Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 555: People's Suffering

The setting sun shone on the vertical battlements, casting the shadows of the tower's battlements onto the long bluestone street.

Outside the gray-brick and gray-tiled government office, Yuan Keli and Lu Wenzhao rode side by side, trailed by a dozen or so cavalrymen. The crisp clatter of horse hooves echoed, lingering far away before blending into the bustling crowd at the crossroads.

Shops along the street gradually lit up, and the twilight was thick with white steam from the pancake-making shops. Peddlers carrying loads hurried along the walls, their baskets filled with the refreshing aroma of Xingu liquor. Porters nibbling pancakes on the steps of a teahouse noticed Yuan Keli's scarlet robes, and hurriedly pulled back their legs, hunched over, their heads bowed. On the eaves of the city gate, the clanging of wind chimes startled a lingering ray of rosy light in the evening breeze.

"Captain Lu." Yuan Keli suddenly called out softly.

"What instructions does Yuan Bingxian have?" Lu Wenzhao immediately turned to look at Yuan Keli.

Yuan Keli chuckled and shook his head. "I just wanted to ask, is that old friend you mentioned in General Qi's camp? If so, you can go there and chat. I'll go back on my own."

"Thank you, Yuan Bingxian, for your kindness. But she's not in General Qi's camp," Lu Wenzhao's brows unconsciously furrowed in worry. "I think she must have gone to General Qin's army, just as she said."

Turning the next corner, a ray of blood-red sunlight suddenly hit him. Yuan Keli's pupils shrank, and he subconsciously turned his head to avoid it, just in time to see the worry between Lu Wenzhao's brows.

"Auspicious people are blessed by heaven. Didn't General Xiong say that the southwestern chieftain soldiers fought very well and haven't suffered too many casualties so far. And who knows, maybe the one who reported the merit in the Weining Camp was actually him, and not someone with the same name?" Yuan Keli comforted him.

Lu Wenzhao smiled softly, his brows deliberately relaxed. "Then I'll rely on your good wishes."

"May I take the liberty of asking you a private question?" Yuan Keli's eyes gradually adapted to the dimming sunlight, and his pupils dilated.

Lu Wenzhao was stunned for a moment, then took the initiative to ask, "Yuan Bingxian wants to ask about the relationship between General Qi and me, right?"

"Yes." Yuan Keli turned around and looked directly at the clock tower that stood in the middle of the road. "If it's inconvenient, Captain Lu doesn't have to tell you."

"It's not inconvenient," Lu Wenzhao said with a smile, "I can indeed establish a distant friendship with General Qi. But this is also the first time I have met General Qi in person. Before this, I had only heard of his name. It can be said that I have admired him for a long time but never met him."

A puzzled look crossed Yuan Keli's face. "But at the welcoming banquet at noon, you two seemed quite familiar with each other, didn't you?"

Lu Wenzhao said, "That's because he's so kind and friendly. He doesn't look down on me because I'm of low status and is willing to humble himself to him. If we talk about seniority, even my master would kowtow to him and call him General."

"Who is the respected teacher?"

Lu Wenzhao narrowed his eyes slightly, slowly sinking into recollection. "Master's surname is Zhuge, and his taboo name is Qian. He was a member of the Dengzhou Guards in Shandong. He was unknown in the officialdom. When he was very young, Master served as a captain under General Qi. During the Longqing period, he accompanied General Qi to Jizhou and stationed at Miyun. When General Qi was transferred to Guangdong, Master did not go with him. Instead, he stayed in Jizhou and guarded Gubeikou with General Qi."

"In the 11th year of the Wanli reign, General Qi was dismissed for some reason, and he returned home with General Qi. In the 22nd year of the Wanli reign, General Qi re-established his guerrilla position in Liuhe, and Master was summoned to accompany him. In the 30th year of the Wanli reign, General Qi was promoted to Southern Zhili, appointed Deputy General-in-Chief of the Southern Zhili Jiangnan Region, and Master also went with him. However, by then, Master was already quite old and still had some old injuries, so he only served in the army for a year before retiring to live out his days. After leaving the barracks, Master settled in Southern Zhili and opened a school to accept disciples. It was after that that my father sent me to Master's martial arts studio."

"To be honest, I entered the martial arts school very early, but I have no talent at all. If it weren't for Master's kindness, I would have had a hard time even completing my apprenticeship." Lu Wenzhao smiled and shook his head. "On the other hand, Junior Sister Ding is incredibly talented, a young prodigy. She only studied martial arts for a few years at Wuzhai, and I'm no match for her at all."

"Junior sister?" Yuan Keli was listening attentively until the word "junior sister" reached his ears.

"Yes." Lu Wenzhao nodded.

"Could the Junior Sister Ding that Captain Lu was talking about be the fellow Ding who came to Liaodong to join the army?" Yuan Keli's expression was a little strange. Before this, the image of fellow Ding in his mind had always been a big and strong man.

"Didn't your subordinate say that?" Lu Wenzhao blinked. "Hiss! It seems like he didn't say that."

"Maybe I just forgot." Yuan Keli chuckled and asked, "Master, are you a disciple of Wang Xue?"

"No," Lu Wenzhao shook his head blankly and asked doubtfully, "Why does Master Yuan ask this?"

"I'm really ignorant," Yuan Keli said. "I always thought that only enthusiasts of Wang Xue like Li Zhuowu would accept female disciples. It seems that's not entirely true."

Lu Wenzhao was stunned for a moment, and thought for a long time before he realized that the Li Zhuowu Yuan Keli was referring to should be Li Zhi!

Li Zhi died of a hunger strike in the Jinyiwei's imperial prison, so Lu Wenzhao had heard of his deeds. In the 30th year of the Wanli reign, the 76-year-old Li Zhi was arrested by the Jinyiwei due to the impeachment of Zhang Wenda, who was then the Minister of Rites and now the Left Censor-in-Chief of the Metropolitan Censorate.

One of Zhang Wenda's impeachments directly implicated Li Zhi's practice of recruiting numerous female disciples: "He seduced the wives and daughters of scholars into the nunnery to preach, some even bringing their own quilts and pillows to the nunnery to listen. It was a scene of madness. He also wrote a book called 'Questions on Guanyin,' in which the so-called Guanyins were all the wives and daughters of scholars." Although Zhang Wenda's accusations were somewhat groundless, his understanding of the case was enough to alert Lu Wenzhao.

Lu Wenzhao observed Yuan Keli's expression and said carefully, "It's not that we accept many people. Master only accepted her and Junior Sister Liu as his female disciples and raised them as his own daughters. Junior Sister Liu died of illness early in life." Lu Wenzhao couldn't help but sigh, "Now there's only Junior Sister Ding."

"Why did Master Zhuge make an exception and recruit female disciples?" There was only curiosity on Yuan Keli's face, which made Lu Wenzhao feel a little relieved.

"Because Junior Sister Liu and Junior Sister Ding were both fatherless and motherless at such a young age, Master accepted them as both disciples and adoptive students," Lu Wenzhao explained. "Many disciples in the Qi Family Sword Studio came this way. Two of our junior brothers were even abandoned babies fished out of the river, their names unknown. So, they all took Master's surname, Zhuge."

Yuan Keli was stunned, the curiosity in his eyes gradually fading. He hesitated for a long time, finally mumbling, "The people are suffering."

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Outside the Weining Camp training ground, the wild apricots are turning white.

General Hou Shilu threw off his horse by throwing away the stirrups. A few apricot petals, which were caught in the fire when Hou Shilu rode through the array of spears, fell from the cracks of his armor. The row of old apricot trees on the west wall of the parade ground seemed to be blooming more densely this year than the military flags under the city of Shenyang last month.

Inside the central military tent, a young doorman from the general's residence was clutching an official letter, listening to the sounds leaking through the gaps in the curtains, trying to guess who was coming. Suddenly, the curtains were lifted. A gust of morning breeze blew in, carrying a few wild apricot blossoms into the tent. The blossoms danced in the breeze, but eventually fell to the ground, leaving only a few grains of dust kicked up by horse hooves to land on the red seal of the "Liaodong Governor's Office."

Hou Shilu removed his dusty scarlet cloak, his fish-scale armor shimmering coldly like ripples in the gradually brightening tent. "Emperor Xiong or Governor Yuan?"

Hou Shilu had issued an order that all correspondence from the Governor's Office must be delivered to him. He had also issued another order that no one should disturb him during drills unless there was urgent military information or urgent messages from the Governor's Office. These two orders combined caused the gatekeeper to stand and wait in the tent for nearly an hour.

"It's a letter from the governor's office." The doorman stepped forward, bowed and handed over the letter.

"Oh, the ink on Futai Yuan's desk is probably more than the water in the Taizi River." Hou Shilu glanced at the official letter, then raised his head towards the desk.

The doorman understood and turned around to place the official letter on Hou Shilu's desk. Then, he bowed and left, leading his little donkey away from the tall horses outside the tent.

Hou Shilu, with the help of his personal guards, removed his full armor. As he sat down, a personal guard brought him a cup of warm goat's milk tea with salt. Hou Shilu took the tea, drank it in one gulp, and then took the official letter from the desk beside the "Nine Frontiers Illustrated Explanation."

"How long will it take to cook?" Hou Shilu asked casually after opening the envelope.

A guard calculated silently. "About three quarters of an hour."

"Then tell the cook to add an extra ladle of oil to each pot, and give each boy two taels of newly delivered bacon." Hou Shilu was very satisfied with the training this morning and decided to give him a small reward. With this bite, a pig was gone.

"Yes!" As soon as he finished speaking, a messenger ran out. Not long after, the sound of horse hooves could be heard from outside the tent, coming from near and getting farther away.

Hou Shilu flicked out the letter and continued issuing orders. "Tell the Cavalry Battalion to assemble for drill at 1:05 PM. The sun is shining brightly today. Also, tell the Carriage Battalion to bring out those twenty modified sidecars to dry the wood."

"Yes!" Another messenger ran out of the tent.

Hou Shilu unfolded the official letter, and an expression of suspicion and shock gradually appeared on his face.

The letter was short, and Hou Shilu quickly finished reading it. He then folded up the papers and put them down, then picked up the envelope and shook it. Seeing that nothing else could be found, Hou Shilu even tilted his head to take a look inside.

Hou Shilu couldn't figure it out, so he gave up. He put down the official letter and looked at the third messenger. "Go to the hunting camp and get Ding Xiu and his men."

"Yes!" The messenger clasped his hands, turned around and ran away. Not long after, the sound of horse hooves came from outside the tent, coming from near and far.

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Half an hour later, Ding Xiu, along with Yan Nian, Ding Baiying, Cui Laoliu, Li Xian, and Hu Zengshou, who had recently joined the squad, arrived at the central military tent on the Weining Camp grounds. When they arrived, Hou Shilu was gently shaving his teeth with a thin wooden stick.

"I pay my respects to Marshal Hou!" Ding Xiu bowed upon entering the tent. The others followed suit.

"Everyone, stand up and talk." Hou Shilu pried hard, but the muscle stuck in his teeth didn't come out, and instead scratched his gums and made them bleed. Hou Shilu cursed inwardly and threw the skewer into the tray.

Then, Hou Shilu picked up the teacup on the tray and took a big sip. Instead of swallowing the tea, he gulped it down twice and spat the blood-stained tea back into the cup.

"Take it away." Hou Shilu waved to the personal soldier who served him meal.

"Yes." The personal soldier picked up the tray and turned to leave the tent.

"Have you eaten?" Hou Shilu looked at Ding Xiu and others.

"Report to the commander, not yet." When Ding Xiu received the order, the hunting camp had just started cooking. Before they could receive their meal, the messenger came galloping over on horseback.

"Then let's eat first." Hou Shilu raised his head towards another personal soldier on duty.

The guard took his leave and soon returned with six soldiers carrying a small banquet table. The meal was a sumptuous affair, consisting of soup, meat, bread, sauce, and a plate of fresh stir-fried vegetables. It was practically identical to Hou Shilu's own lunch, except for the lack of the tea for rinsing his mouth.

"Thank you, Marshal, for the meal!" Ding Xiu bowed again.

"Eat." Hou Shilu nodded and picked up the newly revised "Nine Frontiers Illustrations".

The "Nine Frontiers Illustrated Explanation" began its compilation in the third year of the Longqing reign. It was prepared by then-Minister of War Huo Ji, and data was collected and compiled by Sun Yingyuan and others, who were also officials in the Ministry of Military Affairs. The illustrations state that "each garrison has a general map to provide a general overview, and separate maps to provide detailed information." This is a truly comprehensive and comprehensive guide. More importantly, the Ministry of War required each garrison to submit a report every three years to ensure the maps were practical and useful. The most recent revision took place in the 48th year of the Wanli reign.

In the latest "Nine Frontiers Illustrations", although the basic style of the nine frontiers and nine towns, namely Liaodong Town, Jizhou Town, Xuanfu Town, Datong Town, Shanxi Town, Yansui Town, Ningxia Town, Guyuan Town, and Gansu Town, is still retained, detailed illustrations of "auxiliary towns" or "inland garrison towns" such as Miyun Town, Yongping Town, Shanhai Town, Changping Town, and Baoding Town are also added.

For Liaozhen, this latest edition of "Nine Borders Illustrated" was already outdated the moment it was published. The overview of troop distribution in various regions was particularly erroneous. The book stated that there were only a little over 10,000 troops surrounding Zhenjiang, with virtually no mobile support forces. The reality was that the military strength in Zhenjiang and its surrounding areas had swelled to 23,000 men, including a mobile battalion primarily composed of cavalry and a special battalion primarily composed of infantry and artillery. As far as Hou Shilu knew, both battalions had already achieved basic combat effectiveness, needing only a few more trials of iron and blood to become elite troops.

Weining should also be updated, at least the chieftain soldiers of the Youyang Ran family and the hunting camp under his command should be added.

As Hou Shilu was muttering inwardly, he suddenly heard the sound of a bowl being put down. He tilted his head, peering over the edge of the book, and saw that the person who had put down the bowl was none other than Hu Zengshou, the Han Chinese captive rescued by Ding Xiu. He devoured the quarter of the salted chicken, nibbling it down to the skeleton, as if he had never tasted meat in his entire life.

(End of this chapter)