Chief Armaments Master of the Ming Dynasty

News of the fall of Jinshuo Pass reached Xi'an Prefecture a few days later.

At the same time, battle reports also came from the Yanchuan and Qingjian areas—Mingdusi Aimu led his troops to fight against the rebel army and achieved great success. Rebel leaders such as Zhang Shusheng and Ji San'er surrendered with their troops.

Governor-General Yang He sat in the main hall of the governor's office, with several battle reports piled up in front of him.

His expression was complex—a mixture of relief and helplessness.

The good news is that Aimu won a battle, and some of the rebels surrendered.

Unfortunately, Jin Suo Guan was lost, Wang Lian was captured, and that vital passage to Shanxi was now in the hands of Wang Zishun. He knew better than anyone that this defeat at Jin Suo Guan would not be the first, nor the last.

Yang He is over fifty years old this year and was a Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) in the thirty-second year of the Wanli reign.

He spent more than 20 years in officialdom, rising from county magistrate to governor-general of the three border regions, and witnessed too much local corruption and border collapse.

He has a son named Yang Sichang, who is now a vice minister in the Ministry of War.

The father and son did not share the same view on the predicament of the Ming Dynasty—Yang He advocated appeasement, while Yang Sichang advocated suppression. They often argued, but neither could change their respective positions.

At this moment, Yang He was deep in thought as he looked at the battle report. Aimu had won a battle, though it was not large in scale, it was still a victory nonetheless.

Moreover, some rebel leaders had surrendered—Zhang Shusheng and Ji San'er. Yang He was familiar with these two names. Zhang Shusheng was originally a farmer from Mizhi County. He started an uprising last year due to famine and had several hundred men under his command.

Ji San'er was a down-on-his-luck young man from Yanchuan, leading about a hundred men operating in the Qingjian area. Neither of them were considered big shots, but their advantage lay in their small numbers, making them easier to recruit.

By appeasing this group, we opened a breach among the bandits in northern Shaanxi, showing them that surrendering to the imperial court offered a way out.

"Pass down the order," Yang He summoned his staff. "Have Aimusu properly settle Zhang Shusheng, Ji San'er, and the other surrendered troops. They must not be mistreated, and their rations and pay must not be withheld. Furthermore, all prefectures and counties should expedite the printing of pardons, select capable officials, and send them to the various bandit groups to inform and pacify them. Tell them that as long as they are willing to surrender, the court will not hold them accountable for their past actions. Those who have homes to return to should be given travel expenses and sent back to their hometowns; those who have no home should be incorporated into the garrisons and given land to cultivate."

The advisors exchanged glances. One of them, surnamed Chen, stepped forward and whispered:

"Governor, regarding the pardon...shouldn't we reconsider? The Ministry of War has always been the one to suppress rebellions. Our large-scale pacification efforts might displease them. Besides, these bandits often surrender only to rebel again; even if we appease them, they'll likely rebel again soon. We go to so much trouble to recruit them, only to have them rebel again—that's a huge responsibility..."

"I know," Yang He interrupted him. "I know all that you're saying. But tell me, do you have a better way?"

The aide opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a word.

Yang He stood up and walked to the map.

"How many bandit groups are there in Shaanxi? The largest ones, like Wang Jiayin's, number nearly ten thousand; Li Zicheng's, have two or three thousand elite troops and cannons; and there are dozens of smaller groups, each with at least several hundred men. In total, there are at least fifty or sixty thousand. How can we suppress these people? The imperial court has tens of thousands of troops in Shaanxi. Hong Chengchou can only mobilize a few thousand mobile troops. How can a few thousand men suppress tens of thousands? Even if we wipe out this group, famine will come again next year, and a new group will rise up. Where is the root cause? The root cause is not weapons, but food. If it doesn't rain, crops won't grow, and the people will starve. It's no wonder they rebel. The only solution is to appease them, to get some of the bandits to lay down their weapons, and to provide relief to the starving people so they have food and don't have to join the bandits. Only in this way can the number of bandits be reduced."

The aide whispered a reminder:

"Your Excellency, that makes sense. But those bandits who are granted amnesty often rebel again. The people say in private that the imperial court's pardon is just a piece of paper—it spares them from death that day, but not from future crimes. Once they are captured by the government troops again, all the old and new grievances will be settled at once, and their fate will be even worse—so many people would rather be bandits in the mountains than accept amnesty."

Yang He was silent for a moment, then slowly nodded. "You're right. That's precisely why I want them to see sincerity. It's not a feigned surrender, but a genuine one. Give them land to cultivate, food to eat, and a way to survive. Only when they believe that the court is truly offering amnesty will they be willing to genuinely surrender."

The staff were still uneasy, but seeing that Yang He was determined, they said no more.

In the days that followed, Yang He's orders were carried out swiftly.

The official seal workshops in Xi'an Prefecture worked day and night to print thousands of pardons—each made of hardwood, with the words "pardon" engraved on the front and the conditions for surrender and the imperial edict on the back.

Those who hold this token will have their past crimes forgiven as long as they sincerely surrender, and local officials are not allowed to arrest them without authorization.

These thousands of pardons were distributed to officials from all walks of life.

They rode on horseback, accompanied by their entourage and carrying placards, going from village to village along the mountains and ravines of northern Shaanxi, shouting to pacify the bandits.

Among them, Wu Tinggui, the prefectural judge of Yan'an, was assigned to the Huanghu and Dahonglang tribes; Sun Ruji, the prefectural judge of Qingyang, was assigned to the Yizhangqing and Luedihu tribes.

At the same time, Yang He personally wrote a memorial to the court entitled "A Memorial on the Severe Drought and the Rising Bandits: A Comprehensive Plan for Suppressing and Appeasing Them," which detailed his strategy for pacifying the bandits: "To quell the bandits, first bring peace to the people; to bring peace to the people, first provide famine relief; to provide famine relief, first procure grain."

In his memorial, he implored the court to allocate 100,000 taels of silver and 50,000 shi of grain for disaster relief in Shaanxi, and to allocate silver to cover the back pay of the border troops. He bluntly pointed out that without such measures, the efforts to pacify the enemy would be ineffective, and even if they were recruited today, they would still disperse and become bandits tomorrow.

After finishing writing the memorial, he stood up and walked to the window.

The leaves on the old trees in the yard had turned yellow and withered, making it look particularly desolate in what should have been a lush and green July.

He gazed at the withered leaves on the tree, a feeling of inexplicable heaviness rising in his heart.

He tried everything – appeasement, suppression, disaster relief, grain procurement – ​​but he was powerless to do any of them.

Without food, without silver, and without the emperor's wholehearted trust, even the best strategies are just empty talk on paper.

But he had no other choice.

---

Meanwhile, Wu Tinggui, the prefectural magistrate of Yan'an who was ordered to pacify the region, entered the mountains with a dozen or so followers and a pardon.

The first stop was Huanghubu in Bao'an County.

Huang Hu was originally a border soldier in Yansui Town. He was dismissed due to unpaid wages and started an uprising with a few dozen old brothers in the Bao'an area. Later, the group snowballed to about three hundred people, occupied an abandoned village, and made a living by robbing wealthy households and merchants.

His name was originally a nickname he earned while serving in the border army because of his fierce fighting skills. Over time, his real name was forgotten.

When Wu Tinggui arrived at the mountain village, Huang Hu was sitting on a large rock at the entrance of the village, sharpening his knife.

His knife was a captured government-issue waist knife, with several chips on the blade, which he couldn't sharpen no matter what he did. He was in a state of agitation when he looked up and saw government officials coming down the mountain, and he gripped the knife tighter in his hand.

"Halt!" Several rebel soldiers behind him raised their spears at the same time.

Wu Tinggui reined in his horse, raised a plaque granting him immunity from death, and shouted:

"I am Wu Tinggui, the Prefectural Magistrate of Yan'an, here on the orders of Governor-General Yang of the Three Border Regions to offer pacification! I hold this pardon; those who wish to surrender will have their past transgressions forgiven, be given land to cultivate, and be incorporated into the garrison! Those who do not wish to surrender will not be forced!"

Huang Hu stared at the sign in his hand for a moment, then waved his hand, signaling the soldiers to make way.

He remembered Shen Yikui, a fellow soldier from the Yansui Border Army, who was dismissed and then single-handedly led a rebellion, only to be beheaded by Cao Wenzhao.

They were all soldiers who had been kicked out of the government office, and Shen Yikui's fate made him hesitate for a time.

It was said that after Yang He arrived in Shaanxi, he did indeed recruit several local militias. This matter had left Huang Hu wavering. Wu Tinggui's arrival made the scales in his heart tip.

Wu Tinggui entered the mountain village and unfurled an official flag in the open space in the center of the village, placing the death-exemption plaques on the ground one by one.

The wooden signs gleamed dimly in the sunlight, the words "immunity from death" written crookedly—the craftsmen in the official seal workshop were in such a rush that they didn't care about making them look nice.

"Chief Huang," Wu Tinggui said, sitting on a rock and taking a swig from his water pouch, "how long will the little grain you have in your granary last your three hundred brothers? Now that it's autumn, the weather is getting colder, and it'll be even harder to find food on the mountain. What are you planning to do?"

Huang Hu remained silent. He knew, of course, that the food supplies were insufficient. This was precisely what worried him most.

"Governor Yang said," Wu Tinggui dipped his finger in water and drew a circle on the stone, "that those who lay down their swords and wish to go home will be given travel expenses and dry rations, and those who wish to stay will be incorporated into the garrison and given land to cultivate. Those who are incorporated into civilian households will be exempt from taxes for the first year. Those who are incorporated into military households, you, Huang Hu, will continue to lead troops, and your names will be kept. These three hundred men will be your core force. The land is legitimate, and the pay is legitimate—though not much, it will be enough to survive."

Huang Hu stared at the water ring on the rock for a long time, then looked up and asked, "I surrender, you really won't kill me?"

"This is a death-exemption token personally ordered to be printed by Governor Yang. Holding this is your proof of survival. Not only you, but each of your brothers will receive one. Holding this token means you have surrendered. Anyone who dares to touch you will have to step over this official and the Governor first."

Huang Hu picked up a plaque and examined it from all angles. He thought for a long time, then slowly stood up and said two words to the old brothers behind him.

"It's gone down."

On the same day, Sun Ruji, the prefectural magistrate of Qingyang Prefecture, also went into the mountains with his entourage and a death-exemption token to the strongholds of the Yizhangqing and Luedihu tribes.

Yi Zhangqing was a female leader with only seventy or eighty people under her command, as well as women, children, and infants.

She led people to dig for wild vegetables in the mountain valleys north of Qingyang, and occasionally went down the mountain to rob lone government officials.

The "Land-Plundering Tiger" was different—he was originally a garrison soldier who fled after committing murder. He gathered a hundred or so outlaws and robbed wealthy households in the western part of Qingyang, earning him a notorious reputation.

Sun Ruji first arrived at the Yizhangqing mountain stronghold. The Yizhangqing stronghold was very simple, with a dozen or so earthen cave dwellings surrounded by a wooden fence; there were also a few skinny oxen and a flock of chickens and ducks in the stronghold. She was very wary of the arrival of the officials, standing inside the wooden fence and refusing to come out, her long spear never lowered.

Sun Ruji did not insist. He stood outside the wooden fence, placed several pardon plaques under the fence, took two steps back, and said loudly:

"Governor Yang has decreed that regardless of gender or age, past transgressions will not be investigated. Those with homes to return to will be given travel expenses and sent back to their hometowns; those without homes will be registered as civilians and given land to cultivate. Those who wish to return to their hometowns will be escorted by me. The children in this mountain village need food most in the winter. If you want them to be well-fed, bring this sign to me."

After Sun Ruji finished speaking, he turned and left. He didn't force her to make a decision immediately, but left behind five pardons and a bag of dry rations. Three days later, Yizhangqing personally carried the five pardons and led the remaining sixty-odd people from the mountain stronghold to the entrance of the Qingyang Prefecture government office. She knelt down and kowtowed three times, saying that she was willing to surrender.

The situation was much more difficult for Lue Dihu. His stronghold was situated on high ground, fortified with rough timber and gravel. His henchmen were all armed with knives and were all ruthless. Sun Ruji sent three groups of men up the mountain, but none of them could get through the gates. Lue Dihu even had his men shoot arrows at him from the walls—the arrows were made of cast iron, and they flew erratically, but they made it clear: he would not surrender.

Sun Ruji did not launch a full-scale attack. He knew that a forced surrender was not a genuine one. He ordered his entourage to retreat, and stood alone beneath the stockade wall, looking up at the top and shouting:

"You 'Landlord,' Governor Yang's order to surrender applies to everyone. If you don't surrender, someone else will. But you're from Qingyang. Your parents are buried in Qingyang. If you lead your men to become fugitives in these mountains, who will burn paper money for them? What future do you and your brothers have? Are you really going to hide in the mountains for the rest of your life, waiting to be wiped out, instead of taking this opportunity to find a way out and live a peaceful life?"

A long silence fell over the stockade wall. Then, the Earth-Piercing Tiger poked his head out, his face covered in a full beard, his eyes bloodshot. "I've killed people."

"I know," Sun Ruji said. "The governor said that anyone who holds this pardon will be pardoned, no matter how many people they have killed before."

Lue Di Hu didn't speak again. He shrank back, and behind the stockade wall came hushed arguments, occasionally interspersed with the crisp sound of breaking utensils.

Sun Ruji stood under the wall and waited until the sun was setting in the west before the gate of the village finally opened a crack.

The man named Lue Di Hu stepped forward, his voice hoarse. "I surrender. But I must be sent to the border town of Yansui, not to stay in Qingyang. I have too many enemies here."

Sun Ruji looked at him for a long time before finally nodding. "Alright. I will report this to the Governor."

Lue Di Hu tucked the plaque into his pocket, looked up at the blood-red setting sun on the horizon, his Adam's apple bobbed a few times, and he said nothing more.

One-Zhang-Qing, Yellow Tiger, Big Red Wolf, and Lue Di Tiger—these names appeared one after another on the surrender list at Yang He's gate.

Some genuinely want to grasp at a straw; others just want to be appeased and have enough to eat for a few days, and then pull the lever back once the storm has passed.

After receiving the roster, Yang He personally approved the resettlement plan:

Huang Hu's troops were incorporated into the Yansui border troops; Da Honglang's troops were sent back to their original home in Ganquan; Yi Zhangqing's troops were settled as civilians in Qingyang; and Lue Di Hu's troops were temporarily incorporated into various fortresses and villages in Yansui for auxiliary defense, and did not participate in the main battles.

Each unit only took a very small amount of food and fodder. After settling down, if there was still a shortage, the surrendered soldiers were allowed to cultivate the wasteland themselves.

In his memorial, he also submitted a complete list of those who had been granted relief, and added a line at the end: "I fear that the surrendered people will have no food and will turn to banditry again. I earnestly request Your Majesty to grant relief funds and grain to alleviate their immediate needs."

He calculated it very clearly: to win over one person is better than to kill ten.

But he also knew very well that whether these people who had been pacified would rebel again tomorrow depended on whether the court could provide them with food. He did not have enough grain on hand, so he could only repeatedly write memorials and urge the court to provide more supplies.