[{"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-634":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},1205923,1561,"Chapter 634: Assuming Office in the Garrison City","a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-chapter-634",634,"\u003Cp>The officials of the three judicial offices came to the Eastern Circuit, in truth bearing the heavy responsibility of killing witnesses and silencing mouths — to say nothing of the great treacherous merchants, whose crimes were so enormous. In their shock and fear, they went with the current and swiftly reached a verdict, awaiting only the final imperial decision.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing himself sentenced to death by slow slicing, Fan Yongdou trembled all over, then pointed at Wang Dou and burst into loud laughter: \"Marquis of Yongning, oh Marquis of Yongning, do you think that in Xuan-Da we are the only families colluding with the slaves? Never mind Xuan-Da — in the Nine Frontier Garrisons, which merchant or officer does not collude with the slaves? Among the high officials of the Grand Secretariat and the merchants in the capital, how many families do not secretly deal with the brigands?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Do you think that seizing and confiscating our few families settles the matter? Marquis of Yongning, you are blocking the wealth of the realm's gentry, merchants, and officers — you are making yourself the enemy of all under Heaven! Marquis of Yongning, you will come to no good end. I will wait for you beneath the earth, wait for the day you are smashed to pieces!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Watching the now-deranged Fan Yongdou, Wang Dou said calmly: \"We will not meet, for I shall ascend to Heaven, while you — shall be in Hell!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing that Fan Yongdou had already grown utterly reckless, the officials of the three judicial offices listened with trembling hearts and chilled courage, and fearing he would reveal even more inside details, they hastily requested the Jingbian Army to take the prisoners away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not long after, Fan Yongdou and the others were escorted to the capital and swiftly executed, put to death by slow slicing right at Caishikou. Countless family members of victims who had suffered bitterly from the Tartars' poison gathered around, buying the sliced-off flesh from the executioner, and devoured every last piece of them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Some clansmen of the great families whose culpability was slightly lighter remained in the Eastern Circuit. Wang Dou exiled them all to hard labor beyond the frontier, and further degraded every one of them to barbarian household registration.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Minister of Revenue Ni Yuanlu, the imperial envoy Wang Dehua, and others had no wish to involve themselves in such matters, and only engaged in open and covert struggles with the Viceroy of Xuan-Da, Ji Shiwei, and his people. At last, a few days after the Lantern Festival, the contest between the local and central authorities concluded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the end, of the two hundred and thirty thousand taels of confiscated ready silver, the sum left to the Xuan-Da locality was seventy thousand taels. The imperial court obtained one hundred and sixty thousand — that, however, was the figure on the books. Naturally, the various parties could not take it all away; a portion had to be left for Wang Dou.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After further disputes, it was decided that the court would provide the bulk of the silver, granting Wang Dou twenty thousand taels. The Xuan-Da locality would provide ten thousand taels. Afterwards, Wang Dou handed this silver over to his father-in-law, Ji Shiwei.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ni Yuanlu and the others were each thoroughly satisfied. Although the confiscations also included a great deal of material goods, they could not possibly stay behind to deal with them, so those were handled by the Xuan-Da Grain Intendant, Zhu Mintai. In the future, a portion of the material goods would also be surrendered upward, convertible into silver.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bearing the silver, Ni Yuanlu and his party departed. Only, what they took away was one hundred and forty thousand taels of silver; after the various parties had their hands in it, what finally entered the national treasury was only...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dehua also departed in high spirits. This trip had yielded him no small harvest: he had a share in the silver handed over to the court, and Wang Dou privately also gave him one hundred thousand taels of silver.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for the one million taels of silver that Wang Dou gave His Majesty, Wang Dehua had actually wanted a share of that too. Regrettably, he had been far too honest at the time — whatever figure Wang Dou stated, he reported exactly that to His Majesty, leaving himself no opportunity to tamper with it. He regretted it so bitterly his bowels turned green.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Wang Dehua departed in high delight, he looked at Wang Dou before taking his leave, seemed about to speak but then hesitated, and in the end said nothing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After Wang Dehua returned to the capital, the Chongzhen Emperor received the money. Gazing at the gleaming white silver piled up like a small mountain, he felt joy, yet could not help a touch of sorrow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He reflected: he was the dignified sovereign of a realm, yet had to rely on his ministers for money. And why was it that the national treasury and the palace treasury were so empty, while the localities could confiscate such vast sums?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the first month, the Bakufu Personnel Affairs Department issued an appointment: Ye Xi was made the Chief Clerk of the Eastern Circuit Personnel Office, forming a civil-military pair with Zhong Xiancai to garrison the Eastern Circuit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Bakufu's Personnel Office now constituted the structure of garrisons, circuits, cities, and forts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And Zhong Xiancai's White Tiger Army, after reorganization, would have two battalions, stationed respectively on the left and right at Yongning City and Baoanzhou City.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Like other units of the Jingbian Army, should war arise, the White Tiger Army would rotate into combat alongside the other army units.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the twenty-third day of the first month, under the gaze of the multitude, Wang Dou led the Bakufu, along with the partially reorganized Central Army, Vermilion Bird Army, Black Tortoise Army, and Azure Dragon Army, in a mighty procession toward the garrison city of Xuanfu.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because many matters remained unsettled, Wang Dou's wife, children, and elderly family members stayed behind in Yongning City for the time being.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the twenty-fifth day, at the garrison city of Xuanfu, at noon, in the hour of the Sheep.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The garrison city had long been a vital military site, but after the mid-Ming period it rapidly evolved into a commercial and trade center. Within it, residences stood row upon row, and the population gathered thickly. In the great market in the southeast of the city, shops were arrayed like fish scales; silk and satin shops, cloth shops, and general goods stores from Jiangnan, Shanxi, and Shandong stretched for four or five li.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The streets within the city crisscrossed in a dense network, and many were named after the market trades, such as Rice Market Street, Vegetable Market Street, Salt Shop Street, Oil Shop Street, and so on.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By the Chongzhen reign, however, the once densely populated commercial center had gradually decayed. Not only had the population decreased considerably, but government offices were dilapidated, and many houses within had collapsed, turning into vegetable gardens and plots. This was mainly because the garrison city's prosperity had depended on the officials of the various government offices and their families.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The garrison city had little else in abundance, but government offices were many. The area occupied by the various offices, plus the princely mansions, took up more than half of the garrison city. This had been a perennial problem for the Xuanfu garrison city: the area available for soldiers, commoners, and public buildings was far too small.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, decay aside, the garrison city's foundation remained. Gentry, scholars, commoners, and merchants mingled within. Even in the remote streets and small alleys of the northwest and southwest corners, there was not an inch of empty ground. The old residents of the garrison city would also righteously curse the various circuits within the garrison, even the Eastern Circuit, as small places full of bumpkins.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Invariably, when an imperial dynasty reached its later generations, this was reflected in the appearance of its cities — mostly dirty, disorderly, and squalid, either incapable of or indifferent to hygiene.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Such was the case now on Changping Street, near the south gate and the south pass. The street surface was filthy, covered in the dung and urine of the draft animals from passing carts. Although there were public latrines in the city that charged a fee, some people still relieved themselves wherever they pleased, so that the street was permeated with a strange odor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The road surface was likewise uneven; many of the blue stone slabs had long since vanished. Moreover, both sides of the street were crowded with numerous vendor stalls. Because of the heavy cart and horse traffic, the road was frequently blocked. The habit of the carters was to regard yielding as a disgrace, so they would quarrel and curse, each flaunting his own backing. A single blockage would last for a long time, and no one could get through.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this moment, Changping Street was blocked again, and two carters had started cursing once more.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One carter bellowed: \"You pretty fool, do you know who's sitting in my cart? If I told you, you'd drop dead from fright!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The other, unwilling to show weakness, retorted: \"You beggar, do you know who's sitting in my cart?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two men pointed at each other's noses, scowling fiercely. A crowd of idle men and women gathered around, and many more people hurried over, watching with keen interest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From time to time they raised a clamor, urging the two carters to come to blows and settle it with their fists.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just as the excitement was at its height, everyone suddenly looked southward with puzzled expressions. It seemed as if the ground was trembling with a uniform rhythm...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>While they were still wondering, someone ahead shouted: \"The Marquis of Yongning has arrived! Tens of thousands of Jingbian troops are entering the city.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The crowd erupted in noise. When Wang Dou would take up his post as Regional Commander of Xuanfu was naturally a matter of concern to them. Although some looked forward to his arrival, some feared it, and some were indifferent, their collective attention was assured.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not long before, many had seen the city's officers and generals hurriedly leaving the city, but had thought nothing of it at the time, because according to the news that had come, and given the distance to be traveled, the Marquis of Yongning ought to arrive tomorrow, or even the day after — how could he arrive today?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this moment, some officers and soldiers in tattered clothing hurried forward to clear the way for the street's passage. The two carters, no longer concerned with their quarrel, frantically drove their carts aside, each darting into a nearby alley.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There were quite a few rumors about the Marquis of Yongning nowadays. Some said he was benevolent, others said he was ruthless. But one thing was certain: the Marquis of Yongning and the Jingbian Army were not to be trifled with. Had they not seen how many officers and soldiers from the several circuits north of the garrison city had been killed by him?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However powerful the various great merchant families and their influence were, were they not arrested just the same?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pedestrians on the street and shop assistants scrambled to dodge aside, then gathered in twos and threes to discuss, craning their necks to look. At last, they saw it: amid stirring military music, on the street ahead appeared a blood-red banner of sun, moon, and billowing waves, upon which was also embroidered a blue dragon design with bared fangs and brandished claws.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And behind the banner came rank upon rank of Jingbian Army soldiers marching in unison. They all wore uniform bowl-shaped helmets, the red tassels atop them fluttering, and on the arms of their blue fur winter coats gleamed bright arm-guards. They held their weapons tightly against their shoulders, lifting their feet and setting them down almost simultaneously, producing a uniform booming sound as they advanced.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was an army unlike any other — awe-inspiring, and carrying a pressing sharpness, a power that the onlookers could not comprehend. As the great army passed, wherever it went, a dead silence fell; the faces of everyone along the road were etched with expressions of fear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They watched as the soldiers of the passing ranks, every man looking straight ahead with a stern expression, their military boots raised high and brought down heavily, making the ground resound in unison while from time to time kicking up puffs of dust.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two carters were also poking their heads out from the alley to steal glances, gasping from time to time: \"My dear mother, good thing we didn't block their path.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The great army entering the city seemed as if it would never finish passing. Wang Dou, riding on horseback, observed the common folk on both sides of the street, all with lowered brows and bowed heads, their faces full of fear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For the present, Wang Dou did not need the love of the garrison city's residents; they were not yet familiar with each other. Their fear, on the contrary, meant less trouble. Once they became familiar with and understood each other, then they could love him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What he brought to the garrison city were the reorganized first-class battalions of each army, nearly all possessing horses. However, Wang Dou believed that advancing in infantry formation was more imposing. Except for the battalion commanders and above, all the army's warhorses were left outside the city, and they entered in infantry formation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He entered the city through the south pass and the Changping Gate to the south. As he entered, the stone plaque above the gate arch bearing the inscription \"Changping Gate,\" surrounded by those exquisitely carved brick corbels with hanging flower motifs, made him look around with some interest for a moment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou had been to this garrison city before, when Ji Shiwei summoned him. Now, revisiting a familiar place, his mood was entirely different.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The city before him had a circumference of twenty-four li, and the city walls were uniformly three zhang and five chi high — vast and flourishing. In the northern lands of the Great Ming, there was no garrison city or prefectural city larger or more magnificent. It could well be called \"the Lock and Key of the Capital\" and \"the Screen and Pillar of the Divine Capital.\" From now on, this city would be under his administration.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the garrison city of Xuanfu, the Provincial Governor, the Regional Commander, the various circuits, and the offices of the Vice Regional Commander, Mobile Corps Commander, Grain Intendant, Judicial Vice Prefect, the various guard battalions, the Confucian schools, and other officials shared the same city. There was also the administrative apparatus of the Regional Military Commission. These Regional Military Commissioners were more than one person, but most were sinecure officers drawing salaries with little to do, while the few associate administrators actually managed affairs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou's sudden arrival, along with the sudden return of the Viceroy, the Provincial Governor, the Grand Defender Eunuch, and others, sent all the officials hurrying out to welcome them. They followed behind the horses of Wang Dou and the others, their hearts uneasy about what the future held. In particular, the Regional Military Commissioner and the Coordinating Vice Regional Commander Zhang Guowei were extremely agitated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only the Provincial Governor of Xuanfu, Zhu Zhifeng, had a stern and upright expression. From his bearing, anyone who did not know better would think that those following behind the horse were all his soldiers. (To be continued.)\u003C\u002Fp>",2603,"2026-06-03T14:06:10.567Z",1,"Novelzhen Translator","eb4329bc18945d9064a2457565e1c1f09ae1ab7b80bee272843f3fdbf22b5c20","a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-chapter-635","a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-chapter-633",896,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fa-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-cover.jpg"]