Chapter 110: Dongjiang

After Li Yonghua left, Liu Minyou said to Chen Xin with some worry, "How has Dongjiang Town come to such a state?"

Song Wenxian chuckled and said, "After the seventh year of Tianqi, Dongjiang lost all its Korean farmlands. What's left on those islands and the narrow coastal strips isn't enough to feed Dongjiang. If Dengzhou stops shipping grain, more than half will starve to death."

Liu Minyou shot Song Wenxian a displeased look. This man spoke of the dead without a shred of pity. He couldn't help saying, "Those are living, breathing people. How can those lords in Dengzhou be so cold-blooded?"

Song Wenxian smiled faintly. Hearing the edge in Liu Minyou's tone, he said nothing further. Chen Xin did not explain the matter either. He said to Liu Minyou, "Brother Liu, you had best prepare yourself. In the coming days, more refugees may come. Arrange some fishing boats to patrol outside regularly. If any escapees arrive, bring them all over here. Don't let people like Yang Guodong seize them again for forced labor."

Speaking of this Yang Guodong, he asked Song Wenxian one more question. "What exactly is Yang Guodong doing? His Regional Commander post was long taken by Zhang Keda. Can he possibly snatch it back?"

Song Wenxian laughed. "He's been running everywhere seeking office, and there are already some signs. I hear he has his eye on the Tongzhou Regional Commander post, or a few battalion commands on the canal grain transport. Tongzhou, of all places — every substantive post there is a lucrative appointment. This man has some brains and is very good at reading the wind. Last year, he submitted a memorial impeaching Mao Wenlong on ten major crimes to curry favor with certain lords. I'm afraid he's spent no small amount of silver either."

Tongzhou Regional Commander. Chen Xin silently mulled it over. That post couldn't reach him, but officials on the Grand Canal were always useful. He would keep maintaining that connection.

Song Wenxian continued, "When he was Deng-Lai Regional Commander, he was always trying to swallow up Dongjiang. And over the Liaodong refugee issue, he and Mao Wenlong often impeached each other. Their relationship is extremely bad."

Liu Minyou knew nothing about Yang Guodong. He said to the two of them, "How exactly should we settle the people coming from Dongjiang? You two lords, give me a definite answer. Recruit them as soldiers or make them farmers?"

Chen Xin thought for a moment and said, "Select the qualified ones to be village braves. The unqualified ones become farmers. We've now phased out many matchlock guns. Have those farmers practice shooting. Just call them farmer-soldiers."

Liu Minyou said unhappily, "Just how many soldiers do you want? The able-bodied laborers over at Wendeng Camp have all been pulled away by you. Is the spring plowing going to happen or not? How many soldiers do we actually need to support here?"

Chen Xin knew at once that Xu Yuanhua had come to complain. He chuckled and said, "That was all done during the farming off-season. It absolutely won't delay your spring plowing, Brother Liu."

Song Wenxian knew Chen Xin was building up village braves. In his view, these village braves were stronger than Dengzhou's combat troops, and they didn't attract attention. They were also part of their power base. Who in the area would dare not take Wendeng Camp seriously? Wendeng Camp's watchtowers and forts didn't even have perimeter walls, yet no bandits had ever dared to raid them.

So he supported it. He didn't understand farming matters and had never thought them important. He tried to persuade Liu Minyou, "Field work is just some farm labor. Old folks and women can do it. Even if…"

Liu Minyou picked it up. "Even if it's children, they can do it too."

Song Wenxian certainly wasn't going to follow up with 'great minds think alike.' This Liu Minyou had swallowed gunpowder today. He coughed once, shifted his tone, and looked at Chen Xin. "Surely Lord Chen isn't making children do labor? That's truly going too far. I think it would be better to have Mr. Liu teach them to read."

Chen Xin nodded. "Mr. Song speaks truly. It's just that Mr. Liu also suffers from a shortage of instructors. After you return this time, Mr. Song, see if you can invite some teachers from Dengzhou to fill the gap."

The two sang in chorus. Liu Minyou was extremely displeased with Chen Xin's use of child labor. What Xu Yuanhua had reported to him was that seven- and eight-year-old children were also out weeding. Wendeng Camp used its able-bodied laborers as village braves, pulled the child laborers to farm the land, and now even ordinary farming households had to practice with firearms. All of this directly affected the manpower for civil administration.

He ignored the two of them, rose, and walked out the door.

Song Wenxian shook his head with a wry smile. "Your cousin is far too soft-hearted. One household only has one laborer. If even the children don't work, how many idle people would you have to feed?"

Chen Xin laughed. "He's looking at the long term. But right now is an extraordinary period. We can't worry about so many things."

Song Wenxian said, "Still, I also feel that perhaps we are truly raising too many soldiers. With your Wendeng Camp's thousand-plus men, who around here would dare to cause trouble?"

Chen Xin still had many uses for Song Wenxian ahead. He decided to give him a preview first. He lowered his voice. "After last year, the Jianzhou Bandits' power has already reached the Kalaqin Mongols. I estimate they're likely to invade through Jizhen. If that really happens, it will be an opportunity."

Song Wenxian was somewhat skeptical. "I heard people mention this in Dengzhou. Last October, a supervising secretary submitted a memorial saying Jizhen was empty. I believe Lord Yuan also submitted a memorial."

Chen Xin shook his head. "The Liaodong Tax wasn't given to him just to defend Liaoxi. Since he is Grand Coordinator of Ji-Liao, plus Tianjin and Deng-Lai, that includes operations against the Later Jin on all fronts. Since he can manage the troop reductions in Jizhen and also control Dongjiang's grain and pay, why is he not responsible for Jizhen's defense? Wherever needs strengthening, strengthen it. What use is merely submitting a memorial?"

Song Wenxian agreed. "Recovering Liao within five years is probably a bit difficult. I doubt he can even contain the Jianzhou Bandits in Liaodong."

"Mr. Song has keen insight. So I must prepare for this matter. I've planned for two thousand men. If this can be done well, we can take another step up."

Song Wenxian's mind raced. He was extremely sensitive to this kind of benefit. Chen Xin's current position was too low. In the guard battalion and the field army systems, he wasn't even the top man. As long as he could take one more step up, the path ahead would widen. He couldn't think it through at once. He was also half-doubtful that the Later Jin would dare invade through Jizhen — after all, that place was over a thousand li from Shenyang, and it had never happened before.

He thought for a moment and said, "I'll think it over carefully on the road. If we truly want to profit, that Lord Wen will still have to put in effort. Yang Weiyuan was dismissed last year. Apart from Qian Yuanke, we only have the Wen Tiren connection."

As he spoke, he pulled a slip of paper covered in small handwriting from his sleeve and handed it to Chen Xin. "In the capital, the treason case has been decided. That group of grand secretaries drew up a list in the first month, but His Majesty didn't approve it and wanted more names added. It was finalized in the third month. Twenty were beheaded. The rest were dismissed, sentenced to garrison exile, and so on. Those we've dealt with all kept their lives. Li Song, Sun Guozhen, Yang Weiyuan — all stripped of rank and retired. What's strange is that Yan Mingtai, who together with Lord Yuan submitted a memorial to build a living shrine, was sentenced to garrison exile, yet Lord Yuan hasn't been touched at all."

Chen Xin glanced at it briefly. He hadn't heard of most of the people inside. The sweep was a bit broad, but after all, only twenty were beheaded. These people could all be considered temporarily withdrawn from the political stage. He said to Song Wenxian, "Mr. Song, I believe those Jianzhou Bandits will definitely come. This year, you and I must center everything around this main trunk. Everything else is just twigs and branches."

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After Liu Minyou walked out, he arrived at the harbor's edge. The sea breeze blew, and his spirits lifted a little. In the bay outside the harbor, some fishing boats drifted — fishermen from their watchtower fort and Mazi Fort. The fishing in this bay and the outer sea was quite good, able to supply part of their meat needs. They boiled their own salt and salted the fish, and could even supply some to Wendeng Camp.

The people of Weihaiwei now all called this place Mazi Second Fort. Though it didn't sound pleasant, everyone knew it was thriving. Many people from other watchtower forts even wanted to flee here.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Lao Cai wandering around inside the harbor. Nowadays, he even found Lao Cai more agreeable to look at than Song Wenxian. He went over and greeted Lao Cai. "Accountant Cai, what do you think of this place?"

Lao Cai saw it was the proprietor and hurriedly said, "With Mr. Liu managing it, naturally it's excellent. Just seeing how you run the clothing shop, one knows you're no ordinary person."

Liu Minyou paused and asked, "Accountant Cai is going out to sea again this time. Can you manage the clothing shop?"

Lao Cai's sly eyes darted around. He knew what Liu Minyou wanted to ask. He answered carefully, "Shen Niangzi can also keep accounts. It's no hindrance. It's just that Shen Lou of her family has fallen back into bad habits. Every day he goes gambling and squanders all the silver Shen Niangzi earns."

Liu Minyou gave an "oh" and didn't press further. Lao Cai added, "There's nothing else major. Shopkeeper Zhou is now quite experienced. Our Orchid Clothing Shop has an excellent reputation in Tianjinwei. The great and wealthy families won't go anywhere else. Without that orchid mark, they'd be embarrassed to go out."

Liu Minyou chuckled. This clothing shop was something he had built with his own hands, and he had deep feelings for it. Seeing his pleased expression, Lao Cai also smiled and said, "A few days ago, Mr. Song came by and told the shop to recruit more young accountants. He said it was Lord Chen's idea. Train them up and later send them to other ports along the Grand Canal. In the future, Orchid Clothing Shop will surely be famous everywhere."

Liu Minyou knew about this. It was a talent reserve for future products. But judging by the current situation, at least this year there was no hope. Chen Xin's energy was all on the military. His own energy was entirely on farming and the workshops. The workshops were fully devoted to producing military equipment. There were nearly a hundred people just turning gun barrels. Even their family members were rushing to make military uniforms and bedding. The spring-autumn uniforms had just been finished, and winter uniforms were about to begin. A single soldier's equipment had so many items: canteens, cartridge pouches, weapon carrying harnesses, ramrods, powder flasks, waist belts, short boots, flints, matchcord, tinder, leg wraps, and a whole pile more. These didn't even include weapons, armor, helmets, and other protective gear. Iron scale armor was divided into many components. There was also the gunpowder used by the firearms units for training, the wear and tear on firearms and cold weapons, the saddlery and fodder for the cavalry. Every time he saw the inventory list Dong Yu brought, his eyes twitched. Only now did he truly understand that an army was a gold-devouring beast.

He hoped that when the maritime trade silver came back this year, he could breathe a little easier.

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In the third month, Song Wenxian and the others set sail for Japan. By the end of the third month, the number of refugees fleeing Dongjiang grew larger and larger. Even before Chen Xin's ship for buying people had set out, over two hundred people had already landed at Weihai. Liu Minyou set up simple shacks outside the watchtower fort to shelter them.

The arrivals were all gaunt as withered wood. They had all stolen boats from the islands to escape. Some had even built wooden rafts. Some were already at death's door when they arrived. Even with soup and medicine poured down, they couldn't be saved. Others had faces flushed bright red. According to some who had arrived earlier, people who looked like that had eaten rotting human flesh and most wouldn't live long. Liu Minyou both pitied these people and felt waves of nausea. As the numbers grew, Chen Xin specifically recalled two killer squads to maintain order at Mazi Fort.

Chen Xin's several cargo ships also went out to sea, heading to nearer places like Guanglu, Greater and Lesser Changshan. They didn't dare go to Lushun for now — Dengzhou naval forces often appeared there. Zhu Daichun and some men from the training unit went along on the same ships. When the grain ships arrived, every island was a sea of people coming to receive grain. The garrison commanders on each island, thinking of the long term, didn't dare forcibly seize the grain. They had no choice but to agree to trade some people for it. The starving islanders all wanted to leave Dongjiang. Coupled with Zhu Daichun and the others painting a beautiful picture, they eagerly signed up for the mass selection.

By the fourth month, there were still no grain ships from Ningyuan reaching Dongjiang Town. Since the tenth month of the first year of Chongzhen, Dongjiang had received no grain or fodder for seven months. But starting in the third month of the second year of Chongzhen, Subudi's tribe was able to buy large quantities of grain at Ningyuan.

From the third month to the fourth month, Mao Wenlong wrote four consecutive field reports and memorials. In one field report in the fourth month, he reviewed the amount of grain and pay Dongjiang had received in the eight years since the town was established: only 1.28 million in kind and 1.24 million in commuted silver. He begged for the spring and autumn grain and pay allocations to be issued so he could lead his troops to fight the Jianzhou Bandits to the death. His words were almost pleading.

But his memorials received no reply. After Dongjiang lost the Korean farmlands, its grain consumption had largely depended on sea transport from Dengzhou and Tianjin. With supplies suddenly cut off, corpses of the starved lay everywhere across the wilderness. Cannibalism on the islands had become routine. After the Later Jin learned of Dongjiang's grain shortage in the second month, they dispatched several groups of troops to raid Dongjiang's coastal outposts. Dongjiang's situation worsened further.

Chen Xin's ships made two or three trips and brought back over seven hundred more people — more than five hundred adult males. Most of these veterans had fought for several years. Although those island commanders wouldn't trade away their retainers, these ordinary veterans were exactly what Chen Xin craved. The island commanders also sent their own ships. They didn't dare enter the harbor during the day and stayed out on the open sea. At night or in the early morning, they slipped quietly into the harbor to trade people for grain.

Zhu Daichun made a special trip to Wendeng Camp to report to Chen Xin. Among the island commanders they mentioned, Chen Xin had only heard of Shang Kexi, who was now Vice Regional Commander of Guanglu. Chen Xin knew he later carried out the Guangzhou Massacre, but for now, he was still a staunch anti-Later Jin man.

Many of the people brought over knew archery and were passable with cold weapons. Given their current weakened state, they wouldn't dare pull any old-soldier tricks in Weihaiwei. Zhu Daichun and the others had also deliberately selected the more honest and simple ones when choosing troops. But for now, they were far too feeble and were slowly regaining their strength at Mazi Fort. Chen Xin planned to break them all up and train them together with the village braves. The military rod would work on them just the same.

In mid-fourth month, the first batch of over a hundred Dongjiang soldiers with better physical strength arrived at Wendeng Camp and began basic training together with the village braves. As for Chen Xin himself, he set aside miscellaneous duties and focused entirely on joint training with the army, while also beginning to practice his own physical conditioning and weapons skills.