Chapter 234: Loyalty?

"The entire Third Company of the First Battalion, the entire Second Division of the Reserve Camp, and the Central Army Cavalry Battalion — four hundred cavalry in total — will all move by land. For two months, calculate two thousand shi of grain. Each soldier will carry ten days' worth of rations, totaling ten thousand jin. Five hundred support troops require five hundred shi of grain, and will carry ten days' worth of cooked rations totaling two thousand five hundred jin. Accompanying the army, two hundred shi of ordinary military grain. Fifty two-horse carts. The remaining grain will be purchased along the route, procured in advance by the quartermaster and the trading company at stops along the way, up to Shanhai Pass. This item is estimated to cost three thousand taels. Four hundred horses, requiring a total of forty-five thousand jin of fodder. In winter, the wilds lack grass, so concentrated feed must be estimated on the high side. Adding temporary hired civilian laborers along the route, the proposed accompanying army silver is twelve thousand taels. Request the Civil Affairs Finance and Accounting Department to make up the shortfall..."

Liu Minyou cut Dong Yu off: "Troop provisions and fodder already have a budget. Even if calculated at expedition rations, we only need to make up the difference. How could the entire amount be requested as a supplement?"

Dong Yu paused, "Lord Chen said the ordinary grain portion would be returned to Civil Affairs, and requests Civil Affairs provide an equivalent amount of cooked rations."

Liu Minyou cursed inwardly. Chen Xin was shifting the labor cost of making dry rations onto Civil Affairs.

Wang Daixi was also calculating at the side. She was now the head of the Finance Bureau. She should be eighteen this year, but still hadn't married. Most of those with rank in the Wendeng Camp system were rough, uneducated men, and even if they could read, it was only enough for warfare. Most of them already had several wives and concubines. Wang Daixi's status in Wendeng Camp was not low, and she was unwilling to become a junior wife. Among the local gentry families in Wendeng, there were some of suitable age, but Wang Daixi didn't like those profligate sons, so it had dragged on. Since women were allowed to come out and work, high-ranking managers like Wang Daixi and Wang Erya had both become late to marry, and they themselves weren't particularly anxious about it.

Liu Minyou put down his brush and said to Dong Yu, "We go to war every year. When you make the budget next year, estimate an expedition expense, calculated on a small-to-medium-scale expedition of three months, to avoid last-minute additions."

"Yes." Dong Yu managed military supplies and pay. Dealing constantly with Civil Affairs these past two years, he had become more and more like...

Liu Minyou rubbed his forehead. This year they had finally managed some surplus. He had originally planned to first build houses for the new refugees, letting them repay in grain installments later. But now Chen Xin had agreed to the court's order to send troops to Dalinghe, so the original plan had to be slowed down.

Chen Xin's troop dispatch also came with compensation. Wang Tingshi had made up all of this year's military pay and grain. Iron materials, saltpeter, and sulfur were also given in abundance. Just fifty thousand jin of Henan-produced saltpeter alone was worth four to five thousand taels of silver. Furthermore, Wang Tingshi had also promised him three hundred warhorses, transferred from the Court of the Imperial Stud. The warhorses there were naturally better than the ones Chen Xin bought randomly everywhere himself. Lu Zhi also promised five hundred horses, but Dengzhou had very few warhorses, at most only suitable for pulling cannons. Once the goods were sufficient, Wang Tingshi completed the task assigned by the Emperor, and Chen Xin gained practical benefits.

After July, the Intelligence Bureau applied for a supplementary fund. No reason was stated, and Chen Xin signed off on it. Liu Minyou didn't know other major historical events, but he did know that Kong Youde was a traitor. From the large number of additional weapon orders Dong Yu had recently submitted, he knew it was absolutely not preparation for a two-thousand-man expedition. As for this increased Intelligence Bureau expense, his own guess was that it might be used for Dengzhou and Dongjiang. He had also heard about Sun Yuanhua's situation, and wondered what the final outcome would be for that still relatively amiable Lord Sun.

As he was lost in thought, a voice beside him said, "My lord, it's time to go with Lord Chen to the Fifteenth Tunbao."

Liu Minyou turned to look. It was his new assistant, Mo Huaiwen. This man came from the literacy class, had served a term as Tun Head at Weihai Tunbao, and the Civil Affairs Supervision Department's covert investigation had found no issues. His temperament was relatively gentle, with more potential than the earliest batch like Xu Yuanhua. Now he was specifically assigned as Liu Minyou's assistant, and was also a candidate for cultivation within Civil Affairs.

Liu Minyou stood up and asked, "What is the matter at the Twentieth Tunbao?"

"Delivering winter clothing to the newly arrived refugee tun households."

"Winter clothing?"

"All bought at low prices from the old tun households, and some newly made this year."

Liu Minyou sighed, and led Mo Huaiwen out the door. As he reached the doorway, Wang Daixi chased after him from behind, calling out, "Brother Liu, your scarf!"

Wang Daixi prepared to put it on him, but Liu Minyou took it himself, his eyes looking at the snow outside the door as he said, "Daixi, work hard these next few days. I need to know this year's surplus early. Also, Dengzhou will be sending a batch of military pay and tax-in-kind in a few days. Check the amount they've been in arrears this year so we can verify it then. When signing for receipt, remember to call Lord Chen."

"Mm, got it. This..."

Liu Minyou was still somewhat distracted, looking outside. He asked casually, "Is there anything else?"

"Mm... I forgot!"

Liu Minyou smiled and shook his head, leading Mo Huaiwen towards the military camp. Liu Minyou's Civil Affairs department had already moved from Weihai to Wendeng, located right next to the old Wendeng Camp Garrison Commander's residence. It occupied a vast area, divided into Finance, Land Cultivation and Livestock, Population, Industry, and Commerce bureaus — an administrative system that had taken embryonic form.

This camp area was at the center of Wendeng County, a place they had managed since early on. The surroundings were all under the firm control of Wendeng Camp, roughly equidistant from the three guard battalions. Most of the main land cultivation areas were now here, allowing for more efficient communication with the military administration. The current Wendeng Camp system was essentially a military-civilian integration.

It was now early October. Last night, the first heavy snow of the year had fallen. After being trampled, the ground was a mess of mud. Although the weather was cold, the streets were still densely packed with people coming and going, everyone's face bearing a kind of joy. This year was the first harvest season after they had distributed the land. After harvesting the winter wheat in May and June, each tunbao had a cultivation plan, guiding farming households in crop rotation and intercropping. By August and September, they had all harvested two or three crops of vegetables and beans. Now every tunbao had also completed field fertilization and winter wheat sowing. With hope in their livelihoods, of course everyone was in good spirits.

There was a stretch of road from the old camp to the military camp gate. Continuous rows of shops had already been built on both sides. Liu Minyou had never planned for this area at all, but the military camp with the strongest spending power, the workshop workers, and the Civil Affairs staff all lived nearby. Some wealthier family members had spontaneously built shops. This land was never farmland to begin with, so Liu Minyou couldn't treat them as illegal structures to be demolished. He tacitly allowed their existence, and as a result, in just one short year, this place had become the most prosperous commercial district in Wendeng.

Liu Minyou looked at the bustling food stalls and shops on both sides, marveling at the masses' initiative. His foot slipped and he nearly fell. Mo Huaiwen quickly steadied him. Behind them, the simple-minded monk cursed loudly, "Damn it, which family's horse left this dung? Catch them and give them the military rod!"

Mo Huaiwen looked at the ground, then said to Liu Minyou, "My lord, there are many livestock now, many raised by individual tun households. Inside the tunbao it's fine, with the Tun Head and the Tithing Chief managing things, the dung is all collected into back-baskets. But once outside, no one manages it, and it gets left everywhere."

Liu Minyou nodded, "It's so wide out here, there's no way to manage it."

Mo Huaiwen spoke again, "My lord, your subordinate feels that future tunbaos should not have concentrated housing. Firstly, tun households whose fields are on the outskirts have to walk very far. Secondly, concentrated housing makes livestock raising extremely inconvenient."

Liu Minyou frowned and thought for a moment. Concentrated housing for tun households was beneficial for commercial development, but indeed detrimental to planting and livestock raising. He said to Mo Huaiwen, "This matter has both advantages and disadvantages. When we first arrived here, the surroundings were not peaceful; bandits often appeared. Therefore, we gathered together in one place for ease of defense. Now our military might is formidable, and the bandits were long since wiped out. However, dispersed living is not conducive to the circulation of commercial goods."

"My lord is right, but not every tunbao needs commercial prosperity. The tunbaos near the old camp area are concentrated and can naturally emphasize commerce. The newly opened tunbaos near the mountains have inconvenient roads. Some tunbaos still have civilian fields interspersed among their lands. Our fields were originally scattered, so concentrated living is even more inconvenient for farming. Livestock raising space is also insufficient. Your subordinate feels that for our Wendeng Camp at present, having enough to eat is still the most critical matter. Only then can we speak of commerce."

Being refuted by Mo Huaiwen, Liu Minyou did not feel displeased. This was precisely the atmosphere within the Civil Affairs system that satisfied him most. Wen Xianming, Wang Daixi, Wang Erya, and Mo Huaiwen all dared to refute him to his face, not blindly following just because Liu Minyou was the superior.

He looked at Mo Huaiwen and smiled, "You make a valid point. Remote tunbaos and those with scattered land can adopt this method. But in such areas, there are civilian households and gentry nearby that need to be contended with. They must still cluster in units of fifty households per Tithing Chief. They cannot be overly dispersed. Set up simple general stores at suitable tithings, and the same goes for drill grounds and schools."

Mo Huaiwen agreed. The next batch of tunbaos would be planned this way. They walked all the way to the military camp gate, just as a group of teenage students came out from inside. They were all from the literacy class, dressed in commoners' clothing of various colors, their formation even more orderly than the average Ming army.

A person in military uniform loudly shouted slogans, "Loyal to Lord Chen! Loyal to Wendeng Camp!"

The group of students, faces flushed red, roared in unison, "Loyal to Lord Chen! Loyal to Wendeng Camp!" The commoners passing nearby responded one after another, the scene extremely lively.

"Who gives us food to eat?"

"Lord Chen!"

"Who gives us schools to learn to read?"

"Lord Chen."

"Where under heaven is the best?"

"Wendeng Camp!"

"What deeds make a man a hero in this life?"

"Saving the realm from peril!"

Liu Minyou watched them with a complex expression. The person leading the slogans was from the Propaganda and Education Bureau, directly under Chen Xin's leadership. They were essentially the training corps, but their target audience was the common people, with workers and students being the key focus. Originally, every tunbao school was staffed with a disabled veteran as an instructor. Now, an additional propaganda and education officer had been added.

Amid the cheers of the commoners, the students departed, filled with heroic fervor. Mo Huaiwen said quietly to Liu Minyou, "My lord, that propaganda officer was also transferred from the training corps. They've now developed a whole set of material in the schools. Every school has been assigned a propaganda officer, all teaching the students according to that set of material, several times a day. And from time to time, they still have to go to the military camp for drill."

Some nationalist ideas were being instilled into these most receptive students through those propaganda officers. This was a demand of this era, and Liu Minyou did not oppose it. Last year, all twelve tunbaos had built schools, and the previously trained teachers had been assigned to these schools. This batch of literacy class students was still predominantly aged ten and above. The curriculum had increased somewhat compared to before, including not only academic classes but also military training, and now the indoctrination from the propaganda officers.

This batch of teenage students, possessing a spirit of loyalty, would soon enter the civil and military systems of Wendeng Camp. They had knowledge, discipline, and vitality, and would quickly become the new backbone force.

But every time he saw the students' fanatical expressions, familiar images would always appear in his mind, and an inexplicable worry would arise in his heart. Was such education excessive?

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