Section Ten

The weather was exceptionally fine, with favorable winds and timely rains. The Han territory enjoyed another bountiful harvest, and within a mere half-month, the newly collected taxes had replenished the treasury, which had been depleted by war. Since Lin Feng established his rule in Beijing, this was the third major harvest, and notably, it had occurred without any significant droughts or floods. This was a truly curious phenomenon, for as far as Lin Feng knew, the region of China was not particularly hospitable in terms of survival conditions, with frequent natural disasters. In the decade leading up to the Eight Banners' entry into the pass, the land seemed to have been plagued by madness, ultimately disaster-stricken to the point of collapsing the Ming Dynasty, which had held the mandate for two hundred years. Yet, after the establishment of the Han Empire, the climate suddenly turned mild, seemingly cradling this vast agricultural empire.

Though the cause remained a mystery, it did not hinder the sense of security that took root among the people. Once the harvest was safely stored, the literati north of the Yellow River began to grasp the significance of this. While the seventeenth century saw some scientific progress, ignorance and superstition remained dominant. Thus, climate and celestial phenomena were easily linked to the ruling institution. By ancient tradition, Lin Feng was undoubtedly the "True Lord of Destiny." Although the Han court had already achieved this effect militarily, the legitimacy of a state and its acceptance by the people deepen over time; military might alone does not equate to legitimacy. These consecutive agricultural harvests, however, bridged that gap. The concept of the "Mandate of Heaven" was not merely a matter of high-ranking scholars making lofty pronouncements; in the final analysis, it depended on the rice bins of the common people.

Coinciding with the good news of the harvest, the tens of millions of subjects of the Han Empire finally had a goal to strive for: in the summer of 1686, the Princess of Han gave birth to a son for His Highness, the Prince of Han. The delivery was smooth, and both mother and child were safe. Lin Feng had never imagined that the influence of a pregnant woman could reach such heights. On the eve of Wu Ake’s labor, high-ranking officials and generals, including the Han Chancellor Li Guangdi and the Chief of General Staff and Censor-in-Chief Chen Menglei, set aside their administrative duties to gather outside the Prince’s mansion, awaiting news of the little prince’s birth. Even more astonishing to Lin Feng was that the staunch Neo-Confucian scholar Li Guangdi had solemnly ordered the selection of the most renowned midwives. When news of the successful birth reached the front hall, upon Li Guangdi’s suggestion, Lin Feng sat at the head of the chamber, and the officials shouted "Long Live" three times, as if they had won a great war.

According to reliable reports from the Office of Ordnance and Provisions, the Southern Zhou Emperor, Wu Sangui, had been bedridden for over half a year. The large-scale war in Guangxi last year had exhausted his remaining energy. Once the Southern Zhou army had officially wiped out the remnants of the pseudo-Qing rebels and brought the entire province of Guangxi under his control, this renowned military commander collapsed. His health continued to deteriorate; despite the meticulous care of his imperial physicians and the consumption of precious medicinal herbs like ginseng and fleeceflower root, these measures only allowed him to linger on without any real improvement. Since October of last year, Emperor Wu Sangui had not attended court for over eight months, remaining conscious for no more than two hours a day. All the work he could manage was to listen to close ministers read a memorial or two, then indicate whether to affix the imperial seal with a nod or a blink.

However, opinions and political stances aside, it was not wise to break with the Han army under the current circumstances. Militarily, although the generals of Southern Zhou were consistently arrogant, none dared to guarantee they could defeat the Han army. Since Lin Feng’s crushing defeat of Galdan, the Han army’s reputation for "archery and horsemanship" had become world-renowned. Even the Jurchen and Mongols had been emasculated by the Han forces, making it hard to imagine anyone else gaining an advantage on the battlefield. Economically, the provinces under Southern Zhou had been severely devastated by previous wars, leaving the treasury tight and struggling even to appease refugees or encourage farming. Furthermore, the signature commodity—the tea trade—was monopolized by the Jin-Hui Chamber of Commerce under the Han army. Although Southern Zhou had considered organizing its own commercial activities, it achieved almost no results due to the pressure from the Taiwan fleet and the remnants of the pseudo-Qing forces.

This was a complex and unpredictable matter. Although Yang Qilong’s peasant uprising army had always maintained good relations with the Han army, it did not mean he would submit to Lin Feng or willingly serve as a minister. Yang Qilong had never concealed his ambitions, openly raising the banner of "The Ming Crown Prince Restoring the Nation." It was easy to surmise that Lin Feng’s proclamation as Prince was the absolute limit of what he could tolerate; if Lin Feng were to declare himself Emperor, there was a high probability that they would take up arms against each other. Additionally, the Eastern Mongol Khorchin remained ambiguous, with relations fluctuating. With Galdan of the Dzungars yet to be defeated, the two sides would not launch a large-scale war for the time being, but this was only temporary. Any person with political acumen could see that a conflict between the Han and the Khorchin was inevitable—a brutal, life-or-death racial war, unlike any other.

In light of this, Lin Feng devoted almost all his energy to the military. Within the Han court, all civil matters, great and small, were decided by Li Guangdi alone. Except for major policies such as the summer harvest, imperial examinations, famine relief, and river engineering, Lin Feng did not even glance at the memorials, entrusting them entirely to the Chancellor’s cabinet. As soon as the summer harvest concluded, the General Staff immediately began the reorganization and expansion of the army.

During the war in Shanxi last year, the elite main force of the Han army suffered heavy casualties, particularly the units under General of Defeating the Captives Ma Ying, General of Subjugating the North Zhao Liangdong, and General of the Imperial Guard Rike. The losses were most severe in Ma Ying’s unit, which suffered over fifty percent casualties. Because Ma Ying had ordered the slaughter of all prisoners, Galdan’s Kheshig guards fought like cornered beasts in the Dingxiang area. The 6th Cavalry Division, tasked with the pursuit and annihilation, fought a bitter battle for a day and night, finally decapitating all 11,000 enemy troops with the support of the 2nd Imperial Cavalry Division. Behind this glorious result lay the cost: the 6th Cavalry Division had lost more than half its strength, including a large number of experienced officers and veteran soldiers.

Therefore, after Lin Feng’s army returned, these battered units were immediately withdrawn to their stations for replenishment. General Ma Ying did not even stop in Beijing; his cavalry division bypassed the capital and retreated to Liaodong to conscript Liaodong settlers and soldiers from other tribes to replenish the losses. Furthermore, the more than ten thousand prisoners captured in Shanxi were broken up and dispersed into various units. However, after such a bloody battle, most of these prisoners held great hostility toward the Han army and could not be trusted without long-term indoctrination and brainwashing.

During this reorganization, Lin Feng put forward a new expansion plan: the Prince’s personal Imperial Guard units were to be expanded from three divisions to five—two infantry divisions, one artillery division, and one cavalry division—increasing their strength from over 30,000 to over 58,000 men. The entire Zhili Province was brought under the defensive jurisdiction of the Royal Imperial Guard, and with the exception of ports like Tianjin and the Great Wall defense line, all other units were relocated to other provinces.

Additionally, the original Green Standard Army defectors from Anhui, having proven their loyalty and reliability in the southern campaign, were granted the designation of the 9th Han Infantry Division, with the Illustrious General Zhou Qiu appointed as commander. Officers were drawn from the Mazhuang Military Academy to reorganize the unit. Furthermore, the Gansu-Shaanxi Governor-General’s Office was established, with General of Pacifying the West Zhang Yong appointed as the Governor-General of Gansu-Shaanxi. Zhang Ying, formerly a secretary in the Ministry of Rites, was transferred to serve as the Governor of Shaanxi. Over 28,000 infantrymen under his command were organized into the 7th and 10th Han Infantry Divisions, equipped with over 6,000 horses, 120 cannons, and supplemented by over 500 staff officers. Zhao Liangdong’s 5th Infantry Division was placed under Zhang Yong’s command, with plans to construct several fortress camps in northwestern Shaanxi to counter the "Ma the Kestrel" of Sichuan and Galdan’s Western Mongol army.

Following this reorganization, the regular Han land forces were organized into fifteen divisions, with a total strength of over 225,000 men, including local garrisons. This force comprised over 50,000 cavalry, 30,000 artillery, and 140,000 musketeers. Local militia units, extending from Zhili—east to the Yalu River, west to the Jade Gate Pass, north to the Great Wall, and south to Jiangsu and Jiangxi—were recruited at a rate of one in ten men from the total population of 36 million. According to the Han military system, they farmed during the busy seasons and trained during the off-seasons. With officers dispatched to command and equip them, the General Staff registered a total of over 1,246,000 men. Thus, today, the Lin-Han Dynasty has become the preeminent military power in East Asia, both in terms of troop numbers, training, and equipment.