GBP Chapter 408 An Interlude in the Military Garrison
Chapter 408 An Interlude in the Military Garrison
"Farmers don't have to pay taxes, and they even get paid in silver—I heard it's the same as soldiers, called 'salary'—isn't that what tenant farmers are like? I never thought that after traveling all the way from Shandong to Qiongzhou Prefecture, I'd end up being a tenant farmer again. But tenant farmers in Shandong don't have to undergo training..."
This was the eighth time Zhu Jinhu had heard such remarks. He didn't join the discussion like the others, but simply continued working silently. They had to finish turning over this patch of land before sunset, or all ten of them would be punished. According to regulations, the villagers were divided into groups of ten, supposedly called "classes." Each class had to complete a set amount of work each day, and every three days they had to practice—a strange exercise involving marching in formation.
The one who said this was Lan Lin, a tall and sturdy young man. He came from a large clan, and not only were half of the people in his class his own clan, but many people in the nearby classes were also from the same clan. In addition, he was big, so he quickly became the leader of about a hundred villagers in this area.
Lan Lin disliked this restrictive life, having to work and endure inexplicable drills. He often took advantage of the absence of the guards to grumble loudly. Whenever this happened, the surrounding soldiers would gather around him, flattering and agreeing with him. Only a thin young man always worked silently, seemingly indifferent to him.
Lan Lin stared intently at the thin figure's back, feeling deeply annoyed and ignored. In this area, aside from the soldiers with muskets, the local militia wouldn't tolerate anyone as arrogant as him, absolutely not! He had to find a reason to teach him a lesson today.
He walked over, poked at the clods of dirt in front of the young man with his foot, and said provocatively, "You're very capable and willing to work? Why don't you do the work of the rest of us nine?"
Zhu Jinhu has a tendency to stutter, so he generally avoids speaking in front of strangers, which easily gives others an impression of arrogance. He glanced at Lan Lin's physique, feeling somewhat intimidated, but what came out of his mouth was: "Get out of the way!"
What he actually wanted to say was, "I only do my job; I can't do all your jobs by myself." But such a long sentence was easy to stutter, and he didn't want to be laughed at, so he preferred to be misunderstood by using the three concise words.
Lan Lin was instantly enraged and cursed, "You son of a bitch! I'll beat you to death, you bastard!" He pounced on Zhu Jinhu and gave him a good beating. The other villagers, not wanting to miss out on the fun, all gathered around and cheered.
The commotion was so loud that it quickly attracted the attention of the soldiers patrolling nearby. Two fully armed soldiers ran over, kicked away the onlookers, raised their rifles, and used the butts of their rifles to smash down on the two men fighting on the ground.
Lan Lin's ferocity was unleashed. He ignored the blows to his head and back from the butt of the gun, focusing only on punching Zhu Jinhu relentlessly. Zhu Jinhu was no match for him. Taking a beating, in desperation, he bit Lan Lin's left wrist and wouldn't let go.
Lan Lin's wrist was bitten and bled, and his head and back were hit by the butt of a gun. He lost his mind for a moment and grabbed Zhu Jinhu's neck with his right hand. Zhu Jinhu couldn't break free and felt like he was about to suffocate.
Seeing this, the soldier slammed the butt of his rifle hard into the back of Lan Lin's head, knocking the big guy unconscious. When they pulled him away, they found that the boy who had been choked was also unconscious.
“They have the energy to fight after working all day? They must be bored out of their minds.” The soldier concluded, then called his comrades over to drag the two fighters away. “Lock these two up. They’ll go hungry all day tomorrow. The rest of the work will be done by the eight men in this squad. Starting tomorrow, the workload for this squad will double!”
Upon hearing this, the onlookers immediately scattered, leaving only the remaining eight students from Lan Lin and Zhu Jinhu's class with long faces. "We didn't do anything! Look who got in the way of this fight?"
The military settlement model unique to Lingao is quite different from the traditional military settlement system of the Ming Dynasty. The former managed the soldiers as reserve troops, who were only responsible for reclaiming wasteland and not for paying taxes. The ownership of the land and the output belonged to the Qiongzhou camp, and they were paid a salary. They were required to perform some tasks. The latter, in the later period of the dynasty, completely exploited the military households as cattle and horses. The military households became the private serfs of the officers, and they could hardly make a living. They could not get out of the system and were even worse off than beggars.
This new military settlement model was something that Qiongzhou Camp had no experience with, and they were feeling their way across the river. Inevitably, some problems arose during the implementation and adjustment process. Lan Lin's complaints and the fight with Zhu Jinhu were just a minor episode and did not cause any major disturbance. The military settlement involving more than 4,000 young men was still progressing in an orderly manner.
Liu Ye had no time to pay attention to such trivial matters; he was busy planning a good show.
Liu Ye was unwilling to accept his fate. He had hoped to become a general, holding the seal of a general and wielding power over a region, but instead ended up as a nominal deputy general, not even a properly appointed one. He needed to gain greater political resources and influence within the Ming Dynasty's system, and to legitimately expand his power. Becoming a garrison commander was an excellent way to do this. Since, according to Lin Tianming's relay of Wen Tiren's words, Chongzhen intended to suppress him, he might as well orchestrate a scheme to break through this artificial constraint and achieve his goal.
He summoned Shimazu Chiyo and Van Bommel and instructed them: "As envoys of the Qiongzhou Camp, each of you must return to your hometown and deliver my letter. By the end of October at the latest, I want to see samurai from the Satsuma Domain and armed Dutch merchant ships appear along the coast of Fujian and attack the coastal government. If you refuse, you will bear the consequences."
Chiyo Shimazu and Van Bommel were not originally acquainted, but when they looked at each other, they felt a sense of shared misfortune. They saw self-deprecation and helplessness in each other's eyes.
Both the Satsuma Domain and the Dutch East India Company were defeated by the Qiongzhou Camp, so easily crushed that they dared not resist. Who would dare refuse Liu Ye's seemingly unreasonable request? Although Shimazu Chiyo and Van Bommel had broken away from their original forces to serve Liu Ye, they still had an unbreakable bond with the Shimazu family and the East India Company. They couldn't bear to see their former employers possibly having to accept this somewhat embarrassing assignment.
Seeing their expressions, Liu Ye softened his tone: "You don't need to give me that look. As long as you do a good job, I will give them appropriate benefits afterward. Moreover, the Qiongzhou Camp will pay for their travel expenses, so they don't have to pay out of their own pockets."
Liu Ye didn't see their attitudes toward their former masters as a bad thing. Although Shimazu Chiyo had been effectively expelled by her father and brothers, the blood of the Shimazu family still flowed in her veins; Van Bommel had served the Qiongzhou Camp for less than a year, but he had worked for the East India Company for over a decade and was a veteran employee. If the two of them turned their backs on their former masters and severed all ties, he felt that such people had no loyalty whatsoever and were not worth employing.