Chapter Forty: Chen Xinjia’s Scheme

Ministry of War, Office of the Minister.

“Shaoyu, you may temporarily set aside the eastern matter we discussed earlier,” Chen Xinjia said, sitting in the affairs chamber of the Ministry of War. He gestured for a man to sit before his desk, his words carrying a hint of a smile.

The man affectionately addressed as Shaoyu was slight of build, his movements crisp and efficient. His name was Ma Shaoyu, Director of the Office of Military Affairs—an official roughly equivalent, in modern terms, to a division commander or department-level cadre in the Ministry of Defense.

Hearing that his superior would allow him to put aside that affair, Ma Shaoyu instantly felt a great weight lifted. Other than Chen Xinjia, not a soul at court was aware of this matter.

It concerned negotiating peace with the Jianzhou Jurchens.

Since the founding of the Ming, the empire had resolutely refused to offer princesses in marriage, pay reparations, cede territory, or send tribute—its foreign policy was unyieldingly hardline. Thus, any talk of peace negotiations was bound to provoke a storm of criticism at any time.

Now, upon learning this matter could be set aside, Ma Shaoyu could not help but feel elated—especially since it meant staying far from the capital and not having to face the fierce and terrifying Jurchens in Liaodong.

“I understand the gravity of the situation. For now, the affairs of the Capital Garrison must take priority,” Ma Shaoyu replied gently.

Chen Xinjia nodded slowly, smiling as he continued, “No matter how the Ministry of Revenue handles it, within ten days we’ll have three hundred thousand taels of silver. With another hundred thousand from the Imperial Stud, we can finally make some headway with the Capital Garrison. Adding to the two hundred thousand taels allocated last year, I must see to it that some progress is made in my time!”

People of later generations often look back on the empire’s waning days and condemn their predecessors as foolish and incompetent, blaming them for squandering the Ming’s vast lands and resources.

Indeed, the late Ming court was rife with mediocrity and corruption. Yet to judge the era only by its failings, ignoring those who, for the sake of principle and conscience, braved hardship and devoted themselves to the country, is not only ignorance but blasphemy.

In the first year of Chongzhen’s reign, the emperor appointed Li Banghua as Vice Minister of Works and chief overseer of the Grand Canal. Li Banghua immediately proved himself a capable official, earning the emperor’s satisfaction and soon being promoted to Vice Minister of War, assisting with the Capital Garrison’s military affairs. Though assistant in title, the actual command of the Capital Garrison lay with Lord Li Shouqi of Xiangcheng, a military noble. But in Ming society, civil officials were esteemed above military men; thus, Li Banghua, as Vice Minister, truly managed the garrison’s affairs.

Under his reforms, the Capital Garrison’s longstanding abuses—ghost soldiers, fraudulent musters, idle posts, and monopolized duties—were swiftly eradicated. Those who shirked duty or violated military law were punished. For a time, the garrison was purged of the old and feeble, the able-bodied retrained, and the Capital Garrison finally fielded troops worthy of the name.

But after the mutiny of 1629, when the garrison mistakenly fired upon allied troops under Man Gui, Li Banghua was implicated. The political factions were just forming, and Lord Li Shouqi, the military commander, resented how Li Banghua’s reforms had cut into his illicit profits and authority. Together with other officials, he undermined Li Banghua. In the end, denunciations from censors and other officials forced Li Banghua from office and sent him home.

Thereafter, the nascent reforms were abandoned; those who succeeded him took warning from his fate, lapsing into old routines and fostering corruption. The Capital Garrison grew more decrepit by the day.

By the fourth year of Chongzhen’s reign, the emperor, having lost faith in his civil officials and deeming them all unreliable, dispatched eunuchs to take charge. The eunuch Zhang Yixian was put in charge of the revenue and works ministries, and Tang Wenzheng was appointed to oversee the Capital Garrison. Now, the military commander of the garrison is Li Guozhen, son of Li Shouqi, and the supervising eunuch is Wang Cheng’en.

With such a combination, it was already a feat for the Capital Garrison to muster troops for battle in Hubei; that those left to defend the capital were utterly worthless was no surprise.

Now, in the fifteenth year of Chongzhen, with the defeat at Songshan, the emperor’s attention had once again turned to the Capital Garrison. With new funds from the Ministry of Revenue, Chen Xinjia was determined to accomplish something, unwilling to let the garrison sink further into decay.

Unlike many officials who rose through the meritocratic civil service exams, Chen Xinjia was a licentiate without the prestigious jinshi degree. His rise from obscurity was due to his practical abilities and decisiveness, proven on the frontier. From county magistrate in Dingzhou, he had worked his way up through border postings, eventually promoted to the daunting post of Minister of War, which few dared to accept.

Anyone else might have feared the entrenched interests of the Capital Garrison, but Chen Xinjia could not afford to. With defeat at Songshan, crises within and without, and his own position precarious, he had no choice but to strive for merit and redemption in the eyes of the emperor.

As Chen Xinjia’s confidant, Ma Shaoyu understood his superior’s priorities and had thoroughly investigated the situation within the Capital Garrison, which was now the ministry’s chief concern.

“The Capital Garrison consists of three main corps. The Shenji Corps is stationed at Jizhong Ward, and the Shenshu Corps at Baizhong Ward. Both are severely undermanned and hopelessly corrupt, barely maintaining a facade of order. The most important is the Five Corps. Of these, the central army, under Vice General Sun Yingyuan, has gone south to fight rebels in Huguang. The forces left in the capital are stationed in the north: the left and right wings at Deshengmen, the left vanguard at Andingmen, and the right vanguard at Jiaozhong Ward. Of these, the weakest is the right vanguard of the Five Corps, stationed with the Wude Guard at Jiaozhong Ward. Once fairly capable, most of its able-bodied men were transferred by Sun Yingyuan, and what remains are the wounded, old, and infirm.” Here, Ma Shaoyu shook his head. “Thus, I have initially chosen the right vanguard of the Five Corps as the starting point for purging the unfit.”

Chen Xinjia listened, then nodded in agreement. “The military registers, the backgrounds of all officers and soldiers—these must be fully mastered, so we can act with confidence. The Ministry of Revenue has been uncommonly generous; when purging the ranks, make sure the silver reaches the soldiers. Once the right vanguard of the Five Corps has been purged, we can use it as a foundation, draw together the elite, and train a force truly fit for battle.”

Ma Shaoyu nodded, following Chen Xinjia’s reasoning.

With the Ministry of Revenue providing funds, the purge of the old and infirm should ensure the money reaches the soldiers. Otherwise, should unrest arise, efforts would have to be diverted to suppression, staining their reputation and wasting effort.

As for focusing on the right vanguard, that was only logical. Although five hundred thousand taels in military pay seemed a great sum, in reality it was enough to properly equip only about ten thousand men. Once non-combatants and auxiliaries were removed, only a single vanguard’s worth would be truly battle-ready.

Rather than scattering the capable among the three main corps, concentrating them in the right vanguard would eliminate obstacles and maximize combat effectiveness.

“I understand,” Ma Shaoyu replied solemnly.