Starting from 1618 of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 151 Dual-Track System of Military and Political Affairs

Spring, the end of the month, in the sixth year of the Tianqi reign.

The good news arrived in the morning.

A lone rider galloped from the Liaodong direction, entered the north gate of Dengzhou, and proceeded along the main street all the way to the governor's office. Flags were raised high and drums were beaten, startling the entire city of Dengzhou.

Hearing the commotion inside the yamen, Lu Yan put down his pen and asked the clerk who had entered, "What is it?"

The clerk, his face flushed and breathless, said, "My lord, a great victory in Liaodong! Ningyuan, Commander Yuan has held it, the Tartars have retreated—"

'

"What's the panic?" Lu Yan said in a low voice, "Explain yourself clearly."

The clerk composed himself and said, "Your Excellency, in Ningyuan City, Lord Yuan Chonghuan led his troops to defend the city and repelled Nurhaci's forces. The Tartars failed to capture the city and have already retreated to the outside of the pass."

"6

Lu Yan nodded, signaling the clerk to leave.

He sat back down in his chair, flipped back to the document he had just reviewed, glanced at it, and instead of continuing to approve it, he placed it face down on the desk and pondered for a moment.

The Ningyuan Victory.

He knew about this battle and its significance. This was the first time since Sarhu that the Ming army had directly blocked the Later Jin's attack. It was a battle that was truly won, not by luck or by sheer numbers. It relied on the city's defenses, the Hongyi cannons, and the artillery positions that Sun Yuanhua had single-handedly controlled from the city walls.

He stood up, put on the outer robe draped over the back of the chair, and said to the door, "Prepare the sedan chair; we're going to the governor's office."

66

In Sun Yuanhua's study, a copy of the victory report was placed in the center of the desk, unfolded, flattened, with paperweights placed at the two corners, as if to keep the paper in place.

When Lu Yan entered, Sun Yuanhua was standing in front of the desk with his hands behind his back, staring at the report of victory with his head down, without turning around immediately.

"My lord," Lu Yan bowed, "Congratulations on the great victory at Ningyuan."

66

Sun Yuanhua turned around, his face showing little joy. The faint line between his brows was still there, even deeper than usual. He glanced at Lu Yan, pointed to the chair opposite him, and said, "Sit."

After the two sat down, Sun Yuanhua paused for a moment before speaking:

-

Do you know how many rounds of artillery fire were fired in the Battle of Ningyuan?

'

"I don't know," Lu Yan said, "but you know what I'm doing."

66

"Eleven rounds," Sun Yuanhua said, his tone not one of pride, but of suppressed weariness. "Eleven rounds of cannons repelled Nurhaci's personally led army." He paused. "But do you know how many times those eleven rounds of cannons misfired, that I personally witnessed from the city walls? How many men in the artillery unit truly understood how to load propellant?"

66

Lu Yan didn't respond, waiting for him to continue.

"Thirty percent of them misfired," Sun Yuanhua said. "No more than ten people in the entire battalion know how to load the explosives." He stood up, walked to the window, and turned his back to Lu Yan. "We won this battle, but it was a very close call. If two of the cannons in the artillery position had exploded prematurely, Ningyuan would not have won a great victory today; it would have been a completely different story."

The study was quiet for a moment.

Outside, someone was relaying a message from inside the yamen (government office). The cheerful tone of the message drifted in, fading away as it passed through the courtyards.

"My lord," Lu Yan said, "Zhao Tie recently retrained a batch of gunners in Dengzhou. He handwrote the charging procedures, with markings for every step. If we follow them, the misfire rate can be reduced."

66

Sun Yuanhua turned around, looked at him, and said nothing.

"If Your Excellency finds it usable," Lu Yan said, "we can have Zhao Tie compile a complete set of regulations and present it to Your Excellency for review. It doesn't have to be copied verbatim; Your Excellency can make some modifications. It's much easier than drafting one out of thin air."

'

"It's nothing," Lu Yan said. "I wouldn't dare call it a system; it's just for my own use."

Sun Yuanhua glanced at him twice, but didn't ask any further questions. He simply said, "Have Zhao Tie sort it out and send it over so I can take a look."

"yes.

"6

The Ministry of Personnel's appointment document arrived in Dengzhou on the eleventh day after the good news arrived, along with another batch of official documents.

When Fan Fu brought it in, Lu Yan was having lunch. Cui Shi sat opposite him, an account book beside her, turning the pages with her left hand and holding chopsticks with her right, occasionally picking up a piece of food, but her eyes never left the account book. Cheng Qian was in the inner room, accompanied by his wet nurse. Every now and then a noise could be heard, and then it would quiet down again.

Fan Fu placed the document on the table and said in a low voice, "Master, from the Ministry of Personnel, it's new."

Lu Yan put down his chopsticks, picked them up, unfolded them, read them from beginning to end, closed them, and placed them on the table.

Cui paused in flipping through the account books, without looking up. After a moment, she asked, "What?"

'

-

"The Assistant Magistrate of Dengzhou is a sixth-rank official," Lu Yan said. "In Ningyuan, the logistics team reported a success, and one of the credits went to me."

Cui closed the account book, looked up, and glanced at him.

"Should we offer our congratulations?"

"Congratulations if you're happy," Lu Yan picked up his chopsticks again, "If you're not happy, then forget it."

Cui looked at him for a moment, then said nothing more. She picked up the account book again and opened it, a little something on her lips, but she didn't say it.

In the afternoon, Hu Jingshui arrived.

He came specifically after hearing the news. As soon as he entered, he bowed and said, "Master, congratulations on your promotion to Assistant Magistrate."

J

Lu Yan waved his hand at him from the study and said, "Sit down, stop talking nonsense."

66

Hu Jingshui smiled, sat down opposite her, and said, "Is the boss unhappy?"

"I'm not upset," Lu Yan said. "You came just to offer your congratulations?"

'

"Not entirely," Hu Jingshui changed her expression, took out a folded piece of paper from her sleeve pocket, and pushed it over. "The latest report from the Japanese line, boss, take a look."

66

Lu Yan unfolded the package, scanned it, and said, "The price has gone up again?"

"The price of silk has gone up, while the price of iron has fallen," Hu Jingshui said. "Japan has been in turmoil lately, so the demand for iron has actually decreased. But they are buying up large quantities of silk and medicinal herbs. If the channels are open, this trip will earn them 20% more than the last one."

7y

Lu Yan folded the paper and said, "Make the arrangements. Follow your judgment. You decide on the product mix."

"Yes," Hu Jingshui took back the paper, put it in her sleeve, stood up, and said, "Master, now that you've been promoted to Assistant Magistrate, there will be more government offices dealing with official documents. Do you need to add another person to the clerk position?"

'

"No need," Lu Yan said. "The more people there are, the more talk there will be."

"9

Hu Jingshui thought for a moment, nodded, and prepared to take her leave. As she reached the door, Lu Yan called out to her, "Jingshui."

"The employer?"

Lu Yan didn't turn around. Holding an official document in his hand, he said, "A sixth-rank Assistant Magistrate in Dengzhou, in charge of civil administration, participating in military and political affairs, and handling literary correspondence, has a much broader scope than a Vice Prefect. This title is nominal, but the opportunities it opens are not."

Hu Jingshui realized that the words weren't meant for him, or rather, not just for him. She responded with a sound of agreement, left, and gently closed the door behind her.

In the study, Lu Yan put the official document aside, took out the summary of Kong Youde's intelligence that Shen Qing had left behind last time from the drawer, unfolded it, and read it again.

Rank 6, Assistant Magistrate, a dual position in military and political affairs.

He now has a way to access deeper affairs within the Dengzhou Garrison without attracting too much attention, to access the naval command authority, and to access the contents of official documents exchanged with higher authorities.

The title is meaningless.

But the door behind the title is not fake.

He folded the summary again, pressed it back to the bottom of the drawer, closed the drawer, locked it, and kept the key close to his body.

The spring sunlight outside the window illuminated a bright square on the floor of the study. As the sun began to set, that bright spot slowly moved, little by little, deeper into the study.

Lu Yan sat on the edge of that light, picked up his pen, and began to approve an official document.