Chapter 772: Zhang Yue Visits the Sick, the Old Minister’s Efforts

Although there was still a severely injured uncle in the general’s residence, Zhang Yue had come here on official business. Thus, after Marquis Anyuan Liu Sheng and the accompanying civil and military officials paid their visit, Zhang Yue could no longer attend to him and devoted all his energy to handling military affairs in place of the sick Li Qing.

Not long after starting his career, he worked in the Ministry of War, successively serving in the Armory Department and the Geography Department. Unlike other civil officials, he had actually experienced battles and handled various tasks. However, during the third northern expedition and subsequent inspections, he merely accompanied others. Now that Li Qing had handed over power, he often took Shi An and Chen Yong to the general’s residence for advice at night, and during the day he advised in the main hall in front of the general’s residence, leaving almost no free time at all.

Although Jiaozhou Prefecture was once the eastern capital of Annam, it could not accommodate 50,000 troops. Therefore, troops were stationed in Cilian and Fuan counties under Jiaozhou Prefecture, in addition to securing the numerous roads leading north. That day, Liu Sheng, Zhang Yue, and others stood in front of the sand table in the main hall of the general’s residence, focusing on the roads leading north from Jiaozhou Prefecture, discussing how to keep them unobstructed.

“There are three routes to Jiaozhi. One is by sea from Guangdong. Since the time of General Han Fubo, ships set sail from the Wulei Mountains in Lianzhou. With a favorable north wind, it takes two days to reach Haidong Prefecture. If traveling along the coast, it takes about eight days from Wulei Mountains to Haidong Prefecture. Haidong Prefecture allows for easy transportation of supplies via the Bai Teng Hai Kou, An Yang Hai Kou, Tu Shan Hai Kou, and Duo Yu Hai Kou. Military provisions can also be delivered to Jiaozhou by inland rivers. To ensure the safety of sea routes for transporting supplies, extra attention must be paid to the Haidong Prefecture area.

Before I arrived, I ordered the Guangdong Provincial Administration to send ships to transport supplies whenever there was a strong north wind. So far, Haidong Prefecture has reported that four ships carrying about 4,000 dan of military provisions have arrived. Yet, the sea is still risky, and since the rebels have been planning for a long time, more troops need to be sent in. Therefore, the land routes from Yunnan and Guangxi to Jiaozhi must also be kept unobstructed.”

After Zhang Yue’s explanation, the others had nothing to say. Liu Sheng nodded and said, “The spies we sent back have just reported that the officials in the various counties under Jiaozhou Prefecture are capable. Not only have they suffered little damage during the rebels’ attacks, but many of the warships built earlier are still usable. With these, along with the naval forces, everything should be secure. To be honest, we never expected such a sudden upheaval here. It’s all because of Lord Rongchang… If only we could wait for the Divine Might ships to return from their overseas mission, the entire eastern coast would be within their patrol range. Even if the rebels are strong, they wouldn’t dare cause trouble at sea!”

With that, he ordered, “Go and organize your troops respectively. The defeated soldiers inside the city should be reorganized properly… Well, they have merited their place defending the city. The previous defeat of Lord Rongchang was his own fault and has nothing to do with them. It’s fine to encourage them a bit. Once the troops are organized and supplies are sufficient within half a month, we shall advance immediately. We must pacify the south first, then return to Jiaozhou Prefecture to celebrate the New Year properly!”
The generals all agreed loudly, but Liu Sheng kept Zhang Yue back and asked with a frown, “There are rumors among the generals outside that Li Qing has been sick since leaving Nanning Prefecture. In fact, he doesn’t want to follow the army on further campaigns. Since you go there every day, have you noticed anything? He used to be the Minister of War, but later was sent to Nanjing to stay there. If he really harbors resentment, then the emperor has chosen the wrong person this time!”
Hearing this, Zhang Yue was immediately alarmed, though he understood the situation. Li Qing had always been extremely strict as the Minister of War, even when dealing with powerful nobles in the Military Command. So when he was transferred to Nanjing, many nobles and military officials must have rejoiced. Now that he had returned to assist the army, people saw him as weak and naturally thought they could take advantage of him.
“My lord, Minister Li has been ill due to years of overwork. The hardships along the way, coupled with acclimatization issues, caused his illness. Now that he’s truly too weak, he has entrusted many tasks to me. But he had already said he would definitely follow the army. All those rumors in the army are nonsense. In fact, aren’t there many sick people in Jiaozhou Prefecture now? Minister Huang is in very poor health, Commander Fang is barely able to carry out his duties despite being ill, two out of the six advisors in the Jiaozhou Administrative Office are sick, and Minister Chen Qia also takes medicine every day just in case. Besides, even though it’s nearly winter now, which officer isn’t careful to avoid contracting malaria?”
Malaria was the most prevalent disease in this region. Since the Han Dynasty, conquering this area had always been fraught with the threat of malaria. After all, Jiaozhou had a tropical climate with extreme heat, so there were countless mosquitoes, and a slight carelessness could lead to a major outbreak. Liu Sheng had also had his own soldiers suffer from it. Hearing this, his expression changed immediately, followed by a sigh.
“If that’s the case, there’s still a court physician in the general’s office. Since he’s here, don’t let him go. Have him examine all the sick people here, whether it’s Li Qing or Huang Fu. Go see Huang Fu… Oh, and tell your elder brother Zhang Chao to take advantage of the smooth roads in the north to escort your second uncle and your father back as soon as possible. Jiaozhou isn’t a safe place; anything could happen!”

After capturing Jiaozhi during the Yongle era, this place became the ideal destination for exiled officials, far surpassing Lingnan and Hainan during the Tang and Song dynasties. Zhang Yue’s uncle, Zhang Xin, also spent several years here. Those assigned to serve here had to guard against rebellions by local chiefs and the populace, as well as elusive poisonous insects and snakes. Additionally, they faced issues such as acclimatization problems and rampant diseases… In short, out of ten officials who took up their posts, it was already quite good if half of them could endure long enough to be pardoned and return to the capital—thanks to Huang Fu’s efforts to comfort and reassure them.

This former grand secretary, who had been regarded by countless exiled officials as a second father, was now himself bedridden with illness. Yet even though he had been unable to handle affairs for days, a large crowd still gathered outside his simple official residence. Among them were no officials dressed in fine silk robes—only locals in short shirts, low-ranking officials, as well as servants, laborers, and stablehands, all holding various items.

“Brother Li, my mother heard that Grand Secretary Huang is ill, so she asked me to bring this basket of eggs. They’re from our own chickens—our sincere gift!”

“Yes, exactly. If not for Grand Secretary Huang, my child wouldn’t have been able to take the imperial examinations. Though he failed this time, he’s still studying at the Imperial Academy. It’s nothing valuable—just some medicinal herbs we grew ourselves!”

“It’s so chaotic outside. If anything happens to Grand Secretary Huang, we’ll be like orphans! Although there aren’t many insects in this weather, we still need to be careful. This is a mosquito repellent made by my family. Please give it to Grand Secretary Huang, Brother Li! I’m Chen Ji; Grand Secretary Huang has met me several times before!”

Yet no matter how hard they tried to hand their items to the gatekeeper, the burly man kept pushing them away busily. His face turned red, but he kept insisting that his master had strict rules and would never accept gifts from outsiders. Not far away, Zhang Yue and Doctor He, who had just gotten off their carriage, watched this scene—one in admiration, the other in surprise. Faced with the crowded crowd at the door, the two, with the help of their guards, fought their way in after Peng Shisan cleared a path for them.

Huang Fu stayed in Jiaozhi for over a decade. Aside from two sets of official robes made of silk and crepe, he wore ordinary clothes in daily life. His official residence had also been patched up for over a decade, lacking any semblance of a second-rank official’s dwelling. Due to the long distance to Jiaozhi, his wife, children, and family were all in Nanjing. He was accompanied only by two servants, with the rest being officials’ clerks. As he was taking medicine at the time, upon hearing that Zhang Yue had come to visit, he quickly drank down the bitter medicine in one gulp, had a cushion placed behind him by his servant, and forced himself to sit upright.

Zhang Yue and Huang Fu had only a slight acquaintance from their time in Nanjing. He had always admired this man in his early sixties for spending so many years in this malarial region. After meeting, he called in Physician He to take Huang Fu’s pulse. Physician He smiled apologetically and explained that the fever had subsided, and with proper care, Huang Fu would be fine. When the physician left to write a prescription, Zhang Yue felt greatly relieved.

Huang Fu, however, didn’t care much about the physician’s diagnosis. Hearing that Zhang Yue was only concerned about his illness, he waved his hand and said, “I know my own condition. I’ve always taken good care of myself, so I’m still quite strong. If it weren’t for my temporary weakness, there wouldn’t be rumors everywhere saying I’m dead, leading people to claim that the court would change its strategy for Jiaozhi, causing great upheaval. That’s all my fault. Even if I had to be carried out, I would have to set things straight!”

After saying this, he paused briefly before adding, “I know you’re not the kind to seek glory through rash actions, but I still have a few words of advice.”

During his previous visit, Huang Fu was too ill to speak or move, so Zhang Yue could only offer a few words of comfort. Now, hearing Huang Fu’s earnest admonition, he quickly said, “Please speak, Your Excellency. I’m listening attentively.”

“People say you’re ruthless and merciless, but I know those are just superficial impressions. Just by seeing your attitude toward governing the region and treating the common people, I know you’re kind at heart. When the Duke of Ying first established control over Jiaozhi, he built a palace to intimidate the local people, but such tactics work only temporarily, not forever. The rebellion this time is the same—Chen Tianbao is a name that never existed before. He’s just creating chaos by pretending to be a descendant of the Chen family to deceive people. Most of the rebels are simply being misled. If you use harsh measures to suppress rebellion, you must also have corresponding strategies to win over the people. Since the son of the Chen family was reinstated as the governor of Jiaozhi, most people have come to trust him. Therefore, Chen Tianbao can never muster up a pretense of having millions of soldiers and civilians!”

At this point, Huang Fu could hardly breathe, but ignoring Zhang Yue’s attempts to stop him, he struggled to continue, “There are also the military farms… I personally oversaw those in Jiaozhi. Those defeated soldiers are good farmers, and of course they can’t compare to the elite troops of the three major camps or the imperial guards in battle… Jiaozhou Prefecture has been able to hold out for so long precisely because its military farms are the best in Jiaozhi, allowing it to accumulate so much military grain! Once the rebellion is quelled, the military farms must not be neglected—those soldiers who died in battle must be taken care of properly…”

From military farming and stabilizing the people to selecting officials and setting taxes, Huang Fu spoke non-stop for almost half an hour before finally running out of strength. Yet he still clung tightly to Zhang Yue’s hand, taking some time before uttering his last words: “If you treat the people like your children, they will treat you like their parents; if you treat them like enemies, they will treat you like natural foes… When using force, never kill too many—remember this well…”

Facing this old minister’s nagging yet earnest advice, Zhang Yue listened carefully to every word. When he reached the final instructions, he nodded with a smile.

Seeing this, Huang Fu breathed a sigh of relief and leaned back to rest for a while. When he heard the old servant report that the streets were blocked with gift-bringers eager to present their various gifts, his frown gradually faded. He then insisted on keeping Zhang Yue, hurriedly giving the servant his instructions, before smiling at him.

“I originally thought my old bones wouldn’t be of much help, but who would have thought they’d come to me on their own! With his medicine, the army will be much safer in the dense forests!”

Today, Peng Shisan accompanied him out and went with Zhang Yue to see Governor Fang Zheng and Minister Li Qing. On the way back, he couldn’t help but sigh, “Minister Huang said that dealing with the people of Jiaozhi requires kindness—nothing more than calmness. Minister Li said that the people of Jiaozhi have always been chaotic and need strict control to bring peace. Governor Fang keeps saying they’re cunning. Everyone seems to have a point—whose advice will you follow?”

“Minister Huang has governed for over a decade, and in terms of experience, no one can surpass him. Moreover, you’ve seen the bustling crowds at his door today, which clearly shows that he must have loved his people as his own children in the past, which is why he enjoys such deep affection. Minister Li has always been strict, and this description fits his character well. As for Governor Fang, his words are based on personal experience. Setting aside this current rebellion for now, weren’t all the instigators of previous rebellions former local officials appointed by the court? Ultimately, it boils down to one thing: ordinary people simply seek a place to live and make a living, with no chance for advancement. So naturally, if you treat them well, they will be grateful. But local power brokers—give them a thousand and they’ll want ten thousand. Such people have insatiable desires, yet through them, governance can be improved. So…”

Zhang Yue paused, not finishing his sentence. But seeing Peng Shisan’s gleaming eyes, he understood that this outwardly rough but inwardly astute man had already figured it out—since the Qin dynasty, no dynasty has ruled the world alone; instead, it has ruled together with powerful local elites. It’s just that over thousands of years, these elites have evolved from noble families into scholars and officials. Though Jiaozhi is considered a barbaric land today, it isn’t that different.

Clutching the prescription in his sleeve, Zhang Yue felt extremely pleased. This was the greatest gain from his visit to Huang Fu—a spice maker who once created a secret formula to expel parasites for the Annam royal family. Though he seemed weak, that stubborn Jiaozhi might still refuse.

Malaria is caused by mosquitoes. Even though it’s already October, as we advance toward Jiaonan, the climate will become increasingly hot. With this prescription, those rebels’ greatest advantage will no longer be a threat!