Chapter 83: Volume Three: Defender of Shunxiang Fortress, Chapter Eighty-Three: The Retainer Turmoil

Volume Three: Defender of Shunxiang Fortress, Chapter Eighty-Three: The Retainer Turmoil

The tenth day of the first month, ninth year of the Chongzhen reign.

The weather was still bitterly cold. Craftsman Head Li Maosen had selected several craftsmen ahead of time to go to Koujiagou and choose sites for mining and iron-smelting workshops.

To save costs, the related workshops naturally had to be chosen near the mines. Fortunately, the location was desolate — on ordinary days you could hardly spot even a few stray cats — so safety was not an issue. There was also a water source beside Koujiagou, so setting up iron-smelting workshops posed no problem either. After each day's surveying, Li Maosen and his men would go to Chadao Tunbao, several li away, to rest and lodge.

At the same time, Lin Daofu also arrived at Huiyao Fortress to discuss with Company Commander Chang Zhengwei and Deputy Company Commander Zhong Dayong the matter of conscripting the able-bodied men from the various tunbao under Huiyao Fortress as miners.

When Chang Zhengwei and the other man heard that Wang Dou had already exempted their tunbao from grain levies, and that their company of soldiers would guard the mine's safety while also receiving full rations and pay, they were naturally overjoyed and readily agreed to Shunxiang Fortress's directive to conscript laborers. Zhong Dayong, eager to curry favor with Wang Dou and Lin Daofu, was even more zealous, accompanying Lin Daofu on his rounds every day.

When the military households of Huiyao Fortress and its several tunbao heard that going to work at Koujiagou meant they could eat their fill every day, receive monthly grain if they worked well, and get compensation for injury or death, every single person was eager to go.

Huiyao Fortress and the four tunbao under its jurisdiction could not muster twenty ox-carts and mule-carts between the five of them, but they did manage to find over a hundred wheelbarrows. From then on, all the coal and iron ore would have to be transported using these simple tools.

All the way until the sixteenth day of the first month, the military households from the various tunbao kept heading to the Koujiagou site to erect buildings such as workshops and shacks.

Lin Daofu also went in person every day to inspect, bustling about until he had grown noticeably thin.

Li Maosen and his men had already settled on the locations for the mining and iron-smelting workshops. During this time, Li Maosen directed everyone in constructing the iron furnaces for smelting and refining iron, and also had to procure and transport the relevant equipment from various places around Shunxiang Fortress. Together with the daily food and drink for the military households, Wang Dou's money and grain were flowing out like water.

It was estimated that building a few iron furnaces would take no less than half a month, perhaps even a month. During this period, Lin Daofu also took Clerk Feng Dachang and others on a trip to Wujiagou. When they heard that Shunxiang Fortress wanted to purchase six thousand jin of coke in one go, and even more every month thereafter, the local mine owners all drew a sharp breath — this was a major client!

They entertained Lin Daofu and his party with great hospitality and offered a favorable price, setting the coke at fifteen taels of silver per ton. In addition, they agreed to use their own manpower to transport the coke to Shunxiang Fortress on a regular basis. Of course, the transport from Shunxiang Fortress to Koujiagou would be a problem Wang Dou had to solve himself.

At the start of the second month, hearing that an iron furnace at Koujiagou was already completed, Wang Dou led a party from Shunxiang Fortress to inspect the Koujiagou site.

It was still freezing cold, the wind biting to the bone. The road from Shunxiang Fortress to Chadao Tunbao was an old official highway, long neglected and full of potholes everywhere. After turning west from Chadao Tunbao into Koujiagou, the mountain path was even harder to traverse — all narrow loess trails, rising and falling abruptly. In such a place, the difficulty of transporting coal and iron could well be imagined.

The terrain of Koujiagou consisted of mountainous land to the southeast and hilly flatland to the northwest, with a river flowing not far away.

When the party arrived at Koujiagou, the place was already a scene of bustling activity. The tiny Koujiagou was everywhere filled with men and women wearing tattered cotton-padded jackets and leather coats. The men were building the iron furnace workshops, while the women pushed wheelbarrows laden with coal and ore — every one of them busy beyond measure. Some soldiers from Huiyao Fortress stood guard and supervised nearby, armed with swords and spears.

Near those iron furnace workshops was a large stretch of dugout dwellings made of stone, branches, and thatch. Push open any of these shelters at random, and inside were nothing but a jumble of earthenware pots and crude household items — utterly simple and rough. This was where the miners rested and lodged.

Wang Dou sighed. The conditions were harsh, but there was nothing he could do. He could only try his best to ensure these miners and their families had enough to eat.

Hearing that Wang Dou had arrived, Lin Daofu and Li Maosen came hurrying over. These days Lin Daofu had been busy inside and out, and he had grown dark and gaunt. Li Maosen, too, had his hair bun in disarray, his face and hands smeared black, and his face crisscrossed with cracks cut by the cold wind.

Wang Dou sighed and said, "Sir Lin, you have toiled hard!"

Lin Daofu was in excellent spirits. He said excitedly, "Fortunately, the mining operation is now on track. This humble official has not failed his mission!"

The two men took Wang Dou around to see the various sites, and at every stop, Wang Dou nodded repeatedly.

At the foot of the mountain, Li Maosen pointed to one of the tall iron furnaces and introduced it to Wang Dou. The furnace was first framed with wood, then built up with salt and mud. One furnace could take in over two thousand jin of iron ore and could smelt using coal. For the blast, six men were needed to pull the bellows. Once the ore melted into iron, it could be tapped out from a hole at the furnace's waist.

According to Li Maosen's explanation, iron was divided into two types: raw and wrought. What came out of the furnace unrefined was raw; after refining it became wrought. When raw and wrought were fused together and smelted, the result was steel.

This method was also called the mixed raw-wrought smelting technique. The Tiangong Kaiwu had described this smelting method: raw iron and wrought iron were placed together in the furnace. When the heat was sufficient, the raw iron melted, enveloping and penetrating the wrought iron. The excess carbon in the raw iron was absorbed by the carbon-deficient wrought iron, squeezing out some of the slag contained in the wrought iron, and both raw and wrought iron became steel. It was then taken out and forged, smelted and forged again, repeated several times, until it became steel of relatively pure quality.

This smelting method required less labor and yielded more output. Before the application of modern steelmaking methods, it was an advanced technique.

Wang Dou was not very knowledgeable about iron smelting. Hearing Li Maosen speak so clearly and logically, he decided to leave it to him since he was the expert.

The current Koujiagou Iron Works, though crude, could already be considered a complete industry chain from mining to smelting to transport. Watching the bustling scene before them, Han Chao, Han Zhong, and the others beside Wang Dou were all excited. Their future armor and weapons would depend on what came out of here.

According to Lin Daofu's report, purchasing coal and building the iron furnaces had cost a great deal of money. Hiring some mining and iron-smelting technicians from various places in Baoanzhou had also cost quite a bit.

Those iron-refining craftsmen — furnace workers, casters, smiths, hammermen, and so on, about twenty or so in total — were all hired from Baoanzhou city. Their monthly wage alone was one tael and five qian of silver, plus five dou of grain in kind. They counted as high-level technical personnel. The remaining miners were all local military households from Huiyao Fortress pressed into service, with no technical skill to speak of. They just needed to be fed their fill each day, and if they worked well, given a meager wage.

Wang Dou pondered for a long while, then said, "Sir Lin, these miners of Huiyao Fortress are all military households under our Shunxiang Fortress's jurisdiction. No matter what, we must see that they eat their fill! Especially those women hauling coal and iron — their lot is even harder. They must be well looked after."

Lin Daofu said, "This humble official understands. As per your earlier instructions, my lord, although there are no white-flour mantou, they can eat their fill of coarse grain. Every three days there is one meat dish, and every five days a ladle of wine. The military households are all very satisfied and grateful for your benevolence, my lord!"

Li Maosen also confirmed Lin Daofu's words. He said, "Before, those military households of Huiyao Fortress toiled diligently at farming year after year yet still could not fill their bellies. Now that everyone can eat their fill, their drive to work is tremendous!"

Han Zhong beside Wang Dou also muttered, "To eat your fill every day — what more could you wish for? Back in our days at Jingbian Dun, we couldn't even find a place to sell our labor for a full belly. My lord is simply too kind-hearted!"

Wang Dou nodded. He looked at the ragged men and women laboring nearby, every one of them dashing about swiftly, many even singing mountain songs, their coarse, dark faces bearing happy smiles. Inwardly he sighed, "The common folk — how easily satisfied they are!"

On the tenth day of the second month, ninth year of the Chongzhen reign, just as the Koujiagou Iron Works was getting on track, Lin Daofu also hurried back to Shunxiang Fortress to join Wang Dou in overseeing this year's spring plowing matters across the Shunxiang Fortress territory.

Seeing Lin Daofu so busy inside and out, Wang Dou considered promoting someone from among the fortress officers to share the burden and ease his load. But as soon as this suggestion was raised, Lin Daofu waved his hands repeatedly, saying he was still hale and hearty, and such trifling matters were still within his capacity. Busy as he was, Lin Daofu had by now become intoxicated with this fulfilling life. If someone else stepped in and shared this authority, needless to say, Lin Daofu would again feel a sense of loss.

Just as in Jingbian Fortress in the past, starting today, the military households of Shunxiang Fortress also drew lots one by one to select their own plow oxen and farmland. Last year, a total of three thousand mu of farmland had been reclaimed within the fortress. One Company Commander within the fortress each received thirty mu of land.

These military households who received land were all beaming with joy, profuse in their gratitude. These fields were tax-exempt the first year, levied one dou per mu the second year, and two dou per mu the third year. With these fields to pass down through the generations, they could absolutely live a happy and contented life from now on.

Seeing their excitement, those military households who had not received land were envious, but since their own luck had been poor, they could only wait for the next round of land distribution. They believed that one day, they too would receive land.

A total of one hundred military households within the fortress received land. In the Shunxiang New Army, at least over a hundred men benefited. Their wives and children received land, giving their families hope for the future. These new army soldiers trained with even greater vigor. The remaining soldiers, seeing this example, were also excited. The Defender truly kept his word — in the future, every military household in Shunxiang Fortress could live a good life.

Although for now the men received no pay or rations for soldiering, they could eat their fill every day and had trained a full set of fine martial skills. When they followed the army into battle in the future and gained spoils, that would be no worse than drawing a fixed monthly wage.

Amid the widespread joy of the Shunxiang New Army, on the fourteenth day of the second month, the day of the Spring Equinox, the spring plowing of Shunxiang Fortress began once more.

The plowing was lively, the new army jubilant — but among those retainers and officers of the old Shunxiang Fortress army, there were different thoughts stirring!

The sixteenth day of the second month, ninth year of the Chongzhen reign. The spring chill was still sharp.

Coming out of the Shunxiang Fortress parade ground, a gust of cold wind blew. Even though Xu Lu had a sturdy body and trained hard every day, he still unconsciously drew his leather coat tighter. Several retainers followed beside Xu Lu, watching his face remain grim the whole time, not knowing what he was thinking. None dared disturb his train of thought.

Xu Lu walked slowly. As he left the parade ground, he suddenly heard someone calling from behind, "Sir Xu! Sir Xu!"

Xu Lu turned around. It was Company Commanders Lan Bulian, Liu Wei, and Yu Qingyuan chasing after him, likewise followed by several retainers.

These three company commanders, like Xu Lu, were hereditary officers of Shunxiang Fortress, passed down through the generations. Their families all possessed large tracts of fertile land outside the fortress, used to support their retainers. They were ordinarily on good terms with Xu Lu and spoke with one voice.

Now that the three had caught up, after exchanging salutes, Xu Lu said flatly, "I wonder what important matter Squad Commander Lan, Squad Commander Liu, and Squad Commander Yu have, to call after me?"

Among the four, Xu Lu had the strongest force. After all, following Wang Dou's discharge of the old and weak, of the original six company commanders of Shunxiang Fortress, apart from Xu Lu's company of fifty men remaining fully intact, the other company commanders were left with only a dozen or so retainers, comparable only to squad leaders in the Shunxiang New Army.

Moreover, among the six company commanders, Xu Lu also had the best personal relationship with Wang Dou. Therefore, among the six company commanders, Xu Lu was in fact the most senior. Recently, however, Wen Fangliang had been promoted to Vice Battalion Commander, and his voice had grown weightier, allowing him to sit as an equal alongside Xu Lu.

At this moment, Lan Bulian said with an ingratiating smile, "Sir Xu, you have the closest personal ties with the Defender. We just wanted to inquire — will the rations and pay for this month still not be issued by the fortress?"

The retainers in the companies of the various Shunxiang Fortress company commanders were supposed to receive one tael of silver and five dou of grain in kind each month. In the tenth month of last year, Wang Dou had issued one month's pay and rations, but since then, Wang Dou had not issued any more. Everyone could eat their fill, and the retainers received the same fare as the rest.

Xu Lu shook his head. "At present, the fortress's funds and grain are tight, and the Defender is also opening mines. I fear no pay or rations will be issued!"

Company Commander Liu Wei, a very fat man, said angrily, "He has money to open mines but no money to issue pay? The Defender is going too far! The men in our companies are retainers — the main battle elites of the fortress. How can they be compared to those military households who have only drilled for a few months?"

A cold glint flashed in his eyes. He said, "Sir Xu, you have always been the backbone for the few of us. Why not lead us to demand our pay?"

Squad Commander Yu Qingyuan was somewhat timid. He hesitated, “This… is not good… My lord may not have issued pay, but he hasn’t mistreated us either. Every day in the army we all get the same rations and treatment!”

Liu Wei said, “I fear that’s exactly why it’s so hard to handle. Right now our squad has only these retainers left, and over in the new army they’re busy dividing up land and fields — the men in our squad are getting restless!”

His words struck right at Yu Qingyuan’s worry, and his face turned somewhat pale. Most of the retainers in their squad were family slaves and tenant farmers from their own households. Seeing the military households inside the fort dividing land and fields, how could they not have other thoughts? I fear when the time comes…

Liu Wei again said eagerly, “Sir Xu, what do you think of my proposal?…”

Xu Lu had been listening coldly the whole time. Now he suddenly barked, “Nonsense! Do none of you want to live? With just you few soldiers, you think you can stir up a pay mutiny?”

He snorted disdainfully. Others might not know, but he knew Wang Dou’s true strength. Although at present an officer’s fighting power was judged by his retainers, and outsiders saw that Wang Dou seemed to have no retainers at all and thus looked down on him, only Xu Lu understood how terrifying Wang Dou really was. Back at Jingbian Fort, without a word or a sound, he had trained over a hundred crack troops, every one of them with the fighting power of a retainer.

And now he had trained over five hundred new army soldiers — these new troops had the combat strength of five hundred retainers!

Five hundred retainers! Looking across Bao’an Department, I fear even the Garrison Commander himself could not match that. And every man in the new army looked to Wang Dou as their leader. Especially after Shunxiang Fort distributed the land, these new troops saw hope for the future and became utterly devoted to Wang Dou!

A pay mutiny? I fear they wouldn’t even know how the word “death” is written!