[{"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-621":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},1205910,1561,"Chapter 621: Settling Accounts","a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-chapter-621",621,"\u003Cp>Around the large tent, a squad of Jingbian Army supervisors stood watch; seeing them, many people cast fearful glances.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was also a Suppression Commissioner and several shogunate clerks, who wore clerk caps and blue robes identical to those of Great Ming clerks, except that their sleeves bore the sun, moon, and wave insignia.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Beside the squad officer and the Suppression Commissioner, the young Department Magistrate and the elderly Garrison Commander both nodded and bowed; the local officers and soldiers nearby who were helping maintain order also behaved themselves obediently.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Back then, the Intelligence Division’s assassination of Guard Commander Hao Yongsheng in Daizhou had scared them out of their wits; after Wang Dou’s thunderous operation, the troops of Gao Shiyin, Han Chao, and others had also cut down some soldiers in Daizhou, Xinzhou, and elsewhere, then arrested quite a few people, which shocked them even more, making their gall tremble and their hearts freeze.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These people all congratulated themselves that they had taken no hostile action at the time, otherwise they would either be corpses now or part of the prisoners.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After the storm had passed, even though the Jingbian Army had left only one squad in Daizhou, throughout the entire department not a single person dared show them disrespect; on the contrary, everyone vied to curry favor with them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They drank rice porridge, then lined up to exchange their fake tickets one by one for grain and rice; some even exchanged them for commercial goods.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone was elated, each saying, “Now we can have a good New Year.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There were also those who, after loading gleaming white rice into their grain sacks, were so moved they choked up — such fine rice and flour! Even the wealthy households and gentry of the village ward normally might not bear to eat such white flour.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Many people knelt and kowtowed, shouting, “The Marquis of Yongning is benevolent and righteous.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because people often knelt after receiving their grain, the clerks had even found several soft cushions and placed them in front of each grain barrel.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A woman in tattered clothes, holding a fake one-dou grain ticket, after exchanging it for one dou and three sheng of rice and flour, her hands trembled; with this rice and flour, the children at home could finally eat a full meal. She suddenly dropped to her knees and wailed loudly, “This humble woman deserves death, this humble woman is guilty — I once spoke ill of the Marquis of Yongning.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The clerk before her looked at her and said gently, “The Grand General is magnanimous and will certainly not blame you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He looked at the stream of people before him and raised his voice: “However, everyone must also remember: in the future, be careful not to be used by treacherous men.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The crowd all said, “Yes, yes, those treacherous men — normally they talk better than they sing, but all they do is buy low and sell high. How can they compare to the Marquis of Yongning’s honesty?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“We must have had lard smeared over our hearts to have spoken ill of the Marquis of Yongning.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That woman wept, “This humble woman will certainly remember.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Carrying her rice and flour, she left with a thousand thanks and ten thousand expressions of gratitude.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Watching the crowd’s excited expressions, the Suppression Commissioner nodded slightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In truth, regarding the proposal to exchange fake tickets for grain and rice, although he would firmly carry out the Grand General’s order, in his heart he still did not quite understand it; according to his own thinking, all the fake tickets among the people should be confiscated entirely — how could they be given grain in exchange, and even with a slight upward adjustment?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But seeing the scene before him, he could only sigh in admiration at the Grand General’s foresight and sagacity, his keen understanding of the human heart. A mere trifling benefit could harvest such great popular support and produce such excellent results; for the future administration of this region, the benefits would be indescribable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He recalled the ancients’ saying: when granaries are full, people know propriety; when clothing and food are sufficient, people know honor and shame. It was indeed true.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The common people value profit; lecturing them at length with lofty principles and great righteousness is not as solidly effective as giving them a dou of rice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Beside him, a propaganda officer from the Intelligence Division promptly recorded this scene for the files; in the future, it would be excellent propaganda material.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only the Department Magistrate felt sorrow in his heart. Ah, foolish men and ignorant women — bought over with just a few dou of rice. The civilizing mission in this region was a heavy burden and a long road.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, among the people queuing, there were also some whose clothing was relatively neat and splendid, exchanging larger amounts of grain. The clerks, without betraying any expression, exchanged for each of them in turn. Afterward, these people drove their grain carts away, and some Intelligence Division personnel followed them without betraying any expression…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Scenes like the one before them appeared continuously across the three garrisons. Wang Dou’s authorization to treat victims’ fake grain tickets as real tickets for exchange, with the face value even increased by thirty percent, was like a prime-time CCTV advertisement, rapidly sweeping through many cities and villages in Xuan-Da.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not only did it quickly stabilize confidence in the grain tickets, it also greatly raised their visibility. In the end, even many rural commoners in the countryside came to know of a thing called grain tickets from the Eastern Circuit — convenient to use, and even more, they could be exchanged for real grain and rice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>See here: when everyone was cheated by treacherous men, they still got grain and rice exchanged as if for real tickets, with some compensation to boot — truly more useful than silver or copper cash.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, among them there were also some profit-blinded types.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Some had earlier glimpsed a business opportunity and bought fake tickets at high prices; others, heedless of the cautionary examples of the great houses, secretly manufactured fake tickets again. All these people fell under the Eastern Circuit’s severe crackdown on major crimes; what awaited them was the ruin of their families and their own destruction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the fifteenth day of the twelfth month, in Datong Garrison, Lingqiu County.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Beside the opera stage on Wuyamen Street, the stall owner was busy at work. He looked up and saw several large men appear before him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His memory was very good, and he immediately greeted them: “Yo, so it’s you gentlemen! Haven’t seen you for a few days.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The men ate and drank their fill, and Cui Qi asked, “Boss, do you take grain tickets or silver?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The stall owner laughed, “Grain tickets, grain tickets of course — I started accepting them long ago…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The north wind cut like a knife. On the road from Yanghe City to Tiancheng Guard, following the official road that wound along the Yan River, a squad of Jingbian Army soldiers escorted a prisoner cart forward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Inside the prisoner cart, Grain Administration Vice Prefect Fan Qinluan’s eyes were lifeless; he had never imagined that he would be caught by the Jingbian Army so quickly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yes, he was the mastermind behind the interception and killing of the merchant close to Xuan-Da Viceroy Ji Shiwei.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After the mid-Ming period, the Xuan-Da Viceroy moved his station to Yanghe City. Within the city were the Circuit Inspector’s Office, the Associate Garrison Headquarters, and also the Eastern Circuit Vice Prefecture, later the Central Circuit Assistant Prefecture, as well as the Military Defense Circuit government office and other official residences. With all these officials in the same city, Fan Qinluan knew Ji Shiwei’s movements very clearly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although he was not of the same clan as Fan Yongdou, Fan Qinluan harbored an equally bone-deep hatred for Wang Dou. This emotion could be called baffling, but Fan Qinluan was simply hostile; he applauded the great houses’ blockade against the Eastern Circuit and actively assisted it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before that merchant had even set out, he conspired with his close associate, Baideng Fort Garrison Commander Wu Jing. When the merchant caravan departed from Yanghe and had just entered Tiancheng Guard territory, Wu Jing led troops to intercept and attack the caravan. After the caravan personnel were slaughtered to the last man, they stuffed that merchant into a sack and trampled him to death under horses’ hooves.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Afterward, the Eastern Circuit Intelligence Division carried out large-scale retaliation against those everywhere who had sheltered or participated in printing fake tickets, or who had intercepted and attacked merchant caravans and grain convoys. Wu Jing was assassinated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It happened while he was laughing and flirting with his concubine in the rear garden pavilion; no one knew why there was a fodder chopper above them, which suddenly fell and cut him in two at the waist on the spot.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His vitality was tenacious; he wailed in agony for nearly two quarters of an hour before dying, frightening the concubine out of her wits. Not to mention her babbling nonsense all day, thereafter she even converted to vegetarianism.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When the trade war ended and Wen Fangliang attacked Zhangjiakou, after all matters were settled, he also received orders to arrest those in the surrounding areas who had previously acted with hostility toward the Eastern Circuit. A unit under his command entered Baideng Fort and captured all of Wu Jing’s subordinates, the officers and soldiers who had participated in the interception and killing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, after interrogation, suspicious points were discovered. The Intelligence Division dug deeper and ultimately traced the mastermind to Fan Qinluan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wen Fangliang then dispatched troops to Yanghe City.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not to mention that by now, the Xuan-Da officers and generals no longer wished to be enemies of the Jingbian Army — even though this city was Ji Shiwei’s place of office and he had a certain administrative foundation there — as soon as the troops arrived, the city gates opened and Fan Qinluan was seized. No matter how he raged, several heavy blows from musket butts smashed down, and he immediately became docile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The dignified Grain Administration Vice Prefect had become a prisoner. Under the gaze of the entire city’s soldiers and civilians, Vice Prefect Fan was shoved into a prisoner cart, leaving a city full of discussion behind him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As they advanced, the bone-piercing cold wind struck their faces. While Fan Qinluan’s body was ice-cold, his heart was even colder. It was over — the Fan family was finished, and so was he. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, welcome to Qidian (qidian.com) to cast recommendation votes and monthly votes. Your support is my greatest motivation.)\u003C\u002Fp>",1791,"2026-06-03T14:06:10.567Z",1,"Novelzhen Translator","62676afc87422b47aa487191d195a8e3a18df9bef4e2e22af0eeea06994dc60c","a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-chapter-622","a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-chapter-620",896,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fa-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-cover.jpg"]