Chapter 31: Deliberation

Zhang Runda and the group of officers hurried back to their garrison, and along the way everyone argued endlessly, full of indignation.

After returning to the guard station, Zhang Runda summoned everyone to the office to discuss matters. The men were anxious and uneasy in their hearts, so they all came together to the guard station office.

The guard station office was not large in scale, but since the Zhang family were hereditary Guard Commanders, it was maintained in a fairly neat and orderly fashion as was their usual custom.

After everyone took their seats in the main hall, Zhang Runda, seated in the principal position, spoke: "Today's matter — let's all discuss it, and in the end come up with a plan to give the Governor an accounting. This matter concerns everyone's vital interests, so speak openly, don't hide anything — we're all our own people!"

The men who had been arguing and bickering nonstop along the way now all fell silent. After a long while, Vice Guard Commander Gao Qimin broke the silence and said: "This matter is of great importance; we shall all obey the Guard Commander's orders!"

Zhang Runda cursed the old fox inwardly, but kept a smiling face and said: "My intention is naturally to act according to the plan drawn up by the Governor — we are all imperial officials appointed by the court, so of course we must obey our superior's orders!"

Everyone inwardly cursed him as a little fox in return. Another Vice Guard Commander, Wu Shengkun, spoke up: "If we follow the Governor's plan, are those of you present willing to return the estates accumulated by our ancestors over generations to those poor hereditary military households? After handing them back, how are we to live? A few more generations down, what difference will there be between us and those poor military households?"

Assistant Guard Commander Sun Zhongliang said: "Gentlemen, let me say something unpleasant. Though we are imperial officials, in reality this rear guard is our private property. Especially in the last few decades, the court has paid us no heed, and military pay and provisions have fallen into arrears in great amounts. Our current family fortunes were all obtained through the hard work of our ancestors. Now with one word from the Governor, we must hand over the family estates our generations painstakingly accumulated — I refuse to accept this!"

"Right, I refuse to accept it too!"

"Why should we hand things over just because Sun Chuanting said one word!"

"If we return the estates, how can that paltry official salary from the court support our whole families? What right do those poor military households have to divide up our fields?"

"All the guard stations in the whole Ming dynasty are like this — why must our three guards alone return the land? If it's to be returned, then all guard stations should return it together! Then we'd have no objection!"

"Why don't we just kill this dog of an official outright — he's the one making all the trouble!"

"I think he's fishing for fame and reputation, using our blood and sweat to pave his road to promotion!"

The atmosphere in the main hall gradually grew heated. Most people were burning with righteous indignation, and only a very few officers of Chiliarch rank remained silent.

Zhang Runda watched his subordinates slamming tables and glaring, and his heart was full of bitter unspeakable feelings. As the one who benefited the most, he naturally didn't want to change the status quo. If he followed Sun Chuanting's plan, more than half of his family's seventy to eighty thousand mu of fine farmland would be taken away. Though he was still considered a decent person, he had done no small amount of scheming and extortion — that no lives were on his hands already made him a Bodhisattva at heart. The other Vice Commanders and Assistant Commanders had far uglier eating habits than his, and not a few had blood on their hands over land matters.

He coughed once, and everyone stopped their discussion to look at him together. Zhang Runda spoke: "I know everyone feels wronged inside. My thoughts are the same as yours — when I hate him enough I truly want to cut him down with one stroke! But thinking is one thing; reality is right here before us. That man has thick thighs and a sturdy waist — our little arms and legs simply can't stand against him! We know our own situation best. With the few household retainers we have, bullying the military households is no trouble at all, but going up against those brutes of the Governor's personal battalion would be like eggs smashing against stones. To put it bluntly, if the personal battalion sent a hundred men, they could wipe out our entire Left Guard! So let's drop all that talk of killing and charging. When the sky falls, the tall ones will hold it up. There are people even more anxious than us — we hold our troops still and watch how certain people act, then follow along. The three guards share glory and share ruin; the task of charging into battle doesn't fall to us yet. In a few days I reckon someone will invite me to discuss this matter. I've already thought it through — when that time comes, the subordinate officers of all three guards will jointly submit a memorial to the court. Of course, a memorial won't change the matter of reorganizing the guard stations; the court will naturally side with the civil officials. We'll only request that our allotted ration fields be increased — double the figures the Governor set. That way, though our family fortunes suffer some loss, we'll recover a bit in compensation. That Sun fellow won't stay in Shaanxi forever. After he leaves and someone else takes over, I don't think there will be a second Sun the Stubborn in the court. By then, won't those poor military households be right back in our grip!"

Hearing this, everyone felt it was the best plan available at present. For now they could only endure in silence, and after Sun the Stubborn left Shaanxi, they could follow their original methods and slowly take back the returned lands — it would just take a bit longer.

Gao Qimin clasped his hands and said: "The Commander's foresight is truly remarkable — we are full of admiration! We will follow everything the Commander says; we look to the Commander for direction!"

Zhang Runda smiled and waved his hand: "What foresight do I have? It's not like I have any other choice! Blame it on us being timid and afraid of trouble. Everyone disperse now. In a few days those poor military households will probably all know about this matter. Let's put the greater good first — if anyone says sarcastic things or stirs up trouble, we endure it. Understood?" Everyone assented, bowed, and dispersed.

A similar scene was playing out in the Front Guard. Like Zhang Runda, Front Guard Commander Sun Zuowang also planned to watch what the others did, and the Front Guard would simply follow along.

In the study of the Governor's office, Sun Chuanting was conversing with Zhuang Yuanzhou, Cui, and Xie.

Zhuang Yuanzhou spoke: "Brother Baigu, I thought you would carry out a sweeping reform of the guard stations, but I never expected you to raise the club high and set it down gently. In my humble opinion, we should kill one to warn a hundred — seize the ringleaders, confiscate their family property, and then we wouldn't have to worry about military pay and provisions for the next few years. Those were some fat sheep indeed! I still feel it's a pity now!" His tone was full of regret.

Cui and Xie also wore puzzled expressions, for they shared the same thoughts as Zhuang Yuanzhou. They knew that Sun Chuanting had very little military pay and provisions in hand. When he came, His Majesty had made clear that the court had no money to allocate, but Shaanxi's local tax revenues could be retained for his use. However, Shaanxi suffered from endless natural disasters and man-made calamities, and the annual tax revenue was pitifully small. For Sun Chuanting, who wanted to accomplish great things, it was like trying to put out a cartload of burning firewood with a cup of water. They had originally thought that Sun Chuanting's move against the guard stations was precisely because he saw that the guard station officers had money and grain but no military force to back them. They never expected the meeting to end this way.

Sun Chuanting laughed heartily: "Three worthy younger brothers, do you think I don't want to slaughter pigs and sheep for pleasure? Hahaha! I don't want to execute without first teaching, and I don't want to act without just cause. If I directly ordered confiscation of property and extermination of families, that would be satisfying indeed, but it would inevitably leave a handle for others to seize upon and make a big issue of! Though His Majesty has already said to let me act freely and that he would trust me unconditionally, I still want to minimize the disputes His Majesty might have with court officials over my affairs. This time it's a strategy of letting the prey run before catching it. I'm certain someone will refuse to accept this — when cornered, a dog will jump the wall, that's unavoidable. I'm now simply waiting for them to make their move, and then I'll catch them all in one net! Only then can their families' accumulated property over several generations be put to my use. With sufficient military pay and provisions, I can act freely in Shaanxi, and it will greatly intimidate the petty villains!"

Zhuang Yuanzhou and the others were all filled with admiration upon hearing this. Sun Chuanting continued: "I have already secretly memorialized His Majesty, reporting in detail my strategy for reorganizing the guard stations. I believe that with His Majesty's deep foresight, he will arrange everything properly. The matter at hand now is recruiting soldiers. Starting tomorrow, you few will each lead men down to the three guards and recruit soldiers on site. The Regional Military Commission will send officers to assist. Remember — you must select strictly. The soldiers recruited this time will be the cornerstone of our pacification of Shaanxi. I intend to forge them into the finest elite troops in the realm. After Shaanxi is pacified, we will also campaign against other disobedient elements for His Majesty, and soon bring peace to the rivers and mountains of our Great Ming and to its common people!"

The men clasped their hands in assent and immediately dispersed, each busy with his own tasks.

Chongzhen was at the Directorate of Armaments discussing with Bi Maokang and Mao Yuanyi numerous issues concerning the management of artisans, gunpowder formulas, and the improvement of firearms.

Not long after Sun Chuanting left the capital to take up his post, Mao Yuanyi and Bi Maokang arrived at the capital one after another. Chongzhen met with them personally, and the conversations were most congenial. Bi and Mao were won over by Chongzhen's gentle and generous treatment of his subordinates and his far-sighted wisdom, and naturally served the court with wholehearted willingness.

Chongzhen then issued an edict appointing Bi Maokang to oversee the Directorate of Armaments with the title of Minister of Works, and Mao Yuanyi to temporarily enter the Directorate of Armaments as a Vice Bureau Director of the Ministry of War to assist Bi Maokang, with other appointments to come later.

Bi Maokang's disciples and nephews all held government student status. They had broad learning and considerable research in firearms. Chongzhen granted them Imperial Academy student status and had them enter the Directorate of Armaments to assist in the work.

Bi Maokang was already sixty years old. After retiring from his post as Vice Minister of the Right of the Ministry of War in Nanjing, he had stayed home devoting himself to writing books. But he paid close attention to the movements of the roving bandits and the Jianzhou Jurchens, and had once submitted a memorial to the Emperor requesting vigorous promotion of firearms, saying "only firearms can defeat the enemy." However, Chongzhen was then completely preoccupied with the exhausted treasury and the difficult problem of the roving bandits, so he had no time at all to pay attention to him. Before Zhu Zhenqing had crossed over, he had held this late-Ming firearms expert in the highest esteem, because Bi Maokang had invented the first flintlock in that world, enabling firearms to be used in rain and snow while greatly reducing the loading procedure and time. After arriving in the Great Ming, the first person Chongzhen thought of was this firearms genius Bi Maokang, so he issued an edict to reinstate him.

After receiving the imperial edict, Bi Maokang, disregarding his advanced age of sixty, packed his things simply and set out for the capital with his disciple Zhang Jimeng, his nephews Bi Dengfu and Bi Denghan, accompanied by the Embroidered Uniform Guard officers who had come to deliver the edict and escort him.

After departing from his hometown of She County in Huizhou, the Embroidered Uniform Guard escorts, respectfully following His Majesty's wishes, did not rush the journey. They traveled only a few dozen li each day and rested whenever they came to a town, so it took them nearly two months to reach the capital — arriving even later than Mao Yuanyi, who had come from far-off Fujian.

Chongzhen knew well that the fundamental reason for the crude quality of Great Ming firearms lay in the extremely low status and treatment of the artisans who made them. From what he knew of the time-travel novels he had read in his previous life, artisans in such important positions and their families lived lives worse than dogs and pigs. Though it might not reach the point of selling their children, having no food or clothing was their daily reality.

Moreover, once a man became an artisan, his descendants were all artisans — they could not sit the imperial examinations, and were not even allowed to farm.

The monthly wages the court issued to artisans were meager to begin with, and then they were docked layer upon layer by superiors. In the end, receiving fifty percent was already good. To make ends meet, artisans could only secretly take on private work. When certain great households wanted weapons or armor forged, they would seek out the artisans of the Directorate of Armaments, because their craftsmanship was superb and the weapons they forged were of excellent quality.

But this kind of private work was not available every day. Though each job paid well, averaged out, a family could barely maintain even basic food and clothing. So he instructed the two men to personally investigate the living conditions of the artisan households after taking up their posts.

After Bi Maokang and Mao Yuanyi assumed their positions, they naturally made inquiries both openly and covertly. What they found shocked the two men, who had always lived in the upper strata of society. The artisan households were concentrated in the filthy, dilapidated alleys of the northern city. The weather was gradually turning cold, yet most of the children playing in the alleys were barefoot and barely clothed. Most people's dwellings were simple structures of yellow mud and thatch. The several households they visited ate only two meals a day, with the staple being steamed buns made of wild vegetables mixed with bran and chaff. The dishes accompanying the meals were mostly pickled vegetables, with grease and meat rarely seen. Many artisans were only in their thirties, but due to long-term malnutrition, they looked as aged as men in their fifties. By the average life expectancy of the time, a man in his fifties already had one foot in the grave.

After their investigation, the two men were deeply grieved and went to the palace to report what they had seen to Zhu Zhenqing. Though Chongzhen had a general understanding, he had never witnessed it with his own eyes. After hearing their descriptions, this man from a later age fell silent for a long time. Such misery was happening right under his nose — he simply could not accept it. After the silence, he discussed with the two men how to improve the situation. He then ordered Wang Cheng'en to take fifty thousand taels of silver from the privy purse and give it to Bi and Mao, to be used for the Directorate of Armaments' short-term needs and to improve the artisans' living conditions.

Bi Maokang and Mao Yuanyi gathered all the artisans of the Directorate of Armaments — those who made firearms, bows and arrows, weapons, tents, clothing and bedding, and all other military supplies — numbering over five hundred in total, along with all the officials and menial staff of the Directorate, for a meeting.

Mao Yuanyi personally took the stage and announced that His Majesty had taken silver from the privy purse to give each artisan five taels of settling-in money, along with five dou of rice, three jin of white flour, one jin of pork, and one bolt of cotton cloth to improve their lives.

All weapons manufacturing would be subject to strict quality inspection. Artisans who made firearms must carve their names on each completed piece. Should problems arise in the future, the artisan who made it would be fined five taels of silver and have that month's wages deducted.

Each artisan would receive a base wage of one tael. After completing the tasks assigned by the Directorate of Armaments, for every additional piece produced, they would receive extra rewards of varying amounts according to what they produced (because different trades produced bows and arrows, tents, water flasks, and other items in different quantities, piece-rate rewards could not be standardized). Anyone who made an invention or improvement that enhanced the effectiveness of weapons would be rewarded with one hundred taels or more, with no upper limit.

All officials, artisans, and menial staff of the Directorate of Armaments would be provided two meals a day, with coarse flour steamed buns to fill their stomachs, and two liang of meat per person every three days. Officials of the Directorate of Armaments, from the Director down, would have their monthly salaries doubled. All salaries would be paid monthly, personally supervised by the Director, distributed into each individual's hands, to eliminate the practice of embezzlement.

The rice, flour, meat, and other foodstuffs had already been personally escorted by palace eunuchs on carts to the artisan households in the northern city and distributed to every family.

In the spacious courtyard of the Directorate of Armaments office, after Mao Yuanyi finished speaking, the gathered artisans stood frozen for a long while, then gradually began whispering to one another. Those who hadn't understood asked others in low voices. When everyone understood what the official had just said, a tremendous uproar suddenly erupted — everyone was cheering. Some jumped up and down, some clapped their hands, some slapped their own faces hard, some pinched their thighs fiercely, some shouted at the sky, some couldn't make a sound and wept with tears streaming down their faces — every manner of reaction was on display.

Suddenly someone knelt and kowtowed, and then all the artisans fell to their knees, kowtowing vigorously and shouting "Long live the Emperor" at the top of their lungs. Many foreheads quickly turned bruised and swollen. Cries and laughter rang through the entire venue.

Bi Maokang, Mao Yuanyi, and the others watched all this, deeply moved in their hearts. Since ancient times, no emperor had ever treated artisan commoners with such generosity and favor. He who wins the people's hearts wins the realm — with such a sage sovereign, all things could be accomplished.

When the crowd's emotions gradually calmed, Bi Maokang rose and walked to the front of the platform. After telling everyone to rise, he spoke: "We are all subjects of the Great Ming. The court has supported us for over two hundred years. At this time when the roving bandits run rampant across the realm, you must put forth all your strength, work hard, and produce the finest muskets, sabers, and spears to hand to the government troops fighting the bandits in bloody battle at the front. For every degree finer the weapons are, the more bandits our soldiers at the front can kill. Only thus can we repay the Great Ming's kindness in raising us, and repay His Majesty's generous treatment of you! This entire plan came from His Majesty's own mouth. If you again act shiftily and lazily as before, you will not only fail His Majesty's great grace and virtue, but also your own consciences! This official has said all he has to say — conduct yourselves well!"

The moment his words fell, the artisans who had just risen knelt to the ground once more. An old man in the front row with graying hair, around fifty years of age, spoke in a loud voice: "Honored elder official, this old man comes from a hereditary artisan family. I've lived over fifty years and seen quite a bit of the world, but I've never heard of any sage ruler who kept us lowly commoners in his heart! His Majesty the current Emperor is the second parent of us lowly folk. Though we are poor and humble, we know to repay kindness! I, Liu Er, swear here: from this day forward, I will work diligently and produce the finest firearms to hand to the court's government troops, to repay His Majesty's grace! If I break this oath, may heaven strike me with lightning!" Having said this, he kowtowed three times.

The other artisans also took oaths one after another, saying that only by working with all their might could they repay His Majesty's kindness. Bi Maokang nodded with satisfaction, then instructed everyone to disperse. The artisans all trotted back to their workshops and immediately threw themselves into production with renewed vigor and spirit.