Chapter 694: The Great Scientist Bai Guang'en

Ningxia Garrison City.

A long-planned mutiny had just begun.

The mutinous soldiers merely stormed the Grand Coordinator's yamen, frightening Grand Coordinator Wang Ji into fleeing over the wall, then charged the Governor-General's headquarters, driving the Governor-General out of the city.

Before they could draw more guard troops into the mutiny, it was swiftly and thunderously crushed by the large numbers of guest troops entrenched near the garrison city.

The chaos lasted only two days. The guest troops made the city streets run red with blood; hundreds of mutinous soldiers became headless corpses dumped outside the city walls, and Hong Chengchou returned once more to his Governor-General's yamen.

Aside from a few officers who fled, Ningxia looked as if nothing had ever happened.

But many more things, seemingly far-reaching in consequence, were quietly handled by Hong Chengchou behind the scenes.

Zuo Liangyu was busy hunting down and arresting officers suspected of inciting rebellion, while Cao Wenzhao was busy confiscating the properties of those who had fled.

Cao Bianjiao, a human weapon, stood guard at Hong Chengchou's side with a long blade, terrifying the guard officers who remained in the garrison city into trembling fits.

Zhang Yingchang, meanwhile, went door to door tallying landholdings. If the owner was absent, the land was directly seized by the Regional Military Commission; if the owner was present, a round of intimidation preceded the same seizure.

On the plains, irrigated by the Qin, Han, and Tang canals, over eight hundred thousand mu of the finest farmland for military colonies — the most bountiful in grain and impervious to drought — thus entered the official registers of the Governor-General's office.

The Governor-General's yamen immediately issued the proclamation across the entire territory.

First, it abolished corvée duties such as rotational guard service for military households, and strictly prohibited private conscription by military officers.

Second, from now on, a land-to-mu conversion method of taxation would be adopted, dividing farmland into five grades: one mu of first-grade land would count as three mu; three mu of fifth-grade land would count as one mu.

On this basis, regardless of whether the land was military or civilian, every mu would be levied one dou and two sheng of grain, three jin of fodder grass, and six fen of silver.

Although this caused enormous upheaval among the upper strata of Ningxia, when the turmoil of this landholder change filtered down to the military dependents and tenant farmers who actually worked the land, it had no significant impact.

The Ming-dynasty mu, much like the shi, was a complex unit of measurement.

Sometimes it could be simplified, while in certain places and at certain times, it could become extraordinarily complex.

Take, for instance, the land-to-mu conversion, a local policy that had long existed in vast regions.

Land-to-mu conversion was a local policy and method of calculating land that had existed in parts of the Ming dynasty for a long time.

In some places, this policy was implemented to increase levies. For example, during the Zhengde reign, the eunuch Liu Jin instituted reforms and dispatched Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review Zhou Dong and others to Ningxia to measure the fields. To curry favor with Liu Jin, those bastards crudely and brutally counted every mu of Ningxia land as two mu.

In other places, this policy was implemented for fairness. For instance, during land surveys in Qingzhou, Shandong, in the early Ming, one mu of fertile land was converted to three mu for tax purposes, slightly inferior land one mu to two mu, and the next grade one mu to one and a half mu. Land was converted to mu, and grain was levied per mu, serving as a standard for heavier or lighter taxation.

And in still other places, this policy was implemented to reduce levies.

Like in Yuzhou, Henan, during the Jiajing reign: rich, fertile fields counted one as one; flat, stony hillocks counted two as one; rocky hill fields counted three as one; rocky hillsides counted five as one; and steep mountain rock slopes counted ten as one.

Even for a single plot of land in one place, its conversion algorithm could differ depending on the year, its fertility, and the presiding official.

By comparison, Hong Chengchou's land-to-mu conversion was nothing remarkable. In fact, because he separately levied fodder grass and silver, the grain levy was actually relatively low.

The most crucial point was that his orders were baffling.

Since you were going to introduce such a policy anyway, why go to all the trouble of seizing land and driving people to mutiny?

That was because, without first getting the fertile land firmly in hand, Hong Chengchou's plan to count one mu of first-grade land as three mu would have met with immense resistance.

By contrast, after first using military force to seize most of the first and second-grade land, the land left in the hands of Ningxia's soldiers and civilians was all counted one mu as one mu, or even two mu as one mu, so his levy rate no longer seemed high.

With this accomplished, Hong Chengchou immediately set about reorganizing the army, forming three garrisons and thirteen battalions, even commissioning three civil officials into the army as Regional Commanders.

Cao Wenzhao was appointed Chief Regional Commander of the Central Garrison, commanding the four battalions of Ningxia Hexi Defense Circuit Ding Qirui, Cao Bianjiao, Bai Guang'en, and Feng Ju.

Zhang Yingchang was appointed Chief Regional Commander of the Right Garrison, commanding the four battalions of Ningxia Regional Inspector Zhou Yijing, Liu Shaozong, Xiang Xiyin, and Zheng Jiadong.

Zuo Liangyu was appointed Chief Regional Commander of the Left Garrison, commanding the four battalions of Ningxia Hedong Defense Circuit Ge Rulin, Xu Yong, Wang Yuncheng, and Zhou Shifeng.

Plus the Governor-General's own elite battalion under Ding Zizhen, together forming three garrisons and thirteen battalions.

This grand army corps, with a paper strength of thirty-three thousand men, did not have a single one of its thirteen battalions at full strength.

But this was no problem for Hong Chengchou. He ordered his generals to recruit from among the banner troops of the various Ningxia guards to fill the battalion quotas.

These decrees flowed out in a smooth, unbroken stream, issued in rapid succession over just two days, making it very hard not to suspect that Hong Chengchou had been planning this for a long time.

Twelve battalions were frantically recruiting, except for Xu Yong, who had failed to catch Liu Fangming and had run south to pit his wits against Yang Yanchang across the border wall.

When Hong Chengchou received this news, he was furious in the Governor-General's residence.

Damn it, I ordered you to pursue the rebel officer. If you didn't catch him, hasn't the news leaked?

A leak is one thing, but why on earth did you go and provoke Liu Chengzong's men?

That Liu Chengzong is like a dog — he'll turn on you without warning even if you don't provoke him, and you still went and attacked his border wall!

Yet, Hong Chengchou didn't dare curse Zuo Liangyu.

There were hardly a handful of people under heaven who dared to discipline Zuo Liangyu.

That lawless bastard — it was just his luck to have enlisted in Liaodong when he was young. Had he enlisted in Shaanxi, he'd have out-Zhang Xianzhonged Zhang Xianzhong for sure.

Because the problem with Zuo Liangyu's brain was that he disdained communication.

The year of the Ningyuan Mutiny, Zuo Liangyu was also in Liaodong.

Normally, when guest troops were owed pay, they would first report the problem to their commanding officer. After reporting, some would let the matter drop, while others with hotter tempers would choose to skip ranks and demand an explanation.

That meant going to the Grand Coordinator.

When these impatient soldiers gathered together and the Grand Coordinator still had no money, once a bold one made a move, everyone would beat the Grand Coordinator up.

At that point, the matter could be big or small. On the small side, injuring the Grand Coordinator counted as mutiny; if they accidentally beat him to death, that counted as outright rebellion.

That was the normal process, the way normal people, with grievances and complaints in their hearts, went about solving problems.

From pent-up resentment, to communication, to venting, and finally escalating to violence, there was a process of gradual escalation.

But Zuo Liangyu had poor communication skills and extremely strong initiative. He had his own way of seeing and solving problems, and often found his own methods.

While others were kicking up a fuss with the Grand Coordinator, Zuo Liangyu, after a bout of "I reckons" in his head, had already taken Qiu Lei to rob the military supply wagons.

A man like this, who clearly had a fine brain but only used it to think about how to solve problems with his hands — Hong Chengchou dared not curse him.

No one knew what end might await someone who earned his grudge.

In Hong Chengchou's mind, the best military officer in Ningxia right now was Cao Wenzhao: superbly capable in battle and superbly obedient, easy to command.

The second-best was Zhang Yingchang: not quite as capable or obedient, but with three generations of a military family behind him, he was easy to communicate with.

The worst of the generals is Zuo Liangyu — this man is entirely superficial.

On the surface he can fight fiercely, and in reality he can fight fiercely too, but he won't fight; whenever he runs into someone he can't beat, he just leaves.

On the surface he's very obedient, and in reality he's very obedient too, but inside he always has his own ideas — and what's more, he won't voice them.

Very hard to handle.

Hong Chengchou didn't dare curse him out; he could only smash jars and pots all over the floor in fury.

Only then did he compose himself, and while having someone clean up the shards on the ground, he picked up his brush and wrote Liu Chengzong a letter of apology, expressing his wish to cease hostilities, halt the fighting, and open peace talks between the two sides.

On this matter, Lion Liu's judgment was not wrong — it was indeed a probe by Hong Chengchou.

Only, the main target of the probe was not him.

It was Zuo Liangyu, Zhang Yingchang, Cao Wenzhao, and the others.

Although these remnant defeated troops under Hong Chengchou who had retreated from Shaanxi and Gansu could be called the Great Ming's super-hardcore diehards in the northwest.

Just how hardcore they really were, Hong Chengchou did not know.

Because Liu Chengzong had never completely annihilated Ming generals or Ming troops; in Hong Chengchou's eyes, many men had been deliberately let go.

Zuo Liangyu had managed to flee — he really did make it back on his own — so Hong Chengchou knew he was trustworthy, but this prick was uncontrollable.

Cao Wenzhao had been defeated, his elder brother and nephew both finished — he too was trustworthy, but he had hardly any troops left.

Zhang Yingchang, on the other hand, was not trustworthy; he was like a transport battalion commander.

He had taken five battalions to war and fought not a single battle, yet he himself had come out remarkably clean — his own battalion hadn't lost a man, but of the remaining four battalions, only Cao Bianjiao remained as a Battalion Commander.

Then there were Liu Shaozong, Xiang Xiyin, and the others who had come from Gansu — those men had been sent back outright by Liu Chengzong.

Those few infuriated Hong Chengchou the most. Men Liu Chengzong doesn't want — I don't want them either!

The results of the probe were hard to call.

Zhang Yingchang looked just like a spy for Liu Chengzong; he showed no interest in probing Liu Chengzong's position, but beamed at the idea of peace talks, supporting it with both hands — he even looked ready to raise both feet as well.

Cao Wenzhao was not bad; he breathed a sigh of relief and said that if they could cease hostilities for now, there might be a chance to reorganize the troops.

Zuo Liangyu was more problematic. When Hong Chengchou asked his opinion, this fellow shook his head and said nothing, but the meaningful look in his eyes always made Hong Chengchou feel a chill on the back of his neck.

As for Bai Guang'en... this one was a scientist.

He had no interest whatsoever in peace talks or no peace talks, probes or no probes.

He sat restless and fidgety through the whole meeting, itching to get back to the military camp to receive a guest.

This concerned Bai Guang'en's rockets.

How formidable the Marshal's Manor's rockets were — among all the commanders under heaven, Bai Guang'en had the most authority to speak on it.

Twice, Bai Guang'en had been swiftly routed by Zhang Tianlin's simple tactic of rocket bombardment followed by cavalry charge.

Therefore, Hong Chengchou's grand policies and military strategies meant absolutely nothing to Bai Guang'en.

Even if you outfit me with full rations, pay, armor, and weapons, the moment I see Zhang Tianlin's rockets launch, I'll still have to run, goddammit.

Unless... I have rockets too.

He desperately longed to possess this kind of unorthodox weapon himself.

But he had been puzzling over it for nearly half a year and still couldn't make one.

Bai Guang'en's soldiers had once picked up a dud rocket tube.

At the time they took it apart and looked — nothing special. Later they didn't even keep the tube.

As a result, without a model to work from, Bai Guang'en tried over a dozen times and never achieved the desired effect. Either it wouldn't fly out, or it flew out but couldn't stay balanced — he even got several craftsmen blown up and killed.

Because all the technical sophistication of the Marshal's Manor's rockets lay in the shape of the solid black powder grain inside the tube. That thing would burn up completely the moment it flew out and hit the ground.

Without that, the rocket's burn rate and thrust were uneven in flight, so naturally it flew crooked and wobbly.

Then, the very day before the Ningxia mutiny, the craftsmen in Bai Guang'en's army reported that they had finally produced a usable rocket.

It was a small rocket with a three-and-a-half-jin powder charge, containing thirty iron pellets, a range of forty-five paces, and a coverage area of eighty paces.

The workmanship was excellent. It was for cavalry use, looked somewhat like a rapid-thunder lance, and likewise came with a shield — though the main body in the center was a three-eyed lance with a lengthened barrel and enlarged bore.

The method of use was to ride up to twenty or thirty paces from the enemy line in the manner of mounted archery, launch the triple-rocket pack into the enemy formation, and then flee at once.

After testing, even the finest warhorse could not escape the blast range before the rocket exploded.

It was... rather like suicide.

Fellow commanders heaped mockery on Scientist Bai's weapon development.

In range and power, this thing couldn't even match a flying catapult.

But Bai Guang'en retorted: you've never been bombed by rockets — what the hell do you know?

Who doesn't know the ignition rate of flying catapults? You light two and one goes off. Rockets are different — without the jolt of the cannonball firing, the ignition rate is close to ninety percent. Do you have any idea the terror of seeing a rocket launch?

As for the shooter not being able to escape the blast range — is that even a problem?

Bai Guang'en had hired the most famous fortune-teller in Ningxia at great expense, and as soon as he got back he would select the hundred men with the hardest destinies from camp to serve as rocket cavalry.

And with the built-in shield, they'd be very hard to kill.

He planned, once the men were chosen, to go west of the Helan Mountains and randomly select one lucky taiji grazing in the Alxa Desert to test it on.

Actually, there wasn't much to choose from. Beyond the Helan Mountains, at places like Changliushui and Pucao Spring, there weren't many grazing nobles.

One group was led by Second Son Chaotu Huang Taiji and Fourth Son Duo'erzhi Daicheng of Zhuolitu Taiji — the two of them together had fewer than two thousand men and horses. The other was Gulu Taiji, likewise with about a thousand men and horses, who usually traded at the Zhongwei market.

Both these forces belonged to the Ordos tribe, but they had not followed when Ligdan Khan moved west; instead they had taken refuge within the Ming border, so their relations with the Ningxia side were fairly good.

However, after Yang Qi took control of Monan, they showed signs of wanting to submit, only they hadn't been enfeoffed as a myriarchy. Lately they had instead bypassed what was near to seek what was far, going all the way to the Huangyangchuan area to trade at the Marshal's Manor's Liangzhou market.

Just as Bai Guang'en was about to report to Hong Chengchou that he wanted to go beyond the Helan Mountains to test his new weapon, before he even reached the Governor's residence, he received Hong Chengchou's summons ordering all senior commanders to the garrison city's Governor's residence for a council.

Entering the Governor's yamen, Bai Guang'en found the atmosphere unusually heavy. The faces of the guest generals, which had earlier been swept with joy at acquiring military farmland, were now each veiled in a layer of gray.

"Liu Chengzong's reply was sent out from Half City last night. He is furious about Xu Yong's attack on the border wall and intends to raise troops to punish Ningxia."

As Hong Chengchou said this, his expression was rather relaxed. He glanced at Zuo Liangyu and added, "But this is within expectations. This so-called punitive expedition is nothing but a pretext."

"Liu Fangming leaked the news of the Ningxia mutiny. Whether General Xu strikes the border wall or not, I reckon he won't miss this chance — he will definitely march. So this reply letter is good news for all of you."

"At the very least, we are certain that the bandit Liu is still in Xi'an Prefecture at this moment. He is mustering troops for a northern campaign. Even if his vanguard crosses the border, it will take three days; follow-up support will take ten."

"Therefore, I estimate that in six days, his vanguard troops will approach the Yellow River line. In half a month, the bulk of his support forces will likewise enter Ningxia."

Hong Chengchou's estimate already assumed Liu Chengzong's army could assemble with lightning speed.

Zuo Liangyu shook his head at these words, gritted his teeth, and said with a cupped-fist salute, "Supreme Commander, the bandit Liu is cunning by nature, most adept at driving men to fight to the death. His troop movements are erratic and unpredictable. We should prepare our defenses against the enemy with the utmost rigor and begin deploying now."

Hong Chengchou nodded at this, accepting the sound advice.

This was experience Zuo Liangyu had gained from taking a beating — it could not be ignored.

He said, "In that case, as Marshal Zuo suggests, we shall anticipate him entering Ningxia in three days, with reinforcements arriving in five."

"Our army's morale is relatively weak; many officers dread battle. Gentlemen, do you think that within these two days, we could first engage south of the Yellow River, mass our forces to quickly encircle and annihilate his vanguard, and thereby boost our army's morale?"

Cao Wenzhao was about to volunteer for battle when he felt someone tugging his clothes from behind. He turned his head — it was Bai Guang'en, staring wide-eyed and shaking his head vigorously.

And mouthing the words: Zhang Tianlin.

Hearing that name, Cao Wenzhao's eyes flared wide. His own elite cavalry and his elder brother Cao Wenyao had both fallen at Zhang Tianlin's hands. That vanguard commander Liu Chengzong kept on retainer was the man he hated most.

Yet that same name also made him cool down with startling speed.

Zhang Tianlin's three-axe routine was: cavalry charge, rocket barrage, cavalry charge again. This unsustainable tactic packed overwhelming power — whoever got hit by his first wave was absolutely doomed to suffer a calamity.

For a moment, the very air in the main hall of the Supreme Commander's yamen seemed to freeze solid.

Hong Chengchou was extremely embarrassed.

In the end, it was the worldly-wise Zhang Yingchang who rose, cupped his fists, and said, "In that case, your humble subordinate volunteers for battle. Let our army mass together, first annihilate the enemy vanguard, then withdraw to defend north of the Yellow River — a plan for the long term!"