Chapter 194: The Ming Dynasty's Budding Military Science

This was a newly built large open hall on the west side of the Hall of Earnest Reflection in the Western Park, standing opposite the Secretariat on the east side.

The building had not yet been granted a name.

But if that day ever came, given His Majesty's inclinations, it would probably be called the "General Staff Office."

The interior was plainly decorated — one might even say spartan. Apart from simple charcoal braziers and a few hanging maps, there was nothing else.

Several dozen officers of the Valiant Guard Camp stood in a loose half-circle, facing Zhu Youjian across an oversized wooden table.

On that large wooden table sat a reasonably well-made sand table, depicting the exact terrain and landforms of the recent campaign against the Mongols.

It had been meticulously shaped by the old clerks and craftsmen who made maps, transferred over from the Operations Section of the Ministry of War.

It was also through the making of this sand table that Zhu Youjian realized the Ming dynasty's mathematical foundations were considerably stronger than he had imagined.

Scale, mountain height calculation, slope measurement — all of these existed.

In theory, drawing contour-line maps was entirely feasible; all that was missing was a single creative spark.

He had already instructed Sun Chuanting to assemble a group of personnel with solid mathematical skills to begin work on this.

Of course, being able to draw contour-line maps also required frontline officers to possess the ability to read them — that could only be cultivated slowly over time.

"So that's how it is!"

"Only today has Our Majesty truly understood what cavalry engagements are like."

Zhu Youjian let out a satisfied sigh, a pleasant sensation washing over him as if knowledge were gently stroking across his cerebral cortex.

He took the lead in applauding, and at once the crowd followed suit with thunderous clapping.

This was a refined custom of the new reign — along with voting by a show of hands, applauding to express acclaim had become a new trend, now spreading outward from the Secretariat.

Cao Bianjiao stood before the sand table, his face slightly flushed and his expression excited, clearly immensely proud of the discourse on cavalry combat he had just delivered.

Several days earlier, Zhu Youjian had decreed that the instructors of the Valiant Guard Camp were each to provide explanations of the respective tactics of the Mongols, the Jurchen, and the Ming army.

Then, every day, one double-hour would be set aside in this nameless great hall for instruction — or rather, exchange.

Crudeness did not matter; they would discuss repeatedly, explain repeatedly, draw on collective wisdom, and gradually refine things.

After many consecutive days of discussion, they had finally, as of today, broadly finished covering the terrain, tribal structures, and related tactics relevant to this campaign.

Yet in the discussions so far, there were still certain shortcomings that left him less than satisfied.

Zhu Youjian pondered for a moment, then turned to Sun Chuanting, who was taking notes at the side, and said: "Regarding the factions and lineages of the various Mongol tribes, Our Majesty's generals know far too little."

"This will not do. War is not fought with blades and spears alone — it is also waged through alliance and stratagem."

"That case you presented yesterday, Minister Sun, was very well put. In the Tang dynasty, Guo Ziyi rode alone to turn back the Uyghurs — his reputation certainly played a part, but the key was his grasp of the interests and inclinations of the various Uyghur factions and his command of their hearts and minds."

"The generals in this room are the future Regional Commanders, the future Grand Marshals, the great commanders who will hold tens of thousands of troops in their hands — they cannot learn only the skills of the sword."

"Go find Huo Weihua. Have him assign personnel from the Ministry of War's Interpreters Institute to you, and then compile a comprehensive genealogical table of the Mongol tribes."

Sun Chuanting, bearing two heavy dark circles under his eyes, drew a deep breath, rose, and cupped his hands in acceptance of the order.

Zhu Youjian looked at his haggard face and suddenly realized something. He smiled and asked, "How many matters do you have on your hands right now?"

Sun Chuanting's heart stirred, and he instantly sensed trouble, but could only answer honestly: "At present, this subject is managing four matters."

"The first is the compilation of cavalry drill regulations; the second, the compilation of wagon-fort drill regulations; the third, the compilation of tactical and readiness assessments for the Mongol and Jurchen tribes along the Nine Frontiers; the fourth, contour-line map surveying and refined sand-table preparation..."

Zhu Youjian shook his head. "Then add the Mongol genealogical table, and that makes five."

"Ah, Minister Sun — if you are overwhelmed, you must speak up. What if you ruin your health?"

Sun Chuanting was left speechless.

On one hand, he had indeed been handed a pile of tasks in a short time and had not yet fully processed it, still immersed in the joy of these entirely new working methods and undertakings, nearly forgetting to eat or sleep.

On the other hand, these matters were simply too important. Nearly every task had been marked with one or two red urgency seals — how could he bear to say a single word about being unable to handle them?

Zhu Youjian pondered for a moment, then said: "Here is what we shall do. You will select two people from the current Secretariat, and then have Yang Jingchen select two more from among the capital officials by examination."

"Together with yourself, that makes five. First establish a provisional military group, attached under the Secretariat, specifically tasked with overseeing all the aforementioned matters."

"Distribute the various rewards according to the division of labor. You yourself will only receive credit for overall coordination and supervision, with an additional two red marks."

Sun Chuanting felt somewhat relieved, yet also somewhat reluctant, but still cupped his hands and accepted the order.

Zhu Youjian spoke with earnest gravity: "The work is never finished — you must understand the division of labor, do you see? In the future, when situations like this arise, you must tell Us early. You cannot always wait for Us to discover them."

Sun Chuanting was deeply abashed and begged forgiveness, not daring to offer excuses.

Zhu Youjian shook his head and silently reminded himself to have Gao Shiming tally up everyone's workload after the meeting adjourned.

Otherwise, these Great Ming "involution kings" would probably work themselves to death without uttering a single grunt.

Your physical well-being is a minor matter — but what if it delays the tasks We have entrusted to you?

Ah... being a leader is truly not easy.

Zhu Youjian made a small joke to himself, then turned to Cao Bianjiao and said: "This round of exposition from you — although some details remain less than fully clear — has been very good indeed. For this round's major assessment, you may add two points."

Cao Bianjiao was delighted and cupped his hands: "Many thanks for Your Majesty's added reward."

He was currently ranked only fourth, and there were only three Battalion Commander positions — every single point was precious to him.

A difference of one point, after the next monthly examination, could very well mean the difference between heaven and the abyss!

Zhu Youjian then looked to the others, preparing to have them continue in order and come up to discuss the Jurchen of Liaodong's methods of warfare.

Yet as his gaze swept across the assembly, it came to rest on Zu Kuan, who had been squeezed to the outer fringe.

— So that's how it is!

Zhu Youjian had another epiphany!

Without hesitation, he spoke directly: "If cavalry combat is as Company Commander Cao described just now — that among a hundred men, often only five are truly fierce, and only twenty or thirty dare to fight, while the rest mostly shout with the wind and turn and flee when the wind shifts..."

"Then..."

He paused for a moment and looked at the assembly.

"Is this the reason why the officers of our Great Ming's border troops are so fond of relying on household retainers?"

He did not wait for anyone else to react.

Zu Kuan seized this rare chance and said loudly, "Your Majesty, this soldier came up as a household retainer — this soldier can answer this question!"

As he shouted, he frantically squirmed forward from the rear of the ranks.

The crowd was jostled into disorder by him, and for a moment angry glares flew — yet with the Emperor present, none dared act out.

Some others of household-retainer origin were even more consumed with regret.

This soldier is a household retainer too! This soldier could answer too!

This sort of martial exercise was simply too disadvantageous for men like them, of household-retainer background and lower learning.

Having nothing in the belly was one thing, but even those who did have something in the belly always spoke so incoherently that His Majesty's brow would furrow deeply.

To get such a simple question, and so rarely — that bastard Old Black Zu had really lucked out.

Zhu Youjian smiled.

Competition was a good thing. With competition, he could see the truth, could see the truest facts.

He spoke: "Then step forward and tell us."

Zu Kuan, immensely pleased with himself, shifted his broad shoulders and sent the two men to either side stumbling, then said loudly:

"Your Majesty, in ordinary times, unless it is a major battle, it is nothing more than scouting, probing the borders, and the like. Whether Jurchen or Mongols, they mostly move in squads of five, or bands of a few dozen, at most a few hundred in one body."

"For such fighting, what is needed is crack troops. That is why only household retainers are of great use. The rest of the cavalry — either their horses are lean, or they are faint-hearted — none are of great use."

"Even when it comes to a major battle, it is still the household retainers who must lead the charge. All the rest merely follow along shouting, nothing more."

Zhu Youjian nodded and pressed on: "Then such brave warriors must of necessity be richly rewarded. Is the monthly pay set by the court for household retainers truly sufficient?"

The atmosphere in the room went still at once.

These men were rough, but they were not stupid. Most of them dimly sensed the danger in this question.

Zu Kuan looked at Zhu Youjian's faintly smiling, faintly not-smiling expression, and that open, hearty grin froze right on his face.

Answer truthfully, and he would be true to His Majesty — but false to the Regional Commander.

Answer falsely, and he would be true to the Regional Commander — but false to His Majesty, and false to himself as well…

Regional Commander Zu… my apologies, but this soldier has his own career to earn!

More to the point, if this soldier does not earn it, others will!

Having thought it through, Zu Kuan hesitated no more. Straining to keep up a simple, honest look, he went on: "Your Majesty's words have struck precisely to the heart of it!"

"If one is to richly maintain household-retainer warriors, the monthly pay in silver cannot be less than three taels, or five taels. And for heads taken in battle, if they pass verification by the Ministry of War, generally the full sum is paid out, with no deductions."

"A Jurchen head is fifty taels, a Mongol head is twenty. Over the course of a year, that too is a very fine income."

"Beyond that, one must also allot them farmland, bestow great horses, and reward them with wives and concubines."

"Therefore…"

Zu Kuan paused, then continued: "Therefore, the officers of the border garrisons mostly must embezzle pay — either by eating empty salaries, or by docking the monthly silver. At times, they even dock the pay of some household retainers who have no horses."

"Of the funds so embezzled, some are sent to those civil officials, some are kept for their own use, and the last portion is spent precisely on this rich maintenance of the household retainers."

When Zu Kuan finished, he could not help secretly congratulating himself on the measure he had kept.

The matter of corruption in the border garrisons had already been addressed in the earlier palace-hall examination — it ought not be any great issue.

But that money — apart from the civil officials and military officers — a portion of it also had to go to the eunuch army supervisors.

Yet he dared not say so. After all, the civil officials' hands, as things now appeared, could not reach into this Valiant Guard Camp.

But the eunuch lords were still, in name, their direct superiors. There was truly no need to go looking for trouble for himself.

Zhu Youjian nodded and pressed his questioning further: "Then do all officers so richly maintain them? And how many does each maintain?"

Zu Kuan replied without a moment's thought: "Maintain them they certainly must. If you do not maintain household retainers, then taking the field means certain defeat. At any rate, here in our Liaodong garrison, there is no one who does not maintain them."

"In the early days, before the barbarian chieftain had risen to power, there may have been those who did not maintain household retainers, or who maintained only a few. But they were either all killed off, or they lost their posts. At any rate, to this soldier's knowledge, there are no such fools left in Liaodong now."

"As for how many they maintain…"

Zu Kuan scratched his head, gave a simple, honest grin, and by the way cleared himself a little: "Before entering the capital, this soldier was no such high officer, and could not know too much. Some officers are more diligent, and maintain more; some are less diligent, and maintain fewer. That is about the shape of it."

Zhu Youjian nodded. In his mind, there were no further questions.

Another piece of useful knowledge added!

Judging from this, the Platoon Officers and warriors he had ordered the Nine Border Garrisons to "tribute" were likely, for the most part, drawn from the household-retainer class.

After all, they stayed at their commanders' sides, fought fiercely, and had a higher chance of taking heads.

No wonder!

After the last palace-hall examination on corruption, Wang Tiqian had actually reported that a full quarter of the officers had sent letters back to the Nine Borders.

At the time, he had thought his great method of winning favor and binding loyalty had failed with these rough soldiers.

Now it seemed that only a quarter doing so was already very much giving face to him, the Zhu Emperor.

Inwardly shaking his head, Zhu Youjian made a private note to later have Xu Yingyuan compile a chart of the Valiant Guard Camp officers' promotions for him to review.

But his face betrayed nothing at all. He merely smiled and once again applauded, and the several dozen officers at once followed with applause of their own.

After the applause died down, Zhu Youjian said, "Platoon Officer Zu, for those words of yours, We shall award you three points."

Zu Kuan was overjoyed. In his mind he was already using his crude arithmetic to calculate how much his ranking would rise.

His ranking in the last monthly examination had been only forty-sixth. He had no hope of charging into the top three to seize one of those three Battalion Commander posts.

But Company Commander?! That he could truly strive for!

A Company Commander of the Valiant Guard Camp — could it even be compared to a Company Commander in Liaodong? They were absolutely disciples of the Son of Heaven!

Before Zu Kuan could reckon clearly how many places he had risen this time, Zhu Youjian had already continued:

"However, We must make clear the reason for these extra points."

Zhu Youjian looked around at them all and said gravely, "Of these three points, one is awarded for this explanation. The other two are given for Platoon Officer Zu's loyalty."

"Sincerity is the Way of Heaven; to strive for sincerity is the Way of man."

As his words fell, the hall full of military men mostly looked at one another, faces utterly blank.

Zu Kuan was even more baffled — he had only caught the words "loyal and true." The classical allusions that followed might as well have been a book from heaven to him.

Only Sun Chuanting, Cao Bianjiao, and a few others looked thoughtful, a flicker of understanding passing through their eyes.

Watching their reactions, Zhu Youjian laughed inwardly at himself, silently cursing that he had really addled his brains reading the Four Books lately.

Speaking of such things to military men was indeed playing a lute to an ox.

He promptly shifted his tone and said in the bluntest possible words:

"What it means is this: you spoke truthfully to Us, without hiding or holding back — and that pleases Us greatly!"

"In the affairs of this dynasty, officials have always shielded one another, every mouth covering for the next. That Platoon Officer Zu could set aside taboo and speak frankly shows he serves with a loyal heart. That loyalty is exactly what We want! Another round of applause!"

This time, everyone understood!

So that was what His Majesty was praising!

The officers once more erupted in thunderous applause, louder and more fervent than any round before it.

Zu Kuan's face flushed crimson with excitement as he looked left and right, utterly triumphant.

This damned martial exercise was practically designed to pick on unlettered men like him.

This was the first time he had ever earned His Majesty's applause during the exercises — and he had gotten it twice!

The feeling was simply too wonderful, hahahaha! He reckoned that the post of Battalion Commander might not be beyond Zu Kuan after all…

Before the applause had died away, Gao Shiming, the seal-holder of the Directorate of Ceremonial, suddenly hurried in and handed over a thin slip of paper.

Zhu Youjian took it and read it, and his brow immediately furrowed.

Sensing the shift in atmosphere, the officers' applause quickly dwindled.

Zhu Youjian looked at Gao Shiming. Gao Shiming nodded and said, "Your Majesty, a special-grade relay, five stations linked. Each has been verified — entirely accurate."

Zhu Youjian rubbed the thin slip of paper between his fingers, and after a moment his face broke into a smile.

The officers' mood lightened at once, and Zu Kuan's mouth split open again, baring his broad front teeth.

Zhu Youjian looked at the assembly and smiled faintly.

"A trifling matter."

"One double-hour ago, Commissioner-in-Chief Ma broke camp and marched beyond the passes, heading for Qingcheng."

The officers in the hall stiffened at once.

Zhu Youjian shook his head. "Today's martial exercise ends here."

"We shall take this opportunity to set you a question."

"Using the detailed accounts of the Mongol campaign that each martial lecturer has presented over these past days, every one of you is to produce a tactical essay based on operations on the western front."

"To put it plainly — if you were Commissioner-in-Chief Ma, how would you fight this battle?"

"All requirements are as before: it must be plain and unadorned, meticulous and thorough."

"This time, whoever takes first prize…"

Zhu Youjian stroked his newly sprouted, still sparse beard and smiled. "Will receive five extra points!"

With that, he swept his robe sleeve. "Go now and prepare well."

The officers collected themselves, only then realizing that the exercise was over.

They promptly kowtowed and knelt in salute, then formed two somewhat ragged columns and filed out of this nameless chamber.

In an instant, only Zhu Youjian and Gao Shiming remained in the room.

Zhu Youjian stepped forward and looked at the sand table — somewhat improved since Sun Chengzong's last briefing, but still rather crude.

His brow furrowed once more.

His mind could not help turning over the scattered, still unsystematic military knowledge he had just begun to absorb, and he sank deep into thought.

We have already given all the support it is in Our power to give.

So then… Ma Shilong, how will you fight this battle?