Chapter 160: Section 17: The Grand Secretary

Huang Shi froze for a moment, then smiled apologetically and said, "On an island, what use is silver? I will remember Lord Sun's words. Give them a few days' rest and some wine and meat, that will be enough."

"Very well. Someone, give General Huang fifty taels of silver so he can buy a few more pigs."

After thanking Sun Chengzong again for the reward, Huang Shi said cautiously, "The owner of this seagoing vessel wishes to join the military households of our Great Ming."

"Oh?" Sun Chengzong drew out the sound.

Huang Shi signaled with his eyes, and a personal guard went to summon Heidao Kangfu. Huang Shi pointed at Heidao and introduced him, finally choosing his words carefully: "His ancestors were Japanese pirates pirates, so I did not dare to decide on my own."

"His ancestors were Japanese pirates? He himself is not, surely?"

"He is not. Otherwise I would never dare take him in."

Sun Chengzong laughed heartily: "Good, then this Grand Coordinator approves. The Great Ming Code is resplendent and clear — Japanese pirates are to be executed by law, but the crime does not extend to descendants. He may join the Great Ming military register. We will count him as a Tatar officer. The surname Heidao can be used directly; no need to change it."

Huang Shi turned his head and scolded with a laugh: "You wretch, hurry up and thank Lord Sun."

Heidao hastily kowtowed in gratitude: "I thank the Grand Coordinator, my lord. From now on, this humble man shall be called Heidao Yifu, wholeheartedly serving the Great Ming with loyalty."

After the deeply grateful Heidao Yifu crawled away, Sun Chengzong's mood seemed greatly improved. Disembarking from the ship, he asked questions about everything along the way, full of curiosity about the various regulations on Changsheng Island.

By Huang Shi's order, all the soldiers wore the medals they had earned. Sun Chengzong studied the jumble of trinkets on He Baodao's chest: "General Huang, this stout warrior must be the fiercest officer under your command?"

"He is. Mobile Corps Commander He is my trusted and beloved officer, whose valor surpasses the entire army."

He Baodao inclined his body and cupped his fists, proclaiming in a ringing voice: "I, Mobile Corps Commander He Baodao, pay my respects to Lord Sun."

Huang Shi, standing to the side, seized the chance to lavish praise on He Baodao's bravery and martial prowess — elevating one's subordinates is, after all, a roundabout way of elevating oneself. Sun Chengzong listened with a smile to this very long passage, and the more he looked at He Baodao, the more he liked him: "Descended from a military family — truly formidable."

When He Baodao heard a man of Sun Chengzong's stature praise his family, delight instantly spread across his face, and his proud beard practically curled upward. Seeing this, Sun Chengzong further encouraged him: "Since you have come to Liaodong, then settle your mind on killing the enemy here. Let your sons and grandsons all defend the frontier for our Great Ming."

"My wish is to achieve great merit, and then have the imperial court grant me leave to return to my old home," He Baodao, utterly lacking any sense of decorum, began speaking again. Huang Shi, powerless to stop him, immediately stiffened his face, but He Baodao did not see Huang Shi's signal at all and prattled on: "Last month a letter came from my old home in Shaanxi. My family heard that I have already become a military officer of the upper third rank, and the whole clan is very pleased. No one of my generation can compare, so the clan says I have brought glory to the He family ancestors."

A look of excitement flashed across He Baodao's face, then was replaced by desolation: "I had also told the clan that I would return home after achieving merit. But in last month's letter, my family informed me that I have already been struck from the clan rolls. They also sent along a set of ancestral tablets, telling me to spread my branches and leaves right here in Liaodong, and not to think of returning — even if I did return, there would be no place for me."

The ancients valued returning fallen leaves to the root, but the He family's meaning was clearly for He Baodao to set down roots in new soil, not to keep thinking of changing his registration and returning home. The He family had also arranged a wife for He Baodao back in his old home, and it was said she would be sent to Changsheng Island at the end of this month or the beginning of the next. Huang Shi understood this was the He family's painstaking consideration — He Baodao's rank was already so high; if he still yearned to return home, which superior officer would not feel a knot in his heart? Hearing this, Sun Chengzong also praised: "It is rare for your He family to be so deeply righteous and clear-sighted." He turned to Huang Shi: "What is Mobile Corps Commander He's current hereditary rank?"

Huang Shi, secretly pleased that He Baodao had not said anything to spoil the mood, quickly answered: "Mobile Corps Commander He holds the hereditary rank of Vice Battalion Commander of Dongjiang Town."

"Very impressive," Sun Chengzong praised again. "You are so young. Serve well under General Huang, and a hereditary Battalion Commander or Company Commander is easily within reach."

"Lord Sun speaks truly. In this life, I shall surely clear the path before General Huang's horse, and my descendants shall follow General Huang's descendants in defending Liaodong for our Great Ming."

This declaration of loyalty by He Baodao to the Ming dynasty and to Huang Shi only made the latter sneer inwardly. If things truly developed as He Baodao described, then the Liaodong military faction currently headed by Mao Wenlong would form a new military-household clique — and that was precisely what Huang Shi detested most.

But Sun Chengzong laughed: "Ambitious, well said!" He pondered for a moment: "Mobile Corps Commander He is already a military officer of the upper third rank. The name 'Baodao' — Precious Blade — does not match his status."

Huang Shi gave the utterly oblivious He Baodao a hard shove and scolded him outright: "Hurry up and thank Lord Sun for bestowing a name!" Seeing that He Baodao still had not caught on, Huang Shi kicked him again.

After He Baodao prostrated himself and gave thanks, Sun Chengzong stroked his beard and thought: "Let it be Dingyuan — to pacify the distant barbarians who rise in rebellion, and to share His Majesty's burdens."

There was already a Zhiyuan, and now a Dingyuan... Still, Huang Shi did not object to establishing a Beiyang Fleet within his own army.

Sun Chengzong's gaze shifted to a soldier behind He Dingyuan. Noticing that he too had three iron plates on his chest, he could not help but sigh: "Under a strong general there are no weak soldiers — even a common soldier has taken three heads."

These words made Huang Shi and his subordinates all laugh awkwardly. That soldier instantly turned bright red, and hung his head in shame and embarrassment.

"Lord Sun, your discernment is keen — this soldier's iron plates do not signify beheadings. He has not killed a single man." This time it was Huang Shi who stepped forward to wade into the muddy waters.

"Oh? Then what do these iron plates mean?" Sun Chengzong narrowed his eyes and looked carefully. The iron plates on that soldier's chest were quite finely made.

"They mean he has been gravely wounded three times. Among my subordinates, every time a man suffers a grave wound, he is issued one such iron plate." Huang Shi walked over to that soldier and ordered him to raise his head and stand straight, forbidding him to look at the ground.

Huang Shi stood shoulder to shoulder with that soldier, both facing Sun Chengzong: "Lord Sun, killing rebels and taking heads sometimes depends entirely on luck. But this soldier has been gravely wounded and unable to leave his bed three times, and all three times he got back up and returned to the ranks. Though he has yet to achieve a beheading, who, upon seeing these three iron plates, would not say: 'How fierce and brave — truly a stout fellow'?"

The soldier's look of shame had completely vanished. He knelt on one knee: "Lord Sun, rest assured, my lord, rest assured. The next time this humble man goes into battle, I will surely kill rebels and serve the nation."

Sun Chengzong stared at this soldier for a while, then gave a soft command: "Someone, reward General Huang with five taels of silver. General Huang, buy some wine and meat for this stout fellow as well."

In less than a day, Sun Chengzong had already given out several hundred taels of silver in rewards, and after just two short days of inspection, he no longer intended to continue looking. Of the reward silver originally prepared, over three thousand taels remained. Sun Chengzong very straightforwardly left all of it on Changsheng Island. Before returning to Shanhai Pass, he had everyone except Huang Shi move some distance away.

"In which year did you join the army?"

"In reply to Lord Sun..."

This time, Huang Shi had barely begun when Sun Chengzong cut him off: "This constant 'Lord Sun, Lord Sun' — this official finds it very unpleasant to hear. This official is of the lower second rank, you are of the upper third rank. General Huang, with your mouth full of 'my lord, my lord,' do you want this official to call you 'Lord Huang' as well?"

"Lord Sun, you overwhelm me..." Hearing Sun Chengzong snort again, Huang Shi immediately corrected himself: "Grand Secretary Sun." Unexpectedly, Sun Chengzong's brow remained furrowed, so Huang Shi lowered his voice and called: "Grand Secretary."

"Mm. Huang Shi, from now on you need not stand on ceremony with this old man." Sun Chengzong smiled with satisfaction, and his knitted brow relaxed. He suddenly asked: "Did Marshal Mao tell you to hide all your weapons so this old man would not see them?"

This question, so contrary to the rules of officialdom, left Huang Shi at a loss: "How could such a thing be? I do not understand why the Grand Secretary would say this."

"Heh heh, Huang Shi, your mouth is as tight as it was back in Liaoxi." Sun Chengzong recalled that conversation with Huang Shi about the sea route, laughed a few times, and did not press further. "All the way here to Changsheng Island, this old man has seen the various units of Dongjiang Town all looking like beggars, and suspicion had already formed in my heart. Since Marshal Mao established this garrison, he has taken several thousand heads. How could a beggar-like, refugee-like army accomplish that?"

Sun Chengzong's voice was already as resonant as a great bell, and these words rang out even more loudly: "They must have hidden all their weapons, not wanting this old man to see them! Hmph, this old man has forty battalions of Guanning troops and over a dozen Regional Commanders and Vice Generals right beside him. Such tricks — hmph, do they all think this old man has never seen them before? It is only because I know the hardships of frontier soldiers that I do not expose them."

Huang Shi trembled with fear and did not dare respond. After a few words of encouragement, Sun Chengzong asked again: "Huang Shi, in which year did you join the army?"

"The forty-sixth year of the Wanli reign."

"When were you promoted to Squad Commander?"

"I have never served as Squad Commander."

"File Leader?... Nor that. Vice Squad Commander?... Squad Commander?... Vice Company Commander?" Sun Chengzong's eyebrows rose higher and higher in surprise. "Then in the first year of the Tianqi reign, you were directly appointed by Wang Huazhen as a Company Commander of the sixth rank?"

After receiving an affirmative reply, Sun Chengzong said, as if casually: "Marshal Mao was also appointed Mobile Corps Commander by Wang Huazhen that year, and also led troops into Liaodong that year."

What did these words mean?