Chapter 1010: The Arrears Begin Anew
Yinchuan had historically been a vital border garrison town for the Ming Dynasty.
The Ming court stationed a total of some thirty thousand border troops there. While that sounded like a large number, they were scattered across ten cities and a hundred fortresses, with each stronghold receiving only a few hundred men.
The Salt Lake region was Yinchuan's most renowned area for raising horses and sheep.
In this area, there were ten military fortresses, scattered like stars across the Salt Lake region, guarding this vast expanse of land.
The trade caravan dispatched by Liu Maopao arrived, dust-laden, at Yinchuan Salt Lake.
Accompanying them was a sightseeing Mass-Produced Heavenly Lord.
Li Daoxuan, as everyone knew, the Salt Lake tan sheep was a famous delicacy. The moment he heard Liu Maopao was sending a caravan to Yinchuan Salt Lake, he immediately invited himself along.
To savor a bite of tan sheep, he didn't use an embroidery avatar, nor a cloth doll, nor a Puppet Heavenly Lord, but instead brought out the Mass-Produced Heavenly Lord, because only a Mass-Produced Heavenly Lord could “eat” things.
Originally, this caravan was supposed to be led by a steward whom Liu Maopao had hired with a considerable sum, but with Li Daoxuan's inclusion, the caravan's command shifted entirely to Li Daoxuan. The steward was relegated to the role of a mere errand runner and assistant. Yet, he wasn't displeased in the slightest; on the contrary, he was ecstatic. To be able to spend such a long time, so close to the Heavenly Lord, who knew, he might even be "remembered in the divine heart" in the future!
The steward added, “I just asked a local, and four hundred border troops are stationed in Dingbian Fortress – the fierce kind.”
Li Daoxuan nodded. “Show them the written order Shi Jian procured for us, and speak kindly,” he instructed. “Don't presume upon our connection to Shi Jian to act arrogantly and disrespect the soldiers.”
The steward nodded. “Understood!” he affirmed. “Your subordinate has also seen the movie 'A Small Soldier of Dalinghe Border Army', and profoundly understands that every soldier guarding the frontier deserves respect.”
Li Daoxuan smiled. “It's good that you understand that principle.”
The steward hurried off to make arrangements, and returned shortly, chuckling, “Everything's arranged.”
The caravan continued its journey forward, and soon arrived at the foot of Dingbian Fortress.
The border troops in the fortress had already verified the written order, and knowing their connection to Shi Jian, the Regional Commander of Yansui, they treated the caravan with considerable respect.
In recent years, Shi Jian had been actively quelling unrest in northern Shaanxi, dealing with many bandits. Furthermore, his “outstanding achievements” in battles against the Mongols had earned him the respect of most border troops.
Thanks to Shi Jian, Yinchuan had not been harassed by Mongols for a long time. The soldiers were all grateful for his benevolence, and naturally treated anyone associated with him with a positive attitude.
The border troops waved and smiled at the caravan.
But Li Daoxuan saw no joy on their faces; instead, he saw mostly exhaustion. Each of these border soldiers looked malnourished, gaunt and bony, their armor and equipment tattered and worn, presenting a truly wretched sight.
Li Daoxuan couldn't help but frown. He addressed the commanding *bazong*, “Commander, it seems... your supplies here are somewhat scarce?”
The *bazong*'s face registered embarrassment. “Alas! Our military pay has been overdue for over a year again.”
In the early years of Chongzhen's reign, Lao Nanfeng and his branch of the border army rebelled, precisely because their military pay had been withheld for three years. Later, Hong Chengchou took office as the Supreme Commander of the Three Borders, and found every possible way to secure their back pay, thereby appeasing the border troops.
Unexpectedly, after years that seemed peaceful, by the ninth year of Chongzhen's reign, the military pay was once again being delayed.
Li Daoxuan frowned. “Lord Hong has no money to pay you?”
The *bazong* sighed, “Lord Hong is working hard to raise our military pay, but even the most resourceful person can't make something out of nothing. If the court doesn't give him money, where can he get it for us?”
Li Daoxuan instructed the caravan's steward beside him, “Take some of the grain from our provisions, at least enough for the border troops in this fortress to have one full meal.”
The steward whispered, “The grain our caravan carries is all for trading wool. If we give it to the border troops, we won't have anything left to trade for wool.”
Li Daoxuan furrowed his brow. With a swift mental shift, he returned to Gao Family Village itself, appearing on the embroidery adorning the chest of Second Steward Tan Liwen, and quickly gave orders: “Immediately organize a transport team to deliver a large batch of supplies, especially grain and cloth, to the Yinchuan border garrison. A portion of these will be given to the Warm and Sleepy Textile Factory caravan to replenish their supplies from the village treasury.”
“As you command!” Tan Liwen responded.
Li Daoxuan then shifted back and told the steward, “Go ahead and distribute the grain without worry. The missing grain will soon be delivered by the village treasury.”
“As you command,” the steward replied.
The caravan members immediately sprang into action, unloading the grain from the cargo carts, sack by sack, and handing it over to the soldiers of Dingbian Fortress.
These soldiers, whose pay had been withheld for a year, had endured utterly miserable lives, often going hungry, and even resorting to selling their children to survive. Now, a caravan had suddenly arrived, inexplicably delivering grain directly for them to eat. It was truly...
Moving them to tears!
The news quickly spread throughout the entire fortress.
Beyond the soldiers on duty in the fortress, even those who were off-duty and resting at home all rushed over upon hearing the news.
And then there were the border troops' wives, children, and elderly parents, a large crowd surging towards Dingbian Fortress.
“A caravan has come!”
“The caravan gave us grain!”
“Heaven help us, what good people!”
“I've never seen such kind people.”
“I heard it's a caravan from General Shi Jian's neighbors.”
“So it's General Shi's people; no wonder they're so good.”
Below Dingbian Fortress, cooking pots were set up everywhere, and food began to boil....
On the weary faces of the border troops, smiles finally appeared.
Li Daoxuan, however, felt a pang of unease. The Ming court was truly inept. If they had no money, they could delay the salaries of high-ranking officials, but withholding the pay of border troops was practically inviting disaster.
Alas!
Still, he knew such a thought was impossible to realize.
From ancient times, when the economy was poor, the imperial court never cut into the income of high officials; they would only extract even more from the lower classes...
As he mused idly, suddenly, from the official road to the northwest, a swift horse galloped into view. The rider on its back seemed desperate to deliver a message, knowing he would certainly be questioned passing through the border fortress. To save time, he began shouting from afar: “Urgent military intelligence! Dingbian Fortress, do not obstruct me! Urgent military intelligence!... Seven border fortresses in Yinchuan have mutinied!... The rebellious soldiers are attacking Ningxia Prefecture!... Urgent military intelligence!... Dingbian Fortress, do not obstruct me!...”
With a cry like that, who would dare stop him?
The soldiers quickly pulled open the wooden gates, clearing the path.
The messenger spurred his horse and galloped past, disappearing into the distance in an instant.
The border troops of Dingbian Fortress exchanged bewildered glances, all turning to look at their *bazong*.
The *bazong* himself froze. After several seconds, he finally sighed, “A few days ago, Bazong Zhao from Dashapu Fortress secretly slipped over to drink with me. He cursed the court as we drank, saying the higher-ups had withheld his military pay and he was very unhappy. I didn't think much of it at the time, but now I understand: he was testing me. If I had joined him in cursing the court then, he would have invited me to join the mutiny.”
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