SWDnovel Chapter 55 Marshal Mao, you've narrowed your path.
Chapter 55 Marshal Mao, you've narrowed your path.
Chapter 56 Marshal Mao, you've narrowed your path.
Chapter 055 Mao Wenlong remained silent for a long time before suddenly asking, "Where did Commander Chen get the evidence he mentioned earlier?"
"The Southern Garrison of the Embroidered Uniform Guard!"
Chen Ying smiled and said, "Commander Mao, are you aware that the imperial court is not entirely ignorant of the true situation of the Dongjiang Army?"
Mao Wenlong sighed deeply, completely giving up any remaining hope.
He stood up and bowed solemnly to Chen Ying: "Commander Chen, you not only saved the Dongjiang Army today, but also saved me, Mao. I will remember this kindness."
"Marshal Mao is too kind."
"Commander Chen, you are right. I, Mao, should not have been deceived by this."
After much deliberation, Mao Wenlong realized that Chen Boying had indeed pointed him in the right direction, pinning all the blame on Mao Chenglu, which was perfect.
If Mao Wenlong hadn't abandoned the city and fled, resulting in the killing of his entire family, he wouldn't be so angry. The key issue is that Mao Chenglu, that scoundrel, with his rank as a military officer, could have any kind of beautiful woman he wanted. Even if he wanted Korea to send a princess, Korea would have cleaned up the princess's reputation and sent her over with a generous dowry.
This is no exaggeration. After all, Mao Chenglu was the adopted son of Mao Wenlong, a first-rank military officer, and also a third-rank military officer in the Dongjiang Army. In Korea, he was a very important figure.
Mao Wenlong could forgive Mao Chenglu for fleeing without a fight, but Chen Ying slaughtered all of Mao Chenglu's family members in Guangning Youtunwei and pinned the blame on Mao Chenglu, which was actually unfair.
At that time, Mao Chenglu was not yet a military commander; he was just a squad leader leading a group of laborers who had just put down their hoes. Given the circumstances, did anyone really think that Mao Chenglu could handle things flawlessly?
That was just because Mao Wenlong didn't want to pursue the matter. At that time, more than a hundred castles in Liaodong fell one after another. Nurhaci's arrogance was almost the same as that of the Japanese in 1937. The Ming army was forced to run away by the Jurchens, the people of the Ming Dynasty were massacred one after another, and countless cities were burned to the ground.
At that time, Mao Chenglu was not the only one who fled at the first sign of trouble.
As for the struggle between Mao Chengjun and Mao Chenglu, Mao Wenlong understood it better than Chen Ying. The essence of their struggle was the fight for the leadership of the Mao family army, which could also be understood as a struggle for succession in the Dongjiang Army.
Although Mao Wenlong was stubborn, it didn't mean he was truly stupid. How could he not guess Mao Chenglu's true intentions? This was a deception to seize his business.
For a man, there is no greater insult than this.
Mao Wenlong said earnestly, "I will release Fu Yingxing!"
"not enough!"
Chen Ying said calmly, "Doesn't Eunuch Wei have any pride? Simply letting him go is far from enough!"
"I, the commander, will concede 20% of the Maoshan Iron Mine—"
Mao Wenlong felt a pang of pain. For him, 20% of the iron ore was worth more than 200,000 taels of silver, equivalent to more than half a year's salary for the Dongjiang Army.
"That's too little!"
"At most 30%, otherwise it's a fight to the death!"
Chen Ying put down his chopsticks and said seriously, "Commander Mao, let's be frank. What will you gain by breaking ties with Eunuch Wei?"
"this----"
Mao Wenlong said with a bitter smile, "We're fighting for a way to survive, Boying. You don't know how hard it is for us Dongjiang soldiers. The imperial court allocates five or six million taels to Liaoxi every year, but I only get half a million, and that's after going through layers of deductions by the governors of Dengzhou and Laizhou. The brothers are guarding the islands on empty stomachs, patching their armor when it's worn out, and sharpening their swords and spears when they're dull. The Maoshan iron mine is our only way to survive!"
"A way out?"
Chen Ying shook his head and said, "Commander Mao, if you truly want the Dongjiang Army to go further in the future, then don't fall out with Eunuch Wei. Commander Mao, think about it carefully. Apart from Wang Jinglue and Governor Yuan, who in this world is truly loyal to the Dongjiang Army?"
As a hereditary centurion, Mao Wenlong was very clear about the attitude of Ming officials towards military men.
Of course, Chen Ying also knew that Ming Dynasty officials treated military households a thousand times worse than bosses treated employees in later generations.
"General Mao, do you know how much tax our Great Ming Dynasty levied on the Liaodong Peninsula last year?"
"I don't know!"
"Twelve million taels!"
Chen Ying was not a historian and did not know whether the record in "Chou Liao Shuo Hua" was true or false, but the general consensus was that it was about eight or nine million taels.
"Does Marshal Mao know how much of the military pay has been sent to Liaodong?"
"Four or five million taels?"
Mao Wenlong felt this was unfair; the imperial court didn't treat them, the Dongjiang Army, as human beings.
"Not that many. At most, it was only three million six hundred and sixty thousand taels!"
Chen Ying smiled wryly and said, "Even at the peak of the Liaodong military tax collection, only about one-third of the funds actually reached the Liaodong front."
Mao Wenlong stared in disbelief: "How could there be so little?"
"In our Great Ming Dynasty, with its two capitals and thirteen provinces, which year is there without natural disasters and man-made calamities? Take last year as an example: the Yellow River breached in Guidewei, Henan, affecting dozens of prefectures and counties, more than two million people, and destroying hundreds of thousands of houses, including Mr. Chen's home. The imperial court cannot simply turn a blind eye to this, can it?"
Chen Ying continued, "The national treasury is so empty that rats could run through it. Where will the money come from? It can only be diverted from the Liaodong military pay—"
Although the amount of Liaodong military pay reaching the front lines was indeed less, it wasn't entirely due to corruption among officials. Some of it was misappropriated. For example, Man Gui, the general of Datong, demanded more pay from the court. Emperor Tianqi gave him over 600,000 taels of silver. In addition to this 600,000 taels of silver, Datong still owed thirteen months' worth of military pay. Datong was considered relatively well-off; there were problems everywhere.
What was intercepted most by civil officials was not military pay, but the stipends of the princes, which had been owed for decades. Shanxi owed more than one million shi (a unit of dry measure), and Henan owed more than one million six hundred thousand shi.
"Commander Mao, have you figured it out? You're killing the goose that lays the golden eggs, drinking poison to quench your thirst, and more importantly, you've miscalculated."
"Where did we go wrong?"
"It's true that the Maoshan iron mine is easy to mine, but iron smelting requires coal, skilled craftsmen, and time. Even if you could produce a million catties of pig iron a year, who would you sell it to? Although iron prices are high in North Korea, they are dirt poor. How much could they afford? Let alone a million taels of silver, could they even afford to spend 300,000 taels of silver to buy armor?"
"this----"
"Marshal Mao should know that pig iron costs nine copper coins per catty inside the Great Wall. When these irons are transported inside the Great Wall, the tax checkpoints along the way will take away 30% or 40%. Can we really get a million taels? We'd be lucky to get fifty or sixty thousand taels."
Chen Ying continued, "Is it worth it for ten thousand taels of silver?"
Mao Wenlong frowned, but did not refute.
Chen Ying continued, "If this business really succeeds, many people in the court will be envious. Eunuch Wei is the first hurdle, the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Revenue are the second, and the governors of Dengzhou and Laizhou are the third. Do you think the Dongjiang Army alone can withstand so much pressure from all sides?"
Mao Wenlong also felt the malice from the imperial court, which was his most helpless and angry point.
The Dongjiang Army was composed of defeated soldiers and civilians from Liaodong, and was considered the last bloodline of the Liaodong army. They fought on empty stomachs, lacked medical care and medicine, and even lacked complete armor. What made countless Dongjiang soldiers feel most helpless was that when facing the Jurchen white-armored soldiers, their weapons were simply unable to harm them.
"The third mistake, and also the biggest mistake."
Chen Ying looked directly at Mao Wenlong and said, "This humble servant dares to be bold, Commander Mao, you've narrowed your path. That's why the Dongjiang Army is facing such difficulties now!"
Mao Wenlong fell silent instantly. Chen Ying was right; he had indeed narrowed his path. Because he was overconfident, he led 197 men in a surprise attack on Zhenjiang. Not only did he capture Zhenjiang Fort in one fell swoop, but he also achieved the greatest victory since Nurhaci started his rebellion against the Ming Dynasty by defeating a larger force with a smaller one.
In October of the first year of the Tianqi reign, Wang Huazhen sent him five more boats of grain. With the help of more than a thousand recruited soldiers, he launched a surprise attack on various fortresses, including Changdian, Yongdian, Dadian, Kuandian, Aiyang, and Fenghuangcheng, killing more than four thousand Later Jin soldiers. Although most of them were Han soldiers and Mongols, it was still a great victory.
At this point, Mao Wenlong became arrogant. In his eyes, everyone else in the world was useless except for him.
He believed that the predicament of the Dongjiang Army was mainly due to this.
Mao Wenlong walked up to Chen Ying, bowed deeply, and asked, "Boying, what good plan do you have?"
Chen Ying smiled faintly: "There is indeed a good plan, but what benefit would I get?"