Zhu Yunwen knew full well that Zhu Di had spent years building his power in Beiping. His hold on the people's hearts was firm, and his prestige in the army could not be underestimated. And so the unstoppable blade of the New Army policy thrust straight into Beiping Prefecture.
Didn't you have the army's loyalty, Zhu Di?
Then let's put it to the test. Let's see whether their hearts belong to you or to me.
Beiping, the military parade ground.
Banners snapped in the wind, and horns rang out.
Fifty thousand elite soldiers stood in formation, their martial might sweeping across heaven and earth, their murderous aura shaking men's hearts.
A host of officers stood at the head of the ranks, their eyes burning as they watched Ping An and Sheng Yong on the raised platform.
Ping An strode forward with his head held high and shouted in a deep, ringing voice, "These past two days, people have kept asking me what the hell this New Army policy is. I'll tell you! It's a great national policy His Majesty poured his heart and soul into for the sake of his soldiers! These are benefits His Majesty scrimped and saved to give us ordinary grunts!"
"Is the New Army policy any good? Ha! This is the treatment the Capital Garrison gets, the treatment that moved four hundred thousand soldiers to tears! I heard a few useless bastards even fainted from sheer happiness! If they were my men, I'd kick them out. Never seen anything good in their lives!"
"But, brothers, when I learned what was in the New Army policy, I wanted to faint too. With benefits this good, I'd throw everything on the line and slaughter the Tatars and Oirats. I'd willingly die out there!"
"But that was the Capital Garrison's policy. We didn't have it! I'm a rough man with a foul temper, and I couldn't swallow that. We're all soldiers, all born and raised by our parents, so why should us northern grunts get worse treatment than those pampered boys in the Capital?"
"That's not fair! Brothers, tell me: the Capital Garrison eats meat every day while we gnaw on dirt. They get special training every day while we run laps. They get home leave every month while we go years without seeing home. If their soldiers' parents fall ill, they can use His Majesty's own money for treatment. If ours get sick, they can only wait to die. Is that fair? Tell me, is it fair?"
"No!"
More than fifty thousand men craned their necks and roared!
Ping An shouted, "I thought it was unfair too! So I pulled some strings and went to Xu Huizu of the Five Army Commandery, asking him to pass a message to His Majesty. Fine, send me to command the troops in Beiping, but my soldiers must get the same treatment as the Capital Garrison! Meat to eat, leave to go home, and Imperial Medical Funds to spend when their parents fall ill! And if we die, the court must see our parents through their final years and help our children establish families! Tell me, was I right to ask for that?"
"Yes!"
Their voices rose as one!
Ping An laughed heartily and shouted, "Prick up your ears and listen! I misjudged His Majesty. His Majesty said the New Army policy would first be tested in the Capital Garrison, then extended to the entire army once experience had been gained. His Majesty has been thinking of us! He hasn't forgotten us! His Majesty's boundless grace!"
"His Majesty's boundless grace!"
"His Majesty's boundless grace!"
"His Majesty's boundless grace!"
The soldiers shouted until their voices grew hoarse, their blood boiling.
Ping An took a document from his robe, held it high, and shouted with all his strength, "I don't like waiting! Since His Majesty was testing the New Army policy in the Capital Garrison, why not test it in Beiping's guards too? His Majesty has approved the implementation of the New Army policy in Beiping Prefecture as well as the Capital Garrison! Sheng Yong!"
"Here!"
Sheng Yong answered loudly and stepped forward.
Ping An produced a booklet and shouted sternly, "Proclaim the New Army policy to every officer and soldier!"
Sheng Yong stepped forward, took the booklet, and called out, "Let the entire army hear! All officers and soldiers of our Great Ming who are loyal to the court and loyal to Great Ming are its protectors and shall receive equal treatment. The New Army policy shall be implemented throughout the army."
"Article one of the New Army policy: soldiers fight a hundred battles, and their bodies are their foundation. Their food shall therefore be improved to strengthen their bodies and spirits. They shall receive no fewer than three meals a day, with meat or fish served daily. Each soldier shall receive at least two dishes per meal, in quantities sufficient to eat his fill."
"Article two of the New Army policy: soldiers fight for their country, their people, and their families. Due regard shall therefore be given to human affection, with home visits arranged and families cared for. Each soldier shall receive two days of home leave per month. Unused leave may be carried over to the following month. For festivals such as the Mid-Autumn Festival, the New Year, and the Qingming Festival, three days of leave shall be granted, with reasonable arrangements for rotating leave."
"Article three of the New Army policy: the parents of all soldiers shall be regarded as first-class subjects of the court and supported as the court's own parents. Should a family member fall ill, His Majesty shall provide half the medical expenses from the treasury. A Family Affairs Office shall be established to address the difficulties of soldiers' families. Any hardship may be reported to the Family Affairs Office for resolution."
"..."
"Article twenty of the New Army policy: any soldier who has served more than twenty years may apply to leave the army. His household shall be exempted from all corvée labor for three years, and he shall receive the salary of an Eighth Rank official. His son shall receive the salary of a Subordinate Eighth Rank official, with the amount decreasing through succeeding generations and ending after the fourth generation..."
Dozens of burly men stood behind Sheng Yong, proclaiming the New Army policy to the entire army in unison.
Every new provision filled the soldiers present with overwhelming joy!
Their own benefits, their families' benefits, death benefits, retirement benefits-all had been laid out clearly. Their eyes reddened, and their breathing quickened!
Before, soldiers had received nothing but their military pay. They never knew when they might go home, nor how much money would reach their families if they died in battle!
Now they knew!
Before, when our parents grew old and sick, we couldn't find good physicians or afford medicine. Now His Majesty himself is giving us money! We're spending the Imperial Medical Funds. Who would refuse us medicine or treatment?
His Majesty cares for our parents as though they were his own!
Some men retired with bodies full of aches and illnesses, and no one cared for them. Now there's nothing to fear. Serve twenty years, and we can go home with the benefits of officials! Though the benefits decrease with each generation, our families will still be eating the emperor's grain!
A lifetime of hard work, and our descendants will enjoy its blessings for generations!
With terms like these, how could a soldier not fight with his life on the line?
What? That much money if we die? And subsidies for ten whole years afterward!
Is my life really worth that much?
His Majesty is far too good to us!
"We thank His Majesty for his boundless grace! Even in death, we shall not fail His Majesty, the court, or Great Ming!"
"We thank His Majesty for his boundless grace! Even in death, we shall not fail His Majesty, the court, or Great Ming!"
Every soldier shouted with all his might, as though trying to pour every drop of hot blood from his chest into that cry.
The entire army thundered!
Their voices pierced the clouds!
Their spirit arched across the sky like a rainbow!
Under Ping An and Sheng Yong's leadership, the New Army policy became an occasion for the entire army to swear its allegiance to the court and the Jianwen Emperor.
After returning to the Regional Military Command Office, Ping An and Sheng Yong ordered their subordinates to post the New Army policy throughout the streets and alleys of Beiping Prefecture, assigning men specifically to explain it.
There was no helping it. Few people in this age could read. Without someone explaining it, who the hell would know what was written there?
In an exceedingly short time, the New Army policy spread throughout Beiping Prefecture, including the surrounding guard stations. Ping An and Sheng Yong made several rounds, winning over these veteran soldiers of the Prince of Yan with the policy.
The Prince of Yan's Palace.
The fifty-six-year-old veteran Zhang Yu wore a sorrowful expression. As assistant commander of the Prince of Yan's Left Guard, he had not enjoyed a peaceful night's sleep in more than a month.
Zhang Yu had felt no concern when Zhu Di, the Prince of Yan, went to the Capital.
Yet less than two months later, the situation in Beiping Prefecture had changed drastically.
Zhang Bing, Ping An, Sheng Yong, Qu Neng, and others had taken control of Beiping, Shanhai Pass, and other places, leaving them under mounting pressure.
Zhang Yu hurried to consult the people of the Prince of Yan's Palace about how to respond, but the palace was empty of leadership. Zhu Di was absent, as were his three sons. When Zhang Yu asked Princess Consort Xu Yihua, she could not decide what to do either.
As for Zhu Di's two sons-in-law, Yuan Rong and Li Rang, neither had much ability.
Left with no alternative, Zhang Yu consulted Zhu Neng, assistant commander of the Right Guard, and they decided to visit Qingshou Temple to seek Dao Yan's advice.
After carefully analyzing the situation, Dao Yan concluded that although Ping An, Sheng Yong, and the others had come on fiercely, they did not affect the overall picture. After all, the soldiers of Beiping Prefecture and the surrounding guards all regarded the Prince of Yan as their master, and some officers had been promoted by his own hand.
Although Ping An and Sheng Yong held military authority, that did not mean they could make these men obey them. Once Zhu Di returned, there would be no problem.
Hold their troops in place and counter movement with stillness.
Such was Dao Yan's wisdom.
Zhang Yu and Zhu Neng knew Dao Yan's talents well, and knew that Zhu Di regarded him as a trusted confidant. They followed his arrangements, sending men to investigate developments in the Capital while secretly contacting the Prince of Yan's former subordinates and proceeding cautiously.
But Zhang Yu had enjoyed only a few days of peace before news reached him that Dao Yan had been summoned to the Capital. In alarm, Zhang Yu and Zhu Neng hurried to Qingshou Temple, only to be told that Dao Yan had already been taken away by an envoy from the Capital and men from the Bureau of Buddhist Registers.
With no other choice, Zhang Yu and Zhu Neng led their men in a frantic pursuit, catching up with Dao Yan twenty li outside the city.
The two offered a large sum of money, hoping the Bureau of Buddhist Registers and the imperial envoy would release Dao Yan. But these men knew how strict Zhu Yunwen's orders were. If they failed to bring Dao Yan to the Capital, they might well lose their heads.
When the choice lay between money and life, most people favored life.
Seeing that they could not take Dao Yan away, Zhang Yu and Zhu Neng used money to smooth the way instead, securing an hour's delay.
Although Zhu Yunwen's order to "permit no delay" was nonnegotiable, the men carrying it out could still be negotiated with.
It would be unreasonable to pass up money there for the taking.
On an errand that involved so much running about, if they did not accept a few bribes and extract a few benefits, how would they afford a visit to the Qinhuai River after returning to the Capital?
Dao Yan did not know what had changed in the Capital, nor why Zhu Yunwen had specifically demanded his presence in the palace. But he knew that his dream was probably about to shatter.
Standing beside the road, Dao Yan looked desolate. As he gazed at the vast, uncertain road ahead, his heart felt even more bleak.
A lifetime of learning, with nowhere to put it to use.
Beneath blue skies and broad daylight, an entire life squandered!
How bitter!
How sorrowful!
Within the Buddhist gates, I could not become a Buddha.
Within the Daoist gates, I could not become a sage.
The Dragon Gate through which I sought to defy Heaven had also collapsed with a crash.
The world's myriad possibilities had ended in empty illusion.
Dejected, Dao Yan made arrangements with Zhang Yu and Zhu Neng and wrote a letter, entrusting them to deliver it to Zhu Di, the Prince of Yan. Then he continued toward the Capital with the men from the Bureau of Buddhist Registers and the imperial envoy.
Zhang Yu, Zhu Neng, and everyone in the Prince of Yan's Palace felt an immense pressure bearing down on them.
If Dao Yan's departure had been a thorn driven into Zhang Yu's flesh, then the New Army policy implemented by Ping An and Sheng Yong on the ninth day of the ninth month was a blade of unsurpassed sharpness that pierced his heart!
A fatal blow!
The details of the New Army policy soon reached the Prince of Yan's Palace and the Prince of Yan's Three Guards.
The Prince of Yan's Three Guards cheered in unison, brimming with joy. Every man regarded the new emperor, Zhu Yunwen, as a parent who had given him life anew, and many swore their allegiance.
But when noon arrived and they found no meat in their meals, the Prince of Yan's Three Guards refused to stand for it. What had happened to the promised New Army policy? Why couldn't it be implemented even on the first day?
Zhou Duo, a battalion commander in the Prince of Yan's Left Guard, had always been arrogant and overbearing, swaggering wherever he went in Beiping Prefecture. Seeing that such a tremendous benefit had somehow passed his own soldiers by, he wasted no words. He gathered a hundred or so men and headed straight for the Regional Military Command Office.
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