Chapter 196: We Have High Hopes for You All!

"Zhang Boren, in your essay you wrote that Gaomi's people value righteousness and esteem martial prowess, that there are many powerful clans and great families, and that although the terrain is not strategically critical, it lies near lakes and the sea, with mountains and forests around to rely on. As long as the leaders of Gaomi's great clans can step forward, take the rise and fall of the realm as their own duty, organize local militia, build fortresses, and rely on the mountains, seas, and lakes to set up defenses everywhere, then even tens of thousands of enemy troops would find it hard to subdue them."

So it really was a mix-up!

Zhang Boren, the great talent standing before Zhu Cilang, finally understood why he had passed the examination — it turned out those muddle-headed chief examiners had mixed up the papers. This essay was clearly not written by him!

What was he to do now? He was an honest gentleman — he could not steal another man's scholarly honor!

But his own essays were truly poor. If he let this opportunity slip by, could he ever pass again? Without a degree equivalent to juren to his name, would the Zhang family of Jiaoshui River decline in his generation? Perhaps he should just let the mistake stand?

While Zhang Boren was still wrestling with his conscience, Zhu Cilang's tone had already turned grave.

"Zhang Boren, your Zhang family of Jiaoshui River is the foremost great clan of Gaomi — over a hundred sons and kinsmen, more than a thousand tenant households, and tens of thousands of mu of land. Have We stated this incorrectly?"

"No, you have not."

The moment the words left his mouth, Zhang Boren knew he had misspoken.

The Zhang family of Jiaoshui River did indeed possess tens of thousands of mu of land, over a thousand tenant households, and more than a hundred clansmen and sons. Within Gaomi County, they were overlords of the region!

But in Gaomi County's Yellow Registers and Fish-Scale Registers, the Zhang family did not have nearly that many people or that much land.

If the Yellow Registers and Fish-Scale Registers showed no such land or population, then there was no need to bear the corresponding taxes and corvée labor.

Zhu Cilang glanced at him and said with a smile, "We know that most of your family's land does not appear in the Yellow Registers or Fish-Scale Registers — it is all concealed land!"

The moment Zhang Boren heard Zhu Cilang's words, he dropped to his knees with a thud. "Thousand Years, this student is wronged — my family does not have that much land."

"Heh." Zhu Cilang gave a cold laugh. "How much land your family has is of no interest to Us!

But We do know how much land Gaomi County has in total. That is thanks to Zhang Juzheng — he investigated it thoroughly!

We hold that however much land Gaomi County has, it should bear a corresponding share of the duty to defend home and country. Now is the moment when the realm itself hangs in the balance. Even common men have a duty to protect the nation — how much more so the scholar-gentry? Your family is a house of letters, a renowned clan of Gaomi. You should step forward and lead the people and soldiers of Gaomi in resisting the barbarians and saving the nation.

Zhang Boren! The bandit invaders are about to reach Denglai, and their force is great. How do you intend to meet them?"

Zhang Boren's voice trembled as he kowtowed heavily before Zhu Cilang. "Thousand Years, this student does not know."

"Is it that you do not know?" Zhu Cilang snorted coldly. "Or that you know but will not act? Your essay was excellently written! Lead the gentry of Gaomi in jointly organizing local militia, strengthen defenses and clear the countryside, and fight the bandit invaders to the bitter end. Even if you cannot prevail, you should rally in the mountains and forests, roam the seas, and never speak of surrender."

What? What? Zhang Boren was listening in a daze. Who on earth wrote this essay? Even rallying in the mountains and forests and roaming the seas made it in! Was that language a scholar would write?

Did this mean that if they could not beat the Tartars, they should take to the hills as outlaws and put to sea as pirates, fighting to the death to the very end? Who was this ruthless man?

After a moment of silence, Zhu Cilang's tone was now filled with murderous intent. "Zhang Boren, why do you now say you do not know? Could it be that you intend to speak of surrender to protect your family? What We detest most is scholar-officials who go over to the enemy!"

Speak of surrender to protect his family? What he detested most was scholar-officials going over to the enemy.

Zhang Boren recalled the legends of Zhu Cilang's great slaughter outside the Meridian Gate — this Crown Prince was a ruthless man who could personally kill even his own teacher for surrendering to Li Zicheng!

At that thought, Zhang Boren kowtowed repeatedly. "No, no, no — this student will not surrender! This student would rather take his own life than surrender!"

"Who asked you to die?" Zhu Cilang glared. "What We cannot stand the sight of is those scholars who in peacetime sit with folded hands discoursing on mind and nature, and in crisis repay their sovereign with a single death! A fine life is for killing barbarians, not for suicide! If you truly wish to kill yourself, you need not wait for the eastern barbarians to arrive — die right now!"

Die right now?

At this, not only was Zhang Boren frightened out of his wits, but the other talents present were all trembling like chaff in a sieve. Who would have thought that sitting a special examination could cost a man his life? Had they known, they would never have come — better to stay home living off their parents than throw their lives away!

"Thousand Years, this student knows his error!" Zhang Boren's reaction was quick, and he hastily corrected himself. "If the Tartars come, this student will fight them to the end — even if it means taking to the mountains or putting to sea, I will kill every last barbarian!"

"Well said — 'even if it means taking to the mountains or putting to sea, I will kill every last barbarian.' Good, good!" The murderous look on Zhu Cilang's face vanished at once, replaced by an approving smile. "Zhang Boren, We knew you were a man capable of shouldering great responsibility! You are a great Confucian who can serve the nation and the people. With you here, Gaomi will surely not fall into the hands of the bandit invaders. We hereby appoint you Vice Magistrate of Gaomi County and Concurrent Militia Commissioner, to lead the gentry, soldiers, and people of Gaomi in establishing local militia, building fortifications, and resisting the barbarian bandits!"

He then pointed at the other talents present. "You are also talents of Gaomi County, sons of great households. Do you intend to surrender to the barbarians, to kill yourselves, or to resist the barbarians?"

"Resist the barbarians!"

"Resist the barbarians, of course!"

"We are willing to follow Vice Magistrate Zhang in resisting the barbarians!"

Talents, after all, were clever men. They naturally knew they could not choose suicide — otherwise they would be "suicided" on the spot.

Zhu Cilang nodded. "Good. You shall all serve as County Commandants! Henceforth, the magistrate of Gaomi will be appointed by the court, while the vice magistrate, county commandants, and militia officers will all be filled by you, the gentry of Gaomi.

However much land Gaomi County has is all recorded in the Fish-Scale Registers! We shall use that as the basis for apportioning militia duties and imperial grain levies. How much you collect is not the concern of the magistrate We send. Our people will take the total taxes and levies Gaomi County submitted in the sixteenth year as the standard, collect at half that rate, and at the same time supervise your establishment of the local militia.

Furthermore, send your families to Dengzhou City to be settled! Dengzhou has high walls and strong fortifications, and it is directly connected to the sea routes — it is ground that can hold out for a long time. Thus you need not worry for the safety of your families, and can devote yourselves wholeheartedly to running the militia!"

This was what was called "converting regular administration to native administration." Regular officials meant the iron yamen with its flowing stream of officials — appointed by the court, serving a few years and then leaving. Under normal circumstances, locals could not serve as officials in their own locality. Native officials carried a somewhat feudal implication, and naturally had to be filled by powerful local strongmen capable of keeping a region in check. The native chieftains of the southwest in the Ming dynasty were the classic example of native officials. Here in Denglai there were no native chieftains, but there were certainly no shortage of local landed magnates.

"What? His Highness redistributed the lands of the seven guards of Denglai, and also disbanded a great number of military households, keeping only a little over 1,400 households per guard, and gave each guard's land entirely to them?"

"Is that not too drastic a change? Would the seven guards of Denglai not be left with only 10,000 military households? A reduction of over seventy percent!"

"Indeed — disbanding so many military households at once, is there no fear of stirring up trouble?"

"Too hasty — truly too hasty!"

"Indeed. The court is still in the midst of moving south. It is truly not the time to implement new policies and new laws."

Within the prefectural seat of Yanzhou, Shi Kefa, Ma Shiying, Lu Zhenfei, Lu Jiude, Huang Degong, Liu Liangzuo, Zhu Guobi, and other high civil and military officials were gathered in full assembly, discussing the "Denglai New Policies" together with the newly arrived Duke for the Perpetuation of the Sage, Kong Yinzhi.

Although Ma Shiying and Lu Zhenfei were no longer willing to keep stirring up trouble alongside Shi Kefa, they could not simply leave without saying farewell, so for now they patiently laid out the situation of the Denglai New Policies. Combined with Kong Yinzhi's "indictment," the great figures in Yanzhou City one after another voiced their opposition.

Shi Kefa stroked his beard. "The guard-battalion system is indeed riddled with abuses, but His Highness's reforms are far too radical. I fear they will provoke a backlash. Gentlemen, why not join with this headquarters in submitting a joint memorial opposing this reform?"

Ma Shiying shook his head. "The likes of us alone are probably not enough to make His Highness change his mind. The five Grand Secretaries at the traveling court all support His Highness! In the final analysis, they are the weighty ministers who assist the Son of Heaven!"

"That..." Shi Kefa hesitated.

What he represented was the Six Ministries of Nanjing, and the Six Ministries of Nanjing were nothing more than a spare tire! The Grand Secretaries and ministry heads who had come south with Zhu Cilang were the real principals.

Now that the principals all supported Zhu Cilang, was there any use in the spare tire objecting?

Ma Shiying spoke again. "Grand Minister of War, here in Yanzhou you alone are a Minister of the auxiliary capital. Brother Jianbai and I are both local officials. For local officials to oppose the central government is, after all, improper, is it not? Better to use the pretext of welcoming the imperial procession to invite all the weighty civil officials of the auxiliary capital to Yanzhou. Then, with the Duke for the Perpetuation of the Sage and the local gentry of Shandong joining in remonstrance, His Highness would surely be persuaded to change his mind."

Shi Kefa stroked his beard and nodded thoughtfully. "You are right! We should call everyone together." He thought for a moment. "And what of the ennobled dignitaries of the auxiliary capital?"

(End of Chapter)