Chapter 46: The Newsman of the Great Ming Dynasty

The door, of course, did not open.

Without the slightest hesitation, Yang Xin stepped back. He suddenly accelerated to his limit, leaped up at the last moment, and kicked at the not-so-sturdy door. With the sound of the bolt inside breaking, the two door panels instantly swung inward…

Inside were three pairs of terrified eyes.

The man was holding a pitchfork, trembling as he looked at Yang Xin from in front of a larger woman and a smaller woman.

“Brother, there is no need to be afraid. I was just playing a little game with my friend outside. It might have caused some misunderstanding. To prevent you from misunderstanding further, I came here specially to explain. Do you understand now? If not, I will stay here and keep explaining until you do. So, do you understand now?”

Yang Xin said with a smile.

The man behind him scrambled to his feet and ran away.

“U-understand!”

The man forced a faint smile and said.

Yang Xin nodded with satisfaction.

Then he turned around…

“Your door was blown open by the wind,”

he said.

Having said that, he swaggered off.

Of course, this was just a small interlude. Soon, Yang Xin returned to the Mingshi Quarter. As he entered the quarter’s gate, a man approached him. Yang Xin turned his head and looked at him somewhat puzzled. The latter glanced at his attire and quietly pulled out a stack of papers from his robe…

“Young master, would you like a Court Gazette?”

he said.

Yang Xin was momentarily dazed.

“Freshly copied from the Office of Transmission this morning. All the latest memorials, most of them retained by the Emperor. You won’t see these in the Capital Gazette. If you are interested, young master, just tell me where you live, and I’ll deliver it to your residence every day. Guaranteed to be the latest news. I have Court Gazettes and military situation reports. They will let you know about all major events in the world without even leaving your home. If you need anything else, just ask. I can even get you a price list for the girls at the Southern Courtyard.”

the man added.

“Why are you being so sneaky?”

Yang Xin asked.

“Young master, are you joking? How can one casually copy memorials retained by the Emperor?”

The man immediately became wary.

“Just teasing you!”

Yang Xin laughed, took the newspaper, and told him his address, asking him to deliver the latest one every day from now on. He then tossed him a few pieces of broken silver. The man immediately expressed profuse thanks and left.

Yang Xin watched this newsman of the Great Ming Dynasty with some emotion.

The latter soon spotted another man dressed as a scholar and approached to dig for new customers.

Only then did Yang Xin turn back and walk while reading the newspaper. The headline nearly made him trip over a stone. It boldly stated that Western Censorate Inspector Xue Zhen petitioned for the Tianjin Military Defense Circuit to publicly announce the arrest of the fugitive Yang Xin. In smaller print next to it were his glorious deeds. However, there was nothing about his romantic rumors. This kind of small paper was extremely brief and could not narrate in detail. Moreover, it was clearly hand-copied. His romantic rumors were spread through Anonymous Accusation Posters and folk gossip.

He dismissed these with a laugh.

But the remaining content was very valuable. First, a man from She County named Cao Zhilian petitioned, requesting to search the homes of wealthy families in Jiangnan together with eunuchs to borrow several million in military funds.

This was a loyal man serving the state.

Actually, the simplest way to solve the court’s financial problems at this time was government bonds. However, the Gentry might not trust the Emperor’s credit. After all, if the Emperor didn’t repay, they could do nothing. But there would always be some bold ones seeking great wealth amidst danger. If coupled with some political privileges, maybe some could be sold. The second method was straightforwardly selling official titles. Even if they were empty titles, local rich men might want their tombstones to look good after death. This method sounds unpleasant, but our Great Qing has already proven with facts that it really works!

However, this petition was angrily denounced by the Director of the Office of Transmission, Yao Siren.

Secondly, the Jiannu launched a large-scale invasion through the Fushun Pass.

This referred to the time when the Ming Army lost Kaiyuan and Tieling. Regional Military Commander Ma Lin defended Kaiyuan with his newly defeated army, but it was finally taken by force by Wild Boar Skin. Ma Lin and his Deputy General Yu Hualong died in battle. However, the participants in this big battle were not just the Ming Army and the Jiannu. There were also Mongols in this area. The two tribes of Zaisai and Nuantu, who originally traded with Ma Lin, watched the Ming Army’s defeat, then attacked and captured places like Zhenxi Fort and Qingyun Fort. Like hyenas snatching a lion’s prey, they roamed around the battlefield, taking the chance to attack smaller Ming forts and plunder. Afterwards, Wild Boar Skin captured Tieling. At this time, a fourth player joined.

Namely, the Yehe Tribe.

Wild Boar Skin feigned an attack in the south but struck in the north. He pretended to attack Shenyang to lull the Jin Taiji brothers, then suddenly moved his main force north to attack the Yehe Tribe in the area of modern Siping, and destroyed the Yehe Tribe in one move, eliminating the threat to his rear. However, Zaisai, who had been picking up scraps along the way, finally couldn’t control his greed. He suddenly attacked Tieling, which had just been occupied by the Jiannu, trying to seize the loot. But he was defeated and captured by Wild Boar Skin.

The key to this battle was this traitor Zaisai.

If he had truly allied with the Ming Army and attacked Wild Boar Skin from the outside when Wild Boar Skin attacked Kaiyuan, then Ma Lin might have been able to hold out for reinforcements. During that time, Ming reinforcements moved north from Tieling, but by then Kaiyuan had already fallen. The Jiannu then defeated this reinforcement army. If Zaisai had helped Ma Lin, allowing Ma Lin to hold out until these reinforcements arrived, Wild Boar Skin would likely have faced a stalemate. Then the Ming forces in Shenyang would also have reinforced. And Jin Taiji, who had previously cooperated with Ma Lin, would have taken the chance to take revenge on Wild Boar Skin. Ultimately, the Ming Army, the Yehe Tribe, and the Khalkha Mongols would have joined forces against Wild Boar Skin. Wild Boar Skin would have had to retreat in the end. He didn’t have enough food to support a long-term offensive. Then Zaisai wouldn’t have been captured, and Jin Taiji wouldn’t have been destroyed.

But Zaisai turned traitor.

In the end, he himself became a captive of Wild Boar Skin’s divide-and-conquer strategy.

Of course, there was also the slow reinforcement of the southern Ming forces. The Ming Army, having just suffered a heavy defeat, feared the enemy. Especially Li Ruzhen stationed in Shenyang and He Shixian at Hupi Post clearly reacted slowly. And Li Ruzhen even sat by and watched as Tieling, where his ancestral graves were located, was taken by Wild Boar Skin.

But at this time, Wild Boar Skin could really only be called a minor irritation.

Even if he captured Kaiyuan and Tieling, it was the same.

As long as he couldn’t take Shenyang and Liaoyang, the Great Ming Dynasty’s position in Liaodong was as solid as a rock.

And later, during Xiong Tingbi’s administration of Liaodong, these two places always remained in Ming hands. It was after Yuan Yingtai replaced him that, acting like an idiot, he opened the gates to accept refugees, ultimately leading to the fall of the two cities. Yuan Yingtai’s death could not erase his crime. If not for his idiotic action, fortresses of the level of Shenyang and Liaoyang simply could not have been captured by Wild Boar Skin. Especially Liaoyang. Even within the Pass, it was top-tier. With a perimeter of twenty-four li, it was almost on the same level as Xi’an City. How could the Jiannu, without cannons, breach such a fortress?

Not to mention the Ming defenders had plenty of cannons.

This wasn’t like Kaiyuan where they could just climb ladders to get up. How do you climb a ten-meter-high brick-faced wall?

It couldn’t be taken without inside help.

Similarly, if these two cities had not fallen, Wild Boar Skin could not have left the mountains and forests to gain a real foothold on the plains. Especially since he captured a large number of slaves in these two cities. The farming by these slaves provided Wild Boar Skin with a stable food supply. In a sense, Yang Gao was not the beginning of the Ming’s fall.

He was.

This man was the arch-criminal through the ages.

Next, it depended on Xiong Tingbi. But it was already impossible for him to save Kaiyuan and Tieling. At this time, he hadn’t even set out yet. In fact, his official appointment hadn’t even come down. Even though everyone knew he was going to Liaodong, the formal Imperial Edict still hadn’t been issued. It must be said that Wanli was quite a procrastinator. And His Majesty the Emperor also planned to have him bring a group of elite troops from the Capital Garrison to display the court’s military might…

Well, His Majesty the Emperor really knew how to be funny.

The third item was from the Minister of War, Huang Jiashan. The newly appointed Regional Military Commander for Liaodong, Li Ruzhen, arrived at Shanhai Pass and demanded that the Governor-General of Ji-Liao, Wang Keshou, come out to greet him. But Wang Keshou believed that as a civil official, military officers must obey civil officials. So Li Ruzhen had to go see him. This matter alarmed the Minister of War. The Minister of War believed Li Ruzhen’s actions were pure nonsense. A Regional Military Commander, even with the honorary title of First-rank Right Commander-in-Chief, must go pay respects to the Third-rank civil official, the Vice Minister of War and Governor-General of Ji-Liao, to uphold the Great Ming’s principle of civil officials commanding military officers…

“Damn it, what times are these, still fussing over such weird things!”

Yang Xin said speechlessly.

Of course, he found it weird. But for those civil officials, this was the most important matter of principle. Wild Boar Skin wasn’t really an enemy to them. Military officers trying to rise up was what they could not tolerate.

Even the slightest sign must be crushed.

Probably Li Ruzhen’s performance after arriving in Liaodong was related to this incident. Although this guy had been in the Imperial Guard all his life and never fought a war, the Household Servants of their Li Family were all there. He couldn’t fight, but his status was there. He didn’t need to do anything; the battle-hardened Household Servants of the Li Family would take care of everything for him. In the Battle of Sarhu, Li Rubai suffered no losses. At this time, even Mao Wenlong was still following their Li Family. If Li Ruzhen had returned full of passion, forcing these people to really exert themselves, it was impossible that he would even lose his own ancestral graves.

That was very shameful.

But this incident directly extinguished his passionate fire.

It made him sober up and realize that even as a First-rank official, even as Imperial Guard, in the eyes of civil officials, he was still just a common soldier!

Then where would his fighting spirit come from?

Yang Xin walked while reading the newspaper like this and soon returned to Xu Guangqi’s mansion. For the next two days, he didn’t leave the Xu Mansion at all, just sent someone to tell Xiaocao to play by herself. And Nine Thousand Years Old soon sent a one-hundred-tael Silver Note, which was actually still the one Yang Xin had given him. But by now, Yang Xin had already inquired clearly. Making that ivory Rubik’s Cube didn’t cost that much, because ivory wasn’t expensive at this time, less than one tael per jin. Of course, that depended on the quality. But even adding the craftsman’s wages, one hundred taels could make a whole bunch. So, following the principle of sharing good things with everyone, he simply decided to make twenty first and distribute them for fun to everyone. Like Wang Wang, Fang Tinglan, even Xiaocao would get one. And have Nine Thousand Years Old send one to Consort Zheng…

This thing was just a toy.

Basically, any teenage boy or girl would like it. He would just give one to each of his current acquaintances to play with, including someone like Young Master Fang.