weaving

On the eighth day of the first month of the sixteenth year of the Chongzhen reign of the Ming Dynasty, in Jining City.

“Chengzu, send someone to reply to Sha Shiguang. He can be appointed as the garrison commander of Xingtai, but he must personally recruit soldiers according to the standards of my Yongyi Army. Shunde Prefecture and Xingtai County must not interfere, and the money and food for raising soldiers must still be paid by them.”

"Yes, Commander-in-Chief." Liu Chengzhu then asked, "How many soldiers do you have?"

"Tiger Tooth Stronghold doesn't have much money or food. It's already at its limit to support two thousand soldiers. Tell Sha Shiguang not to expand Tiger Tooth Stronghold's troops."

Zhang Cheng stroked his chin and continued, "As for the garrison of Xingtai, it would take at least two thousand men to protect Xingtai and also take care of Shunde Prefecture."

"Yes, I will take care of it right away." Although Liu Chengzhu already held an official position, he still regarded himself as a subordinate in front of the Earl of Yongning.

"Furthermore... write another letter to Ji Kongjia in my name, suggesting that he directly petition the Ministry of War to appoint Sha Shiguang as the guerrilla commander of Shunde, citing the reason that Shunde has no soldiers to defend itself."

Liu Chengzhu paused for a moment, but didn't say anything. After agreeing, he turned and left the side hall to go back to his own courtroom to draft the letter.

"Tiger, you did a great job rescuing Xingtai."

Hu Zichen lightly struck the table with his fist, saying resentfully, "It's a pity we didn't go out of the city to pursue the Tartars."

"Hehe... Why rush to kill the Tartars?"

Zhang Cheng dismissed this, saying loudly, "Go back and rest for a while, and intensify the training of the newly recruited soldiers. Perhaps this month, you will have your chance to kill the Tartars."

Upon hearing this, Hu Zichen stood up from his seat: "Really... Commander-in-Chief, is there going to be a major operation?"

"You'll know when the time comes."

Seeing that the Earl of Yongning was unwilling to say more, Hu Zichen did not dare to ask further and immediately took his leave to return to his camp to train the new recruits.

…………

Shortly after Hu Zichen left, Xiao Sanjie, the commander of the central army, led a very burly middle-aged man to the side hall of the Yongning Earl's headquarters.

"Commander, Gong Wencai has arrived."

In the side hall, the Earl of Yongning waved his hand gently, and the central officer Zhang Mingyuan got up, went to the door, pushed it open, and said to the outside, "Please invite General Gong in to speak. Sanjie, you can go about your business."

Xiao Sanjie clasped his hands in greeting to Zhang Mingyuan and said "Yes, sir," then gestured for the burly man named Gong Wencai to come in: "General Gong, please."

Gong Wencai first clasped his hands in greeting to Zhang Mingyuan outside the door before stepping into the side hall. He then knelt on one knee before the Marquis of Yongning's desk, clasped his hands in greeting, and said, "Gong Wencai greets the Marquis of Yongning."

Zhang Cheng looked at him calmly: "General Gong, you have a great sense of righteousness. You have pacified the Tartars when they invaded our borders, which has greatly helped me. It is a blessing for the court, a blessing for the people of Shandong, and a blessing for His Majesty the Emperor."

Gong Wencai's expression hardened, and he clasped his hands in a salute again, saying, "Gong Wencai greatly admires the reputation of the Earl of Yongning and also respects his loyalty and righteousness. Although this surrender is nominally a submission to the court, I have already stated that I will only act under the orders of the Earl of Yongning."

Zhang Cheng frowned, staring at Gong Wencai below, remaining silent for a long time...

"Get up. Now that I have agreed to this, there is no way I can go back on my word."

Gong Wencai first clasped his hands in thanks before standing up, but then bowed again and clasped his hands in thanks, saying, "Reporting to the Earl of Yongning, Wencai was originally a pancake vendor. He could no longer bear the oppression of corrupt officials and could not survive, so he led his fellow miners on this dangerous road. It was all just to make a living."

Although Wen Cai was a rough man, he knew loyalty and righteousness. Now that he had joined the ranks of the Earl of Yongning, he regarded the Earl of Yongning as his lord, vowing to never abandon him, to go through fire and water, and to follow him to the death.” Zhang Cheng’s expression remained as calm as before, but in his heart he thought, “People in this era really are all like this. Whenever they encounter someone who matches their temperament, they’ll play the game of following him to the death. However, those bookish fools don’t have the heroism of these warriors; they’re always observing and hesitating… Sigh…”

"Mingyuan, please have General Wencai sit down and let's talk."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Mingyuan immediately stepped forward, invited Gong Wencai to sit down on a side seat, and poured him a full cup of tea.

…………

Gong Wencai was originally from Jiaxiang County, Yanzhou Prefecture, Shandong Province. He was a pancake vendor in the Liangbaosi coal mining area. In the fourteenth year of Chongzhen's reign, unable to withstand the pressure from local gentry, he rallied some coal miners who were also living in poverty to start an uprising against the local government and gentry.

However, Gong Wencai was fond of listening to storytelling and was deeply influenced by the characters in the stories. He was quite loyal and righteous, and even after leading a rebellion, he adhered to the principle of robbing the rich to help the poor, so he did not commit many evil deeds.

After the Earl of Yongning led his army into Yanzhou, Yuan Shizhong sent people to the Gaoping Mountain and Tashan area to find him and persuade him to join him in surrendering to the Earl of Yongning, so that he could create a better future for his descendants, which was better than being a bandit for the rest of his life.

In fact, Gong Wencai did not want to be a bandit for the rest of his life. Moreover, he had heard some legends about the Earl of Yongning before, especially the Battle of Julu, the killing of Yue Tuo and Duoduo by the two famous kings, and the interception of Huang Taiji.

Every time he heard about it, it filled him with longing!

Gong Wencai's hatred for the Tartars was no less than that of others, after all, his relatives had also suffered at the hands of the Tartars when they invaded in the eleventh year of Chongzhen's reign.

Therefore, Gong Wencai's hatred for the Tartars far surpassed that for the Ming Dynasty court and local officials and gentry!
…………

"Wencai, is everything settled in the camp?"

"Reporting to the Earl of Yongning, as you instructed, weeding out the weak and keeping the strong, the Wencai Camp now only has 2,300 old thieves... oh no... old soldiers, and 1,700 newly recruited young men, for a total of 4,000 men."

"Hmm, not bad, you did a great job."

The Earl of Yongning first affirmed his performance before continuing, "Old soldier, you must familiarize yourself with military rules and regulations as soon as possible. My army is not like other places. If you violate military rules, no matter who you are, you will be punished."

"Yes, Wencai has noted it down."

"How is Xin Yong's training? Are the instructors I sent doing their best? Are you satisfied?"

“Reporting to the Earl of Yongning, let alone those newly recruited young men, I also train with them every day. With the way we train today, Wencai used to be just playing house.”

"Hahaha..." The Earl of Yongning laughed loudly: "Good, I am very satisfied that you have this understanding."

“Oh, right. From now on, you should call me the same as them…” Zhang Cheng said, pointing to Zhang Mingyuan, a middle-ranking officer standing to the side: “Call me Commander-in-Chief, and stop calling me Earl of Yongning. It makes us seem distant.”

Upon hearing this, Gong Wencai became slightly agitated. He stood up again to kneel, but Zhang Cheng stopped him, saying, "Hey, you're now my man. Don't kneel so easily. You should know that I hate these formalities the most."

Upon hearing Yongning Earl's words, Gong Wencai stood still, clasped his hands in a fist and said, "Commander, I entrust my life to you. I will obey your every command without complaint."

"Alright, go back to camp and intensify your training of the troops. You may have your chance to kill the Tartars soon."

"Yes, Wencai has been waiting for this day." (End of Chapter)