Chapter 157: Stage

"Impressive, truly impressive — this is a clever solution. Pan Jinlian has finally escaped her sea of suffering. Minyou, your English name must be Simon."

Liu Minyou glanced at Chen Xin, who was grinning cheekily across from him, and laughed despite himself. "My surname isn't Qing, so save your breath."

Chen Xin asked curiously, "Has she agreed to marry you? Wait, no — you bought her, so it's not up to her to refuse. Did you remember to have her sign a sale contract? In times like these, eighty taels of silver can buy seven or eight maidservants. The Xiao family's daughter only cost ten. Tsk, tsk, and you — you bought a second-hand crop, maybe even third-hand."

Liu Minyou picked up the teacup from the stone table and made as if to throw its contents at him.

Chen Xin hastily changed tack. "Alright, alright. Yours is a free love match made over a bowl of red-braised pork, a revolutionary bond forged in the workplace. There, satisfied? So, has she agreed or not?"

Liu Minyou took a sullen sip of tea, spat out the dregs, and then said, "Miss Xiao is a good person. Stop making fun of her all the time. Every few days while you're off fighting, she goes to the temple to pray and burn incense for your safety."

"How do you know that?"

"Wang Daixi mentioned it. She's run into her a few times."

"Oh, she's a good person too. But let's not talk about her for now — you still haven't told me about Pan Jinlian."

A smile broke across Liu Minyou's face. "I really didn't expect it, but she talks so much. Yesterday afternoon when Zhou Laifu and the others went to deliver goods, she kept talking to me nonstop, crying one moment and laughing the next. I never imagined she could be so different."

"So, has she agreed to be your concubine or not?"

Liu Minyou mumbled hesitantly, "She said she'll only be my maidservant."

"That works — a bed-warming maid. Though she's a bit old for a maidservant. So she'll be maid, shopkeeper, and bookkeeper all in one — you save on wages too. Brother Liu, you've schemed this well. She said maid — so what did you say?"

"I... I told her to be the shopkeeper."

Chen Xin slapped his leg. "Talking at cross purposes." His eyes darted about. "We'll sort it out once we're back in Weihai. Zhao Xiang knows her too; we'll get Zhao Xiang to talk to her then. Legal wife is definitely out of the question. Equal wife, don't even think about it. Just make her a concubine — same treatment as Pan Jinlian."

Liu Minyou said crisply, "Fine."

Chen Xin let out an "Eh?" of surprise. "Why aren't you objecting? Not clinging to all that one-husband-one-wife stuff anymore?"

Liu Minyou stroked his teacup, staring blankly at it for a moment. "I have to accept this era. If I insisted otherwise, once we're back in Weihai there'd probably be even more gossip, and it would all be directed at her. Miss Li herself doesn't dare be the legal wife — at most, she'd be a concubine."

Chen Xin looked at him oddly. "The rivers and mountains haven't changed, but your nature has. This is the power of love." He licked his lips and went on. "Still, this second-hand crop has its advantages, especially since Pan Jinlian has a good nature at heart. Remember that young guy surnamed Wen in our company's sales department? Tall, handsome, rich second-generation — plenty of young girls threw themselves at him, but he wanted none of them. Instead, he went after a divorced woman. That woman practically raised him like a son — she really washed his feet, dried them clean, warmed them up, and even put his slippers on for him. Brother Liu, your days of bliss are long ahead."

Liu Minyou smiled but said nothing. Any remark, once it passed through this friend's mouth, took on an entirely different flavor.

Chen Xin said mysteriously, "You're about to be a man with an owner. Want me, your brother, to take you to a brothel for a look? In case Pan Jinlian goes from slave to general someday and you end up henpecked, you'll have missed your chance."

"Not going." Liu Minyou finished speaking, then looked at Chen Xin. "I recall you've never been either. Could it be you want to go yourself and are dragging me along for courage?"

Chen Xin chuckled. "I really haven't been. We're leaders now — we have to maintain our image normally. That scoundrel Song Wenxian never takes me either. Let's head back to Wendeng first and get things arranged. Since Zuo Changhao says Xu Xinsu is going to Nanjing at the end of the seventh month, I'll go meet him. We'll take the sea route to Jiangnan, land there, and go overland to Nanjing. The best brothels are there. On the return trip, we'll take the Grand Canal to Linqing, and along the way we can buy shops in both Yangzhou and Linqing and grease the right connections. Then overland back to Weihai. Riding will be harder, but faster than the sea route..."

Liu Minyou hesitated. "Looking at shops is fine, but the round trip will take at least two months. The Dongjiang situation is unstable — what if the Jianzhou Bandits stir up trouble again?"

"No problem. The Dengzhou navy is currently on guard against Dongjiang Town and can't be redeployed. The thousand-plus trackers we recruited last time haven't left. Half of the Tianjin Zhenhai Battalion soldiers ran off, damn them. The Wendeng Battalion still needs two more trips to finish transporting everyone — at least two more months before they're all back in Wendeng. Nothing will be held up. We two will take a sea-trade ship back first, arrange the urgent and important matters, and set out before the tenth of the seventh month. The Jianzhou Bandits have the autumn harvest in the ninth month — they can't spare the men. This year they're exhausted, men and horses alike, and still digesting the spoils of their raids. They won't stir up anything. We'll leave in the next couple of days. Remember to bring Pan Jinlian."

Half of the third year of Chongzhen had passed unnoticed. The Later Jin's uppercut had left the Ming court reeling. Though the Later Jin army had finally been driven out, the damage they inflicted could not be recovered in the short term. Inside and outside the capital, beggars swarmed in packs. The former prosperity around the metropolitan region had vanished without a trace. Every village along the Later Jin army's path lay in ruins, every trade withered.

Beyond this, the redeployment of elite frontier troops from Shaanxi and other places left those regions hollowed out, giving the roving bandits a chance to swell in strength and begin marauding in all directions. Later, the collapse of several loyalist relief armies sowed even greater hidden dangers. The two largest groups of deserters came from the Shanxi Garrison and the Gansu Provincial Governor's personal battalion. Wu Zimian's Yansui Garrison unit also had a great number of deserters. These men dared not return to their units, nor did they wish to beg for a living. A great many took to the hills as bandits. These men, possessed of military skills, slipping free of control, were like a handful of sparks tossed onto the dry tinder of the north.

After the frontier troops were redeployed, the Three Border Viceroy Yang He proved incapable of responding effectively. The roving bandits truly began to rove. This year was yet another of severe drought, giving the bandits an ample base among the masses. They absorbed the starving along their path, swelling like a rolling snowball. Among the Shaanxi roving bandits, the early famous Wang Zuogui had already been killed by Hong Chengchou, but rising stars were countless. Names like Wang Jiayin, Old Hui, Diandengzi, Shen Yikui, and Gao Yingxiang had all appeared in the court gazettes. Some of them had already crossed the Yellow River into Shanxi between the second and third months, beginning to spread Shaanxi's great fire into Shanxi.

Although Chen Xin had not seen Li Zicheng or Zhang Xianzhong in the gazettes, he estimated that both had already entered the scene, just not yet risen to prominence. The previous year, Liu Mao, a Supervising Secretary of the Office of Justice, had submitted a memorial proposing to reorganize the postal stations. The reorganization directly laid off the postal couriers. The funds saved existed only on paper and did not truly save much money. Instead, it flushed out the grave-diggers of Chongzhen.

These roving bandits operated much like the Jianzhou Bandits, descending like locusts to strip a place bare before moving on. For them, there was no such thing as a strategic location, nor did they ever consider what they would eat next time. They went wherever there was food, ate until everything collapsed, and wrecked things along the way, without the slightest regard for the renewal of resources.

The momentum of the roving bandits was gradually building. Though they still could not face government troops in a direct contest, they had already demonstrated a formidable destructive capacity. Another enemy of the Great Ming was baring its fangs.

After the Later Jin withdrew beyond the passes, some of the loyalist relief armies gradually returned to their original stations. Through the assigning of blame for the Jisi Incident and the awarding of merit for the Zunhua-Yongping Great Victory, a new round of power distribution was beginning.

In the investigation of responsibility for the Jianzhou Bandits' incursion, Wen Tiren, Liang Tingdong, Zhou Yanru, and others seized on Yuan Chonghuan as the main thread, following the vine to the melon and pursuing it relentlessly. They brought down both Qian Longxi and Han Kuang in the Grand Secretariat. Zhou Yanru took one of the vacated seats. Now one remained. Although Liang Tingdong had the great merit of the Four Cities campaign, he had risen far too quickly. Even he felt too embarrassed to contend for it. As a result, at the start of the sixth month, Wen Tiren became Grand Secretary of the Eastern Pavilion, entering the Grand Secretariat he had yearned for in his dreams.

After the two companies of the Wendeng Battalion returned to Weihai, Wendeng was as secure as Mount Tai. With this victorious army, twice tested in real combat, no force in the surrounding region was a match for them. Liu Xingzhi had no intention of attacking Dengzhou or Wendeng. Upon hearing of the Zunhua-Yongping Great Victory, he withdrew from Changshan Island back to Pi Island and expressed willingness to accept amnesty.

After all his thrashing about, the hearts of the Dongjiang men were scattered and hard to rally. The two great military garrisons of Guanning and Dongjiang had set two bad examples. The court was losing its hold over the army. Under such circumstances, the combat-effective and loyal Wendeng Battalion became all the more important. The Chongzhen Emperor personally decreed that the Wendeng Battalion's reinforcement troop strength be set at 3,500 men, surpassing even most main-force battalions. Their pay and provisions were to be drawn from the most ample Liaodong Tax funds. This time, snatching food from the jaws of the Guanning Army, the Guanning Army directly regarded the Wendeng Battalion as an enemy. Chen Xin knew the Emperor more or less intended to sow discord. In any case, he had already resolved to draw a clear line with the Guanning Army. He neither feared them nor counted on them. The silver, however, he absolutely had to have. With military pay secured, his annual income could be put to many more uses.

The various officials at court knew that Chen Xin enjoyed the Emperor's favor and none dared oppose this proposal. But after several rounds of haggling, the Wendeng Battalion still failed to obtain the Guanning standard. Wen Tiren and Liang Tingdong helped Chen Xin fight for the minimum requirement: one tael per soldier, one tael and five mace per retainer. Including the naval squadron, the annual military payroll came to only sixty to seventy thousand taels. The Guanning Army still maintained the highest pay in the Great Ming: one tael and five mace for battalion soldiers, two taels and four mace for retainers, plus five dou of rice per soldier. And they never stopped crying poverty. Liang Tingdong was already working on increasing the Liaodong Tax, adding an additional three li on top of the original six li. This was the origin of the later Manchu Qing's regular tax of nine li silver. The Qing's so-called abolition of the Liaodong Tax was nothing but abolishing a name. After a bout of self-glorifying propaganda, it became one of their great virtuous policies.

The Wendeng Battalion received only payment in silver, not in kind. Chen Xin did not care about the five dou of rice in kind. Using this as a pretext, Wen Tiren secured a policy: the Wendeng Battalion could open up wasteland within Wendeng's borders and establish military farms. With this grand banner in hand, Chen Xin's room to maneuver expanded greatly.

Because the military pay was discounted, the Chongzhen Emperor felt he had somewhat shortchanged the Wendeng Battalion. He restored the battalion's authority to the scope of the former Coastal Defense Regional Military Commission, placing the performance evaluations of the Weihai, Chengshan, and Jinghai guard battalions in their hands. Chen Xin was also formally promoted to Assistant Regional Commander of the Wendeng Battalion, acting as Regional Military Commissioner of the Shandong Regional Military Commission, a military officer of the upper second rank. A Mobile Corps Commander of the Nine Border Garrisons held an acting post of Regional Military Commissioner. Chen Xin's guard battalion rank was lower than that of a Nine Border Garrisons Assistant Regional Commander, but he had jumped four grades in one go — already an exceptional favor. To match his Assistant Regional Commander post with his rank, his prestige title was elevated to principal second rank, initially appointed as General of the Swift Cavalry. Additionally, one son was granted hereditary privilege as a Battalion Commander in the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Zhou Hongmo had the military merit of capturing the Wenxiang Sect ringleader alive in Laiyang, plus a share of the Luanzhou merit. On top of that, he ruthlessly used all the gold and silver he had squeezed from Laiyang to grease palms. He was promoted two grades to become Assistant Regional Commander of Linqing, finally finding a post that thoroughly satisfied him. Linqing lay on the Grand Canal, its trade routes radiating to southern Beizhili, the Shandong heartland, and parts of Henan. Commerce there was extremely flourishing, surpassing even Jinan. It was a lucrative post. Situated in the interior, it was entirely free of danger for the moment, perfectly fulfilling Zhou Hongmo's ambition of making money without fighting. The moment he received his commission, he could not wait to leave for Linqing to take up his post.

Wang Tingshi, thanks to the Wendeng Battalion's outstanding performance, likewise shared in the military merit. His psychological expectations gradually rose. After a round of jockeying, he gave up on the post of Deng-Lai Provincial Governor and became Vice Minister of War instead. The strongest support for Deng-Lai Provincial Governor was for Sun Yuanhua. Zhou Yanru, Xu Guangqi, and Sun Chengzong all highly esteemed this Ningyuan Army Intendant, who was proficient in Western firearms. Chen Xin knew this man would certainly become Deng-Lai Provincial Governor and had already sent Song Wenxian to pay a visit beforehand. All proper courtesies were observed.

When the appointments were announced in the sixth month, it was indeed Sun Yuanhua who became Deng-Lai Provincial Governor. He himself seemed not terribly interested in the post. He submitted a memorial requesting to decline, but Chongzhen refused and forced him into office. Sun Yuanhua felt somewhat uncertain about Dongjiang Town, which fell under Deng-Lai's jurisdiction. He wished to install someone he trusted as Regional Commander of Dongjiang Town. His candidate was Huang Long, who had long followed him. Huang Long had commanded the Guanning Army's red-barbarian cannon battery during the Luanzhou campaign. In the original history, he would have taken top merit for the Four Cities campaign. Because of the Wendeng Battalion's outstanding performance, his achievements were greatly discounted. Moreover, many court officials believed that transferring someone from the Guanning Army to serve as Regional Commander of Dongjiang would likely fail to win the men's allegiance. Who knew if those Dongjiang roughnecks might stir up some major incident again? Thus, the debate continued endlessly. A decision was long delayed.

Like Sun Yuanhua, those who did not wish to take office included his kinsman Sun Chengzong and Ma Shilong. Sun Chengzong submitted three successive memorials requesting to resign, citing illness in one, old age in another — he desperately did not want to go back to Liaodong as Grand Coordinator. Chongzhen thought it over and concluded that the only person who could keep the Guanning Army in line was this old man. Truly having no one else to use, he insisted at all costs that Sun take the post, each time offering warm words of comfort, always ending with a refusal, forcing the sixty-something Old Sun to go back to Guanning once more. Ma Shilong was not so critical. Liang Tingdong intended to make him Regional Commander of Jizhen, but Ma Shilong declined and returned to his hometown. In his view, the Mongol raiders were not as fearsome as the Jianzhou Bandits, and in his home region he could command freely without having to scheme against his own people.

The officers under Chen Xin also received various promotions. The four principal Company Commanders were given acting posts as Assistant Guard Commanders in the Shandong Regional Military Commission, each with one son granted hereditary privilege as a Company Commander in their home guard battalion. The other Squad Commanders and Platoon Leaders mostly became Guard Commanders, Vice Commanders, or Assistant Commanders of the three Wendeng guard battalions. These were all empty titles without actual command over guard affairs. The number of officers at Assistant Regional Commander rank and above in the three guard battalions swelled explosively. However devalued guard battalion officers might be, for these trackers and commoners, it was a leap forward. Thus, every officer of the Wendeng Battalion was delighted.

What the common soldiers cared about most, however, was the bonus money. The internal merit recording of the Wendeng Battalion was also proceeding intensively. Counting from Laiyang, the Wendeng Battalion's total seizures this time exceeded 130,000 taels, the largest portion coming from Luanzhou. The Wendeng Battalion's merit system evaluated based on the importance of mission execution and the degree of completion. This time, with continuous operations and personnel adjustments, it was rather complex. The several Company Commanders all strove to fight for their own units. Although Dai Zhenggang and Wang Zhangfu had returned to Wendeng first, they had left behind their deputy Company Commanders. Together with Lu Chuanzong and Zhu Guobin, they wrangled daily with Liu Pojun, Huang Side, Zhou Shifa, Dong Yu, and others.

Zhou Shifa and the others responsible for reviewing merit were worn to exhaustion by them. Dong Yu, who managed the silver, was also overwhelmed. Chen Xin did not directly intervene, planning to let them thrash it out among themselves first, after which he would step in at the end to balance things. Once they finally finished their discussions, Chen Xin reviewed it, made slight adjustments, and distributed half the bonus money in advance. Even common soldiers received ten taels or more. Officers and men alike were elated.

Then Chen Xin convened the various commanding officers. He had Zhu Guobin and Zhu Daichun sail back with the second wave, leading the newly recruited 1,500 trackers back to Wendeng to begin new recruit training as quickly as possible. The two gunners poached from the Portuguese would also return with this second wave. The third wave would be led by Lu Chuanzong, consisting mainly of the remaining veterans and the wounded.

This year's maritime trade was still conducted by the two ships. A great quantity of satin and cotton cloth had been seized in Luanzhou, which would basically suffice for this year's trade. Including the return voyage profits, it amounted to even more than the 130,000 taels of silver he had looted.

Wang Zugui, Qin Lufang, and that group of former pirates were kept behind to prepare the establishment of the naval squadron. The Mobile Corps Commander of the naval squadron was designated as Ba Zi, but he had to first complete the trade mission at Wudao before taking up his post.

When the two ships set sail, Chen Xin and Liu Minyou, accompanied by Song Wenxian, Zhou Laifu, and others, also returned on board. Li Ranzhu traveled with them.

The two men began drafting their respective work plans while still on the ship. Chen Xin's priorities were pensions for the fallen, settlement of the wounded, recruitment and training of new soldiers, expansion of barracks, and the establishment of the naval squadron. Based on Chen Xin's requirements, Liu Minyou drafted near-term plans for civil affairs and the workshops. On the civil affairs side, manpower would also be shifted to four key areas to support the army's expansion and the settlement of the sick and wounded. More importantly, they would begin surveying all the wasteland in Wendeng and drafting a military farm plan.

The great upheaval of the Jisi year had transformed the Wendeng Battalion from an obscure local force into a renowned and mighty army under heaven. A broader stage had been laid out before them.

End of Volume Three (.. Your support is my greatest motivation.)