Chapter 228: Transfer of Posts

Just as the palace examination of the tenth year of Chongzhen was about to be held, Sun Chuanting's memorial arrived at the capital by six-hundred-li express delivery: the Tumed tribe of the Qinghai Mongols had submitted in its entirety, totaling thirty-two thousand some households and one hundred forty-nine thousand some people, men, women, young and old alike, among them thirty-seven thousand some able-bodied adults, along with over a million head of horses, cattle, and sheep; Sun Chuanting had already settled the eight taiji of the Tumed tribe and their subordinate populations and livestock separately in the three prefectures of Lintao, Gongchang, and Pingliang, and now the Tumed tribe's Güshi Khan was traveling to the capital under the escort of government troops to pay homage before the imperial countenance.

Additionally, in his memorial Sun Chuanting gave a detailed account of the military farmland and settlement of the people in Pingliang Prefecture in the ninth year of Chongzhen, and mentioned the names of certain officials who had performed outstandingly during that period, stating frankly that the success of the military farmland was due in large part to the important role these officials had played, and hoping that the court would not be stingy with promotions and rewards, so as to comfort their hearts and spur their efforts, allowing this new style of officialdom to spread throughout the various regions of the Great Ming.

Zhu Youjian, his countenance greatly pleased, immediately summoned the Grand Secretariat and the important ministers of the Six Ministries and Nine Chief Ministers to discuss the submission of the Tumed tribe and the question of promotions and rewards for the officials concerned.

"Minister Sun has been in office for barely two years and a little more, yet his achievements are enough to shine in the annals of history! During his time in Shaanxi, whether in civil governance or military accomplishments, he can serve as a model for all ministers! This matter of the Tumed tribe coming to submit in its entirety was accomplished precisely through his careful planning—a feat comparable to expanding the realm's borders! The court should reward his merits heavily!"

All the ministers could see that the smile on the Emperor's face came from the heart; the Tumed tribe's surrender meant that the Great Ming's western border was thoroughly pacified.

"That Sun Baigu could achieve such merits is entirely due to His Majesty's ability to recognize talent—it was His Majesty who plucked him from obscurity, giving him the opportunity to display his abilities, so that a bright pearl would not be left gathering dust! Your minister deeply admires His Majesty's keen eye for talent!"

Since the Emperor wanted to reward Sun Chuanting heavily, Wen Tiren simply did not raise the specific matter of how to reward him, because he knew the Emperor must already have a decision in mind—better to say something pleasant to make the Emperor happy.

"Sun of Daizhou handled the matter of how to settle the Tumed people cleverly—their hundred-some-thousand population divided into three places, and later selecting their able-bodied men to form cavalry, sending them far beyond the frontier to campaign against the unsubmissive—with such attrition and taming, within a few generations their nature will surely become no different from us Han! Excellent!"

Yang Sichang, Minister of War, was extremely appreciative of Sun Chuanting's measures to divide the Mongols.

Those not of our kind are bound to have different hearts; only through constant attrition and Sinicization can these Mongols be trusted.

"Since their leader wishes to come to the capital, your minister suggests His Majesty reward him with a princely title, then keep him detained in the capital, supplying him lavishly with fine wine and beautiful women—the Mongols left in the northwest will then be like a flock of geese without a leader, and in time they will scatter to the east and west!"

Zhou Yun, Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, memorialized.

In the eyes of the Great Ming people, the Mongols beyond the frontier were nothing but poor wretches no better than beggars; even if you were some Great Khan, what you enjoyed daily was not even as good as a Great Ming local tycoon. As long as this Güshi Khan came to the capital, corrupted by grand mansions and beautiful women, how would such a country bumpkin still be willing to return to the northwest to eat sand? The Mongols scattered across the three places, without their leader, could not possibly stir up any waves.

"Minister Zhou's words are most fitting—as for Güshi Khan, follow the previous precedent and enfeoff him as Prince of Shunyi, and bestow upon him the former estate of the Earl of Chengyi; the specific enfeoffment matters may be arranged by the Ministry of Rites according to the appropriate rituals!"

Sun Chuanting had already handled the matter of the Tumed tribe quite properly; aside from envy and jealousy, the court ministers had no better suggestions to offer. Seeing the Emperor so pleased, everyone knew that a new star in the Great Ming political arena was rising—the day he returned to the capital bearing such great merit would be the day certain members of the Grand Secretariat yielded their seats.

When Zhu Youjian saw in the memorial Sun Chuanting's wholehearted recommendation of Xie Yannian and Fang Wen, a new idea suddenly occurred to him: the military farmland in Pingliang Prefecture and Xi'an Prefecture had already entered the proper track, and the vast majority of refugees from northern Shaanxi, where the drought was most severe, had already been relocated to these two places and properly settled; as long as the strategy Sun Chuanting had formulated was carried out, the full governance of Shaanxi was already showing its first signs. In the future, no matter who served in the prefectures and counties of Shaanxi, under the strict supervision of the Censors and the Embroidered Uniform Guard, no major problems would arise.

Since that was the case, why not take this opportunity to implement the plan of "changing the birds while emptying the cage" that he had long conceived?

"Minister Wen, how is the matter of first relocating the artisans from Shanxi to Taiwan progressing?"

"In reply to Your Majesty, since the Grand Secretariat sent its directive to Shanxi, according to the report of Governor Cai of Shanxi, the first batch of over a thousand artisans of various trades, along with their families totaling over four thousand people, is already on the road from Shanxi to the capital; upon arriving within the capital's jurisdiction, Shuntian Prefecture will be specifically responsible for their arrangements!"

Wen Tiren memorialized.

"In accordance with Your Majesty's edict, your minister and the Ministry of Revenue established several grain supply stations along the route, each staffed with officials and yamen runners to maintain order and distribute gruel for relief; according to your minister's information, the first batch of artisan households from Shanxi has already arrived near the capital's outskirts—by the itinerary, they will reach Tianjin Garrison in ten days; the Zheng family has this time assembled over twenty large ships of five-hundred-liao capacity, able to carry over eight thousand people; this batch of artisan households totals over four thousand, leaving half the ships empty!"

Li Huaipu, Prefect of Shuntian, bowed and memorialized.

"Two thousand government troops from Shandong, led by Assistant Regional Commander Wu, are coming to the capital—according to reports, they arrived at Qingyun yesterday; your minister has arranged for the Ordnance Directorate to prepare firearms and gunners to rush to the Tianjin Garrison docks; Assistant Regional Commander Wu's forces should arrive at Tianjin Garrison the day after tomorrow, after which the firearms and weapons will first be loaded aboard the ships; once the Shanxi artisan households arrive, the government troops will board together with them for Taiwan!"

Yang Sichang stepped forward and memorialized.

After Huang Degong received the urgent directive from the Ministry of War, he decided that Wu Qun would lead two thousand men to Taiwan Island to protect the migrants and resist the Western barbarians.

Huang Degong repeatedly admonished Wu Qun that the Ministry of War's directive specifically noted that the Western barbarians on the island relied primarily on firearms, their cannon fire being extremely formidable, and their tactics vastly different from those of the roving bandits; if they encountered them, he must respond flexibly, must not harbor any contempt, and must seek an opportunity to defeat them—on no account could he disgrace the might of the Great Ming.

The reason Huang Degong chose Wu Qun to lead the forces there was precisely because he valued Wu Qun's combination of courage and cunning—not the sort of reckless man who fought with brute force alone.

Having already spent a considerable time farming military land in Shan County, Huang Degong was growing increasingly impatient; the scene of thousands upon thousands of troops clashing face-to-face on the battlefield was what he most craved.

He already knew that His Majesty planned to use troops against Liaodong next year, and he had already submitted a report to the Ministry of War requesting permission to expand his forces, so that he could participate in the Liaodong campaign next year.

"The Minister of War may personally go to Tianjin Garrison at that time, to lend grandeur and prestige to the government troops' distant voyage to Taiwan!"

"Your minister accepts the edict! Additionally, Regional Commander Huang of Shandong, who was previously dispatched to suppress bandits, earlier submitted a request to the Ministry of War to expand his forces; after considering next year's affairs, your minister also deems it feasible—the specific details await Your Majesty's decision!"

Since large-scale military operations were planned for next year, naturally the more government troops the better—especially given that the military clans of Liaodong could not be trusted, every additional force brought additional peace of mind.

"Approved for expansion to five thousand men! The Ministry of War must instruct him to train strictly, to prepare for any contingency! The Ordnance Directorate must increase firearms production; henceforth government troops' equipment should be primarily firearms—this is the trend of the world, and you must bear it well in mind!"

Yang Sichang accepted the edict and returned to his place.

"Transmit my decree: Sun Chuanting has rendered extraordinary merit, and is specially promoted to the rank of Grand Secretary of the Eastern Pavilion; Prefect Xie of Pingliang has been diligent and conscientious in his post—promote him to the fourth rank, and transfer him to serve as Prefect of Hangzhou Prefecture! Vice Prefect Fang of Pingliang has been bold in undertaking responsibilities with outstanding ability—promote him to Prefect of Suzhou! All officials of Hangzhou Prefecture from the Prefect down, of the sixth rank and above, shall be exchanged with their counterparts in Pingliang Prefecture! The former Prefect of Suzhou Prefecture is promoted to Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites of the Right!"

Since we're changing things, change them thoroughly.

Xie Yannian had eaten sand in the northwest for many years; since his governance record was outstanding, it was time for him to go to Jiangnan for a change of flavor.

Exchanging the principal officials of Hangzhou Prefecture with those of Pingliang was precisely to prevent Xie Yannian from being sidelined by those below him after he arrived; this time he was transferring with his original team, and as long as he employed firm measures, with the support of Governor Chang Ziyu of Zhejiang, controlling Hangzhou would be no problem.

Xie Yannian had also served as an official for many years and was thoroughly skilled in the arts of combining hard and soft tactics in officialdom; transferring him to Hangzhou was precisely to reduce resistance to the tax reform.

Fang Wen would encounter some difficulties in taking up his post in Suzhou, but he was still young—let him gain some experience first, and depending on how circumstances developed, suitable assistants could be arranged for him later.