Huangming

Chapter 233 Severe Torture and Extortion: The Tianjin Navy

For the next three days, Chen Qiyu focused his main efforts on maintaining stability in Tianjin.

After the previous swift and decisive purge and rectification, the entire city of Tianjin was filled with anxiety, and any misstep could easily trigger a riot.

Fortunately, Chen Qiyu had made preparations in advance. He mobilized 6,000 elite troops from the Beijing Garrison to be stationed in key locations, and a tight patrol network covered the entire city.

These well-trained soldiers, clad in armor and armed with weapons, patrolled day and night, deterring those with ill intentions.

At the same time, many of Chen Qiyu's pre-arranged contingency plans began to take effect.

He sent his trusted confidants to secretly monitor the movements of each garrison and also spread his spies throughout the city, so that no movement could escape his notice.

Those former officers and subordinates who were dismissed and investigated would be immediately apprehended by the Embroidered Uniform Guard if they made any unusual moves.

Key locations such as granaries and armories were heavily guarded to prevent anyone from taking advantage of the situation to cause trouble.

Despite all these arrangements, Tianjin remained remarkably peaceful.

Merchants continued their business as usual in the streets, and people lived their lives as normal, as if the bloodshed of the past few days had never happened.

Only the empty garrison offices and the occasional passing of Beijing garrison troops serve as reminders that a major transformation has just taken place here.

However, although things had calmed down in Tianjin city, undercurrents were surging in the Tianjin prison.

With Xu Xianchun, the Vice Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, personally overseeing the operation, the dim and damp prison cell was filled with the clanging of metal instruments and the screams of the tortured.

Zhang Erxin, the commander of Tianjin Garrison, Mei Yingwen, the commander of Tianjin Left Garrison, Ni Guangjian, the commander of Tianjin Right Garrison, and other key criminals had long lost their former arrogance under Xu Xianchun's severe torture.

They were hung on racks, their flesh mangled and bloodied. Under repeated torture, their wills completely collapsed, and they confessed their crimes.

Some people revealed the location of their privately hidden farmland, some revealed the courtyard where gold was buried, and some even fabricated clues, both true and false, to alleviate their pain.

Although the veracity of these testimonies is difficult to ascertain, it was sufficient for Xu Xianchun.

He flipped through the records with satisfaction, a cold smile playing on his lips—these charges were enough to report back to the capital and give an account to His Majesty.

Of course, intense interrogation comes at a price.

Several weak individuals could not withstand the torture and died during repeated beatings.

Even those who survived by sheer luck were no longer human; some had broken legs, others had broken arms, and they would likely spend the rest of their lives languishing on their sickbeds.

Hsu Hsien-chun didn't care about this at all.

He casually picked up a bloody tendon—it had just been pulled from Zhang Erxin's body—and as he rubbed the sticky tendon between his fingertips, Xu Xianchun's eyes gleamed with an almost manic pleasure.

"If I had known this today, why did I do it in the first place?"

He chuckled softly.

"Still dare to talk back to me? Don't expect to leave here unscathed."

The jailers were silent as cicadas in winter, and none of them dared to raise their heads.

Xu Xianchun casually tossed the tendon into the brazier, and the flames hissed and leaped up, illuminating his sinister face.

“Send all these confessions to the military police officer.”

He waved his hand lazily, his tone revealing weariness.

The three guards of Tianjin have been completely purged. These once high-ranking commanders are now nothing more than half-dead prisoners.

Xu Xianchun felt bored and even couldn't wait to return to the capital.

After all, he was Wei Zhongxian's sharpest weapon; how could he stay in this small Tianjin for long?
The Jinyiwei (Imperial Guard) officers, carrying a thick stack of confessions, hurriedly went to the Tianjin Commandery to report back.

However, when they arrived, they found nothing.

Chen Qiyu was not in the yamen.

It turns out that Chen Qiyu had already personally arrived at Dagukou in Tianjin at this time.

Dagukou, a strategic location guarding the throat of the Bohai Bay, is the last barrier at the mouth of the Haihe River and the maritime gateway to the capital region.

Its importance is self-evident.

If enemy ships were to sail straight in from here, they could reach Tianjin and threaten the capital!

Just like the story of the Eight-Nation Alliance's invasion of China in later generations.

Chen Qiyu stood on the dilapidated gun emplacement, the salty sea breeze hitting his face.

He gazed into the distance and saw turbid waves crashing against the long-neglected embankment, while the once formidable north and south forts now swayed precariously like an old man in his twilight years.

"Such a strategically important place has been abandoned to this extent."

His brows were furrowed, and he unconsciously clenched the riding whip in his hand.

Outside Dagukou, there were two forts, one to the north and one to the south.

Although the North Fort was equipped with twelve cannons as standard, only seven were actually usable due to long-term corruption and dereliction of duty in the three guards of Tianjin.

When Chen Qiyu ordered his men to test fire, seven guns exploded on the spot, and the flying shrapnel left several gunners covered in blood and gore.

These rusty cannons had clearly not been maintained for many years, and their barrels were filled with grime. To expect them to defend against enemies was simply a pipe dream.

Even more alarming is the situation of the garrison.

The roster listed two hundred soldiers, but after Chen Qiyu personally counted them, there were fewer than thirty.

Although these surviving soldiers had all four limbs, they were all emaciated and pale. Some had white hair and beards and could barely stand up with the help of wooden sticks. They were too weak to even carry ammunition, let alone operate cannons to defend against the enemy.

The situation at the South Fort was even more dire.

This old fort, originally built during the Jiajing era, now has crumbling walls and collapsed crenellations, resembling a skinned skeleton.

The six hastily erected tiger-squat cannons had a range of less than two hundred paces. On the turbulent front line of coastal defense, this amount of firepower was tantamount to scratching an itch through a boot.

The garrison roster also listed two hundred soldiers, but the actual number was exactly the same as that of the North Fort – only a few dozen old, weak, sick, and disabled men, not even enough to stand guard.

The salty sea breeze, carrying the smell of gunpowder, rushed towards him. Chen Qiyu stared at the two fortifications that were practically useless, his knuckles clenching the hilt of his sword until they turned white.

With such dilapidated defenses, if the enemy were to attack, wouldn't Dagu Port become a fish to be slaughtered at will?
Besides the north and south forts, there is also a water fortress at Dagukou.

There are two wooden docks outside the water village.

Two wooden docks stretched forlornly into the murky sea. According to regulations, eight majestic Fujian ships should have been moored there, but when Chen Qiyu looked around, the sea was empty except for a few frail Cangshan boats swaying with the waves, like a few drifting fallen leaves.

Even more alarming is the condition of the shipyard. This workshop, which once repaired large warships, now has most of its roof collapsed, and the remaining beams and pillars are leaning precariously, barely able to repair some small fishing boats.

Deep within the water village, a gunpowder depot stood all alone.

As soon as the warehouse door opened, a musty, rotten smell rushed out.

The three thousand catties of gunpowder had long since solidified into clumps, so damp that not even a single spark could be produced.

of course
It's impossible to tell now whether this thing is gunpowder or has been replaced with clods of earth.

Turning the corner, the doors of two granaries were wide open, and the inside was covered with cobwebs.

Chen Qiyu searched carefully with a torch, but couldn't find a single grain of food. There were only a few skinny rats scurrying around in the empty warehouse.

Beyond the water fortress, the three beacon towers scattered along the coastline are even more alarming.

These three key early warning sites on the north bank, south bank, and river estuary sandbar are now dilapidated, overgrown with weeds, and filled with rainwater, with not a single spark left to ignite.

The most ironic thing is the situation of the garrison.

Of the eight hundred elite naval troops listed on the roster, only a little over a hundred actually showed up.

These so-called sailors were all tanned dark, and the calluses on their hands were not from holding knives, but from years of fishing with nets.

When they saw the superiors line up, they couldn't even perform a basic military salute properly; they looked exactly like a group of fishermen wearing uniforms.

"What kind of navy is this?"

Chen Qiyu's nails dug deeply into her palms, and she could no longer maintain her composure.

"They're nothing but a bunch of beggars!"

The sea breeze, carrying a salty, fishy smell, swept over the dilapidated water fortress, causing the tattered military flags to flutter wildly.

Looking at the dilapidated coastal defense, Chen Qiyu, a scholar who had passed the imperial examination, finally couldn't help but curse: "Damn it, it's rotten inside and out!"

Chen Qiyu immediately ordered the dismissal and arrest of the Tianjin naval guerrilla general and two lieutenants, who were then sent to Tianjin prison to be interrogated by Xu Xianchun.

Someone has to take the blame for the Tianjin Navy's current state.

These skinny sailors can't take the blame; it's up to you officers who've had several wives to take the blame.

Without dealing with these bloodsuckers, the Tianjin Navy cannot be reorganized.

After surveying the Tianjin naval base on foot, Chen Qiyu returned to the water fortress with a heavy heart.

We need to understand the situation of the Tianjin Navy.

In the main hall of the water fortress, Chen Qiyu ordered someone to bring in an old soldier with white hair and beard. This old soldier had served in the navy for more than forty years, but at this moment he was hunched over and dared not raise his head.

"Old man, there's no need to be alarmed."

Chen Qiyu unfastened the imperial sword from his waist and placed it on the table. The imperial edict flag gleamed coldly in the candlelight. "I am here with the emperor's sword. Speak freely. If you say something you shouldn't, no one will dare to cause you trouble."

A flicker of struggle flashed in the old soldier's cloudy eyes.

But after glancing at the imperial sword and the royal flag on the desk, he finally said in a trembling voice, "Your Excellency, the decline of the navy is truly the fault of the imperial court!"

"presumptuous!"

Chen Qiyu's personal guards shouted sternly, slamming their sword sheaths heavily on the ground.

"You old man, how dare you criticize the imperial court?"

"shut up!"

Chen Qiyu raised his hand to stop him and personally helped the old soldier who was kneeling on the ground to his feet: "What I want to hear is the truth."

He gestured for his guards to leave and then poured a bowl of hot tea for the old soldier.

"Old man, please don't worry, speak freely."

As he spoke, he took out a silver ingot from his pocket.

Upon seeing this, a glimmer of light flashed in the old soldier's cloudy eyes.

He shakily straightened his tattered uniform and said in a hoarse voice, "Your Honor, I have served in Tianjin for decades, and I am now practically half-buried. Today, I will dare to speak the truth—"

His withered finger pointed to the dilapidated water fortress, and he said, "The navy has declined to this state, and the root cause lies with the imperial court!"

"During the reign of Emperor Longqing, the number of warships was reduced, and during the reign of Emperor Wanli, the elite troops were transferred to Liaodong to fight on land."

The old soldier became more and more agitated as he spoke, and veins bulged on his thin neck.

"Four hundred fine young men were lost in the Battle of Sarhu. Those were all veterans who knew how to sail and navigate the waves! They were actually dragged into the land battle."

He coughed a few times, and tears welled up in his old eyes.

"The most crucial thing was in the thirty-eighth year of the Wanli reign. The court withdrew the coastal defense commissioner, stopped paying wages and rations, and even had to raise money ourselves to buy gunpowder. Some of the brothers fled, some died, and now only we old coffin-stuffers are left. We can't escape, and we can't die either. We rely on fishing to eke out a living."

After hearing the old soldier's words, Chen Qiyu felt even heavier.

From this old soldier's perspective, it really is a problem with the imperial court.

But Chen Qiyu knew in his heart that the root cause was not the imperial court, but the collapse of the garrison system.

These were the words the old soldier dared not utter for fear of offending anyone.

Officers at all levels viewed the navy as a cash cow.

Today they embezzle military rations to sell to smugglers; tomorrow they steal warships to transport goods for merchants. Sailors are either forcibly conscripted to cultivate officers' private fields or driven to run shops.

Some even melted down cannons to make copper coins and traded gunpowder with Japanese pirates.
With such layers of exploitation, how could the navy not collapse?
Having learned about the problems of the Tianjin Navy, Chen Qiyu felt a heavy responsibility on his shoulders.

Although it didn't quite reach the point of shouldering the responsibility of supporting two capitals and thirteen provinces, it was close enough.

Chen Qiyu frowned.

We need to find a way to rebuild the Tianjin Navy from this mess in the shortest possible time!

PS:

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(End of this chapter)