Chapter 162: The Strange Woman

When Li Guangheng and Gao Xun arrived at Shunxiang Fort, the place was buzzing with intense activity as soldiers drilled urgently. At first, Li Guangheng and Gao Xun, confident in the strength of the troops under their command, thought their arrival at Shun Fort would earn them special regard. But after encountering everything inside Shunxiang Fort, all their sense of superiority vanished, and in the end they could only gaze at their surroundings with awe.

They were assigned to Gao Shiyin's ji company for joint drill. This was the designation Gao Shiyin had recently requested from Wang Dou. As a result, Wang Dou now had six companies under his command: jia, yi, bing, ding, wu, and ji. However, Gao Shiyin's ji company was short of men and would need to be gradually replenished later.

Amid the intense drilling, Gao Xun wrote letters to his wife in his spare time, recording every detail of his days at Shunxiang Fort. He remembered the earnest instruction from the Garrison Commander urging him to read more, and he believed letter-writing was an excellent form of practice, so he kept at his writing brush daily without fail.

Yet although Gao Xun wrote letters every day, their content was, on one hand, far too sentimental for him to feel comfortable showing his wife, and on the other, involved many secrets of the Shunxiang Fort army that were not fit for public disclosure. So for many years thereafter, though Gao Xun persisted, these letters remained buried deep at the bottom of a chest.

He never imagined the sensation these handwritten letters of his would cause in later generations. At this moment, he was merely recording all his thoughts and impressions in a crooked, ungainly hand.

"Chongzhen 10th year, 3rd month, 6th day... My wife Wan Rou, your husband is at Shun Fort. Several days have slipped by unnoticed. Away from home, I think of you constantly. I do not know if our children are all safe and sound, or how Grandmother's health fares. Household affairs are many and vexing, and can only be tended to by my wife at home. Each day I think of this, I am deeply ashamed. Yet the ancients said, since ancient times, loyalty and filial piety cannot both be fulfilled..."

Gao Xun and Li Guangheng were transferred to Shunxiang Fort on the 28th day of the 2nd month of the 10th year of Chongzhen. On the day they arrived, they were assigned barracks, then took a comfortable hot bath. No military uniforms were issued — the Shunxiang Fort clothing factory had not yet opened. If they wanted uniforms, they would have to wait.

Next came the meals. Each company had a large mess hall, where they could eat their fill of steamed buns and rice, along with glistening vegetable soup, and each man got two taels of meat. This food allowance made Gao Xun and the others' eyes bulge. Back in the prefectural city, where had they ever encountered such abundant fare? Normally they never ate their fill, so naturally there was no thought of having the strength for training and drill. Being able to eat their fill every day, with meat besides — that explained why the soldiers of Shunxiang Fort were all broad-shouldered and barrel-chested. In the days that followed, because Gao Xun and the others ate too much meat, they generally suffered from loose bowels.

They also noticed something else. In the mess hall, one group of men received different treatment. When they produced their waist tags, the cooks ladled twice as much meat onto their bowls as onto the others'. Gao Xun inquired privately and learned that these were soldiers of superior skill in the army. Their treatment was higher than that of ordinary soldiers, and they could eat four taels of meat per meal.

The Shunxiang army had a strict hierarchy. Officers at every level held absolute authority over their subordinates, and treatment in all respects differed accordingly — a fact perfectly reflected in the food alone. These superior soldiers all wore expressions of pride. They looked fierce and rugged, and every soldier they encountered treated them with the utmost respect. These men could also sit as equals with officers. In the Shunxiang army, strength was honored. To obtain good treatment and status, there was no other way but through military merit and skill.

In the Shunxiang army, there were many strict internal regulations and military ordinances. These regulations, whether for officers or ordinary soldiers, had to be memorized by heart. On inspection days, if anyone recited them incorrectly, the military rod awaited — no human sentiment whatsoever.

However, Gao Xun also observed that in the Shunxiang army, officers could not arbitrarily punish their subordinates. If a soldier committed an offense, it was handled by the garrison disciplinary officer. Private feuds were also strictly forbidden in the army; violators, regardless of who was right or wrong, were all punished equally. The law was strict but not abused, and it was fair and clear. This made the soldiers sincerely respect and obey it, willingly and consciously abiding by military discipline and regulations.

A few days after arriving at Shunxiang Fort, Gao Xun was also startled to discover one issue: although the Shunxiang army's food was good, they received no pay or rations. However, every soldier's household had been allotted farmland, so their wives and children could farm to make a living. If a soldier was wounded, disabled, or killed in battle, the army provided pensions and support for life.

But that was the limit. To live a better life, the only way was to kill the enemy and seize spoils. This was also why, as Gao Xun discovered, the soldiers of the ji company were in such high spirits — opportunities to go into battle were rare. At first Gao Xun found it inconceivable, but in the end his own blood boiled. The chance for military merit, promotion, and reward — the golden opportunity to lift his wife and children out of poverty — was right before his eyes. He secretly swore that this time, he would definitely earn merit!

Three days after being transferred to Shunxiang Fort, Li Guangheng and Gao Xun's squad also began drilling with the army. Gao Xun was surprised to discover yet another thing: the camp drill and troop training here likewise consisted of a series of regulations and ordinances, along with corresponding instructors. Soldiers simply had to follow the regulations and drill step by step.

Barring accidents, within a few months, an ordinary able-bodied youth could become an outstanding soldier. Here, the role of famous generals seemed very small. As long as these training regulations existed, along with these experienced instructors and sufficient funds, grain, and equipment, strong and fierce troops could be continuously churned out.

This left Gao Xun somewhat disheartened. He was renowned in the prefectural city for his outstanding skills and also considered himself quite resourceful, yet here he seemed unable to display any of his advantages. The scenario he had imagined — standing out like a crane among chickens — was utterly impossible. He saw that his squad commander, Li Guangheng, was also somewhat dejected. Li Guangheng once sighed to Gao Xun: "Qi Shuai said, 'Arrayed in proper formation for battle, one is invincible wherever one goes.' I fear that mere personal valor is of little use here!"

In the prefectural city, Li Guangheng had always been someone Gao Xun admired. Even he said such things, so one could imagine how difficult it was to rise above others in the Shunxiang army. Here, the strong were as numerous as clouds. The army was divided into several circles — lower-grade soldiers, middle-grade soldiers, upper-grade soldiers — and the circles each person moved in were different. It was extremely difficult for lower- and middle-grade soldiers to enter the social circle of upper-grade soldiers. Only by demonstrating your strength could you be valued and accepted by them.

Who didn't want better treatment? Who didn't want to be admired in the army? Who didn't want their family to hold their heads high before others? Everyone yearned for promotion and reward for merit. When there was no war, ordinary soldiers fixed their eyes on those upper-grade soldier quotas. Not to mention the lower- and middle-grade soldiers training bitterly, hoping to make the list in the next skill assessment — even those soldiers of superior skill, to keep their illustrious names from falling, practiced diligently every day without rest. Competition in the army was, one could say, extremely fierce.

The legendary figure in the army was Wu Zhengchun, currently under the yi company's Commander Han Zhong. He had risen from an ordinary soldier to an upper-grade soldier, and because of repeated battle merits, he had now been promoted to the post of squad commander. He had personally been awarded iron armor and a waist tag by the Garrison Commander, and the upper-grade skill standards he maintained in the army had yet to be broken by anyone. Gao Xun hoped that one day he could achieve the same.

Outside of drill, the army focused on literacy and watching plays, and there were many military songs that needed to be memorized. Gao Xun finally understood why the Garrison Commander had asked him whether he had studied. If one was illiterate, surviving in the Shunxiang army was becoming harder and harder. Yet this kind of life was exactly what Gao Xun liked. This was a true army — the place Gao Xun had always pursued and yearned for in his dreams.

He calculated that he was now merely a lowly squad leader. To rise from squad leader to squad commander, and then to company commander — he had no idea how long that would take. But he had confidence. One day, he too would lead a company of fierce, wolf-like warriors. And to change his lot, there was only skill and military merit. That required war. Gao Xun finally understood why the Shunxiang army was so bellicose.

"My lord, these regulations are so hard to memorize."

One of the former retainers in the squad secretly complained to Li Guangheng.

Li Guangheng glared at him. "Hard or not, you must memorize them. The old brothers of the ji company all endured this. Can our newly formed bing squad be the only ones exempt? I'm telling you, you'd best memorize all these regulations. If you make me lose face, I'll break your legs."

Another retainer muttered, "My lord, in our Shunxiang army now, officers are strictly forbidden from physically punishing soldiers. There are regulations stipulating this."

"Oh ho, now you know the regulations, do you? All of you, get the hell out of here..."

Li Guangheng roared angrily. The soldiers of the bing squad immediately scattered like birds and beasts, each grinding their teeth as they went off to memorize regulations.

Li Guangheng glanced irritably at Gao Xun, who stood silently nearby. Li Guangheng had a rather favorable impression of this former squad leader under Company Commander Chi Dengshan who had been transferred here together with him. He said, "Brother Gao, how is your memorization of the regulations coming along?"

Gao Xun stood up, cupped his hands, and said, "Squad Commander, rest assured, your subordinate has been carefully memorizing them. I believe that when the superiors inspect us a month from now, your subordinate will definitely know them by heart and recite them fluently."

Li Guangheng nodded. "That's good."

Just as he was about to say something else, he suddenly heard a woman's cold, clear voice: "Lord Gao, this humble woman merely wishes to join the army to suppress the bandits, kill the rebels, and serve the country. Why does my lord forbid it? Give Yue'e a reason!"

Then came the sound of several women chattering: "Yes, yes! Even if you won't allow us to follow the army and kill rebels, you must give us a reason. What is this silent, unspoken refusal supposed to mean?"

"Even if we take this to the Garrison Commander himself, we must be given an explanation."

"What's going on?"

Li Guangheng frowned. Given the strict discipline of the Shunxiang army, how could there be women's voices on the drill ground?

He headed in that direction. The soldiers of the bing squad, who had come down from the prefectural city, also swarmed over in a crowd to watch. Gao Xun, curious, followed among them.

There before Company Commander Gao Shiyin of the ji company stood six or seven women, each holding a spear and shield, glaring at him with furrowed brows and fierce eyes. The woman at their head was about twenty years old, with a delicate, pretty face, though her expression was cold and somewhat weathered. In her left hand she held a shield, in her right a spear, and she was even wearing a suit of leather armor.

"Who is this woman?"

Li Guangheng was very puzzled. Having just arrived at Shunxiang Fort, he did not know Xu Yue'e's great name. He looked at the original jia and yi squads of the ji company — the Shunxiang Fort soldiers — each wearing strange expressions, keeping well away from Xu Yue'e and her group, occasionally murmuring among themselves.

Looking at Xu Yue'e before him, the flesh across Gao Shiyin's face twitched from time to time. He bared his teeth, looking quite vexed. Just now, a soldier had reported that Xu Yue'e and her group sought an audience. Without giving it much thought, he had allowed Xu Yue'e and the others in. He never expected that the moment she entered, she would present him with such a huge problem.

Several years ago, Gao Shiyin had witnessed with his own eyes Xu Yue'e strangle her own son to death. Ever since, Gao Shiyin had harbored a knot in his heart regarding Xu Yue'e. Especially after he had a son of his own, he kept as far away from Xu Yue'e as possible. Inside Shunxiang Fort, Xu Yue'e had always been someone strangers kept their distance from; no man dared provoke her. He never imagined this creature actually wanted to join his army and go out to suppress bandits together?

Seeing Xu Yue'e glaring at him, Gao Shiyin felt utterly ill at ease. He suddenly thought of a reason, forced out a smile with difficulty, and said in his gentlest voice: "Miss Xu, it is not that I forbid you from joining the army to suppress bandits, but you are a woman, and accompanying the army would be most inconvenient."

Xu Yue'e said coolly, "What of it if I am a woman? If anyone thinks my skills are lacking, let them step forward and test me."

Her contemptuous gaze swept over the crowd. All around was dead silence, except for the soldiers of the bing squad, who were buzzing with discussion: "Who is this woman? How very strange."

Yang Tong coughed once and whispered in Gao Shiyin's ear: "Brother Gao, I think we should just let it go. This Miss Xu is a fellow villager of the Garrison Commander, and her skills are indeed outstanding. Our Shunxiang Fort regulations do not stipulate that women cannot accompany the army. Just let her join the squad."

Gao Shiyin frowned. "Fine, let her accompany the army. What a nuisance."

He imperiously beckoned Li Guangheng over. "Commander Li, your bing squad happens to be short of men. These Miss Xus, each of outstanding skill, will be assigned to your squad."

Li Guangheng's eyes bulged. "What? Stuff a bunch of women into my squad?"

His sharp gaze swept over Xu Yue'e, and he barked, "If you want to join the army and fight, you must first pass my test. I, your squad commander, will personally test your skills."