Chapter 333: Another Choice

On the morning of the ninth day of the twelfth month, Shi Chengwo, who had been staying temporarily at the marshal's residence, returned to the Armory outside the city. He summoned the head of the Hundred Works Bureau and gave him a fierce scolding, ordering him out of nowhere to strictly enforce production quality.

He also had soldiers deliver a new canopy bed into the city.

Behind the screen in the inner chamber of the Marshal's Manor, Bai Liuxi dabbed a touch of rouge onto Fan Sanlang's face and arranged her headdress, hairpins, and pendants. Only then did Yun Jiaoyue giggle and hold out the bronze mirror.

Fan Sanlang gazed at her long-absent adornments in the mirror, a joyful gleam in her eyes, but in the end she still shook her head, removed the headdress piece by piece, and said, "Let's just tie my hair with a headscarf."

Bai Liuxi and Yun Jiaoyue could not dissuade her, so they had to let Fan Sanlang take off the headdress and go to the bath chamber herself to wash Liu Chengzong's body after his morning training.

Because the bed was broken, none of them had slept well the night before. Whenever one of the four turned over, the fractured bed board creaked loudly, so much so that they chatted for half the night. Fan Sanlang nearly uttered the name Du Qiao'er, but before she could finish, Liu Chengzong stopped her.

He said that a life-saving benefactor was like a second parent, and using the name of a second parent to establish oneself, walk the path, and spread one's fame to posterity was also a form of filial piety.

Tianbao had readied horses and a carriage outside the manor gate. Today, Liu Chengzong was taking them to visit Fan Sanlang's grave, and afterward they would set off for Xining.

Two major matters occupied the Marshal's Manor, one to the east and one to the west.

The first was a message sent via the postal relay station by Chen Qindai, the magistrate of Haibei: many Mongols had appeared in the Qilian Mountains to the west during the winter. It was said that after Arslan fled, he died in Subei, but who killed him remained unknown.

The second was two messages sent in succession from Xining by his father, Liu Xiangyu. The one that arrived a day earlier reported that the Marshal's Manor's provisions crisis had been properly resolved; the one that arrived a day later said that there was likely still a shortfall in grain.

Liu Chengzong burned paper offerings at Fan Sanlang's cenotaph beneath the southeastern mountain of Ju'erwan, then took his people and set off for Xining City.

Along the way, he furrowed his brow, pondering the situation.

Arslan had taken over two thousand Mongol warriors and a large quantity of provisions — practically a miniature version of his own westward migration. That such a man died in Subei was normal; standing firm as he himself had done was the fluke.

Liu Chengzong reckoned Arslan had most likely died from internal strife. If he himself had not possessed the prestige earned from campaigning across northern Shaanxi within the Lion Army, advancing into the shores of Qinghai Lake would also have easily sparked internal rebellion.

So he did not consider this any major event. On the contrary, the news his father had sent from Xining was extremely peculiar.

One day, a letter had come saying Li Tianyu was willing to contribute to the Marshal's Manor and could exchange an earldom for a hundred thousand shi of provisions.

The very next day, another letter came saying the provisions were probably still insufficient, and that he must go to Xining to make the decision.

Liu Chengzong believed that for a matter to draw this much attention from his father, a major upheaval must have occurred. Did it require the use of troops?

Deep down, he was inclined to deploy troops eastward, yet he was cautious, like one afraid to hit a rat for fear of breaking the dishes beside it… The Hehuang Valley held several thousand qing of fertile land; having it in others' hands could never be as reassuring as holding it himself.

But the eastern region was dense with tusi forts and stockades, and unlike Kangning, the tusi here were so highly sinicized that they seemed even more like Han great landlords than the Han great landlords themselves, all bound together by clan law. Without first dividing them, deploying troops eastward with the Marshal's Manor's military strength would mean making painfully slow progress.

Painfully slow progress was not what was frightening. Liu Chengzong had already assaulted a city in a very proper manner once and gained some insight. He was confident he could gnaw his way from fort to fort all the way to Hekou and face Lanzhou across the river.

What was frightening was that advancing step by step would inevitably disrupt the farming season and destroy the fields, forcing the defenders to strengthen their walls and clear the countryside… then taking the Hehuang Valley would be meaningless.

Fields watered with blood would surely yield a bountiful harvest the year after next, but they could not produce grain next year, and the Marshal's Manor could not endure that.

As he neared Xining Guard, it happened to be the grand drill of Zhenhai Camp, so Liu Chengzong dismounted and entered the camp to observe the drill.

The soldiers of Zhenhai Camp were somewhat special in Xining. Like those at Fuqiang Fort, these soldiers were all former Ming imperial troops, and the Regional Commander had previously been the tusi Qi Guoping.

However, Zhenhai Camp had just undergone a power struggle. This struggle lasted fourteen months — longer than Liu Chengzong's southern campaign — and only formally ended when Zhenhai Camp marched south for the Guide Campaign.

For a full fourteen months, Liu Chengzu and Qi Guoping had chased each other in a race around Zhenhai Camp's military rations, equipment, and benefits. Both men exhausted every trick they had, and at one point the contest was too close to call.

When Liu Chengzu issued grain to Zhenhai Camp, Qi Guoping demanded pay for them, and Lanzhou actually shipped silver over once; when Liu Chengzu had the soldiers inoculated with smallpox vaccine, Qi Guoping found someone to bribe the vaccinator; when Liu Chengzu wanted to transfer troops south for battle, Qi Guoping refused to let the army leave camp.

It was not until the imperial court massed troops at Lanzhou and sealed the border passes that Qi Guoping lost the nerve to continue the struggle… without the court's support, how could he possibly afford to maintain fifteen hundred camp soldiers?

In the end, left with no other choice, Qi Guoping, like Li Tianyu, went home to rest.

The man now managing the camp was Feng Rang, the battalion commander of Xining Guard.

Whoever could get Xining Guard to provide grain would be the leader of Zhenhai Camp. In this matter, Feng Rang could, and Qi Guoping could not.

Thus, when the news that the Grand Marshal was coming to review the drill was relayed by messengers shouting in turn throughout the camp, Liu Chengzong had barely stepped through the camp gate when he heard the camp soldiers' voices roaring "Long live!" like a mountain cry.

Qi Guoping had considered inciting the camp soldiers to seize Xining City, but not only did the soldiers refuse to be swayed, the officers were also unwilling to start a fight.

The camp soldiers were perfectly aware of the power struggle between the Marshal's Manor and the tusi, but they were all happy to see it happen. They opposed not only Qi Guoping's use of force against Xining Guard, but also Liu Chengzong's use of force against Qi Guoping.

Everyone was clever enough: who wouldn't like days where grain was issued today, pay was issued tomorrow, and cotton-padded coats and bedding were issued the day after?

Even if Liu Chengzu won, as long as Qi Guoping was not dead, the military grain they were entitled to would not fall into arrears, and they might even get pay they had never seen before.

During the drill, Feng Rang said to Liu Chengzong, "They're all veterans, good soldiers, no worse than the Yulin troops. They've just been worn out by unpaid wages. Nothing we say to them works, and nothing the court says to them works. Only one shi of grain and one tael of silver a month will do it — then you can drill them however you want and transfer them wherever you want."

Liu Chengzong smiled. He understood perfectly. This was a microcosm of the imperial army's shifting morale, and to him, it was an entirely positive sign.

For these camp soldiers, things were moving along the right path — namely, eating whose grain, taking whose silver, and listening to whose orders.

Armies are not the same as common folk. Armies are subject to imperial conscription; serving as a soldier and eating grain is a matter of natural justice. And when the court fails to uphold this natural justice, the army will still coast forward on inertia, until they encounter another possible choice.

Liu Chengzong was that other possible choice.

As for the matter in the east, however, it seemed still known only to the Liu father and son. Feng Rang knew nothing of it, though he did mention that Gao Xian, in Pingliang Prefecture, was searching for a needle in a haystack.

Gao Xian had originally stayed in Pingliang Prefecture to recover from his wounds. After recovering, he stayed on to train some local militia. Later, he had the Young Prince of Han help him send people to Shanxi to search for his wife, but so far they had not found her. A while ago, he had the princely manor in Lanzhou deliver a letter over; he had wanted to head west, but then heard that the court had sealed the border passes at Lanzhou.

Liu Chengzong scratched his head, rather troubled by this matter as well. He told Feng Rang to write back to Gao Xian and have him stay put in Pingliang for the time being, until they took Hekou.

When Liu Chengzong entered the government office in Xining City and saw his father, Liu Xiangyu did not seem as urgent as his letters had suggested. He recounted in detail the full story of Li Tianyu's willingness to provide provisions.

"He's going to stake his entire life and fortune on us." Old Master Liu stroked his beard and chuckled lightly. "A hundred thousand shi of grain, transported from Lintao and Gongchang southeast of the Yellow River. At one tael and five qian per shi, it won't even cover the cost, and it will make him offend a great many people."

Liu Chengzong thought it over and shook his head. "Dad, I don't think this is a matter of offending people. At that price, whether from Lintao or Gongchang, once you factor in the transport fees to bring it into the Hehuang Valley, the grain price would be less than one tael per shi. No one would do business at a loss — he wouldn't even get the chance to offend anyone."

To his surprise, Liu Xiangyu showed no surprise at all and stated with absolute certainty, "He will. He has controlled the Xining grain market for many years. No matter how he transports the grain here, in Xining we will buy it with silver at one tael and five qian per shi."

Liu Xiangyu continued, "If the grain merchants are dissatisfied with the price, we can offset it with furs, adding one sheepskin per shi. We cannot add more gold or silver — the one hundred fifty thousand taels is fixed. This is not Ju'erwan; once gold and silver go out, they won't come back."

As he spoke, Liu Xiangyu shook his head and smiled. "How much grain can be shipped in is not important; that it can be shipped in is very important. How much money is not important; getting Li Tianyu, who is caught in the middle, to leave the Hehuang Valley is what matters most."

"Get Li Tianyu to leave Hehuang?"

Old Master Liu nodded. "If Li Tianyu doesn't transport grain, he will be the first to die. If he doesn't want to die, he must first go and intimidate the government troops over at Hekou. If the grain is to be shipped in, the Hekou officers must not block it… The act of the officers letting grain in is itself more important than how much grain they let in."

Liu Chengzong grasped his father's plan in an instant. Li Tianyu was a touchstone. Whether the grain could be let in was his father's test of the will to fight of the government troops guarding the Yellow River line at Lanzhou.

"Father means that if the grain can be let into Lanzhou, even if it's only ten thousand shi, it would show that the government troops are unwilling to fight, or that they are not ready."

"Correct." Liu Xiangyu went on. "And once Li Tianyu does this, whether or not he manages to get the grain in, what he himself thinks won't matter. Everyone on the other side of the Yellow River will believe he is working for you. If the Lanzhou government troops fight their way into the valley, he will suffer too."

"So Father thinks he will truly defect to us?"

Old Master Liu first nodded, then shook his head, his words not quite so absolute. "It's still too early to say. Let's see if he comes to pay you a New Year's visit. If he does, he'll most likely ask for a place to settle. You can send him anywhere — somewhere like Mount Wulan, for instance."

"Mount Wulan won't do." Liu Chengzong shook his head decisively. "Mount Wulan has salt ponds, fields, and a small town. I'm just planning to establish a military fort there with twelve hundred garrison households. But south of the mountain, north of the mountain, or even Shanxi, or the Chuodan Oasis — any of those would work."

When Liu Laoye heard "Chuandan Oasis," he thought to himself, My son is even more ruthless than I am, and tried to dissuade him: "The north and south of the mountains will do. At least after a few years of hard work, you can still farm the land. What would it even mean to throw him out to Chuandan?"

Liu Chengzong nodded — he had only been speaking offhandedly — and then asked, "Father, what did you mean when you said that even transporting grain probably still wouldn't be enough?"

At the mention of this, Liu Laoye's face lit up with delight. He lightly tapped the table with his hand and said, with an air of great mystery, "The moment to march east has arrived... The commoners to the east have come to the Marshal's Manor seeking aid."

"Seeking aid? What did they say?"

It turned out that it had begun this summer, during the lean season when the previous year's grain was nearly gone and the new crop not yet in. East of Xining, in places like Nianbo, several dozen commoners had banded together and gone to the Xining Guard to borrow grain.

At that time, Lhazang's tribesmen had not yet flooded into Xining, and the Marshal's Manor was very well supplied with provisions. The matter had not even been reported up to the Guard headquarters; it was settled as soon as it reached the Assistant Battalion Commander, He Zijie.

This He Zijie had originally been a local bandit chief in Ningzhou and came from poverty himself. He knew best how hard life was for commoners during the lean season. Since feeding a few dozen people did not require much grain anyway, after discussing it with the soldiers under his command, each man gave up a mouthful from their military rations, and they took some grain to relieve these poor commoners.

In essence, it was simply emergency relief — they happened to have it, so they gave it, expecting nothing in return. Saving one life was one life saved.

But in this era, things always tended to slide slowly toward the worse, just like the days they had lived through in northern Shaanxi. They would not get better.

Then, come autumn, the Marshal's Manor discovered that the population had surged and that their provisions would likely not last until the following year; and the commoners in the Hehuang Valley were faring no better.

This was a chain reaction. When Xining realized its grain would not be enough, it had to buy grain from the market; large-scale grain purchases reduced the market's reserves, and this happened right when the commoners were paying their grain taxes to the court, and government troops were blockading the river mouth.

Grain prices in the Hehuang Valley skyrocketed. In the process, every kind of demon and monster crawled out of the woodwork — grain prices changed daily, loan interest rates climbed higher and higher, and at one point the price of grain reached two taels of silver per dan of white flour.

Compared to grain prices in northern Shaanxi, this was not high, but the extreme situation in northern Shaanxi was one where even the rich could not survive. The Hehuang Valley was different. Grain that had originally cost nine qian per dan had doubled, and the vast majority of commoners could no longer survive.

When grain prices rose, farmers could not profit from it. There were few independent smallholders in the Hehuang Valley to begin with; tenant farmers all ate next year's grain this year. Last year's grain debts were still unpaid by the New Year, and when spring came they had to borrow grain again to sow their fields, creating a vicious cycle. They could never hold out until the stage where they could sell their grain at high prices.

Moreover, even for independent smallholders, many fields in Hehuang were planted with oil-pressing cash crops, and the rise in grain prices did not cause oil prices to rise.

"More and more farmers are running to the Marshal's Manor, begging to borrow grain for food and for seed." Liu Xiangyu finished speaking and looked at Liu Chengzong. "The oil is already boiling over the fire. The chance to seize complete control of the Hehuang Valley has come."

Liu Chengzong could barely suppress his smile. This was truly a case of someone handing him a pillow just as he was nodding off. He dreamed of the day when the commoners and the gentry, the tenants and the landlords, the household servants and the chieftains would be split apart.

This unrest triggered by grain prices was the perfect opportunity. Classes that on the surface were as intimate as fish in water were now separated by a vast chasm marked by the grain shop's price tag of two taels per dan.

He took several deep breaths before he could barely restore calm to his expression, and said seriously, "Father, some time ago, Vice Prefect Zhou of the Naval Office told me something. He said that I am neither an eastern caitiff nor a western caitiff, that I need not rampage with savagery and violence, and that by practicing a little benevolence and righteousness, I could win the hearts of the Hehuang commoners. I think he was right."

"When it comes to operating in peaceful places free of plague and disaster, the Marshal's Manor's ability is indeed still lacking."

Liu Chengzong finished speaking, then raised his hand, his expression shifting, and said very seriously, "But in places short of grain, we are the most capable people under heaven... The Xining chieftains have many eyes and ears. Father, select a few farmers who have come to beg for grain and send them to Ju'erwan."

"I will select personnel to formulate a plan and prepare two armies, one overt and one covert. This New Year, we will make the chieftains pick a side. Next spring, our forces will lead mass uprisings throughout the valley, while simultaneously driving one army swiftly toward the river mouth to seize the initiative, leaving the court no way to intervene."

At this, Liu Chengzong's face showed excitement he could not conceal. He had never organized an operation so vast and so meticulous, with only three months to prepare. "If everything goes smoothly, perhaps it won't delay the valley commoners' spring sowing next year!"