Chapter 738: The Torrent of the Tide

Of course, aside from these matters, as they walked through the town these days, the scenes along the way greatly broadened everyone's horizons.

Xuanfu Garrison was already very prosperous. Though the capital was large, it was full of beggars, its streets teeming with refugees, with people starving and collapsing dead everywhere — especially with garbage everywhere and dust filling the city. Here, however, it was vibrant, full of life and vitality, and people with rosy complexions were everywhere.

And the common people here — how to put it?

They always gave one a strange feeling, or rather they possessed a distinctive bearing, a bearing blending confidence and high spirits. Every one of them walked with head high and chest out, striding with vigorous steps, utterly lacking the numbness, subservience, fear, and wretchedness that Li Banghua had always seen before.

It seemed that everyone here, from top to bottom, harbored a kind of hope, or rather a kind of dream.

Li Banghua observed carefully. After entering Xuanfu Garrison, the broad sand-and-gravel roads were very level, and the main roads were also mixed with some lime mortar, stretching far into the distance.

Although the roads were wide enough for several horse-drawn carriages to travel side by side, they practiced a method of movement the locals called "traffic rules": left for oncoming, right for outgoing. No matter how many carts and horses, they had to yield and would not crowd each other, appearing very orderly.

Along the route, garrison villages and hamlets were dense and continuous, and their planning was perfectly organized, without the slightest disorder.

These settlements were also bustling everywhere, with all kinds of shops lined up row upon row, and commoners and merchants coming and going ceaselessly. Truly, the crowing of roosters and barking of dogs could be heard from one to the next, and the population flourished — as if this were not a land of the Great Ming, but another beautiful realm free of disaster and war.

Li Banghua also observed one more point. The drought conditions here were no less severe than those in the capital and its environs, yet everywhere there were complete irrigation works. In particular, irrigation wells and waterwheels were densely clustered, ensuring the grain harvest. This made Li Banghua deeply respect the organizational strength of their grassroots.

In fact, natural disasters had occurred in every dynasty. In the early and middle periods of the Great Ming, all kinds of great calamities were also common, especially severe during the Wanli years. But ultimately they all pulled through, because at that time the grassroots organizational power still existed, and the central court still had the capacity to execute.

But because the lijia system had fallen into disuse — especially after Zhang Juzheng's reforms converted grain taxes into silver, making all lijia heads throughout the Great Ming into menial corvée laborers, and local areas fell under the control of the gentry — this caused true imperial authority to never reach below the county level. Below the prefectures and counties, everything was managed by the villages themselves, and "government" doctrine ran rampant. This was the true reason for the fiscal bankruptcy.

As the Left Chief Censor of the Chief Surveillance Bureau, Li Banghua vaguely understood these accumulated abuses, but to turn back now was already impossible.

The various scenes along the road also made all the attendants and retinue members click their tongues in wonder. They had long heard of Xuanfu Garrison's prosperity. Seeing it with their own eyes, it was far richer and more flourishing than they had imagined.

In particular, the peace and tranquility here made many hearts stir with emotion.

Perhaps among the party, many lived better than the common people here, but that sense of security was something utterly unattainable elsewhere. No wonder so many people yearned for Xuanfu Garrison, continuously relocating their clansmen here.

Li Banghua's expression grew even more solemn. He thought to himself, "This is the foundation of a hegemonic enterprise!"

What especially alarmed him was this: the martial spirit here was extremely strong. Many of the people walking the roads wore swords and sabers, yet they were neither licentiates nor scholars, nor police inspectors or soldiers — they were merely ordinary commoners.

Although the Great Ming, and indeed the Han imperial dynasties throughout history, tacitly permitted commoners to possess the five arms — only armor, long spears, powerful crossbows, and strong bows were forbidden — this was still an unwritten rule. No one had openly permitted it like Wang Dou.

Did this not mean that if Wang Dou harbored rebellious intent, he would only need to mount a high place and give one call, and adding tens of thousands more crack troops would be as easy as lifting a hand?

Li Banghua had also heard that within Xuanfu Garrison, commoners were permitted to purchase or possess firearms. The most conspicuous hallmark of the Jingbian Army was the sharpness of their guns and cannons. If this were truly so, then when they enlisted, they would need hardly any training to become excellent musketeers.

What an astonishing thing was this? The more Li Banghua thought, the heavier his heart became!

……

That day, the carriage and honor guard procession arrived at Huailai City. Ma Guoxi, the Huailong Military Defense Circuit Intendant, led his officials ten li out of the city to welcome them, and even more grandly hosted a banquet in their honor, presenting ceremonial gold and the like.

In fact, earlier when the carriages passed through Yulin Fort, Wu Zhi, the Department Magistrate of Yanqing, Yu Gui, the Assistant Regional Commander of the Nanshan Route, and Chen Jiugao, the Regional Commander of Linghou, had all more or less presented ceremonial gold. Though not much, it was enough to bring tears to one's eyes — they had finally met their own kind. How good it was to be among their own people.

According to old precedent, when an imperial commissioner descended, it was routine for his retinue to extort the localities along the way, and officials currying favor would swarm in like the tide. Such a stifling experience as this in Xuanfu Garrison was a first for everyone.

Fortunately, there were still loyal and righteous men in Xuanfu Garrison, unlike Wang Dou's faction, which was so disrespectful to sovereign and father.

Even Li Banghua was moved for a moment. Although he still did not accept money and politely declined the ceremonial gold from all sides, the goodwill of these men still made him feel respected. This was the dignity befitting a grand minister of the court.

Rites must not be abandoned! That I do not accept money is my moral integrity, but how can the basic propriety of hierarchy and status be discarded?

Wang Dou, after all, rose from a common soldier — crude and uncouth. In this depth of cultivation, he was simply lacking.

Of course, while he himself did not accept money, it was very difficult to control whether his subordinates did.

In particular, the several eunuchs and Embroidered Uniform Guard members accompanying them — they were merely sent by the court to escort him in consideration of Li Banghua's status as imperial commissioner, and did not take this discarded official seriously at all.

Now, as for the old official system in Xuanfu Garrison, to say they had no money was true, but to say they had money was also true.

The civilian household population of Xuanfu Garrison was continuously draining away. More and more of those who remained applied to convert to military household status. For Ma Guoxi and the others to pay taxes, they had to rely entirely on Wang Dou's mood — on whether he would transfer a little money over. Otherwise, what tax grain did they have to turn over to the national treasury?

The court's distribution of grain and salary to these officials was also intermittent. If they relied on the court's stipends, they would have long been drinking the northwest wind.

Fortunately, snakes have their paths and rats have their routes. Many officials still "preferred death to surrender" — like Wu Zhi, who stubbornly resisted Wang Dou to the end. Yet his family members and clansmen had already one after another transferred into Wang Dou's system. At the very least, what they held in hand was a naturalized household registration.

Then they opened shops and set up businesses, and indeed had a steady daily income of money and grain. Of course, their shops had to pay taxes. At first, everyone was unwilling, but as days passed, they grew accustomed to it.

After all, even Wang Dou himself had to pay taxes. This was enough to shut many people's mouths. Moreover, his tax-collecting department was too formidable — it was the Civil Affairs Bureau, now a ministry, the only department permitted to possess armed force, called the tax police. Truly fierce as wolves and tigers.

Wang Dou now rarely used violence within the garrison. But soft violence was also terrifying. A casual blacklisting, or a single pointing finger from the Donglu Trading Company or the Sanjin Trading Company, was enough to bankrupt your little shop and close its doors for good.

Moreover, not paying taxes meant having no credit. They could not participate in the various profitable enterprises of Xuanfu Garrison and were excluded from the high-end social strata. Thus, what outsiders could not understand was that the concept of the glory of paying taxes had increasingly taken root in people's hearts, and the old official system was no exception.

So their current circumstances were very strange. On one hand, as Wang Dou grew ever more prosperous, the various gray incomes of the officials grew ever smaller. The official treasuries were so clean that rats could race through them, and the government offices were so dilapidated that one would weep at the sight.

On the other hand, the sons and younger kin of their families widely engaged in commerce, profiting from the development of Xuanfu Garrison. Their individual family lives grew ever more affluent. Truly it was a situation of losing at sunrise but gaining at sunset.

Now these old officials and old clerks, especially those in the Eastern Route, had reached a state of attending the office or not, handling affairs or not — because there were too few matters to attend to, nothing to do.

Even when they did attend the office, they usually passed the day idly with a newspaper and a cup of tea. More and more clerks were even resigning to go work in the garrison villages under Wang Dou's governance, making the various officials ever more idle and restless.

Quite a few had already become an important source of clientele for the various teahouses and taverns.

As for ceremonial gold, paid from their own pockets, Ma Guoxi and the others were full of generosity in this regard. However, after pooling together the entertainment funds, they finally scraped out twenty silver dollars — mainly because there truly was no money on the official books.

The moment they saw Li Banghua, Ma Guoxi and the others all felt like weeping. How long had it been since they had felt this familiar sentiment? Even the eunuch, leading several Embroidered Uniform Guards, secretly extorted money and grain from Ma Guoxi and the others afterward, which also stirred in everyone a sense of familiarity and intimacy.

Only, recalling the years gone by, without their realizing it, this world had already changed.

Now everyone drifted with the current by inertia, but where would the fierce torrent of the tide ultimately carry them?

……

Like Ma Guoxi and the others, Li Banghua, seeing this familiar bureaucratic style, also nearly choked with emotion. Heaven had not abandoned the Great Ming. Within Xuanfu Garrison, which was packed with wolves and tigers, there still remained loyal ministers and righteous men. This was a blessing for the court.

He conversed very happily with Ma Guoxi. Although one was of the Donglin faction and the other of the eunuch faction, against the larger backdrop, there was not the slightest barrier between them.

And though their factions differed, Ma Guoxi greatly admired Li Banghua's moral integrity and principles. He also knew of the affairs at court. Though he felt Li Banghua's methods were open to discussion, his sincere heart for the country and his acts of selfless devotion were things he himself could not do.

In that kind of situation, he would only protect himself wisely, unlike Li Banghua, who did not begrudge his own person.

Likewise, Li Banghua very much appreciated that Ma Guoxi had always steadfastly upheld righteousness within Xuanfu Garrison, his heart turned toward the court.

After the banquet, the two men gathered in a small sitting room and spoke of the matters the imperial commissioner's procession had encountered along the way.

Ma Guoxi said thoughtfully, "It is not that the Marquis of Yongning deliberately made things difficult. The laws and decrees of Xuanfu Garrison are simply so. Even when his father-in-law... Viceroy Ji of Xuanda entered the garrison, he likewise had to have his documents inspected. At the time, Viceroy Ji was somewhat displeased, but the Marquis of Yongning still did not change it... Xuanfu Garrison is like this; its laws are extremely strict."

Ma Guoxi had his own principles in conducting himself. He also felt that Wang Dou did well in this regard and was unwilling to speak against his conscience. Only...

From his understanding of Wang Dou, this man was actually very tactful — firm on major principles, but tolerant on minor details. What Li Banghua had experienced seemed not merely a matter of following regulations, but rather seemed to be met with veiled hostility. And this was something Wang Dou himself might not even know about.

He sighed inwardly, "His Excellency Li has provoked public wrath."

What Li Banghua said inside the cabinet — how could it possibly be a secret? At the very least, he, Ma Guolei, knew it with perfect clarity.

And what kind of place is Xuanfu Garrison? In the hearts of many soldiers and civilians, Wang Dou is revered as a living Buddha of ten Battalion Commander, a second father who gave them new life. Li Banghua proposed transferring Wang Dou away — it would be strange if the garrison folk felt any goodwill toward him. The cold reception he met along the way, even the whispered slander, is entirely understandable.

It would not be the least bit surprising if some violent incident even occurred.

Fortunately, the laws in Xuanfu Garrison are strict, so such things are unlikely to happen, but it is only to be expected that the soldiers and civilians would make things difficult for him.

At the same time, a wave of dazed bewilderment washed over him — that former East Route Assistant Regional Commander, in the blink of an eye, had already risen to a height he himself now had to look up to.

Li Banghua slowly rose to his feet. Ma Guolei had not finished the meaning behind his words, but for a man clever enough to rise to the high post of Left Censor-in-Chief of the Chief Surveillance Bureau, how could he fail to hear it?

He said coolly, "This official understands. The affairs of Xuanfu Garrison, and even the future affairs of the Protectorate, are no longer so much about what the Marquis of Yongning thinks, but about what the men beneath him think, and what they will do!"

He said icily, "Speaking from personal sentiment, this official admires the Marquis of Yongning. Between him and me, there is no personal enmity, nor any deep hatred!"

He recalled the time he himself had reorganized the Capital Training Corps. He had labored with single-minded devotion, his heart set solely on remedying the abuses of the dynasty's military affairs, yet those who lost out resented and slandered him in droves. Zhang Daoze, the Chief Clerk of the Chief Surveillance Bureau whom he had taken as a trusted confidant, seized the chance to denounce and vilify him. In the end, the remonstrance officials submitted joint memorials of impeachment, and he was dismissed and forced into idle retirement.

This was not the first time. Added together, the times he had been dismissed and idled at home had reached twenty years. In a man's lifetime, how many twenty years are there?

And after he left, those who succeeded him in the Capital Training Corps all took his case as a warning, falling into routine and indulgence, and military governance became something no one dared to question.

Whenever he thought of these things, he felt a pain that cut to his heart and lungs, and his worry for the nation's affairs never ceased.

Yet the various things Wang Dou has accomplished — none of them were less difficult than reorganizing the Capital Training Corps, especially those courier stations. When they were reorganized in the early Chongzhen years, the result was the birth of the bandit Li Zicheng. Now, placed in Wang Dou's hands, they have become so prosperous and developed, with the station officers willingly safeguarding each station's interests. In particular, Wang Dou setting the example himself is truly rare.

He said slowly, "For the Marquis of Yongning to have achieved this in Xuanfu Garrison is truly extraordinary. This official falls far, far short."

"It is just... precisely because of this, that it is so terrifying and so fearsome..."

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