Chapter 376: The Number One Figure in the Ming Military

The battle looked fierce on the surface, but in truth it was not all that intense—one could say it was fought with great ease.

Yet Qi Jin's expression remained stern. Having fought wars for so many years, Qi Jin had seen too many cases of boats capsizing in a ditch. So even though he had confidence in his heart and possessed an overwhelming advantage, he still had to be sufficiently cautious and careful.

Before the fighting was over, anything could happen. A reversal at the very end was something Qi Jin absolutely did not wish to experience. Thus he remained extremely cautious and careful from start to finish.

When he saw the soldiers on the battlefield beginning to clean up, Qi Jin finally broke into a smile.

Watching Qi Yuangong approach from afar, and seeing Xu Hongru being escorted up under guard, Qi Jin nodded with satisfaction.

"General, your subordinate has not failed the trust placed in him—Xu Hongru has been captured and brought back." Qi Yuangong came before Qi Jin, his expression solemn as he bowed and spoke.

He said this in a very loud voice, clearly brimming with confidence.

Qi Jin nodded with satisfaction, then smiled at his son and said, "Very good. Take him away. Gather your men and take charge of the perimeter watch."

"Yes, General." Qi Yuangong acknowledged the order, then turned and went about his business.

Beside Qi Jin, a eunuch smiled and said to him, "General Qi displayed divine might today, annihilating the rebels in a single battle and capturing the rebel leader—truly a cause for celebration. But in my humble view, the fact that General Qi has a worthy successor is an even greater cause for joy!"

Glancing at the eunuch beside him, Qi Jin smiled and said, "He is still not up to par. He needs much more tempering."

Watching Qi Jin's eyes nearly squint shut from smiling while his mouth spoke such modest words, the old eunuch said nothing more and simply stood to the side with a smile.

Saying it once was enough; no need to overdo it.

As for this supervising eunuch, Qi Jin could not say much either. This was someone sent by His Majesty; getting along well with him was sufficient.

Watching the soldiers before him cleaning up the battlefield, a shadow of gloom still flickered through Qi Jin's heart.

This battle naturally needed no further discussion—it could be called a crushing victory, which also proved from the side how powerful the soldiers under his command were.

But what Qi Jin worried about was not this—it was money.

An army at war is an army burning money; as a general, he had always felt this keenly.

After all, as the old saying goes: before the troops move, provisions go first. Whether it was grain and fodder, horses, armor and equipment, or military pay and expenditures—all required vast amounts of silver.

But this army before him was simply too expensive.

Setting aside the armor and equipment on their bodies, which were extremely costly to produce on their own; adding in the sabers, spears, swords, halberds, cannons, and muskets—there was not a single item among them that was not exorbitantly expensive.

Although the Hundred Crafts Institute had devised methods and employed water-powered forging machines, and the iron and steel works had also made some gains in reducing costs considerably, if one were to equip an army with the original equipment, then naturally the same money could outfit two contingents.

But this one before him was different. The same money probably could not even equip a single contingent, and the most critical issue was that fighting wars cost too much.

Take this very battle—it consumed countless amounts of gunpowder, cannonballs, and bullets, all of which were extremely expensive to produce.

It felt great while fighting, and the sensation of crushing the enemy was wonderful too, but this money was probably about to give out.

Dealing with some rebels before him might be fine, but if he truly had to march north to fight, the expenditure would be enormous.

Qi Jin understood very well in his heart that the current Emperor was an ambitious man. Although the court was currently in financial straits, when it came to the new army, His Majesty was not the least bit stingy—all the equipment was the best, and even the soldiers ate the best food.

Solely for the purpose of raising pigs for the new army, His Majesty had dispatched over a hundred men. And that did not even count the rest.

With so much money poured in, if the new army were taken to Liaodong to fight, and if they could not quickly achieve results there, the court's money and grain would probably be unable to hold out—and then there would be trouble.

Although Qi Jin was a general, he could not help but consider these matters. The better he understood the army under his command, the more he worried.

At present, the troops equipped like this under his command numbered only fifteen thousand. Although Qi Jin was currently training new recruits, their equipment had never caught up.

The Hundred Crafts Institute needed time to produce, and most importantly, there was no money.

Qi Jin had also heard that a man named Bi Maokang at the Hundred Crafts Institute had petitioned His Majesty several times to expand the institute's scale, and that the steelworks was also about to begin its second phase of construction.

But after thinking it over, Qi Jin shook his head and gave a self-deprecating laugh—he was definitely overthinking things.

The old eunuch watched Qi Jin, seeing that he had been very happy just moments ago but now his face had turned gloomy. The old eunuch truly could not understand why.

Having won such a great victory, how could he still have this attitude?

But the old eunuch did not want to bother with Qi Jin either.

Dealing with a general like Qi Jin required doubled caution at every moment.

The reason was also simple: Qi Jin was a favored figure before His Majesty—there was no one in the realm more favored than him.

Never mind those court ministers who each strutted about with their noses in the air—those who served in the palace all knew that there were actually very few people His Majesty truly kept in his sights. This General Qi Jin before them was absolutely the person His Majesty valued most; calling him the number one figure in the Ming military would not be an overstatement.

With someone like this, one should avoid offending him whenever possible. Just look at his several sons:

His eldest son served as a personal guard officer before His Majesty, commanding His Majesty's personal Thousand Bull Guard;

His other sons had all been properly arranged to serve by Qi Jin's side—all by His Majesty's grace.

Qi Jin naturally had no idea what the old eunuch was thinking. After a bout of idle rumination, he prepared to pack up and head back.

As for the news of victory, it had naturally long since been sent by fast horse to Jining city.

The soldier returning to report the victory rode his swift horse and charged straight into Jining city.

Urging his horse onward toward the city, he shouted at the top of his lungs: "Great victory!"

"Great victory!"

"General Qi has annihilated the rebels!"

"General Qi has captured the rebel leader Xu Hongru alive!"

When the news first arrived, some people did not react for a moment, but then the entire city of Jining erupted in joy.

For the common folk of Jining, these past few days had not exactly been one shock after another, but their hearts had still been filled with anxiety. After all, the rebels had come leading a great army—if they had taken Jining city, would these people still have had any good days left?

Fortunately, His Majesty had not left, which had somewhat calmed everyone's hearts.

Now the report of victory had finally arrived, and at last they could rest easy.

At the same time, one thing shocked the common folk immensely—how fast had this battle been fought?

How could it have ended so quickly?

Hadn't they said the rebels were very formidable?

Hadn't they been rampaging wildly all over the place?

They had even been bold enough to come attack Jining city—how could they have been wiped out by Qi Jin so easily?

It seemed that, indeed, the army by the Emperor's side was the one that could truly fight. General Qi Jin was truly remarkable—worthy of being the famed Qi Family Army of old!

Zhu Youxiao was at this moment discussing with Xu Guangqi the matter of returning to the capital.

As for the war, the sovereign and his minister truly had little to worry about, so things proceeded as they should, and they continued making arrangements for the return to the capital.

Zhu Youxiao had scraped together so much silver this time that it was indeed time to go back and spend it.

At this moment, Chen Hong walked in from outside, joy written across his face, clutching in his hands a routine memorial bound with red silk ribbon, his steps hurried.

Upon seeing Zhu Youxiao, Chen Hong fell to his knees with a thud, raised the memorial above his head, and announced loudly: "Your Majesty, great news! General Qi has won a great victory!"

As for this great victory, Zhu Youxiao was not particularly surprised—he simply hadn't expected it to come so quickly.

Zhu Youxiao nodded and said: "Present it, then."

Chen Hong dared not delay and promptly presented the memorial.

As for Xu Guangqi, who stood off to the side, he had already knelt down as well, a radiant smile on his face as he said: "Your servant congratulates Your Majesty! The Shandong rebellion suppressed in such a short time—truly a blessing for the Great Ming! A blessing for the people!"

"Rise quickly." Zhu Youxiao said with a smile: "This was only to be expected. A pack of arrogant nobodies attempting such treasonous rebellion naturally stood no chance of victory. Their annihilation was always within expectation."

"Your Majesty had it all planned!" Xu Guangqi hurriedly rose to his feet and said.

"You shall immediately begin drafting a list of rewards and punishments—reward those who deserve reward, punish those who deserve punishment. I am entrusting this matter to you. The rewards need not be overly generous, but neither can they be too stingy, understand? You must grasp the proper measure."

"Yes, Your Majesty. Your servant understands." Xu Guangqi nodded and said.

Matters such as this were practically second nature to the court officials. According to the magnitude of one's merit, the rewards naturally differed as well.

In the Great Ming, the heaviest rewards went to the border troops.

After all, the borderlands were bitter and cold, and guarding the frontier was no easy task. For those who could still win victories under such harsh conditions, greater rewards were naturally warranted.

As for a rebellion like this one, there was truly no way to grant overly generous rewards. But giving too little wouldn't do either—reducing the rewards would leave those below feeling discontent. So the measure had to be grasped properly.

Xu Guangqi, however, was not too concerned. This was a task he could handle with ease. Never mind him, a Second Grand Secretary of the Grand Secretariat—even if this were handed to any random person in the capital, they could manage it perfectly well.

"If there is nothing else, your servant takes his leave." Xu Guangqi said respectfully: "Your servant will go make arrangements at once and prepare for the return to the capital."

Zhu Youxiao looked at Xu Guangqi's eager demeanor and a helpless smile appeared on his face.

This man was afraid he might change his mind.

But Zhu Youxiao also knew that he truly ought to return—there were indeed matters in the capital that needed tending to.

So Zhu Youxiao nodded with a smile and said: "Then go attend to your duties, my minister."

After Xu Guangqi had left, Zhu Youxiao glanced at the memorial in his hand, casually handed it to Chen Hong, and said directly: "Pack things up. We're preparing to return to the capital."

This great victory could be said to have brought good news to the city of Jining, and the entire city had become considerably more prosperous because of it.

After the news from a few days prior had arrived, the wealthy households in the city had no heart for merrymaking. Now that good news had come, it was only natural to celebrate properly, and at the same time find some happiness for themselves and relax.

The rebellion suppressed, the people at ease, and those who had rendered merit about to be rewarded—one could say all was harmonious and joyful.

If one had to say who was unhappy, it could only be the Duke of Ying, Zhang Weixian.

For Zhang Weixian, this campaign to suppress the rebellion had truly not been a pleasant affair. He had originally hoped to handle the matter splendidly and win some favor in front of His Majesty.

Never mind anything else—wouldn't the position of Chief of the Staff Council have been his?

But who could have imagined such a huge blunder would occur? Not only had he let the rebels escape, he had nearly allowed them to attack the city of Jining. And then Qi Jin had ridden out with five thousand men and destroyed the rebels in a single battle, even capturing Xu Hongru alive.

This infuriated Zhang Weixian to no end.

Did this Xu Hongru have some grudge against him?

Why couldn't you have been captured anywhere else—why not let me capture you? You just had to run off to Qi Jin's side.

Wasn't this just making him look even more incompetent by comparison?

Upon returning to Jining, Zhang Weixian's face was utterly ashen.

When he saw Zhu Youxiao, Zhang Weixian immediately fell to his knees and said: "Your Majesty, your servant failed to suppress the bandits, allowing the rebels to attack Jining and disturb Your Majesty. Your servant is guilty! Please punish your servant!"

Glancing at Zhang Weixian, Zhu Youxiao's face showed no particular expression. He only said softly: "The Duke of Ying need not be so hard on himself. These were merely petty tricks that could never stand on any grand stage. These rebels fancied themselves clever, but before the greater tide of events, they were nothing but a pack of jumping clowns."

"Our Great Ming is at its zenith; these people simply overestimated themselves. My minister need not blame himself. Though there was some slight dereliction of duty, the flaws do not obscure the virtues—my minister did quite well this time. No reward, no punishment—let your merits and faults cancel each other out."

"Your servant thanks Your Majesty." Zhang Weixian hurriedly said.

Zhu Youxiao nodded and said: "Rise. We shall be returning to the capital in the next few days, and I imagine you have many matters to settle. Go now, and when the time comes, accompany Us back to the capital."

"Yes, Your Majesty. Your servant will go make arrangements at once." Zhang Weixian promptly agreed, rising to his feet and turning to walk out.

After stepping out of the room, Zhang Weixian let out a sigh.

His luck this time had truly been terrible. Fortunately, His Majesty had not blamed him, but his position as Chief of the Staff Council was certainly going to evaporate.

Thinking about it, he really couldn't accept it.

Zhu Youxiao watched Zhang Weixian's departing figure, and the expression on his face relaxed.

After he had walked out, Zhu Youxiao smiled.

In truth, Zhang Weixian's matter was neither too great nor too small—it all depended on how he chose to handle it.

Handling it this way was nothing more than a warning to Zhang Weixian. Ever since the Staff Council had been established, Zhang Weixian had been scrambling about busily.

It wasn't that such activity was wrong, but Zhang Weixian's efforts were directed in the wrong way—he was always thinking of hoarding power. So Zhu Youxiao needed to knock him down a peg.

As for whether Zhang Weixian would catch on, Zhu Youxiao believed that an old fox like him would naturally understand.

If he didn't catch on, then he would be knocked down another peg; if he proved useless, then it would be time to replace him.

Zhu Youxiao was becoming increasingly adept at handling personnel.

Give a man a task—if he fails, replace him; if he succeeds, nurture and support him.

No matter the reasons, only the results matter.