MLMD -Chapter 170 Hosting a Banquet

After watching the soldiers demonstrate their firearms shooting, Yue Yang had them carry out bayonet drills.

Although Yue Yang had a natural fondness for firearms, he also knew that, given the level of science and technology at present, it was impossible to completely abandon cold weapons. Even into the early twentieth century, bayonet fighting was still treated as an important training subject.

Thus, although Yue Yang was vigorously equipping his troops with muskets, he still placed great importance on their close-combat ability. In daily training, he was especially strict about their bayonet skills.

Watching dozens of soldiers fighting on the parade ground with muskets in hand, Lu Xiangsheng and the generals from Xuan-Da couldn’t help but click their tongues in amazement.

Although Yue Yang himself was not skilled in bayonet fighting, in an age of information explosion, looking up a few techniques was easy enough. Under his training, the Yingzhou Army’s bayonet methods inherited modern characteristics: speed, ruthlessness, and precision. They did not seek flashy movements—only a single strike to kill. In fact, this was the crystallization of countless soldiers’ blood and lives across East and West throughout history—the pinnacle of bayonet combat. Once unleashed, it was naturally ferocious and deadly.

“Kill!”

Clack!

“Kill!”

Thud…

As the soldiers gritted their teeth and fought one another on the training ground, their murderous shouts, the sharp sounds of bayonet tips striking armor, and their savage movements made even the Xuan-Da generals feel their jaws go stiff. As for the civil officials Chen Xinjia and Xu Dingchen, it was even worse. Although they knew the soldiers were using wooden training rifles and wearing armor, the fierce look in their eyes and the unstoppable momentum of their thrusts still made their hearts race.

After watching for a while, Chen Xinjia could not help turning to Yue Yang and saying, “Commander Yue, everyone here is a comrade. This is only training—there’s no need to go so hard, is there?”

Yue Yang replied calmly, “Lord Chen, I must disagree. To you this may only be a training ground, but I require my soldiers to treat it as a battlefield. A soldier has only one life. If he does not train hard here, then on the battlefield he will pay for today’s slackness with his life. Sweat more in peacetime, bleed less in wartime.”

“Sweat more in peacetime, bleed less in wartime…” Lu Xiangsheng savored the words and then smiled broadly. “Commander Yue truly has great talent. You never fail to produce striking insights. I’ve learned a great deal.”

Yue Yang felt no pride at all at the praise. After all, it was merely a saying well known to everyone in later generations—he had only borrowed it.

After the bayonet training, the inspection was basically over. Taking the opportunity, Yingzhou Prefect Zheng Fakui invited Lu Xiangsheng, Xu Dingchen, Chen Xinjia, and the others to visit Yingzhou. After a moment’s thought, Lu Xiangsheng declined with a smile. “I’ve been to Yingzhou Prefecture many times, but I haven’t finished seeing Wulizhai yet. This time, I want to see what makes Wulizhai different from other places.”

Zheng Fakui’s flattery landed on the wrong target, leaving him awkwardly tagging along behind them. Yue Yang shot him a meaningful glance and thought to himself, So Old Zheng isn’t that honest after all—his flattery is pretty smooth. Looks like in China, kissing up is a basic official skill.

But Yue Yang didn’t really mock him. In truth, wasn’t he the same? Flattery lived in everyone’s bones. In officialdom, there was no one who didn’t know how to use it. A man like Hai Rui appeared only once in thousands of years.

Thinking of Hai Rui made Yue Yang remember his descendant Hai Lou. The kid had been with him for almost a year now and was still just a minor clerk. It might be time to give him more responsibility.

While Yue Yang was lost in thought, the group followed Lu Xiangsheng out of the drill field and onto the main street of Wulizhai. Stepping once again onto the flat, solid concrete road and seeing the bustling merchants and endless stream of people, Lu Xiangsheng fell silent for a moment. Then he turned to Yue Yang and said, “Commander Yue, the construction of Wulizhai’s city walls should be pushed forward quickly. Such a prosperous place cannot be left without fortifications. As for the court documents, I will have them sent to you as soon as possible.”

“Thank you, sir!” Yue Yang was overjoyed and hurriedly bowed. Lu Xiangsheng’s solemn second mention of this meant that he could immediately begin the project.

As they walked through the streets amid the surging crowds and busy traffic, many people marveled at how Yue Yang had turned a barren borderland into a land of abundance.

At this moment, a general from Xuan-Da quietly came up beside Yue Yang, smiled, and gave him a thumbs-up.

“Commander Yue, you really are impressive—turning a frontier wasteland into the ‘Jiangnan beyond the Passes.’ In the entire Great Ming, that kind of ability is truly one of a kind!”

Yue Yang looked at him in surprise. The man was not yet thirty, tall and handsome, wearing extremely flashy armor in bright reds and greens, with several beautiful plumes stuck in the crest of his helmet. He certainly looked splendid.

Damn, Yue Yang thought maliciously, is this guy dressed for war or for picking up girls? On the battlefield he’d be the type shouting ‘Shoot me!’

Since the morning, none of the Xuan-Da generals had really spoken to him beyond a greeting, as if they were subtly excluding him. Why was this fellow suddenly coming over to be friendly?

Seeing the doubt on Yue Yang’s face, the man smiled and introduced himself. “Commander Yue, I am Wang Pu, the Datong Garrison Commander. Seeing such a young hero, I couldn’t help coming over to make your acquaintance.”

“So it’s Commander Wang—long have I heard of you!” Yue Yang quickly clasped his hands in greeting, while his mind raced.

Wang Pu… Wang Pu… oh, it’s him.

Yue Yang finally remembered. This Wang Pu was actually quite famous in history.

He was born into a merchant family and was a genuine wastrel. He was no good at fighting rebels or Manchus, but excellent at killing civilians and claiming their heads as merit. In Chongzhen’s ninth year, when the Qing invaded south, he was ordered to lead troops to reinforce the capital. He later reported that he had taken more than a thousand Qing heads—but after investigation, over ninety-nine percent of them were the heads of innocent people. In Chongzhen’s thirteenth year, during the Battle of Songshan, he was the first to flee, abandoning his entire army and running alone all the way to Beijing, for which the Chongzhen Emperor eventually ordered him beheaded.

Thinking of this, Yue Yang’s gaze toward Wang Pu became rather strange, staring until Wang Pu felt uneasy.

“Commander Yue, why are you looking at me like that? Did I do something wrong?”

“Not at all,” Yue Yang hurriedly said with a bow. “I was just struck by Commander Wang’s handsome bearing and imposing presence. Please don’t mind me.”

“No problem… We’re both sons of Shanxi—one family, really. We should be closer.” True to his merchant bloodline, Wang Pu might not have been good at fighting, but he was a natural at socializing. Soon he and Yue Yang were chatting away. To Yue Yang’s surprise, they got along quite well. Whether it was doing business, visiting brothels, or gambling with dice, Wang Pu spoke with great flair, opening the eyes of the hard-up Yue Yang.

After chatting for a while, they arrived at Yue Manor. As the host, Yue Yang naturally had to play the part. That evening, chickens were slaughtered, sheep butchered, and the place was in a frenzy of preparation. Yue Yang even sent people to book dozens of fine tables at the largest restaurant in Wulizhai to entertain Lu Xiangsheng’s party.

At dinner time, Yue Yang naturally could not sit with Lu Xiangsheng and the others. In China, whether ancient or modern, seating at a meal followed strict hierarchy—especially in officialdom. Your rank determined your seat. As Yingzhou Garrison Commander, Touring General, and newly promoted Xuanwei General, Yue Yang was only a fourth-rank official, and could not sit with second-rank and vice-second-rank grandees like Lu Xiangsheng, Xu Dingchen, and Chen Xinjia.

The military officers, however, were far less strict. Wang Pu soon called Yue Yang over to his table and introduced everyone there to him.

“Commander Yue, this is Xuan-Da Commander-in-Chief Yang Guozhu; this is Acting Vice-Director-in-Chief and Shanxi Garrison Commander Hu Dawei; this is Xuanhua Commander Tang Tong; this is Central Army Touring General Guo Yingxian; Xuanfu Brigadier Zhang Yan; Touring General Li Jianming; Wen Hui…”

Yue Yang had seen all of these Xuan-Da generals that morning, but with so many people, he had never remembered them clearly, so they were introduced again.

And now, the way these generals looked at Yue Yang was very different from the morning. Before today, they had all thought Yue Yang was just a lucky fellow who had inflated his achievements by killing civilians and claiming false merit. But after seeing his troops’ drills and the prosperity of Wulizhai, even the slowest among them understood that Yue Yang truly had real ability under his command—and so their attitude toward him began to change dramatically…