Chapter 1089: Schall von Bell

…And it was in this very city that we first sensed that, at the heart of this vast empire, there existed an enormous power no longer bound by the government — one that even seemed, instead, to loom above it.

That enormous power was none other than the Zhao Jin faction, centered on Xuzhou.

This faction had clearly risen only in recent years, so much so that even our guide had never heard of it and, like us, knew nothing about it at all.

Precisely because of that, we were completely unprepared. We simply traveled north with our cannons the whole way, fully convinced we would encounter no danger whatsoever in the interior heartland of the Ming Empire!

There is no need to recount the details. In short, the moment we reached the city of Qingjiangpu, the Zhao Jin faction's vast network of eyes and ears here had already fixed its gaze on us and the cannons we had brought. Moreover, even knowing full well that we were persons invited and protected by the Ming imperial government, they did not hesitate for long. They very quickly resolved to abduct us and seize our cannons.

Just as we left the city and entered the outskirts of Qingjiangpu, a group of men in strange uniforms surrounded us completely.

Without much of a fight, the government troops escorting us surrendered outright and were disarmed. We, of course, were not about to put up any foolish resistance, and so we likewise became their captives.

In all fairness, though their faces were extremely stern, these men's conduct was not particularly discourteous. Compared to the bandits we have seen elsewhere, they were far gentler.

We were then informed that they would escort us to Xuzhou to await judgment.

To us, this was naturally disastrous news. We had endured countless hardships and traveled ten thousand miles to reach China, and after unimaginable tribulations had finally won the chance to enter the Ming imperial capital and have an audience with the emperor. How could we possibly be willing to be carried off like this, with no clarity and no explanation?

Through our interpreter, we begged them for mercy and even agreed to give them the cannons, so long as we missionaries were allowed to proceed north to the capital on our own. The only reply we received was a burst of laughter from their commander. We understood then that, however proper their conduct, we had absolutely no capital with which to negotiate with them. We could only obey their orders.

And so we set out on the journey to Xuzhou.

It was here that another function of our guide proved its worth. Liu Wei kept explaining our origins to those escorting us, and in the end convinced them that we were not people of ill intent. Thus we survived the initial crisis and at least preserved our lives. Though he could not persuade them to release us, this outcome was already considerably better than anything we had expected beforehand.

Under the escort of these rather formidable soldiers, we were forced to hurry toward the heart of the territory that great personage controls — the city of Xuzhou. Incidentally, along the way we finally learned that, in the propaganda here in Xuzhou, they are not soldiers at all, merely patrol teams who maintain public order — though in my view, these well-trained men are already far more formidable than the Ming Empire's own officers and troops.

Furthermore, I must stress once more: the discipline of these patrol teams is astonishing. After collecting a certain sum of money from us, they did not brazenly ransack us or seize all our possessions, but allowed us to keep our luggage. As you know, whether in Europe at this time or elsewhere in the Great Ming, it is entirely common for soldiers to rob traveling merchants. It is precisely because we were treated this way that I cannot help but wonder deeply: why are men of such strict discipline and excellent training, under that great personage, merely local patrol teams? And what, then, must the combat troops under his command be like?

If this was only the initial shock, everything that followed left me even more utterly astounded.

During the journey to Xuzhou under their escort, my guide kept telling me of his experiences when he had come here before.

From his account, we learned that although this region lies in the Ming Empire's interior, a combination of natural disasters and poor governance had long since turned it into a land scarred and battered by famine.

Not long ago, a terrible famine struck the vicinity of this region. Great numbers of people starved to death, and those peasants fortunate enough not to die began fleeing on a massive scale. Along the dust-yellow dirt roads, across the desolate fields, and beside the parched riverbeds, millions of refugees trudged in despair. Their clothes could not cover their bodies; their food could not fill their bellies. Children wailed; adults had no tears left. To survive, it is said that instances of people eating one another occurred from time to time.

Since I came up from the south, I could not witness such scenes firsthand. Yet among us missionaries, there are those who have seen what the northern reaches of the Ming Empire look like now.

The Great Ming of today, in the north at least, is long past the land awash in gold that Marco Polo described. The Ming Empire seems to have passed through its age of flourishing splendor, and now signs of decay and ruin are everywhere. From the prosperous and wealthy regions of Jiangnan one still cannot feel much of this decay, but as one travels northward, deeper into the empire's increasingly dilapidated countryside, one heart-stopping scene after another unfolds before one's eyes of its own accord.

Because of ever-worsening land annexation and heavy taxation, the peasants' lives seem to have reached the very edge of sustainability. The poverty is staggering, and unchanging. The peasants' dwellings are all of the crudest sort, generally low huts built of mud. Their clothes cannot cover their bodies; their food cannot fill their bellies. At all times they struggle on the brink of death — though they are the group that toils the hardest and labors the most in this entire empire.

Even households with a little property do not live any sort of comfortable life. Their food consists almost entirely of sorghum or millet mixed with soybeans or soybean dregs. A white-flour steamed bun is a special treat, and they may go a whole year without tasting meat more than a few times.

Though the general poverty has already reached such a state, I am told by my guide that conditions there are still considered relatively good. Farther north in the empire, even near the capital, horrific disasters and tax plundering have forced vast numbers of peasants to flee their homes, struggling to survive by any means imaginable — and yet countless people still starve to death along the road.

Of course, I am not saying that the Ming Empire has sunk into universal poverty. In truth, this empire is still astonishingly wealthy — it is simply that the wealth has all been concentrated in the hands of a small group of people.

These people are great landlords who hold vast amounts of land and who, through the empire's large-scale selection examinations, have become officials of the empire. They use the political privileges in their hands to amass wealth on a grand scale. The city we just spoke of is, in fact, also in the hands of these people or their agents.

Their wealth and the extravagance of their lifestyles exceed anything I had previously imagined. And unlike the situation in Europe, where the wealthy are mostly local feudal lords, their wealth is tied to the closeness of their connection to the central government. That is to say, these great magnates amass land and wealth through their relationship with the central government — this is perhaps due to this empire's deep tradition of centralization.

For this very reason, the family tradition of these magnates is to have their sons and grandsons sit the examinations, so that they may enter the central government.

What puzzles me, however, is this: after amassing such wealth, these people, who pay no taxes, are rarely willing to invest it in commerce. Instead, they ceaselessly use every means — legal or illegal — to expand their landholdings, and then seal away whatever money remains. Only occasionally do they lend it out at usurious interest. And this practice further aggravates the ruination of the countryside, making the poverty all the more shocking to behold.

I had originally thought I would see the same scenes in Xuzhou.

I was wrong.

All along the way, there were flourishing towns everywhere, and farmland stretching as far as the eye could see. The people I saw were all fairly neatly dressed, and their clothes were not shabby. Their complexions were not the ashen gray of hunger; on the contrary, they were generally quite ruddy and healthy, clearly well nourished. To my eyes, they were simply common folk of the lower orders.

What surprised me even more was the spirit of the people here. They showed absolutely none of the oppressed look of those who suffer bullying or plunder, still less the terror and unease of those ruled by a bandit gang. On the contrary, they appeared full of vigor. Along the road I saw many elderly people resting and chatting leisurely by the roadside, as though they were rejoicing in the life they had today.

This kind of display is more powerful than any empty propaganda. It has undoubtedly convinced me deeply that the Ming imperial court's control here has utterly vanished, and that even in the people's hearts there is no lingering attachment to it. The common people enjoy a relatively prosperous life in peace and stability — it cannot be called wealthy, but compared to the impression of abject misery I had, it is better by heaven knows how many times.

What is more, I think they are right.

In addition, I must also mention one point: the roads we traveled along the entire way were extremely smooth, clearly well repaired and meticulously maintained. Thus, setting aside the unease in our hearts and our regret at being unable to go to the capital, this stretch of the journey was in fact the most stable, even the most comfortable, we have ever traveled.

I cannot doubt the enthusiasm and honesty of my guide and my colleagues. I can therefore only attribute this strange and stark contrast to the Zhao Jin faction. The moment this thought struck me, I suddenly developed a great interest in the man Zhao Jin and his organization — so much so that I even began to feel something like, "Perhaps it would not be so bad to go and meet him after all."

And along the road, horses and horse-drawn carts could be seen passing everywhere. Many of them were clearly freight wagons used for commerce. These roads, evidently, are worth every bit of their cost — they have enormously spurred the development of trade and made the people more prosperous…

Monthly tickets at the start of the month are really hard to come by — won't everyone check the stash in their pockets?

Thanks to "Qi Sanwen, Sweet Sugarcane, Yun Yuxue, Dragon King in the Wind" — several old and new friends — for the tips. Thank you all for your subscriptions and monthly tickets. Thank you, everyone.