Chapter 491: The Advancing Footsteps

ps: A mid-month request for monthly tickets.

"The total number of tunbao serving as the civil framework is four hundred and ninety-three, with a tunbao household population of one million fifty thousand. In addition, four hundred twenty thousand people have obtained Dengzhou military household registration, mostly concentrated among combat troops, workshops, and service trades. Most tunbao along the transportation routes far exceed their own population, with small market towns developing around them. The total number of people holding Dengzhou garrison military household registration is one million four hundred seventy thousand, and the social population relying on the Dengzhou garrison system for their livelihood exceeds three million."

Everyone in the meeting room was diligently taking notes, but the content of such high-level meetings was too confidential. The notes could not record any matters, only the figures; everything else had to be memorized in their heads.

Liu Minyou took the cigarette passed by Song Wenxian beside him, lit it, and continued: "Three tobacco factories have been established, two iron smelting plants, two large-scale cotton textile factories, with a third large cotton textile factory currently selecting a site in Qingzhou Prefecture. There is one large shipyard, three large workshops, five privately established shipyards, and five tunbao joint machinery factories. The waterwheels and windmills needed by the Qingzhou Prefecture tunbao are now all supplied by these tunbao joint workshops. Our own large workshops mainly produce military equipment and textile machinery. Next year, the bank will increase its support for the tunbao joint workshops."

"Regarding arable land and grain: the four hundred and ninety-three tunbao occupy two million four hundred thousand mu of land. One million two hundred thousand mu is arable land paying a grain tax of two dou, eight hundred twenty thousand mu is newly occupied land paying a grain tax of one dou, and three hundred eighty thousand mu is newly occupied arable land temporarily exempt from grain tax. The total annual grain tax from all tunbao is three hundred twenty thousand shi. The mountainside tunbao have opened up one hundred thirty thousand mu of hillside land, planting crops such as corn, with an average yield of about one shi and two dou per mu. This portion is freely traded, and most of the distilled liquor and alcohol we use is made from this type of grain. For other cash crops like cotton, intercropping areas have been restricted. It is still insufficient to meet the demand for cotton spinning, and no major changes are expected in the short term. Regarding other agricultural products: most of the older tunbao have pig and sheep farming, as well as side businesses like beekeeping. Coastal tunbao have established twenty-three fishing teams, which can supply most of the meat consumption needs; this portion is also freely traded. In education: four hundred sixty-one tunbao schools have been established, with another thirty under construction. There are three vocational schools, with one under construction in Qingzhou Prefecture, and one university with over eight hundred seventy students. There are no plans for new construction in the short term. In transportation: the movement of people and goods between regions has increased. The roads from Denglai to each county and major guard post have all been repaired. Official road tunbao have spontaneously established cart and horse services providing passenger and freight transport..."

Liu Minyou spoke for roughly a quarter of an hour, covering all aspects of the Dengzhou Civil Affairs Department. Dengzhou's powerful grassroots control capability allowed them to effectively construct water conservancy facilities, ensuring grain production everywhere—this was the foundation of everything. Stimulated by the flourishing internal and external trade, Dengzhou's social structure was undergoing changes. Although large amounts of capital were flowing into Denglai, under the bank's control, Denglai did not experience skyrocketing prices; the prices of major daily necessities only rose slightly.

Chen Xin felt fully confident. The power of Dengzhou Garrison had already expanded to the border of Jinan Prefecture. The next step was to expand into the northern part of Jinan Prefecture, an area ravaged by Kong Youde three years prior, where the stability of society was far weaker than in the southern part of Jinan Prefecture. The expanding tunbao would become support points and military depots between Qingzhou and the Grand Canal, allowing Dengzhou Garrison to project forces toward the Grand Canal at a faster speed. Once these tunbao were established, the Grand Canal would be within roughly ten days' march of the Dengzhou army. Dengzhou Garrison would not only be able to intimidate the imperial court but also exert greater influence along the Grand Canal.

After Liu Minyou finished speaking, Chen Xin turned his head and asked, "How many civilian firearms have been sold?"

Liu Minyou had not memorized this figure. He recalled for a moment before saying, "It seems about six thousand have been sold, mainly concentrated in Wendeng, Qixia, Laiyang, and Qingzhou Prefecture. The Wendeng area is Dengzhou Garrison's old territory; the populace is relatively wealthy, and there are many retired veterans. Some people have a special attachment to flintlock guns, so the purchase volume is relatively high. In Qixia and Laiyang, purchases are mainly by mountainside tunbao for hunting in the mountains, and the same is true near Dazeshan in Pingdu Prefecture. In Qingzhou Prefecture, because it was recently occupied, there are more conflicts with the surrounding countryside. Although the tun households are mostly quite poor, I increased the subsidy intensity and focused on increasing the number of workers hired by cotton factories in Qingzhou Prefecture tunbao. Their economic income is gradually increasing. Currently, the number is around a thousand, and the purchase volume will rise further later on. Also, the several policies discussed last time have already been issued as documents by the Tun Affairs Department to each tunbao; the effects will take some time to become visible."

Chen Xin responded with an "Oh," feeling that the effect was not as good as he had imagined. The purchase volume in plain areas like Pingdu Prefecture was very low, mainly because there were no hostile forces around. The rural clans and gentry had long been beaten into submission and dared not raise their heads. Even if occasional brawls occurred, the tunbao held absolute superiority. Those reserve soldiers and tun protection teams also had weapons, and dealing with a few civilian households was effortless; they simply did not need to buy firearms themselves, so demand was indeed not high.

He could not think of any other solutions for the moment. After praising Liu Minyou's work, he called on Song Wenxian's name.

Song Wenxian took out his own ledger, bowed to Chen Xin and Liu Minyou, and said: "This year, the Foreign Affairs Department has completed the winning over of the Qingzhou Regional Commander and Mobile Corps Commander. The distribution of gratuities to high officials in the court has been carried out according to the usual annual practice. Connections have been established with official circles throughout Shandong. External outposts have expanded to Nanyang, Kaifeng, and Luoyang in Henan; Xiangyang and Yunyang in the Huguang region; and Datong, Yanghe, and Xuanfu in the Xuanda region. Personnel have also been dispatched to Hancheng in Korea to establish a post, under the external identity of a trading company prefecture shopkeeper. Stable relations have been established with all commanders of Dongjiang Garrison. Among the tasks assigned at the beginning of the year, only the plan to deal with Dongjiang Garrison Regional Commander Huang Long was not realized."

Chen Xin waved his hand dismissively and said, "We did promise Shang Kexi on this matter, but after the Xuanfu incident, His Majesty appointed the Dongjiang Garrison Regional Commander. He knows Huang Long is Sun Yuanhua's man and has always been at odds with me, so he won't easily replace him. Since this task wasn't completed, let it be. Huang Long's prestige has greatly diminished since the last mutiny on Pi Island. He currently only controls Zhangzi Island; the other islands all act independently. Huang Long's direct troops number no more than three thousand on paper, with actual troops under a thousand. He has little influence even over Pi Island, which is close at hand. Let's put this aside for now. When the trading company makes purchases, we can deliberately drive down his prices, allowing his control over the island troops to continue declining. There will naturally come a time when he can't hold on."

After Song Wenxian acknowledged and recorded it in his ledger, Chen Xin then said to Liu Pojun of the Military Orders Department, "Now let's discuss the most critical military affairs. Pojun, you speak."

Liu Pojun stood up and saluted, then went before the large map. Pointing with a thin bamboo switch at the map, he said: "I will first discuss the Fifth Battalion. In August, Wang Mafu defeated Zhang Xianzhong, Saodiwang, and other bands at Jingmen Prefecture. Currently, the Fifth Battalion should be approaching the Wuchang area. The roving bandits are fleeing through Henan, Huguang, and other places. Some have also returned to Shanxi via Wuguan. After Hong Chengchou blocked them, this bandit group moved south toward Hanzhong and Sichuan. To cope with the larger-scale operations against the roving bandits, the court has appointed two main Viceroys. One is Hong Chengchou, responsible for the bandits in Shanxi and Shaanxi. The newly appointed Five-Province Viceroy Chen Qiyu is responsible for the five provinces of Shaanxi, Shanxi, Henan, Huguang, and Sichuan. Chen Qiyu once ordered the Fifth Battalion to turn toward the Hanzhong direction, but Zhu Daichun ignored the order. The trading company and the Munitions Department have already stockpiled sufficient grain in Wuchang. Trading company outposts are being established in all cities along the river. Ding Ding, the original trading company manager stationed in Yangzhou, has already gone to Jiujiang to oversee supply matters. Once the deployment of all points is complete, Zhu Daichun will be stationed on the outskirts of Wuchang to protect the nearby grain-producing areas. The branch organs of the Tun Affairs Department will recruit refugees locally to establish tunbao. Additionally, Zhou Laifu has promised to strive to establish a trading company regional network in Huguang next year, solving logistics locally."

Chen Xin raised his hand to interrupt, turned his head to Song Wenxian, and asked, "Has the Foreign Affairs Department's organ been set up in Wuchang?"

"It has been set up, and we are currently establishing relations with the various officials in Wuchang."

Chen Xin nodded and said to Liu Pojun, "Continue."

"Next is Denglai. The Guards Battalion, First, Second, and Third Battalions have all returned to their garrisons. In the Dengzhou area, the standing army and the permanent personnel of the Regional Commander's office departments total twenty-four thousand. There are ninety-two thousand reserve soldiers in the tunbao and workshops. There are four assembly training bases, among which thirty thousand reserve soldiers have participated in assembly training for one month or more. The situation in Denglai is stable. Now that winter is approaching, to prevent the Jianzhou bandits from suddenly attacking Liaonan during the freeze period, we plan to dispatch the Third Battalion's First Brigade and the Jimo Independent Battalion Headquarters to Lushun. Both units are now assembled in Dengzhou and will embark for Lushun in two days. Their garrisons in Liaonan will be Muchangyi and Jingzhenpu, serving as the reserve force for Liaonan's winter defense."

Liu Pojun's bamboo switch moved to the location of Liaonan. "Since last year's Battle of Lushun, the Jianzhou bandits have pulled back from Liaonan. Mao Chenglu's forces occupy Xiuyan. The Fourth Battalion has established a chain of fortified posts and watchtowers in the mountainous area northeast of Jinzhou. After the cavalry entered Fuzhou, defensive points were also established along the official road from Fuzhou to Jinzhou. Jinzhou's strategic situation has greatly improved. The horse trade from Xuanda and Ningyuan continuously delivers warhorses. After the king-rescuing combat group returned, most of the cavalry were transported to Jinzhou and incorporated into the Fourth Battalion. The Fourth Battalion's cavalry units total two thousand one hundred, organized into two battalion headquarters, twenty companies, plus one battalion headquarters of dragoons. Since the end of August, Zhu Daichun has launched an autumn offensive in Gaizhou, fighting over ten battles large and small. A total of three hundred twenty-seven Later Jin army heads have been taken, thirty-seven true Jurchen captured, and six hundred thirty-one bondservants captured. The actual losses of true Jurchen and Mongols are likely between seven hundred and eight hundred. Our garrison's cavalry losses are three hundred seventeen men, with one hundred thirty infantry lost. This Gaizhou operation has forced the Jianzhou bandits to mobilize over five thousand true Jurchen and nearly ten thousand bondservants."

"This autumn offensive is still ongoing. The key point of its execution is to avoid pitched battles with the Jianzhou bandits, focusing instead on cavalry skirmishes and small-scale formation battles. The Military Orders Department's simulations suggest that after the Jianzhou bandits finish their autumn harvest, they may launch an attack on Fuzhou. Considering the severe drought in Liaodong this year, the Jianzhou bandits' grain harvest has massively failed, and their red-barbarian cannons were nearly all lost in the Battle of Lushun, with fewer than five remaining now. The Military Orders Department believes the Jianzhou bandits currently lack the capability for a long-term siege in Liaonan, and for a short-term attack, they lack sufficient means to assault fortifications. The Liaonan side is preparing to change the strategy of using Fuzhou as a decoy. We will urgently mobilize the reserve soldiers of ten Liaonan tunbao to defend Jinzhou, and redeploy the original Lushun and Jinzhou garrison troops to Fuzhou. This plan has been approved by Lord Chen. We have already begun stockpiling large amounts of grain in Fuzhou via Niangniang Palace. Fuzhou will be managed as a solid frontline stronghold."

Liu Pojun's explanation of the Liaonan deployment was very brief. After all, this was not a Military Orders Department operational meeting. He hurriedly finished and returned to his seat.

Chen Xin looked around and asked Liu Minyou, "Minyou, do you have any opinions on the military deployment in Liaonan?"

Liu Minyou shook his head and said, "I have no other opinions, just one point: the auxiliary soldiers originally in the Lushun area number nearly five thousand, most of whom were formerly Dongjiang military households in Liaonan. After the tunbao were established in Liaonan, many of them entered the tunbao and became reserve soldiers, also establishing independent households. These people participated in the Battle of Lushun and are excellent soldiers, but most are bachelors. If you want to mobilize them in the next batch, then no one will farm the land at their homes. Although there is mutual aid among the tunbao, it is, after all, farming someone else's land, and ordinary people won't be too diligent. So I ask the Military Orders Department and the Mobilization Department to pay attention to this issue. When conscripting, try to conscript those who have families, otherwise the newly reclaimed land will suffer severe abandonment."

The current director of the Mobilization Department was named Xiao Chengguo, who had arrived at the Wendeng Camp in the first year of Chongzhen. He came from Chen Xin's personal guard unit and had successively served as deputy commander of the Wendeng training team, commander, farm soldier company commander, Mobilization Department secretary, and deputy director. He excelled in farm soldier management, mobilization management, and paperwork. He buried his head in his ledger and said, "I will pay attention to this. But when the Tun Affairs Department relocates people, can you transport more women? The Liaonan region is indeed different from Denglai. Refugees naturally come to Denglai, and there are quite a few women among them. But in Liaonan, if you don't specifically send women there, these several thousand men will have no wives."

Liu Minyou scratched his head. There were not many women in Denglai to begin with, and the characteristics of the tunbao refugees also meant the population was predominantly young and middle-aged men. That was precisely why the Denglai tunbao could have so many reserve soldiers.

Chen Xin leaned over and asked, "Aren't there many women in Lin County? Can we send them all to Lushun?"

Liu Minyou frowned in thought. There were roughly two thousand solitary women in Lin County. He had planned to use those women later for the textile factories to be opened in Linqing and Liaocheng in Eastern Depot Prefecture. If they were sent all the way to Lushun, it would take up a lot of shipping capacity. Previously, he was also concerned that the trading company and the navy would object. Now that Chen Xin had brought it up, as long as the navy's ships were used for transport, it could be discussed.

"As long as the navy is responsible for the transport, I have no other objections. But if navy ships suddenly go to Tianjin, I'm afraid it will be hard to explain to the court. If we need to mobilize the trading company's or tunbao shipping cooperative's vessels, we'll probably have to pay silver. This is, after all, not a combat mission."

"Then let Dong Yu negotiate with them, just give them pay tickets." Chen Xin said to Dong Yu on his right. He was now flush with funds and immediately set the tone. He was not afraid of issuing a little more currency.

After Chen Xin finished speaking on this matter, he looked around at the people in the room. Everyone showed some excitement after listening. These core members of Dengzhou all knew, to varying degrees, of Chen Xin's ambitions. Many of these people were not among the earliest to follow him. The earliest ones from Weihai might have died in battle or been weeded out, but Dengzhou Garrison's system allowed more capable people to enter the core team.

As a vibrant and rising new power, everyone was looking forward to the further development of Dengzhou Garrison. For these most core members, Chen Xin would also drop verbal hints in daily communication, letting them understand the grand vision of Dengzhou Garrison, to stimulate their drive for advancement.

After looking around, Chen Xin said calmly, "Thanks to everyone's continuous efforts, Dengzhou Garrison is no longer what it once was. I would first like to express my gratitude here for all the hard work you have put in."

The people in the room fell silent, waiting for Chen Xin's next words. Chen Xin looked down at the tabletop, thought for a moment, then raised his head and said, "It's still the same saying as before: Dengzhou Garrison does not belong to me alone; it belongs to everyone present here, and to all the officers, soldiers, and tun households. What we strive for is far beyond personal power and glory, but each person's interests will likewise be guaranteed, commensurate with the contributions each has made."

The people at the round table all nodded together. Chen Xin stood up and walked to the national map behind him. Pointing at the location of Denglai with his hand, he said: "Dengzhou Garrison is vibrant and stronger than ever before, but the opponents we face are also increasing. Liaodong is still occupied by the Jianzhou bandits. Their core central Liaoning region has yet to be attacked by our army, and their military strength remains formidable. Their combat capability in Liaodong exceeds that of our Liaonan garrison. The Later Jin remains the primary enemy of our Dengzhou Garrison, and recovering Liaodong is the bounden duty of us soldiers. Next are the roving bandits; their brutality and destructiveness pose a huge threat to all regions. Whenever there is an opportunity, we must still strike them resolutely. Furthermore, since this year, the court has increased its precautions against our Dengzhou. As everyone has heard, the court may increase troop strength in Shandong and may once again tilt the Liaodong tax toward Guanning to counterbalance our Dengzhou Garrison. I have also heard that the Emperor may have plans to replace the Denglai Provincial Governor and the Army Supervisor."

Chen Xin's words were very blunt, directly positioning the court as an opponent of Dengzhou Garrison as well. But no one in the room raised an objection, nor even showed a strange expression. Chen Xin turned around to look at everyone and said: "Therefore, based on the changes in the surrounding situation, our combat objectives and civil objectives will undergo certain adjustments. The most important remains our standing army. In the first half of next year, it will be expanded to fifty-five thousand men, with a focus on strengthening three locations: Liaonan, the western part of Qingzhou Prefecture, and Wuchang. The tunbao system will extend toward the northern part of Jinan Prefecture, extending Dengzhou Garrison's influence to a broader range. I hope everyone will join me in enabling Dengzhou Garrison to do more for this country."

Everyone in the room loudly responded "Yes," and then, led by Song Wenxian and Huang Side, all applauded together. The atmosphere in the room was fervent. Liu Minyou also clapped in agreement. He felt quite emotional inside. In the past, during company meetings, Chen Xin was already very eloquent, but back then it was just about how much the company's performance would increase the next year. Now, what he spoke of was truly the goal of contending for the realm. Recalling the laughable feeling when Chen Xin first spoke of vying for supremacy back in Tianjin, he now felt a dreamlike sense of unreality.

Chen Xin was also somewhat stirred. He waited for the applause to subside, raised both hands to his chest, and said to everyone: "Facing greater resistance, every step forward for Dengzhou Garrison requires even greater effort. But I firmly believe, just as we have always done, that we are a resolute group. Our stage lies in a larger place. No one can block the advancing footsteps of Dengzhou Garrison. Let us all encourage each other!" (To be continued...)