Chief Armaments Master of the Ming Dynasty

The messenger arrived in the evening.

A thin man rode a shaved yellow horse, with two satchels slung over its back, looking dusty and travel-worn.

He was stopped by sentries at the valley entrance. He took out a letter wrapped in sheepskin from his pocket and said that he was sent by the King of Fugu and wanted to meet General Li Zicheng.

When the sentry led him to the central command tent, Li Zicheng was talking to several artillery captains of the new army.

Zhang Nai stood at the very edge, still clutching the self-made distance measuring ruler in his hand.

"General, someone from Fugu has arrived," a personal guard reported.

Li Zicheng raised his head and glanced at the messenger. "Wang Jiayin's man?"

"Yes." The messenger knelt on one knee and presented the letter with both hands. "King Wang has ordered me to travel day and night to personally deliver this letter to General Li Zicheng."

Li Zicheng took the letter and unwrapped the oiled paper.

The letter was short, with bold, large characters and strokes like knives.

In his letter, Wang Jiayin said that he had captured Fugu on the ninth day of the third month, opened the granaries to distribute grain, and the people's hearts were won over.

Fugu is now under the control of his rebel army. He plans to use this place as a base to connect with the old troops of the Yansui border army to the north and to manage the counties of Yan'an to the south.

At the end of the letter, he invited Li Zicheng to Fugu to "discuss important matters"—the two families would form a brotherhood alliance, join forces, and fight against the government army together.

Li Zicheng read the letter but said nothing.

He handed the letter to Gu Jun'en beside him, then said to the messenger, "Go and rest for now. I'll give you a reply tomorrow."

The messenger kowtowed and withdrew with his personal guards.

Only Li Zicheng, Gu Jun'en, Liu Zongmin, and Lin Fan remained in the tent.

Lin Fan shouldn't have been here; Li Zicheng sent someone to summon him from the blacksmith's shop.

Gu Jun'en frowned slightly after reading the letter. "Wang Jiayin has seized Fugu..."

"They've got some nerve," Liu Zongmin snorted. "Fugu may be a small county, but it's still a county seat. By occupying the county seat, they're openly challenging the imperial court. If the government troops don't suppress them, who will they suppress?"

"That's why he's in a hurry to find allies." Gu Jun'en placed the letter on the table. "He's afraid of being besieged by government troops and wants to drag us down with him."

Li Zicheng looked at Lin Fan. "Master Lin, what do you think?"

Lin Fan did not answer immediately.

He was thinking about one thing—how Wang Jiayin died in history.

He remembered it clearly. In the fourth year of Chongzhen's reign, which was the following year, Wang Jiayin was besieged by government troops for several months in Hequ County, Shanxi Province, on the east bank of Fugu County. When his food supplies ran out and reinforcements were cut off, he was eventually assassinated by his subordinates, and his head was sent to the capital.

That was the most important defeat for the early peasant army in northern Shaanxi, and a turning point in the development of Li Zicheng, Zhang Xianzhong, and others.

It is now the third month of the third year of the Chongzhen reign.

Less than a year remained before Wang Jiayin's death.

"General," Lin Fan said, "I don't have a high opinion of Wang Jiayin."

Why?

"Because he occupies the Fugu Valley."

Lin Fan walked to the map and pointed to the location of Fugu.

"Fugu is located at the northernmost part of Yan'an Prefecture, right next to the Yellow River, with Shanxi on the opposite bank. This place looks remote, but it is actually a strategic point. To the north from here is the border town of Yansui; to the south is the city of Yan'an Prefecture; and to the east, across the river is the territory of Shanxi. The imperial court can send the border troops of Yansui southward, and can send the troops of Shanxi westward across the river, attacking from both sides, and Fugu will be trapped like a turtle in a jar."

He drew a circle on the map with his finger. "Moreover, Fugu has city walls. City walls are inanimate. Once Wang Jiayin occupies the city, he has to defend it. To defend it, he needs to divide his troops to guard the passes, stockpile grain and fodder, and live among the people. He can do these things, but there is a prerequisite—the government troops don't come in large numbers, otherwise it's impossible to defend it."

Gu Jun'en nodded. "Master Lin is right. By occupying Fugu, Wang Jiayin has essentially pinned himself down in a place where the government troops can see and attack him. Before, when he was fighting on the move in the Yichuan and Yanchang areas, the government troops couldn't find him. Now that he's stopped moving, it's easier for the government troops to deal with him."

"Then let him fend for himself," Liu Zongmin said. "We're perfectly content staying in Ziwu Ridge, why should we get involved in this mess?"

"That's not how it works," Gu Jun'en shook his head. "Wang Jiayin is, after all, the most powerful force among the Shaanxi rebels. If he loses, the government troops might target us next. We can't ignore this situation, as we're all in the same boat."

"Manage? How?" Liu Zongmin retorted. "Form an alliance with him to defend Fugu Valley? Wouldn't that be dying together with him?"

Li Zicheng had remained silent until he suddenly spoke up: "Master Lin, you said that Wang Jiayin's occupation of Fugu is a dead end. What if he listens to advice, abandons Fugu, and resumes mobile warfare?"

Lin Fan thought for a moment. "Then he still has a chance. Although the government troops are powerful, Shaanxi is so vast that they can't possibly defend every inch of the province. As long as Wang Jiayin makes a move, it won't be easy for the government troops to capture him. The problem is..." He paused, "...would he be willing to give up?"

There was a moment of silence in the tent.

Everyone understood Lin Fan's meaning. Wang Jiayin had seized Fugu, opened the granaries to distribute grain, and won the hearts of the people. This was the first time he had his own fixed territory, the first time he had tasted the feeling of "ruling the world." Asking him to give it up was harder than asking him to conquer a city.

Li Zicheng remained silent for a long time.

Then he said one sentence: "Reply to him."

Gu Jun'en spread out the paper and ground the ink.

Li Zicheng dictated the story, which was written down by Gu Jun'en.

The letter began with polite greetings. Li Zicheng congratulated Wang Jiayin on capturing Fugu and praised his act of opening the granaries to distribute grain as a benevolent act. Then, the tone shifted abruptly—

"However, I have something to say, though I'm unsure whether I should. Fugu is bordered by Yansui to the north and Shanxi to the east, making it vulnerable to government troops from two directions. For you, with only a few thousand men, to hold onto a single isolated city is hardly a foolproof strategy. In the past, Huang Chao occupied Chang'an, and his power was undeniable. Yet, by clinging to a single city, he ultimately lost his foothold, leading to the downfall of his great enterprise. This lesson is still fresh in our minds. My opinion is that you should use Fugu as your base, rather than stubbornly defending it. When the government troops come, abandon the city and retreat into the mountains to avoid their advance; when they leave, re-emerge and cut off their supply lines. In this way, the government troops will be exhausted from their efforts, while our strength will grow daily. If you insist on defending the city, I fear that when the government troops arrive in force, even with your large numbers, you will find it difficult to sustain the war. That's all I have to say; I leave it to you to decide."

After writing the last character, Gu Jun'en gently blew the ink dry and handed it to Li Zicheng for inspection.

Li Zicheng read it through from beginning to end and nodded. "That's settled. Have the messenger take it back first thing tomorrow morning."

Liu Zongmin frowned. "Brother Li, this letter you wrote is too soft. All that 'I have something to say,' and 'It's up to you, brother, to decide.' If you ask me, just tell him directly—defending the city is a dead end, he should run as soon as possible!"

"You don't understand." Li Zicheng folded the letter and put it in an envelope. "Wang Jiayin is the leading figure in the Shaanxi rebels, the number one leader. We don't yet have the leverage to be on equal footing with him. If we speak too harshly, he'll feel like we're telling him what to do. If we speak softly, whether he listens or not is up to him; at least we'll give him face."

Gu Jun'en praised, "General, your thinking is thorough."

Li Zicheng looked at Lin Fan. "Master Lin, do you think Wang Jiayin will listen to advice?"

Lin Fan shook his head. "No."

Why?

"Because he is now the king of Fugu." Lin Fan's voice was calm. "A man who is used to being a bandit suddenly has his own city, his own land, and his own people. This feeling is more addictive than anything else. He won't give it up."

Li Zicheng did not ask any further questions.

Outside the tent, darkness had fallen. In the distant valley, the New Army's artillery was still training, the booming sound of cannons echoing in the twilight, one after another, like muffled thunder rolling across the sky.

Lin Fan stepped out of the tent and looked north. That was the direction of Fugu.

He knew Wang Jiayin wouldn't listen to advice. He knew the government troops would go.

He knew that the city, the grain, and the people who had just received three bushels of grain and knelt on the ground shouting "Your Majesty is benevolent!" would soon be crushed into dust along with their king.

He knew, but there was nothing he could do.

"Master Lin." Someone called him from behind.

Lin Fan turned around and saw Zhang Nai jogging over, still clutching the measuring ruler in his hand.

"Master Lin, today's training is over. I'd like to ask if you could give our artillery unit some more live ammunition tomorrow? The brothers are getting more and more accurate at target practice, and we'd like to try shooting at even longer distances."

Lin Fan looked at him. Eighteen years old, his eyes shone with light.

"Okay," he said. "I'll give you twenty more live rounds tomorrow. But remember, every single shell was made with the blood and sweat of the craftsmen. Don't waste them."

"Yes!" Zhang Nai stood ramrod straight, his face full of excitement.

Lin Fan patted him on the shoulder and turned to walk towards the blacksmith shop.

Behind us, dusk settled in. The mountains of Ziwu Ridge became dark silhouettes in the deepening night, like silent behemoths lying on this parched land.

The flames from the blast furnace illuminated half of the valley.

The hammer was still ringing.