Chapter 396: Full Army Reorganization, Preparing for the Northern Tour

Under Lin Qian's watchful gaze, the Adventure disappeared beyond the Pearl River.

It was now mid-October of the third year of Zhongxuan. If all went smoothly, Zhong Aqi would reach London in July or August of the fourth year of Zhongxuan, then return to Guangzhou around October of the fifth year of Zhongxuan.

Lin Qian murmured inwardly, hoping everything would go smoothly.

Early the next morning, Lin Qian returned to Guangzhou harbor to see off another expedition fleet — this one heading east. At the dockside, Lin Qian instructed: "Your fleet will first put in at the Hirado trading post. Once the monsoon stabilizes, find an opportunity to sail east, holding your latitude at around forty degrees north.

This is not a one-shot venture. Don't rush, and don't be greedy — turn back whenever you've used up three-tenths of your supplies.

Little by little, year after year, you'll eventually open a route to the Americas."

What Lin Qian was describing was the route of the Manila galleons — something he'd learned from galleon sailors when he first arrived in Manila. Forty degrees north latitude, roughly between Honshu and Hokkaido, lies in the Northern Hemisphere's westerly wind belt; ships can ride the westerlies all the way to the American continent.

On the return voyage, they would take the northeast trade winds at lower latitudes back home.

But the journey was extremely dangerous — the Pacific stretched endlessly with almost no islands for reference, and the high latitudes brought drifting ice and other extreme weather, making it easy to lose one's bearings. That was why Lin Qian kept stressing the point.

When Daxia explored shipping routes, it could not treat people as expendable supplies; safety had to be ensured as much as possible.

Of course, in an extreme scenario, Daxia could attack Manila, capture galleon captains and navigators, torture them, and force the route out of them. But doing so would be tantamount to burning all bridges, cutting off the flow of silver from Manila entirely.

Unless absolutely necessary, it was better to explore the route on their own.

"Mm, Your Majesty, I've got it." Zheng Hongkui nodded. He was the man in charge of this eastward route exploration.

As the two spoke, they arrived at the docks, where five shark ships lay moored. Aboard them, the dark-red shield-and-halberd banners snapped in the wind.

The flagship of the five, the Fair Wind, had been fitted with watertight bulkheads on top of its original design, giving the ship both Western-style speed and navigational safety.

This was the exploration vessel Lin Qian had refitted for Zheng Hongkui.

But the refit had been an enormous undertaking — the deck and sterncastle had to be stripped, making it almost equivalent to rebuilding everything except the hull structure itself. That was why only the Fair Wind had been modified so far.

Zheng Zhilong's eyes held some worry as he spoke from the side: "You little brat, once you're at Hirado, don't you go playing hero. The sea is merciless—" Zheng Hongkui grumbled back: "Brother, I'm not a child anymore. I know what matters and what doesn't."

Zheng Zhilong's wife, Lady Li, said softly: "Third Brother is going to Hirado to take command and coordinate, not to sail the seas himself. What are you worrying about for nothing, saying such inauspicious things?"

Zheng Zhilong laughed: "True, true."

Zheng Hongkui glanced at the sky and said: "It's getting late. Your Majesty, Big Brother, Sister-in-law — I'm boarding!"

Lin Qian said: "Go on, then."

"Right away!" Zheng Hongkui acknowledged, boarded the Fair Wind, and directed the fleet to hoist sail and leave port, heading down the Pearl River.

And with that, the two great undertakings of exploring the eastern and western routes were set in motion. All that remained was to wait.

In the meantime, Daxia could consolidate Jiangnan and unify the north; once the sea routes were fully charted, it could turn to colonizing more distant continents. On the way back, Zheng Zhilong suddenly said: "Your Majesty, since we now have fleets exploring east and west, why not send another to search for the Northwest Passage?"

Lin Qian was pondering the northern tour to Nanjing and army reorganization; hearing this, he was somewhat surprised: "The Northwest Passage — how do you know about that?" Zheng Zhilong smiled slightly: "I spent five hundred silver dollars to buy the information from one of Victor's attendants."

Zheng Zhilong then recounted what he had bought — a tale so strange and fantastical it defied belief.

The so-called Northwest Passage was an imagined sea route that started from Europe, crossed the Arctic Ocean, passed through the Bering Strait, and reached Asia. Its theoretical distance was far shorter than going around South America or doubling the Cape of Good Hope.

Around the fifteenth century, the Ottomans, Spain, and Portugal rose to power and monopolized every sea and land route to Asia.

Latecomers to the Age of Exploration, like England, desperately wanted to develop the Northwest Passage.

From then to the present, Europeans had made nearly ten attempts to find the Northwest Passage — every one ending in heavy losses and failure.

And as surviving crewmen returned, the savage wilderness of the Arctic unfolded before people's eyes.

Tales of snowmen, the mystery of Captain Hudson's fate, fool's gold, the legend of the Strait of Anian — all manner of bizarre stories could be told without end... The English barbarians say that the far north is covered in solid ice and white snow, with half a year of daylight and half a year of darkness. There, they claim, live strange men a full zhang tall, covered in white fur, who dwell in ice houses and survive by drinking human blood...

They also say that within the endless ice there is a strait that runs straight through from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and that the strait's entrance shifts with the wind and snow, so that no chart can ever map it."

Lin Qian smiled: "Is that so?"

Zheng Zhilong said solemnly: "The English barbarians say it's real. Just over twenty years ago, an English captain named Hudson actually found this strait. But his crew, wanting to keep the secret for themselves, mutinied and set the Hudson fellow and his son adrift in an open boat.

That little boat has been trapped in the strait ever since — neither dying nor perishing, suffering the bitter cold for eternity.

In the blizzards, you can still hear the ghost of Captain Hudson whispering..."

The more Lin Qian heard, the more amused he grew — Zheng Zhilong sounded like a child who had just read a book of Unsolved Mysteries of the World.

Lin Qian had long since popularized for the people of Daxia the facts about the Earth, the North and South Poles, and polar day and night — Zheng Zhilong knew all of that too.

But knowing theory and believing wild tales were two different things. Even scientists could believe in God.

And it was precisely because there were people like Zheng Zhilong and Hudson who kept their curiosity about the world that the world could keep advancing.

So even though Lin Qian knew the Northwest Passage was a dead end, he was unwilling to burst Zheng Zhilong's bubble.

After talking for a long while, Zheng Zhilong asked: "Your Majesty, that Northwest Passage — and the waterway that shifts with the wind and snow, and the snowmen with white fur — are they real?"

Lin Qian thought for a moment, then said: "The world is vast. One must go see for oneself."

Later history had already proven that the Northwest Passage existed — but it was navigable for only about one month each year, had scientific value alone with no commercial worth, and crossing it was extremely dangerous.

Skirting the question of the Northwest Passage itself, Lin Qian said in a speculative tone: "The so-called snowmen are most likely a conflation of polar bears and the image of the local natives. Fool's gold is probably chalcopyrite — it looks just like gold, but it's worthless.

The Strait of Anian most likely doesn't exist. The glaciers of the Arctic Ocean drift and shift from time to time, which naturally creates the sight of waterways constantly changing." "I see." Zheng Zhilong listened, utterly entranced.

Lin Qian knew that these words meant little coming from his mouth. What the people of Daxia lacked was not answers, but the curiosity and courage to explore the unknown. Some detours simply cannot be avoided unless you bash your own head bloody against them.

All Lin Qian could do was provide a safety net for exploration, spell out the dangers clearly, and ensure that when Daxia's explorers set out, they carried the courage of "though ten thousand oppose me, I go forth" — not the recklessness of the ignorant who fear nothing.

That said, the Northwest Passage itself had little value — but the ice-sea navigation techniques, polar hydrographic surveying, cold-weather gear improvements, supply depot construction in the North Pacific, and resources like whale oil, seal pelts, and polar bear hides accumulated along the way were all extremely valuable — real, tangible gains in national strength. Looking further ahead, Daxia's current naval power depended heavily on court support.

If the importance of sea power hung only in the halls of government without taking root among the people, then once the sovereign changed and policy shifted, it would be all too easy to slide back onto the old path of sitting idle and consuming reserves, clinging to the inland.

And then all of Lin Qian's painstaking efforts would have been in vain.

So whether it was maritime trade, whaling, or exploring new routes, all of it was a means of embedding maritime interests into the people's livelihoods and social culture — getting more people to earn their living from the sea, nurturing a way of life and habits of behavior deeply bound to the ocean.

From that perspective, exploration itself was by no means a meaningless detour.

Thinking of this, Lin Qian said: "When you go to the Hirado trading port next year, pass a message to Zheng Hongkui — tell him to establish a supply depot at Ezo (Hokkaido). Also, on the northeastern coast of the Joseon kingdom, beyond its borders, there's a natural ice-free harbor called Haishenwai, or whatever other name it goes by — set up a supply depot there too, and stake our claim early."

"Is the place Your Majesty speaks of the one formerly under the jurisdiction of the Nurgan Regional Military Commission?"

"It should be."

Zheng Zhilong pondered for a moment, then said: "What Your Majesty refers to should be Yongming City of the former Yuan dynasty — it was the terminus of the Liaodong post road back then, responsible for keeping watch over the various Jurchen tribes of the Eastern Sea.

Later, when the Red Turban rebels rose at the end of the Yuan, the post road was cut off and the city was abandoned."

After the Nurgan Regional Military Commission set up several guard stations here, and after the Xuande Emperor abolished the commission, even the guard stations disappeared. Now it should be a stretch of wild, uncultivated land. Lin Qian said: "So there's such a history behind it. That works well too. From now on, when we speak of it, this harbor is also territory that has been ours since ancient times." Zheng Zhilong continued: "But I've read in books that Yongming City also freezes over, just with a shorter ice season. Indeed, believing everything in books is worse than having no books at all." Lin Qian said: "Perhaps I misspoke. Whether it freezes or not, one must see it with one's own eyes before making a judgment."

Before Lin Qian left Batavia, he had already assigned Bailangzai the task of exploring the Oceania shipping route. Now with Zhong Aqi and Zheng Hongkui's two expeditions added, the four cardinal directions of maritime exploration were now complete for Daxia.

As the two spoke, they had already walked near the Government Affairs Hall. From a distance, they could see the place was bustling with noise, with carriages, horses, and sedan chairs parked everywhere, and along the street were many stalls selling pastries and snacks.

At the entrance of the Government Affairs Hall, a squad of soldiers stood in a line on guard duty. Before the guards stood a great number of servants and steward-looking people, carrying large and small bundles as they waited, while others bore loads on shoulder poles.

The entire street was packed full.

Lin Qian hadn't been to the Government Affairs Hall in some time and had never seen such a spectacle. He asked repeatedly: "What's going on here?"

Zheng Zhilong sneered with contempt: "Just a bunch of vermin trying to curry favor and pull strings."

Lin Qian's mind stirred, and he quickly guessed the reason: "They're from Jiangnan?"

"Right. All mediocre officials from Zhejiang and Zhili."

Nearly all the prefectures and counties of Zhejiang and Zhili had surrendered with open gates. Under the prisoner policy, these people received lenient punishment, so very few Ming officials and gentry were executed.

But regardless, they could no longer serve as officials. Corrupt and incompetent officials were all dismissed from office.

Daxia promoted a batch of grassroots officials to fill the gaps. People like Gu Yanwu, Huang Zongxi, and Song Yingsheng were almost all promoted to the provincial level. This made the former Ming officials who had lost their positions frantic with anxiety, which was why they came to pull strings.

Those who came to the Government Affairs Hall to pull strings were only mid- and low-level officials. Anyone with slightly broader connections could find out where the Ye, Zheng, and Zhou residences were. In recent days, Daxia's high-ranking officials had been disturbed to the point of utter annoyance.

Seeing that Lin Qian seemed lost in thought, Zheng Zhilong took the opportunity to say: "Your Majesty, these vermin failing to obtain office is still a minor matter. But behind this lies the exemption of their original land properties, and it also affects the hearts of the Jiangnan scholarly community. This cannot be taken lightly—it is indeed somewhat thorny."

These old Jiangnan officials appeared corrupt and backward, but in truth they were also a massive power bloc that could sway the thoughts of the entire Jiangnan scholar-official class and literati. Reducing their exemptions could not be done without great care.

Coincidentally, there was a tea stall by the roadside. Lin Qian pulled Zheng Zhilong to sit down, ordered Wuyi pan-roasted green tea, and also ordered a serving of fried rice cakes as a tea snack. Watching the ugly spectacle of those seeking favors, they chatted over tea.

"According to legal principle, the Ming court's tax exemption was a limited exemption. For example, an eighth-rank capital official could be exempted from corvée on 2,700 mu of land. That is, the miscellaneous taxes corresponding to the land were exempted, but the main tax was not."

Zheng Zhilong took a fried rice cake from the tray. This thing was made of rice flour mixed with sugar and peanuts, then baked—dry, hard, crispy, with a rich sweet fragrance. It kept well and staved off hunger, a standard offering at tea stalls.

Zheng Zhilong broke the fried rice cake in half, found two clean tea bowls of different colors—one black and one white—and placed one half in the white bowl and one half in the black bowl. Zheng Zhilong then continued: "What's in the white bowl is the tax the gentry paid—at least they paid half."

"But the situation in Jiangnan is full exemption. Corvée can be exempted, and the land tax is also left unpaid and in arrears."

Having said this, Zheng Zhilong took the rice cake from the white bowl and returned it to the black bowl, equivalent to giving it back to the gentry—the court could levy nothing at all.

"Not only that, local squires everywhere use methods like fraudulent registration, voluntary dedication, and scattered allocation to exempt land that has no official status from taxes as well. This is called over-exemption."

Zheng Zhilong then took five more cakes from the tray at once and put them all into the black bowl. Now the white bowl and the tray were both empty, and the black bowl was so full it could barely hold more. "In our provinces of Fujian and Guangdong, through land surveys, we abolished over-exemption. But full exemption remained, because we lacked manpower, and many surrendered Ming officials have also taken office in Daxia."

Zheng Zhilong moved the cakes back to the tray, leaving only the original single cake in the black bowl.

"But now, these old Jiangnan officials have lost their official status, over-exemption has been abolished, and full exemption has been removed as well. This is equivalent to administering a harsh dose of medicine directly to a severely ill person—I fear it is not a good strategy."

"Their seeking office now is only the surface symptom. In the future, I'm afraid major disturbances will arise."

"This is the headache the Government Affairs Hall has been dealing with these past few days."

Lin Qian raised his tea and pondered. He knew that in history, the Manchu Qing solved this problem through violent suppression—for example, the Case of the Memorial on Tax Arrears and the Case of the Wailing at the Confucian Temple—which took effect extremely quickly.

But the aftereffects were also obvious: the literati became cynical, the sharp spirit of the common people was worn away completely, and merchants who made money only dared to buy land and property, with no one investing in industry anymore.

For a nation, high pressure and vitality were like the two ends of a seesaw—press down one end, and the other would inevitably rise high.

So Lin Qian leaned toward a gentler approach—institutional buffers, distinguishing severity, and avoiding a one-size-fits-all purge.

Make some gestures in terms of legitimacy to soothe people's hearts—for example, personally offering sacrifices at the Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum, first dissolving some of the Jiangnan literati's attachment to their fallen dynasty, and reducing the "grief of subjugation" felt by the gentry of Zhejiang and Zhili.

Lin Qian had been planning the mausoleum sacrifice for a long time. Even before the expedition to Batavia, he had already set the strategy of a northern tour to offer sacrifices at the mausoleum.

When Lin Qian had said back then that he would take the generals and soldiers to visit Xiaoling, this was what he meant.

And the most crucial thing about the mausoleum sacrifice was that the people must never be allowed to mistake Daxia for a continuation of the Ming dynasty, which would repeat the old pattern of indulging corrupt governance and exploiting the common people. Rather, it must be proclaimed to all under heaven that Daxia carried on the orthodox way of Chinese civilization, and that the uprising was originally meant to cleanse the accumulated ills of the late Ming and rescue the people from fire and water.

This was precisely the meaning of the saying: when a king reforms the system, he does not change the orthodox way.

And to make the scholarly community and the common people understand Lin Qian's intentions, it would depend on the sacrificial oration.

Thinking of this, Lin Qian looked up and asked: "How is the sacrificial oration coming along? Are all matters for the northern tour properly arranged?"

"The final draft was completed long ago!" Zheng Zhilong said excitedly. "Chief Editor Ye personally wrote it, and Grand Secretary Ye polished it word by word. The measure is grasped with extreme precision—it will surely match Your Majesty's intentions."

Lin Qian stood up and joked: "Good, then arrange the ships and let's set out as soon as possible. I've heard that the crabs of Yangcheng Lake have the saying 'September for round-shelled females, October for point-shelled males'—only in deep autumn are they full of roe and fat. If we go too late, we won't get to eat them."

Zheng Zhilong laughed: "Your servant has already ordered people to notify the relevant offices in advance. I guarantee that when Your Majesty arrives, you will be able to eat the fattest and most tender lake crabs." With that, the two finished their conversation. Zheng Zhilong returned to the Government Affairs Hall, while Lin Qian went to the General Staff Headquarters. Now that the Jiangnan campaign had come to a temporary close and the Huguang front was advancing steadily, the matter of military reform had been placed on the agenda.

For the past half month or so, the General Staff and the Army Ministry had been working together in combined offices. Both sides' personnel were frantically busy with reorganizing the troops and assigning military ranks and positions.

Inside the hall, over a dozen long tables were pushed together, with a sand table model of Huguang set upon them. Half the wall was covered with military maps, densely marked with red and black ink lines showing battlefronts and camps. Staff officers argued incessantly around the sand table and maps.

Clerks in the corridor hurried back and forth carrying document files, their footsteps quick.

In the inner room, the documents piled at the corner of the desk were taller than a person. Beside the inkstone sat half a plate of leftover fried rice cakes and cold tea.

The beacon signal station outside the General Staff operated from time to time, delivering the latest frontline battle reports.

Seeing Lin Qian arrive, Army Minister Song Danchu stepped forward and said: "We deliberated through the night and settled on three types of unit designation naming schemes. Please review them, Your Majesty." Lin Qian took the document and saw written on it designations like the 201st Brigade, the Capital Guard 1st Brigade, and the Xuzhou Capital Guard Brigade.

These were respectively three different new designation naming methods, used to rename units in imitation of the organizational structure of the 7th Division.

And according to Lin Qian's requirements, brigade-level units all needed independent designations. For example, if the 1st Division had a 1st Brigade, the 2nd Division could no longer use a designation like 1st Brigade.

This was because under the new army organization, brigade-level units already needed to independently take responsibility for campaigns in one direction, and independent designations facilitated unified command. But this created a new problem with designations: Daxia's army was divided into two types—field new armies and garrison forces—which respectively suited different operational missions. If numbers were used uniformly in sequence, then as the army expanded, organizational confusion would arise. For example, the 19th Brigade might be a garrison force while the 20th Brigade was a field army.

So Song Danchu designed three different methods to distinguish the two.

For instance, the 201st Brigade—designations after 200 were reserved for garrison forces.

Under the current organization, one infantry brigade had 6,200 men. Two hundred brigades would be over 1.2 million men. Even if the north and Liaodong were unified, mobilizing the entire nation's strength could not possibly produce that many field troops, so the designations were more than sufficient.

Song Danchu continued: "…The second method of designation naming is to add the words 'Capital Guard' before garrison forces, such as Capital Guard 1st Brigade. The Xuzhou Capital Guard Brigade abandons numerical designations entirely and is named after the garrison force's defense area. After all, garrison forces don't get redeployed frequently."

Each of these three naming methods had its own advantages and disadvantages. And since it involved the entire army, no one dared make a rash decision without Lin Qian's say-so. Lin Qian thought for a moment and said: "Let's use the third type of designation."

At present, Daxia's form of warfare had not yet advanced to the point where garrison forces needed to participate in mobile operations together with the field armies, so naming garrison forces by geographic location was the most intuitive. "Good!" Song Danchu acknowledged. He turned and fetched another document, presenting it with both hands. "Your Majesty, this is the latest complete army designation list." Lin Qian opened it and saw the document was written using the designations he had just chosen. He realized that documents for all three naming schemes must have been prepared in advance, waiting only for his decision.

Lin Qian praised him: "Thoughtful of you."

"It is merely this humble servant's duty."

Lin Qian looked at the document. The first page listed the field new army units. The original old 1st through 6th battalions had all been redesignated as the 1st through 6th brigades. The 7th Division's two infantry brigades were now the 7th and 8th brigades, and the 4,400-man mounted infantry brigade was designated Cavalry 1st Brigade.

Additionally, the 7th Division also had a division-level artillery regiment. Since the artillery branch temporarily had no brigade-level organization, regiment-level units also received independent designations—this one was called Artillery 1st Regiment.

Song Danchu said, "These nine brigades and one regiment constitute the entire field army establishment of the Great Xia land forces. At full strength they should number over fifty-five thousand men; currently we have around forty-eight thousand. In addition..."

Army Chief of Staff Xu Fengjie could not help interrupting, "Most of the shortfall comes from the expansion of the establishment—our combat losses are nowhere near that high." Song Danchu gave an awkward smile: "Correct, the Army Ministry has already begun recruiting."

He continued, gesturing at the map, "Following the principle of three brigades per division, the field army currently has three divisions. The former Seventh Division has been redesignated the Third Division, with General Zhang as its commander, currently stationed in Jiangzhe for rest and reorganization.

The Second Division commands the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Brigades, with General Qin as its commander, currently on the Sichuan-Hubei front line.

The First Division's commander has not yet been determined; it is temporarily held by Army Commander Lei, the Regional Commander. Its First Brigade is stationed in Jiangzhe, the Second Brigade is in Batavia, and the Third Brigade is also in the southwest, under General Qin's command."

This situation of the First Division being split across three locations is the very essence of the new establishment.

Because at the brigade level there is already a complete staff, logistics, and arms system, a brigade can independently undertake campaign tasks in one direction without relying on the division headquarters. When split for deployment, the command system need not be dismantled, and forces can be rapidly increased or decreased according to circumstances—dispatch is flexible.

Lin Qian turned to the next page, which laid out the garrison army's establishment. At a glance, the garrison army's establishment was far larger than the field army's—fully twenty-five brigades, with a total strength of one hundred fifty thousand men.

Among them, those guarding Guangdong included five garrisons—the Guangzhou Brigade, Shaozhou Brigade, Qiongzhou Brigade, Chaozhou Brigade, and Huizhou Brigade—totaling over thirty thousand men.

After all, this was where the Great Xia capital was located, and eastern Guangdong was close to the Northern Fleet's main base at Nan'ao Island, so the garrison forces were somewhat larger.

Additionally, among the garrison forces there was a unique designation called the Dongjiang Battalion, specially established for Mao Wenlong. The battalion comprised seven companies, with a total of over a thousand men—effectively a reinforced battalion.

Apart from Mao Wenlong's Dongjiang Battalion, most of the remaining garrison units were selected from surrendered Ming troops. Their treatment was inferior, and their equipment consisted of what the field army had left over.

The Foye Type 01 matchlock musket counted as good equipment for the garrison forces. Some newly formed garrison units were still in a state of zero firearms, still using broadswords and spears.

With the garrison forces' current combat power, they could handle local security and suppress small bands of bandits, but they would find it hard to win against local elites like the Zhejiang troops. If they faced Lu Xiangsheng's Tianxiong Army in open field combat, they would inevitably collapse at the first contact.

Ultimately, any nation of this era—including modern nations—had to build its military on the principle of "elites concentrated, garrison troops dispersed, cost-effectiveness prioritized."

Given the current pay and consumption levels of the Great Xia field army, forcibly raising two hundred thousand troops would be unsustainable even with Great Xia's national strength.

Of course, by the statistical standards of a feudal dynasty, Great Xia could now claim to have an army of two hundred thousand!

And if war broke out, counting the temporarily conscripted auxiliary troops and laborers, it could also claim to have a mighty host of five hundred thousand!

Seeing that Lin Qian was in a good mood, Song Danchu quickly offered his counsel: "Your Majesty, Jiangnan is prosperous and wealthy, and Huguang is the empire's granary. Once we have completely taken them, we can expand the new army further.

The Army Ministry plans to expand by another three to five brigades!"

Yahei

Yuan

Pen