Chapter 158: Going to the Southern Zhili as Regional Commander

"Let's talk about something else," Sun Chuanting changed the subject. "Your father would like to hear your thoughts on the current situation of the realm."

Wang Pu replied, "Father, do you want to hear the truth or a falsehood?"

"Don't be absurd," Sun Chuanting said with a trace of annoyance. "Naturally, I want to hear the truth."

"The truth is that the roving bandits have already grown into a formidable force. It is already impossible to suppress and annihilate them within two or three years," Wang Pu said, shifting his tone. "Furthermore, if we act with excessive haste, we might instead fuel the bandits' momentum and accelerate the collapse of the situation across the five northern provinces."

Sun Chuanting frowned. "Is it truly that severe?"

Wang Pu said solemnly, "The actual progression of events is likely even graver than what your son is describing."

Sun Chuanting asked, "Even with your Firearm Battalion, the bandits cannot be destroyed?"

Wang Pu smiled bitterly. "Father, the Firearm Battalion has only four thousand men! Yet the roving bandits number at least half a million troops. The disparity in strength is far too vast; if every one of them were merely to spit, they would drown my Firearm Battalion."

Sun Chuanting said, "A single Firearm Battalion is certainly not enough, but what if there were ten such battalions? Could they not wipe out the bandits?"

Wang Pu retorted, "Father, stop joking. Do you know how much silver it takes to establish ten Firearm Battalions? Do you honestly believe the Ming dynasty's current financial state can support that?"

Sun Chuanting proposed, "What if I pooled the financial resources of the five northern provinces? How many Firearm Battalions could be formed?"

Wang Pu asked, "How much financial resource do the five northern provinces actually possess?"

Sun Chuanting estimated, "We should be able to squeeze out two hundred thousand taels annually."

"Two hundred thousand taels?" Wang Pu gave a bitter smile. "Forget it, Father. Two hundred thousand taels is barely enough for the stipends of the Firearm Battalion's four thousand soldiers for half a year. If you factor in the newly formed Piker Battalion and Logistics Battalion, it wouldn't even sustain half a year's pay. With this paltry sum, nothing can be accomplished."

"What did you say?" Sun Chuanting frowned. "Twenty thousand taels—no, two hundred thousand taels is only enough for four thousand soldiers' pay for half a year?"

Wang Pu explained, "Father, this is merely the monthly expenditure for pay. If we win a victory, the reward silver alone is a substantial expense. For an army to possess formidable combat effectiveness, relying solely on equipment and training is not enough; it is largely built by pouring silver into them. Take the Firearm Battalion under my command, for instance—do you know how much silver I have poured into it?"

Sun Chuanting asked, "How much silver?"

Wang Pu answered, "Including the pensions for fallen soldiers, the reward silver after victories, the silver to purchase weapons and equipment, the silver for grain and fodder, and the monthly stipends issued to the soldiers, it has already exceeded one million taels!"

Sun Chuanting gasped, "It requires that much silver?"

Wang Pu said, "Father, an army is a machine that devours money. In the end, what does warfare depend on if not silver?"

Sun Chuanting remarked, "Fortunately, your Wang family is the wealthiest in Shanxi, possessing silver in abundance."

"Oh, stop right there," Wang Pu hurriedly waved his hands. "It is true that our Wang family is the wealthiest in Shanxi, but by now all our assets have been entirely transferred to the Jiangnan region. Your son doesn't have a single extra tael of silver in his hands."

"You rascal," Sun Chuanting laughed and scolded. "Don't think your father knows nothing. When the Jiannu attacked the city, the Wang family donated two million taels of silver, plus the twenty thousand taels from Eunuch Zhang. Of that, several hundred thousand taels were spent on rewards for the city-defending soldiers and civilian braves, and several hundred thousand taels were used to provide relief for the Datong refugees. There should still be close to a million left, right?"

Wang Pu said, "You even know about this?"

Sun Chuanting suddenly sighed and said, "If it is as you say, even if we had one million taels, it would only be enough to form one more Firearm Battalion. Relying on merely two Firearm Battalions is still far too thin. But if we cannot even count on the Firearm Battalions, then this matter is truly rather thorny..."

Wang Pu suggested, "Father, if you listen to your son, the best course of action now is to adopt a defensive posture against the roving bandits and the Jiannu. Guard strategic choke points like Tongguan and Shanhai Pass, try your best to divide and confine the enemy within a specific region, and then promptly restore the New Policies across the ten provinces of Jiangnan to first improve the dire financial situation. Once the imperial treasury has funds and grain, you can intensify the drilling of a New Army. When the New Army is successfully trained, eliminate the roving bandits first, and finally free up your hands to deal with the Jiannu outside the passes."

Sun Chuanting sighed. "How would your father not wish to do this? But His Majesty will not wait, and the censors and officials at court are eagerly waiting to pick faults with your father. If your father cannot annihilate the roving bandits in Henan within a year, the best outcome will be dismissal from office, and the worst will be losing my head."

Wang Pu said, "That is why you can only act as Cao Cao. Once you act as Cao Cao, you won't need to pay attention to His Majesty, nor will you need to care about those damn censors and officials at court."

"Shut your mouth," Sun Chuanting snapped in anger. "I already said, never mention these words again."

Wang Pu let out a hum and said nothing more.

Sun Chuanting pondered for a moment, then suddenly asked, "Son, suppose your father wants to transfer your Firearm Battalion to Kaifeng—will you go or not?"

Wang Pu answered, "I will go, but on one condition."

Sun Chuanting asked, "What condition?"

Wang Pu stated, "You must memorialize the imperial court to transfer your son to serve as the regional commander in Southern Zhili."

"Nonsense," Sun Chuanting rebuked angrily. "How can there be such a thing as brazenly demanding an official post from His Majesty?"

"Then there is no other way," Wang Pu smiled faintly. "If you do not transfer your son to serve as regional commander in Southern Zhili, then your son will have no choice but to stay put in Datong and refuse to move."

"Preposterous!" Sun Chuanting raged. "You rascal dare to blackmail your father?"

"Father, don't get angry; anger is useless," Wang Pu chuckled craftily. "Your son wasn't scared growing up. To be honest with you, if you can transfer your son to Southern Zhili as regional commander, your son can help you train an elite force of one hundred thousand within two years, and without costing the imperial treasury a single coin!"

Wang Pu was telling the truth; he truly had never intended to take a single penny from the Ming dynasty's imperial treasury.

Yet, considering the treasonous deeds Wang Pu had committed in Datong, he could forget about ever getting another copper coin or a single grain of rice from the imperial treasury anyway.

"An elite force of one hundred thousand?" Sun Chuanting was moved. "You brat, are you trying to become Cao Cao yourself?"

Wang Pu said, "Father, as long as all the people under heaven can live in peace, and as long as the Ming dynasty's ancestral mandate can endure through the ages, it does not matter whether the methods adopted are reasonable, nor does it matter if the process violates the ancient teachings of the sages. What matters is the ultimate outcome—this is what they call achieving the same goal by different paths. What do you say?"

Forbidden City, Palace of Heavenly Purity.

Emperor Chongzhen was reviewing memorials when Wang Chengen entered the grand hall holding a bowl of ginseng soup, and said respectfully, "Your Majesty, you have been reviewing memorials all day; it is time to rest."

Emperor Chongzhen put down his vermilion brush, stood up, and stretched lazily before suddenly asking, "Chengen, Sun Chuanting should have arrived in Datong by now, shouldn't he?"

Wang Chengen replied respectfully, "Judging by the journey, he should have arrived."

Emperor Chongzhen asked softly, "Do you think Sun Chuanting can bring Wang Pu under control?"

"It's hard to say," Wang Chengen shook his head, saying with no little apprehension, "However things turn out, this servant still hopes the Prince Consort can mend his ways and place state affairs above all else."

"No, he won't," Emperor Chongzhen shook his head. "Wang Pu has committed so many treasonous acts; it is impossible for him to turn back now. Alas, had We known this earlier, We truly should not have allowed him to return to Datong. If We had kept him in the capital, he might have become a fierce general; but letting him return to Datong was like releasing a tiger back to the mountains."

Chengen also sighed, saying with regret, "Although the Prince Consort won the Battle of Datong, protected the local people, slew many Jiannu, and captured several of their key figures, he has nonetheless failed Your Majesty's high expectations of him."

"Even now you are still speaking up for him?" A flash of imperceptible ruthlessness suddenly crossed Emperor Chongzhen's eyes as he lowered his voice and said, "Sometimes朕 truly wish to dispatch the Brocade Guard to escort him to the capital to stand trial, yet We are constrained by the army in his hands. If he were to be driven to desperation and defect to the roving bandits, the consequences would be too dreadful to contemplate."

"Indeed," Wang Chengen nodded in agreement. "This matter must be deliberated at length; we cannot rush it."

Emperor Chongzhen sighed softly, "It is only my Ruru who suffers. Alas..."

Shengjing, Dorgon's Residence.

Dorgon summoned Fan Wencheng and Ning Wanwo to his residence overnight. He said, "Mr. Wencheng, Mr. Wanwo, news has just been transmitted back by our secret agents: Hooge and Tantai were defeated by Wang Pu in Datong and taken alive. They have now been executed by slow slicing at the vegetable market in Beijing."

"A good thing," Ning Wanwo clapped his hands in praise. "With Hooge dead, Your Highness's greatest thorn in the flesh has been removed."

"What is Hooge?" Fan Wencheng said dismissively. "Regent Jirgalang is Your Highness's true thorn in the flesh."

"Quite right, quite right," Ning Wanwo repeatedly agreed. "Now is the time to deal with Jirgalang."

"Dealing with Jirgalang can wait," Dorgon shook his head. "The most urgent task is to establish Firearm Battalions as quickly as possible—at least ten Firearm Battalions just like Wang Pu's. We must use firearms, and we must employ the tactics Wang Pu used. Wang Pu's Firearm Battalion is far too formidable; if our Great Qing does not catch up head-on, we will ultimately perish at the hands of Wang Pu's Firearm Battalion."