Chapter 673: Yongcheng County?

"That's how it is. Our lord's yearly profits north and south of the Yangtze—outsiders all say he's greedy for money, but who knows how much of it is spent on us brothers? Weapons, armor, horses, daily food and expenses—every single thing costs silver!"

"Exactly! They say we cost too much? Send us out to fight those unpaid, starving beggar troops just once—a dozen of us can take on hundreds of them, even over a thousand!"

"If this matter succeeds, none of us will have to worry about the future..." someone said, tongue thick from drink.

Ma Chonghao pretended not to hear that remark. He raised his wine bowl again and declared with heroic bravado, "Today the brothers are gathered in joy—drink up, drink up!"

Late at night, the city gates had long since closed, yet the Qinhuai River district showed no sign of nighttime quiet. The strains of string and bamboo music, the songs of warblers and chatter of swallows—it remained as bustling as ever. The noble household retainers had all dispersed after their hearty drinking, leaving Ma Chonghao sitting there alone.

The tavern keeper, having received his instructions, sent the waiters to clear away the cold leftovers. A pot of strong tea was brewed, and delicate pastries were set out. In addition, a wooden bucket and basin were brought over. Ma Chonghao was thoroughly drunk and kept vomiting violently at intervals.

After vomiting several times in succession, the waiters, noses wrinkled in distaste, cleaned up after him. Eventually, with nothing left to bring up, Ma Chonghao slumped in his chair, his face a waxy yellow—clearly in extreme discomfort. His personal attendant Ma Liu, standing beside him, offered a tea bowl, but Ma Chonghao shook his head slightly.

"Master, why drink so much?" Ma Liu couldn't help saying.

"If I didn't drink this much, how could I get close and build ties with this bunch? Damn it all—why do these blade-wielding, spear-brandishing roughnecks love to guzzle so much?" Ma Chonghao grumbled weakly.

Ma Liu hesitated, then spoke again: "Master, we've already made arrangements with their masters. When the time comes, we just lead them there..."

"... Household troops and family soldiers are the lifeblood of each clan. The ones who can lead them and take charge are never outsiders—they're either clansmen from branch families or illegitimate sons. They count as family to that side too. If we don't keep them well maintained, no one will do the work for us, and worse, they might ruin things..." After explaining a few sentences, Ma Chonghao covered his mouth. Ma Liu hurriedly brought the wooden bucket over again.

It was reckoned to be past midnight before Ma Chonghao had the strength to rise from his seat. Supported by Ma Liu, he slowly descended the stairs. Outside the tavern, a carriage had been hired on short notice. Six armed guards in close-fitting attire, blades at their waists, watched the surroundings warily.

Ma Liu was about to help Ma Chonghao into the carriage, but Ma Chonghao, squinting at the driver who wore an ingratiating smile, merely waved his hand and said, "He's an outsider—not convenient. We'll walk a bit ourselves."

The carriage was dismissed. The six guards consciously spread out at a great distance. Although Nanjing enforced a night curfew, the city patrol soldiers had no authority over someone of Ma Chonghao's stature, so there was no need to worry about that trouble.

"Master, we're mustering troops on our own. Even if we go, we'll have no proper standing. Why not seek out the civil officials? If they take the lead, they can mobilize even more..."

"Foolish. Those civil officials devour people without spitting out the bones. Let them set their eyes on this matter, and what do you think we'd be left with? Worse, they might push the blame onto us afterward. If we go ourselves, as long as the evidence of guilt is irrefutable, it can be treated as an emergency measure taken out of expediency. Once it's a settled case, no one can say a word. However many families go, that's how many share the spoils. If civil officials get involved—that Wang Youshan may have lost influence, but who knows if someone might tip him off?"

They walked on in silence for a while longer. Ahead, soldiers carrying lanterns approached to question them. A guard went over and exchanged a few words to deal with it. Ma Chonghao remained silent. As their temporary lodgings came into view, Ma Chonghao suddenly murmured, "His Majesty's health grows worse by the day, and the Zheng family's prospects are declining with each passing day. We must hurry back, use this silver to maneuver ourselves into another post. As long as we can secure a critical position in the capital, silver, glory, wealth, and rank—all will be ours..."

Xiong Tingbi, the Liaodong Military Commissioner, citing that the tribal chieftain troops were elite and fit for deployment, submitted a memorial requesting the transfer of eight thousand soldiers from the Huguang Pacification Commission, five thousand from the Yongning Pacification Commission in Sichuan, four thousand from the Youyang Pacification Commission, and three thousand from the Shizhu Pacification Commission, to reinforce Liaodong. He further requested that each commander lead his own troops in person and that a famous general be appointed as supreme commander to directly command the combined army. The memorial stated that historically, tribal troops were only deployed to nearby regions, and transferring them to the northeast meant a long, exhausting march. They should be given considerate treatment, the regular tribal officials should be granted additional honorary titles, and the soldiers should be given resettlement silver as encouragement.

The Wanli Emperor approved this and ordered the Ministry of War to implement it.

When this news spread, those who understood the situation could only smile bitterly, though they were helpless to do otherwise. Everyone knew this was a viable approach. The border garrisons could not be relied upon, and the capital garrison troops had to guard the capital and could not be moved. Of course, if the capital garrison were truly sent to Liaodong, the defeat would likely be even more disastrous. The only ones left to pin hopes on were these so-called tribal wolf soldiers. The equipment of these southwestern tribal troops might not be better than that of the Great Ming's own soldiers, but they still possessed a measure of wild ferocity. With that ferocity, they still had some courage on the battlefield. As for many of the Great Ming's armies and soldiers, they had not a shred of courage left.

"Big Brother, the former Shandong Governor Li Changgeng has been appointed to oversee the Liaodong military funds and has gone to Tianjin as Vice Minister of Revenue. The Shandong Governor is now Wang Zaijin." Wang Zhaojing flipped through the letters page by page. Shandong bordered Xuzhou, and Wang Youshan often mentioned developments there in his correspondence.

The letters Wang Youshan kept writing from the capital contained Liaodong garrison field reports and secret intelligence gathered from the Ministry of War and other sources, court developments, the situation in the provinces surrounding Xuzhou and within the Southern Metropolitan Region, as well as general affairs of the realm. On closer thought, the selection of content was rather subtle, and only Zhao Jin and his comrades could fully grasp the implications.

"Wang Zaijin's Ten Strategies for Liaodong: First, strictly enforce the maritime ban. Second, increase patrols. Third, defend Jinzhou and Gaizhou. Fourth, consolidate Shandong. Fifth, forge alliances with the northwestern tribes. Sixth, protect Korea. Seventh, encourage the generals and officials. Eighth, provide relief to the soldiers. Ninth, broadly employ officials. Tenth, guard against the winter campaign." The reason Wang Zaijin was singled out was precisely because of his discourse on the Liaodong situation.

Hearing this, Zhao Jin merely sneered and said, "Empty words. It seems like he's said quite a lot, and it all sounds very reasonable, but no matter who goes to Liaodong, these are the very things that must be done—absolutely must be done. It's like eating and drinking in daily life. Is it even worth mentioning?"

Wang Zhaojing laughed along and said, "This is exactly how those so-called pure critics operate. Whether it succeeds or not, whether it's good or bad—none of that matters. The key is to say it first. That's enough. The phrase 'seizing the initiative by speaking first' is rather apt here."

Everyone in the room laughed. They had originally thought that once this census began, each of them would be so busy they wouldn't have time to touch the ground, with few chances to gather. Yet from the very start, not only could everyone reunite with their families for the Mid-Autumn Festival, their daily routines hadn't changed much either. This was because too many people in Xuzhou had come forward on their own initiative to negotiate, offering up their own household details in exchange—all to fend off the Liaodong levy. Who knew how much trouble this had saved the Zhao Character Camp.

After Wang Zhaojing finished, Ruhui spoke up from the side with a smile: "Yesterday, a clerk from the Revenue Office of Yongcheng County came. He wanted to ask the Master what exactly the plan is for Yongcheng. If the Liaodong levy is to be collected, they'll set aside a large share for us. If it's not to be collected, he asks the Master to give them a clear answer so the people in their yamen can make preparations."

Zhao Jin nodded. Ruhui continued to elaborate: "The Master knows the situation there. The land in Yongcheng County is divided up among six great households. One of these six families has produced a Provincial Graduate, while the other five are local magnates whose power has been passed down for generations. The county's own bailiffs and runners can't touch them at all—they can only think about using government troops. But those five families have close ties with us; they've helped us considerably with the salt and trade routes. The yamen is also afraid that these families will come to us for help, and then they'd be put in an impossible position. So they're sounding us out in advance."

"All five of those families have sent people, haven't they? And the Provincial Graduate's family approached through Zhaojing's connections?" Zhao Jin asked casually.

Ruhui nodded and said, "Those six families sent people to inquire back in mid-July. At the time, we gave no reply at all. I made some inquiries—originally, the Yongcheng County yamen also wanted to wait and see. But word is that a new county magistrate is about to take office. A new official taking up his post—and they say he's a Presented Scholar from this year's examination, who knows nothing at all. Everyone's afraid he'll make a mess of things when he arrives, so they want to settle this before then."

Zhao Jin pondered briefly, then spoke: "The Liaodong levy harms the vitality of the region. Sooner or later, we'll have to take that area into our own hands anyway, so the levy cannot be collected. But there's no need to let them do this favor, and no need for us to offend the people in the county yamen. We'll need to use those people in the future. Based on the tax revenues of previous years, raise it by twenty to thirty percent. Let them negotiate and divide it among themselves."

Having said this, Zhao Jin turned to Wang Zhaojing with a smile: "Coming to Yongcheng as county magistrate—it seems this Presented Scholar didn't rank very high!"

In the ranking of Presented Scholars, the very best entered the Hanlin Academy. The next tier went into probationary administrative study, taking exams again after a few years and then being assigned according to their results—to places like the Six Ministries and the Chief Surveillance Bureau, starting from the rank of junior seventh-grade officials. The lowest tier was sent directly to local posts, generally starting as seventh-grade county magistrates. But this was not an absolute rule; the Presented Scholars themselves also had some power of choice.

"Not necessarily. These days, the fashion is to serve a few years in the provinces, scrape together enough wealth, then return to the capital for examinations and maneuvering. Attacking from both fronts—it's the most convenient path." Wang Zhaojing chuckled.

Ji Xiang, sitting to the side, shook his head. He seemed about to speak but then held back. Ever since Zhao Jin and Chen Sheng had spoken to him that time, he had become much more cautious with his words. Seeing everyone look his way, he finally said with emotion, "Studying to become an official really is a pleasant life."

"For those who only think about enjoying wealth and rank, studying to become an official is indeed pleasant. For people like us, it truly isn't pleasant at all," Zhao Jin said with a smile.

Ji Xiang nodded vigorously and said with some excitement, "Xuzhou barely has a population of three hundred thousand, yet with Big Brother leading us, we've gathered nearly a hundred thousand. Only we could accomplish something so great! For the sake of this, who needs that kind of pleasant life!"

After all, several thousand people had been sent down to conduct the census and background checks. Because of the Liaodong levy, those below cooperated readily. Although the precise figures were still under detailed investigation, the rough totals had already emerged. It was only then that everyone realized the long-held assumption that Xuzhou's one department and four counties had a population of five hundred thousand was wrong. Based on observation alone, the difference between ten thousand and twenty thousand people was actually imperceptible. Within the department seat's jurisdiction, inside and outside the city, there were about one hundred fifty thousand. Xiao County had about sixty thousand. Dangshan had just over thirty thousand. Both Feng County and Pei County were in the range of forty to fifty thousand.

Thank you everyone. It's the end of the month—throw all your monthly tickets and tips at Great Ming Wufu. Thank you everyone!