Chapter 162: 160: Suppressing Bandits, Scraping Up Cash

Nanchang Guard, the parade ground.

Jiangxi Regional Commander Li Ruolian reviewed the troops and suddenly drew his sword, shouting: "The Luling rebel Zhao, having stolen prefectural cities, burns, kills, plunders, and loots — there is no evil he has not done. Now, bearing the imperial mandate, we go to chastise him. With all you gentlemen lending your strength, we shall surely report a swift victory to the capital! Move out — we march!"

Li Ruolian was sixty-nine this year; historically, when he led the Embroidered Uniform Guard and died defending the gates of Beijing for his country, he was seventy-eight.

Had he not been the eldest son of a military household, bound by regulation to inherit the military post, he would certainly have sat for the civil jinshi examinations, not this damned military jinshi. His younger brother Li Ruogui was a civil jinshi, who served as Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice during the Tianqi reign and resigned because he could not tolerate Wei Zhongxian.

Incidentally, his younger brother Li Ruogui was rumored to have held the young Tianqi Emperor in his arms; after Zhu Youjian ascended the throne, he bestowed the nickname "Old Li of the Golden Arm."

In the case of Yuan Chonghuan's treason, Li Ruolian was the presiding judge.

Li Ruolian uncovered no irregularities; the Chongzhen Emperor was displeased and had his superior Liu Qiao try the case, and Liu Qiao indeed found evidence of Yuan Chonghuan's treason.

For this, Li Ruolian was demoted two grades; it took him several years of struggle to slowly rise again, and now he had finally been tossed out by Chongzhen to serve as Jiangxi Regional Commander.

By mid-May, the winter wheat had already begun to be harvested.

"Do not trample the crops!" That was the first order Li Ruolian gave.

The brothers Li Ruolian and Li Ruogui were both renowned incorruptible officials. That said, the capital for being incorruptible officials was a well-off family background — who knows how much military land their ancestors had seized. Before his younger brother passed the jinshi examination, because he was short on silver, he sold off over a hundred mu of land in one go.

"Lord Zaixin!"

Arriving at the dock to board the boats, Governor Li Maofang, accompanied by Assistant Surveillance Commissioner Wang Siren, came over on his own initiative to pay his respects.

Li Ruolian cupped his hands in return salute. Though they were unlucky in all manner of things, there was one matter that went smoothly for them: that was, last year Chongzhen had withdrawn the eunuchs, and had yet to send them back, so they did not have to listen to some army-supervising eunuch spouting nonsense at their side.

The three combined their forces: over ten thousand infantry, plus several thousand conscripted civilian laborers.

With so many men, Wang Siren's naval squadron could not carry them all; they could only use the boats to transport provisions forward, while the soldiers marched along the riverbank following the boats.

The peasants who had been in the middle of harvesting wheat, seeing the government troops arrive, all fled far off in fright, then watched these men with resentful eyes.

The three of them together had drilled ten thousand troops, and at the start of the year had lost over three thousand more, so they hurriedly conscripted replacements to make up the shortfall. How much silver did this cost? The three provincial offices of Jiangxi not only had to supply military pay but also forward tax revenues to the imperial court; they could only intensify their exploitation of the common people, adding over a dozen kinds of harsh levies and miscellaneous taxes.

Marching south the whole way, because they had to make time, these government troops had no leisure to plunder the common folk.

Ten days later, they reached the prefectural seat of Linjiang.

(There is an error in the earlier text: the prefectural seat of Linjiang is not in Fengcheng city, but in what later became Linjiang Town in Zhangshu city, sandwiched between the Yuan River and the Gan River. Zhao Han had to attack the Linjiang prefectural seat first before he could occupy Zhangshu Town. But with so many chapters already wrong, the main plot cannot be altered; we can only assume Zhangshu Town lies ten li south of the Linjiang prefectural seat. In reality, it is exactly the opposite — everyone, please don't take it too seriously.)

"Greetings, Governor Li, greetings, Regional Commander Li, greetings, Assistant Surveillance Commissioner Wang."

Prefect He Tianqu, leading the officials of the prefecture and the county, came out of the city to welcome the arrival of the government army. To preserve his life, he set aside the distinction between civil and military, and showed the utmost respect even to Regional Commander Li Ruolian.

Li Maofang asked: "What are the movements of the rebel Zhao?"

He Tianqu answered: "The rebel Zhao has encamped on the opposite riverbank ten li away, blocking all passing boats; for the moment, no intelligence can be gathered."

"Governor, let us pitch camp first, then send out scouts," Wang Siren said.

Li Maofang nodded: "Very well, pitch camp first."

He Tianqu said: "You gentlemen have come from afar; I have prepared a banquet to welcome you and wash away the dust of travel."

Wang Siren frowned: "Pitching camp comes first."

And so, Wang Siren took charge of pitching camp, while Li Maofang and Li Ruolian were invited into the city to eat and drink.

This sort of eating and drinking was also necessary, to draw closer to one another; otherwise, cooperation in the coming battle would be very difficult.

The two sides thus encamped ten li apart across the river. Including civilian laborers, sailors, and local militia, the government forces numbered over eighteen thousand men in total.

On Zhao Han's side, the naval force plus the supply corps numbered fewer than four thousand men.

The next day.

Wang Siren personally led the naval squadron south, with over forty warships great and small.

Zhao Han's naval force, by contrast, had only thirty-odd vessels great and small. Of these, over ten had followed Fei Ruhe to the west; facing the government naval squadron, they could only temporarily avoid its edge.

Before Wang Siren reached the river mouth, he ordered the naval squadron to halt. He dared not advance further, fearing he had fallen into an ambush. If the rebel navy came charging out from both the Gan River and the Yuan River, his naval squadron would be encircled.

Standing at the prow, Wang Siren personally observed the enemy situation, but the rebel camp stretched on for two or three li, bristling with banners everywhere, making it utterly impossible to tell how many men were inside.

Zhao Han dared not send sailors to scout the enemy situation, so he dispatched his only mounted scouts to gaze across the river at the government army's encampment from afar.

Quite pitifully, after all this time in rebellion, Zhao Han had only six horses under his command.

Look at those northwest roving bandits, by contrast: this year, when they set an ambush and killed Cao Wenzhao, they directly fielded over ten thousand cavalry (historical records say the bandit cavalry numbered in the tens of thousands).

Zhao Han's six horses were very precious and were meticulously cared for at all times. One mare was pregnant and had been left behind in the prefectural seat, not brought along.

The five mounted scouts galloped to the riverbank and gazed across at the government camp from afar, equally unable to make out any clear situation.

Both sides were groping in the dark, but the government forces held the initiative, because Wang Siren's naval force was stronger.

However, Zhao Han occupied favorable terrain; Wang Siren's naval force dared not cross the river mouth, and for the moment could only bide its time.

The two sides thus began a standoff, each sending out small squads of elite troops to probe the other's true strength and weaknesses.

Two days later, Fei Ruhe returned with his troops as reinforcements, leaving five hundred Anfu soldiers each to hold the county seats of Fenyi and Xinyu.

Zhao Han's infantry suddenly exceeded five thousand men. Although fifteen hundred of them were Luling peasant soldiers, their combat strength was absolutely greater than that of the government troops.

The standoff continued like this for half a month, and the summer harvest entered its busiest season.

The propaganda corps, the peasant associations, and the grassroots officials, unable to guarantee their safety, simply carried out land distribution in the newly seized Xingan County. The tenant farmers of neighboring Xiajiang County seized the opportunity to rise up; they not only captured the county seat but also came to request that the propaganda corps preside over the land distribution work.

The two counties of Xingan and Xiajiang were mountainous; only the land along the Gan River was relatively fertile, and most of the area was poor and remote backcountry.

Zhao Han was in no hurry either; he simply took these two counties and carried out land distribution during the summer harvest.

As for Xinyu and Fenyi, the two counties with iron mines, he held only the county seats for now, because the land distribution personnel could not get through — they would be vulnerable to attack by the government naval forces when heading north.

The standoff lasted a month; the summer harvest ended.

Li Maofang, citing insufficient army provisions, ordered Linjiang Prefect He Tianqu to go down to the countryside at once and requisition grain.

Requisition my ass — Linjiang Prefecture had only Qingjiang, Xingan, and Xiajiang, three counties. Zhao Han now held two and a half of them; He Tianqu's actual territory under control was down to half a county.

Linjiang Prefecture was no major grain producer to begin with; it had been elevated to a prefecture purely on the strength of commercial taxes. Placed anywhere else, it would only count as a sub-prefecture!

Li Maofang further ordered Fengcheng County to the north to send grain; if there was no grain, then just send silver directly.

Bandit suppression had to be done, but so did money-grubbing.

Historically, Li Maofang at this time should have been serving as Governor in Shandong. With White Lotus sectarians within and Tartars eyeing the borders from without, even under such circumstances this bastard dared to line his pockets under the guise of suppressing bandits. By the time he had purged the White Lotus bandits in Shandong, he had already scooped up tens of thousands of taels of silver.

The Prefect of Linjiang and the County Magistrate of Fengcheng were driven to utter distraction by Li Maofang.

But with the rebel army pressing on their borders, they had no choice but to fleece the gentry, merchants, and peasants, and obediently deliver the money and grain to Li Maofang.

In the northern part of Qingjiang County, two thousand government troops split into several groups and personally went down into the countryside to requisition grain.

"Open up, open up!"

A wealthy household had its gate pounded open. The officer leading the detachment barked, "The Governor is suppressing bandits — a matter of grave importance. Hand over two hundred dan of grain and one hundred taels of silver at once for military expenses!"

The local gentry of that household protested, "For the sake of suppressing bandits, we've already been levied twice this year. How can you demand so much again?"

"This house is secretly in league with the bandits! Search the premises for rebels, quickly!" the officer bellowed.

"Sirs, calm your anger, calm your anger! This old man will go raise the provisions at once." The gentry, terrified, hastily begged for mercy.

Not only did they have to hand over money and silver, they also had to organize their own manpower to deliver the money and grain to the army camp outside Linjiang prefectural city.

Toward the gentry, the troops were still somewhat polite. Toward the common people, they had no bottom line whatsoever.

At night, billeted in peasant homes, if they spotted a pretty grown girl or young wife, they would barge straight into her chamber and do as they pleased. In a matter of days, over a dozen respectable women had committed suicide, filling every village and hamlet far and wide with bitter lament.

Regional Commander Li Ruolian and Assistant Surveillance Commissioner Wang Siren went together to see Li Maofang.

"Governor Li, did you come to suppress bandits, or to harass and harm the people?" Li Ruolian rebuked him angrily.

A military officer, rebuking a civil official for excessive cruelty...

Li Maofang explained with a smile, "Who knows when the bandits can be wiped out. The troops' rations are insufficient; we must raise provisions early."

Wang Siren said furiously, "How are the rations insufficient? There's enough to last another two or three months!"

"Two or three months is not enough. We must raise at least half a year's pay and provisions," Li Maofang said, still smiling. "Gentlemen, do not be impatient. Attendants, bring out the chests!"

Two wooden chests were carried out, each containing a thousand taels of silver.

"Utterly shameless!"

Wang Siren spat out a curse, turned on his heel, and left.

Li Ruolian was so furious his hands trembled. He desperately wanted to cut this Governor down with a single stroke of his blade.

Neither man accepted the silver. After they had left, Li Maofang sneered to himself, "What are they putting on this show of incorruptibility for? Where did the pay and provisions for the troops you trained come from, if not scooped up from the common people? Just because it didn't pass through your own hands, you're clean?"

Li Maofang began distributing money to civil and military officials. From the Prefect of Linjiang to the County Magistrate of Qingjiang, and on down to the military officers under Li Ruolian and Wang Siren — all were fed full on his silver.

And so, everyone wholeheartedly supported Li Maofang and devoted their main energies to lining their own pockets.

After all, they had been in a standoff for a month. If the rebels dared to attack, they would have done so long ago. Since the rebels dared not come over, and their own side dared not go over either, why not seize the chance to scoop up a bit more silver?

It was the two upright officials, Li Ruolian and Wang Siren, who found themselves isolated by all the other officials, as if they were the abnormal ones.

Wang Siren secretly sought out Li Ruolian. "Commander, this cannot go on. Otherwise, both army morale and the people's hearts will be utterly lost!"

Li Ruolian asked, "You campaigned against bandits with him for a year. Was there nothing like this before?"

"Ah, he was scooping before too," Wang Siren sighed. "When we were suppressing bandits in Duchang County, he let his troops run wild, looting everywhere. I could only turn a blind eye. But now, the main rebel army is just on the opposite bank, ten li away. If he carries on like this, a great disaster will strike!"

"What do you plan to do?" Li Ruolian asked.

Wang Siren said, "That rebel Zhao of Luling is crafty. He hasn't moved his troops in a month of standoff; he must have laid ambushes on both the Gan River and the Yuan River. If our naval forces dare cross the river mouth, they will certainly be caught in a pincer attack, most likely a fire attack using a mass of small boats. The navy cannot move; the terrain is against us. My original intent was to send elite troops overland south to launch a surprise attack on Xingan County, which the rebels hold. But the scouts I've sent out several times report that the rebels have sentry posts at the riverbank and the mountain passes — there is simply no way to make a detour for a surprise attack."

"If a surprise attack is impossible, how else can we fight?" Li Ruolian had no battlefield experience.

Wang Siren said, "Cross the river and fight the rebels in an open, aboveboard battle. We have over ten thousand troops, and I have also trained five hundred archers. Perhaps there is a chance of victory. We cannot simply drag this out here. My subordinate officers are already breaking discipline — just these past two days, some have led their men out to plunder the common folk."

Li Ruolian's subordinate officers were even worse in this regard; they were Guard Commanders, Chiliarchs, and Centurions who had been temporarily conscripted. These fellows had hardly ever fought a real battle, but they were quite adept at fleecing the military households. Now, led by Li Maofang, their true natures had been fully exposed.

"Could we launch a night raid on the enemy camp?" Li Ruolian asked.

Wang Siren shook his head. "Useless. The enemy has too many sentry posts. Last time I led troops on a night raid, we were still three li from the enemy camp when the rebel sentries blew their suonas."

"Then we fight!" Li Ruolian clenched his fists.

In truth, Zhao Han's army provisions were nearly exhausted. They could hold out for another month at most. If things dragged on any longer, they would have to ship in new supplies.

Yet Governor Li Maofang delivered a divine assist. Military discipline deteriorated to a point that Li Ruolian and Wang Siren could no longer tolerate, forcing the two men to bring about a decisive frontal battle ahead of schedule.

This damned place was absurd — nothing but mountains or water. Both sides were stretched thin in manpower. As long as plenty of scouts were posted to guard against surprise attacks, even the most brilliant commander could pull off no fancy tricks.

They could only clash head-on!

And even for a head-on clash, it had to be the government troops who took the initiative to cross the river.

Because Zhao Han's naval force was not strong. He dared not cross the river to seek a decisive battle with the government troops, fearing his navy would be defeated on the water. He could only rely on the terrain where the two rivers converged, preparing more warships and fire ships to encircle any government naval force that dared cross the river mouth.

Li Ruolian and Wang Siren sought out Li Maofang and proposed a plan for crossing the river to force a decisive battle. They immediately fell into a quarrel with Li Maofang.

Li Maofang had not yet scooped up enough silver...

(End of chapter)