Chapter 157: 155【Northern Expansion?】(For the Alliance Leader

Li Banghua did not attend the trial to observe; he had long guessed the outcome.

The Great Ming Code, the Grand Pronouncements of Ming — all of that was nonsense. The real purpose was to lay down the gauntlet before the gentry.

Wang Yuanlu was originally meant to be held up as a gentry paragon, but now he has become the very model of suppression!

Drafting a legal code is a matter of extreme rigor; the Great Ming Code underwent thirty years of revision and adjustment before taking final form. Zhao Han cannot establish his own laws for the time being. Throwing together a makeshift code would only invite trouble, and copying the old one verbatim would make him a laughingstock.

The Manchu Qing did exactly this sort of thing — after rising in rebellion, they insisted on inventing a Manchu script from scratch.

So they had two so-called learned scholars model a Manchu script on the Mongol script. Before the Qing armies had even crossed into the pass, the Manchu script was already dead in all but name. After they entered the pass, it became even more farcical: many things in the cities, and many official posts in the court, simply could not be expressed in Manchu.

Even some Qing imperial edicts, written in three scripts — Chinese, Manchu, and Mongol — had no issues in the Chinese and Mongol versions, but the Manchu text alone was frequently riddled with ambiguity.

At least until Zhao Han holds half the realm, he must use the Great Ming Code to govern the people, at most making additions and deletions on that foundation.

The gentry dispersed one after another, each harboring their own secret schemes.

Some felt Zhao Han could succeed. Though deeply dissatisfied with his methods, they saw in him the bearing of a hegemonic ruler. So they ordered all the scholars of their clans to come out of retirement, to endure humiliation and take up low official posts, even trying to join the propaganda corps.

With this type of gentry, the harder your grip, the more they submit, and the more they believe you can seize the realm.

Others felt Zhao Han was acting perversely and began to mull escape plans, slowly moving their family wealth and grain away, then fleeing with their entire households to the Nanchang area. To outsiders, they would claim they had never followed the rebels, only lain low for a time, and had now finally escaped the rebel den.

Zhao Han had been deliberately vague before, but today he spoke openly, and the gentry, in turn, made up their minds to pick a side.

For word had come from the north: the ancestral tombs of the old Zhu clan had been dug up, and the dragon veins of the Great Ming had been destroyed by the roving bandits!

Now, not only the high officials of the court but even the local gentry knew the Great Ming's days were numbered. Of course, they did not think the Tartars could succeed; they all felt it must be some rebel force that would reshape the realm.

The destruction of the Fengyang imperial tombs dealt a blow to the Great Ming's prestige that even surpassed the siege of Beijing.

Zhao Han ordered the clerks to copy out the day's trial proceedings and distribute them to the officials of the three counties, instructing them to try cases according to this model.

Fei Yinggong was just about to go meet Zhao Han when Song Yingxing stepped forward, cupped his hands, and said, "The General-in-Chief conducts affairs with considerable method. I am willing to follow him."

"With your aid, sir, the great endeavor can be accomplished," Zhao Han said, greatly pleased.

A man of understanding like Song Yingxing truly needed no lengthy persuasion; letting him observe the administration for himself was enough. The essays he had written pointed out all the critical problems of the Great Ming, and Zhao Han's governance was precisely aimed at solving those problems!

It could be said they hit it off instantly.

Historically, after serving as an instructor for a few years, Song Yingxing's family paid for him to obtain the post of prefectural judge, a rank of principal eighth grade. He held it for only two years before resigning and returning home. Later, he was recommended for the post of Prefect; not only did he not engage in corruption, he even donated his own money to restore the prefectural offices and repair the academy, then resigned again after half a year. The Southern Ming rump court summoned him, and Song Yingxing simply declined and refused to go.

Song Yingxing had already despaired of the Great Ming, because he saw through it all too clearly, and had utterly lost any inclination to serve as an official.

What Zhao Han was doing, which others saw as perverse, Song Yingxing saw as capable of righting the world. In his essay on wealth, he repeatedly used terms like "exploitation" and "fleecing," expressing deep loathing for how the great households preyed upon the common people.

Zhao Han was doing what he had not dared to do — what he had not even dared to imagine!

Zhao Han drew Song Yingxing aside for a private word: "You know the methods of casting firearms and the methods of making gunpowder. Could you cast matchlock muskets for me?"

Song Yingxing cupped his hands and said, "Please send troops north, and swiftly seize the two counties of Fenyi and Xinyu."

"We will send troops after the spring planting," Zhao Han readily agreed.

This sounded absurd. Zhao Han had just withdrawn his troops from that area during the New Year, and now he was going to attack again?

But if he wanted to manufacture firearms, he had no choice but to send troops!

Zhu Yuanzhang established thirteen ironworks across the realm. Of these, one was in Xinyu and one in Fenyi — both neighbors of Zhao Han.

The combined iron output of these two counties accounted for one-fifth of the entire realm's total production during Zhu Yuanzhang's reign! (Data from the sixth year of Hongwu.)

The reason Tian Younian had the funds to train troops, aside from squeezing the landlords, was precisely the iron revenue from Fenyi County.

The Ming dynasty permitted private iron mining. The government-run ironworks in Fenyi and Xinyu counties had long been dead in all but name; they were now all private iron foundries. A Prefect had many ways to extract money from them — it was merely a matter of offending the gentry who controlled the iron mines.

"Mr. Zhao, long time no see!" Fei Yinggong cupped his fist in greeting, grinning and winking.

Zhao Han laughed too. "So it's Fourth Uncle. Let's cross the river first; we can talk tonight."

Returning to the Regional Commander's residence, Fei Yinggong and his daughter were settled in the inner courtyard, with Fei Rulan coming forward to receive them.

Zhao Han immediately sent men to summon Pang Chunlai, Li Banghua, Fei Ruhe, and Tian Younian for a council.

Zhao Han made the introduction: "This is Mu Geng. He excels at manufacturing firearms."

Mu Geng was Song Yingxing's alias. The Song family was a great clan in Jiangxi, and he dared not reveal his true identity lightly.

Li Banghua's face lit up with joy. "Does he know how to cast Folangji cannons?"

"I have a passing knowledge," Song Yingxing replied.

Zhao Han said, "I intend to send troops to seize Fenyi and Xinyu counties, and take the iron mines and foundries there."

"This is an inevitable step," Li Banghua said. "Firearms are devastatingly effective and must be manufactured as soon as possible."

Tian Younian said, "If we take Fenyi and Xinyu, we must also take Zhangshu Town!"

Li Banghua nodded. "Zhangshu Town must be taken, or we will be hard-pressed to resist a punitive expedition by government troops."

Zhangshu Town was not only the distribution hub for medicinal herbs in the south, but also a critically strategic location.

When government troops came from the north, after reaching Zhangshu Town, they could travel west along the Yuan River to Xinyu, Fenyi, and Yichun, or south along the Gan River straight to Jishui and Luling.

As long as Zhangshu Town was held, the water route south would be completely blocked.

Government troops would then have to choose between attacking Zhangshu Town or switching to overland routes. And marching overland in Jiangxi made logistics and supply a nightmare; Zhao Han's several lightning raids had all dispensed with supply trains.

Pang Chunlai spoke up: "Our original plan was to first take Taihe County and Wan'an County to the south. Now you want to campaign north again. Aren't you afraid of expanding too fast and too far?"

Li Banghua said, "I understand Brother Pang's concern, but whether we go south or north, we can seize critical strategic ground. We rose in rebellion; we must first secure our military position before we can properly set our internal affairs in order."

"I support taking Fenyi and Xinyu counties first," Tian Younian said. "Not only can we seize the mines for forging weapons, we can also increase tax revenue. Taking Zhangshu Town in particular would be a gold mine — medicinal herbs from several provinces are distributed from there!"

Pang Chunlai closed his eyes and said nothing. He had been the most impatient for rebellion, but now, instead, he had become the voice of caution.

Zhao Han then summoned Chen Maosheng, Fei Chun, and Xiao Huan to hear their opinions.

Chen Maosheng said, "If we are to expand, we can transfer propaganda officers and peasant association cadres to the newly expanded territories to take charge of administration. Many among them are literate. Some impoverished scholars can be assigned as assistant administrators and clerks; their enthusiasm for work is also very high. Or rather, many impoverished scholars want to work, but we currently cannot find suitable posts for them. Expanding our territory will allow us to place them."

"And you, Daliang?" Zhao Han asked.

Xiao Huan replied, "We can establish branch offices of the anti-corruption commission in Zhangshu Town, Xinyu County, and Fenyi County. I will transfer some personnel over."

Fei Chun suddenly spoke: "Taking Zhangshu Town would be good for another reason — we are nearly out of salt."

"Out of salt?" Zhao Han's brow furrowed deeply.

"I only just received this news myself, and haven't had time to report it yet," Fei Chun said. "The Governor-General of Liangguang has banned Guangdong salt from going north, and sealed off the river routes north. If Guangdong salt wants to reach Jiangxi, it must go overland, crossing mountains and ridges. The price of salt could be more than triple what it was before, and even then we won't be able to buy as much."

Li Banghua sighed and said, "Shen Youlong's move is vicious. His post as Governor-General of Liangguang won't last long."

Why won't it last long?

Cutting off a man's road to wealth is like killing his parents. The Guangdong salt merchants probably want to tear Shen Youlong apart with their teeth.

Under the Ming salt administration, a system of regional monopoly sales was enforced. Jiangxi and Huguang were both restricted to buying Huai salt. But the southern regions of both provinces were too far from the Lianghuai salt-producing areas, so in the mid-Ming an adjustment was made.

Take Jiangxi, for example. The three prefectures of Ji'an, Nan'an, and Ganzhou all switched to purchasing Guangdong salt.

But now, these three prefectures are crawling with rebels. The Governor-General of Liangguang has simply cut off the salt route, hoping to make it so the rebels can't afford salt.

Zhao Han shook his head with a wry smile. "If he does this, life for the common people of southern Jiangxi will only get harder. I'm afraid even more will rise up in revolt."

"Shen Youlong is mainly targeting us," Pang Chunlai said. "The two prefectures of Ganzhou and Nan'an are close to Guangdong. Some smuggled salt will certainly be transported by water routes in secret — the Governor-General can't completely stop that. But the volume of salt sold will drop drastically, and by the time it reaches us in Ji'an, the price could easily triple or quintuple."

Fei Chun said, "So I also recommend we strike north. Use the commercial tax revenue from Zhangshu Town, plus the iron-smelting income from Xinyu and Fenyi counties, to earn more silver. Then use that silver to subsidize the salt merchants of Ji'an Prefecture, and compel them to buy Huai salt and sell it at fair prices."

Zhao Han thought it over carefully, then said, "Recruit more impoverished scholars to come to White Egret Isle to attend the Great Unity lectures. I'll go in person and teach them for a few days."

The current body of Great Unity thought and teaching materials included excerpts from the Great Unity Society Charter, and Ouyang Zheng and Wang Tiaoding's On the Great Unity Land Distribution. The rest consisted of the Essentials of Land Administration, compiled by Chen Maosheng leading the propaganda corps, along with various propaganda slogans aimed at the peasantry.

Zhao Han had also been writing an essay recently, cutting and revising — he'd been at it for two months already.

"How is Mr. Li's military administration coming along?" Zhao Han suddenly asked.

Li Banghua produced a set of regulations and said, "Three thousand regular troops, all full-time. Select able-bodied young men for training, with a monthly ration of eight dou. For the disbursement of grain and pay, and the supply of weapons and uniforms, a separate bureau should be established. Our boats are currently insufficient, so we can have the naval forces assist with transport. The duties of the officer who trains the troops and the officer who leads them in the field must be separated. The training officer may be allowed to lead the troops, but the Regional Command headquarters has the authority to reassign them at any time. We must not let the army become the private soldiers of its commanders."

Zhao Han took out paper and brush and did some calculations of his own.

Three thousand regular troops, at eight dou of pay per month — that comes to over two thousand tons of military grain a year.

And that doesn't even count the peasant soldiers. When the peasant soldiers muster for training, we have to provide their meals, and if they go to war, they must be paid as well.

On top of that, there's the naval force, weapons and uniforms, the soldiers' daily rations — all sorts of expenses, and not small ones.

Without harming the people's livelihoods, three counties can barely support three thousand regular troops. We must expand. Moreover, Taihe and Wan'an to the south are too poor. We have to take Zhangshu Town, Xinyu County, and Fenyi County.

Zhao Han would like to take it slow, too, but survival demands otherwise. We must train regular troops. Relying solely on peasant soldiers has no future.

If we train a firearms unit, the expense will be even more terrifying.

To be honest, for a rebel, Zhao Han has expanded quite slowly.

He Zhiyuan in southern Jiangxi already holds the two counties of Ruijin and Huichang, and styles himself the "Southern Heavenly King."

The rebel to the west — his real name is unknown, only that he was a head tenant who rose up — seized the three counties of Pingxiang, Yongxin, and Yichun in just two and a half months. His bandit title is "King Who Sweeps the Earth."

He really is called the "King Who Sweeps the Earth" — meaning he sweeps away the landlords.

This King Who Sweeps the Earth holds three counties, and Zhao Han also holds three counties. He feels they are on equal footing, and is sending a messenger to Ji'an Prefecture, wanting to swear brotherhood with Zhao Han and resist the government troops together.

A few days later, Zhao Han received a letter, written personally by the King Who Sweeps the Earth.

Ignoring the misspelled characters, the letter read: "Greetings to Brother Zhao. I am the King Who Sweeps the Earth of Pingxiang. I have long heard of your great name, Brother, and wish to swear an oath of brotherhood. The officials are without principle. Let us two brothers join forces to fight the government troops. When we win the realm in the days to come, one of us will be Emperor in Beijing, and the other Emperor in Nanjing. Would that not be splendid?"

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(End of chapter)