Chapter 38: The New Army

This outing was not a spur-of-the-moment decision. The Chongzhen Emperor had long wanted to step out of the stifling palace and come to the Capital Camps to see his own soldiers with his own eyes — and the effect was remarkable.

After seeing them, the restless, agitated mood that had plagued him for so long settled somewhat.

In the Chongzhen Emperor's view, Zhang Shize's ability was at least equal to, if not greater than, that old fox Wu Xiang. The main reason was that the Duke of Ying's line had always produced fine generals who fought to the death for the Great Ming.

In history, Zhang Shize died fighting beneath the city walls defending the capital with hastily assembled troops. As a descendant of Zhang Yu, the famed general of the Jingnan campaign, he was clearly far more worthy of appointment than the weathervane Wu clan.

Walking back toward the palace, Zhang Shize suddenly spoke:

"Your Majesty, recruitment for the Capital Camps has hit a bottleneck. At this rate, even another month would not yield another thousand men."

"How can this be? Has someone embezzled the silver allocated to the Capital Camps? Speak up — I will have it thoroughly investigated!"

The Chongzhen Emperor had just seen the Capital Camps' impressive bearing and high morale, and had subconsciously overlooked the matter of numbers. Only upon hearing Zhang Shize's words did it suddenly hit him.

Li Zicheng claimed to command a million troops, and along the way, government soldiers kept surrendering and he kept absorbing refugees — his numbers were at least four to five hundred thousand. If the Capital Camps' current strength were thrown into that fight, they probably would not even raise a ripple.

"What is the Capital Camps' actual strength?"

"To answer Your Majesty, through the tireless recruitment efforts of myself and Vice Regional Commander Dong, the Capital Camps have now grown to five thousand eight hundred and six men."

Hearing this, the Chongzhen Emperor reined in his horse and turned back:

"That is not even a tenth of the roving bandits' numbers. Isn't the silver sufficient? Could it be that the Armory Bureau and the Ordnance Bureau have failed to issue weapons in time?"

"Your Majesty, none of those are the reason. Rather, the hearts of the people in the capital are already unsettled. Many great households are shipping their wealth southward, and fear is everywhere — naturally few are willing to die for the court."

Zhang Shize was also full of helplessness as he said:

"Your servant does have a method that could relieve the immediate crisis, but..."

"But what? Stop being so wishy-washy!" The Chongzhen Emperor was growing impatient.

"Your servant has recently seen many refugees inside and outside the capital. These people come from all over, mostly homeless, ragged and tattered, dragging along their families. If Your Majesty would issue a decree establishing bounties and recruit them into the army, we could raise a sizable force in a short time!"

Seeing the Chongzhen Emperor deep in thought, Dong Qi seized the moment to add:

"Your Majesty, this is the only viable method now. The refugees who fled here from elsewhere know the ferocity of the bandits — either their families were destroyed, or they harbor a deep hatred for the bandits. As long as the court provides food and clothing, and we do a little something with their families, most will fight to the death for Your Majesty!"

The Chongzhen Emperor looked up at the cloud-covered sky and closed his eyes in contemplation.

Recruiting refugees into an army was a double-edged sword. Used well, it could raise troops in a short time for his own purposes. Used poorly, it could become one of Li Zicheng's means of breaching the capital.

After all, what did the roving bandits rely on to take cities and seize territory in the Central Plains? Was it their siegecraft? Absolutely not. In fact, in most battles, the government forces were defeated from within.

Setting aside what might happen later — in history, Beijing's gates were opened by a group of 'Hui' taking advantage of the chaos. Whatever schemes those Hui might harbor, for the sake of his own life, this matter should be resolved as soon as possible.

Beijing could well be called the strongest defensive city in the realm today. On its walls were mounted red barbarian cannons and countless types of immensely powerful firearms and defensive implements.

The Chongzhen Emperor was utterly convinced that as long as he sorted things out internally, holding out for a year or two against Li Zicheng's rabble would be no problem at all.

Thinking this far, the Chongzhen Emperor opened his eyes and said resolutely:

"Approved! But you must verify carefully — prioritize those with families and honest faces. I intend to establish a 'Youth Camp' to organize the children of those who enlist. One day, they may serve my purposes."

"Those who do not meet the conditions cannot be discarded either. Establish another 'Jiazi Camp' — organize those people along with the prisoners in the capital's jails into the 'Jiazi Camp' and record them in the registers."

"Dong Qi, with your talent, being merely a Vice Regional Commander of the Capital Camps is truly a waste. Once the 'Jiazi Camp' is established, I appoint you its first Superintendent!"

Dong Qi's eyes went wide. A commoner like himself becoming Vice Regional Commander of the Capital Camps was already the accumulated virtue of his ancestors, smoke rising from their graves. Now, with the 'Jiazi Camp' just being founded, he was being promoted to Superintendent — it was almost unimaginable.

Joy written all over his face, Dong Qi clasped his fists and shouted:

"I kowtow in gratitude for Your Majesty's boundless grace! But your humble servant has one more presumptuous request..."

Receiving a look of approval from the Chongzhen Emperor, Dong Qi continued:

"I submit to Your Majesty: your servant believes the 'Jiazi Camp' will inevitably contain unruly street ruffians and petty thieves. With such people gathered together, trouble is bound to arise. Your servant wishes to emulate the Duke of Ying and borrow fifty Grand Guardian warriors from the palace, establishing strict laws to overawe the petty miscreants."

"Approved!" The Chongzhen Emperor only glanced at Dong Qi before nodding without hesitation, saying as he walked:

"Also, summon Eastern Depot Superintendent Wang Cheng'en, Inner Depot Superintendent Fang Zhenghua, and Embroidered Uniform Guard Regional Military Commissioner Li Ruolian to the Warm Chamber immediately!"

"Your servant (this slave) pays respects to Your Majesty — ten thousand years, ten thousand years, ten thousand times ten thousand years!"

"Rise!" After about the time it takes two sticks of incense to burn, the Chongzhen Emperor looked at the three men before him and asked:

"How is the investigation into the 'Hui' matter progressing? Any developments?"

In the original history, it was said that Cao Huachun opened the Guangning Gate to let Li Zicheng into Beijing smoothly. But after the Chongzhen Emperor's research in his later life, that was not actually what happened.

When the Tartar Qing dynasty compiled their histories, those pigtailed slaves, eager to please their masters and make them happy, naturally did their utmost to blacken the Great Ming. So take it as a joke — take it seriously and you lose.

Speaking of which, history truly played a great joke on Cao Huachun. The Tartars arbitrarily picked a eunuch and claimed he opened the city gates, and that eunuch was blackened for centuries, becoming an indispensable black-faced villain in countless television dramas even in later ages — slandered even while lying down.

The ones who actually opened the gates were a group of 'Hui'.

When the Chongzhen Emperor appointed Cao Huachun as Superintendent of the Western Depot, the fellow was retired in his hometown of Wuqing. Though he came weeping with gratitude, after packing up inside and out, it would take at least three to five days before he could reach Beijing. That task of avenging the slander was probably something he would not make it in time for.

"To report to Your Majesty, this old slave's boys have been working day and night and have already mapped out their movements. This slave was planning to report to Your Majesty tomorrow morning."

The Chongzhen Emperor nodded, then slammed his fist — 'Bang!' — onto the imperial desk, saying fiercely:

"Good. No need for tomorrow morning — we move tonight!"

"Hear the decree: Li Ruolian and Wang Cheng'en, tonight you will take the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Eastern Depot agents and act together. I want them to never see tomorrow morning's sun. Take a few alive and throw them in the Eastern Depot's dungeons for interrogation. As for the rest — kill all you can, spare none."

"This old slave (your servant) obeys the decree!"