MLMD -Chapter 136 After Receiving the News

Lu Xiangsheng departed. He left taking with him five thousand dan of grain and a large quantity of pig iron and weapons.

Before leaving, after having taken so many things from Yue Yang, he kept asking incessantly whether Yue Yang had any intention of being registered in the military rolls. If he did, Lu Xiangsheng said he could help register Yue Yang’s entire family under the military system. This infuriated Yue Yang so much that he almost took back everything he had given him.

Still, Yue Yang’s gifts were not given in vain. Before leaving, Lu Xiangsheng, in his capacity as the newly appointed Governor-General of Xuanfu and Datong, secured for Yue Yang the official establishment of one battalion of combat troops. Only then did Yue Yang’s anger turn into delight. With this establishment in hand, Yue Yang could now mobilize troops far more openly and legitimately.

Some might ask: didn’t Yue Yang already have several thousand elite soldiers? Wasn’t moving them simply a matter of his word? In fact, that was not the case. Although Yue Yang did indeed have several thousand troops under his command, these soldiers were attached in name to the garrison system and the Datong prefectural defense forces. Under normal circumstances, without formal approval from the Ministry of War, they could not be mobilized at will. But once he had the establishment of a battalion, things were different. Garrison troops and battalion troops were two different categories with different functions—this was a distinctive feature of the Ming dynasty’s military system.

At the founding of the Ming dynasty, the garrison system was implemented nationwide. These were the garrison troops, a hereditary military system. By the mid-Ming period, however, the garrisons had deteriorated and become ineffective, forcing the government to recruit large numbers of soldiers from the civilian population.

The greatest difference between recruited soldiers and garrison troops was that recruited soldiers mostly came from the civilian population. After enlisting, their household registration did not change; service was neither hereditary nor lifelong. The court explicitly stipulated that once the task was completed, they were to return to farming. Thus, garrison soldiers were called “jun,” while recruited soldiers were called “bing.” Recruited soldiers became the main fighting force relied upon by the Ming dynasty in its later period.

However, whether garrison troops or recruited troops, neither constituted a combat formation by themselves. In wartime, garrison or recruited troops had to be organized into battalion formations, known as battalion troops. The sources of battalion troops were twofold: recruited soldiers and garrison troops. The main strength of battalion troops came from recruited soldiers, with a smaller portion selected from garrison forces.

Battalion troops were not hereditary, and their pay and provisions were more generous than those of garrison soldiers. Gradually, “bing” replaced “jun” as the primary military force. Soldiers fought, while garrison troops guarded and farmed. Once Lu Xiangsheng granted Yue Yang a battalion establishment, it meant that Yue Yang now possessed the legitimate authority to mobilize troops openly within Shanxi.

“Young master, are we really not going to expand our forces anymore?” Shunbao said. “I feel our current strength is still too small.”

At Wuli Village, Yue Yang gazed at the drill ground, where soldiers advanced and retreated in response to their officers’ commands. A trace of satisfaction appeared in his eyes. Beside him, however, Shunbao muttered discontentedly into his ear.

Yue Yang turned and said calmly, “What’s this? You’ve only been a defense officer for how long, and already you’re thinking about promotion again?”

“Young master… I… I’m just anxious,” Shunbao said sheepishly, lowering his head and rubbing the back of it, unable to speak smoothly after his little scheme was exposed.

“You,” Yue Yang said, pointing at him and shaking his head, saying no more.

As Yue Yang’s official rank rose, so too did the ranks of his subordinates. People like Shunbao and Hu Laosan had all become defense officers, each commanding several thousand men. But as the saying goes, human desire knows no bounds. They stubbornly believed that since Yue Yang had become a guerrilla commander, the number of troops under him should naturally increase as well—otherwise, how could his status be properly reflected? As a result, Shunbao and the others had been subtly hinting in recent times that Yue Yang should recruit more soldiers.

After a while, Yue Yang spoke earnestly. “Shunbao, I know what you’re thinking. Any commander wants his strength to be as great as possible, his troops as numerous as possible—best of all, to command tens of thousands at once. Am I right?”

“Hehe…” Shunbao chuckled awkwardly, having been hit right on the mark.

Seeing Shunbao’s honest yet slightly crafty expression, a hint of amusement appeared in Yue Yang’s eyes. Still, he continued to admonish him. “But you must also think about this: in our Great Ming, civil officials have always been valued above military men. The court keeps a very strict watch on local military commanders. Many general officers command no more than ten thousand men. I am now merely a guerrilla commander, yet I already command eight thousand elite troops—that alone draws plenty of attention. If we were to expand recklessly, what do you think the emperor in Beijing would think? What would the ministers think? Would the civil officials feel at ease?

“Moreover, are we really prepared to expand? Leaving everything else aside—if I were to give you ten thousand troops right now and have you go beyond the passes to fight the Tatars, could you handle it? Shunbao, remember this: you should only eat as much as your stomach can hold. Otherwise, it’s very easy to overstuff yourself and ruin everything. Do you understand?”

After hearing Yue Yang’s heartfelt words, Shunbao nodded. None of it was particularly profound, and he understood it well—though he still felt it was a pity.

“Oh, right, Shunbao,” Yue Yang changed the subject. “The large-scale training has been going on for several months now. How is the soldiers’ literacy coming along?”

Shunbao scratched his head and said with a troubled look, “Young master, after all this training, most of the soldiers can recognize three to five hundred characters. But some of them really don’t put their hearts into learning. There are even some who, after nearly half a year, only recognize a little over a hundred characters. No matter how much I scold them, it’s useless. It’s giving me a real headache.”

Seeing Shunbao’s distressed face, Yue Yang’s tone turned stern. “Even if they’re not good at it, they must learn. Our ancestors said it well—having more skills never burdens a man. Teaching soldiers to read is to improve their individual capabilities. They may suffer a bit now, but in the future they’ll understand my good intentions. As a defense officer, you must also lead by example—not only in action, but also by reading military texts in your spare time and learning how to deploy and command troops. Otherwise, how will you shoulder heavy responsibilities in the future?”

Seeing Yue Yang’s severe expression, Shunbao repeatedly acknowledged his words, bowing his head in acceptance.

Looking at the bowed Shunbao, Yue Yang sighed. In novels, one always read about transmigrators slaughtering their way through everything with ease. Only when it was his own turn did he realize how difficult it truly was. Just the issue of cultivating talent alone was enough to make his head ache. Although Yue Yang had already begun establishing dozens of schools in Wuli Village to enroll children aged five to thirteen, the saying went: ten years to grow a tree, a hundred years to cultivate a person. Training one’s own talent took an enormous amount of time. Even after those children grew up, it would take at least ten years. Could he really afford to wait that long?

“It seems I’ll have to search among the common people for educated men first. But their loyalty is questionable—if this issue isn’t resolved, it could easily cause trouble in the future.”

As Yue Yang pondered this, he watched the soldiers drilling on the training ground. His eyes had already lost focus, his thoughts drifting elsewhere.

“Report—”

At this moment, a soldier jogged over and announced loudly, “Reporting to my lord: a carrier pigeon message has arrived from Datong Prefecture.”

“Carrier pigeon message?”

Yue Yang frowned. The term sounded impressive—carrier pigeons were the fastest means of communication in an era without wireless transmission. But in truth, pigeon post was highly unreliable. Not only could pigeons encounter natural predators like hawks and eagles, they could also be shot down by hungry hunters and turned into dinner, or even lose their way. As a result, unless it was an emergency, people generally avoided using such a risky method to deliver messages.

Messages sent by carrier pigeon were usually extremely urgent. Instantly, a sense of foreboding rose in Yue Yang’s heart.

Sure enough, after taking the note from the soldier, Yue Yang’s brows slowly knit together. A spark of anger flashed in his eyes, and through clenched teeth he spat out cold words:
“Zhang Zongheng, you blind dog! I haven’t even come to settle accounts with you yet, and you dare seize my goods? Do you really think I don’t dare to kill?”

“Young master, what happened?” Seeing Yue Yang fly into a rage, Shunbao was startled. As Yue Yang’s rank rose, fewer and fewer things could make him lose his composure. Now seeing him so furious, Shunbao couldn’t help but feel curious. He took the note from Yue Yang’s hand, unrolled it, and after a glance, he too was shocked—nearly jumping on the spot.

“Young master, this Zhang Zongheng is going too far! He actually dared to detain all of our goods! We already took care of everything before passing through the border gates—doesn’t he understand the rules at all?”

These days, Yue Yang’s goods frequently passed in and out of the Xuan-Datong border checkpoints. Naturally, he had to deal with border officers and officials, and routine “arrangements” and “tokens of respect” were unavoidable. Part of that silver went to the border generals, and another part ended up in the pocket of Zhang Zongheng, the Governor-General of Xuanfu and Datong. This had long been standard practice. Reason dictated that once you took the money, you did the job—at the very least, you ensured that nothing went wrong on your watch. But this man not only failed in his duty of protection, he personally seized the goods. The nature of this act was extremely vile, clearly showing just how rotten his character was.

Clenching his teeth, Shunbao said, “Young master, since this old bastard Zhang Zongheng won’t play by the rules, neither should we. Let me take troops to settle accounts with him. Do you think Wuli Village is that easy to bully?”

“Hmph, of course,” Yue Yang’s face darkened. “Zhang Zongheng has probably received word that he’s to return to the capital to report on duty. He wants to make one last grab before leaving, so now he doesn’t even care about saving face. In that case, don’t blame us for being ruthless. Shunbao, immediately gather five hundred cavalry along with strong bows and heavy crossbows. Disguise yourselves as a merchant caravan and set up an ambush near Shaguo Fort. That’s a necessary route from Datong to the capital. You know what to do next, don’t you?”

“Yes… Young master! I understand!”

Upon hearing Yue Yang’s orders, Shunbao’s eyes immediately lit up with excitement and a bloodthirsty gleam…