Chapter 579: Magistrate Li the Prefect

At the eastern gate barbican of Baoji County, Magistrate Li Jiayan removed his official cap, let out a long sigh, and led his people out to surrender.

Two shichen — just two shichen — Li Jiayan's heart had soared and plunged, careening wildly between extreme joy and extreme terror.

Four days ago, Liu Chengzong's army had burst out of Longzhou like a tiger descending the mountain. The first to set foot on the Guanzhong Plain were the two great camps of Zhang Tianlin and Wei Qian'er.

Zhang Tianlin's fighting style could be summed up in one word: fast.

He was like a wildfire on the steppe — swift and fierce. Li Jiayan had barely received word that the Grand Marshal's army had broken into Guanzhong when he urgently dispatched county yamen mounted couriers to the Fengxiang Guard Thousand-Household Post to request reinforcements. The couriers had not even left the city before they ran headlong into the banner troops of the Fengxiang Guard Thousand-Household Post entering through the north gate.

It was the courier who made the mistake of adding one extra sentence: "His Honor the Magistrate hasn't yet permitted you to enter the city — how did you get here so fast?"

That remark alerted the gentry on the wall, who dropped the barbican's iron portcullis on the spot. Once the portcullis fell, it split the Fengxiang Thousand-Household Post's six hundred banner troops into two groups. Those outside turned and fled; those inside dropped to their knees. Only then did the city learn that the Fengxiang Thousand-Household Post had already fallen.

They had been forced after surrendering to come and trick the city into opening its gates.

In the end, the ruse failed, and they lost three hundred surrendered troops into the bargain. Outside the city, Zhang Tianlin was so furious he cursed his own mother: Why the hell did I run so fast?

If he had run just a little slower, the county yamen's messengers would have left the city, and the city would have been his for the taking.

Even so, with three hundred banner troops who had switched sides now helping defend the city, Li Jiayan was still terrified. He deployed the yamen's three shifts of runners and urgently conscripted militia in full battle readiness, prepared to fight to the death when Zhang Tianlin attacked.

Zhang Tianlin had no intention of attacking the city. He did not even bother to fill in the moat beyond putting on a show.

Having once been an independent leader in earlier years, the thoughts in his head were completely different from Wei Qian'er's. Whether or not he took Baoji City was of no real consequence to him. What the Grand Marshal wanted was to control this land and sever the link between Qinzhou and Baoji.

Taking the city would certainly fulfill the mission, but controlling the countryside would fulfill it just as well. Besides, his horse troops were genuinely ill-suited for storming walls.

Of course, every great camp had its full complement of technical specialists and possessed the capability to assault cities. It was just that Zhang Tianlin cared far more about whether he could gather all the grain and fodder within Baoji County into his own hands as quickly as possible.

So he merely left four battalion commanders to encamp outside the city and sent the rest of his subordinates, led by local guides, to run wild across Baoji, going door to door among the wealthy houses whose assets exceeded the limits set by the Marshal's Manor, collecting grain, fodder, wealth, and goods.

But the more Zhang Tianlin refrained from attacking, the more Li Jiayan on the wall could not sleep at night, terrified that he would suddenly launch an assault on the city... He had heard the rumors from those surrendered banner troops: the Grand Marshal had taken Longzhou by galloping his horses straight through the city. Now, outside Baoji, it was all cavalry.

Li Jiayan was utterly terrified.

And so the siege dragged on for two days. Zhang Tianlin showed not the slightest inclination to attack. He even detached troops to set up a camp to the west. Li Jiayan had no idea why, but in his heart he sensed that perhaps events were taking yet another turn.

After all, Zuo Liangyu was stationed to the west in Qinzhou. Perhaps reinforcements were coming from that direction.

The mere thought of it stirred his heart with fierce excitement — until this morning, when he suddenly discovered that the army besieging Baoji City was, to the sound of horns, breaking camp in a vast, mighty column and withdrawing westward. The siege was lifted!

When the figures of Zhang Tianlin's horse troops finally vanished into the swirling dust, the magistrate on the city wall went weak in the knees and collapsed to the ground. "We have survived the calamity!"

Who could have known that barely two shichen after Zhang Tianlin withdrew westward, the bell on the north gate tower would begin tolling again — dong, dong — like a death knell? This time, the display was far more terrifying than when Zhang Tianlin had arrived.

A vast, mighty army spread out across the desolate plain, winding its way forward. Cannon after cannon was hauled along by donkeys and mules. A dense forest of banners swiftly filled the entire field of vision. Fierce soldiers then formed into small squads and seized every advantageous position outside the city.

Then the donkeys and mules unloaded the cannon at the front of the position. Soldiers began piling up earthen mounds. Someone rode up to the city wall and began the routine call for surrender.

A loud-voiced soldier bellowed the surrender demand with great volume but a distinct lack of emotion, because to him this truly was just a routine call. Everyone on the battlefield knew that their Grand Marshal's call for surrender was, for all intents and purposes, a summons from the King of Hell.

It could not be said that it had never succeeded, but most of those whom Liu Chengzong had called on to surrender had met violent ends.

Even Liu the Lion himself had lost all illusory hope in the surrender demand.

The prefect and the eunuch who had hanged themselves in Longzhou City had affected him deeply. In terms of inflicting psychological damage even after a military defeat, Prefect Hu Erchun and Garrison Eunuch Li Qimao were, without question, the most formidable opponents Liu the Lion had encountered since raising his army.

They were far more formidable than Yang Jiamo, who had led his crack troops into the flames to burn himself to death. Everyone knew that even if Yang Jiamo surrendered, he might not survive, whereas those two, even having failed to hold the city, could have surrendered and lived very well — even better than they had lived under the Chongzhen Emperor — yet they chose to hang themselves. In Liu the Lion's eyes, this was a form of contempt.

It had very effectively struck at his arrogance.

This act was by no means something that could be dismissed with a glib line like "In peacetime, they fold their hands and discourse on mind and nature; when peril comes, one death repays their sovereign," as if that neatly settled the matter of loyalty and righteousness. On the battlefield, scholars were useless. Apart from kneeling and begging for mercy, there was still the path of dying to fulfill one's loyalty.

In truth, the man who spoke those words was born in the eighth year of the Chongzhen reign, was raised in the household of a Ming military officer, lived to the age of sixty-nine under the Qing dynasty without disaster or hardship, and spent his entire life teaching.

Every person has the right to choose which path to take. Liu Chengzong respected that choice. At the same time, he made his own choice:

He would no longer count on persuading cities to surrender one by one. He would fight for every city, one after another, until the whole of Shaanxi was in his grasp.

Yet this time, the gates of Baoji County opened.

Li Jiayan was a man hungry for glory. In the two shichen after Zhang Tianlin withdrew, once he had confirmed the withdrawal, he not only led the commoners in clearing out the moat that had been filled in outside the city, but also had the clerks of the county yamen's six offices draft a merit-reporting dispatch for Chen Qiyu.

He wanted to inform Supreme Commander Chen Qiyu: We have rendered meritorious service — we held Baoji and did not lose it.

In truth, there was nothing wrong with what he did. If you did not want to accomplish great things, why come to Shaanxi in times like these?

Every single person who came to Shaanxi to serve as an official was, without exception, a man of ambition and ideals seeking advancement.

But before the merit dispatch could even be sent out, Liu Chengzong arrived, leading over ten thousand troops with muskets and cannon fully arrayed — a force his tiny Baoji City could never hope to withstand.

Li Jiayan pondered for a moment atop the city wall. Rather than be smashed to pieces, it would be better to surrender now, before blades crossed.

After all, he already knew that Prefect Hu Erchun of Longzhou was dead. And his death had accomplished nothing — Longzhou fell just the same. On the other hand, the Marshal's Manor had not mistreated the common people, nor had it massacred the city or laid waste to the land. That, essentially, aligned very well with Li Jiayan's own thinking.

As for the great households... to be honest, as a magistrate subordinate to Fengxiang Prefecture, he had long found the self-important local gentry of the prefectural seat an eyesore.

The Marshal's Manor seizing their family assets to fund the army — even if Li Jiayan intended to surrender, even if he were inside the city strengthening the defenses, hearing that news would make him want to leap up and cheer.

The common people of Baoji City had no particular objection to the matter either. Only the three hundred banner troops who had switched sides and were now shut inside the barbican cursed their mothers.

Their Thousand-Household Commander, surnamed Wei, became frantic the moment he heard Li Jiayan planned to open the gates and offer surrender. Inside the city, he erupted in furious curses and even intended to bring men to kill Li Jiayan.

After all, if you wanted to surrender, you should have surrendered earlier — then we brothers could have earned the first merit of taking the city. If you wanted to defend the city, then we should have resolved to defend it to the death, opening the gates for no one, holding out until the government troops arrived with relief or the city was breached.

We came to trick the city, and you made us switch sides and drove Zhang Tianlin away. Now that the Grand Marshal has arrived, you want to surrender again. You get to sit pretty — what does that make us in the Grand Marshal's eyes?

Unfortunately, Commander Wei and his troops ran too slowly. By the time they reached the south gate, Magistrate Li Jiayan had already opened the city gates. He could only climb the wall and point at Li Jiayan, cursing him roundly. He did not dare actually try to defend the city again and block Liu Chengzong, so he had no choice but to take several dozen banner troops and flee out of the city from the north, vanishing in a cloud of dust.

Liu the Lion could not be bothered with that handful of fleeing men. He was at the front of his formation, rubbing his eyes. "He really surrendered?"

People had surrendered to him before, but someone like Li Jiayan, who obediently opened the city gates the moment the shouting was over — that was truly a maiden riding the bridal sedan chair, a first.

Only when Li Jiayan, leading the vice magistrate and a group of clerks, walked to the front of the formation and prostrated himself, presenting the bronze seal of the Baoji magistrate, did Liu Chengzong compose his expression, carefully managing his features. Then he rode out from the ranks and gestured for an attendant to step forward and receive the official seal.

Li Jiayan looked up and saw Liu Chengzong, estimating in his heart that this was the Grand Marshal of the Marshal's Manor. He hurriedly said, "This insignificant one was ignorant and resisted the great army. I hope the Grand Marshal will not bring his majestic wrath down upon this small county."

Hearing this, Liu Chengzong was amused, because he knew Li Jiayan was speaking the truth.

The man's behavior was utterly transparent — he was extremely astute at reading the situation. Zhang Tianlin had many troops but could not quickly storm the city, so he resisted and defended. Liu Chengzong had even more troops and plenty of cannon; seeing he could not hold out, he opened the gates and surrendered.

Conversely, if a peasant army had come, Li Jiayan would most likely have led troops out of the city to send heads rolling.

Liu the Lion exchanged glances with those beside him. He actually rather appreciated this work attitude: defend if you can, surrender if you cannot — neither abandoning the city and fleeing, nor pointlessly costing the lives of soldiers and civilians.

This was an ordinary man. In terms of moral integrity, he certainly could not compare to those heroic officials who, knowing they were outmatched, still fought to the death or took their own lives after defeat.

But after all this time, Liu Chengzong had gradually come to understand that if a man truly were that kind of hero, he would never surrender to him in the first place. So what he appreciated most now was precisely this kind of ordinary person — helpless, accepting their fate.

"Get up, don't worry. The county magistrate opened the city gates and spared the city from the flames of war — not only is there no crime, but you've rendered service to the region." As Liu Chengzong spoke, he had already dismounted and stepped forward. "The Marshal's headquarters is in need of capable men — would you be willing to serve under me?"

Surrender is a great gamble; before one truly surrenders, no one can know their own fate.

Even with Liu Chengzong's kind words, Li Jiayan's heart remained deeply uneasy. After rising, he hurriedly said, "This humble one is willing to labor like a dog or horse for the Grand Marshal."

"No need to labor like a dog or horse — Sir Li can simply continue being an official."

Liu the Lion thought to himself, Labor like a dog or horse? This magistrate sure has a high opinion of himself. My cat, my dogs, my horses are all living it up by the shores of Qinghai Lake, with endless dried fish to eat and big bones to gnaw on every day.

Being my official is far more exhausting than they have it.

Liu Chengzong appreciated Li Jiayan's pragmatism, but inwardly he still had doubts about his ability. With a testing intent, he asked, "Since you are willing, now I need to see your skill. Fengxiang Prefecture is strewn with the starving dead. I must provide disaster relief and also feed an army, yet I am short on funds and grain. You have long known this place — do you have any sound strategy?"

Li Jiayan knew in his heart this was Liu Chengzong's test. He thought for a long time, then finally raised his head and asked Liu Chengzong, "Grand Marshal, how many troops do you intend to maintain in Fengxiang Prefecture?"

"Forty thousand soldiers, eighty thousand horses and mules."

Li Jiayan felt like slapping himself across the face: Why did I open the city gates?

He shook his head decisively. "If the Grand Marshal maintained twenty thousand troops, Fengxiang Prefecture could still have surplus capacity after disaster relief this year. But forty thousand soldiers and eighty thousand horses and mules, on top of relieving the disaster victims — let alone now, even if all one hundred twenty-five Ever-Normal Granaries in Fengxiang Prefecture were full, it could not sustain them."

One move from an expert reveals whether the skill is there.

When Liu Chengzong heard "one hundred twenty-five Ever-Normal Granaries," he knew Li Jiayan was fairly clear on local affairs and not some utter fool who knew nothing. His interest piqued, he pressed on, "Tell me then — after disaster relief in Fengxiang Prefecture, how would you sustain twenty thousand troops?"

"In reply to the Grand Marshal, Fengxiang Prefecture comprises one department and seven counties. By law, it has one hundred twenty-five Ever-Normal Granaries, storing two hundred thirty-seven thousand shi of grain, and ninety-four Community Granaries, storing one hundred thirty-two thousand and sixty-one shi of grain. At present, the prefecture has no chief official. The Ever-Normal Granary in Fengxiang's prefectural seat has long been empty, but Baoji County still has thirty thousand shi of stored grain untouched."

"Pooling the Ever-Normal and Community Granaries from all localities, this humble one estimates at least two hundred thousand shi of grain remain in storage, enough to supply a twenty-thousand-strong army for one year."

Hearing this, Liu Chengzong interrupted, "I see there are famine victims in Baoji County as well. If the Ever-Normal Granary still had grain in store, why was it not taken out earlier for relief?"

"Baoji originally stored forty thousand shi. Last year, this humble one ordered the clerks to take some out and sell it to stabilize grain prices. But then this year the fighting started…"

Li Jiayan glanced at Liu Chengzong, then humbly shook his head. "Starving troops under various commanders were passing through. We dared not let anyone know there was grain in the city."

Liu Chengzong choked at these words. He raised a hand and pointed at Li Jiayan. "You knew they were starving troops — you deserved to lose the battle!"

But to his surprise, Li Jiayan was utterly unabashed. He shook his head again and said, "Grand Marshal, this humble one was only the magistrate of Baoji County. They were hungry and sought the grain commissioner; the grain commissioner had no grain and sought the supreme commander; the supreme commander wanted grain and sought the prefect. It was not this humble one who made the soldiers go hungry, and the Ever-Normal Granaries were certainly not meant to…"

Liu the Lion raised a hand to stop him. This magistrate's words certainly had their logic, but if he kept talking, he was going to get beaten. "Disaster relief. Fengxiang Prefecture has over a hundred thousand famine victims. I do not intend to relocate them to Longxi. Just tell me — how do we provide relief?"

"In preparing for famine, no detail is too thorough; in relieving famine, the approach must be appropriate. Relief grain is limited — the urgent task is to prevent the famine victims from becoming refugees…" On this matter, Li Jiayan had a well-thought-out plan. But he paused here, as if pondering the significance of the Marshal's headquarters not relocating people to Longxi, before continuing, "Cease grain requisitioning, re-register the populace, and categorize them into five household grades."

"Namely: extremely poor, secondary poor, slightly poor, ordinary households, and wealthy households. The extremely poor receive rice; the secondary poor receive coin; the slightly poor receive loans; organize ordinary households to exterminate locusts; and solicit donations from the wealthy."

In truth, the moment he spoke of ceasing grain requisitioning, the military officers and soldiers beside Liu Chengzong were already eyeing him with dangerous looks. Only Liu the Lion's encouraging gaze sustained him to keep speaking.

Li Jiayan had in mind a perfectly orthodox method of disaster relief, but he could not prevent Liu Chengzong from hearing it askew.

"You're right. Requisitioning grain this way won't work. The wealthy households of Guanzhong are all in Xi'an Prefecture — if we fight our way there seizing grain as we go, they'll all flee… We'll do as you say."

Liu the Lion's greatest virtue was that he could take advice. He hoped the wealthy households could also take advice; if soliciting donations failed, then forced levies would do just as well.

"I need capable talents like you." Liu Chengzong smiled and clapped Li Jiayan on the shoulder. "Prefect Li of Fengxiang."