Chapter 301: Regional Commander Wu

Pushing open the courtyard gate, a familiar feeling rushed to meet him. Chen Xin stepped inside, faintly surprised — he had actually lived here less than a year, and in between had gone to sea and traveled to Jingshi. Yet every time he came here he felt deeply at home; whenever he was in Tianjin he would stay here. This time Dai Zhenggang and the others took the courtyard that had belonged to Zhou Laifu.

Behind them followed their former left-side neighbor Jiang Wang. This man usually sold incense and ritual goods at temples like the City God Temple and Guanyin Pavilion. He was not as sociable as Zhou Laifu, a simple and honest fellow who rarely initiated conversation, but he never refused when help was needed, and he was extremely well-liked along Erdaojie. After Zhou Laifu moved to Wendeng, the keys to both houses were left in Jiang Wang's care, and he would occasionally come by to tidy up.

Chen Xin sat down at the stone table. The courtyard had not changed much, except that a corner of the makeshift kitchen had collapsed, and the little tree by the latrine had grown tall, its branches and leaves lush and dense.

Wang Mafu brought two guards to check each room and straighten the bedding inside. Jiang Wang stood stiffly beside Chen Xin. This neighbor, whom he had not seen for a long time, was now a figure renowned across the land, and he was indeed somewhat nervous.

Chen Xin motioned for him to sit and said with a smile, "This house has been empty so long — it's rare that you, Jiang Wang, have kept the inside so clean."

After sitting, Jiang Wang's tension eased slightly. He nodded. "It is what this humble one ought to do."

"Are your wife and son well?"

"All are well."

Smiling, Chen Xin took out a small pouch and said, "When we first arrived on Erdaojie, it was all thanks to you and Laifu helping us two outsiders get a foothold. Coming back this time, I haven't brought much — just a small token. Please don't refuse it, Brother Jiang."

Jiang Wang hurriedly stood and waved his hands, but Chen Xin pressed it into his grasp. "This is from a brother to your wife and nieces and nephews. If Brother Jiang refuses, you'll be looking down on me as a neighbor."

Jiang Wang accepted it hesitantly. A touch told him it was silver. He did not know whether he ought to kneel and give thanks — after all, this man was now a high official of the imperial court.

Chen Xin invited him to sit again, then asked, "Brother Jiang, you used to sell incense at the City God Temple — how is business these days?"

"In reply to my lord..."

"Brother Jiang, don't stand on ceremony. Treat me as the same old neighbor. If you have any difficulties, do tell me. I still have some standing now."

Jiang Wang bowed forward. "Thanks to my lord's standing, when people from Erdaojie go out now, no one dares bully them. The men from the Qingjun Office, hearing someone is from Jingdongfang, generally don't make trouble. Everyone knows that back then it was the Wendeng Battalion that drove off the Tatars — otherwise those Jianzhou Bandits meant to come to Tianjin. So everyone remembers my lord's kindness. As for this humble one selling incense, business is much the same as ever. It can still support a family."

"Oh, that's good to hear. As long as the neighbors are all well, I'm at ease." Chen Xin nodded slightly, knowing it was the Intelligence Bureau's people who had spread the news — a bit of advertising for Wendeng. Back when the Jianzhou Bandits occupied Luanzhou, Tianjin had been in a state of alarm, but in truth the Jianzhou Bandits had not planned to continue south at that time. Ordinary folk, however, did not know that. With the Wendeng Battalion's battle record at Guan and Luanzhou, such claims were easily believed.

Jiang Wang had relaxed somewhat now. He volunteered to Chen Xin, "The neighbors around here who followed my lord have all prospered. Zhou Shifa is now a military officer. Laifu, Lao Cai, Deng Keshan — all have made something of themselves. Even that Lu You from before now manages the clothing business in perfect order. Several young men from the neighborhood have gone to Dengzhou to seek out Zhou Shifa and Laifu, hoping to make their own way."

Chen Xin nodded. "That is also the result of their own earnest work. I merely let each person use his talents to the fullest. Brother Jiang, you've been in trade for years. If you are willing to come to Dengzhou, just drop a word at our shop there. They will report to me, and I will arrange a place for you."

Jiang Wang bit his lip and answered quietly, "I thank my lord. But this humble one has grown used to Tianjin. After staying so long, I know all the incense-buyers well. Every month when they come to the temple, they buy their incense from me. And I get on well with the neighbors around here. This humble one would still like to... like to..."

Chen Xin quickly smiled. "Brother Jiang, decide for yourself. I am certainly not forcing you to go to Dengzhou. It's just that Tianjin is not far from Jingshi. If by any chance the Jianzhou Bandits invade, Brother Jiang, just come straight to Dengzhou. I can guarantee your safety."

Jiang Wang honestly agreed, then stood to take his leave. "My lord Chen, the stoves and pots in this house have not been used for a long time, and there is no firewood. This humble one will go back and boil some water to bring to my lord. If you lack anything this evening, please let this humble one know."

Chen Xin rose and saw him to the gate. Just as he pulled it open, a dark shape flashed before his eyes. Startled, Chen Xin jerked his head aside. After the sound of beating wings, two chicken feathers drifted before his face.

When he recovered and looked, before him was a dense crowd of people, their hands raised high holding chickens, ducks, pork, salted eggs, and all manner of goods — all his old neighbors from the street. Their faces wore somewhat constrained smiles. At their head was the Zongjia Tan Shunlin. Seeing Chen Xin a bit dazed, he called out loudly, "My lord Chen, do you still recognize me?"

Chen Xin laughed heartily. "Of course I do. Zongjia Tan is my parent-official."

Tan Shunlin shouted excitedly, "Our Erdaojie has produced a great man — and a mighty hero who kills Jianzhou Bandits at that. We neighbors walk with pride now. The neighbors are always talking about Lord Chen and Lord Liu. Today, with Lord Chen back so rarely, we neighbors have pooled some tokens of regard. Please do not disdain them, my lord."

Chen Xin bowed all around to the crowd. "I am Chen Xin. Back then, it was thanks to all you neighbors' help that I have achieved the small success of today. Returning to Tianjin today, I am honored that you neighbors still remember me. I will accept these gifts. For dinner, I invite all you neighbors to a food shop outside, as a small expression of my regard."

The gathered neighbors clamored noisily, telling Chen Xin not to be so polite. Tan Shunlin turned his head to look around, then said to Chen Xin, "My lord is right. With all these chickens, ducks, meat, and eggs right here, why don't we set up a few tables for a running feast, right here in front of the gate — just like the day you two first arrived? No one will mind the curfew. We can drink freely to our hearts' content."

Chen Xin clapped his hands. He had endured countless welcome banquets along the way and had lately grown somewhat weary of feasting and socializing, but here he felt no resistance at all. He laughed loudly. "Then we'll do as Zongjia Tan suggests. You neighbors have provided so much food — this brother will cover the wine and tobacco!"...

That day Chen Xin drained every cup offered. Though it was only low-proof distilled liquor, he still ended up dead drunk. Dai Zhenggang and the others tried desperately to block the toasts, but they could not outmatch so many neighbors. The next day he slept until the sun was three poles high.

Even Wang Tingshi, who was used to drinking at pleasure houses, had woken up. Chen Xin and his party still had not arrived, so he had to send someone to hurry them along. They finally set out for Jingshi before noon. On the road they stopped twice, at Hexiwu and Tongzhou. The Regional Commander at Tongzhou was still Yang Guodong. He, Wang Tingshi, and Chen Xin were all old acquaintances from Deng and Lai, and he entertained them warmly once again.

Along the way Chen Xin also inspected the Four Seas Trading Company branch in Tongzhou. With Yang Guodong's patronage, it was doing very well. Most goods from Jizhen and Liaozhen were sold through here, and they also purchased northern goods to sell southward. Among these, one of the most important was warhorses. There was much smuggling along the Jizhen border passes. What the Mongols needed most were spices, pepper, cigarettes, and tea — and the Four Seas Trading Company happened to have all of them.

Among the Four Seas Trading Company's targets, Chen Xin had relatively lowered the profit-margin requirements but had specifically emphasized that the Tongzhou branch needed to meet warhorse procurement quotas. Whether horses from the border garrisons or from the Mongols, superior breeding stock could even earn extra performance points.

By the time Chen Xin came to inspect, the Tongzhou shop had already purchased over two hundred warhorses this year, which were being sent to Dengzhou in batches. Chen Xin casually looked over the remaining warhorses. At least fifty were military horses from Liaozhen, with brands on their bodies and even Liaozhen markings on the wooden parts of their saddles. The Shopkeeper said that border merchants had bought them from deserters, most of whom came from the various battalions routed at the Battle of Zhangshan.

Chen Xin could not care less which battalion they came from. As long as they were warhorses, he took them all. Warhorses purchased through merchants cost close to thirty taels each. With some commercial conditions attached, the price could drop to just over twenty taels. This was roughly the same as what the Guanning Army paid for horses, but the Guanning silver involved many kickbacks and false accounts, and many of the horses were not true warhorses. The Mongols generally kept the best warhorses for themselves, sold the middling ones to merchants, and sold only the worst to the various Ming armies.

Now Chen Xin had men and money and urgently needed to expand his own cavalry. Silver was not the main problem. He urged the Shopkeeper to buy more horses, and to recruit more elite scouts and Night Scouts from the border garrisons.

After two days' delay on the road, Chen Xin finally followed Wang Tingshi into long-missed Jingshi, ending a journey that had dragged on for over twenty days. In his heart he had long since cursed Wang Tingshi to hell and back. If Chen Xin had ridden on his own, he could have arrived in seven or eight days. Now it had taken more than three times as long. He made up his mind that the return trip must be by sea.

This year, because of the Battle of Dalinghe, many people in Jingshi feared a Jianzhou Bandit invasion and had fled south to escape the fighting. Commerce was considerably worse than before. Coming from Tongzhou, he saw all along the way that the lands left barren during the Jisi year still lay untilled. Once the Jianzhou Bandits had passed through, it took many years to recover vitality.

The party entered the city through Guangqumen, then passed Chongwenmen toward Qipanjie. A military officer like Chen Xin was bound for the Ministry of War, while Wang Tingshi had to go to the Ministry of Personnel. The two parted at Qipanjie to attend to their respective business.

The Ministry of War was where Chen Xin had once sought his opportunity. Qian Yuanke had then been Secretary of the Bureau of Military Selection. He had seized the moment successfully, stepping on Wei Zhongxian's corpse to gain the Emperor's trust. Now he was no longer in the Ministry of War. He had served successively in the Bureau of Title Verification and the Bureau of Merit Evaluation, and was now in the Ministry of Personnel's Bureau of Civil Selection. Though still a Secretary, that department was arguably the most lucrative organ among the Six Ministries.

But Chen Xin did not need connections now. Outside the gate he first met up with Zhou Shifa, who had gone ahead to scout. After confirming there was nothing unusual in Jingshi, he sent his name in at the gate. The Ministry of War's staff immediately received him with great attentiveness — even a Vice Minister came out. After reporting in here, he had only to wait for the Emperor's summons. The Ministry of War handled this with great efficiency. It was said that Chen Xin and Wang Tingshi had been so long in arriving that the Emperor had grown impatient waiting.

During the brief time Chen Xin spent with that Vice Minister, the Ministry of War coordinated with the Ministry of Rites to assign a protocol officer, who would come the next day to teach Dai Zhenggang and the others the etiquette for an audience at court.

Once Chen Xin and his party had set the training time, a Secretary from the Ministry of War accompanied them to find a decent inn on Qipanjie, where they would wait for the Emperor to summon them.

They had barely sat down for a quarter of an hour when Chen Xin heard an argument at the stairway outside. He went to the door and saw a guard speaking with a rather handsome middle-aged man.

Zhou Shifa, disguised as an ordinary guest, was observing from the corridor with several men, controlling the stairway position.

The middle-aged man, with polished courtesy, said to the guard, "Brother, I know General Chen is here. Please do me the convenience of announcing me." As he spoke, he produced a piece of silver worth about ten taels.

The guard stepped back and said loudly, "By the Wendeng Battalion's military regulations, aside from our pay, we may not accept money or goods from anyone. You want me to announce you but refuse to give your name. It is you who are not giving us convenience."

The man lowered his head and paused, as if somewhat surprised. Finally he looked up and said, "Please announce that a friend from Liaodong has come to call. My surname is Wu, given name Lianghuan."

Chen Xin was briefly taken aback, then immediately recalled the Intelligence Bureau's files. He strode out at once and said to the man with a laugh, "So it is Regional Commander Wu of Liaozhen. I have long heard of you."