Traveling through the late Ming Dynasty to promote Chinese civilization

Chapter 381 Zhu Dadian's Promise

With the "sincerity" of the gold bars, Zhu Dadian's trust in Liu Ye increased dramatically. He had no doubt about the truth of Liu Ye's words. While pleasantly surprised, he also had some concerns: "It's good that you have this intention, and I'm also short of men. However, since you are stationed in Guangdong, transferring you would be quite troublesome. It would require the approval of the Ministry of War, and we would also have to prevent the Governor of Guangdong from obstructing it..."

Liu Ye thought to himself, "You're overthinking it. My main base is in Qiongzhou, and I have no plans to relocate the whole thing here. Shandong is a good place, but it's not as safe as Qiongzhou, so it can only serve as a branch base."

He coughed and offered a "constructive suggestion": "Your Excellency, transferring troops from Guangdong to Shandong is too troublesome, and my gun and cannon factories are all in Qiongzhou, where there are rich iron mines. Shandong doesn't have any decent iron mines, which is very inconvenient. How about this? I'll assign a capable subordinate to lead a group of veterans to recruit young men locally, train an elite force, and incorporate them into the Shandong garrison to protect the security of Shandong and obey Your Excellency's orders." Recruiting and training a new army locally would satisfy Zhu Dadian's need to control an elite armed force without requiring him to relocate to Shandong. In exchange for Zhu Dadian's full support for the immigrants, it was a worthwhile deal. Even after gaining Zhu Dadian's trust, it would greatly facilitate the operation of the Dengzhou-Laizhou governorship and the naval garrison in Dengzhou.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Dadian hesitated, as it differed greatly from his plan to directly recruit Liu Ye. He pondered, "How strong can a temporarily recruited young man be?"

Liu Ye patted his chest and assured, "Please rest assured, Governor. My Qiongzhou Camp trains its troops based on three things: strict military discipline, generous pay, and clear rewards and punishments. As long as we do these three things, even if you give me a bunch of beggars, I can train a strong army."

Although Zhu Dadian did not witness the battle of Qiongzhou Camp firsthand, he learned from other people's descriptions that Qiongzhou Camp remained unmoved in the face of repeated attacks from Liu Zeqing's troops and rebel cavalry, demonstrating strict military discipline and perfect coordination.

"Then it's as you say. But these soldiers should be trained like your Qiongzhou camp, all trained as arquebusiers, though I don't think much of the Ministry of War's arquebuses..."

Liu Ye made the decision: "Please rest assured, Governor, I will provide the arquebuses. You only need to compensate at cost price."

Zhu Dadian nodded in satisfaction: "I will submit a memorial to the court to allocate the necessary funds for establishing this army. The muskets and cannons will be purchased from you, so you won't suffer any losses. As for the pay, these soldiers will receive the same pay as your Qiongzhou camp."

"The governor is wise!"

Liu Ye knew perfectly well that since Zhu Dadian couldn't recruit him directly, he had instead tried to create a musketeer corps similar to the Qiongzhou Camp as a personal guard unit. Once Liu Ye helped him train this unit, he wouldn't have command of it.

However, Liu Ye wasn't worried about benefiting others. As long as he sent enough loyal officers and a group of veteran soldiers, the army built on this foundation could still maintain sufficient influence through its rank-and-file officers and could be quickly taken over if necessary. As for Zhu Dadian, if he remembered correctly, he wouldn't be the Shandong governor for long; next year he would be transferred to Zhongdu Fengyang, overseeing the Grand Canal and concurrently managing Fengyang and four other prefectures. At that time, this new army would still be his, and no one could take it away.

Having resolved the two major concerns of the starving people and his personal guards, Zhu Dadian was in a good mood and took the initiative to say, "Lieutenant General Liu is capable of fighting and training troops. He is a pillar of the court. Regardless of whether you participate in the recapture of Dengzhou this time, based on your merit in killing Li Jiucheng, I will definitely recommend you for promotion to commander-in-chief and take charge of a region."

Liu Ye was overjoyed. If Zhu Dadian, as the Right Vice Censor-in-Chief and Governor of Shandong, strongly recommended him, he could potentially skip two ranks, directly rising from the position of Assistant General to Commander-in-Chief. With such a significant increase in status and position, things would become much easier.

He bowed and said, "Thank you for your kindness, Governor."

Zhu Dadian waved his hand: "Don't thank me yet. I will recommend you to the court, but I'm not absolutely certain. You should prepare yourself mentally for now. Go back to camp and rest. You don't need to participate in the siege. It would be a waste to use those arquebusiers as cannon fodder during the siege."

Liu Ye replied, "This subordinate understands. Then I will not disturb the governor any longer and will take my leave."

Back at the camp, they found Lin San had returned, and Shimazu Chiyo and the Japanese samurai were also there. They quickly asked, "Has Miss Lin been brought here? Was the journey safe?"

Lin San replied, "They've been brought back, and the journey was very smooth. Miss Lin is currently talking with her father in your tent, General."

Liu Ye initially intended to go straight in, but then he thought that since the father and daughter had been reunited after a long separation, it would be best not to disturb them, so he did not enter the tent.

In the tent, Lin Shiyue was advising her father, "Liu Ye's future is limitless; he will definitely not just be a mere military officer in the future. Father should give him his full support, and in the future, you can also use his strength to rise to a higher position..."

Lin Tianming asked doubtfully, "No matter how powerful he is, he's just a military man. The highest he can achieve in his life is a general. How can he help me rise to the top? If you're talking about helping him, I've already been very considerate of him out of respect for you and my uncle..."

Lin Shiyue shook her head repeatedly: "No, no, Father, you've misunderstood. I'm not asking you to mentor your nephews and nieces, but rather to get on his coattails. You haven't been to Uncle's place for years and are unaware of the situation in Guangdong. Liu Ye has already eliminated Zheng Zhilong, the Hongmao, and all the major and minor sea lords in Guangdong and Fujian. From Japan to Southeast Asia, everyone respects him, and all merchant ships have to pay him taxes. His daily income can only be described as mountains of gold and seas of silver. What you see of the Qiongzhou Army is just the tip of the iceberg of his power. In Guangdong, he's on good terms with Uncle and runs a money exchange, practically emptying the coffers of all the wealthy families in Guangzhou; in Qiongzhou, he's a tyrant whose every stomp shakes the ground, and no one, from the prefect to the county magistrate, can do anything about him..."

Lin Tianming was startled, "So arrogant and domineering? I've never heard your uncle mention that..."

Lin Shiyue continued, "In addition, he also piloted a system of monopolizing taxation in three surrounding counties, forcing gentry to pay taxes in unison, and even uncovering hidden lands registered under the names of gentry. Not only were all taxes paid in the three counties, but there was even a surplus. These are things that military officers should not do, and even Zhang Taiyue (Zhang Juzheng's courtesy name) did not go this far back then..."

"Gentlemen and gentry pay taxes together?" Lin Tianming fell silent. Even the current emperor, let alone Zhang Taiyue, couldn't enforce the rule of equal tax payments for gentry and gentry. It seemed Liu Ye was no simple-minded military man; he harbored ambitions far beyond his station.

After a long silence, Lin Tianming looked around to make sure no one was watching, then asked in a low voice, "Yueyue, in your opinion, does Liu Ye harbor rebellious intentions?"

Lin Shiyue only answered one question: "Father, if the Ming Dynasty is about to fall, would you sacrifice yourself to repay the emperor's kindness?"