Chapter 317: Having Friends at Court Makes an Official's Career

After several months of drilling his troops, Yongchang finally had a bit of confidence and began rolling out the Valiant Guard Camp template to various regions.

The new armies in the capital and across the Ji-Liao area now totaled close to twenty thousand men.

But their costs, manpower, and equipment all came from the original quotas.

Take the Liaodong demonstration camp of nine thousand men — was anyone supposed to raise those nine thousand men's pay and rations from scratch?

The entire Ji-Liao region had military funds in the millions; before the new armies existed, didn't that money still flow like water into this tiny patch of land every year?

What the new policies had to do was simply carry out a survival of the fittest within the system.

Then straighten out the long-rotted channels of reward and punishment and the pay-and-supply chains, and use the political priority granted by dedicated projects to reduce the leakage and wastage in between — that was all.

And to accomplish this, the scarcest resource was never silver.

It was "political attention."

Or, more bluntly, the attention of the Yongchang Emperor. In this filthy, century-old officialdom, if the new policies were launched on a grand scale, sweeping across everything, the result was bound to be a motley mix of fish and dragons, ultimately turning into nothing more than a grandiose Ming-dynasty "Hundred Days' Reform."

By then, the memorials would report excellence in every quarter, while the reality everywhere rotted away.

When the entire state machine had rusted solid, only where the Son of Heaven's gaze converged could a tiny foothold of vigorous life be carved out of this deadlock, like sunlight focused through a burning-glass.

The scarcity of political attention was the greatest shackle constraining the speed at which the new policies could spread.

And this logic applied just the same when laid across the entire Ji-Liao chessboard.

Several months ago, in the first policy dialogue between Sun Chengzong and the Yongchang Emperor, what they had settled on was a grand strategy of combined power from four directions: Liaodong's left flank, the Mongols, Dongjiang, and southern Liaodong.

But now, this great game had quietly changed its flavor.

The two directions of Dongjiang and southern Liaodong had been almost entirely shelved in the first phase of the Ji-Liao strategy.

In their place was an exceedingly reckless, exceedingly inelegant "head-on clash on the Liaodong left flank."

No longer seeking combined power from four directions, still less building naval-land coordination — it was simply building cities and repairing forts along the Ning-Jin line, preparing to fight the Jianzhou forces head-on in a blunt-force contest.

Such an inelegant strategic choice was by no means the idea of Sun Chengzong or Yongchang alone, but the result of multiple powers tearing at each other and compromising. The first factor: after the Battle of Qingcheng, the Mongol situation had shifted.

Originally, along the Ning-Jin line, the Chahar tribe had stood on the same front as the Great Ming, jointly resisting Jianzhou.

But after winter set in in the tenth month, the roving scouts Sun Chengzong had sent out had on several occasions detected Chahar and Jianzhou exchanging envoys, secretly feeling each other out. What the two sides discussed, and how far the discussions went — not even the "fish-skin dumplings" preparing to flee south could find out.

But the possibility of a stab in the back from Chahar had to be guarded against.

This shift in the strategic situation naturally forced the entire Ji-Liao strategic center of gravity to contract, unavoidably, from the broad overall Ji-Liao theater. The belt of Chahar, Kharchin, Ning-Jin, and Liao-Shen became unprecedentedly critical.

The preparations for battle in the first year of Yongchang were, under the worst-case scenario, made on the premise that the Great Ming would have to resist both Chahar and Jianzhou simultaneously. Stockpiling supplies and building fortifications appeared to be waiting on the defensive to fight a round with Jianzhou.

But in essence, it was also taking precautions, preparing in advance at this spot against the possibility of the two joining hands to strike.

From this angle, the Yongchang Emperor's agreement to the strategy of opening hostilities in the first year of Yongchang seemed bold, but at its root, it was still shaped by his cautious and meticulous character.

The second factor was that the Emperor's attention was inevitably pulled at by the various factions at court.

Over the past few months in the capital, who were the people qualified to take part in the Ji-Liao strategic discussions?

Ma Shilong, Yuan Chonghuan, Yuan Jixian, Sun Chuanting, Sun Chengzong, and even Hong Chengchou.

These men, without exception, all used military achievements and political accomplishments in Mongolia, the Liaodong left flank, and similar regions as stepping stones for their own political advancement.

As for Dongjiang, far off beyond the sea, because the Bohai Sea froze over for long months in winter, it did not even have the standing to enter the capital and join the contest, and was forced to lose its voice in this feast of power.

Although the Qi-Chu-Zhe Clique — the eunuch faction — tried to raise a few faint cries, relying on old ties established with Dongjiang during the Tianqi reign. Huo Weihua, for example, had once proposed in open discussion that a naval battalion be added to the first phase of the Liaodong demonstration camp, to link up with Dongjiang. But such probes ultimately fell silent before the Emperor's ambiguous and opaque attitude toward Dongjiang, and no one dared to keep laying down chips.

As for the fourth force the blueprint had planned to establish — the new garrison in southern Liaodong — under these circumstances, it naturally could not get even the dregs from the table. The world imagines that planning a state is like playing chess, where a piece once played is never taken back.

They do not realize that the calculations of the court are often a misshapen offspring of trade-offs and compromises.

When every voice clamors in pursuit of its own gain, even the grandest blueprint must bend to the influence of human hearts. It was precisely the pressure of these two great mountains — strategy and power — that distorted the Ji-Liao strategy into the present pattern of "valuing the land, slighting the sea" and "valuing the west, slighting the east." And Bi Zisu, who in the original plan was to be sent to southern Liaodong as Circuit Intendant, thus found himself, by a twist of fate, receiving a new assignment — thanks to the behind-the-scenes efforts of his elder brother Bi Ziyan, who held the post of Minister of Revenue in the capital.

Bi Zisu broke through the pack of numerous candidates and secured the authority to establish the "Frontier Customs General Tax Bureau."

This was the real ecology of the Great Ming officialdom.

Kinship by marriage, regional ties, political affiliation, teacher-student bonds, factional interests — all woven into a dense and shadowy giant net, nested layer upon layer from bottom to top.

It influenced the direction of the political situation at every moment.

This ecological structure, rooted deep in the marrow, was something no thunderous new policy could completely incinerate in a short time.

Only — why did it need to be destroyed?

The affairs of the world have always been thus, and will always remain thus.

Inside the document room of the Liaodong Supreme Commander's headquarters.

Bi Zisu rose to his feet.

He was eleven years younger than his elder brother Bi Ziyan, and had only passed the jinshi examination in the forty-fourth year of Wanli.

He began as a County Magistrate.

Then he served as a Bureau Secretary in the Bureau of Receptions of the Ministry of Rites, concurrently managing the Interpreters' Institute, specifically responsible for handling matters of tribute and frontier trade markets with the Mongols of the Ji Garrison.

After that, he came to Liaodong to serve as Circuit Intendant.

One could say that civil administration, barbarian affairs, military matters, and frontier trade — he had experience in all of them.

He spoke:

"Gentlemen, what I am responsible for is the preparatory work for the 'Ji-Liao Frontier Customs Tax and Patrol Bureau.'"

"This matter is undertaken in response to three court policies: the 'Prohibition on Private Trade with Jianzhou Decree,' the 'Draft Proposal on Commercial Tax Reform in Different Regions,' and 'Mongol Pacification Measures Based on Commerce and Trade.'"

"By court regulation, this bureau is independent of the Ji-Liao military and civil administration, directly subordinate to the New Policy Fiscal and Tax Reform Department of the Ministry of Revenue, and equal in rank to the Capital Tax Office. Only, the Capital Tax Office is more directed at the Great Ming's internal commercial cities, such as the capital, Nanjing, and Linqing, carrying out tax reform pilot programs. My side, on the other hand, is directed at frontier cities bordering foreign barbarians, such as Yu Pass, Datong, and Guangzhou, to carry out such pilot reforms." At these words, several new-policy officials from the capital in the hall could not help sighing inwardly.

Equal in rank to Li Shiqi — this was the advantage of having an elder brother in court who was the Minister of Revenue.

Bi Zisu never made a move lightly, but when he did, he directly seized hold of exceedingly rich political resources.

Still, the civil and military officials filling the hall did not think this was entirely a case of favoritism and fraud.

Bi Zisu's conduct was known to all.

In years past, when he was County Magistrate of Dingxing in Baoding, he had forcefully pushed through tax and corvée reforms with formidable skill.

In the end, officials and commoners alike were actually scrambling with one another to take on the work of transporting tax grain to the capital.

You have to understand, in the past, this was the kind of bone-scraping corvée that could bankrupt a well-to-do family overnight!

When he left his post, the people of Dingxing even built a living shrine for him east of the city.

Once at the Ministry of Rites, though merely a minor Bureau Secretary, he dared to fire broadsides at colossal interests like the Ministry of Works' construction projects and the Ji-Liao pacification awards — truly a newborn calf with no fear of the tiger.

A ruthless character like this, who cannot tolerate a single grain of sand in his eye, is indeed a fine blade to put in charge of investigating smuggling and border customs.

Bi Zisu paid no mind to what others were thinking and continued:

"The Tax Bureau is being established with three objectives."

"The first is to eradicate smuggling with Jianzhou — or rather, to drive Jianzhou's smuggling costs sky-high without limit."

He turned his head and looked toward Lu Shanji, Bureau Director of the Jurchen Department of the Court of Colonial Affairs.

"For the results on this front, I will have to trouble Bureau Director Lu for his assistance."

"Whether the eradication of smuggling has been effective or not is not something I, Bi, can determine just by sitting here flipping through account books and running my mouth."

"It will depend on whether prices inside Jianzhou have truly skyrocketed and doubled." "Especially for the two chokehold goods — cloth and grain — whether they have genuinely been suppressed."

"If they have not been suppressed, then through what covert channels did they obtain them?"

"If we can get some feedback, I can target our inspections and defenses accordingly."

With that, Bi Zisu cupped his fists, inclined his body slightly forward, and made a solemn bow.

"This is the critical task of using the enemy to see ourselves. From now on, I will be troubling Bureau Director Lu often."

Hearing this, Lu Shanji hurriedly rose and returned the courtesy.

"Brother Fanjiu, you are too kind. This matter is easily settled."

"As it happens, in the latest strategy, the intelligence work is to shift from forceful military reconnaissance toward softer inducements to surrender and political-economic subversion." "This benefits both sides. My Jurchen Department will naturally take it to heart and handle it without the slightest ambiguity."

Bi Zisu nodded and continued:

"The second objective is to regulate trade with the Mongols, and through it to extend civilizing influence and bridle them."

"This matter must be closely coordinated with the Mongol Department of the Court of Colonial Affairs."

"Once this current wave of rectification is finished, I will make a trip to the capital myself to work out the details with Li Yukui of the Mongol Department before taking action." "But in broad terms, we should increase the quota for Mongol frontier trade markets, while allocating trade shares according to closeness and distance of relations."

At this point, he looked across at Man Gui.

"When the time comes, after leaving the capital, I will first make a trip to the Ji Garrison. Regional Commander Man, I will need to touch base with you then to finalize the coordination plan." Man Gui nodded in assent upon hearing this.

"As for the third objective..."

Bi Zisu drew a deep breath, turned, and strode over to the map hanging in the room.

"It is to open up sources of tax revenue to supplement state expenditures."

"This one will depend on the Tax Bureau's own abilities."

He casually picked up a wooden pointer and tapped the map heavily.

"Generals like Zu Dashou have long held numerous properties and commercial enterprises in the locality..."

"His Majesty's stance is very clear: certain trade items must be absolutely prohibited. But other items, far from being prohibited, should be expanded." "The maritime trade at Juehua Island is not something that cannot be vigorously developed — only it must be developed within the framework of court control." "For a Jianzhou specialty like ginseng, we must raise the tax rate and take a heavy cut; but for goods that Jianzhou utterly lacks and the Mongols have in abundance, like furs, cattle, sheep, mules, and horses, we can lower the tax rate and encourage procurement."

"The entire Northern Metropolitan Region will have an enormous shortfall of these goods next year. The Fiscal Department of the New Policies has already prepared a budget specifically for this." Bi Zisu's pointer swept sharply along the line of the Great Wall.

"Over these past two months, I have personally surveyed every frontier trade location beyond the passes, one by one."

"From Zunhua in the west to Jinzhou in the east, stretching seven hundred li, there are no fewer than twenty large and small frontier trade market forts and passes." He turned around and faced the assembly.

"With such a scattered configuration, to set up tax branch offices at every pass as originally planned is simply unworkable!"

"If I govern the west, fraud runs rampant in the east; if I govern the north, it flourishes in the south."

"In the end, you press down the gourd only to have the ladle bob up — collapse in the east, collapse in the west. Nominally we call it opening a new bureau, but in truth it is the same old muddling through, just a change of label, not of substance!" The hall fell silent; everyone waited to hear this new bureau chief's plan to break the deadlock.

Bi Zisu said in a deep voice:

"Therefore, in my view, to establish this bureau, we must not first set up subordinate offices and fixed stations, but rather must first establish a mounted patrol!"

"First raise two hundred mounted patrolmen on land, and prepare twenty seagoing patrol vessels."

"Set up no fixed checkpoints, but use this force to patrol the various forts and passes at irregular intervals, investigating and seizing corrupt smuggling."

"Once this foul atmosphere has been somewhat cleared and the skies are largely visible again, then we can gradually establish directly controlled agencies at a few core major markets to audit the books." He cupped his fists toward Sun Chengzong at the head of the room:

"Supreme Commander, the capital's Tax Office has seconded twenty new clerks to me."

"As soon as they arrive, I will use these twenty men as the framework to build the patrol force as quickly as possible. First, we will sweep thoroughly through all these border passes!" Sun Chengzong nodded and looked at this subordinate:

"The Laozi says: 'Deal with the difficult while it is still easy; act on the great while it is still small.'"

"Fanjiu's way of doing things rather embodies the new policies' pragmatic spirit of self-cultivation, regulation, order, and peace." "Not rushing for a single grand achievement, but seeking purity in the smallest details — this is an excellent line of thought."

"Go ahead and act with a free hand. I will have my adjutant issue you the military order for selecting and evaluating personnel shortly."

"Thank you, Supreme Commander!" Bi Zisu clasped his fists heavily and only then withdrew to his seat.

Sun Chengzong once again swept his gaze across the assembly.

This time, before he could call on anyone, Ma Shilong rose impatiently to his feet.

"Supreme Commander, the most critical knot in the matter I am charged with lies in the issue of household retainers in the various camps..."

Ma Shilong was a veteran who had rolled through every corner of the land. Once on his feet, he laid out the pros and cons of household retainers in detail.

Finally, he stated his core point: in drawing household retainers to fill out the new army, it was not absolutely necessary to pick only the finest elites.

Those troublemakers with fierce combat power but unruly, insubordinate natures were better left with their original commanders for use in assault and reconnaissance.

On the contrary, those household retainers whose combat strength was a tier lower, but who were honest, dutiful, and obedient to orders, were the very best choice for the new army's demonstration battalions.

And for the final three thousand new recruits, it was even more essential to select honest and dutiful men — even if it meant recruiting specifically from inside the passes, it would be worth it.

After Ma Shilong finished, the others rose one after another and each laid out their thinking on their own patch of affairs.

The group talked on and on in the small document room, the teapot refilled time and again, and trips to the latrine made time and again.

But the Liaodong mess — the accumulated rot of the Great Ming over a hundred years — could not be untangled in a single day's work after all.

Time slipped away bit by bit, until the shen hour, when the sky began to darken.

At that moment, Bureau Director of the Jurchen Section Lu Shanji was requesting a resource allocation from Sun Chengzong.

"Supreme Commander, this subordinate requests a dispatch to Yingzhou in Shanxi, to transfer the major criminal 'Bao Tao,' currently held in the government jail, here to Yuguan."

At these words, the expressions of several men in the document room who knew the background shifted subtly.

This Bao Tao was the eldest son of Bao Chengxian, the Ming Vice Regional Commander who had surrendered to Jianzhou during the battle of Guangning years ago.

Ever since Bao Chengxian bent his knee and submitted to the enemy, a dispatch had been sent to his ancestral home in Shanxi ordering his family imprisoned, and this Bao Tao had been held there ever since.

No one expected he would still be alive now.

By dragging him out at this moment, Lu Shanji naturally intended to exploit this bond of father-son affection to some end.

It was not that he thought to use it for coercion.

A man who could surrender when the army was routed at Guangning was, in his bones, someone who clung to life and feared death, utterly devoid of integrity.

Using his son's life to force him to turn his coat — anyone could see that would be useless.

But… what if they merely used Bao Tao to build a bridge, to pass along a word, and secretly leave this Han commander a path of retreat?

Or, what if they let Bao Tao tell him personally, in his own words, of the thunderous methods and vibrant vitality of the Great Ming's new policies?

This sort of soft subversion, of covertly communicating private overtures — to tell the truth, it came from the personal instruction of the Yongchang Emperor.

Who knows which spy drama from later ages had exerted this influence.

Lu Shanji was indifferent either way; naturally, he would try it first and see.

Just as Lu Shanji was reaching the critical point, a patter of hurried footsteps came from outside the door.

An attendant strode quickly to the doorway, bowed, and reported a few words in a low voice.

The originally tense yet orderly deliberative atmosphere in the document room was instantly broken.

Lu Shanji stopped speaking of his own accord.

As the attendant made his report, everyone present turned their gaze toward the head seat.

Sun Chengzong waved his hand, and indeed announced the meeting's end.

"The last man has also finished his examination paper. Let us stop here for today; the remaining details can continue tomorrow."

The old Supreme Commander slowly rose to his feet, smoothed the creases on his official robes, and swept his gaze over the assembly.

"Come, let us go first to the main hall and see what those officers outside have actually written in their answers."