Chapter 1057

Those who could not join the army or reach the front lines could only support the imperial court financially.

This time, the imperial court did not impose the Three Additional Taxes nor find excuses to raise miscellaneous levies; from scholar-gentry to commoners, all generously donated.

Some zealous scholar-gentry donated over a hundred taels each; ordinary households gave ten or eight wen to the local offices; even previously stingy landlords and benefactors, for the sake of reputation, followed suit with substantial donations.

When local offices tallied all the donated silver, they found it exceeded the amount collected through official imposition of the Three Additional Taxes.

Newspapers across the land successively reported the total donations from their regions; some local offices' telegrams to Jingcheng arrived even later than their own newspapers.

But after the newspapers were published, the consolidated accounts from local offices were gradually telegraphed to Jingcheng.

The Emperor and all his ministers instantly realized the importance of the press.

Xue Shao directly submitted a memorial praising the regional press and proposed imperial support for its development, while also suggesting the Ministry of Rites oversee the press.

Yu Qian also recognized the press's role in monitoring officials and public welfare, and supported Xue Shao's proposal.

Yet this matter was merely a side thread compared to the current military campaign; whether the Emperor or his ministers, all buried these insights deep within, prioritizing military affairs.

The money raised nationwide was partly sent to Jingcheng, partly ordered to be used locally to purchase military supplies—grain, cotton clothing, cotton quilts, sugar—and transported to the frontier.

By the time Pan Yun emerged from the grasslands with Seeing Miao Zhen, both sides had already clashed three times; the Great Ming army advanced like a bamboo shoot splitting open, not only holding off the first Orda offensive but counterattacking and driving the Orda forces deep into the grasslands.

This time, Pan Yun did not directly intervene in the warfare.

She bore karmic debt; direct participation in war carried severe side effects.

Three years ago she succeeded because the nation's collective prayers, born of military defeat, compensated for the karmic debt of her killings.

People often believe merit and fault can cancel each other; she once thought so too, but after that incident, she vaguely sensed it was untrue, and after breaking through two cultivation realms, she finally confirmed: merit is merit, fault is fault—they cannot cancel each other;

Nor can virtue and karmic debt.

The killing she committed, no matter how much virtue she accumulated, could never be erased; heavenly thunder would one by one exact justice for those lives.

Yu Qian clearly also did not want her to interfere too much.

Simply establishing the intelligence network and ensuring smooth flow of information between the nation and battlefield was her greatest support for the war.

Further interference—seizing military command to strengthen her own authority—would make Yu Qian grow wary.

So too would the ministers.

Thus, when they saw Pan Yun did not overstep, the ministers breathed a sigh of relief.

But no one expected that although Pan Yun did not appear, the troops venerated her.

Especially on the front lines, before every sortie, soldiers would bow toward Jingcheng and Mount Sanqing, praying silently for the State Preceptor and the gods of Mount Sanqing to bless them with victory and safe return.

From common soldiers up to regimental commanders, all did this; generals like Yang Hong, to stabilize morale, did not stop them.

Soldiers who had bowed to the State Preceptor and the gods of Mount Sanqing fought with greater courage, charging into battle fiercely and fearlessly.

Sometimes it was simply this miraculous: fearless charges increased one's chances of survival.

When frontline commanders tallied casualty rates, troops grew even more convinced the State Preceptor and the gods of Mount Sanqing secretly protected them; thus, worship within the army intensified.

Meanwhile, due to the imperial court's deployment and Pan Yun's additional transmission devices sent across the land, the entire nation was linked by a single intelligence network.

Yu Qian, stationed at the center, collected intelligence from all regions and coordinated uniformly; the nation's manpower and resources all served the army, while intelligence from the grasslands and frontier was likewise transmitted to Jingcheng, enabling Yu Qian to deploy troops with efficiency a hundredfold greater than before.

Almost as if, the moment he issued an order, frontier commanders received it moments later.

Frontier commanders could also receive intelligence from the grasslands the instant it arrived.

Their scouts hid within the grasslands, monitoring Orda troop movements at all times; no need for risky messengers—just a single encrypted report, and both Jingcheng and the frontier received the intelligence simultaneously, enabling coordinated troop adjustments.

Yishi soon noticed the anomaly.

Great Ming seemed always to anticipate his troop deployments; several times, Great Ming forces lay in wait, fresh and rested, along their route.

Yishi first suspected Great Ming spies within his ranks; he changed plans multiple times, yet Great Ming still pinpointed their marching routes.

Yishi flew into rage, sending men to purge spies within his army while deploying vast numbers of scouts to clear all civilian populations along the route.

Along the army's march, no human habitation was permitted within fifty li; naturally, to avoid leaks, they did not drive people away—they simply executed them.

Great Ming spies were forced to flee for their lives, now forced to deduce the Orda's route by tracking which nomadic villages had been wiped out; intelligence gathering became increasingly difficult.

Yet however difficult, intelligence continued to be sent back.

Since Emperor Hongwu unified the realm and reclaimed the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun, the Ming people's long-suppressed national pride had spontaneously arisen.

From Hongwu until now, seventy years have passed; Great Ming has stood atop the world. Thus, three years ago, when the late Emperor personally led a campaign and was captured and killed, Ming subjects regarded it as the greatest humiliation; even former rebels like Deng Maoqi swore to erase this shame.

Oh, this time Deng Maoqi and others were also deployed to the front lines, fighting on the front.

He rebelled, but he fought for his fellow villagers' interests, resisting oppressive taxes; he could rebel—but why should the Orda, a barbarian tribe, disturb the frontier?

Great Ming had always treated the Orda with courtesy; countless embassies came each year, and the court gave them money and goods—better treatment than they gave their own Ming subjects.

We rebelled, and that was righteous; why should they rebel?

Even if they rebelled, the court blamed the failure of the late Emperor's campaign on him, claiming his rebellion tied down vast military and financial resources, causing defeat against the Orda.

Nonsense!

The late Emperor took out hundreds of thousands of troops, mismanaged his own deployment, yet blamed us—he hasn't even blamed the court for allowing corrupt officials and oppressive taxes to drive us to rebellion…

This time, I'll make them see: in loyalty to Great Ming, we "rebels" are no less than they are!

If the court grants us justice, we have more than enough loyalty and bravery.

In contribution to the nation, we are certainly no lesser.

With this mindset, Deng Maoqi's reorganized rebel army fought fiercely, achieving repeated extraordinary feats, advancing steadily—and his battlefield merits finally matched his official rank; opposition against him from court and populace alike diminished.

Yang Hong, like Deng Maoqi, bore a similar grievance.

Yang Hong, now commanding the eastern offensive as General-in-Chief, was also avenging his shame.

Three years ago, during that great battle, his son Yang Jun's cowardice led to defeat and trapped the late Emperor, damaging their father-son reputations.

To atone and appease the court's anger, Yang Hong had no choice but to send Yang Jun into the Tiger's Teeth Corps during the Great Ming counteroffensive—that was a suicide unit; with Yang Jun's abilities, without special protection, entering meant certain death.