[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-late-ming":3,"chapter-late-ming-late-ming-chapter-462":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Late Ming",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},926822,1218,"Chapter 462: Capable","late-ming-chapter-462",462,"\u003Cp>Outside the parade ground on the east side of Dengzhou’s naval port, Chen Xin had just returned from an inspection tour of Wendeng. Now that the Liaodong Sea had thawed, Dai Zhenggang had been transferred back to Dengzhou, reassigned as commander of the Third Battalion, while Zheng Sanhu was transferred to command the Second Battalion. The Second Battalion’s troops in southern Liaodong returned to Wendeng, and Chen Xin made a special trip there to reassure the army and help Zheng Sanhu take over. Along the way he also inspected several more fortified villages and checked on the spring plowing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Southern Liaodong was already bustling with construction. From Jinzhou to Nanguan, fortified villages and fieldworks were densely packed. The large numbers of auxiliary soldiers who had fought in the Lüshun campaign had all been issued cold-weapon arms. Moreover, the Later Jin army had just completed their Xuan–Da raid, so at least for the first half of this year they lacked the strength to launch an offensive in southern Liaodong. Chen Xin even felt they would not dare return to southern Liaodong for several years.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The trading company’s income had risen to 2.3 million taels the previous year. Although most of it still had to be used to expand the scale of operations, Chen Xin had clearly become the wealthiest military garrison. On top of that, they had looted a haul from fighting the Purple-Gold Beam the year before, and the court’s military funds had all arrived on time. Dengzhou’s expenditures had already surpassed those of the Guan–Ning army. The Guan–Ning army had a share of over three million taels from the Liaodong tax, but like Chen Xin they had to skim off nearly half for the various ministries in the capital.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After spring began, Dengzhou’s cotton cloth flooded into Qingzhou and Jinan Prefecture like a tide. With its fine, dense weave and a price ten percent cheaper, it swiftly crushed the local cotton cloth. Even Shandong Provincial Governor Xu Congzhi opened a cotton cloth shop in Jinan, buying goods exclusively from the Four Seas Trading Company to sell, and Chen Xin naturally gave him a low price.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cotton-related industries also sprang up like bamboo shoots after rain all across Dengzhou and Laizhou. Many were organized in the form of fortified villages, mainly engaged in dyeing, transport, small boatyards, and loom manufacturing. Low-interest loans were provided by the money shop. Deng–Lai’s industry and commerce were developing under the impetus of the two great trades of cotton spinning and tobacco.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The three local shipyards began building sand junks and fishing boats. All three yards were jointly run by coastal fortified villages. The fishing boats sold quite well, but the cargo ships had low sales.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The policy Liu Minyou set out was that loans were available on the same terms. Any person from a fortified-village household could purchase a boat and take part in cargo transport. Liu Minyou needed to solve the transport problem for the cotton-spinning industry. Among the coastal fortified villages there were many fishermen. Some who no longer wished to fish, and who saw profit to be made in transport, came to the yards to place orders in fair numbers, but those willing to take out loans were still few. Most pooled money household by household.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With the spring plowing also underway, Dengzhou’s vast civil affairs system was fully in motion. Over a million villagers were hard at work, and the whole of Deng–Lai was stirring back to life.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Chen Xin reached the military headquarters gate, he thought for a moment, gave his adjutant a few instructions, then turned around and headed to the civil affairs section. Along the way, civil officials were coming and going busily. When subordinates are busy, the leader is happy. Humming a little tune, Chen Xin arrived at Liu Minyou’s office.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once inside, he found Liu Minyou discussing shipyard matters with Wang Daixi. The moment Wang Daixi saw Chen Xin, she hastily rose to take her leave.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Xin laughed. “I’m not the Bull Demon King. Why do you always have to leave the moment I arrive?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Daixi blushed. “I was afraid you had urgent business, my lord, and I dared not delay you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Nothing urgent. I just came to see if civil affairs needed any help from me, and to ask about the spring plowing. Go on talking — I’m in no hurry.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Xin took off his hat and hung it on the clothes rack, then indeed went to find a cup and pour himself tea. Wang Daixi had no choice but to sit back down.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liu Minyou glanced at Chen Xin, then said to Wang Daixi, “The shipyard’s vessel output has to match the cotton mill’s output, and it must keep pace. The money shop is providing loans, but not many people are willing to borrow. Those village households are somewhat afraid of loans, so the number of boats purchased is still small. That’s why I want the Finance Department to set up another system, called insurance.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Insurance?” Wang Daixi looked completely bewildered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Xin, hearing this, couldn’t help straightening up. He had never heard Liu Minyou mention insurance either.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes, insurance. The coastal village households are unwilling to do transport partly because they fear the risks of sea transport. If anything goes wrong, they still have to compensate the trading company. The idea is that every boat pays a fee. If any boat among them runs into trouble, the insurance fee covers the compensation. It can also provide a relief payment to the crew members who perish. But it will be limited to boats carrying the Four Seas Trading Company’s goods. For now, the Finance Department will handle this on a provisional basis.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Daixi blinked. “What about the boats of other merchants?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“We won’t handle those. We can only insure boats bought by our own village households. Otherwise, if some people try to defraud the insurance, it will cost us too much effort. Take some people and draft a set of regulations first.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Daixi said softly, “Understood. I’ll take my leave now.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Daixi stood up, made a curtsy to Chen Xin, and walked straight out the door.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Xin immediately sidled over. “Did I come at a bad time?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liu Minyou shot him a glance. “What bad time? She and I only discuss official business in the office.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then in private…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liu Minyou hastily cut him off. “You already know all about it. You were the matchmaker in this. Anyway, I’ve told her — we still have to wait a few years.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Xin clicked his tongue and sighed. “Truly blessed. How come I’ve only got two, and no official ever offers me a daughter as a concubine?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liu Minyou shook his head, smiling. “If you have something to say, say it. I’m very busy here.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What’s this insurance about?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I want to keep the sea-transport resources in our own hands. Outside merchants may have enough ships too, but the silver would be earned by others. And when an emergency arises, if we need to transport troops or the like, we can’t requisition theirs. If our own village households earn the transport money, and that money is spent within Deng–Lai, think how much GDP it will drive. So I want the fortified villages in suitable coastal areas to organize shipping cooperatives. They can carry goods for the trading company and also accept hire from outside merchants to carry cargo. That’s our potential navy. But at the moment, many villages are worried about the risks of sea transport.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Xin nodded repeatedly. “Brother Liu, you’re a great talent. This is truly an excellent idea. Though I reckon it won’t be accepted too quickly, it’s definitely a good thing. Our navy is what it is. The Jianzhou bandits across the water have none at all, so we don’t need a very professional navy to fight them. Having these fishermen transport troops on sand junks would be just fine.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liu Minyou looked up at Chen Xin. “What exactly do you want?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What I mentioned last time — expanding the southern Liaodong Fourth Battalion into the Southern Liaodong Brigade, and the Fifth Battalion into the Central Plains Brigade. I need to ask you about the military funds…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liu Minyou cut him off. “Didn’t I say it’s only enough to add five thousand men, including your Young Guard Army? Distribute them however you like. As for the rest, don’t even think about it for the first half of the year. Our silver has all been used to buy up cotton, including the silver you looted from fighting the Purple-Gold Beam last year. We’ve only kept this year’s expenses for the first few battalions. If the cotton spinning goes smoothly in the second half of the year, we’ll still need to expand production. At that point, I can give you a quota for at most another five thousand men.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Gold would work too.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The gold is for minting coins with seventy percent gold content — unless you’re willing to forgo that thirty percent seigniorage.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Well…” Chen Xin scratched his head. Ten thousand felt a bit low, but for now that was all he could get. “Then come over to the meeting first. We happen to be discussing the army expansion today.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Mm.” Liu Minyou glanced at the Macau chiming clock in the corner of the room and nodded. “Fine, but half a shichen at most.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>………\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two men arrived at the Regional Commander’s medium-sized conference room. Inside, it was already thick with smoke. A group of officers were puffing away, and Chen Xin’s adjutant was waiting at the door.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The Regional Commander has arrived!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The officers inside the room rose to their feet in unison, chair legs clattering in a brief chaos.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two men walked to the head of the room and took their places. The officers saluted together. Chen Xin returned the salute and waved for everyone to sit. Present were the directors or deputy directors of the Military Orders, Military Affairs, Logistics, and Training & Instruction departments. Today’s discussion concerned the allocation of troop quotas for the two brigade-level units, so Zhu Guobin had also made a special trip back from Lüshun, leaving only Liu Pojun in Jinzhou to oversee the overall situation in southern Liaodong.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As soon as Chen Xin sat down, he said to Dong Yu, “His Excellency Liu says there’s a quota of five thousand men for the first half of the year. The Guard Battalion’s Fourth Regiment has already taken a thousand. That leaves the Southern Liaodong Brigade and the Central Plains Brigade. The costs for the two are different. According to the troop-quota allocation method, you need to report the different costs for His Excellency Liu to hear, so the Finance Department can prepare accordingly.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dong Yu cleared his throat and was about to speak when the deputy director of the Military Orders Department suddenly said to Chen Xin, “A victory dispatch just arrived at Military Orders. The Fifth Battalion’s dragoons won a great victory. They killed one Later Jin banner lord and two gūsa ejens. A great victory!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The conference room immediately buzzed with excitement. Chen Xin laughed heartily. “Good old Zhong Laosi — he’s even got a banner lord now. If there’s a victory dispatch, bring it out and read it aloud. Everyone here has a security clearance of Level One or above; they can all listen. Go ahead and read it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone in the conference room murmured in low voices, waiting for the deputy director to read the dispatch.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The deputy director stood up, opened the dispatch, and read loudly: “Wang Zhangfu, commander of the Guard Battalion and commanding officer of the Prince of the Blood Battle Group, reports to the Regional Commander, His Excellency Chen: The dragoon company of the Fifth Battalion, acting on Military Orders Department orders of the sixth day of the second month to relieve Xuan–Da, entered the theater via Wu’an, Zhending, and Daoma Pass under the leadership of Fifth Battalion Assistant Regional Commander Zhong Caisheng. At Matou Pass they decisively defeated the Later Jin Bordered Yellow Banner troops, killing in battle the Bordered Yellow Banner gūsa ejen Darha and below, 323 true barbarians, and dealing a heavy blow to the Bordered Yellow Banner’s Abatai contingent…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sound of indrawn breath immediately rose in the conference room. Chen Xin nodded repeatedly with satisfaction, his eyes narrowed, and loudly commented, “This Zhong Laosi has a real knack for fighting, and he’s very good at picking his opponents. The key point is to strike at Huang Taiji’s own lineage. That being the case, was the banner lord killed Haoge?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The deputy director continued excitedly, “Thereupon the dragoon company discovered the Plain Blue Banner’s movements and pursued them all the way to Cigouying. At that time, the Plain Blue Banner was blocked by Company Commander Zhang Xiushen at Zhubokou. Our dragoons attacked repeatedly and annihilated the Plain Blue Banner’s main force outside Zhubokou…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The moment Chen Xin heard the words “Plain Blue Banner,” his mouth fell slightly open.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Killed in battle the Plain Blue Banner lord, Manggūltai…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hiss…” Chen Xin drew a sharp breath and shot to his feet. “Who did you say was killed in battle?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Manggūltai — the Grand Beile, my lord.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The roomful of officers assumed Chen Xin was astonished because it was a Grand Beile, and they all applauded together. “Well done, Fifth Battalion — they even killed a Grand Beile.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The dragoons are mighty!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This Zhong Laosi is impressive. He was already a good fighter back in Fuzhou.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liu Minyou saw that Chen Xin was still standing there in a daze and asked curiously, “Aren’t you pleased?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Pleased, pleased.” Chen Xin plopped back into his seat, smiling a little awkwardly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The deputy director’s voice trembled as he continued reading: “Also killed in battle or captured, the Plain Blue Banner gūsa ejen Tobohoi and below, 673 true barbarians, plus over 700 bondservants. In the two engagements, a total of over 7,300 captured commoners were rescued. Seized…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Xin nodded gently with a face full of smiles and an approving expression, and said through gritted teeth in a mosquito-like voice, “Zhong Laosi is truly capable.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fast updates, plain text only.\u003C\u002Fp>",2373,"2026-06-03T06:47:21.287Z",1,"Novelzhen Translator","21c650dd863eca47d09afea1840dc2a386f15c0e79ca39dac440a499c6cb8c86","late-ming-chapter-463","late-ming-chapter-461",580,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Flate-ming-cover.jpg"]