Chapter 534: Return Journey

"The silver notes and banknotes issued by the Silver Bank are all backed by other people's silver deposits. I have to pay them interest — that's a loss-making business, but it brings in the principal. A banknote issued without a corresponding deposit is created out of thin air. If others are willing to use it, that's expanded credit, and it can be exchanged for other things."

Inside the central army tent of the Anqing Battalion outside Tongzhou, Pang Yu set down the letter from Anqing, stood up, and said to Pang Ding, "The expanded credit becomes circulating banknotes that look identical to those backed by deposits. Used for building up the Anqing Battalion, this channel reallocates a portion of the silver hoarded in the cellars of local magnates to the military sector where we need it most. That's what finance does best. The Englishmen who came last time — in Europe, where they're from, wars are frequent. A small state can mobilize tens of thousands of troops in a short time precisely by borrowing from European banks. Finance is power."

Pang Ding stayed at Pang Yu's side. "But these banknotes aren't real gold and silver. The excess issued will have to be repaid eventually."

"Whether they're ultimately repaid depends on the efficiency of our investment in the Anqing Battalion. Take the court's troop increases, for example. Last time they added the Bandit Suppression Pay, collecting silver from the bottom up — starting with the village Tax Register Clerks, then the county, the prefecture, all the way to the Household and Works Ministries, and then from the two ministries down through the Grand Coordinators, the Defense Circuit Intendants, and the military commanders. That's a long chain. If the collection cost is a hundred taels, what actually reaches the military units in the end is absolutely less than ten taels. A battalion of several thousand men can only support a few Company Commander Retainers. Take someone like Liu Guangzuo — he has a paper strength of 3,500, but his actual troops are only 350, with a few dozen Household Retainers. Say his investment efficiency is ten percent — a total loss-making business. Now compare that to the Eastern Invaders' efficiency. They also collect silver from the bottom up, but their hierarchy is far less complex than the Ming Dynasty's, so their collection efficiency is relatively high. But their backward slave system has no free commoners, so production efficiency is low. They can squeeze the slaves' subsistence resources to the absolute minimum and directly confiscate the surplus. The masters at every level have to go to the battlefield themselves and also need to plunder — the military sector itself is part of production. Apart from what's handed up to the military aristocracy, almost all remaining resources are allocated to the military sector. Judging by the results of the war, their resource-use efficiency is far higher than our Ming Dynasty's."

"Young Master means that with just that tiny bit of population and land in Liaodong, as long as they put everything into fighting, they can match all the territory we have."

"The Eastern Invaders' extreme exploitative slave system is completely inefficient. That's why barbarians will always lack supplies and always need to plunder. The moment they can't plunder, they'll collapse. Resources inevitably concentrate on warfare. Our Anqing Battalion allocates resources directly from the Silver Bank. The usual annual interest is ten percent. Even paying twenty percent interest, it's still far more efficient than the court's use. At the same time, the banknotes can ease the silver shortage and actually stimulate the economy."

"Does Young Master hope the Silver Bank will issue more?"

"Of course I hope they issue more. The banknotes themselves aren't without cost. Maintaining them requires an entire system — the Silver Bank, the workshops, the Water Army, the Shipping Company, the Canal Gang — all are costs. If we don't issue more banknotes, what do we use? But whatever is issued must have a clear destination and sufficient return on investment. You can't just give away extra interest for nothing. Investment efficiency is what matters. Whoever has higher investment efficiency gets more resources. Victory belongs to the one with one extra copper coin."

Pang Yu walked to the desk and flipped through the dispatch bulletins and intelligence reports the Deputy Officer had sent over. Pang Ding lifted the copper kettle from the nearby brazier and brewed hot tea for Pang Yu. "Then why doesn't the Emperor just run a Silver Bank himself?"

Pang Yu laughed heartily. "If the Emperor did it, guess how it would go? First it goes to the Cabinet for collective deliberation. The Cabinet, the Directorate of Ceremonial, the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Works, the Ministry of War — a flurry of documents back and forth, and after several years there's still no result. When a result finally comes, it's sent down to the Provincial Administration Commissions, prefectures, departments, and counties to establish Silver Banks. In the end, a huge pile of silver is spent on setting them up, and the banknotes they issue still find no takers."

Pang Ding scratched his head. "I still can't figure it out. You can make silver flow back into military affairs — why can't the court?"

"The court is also made up of many people. Their relationships with each other are determined by the way benefits are distributed, and in turn determine that distribution. The moment silver enters, it practically consumes itself. Just like when we were raising supplies in Nanjing for rallying to the king — rations, pay, armor, and weapons made one round trip on the river and vanished without a trace. If they ran a Silver Bank, it would be exactly the same. Even if you handed them the Great River Silver Bank today, tomorrow they'd default on all the banknotes, and within three months the Silver Bank would certainly close its doors."

After Pang Ding stood stunned for a moment, Pang Yu handed him an intelligence report sent by the Capital Secret Sentinel Office. "Sun Doutang's situation is dire. Many in the court are impeaching him — impeaching him and Liu Zhongtang for holding their troops back and allowing the Eastern Invaders to exit the passes. The Cabinet has ordered the two of them to submit memorials defending themselves. Liu Yuliang submitted his first, shifting all the blame for what happened after Dezhou onto Sun Doutang's head, while claiming the Yongding River Victory was due to his own encouragement. Sun Doutang has to submit a self-defense memorial every day. The Ministry of War is sorting through the merits and crimes since the invasion began and has started arresting people. I hear Liu Qin, Ni Chong, and Zu Kuan have been arrested?"

Pang Ding nodded honestly. This matter had been circulating among the King-Rallying Army for several days. Everyone in camp was guessing who would be arrested, and they'd basically all guessed right — except for Li Chongzhen.

After the Jia Village defeat, the army was routed and the Supreme Commander was lost. The court had to arrest someone to answer for it. Yang Guozhu and Hu Dawei were Garrison Regional Commanders and wouldn't be easily seized. By culpability, Li Chongzhen, as Central Battalion Vice General, should have been first in line. But in the end, it was Liu Qin who was arrested.

Pang Yu shook his head. "Seems Li Chongzhen didn't buy enough heads to help him out."

Pang Ding tilted his head, looking at Pang Yu. "But I heard from Sun Doutang's clerk that Li Chongzhen didn't give Liu Qin any heads — he reported them all for himself."

Pang Yu turned to Pang Ding in surprise. "He came twice to buy heads and said they were for Liu Qin and Zu Kuan."

"He didn't give a single one to Liu Qin. In his camp, he told the clerks and such that the court had already decided to arrest Liu Qin, so he wasn't going to waste heads pointlessly." Pang Ding licked his lips and continued. "So when I thought it through carefully — Li Chongzhen was single-mindedly determined to buy up all the heads to keep them from falling into Liu Qin's hands. Think about it, Young Master. He, Li Chongzhen, is the Central Battalion Vice General. When Lu Doutang fell in battle, he fled the field to save his own skin. Liu Qin had been dispatched with an order token and written orders — he had a reason not to participate in the Jia Village battle. If the head counts were the same, they'd definitely chop off Li Chongzhen's head, not Liu Qin's. Li Chongzhen got battle achievements at the Yongding River, and what he feared most was Liu Qin also having achievements — then it would still be his head. Buy up all the heads, add them to his own tally, and once Liu Qin was beheaded, he could also swallow up the Right Battalion's Household Retainers — escape the death penalty and restore his strength."

Pang Yu digested this for a moment. "Then what about Zu Kuan? What's that got to do with Li Chongzhen?"

"After Jia Village, there was another major crime — the fall of Jinan. They arrested Yan Ancestral Sacrifice and Ni Chong, both from Shandong. Of the two columns of the King-Rallying Army, someone still had to take the blame. Zu Kuan took it, so Li Chongzhen passed another hurdle and got away clean. Liu Qin had been sent out before the battle to relieve another city. He rushed back the day after the Jia Village battle, found Lu Doutang's body, and delivered it to Zhending. Then he immediately followed Sun Doutang to keep fighting. Xu Strengthening never fired an arrow or swung a blade — he just timed his arrival at the border pass perfectly and got a commendation from the Ministry of War. And then there are Liu Qin's three clansmen Regional Commanders — Liu Guangzuo, Liu Zeqing, Liu Furong. Not one of them fought a proper battle. Though they'll be charged, they may not lose their heads. The one who'll end up losing his head is probably Liu Qin, who fought the most."

After Pang Ding finished, Pang Yu didn't continue flipping through the other dispatch bulletins. His eyes rested on the desk for a calm moment before he spoke. "To speak from the heart, at Jia Village the enemy was overwhelmingly superior and defeat was certain. It was a hopeless battle. Apart from Lu Doutang, not a single person from general to soldier was willing to fight. If Li Chongzhen hadn't abandoned Lu Doutang and fled, his own men would have abandoned him and fled. Even so, I still rather look down on him. At the Yongding River battle, even if it was to save his own life, he did contribute after all. Liu Qin didn't come. We could only help Li Chongzhen — otherwise no one would stand on our side in the future. Liu Qin is naturally somewhat wronged. But wasn't Yan Ancestral Sacrifice just as wronged? He was transferred to Dezhou by the Ministry of War. The Provincial Commander's Standard Troops were taken away at the Ministry of War's order. In between, he repeatedly reminded the Ministry of War and Gao Qiqian to dispatch troops to defend Jinan. The Ministry of War never said not to send troops, but the Shandong Regional Inspector said there was no need. Gao Qiqian sat entrenched in Linqing with forty thousand men — if he'd sent even five thousand to Jinan, Jinan wouldn't have fallen. In the end, Jinan fell, the Regional Inspector died in the city, and the Ministry of War and Gao Qiqian both emerged completely unscathed. Instead, they grabbed Yan Ancestral Sacrifice to take the blame. If you want to talk about being wronged, he's even more wronged than Liu Qin."

Pang Ding sighed twice in succession. Just then, the door curtain rustled, and Yan Guan appeared at the entrance. "Sir, the north camp gate reports that Xuan-Da outriders have relayed a message: the Xuan-Da Governor's Standard Army is striking camp today to return to their post. Wang Pu and Li Chongzhen have come specifically to bid farewell."

"I'll go receive them at once. They're all leaving — has there been any reply from Shen Xun? When exactly are we Southern Troops returning to our post?"

"They say an Imperial Order has been requested. Apart from the Shaanxi troops, everyone else is to return to their posts. Within these two days, the ministry dispatch for us should be issued."

"What's the situation with the Shaanxi troops?"

"It's because Hong Chengchou has been appointed Superintendent of Ji and Liao. He wants to keep those Camp Heads and take them to the Liao Garrison. It needs Hong Doutang to decide. They say Hong Doutang might want to keep the Provincial Commander's Standard Troops over there, but the men of the Shaanxi Provincial Commander's Standard Troops were all recruited from the border garrisons. After recruitment, their families all live in the provincial capital. The officers and men have long wanted to return to Shaanxi. Word is that as soon as the news of a possible transfer to the Liao Garrison spread, many immediately ran off... About a dozen or so without families came over to join our battalion."

Pang Yu smiled. "Let's go see Li Chongzhen and the others."

A black flag was hoisted at the camp's south gate. A long column of horses was being led out. Outside the camp gate, beside a pond, the sound of splashing water was everywhere. Soldiers carrying buckets lined up at the well to draw water, washing and watering the horses. Under the dense trampling of hooves, the ground by the pond was a morass of mud.

Yang Guangdi, his trouser legs and sleeves rolled up, returned to the south gate with his mounted scout Squad. Reaching their own camp area, they tethered the horses and set out forage. Only after the horses began eating did the Squad return to their tent to rest.

Manda'er ran off for a moment, then came back and said excitedly to Qin Jiuze, "Today seven more Night-Not-Returning from the Right Battalion came over. They say Liu Qin's already been taken away, and the Right Battalion is in chaos. Li Chongzhen wants to recruit them, but everyone looks down on him. Right now, the Right Battalion men are the easiest to bring in. I'll tell Centurion Chen later, and we'll go make another round of calls."

Yang Guangdi let down his trouser legs. "Today we also took in ten from the three forward and rear battalions of the Governor's Standard Left Battalion, seventeen from Xuanfu Garrison, five from Shanxi Garrison, over ten from Datong Garrison, and a few from the Liao Garrison. In the past few days, we've gathered over two hundred border troops. Commander Chen Mace has separately organized them into two Companies."

Manda'er looked up, his face full of excitement. "Two old brothers from the Central Battalion also came, and a few more who want to come say they need to go back and bring their families. They're asking Centurion Chen if they can get some military stipend silver in advance."

Qin Jiuze, sitting on the hitching post, said indifferently, "Manda'er, I advise you not to get involved in making connections. Go back to bring their families — taking silver on empty words — if they don't come back, it'll all be charged to your account."

"Didn't Yang Shisan go too?"

"Yang Shisan took the silver from killing Tartars earlier — he earned it himself..."

"I chipped in for him."

Qin Jiuze coughed. "That was also pooled together by everyone, not given to him by the battalion."

Manda'er turned to Yang Guangdi. "Can our battalion leave a reception point in the north? For those border troops who can't make it here in time — when they come later, they'll know where to go."

Yang Guangdi paused for a moment, then nodded. "I'll go talk to Centurion Chen."

Manda'er went back over to Qin Jiuze. "Old Qin, do you think Yang Shisan really won't come back? Lord Pang issued me silver twice. Lost once when chased by the Tartars, and this time I gave it all to Yang Shisan. Surely he won't leave us without a single tael left."

Qin Jiuze said calmly, "I didn't give him all of it. I kept a few taels."

Manda'er froze, tried to smile, but only his cheek twitched. He turned to look at the others. The Escort Master Yang Shizhong and the others were all watching intently. Seeing Manda'er look over, they quickly averted their heads.

"You all chipped in silver. Listening so carefully — afraid he won't come back and your silver's gone?"

The several new mounted scouts all shook their heads. Yang Shizhong waved his hand in denial. "Lord Pang said it himself — comrades-in-arms must trust and support each other. What's a bit of silver? Don't think we're so petty."

Manda'er said loudly, "I'm not begrudging that bit of silver either. Comrades-in-arms, right? I'm just worried something might happen to him on the road. What's that thing between comrades-in-arms called?"

"Care and concern." Yang Guangdi said gravely. "See, I'm not worried. I believe Yang Shisan will come back."

At that moment, someone outside the tent shouted, "Mounted Scout Division! North gate guard post reports: Shanxi mounted scouts returning. No exit record today. Officers of Banner Commander rank and above go receive them."

A cheer erupted inside the tent. Yang Guangdi was the first to leap up. A crowd of people surged out of the tent. Qin Jiuze shook his head, slowly stood, and was the last to walk out.

A moment later, Yang Guangdi found Chen Bin. The whole Team formed a single column and marched toward the camp gate. Chen Bin at the front held back the pace; the mounted scouts behind walked impatiently, occasionally bumping into the person ahead.

Finally nearing the camp gate, everyone craned their necks. There before the gate stood three soldiers. Yang Shisan's face was etched with wind and frost. Seeing the crowd, he forced out a faint smile.

The mounted scouts, however, wore faces full of cheerful smiles, as if what stood outside the camp gate wasn't Yang Shisan, but a pile of silver.

Chen Bin greeted the three, first took their Soldier Tags, then went to the guard post to register.

Yang Guangdi walked to the side gate and peered out from inside. Seeing no woman, he asked Yang Shisan, "The person you went to fetch... did you get her?"

Yang Shisan gave an embarrassed smile. "She can't enter the camp. She's over on the southwest side, under the Pacification Commissioner's watch."

Having said this, he looked again at Qin Jiuze and Manda'er, but only nodded with an awkward smile, unable to say anything.

Qin Jiuze nodded. "Getting her here is good enough."

Manda'er coughed. "Exactly. Getting her here is good enough. The rest doesn't matter."

Yang Shisan didn't know what to say. Chen Bin had finished registering and had just brought Yang Shisan in through the side gate when suddenly they heard the Banner Commander on gate duty shout loudly, "The battalion's commanding officer, Lord Pang, arrives at the camp gate! All officers in the gate area, lead your units and stand at attention."

A flurry of activity erupted before the gate. Chen Bin hurriedly called out orders, and the men hastily arranged themselves by position. Not daring to turn his head, Man Da'er shifted his eyes toward the camp area and saw General Pang and Chen Rulie escorting several people in this direction — it looked like they were seeing guests out of the camp.

Man Da'er tilted his head slightly toward Qin Jiuze, his lips barely moving. "It's Wang Pu… and Li Chongzhen. Why hasn't that butcher been dragged off and beheaded yet."

Qin Jiuze's face was expressionless. Farther away, Yang Shisan let out a cold snort. That group of people soon reached the gate. Pang Yu was speaking in a low voice, and both Li Chongzhen and Wang Pu leaned in to listen, appearing very respectful. When Pang Yu finished, the two even laughed heartily.

As Li Chongzhen turned his head, he suddenly spotted Qin Jiuze. His smile froze for an instant, and then he saw Man Da'er. This group of Point Scouts had all previously been Household Retainers, elite veterans originally belonging to Xuanfu. They were not trusted confidants Li Chongzhen had brought over from the Liao Garrison, but they knew the terrain beyond the Xuan-Da border crossings better than anyone. Most scouting missions still fell to them, and they had repeatedly earned Decapitation Merits against the Eastern Invaders, so Li Chongzhen was very familiar with every one of them. The Anqing Battalion had been privately recruiting elite soldiers from the Border Army, and recently every camp had men coming over to join. Those causing a ruckus near the camp gate were only officers below the rank of Company Commander; no General Officers from the Border Army had ever come — though it was not that they lacked Awareness of the matter. But Li Chongzhen clearly had not expected to see these few men here. The Battle of Jiazhuang had been nearly half a year ago, and these three had not appeared since.

Qin Jiuze stared ahead indifferently. Yang Shisan and Man Da'er both met Li Chongzhen's gaze with Cold Expressions.

After only a moment's hesitation, Li Chongzhen's face once again piled into a smile, as if he had not seen the few men at all. His expression unchanged, he followed Pang Yu out of the camp gate and bade a courteous farewell just outside.

Chen Rulie remained inside the gate. He walked over to Chen Bin, glanced at the several mounted scouts, and then said, "We've received the ministry dispatch from the Ministry of War authorizing our return to the Garrison Post. Pack up — we're heading back to Anqing."