Chapter 209: Preparations for the Uprising and Training the New Army

Japan's entire silk-weaving industry was mainly based on household handicrafts in the castle towns.

Over the past six months, first raw silk became scarce and skyrocketed in price, then the delivery vouchers reaped harvest after harvest.

No household workshop could withstand such turmoil—bankruptcy and switching trades counted as the light end; hanging oneself or jumping into a well was also common. Not to mention ordinary families—even small merchants, small landlords, and ordinary samurai could not endure such violent fluctuations, and those reduced to utter poverty were everywhere. At the same time, because of Chaya Jiro's frenzy before his death, Kyushu's silkworm farmers were also ruthlessly reaped by the delivery vouchers.

Although only a little over thirty thousand taels of silver was squeezed from the silkworm farmers, the scope of impact was very wide.

Even now, delivery vouchers still circulate in Kyushu's rural areas in the form of mutual deception.

This dealt a major blow to Kyushu's raw silk industry as well.

Even if this breath were recovered, with the contraction of the local silk-weaving industry, the raw silk market would shrink further, and Kyushu's self-produced raw silk would gradually die out for lack of buyers.

For the daimyo and high-ranking samurai, silk was not only a material for clothing—it could display status and rank, and also carried social attributes; it could be said to be hard currency in aristocratic circles.

Therefore, the total demand for silk in the entire Japanese market remained unchanged.

Coincidentally, because of the delivery voucher craze, the Kyushu daimyo had made a large profit—how should this money be spent?

Of the three whale ships that arrived in port, besides raw silk, the largest cargo they carried was silk fabric.

Zhangzhou and Chaozhou, both near Nan'ao Island, were important silk-producing regions.

Among them, Zhangzhou velvet, also called velvet, had an elegant luster, was firm and wear-resistant, did not fade easily, had good resilience, and was suitable for keeping out the cold. Now that winter had arrived, wasn't it just right for sewing autumn and winter clothing?

Chaozhou silk, on the other hand, was light and smooth, thin yet supple, with good breathability—wouldn't it be wonderful for making thin spring and summer garments?

Because Kyushu's silk-weaving industry had been destroyed, causing raw silk prices to drop, all the profits Lin Qian had lost could be earned back through silk fabric! The silver the daimyo had earned from the delivery vouchers would sooner or later all be spent on silk.

In the past, Hirado imported large quantities of raw silk, not silk fabric.

This was mainly due to policy support—the shogunate and the various daimyo encouraged domestic silkworm raising and silk weaving.

This involved both considerations of economic self-sufficiency and the intention to reduce foreign dependence and stabilize the regime.

But if the shogunate truly reduced its dependence, who would Lin Qian make money from?

Mercantilism required keeping high-value-added industry and handicrafts at home, while shaping colonies as cheap sources of raw materials and dumping grounds for finished goods.

Although the silk-weaving industry did not have a very complex industrial chain, taking it back would do no harm.

Anyway, maritime shipping was convenient now—if the daimyo wanted silk, they could just buy it from Lin Qian in the future.

As for what the unemployed Japanese handicraft workers should do?

Didn't the silver mines, copper mines, and sulfur mines lack manpower? Even if they did not lack it now, when trade expanded in the future and Lin Qian made large-scale purchases, they would certainly lack it! The development prospects of Japan's mining industry were extremely broad.

Exchanging minerals for silk—each side got what it needed.

This was the development blueprint Lin Qian had planned for Japan.

The direct and indirect gains achieved by this delivery voucher scheme could not have been accomplished even with an army of fifty thousand.

Even better, financial instruments like options, futures, and stocks could be used repeatedly.

The name "delivery voucher" had become notorious; after a few years, changing it to "exchange ticket" would still have plenty of people falling for it.

In November, the Tianyuan set sail with the Hirado merchant fleet and returned to Nan'ao.

That same month, Lin Qian's son was born, named Lin Shaoyuan.

The entire island of Nan'ao was immersed in a thick atmosphere of joy.

In this era, the significance of the eldest legitimate son was extremely great. That Ye Zhen could give birth to a boy truly resolved a worry that had weighed on many people's minds.

With this child, Lin Qian would have more confidence when he rose up in rebellion in the future.

Since Sun Chengzong retired from office, the situation in the realm had further deteriorated.

Yuan Keli was dismissed from office, and the Donglin Faction's "Six Gentlemen, Former and Latter"—twelve men in total—all died miserably in the Imperial Prison, shocking the entire world.

Across the realm's two capitals and thirteen provinces, except for Fujian, all vied to build living shrines for Wei Zhongxian.

Zhejiang alone, in the north, built as many as five new ones in half a year—simply appalling!

At the same time, major disasters struck frequently across all of North China. In the four prefectures of Zhending, Shunde, Baoding, and Hejian in North Zhili, droughts struck in spring, summer, and autumn in succession, with not a single grain harvested—famine victims numbered in the tens of thousands, covering the mountains and fields.

In summer, Hubei and other places were hit by hail, destroying crops and greatly reducing yields. In Henan and elsewhere, a black-gangrene disease appeared, causing people's hands and feet to turn black for unknown reasons, sparking great panic. Yunnan was struck by a catastrophic flood, with losses beyond counting.

In the remaining areas that did not suffer disasters, grain yields decreased to varying degrees, to the point that rising grain prices became a nationwide phenomenon.

At the same time, the imperial court had military campaigns in the northeast, southwest, and northwest.

Whether to provide disaster relief was left entirely to the conscience of local governors and grand coordinators—the court essentially washed its hands of the matter.

Even though Lin Qian did not believe in the theory of heavenly retribution, he could smell a thick portent of the end times.

Therefore, preparations for the uprising must be made now—if not to seize the realm, then at least to keep Fujian safe and stable.

Early December.

In the main hall of the Regional Commander's office, all of Lin Qian's senior leadership gathered in one place to discuss future financial, military, and political affairs.

He Sai said: "The silver the merchant fleet brought back directly from Hirado amounts to nine hundred thirty thousand taels. In addition, some goods are still piled up in the trading house, not yet sold. After these are gradually converted to cash, there should be another five hundred thousand taels or so."

Wang Hao took out the account book and said: "The current public account balance is over nine hundred eighty-three thousand taels. Of this, repayment of goods loans and reserving funds for future procurement requires three hundred fifty thousand taels, and reserve silver keeps two hundred thousand taels. The disposable cash silver is four hundred thirty thousand taels."

Zheng Zhilong stood up, walked to the folding screen at the entrance of the main hall, picked up a slender bamboo rod, and signaled the secretary to turn the pages.

Several densely filled tables appeared on the paper.

In the center was a pie chart.

Zheng Zhilong said: "According to the budget of the Administrative Affairs Hall, in the sixth year of Tianqi, the fiscal expenditure ratios are approximately as follows.

Military expenditure accounts for sixty percent, construction expenditure thirty percent, and internal affairs expenditure ten percent."

Under the three major expenditure categories, there were also detailed expenditures, each with precise line items and calculation processes.

For example, the construction expenditure included a complete list of artisan wages.

At present, under the entire Nan'ao government, there are a total of one thousand eight hundred seventy-one artisans of various kinds, with an average monthly wage of about 3 taels per month, making annual wage expenditure 67,000 taels. There are over five hundred sailors in the merchant fleet, with annual wage expenditure of 12,000 taels.

Internal affairs expenditure also covered clerk salaries and other costs.

At this time, Fang Ju said: "In the internal affairs expenditure, why is there an interest expenditure item—what is this?"

Wang Hao explained: "This is the Nan'ao bond—a short-term bond issued with Nan'ao's maritime trade revenue as collateral, with a term of half a year and a half-year interest rate of 1%, meaning investing one hundred yields one. The initial issuance amount is one hundred thousand taels."

This thing, plainly speaking, was essentially government debt.

It was just that Lin Qian hadn't rebelled yet, so it couldn't be called "national" debt, hence the name Nan'ao bonds.

Its greatest function was to raise funds for war.

Nan'ao Island's current fiscal revenue relied almost entirely on maritime trade, which was highly seasonal, fixed in amount, and exposed to the risk of storm damage.

The finances could be said to have almost no elasticity and very poor stability.

To cope with risks, a certain amount of silver had to be set aside as surplus, resulting in a waste of capital.

With government bonds, things were different—whenever finances fell short, financing could be raised to desperately pump blood into the war effort, then repaid during peacetime. The meager interest on government bonds was utterly negligible compared to the gains of victory.

If they lost, and the state perished, there would be no need to repay anyway.

If they lost but the government survived, new bonds could be issued to repay the old ones.

With government bonds, the government's fiscal elasticity would expand enormously—no matter what happened, there was no loss.

Nan'ao Island currently had stable trade profits, undefeated foreign wars, clean governance, and an army that did not harm the people in the slightest.

At the same time, they had anti-counterfeiting experience from issuing delivery vouchers in Hirado.

This basically satisfied all the prerequisites for issuing government bonds.

The only thing missing was establishing credibility—in plain words, how to make the common people believe the government would repay its debts.

As the saying goes, "Repay what you borrow, and borrowing again won't be hard."

Aside from letting merchants and commoners see with their own eyes that the government truly repaid, no other guarantees or collateral would work.

This was why bonds were being issued this year even though finances were sufficient.

On a deeper level, government bonds also had other functions such as promoting economic development, implementing macroeconomic regulation, and stabilizing the financial system.

These concepts were all quite abstract, and Lin Qian hadn't explained them to Wang Hao.

The single benefit of raising funds for war was enough to convince everyone.

Wang Hao taught what he had just learned, explaining at length to everyone before they understood the significance of the "Nan'ao bonds."

The bond proposal received a "pass."

Ma Chenglie then raised questions about the sixty percent "military expenditure."

Zheng Zhilong smiled and said, "A good question."

He then lightly tapped the wooden frame of the screen, the secretary turned the page, and the next page showed a denser, more detailed table.

The most conspicuous items were two new terms: the army and the navy.

The Great Ming military had no division between land and sea; the so-called naval forces were merely an extension of the army onto the water.

Fortunately, everyone present was a Ming subject, and by reading the words literally, they could understand the meaning of these two terms.

On the screen, the military expenditure ratio was itemized between the army and navy, each accounting for fifty percent.

Setting aside routine expenditures such as soldier pay, uniforms, weapons, and gunpowder.

Naval expenditure was mainly used for building and maintaining warships and port facilities.

While army expenditure was mainly used for recruiting soldiers, camp construction, and purchasing firearms and cannons.

This was the first time Lin Qian had allocated funds specifically to the army outside of regular military pay, and it was a lavish sum right from the start.

The marine corps Lin Qian had previously established was prepared for amphibious operations; its provisions, weapons, and supplies all depended on the navy, and it could not fight independently on land.

As the situation deteriorated rapidly and the Great Ming teetered on the brink of collapse, army construction had to be put on the agenda.

Fortunately, unlike the navy, an army could be formed very quickly—especially new-style units armed primarily with gunpowder weapons, which could be formed even faster.

Seeing the army expenditures, the people in the hall couldn't help but have their minds start working.

The Great Ming was a land power; no matter how formidable the navy became, it could never threaten imperial rule.

What Lin Qian intended to do could be said to be self-evident.

For a moment, the expressions on everyone's faces varied, and Lin Qian quietly took them all in.

Some looked calm, such as Scholar Zhou, Zheng Zhilong, and the Bai siblings—they either had long known of Lin Qian's plans or unconditionally supported Lin Qian as a person.

Others looked excited, such as Chen Jiao, Lei Sanxiang, Ma Chenglie, and Huang Hetai—these were supporters of the army plan, and Ma and Huang in particular could be said to be direct beneficiaries.

Still others looked worried, such as Zhou Qiyuan and some newly appointed officials in the central administration.

These people had just joined the faction not long ago and weren't yet prepared to walk the dark path to the very end. Lin Qian would keep a close watch on their subsequent movements. What gratified Lin Qian was that he saw no expressions of surprise or fear on anyone's face.

This showed that everyone had more or less guessed at this in their hearts—they all recognized that the Mandate of Heaven no longer rested with the Great Ming, and its allotted span was nearly spent.

The point of contention was when to rebel and who would rebel, not whether rebellion was justified.

This was very important.

Never mind that the common people of the realm privately cursed eight generations of Tianqi's ancestors.

But when it came to actually taking action, not one in ten would be willing to step forward.

The Nan'ao Times had been straining every effort, continuously propagandizing slogans, condemning the cruelty of the eunuch faction, and reporting on the court's maladministration—all to forge a consensus that the Great Ming's allotted span was nearly spent!

Raising troops couldn't be rushed; it had to proceed step by step. First settle the question of the route, and the question of methods could be studied later.

Today's fiscal meeting, though ostensibly convened to discuss finances, was in fact also a test.

It was making this whole dumpling feast just for that plate of vinegar.

Judging from the present results, the vinegar was fragrant, and the dumplings hadn't been wasted.

In a flash, the expressions on everyone's faces flickered past, and they all assumed poses of careful listening.

Zheng Zhilong continued explaining the composition of military expenditure: "... The guard station troops are rotten, the camp soldiers are hardly serviceable either, and only the elite troops have some combat power—though they too carry a strong flavor of military ruffianism.

Army construction will focus on recruiting local militia, with a planned recruitment of ten thousand men, at an annual cost of one hundred ninety-two thousand taels in soldier pay.

Seven thousand Portuguese muskets and thirty three-pounder cannons will be allocated, with a purchase cost of approximately forty thousand taels.

The remaining weapons, provisions, uniforms, tents, and such will cost approximately twenty thousand taels..."

Local militia and regular soldiers were not the same thing; Zheng Zhilong used this term to emphasize protecting the homeland and securing the people, softening the implication of rising up against authority.

At the same time, the total budget of 242,000 was only the baseline maintenance cost for peacetime, not including wartime transport, medical care, pensions, and other expenses. Once war formally broke out, the amount spent would likely double or even multiply several times over that figure.

Of course, once war began, Fujian's tax revenue would also be intercepted by Lin Qian, and the extra taxes collected could offset most of the expenses.

However, all of this was something that would only happen in the future; no one could say clearly right now when exactly they should make their move.

If one merely prepared for war endlessly, there would never come a day when preparations were truly complete.

At this moment, the people in the hall were still digesting the bombshell news of establishing a land army.

The finance meeting lasted until evening, finalizing the budget and confirming that the "Nan'ao Bonds" would be issued by the Civil Affairs Bureau in coordination with the Hu family of Chaozhou. "It's getting late. If there's nothing else, let's adjourn," Lin Qian said. "Lei Sanxiang, Ma Chenglie, Huang Hetai — the three of you stay behind. Big Brother, come with me."

With that, Lin Qian walked toward the study, and Chen Jiao, utterly bewildered, followed close behind.

The other three exchanged glances.

Ma Chenglie put on a smile and cupped his hands: "Third Master, do you know what business the helmsman has keeping us here?"

Lei Sanxiang spread his hands: "You ask me? Who do I ask?"

Inside the study, Lin Qian leaned back in his chair: "Sit."

Chen Jiao sat down on the sofa, looked around the study, and praised: "Helmsman, this room of yours — it's really well done!"

Lin Qian smiled: "Conditions on Dongning Island are harsh. I've put Big Brother through hardship."

Chen Jiao hastily waved his hands: "No, no, that's not what I meant."

Lin Qian said: "Big Brother, you went to Dongning Island in the fourth month of the second year of Tianqi. It's been three years and seven months since then."

"Is that so? Time really flies." Chen Jiao laughed it off.

"Back then I told Big Brother that once the situation on Dongning Island stabilized, you could return at any time. I never imagined it would drag on for so long." Lin Qian sat up straight as he spoke, and said solemnly: "Now that we're forming a land army, we're short a commander to lead the troops. I can't trust outsiders — this matter has to be handled by Big Brother. Come back!" A troubled expression appeared on Chen Jiao's face: "This... this..."

Lin Qian watched him quietly.

After a long while, Chen Jiao made up his mind and cupped his hands: "I will follow the helmsman's orders."

Lin Qian said: "Is there some difficulty?"

"No... it's just..."

Lin Qian said slowly: "Since we're brothers, everything can be discussed. If Big Brother has something to say, there's no harm in speaking frankly."

Chen Jiao gritted his teeth, stood up, and said: "Fine, I'll tell the truth. I... I and... that... the Si... Siraya tribe's that..." Lin Qian had long known that Chen Jiao had developed a secret relationship with a woman of the Mattau clan.

As early as when Bailangzai had reported to him, Lin Qian had noticed Chen Jiao's unusual behavior, and in subsequent meetings, Chen Jiao had deliberately or unintentionally spoken up for the Siraya people time and again.

Moreover, Lin Qian had his own channels of information on Dongning.

Such matters simply could not be hidden from Lin Qian.

Even without informants, one could tell just from Chen Jiao's clothing and demeanor — the fierce, killing aura of a sea bandit was gone, and he looked more and more like a farmer.

And from Chen Jiao's evasive attitude, it was clear that the person he had gotten involved with was, in all likelihood, an important figure of the Mattau clan.

Chen Jiao hemmed and hawed for a long while before finally saying: "It's that Xilin. It's been a long time already."

Lin Qian thought to himself, just as I suspected. Xilin was the Kuang-yi of the Mattau clan, a position of extremely high status, and the Mattau marriage customs required the husband to marry into the wife's family — she could never leave Mattau. This was precisely why Chen Jiao was unwilling to leave Dongning.

For Lin Qian, the union had both advantages and disadvantages.

The benefit was assimilating the Siraya people, facilitating future development.

The drawback was naturally that it would make Chen Jiao's roots on Dongning too deep, hard to control, and he could easily be influenced by Xilin into making decisions that benefited Mattau while harming Chikan.

So during this period, Lin Qian had been secretly observing him, including the recent transfer of Chen Jiao back to Fujian — all of it was a test.

It could be confirmed that Chen Jiao was still standing on Lin Qian's side for now. Aside from frequently visiting Mattau to see her, he had done nothing out of line — that was enough. The Great Ming was on the verge of collapse, and Lin Qian urgently needed Dongning as a supporting force. As for what happened ten or twenty years down the road, that could be considered then. So Lin Qian first pretended to be startled, then burst out laughing: "Hahaha... this is wonderful news! Why did Big Brother only mention it now? I thought some great disaster had befallen you!"

Lin Qian's reaction caught Chen Jiao off guard. He too knew that Xilin's identity was sensitive, which was why he had never told Lin Qian.

"When does Big Brother plan to hold the wedding banquet? When I got married, I remembered every bit of Big Brother's 'kindness.' You won't escape this time." Chen Jiao looked troubled: "Helmsman, you know the Siraya marriage customs — when they marry, they cannot take a wife."

Lin Qian said: "What's so hard about that? Follow Siraya customs for one ceremony and Han customs for another — hold one in Mattau and one in Nan'ao!"

"Ah?" Chen Jiao was stunned, then joy spread across his face: "This method... it actually seems like it could work!"

Lin Qian smiled: "Then it's settled! We won't bother with Siraya marriage customs, but not a single one of the Han Six Rites can be omitted!"

With that said, Lin Qian put his arm around Chen Jiao's shoulder and said: "This way, on the surface, she isn't exactly married to you. But in the eyes of the brothers, you've still taken a wife."

In truth, Lin Qian didn't care at all whether it was taking a wife or marrying into the bride's family.

It was just that the more he emphasized "taking a wife," the more Chen Jiao would remember his own identity and not let his allegiance shift over to the Siraya people.

Including Lin Qian deliberately having Chen Jiao hold the wedding banquet on Nan'ao Island — it was also so that he and his men would not forget that their roots lay on Nan'ao Island.

With this matter settled, Chen Jiao's knot of worry was untied, and his conversation became much more animated.

Lin Qian put his arm around his shoulder and walked out of the study, saying: "When I was going through the betrothal rites for my wedding, Ma Chenglie spent two hundred taels of silver to find a 'half-immortal' — glib of tongue, very efficacious. When the time comes in your proceedings, I'll invite him for you too. Don't worry, I'll cover the silver, brother..."

After a while, Chen Jiao appeared in the main hall with a face full of joy and said to the three waiting there: "The helmsman wants you to go over."

Lei Sanxiang stepped forward upon seeing this: "Big Brother, has something good happened?"

Chen Jiao smiled: "Whether you three have good news, I don't know. But my good news is coming soon. You'd better get going."

With that said, he hummed a little tune and walked off into the distance.

Lei Sanxiang scratched his head, feeling utterly baffled.

Shortly after, the three entered the study, and Lin Qian bade them sit.

At this moment, a large sand table had been set up in the center of the study.

The sand table was four meters long and three meters wide, depicting a complete map of Fujian Province at a scale of roughly 1:160,000, showing clearly the general trends of mountains and rivers as well as the major towns, passes, and ports.

Lin Qian said: "I've called you three here to discuss the defense of Fujian and the training of the new army.

Fujian has been known since ancient times as 'eight parts mountain, one part water, one part field.' Because of its high mountains and treacherous roads, with sparse population, it is called a place that military strategists do not contend for — precisely for this reason, it is extremely easy to defend and difficult to attack.

The mountain regions of Fujian as a whole are linked by four rivers: the Min River flowing through Fuzhou, the Jiulong River in Zhangzhou, the Jin River in Quanzhou, and the Han River in Chaozhou. My view is that troops should be stationed along the rivers for defense. What do you all think?"

The above passage represented the very limit of Lin Qian's knowledge of land warfare.

He was a sailing enthusiast, and by extension had some understanding of naval tactics.

But when it came to land combat, he was completely in the dark — he only knew that one should generally hold defensive positions at strategic points, but exactly where to defend, he had no idea.

Ma Chenglie clasped his hands and said, "What the helmsman says is most true, and I am deeply impressed."

"The most densely populated area in all of Fujian is Fuzhou. The Min River spreads in all directions, and its middle reaches are the most strategically perilous."

As Ma Chenglie spoke, he rose and pointed into the mountain valleys along the middle reaches of the Min River: "This place is Yanping Prefecture, Nanping County. Downstream it can control Fuzhou, upstream it can support Xianxia Pass — heavy troops should be stationed here."

"In years past, when Premier Wen escorted the Southern Song court to Fuzhou, it was precisely here that the Mongols held the choke point, preventing the Song army and people from breaking out."

"Going upstream from this place, Shaowu, Jianning, and Chong'an have all been entry routes into Fujian since ancient times, and should also be defended, with Nanping County coordinating troop and supply movements from the center."

"As for Quanzhou's Jin River, its upper reaches also connect to the Min River system, and can likewise be controlled from Nanping."

"Zhangzhou's Nine Dragons River — its upper reaches connect to the Sha River, which is also a tributary of the Min River's upper reaches, though it cannot be defended from Nanping."

"Therefore troops should be stationed here — Ninghua County in Tingzhou Prefecture. This place sits on the provincial border, at the foot of the mountains, and possesses both mountain and river defenses. Heavy troops should also be placed here to guard against enemies coming from Jiangxi."

What Ma Chenglie described was meant to guard against invaders from Jiangxi and Zhejiang — and exactly who was being guarded against, everyone understood without saying.

In Great Ming's Fujian, coastal defense was paramount, with heavy troops all deployed near the coastline — which was precisely why this defense conference was being held today.

What surprised Lin Qian considerably was that Ma Chenglie, a naval commander, could analyze land defense with such familiarity, displaying the bearing of a famed general. When this man had served as a general under the Great Ming, he had colluded with sea bandits, embezzled soldiers' pay, and padded the rolls with ghost soldiers — possessing not a shred of fighting capability, to the point that in the naval battle on the twenty-eighth of the twelfth month, he was nearly annihilated by Lin Qian.

Yet since coming under Lin Qian's command, verified by the Qingping Bureau, he had been diligent and conscientious — apart from loving to flatter and loving to take concubines, not a single fault could be found in him. The *Xunzi* says: "When mugwort grows amidst hemp, it stands straight without support; when white sand is mixed with mud, it turns black along with it."

Surely it was no different in this case.

Of course, given that Lin Qian's understanding of land warfare was not deep, he still needed to hear Huang Hetai's views.

Huang Hetai had long been unable to contain himself. Hearing Lin Qian's question, he stood, first affirming Ma Chenglie's opinion, then added: "There is also Changting County, the seat of Tingzhou Prefecture. This place is not an entry route into Fujian, yet it is still a strategic military point."

"From here, west one can attack Ganzhou in Jiangxi; south one can follow the Ting River and Han River downstream to strike directly at Chaozhou, opening the gateway to Guangdong."

Zhangzhou bordered Chaozhou closely, and Huang Hetai was well aware of Lin Qian's arrangements in Chaozhou, understanding that the place had long been regarded by Lin Qian as something already in his pocket — hence he offered this counsel.

To think that a whole province like Fujian, due to its rugged terrain, needed only a few passes defended to be completely secure — no wonder Zheng Zhilong had stubbornly held Fujian back then, unwilling to send troops out.

Lin Qian then asked Lei Sanxiang whether he had any views.

Lei Sanxiang waved his hand: "I've got no views, but I know that what Commander Ma and Garrison Commander Huang said is all correct — this is how the fighting ought to be done." Lin Qian said, "Good. Then from this day forth, Huang Hetai will concurrently serve as Garrison Commander of Tingzhou, defending Tingzhou Prefecture. Ma Chenglie will defend Nanping, Shaowu, Jianning, and other places. Select capable soldiers from the standard troops and camp soldiers, train them rigorously, and only then may they be deployed."

"Yes!" The two men, Ma and Huang, rose and clasped their fists.

Lin Qian picked up the bamboo rod and pointed at the sand table: "As for the new army, they will be stationed here!"

The three men looked toward the sand table, and their eyes immediately widened, their gazes growing several degrees more fervent.

Yahei

Pink Round

Pen