Chapter 611: Interrogation

"Zhangjiakou falls under the jurisdiction of the Assistant Regional Commander of Wanquan Right Guard on the Upper West Road of Xuanfu, with six Garrison Commanders subordinate to it: Wanquan Right Guard City, Left Guard City, Zhangjiakou Fort, Xinkaikou Fort, Xinhekou Fort, and Shanfang Fort."

Pointing at the map, Yang Guozhu explained to Wang Dou: "The Assistant Regional Commander of this road was established in the tenth year of the Chenghua reign. The entire road commands roughly over 8,700 officers and soldiers, including over 2,000 reinforcement troops. The Assistant Regional Commander, Lai Tianlu, comes from a local military aristocratic family and holds the rank of Vice Regional Military Commissioner of the Wandu Regional Military Commission."

"His younger brother, Lai Tianmin, is the Assistant Regional Commander of Dushi-Maying on the North Road of Xuanfu, with eight Garrison Commanders subordinate to him: Dushi City, Maying Fort, Longmen Guard City, Chicheng Fort, Longmensuo City, Dishuiya Fort, Ma'anling City, and Yunchuan Fort. The entire road commands over 7,600 officers and soldiers, including over 1,900 reinforcement troops, and he holds the rank of Assistant Regional Military Commissioner of the Wandu Regional Military Commission."

"The Lai clan has held hereditary military posts in the guard battalions for generations. Their local influence runs deep and firm. Many of the officers and commanders in the subordinate forts are their trusted men or clansmen. For instance, the Garrison Commander of Zhangjiakou Fort, Gao Jinzhong, married Lai Tianlu's ninth younger sister."

"Over the past century, the Lai family has also extensively intermarried with surrounding officers. For example, Lai Tianlu's eldest sister married Li Jian'e, the Assistant Regional Commander of the Lower West Road under the Xuanfu Defense Circuit. And Lai Tianmin married the eighth sister of Yang Tianfu, the Assistant Regional Commander of the Middle Road under the Xuanfu Patrol Circuit."

"Looking across the various roads north of Xuanfu Garrison, from Longmensuo and Dushi Fort all the way to Dabaiyang and Xiaobaiyang Forts, Zhangjiakou, Shanfang Fort, and finally to Shahe Fort, Ximalin Fort, and Chaigou Fort — the border forts number over a dozen. Based on intelligence, all these border forts are engaged in illicit trade, only Zhangjiakou is the most rampant."

Yang Guozhu finally sighed: "As things stand, the illicit transport of goods by the treacherous merchants could not possibly succeed without the permission and support of these border commanders. After all, including Zhangjiakou Fort, which border fort is not heavily guarded by layers of troops? The powerful officials and magnates within the garrison city — even Prince Gu could not avoid having properties there. Many border soldiers also make their living from this. Guoqin, if you move to suppress Zhangjiakou, there will certainly be a bloody clash. Not only will Lai Tianlu and his ilk mobilize all their troops, but even the local military households and commoners may be incited to rise."

"Even I, your elder brother, must yield ground to these local tyrants!"

Yang Guozhu's tone was helpless. As a Regional Commander, his duties were to drill the troops, repair the city walls, supervise the watchtowers, defend against bandits, care for the soldiers, and protect the residents. It sounded prestigious, but ordinarily he could only manage his own Main Battalion. Oh, and now a few New Army battalions as well.

The various Mobile Corps battalions, Reinforcement battalions, and Raider battalions below him — according to the Great Ming principle of mutual checks between higher and lower levels — were beyond his control except for wartime command authority. After all, matters of provisions, pay, and personnel were not in his hands. Men like Lai Tianlu, though merely Assistant Regional Commanders, actually lived more comfortably than he did as Regional Commander.

And these local Assistant Regional Commanders, Garrison Commanders, and the like — generation after generation, they were controlled by men from those guard battalion and military aristocratic families. Outsiders could scarcely get a foothold. It would be no exaggeration to call them local emperors.

Wang Dou nodded silently. Having seen that intelligence long ago, he already knew that suppressing Zhangjiakou without bloodshed was impossible. How could the local tyrant military forces stand by and watch their financial lifeline be severed? Cutting off a man's wealth is like killing his parents — they would surely leap at the wall in desperation.

Even many ordinary military households and border troops relied on this for their livelihood and would likewise fight to the death. During smuggling operations, many of them not only provided cover and collected passage fees, but also served as armed escorts for the merchant caravans, and even carried goods themselves to gain some benefits.

Take Zhangjiakou, for example. Because border trade with the Mongols and others had begun early there, in addition to civil departments like the Revenue Office, the Administrative Office, and the Tax Office, the fort also had an Escort Coordination Office, which used government troops to provide armed escort for merchant caravans. When border trade was prohibited, the officers and men of these Escort Coordination Offices openly participated in smuggling escorts, and many even accompanied the Shanxi merchant caravans all the way into Qing territory.

In these places, military men, merchants, local tyrants, literati, petty officials — all manner of forces were intertwined like tangled roots, breathing through the same nostrils, bleeding the land desperately. To protect their own interests, they expanded their power by every means possible.

Back when he was merely the Assistant Regional Commander of the East Road, the Lai family and others had already come to probe, hoping for a marriage alliance. After he became the Militia Regional Commander, it was even more so. Even Xiong Tingrui, the Assistant Regional Commander of Shunsheng-Weiguang on the South Road of Xuanfu Garrison, who was somewhat reserved by nature, still ended up marrying one of Lai Tianlu's daughters, didn't he?

Zhang Guowei could be called a local tyrant on the East Road, but compared to the Lai family and their ilk, he was a mere minnow before a whale.

The officers and commanders north of Xuanfu Garrison City were even more lawless, their power vast. Yet such conditions prevailed everywhere in the Great Ming. Along the coast, for instance, they colluded with sea bandits and engaged in maritime trade, the scale and profits of which were even more staggering — the Zheng family being the prime example.

The Great Ming was full of wealth everywhere, but this wealth had nothing to do with the state — it was all secretly swallowed by parasites. Living in such times, it was easy enough to wallow in the mire with the rest. But to try to accomplish something — how terribly difficult every step was.

"Guoqin, do you still intend to move against the treacherous merchants and suppress Zhangjiakou and the other places?"

Seeing Wang Dou silent, then nodding heavily again, Yang Guozhu gave a final sigh: "Your elder brother... is not your equal."

That afternoon, Wang Dou gathered with the commanders of the Jingbian Army, as well as Wang Pu, Li Yunshu, and others, to finalize the details of this operation.

Before the great map of Xuan-Da, Wang Dou issued his deployments one by one.

"Let Wen Fangliang, commander of the Left Guard Azure Dragon Battalion of the Jingbian Army, lead the Left Battalion Jingbian Army to deal with the Zhangjiakou area. Attach some red-barbarian cannons from the artillery battalions. If Lai Tianlu, Lai Tianmin, Gao Jinzhong, Li Jian'e, and their ilk attempt to obstruct or resist — exterminate them all!"

Although the combined troops of Lai Tianlu and the others from the various forts numbered in the tens of thousands, Wang Dou believed that a single battalion of the Jingbian Army was sufficient to rout them all.

Not to mention that it would take these officers and commanders who knows how long to receive the news, then coordinate across the various routes, assemble, and so on. Some troops could not simply be pulled out at a moment's notice. By the time they finally converged, the matter would long be settled.

Moreover, the distance from Huailai and the other places to Zhangjiakou was only a little over a hundred li, and the official road was relatively easy to travel — bringing artillery along was still feasible.

"The Zhangjiakou operation must be swift. The Intelligence Division has already placed agents inside the fort, who can open the gates from within when the time comes!"

During the expedition beyond the frontier, Wen Fangliang and Gao Shiyin had seized a great many mules and horses. These horses had not yet been assigned or distributed, so the soldiers of the Left Battalion — even the B-class troops — all had horses. The expedition beyond the frontier had also tempered them; though their riding skills were not particularly brilliant, everyone riding a horse was no longer a problem.

"Zhong Xiancai, commander of the Right Guard White Tiger Battalion of the Jingbian Army, shall lead the battalion's A-class troops. Together with Wang Zheng and the other brothers from Datong Garrison, proceed to Datong to search and seize the shops, properties, and goods of the various treacherous merchants inside and outside Datong City. At that time, the Wang clan merchants who have abandoned darkness for light shall serve as guides..."

Originally, Wang Dou had wanted to entrust the Datong Garrison matter entirely to Wang Pu. However, Wang Pu insisted that a detachment of the Jingbian Army accompany them, so Wang Dou made the above arrangement.

While Wang Dou was speaking, Wang Pu's face was taut, and his personal commanders like Wang Zheng were breathing heavily with agitation.

Once this became reality, they would break with many of the Great Ming's official-merchants. The subsequent uproar at court and among the public, the attacks of public opinion, the open spears and hidden arrows — these went without saying. But Wang Pu had also thought it through clearly: if he did not do this, he would become Wang Dou's enemy, a prospect even more terrifying. Moreover, the two were neighboring garrisons.

The Wang family's power in Datong Garrison was already great to begin with. After sweeping away the various great merchant powers in Datong, their family's commercial power would grow even larger in the future. Since his closeness to Wang Dou had already put him in cold storage anyway, he might as well settle down as a local emperor in Datong and not think too much about anything else.

Besides, as long as one held powerful authority and mighty troops in hand, in the end, all sides would still have to court him.

"Li Guangheng, commander of the Central Army Cavalry Battalion, shall lead the cavalry. Gao Shiyin, commander of the Vanguard Vermilion Bird Battalion, and Han Chao, commander of the Rear Guard Black Tortoise Battalion, shall each lead their battalions' A-class troops. Together with Li Yunshu and the other brothers, and a portion of the Datong Garrison brothers, proceed to Taiyuan and the various places to arrest the treacherous merchants and seize the properties of the criminals!"

"For all the above, officers of the Pacification Commission shall accompany the troops to supervise military discipline and verify and record the seizures."

Li Yunshu's expression was solemn as he nodded heavily.

For the troops of their Shanxi Garrison, most were stationed at the inner frontier passes of the garrison, such as Ningwu Pass, Piantou Pass, Hequ, Baode, and Zhenxi Guard — places with little connection to the Eight Great Families of Shanyou. Of course, it was not that there was no connection at all; some officers ordinarily received gifts from those merchants, particularly the gifts from merchant powers in western Shanxi and Shaanxi.

After the great battle in Liaodong, the remaining troops of Shanxi Garrison were already few to begin with. This operation also required careful selection: those officers with heavy ties to those merchants were all screened out and would not participate in the operation.

Although the consequences this time were quite severe, after weighing the two evils, Li Yunshu and the other Shanxi Garrison officers still decided to join Wang Dou's side.

Seeing the current state of the East Road, they were full of confidence in their future prospects. Wang Dou had already painted a grand pie in the sky for them — what they would gain in the future would far exceed what they would lose. Not to mention, after suppressing the treacherous merchants, they would immediately be able to share in quite a few benefits.

Of course, because the Shanxi Garrison troops were relatively few, especially their cavalry, their role in this operation would mostly be to serve as guides and to persuade and communicate with the various localities.

The specific operations would be carried out by the Jingbian Army and the Datong Army.

The jurisdiction of Shanxi Garrison included Taiyuan and other places, where the various powers had always been tangled like hemp. If the operation relied solely on Shanxi Garrison troops, it would be hard to avoid some among them letting things slide or tipping off the targets beforehand. Even if the Shanxi Garrison troops for the operation were carefully screened, this would still be hard to avoid.

Li Yunshu understood this point, so he volunteered and proposed that the Jingbian Army and Datong Army participate jointly.

The participation of the Jingbian Army in particular, while strictly supervising military discipline, could also prevent bloody clashes at the time, and prevent routed troops in certain places from taking the opportunity to wreak havoc and cause unrest.

After all, as officers of Shanxi Garrison, although they had decided to move against the treacherous merchants, they still had feelings for the local areas within their defense zone.

Li Yunshu quickly entered his role. Looking at the cities on the map — Pingxing Pass, Taiyuan, Yuci, Taigu, Jiexiu, Pingyang, and others — he mused: "After their commercial defeat, the treacherous merchants have presumably fled back to their lairs. Their local power is immense. Before we can arrest them, they are very likely to persuade the local defending commanders to resist stubbornly, and may even incite the local commoners to serve as human shields."

"If they hold fast behind strong city walls — not to mention Taiyuan, even Pingyao, Taigu, and other places all have deep and thick city walls. Taking them in a short time would not be so easy. It would be best to have handwritten orders from the Viceroy and Provincial Governor beforehand to obtain legitimacy, and also to have agents inside the localities who can open the city gates."

Wang Dou nodded. The great merchants of the late Ming were no ordinary merchants — they were an integrated body of officials, merchants, and military commanders. Their power was something later generations could scarcely imagine. In the cities where they resided, the local defending commanders and troops were either closely connected to them or had bought their posts and were their clansmen. With the calamity of clan extermination before them, they would naturally fight to the death to defend the city.

Historically, Datong Regional Commander Jiang Xiang first surrendered to Li Zicheng, then to the Manchu Qing, and later rebelled against the Qing. He once besieged Taiyuan with heavy troops. The local Shanxi merchants used huge sums to bribe the defending commanders and also recruited their own retainers and clansmen to defend to the death. In the end, they held out until Qing reinforcements arrived and routed Jiang Xiang's troops.

This showed that the wealth and power of these Shanxi merchants were not those of the militarily helpless merchants one might imagine.

Nodding to Li Yunshu, Wang Dou said: "Brother Li is thoughtful, but there is no need to worry about this. The personnel of my headquarters' Intelligence Division have already been dispatched in all directions. I can guarantee that for every city our great army passes, there will be agents inside to open the gates and surrender the city..."

On the afternoon of the twenty-third, under a dense overcast sky, the day before the great army was to move, Xuanfu Provincial Governor Zhu Zhifeng and Garrison Eunuch Du Xun also hurriedly rushed to Wang Dou's military camp.

The garrison city was only a little over a hundred li from Huailai and the other places. After receiving the news, by pressing hard on their journey, they could still arrive in time.

As for Datong Provincial Governor Wei Jingyuan and Xuan-Da Viceroy Ji Shiwei, the distance from Datong City to Yulin Fort was over four hundred li. By the time they received the news and then rushed over, the daylilies would have long gone cold.

However, Wang Dou maintained close correspondence with his father-in-law by fast horse, so Ji Shiwei was well aware of Wang Dou's movements.

Although he tried to dissuade him, seeing Wang Dou's resolute attitude, Ji Shiwei still gritted his teeth and issued Wang Dou a document authorizing the operation to arrest and seize the properties of the treacherous merchants. Although Ji Shiwei had once been very keen on official position, this empty-shell Viceroy post had long become tasteless to him.

Whether he could continue as Xuan-Da Viceroy in the future — he was already mentally prepared.

Shanxi Provincial Governor Cai Maode goes without saying — from Huailai and those places to Taiyuan the distance exceeds a thousand li, and he was traveling south from the capital, passing through Baoding, Zhending, crossing westward through Guguan, then reaching Taiyuan city — a journey of a thousand li over varying roads. Whether he has even received word of the commercial warfare at this point is an open question.

To respect his opinion, Wang Dou likewise dispatched fast riders, bearing letters, to go and contact Cai Maode.

The newly appointed Shanxi Regional Commander Zhou Yuji was currently on his way from Huguang and those parts to take up his post at Ningwu Pass; for the time being, they could not get in touch with him either.

In the depths of winter, on the afternoon of the twenty-third, when Zhu Zhifeng and Du Xun, with only a small retinue, travel-worn and dusty, entered Yulin Fort, Wang Dou was just then discussing the army’s provisions and fodder for the campaign with Sun Sanjie, the officer of the supply battalion, and Qi Tianliang, the commissioner of the logistics division.

Wen Fangliang’s Left Battalion Jingbian Army heading for Zhangjiakou was fine — close to the eastern route, replenishing provisions and fodder was quite convenient, and the distance was not far, so they only needed to carry a few days’ dry rations. Zhong Xiancai’s Right Battalion first-class troops heading for Datong had the care of Wang Pu’s clansmen, so their resupply was likewise convenient.

Only the main army heading for Taiyuan and those places had a long road ahead, and everywhere it passed was thick with hostility — the replenishment of the army’s provisions and fodder was plainly no easy matter, so arrangements had to be made in advance.

Before Zhu Zhifeng and Du Xun entered Yulin Fort, they both saw the Jingbian Army and other frontier troops encamped in layers everywhere outside the fort. They had long heard of the Jingbian Army’s might, but seeing it for the first time with their own eyes, both men and the retinue beside them all changed color nonetheless.

And moreover…

Looking at the appearance of this great army — could it be?

Zhu Zhifeng’s expression was grave; Du Xun’s face was as black as the bottom of a pot.

Yang Guozhu and Wang Pu avoided meeting them for the time being. Wang Dou received them, and according to ritual protocol, both men performed the subordinate-official salute toward Wang Dou.

Upon entering the Assistant Regional Commander’s residence, before Zhu Zhifeng could speak, Du Xun could not hold back and said in a shrill voice: “Marquis of Yongning… your esteemed army — what is it preparing to do?”

His face was ashen, and in his tone there was an anger he could not conceal. (To be continued)

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