Chapter 628: Scant Talent and Meager Virtue

Xi'an Prefecture didn't need Liu Chengzong.

It was just that a Xi'an Prefecture without Liu Chengzong would have to endure the ravaging trample of every armed force passing through.

Compared to the motley rabble swarming in from all directions, the disciplined Marshal's Army under Liu Chengzong's command was clearly far more trustworthy.

But when it came down to it, this was nothing more than choosing the lesser of two evils — driving off the tiger at the front gate only to let the wolf in through the back.

On this point, both Liu Chengzong and the local officials and gentry throughout Xi'an Prefecture were perfectly clear in their hearts.

Liu Chengzong's great army advanced in separate columns across the Guanzhong Plain, not halting until they reached the Xianyang plateau on the north bank of the Wei River, where they spread out their forces and set up nine linked encampments along the shore.

The troop-welcoming banquet that Xianyang's magistrate Zhao Jifang had prepared for the Marshal's Army ultimately went unused.

Liu Chengzong merely requisitioned the thousand-odd tables and chairs that Xianyang city had set up outside its walls; all the food and dishes were cooked by the camp cooks of each battalion, and he didn't even use the ingredients Xianyang County had prepared.

For one thing, he didn't trust it; for another, Xianyang... couldn't afford to host him anyway.

Zhao Jichang had only prepared enough provisions to entertain ten thousand men, while the troops he alone had brought to the Xianyang plateau already numbered forty thousand.

Zhao Jichang was utterly heartbroken over this — those ingredients had all been purchased with voluntary donations from the Xianyang gentry... in his three years as county magistrate, he had summoned the capped and sashed gentry to contribute funds and provisions more than once, yet he had never witnessed such a grand display.

A rare spectacle had appeared, and goddamn it, Liu Chengzong actually refused to accept the gesture!

Magistrate Zhao was so furious his gums itched, but he dared not say a word.

Fortunately, however, Liu Chengzong never wasted food.

Outside the city, he met with Zhao Jichang's younger brother Zhao Jifang and found a way to put those provisions to use: "Go back and tell the Zhao father-and-mother of Xianyang, in these years of war, the common people are often displaced and homeless. Xianyang is good land — set up a few porridge stations outside the city with this grain, and gather several hundred starving households to settle and sustain themselves here."

Liu the Lion cast a glance at the nearby city of Xianyang and said, "If those gentry who donated ask about it, just say it was my idea to handle it this way. That will set their minds at ease too. Since they were willing to let Father-and-Mother Zhao host a banquet, such warm hospitality is hard to refuse — I won't decline it."

As he spoke, a smile rose on his face: "I've already sent men, on Father-and-Mother Zhao's behalf, to invite the gentry and officials from all six subprefectures and fourteen counties of Xi'an Prefecture. Since it's a banquet, we might as well have a few more people."

Zhao Jifang's eyes widened as he looked around at the linked encampments; along the riverbank, he could even see pontoon bridges and siege engine components being hastily constructed, and two battalions that had eaten outside the city just the day before had already struck camp and marched off toward Tong Pass.

With this posture of being about to march south and assault the seat of Xi'an Prefecture, even a blind man could see it.

So Marshal Liu's banquet entertainment was... storming the greatest walled city in all of Qinchuan?

Zhao Jifang lifted his eyes and cautiously glanced at Liu Chengzong, his heart itching like a cat's scratch, desperately wanting to remind him that Hongmen was over in Lintong County to the east, not here in Xianyang.

To this, Liu the Lion merely smiled genially.

In truth, being sent out of the city by his elder brother to deliver a message, for the young scholar Zhao Jifang... was less like an official's son meeting a rebel leader, and more like a young fan meeting his idol.

The year Liu Chengzong had fought his way into Shanxi, Zhao Jichang had been serving as an instructor in Jiexiu, and Zhao Jifang had been studying there with his brother. Back then, before he had even passed the scholar examination, he had already heard tales of Liu Chengzong suppressing bandits and mutinous soldiers in Shanxi.

Those deeds — at once feigning benevolence and righteousness, yet ferocious and violent — in the young Zhao Jichang's heart, came closer to true chivalry than the stories told by teahouse storytellers.

But now that they had met, Zhao Jifang felt that Liu Chengzong's appearance, manner, and even his bearing were all far removed from the crude, forthright, black-and-white heroic figure he had imagined.

From Liu Chengzong's not entirely sincere smile, Zhao Jifang read something hidden behind the words. He asked, "Marshal, did you just say... fourteen counties?"

As Liu Chengzong nodded, Zhao Jifang was greatly shaken.

The fourteen counties of Xi'an Prefecture included Chang'an County, which was attached directly to the prefectural seat of Xi'an.

So the Marshal's Army's siege against the seat of Xi'an Prefecture had already begun, in this very moment before the encirclement.

The first battle was named: assault on the heart.

Liu Chengzong's invitation letters were tossed onto the gate tower of the Xi'an prefectural seat.

They were not only sent to the prominent gentry of Chang'an County within the city, but even Governor-General Chen Qiyu and Grand Coordinator Lian Guoshi were regarded as local father-and-mother officials, and high up on the great city gate tower, they each found their own invitation.

Zhao Jifang was already imagining just how ugly the expressions on the faces of Chen Qiyu, Lian Guoshi, and the others would be when they saw the invitation letter written in Liu Chengzong's own hand.

He asked Liu Chengzong, "Does the Marshal intend... to shake the resolve of the defenders holding the Xi'an prefectural seat?"

Liu Chengzong looked toward the direction of Xi'an city, slowly nodded, and then shook his head: "Not entirely. It's also for you."

Zhao Jifang's eyes went wide: "Us?"

"Yes, you — the students, gentry, and officials of every county in Xi'an Prefecture. Both you and I know that Xi'an Prefecture has not truly submitted to me in its heart. Right now... hah!"

Liu the Lion gave a light laugh: "Right now, this is merely an expedient measure under the threat of a great army. But now it's different."

"The seat of Xi'an Prefecture has long been an isolated city; it knows nothing of what happens outside its walls. If I don't tell them, how would they know that the officials, gentry, and students of every county have come outside Xianyang city to attend my banquet, Liu Chengzong's?"

As he spoke, he turned his head to meet Zhao Jifang's uncertain, startled gaze and said, "And if I don't tell you, how would you know that the Governor-General of Five Provinces and the Grand Coordinator of Shaanxi already know that you have come to attend my banquet?"

Liu Chengzong knew perfectly well that Chen Qiyu and Lian Guoshi would not leave the city to attend the banquet; whether they came or not simply did not matter.

But the fact that they were notified mattered a great deal.

He wanted the defenders of the Xi'an prefectural seat to know that the Marshal's Office was currently hosting the gentry of Xi'an Prefecture, that its subordinate counties had already scrambled to surrender, and to let them imagine scenes of these gentry chatting and laughing with him, even haggling over the division of post-war spoils.

He likewise wanted the gentry of every county in Xi'an Prefecture to know that the Governor-General of Five Provinces and the Grand Coordinator of Shaanxi inside the city already knew the news of their defection to the Marshal's Office.

Zhao Jifang felt his hair stand on end under Liu Chengzong's gaze: "Th-then, Marshal, isn't my elder brother finished?"

"What kind of talk is that?"

Liu the Lion put on a perfectly serious face: "As the magistrate of Xianyang, your brother invited the prefecture's gentry on my behalf — his official career over there is naturally finished. But my Marshal's Office is precisely in need of capable men. If he has true talent and learning, is there any fear of having no official post?"

Zhao Jifang's mind was still reeling from the shock that Liu Chengzong had used a single table of Xianyang's dishes to manipulate the mindsets of two groups, both inside and outside Xi'an Prefecture.

He was now certain: this Liu Chengzong before him was absolutely nothing like the rebel leader he had imagined.

In fact, had he not witnessed with his own eyes a month ago the Marshal's Office's great army shatter the government forces like dry weeds and rotten wood on the Xianyang plateau, he might even suspect that the entirety of vast Shaanxi had been taken by Liu Chengzong through sheer cunning and mind games.

What had my brother ever done to deserve this? Of all the subordinate counties of Xi'an Prefecture, compared to places like Xingping, Xianyang had been one of the least cooperative.

Facing a great army, they hadn't even opened their gates to surrender. Yet with just this one oversight — my brother agreeing to the gentry who had bought the Marshal's Army's war spoils in the city and setting out a troop-welcoming banquet —

you've made it seem as if my brother had privately surrendered to the Marshal's Office long ago!

Liu Chengzong, however, had no idea of Zhao Jifang's shock. He merely said with utmost earnestness: "The same goes for you. I, Liu, am a man of scant talent and meager virtue, and the Marshal's Office is a place of isolated power and weak strength — precisely when I need the assistance of a learned scholar like you.

Rather than staying to study at the county academy, why not come serve as a gentleman attendant and advisor by my side? Once the war ends, Shaanxi will have a hundred things waiting to be rebuilt, and there will be no shortage of places lacking presiding officials. Why worry that a body of learning will have no battlefield to prove its worth?"

In truth, Zhao Jifang had already been stunned the moment he heard "scant talent and meager virtue."

Normal people said "scant talent and shallow learning"; "scant talent and meager virtue" was simply not a phrase any proper person would use.

Aside from the emperor, who else cared whether your virtue was meager or not!

As for the Marshal's Office being of "isolated power and weak strength," Zhao Jifang didn't even know where to begin ridiculing that description.

Yet Liu Chengzong was utterly serious, even putting on a show of humility as he lowered his head and asked, "Jifang, if you were my advisor — right here, right now."

Lion Liu pondered for a moment, then asked, "Fifty thousand camp troops stationed at Xi'an, fifty thousand camp troops stationed elsewhere — a hundred thousand soldiers. Besides attacking the prefectural seat of Xi'an, what else should be done?"

Zhao Jifang drew a sharp breath, then opened his mouth wordlessly: You call this isolated and weak?

"Does the Grand Marshal wish to hear — break through Tong Pass, march the army into the capital, and seize the throne from that wretched emperor?"

Lion Liu laughed at that. "Fond of reading storybooks?"

"In reply to the Grand Marshal, I've heard quite a few."

"Storybooks are fine for listening, but the way of war is far different from what those down-and-out scholars imagine when they write them. More soldiers is not always a good thing."

Lion Liu sighed, his mood half genuine and half feigned. On one hand, he enjoyed talking with the scholar; on the other, in his eyes, Zhao Jifang represented his elder brother, Zhao Jichang.

Though the post of Xianyang County Magistrate was humble, he was still a father-and-mother official to his people. Behind him stood the city of Xianyang. If it could be taken through words and winning hearts, that would spare him the soldiers who would die storming its walls.

Those were the lives of hundreds, even thousands of his subordinates — and the hearts of the tens of thousands of common folk within the city.

So, with considerable resignation, he said, "Liu leads five thousand stout warriors and sweeps across the realm — the man who can stop me has yet to be born. Yet leading fifty thousand men, I lie sprawled before Xi'an Prefecture, unable to move. Do you know why?"

Zhao Jifang thought to himself: Could it be that the Grand Marshal is not skilled at commanding troops, and can only handle forty-nine thousand?

But he dared not say that aloud. He could only follow Liu Chengzong's lead and ask, "This humble one does not know. I beg the Grand Marshal to enlighten me."

"Because provisions and pay cannot keep up. Fifty thousand soldiers, men eating and horses chewing — they require no less than fifty thousand shi of unhusked grain per month. Only by taking the city of Xi'an and emptying the Prince of Qin's estate can this problem be solved at a stroke."

Zhao Jifang blinked. Fifty thousand shi of grain a month — was that a lot?

Grand Marshal, you are in Xi'an Prefecture!

He furrowed his brow. On one hand, he felt he should not be giving Liu Chengzong advice; on the other, he worried that if Liu Chengzong sacked the Prince of Qin's estate and still could not cover his military expenses, he would likely continue fighting, perhaps even plundering the countryside.

But unbeknownst to him, Lion Liu, merely watching him ponder, was already inwardly blooming with delight.

The answer to this question was not itself important to him. What mattered was that Zhao Jifang was thinking about it.

Once he finished thinking and arrived at an answer, he would have boarded the Marshal's headquarters' boat. Once the younger brother was aboard, the elder brother could not escape either. That meant the gates of Xianyang County would swing open for him.

One city — taken.

And with the first city secured, the breach in the hearts of the people across the counties of Xi'an Prefecture would be opened. Taking more cities would then be like splitting bamboo.

Zhao Jifang's pondering did not last long. In the end, worry won out, mingled with that natural impulse of a young man to show off his learning.

He spoke: "Grand Marshal, why not post proclamations to reassure the people, informing every county in Xi'an Prefecture that everything will remain as it was? In this way, the problem of army provisions is solved."

"Hm?"

This, Lion Liu truly did not understand. "What do you mean — how are army provisions solved just like that?"

"Everything stays as it was. People's hearts are settled, and taxes continue to be collected. The court has not yet finished collecting this year's tax silver. The tax revenues of a single prefecture like Xi'an are more than enough for the Grand Marshal to support fifty thousand crack troops — even more than enough."

As if struck by an enormous, unexpected joy, Lion Liu blurted out, "How much tax can Xi'an Prefecture collect?"

This was not feigned. He genuinely had no idea how much tax Xi'an Prefecture could collect.

He had always roamed through impoverished lands, and what he excelled at was organizing the destitute, equalizing land, and restoring production. A prosperous place like Xi'an Prefecture... this truly touched upon a blind spot in his knowledge.

Especially after thinking it over carefully, he realized that even under the drought, Xi'an Prefecture did not seem to have seen unrest caused by tax collection.

Even that Yang Guodong of the Lintao Brigade — he had been perfectly obedient in the Grand Coordinator's garrison battalion, only rising up in revolt after being transferred to Guyuan and starved.

"The exact figure, this humble one does not know either. Last year, I seem to have heard my elder brother say: summer wheat and autumn rice were levied at six or seven hundred thousand shi, military farmlands at over a hundred thousand shi, silk and thin silk at six or seven thousand taels, plus over a hundred thousand bolts of cloth, four or five hundred thousand bundles of fodder, and an additional Liaodong stipend of four hundred fifty thousand taels — over ninety percent collected."

Zhao Jifang gave a rough estimate, and for fear of being wrong, he quoted figures lower than what he actually knew.

But for Liu Chengzong's needs in supporting his army, it was already enough.

Zhao Jifang then added, "To win the people's hearts, the Grand Marshal could even exempt the Liaodong stipend and implement benevolent governance."

What he did not say was: a portion of that four hundred fifty thousand taels of silver every year was used to supply the armies suppressing you. You can't very well collect a stipend to suppress yourself, can you?

"Hm? No exemption."

Liu Chengzong shook his head very decisively.

A joke. If the common people were displaced, not knowing where their next meal was coming from, then why collect any taxes at all? He would just lead them to fight for a way to survive.

But the court had collected taxes in Xi'an Prefecture very efficiently.

What — the Great Ming can collect them, but I cannot?

Besides, his spine was ramrod straight!

Lion Liu raised his head and declared, "Exempt what Liaodong stipend? My fierce general Yang Qi is right now beyond the passes, engaging the eastern caitiffs in battle. This Liaodong stipend in Xi'an Prefecture must be collected!"

Zhao Jifang hurriedly opened his mouth to remonstrate, but to his surprise, Lion Liu was no longer listening.

This scholar who studied in Xianyang had, without intending to, opened a door to a whole new world for Liu Chengzong.

Grand Marshal Liu was already immersed in designing the foundational framework for the coming regime's structure.

Once the prefectural seat of Xi'an was taken, the Marshal's headquarters' structure would certainly need to be elevated. To rule all of Shaanxi, Gansu, and Qinghai, the old method of equalizing land and buying off taxes, as done in Xining Prefecture, would no longer work.

That required too vast a manpower base, and its demands on road infrastructure were too high. Even more, it could not adapt to an environment where vast tracts of land in Shaanxi lay abandoned and the people were displaced.

But on the other hand, holding such a fat piece of taxable meat as Xi'an Prefecture, he could not abandon it either, nor could he extend that tax system across the entire territory.

Lion Liu already had an idea.

Not only would he collect the Liaodong stipend, he would even collect the suppression stipend and the training stipend that the Chongzhen Emperor had not yet begun to levy — all at once.

Training new troops, suppressing Ming armies, and campaigning against the eastern caitiffs — none of it would be delayed.

And he would fold all these levies into the regular tax, while also taking into account the sentiments of the people who had submitted to him earlier. Above all, he could not squeeze the poor and good-hearted households relentlessly.

Fortunately, this matter was very easy to resolve.

He only needed to use a tiered system. After all, the people who had submitted to Liu Chengzong earlier had all undergone land equalization. Even in a place like Kangning Prefecture, where the fields were barren, the largest holding was no more than two hundred mu per household.

In the many parts of Shaanxi where there had been no time for land equalization, households with a hundred mu of land would pay an additional surcharge of one fen and two li; those exceeding five qing would pay a further surcharge; those exceeding ten qing or a hundred qing would pay yet another surcharge.

In this way, for the people of Hehuang who had previously undergone land equalization and tax commutation, the new tax law would actually be a reduction in burden.

Only, for the specific figures, Liu Chengzong would hand it over to more specialized men. He beckoned several Feathered Forest riders over and said, "Let word slip to the gentry of Xi'an Prefecture: all farmland belongs to the Marshal's headquarters. For any fields exceeding one hundred mu, one tael of silver per mu must be donated as a redemption purchase."

Zhao Jifang's face went pale with shock upon hearing this, and he hurriedly said, "Grand Marshal, you must not! This way, those powerful gentry with vast landholdings will not submit to you!"

"Fifty thousand troops are stationed in Xi'an Prefecture — nothing can go wrong."

Liu Chengzong beamed. "Let them redeem and buy first. Once they're mentally prepared, I'll bring out a new tax code and levy a tiny Liao supply tax. Won't that be much easier for them to accept?"