Chapter 353: Uplifted

Chen Xin held the secret letter Song Wenxian had sent back and examined it in his room. The first few characters at the beginning indicated it was second-level encryption, which did not require Chen Xin himself to decode — it had been transcribed by Wang Mafu.

From what Song Wenxian had learned in the capital, the imperial court's financial situation had improved somewhat. After the Liaodong tax was increased by three li, it yielded over 1.4 million extra taels of silver. The strictness of performance evaluations for Liaodong tax collection exceeded that of any other item — even if local officials delayed the regular taxes, they had to handle this one first.

Once silver was sufficient, the war effort also greatly improved. In Shaanxi, the Qin army under Hong Chengchou grew stronger with every battle. In the tenth month, they annihilated one city, Xue Hongqi, and Yizi Wang. In the eleventh month, they wiped out the stubborn Hao Lin'an and Duxing Lang. In the fifth year of Chongzhen, a total of over thirty-six thousand roving bandits were beheaded. The large bands of roving bandits and their chieftains in Shaanxi were all defeated and perished. During the campaigns, a batch of civil and military officials performed well — the most conspicuous civil official was Chen Qiyu, and among military officers were Cao Bianjiao, Ai Wannian, Wang Chengen, and others.

Hong Chengchou was not as pedantic as Yang He, nor was he a completely bloodthirsty butcher. Every time he cornered the roving bandits, he would announce that those coerced into following would be spared from execution. Once they surrendered, he would pick out all the hardcore elements among the captured bandits. The largest single instance was four hundred men beheaded at once. This both intimidated the remaining followers and removed the backbone among them. Even if some tried to stir up trouble later, their fighting strength would be far inferior to before.

In the first month of the sixth year, after Shaanxi was pacified, the Shaanxi armies began a joint offensive against the roving bandits in Shanxi. Hong Chengchou played his trump card — that trump card was Chen Xin's old friend from the Four Cities battle, Cao Wenzhao. He was now the Regional Commander of Lintao, though his substantive rank had not reached as high as Chen Xin's.

Cao Wenzhao led 3,500 men across the Yellow River into Shanxi territory. Accompanying him were his subordinate commanders Ma Ke and Cao Bianjiao. This force originated from Cao Wenzhao's old Guanning Army unit, along with elite frontier troops selected locally in Shaanxi. Every soldier had been individually chosen by the officers, and the majority were cavalry. Not only was their combat strength formidable, their mobility was in no way inferior to the roving bandits. This force was skilled in battle and fierce in conduct, having beheaded over ten thousand roving bandits in years of continuous campaigning. Cao Bianjiao was Cao Wenzhao's nephew and also fought with great valor. The roving bandits called them the Greater and Lesser Cao — whenever they encountered this uncle and nephew, the bandits generally fled at the mere sight of them.

The good days for the roving bandits in Shanxi were about to end, which would also accelerate their flight toward the Central Plains and Northern Zhili. Therefore, Dengzhou Garrison also needed to begin making preparations. After Song Wenxian's round of visits, the Militia Regional Commander position was basically settled — they were granted the pay and provisions for one extra battalion of three thousand men, and were permitted to train civilian braves. Under the name of this new battalion, Liang Tingdong additionally promised five hundred sets of mail armor and three hundred sets of iron armor, plus five hundred horses from the Court of the Imperial Stud. This price fell somewhat short of Chen Xin's demands, but was within an acceptable range.

Another matter was that the newly appointed Grand Coordinator of Jiliao, Xiong Mingyu, was coming to inspect Dengzhou and Laizhou. This man was formerly the Minister of Justice in Nanjing and had always been regarded as knowledgeable in military affairs. In the original history, he was supposed to succeed Liang Tingdong as Minister of War, but later, because of the unauthorized peace negotiations at Xuanfu, he spoke up in defense of Shen Qi, who belonged to the same Zhou Yanru faction, and was brought down by the censors' barrage of criticism. Now, not only had Liang Tingdong not collapsed, he was stubbornly holding on and showing great momentum toward entering the Grand Secretariat. Chongzhen played a bit of balancing, giving the Jiliao Grand Coordinator post to Zhou Yanru's man, leaving Liang Tingdong and Wen Tiren with an empty joy...

Xiong Mingyu had been in office for several months. His jurisdiction included Ji Garrison, Liao Garrison, Dengzhou Garrison, Dongjiang Garrison, and the Tianjin Governor. He chose to station himself at Shanhai Pass and also spent a period at Ningyuan — it was clear that Liaoxi remained the court's primary focus. After the New Year, he planned to take a ship from Juehua Island to Dengzhou, and it was said he also wanted to visit Lushun.

Chen Xin no longer needed to desperately curry favor with his superiors as before. Wen Tiren, Liang Tingdong, and Cao Huachun all had close ties with him, and the Emperor also held him in high regard. Xiong Mingyu might appear to be an awe-inspiring Grand Coordinator, but in the capital, he could do nothing to Chen Xin.

Song Wenxian sought out two secretaries in the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Personnel. Once they received the silver, they vigorously recommended Zhu Wannian for the post of Governor of Xuanfu. However, it proved more difficult than Chen Xin had imagined. Normally, the concurrent substantive post of a governor was that of an Assistant Censor-in-Chief of the Chief Surveillance Bureau, a civil official of the upper fourth rank. Chen Xin had originally thought that both a Prefect and an Assistant Censor-in-Chief were upper fourth rank, but court convention generally required one to have first served as an Army Defense Circuit Intendant.

Moreover, his competitor was extremely formidable. Although this man's reputation was currently unremarkable, later on he would be exceedingly famous — even Chen Xin had heard of him in his previous life. That man was Ma Shiying, the Yanghe Army Defense Circuit Intendant. Chen Xin's previous impression of Ma Shiying was that of a treacherous minister, an impression largely derived from "The Peach Blossom Fan." But having seen many officials and gentry in the Great Ming, he no longer felt Ma Shiying was particularly detestable. The collapse of the Southern Ming was caused by the overall problems of late Ming society; Ma Shiying was merely the man who ran the last leg among the many typical officials and gentry. At the very least, Ma Shiying did not voluntarily surrender to the Manchu Qing like the scholarly leader Qian Qianyi did. After the fall of Nanjing, he repeatedly participated in anti-Qing campaigns. When defeated, he hid in a temple and became a monk. When captured, he did not surrender and was beheaded. In contrast, those several positive characters in "The Peach Blossom Fan" all eventually shaved their heads in compliance with the queue order.

This Southern Ming "treacherous minister" had both favorable terrain and popular support on his side. Song Wenxian estimated he could not compete, so he took a step back and instead recommended Zhu Wannian as the Yanghe Army Defense Circuit Intendant, which had already been basically confirmed.

This was good news for Chen Xin. Zhu Wannian was by nature fiercely resolute and had strong organizational ability. It happened that Wang Tingshi's attitude was ambiguous, and Zhu Wannian had prominently become the backbone of the Laizhou gentry, constantly opposing Dengzhou Garrison in civil matters. Now he could finally be sent away.

After reading the news, Chen Xin narrowed his eyes and pondered. The roving bandits had already entered the southeastern region of Shanxi. Once the Shaanxi armies entered, they would continuously compress the operating space of the Shanxi roving bandits. The bandits would head toward Henan and Zhili. As long as they broke through the Taihang Mountains and entered the plains, they could seize more wealth and goods, allowing their locust-like march to continue.

According to Chen Xin's own later estimates, the Ming army's losses in men and horses at Dalinghe might have been greater than in history. Because the Dengzhou Rebellion had been extinguished, and the Dalinghe siege had been prolonged, forces from Changping, Tongzhou, Baoding, and other places in Northern Zhili all successively marched beyond the passes to provide relief, and were utterly routed at the Battle of Changshan. In other words, the military strength of Northern Zhili might be even weaker.

The forces the court could deploy nearby were the Guanning Army, the Sichuan Army, and the Dengzhou-Laizhou troops. The Sichuan Army, having long been a guest army, already had unstable morale. The Guanning Army had caused a major incident the last time they entered the passes for the imperial relief campaign — unless absolutely forced, the Emperor would not want to transfer them into the passes again. The best choice was the Dengzhou-Laizhou troops.

Fighting the roving bandits was not something that could be finished in a few days. The territory was vast and the duration would be very long. He needed to find a general capable of independently leading troops, supplemented by some suitable functional staff officers.

After pondering for a long time, Chen Xin opened his eyes and pulled a rope under the table. A bell rang outside, and Wang Mafu pushed the door open and entered. "Appoint a deputy department head to take charge of daily affairs. He himself is to report to the central army headquarters in five days. Transfer Wang Zhangfu and Zhao Xuan back to Dengzhou. Detach two companies from the cavalry battalion and transfer them back to Dengzhou. As soon as Lushun thaws, send ships to fetch them. Additionally, transfer Dai Zhenggang to Lushun to take over his Second Battalion, First Regiment. Send the Second Battalion, Second Regiment to Liaonan as well."

"Also, draft a mobilization order to the Mobilization Department. Have the Mobilization Department select reserve soldiers and bring the Third Battalion to full strength before the fourth month."

"Yes, my lord." Wang Mafu quickly noted it down, saluted, and retreated to the doorway.

"Also," Chen Xin suddenly raised a hand to stop him, "and that Zhong Laosi — his full name is... this..."

"Zhong Caisheng."

"Right, transfer him back to Dengzhou as well."...

"Bang, bang" — two sounds rang out as Guan Dadi hammered the last two wooden wedges into the gaps of the wooden frame.

Guan Dadi shook it forcefully twice. The frame was fairly sturdy. He turned around, placed a wooden box from the ground beside him onto it, then looked at a young man in the courtyard.

That man's features somewhat resembled Guan Dadi. He held a book in his hand, reading it, and only after a good while said, "Suspended at least three chi above the ground. No birds or miscellaneous creatures nesting in the courtyard. Both of these conditions are met. Try fitting that slatted rack in."

Guan Dadi obediently picked up a wooden frame and chose a spot in the middle of the box to insert it. The position seemed slightly off, and he had to lift the box down. He tried forcefully twice but couldn't wedge it in.

"What's the matter with this? Who made this? The left-right discrepancy is so large — how is it supposed to fit in?" The young man came over to look, his tone full of displeasure.

Guan Dadi smiled apologetically. "It was made by Carpenter Wang from the Third Tithing. He usually likes making things himself, and they look quite good. This little bit doesn't matter — I'll just take a knife and trim it myself."

"No. Tell that Carpenter Wang to return the silver. We don't want this box. With this level of craftsmanship, he still wants to earn silver? In his dreams. Go return it."

Guan's mother heard the commotion and came out from the main house. She looked it over and said to Guan Dadi, "Listen to your younger brother. How can this shoddy thing be exchanged for silver?"

Guan Dadi said awkwardly, "Carpenter Wang only charged one fen of silver — it was already cheap. Let's just make do..."

"It's not worth even half a fen of silver. I'll go find him and return it. Can you soldiers be this slipshod in battle? Can you make do with a dull spear? Can you make do with a musket ball that doesn't fit the bore? Can you make do riding a horse without a saddle? This beekeeping manual was issued by the Agricultural Science Institute, but it was written by Lord Liu. The beehive was personally designed by Lord Chen. It states clearly that the spacing must be precise and orderly — then it must be precise and orderly. This one is crooked by so much. The top beam of the slatted rack frame has no protrusions either. The bees will build comb chaotically inside. How will you harvest the honey then? How many bees will die during harvesting? How can this box be used? In our workshop, if the craftsmen did work like this, I'd dock their entire monthly pay. I clearly told you there's a place in the old camp that specializes in making these beehives, but you insisted on going to that Carpenter Wang. How much time has this wasted? I'm busy — why can't you be more considerate?" The younger brother Guan grew angrier as he spoke, his face flushing red with fury.

He was Guan Dadi's younger brother. After graduating from the technical class, he had been shuffled around by the Civil Affairs Department, sent to various places to help improve hydraulic machinery. Each time after inspection and acceptance, he received a bonus, and in a short time had saved up a hundred taels of silver. After completing the mechanical renovations at the Zhaoyuan gold mine, he was transferred back to Wendeng by Liu Minyou, training workers at the workshop in manufacturing rolling mills and also teaching a machinery course part-time at the Wendeng Academy. He usually lived at home.

This younger brother was young and wealthy. He was planning to build a large house — a true high earner, and still very young. Matchmakers had nearly worn down the doorstep. On the matter of marriage, Guan's mother had absolutely no say over him. She had seen many she was quite satisfied with, but this younger brother simply refused. No one knew what kind he was looking for.

Seeing him angry, Guan's mother quickly said to the eldest, "Listen to your younger brother. Hurry and return it."

Guan Dadi muttered hesitantly, "Old Wang broke his leg last year building roads. The work in the fields is all done by his wife. He can only make some of these things to supplement the household income..."

With a whoosh, the younger brother Guan threw the beekeeping manual onto the ground and strode furiously out the main gate. Guan's mother chased after him, calling, "The meal is already cooked — what are you doing?"

A sentence came back from the alley: "Not eating. I still have to go to the ironworking department to participate in an experiment. I don't have that much time to waste."

Guan's mother rubbed her hands on her apron, turned back, and reproached Guan Dadi, "Look at you. As the elder brother, don't you know to yield to your younger brother? He told you to buy it at the old camp, so you should have gone to the old camp to buy it. No point stirring up all this trouble."

Guan Dadi gave an embarrassed smile, picked up the manual from the ground, and brushed the dirt off it clean.

This time, he had originally only been granted two months' leave, but Zhong Laosi had not thought it through when granting him leave. The Liaodong Sea had frozen over in the eleventh month, and Guan Dadi had nowhere to go in Dengzhou. The Military Affairs Department had no choice but to keep him around to help with tasks and incidentally provide him with board and lodging. In the end, they discovered this non-commissioned officer could barely read a few characters, his leg injury had not fully healed, and he wasn't even useful for running errands. So they extended his leave and sent Guan Dadi back to Wendeng to serve as a temporary instructor at the Wendeng Vocational School, telling him to return to Dengzhou to board a ship before the thaw in the second month. Setting out now for Dengzhou, it was about time.

"Mother, just now little brother said there won't be queen bees for hive splitting until Qingming. I can't wait until Qingming. When the time comes, be careful yourself — don't get stung."

Guan's mother froze for a moment. "Dadi, you're leaving again?"

Guan Dadi nodded. "I've already stayed several months this time. My company commander will be cursing me out by now."

Guan Dadi went back into the house, dragged a small bundle out from under the bed, came out, and placed it on the dining table in the main hall. Inside were twenty taels of silver — the reward for his First-Class White Blade Assault Medal. When he had returned from Dengzhou last time, he had exchanged it for pay vouchers. This time he had learned his lesson and only cashed them after returning to Wendeng.

"Mother, I have... some silver here. Keep it to build the big house. But don't go return this bee barrel. Old Wang's family is suffering — he's riddled with illness. If it really can't be used, I'll go to the old camp later and buy two others, that's all."

Guan's mother took the silver and sighed quietly. Guan Dadi went back to his room, put on his soft military cap, dressed in his uniform, fastened his belt, wrapped his puttees, and finally pinned the medal to his chest. When he walked out again, his head was slightly raised, and he felt that upright bearing return to him, as if in the blink of an eye he had transformed from a farmer back into that combat hero.

Guan Dadi knelt before Guan's mother and said, "Mother, I'm going. There are still many comrades and brothers in Jinzhou waiting for me to go kill Tatars together."

"Ah." Guan's mother did not know what to say and merely responded with a murmur.

Guan Dadi shouldered his pack. At the gate, he paused briefly, then strode out of the alley with his head held high.

Guan's mother chased to the gate. Watching that proud, uplifted figure, her eyes red, she murmured, "Don't die... don't die..."