Chapter 1127: Newly Established Grand Ming Governor

What truly drew the attention of Zhao Jin and his comrades lay in Northern Zhili. In the ninth month of the third year of the Tianqi reign, the court issued a decree stating that Shandong and Henan were plagued by continuous popular uprisings and that the Yellow River floods threatened the surrounding regions. To enable decisive action on the spot, provide disaster relief, and quell unrest, a Governor was specially established to oversee the three prefectures of Shunde, Guangping, and Daming in southern Northern Zhili.

The moment this decree was issued, the court and the public erupted in an uproar. Northern Zhili is the vital capital region, a territory demarcated by the founding Taizu and Chengzu Emperors. To suddenly establish a Governor there and carve out the three southern prefectures of Hebei—what exactly was the intention behind this?

Getting to the bottom of it, people quickly discovered that the driving force behind this decree was Wei Zhongxian, the Supervising Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial. This was easy to investigate; one simply had to see which faction's followers were handling the matter. Once it was clear that the so-called Eunuch Clique was behind it, everyone immediately refused to let the matter rest. The Emperor's wet nurse, Madam Ke, still could not return to live in the palace, and your own position, Wei Zhongxian, was not yet secure. Yet you still dared to engage in such a self-destructive scheme—then so be it, as you wish.

"... Wei Zhongxian intends to rebel..." "... Treacherous villains in the court are preemptively setting up a military garrison in the vital capital region, deludedly seeking collusion between internal and external forces..." "The Son of Heaven in Chang'an and the Weibo fangsoldiers were the source of calamity and chaos at the end of the Tang Dynasty. What exactly is the eunuch's intention in re-establishing Weibo!"

The Weibo Garrison of the late Tang and Five Dynasties period was precisely in the area of present-day Daming Prefecture, so this far-fetched connection could indeed be argued. After the initial attacks, everyone quickly discovered the crux of the issue. If this matter were merely Wei Zhongxian's own reckless act, then no matter how much the Tianqi Emperor doted on him, the decree issued would only be a so-called "Palace Decree." The supervising secretaries of the Six Offices and the censors of the Chief Surveillance Bureau would seize upon this and fight it to the death. Yet this decree was complete, lacking none of the necessary steps involving the Grand Secretariat, the Directorate of Ceremonial, and the Son of Heaven.

Subsequently, the clamoring upright officials and remonstrance officers received word from above and all fell silent. News spread from the capital that although the eunuch Wei had single-handedly pushed this matter, he would not touch the position of Governor himself, and neither Wei Zhongxian nor his followers would participate in any of the related changes.

In that case, there was nothing left for everyone to argue about. The creation of a new Governor's jurisdiction meant the creation of many new positions. This was a region equivalent to the Yunyang Governor's jurisdiction. Even if one could not secure the post oneself, perhaps someone close to them could, and they themselves might in the future. Moreover, releasing one person to fill it would open up a position in the capital.

However, debate soon flared up again. This time, the argument was not about the establishment of the Daming Governor, but about who would serve as this Governor, whether it should be a Surveillance Commissioner or a Regional Inspector, and so on and so forth—all manner of details. Yet the truly important details went unnoticed. For instance, in order to respond to emergencies on the spot, a separate military force was to be established. Its backbone would be composed of troops from the three prefectures of Daming, Shunde, and Guangping, combined with the remaining forces of the former Caozhou Regional Commander Yang Zhaoji, with provisions and pay to be raised by the various prefectures of Northern Zhili.

The Governor's full title inherently included the duty of overseeing military affairs, so adding troops was not improper. As for whether this newly established Daming Garrison would be commanded by a Regional Commander, a Vice General, or a Brigade General, these were trivial matters requiring no particular attention.

Given the style of officialdom in the capital, before any decree or order was issued, rumors would already fly everywhere, with all sorts of people arguing incessantly. While such leaks certainly stemmed from a general disregard for secrecy, they were more often tied to political struggles, with each side revealing information to constrain and obstruct the other. Yet this decree had remained secret from beginning to end. Some people close to the Grand Secretaries did recall, however, that a few days earlier, the Grand Secretaries had kept their doors shut after returning from court.

As soon as the decree was issued, the Internal Guard's eyes and ears in the capital immediately dispatched fast riders to deliver the news. The twenty-some fine horses kept in Tongzhou were meant precisely for such moments.

Establishing the Daming Governor in southern Hebei seemed absurd, but anyone familiar with the Xuzhou region could immediately react: the establishment of this Daming Governor was aimed at Xuzhou. The troops under the Daming Governor's command included the remnants of former Caozhou Regional Commander Yang Zhaoji's forces, which naturally also had implications for Yanzhou Prefecture. Moreover, between Daming Prefecture and Xuzhou lay only Guide Prefecture. In fact, the Zhao character battalion's sphere of influence already overlapped with Daming Prefecture—that Kong Family Village had parts of its territory within Daming Prefecture.

Suddenly, over five thousand troops of the Great Ming official army had appeared west of Yanzhou Prefecture, and they were official troops with relatively strong combat capability, tempered by the campaign to suppress the Smelling Incense Sect rebellion.

At the same time as the Daming Governor was established, the Shandong official army also began to stand on alert and prepare for battle. By now, Dengzhou and Laizhou Prefectures already had many overt and covert eyes and ears of Xuzhou, so this movement naturally could not be hidden. It was also a coincidence, for this was precisely the moment when the river dikes had burst and the various brigades and regiments of the Zhao character battalion were on martial law and preparing for battle. For a time, there was even a sense of two sides poised against each other.

Under such tense circumstances, those with good information were already preparing to move their entire families to escape the potential military disaster. However, the Shandong official army made one redeployment, withdrawing the fifteen hundred official troops stationed in Yanzhou Prefecture back to Jinan Prefecture.

Regardless of either side's intentions, this redeployment conveyed a kind of "goodwill," leaving a relative buffer between the Zhao character battalion and the official army.

Amidst this saber-rattling, further news came from the capital. The official circles paid little attention to this news, but the spies and covert agents the Zhao character battalion had placed in the capital immediately locked onto it and urgently relayed the information back to Xuzhou.

A decree was to be sent to Henan. Because the levying of the Liao military stipend had caused much unrest and upheaval in the various prefectures and counties of Henan, the Henan Governor and local officials were ordered to recruit and train able-bodied young men to form a new army, to suppress the province's popular uprisings and to support Shanxi and Northern Zhili. The decree was general in its wording, specifying only one point: Kaifeng Prefecture, being the provincial capital, the hub of the Yellow River, and the seat of the Zhou Prince's fief, was where the recruitment and training of the new army must take place.

Few in officialdom took notice of this. Since the levying of the Liao stipend began, popular uprisings had been breaking out frequently in every province across the realm, with Henan seeing an especially high number. Making a response was a normal measure. Moreover, due to the war with the Jianzhou Jurchens and the stirrings of the various Mongol tribes on the steppe, the Shanxi border army was simultaneously being drawn down and struggling to cope with the threat from the north. In Northern Zhili, the Xuanfu Garrison, Ji Garrison, and other units faced the same difficulties. Henan bordered these two provinces and had never had many official troops stationed there—a total of just over three thousand men under three Defense Commands and one Regional Military Commission—so organizing a new battalion was only proper.

But for Xuzhou, the court's intention was very clear. Establishing the Daming Governor and the troops of the three prefectures was to contain Chen Sheng's First Brigade from the flank, while maintaining the possibility of crossing the river southward to attack or block the main force of the Xuzhou Zhao character battalion. The recruitment and training of a new army in Kaifeng Prefecture, Henan, served the same purpose. Henan was home not only to the Prince of Zhou but also to the Prince of Fu, the Prince of Lu, the Prince of Tang, and others. Did the princes in Luoyang Prefecture, Weihui Prefecture, and Runing Prefecture not need protection? The newly established official army in Kaifeng Prefecture was aimed at Xuzhou to the east, intended to check any potential westward advance by Xuzhou's forces and to be ready at any moment to join forces with the troops of the Daming Governor.

"... This is just like laying out pieces in a game of Go, placing stones one to the east, one to the west, encircling us. I had thought the court would simply ignore us and let things be..."

After receiving the news from the capital, in contrast to the others' tension, Zhao Jin was completely at ease. Wang Zhaojing carefully examined the news sent by Ma Liu. He had read these few sheets of paper many times already, yet still feared he might have missed something. After reading through them once more, Wang Zhaojing said gravely, "Big Brother, the troops from these three prefectures of Northern Zhili and from Henan cannot cause us trouble. But if the court makes a move, it will not be limited to these two places. Big Brother, rather than waiting for them to complete this encirclement, shouldn't we strike first to gain the initiative?"

"Just keep calm. Let them do as they please," Zhao Jin replied, light and breezy.

Ruhui, who had already returned from Shandong, hesitated for a moment before saying thoughtfully, "The household troops of the Zhao character battalion are fierce and tough; they have nothing to fear from any official army. But if the official army is truly allowed to encircle us like this, Xuzhou itself might be fine, but the hearts of the people in places like Shandong and Huai'an Prefecture will likely become unsettled. It will be hard to avoid stirring up more trouble."

"If people's hearts become unsettled and trouble stirs, will the household troops of our various brigades and regiments become unsettled? Will the hearts of the people in our various industries and manors below become unsettled?" Zhao Jin asked in return.

"That they will not. The people of our Zhao character battalion have no way back. If they are not loyal to you, Master, they will either be charged with the clan-exterminating crime of rebellion and sedition, or they will be displaced, freezing and starving to death," Ruhui's reply was also very pragmatic.

Zhao Jin nodded. At his side, Ji Xiang hesitated but ultimately could not hold back and spoke: "Big Brother, you once said that household troops and militia are like swords and blades—if they are never used, they become dull and rust. Among the household troops of the various brigades and regiments, aside from training, how many have seen blood? How many have participated in battle? They are already growing restless everywhere now. If this continues, the household troops and militia will become useless!"

Ji Xiang spoke very bluntly. Wang Zhaojing glanced at Zhao Jin, already showing an intention to rise and remonstrate. But this time, Zhao Jin did not open his mouth to rebuke him. Instead, he said with the utmost seriousness, "If they grow lethargic, if they become useless, then we simply replace them with a new batch of men. In the territory we hold, how many able-bodied young men want to become these household troops? The more people who have served as household troops, the more people will be loyal to us."

His words clearly did not convince the others. Ji Xiang took a deep breath but did not continue speaking. Zhao Jin smiled and shook his head, then asked, "Let me ask you all: if we were to raise the banner of rebellion right now, we would have options whether to advance north, march south, or head west. And then what would happen? How would the common people, the gentry, the local authorities, and the court treat us?"

Hearing the words "raise the banner of rebellion," everyone in the room was jolted. But that was all. Although it was rarely stated so bluntly, this was the very business they were already in, so no one could really be shocked.

Ji Xiang wanted to speak, but in the end, he looked toward Wang Zhaojing. Ruhui seemed lost in thought but also looked toward Wang Zhaojing. Wang Zhaojing spoke slowly, "Given the elite strength and ferocity of our Zhao character battalion, once we raise the banner, wherever our military might is directed, we will surely sweep through like splitting bamboo. But after that, we would have no choice but to conquer the entire realm, and we could not afford a single defeat."

At this point, Wang Zhaojing paused thoughtfully before adding, "Perhaps after sweeping through the lands north of the Yangtze River, the situation would greatly improve. But before that, everyone under Heaven would view us, view Xuzhou, as treacherous ministers and villainous rebels, as great traitors and heinous usurpers. Everyone would treat Xuzhou as an enemy..."

"Third Brother, if our Zhao character battalion raises troops, we will certainly sweep across the realm and all sides will submit in awe. How could there be such a difficult situation!" Ji Xiang had not expected Wang Zhaojing to say these things and could not help but voice his objection.

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