Chapter 1242: Ministry of Revenue Secretary Pan of Linqing

When the First Brigade's cavalry appeared outside Ziyang city, an eerie silence fell over the entire city. The Defender of Ziyang wanted to disguise himself and flee, but the area around the military camp was tightly watched by the runners and bailiffs under the Prefect and Magistrate, giving him no chance at all. The Prefect of Yanzhou had already received word that this time the Xuzhou troops had no intention of killing officials and rebelling, but everyone needed to know their place and not make things difficult for others.

The people of the prefectural and county yamens certainly understood their place. They knew perfectly well that if Xuzhou had not made arrangements in advance, the city would have already descended into chaos, with looting and plundering running rampant. As for those towering city walls, they were no obstacle at all — even without cannons, countless people would have rushed to open the gates from inside to curry favor. Since everyone understood this so clearly, it was best not to recklessly do anything wrong. So they simply decided to be considerate of the Xuzhou forces and keep the government troops under watch first, to avoid bringing trouble upon the city's elders and folk.

The gentry of Ziyang were quite supportive of the Prefect and Magistrate's arrangements — these were good officials who truly had the people's interests at heart. Some even contacted several squad commanders within the government forces, so that if anyone acted rashly, righteous men would emerge from within the ranks. In the end, the Defender of Ziyang and the two battalion commanders were permitted to take their savings and leave with their families. The common soldiers had no courage whatsoever; they surrendered their weapons and came out of the city to give themselves up. They had all heard that the Xuzhou forces were fairly lenient — farming for one's meals was far better than enduring the bitter hardships of a soldier's life.

Only after receiving Zhao Jin's permission did Yanzhou Prefecture begin sending urgent dispatches to Jining, reporting that Xuzhou bandit soldiers were advancing north with malicious intent, that all of Yanzhou Prefecture was resolved to resist, but being outnumbered, they begged the court and the provincial government to send swift reinforcements...

It would make one not know whether to laugh or cry — only after Zhao Jin had led his great army north from Jining along the canal did the urgent dispatches go out from the prefectural seat, and they were in absolutely no hurry, simply following along behind the Zhao family army's main column. By this time, there were no government troops left in the vast Yanzhou Prefecture.

"... At present, the only forces in Shandong are the newly recruited Liao troops in Dengzhou Prefecture, numbering a few thousand, incapable of forming any real fighting strength. Even if they were to march out now, they would be of no consequence. The thousand-odd government troops in Jinan Prefecture have all withdrawn into the prefectural seat — there is nothing to worry about there. If the government troops from the Deng-Lai Garrison and Jinan Prefecture come to fight us head-on, they will simply be throwing their lives away. If they try to move along the flanks and cut off our rear, the Teng County Regiment, Yizhou Regiment, and those garrison battalions will give them a good show..."

After the various divisions of the Zhao family army assembled beneath the walls of Jining, they struck camp and set out. When they made camp near Liangshan in Dongping Department, Zhao Jin summoned all the generals for a council of war. The atmosphere in the command tent could not be called tense — there had been no resistance whatsoever along this march. Only local gentry and wealthy landowners came bringing wine, meat, and provisions to comfort the troops, and the bolder ones even brought able-bodied young men to join their ranks. Everyone believed the heavens were about to change.

There was fighting, but it was not between the Zhao family army and government troops. Rather, it was the Zhao family army's cavalry ranging out in all directions, sweeping away the bandits, thugs, and local bullies who were falsely using the Xuzhou name to loot and plunder. And that was no different from hunting game.

On the table lay a relatively simple sand table, proposed by Zhao Jin and crafted by several captured missionaries, using clay and fine sand as materials. The general contours of the terrain — cities, villages, hills, rivers, and so on — were all marked upon it, making everything far more intuitive to see. Zhao Jin held a thin wooden rod as he pointed and explained.

"There will be no large-scale battles within the three western prefectures of Shandong. But when we take the cities, the local officials and powerful gentry inside may organize civilian militias to defend the walls. However, our artillery this time is sufficiently large, and we have planted agents within those key cities. That will pose no obstacle."

At Zhao Jin's words, smiles appeared on the faces of all the commanders in the tent. In the past, the Zhao camp's greatest headache had been high walls and deep moats — no one could bear to expend their elite household troops and soldiers in costly assaults. But now, a single cannonade and any city wall or gate would be blasted into rubble. Those rolling logs, stone blocks, and arrows up on the battlements were nothing but a joke in the face of artillery.

"The key to Shandong is Linqing city. Our northern advance base camp will be established there. Of the three prefectures — Dongchang, Jinan, and Hejian — only the Linqing area can supply us with sufficient provisions. According to intelligence from the Internal Guard, the Xuanfu government troops have only just passed Liangxiang, and the Jizhen government troops are still a day away from Tianjin. If nothing unexpected happens, the decisive battle will be fought in Hejian Prefecture. Our advance and retreat will both depend on Linqing, so that place must be firmly secured!"

When a great army marches, provisions and water must be considered at every moment. Without them, there is no point in discussing combat strength. Moreover, the water routes are of immense significance for transporting supplies and baggage. With this premise in mind, and looking at the enemy's objectives, the marching routes can already be roughly confirmed. The government troops will certainly assemble at Tianjin and then advance south along the canal. Apart from the waterway itself, only the canal line can supply a great army's provisions in sufficient quantity.

So-called surprise forces and flanking detachments are merely deployments made within a distance of one to two days from each other, and even those carry great risk. In a clash of a hundred thousand men such as this, the overall strategic picture is easy to discern.

"The court's intentions actually lead to the same destination as our army's by different paths. We plan to establish base camps at Jining and Linqing, while they plan to establish theirs at Tianjin and Linqing. The Ministry of Revenue has already sent men to Linqing to stockpile provisions, and the Li family is also helping us allocate and hoard supplies. Judging by the current marching speed, our army will certainly reach Linqing first. But if someone there attempts some extreme act, it would pose a great risk to us. Gentlemen, this campaign must be absolutely flawless — we cannot tolerate the slightest risk. The cavalry will set out first to seize control of the granaries outside Linqing city. We do not seek to take the city, but we must secure the granaries. If we fail to secure them, we do not fear defeat, but this time we will not be able to break out of Shandong!"

The layout of Linqing Department, situated in the northern part of Dongchang Prefecture, was much the same as Jining Department in Yanzhou Prefecture — the canal lay outside the city, and the granaries and prosperous districts were also outside the city walls.

During the first lunar month, when the Xuzhou forces fought a great battle with the government troops near Dongping Department and the government troops were routed, all of Linqing Department had been thrown into a panic. Many people went to Patrolman Li and his son to express their loyalty to Xuzhou. Some even kowtowed directly before Patrolman Li and his son, shouting "Long live the Heavenly King, ten thousand years, ten thousand times ten thousand years!" Only when Xuzhou voluntarily withdrew its troops did things quiet down.

What followed was that mad plan of Eunuch Wei, Wei Zhongxian, which once again plunged Linqing Department into fear and dread. Then Eunuch Wei was recalled, and the court moved to offer amnesty and enlistment to Xuzhou. After that, the pure-stream officials at court proposed an even madder plan — to overcome an extremely mad plan, you could only be even more extreme and mad than it. But this only brought worry and terror to the great merchants and gentry of Linqing Department.

Although there had been a Holy Maiden of the Smelling Incense Sect within the city, and men like Patrolman Li who were deeply entangled with Xuzhou, Linqing Department was, after all, still Ming territory, under the rule of imperial law. Once the Ministry of Revenue at court and the Provincial Governor's office sent their men, Linqing Department was spurred into motion.

The court was willing to put up silver, and with the authority of the Ministry of Revenue bearing down, plus the tacit approval of the powerful backers behind the grain merchants, those grain merchants who had been sucking the lifeblood of the canal transport system began — willingly or not — to disgorge it back. But all of this was merely changes on the account books. The many granaries along the canal docks saw little actual movement in or out; it was simply a matter of such-and-such grain depot or granary now being assigned to a certain party.

What made many in Linqing not know whether to laugh or cry was that while the Ministry of Revenue and the Provincial Governor's office were scouring for grain, the Li family and Cloud Mountain Trading were also purchasing. The two sides did not interfere with each other, and there were even instances where they bid up prices against each other at some merchant's establishment. This was not strange, really — if it were an ordinary merchant house, the officials would have sent clerks and runners with sealing strips and simply commandeered the goods. But those who dealt in the canal grain trade were no easy targets. If you dared commandeer, your official post would be gone by the next day. These great merchants, bound by countless threads to the pure-stream grandees, were already holding their noses and working for the nation this time; they deserved to be compensated with high purchase prices.

Based on everyone's past experience, they had all assumed that Xuzhou would once again be forced to fight a defensive battle, that the court would send a great army south, and the battlefield would likely still be within Yanzhou Prefecture, near Jining. Who could have imagined that this time the Xuzhou Zhao family army would react so swiftly? While the court was still mustering its forces, they had already finished assembling at Jining and were heading toward Dongchang Prefecture. Anyone could see that Linqing city was a target they were bound to move against.

Originally, all of Linqing Department had been very warm toward the men sent by the Ministry of Revenue and the provincial capital. After the news arrived, the warmth rapidly cooled. The man from the provincial capital, however, was not one to dither — within a single two-hour period after receiving the news, he promptly took his people and headed back to Jinan. Why the delay of one two-hour period? He needed to crate and cart away all the perks and benefits he had scooped up in Linqing Department; otherwise, this trip would have been for nothing.

The Ministry of Revenue Secretary, Pan Hejian, who had been dispatched, made his decision rather quickly. He gathered his retinue, guards, and soldiers together, then had the courtyard gates and house doors tightly shut. The people keeping an eye on the place in Linqing city all thought it was a joke. This Secretary Pan of the Ministry of Revenue, of Donglin background, had been shouting loud slogans since arriving in Linqing, constantly talking about working for the nation. Yet the silver the grain merchants sent over, the women they escorted to his door — he accepted them all with a smile. It was truly hard to see where the "pure" was.

Gleaming white silver and gold were laid out before the hall, already divided into equal shares. At the sight of this wealth, the retinue, guards, and servants all stared wide-eyed. The sharp-eyed among them could even recognize that this was the very same bounty the grain merchants had delivered — each share had to be at least a hundred taels or so. Taken away to buy a house or some land, it would be enough to live comfortably for quite a few years.

Pan Hejian wore his official robes, but the hem of his long gown was bound up tight with cords. He held a long sword in his hand, his face full of grim resolve as he declared: "Gentlemen, the court's great army moves slowly, but the Xuzhou rebels come swiftly. The traitors will certainly reach Linqing city first. The provisions outside the city will likely all fall into the rebels' hands, becoming the capital with which they rebel and plague the realm. I fear the Xuzhou bandits had this very scheme in mind from the start. Worse still, there are treacherous scoundrels colluding with the rebels outside the city, stockpiling provisions for them — truly disregarding all righteousness, utterly despicable!"

The retinue, guards, and servants below only stared at the gold and silver, showing no interest in Secretary Pan's lecture. Who didn't know about these dealings? They were no secret. What everyone cared about most right now was what Secretary Pan intended to do by bringing out so much gold and silver.

"This official has studied the books and understands the great principles. I am resolved to be loyal to my sovereign and serve the nation. How can I sit idly by and watch Linqing Department fall into the hands of the rebel army!" Secretary Pan declared with righteous grandeur. Before his words had even faded, some people stepped back several paces. They were here to run errands, serve, and earn a living — they had no desire to follow him into battle against the rebels, or defend the city, or anything of the sort. That would be seeking their own deaths.

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