Chapter 232: Striving for the Public Good, Fighting for the People

"Stop asking so many questions!" a Squad Leader barked. "Attention!"

Zhang Moye stood there, utterly bewildered.

Seeing this, the Squad Leader frowned deeply and asked, "Never trained before?"

Zhang Moye shook his head.

The new army placed the greatest emphasis on drill formation training. Tomorrow was the military academy's opening ceremony, and the Helmsman would personally preside over it. If their squad had some fool who couldn't even stand at attention or march in step, the embarrassment would be immense.

Every soldier in the squad, Squad Leader included, suddenly felt enormous pressure.

The Squad Leader said, "Damn it! All of you, nobody's sleeping tonight — we're drilling!"

"Yes, sir!" All the soldiers in the squad rose and answered in unison.

The next morning, Zhang Moye, who had been put through a night of intensive training, had finally managed to grasp the basics of formation drill. It wasn't exactly up to standard, but at least it wasn't a complete embarrassment. In the morning, at the sound of a whistle, all the military academy trainees assembled on the drill ground and stood in their squad formations.

The new army had inherited and innovated upon the Ming army's camp soldier military system.

One battalion was divided into several divisions, each commanded by a Battalion Commander; beneath the division were companies, each commanded by a Company Commander; below that were squads, whose commanding officer was called the Squad Captain, also known as the Squad Chief; one squad typically governed fifteen sections, each section about ten men, whose commanding officer was called the Section Leader or Squad Leader.

The new army primarily used the squad as its basic combat unit, so the squad was also called the squad formation.

The new army's current strength was approximately eight divisions, totaling over ten thousand men.

The military academy's trainee soldiers were also organized according to this military system, divided into twenty sections, totaling over two hundred men.

The soldiers were all promising talents from the new army's ranks, most of them selected from the twenty thousand men in recruit training.

Those serving as Section Leaders were veterans pulled from the front lines — all elite soldiers with solid military and political credentials.

Sun Yu served as Squad Captain of this trainee squad formation, while Lin Qian personally took the role of Academy Head, focusing on political work.

Zhang Moye glanced sideways with his peripheral vision — the entire squad formation's officers and men stood on the drill ground as straight as blades, truly motionless.

Sure enough, of everyone there, he was the only raw recruit.

After a moment's wait, a column of personal guards clad in cloth-faced iron armor filed out from the eastern side of the drill ground.

Someone in the formation muttered quietly: "The Helmsman! The Helmsman is here!"

"Shut up!" The Section Leader to whom he belonged hissed in a low voice.

Zhang Moye felt greatly relieved: "Seems these trainee soldiers aren't much better off than me after all."

After Lin Qian arrived, he first had Sun Yu address the troops, laying out military regulations and discipline.

After the lengthy explanation of military discipline concluded, it was Lin Qian's turn to take the stage. He took a tin megaphone, raised it to his lips, and said in a deep voice: "Those who teach, teach well. Those who learn, learn well. And damn it all, everyone do a good job!"

Hearing the Helmsman swear, the soldiers felt considerably more at ease.

Zhang Moye's squad was far from the reviewing stand, and despite the megaphone's amplification, he couldn't hear clearly — he only caught the soldiers in the front rows cheering wave after wave, the scene quite lively.

Finally, Lin Qian's single word "Dismissed" sent each squad falling back into formation and marching off, leaving Zhang Moye feeling rather lost and wistful.

No sooner had he returned to the barracks than a messenger came calling for men: "Squad Leader, report to the main building for a meeting this afternoon. Is that Zhang Moye in your squad?" "Yes, Zhang Moye!"

"Here!" Zhang Moye had been drilled all night, so he'd already remembered how to respond to roll call.

The messenger said, "He's to come along too."

With that, the messenger ran off to the next squad.

Today was the first day of school, and lunch was extremely lavish — there was fish and meat, every dish had oil and grease in it, and there was even a bowl of meat soup.

Food like this, Zhang Moye's family only got to eat during New Year.

But his mind was entirely occupied by the afternoon meeting, and he had no attention to spare for the quality of the food.

After finishing lunch, Zhang Moye followed his Section Leader to the main building, where the other squads gradually arrived as well.

Folding stools had been prepared in advance in the main building, and each squad sat down in order.

Zhang Moye swept his peripheral vision across the room and saw that over thirty people had come — presumably the Section Leaders of each squad, plus soldiers like him who had been individually summoned. After waiting about the time it takes to burn a stick of incense, Lin Qian entered from the door, and all thirty-plus officers and men rose to their feet in unison.

Lin Qian gestured for everyone to sit down, then said: "I've called you all here to discuss one question. I'd planned to cover it this morning, but the wind was strong on the drill ground, and I figured you wouldn't be able to hear clearly anyway.

So after this meeting concludes, you're to convey the issues discussed to the soldiers in your squads.

That question is: why do you become soldiers?"

Lin Qian paused for a moment, then had a guard bring over a folding stool and sat down among the crowd himself, then said: "All face me, form a circle. This isn't a lecture — speak freely, everyone. Sun Yu, you go first."

"Ah?" Sun Yu, who had been wearing a deeply solemn expression while standing behind Lin Qian, was suddenly called upon and looked utterly bewildered. He thought for a long while before saying: "Helmsman, I became a soldier to be loyal to the sovereign and love my country... it's that... to integrate into the collective..."

"Don't talk nonsense. Before you became a soldier, did you even know what 'collective' meant?" Lin Qian laughed and scolded.

"Heh heh." Sun Yu said with a cheeky grin, "Helmsman, to be honest, the reason I first joined the army was because the pay was good. The Nan'ao troops ate well, dressed warmly, wages were paid on time, guaranteed income whether in drought or flood. I..."

Lin Qian picked up: "Your first enlistment was in the marines, then you became a personal guard, and later you became a Battalion Commander of the first division of the first battalion. Have your wishes for joining the army been fulfilled? How much is your monthly pay now? Tell everyone."

"Reporting to the Helmsman: at the start it was one tael six mace per month, as a personal guard it was two taels five mace, as Battalion Commander... heh heh, ten taels a month. In all my years of service, I've never had a single copper coin deducted.

As for wearing warm clothes and eating one's fill, that goes without saying. When I first joined, I was small and skinny — now when I go back home, my neighbors don't even recognize me." Zhang Moye listened, his heart racing with longing. What did ten taels of silver a month even mean?

For top-grade pork from Fujian, ten taels of silver could buy five hundred catties — enough to eat meat at every meal with plenty left over!

It was almost equivalent to a minor landlord or a well-off merchant.

And a Battalion Commander was still in the military, where food, clothing, housing, and travel were all provided — those ten taels were pure profit.

If he could become an officer too... then his parents wouldn't have to farm anymore, or at least wouldn't have to farm so hard.

Lin Qian called on several more people, asking them to share their thoughts.

Everyone's reason for joining the army was the same — all for the military pay. After all, a soldier eats military grain and risks his life for his wages; it was only natural and proper.

What surprised Zhang Moye was that Lin Qian could almost name every single person present.

In the day he'd been in the squad, he'd only just managed to remember what his Section Leader was called.

"You're Zhang Moye, right?" Zhang Moye suddenly snapped back to attention and saw the Helmsman's piercing gaze fixed on him.

"Reporting to the Helmsman, student Zhang Moye!" He immediately stood up and answered.

Lin Qian waved his hand to signal him to sit down, then said with a kindly expression: "Why did you become a soldier?"

To be honest, Zhang Moye had been attracted by the generous terms Sun Yu had offered. But as for joining for military pay, for eating one's fill and wearing warm clothes — others had already said plenty on that before him. If he repeated it again, would it even mean anything?

Even when writing essays, one must avoid being formulaic—and speaking before the helmsman for the first time demanded even more care.

So Zhang Moye thought for a moment, then said: "Helmsman, my reasons may be rather long."

Lin Qian said happily: "No matter, please speak."

"My family is from Ninghua County, Fujian, just upstream of the Qingxi River.

That place has thin soil and many rocks, and crop yields are very poor. According to what the elders said, people could originally scrape by.

But ever since the Liaodong levy was collected, our family's days grew worse and worse. At some point, my family was also fraudulently registered for two mu of land by a great household. We appealed to the yamen many times, all without result.

When the Liaodong levy was first imposed, the County Magistrate personally promised it was only a temporary surtax, and would stop once the Liaodong matter was settled.

But it has been collected for nearly ten years without ever stopping—instead the Liaodong levy only grew heavier. I heard that some in the court were even discussing levying a suppression tax on top of it. Our family worked hard, and the clan fared no better. A snow in winter, a rain in autumn, a drought in summer—each could freeze, drown, or starve people to death. From childhood to now, I can no longer count how many of my uncles, aunts, and cousins were lost this way.

When I was ten, I had a playmate named Heizi. One day he was still in the river catching fish with me; the next day, his whole family had hanged themselves...

Sigh... I was too young then to understand. His family couldn't pay the Liaodong levy, so the tax collectors came to their door, carried off everything of value, and seized all their grain. The whole family was simply hounded to death...

I thought catching fish was play; for him, it was gathering food to save his family. Sigh... if only I had caught some fish for him back then..."

At this point in his account, Zhang Moye's eyes reddened.

The officers and soldiers sitting in a circle also hung their heads. Those present were basically all peasants and tenant farmers—all of bitter origins. Everyone felt the evil of the Liaodong levy deeply. Zhang Moye took a deep breath and continued: "Since I was small, I memorized poetry faster than other children, so the clan head decided to send me to study. If I could pass the examinations and become an official, we'd be exempt from taxes, and the whole clan would be saved.

Sigh... in the depths of winter, I sat indoors studying while my father and mother went to plow the fields. When they came back, their fingers were black with cold, and their bodies... were covered in bloody welts from being pulled along by the plow.

I was too stupid. After studying all these years, I couldn't even pass the xiucai examination...

I often asked myself: if studying is for becoming an official, and becoming an official is for private gain, then wouldn't the world grow worse the more scholars there are? Later, when the helmsman raised his army, everything suddenly improved. The helmsman abolished the Liaodong levy, eliminated the fraudulent land registrations, and did away with customary fees.

Our family's tax burden lightened by sixty percent at once. Even with me away from home, my parents could now live well—no more farming so bitterly, and no more fear of tax collectors coming to the door because we couldn't pay the Liaodong levy.

Only then did I understand a truth: to live a good life, one need not necessarily study and earn a title.

I joined the army precisely to drive out those corrupt officials, to break the dog claws of the Ming court, and make sure they can never come back!"

"Brother, well said! I feel the same!" No sooner had Zhang Moye finished than someone echoed.

In nearly everyone's eyes burned the same bone-deep hatred.

Following Zhang Moye's lead, the officers and soldiers vented their denunciations of the Ming government's various misdeeds.

Listening broadly, the officials' methods of pressing taxes and squeezing silver were simply endless in their variety. Coercion, detention, and manacling were the light stuff; outright robbery was the norm; flogging, imprisonment, and forced sale of farmland were also frequently employed.

After the officers and soldiers had spoken at length, burning with indignation,

Lin Qian summarized: "Everyone has said much, and said it well.

We joined the army precisely to drive out corrupt officials and let the common people live good lives.

You are no one's household retainers or private soldiers, no one's blades or tools. You were not established to fight for an officer's glory, to contend for power and profit, or to seize by force and guile.

Just now some soldiers said they joined for the military pay, or to become officers—that is fine, and it does not contradict our mission.

The New Army is a fair and just force. It does not practice favoritism or seniority-based promotion.

So long as you fight bravely and train hard, you will surely receive promotion and reward!

From now on, whoever feels wronged or treated unjustly should go to their officers, to their squad leaders or Battalion Commanders. If they cannot resolve it, come to me! A soldier's small matter is the army's great matter.

Some of you are already squad leaders, and some are still soldiers. But once you leave this school, you will become squad leaders, or even Company Commanders, Battalion Commanders, or roving commanders...

Remember these words today. When you return to your squads and companies, tell them to your soldiers as well. Pass on this spirit of 'striving for the public good, fighting for the people'!"

After the meeting dispersed, Zhang Moye's heart could not settle for a long time.

He no longer knew how to describe what he felt. In the storybooks and storyteller tales of the past, discussions of why soldiers fought always revolved around the two words "loyalty and righteousness"—expanded further, "loyalty to the sovereign, love for the state."

This ideal was, of course, unassailable when a wise ruler sat the throne.

But in such troubled times, with homelands ravaged into ruin by the Liaodong levy, why did soldiers fight?

Perhaps there was neither loyalty nor righteousness left—only profit standing foremost.

Now, the helmsman's words had opened Zhang Moye's mind. "Striving for the public good, fighting for the people" was precisely the best annotation for the New Army. When the helmsman spoke, his countenance was gentle and kind, yet in his words Zhang Moye could clearly feel a surging power.

Just as he was pondering those thunderous, ear-splitting words,

he heard the squad leader say: "... In any case, what the helmsman meant was... forget it. Zhang Moye!"

"Here!" Zhang Moye snapped back to attention and answered.

The squad leader said: "You've studied books—you explain it. Tell everyone what the helmsman said."

"Yes!" Zhang Moye thought for a moment, then began from the start.

The next day, the military academy formally began training. The curriculum included basic mathematics, geography, artillery, infantry, cold weapons, drill formation, and more. It also included physical training, newspaper reading sessions, and military song practice.

The intensity of the training left Zhang Moye utterly astounded.

On the very first morning, for instance, they directly ran three li as a warm-up. Though Zhang Moye came from a farming family, he had spent years at home studying and was thin and weak. After running three li, he could not straighten his back, and his chest ached as if pricked by needles.

The military academy ran every day at the start of the mao hour, through wind and rain without exception, and the running distance increased day by day. In time, the surrounding farmers used the academy's morning run to tell time.

The training was so intense that not only could Zhang Moye not bear it—even some veteran soldiers complained bitterly.

In the words of Company Commander Sun Yu, who was also the chief instructor: "What is reasonable is called training; what is unreasonable is called tempering."

"To forge iron, one must be strong oneself. If you lack even this much ability, how can you lead troops once you leave this school?"

There were also slogans such as:

"Sweat more in peacetime, bleed less in wartime!"

"One cowardly soldier makes a cowardly squad; one cowardly general makes a cowardly army!"

"You may lose skin and flesh, but never fall behind; you may bleed and sweat, but never shed tears!"

Slogans of this sort were soon plastered all over the academy grounds.

Zhang Moye racked his brains but could not figure out how in the hell anyone had come up with these catchy, simple, and deeply stirring slogans. Yet whenever he was about to die from exhaustion, thinking of these damned slogans somehow lent him a few more ounces of strength.

Aside from the academic and physical training, the food at the academy was also first-rate.

Every meal came standard with one meat dish and one vegetable dish, with staple food in unlimited supply—eat until full.

The soldiers all came from farming families and naturally had large appetites, and the daily training consumed even more energy.

Every mealtime, they all wolfed down food like bottomless rice buckets.

Watching them, Zhang Moye couldn't help but worry about military provisions.

At the same time the army cadets were drilling every morning.

The naval department, unwilling to be outdone, also established a school in Shen'ao Bay, named the "Nan'ao Naval Academy."

Compared to the army military academy, the naval academy lacked the word "officer" in its name.

That was because the naval academy mainly trained technical specialists.

Sailing a ship at sea was far harder than the army's whistle-blowing, march-in-step drills.

On the Zhulong alone, there were over a hundred kinds of rope knots.

Weather, tides, ocean currents, reefs, islands—all of it was required study. As a technical specialist, managing one's own post well was no easy feat; becoming a helmsman or ship captain without a dozen or more years of experience was basically impossible.

Due to the differences between navy and army, the naval academy's academic system, enrollment numbers, and other matters also differed from the army's.

Although Lin Qian also served as headmaster of the naval academy, the focus of his political work differed from the army's as well.

His speeches centered on the international situation, emphasizing the suffering endured by the Ming Empire's overseas compatriots.

For instance, in the thirty-first year of Wanli, the Spanish massacre of Han Chinese on Luzon.

Another example: the Dutch exploitation and enslavement of Han Chinese laborers in Batavia.

And yet another: in the region of Water Chenla, where the law of the jungle prevailed, and Han immigrants struggled to survive under the bullying and killing of pirates and river bandits.

He concluded with his viewpoint: the mission of the Nan'ao Navy was to use ships as spears, guarding overseas Chinese subjects.

He wanted to make it crystal clear to the world that the era of treating Chinese as soft persimmons to be squeezed and oppressed at will was gone forever.

From now on, whoever dared to lay a single finger on overseas Chinese would await the fleet's cannons plowing their land!

Lin Qian delivered this overbearing declaration at the Shen'ao Harbor docks, with the Zhulong, Tianyuan, and Zheng He as his backdrop.

The three ships' intricate and ornate sterncastle decorations, their massive city-wall-like hulls, their dense rows of gunports, and the tall, upright naval soldiers along the rails—all of it deeply awed the cadets!

Newspaper reporters published this "Naval Spear Doctrine" speech in full in the October issue of the Nan'ao Times.

At Lin Qian's direction, several eagle ships carried that issue's newspapers to Manila and Water Chenla respectively.

That same month, the Nan'ao Navy began frequent voyages and deployments.

Half a month later, in the meeting room of the Governor-General's Palace in Manila on Luzon, the atmosphere was gloomy.

The new Governor-General, Pablo, sat at one end of the long table holding a glass of red wine.

Seated on both sides were Manila's military and political dignitaries—the royal auditor, the garrison commander, the fleet commander, the city council president, the Chinese capitan, and others.

Several Great Ming maritime merchants who had been "invited" stood in the corner, heads bowed, bodies hunched, expressions fearful.

A copy of the Nan'ao Times lay on the table.

Besides Lin Qian's "Naval Spear Doctrine," the paper also reported on the "River of Gold" expedition's story, as well as the atrocities and downfall of the "Formosa Expeditionary Force."

Everyone present had a Spanish translation of the newspaper before them.

"Gentlemen, share your thoughts." The Governor-General Pablo's voice was somber.

The fleet commander steeled himself and said: "This must be false! Slander! The expeditionary force merely lost contact with Manila temporarily while avoiding a typhoon! With the naval strength of the Shengli people, they could never match the Spanish Navy! Don't forget, the Butcher of Havana was also with the expeditionary force!

We have three galleon warships—the Shengli people? Hah, what do they have?"

Pablo set down his glass, picked up the newspaper, and frowned deeply: "If it were slander, how would the Shengli people know so precisely the firepower and crew configurations of each Spanish warship, the names of the commodores and expedition members?"

"Er..." The fleet commander forced himself to bluster, "Perhaps there's a traitor within our ranks..."

The garrison commander waved his hand and shouted: "For God's sake, stop fooling yourself!"

His finger tapped on the newspaper: "Look at this! The number and models of cannons on the San Felipe!

Even that Butcher of Havana might not know this well! Surely the commodore himself hasn't betrayed the King?"

The fleet commander looked as if someone had stuffed an egg down his throat—his face flushed bright red, and he was left speechless.

The Governor-General asked the Chinese capitan: "Zhao, does this so-called helmsman truly possess such a powerful fleet?"

The capitan gestured for the three merchants in the corner to answer.

These three merchants were traders from Yuegang, whose routes regularly passed by Nan'ao Island.

One of them gathered his courage and said: "Many people have seen the Tianyuan, but the Zhulong... no one has seen it.

I've heard people say that ship is so large you can't see its bow or stern from the other, and one salvo can turn night into day. Others say the ship is the Third Dragon Prince transformed." "Ignorant Shengli people!" the garrison commander roared.

Another merchant said in a low voice: "It's all true!"

"Louder!" the capitan commanded.

The merchant said: "The Zhulong is real. I saw it when I went to sea—it was accompanied by an entire fleet of over thirty ships, of which nearly seven or eight were decked vessels!"

The atmosphere in the meeting room instantly grew tense.

Pablo asked: "This fleet—which direction did they sail?"

"Southward, toward the open sea."

Everyone's expressions turned fearful.

The fleet commander said: "Who told you to say this?"

The merchant argued: "It's all true. We were all on the route to the South Seas—mine wasn't the only ship that saw them."

So saying, was all of this real?

The Formosa Expeditionary Force had truly been annihilated by the helmsman, and the San Felipe had been captured on the spot!

Manila had lost three main warships in one blow, plus seasoned captains, sailors, and loyal mercenaries.

This was the most devastating defeat for the Governor-General's Palace since the Spanish established the Manila colony in 1571—a great humiliation for the proud Spanish Navy!

Pablo's predecessor, Alonso, had already suffered what was considered the worst failure since the palace's founding, when a galleon was hijacked right under his nose.

Although Alonso sold off his family estates and fiefs to barely compensate for the losses, he was reduced to a laughingstock in Madrid.

Who would have thought that after Pablo took office, in just three short years, he would break the record for failure!

Even his predecessor could buy his freedom with property—was he not going to be locked straight in prison until he died of old age?

Just as Pablo was at a loss, the sound of a bell rang out from deep within the city.

Pablo's hair stood on end in an instant.

Then another bell tolled, this time closer, its frequency more urgent.

Hasty footsteps sounded outside the meeting room, and a soldier, too rushed to knock, shoved the door open and barged in, speaking at a breakneck pace: "Your Excellency, they... they're here!"

There was no need to say who "they" were.

Because from the bay, thunder had already come rolling in.

It was a sound the Spaniards knew all too well—the roaring roar of a broadside volley from bronze ship cannons.

Yahei

Fenyuan

Pen