novelSusiti Chapter 153 To Kill or Not to Kill Chen Boying?
Chapter 153 To Kill or Not to Kill Chen Boying?
Chapter 153 To Kill or Not to Kill Chen Boying?
Chapter 152 Without the Sand Ship Gang, the Donglin Party lost one of its two arms. In fact, the Jurchens in Liaodong were not truly a core interest of the Donglin Party. The Donglin Party's two true core interests were: first, controlling the Sand Ship Gang, using its fleet to sell silk from Jiangnan to Southeast Asia, from which they could reap huge profits; and second, controlling the Sand Ship Gang's fleet, which allowed them to sell silk from Jiangnan to Southeast Asia. This was the Donglin Party's most crucial interest.
The Donglin Party's smuggling ring also extended its reach to the enemy state of Jurchen in the north. Donglin Party merchant ships continuously transported prohibited grains (such as Jiangnan fragrant rice), strategic materials, and even artillery raw materials to Jurchen, forming a special smuggling chain. Its nature had transcended ordinary economic activities and belonged to the highly confidential flow of military materials. Historically, Mao Wenlong was killed without imperial decree because Pi Island was an indispensable link in the smuggling process. Without the sand ship gang as a black glove, the Donglin Party's source of wealth would be reduced by at least 30%.
Many people believe that the Eight Great Shanxi Merchants were the real culprits in supporting the Jurchens. In fact, the Eight Great Shanxi Merchants were just small fry. After all, their transportation capacity was limited. Not to mention just the Shanxi merchants, even the Ming Dynasty court would have to mobilize tens of thousands of laborers to transport tens of thousands of shi of grain. A thousand li would consume more than 90% of that. As the saying goes, "Don't transport firewood for a hundred li, don't transport grain for a thousand li." The Donglin Party controlled a large area of fertile land in Jiangnan. No matter how much grain they had, without the sand boat gangs, they couldn't transport it to Liaodong. Of course, besides the sand boat gangs, there was also the canal transport sector. The canal transport sector mainly used the funds provided by the court to maintain the canal transport to transport furs from the north and goods from the south to the north, earning huge profits from the price difference. In comparison, the canal transport sector was just one of their money bags.
Qian Qianyi wasn't actually afraid of the loss of over a million shi of grain and over two million taels of silver. While the loss of these resources was significant for the large Donglin Party, it wasn't fatal. The fatal problem was: without the sand barge guild, how would they export their silk, porcelain, ironware, and other goods to sea?
"Chen Boying, I must kill him!"
Qian Qianyi now harbors murderous intent towards Chen Boying. He even desires to kill Chen Boying more than he desires to kill the Tianqi Emperor. As for Wei Huanxian, he is not even as effective as Chen Suying in controlling the Donglin Party. Wei Huanxian merely wanted to collect taxes from the Donglin Party, while Chen Suying has cut off the Donglin Party's vital source of revenue.
"How will you kill me?"
Huang Daozhou stared at Qian Qianyi and said, "He is now the Commander of the Da Ning Military Region, and his wealth is incomparable to that of ordinary generals. Do you know how many personal guards he has? Chen Boying expanded the entire Shahe Guard to eight thousand-household units, which are actually two garrison thousand-household units. This one guard is almost the strength of two guards, only ten thousand men. These are all his personal guards. How many men do you think you can send to kill him? And after you kill him, how will you clean up the mess?"
During the more than two hundred years of the Ming Dynasty, only one general, Hu Dahai, a renowned general from the founding period, could be assassinated. Surrendered general Jiang Ying and others conspired to rebel, feigning an invitation to Hu Dahai to watch a crossbow demonstration at the Bayong Tower. Taking advantage of his momentary lapse in attention, they struck him on the head with a hammer hidden in their sleeves, killing him instantly. If we include Mao Wenlong, who was also killed, that makes two individuals. Assassinating a general in the army is far more difficult than assassinating a civil official; the two are simply not on the same level.
Even a first-rank civil official with the rank of Grand Tutor only enjoys eight ceremonial attendants, eight bodyguards, and sixteen guards appointed by the government. The problem is that private individuals can also support their own bodyguards. A second-rank military official like Chen Boying usually travels with fifty or sixty people, or even a hundred. To assassinate him, at least several hundred assassins would be needed. The Donglin Party certainly doesn't lack these hundreds of assassins. The problem is, how to get close to Chen Boying?
Assassinating a high-ranking general and thus committing treason is a consequence no one can afford. More importantly, it would give the court a pretext, and given Wei Zhongxian's ruthlessness, he could very well turn this case into one of the four major cases during the Hongwu era.
Seeing no support from others, Qian Qianyi did not abandon his assassination plan. He was well aware that the Donglin Party was not a monolithic entity, as each member had their own interests. The Donglin Party was a moderate faction that advocated coexistence and cooperation with other factions such as the Zhejiang and Chu factions, seeking to improve the government through gradual reforms and avoid fierce factional strife. Key figures included Gu Xiancheng in his early years and Ye Xianggao. They emphasized harmony in diversity, attempting to find a balance between moral reconstruction and practical politics.
The radical faction, led by Zhao Nanxing, had long plotted to use the sudden death of Emperor Taichang to frame Fang Congzhe as the mastermind behind the "murder" and launch a large-scale purge. Zhao Nanxing used events such as the "Gui Si Capital Inspection" to massively oust non-Donglin Party officials and install members of his own party in positions of power, exacerbating conflicts with other factions. However, it was precisely the radicalism of the radical faction that alerted Emperor Tianqi. He first began to win over Sun Chengzong and heavily rely on Wei Zhongxian. Wei Zhongxian then won over the Zhejiang, Qi, and Wu factions, leading to the marginalization of the Donglin Party along with the moderates.
Although the Donglin Party is often regarded as representing the literati of Jiangnan, its members were actually spread throughout the country. For example, Zhao Nanxing, Sun Chengzong, and Hou Xun were not from Jiangnan, and the regional interest groups behind different members varied. For instance, wealthy merchants from Jiangsu and Zhejiang and the emerging capitalist class were the main supporters of the Donglin Party, advocating tax reduction policies to protect the interests of industry and commerce.
Other members may be influenced by the interests of the northern gentry or different localities, leading to differing stances on specific policies (such as mining taxes and land reform).
This divergence of interests made it difficult for the Donglin Party to reach a consensus on decision-making. For example, in their attitude towards Prince Fu, Zhu Changxun, some members adopted an ambiguous stance due to their close ties with local powerful figures, which sparked internal disputes.
Secondly, there was the capitalist group led by Wang Wende, who had no national stance and were driven by self-interest, resorting to any means necessary. At this time, although Qian Qianyi was a leading figure among the second generation of the Donglin Party, he had many people who were dissatisfied with him, and he himself was very aware of this. It was precisely because of the discord within the Donglin Party that he was able to accurately plunder the property by targeting Chen Boying, including his attempt to persuade the Shachuan Gang to surrender. In Qian Qianyi's view, this was someone within the Donglin Party trying to undermine him, with the aim of sabotaging his plans. The reasoning was very simple: if Qian Qianyi's plan succeeded, he could definitely become the leader of the Donglin Party, and with this plan, he could control the court and become the de facto leader of the Donglin Party.
The problem is that Qian Qianyi was the third-ranked scholar in the imperial examination in the thirty-eighth year of the Wanli reign, and his highest official position was only the Right Vice Minister of the Imperial Academy, which was only a sixth-rank official position. In the imperial examination corruption scandal in the second year of the Tianqi reign, he was forced to resign and was now a commoner without an official position. He and Huang Daozhou, the Junior Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, were fourth-rank officials. Among the officials in the capital, they were considered to have high positions and great power, because the Court of Imperial Sacrifices was not only an official under the Crown Prince, but also an advanced version of the Hanlin Compiler, and had a certain say in the drafting of national policies and the research of strategic national policies.
More importantly, Huang Daozhou was a staunch resistance figure within the Donglin Party. He was always clearly a hardliner, not in the sense of being tough on other parties, but on the Jurchen issue. He was very firm in his stance, opposing providing assistance to Nurhaci and smuggling goods to the Jurchens.
In addition, there was Wen Zhenmeng, whose attitude also made Qian Qianyi wary. He also had enough to gain from betraying him, because Chen Boying had never been in contact with the Sand Boat Gang. How could such a large organization of tens of thousands of people just surrender like that? There must have been many rounds of negotiations and repeated probing, but the Sand Boat Gang surrendered directly, which made Qian Qianyi feel that someone must have been involved.
Lushun, the Daning Lushun Shipbuilding Bureau, was actually the original Lushun North City. At this time, Chen Ying directly assigned the North City to the Sand Ship Gang. The original military barracks in the city were directly assigned to the Sand Ship Gang to settle their families. Of course, since the North City was too small, it was impossible to live comfortably. After all, the actual area of the North City was only the size of a small community, just two or three acres.
Despite this, the members of the sand ship gang were very happy. After all, they had obtained what they had always dreamed of: official status in the Ming Dynasty court. They were no longer rats in the gutter. Now they could stand tall and proud. With the support of the sand ship gang's fleet of more than 700 ships, the Lushun Shipyard was under construction day and night, and massive amounts of steel and cement were being transported from Dalu Island and Yongning Port to Lushun.
The massive steel and cement structure was being built by tens of thousands of craftsmen working in two shifts, creating a truly inspiring scene. The shipyard under construction would be the future workplace for these sand barge workers. In addition to building the shipyard, a large number of brick and tile kilns and resettlement areas for shipyard workers were also being built. Chen Ying provided them with excellent conditions. Ordinary craftsmen enjoyed the same treatment as ordinary craftsmen in Shahewei, and had their own independent homesteads, with a minimum of one mu (approximately 0.16 acres), while highly skilled craftsmen could have three to five mu (approximately 0.26 acres).
In particular, in order to resettle these people as quickly as possible, a large number of house frame structures produced by Shahewei were transported from Tianjin to Lushun for direct assembly. Wooden houses rose up one after another, and the construction speed was very fast. The acquaintances and friends of the Shahewei shipyard were mostly craftsmen. They had no work before, some worked as laborers, some as tenant farmers, and many had even lost their ancestral skills. However, it didn't matter, as they still had some basic skills. If they didn't know how, they could learn. In a short period of time, they recruited more than 1,800 craftsmen from private shipyards in Jiangnan.
This allowed for faster shipyard construction, and the massive fleet of over 700 ships multiplied its transport capacity several times over. Trees felled in North Hamgyong Province, North Korea, were nailed together and floated down the Yalu River. Once in the sea, they were towed by large ships and transported to the port using gantry cranes with pulley systems that saved labor. On the shore, mountains of timber were piled up. Experienced shipbuilding craftsmen began processing the timber. After repeated inspections to ensure there were no wormholes, they were smoked to dehydrate and dry it.
This is similar to the drying rooms in Northeast China, which are similar to heated brick beds. Although the principle is not complicated, it is a technical skill. The timber for shipbuilding must be naturally dried for several years and completely dehydrated before it can be used. Too dry is not good, because it will swell and become heavy after being soaked in seawater. Too wet is also not good, because the timber will dehydrate under the scorching sun at sea, and the entire hull structure will be damaged. Too dry or too wet can be fatal. Only the most experienced craftsmen know how to use this drying method to keep the timber in the best condition and ensure the stability and strength of the hull structure. This is why those old craftsmen are so valuable.
The greatest advantage of the Ming Dynasty is its large population base and solid foundation. Even though the Ming Dynasty's shipbuilding capacity is no longer what it used to be, as long as it has financial and material resources, it can quickly transform them into productivity.
Not far from the shipyard, a large number of shipbuilding-related workshops were also built, such as those for rivets, nails, rigging, canvas, bearings, ropes, and fire-retardant paint—a whole host of supporting factories lined up in a row. The night in Lushun was brightly lit, like daytime. In countless workshops under construction and in production, the shouts of craftsmen, the clanging of hammers, and the creaking of saws blended into a magnificent symphony. On the docks, mountains of timber, steel, and sails gleamed coldly in the moonlight.
Chen Ying stood atop the newly built watchtower, overlooking the entire scene. Su Mei stood behind him and whispered, "My lord, are you really going to build over two hundred giant ships within three years?"
Chen Ying nodded and said, "Three years, more than two hundred ships. I never go back on my word."
"Sir, do you really need so many ships?"
"Do you know why I've built so many ships?"
Su Mei shook her head. She found it hard to believe. Logically speaking, Chen Boying's biggest enemy was the Jurchens, but the problem was that the Jurchens had no navy. Not to mention building new ships, now that the Sand Ship Gang had surrendered to Chen Boying, he had more than 700 ships, of which more than 3,000 had been converted into warships. They could completely crush the Jurchens.
Chen Ying's gaze was deep as he said calmly, "It's to ensure that the people of the Ming Dynasty have food to eat. The weather in the north is getting colder and colder, and the harvests are getting worse year by year. The land reclamation in Yongning is not very effective. We can't support so many people by just farming. Only by going to sea, to the South Seas, to the Western Seas, to those warmer places, can we find food and a way to survive. These ships are the hope of the Ming Dynasty. With ships, we can go to sea; once we're at sea, we can exchange our goods for food, silver, and medicine. Then the people of the Ming Dynasty won't go hungry."
On Douyin (TikTok) in later generations, many people complain that wheat is harvested in the summer. Of course, this is indeed true, because now there are a lot of chemical fertilizers and seeds, and dry fields in the north can also grow two crops a year, planting wheat in winter and harvesting it in summer. However, in fact, during the Little Ice Age in the Ming Dynasty, even some areas in the south of the Yangtze River could not harvest twice a year, mainly because the soil fertility could not keep up. Fields in the north also needed to be fallow, which meant leaving the fields empty and not planting crops, relying on nature to restore fertility.
Although Chen Boying planned to establish several military garrisons in Daning and relocate people to the border, the land allocated to them was only enough to feed them and could not support the tens of thousands of troops under his command.
The Age of Exploration has begun, and the Ming Dynasty has fallen behind the West. Now we must catch up. Once Chen Ying's invincible navy is established, what will become of the Dutch East India Company and the British East India Company? We'll beat them to a pulp.
In Lushun Port, at the sand barge caravan's camp, night had fallen. The sea breeze, carrying a salty, fishy smell, drifted through the simple wooden huts. Yang Hongliang, around forty years old, lay on his simple bed, tossing and turning, unable to sleep. His son, Yang Dapeng, was curled up in a corner, snoring evenly. This kid had spent the day carrying timber at the construction site, exhausted like a dead dog, and fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. Little did he know the torment his father was going through.
Yang Hongliang sat up, and in the dark, pulled a rough piece of hemp cloth from under his pillow. Inside the cloth was a crumpled piece of paper and a shiny black awl. The paper had only eight characters on it: "Kill Chen Boying. Do not fail."
This is Qian Qianyi's handwritten letter. He stared at these eight characters, his hands trembling.
Three years.
Three years ago, his only son, Yang Dapeng, that beast, was framed and owed a gambling debt of twelve taels and three mace of silver. Those people tied him up and said they would cut off his hands and feet. Yang Hongliang, relying on his fierce courage, wanted to rescue his son. He knocked down seven or eight thugs, but he was outnumbered and beaten to the point of near death, like a dead dog.
To pay off his son's debts, he borrowed money from many people, but it still didn't stop there. Twelve taels of silver ballooned to sixty-five taels of silver in a short time due to interest. Even if he gritted his teeth and sold his own daughter, he still couldn't raise that much money. In despair, he chose to escape and decided to commit suicide by jumping into the river. He met Qian Qianyi, who was playing on the Qingpu River. Qian Qianyi was not kind-hearted, of course. He just felt that Yang Hongliang was a small leader of the Sand Boat Gang, with great strength. Three or five people couldn't get close to him. More importantly, he needed an informant to keep an eye on the Sand Boat Gang.
And so, Qian Qianyi spent sixty-five taels of silver—the price of a typical small drink—to buy a loyal follower. Yang Hongliang knew very well that there's no such thing as a free lunch. That sixty-five taels of silver was his indenture, his last meal before execution. From then on, he would receive a note every few months telling him what to do. Sometimes it was where the Shachuan Gang's fleet was going, sometimes it was who Shen Huai'an had met, and sometimes it was about a problem with a newly built ship. He dared not disobey.
But now, the Sand Boat Gang has surrendered to Commander Chen and moved to Lushun. Qian Qianyi's note has arrived again. This time, it's not to gather information, but to order him to commit murder.
Kill Chen Boying.
To be fair, it would have been very easy for Yang Hongliang to kill Chen Boying, because Chen Boying had no suspicion of his fellow sand boatmen and the craftsmen who came to join him. Yang Hongliang had seen Chen Boying many times, and Chen Boying was not wearing official robes or carrying any weapons, but was dressed in a black linen robe, showing no airs of a high-ranking official.
He clearly remembered Chen Boying's words: "Brothers of the Sand Boat Gang, you don't need to be grateful to me. You don't steal or rob; you earn your living through your strength. I give you status, land, and a way to survive. This is what you deserve!"
He didn't understand any grand principles, but he was very clear that Chen Boying was different from other officials in the Ming Dynasty. There were very few good officials like Chen Boying in the entire Ming Dynasty. Yang Hongliang had no qualms about killing other officials, including their leader Shen Huai'an, because Shen Huai'an was a complete scoundrel. He would do anything for money, but he would never do anything to lick the boots of the Jurchens.
However, Chen Boying simply couldn't bring himself to do it.
What to do? Killing Chen Boying would be against my conscience. The brothers of the Sand Boat Gang had finally found a way to survive. If Chen Boying died, they would have no way to survive in the future.
But if Qian Qianyi doesn't kill Chen Boying, he's doing him a favor. If he doesn't repay that kindness, is he even human?
"What should we do?"
Yang Hongliang was in a deep dilemma. He thought of the daughter he had sold. She was smart, lively and lovely. He was still thinking about making money to redeem her.
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