Chapter 135: Chapter Nineteen: Painted Skin

There are generally three types of credentials the Son of Heaven bestows upon his ministers: first, the Imperial Sword; second, the Royal Command Tablet; third, the Gold and Silver Command Arrows.

The Royal Command Tablet can execute officials of the fifth rank and below, but cannot adjudicate local affairs; the Command Arrow can mobilize local garrison troops, but cannot execute anyone, nor can it adjudicate local affairs. Command Arrows are generally bestowed upon high-ranking military officers, while Royal Command Tablets can be granted to military commanders or high-ranking local officials.

The Imperial Sword, also called the Sword of the Son of Heaven, is a credential of the Son of Heaven possessing immense authority.

Its origin lies with the Legalist Han Feizi, who held that the Son of Heaven wields the great power of life and death over officials, a power that should be, and should only be, held by the Son of Heaven. Thus, even if an official in the realm were sentenced to death, the final judgment must still be reported to the Son of Heaven for him to decide his life or death. But in ancient times without telephones or telegraphs, this unquestionably reduced the efficiency of governance; in administrative matters it might not be much trouble, but in military affairs it was a disaster.

The first military commander in history to hold the Imperial Sword seems to have been the famed Han dynasty general Wei Qing. During wartime, Emperor Wu of Han unbuckled the sword he wore at his side — the Imperial Sword — and presented it to Wei Qing, delegating to him the power of life and death over officers of the rank of Colonel and below, so that he might command the entire army.

Later, an even more fearsome authority emerged, called the "Provisional Yellow Battle-Axe," also known as the Son of Heaven's Axe. The Provisional Yellow Battle-Axe could execute any official outside the imperial clan without needing to report in advance. The Provisional Yellow Battle-Axe was more akin to acting as regent, that is, wielding the authority of the emperor by proxy. Most of those who could obtain the Provisional Yellow Battle-Axe were either temporary powerful ministers or contenders preparing to usurp the throne. In the original timeline of Huang Shi, the Provisional Yellow Battle-Axe also appeared in the Ming dynasty; for example, when Wu Sangui attacked Yunnan, the Yongli Emperor once bestowed it upon Li Dingguo.

During the Song dynasty, this great power of life and death within the army was reclaimed by the Son of Heaven. Later, Kublai Khan of the Mongol Yuan once again bestowed the Son of Heaven's Sword upon his ministers — for example, Zhang Hongfan — and this Son of Heaven's Sword was still given the name Imperial Sword.

The Imperial Sword can administer local government affairs, execute officials of the fifth rank and below before reporting, and suspend officials of the third rank and below from their posts on the spot. The authority of Provincial Governors in the Ming dynasty was immense precisely because all Provincial Governors were uniformly granted the Imperial Sword.

But since the founding of the Ming, this was the first time the Son of Heaven's Sword had been bestowed upon a military commander, indicating that the influence of the Liaodong military establishment was growing increasingly formidable.

After returning to his residence, Huang Shi immediately began assigning tasks to Hong Antong: "The selection of the Catholics is very important work; you must guard this pass well for me."

The full name of the Catholic Church on Changsheng Island was: The Great Ming Loyalty to the Sovereign and Patriotic Catholic Church. To Wu Mu it was abbreviated as the "Loyalty and Patriotic Church," and to the Jesuits as the "Catholic Church."

Although the Ming court was vigilant against the spread of religion, it was relatively tolerant by comparison. He Baodao's words also represented the common Ming view of religion — that it was a disorderly mob. The several cult disturbances during the Ming dynasty's rule posed little threat; for example, the Wenxiang Sect rebellion in the second year of Tianqi, where several hundred thousand sect members faced fewer than twenty thousand government troops, yet the fighting could be described as collapsing at the first encounter.

The government troops, after all, possessed a chain of command formed by layers of officers such as Assistant Regional Commander, Mobile Corps Commander, Company Commander, and Squad Commander. The vast majority of the Wenxiang Sect army consisted of ignorant commoners who had joined hoping for free medical treatment, and the overwhelming majority of commanders at all levels had infiltrated the religion with the aim of gaining personal advantage. These people had the desire to plunder the local populace, but the moment they saw the gleaming blades and long spears of the government troops, they immediately fled at the mere rumor of their approach and scurried away in panic.

And after the imperial court ordered a pardon for everyone except Xu Hongru, the leader of the Wenxiang Sect became a man utterly alone. Afterwards, the Ming court did not even ban the sect members, merely applying a mix of grace and severity to the remaining religious leaders.

Huang Shi believed that an organization's cohesion depends on its selection system. For instance, a sect like the Wenxiang Sect, which promoted people based on outward fanaticism, would inevitably select a batch of genuinely brainless zealots and a group of crafty, double-dealing opportunists.

Another example is the brotherhoods and the Gelaohui within the army. Swearing oaths of brotherhood and acknowledging a "big brother" can indeed form private armies, but Huang Shi considered this a feudal warlord system. He had no intention of promoting it within his own army, much less personally founding one.

Huang Shi's wishful plan was to develop a political party under the banner of religion. Organizing one independently could easily arouse the vigilance of the court and the Army Supervisor; after all, over the millennia, not a few rebels had raised this banner to cause chaos, and establishing a faction independently within the army was even more sensitive. Therefore, the number of members could not be large; they had to restrict the adherents to a relatively small circle as much as possible.

And through the tool of a political party, Huang Shi could instill in the soldiers some things he wanted to instill, for example: ideals.

A modern army is a war machine. Through brutal corporal punishment and daily training, soldiers gradually lose the ability to think for themselves and develop a conditioned reflex-like execution of orders. In a modern army, soldiers have a deep-rooted fear of the disciplinary stick and the leather whip; the more terrified they are on the battlefield, the more mechanically they will execute orders.

For example, the American army during the Civil War, under covering artillery fire, maintained strict formation, marched slowly for a mile, then perfectly executed a formation change and scaled a low wall. And starting from a distance of 400 yards, they had to endure continuous rifle fire; out of ten thousand men in an offensive battle, eight thousand became casualties before the unit finally collapsed.

The organizational structure of a feudal army goes without saying; combat relied mainly on individual martial valor, merit was based on counting heads, and fighting spirit was sustained by plunder. That is why feudal armies had sayings like "do not block a returning army" and "always leave an escape route when besieging a city," hoping not to force the enemy to fight to the death. Modern armies, however, have no such sayings — they simply fight until utterly annihilated. But they are merely zombies and walking corpses on the battlefield. An army without a soul can only rigidly kill or be killed, unable to fight proactively, so when it encounters a truly modern army, a one-sided slaughter once again occurs.

Only ideals can breathe a soul into the corpse of a modern army, granting it not only mechanical rigidity but also flexible tactics and supple resilience. To fight full of the desire for combat, to flexibly strive for victory according to the battlefield situation, and for individual soldiers who are routed to be able to restore their own will to fight.

For instance, large-scale Mobile Corps Commander warfare behind enemy lines is not something the ancients were unwilling to do, but something feudal armies and modern armies simply could not accomplish. A feudal army trapped behind enemy lines becomes nothing but bandits who only know how to plunder; a modern army that loses its command becomes a rigid, dead corpse.

Huang Shi did not know if this plan could succeed, but he still wanted to give it a try; if it didn't work, there was no harm done. Wu Mu's help in lying still had its benefits. If they really reported the combat results of one dead and four wounded, that combat effectiveness might arouse the court's suspicions. It was best that the court interpreted the victory as Huang Shi's personal martial prowess; under no circumstances could they let others realize it was the power of the military system — it would be the same no matter who came as commander.

Huang Shi disagreed with Deng Ken's statement. He told Deng Ken that soldiers who believed in the religion could only be called followers, but before baptism they must undergo selection. These followers must first prove their love and loyalty to the Lord before they could be baptized and become church members... Alright, love and loyalty to Huang Shi.

Probationary church members — a new title Huang Shi gave to these follower soldiers — had to display bravery in battle, or work actively in peacetime, before they could receive the title of active membership candidate. And these active membership candidates had to undergo further tests before they could become a glorious member of the Catholic Church.

"Nominally — note, nominally — these church members were all recruited by the Jesuit Deng Ken. Including myself, I was also brought into the church by Deng Ken. I and the other church members are equal in status."

If the court wanted to find trouble, let them find trouble with the Jesuits. If the court truly became suspicious, the worst that would happen would be an order for Huang Shi to renounce the faith. Huang Shi was determined to hand the heavy burden of being the scapegoat over to the Jesuit brothers to carry. This was precisely the principle of "let the fellow Daoist die, not this poor Daoist." If by chance the "fellow Daoist" didn't die either, then in the future they could just label the Jesuits as "Trotskyites" or "revisionists."

To help these active membership candidates achieve the great Dao sooner, Huang Shi also specially arranged organizational activities such as study classes. Huang Shi had already written the materials needed for these organizational activities for Hong Antong.

"As for joining the church, this must also follow the standard model. For example, you, Hong Antong, are now a glorious member of the 'Great Ming Loyalty to the Sovereign and Patriotic Catholic Church.' Your sponsor is Huang Shi — that is, me. If you ever apostatize... of course, this won't happen, but if such a situation occurs, the responsibility of the sponsor must be investigated."

Huang Shi hoped this collective responsibility system would ensure that sponsors would not use church membership as a personal favor.

"And before joining the church, one must also pass the review of the Changsheng Island Church Committee. This title of church member must be given to the bravest and most hardworking soldiers, so that church members play an exemplary and leading role in both combat and production. Everyone must understand that joining the church means enduring hardship, not coming to enjoy comfort."

Hong Antong listened with a mix of understanding and confusion: "My lord, your subordinate dares to ask, who would still be willing to join the church then? Those follower soldiers all believe because they are drawn by the benefits of Heaven."

This question made Huang Shi unable to suppress a smile: "Xiao Hong, do you believe?"

"The Sage said, respect the spirits and gods, but keep them at a distance."

"Then why do you want to join the church?"

"This is my lord's order. Your subordinate will carry out whatever orders my lord gives." Hong Antong answered fluently. Huang Shi had also explained to him that this could unite the soldiers and also gain the support of the Jesuits.

"Well said. Anyone who possesses your level of awareness can be promoted into the church." Huang Shi had always believed that selection criteria determine the composition of an organization. If this Catholic Church on Changsheng Island used the fanatical belief standard of the Jesuits as its selection criterion, then without thinking, it would be filled entirely with zealots. But if the selection criteria were the elite of the army and enthusiasm for loyalty to Huang Shi... then the name was merely a skin. He casually circled two words in the teaching materials — Honor and Status — and then, pointing at these two words, began to explain to Hong Antong:

"Honor — on Changsheng Island, the moment anyone hears this word, a sense of admiration must spontaneously arise: 'Ah, this is truly a stout fellow.' Status — Squad Commander officers must develop them into church members as much as possible, and church member officers should receive priority in promotion, because this title has already guaranteed that they are outstanding."

Hong Antong scratched his head, trying his utmost to digest these things. From whatever angle he considered it, Huang Shi only intended to take the very cream of the crop.

"There are some other things, but let's discuss them when I return." Huang Shi figured this trip to Dongjiang would not take more than a month; there was no need to explain everything to Hong Antong at once. "I don't think the Jesuits will send anyone recently, but if by chance they do, follow Deng Ken's arrangements in everything, and don't let any cracks show."

"As ordered, my lord." Hong Antong gathered his things and prepared to withdraw. "Fortunately, Deng Ken is very cooperative, otherwise there would be quite a bit of trouble."

Huang Shi shrugged: "A matter of principle. You cannot retreat even one step, or you will never be able to hold your ground again."

As Hong Antong withdrew, a slight doubt lingered in his heart — could my lord's system really work?

A similar worry also circled in Huang Shi's mind. The common soldiers could be fooled as one wished, but the officers and the elite had to be realists, and realists needed benefits. So far, the military reforms and the cutting off of the tail of feudal traditions had gone very smoothly, because Huang Shi controlled the distribution of benefits on Changsheng Island. Here, Heaven was the boss, and he was second-in-command.

But as the army grew, Huang Shi understood that the benefits he needed to provide would also increase. If he sacrificed the interests of the Confucian gentry, that would mean a brutal class war: either be powerful enough to completely smash the Confucian landlord-gentry class, or face death and the extermination of his clan.

"Can I find a new source of benefits for my subordinates? A source of benefits that gives me room to compromise and satisfies the needs of my subordinates?" His head aching from thinking, Huang Shi decided to set this problem aside for now. He pulled out a slip of paper, on which was the draft diagram he had designed for his pyramid of power.

"The Party, the government, the army — all are now in place. Hong Antong's religious organization, Yang Zhiyuan's Old Camp, and Zhao Manxiong and the others' staff department. The pyramid's peak is supported by four edges; now we're just missing a KGB. This should be fine to hand over to my little brother."