Chapter 178: The Gentleman's Way: Efficiency First

Scholar Zhou felt slightly surprised: "This man was just dismissed from office not long ago—isn't he unsuitable?"

Ma Chenglie said: "My wife has an old acquaintance with his wife, and this man also has ties of old friendship with Grand Secretary Ye, so he can get a word in. Moreover, precisely because he was dismissed from office, he now resides in Haicheng County, Quanzhou, which makes it convenient for him to travel to Fuqing."

Then Ma Chenglie recounted the man's general background.

It turned out that a month ago, Zhou Qiyuan had impeached the eunuch Li Shi, the textile commissioner, for embezzlement, and had been stripped of his rank and reduced to commoner status.

It was said that when he left his post, "the people of Wu, young and old, all followed to see him off, their weeping filling the streets"—clearly he enjoyed considerable popular support, and was cut from the same cloth as Ye Xianggao.

Lin Qian's eyes grew brighter and brighter as he listened.

This man bore enmity toward Wei Zhongxian and had connections to the Donglin Faction—truly a heaven-sent matchmaker, more suitable than anyone else could be.

So Lin Qian made the decision: "Him it is. This matter will trouble Commander Ma and his good lady."

Ma Chenglie rose and clasped his hands: "The Helmsman speaks too gravely—your subordinate is unworthy of such praise."

Half a month later.

Zhou Qiyuan set foot on the Fuqing docks.

Gazing at the merchants and common folk coming and going, he drew a deep breath, suppressing his agitated excitement.

A few days earlier, his wife had relayed an important piece of news to him.

That Mobile Corps Commander of Nan'ao who had just rendered great service in Liaodong was seeking to marry Grand Secretary Ye's granddaughter.

What Grand Secretary Ye thought of this matter, he did not know.

But Zhou Qiyuan's first thought was: the eunuch Wei was in for trouble.

Lately the eunuch faction's arrogance had swelled—not only were they persecuting the Donglin Faction ruthlessly at court, they had also dispatched additional tax supervisors to the provinces.

What they relied upon was nothing more than the great victory at Fuzhou.

And strangely enough, the rewards for the Fuzhou victory had yet to be granted, and the Nan'ao naval forces' alignment remained ambiguous.

This had already made some in the Donglin Faction scent something amiss, and they had long since begun courting General He.

Now, with General He seeking a marriage alliance with Ye Xianggao, in the eyes of the Donglin Faction this was a proactive gesture of goodwill.

Of course, Ye Xianggao was not a pure Donglin man, but he at least counted as one of the pure-stream faction—and that was enough.

If this matter could be brought to fruition, then General He would count as half a pure-stream man, and when the eunuch faction tried to make an issue of him, their standing would be diminished by half.

The pure stream would also gain a powerful local ally—the mine supervisors, eunuchs, and barbarians would no longer dare act with such reckless abandon in the southeast.

Thinking long-term, General He commanded heavy forces and had achieved such military merit at such a young age—in these troubled times, his future prospects were bound to be limitless.

If the pure stream formed a marriage alliance with him, even if no immediate benefit came of it, he would be an asset in the future—at the very least, he would not be allowed to fall into the eunuch faction's camp.

At this thought, Zhou Qiyuan's steps grew lighter, and even some of his resentment at being dismissed from office was cast aside.

He walked quickly to Ye Xianggao's residence, presented his visiting card, and before long a servant came out and led him into the main hall.

Ye Xianggao was already waiting in the hall, and seeing him arrive, hurriedly clasped his hands in welcome.

The two exchanged pleasantries for a while, then took their seats as host and guest, and Zhou Qiyuan had his attendant servants set down the gifts.

Ye Xianggao swept a glance over them—the gifts were Huizhou inksticks, Xuan brushes, a Duan inkstone, along with some tea leaves, tea sets, and seasonal fruits.

For a corrupt official, these would not count as heavy gifts.

But Zhou Qiyuan was an incorruptible official who had never had much savings to begin with, and having been dismissed from office, his salary had also been cut off—these gifts were by no means light.

Ye Xianggao felt a slight surprise inwardly, wondering what exactly he had come for.

The current factional strife at court was as clear as fire to Ye Xianggao.

If he had come to seek his protection for pure-stream officials, Ye Xianggao would not decline.

But if he was pulling him in to oppose the eunuch faction, Ye Xianggao would have to refuse tactfully.

A few days earlier, Zhou Qiyuan had already sent a visiting card, on which he had only written "a refined chat at leisure," without stating his true reason for calling.

Since he had come to probe the waters, he could not speak too bluntly—otherwise both sides would lose face. And so he took the great victory at Fuzhou as his entry point and began to chat casually.

Zhou Qiyuan said: "Supreme Commander Sun's victory in this battle brought sixty thousand common folk back to Han territory and sent over ten thousand Tartars to their graves in the sea frontier—truly remarkable."

Ye Xianggao laughed: "Sixty thousand common folk returning to Han territory is true enough, but over ten thousand Tartars buried in the sea frontier is rather an exaggeration. If that were really the case, the Tartars would have suffered grievous damage to their vitality and would be retreating toward Liaoshen."

Zhou Qiyuan said: "The Grand Secretary has hit the mark. According to news from Liaodong, the Tartars have already abandoned the two prefectures of Fu and Jin and shrunk back northward."

Having just been dismissed from office not long ago, his information was somewhat fresher than Ye Xianggao's.

Hearing this, Ye Xianggao was taken aback and murmured: "Could it be that this battle truly slew over ten thousand Tartars? That would be a merit of heaven-storming proportions."

For one must know that in battles against the Great Ming army, the Tartars had always suffered very few casualties.

According to rumor, in the Battle of Sarhu, the Tartars' casualties had numbered only a little over a thousand—never had their losses exceeded ten thousand.

Zhou Qiyuan said: "The Grand Secretary knows men and appoints them well—Supreme Commander Sun was also promoted single-handedly by the Grand Secretary. In that sense, the Grand Secretary's contribution to this victory is by no means small."

This was flattery, and Ye Xianggao smiled modestly.

Zhou Qiyuan shifted the conversation: "I wonder if the Grand Secretary knows that in this battle, a commander of the Fujian-Guangdong naval forces shone brilliantly?"

Ye Xianggao smiled: "You mean General He, of course I know of him."

Zhou Qiyuan shook his head: "His real name is Lin Qian. Though he comes from the wilds, he knows loyalty and righteousness. When Ma Chenglie was recruiting this man, pressed by circumstances, he used the name He Ping to enroll him in the army under a borrowed identity."

Since he was acting as matchmaker, Lin Qian's true identity had naturally been disclosed to Zhou Qiyuan in advance—otherwise, using a false name to arrange a marriage would hardly be sincere.

Ye Xianggao smiled: "I see."

Zhou Qiyuan said: "Not only that—this junior has also heard that during the Macao naval battle, this General Lin shone brilliantly as well, leaping in one bound from Battalion Commander to Mobile Corps Commander. Now he has rendered great service again—surely in the future he will be a pillar of the court. How old is he? Not yet twenty-five, is he? Truly remarkable."

Ye Xianggao smiled: "As they say, heroes have always sprung from youth."

Zhou Qiyuan, seeing that even after mentioning his age the other still did not take the bait, felt his heart sink, and raised the stakes: "This man was born a tenant farmer in Taizhou, of clean family background. He strayed from the path for a time but ultimately returned to the right road. It is only a pity that he never studied the classics and does not know the perils of the court. If only someone could guide him through the fog."

"Since ancient times, there has never been a case where a general could achieve merit abroad while a powerful minister obstructed him at home. Think back—even with the abilities of Grand Guardian Qi, he had to rely on Grand Secretary Zhang Taiyue at court before he could accomplish anything."

"Now that a powerful eunuch holds sway and the court is in chaos, one wonders what such a fine general is to rely upon?"

This was a roundabout way of urging the two families to form a marriage alliance from the perspective of political expediency—how could Ye Xianggao fail to read between the lines?

Ye Xianggao smiled: "As they say, heroes have always sprung from youth."

From the moment Zhou Qiyuan called out Lin Qian's real name, Ye Xianggao understood exactly why he had come.

This marriage proposal seemed absurd at first glance, but once Ye Xianggao thought it over, he found himself quite tempted.

His Ye family of Fuqing, kin to the Chief Grand Secretary, appeared radiant with glory, yet in truth had no one to carry on the line—he had taken only one wife, and his sole son and daughter had both passed away.

His daughter-in-law managed the household with great competence, but she was, after all, a woman.

Among the grandchildren, there were only two males, neither of whom had earned any scholarly distinction.

Once Ye Xianggao was gone, no one would be able to hold up the roof and support the pillars—the entire family would scatter.

Thus, when Ye Xianggao sought matches for his grandchildren, he did not place much weight on birth or official rank—only that the character be proper and the family background clean, preferably someone from Fujian itself.

It was just that most of those who came to propose marriage were chasing after Ye Xianggao's reputation as Chief Grand Secretary; few were free of the pursuit of fame and profit, and few possessed noble character.

Lin Qian was presumably the same, but compared to the other suitors:

First, he was a military commander with real power—and this "real power" was not easily stripped away by the court.

In this troubled age of powerful eunuchs holding sway and war beacons blazing on every frontier, should upheaval occur, it would leave the family a path of retreat.

Second, this man's loyalty or treachery was unclear; if they formed a marriage alliance with him, it would keep talent for the Great Ming and prevent him from rebelling lightly—that too would count as a good deed for Fujian and for the Great Ming.

Third, this man truly possessed some ability, which earned Ye Xianggao's considerable admiration. Throughout his life, he had delighted in "nurturing the good sort," and whenever he encountered a talented junior, he always wished to lend a hand.

Thus Ye Xianggao nearly agreed on the spot—but after turning it over in his mind again and again, he ultimately let it go.

His reluctance to embroil himself in factional strife was secondary.

Most importantly, Ye Xianggao could see that Lin Qian's fate ran with blood—he was by no means a man of peace. To doom his granddaughter to a lifetime of anxiety for the sake of family and court—that, Ye Xianggao could not bear in his heart.

Better, he thought, to marry her to a local country gentleman whose family passed down learning through farming.

And so, Ye Xianggao answered vaguely: "His Majesty is naturally gifted and clever; removing the treacherous courtiers is but a matter of a moment's resolve. I am certain he will not let the soldiers' hearts grow cold."

These words displeased Zhou Qiyuan somewhat, but since the marriage proposal took precedence, he suppressed his dissatisfaction and took a sip of tea.

He was not ready to give up, and tried persuading from every angle with hints and side remarks—all deflected by Ye Xianggao.

Zhou Qiyuan had no choice but to sip his tea and think to himself: "General Lin's future is as bright as brocade; there is no shortage of pure-stream officials in the court who wish to marry into his family. The Grand Secretary's threshold is too high for him to look upon, but a ministry head would be more than sufficient. Talent like this must be won over by the pure stream after all."

With that thought, Zhou Qiyuan prepared to rise and take his leave.

Before the words left his mouth, he was interrupted by a voice: "Honored guest, let me change your tea."

By the sound of it, it was a maidservant serving tea. Zhou Qiyuan thought: "If you're changing the tea, then change the tea—what business is it of yours to interrupt a guest's speech? The Chief Grand Secretary's maidservant truly lacks proper manners."

Zhou Qiyuan took another look at the maidservant—seeing that she was pretty and smiled sweetly, most of his irritation dissipated at once. He thought: "The Chief Grand Secretary's maidservants are indeed something special."

After changing Zhou Qiyuan's tea, the maidservant went to change Ye Xianggao's as well, saying as she did: "Master, word has come from outside—the last batch of grain from Chaozhou has arrived. The Zhejiang disaster refugees have all been settled, those fit for reclaiming land have reclaimed it, and those who should return home have returned. They wish to ask the Master what should be done."

Ye Xianggao wore an expression of helplessness mixed with headache and embarrassment, and said: "Then send it back."

The maidservant's eyes curved into crescents: "Indeed, the Young Miss said the same—the righteous merchant of Chaozhou did not buy that grain easily; it was paid for with real gold and silver. Since the refugees are settled, there is certainly no reason to keep it in Fuqing."

Ye Xianggao said in annoyance: "Since you already have your answer, why come asking? Chattering on and on before a guest—no manners!"

"Yes." The little maidservant pretended to be frightened and quickly slipped away.

Only after she had left did Ye Xianggao clasp his hands in apology: "The servants of my household do not know proper manners. You must excuse me."

Had this scene occurred in any other household, it would surely have been a breach of decorum.

But Ye Xianggao, revered by the literati of the realm as a mountain and a beacon, had long since reached the state of following his heart without overstepping the rules. Seeing this scene in his household only made Zhou Qiyuan feel that Ye Xianggao treated his servants with lenience and possessed a truly benevolent spirit.

Moreover, that little maidservant had been lively and quick-witted, with clear speech—she was not someone one could bring oneself to dislike.

And so Zhou Qiyuan repeatedly said it was no matter, and took the opportunity to ask: "May I ask, Grand Secretary, has some place suffered disaster again?"

Had they been discussing private matters, Zhou Qiyuan would not have presumed to ask—but their conversation had touched on words like "refugees," "settlement," and "grain."

As a fellow native of Fujian, Zhou Qiyuan could not help but inquire.

Ye Xianggao knew that the maidservant Baikou's words had been deliberately spoken at his granddaughter's instruction, so he spoke frankly: "Last year, Chuzhou Prefecture in Zhejiang suffered flooding, grain production fell, and the people fled the famine. Taizhou and Wenzhou also produced refugees, many of whom flooded into Fuzhou."

"Such a thing happened?" Zhou Qiyuan was somewhat startled and asked hurriedly.

"It was a minor disaster to begin with. Thanks to timely relief efforts, it was not severe."

What was commendable about this statement was the timeliness of the relief—in the Great Ming, cases of minor disasters being concealed until they grew into major ones were everywhere.

Ye Xianggao continued: "To be frank, the relief did not rely on the efforts of the Fuzhou or Zhejiang officials, but on a righteous merchant surnamed Hu from Chaozhou who donated rice to save the people."

Zhou Qiyuan was stunned. Merchants prized profit above all; those who would not part with a single hair even when their own locality suffered disaster were legion. This was the first time he had heard of someone coming from a thousand li away to rescue another province in distress.

Moreover, no matter how small the disaster, once refugees began fleeing, they numbered in the tens of thousands—so many mouths to feed, and the financial resources required for relief were no small matter.

"This gentleman's heart is with the common people—truly admirable." Zhou Qiyuan praised him from the bottom of his heart.

What Ye Xianggao wanted to say was that the righteous merchant surnamed Hu was merely a front—the grain for the relief had been bought by Lin Qian all along.

The laborers who transported the grain had kept their mouths tightly shut and never leaked the secret, but Ye Xianggao was no ordinary man—he had naturally uncovered the truth with ease. Upon learning it, he had felt both gratified and admiring, and his fondness for Lin Qian had grown even greater.

Yet even with the matter laid out so plainly, Zhou Qiyuan still had not caught on—which showed that he truly knew nothing of Lin Qian's relief efforts.

Moreover, when Lin Qian had gone to Liaodong before and rendered great service, surely earning Sun Chengzong's regard, he had not taken the opportunity to beg Sun Chengzong to write a letter acting as matchmaker.

This alone—the conduct of a gentleman who kept public and private matters distinct and did good without expecting repayment—greatly suited Ye Xianggao's temperament.

Added to that, his granddaughter had sent Baikou to deliver the message, which counted as a statement of her position. Ye Xianggao's heart turned, and he asked: "Mianzhen, how old did you say that General Lin is?"

"Twenty-three this year."

"Has he married?"

"He has not!" Zhou Qiyuan's voice trembled with excitement as he said it. He did not understand why Ye Xianggao had suddenly changed his mind, but so long as this marriage could be brought about, it was excellent.

Ye Xianggao pondered for a moment, then said: "On the next rest day, you are welcome to come to my home for a leisurely chat—I have considerable interest in the affairs of Liaodong."

This meant it was done!

Zhou Qiyuan cheered inwardly, hastily agreed, then chatted about other matters for a while before taking his leave in eager haste. He strode quickly back to the eagle ship, eager to tell Marshal Ma the good news.

Nan'ao Island, Yandun Bay.

Lin Qian was inspecting the shipyard, led by the Director of the Construction Bureau, mute Huang, Stoneworker Chu, and others.

He climbed a high slope and took in the whole of Yandun Bay at a glance.

The entire shipyard was bustling with feverish activity, over a thousand people working in unceasing motion like the cogs of a machine.

Around the shipyard, a large number of dwellings had been built, all of brick and tile, in no way inferior to the living conditions in Nan'ao town.

By the bay, two new dry docks had been constructed, identical in size and specification to the one that already existed.

The new dry docks flanked the old one on left and right, so that the two docks on either side shared a wall with the middle dock, saving materials and shortening the construction period.

All three docks were currently engaged in ship maintenance, with one of them responsible for servicing the Tianyuan.

Lin Qian asked, "Are the docks sufficient?"

Mute Huang shook his head, and Xiao Jiu said, "The number of warships on Nan'ao Island keeps growing—three dry docks are barely enough."

Lin Qian said, "Then build more. Don't be stingy with funds, and don't feel bound to sharing walls. Build four new dry docks. Fang Ju, make a note of this."

"Yes." Fang Ju hesitated a moment, then said in a low voice, "Helmsman, maintaining the current shipyard already employs nearly a thousand people. If we build four new dry docks at the same time, we may not have enough hands on the island."

Lin Qian did some mental arithmetic. The entire population of Nan'ao Island currently stood at six thousand, or sixty-six hundred counting the prisoners.

Of those, fifteen hundred served as soldiers in the Guard Bureau, a thousand worked in the shipyard, and five hundred were occupied with miscellaneous projects like road-building and house construction.

Under Lü Zhou's command, the merchant fleet—three three-gun Fujian junks with a combined crew of over a hundred, and twenty-four Haicang ships crewed by seven hundred eighty men—used eight hundred eighty people in total.

The remaining twenty-eight hundred or so people bore the burden of every other trade on Nan'ao Island—food, clothing, shelter, and all the rest.

Indeed, as Fang Ju had said, manpower was not sufficient.

In the short term, the main problem was that Lü Zhou's merchant fleet consumed too many people.

The Haicang ship type was truly ill-suited for hauling cargo. Once the new merchant vessels were built quickly, it would greatly relieve the manpower pressure.

In the long term, the issue remained that Nan'ao Island had too little land—its development potential was nearly squeezed dry.

In later ages, Nan'ao Island's permanent population was only seventy thousand. In this era, if the island were to be self-sufficient, the total population could barely exceed ten thousand, and most of those would have to work in agriculture.

With so many craftsmen and soldiers on Nan'ao Island now, it was already approaching the population limit.

Even if all food were imported from outside and every piece of land were used for housing, it could house at most twenty thousand people.

Expanding onto the mainland had become an imperative.

If Lin Qian could obtain either Zhangzhou or Chaozhou as he wished, using the land and Nan'ao Island to complement each other, then the whole game could be brought to life.

Going forward, the coastal prefectures could develop the economy while Nan'ao Island developed the military, allowing continued rapid growth.

Conversely, if striking at Zhangzhou or Chaozhou proved inconvenient, he would have to settle for the next best option—developing Dongning. That place would require several times the investment of Zhangzhou or Chaozhou, and would take even longer.

The court's rewards had not yet been granted—this was surely Wei Zhongxian's doing. With Lin Qian's influence, he could only deter Wei Zhongxian, not manipulate him.

If he could bring in the Donglin Faction to compete with Wei Zhongxian over recruiting Lin Qian, the situation would be different. With two sides bidding against each other, Lin Qian's stock would rise, and he could name exorbitant prices.

In the end, no matter how things circled around, it always came back to Grand Secretary Ye's granddaughter.

Of course, showing goodwill to the Donglin Faction was not the only path through Grand Secretary Ye's granddaughter—but it was the safest one.

Ye Xianggao's halo of clean reputation and his principle of not participating in partisan strife were a natural firewall against the fires of factional conflict.

Still, this matter ultimately depended on Ye Xianggao's wishes, and there was no use in being anxious.

Lin Qian shook his head and said to Mute Huang, "Let's go see how the warship construction is coming along."

"Right away, Helmsman, this way please." Xiao Jiu led the way with eager attentiveness.

Looking out across the shipyard, the most conspicuous sight was the two nearly completed yachts on the slipways.

After a moment, Lin Qian was led to the side of the slipway.

Xiao Jiu introduced them: "These two ships are ten zhang long, two and a half zhang wide, with a draft of one zhang two chi. They carry twenty cannons on a single gun deck, with three masts of square sails, and one lateen sail as well.

The keel, ribs, and hull planking of both ships are already complete, and the decks are nearly fitted. They should be launched before next month."

Lin Qian nodded. In terms of specification and form, these were standard yachts—weaker than the large galleons that formed the mainstay of European navies, but stronger than ordinary armed merchantmen, and certainly stronger than the Cloud Sail or the Long Wind.

To use an army comparison, the yacht was like a line infantryman under volley-fire tactics—the backbone of the line, cost-effective and mass-producible, but not elite.

To use a food comparison, it was like "plain steamed rice"—filling when eaten in quantity, but choking to swallow on its own.

For a decisive naval battle, the best combination was a large number of ordinary ships paired with a few top-grade ones.

Just as when the Dutch attacked Macao, the Batavia was the ship that carried the main burden.

In the Nan'ao fleet, the Tianyuan had always carried the main burden—what was missing was precisely the ordinary stock. Now that they had the capacity to produce it themselves, that gap had been filled.

Lin Qian asked, "When did construction on these two ships begin, again?"

Xiao Jiu said, "The Helmsman gave the order in the twelfth month of last year, the keels were laid in the first month of this year, and they're expected to leave the dock in the seventh month—half a year and then some, at most."

Lin Qian said approvingly, "You've built them very quickly."

"It's because the Helmsman's methods are good." As he spoke, Xiao Jiu took a notebook from his breast, opened it to a page, and displayed it. "I've written it all down—standardization of components, assembly-line production, sectional block construction, a perfected supply chain——"

These were things Lin Qian had casually mentioned last year when he demanded ship construction. At the time he had only briefly explained the meaning of these terms; he hadn't expected this young apprentice to remember them so clearly.

Lin Qian took the notebook and looked. On the page about component standardization were drawn over a dozen different wooden structural members, along with seven or eight kinds of ship nails, each part marked with its corresponding dimensions.

Under each of the other terms, there were also Xiao Jiu's drawings and reflections.

Lin Qian pointed and asked, "Did you draw these?"

Xiao Jiu scratched his head: "The master and I worked on them together. The standardized workshop is right over there—Helmsman, why not come take a look? If there's anything wrong, you can correct it on the spot."

Lin Qian: "Lead the way."

Xiao Jiu walked ahead, and they arrived shortly. Though it was called a workshop, it was in fact merely an open-air work area, exposed to the wind on all sides.

Two to three hundred people were working here, some cutting planks, some polishing ship nails.

Lin Qian casually walked up to one man and saw him carefully cutting a plank with axe and saw.

The plank was one zhang long, two chi wide, and two cun thick—rectangular, a standard deck plank.

Xiao Jiu asked, "What are you making?"

The craftsman stopped his work, stood up nervously, and said, "T-three, number three deck plank."

Xiao Jiu took a blueprint from his breast and unfolded it. It depicted the entire deck structure of the yacht, with numerous annotations on it.

He pointed at one section and said, "Helmsman, please look—this piece here is the T-three number three deck plank, located at the forward right of the deck."

Lin Qian looked and saw that there were roughly thirty to forty pieces of T-shaped No. 3 hull planking, and upon closer inspection, some of them differed slightly in shape.

The T-shaped No. 3 hull planking made by the craftsmen was only a rough form; when actually assembled, it would still be trimmed and adjusted according to the real conditions.

After all, no two trees are alike, so it would be unrealistic to expect to produce identical components entirely according to factory assembly-line standards.

The time saved by this kind of pre-processing was already a great deal of savings for a wooden sailing ship.

Mute Huang, Xiao Jiu, and their master-apprentice crew were able to avoid rigidly applying so-called "standardization" with a one-size-fits-all approach, instead relaxing the boundaries of the standards in light of actual conditions—this was truly rare and commendable.

This showed that the administrative system under Lin Qian's rule prioritized efficiency and did not engage in formalism or bureaucracy.

This point was even more significant than seeing warships quickly launched from the dock.

Yahei

Fenyuan

Pen