Chapter 381: Reliable

The arrogant, battle-hardened soldiers from the northwest receded like the tide toward the northern bank of the Yellow River. When the last cowhide raft crossed the Yellow River, Yang He, standing on the southern bank, finally breathed a sigh of relief.

The turmoil and unrest in Lanzhou City was at last quelled by Old Master Yang twice entering the enemy camp alone. Lanzhou City returned to peace.

The old severed head was saved.

But Liu Chengzong was a troublesome man. Gazing back at the ruins of Xigu City, now a barren wasteland, Old Master Yang sank into thought: That Lion Liu, how did he even take the city wall bricks with him?

Because the city bricks used in Xigu City were excellent — all large blue bricks fired in the third year of the Wanli reign, measuring one chi and three cun long, seven cun wide, and four cun thick.

Large bricks have defensive properties superior to small bricks. A small brick shatters under a single cannon shot; if three or five are broken, the ones above lose support and collapse. But a large brick only cracks under a cannon shot and still provides good support.

Just destroying the battlements of Xigu had cost Lion Liu's artillery considerable effort. Coincidentally, they needed to build a city wall in the west anyway. Since the surrounding commoners' rations had already been provided, it was a waste not to use them, so he had everyone busy transporting the dismantled good bricks westward, loading them onto boats for Cheng Yun to receive.

Liu Chengzong left Song Shouzhen at Shajing Post to construct the East Pass fortress complex. The five ravelin bastions here had already been designed; all that remained was supervising the construction. He also left the sweet potatoes and potatoes with Song Shouzhen, instructing him to plant them nearby and, once new crops were bred, promote them further up the mountains.

Apart from this, his elder brother Liu Chengzu and Li Wanqing were to jointly defend the area from East Pass to the Yellow River ferry crossing, leaving behind provisions, arranging defensive strategies, recruiting civilian laborers to repair the city, and handling other such affairs.

The mission Liu Chengzong gave his elder brother was not to defend to the death. In essence, it was a gamble — a bet that the government army would not dare march west. If they truly did head west, without first resolving the problem of the two Mongol khans in the west, he would have no way to provide much support either.

So fundamentally, Lion Liu had already mentally prepared himself to suffer a loss in silence. If the government army made any move to launch a major campaign in Lanzhou, Liu Chengzu simply needed to discover it early, gather the grain and soldiers, and decisively withdraw westward.

Do not engage them.

The Marshal's Manor had obtained an extremely abundant amount of money and grain from this war, enough not only to solve the problem of scarce rations but even to have surplus capacity to aid the common people of Hehuang.

If the imperial court retook Hehuang at this time, it would actually lighten the burden for Liu Chengzong. In the Marshal's Manor's original territory west of Xining, the provisions gained from this campaign were sufficient to let everyone live two years of a carefree, godlike existence.

Liu Chengzong did not keep Cheng Yun at East Pass because the overall situation in Hehuang required someone to take charge.

The news coming from the west was not too bad. After Hundun Tu moved his tents, wives, and children into Haibei, the Chahar, traveling light, could run all over Qinghai. They would not be dying off anytime soon.

However, Hehuang still had complex post-war mop-up work. The smallpox brought by the imperial court's army was spreading through Hehuang.

Lion Liu inspected the people's condition along the way, observed the grain planting situation of the commoners in each township and bao, and incidentally also found the reason for the smallpox's spread — weapons and armor.

It was a complete food chain.

When the government army was defeated, smallpox was rampant. Thousands of defeated soldiers scattered and fled. Some hid in the mountains and became bandits; some roamed in scattered groups, looting everywhere. Sometimes they succeeded in looting commoners, sometimes they were hunted and killed by commoners. Some hid in villages and were taken in by commoners, and some joined commoners in hunting down the routed soldiers.

Weapons and armor thus became urgently needed items for self-defense among commoners facing war, and by the same token brought smallpox to the commoners. In just one month's time, it could complete the progression from one infecting a hundred, and a hundred infecting ten thousand.

This thing, in Liu Chengzong's eyes, was like a wildfire. There was no way to extinguish it. Strictly speaking, he had nothing at all in his hands to treat smallpox.

He only had one prescription for Three-Bean Drink, made by boiling red adzuki beans, black beans, mung beans, and licorice root in water to invigorate blood and resolve toxins — essentially treating the person, not the disease. Apart from that, there was only the old folk remedy of eating pig skin when one got smallpox, which could make the pockmarks left by smallpox a little shallower.

But when dealing with a wildfire, if you cannot extinguish it, you wait for it to burn out. His soldiers immune to smallpox were the best firebreak.

Yang Yao was temporarily appointed as Chief Smallpox Officer of Hehuang. Across all five zhen, ten pu, twenty xiang-bao, and two hundred bao of Hehuang, two village smallpox officers were dispatched to each bao. The first edition of The Grand Marshal's Book of Famine Relief and Pestilence Control was printed and distributed to every bao to curb the spread of smallpox.

The book mainly introduced the origin, symptoms, transmission methods, significance of inoculation, prevention methods, and precautions for smallpox. The entire method consisted of only three main measures: first, inoculate before smallpox spreads; second, distribute Three-Bean Drink during an outbreak; third, when sick, get some pig skin and pig trotters to eat.

If this disease had broken out west of Xining, Liu Chengzong would have been helpless except for inoculating people. But in the traditional agricultural region east of Xining, whether it was Three-Bean Drink or pig skin and pig trotters, both were easy to talk about.

When the Marshal's Manor's campaigning soldiers heard that the Grand Marshal was going to distribute pig skin to the diseased commoners of Hehuang, they were overjoyed, which left the prisoners scattered in various places awaiting inoculation utterly baffled.

Only later did they learn that these veterans who had followed Liu Chengzong for years were simply craving meat. Sure enough, Liu Chengyun followed closely behind by promulgating the Grand Marshal's decree across three hundred li of Hehuang's five zhen, purchasing live pigs at official grain prices with official-price grain.

Previously in Hehuang, grain prices had soared, and meat prices had risen along with them. But when grain prices nearly doubled, meat prices could rise no further and began a slow decline.

Based on the current grain price level, bartering for live pigs using the old prices was still fairly good for pig-raising households.

Cheng Yun also traveled west with the main army and established the Great Official Market at Nianbo. In Hehuang, from west to east, he established five zhen markets in succession: Pingrong, Laoya, Jiashun, Binggou, and Dongguan.

Liu Chengzong left one hundred thousand shi of rice and grain at the Great Official Market in Nianbo. This grain would slowly flow into the market in the following period. Once the merchants hoarding goods to drive up prices jumped out, their homes would be confiscated, and then in one breath, Hehuang's grain prices would be smashed back down to normal.

He wanted to tell people that war, hunger, and panic were all over. Hehuang would become better than before.

The purchased pig skin and pig trotters were sent to villages ravaged by smallpox, while the vast majority of the pork was distributed to the various units as celebratory victory supplies. The big eaters of the Marshal's Manor could eliminate any kind of meat in the shortest possible time.

The mission Liu Chengzong entrusted to Cheng Yun was to construct these five zhen markets. They all occupied former imperial post cities, but a single post city was insufficient. He needed these places to take on heavier functions.

Fortunately, after three years of constructing the Ju'erwan Market, the Marshal's Manor already had a batch of specialized personnel who could barely handle such assignments. The zhen markets would serve as a combination of post station, barracks, and marketplace, and would even have to assume some of the functions of a county administrative seat.

On the day the army halted at Nianbo Garrison to celebrate the victory, Liu Chengzong explained his plan to Cheng Yun: "Besides the post station, barracks, and market, build a county yamen in each of the five zhen markets, fully staffed with all six departments. In addition, build a zhen school capable of accommodating four hundred people."

Cheng Yun stared wide-eyed: "Brother, that's five counties."

"Well, aren't they exactly five counties? Haixi and Haibei, two counties, only have seven thousand people. Each of your zhen here has twenty-four thousand commoners, and that's not even counting the mountain folk of the southern and northern mountains, or the commoners who fled from the war. Half a year after the war, after registering households and organizing the populace, each zhen might well have forty thousand people."

Liu Chengzong chuckled: "And you still say they don't count as counties? But here's what I think about the zhen schools. We require each bao to have one tutor and a community school responsible for basic literacy. Each xiang should have a xiucai scholar to help those who have completed basic literacy pass the Five Classics barrier, so they can sit for the county-level examination."

"Then we have the Xining Prefectural Academy, which can give these well-grounded county candidates better learning opportunities. So the zhen schools don't need to offer that many subjects. Their main purpose is to address Hehuang's local talent gap, and they are aimed at those county candidates whose family circumstances do not allow them to study full-time."

Liu Chengzong had thought this through carefully. People who had studied needed a place to apply their skills, and it was a great pity when someone could not continue their studies due to livelihood. So he said: "For the zhen schools, I want to establish four subjects: agriculture, crafts, mathematics, and medicine. These are all talents the zhen markets can put to use."

"Each zhen will recruit one hundred and twenty people per year, provide room and board, and give three qian of silver per month as a family subsidy. After three years of study, they will be dispatched to the various xiang to improve and promote agriculture and artisan skills, or stationed in xiang medical halls to study. Those who wish to continue their studies can also enter the prefectural academy through the examination system to continue reading."

Cheng Yun listened while taking notes. When he finished writing, he looked up and said: "Brother, for the teachers of five zhen schools, at least eighty people, I'll have to recruit from the Xining Prefectural Academy."

"Recruit as you please. Once matters in the west are settled, it will be time for us to establish the Six Ministries."

Liu Chengzong looked at Cheng Yun, who was putting away his notes, and smiled: "If you can get the affairs of these five counties sorted out, you'll be the Minister of Revenue of our little Western Sea court."

Cheng Yun was stunned upon hearing this. He blinked and said: "Brother, are you planning to declare yourself king?"

Liu Chengzong, in the mood to tease him, said: "What, you think Minister of Revenue isn't good?"

"No, no, Minister of Revenue... hehe!" Cheng Yun shook his head, then chuckled foolishly twice before saying: "I just feel, wouldn't declaring kingship at this time be a bit early?"

"Exactly!"

Liu Chengzong pointed at Cheng Yun and laughed, then said: "Right now, declaring kingship offers us few advantages. It's nothing more than an extra way to entice enemy generals to surrender by promising titles and ranks. But the disadvantages are many. At the very least, we must eliminate the threat of the Gansu border army and capture Lanzhou before we can declare kingship."

Gansu and Hehuang are separated by the Qilian Mountains. Taking either piece alone is incomplete. In Liu Chengzong's line of thinking, only by seizing the entire Hexi Corridor and taking Lanzhou, Jincheng, could they stand on geographically invincible ground.

"As for the internal desire for promotion and rewards, I still have the means of issuing military pay. As long as army morale is stabilized, it doesn't matter much if people are slightly dissatisfied about titles."

Liu Chengzong smiled, then sighed and said: "But I truly do need the Six Ministries. We must set up the framework of a court. Otherwise, the authority and responsibilities in various places are unclear and operations are not smooth. If it won't do, we just won't call them the Six Ministries — call them the Six Offices or Six Bureaus. The name doesn't matter; the key is being able to get things done."

"Think about it, just this year, there have already been three — no, counting the imperial court's Old Master Yang, four waves of envoys. For the other three, I had our dad go deal with them." Liu Chengzong shook his head and spread his hands: "What kind of business is this, troubling an aging father to entertain them every day on his son's behalf? I absolutely must get a little room to lock them in."

Cheng Yun was amused by this, then after a moment regained a serious expression and asked doubtfully: "But brother, what do you think these eastern Tartar barbarians sent someone all the way here to see you for? Strange — a road of ten thousand li, and they have the energy to run it."

"It's not that far. Let me tell you, I can guess what they want with me with near certainty." Liu Chengzong raised a finger, his gaze fixed: "I reckon it's just two things. They want to ally with me to attack the Ming, but that's unlikely..."

As he spoke, Liu Chengzong shook his head: "Compared to the Later Jin, the territory we occupy might be about the same size, but they hold Nurgan and have operated there for generations. Their population, financial resources, and military strength all surpass mine. In this world, strength is what counts. Without strength, even the Mongol Khagan is treated as nobody."

"And we're too far apart. If they sent someone after hearing news of the Five Zhen army's defeat, that news still couldn't have reached Shenyang by now. I figure it's most likely about Hundun Tu. Calculating the time, coming from Guihua City to here makes more sense."

Chengyun thought it made perfect sense and laughed. "Could also be they want to test whether Second Brother recognizes their Tian... Tian-something Khan?"

"Tiancong. I figure that's part of it too — just a meaningless first contact, probing whether we're friend or foe." Liu Chengzong shook his head, smiling. "We'll know when we get back and meet them."

Chengyun, however, was very interested in this topic, since he couldn't go back himself. He quickly asked, "Then Second Brother, if it's probing friend or foe, what do you plan to do?"

"Chengyun, the Later Jin are our enemies."

Liu Chengzong's smile faded. "To win the realm, anyone can be a friend. The court will collapse sooner or later. But the Later Jin are mortal enemies. Their strategic position is much like ours — they have no path to survival except seizing the Central Plains. Even if we take the Central Plains, the Later Jin will still fight us to the death."

Only after Chengyun slowly nodded in response did Liu Chengzong's expression relax. He said, "Truth is, I'd quite like to set up a joint plan with the Later Jin to attack the Ming, then sell them out afterward. But the Great Ming... ah."

Liu the Lion was not the least bit afraid of the Later Jin. Even though their national strength was far inferior to the Later Jin's right now, the Later Jin couldn't reach him. Even if they truly committed troops and marched all the way here, he was confident he could destroy any expeditionary enemy on the Qinghai border or even beyond Gansu.

But the Great Ming's organizational capacity, now utterly exhausted, was something Liu Chengzong truly could not trust. When a normal army went on campaign, once the war drums sounded, half the plan got tossed — but at least the other half still worked.

With the Great Ming, the plan was quite good. Once battle began, half the plan that could have worked was abandoned under pressure, and the remaining half got tossed too.

Liu the Lion figured that even if he made a plan with the Later Jin, and the Later Jin actually believed his bullshit and prepared to execute it, and he leaked the intelligence to the court — the court would very likely be found out by the Later Jin without even knowing it, and then Hong Taiji would pull a counter-ruse.

In the end, the Later Jin wouldn't follow the plan. The betrayed Later Jin would think he was scum — fine, whatever. But the beaten Great Ming would also think he was scum. And if things went badly, that extremely shrewd little brain of Hong Taiji's might slip a little sand into the Chongzhen Emperor's gears, and really make the Chongzhen Emperor turn west and throw everything at him.

Liu Chengzong even had the line ready: "The bandit Liu wants to be the Han Emperor. We're only Jurchen. But he really can seize your throne!"

Making a plan was simple, but the people who carried it out had to be utterly reliable — and the Chongzhen Emperor and his friends... were the least reliable people under heaven.

"I'll go back and meet the envoy. You stay here and build the Five Garrisons up properly, Minister of Revenue."

Amid the brothers' hearty, unrestrained laughter, the army concluded its victory celebration and set out once more, winding its way toward Xining City.