Chapter 370: Qinghua Town

Lv Zhi was happy to delay, and also joined in listening to the excitement and chatting on the side, casually flattering the Shizhu soldiers with a couple of remarks, which made the adjutant so anxious he was scratching his ears and cheeks. Another quarter-hour dragged by before Chen Xin seemed to remember he still had a Provincial Governor to see, making Xuan Mo wait a full half shichen before meeting these two low-ranking officers.

Xuan Mo was a man of striking appearance. He was extremely courteous upon meeting them, not the slightest bit angered by the delay caused by the urgent need to urinate, and he absolutely did not bring up the matter of mutual impeachment. After both sides exchanged a round of diplomatic pleasantries, Xuan Mo hinted at his own strategy to them. Seeing him like this, Lv Zhi and Chen Xin also refrained from mentioning anything that would spoil the mood, only discussing the matter of military grain supply, tacitly acquiescing to Xuan Mo's strategy. Xuan Mo had notified the chief officers of each unit to arrive early precisely to reach a consensus with the main leaders before the meeting; this was also a basic strategy of officialdom. If things were not properly communicated before the meeting, bringing it directly to the conference would cause problems, especially since Lv Zhi was at odds with him.

At the evening welcoming banquet, generals were as numerous as clouds, and their personal attendants were also arranged with tables and seats in the outer rooms. This single meal cost over a hundred taels of silver. The officers exchanged toasts, and Chen Xin, with his excellent alcohol tolerance and very warm demeanor, became drinking buddies with the entire assembly of officers.

After this welcoming banquet, everyone's surface-level relationships became much more harmonious. Chen Xin made several new friends, the highest-ranking of whom were the Capital Training Division Regional Commanders Wang Pu and Ni Chong. Both were men of striking appearance; although they had just arrived from a long march, they were impeccably neat and tidy, a stark contrast to the other travel-worn generals. Their retainers also wore gleaming armor and helmets, with a red feather stuck into their bright helmets — no one knew what kind of feather it was. (Note 1)

This was indeed the image befitting the Capital Training Division, but according to Chen Xin's understanding, the Capital Training Division's actual combat effectiveness was very poor, and its problems of misappropriated labor and empty payrolls were even worse than those of ordinary garrison battalions. Even among those on the rolls, a large number were beggars, street ruffians, and hangers-on.

Such a situation had long since deviated far from the original intention of Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Di when they established the Capital Training Division. They established it to create a structure where the center was strong and the regions were weak, to check and balance local powerholders. After Zhu Di ascended the throne, the Capital Training Division reached seventy-two guard battalions, with over three hundred thousand men. The total number of troops stationed within the entire Northern Zhili reached six hundred thousand, forming the core of the northern defense.

The organization of the Capital Training Division was reformed again and again, from the Three Great Camps to the Ten Integrated Camps, from the Ten Integrated Camps selecting the Twelve Camps, then changing to the Eastern and Western Official Halls, and finally reverting to the Three Great Camps: the Five Armies Camp, the Divine Pivot Camp, and the Divine Mechanism Camp.

No matter how they changed it, the Capital Training Division as a whole never broke free from the broad framework of the guard battalion system, and its institutional decay was inherited in a continuous line. The problems of misappropriated labor and empty payrolls were never resolved, and the Capital Training Division became the private preserve of the capital's powerful elites. In the early years of the Zhengde reign, Supervising Secretary Wang Zhongliang selected troops and discovered that out of a troop quota of three hundred eighty thousand, only one hundred forty thousand were on the rolls, and only twenty thousand were fit for use. This was still in the mid-Ming period. The various emperors who followed made many attempts to revitalize the Capital Training Division, but all ended in failure.

The state of the Capital Training Division after the mid-Ming period possessed no deterrent capability whatsoever. This was not something that only happened in the Chongzhen era. At the beginning of Chongzhen's reign, Li Banghua made a final effort to reorganize the Capital Training Division, and the situation improved slightly, but he offended many people. The powerful elites used the Jisi Campaign as an excuse to have Li Banghua dismissed, and the Capital Training Division reverted to its old ways, perhaps even worse than before. The elites divided up the pay for the empty slots and misappropriated the labor of the soldiers on the rolls, turning the soldiers into household slaves in their own homes. The immense private profit involved made any attempt at change face overwhelming resistance.

The intelligence Zhang Da sent from Jingshi also repeatedly mentioned that the Capital Training Division soldiers could not withstand a single battle. Although Chen Xin was unimpressed by the Capital Training Division's combat strength, Ni Chong had a very high opinion of himself. While he was polite, there was always a sense of superiority in his demeanor. Chen Xin suppressed his disgust and went to offer a toast, laughing and joking to build some rapport. The other one, Wang Pu, looked somewhat more martial, and his speech seemed to suggest he came from a military family. Chen Xin vaguely remembered there was a Datong Regional Commander named Wang Pu who later, during the Song-Jin Campaign, bolted first and, in a long-distance running contest, defeated the Guanning Army, which had the home-field advantage, and rarely won the Liaoxi Rally Championship. In the end, before he could even claim his prize, he was executed by the Emperor. He wondered if it was this very person before him.

After the sumptuous evening banquet, Xuan Mo also arranged for a flower wine party, and Chen Xin went along. The top courtesans of the brothel were all booked. The brothel was filled with song and dance, and the various military officers were thoroughly entertained, showing no sign that just outside the city lay a thousand li of war-torn land. The spending at the brothel was even greater. Chen Xin drank and made merry with them, and in the end did not stay the night, but he still lingered until late at night before leaving.

None of Chen Xin's twenty personal bodyguards had entered the brothel. After he came out, he took his guards to the prefectural school, which was the lodging Xuan Mo had arranged for the hundred-plus guards given to him. He insisted on staying with his own troops.

There were quite a few soldiers and civilian braves patrolling the streets; Xuan Mo's defense arrangements were actually quite well done. The vanguard soldiers clearing the way carried the Provincial Governor's lanterns, and no one came up to question them. On horseback, Chen Xin let out a drunken burp; he drank every cup dry, so he had drunk quite a lot, and his head felt somewhat muddled.

As the breeze on the street blew past, he sobered up slightly. He raised his head to look around. The dim yellow light of the vanguard soldiers' lanterns flickered, casting the shadows of the group. The clatter of hooves echoed in the empty long street. From behind came the strains of string and bamboo music, along with the sounds of men and women laughing and flirting.

Chen Xin shook his head and, surrounded by his guards, slowly rode into the distance. The small building within the brothel's walls remained brilliantly lit...

On the eighteenth day of the sixth month of the sixth year of the Chongzhen reign, the grand conference of cadres at the rank of Mobile Corps Commander and above for the Eastern Route Army was victoriously convened. The venue was the main hall of the prefectural government office. Inside, it was packed with people. Those at the level of Regional Commander, Vice Regional Commander, and Army Supervisor were in the front rows to the left and right, while Assistant Regional Commanders, Mobile Corps Commanders, Company Commanders, and the like were in the back rows.

Ma Xianglin, regardless of whether it was appropriate or not, directly chose a seat close to Chen Xin and chatted in low voices with Chen and Lv, at this point no longer talking about the bloody battle at the Hunhe River, but about amusing anecdotes.

Once the conference began, Xuan Mo first laid out his own plan. His primary demand was that the roving bandits must not be allowed to enter Northern Zhili — that was the matter of utmost importance. Next was to properly protect Weihui Prefecture, because Prince Lu was still in Weihui Prefecture; if it fell, it would be an unthinkable disaster. In addition, he briefed everyone on the situation in Shanxi, where the roving bandits were still surrounded. Xuan Mo emphasized holding Weihui Prefecture securely, preventing large groups of roving bandits from breaking through eastward, and trapping them near Huaiqing.

However, his deployment was still overly focused on specific commands, demanding attacks on certain roving bandit groups, but lacking an overall strategy. Chen Xin had suggested to him the day before to combine steady defense with sudden strikes, with each unit holding key points, then concentrating some generals with more cavalry to launch surprise attacks on the roving bandits' encampments to strike at their core strength, but Xuan Mo did not bring this up at the conference.

Chen Xin estimated that Xuan Mo had many misgivings and did not dare to let large units of government troops stray far from the vicinity of Weihui Prefecture. Huaiqing was already ravaged anyway, so he would rather maintain the current situation. As long as the roving bandits were trapped and starved in Huaiqing, that was enough. Once the strong armies like those of Cao Wenzhao, Li Bei, and Ai Wannian arrived from the north, the roving bandits would be reduced to ashes. This posed the least risk to him.

Fortunately, everyone gave him face and did not make Xuan Mo lose face on the spot. In the end, the issue of military grain was brought up again, and everyone finally could not hold back. The scene from Jizhou that year repeated itself, and the various commanders began to clamor. But the Eastern Route's government troops plus civilian laborers numbered over forty thousand, requiring several hundred shi of grain every day. Xuan Mo truly could not produce that much and told everyone to figure it out themselves. After the commanders finished making a fuss, they still had no choice but to go back to each looting on their own.

Chen Xin stayed in Weihui for two more days, waiting for the grain boats that came from Great Ming Prefecture along the Wei River. He led his troops to receive them at Qimen Town and escorted them with cavalry to the prefectural city to unload, then used his own baggage unit to transport the grain back to Huixian.

This was the first time Chen Xin truly tasted what it was like to be a guest army. He was not short of silver, and he had a powerful commercial network behind him, yet even so, supply was such a headache. One could well imagine the other commanders; if they did not loot, they would surely starve to death themselves, so they could only loot grain and let others starve.

On the way back to Huixian, Chen Xin left some grain for Geng Zhongming. The rest was transported to the main camp outside Huixian city. Seeing that the war situation showed a trend of becoming protracted, Chen Xin could only begin to consolidate the camp fortifications, using this place as a frontline support point to ensure the safety of the military grain.

After this resupply, the Dengzhou Garrison once again had a month and a half's worth of reserves. Having resolved his worries about the rear, Chen Xin began to gather his troops. He no longer intended to engage in meaningless chases with the roving bandits, which was using his own weakness to attack the enemy's strength. He planned to pull off a big operation himself, to truly intimidate the Jianzhou Bandits.

Chen Xin dispatched a large number of mounted scouts to investigate the movements of the roving bandits, especially the encampments of the large core bandit groups. The Yubei battlefield was vast, and the Dengzhou Garrison's mounted scouts were insufficient in number. However, Chen Xin still had one intelligence source he could look forward to, a hidden piece he had planted after the Battle of the Huan River...

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At Qinghua Town, Henei County, Huaiqing Prefecture, refugees covered the mountains and plains, encamped outside the town. They lacked sufficient materials and physical strength to build unauthorized structures, and many were simply living out in the open.

Inside the town, there were still a few intact large residences. In front of the door of one stood two large red banners; one bore the three large characters "Purple Gold Beam," and the other read "Chuang Wang, Uphold Justice on Heaven's Behalf." From time to time, groups of fierce-looking men on horseback arrived at the door, loudly joking and laughing with each other in the Shaanxi dialect, and then entered the house together.

This was originally the home of a cautious family, and today it served as the temporary location for the Purple Gold Beam, Wang Ziyong. His own camp was not here, but north of Qinghua Town, even closer to Mount Taixing. He had only come here today to meet and discuss matters with the various bandit chieftains. Chuang Wang, as the second-largest roving bandit, was the earliest to arrive at this place for the meeting. The two had recently been operating as partners in their marauding and were the backbone of the Thirty-Six Camps.

Many horses were scattered in the east and west gardens of the residence. They were eating grass inside, and the ground was covered with dung, turning a quiet, elegant garden into a complete mess. Between the two gardens was the place where the landlord and rich man originally lived, and the main hall was packed with burly, fierce men.

At the seat of honor was a man with graying temples and rough skin. His demeanor was calm and composed, not at all like those chieftains who were gorging and guzzling; he only occasionally lifted his wine bowl to take a sip. Beside him was a rough-hewn, middle-aged man, around forty years old.

"Fifth Brother, Sixth Brother, you gotta think of a way quick. These days, the pickings are getting slimmer and slimmer, and those donkey-balled dog government troops are getting more and more." A loud shout in the Shaanxi dialect came from the doorway. The man at the seat of honor smiled and looked up to see the sallow-faced Eighth Great King striding into the hall.

The surrounding roving bandit chieftains all greeted Zhang Xianzhong boisterously. Zhang Xianzhong did not respond. He walked up to one bandit leader, snatched the half-eaten leg of lamb from his hand, grabbed his bowl as well, and sat himself down beside the man at the seat of honor.

The man with graying temples was the Purple Gold Beam, the current head chieftain of the Thirty-Six Camps. When he was under Wang Jiayin, he was ranked the Fifth Great King. Zhang Xianzhong was ranked eighth and called the Eighth Great King, and Zhang Xianzhong habitually called him Fifth Brother. The rough-hewn middle-aged man beside him was Gao Yingxiang. Back then, under Wang Jiayin, he was ranked sixth, just a little behind the Purple Gold Beam, and now he could only be ranked second. So, this matter of seniority and ranking had a market everywhere.

The four ranked ahead of the Purple Gold Beam and Gao Yingxiang were all now dead or missing, including the First Great King, Wang Jiayin himself. The fourth through the eighth were all still alive, though. The seventh was Cao Cao, Luo Rucai, which showed how many talented men Wang Jiayin had under him back then. Zhang Xianzhong did not have much respect for the sixth or the seventh, so the Purple Gold Beam became one of the few who could keep Zhang Xianzhong in line.

At that moment, a bandit chieftain below said in a sarcastic tone, "I say, Eighth Great King of the Western Camp, I heard you got your pants beaten off by a bunch of Shandong soldiers. Did you lose your donkey balls too?"

Zhang Xianzhong looked over coldly, his eyes radiating ferocity. The two glared at each other viciously. The Purple Gold Beam sat in the middle, drinking calmly. Everyone else ate their own food, as if this was a common sight.

"I, your old man, couldn't bear to lose them, or else what donkey balls would I use to greet your wife."

That man chuckled slyly, "Tonight when I go back, I'll just cook my wife and eat her first. Next time, the Eighth Great King of the Western Camp won't have to keep your donkey balls."

Zhang Xianzhong shot to his feet with a whoosh, and a wine bowl flew over with a whoosh. That man had been prepared, deflecting it with a wave of his hand. Several men behind him simultaneously drew their blades with a clang. Zhang Xianzhong also drew his waist knife and made a move to charge forward and start hacking.

"Enough." The Purple Gold Beam waved his hand gently, and only then did Zhang Xianzhong stop in his tracks. The Purple Gold Beam stood up and walked to the center. "Right now, these dog government troops have killed quite a few of our brothers. You two Eighth Great Kings don't need to help them any further. Why fight over a single title like a donkey's ball."

The other Eighth Great King over there sat down after hearing this and waved his hand for his men to put away their waist knives. Zhang Xianzhong threw his knife to the ground with a clang, sat down huffily, and drank wine, occasionally glaring fiercely at that other Eighth Great King.

The Purple Gold Beam cupped his hands to the people around him and said, "Everyone's here today. I, your old man, called you here not to fight and drink. The Emperor has now sent tens of thousands of men to follow us. Everyone knows how formidable the border troops are. Shanxi can't be held for long. This place in Henan is only the size of a palm, and we can't cross the Yellow River. Where should we go in the future? Does anyone have any plans?" (To be continued...)