Chapter 1302: The Jinan Military Defense Circuit

To Hong Chengchou, this was utter contempt and disdain, as if the officials weren't even worth acknowledging. Clerks, runners, plus the local gentry could already handle all local affairs perfectly well—so what use was an imperial examination civil official like you? What made Hong Chengchou even more uncomfortable was that Xuzhou's approach wasn't wrong. This kind of contempt, this kind of reality, deeply unsettled him—a man of humble origins who owed everything he had today to the imperial examinations.

There was another point Hong Chengchou was equally unwilling to discuss openly, for fear that his personal attendants and guards might be loose-tongued and let it slip. If Xuzhou did things this way, wouldn't it require a vast number of salaried clerks and runners? Supporting so many people to handle affairs—how much effort would that take, how much coin and grain would it cost? If they kept on this path, they might well be dragged down to ruin. This was probably the path to certain death and defeat. Perhaps this was a sign that the Great Ming's fate had not yet run out—this was the opportunity for loyal ministers and righteous men.

Just think about it: in the Great Ming yamens, very few people held official rank, yet they ended up supporting a huge number of unranked personnel, squeezing the localities until the heavens raged and the people seethed with resentment. If you, Xuzhou, are supporting this many people now, you'll surely end up supporting even more in the future. When that happens, local resentment will be even fiercer—how could the situation possibly remain stable? This is seeking your own death. But Hong Chengchou always felt there was something wrong with this line of reasoning, which was another reason he didn't voice it openly.

The streets of Jinan were much the same as Jining—one could see small squads of patrol runners. In the past, seeing government runners on the streets hadn't been so easy. But after arriving at his destination—the yamen of the Jinan Military Defense Circuit—the area around the government offices was desolate and quiet. Everyone capable of doing work had been put to use by Xuzhou; those who were useless had been cast aside. Some people were employed, some were useless, so naturally there was no way to unite with a single purpose. And as it happened, those walking the streets were the most useful, the most capable local bosses.

Seeing these dilapidated government buildings, Hong Chengchou felt an inexplicable sense of stability. All along the journey he had not entered any government offices, and though everything seemed normal in the towns along the way, he could sense a subtle strangeness. This had kept Hong Chengchou somewhat tense and vigilant. Looking at the relaxed smiles on the faces of his attendants and guards, Hong Chengchou knew they felt much the same as he did, though they might not have thought it through quite so clearly.

He presented his name card and stated his purpose. The gatekeeper dared not be negligent—ushering him in while sending word inside. A Left Assistant Surveillance Commissioner was, in practice, also a Circuit Intendant. The Jinan Military Defense Circuit very likely also held the concurrent title of Assistant Surveillance Commissioner, so the two were of equal rank. Yet Hong Chengchou was about to proceed to the capital to take up office, which clearly elevated his status by a degree. Not to mention that Jinan was now enemy territory—holding office here was merely for show, innately a few notches lower than those outside. The gatekeeper, who handled comings and goings, naturally understood this.

The Military Defense Circuit yamen was responsible for local military preparedness. In recent years, the Jinan Military Defense Circuit had been deeply entangled with the Dengzhou and Laizhou Garrisons, with vast quantities of coin and grain passing through—this position had become a lucrative post. But after the peace negotiations, Shandong was to have no Great Ming government troops. The Jinan Military Defense Circuit not only lost its gravy train but became a sinecure outright. Prefects, department magistrates, and county magistrates still had localities to govern, but the Military Defense Circuit was now just an empty shell. Whether the court even paid its salary was an open question.

"... No sense of reading the room, coming to scrounge at a time like this!" As Hong Chengchou was being led inside, he could hear the yamen attendants gossiping without the slightest discretion—or perhaps they meant for him to hear it.

The Great Ming literati had a tradition: taking the name cards of high ministers and important figures, they would travel to the provinces to scrounge food, drink, and money, specifically targeting those in positions of real power and fat appointments. The hosts could hardly afford to offend anyone, so they had no choice but to hold their noses and entertain. There had once been a great frontier general who, in order to entertain such scrounging guests, had his wife and concubines pawn their jewelry and head ornaments. This Jinan Military Defense Circuit had been a lucrative post for some years and must have entertained no shortage of guests coming and going. They clearly took him for one of those people. Hong Chengchou couldn't be bothered to argue; he only found it amusing.

He was led into the reception quarters. By all rights, since their status was equal and Hong Chengchou was delivering a letter at someone else's behest, the Jinan Military Defense Circuit Intendant he was calling upon should have come out to welcome him, or at the very least been waiting there. Yet upon entering the reception hall, there was no sign of the man—only a private secretary with an apologetic expression, repeatedly begging Hong Chengchou's indulgence and asking him to wait a moment. His master was currently settling accounts with the Xuzhou rebels, negotiating the withdrawal route, and handing over encampments and armories—he simply could not get away for the moment, but would rush over immediately.

"Master Hong, please wait just a short while. These Xuzhou rebels conduct affairs no differently than merchants—every account and every item must be checked through one by one, with not the slightest discrepancy tolerated. Where has military affairs ever been handled with such meticulousness? Yet for our government troops to withdraw from this Shandong intact, we rely entirely on Xuzhou's permission, so we can only indulge their fussing. It has, incidentally, dragged out some muddled accounts left by our predecessors." The clerical secretary kept Hong Chengchou company over tea and conversation, explaining with a smile.

Although the Shandong government troops had suffered several disastrous defeats at the hands of the Zhao family army, and apart from the garrisons in Dengzhou and Laizhou prefectures, which had been replenished with Liao troops, all other units everywhere else had long since been gutted, with only two or three out of ten remaining—still, there were garrison troops left after all. The court certainly had no intention of handing these soldiers over to Zhao Jin. Withdrawing them to Northern Zhili to strengthen the capital region's defenses would be a good move. This required an official like the Military Defense Circuit Intendant to step forward and coordinate.

Hong Chengchou could reason through this point. He politely said it was no trouble, that his own schedule was not pressing, and waiting a while was fine. The clerical secretary who had come was also frantically busy; after keeping him company for a few words of chat, he excused himself.

In the past, when a figure like Hong Chengchou came to visit a government office, the proprieties would certainly have been complete—courteous and attentive. Now it was cold and desolate. Whether there was no one to attend to him or no one bothered to attend to him, Hong Chengchou actually found it rather comfortable. His personal attendant, however, was somewhat indignant—what kind of hospitality was this, where a guest had to pour his own tea?

"... This fellow Hong is certainly fortunate. The capital's decree appointing younger men had only just been issued, and he was already on the road. This path to glory is well and truly secured—not even any lingering troubles..."

Had the city of Jinan no sense of decorum at all? Hong Chengchou's personal attendant instantly flared up and was about to raise his voice to teach the speaker a lesson, but Hong Chengchou smilingly stopped him. Listening to others discuss oneself was actually quite interesting; he took it in stride. Judging by the manner of speech, the speaker was very likely an advisor working here in the Jinan Military Defense Circuit yamen.

"... Can't really call it luck. A visitor once mentioned this man—said he came from a poor family in Fujian. Think about the current situation: a mere impoverished scholar from Min, who hasn't married into anyone's family, yet now has such prospects—how could that be luck? The way I see it, it was during his tenure as Vice Commissioner of Education that he spread around a great many favors. That's how he climbed the ladder step by step..."

Hong Chengchou's smile faded, because the discussion from the adjacent room was not far off the mark. The world was never short of clever people, and Hong Chengchou's career path was easy enough for others to read. The jinshi degree was the most crucial part; serving in the Ministry of Justice to build seniority was also necessary. But as long as one made no major errors, reaching that stage wasn't difficult. What truly laid the foundation for his later success was his posting in Zhejiang, where he oversaw education—in plain terms, he controlled the examination prospects and career futures of the literati and scholars.

In this position of Assistant Education Commissioner, how to cultivate ties with powerful and noble families, how to win over outstanding talents—that depended on one's skill and thoughtfulness. Though what he could actually do was limited to deciding the fate of licentiates and some provincial graduates, behind a single licentiate, behind a single provincial graduate, there often stood grandees of the Six Ministries and Nine Courts, especially in the core Jiangnan region of Hangzhou, Jiaxing, and Huzhou, where literary culture flourished and officials were as thick as clouds. Favors extended naturally earned respect in return. One who knew how to recognize and promote talent would naturally be promoted in turn. Thus, Hong Chengchou's path in Zhejiang had been smooth sailing.

By normal convention, Hong Chengchou would have needed several more years to advance another step, and then he would have reached his ceiling. Whether he could rise further would depend on fate and fortune. But the great war between Xuzhou and the government troops had dragged down so many people, leaving a host of positions suddenly vacant. Naturally, trusted and capable younger men had to be promoted to fill them. In the current state of the realm, those promoted were not meant to enjoy wealth and rank but to get things done. Thus, Hong Chengchou became the top choice. From this perspective, it was indeed good fortune.

Hong Chengchou slowly turned the teacup in his hand, a trace of resolve settling on his face. Those who achieve great things do not fret over minor scruples. To serve the country and the people, one must first reach that position. Once there, he could unfold the ambitions in his heart and properly take in the wealth and splendor of this world. In the present circumstances, there was great peril—but also great opportunity.

As he was lost in thought, he heard a few dry coughs from the next room. The unbridled discussion instantly ceased. Not long after, a middle-aged man in official robes entered the room. At the sight of the fourth-rank civil official's regalia, Hong Chengchou knew the man himself had arrived and hurriedly rose to his feet.

"I've kept Brother Hong waiting—truly discourteous." The middle-aged man was full of apologies the moment he entered. Hong Chengchou had met this Jinan Military Defense Circuit Intendant a few times before, but it had been nearly ten years since they last saw each other. This reunion revealed a face utterly haggard. One could imagine how exhausting and mentally taxing it was to deal with the rebels. Though clearly younger than himself, the man looked older.

Recalling that they were bound by the bond of having passed the imperial examinations in the same year, and reflecting that the other man had served as a prefectural judge in Henan Prefecture and Suzhou Prefecture before arriving at this Jinan Military Defense Circuit posting—a career path subtly similar to his own—and that in these difficult times, he himself was heading to the capital while the other had to deal with rebels and traitors, their circumstances different yet both facing great peril, Hong Chengchou felt a few degrees closer to him.

"Brother Zheng, not at all—think nothing of it." The other's "Brother Hong" might have been a polite form of address, but his own "Brother Zheng" was a way of drawing closer. Zheng Chongjian, Jinan Military Defense Circuit Intendant, a native of Xiangning in Shanxi—Hong Chengchou silently repeated the details in his mind.

The reason Hong Chengchou had made a detour to Jinan was that the Grand Coordinator of Zhejiang had a private letter for him to "conveniently" pass along to Zheng Chongjian. "Coincidentally," the Grand Coordinator of Zhejiang was also a Shanxi man... Hong Chengchou understood his meaning. Anyone could see that he, Hong, had a brilliant future ahead in officialdom—having one's sons, kin, and friends build more connections with him could never be wrong. The Grand Coordinator of Zhejiang was already over sixty, but this Zheng Chongjian was only in his early thirties.

Having passed the metropolitan examination in the same year and on the same list—that was one layer of connection. Meeting once in Jinan added another layer. If they ever needed each other's help in the future, their relationship would be different from that with others. Hong Chengchou understood this, and Zheng Chongjian understood it as well. Both handled the proper measure of closeness with perfect tact.

Close in age, both young and successful, both with smooth official careers, both having risen by their own ability, and with elders intent on fostering ties and friendship between them—though this was essentially their first private conversation, they got along very well, and their topics ran deeper than what a first meeting would normally warrant.

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