gazettes — through many such means — they had all learned of the events in the capital. Every one of them, upon hearing, was filled with righteous indignation. How the Grand General treated the court, how he treated the people — they knew it best in their hearts.

Especially in this recent Liaodong campaign, the Jingbian Army had suffered grievous casualties and rendered great service to the nation, yet received such treatment. Who would not feel chilled to the heart?

Looking across the entire Great Ming, where else could be like the Eastern Route, where everyone ate their fill and wore warm clothes? Where even refugees entering the territory would not starve to death, not a single one? Treacherous men were persecuting the loyal and virtuous!

Even when Wang Dou subsequently joined forces with the border armies of various garrisons to clamor and make a din, they still stood firmly on Wang Dou's side. The court had erred first — were others not even allowed to resist? Why had the court earlier ignored those rumors, or even added fuel to the flames, allowing the remonstrance officials and court officials to attack at will?

The Grand General was not wrong; it was they who were wrong!

Public opinion in the Eastern Route was overwhelmingly one-sided — fury mingled with grief. Even the Military Defense Circuit Intendant Ma Guoxi issued a statement angrily denouncing the treacherous merchants and expressing disappointment with the various lords at court, declaring that as the Eastern Route's Military Defense Intendant, he would certainly stand with the common people within the route to face the crisis together.

Watching public opinion in the Eastern Route veer further and further off track, he could not help but feel a sense of desolation in his heart. Having worked alongside Wang Dou for many years, how could he not know his temper? He could only be led, never pushed. The more force was applied, the more he rebounded!

If they had followed Wang Dou's temper and adopted a policy of pacification, the court, after all, firmly held the moral high ground, and Wang Dou would not have done anything.

Moreover, in recent years, Wang Dou had also behaved deferentially and obediently, like a sharp blade, going wherever the court pointed, fighting wherever he was sent, through life and death. The common people of the Eastern Route likewise obeyed Wang Dou.

It was just that this recent upheaval, whether intentionally or not, had shattered many people's sense of loyalty to the sovereign and allegiance to the court within the route. Watching the hearts of the Eastern Route commoners slide further and further to one side, he lamented in his heart: "Will this powerful force of the Great Ming still be of one heart with the court in the future?"

Seeing many commoners cast increasingly hostile glances at court officials like himself, he felt even more disheartened.

And over these years, ever since the Eastern Route began levying commercial taxes, every court official in the Eastern Route had received a considerable share of the profits. Not only in their actions, but even in their hearts, they leaned more and more toward this group.

One after another, they too jumped out to declare their stance. Even the Department Magistrate of Yanqing, Wu Zhi, though he claimed to hold different political views from Wang Dou, also sternly rebuked this affair of treacherous ministers harming the Eastern Route and declared that he firmly stood on the side of the Eastern Route commoners.

"Lord Marquis, Lady Marquis, Lady Marquis…"

On the sixteenth day of the eleventh month, Xie Xiuniang returned from her tour. By this time, news from the capital had also reached the Eastern Route: it had ended in a complete victory for the Grand General. The treacherous ministers had either died, been wounded, or been demoted. The Grand General had furthermore been enfeoffed as Marquis of Yongning, and the Compassionate Mother had been granted the title of Lady Marquis. The people cheered and leaped for joy.

Although Wang Dou was still in the capital, they believed that this commercial war would soon draw to a close, sending the treacherous merchants home with their fortunes utterly lost.