Chapter 961 - Sun Yuanhua

The Dengzhou Governor's Yamen had been newly established during the Tianqi reign and was quite imposing. At the entrance sat a large green-canopied sedan chair. Beneath the screen wall stood several vermillion "tall plaques" inscribed in imitation Song-style gilded lettering with official titles and honors. The various flags hanging about were so numerous they dazzled the eyes.

Looking deeper into the yamen, two rows of armed personal guards stretched from the main gate all the way to the front of the main hall. Among them stood several military officers of third and fourth rank. Seeing this scene, Zhao Yingong knew that if he approached rashly, he probably wouldn't even get a chance to speak. He immediately stepped aside, took out his calling card and the letter of introduction written by the Xu family, and sent Jiying forward to present them.

"Use a one-tael gate fee," he reminded Jiying.

After a long while, a retainer finally emerged, holding his calling card, and called out: "Which is the Master Zhao from Hangzhou?"

Zhao Yingong nodded and stepped forward with measured strides. "This humble scholar is he."

"His Excellency summons you."

"Indeed. Please lead the way."

Fenghua had been trained for this routine. He immediately raised Zhao Yingong's calling card while the retainer led them inside. The governor's yamen was substantial in scale, impressive and imposing throughout. Arriving at the flower hall entrance, an attendant held aside the door curtain, indicating he should enter.

Looking inside, a vigorous middle-aged official in casual clothes sat at a redwood kang table in the center of the flower hall, holding a letter. Zhao Yingong knew this must be the famous Sun Yuanhua.

He steadied himself briefly, then lifted his garment hem to pay respects while announcing his name.

"Ah, so you are Master Zhao!" Sun Yuanhua's eyes carried considerable authority. Though a civil official, he had served in the military in Liaodong for many years. The commanding presence cultivated through years of military life exerted a pressure that made Zhao Yingong feel a slight chill of intimidation.

The man before him was Dengzhou Governor—a genuine high official of the court who sat in the eight-seat sedan chair, commanded heavy troops, and could have heads roll with a single order. Before such a person, an ordinary man naturally found it difficult to resist his authority. Zhao Yingong rationalized the cold sweat on his back: he had never so clearly realized how weak and powerless he felt when separated from the collective strength of the group.

Fortunately, Sun Yuanhua was favorably impressed with Zhao Yingong. The visitor was tall, with commanding presence and elegant bearing—modest yet lacking nothing in confidence. Sun nodded to himself approvingly.

He had already received letters from the Hangzhou church and now had the Xu family's letter of introduction before him. Both spoke highly of this "Master Zhao"—especially his great efforts during the Hangzhou church case, running about on the church's behalf and largely dispelling local hostility toward the congregation. For the small Chinese church, this was a great service. He couldn't help but allow a smile to appear on his face.

"Please be seated, Master!"

Zhao Yingong took his seat. An attendant placed a covered teacup on the side table beside him.

"Your accent doesn't seem to be from Guangdong, Master."

"Correct. This humble scholar's ancestral home is Hangzhou. My ancestors settled in Sanshui, Guangdong, due to their trading business and registered there." Zhao Yingong spoke with care.

Sun Yuanhua was quite warm toward this "seeker of truth" introduced by the church—not merely because of religious faith, but more because the letters mentioned that this Master Zhao was well-versed in "Western learning." He possessed particularly deep knowledge of "Australia." The "Australian goods" that had become increasingly common over the past two years—Sun Yuanhua had examined some himself. Being more discerning than ordinary people, he recognized that these weren't merely clever tricks but seemed to represent a new learning even more profound than his Western studies.

Sun Yuanhua was most interested in the Australians' military operations in Qiongzhou. He had already collected considerable intelligence about that battle in fragments. The Jesuits in Lingao had transmitted information about the Battle of Chengmai to Macau, and Sun Yuanhua had not only Jesuit priests but also quite a few Portuguese soldiers around him. Through this channel, the intelligence he received was far richer and more accurate than what the court possessed.

Sun Yuanhua was particularly interested in the Chengmai campaign because the Australians' combat methodology there bore considerable similarity to Ming army practice. They too had exploited their advantage in firearms, using defense as offense—first building high walls and deep ditches, positioning firearms to wear down the enemy's assault, then seizing opportunities to counterattack.

The problem was that Ming army practice of this kind had produced almost no successful examples. Sun Yuanhua had served in Liaodong for many years. Apart from one "Guangning Victory" under Yuan Chonghuan, most Ming attempts to use fortifications, war-wagons, and firearms to repel enemies had ended in repeated defeats.

Yet the Australians in Qiongzhou had employed similar tactics to defeat government troops several times their number—and He Zhen's forces had also possessed red-barbarian cannon. The Australians' firearms were obviously far superior to the Portuguese weapons. His interest in the "outlander pirates" had therefore increased greatly.

Thus, after only brief pleasantries, Sun Yuanhua steered the conversation toward the Australians.

"Since you reside in Guangdong and trade in Australian goods, you must know the Australians' true situation quite well?"

Zhao Yingong nodded. "This humble scholar knows a bit."

Sun Yuanhua immediately began inquiring about the Australians' military situation, especially their firearms.

Zhao Yingong dared not say too much on this subject, nor could he simply spout nonsense. He knew the man before him was an expert. More importantly, Sun possessed the Jesuit intelligence channel—if he wished, he could learn many things through it. To gain his trust, the calibration had to be precise. Whatever could be said should be said truthfully as far as possible.

Therefore, though he only discussed relatively superficial matters, he still touched on details that might interest Sun Yuanhua—particularly some basic explanations of Australian cannons' power, range, and shell types.

Then they discussed Australian firearms. Sun Yuanhua was deeply interested in Minié rifles and revolvers. From his words, Zhao Yingong learned that several Minié rifles and revolvers had fallen into Ming army hands and been transferred to the mainland. Sun Yuanhua thus had detailed knowledge of these weapons' forms. He even produced a diagram, though the proportions weren't quite accurate. At a glance, Zhao Yingong noticed many details were missing, and he relaxed inwardly.

"I've always wanted to examine a real gun," Sun Yuanhua sighed. "I hear they're different from our dynasty's and the red-hairs' matchlocks—impervious to wind and rain, with lead balls that can travel one or two li. I wonder what mysterious technique the outlanders use?"

"Where are the real guns now?" Zhao Yingong was very interested in this.

"Still in Guangdong. I sent people to retrieve them but only obtained this diagram. I hear several fell into Fujian Governor Xiong's hands." Sun Yuanhua seemed quite regretful—he was training a new army and casting firearms at Dengzhou, so naturally he had strong interest in "new-style firearms."

Zhao Yingong immediately explained the purpose of rifling in the Minié rifle. Revealing this technical secret had been pre-approved. Rifling wasn't particularly secret even at this time—early rifles had already appeared in Europe, though they possessed no practical combat value. Replicating them in the Great Ming would be even more difficult. As for Minié bullets—though the bullet's principle and structure appeared simple, no location in this timeline possessed the industrial capacity to manufacture them, to say nothing of the critical percussion caps.

Sun Yuanhua listened very carefully, occasionally raising questions. At such moments, Zhao Yingong felt Sun Yuanhua was more like an engineer than a Ming bureaucrat. He couldn't help developing a bit more fondness for him.

He noticed, however, that though Sun Yuanhua was impressed by the Australians' "disciplined troops" and "willingness to fight," his greatest interest remained fixated on "Australian firearms." Zhao Yingong couldn't help shaking his head inwardly: clearly, Sun's thinking model remained that of a "Westernization faction," focused primarily on "implements."

Both Xu Guangqi and Sun Yuanhua, though quite dedicated to introducing Western weapons and technology, had touched very little on the nascent European modern military theory and military systems of the time. Zhao Yingong recalled that in Western military matters, Sun Yuanhua's greatest interest besides firearms was European-style fortresses. He had even personally designed some defensive works that "blended Chinese and foreign" elements.

"...I had no idea you possessed such profound expertise in firearms." Sun Yuanhua was full of admiration. He instructed the attendant: "Invite Master Zhao to join me on the kang!"

This was an elevation in protocol. For the Governor to invite a mere xiucai to sit together on the kang was a tremendous honor. Even Zhao Yingong felt flattered. Inwardly he was quite pleased, and his confidence in handling Governor Sun grew.

After the attendant moved the covered teacup to the kang table, Zhao Yingong expressed thanks and took his seat.

Sun Yuanhua then said slowly: "Master Zhao's insights into the Australians run so deep—I suspect this isn't merely from trading, is it?"

Zhao Yingong started, hastily standing to bow with cupped hands. "Your Excellency sees through to a thousand li! This humble scholar's trade with the Australians has indeed gone quite deep."

Going "quite deep" implied he had also engaged in contraband business with the Australians—nothing unusual in the maritime trade of the time.

"Sit, sit." Sun Yuanhua gestured downward. "How does it compare to Master Gao?"

Zhao Yingong realized Sun even knew about Gao Ju. He immediately assumed an expression of surprise and respect. "This humble scholar dares not compare myself to Master Gao."

Sun Yuanhua smiled slightly. "What brings you thousands of li from Hangzhou's gentle comforts to this place?"

Zhao Yingong knew this question was coming. He answered carefully: "Though this humble scholar passed the examinations, I've had ill luck in the imperial tests. I can only continue my ancestors' old trade, practicing the arts of Guan Zhong and Tao Zhu."

Dengzhou was the front line against the northern barbarians. Not only were millions of shi of grain, military supplies, and pay silver shipped from here each year, but local garrison consumption was also considerable. For a merchant to want to participate here was neither surprising nor difficult to explain.

Sun Yuanhua said: "Though military supply trading here is plentiful, the risks are also great." Because of their shared "fellow believer" status, he felt it necessary to warn the other party. The Dengzhou-Laizhou area had long been the logistics hub for Liaodong military operations. Commercial opportunities abounded everywhere, but traveling to Liaodong carried the dangers of wind and waves—many ships and cargoes were lost every year. And though there was no Later Jin navy at sea, the Ming navy wasn't exactly gentle either. Cases of secretly attacking and plundering merchant ships occurred from time to time.

(End of Chapter)