Chapter 175: 173 | A Governor Comes to Surrender? (For Alliance Leader

Ji'an, the Regional Commander's residence.

Wang Tingshi, the former Governor of Dengzhou and Laizhou, held a copy of The Great Unity Collection in his hand and said to the gate guards, "I must trouble you to announce me to Mr. Meng'an. Tell him an old friend from Nanchang has come to call."

The guards saw that Wang Tingshi was no longer young and that he was an old friend of Li Banghua's, so they dared not slight him and hurried inside to announce his arrival.

Before long, Wang Tingshi was invited in.

Li Banghua did not call out the other man's identity, only exclaiming in surprise, "It truly is you, my worthy brother?"

Wang Tingshi raised the copy of The Great Unity Collection in his hand and said with a smile, "Your foolish brother obtained this book in Nanchang. After reading it with reverence, I found no rest by day or night, and only then did I know that a true dragon sovereign truly exists in this world. I have therefore come especially to pledge myself to him."

"Worthy brother, please wait a moment. I shall go at once to recommend you to the Regional Commander," Li Banghua said.

Wang Tingshi cupped his hands and said, "Many thanks, Brother Meng'an."

Li Banghua strode toward Zhao Han's office. Having obtained permission, he entered and said, "Regional Commander, Wang Tingshi, the former Governor of Dengzhou and Laizhou, has come. He is holding a copy of The Great Unity Collection and says he has come to offer his service."

Zhao Han showed no surprise or delight, but instead laughed and said, "A governor is a high official of the court, and he voluntarily comes to join the rebels?"

Li Banghua said, "That fellow was dismissed from office several years ago. Moreover, he lives in Nanchang, and none of his clansmen hold high office. I reckon he wants to make a great wager — betting that this Ming court is beyond saving, and betting that the Regional Commander can seize the realm. Even if the Regional Commander cannot take the whole world, so long as you can hold Jiangxi, the Wang clan of Nanchang will still have wagered correctly."

"What sort of man is he?" Zhao Han asked.

Li Banghua said, "He certainly has talent and ability, and he is versed in military strategy. However, he is somewhat greedy, servile toward those below him and fawning toward those above."

Zhao Han laughed and said, "When an orange grows south of the Huai, one need not be overly harsh. Since he is a man who fawns on his superiors, he naturally knows how to read expressions and gauge moods, and he naturally understands how to divine my thoughts. I do not tolerate corruption; if he is truly clever, he will know how to conduct himself. Take that Chief Grand Secretary Wen Tiren — he does not embezzle a single penny, and his ability is outstanding. If that man were under my command, he would surely be a worthy minister and good official of the age. As the sovereign is, so are his ministers."

"The Regional Commander employs men with great breadth of spirit," Li Banghua said, extremely pleased. He felt that Zhao Han was even more qualified now, already possessing a heart broad enough to embrace all rivers.

Before long, Wang Tingshi was invited in.

Seeing Zhao Han for the first time, Wang Tingshi was rather astonished. He had not expected Zhao Han to be so young; he had assumed the Luling rebel Zhao was thirty or forty years old.

In truth, apart from the companions who had come from Yanshan, no one knew Zhao Han's real age.

Everyone, including Li Banghua, thought Zhao Han was at least twenty-five or twenty-six, merely somewhat youthful in appearance.

"Wang Tingshi of Nanchang pays his respects to the Regional Commander!" Wang Tingshi was briefly taken aback, but immediately recovered his normal expression.

Zhao Han laughed and said, "Sir, please, sit down."

Wang Tingshi held The Great Unity Collection in both hands and praised, "I chanced upon this book in Nanchang. It was like drinking iced water in midsummer — I felt utterly refreshed in spirit. The one who shall save the realm — none but the Regional Commander is worthy!"

Well, well — a sycophant.

Zhao Han burst out laughing. "So that is how it is. Then you and I, sir, are kindred spirits."

Wang Tingshi then began roundly cursing the Emperor. "That brat Chongzhen, obstinate and self-willed, bears no resemblance to a true sovereign. Take the Liaodong affair — the civil officials erred, the military officers erred. But the one who erred most gravely is none other than Chongzhen himself!"

Li Banghua's brow furrowed deeply; he was utterly disgusted by Wang Tingshi's character. Even if you are pledging yourself to a new master, there is no need to slander the old one.

"Dare I ask, sir, how did Chongzhen err?" Zhao Han said.

Wang Tingshi asked, "Does the Regional Commander know of Yuan Chonghuan and Mao Wenlong?"

"I do," Zhao Han nodded.

Wang Tingshi sighed and said, "At the time, I was serving as Governor of Dengzhou and Laizhou, caught precisely between the two of them. The death of Mao Wenlong — I was involved in the entire affair. In the end, I too was dismissed from office."

As for the entanglements between Yuan Chonghuan and Mao Wenlong, Zhao Han could not make head or tail of them. Li Banghua, who had been supervising river works at the time, had no firsthand experience either.

Zhao Han said, "I must ask you, sir, to explain the whole story."

Wang Tingshi said, "The affair began in the second month of the first year of Chongzhen, when the Emperor was investigating the eunuch faction. The Censor Pan Shiwen, seeking to curry favor with the new Emperor and earn merit, impeached Mao Wenlong for clinging to the eunuch faction and swearing brotherhood with four eunuchs. He further impeached the eunuchs who had sworn brotherhood with Mao Wenlong for secretly hanging a portrait of Wei Zhongxian wearing a dragon robe and crown, and burning incense and prostrating themselves before it day and night."

"And Chongzhen believed it?" Zhao Han asked curiously.

Wang Tingshi said, "This is not a matter of belief or disbelief. Even if it were true, it should have been overlooked. Mao Wenlong was guarding a vital position — how could he be trifled with so easily?"

Zhao Han asked again, "What happened next?"

Wang Tingshi said, "The prudent ministers at court all urged that this matter not be pursued, and at the time Chongzhen did heed their remonstrance. Yet barely three months later, Sun Guozhen, the Governor of Dengzhou and Laizhou, again impeached Mao Wenlong for colluding with the eunuch faction to plot rebellion, and impeached the eunuch Wang Guoxing for forging an imperial edict ordering Mao Wenlong to march."

An impeachment of this sort was pure nonsense. Perhaps when Wei Zhongxian was in power, Mao Wenlong had curried favor with the eunuch faction.

But Wei Zhongxian was thoroughly dead — would Mao Wenlong still collude with eunuchs to rebel?

It must have been that Sun Guozhen, the Governor of Dengzhou and Laizhou, had a personal grudge against Mao Wenlong!

"Please continue, sir," Zhao Han said.

Wang Tingshi sighed and said, "Chongzhen also knew that Mao Wenlong was important, so he had both Sun Guozhen and Wang Guoxing thrown into prison and sentenced to death. Yet Chongzhen was suspicious by nature. While on one hand he relied heavily on Mao Wenlong, on the other he doubted him. He therefore dispatched me to audit the troop strength of the Dongjiang Garrison! It was nothing more than fear that Mao Wenlong would rebel, with the court using military rations as a means of control."

"That spelled disaster," Li Banghua put in from the side.

"Did it not just spell disaster?" Wang Tingshi sighed. "The Dongjiang Garrison had only a little over twenty thousand troops, but countless refugees from Liaodong, and there was no way to grow grain on the islands. Mao Wenlong's military rations had to feed not only the troops but also the refugees. What is more, once rations left the capital, how could they ever reach the Dongjiang Garrison in full? Chongzhen's move, far from controlling Mao Wenlong, was instead driving him to his death."

Wang Tingshi continued, "Just at that moment, a Tartar spy was captured. This spy claimed that Mao Wenlong was in secret talks with the Tartar chieftain — the Tartars would attack Shanhai Pass, and Mao Wenlong would attack Shandong."

"And Chongzhen believed it?" Zhao Han said in astonishment.

"He had no choice but to believe it," Wang Tingshi sighed. "In the very month after the Tartar spy was captured, Mao Wenlong let his troops loose to plunder Dengzhou, and the Tartars also happened to march on Liaodong at the same time, fulfilling exactly what the spy had confessed."

Well, well — what a remarkable coincidence.

Had it been Zhao Han in that position, he probably could not have tolerated Mao Wenlong either. Coincidence or not, the matter would have to be dealt with.

Of course, Chongzhen's way of dealing with it was, to put it mildly, beyond words.

Chongzhen issued rations based on only a little over twenty thousand troops. After the silver skimmed off by civil officials, it was practically an attempt to starve the officers and men of the Dongjiang Garrison to death.

Yuan Chonghuan, in fact, looked after Mao Wenlong very well. After his attempts to dissuade the Emperor failed, he requested that Mao Wenlong be issued double rations.

This proposal was vetoed by Chongzhen with a single vote.

Moreover, an imperial edict was issued ordering Mao Wenlong to disgorge the rations he had fraudulently claimed during the Tianqi reign!

Not only were no rations issued, Mao Wenlong was told to pay silver back to the court...

Mao Wenlong instantly exploded. He once again let his troops loose to plunder Dengzhou, wanting to show the Emperor a bit of color.

Chongzhen was enraged too and cut off rations directly. The rations currently due to the Dongjiang Garrison were to be used to repay the rations fraudulently claimed during the Tianqi reign.

After half a year without rations, countless soldiers and civilians of the Dongjiang Garrison starved to death. Mao Wenlong was left with only one choice: rebellion.

Affairs of state and military strategy had become a battle of wills between sovereign and subject!

Of course, the civil officials of the entire court must also bear the blame. They were goading Chongzhen into doing just that, and mixed in among it all were interests and personal grudges.

Caught between those two men, what else could Yuan Chonghuan do? He could not persuade the Emperor, so he had no choice but to kill Mao Wenlong. Had he not killed Mao Wenlong, the Dongjiang Garrison would inevitably have defected to the enemy.

Yuan Chonghuan's attitude toward Mao Wenlong must be divided into stages. In the early stage, he wanted to help Mao Wenlong secure military pay.

This man Wang Tingshi before us was unlucky too. He was the very man Chongzhen sent to audit troop strength. He did everything by imperial command, yet when the court pushed the Dongjiang Garrison into revolt, Chongzhen dared not move against Yuan Chonghuan and instead vented his fury on Wang Tingshi, dismissing him from office with no reappointment to this day.

Over the years, Wang Tingshi had brooded more and more bitterly.

Since the Emperor burned the bridge after crossing it, why shouldn't this old man join the rebels?

In saying so much before Zhao Han, Wang Tingshi's intent was not simply to disparage his former master, but to show that he was sincere in joining the rebels, that he was utterly disillusioned with the court.

Zhao Han suddenly smiled. "What office would you like to hold, sir?"

Wang Tingshi cupped his hands. "Holding office is not my aim. I wish only to follow the Regional Commander in setting the world to rights!"

"Very well!"

Zhao Han slapped the table and said, laughing, "You may return to Nanchang to recruit troops, and become an advisor to the Governor. The men you yourself recruit, you may of course pay and train yourself, and when the moment comes, turn your spears and strike!"

Both Wang Tingshi and Li Banghua were stunned. Zhao Han's thinking was wildly unconstrained — he could actually conceive so vicious and insidious a scheme.

Zhao Han said, "In the battle for Linjiang Prefecture, the government troops lost incalculable sums of coin and grain. The next battle will be either after next year's summer harvest or after next year's autumn harvest. You may begin recruiting next spring. No need to recruit too many — a thousand or two thousand soldiers will suffice, enough to produce a startling effect at the critical moment."

Wang Tingshi turned it over in his mind and decided the plan was feasible. He said, "After I turn my coat, I ask the Regional Commander to press on and seize Nanchang. Otherwise my clan will not be safe."

"That is certain," Zhao Han agreed readily.

They discussed many further details, as well as the future treatment of the Wang clan of Nanchang.

Zhao Han said, "The land policy cannot be altered. Each person may retain only twenty mu. However, I will certainly compensate you amply for the costs of drilling your troops. Once the deed is done, you may come directly to the Regional Commander's headquarters to take office, without needing to start from the bottom. Moreover, if the Wang clan wishes to engage in trade, I will grant certain preferential treatment."

"I am willing to serve the Regional Commander," Wang Tingshi said, cupping his hands.

Before coming to see Zhao Han, Wang Tingshi had already inspected Linjiang Prefecture and compared its governance with that of Nanchang Prefecture. He felt certain Zhao Han could take Jiangxi.

When that time came, the Wang clan would inevitably be subjected to land redistribution. Better to come over and offer allegiance early.

To avoid drawing attention, Wang Tingshi left the Regional Commander's headquarters alone. Neither Zhao Han nor Li Banghua saw him off.

As Wang Tingshi stepped out the main gate, he felt his heart suddenly expand. At last he had another chance to hold office. His last dismissal had been far too disheartening.

Having once been a high official of the court, who would be content to be merely a man of wealth?

Wang Tingshi walked past a "rich merchant" and heard that "rich merchant" say, "May I trouble you to announce me to Regional Commander Zhao? Say that Zhao Han of Yanshan has come to call."

Both surnamed Zhao — could he be a kinsman of Zhao Yan?

Wang Tingshi could not help turning to look a moment longer. Fei Yinghuan smiled and cupped his hands; Wang Tingshi hurriedly returned the salute.

A dismissed Governor and a soon-to-be-appointed Prefectural Magistrate — thus, for no clear reason, they bowed to one another.

(End of chapter)