Chapter 134: Victory Reports and Rumors — Lu Xiangsheng (Part Two)

Wang Dou’s vision blurred — Xu Zucheng, who had been right in front of him, had somehow already appeared beside Garrison Commander Li Yi’an. The sheer speed of it startled Wang Dou. That flash of movement from Xu Zucheng probably reached thirty meters a second — a speed even Wang Dou had to admit he could not match.

Xu Zucheng supported Li Yi’an’s body, his eyes already reddening, his voice catching with emotion: “De-gong, you are unwell — why did you come out in person to welcome us?”

Wang Dou looked again and saw that Wen Shiyan and Wang Captain had also somehow appeared at Li Yi’an’s side. They supported him left and right, saying over and over: “De-gong, please sit back down at once, be careful not to catch a chill and harm your health. Matters like welcoming Lord Xu can be left to us subordinate officials — why trouble De-gong to come out personally?”

Wang Dou glanced at the sky. Bright sunlight filled his eyes, the sun even blazing — he felt no cold whatsoever. Yet the words and manner of Xu Zucheng and the other two sent wave after wave of chill through his entire body.

Li Yi’an was given no chance to protest. He was already helped by several men back to his seat, and a brocade blanket was even spread over his knees.

Li Yi’an coughed lightly a few times and sighed: “Ah, these old bones are useless now. From now on, all military affairs and matters of the Bao’an Guard will have to rely on you all.”

Xu Zucheng wept, choked with emotion: “What is De-gong saying? You are old but still vigorous — your body is still sturdy and strong.”

Li Yi’an only coughed. He shut his eyes and rested a moment, then said gently to Xu Zucheng with a smile: “Zhongxuan, quickly sit down. You have had a hard journey — did you encounter any Eastern slave caitiff cavalry?”

While they spoke over there, the Assistant Guard Commander who had just supported Li Yi’an had already silently stepped aside. He stood quietly watching Xu Zucheng and the others, his expression something between a smile and a smirk. Only now did Wang Dou get a clear look at him: not yet forty, of medium build but extremely solid and muscular, so much so that his Assistant Guard Commander’s official robe bulged at the seams.

His face had sharply defined features, with a pair of exceedingly keen eyes. The moment that piercing gaze swept over him, Wang Dou had the sensation that his every feature and everything about him was being recorded, stored in this man’s mind for future use.

Yet this Assistant Guard Commander seemed to dislike sunlight, always keeping his form as much as possible hidden in the shadowed corners of the room — while everyone else remained fully exposed.

Wang Dou sensed that the Assistant Guard Commander’s eyes swept over him from time to time. A thought stirred in him: this Assistant Guard Commander’s face bore some resemblance to Garrison Commander Li Yi’an — could this man be Li Yi’an’s son, Li Shouqin?

When the sons of senior Great Ming guard battalion officers inherited posts, they had to be demoted three ranks for their appointment. He had heard that Li Shouqin had started as a guard battalion Battalion Commander, and only after many years had worked his way up to Guard Assistant Regional Commander, now commanding the garrison commander’s personal retinue of over four hundred men. This man kept a low profile, and Wang Dou knew little about him.

And behind Li Shouqin stood a beaming fat man, radiating genial good cheer, in his forties, with narrow, squinting eyes and an utterly unremarkable appearance — yet the sharp glint that occasionally flashed from his eyes was as cold and venomous as a snake’s. Wang Dou’s instincts told him this man was no simple character.

Han Chao whispered behind Wang Dou: “My lord, that Assistant Guard Commander is the Garrison Commander’s son, Li Shouqin. The man behind him is called Wu Dazong — I hear he came from the Embroidered Uniform Guard. He fled to Bao’an Guard City after committing some offense and was taken in by Li Shouqin. They call him the Smiling Tiger — there is no one more ruthless and vicious.”

Wang Dou nodded, mentally marking these two.

By now, Garrison Commander Li Yi’an had finished his pleasantries with Xu Zucheng. He addressed the assembly: “Gentlemen, all of you be seated… These old bones are still holding up. Ah, yes — Zhongxuan, a victory report has come from your prefectural city, saying you took two hundred and eighty-one slave bandit heads. When word arrived, it greatly boosted the morale of our entire guard city. Tell us the details — let us hear them.”

Many gazes, each different, converged on Xu Zucheng. Xu Zucheng rose smugly, bowed deeply to Garrison Commander Li Yi’an, and then launched into an endless account: how he had devised strategies from his command tent, directed operations with perfect composure, calm and unruffled; how under his command Wang Dou had fought bitterly; how he himself had dispatched his personal general Yang Dongmin on a desperate, death-defying relief mission, and so on… and in the end — two hundred and eighty-one slave heads taken.

Li Yi’an nodded repeatedly: “So — the two hundred and eighty-one heads taken — this is confirmed?”

Xu Zucheng said: “Absolutely true. De-gong may immediately dispatch his retainers to verify. If a single head is fraudulent, your subordinate is willing to face military law before the entire army.”

Li Yi’an smiled faintly: “With Zhongxuan saying so, how could I not trust you?”

He clapped his hands lightly and said with delight: “Our Bao’an officers and soldiers have taken so many heads — this greatly raises the morale and fighting spirit of our entire guard! When Army Supervisor Ji hears of this, how pleased he will be!”

The hall erupted in noise. Wang Captain, Wen Shiyan, and the others all rose to offer congratulations. Li Yi’an kept smiling and nodding. He then beckoned Wang Dou over. Wang Dou hurried forward, knelt, and performed the ritual salute. Li Yi’an studied Wang Dou for a long moment and sighed: “Good lad — to have rendered such great merit, truly rare.”

A strange feeling rose in Wang Dou’s heart. Li Yi’an’s tone was like an old family patriarch speaking to a promising son or grandson. He said: “This was entirely thanks to the toil of the Garrison Commander, the Defense Commander, and all the other lords. Your subordinate dares not claim the credit.”

Li Yi’an gazed at Wang Dou with a smile and nodded repeatedly. He recalled something and said: “Ah, yes — I hear that you, Wang Dou, have newly taken a lovely wife, and she is soon to give birth? What a coincidence. Two years ago, when I went to Lucheng to pay my respects to the Army Supervisor, his venerable self gifted me a ginseng root. It sits unused in my residence…”

He instructed a household servant to bring out a brocade box. He opened it with trembling hands. Inside lay a ginseng root, its body thick and fleshy, rather resembling a human form with head, hands, and feet all complete — a superb specimen. Li Yi’an gazed at the ginseng for a moment, then smiled at Wang Dou: “Good lad — this ginseng is for you.”

The officials present all made sounds of admiration. Whether they were praising the quality of the ginseng, or the fine relationship between the Garrison Commander and Army Supervisor Ji Shiwei, or sighing at Wang Dou’s good fortune, was unclear. Envy showed in many eyes — even Defense Commander Xu Zucheng’s eyes revealed a look of yearning.

Wang Captain stepped forward and said in a low voice: “My lord, your own health is precisely in need of nourishment. In your subordinate’s view…”

Li Yi’an smiled faintly: “Wencai, it is no matter.”

He instructed Wang Dou: “Remember — ginseng is excellent for regulating qi and nourishing the blood, but it must not be taken within seven days. Once those days have passed, then use it to properly strengthen and nourish your wife’s body.”

Listening to Li Yi’an’s instructions, a surge of warmth flooded Wang Dou’s heart. His eyes reddened, and choked with emotion, he accepted the brocade box Li Yi’an handed him.

…

With the heads confirmed genuine, the next question was how to report the victory. Everyone in the hall began chattering at once, discussing how the victory report should be written. Xu Zucheng looked around at the assembly, immensely pleased with himself. Only Wang Captain and Wen Shiyan sat in silence.

Suddenly Wen Shiyan rose to his feet. When facing Garrison Commander Li Yi’an, his smile was broad and genuine, but toward everyone else, it was that same skin-deep smirk. He said to Wang Dou with a smile: “Battalion Commander Wang is peerless in valor. I hear that not only did you slay many slaves defending the city, but you also led troops out to seize the captives and valuables the slave bandits had plundered. The haul must have been considerable?”

The men of the guard city had vaguely heard that Wang Dou had led troops to raid the Qing army’s baggage train, but none of them could quite believe it. Where would Wang Dou get such nerve? Defending a city was one thing — but to go out into the field, and even seize the captives and valuables the Qing troops had plundered — that was too incredible.

Not only everyone in the hall — even Garrison Commander Li Yi’an’s eyes turned toward Wang Dou. And Wang Dou also sensed that Li Shouqin’s piercing gaze was fixed on him as well.

Before Wang Dou could speak, Xu Zucheng, who stood before him, had already changed color. He rose and said coldly: “Lord Wen, what is the meaning of this? Could it be that the troops under my command were wrong to sally forth and pursue the slave bandits?”

Wen Shiyan’s face again assumed that skin-deep smirk: “Of course there is no wrong. Our Bao’an Guard government troops are fierce and invincible — daring to go out into the field, daring even to recover captured soldiers and civilians — that is great merit. How could there be any wrong?”

“This official is merely asking how much Battalion Commander Wang gained from this venture, that is all.”

Xu Zucheng said angrily: “Even if some captured commoners and valuables were recovered, it is nowhere near enough to make up for the losses my Shunxiang Fort suffered this time!”

Garrison Commander Li Yi’an asked: “Wang Dou, I hear that when the slave bandits invaded, your Shunxiang Fort suffered considerable losses?”

Wang Dou said with tears: “Indeed. During this slave bandit incursion, apart from Shunxiang Fort proper, every other garrison post and military settlement within our territory was utterly destroyed. The loss of soldiers, civilians, and valuables is beyond counting.”

Wang Captain said thoughtfully: “Presumably, when the slave bandits failed to take Shunxiang Fort and withdrew, they were so enraged by their humiliation that they burned every settlement to the ground.”

Everyone present nodded, thinking that Wang Dou’s losses this time were indeed extremely heavy. At the same time, each privately wondered: Shunxiang Fort was just a remote little fort with little to plunder — why would the Qing troops single out Wang Dou? Could there be something wrong with Shunxiang Fort’s feng shui?

Li Yi’an sighed: “Battalion Commander Wang sallied forth to pursue the slave bandits and recovered our captured commoners and goods. This greatly boosted our army’s morale and showed the slave bandits they dare not look down on our Great Ming government troops. Even if Battalion Commander Wang did acquire some captives and valuables, that is his rightful spoils. Let none of you gentlemen raise this matter again.”

He said to Wang Dou: “Wang Dou, you have rendered service to the state. Your Shunxiang Fort has suffered heavy losses this time. Whatever supplies and personnel you need to replenish, just tell me directly — I will make them up to you.”

With Li Yi’an saying this, Wen Shiyan could hardly press further. Xu Zucheng cast a smug glance at him. Wang Dou hurriedly expressed his thanks.

…

Having confirmed the head count of the Bao’an prefectural city’s government troops, Li Yi’an was beaming with delight and ordered a banquet laid out for Xu Zucheng, Wang Dou, and the others.

During the banquet, a steady stream of people came up to toast Wang Dou. A few of them caught his attention. One was called Zhuang Huizu — a Battalion Commander serving as Squad Commander. This man was tall and powerfully built; it was said he possessed heaven-bestowed strength and could wield a great blade weighing dozens of catties. He was by nature bold and unrestrained, coming up again and again to drink Wang Dou under the table. Unfortunately, he could not hold his liquor — after a few cups he would start acting wild, a match for Xie Yike in that regard.

Another was called Liu Cang, in his forties, holding the rank of Assistant Guard Commander of the Bao’an Guard. He was said to be an excellent rider, but he was listless and melancholy, merely drinking in silence by himself.

There was also a man named Zhao Xuan, in his thirties — very young. It was said he came from the Baoding wagon corps and had been squeezed out and transferred to the Bao’an Guard. He sat off to one side, constantly craning his neck to peer at Wang Dou, sizing him up with an incredulous look. That strange gaze of his made Wang Dou begin to doubt his sexual orientation.

To Wang Dou’s sharp eye, aside from these few, there were no other particularly outstanding figures in the guard city. The two who had drawn his attention, Li Shouqin and Wu Dazong, sat far away, as if they did not quite fit in with the group.

Xu Lu also came up and offered Wang Dou a round of toasts. When Wang Dou smiled and addressed him as “Big Brother Xu,” a look of shame flickered in Xu Lu’s eyes. He said: “I dare not trouble my lord to address me so.”

He added: “I regret that I should never have left Shunxiang Fort in the first place.”

Then he hurried away.

As the banquet drew to a close, Wang Dou saw Garrison Commander Li Yi’an, along with Xu Zucheng, Wang Captain, and Wen Shiyan, head toward the inner hall — no doubt to discuss some matter.