Chapter 238: The Imperial Decree Arrives

Wang Dou shouted loudly: "Great Ming is mighty! The Viceroy is mighty! All the commanders are mighty!"

Lu Xiangsheng and Yang Tinglin behind him both watched Wang Dou and nodded repeatedly. Yang Guozhu's weathered face also shone.

Wang Dou was brave and fierce in battle, yet neither arrogant nor rash, and he understood how to put his superior officer first — truly rare. Even rarer was his heart of loyalty and righteousness: knowing full well he might offend Viceroy Chen, he still did not hesitate to lead his troops and come to follow Viceroy Lu.

To have such a subordinate was a blessing for Viceroy Lu, and a blessing for himself. He became even more determined to draw Wang Dou in as his trusted confidant. His personal guard commander Guo Yingxian also grinned broadly, watching the shouting Wang Dou with beaming delight. Xuanfu Assistant Regional Commander Zhang Yan secretly sighed with emotion as well — Wang Dou's meteoric rise in fame was no fluke; though he himself was a Xuanfu Assistant Regional Commander, he could not afford to underestimate this Mobile Corps Commander Wang Dou.

Hu Dawei nodded repeatedly. Only Datong Regional Commander Wang Pu watched Yang Guozhu with both envy and jealousy — why did he not have such a subordinate himself?

After a long while, the thunderous shouts of "mighty" slowly subsided.

Lu Xiangsheng looked around. The soldiers under Wang Dou's command all wore expressions of pride. He smiled at Wang Dou and said: "These soldiers are ready for use. Wang Dou, you lead a force of tigers and wolves, and with such a great victory, the fear of the slave-bandits among our Xuan-Da officers and men has greatly diminished. Now that the army's provisions are ample, I am thinking that before long we can seek a decisive battle with the slaves and crush their arrogance."

Very soon, all of Wang Dou's men, horses, and carts had entered the camp. Lu Xiangsheng personally inspected the provisions on each cart, his face full of delight and wonder. When he saw the horse meat in particular, he was overjoyed. Suddenly he felt the provisions were somewhat scant — seemingly not enough to feed over ten thousand men for a month. Yang Guozhu and the others also noticed this problem.

He questioned Wang Dou. Wang Dou said: "Viceroy, you need not worry. In a certain place in Baoding Prefecture, I have also stored a batch of provisions, roughly several thousand dan. Combined, there is absolutely no problem feeding the great army for a month."

Lu Xiangsheng was startled, then understood. He shook his head and glared at Wang Dou: "Your casual 'step outside the borders' — you stepped rather far indeed."

Wang Dou looked left and right and changed the subject, saying: "Viceroy, the officers and men have long suffered hunger and cold. It would be best to distribute the provisions now."

The words just spoken between Lu Xiangsheng and Wang Dou had been heard by Yang Guozhu, Hu Dawei, Wang Pu, and the others. The exchange between these two was a bit... that Wang Dou... they would set this matter aside for the moment. But afterward, when each man heard Wang Dou's words, they all grew tense. Lu Xiangsheng pondered and said: "Wang Dou, these provisions..."

Wang Dou clasped his fist and saluted, saying: "Everything shall be at the direction of Viceroy Lu and Commander Yang."

Yang Guozhu said in a deep voice: "Viceroy, General Wang transported grain a thousand li. His own troops must naturally first be allotted a full month's provisions. And those meats should also largely go to his command."

Lu Xiangsheng nodded slowly. Yang Guozhu's proposal was fair and reasonable. Wang Pu opened his mouth as if to speak, but in the end said nothing.

Lu Xiangsheng said: "It should naturally be so. I shall distribute these provisions, and I will ensure a fair division. No town's officers and men shall be shorted on food, clothing, or rations."

"Provisions are being distributed! Provisions are being distributed!"

The camp set up by the over ten thousand men of the three Xuan-Da garrisons was enormous, stretching as far as the eye could see with no end in sight. But now, this vast encampment was everywhere filled with laughter and cheerful voices. The officers in charge of provisions from each garrison led the soldiers of their own camps, jubilantly carrying sack after sack of grain and rice back.

After starving for so long, the day had finally come when they could eat a hearty meal to their fill. And with so much horse meat, today they could also heartily feast on big mouthfuls of meat.

"Come, come, brother, steady now as you carry it."

Zhong Diaoyang was in charge of the army's provisions and supplies. He directed the logistics troops under his command, continuously distributing the grain and fodder from the carts and horses. Although their own army's provisions were steadily decreasing, every one of those directing logistics troops was still in high spirits. Watching their grateful, tearful allied troops, their hearts swelled with a sense of superiority.

The officers and men of Wang Dou's army all knew that their lord had stockpiled large quantities of provisions in Baoding Prefecture, Zhending Prefecture, and other places. Once they reached those areas, they certainly would not go hungry. At the same time, each man marveled at their general's far-sighted wisdom and foresight — he had long ago stockpiled so much grain, sparing the great army the miseries of hunger and cold.

Watching the endless, dense stream of provision-carrying soldiers from each garrison, and the jubilant expressions on their faces, Lu Xiangsheng sighed: "I am ashamed. After following me for so long, only today do the officers and men get to eat a full meal."

By now it was nearly noon. After the officers and men of each garrison carried the provisions back, they immediately and impatiently lit fires to cook. Wisps of cooking smoke rose from all over the camp, and the fragrance of food and meat drifted on the wind. Bursts of laughter rose here and there from time to time. When the soldiers ate the steaming hot food, the delicious meat soup, and even large chunks of horse meat, many of them stared blankly and tears streamed down their faces.

Inside Lu Xiangsheng's central command tent, the three Regional Commanders and their personal generals all sat around the tent. They had no time for words; each wolfed down his food, and the tent was filled with an odd symphony of chewing sounds.

Wang Dou sat on the upper side below Yang Guozhu. He ate the rice in his mouth slowly, chewed the horse meat gradually, and occasionally sipped the meat broth. From time to time he quietly raised his head and studied the eating manners of everyone in the tent. Yang Guozhu in front of him had not lifted his head once since burying it. He glanced at Guo Yingxian beside him, who clutched a huge, greasy chunk of meat in both hands, cursing only that he ate too slowly. There was also Xuanfu Assistant Regional Commander Zhang Yan, who had lost all trace of his usual composure — he was gnashing his teeth, red-eyed, locked in combat with an enormous piece of meat. Now and then he even used his sleeve to wipe his running nose.

Across from him, Datong Regional Commander Wang Pu clutched a piece of meat in each dripping hand, biting the left, gnawing the right, eating with immense relish. His helmet was already removed, and strands of hair kept drifting in front of his face. Wang Dou had watched him toss his hair back with a flourish dozens of times already.

No one could be bothered to feign refinement in front of Lu Xiangsheng anymore — including Lu Xiangsheng himself, who was also wolfing down his food. He was observing mourning for his father and did not eat meat, but bowl after bowl of fragrant sorghum rice — four or five bowls vanished down his gullet in the blink of an eye. The pot of tea on his table was also swiftly replaced.

Yang Tinglin, seated below him, gnawed on a greasy piece of horse meat, his mouth covered in oil, muttering to himself: "How strange. Why did I never find horse meat so delicious before?"

The strange slurping and chewing sounds in the tent continued for a long while before everyone finally recovered a bit of spirit and resumed the bearing of high-ranking Great Ming officers.

Lu Xiangsheng gave a hearty laugh, lifted the pot and poured a cup of tea, then stood and said: "Today General Wang came to our aid from a thousand li, bringing urgently needed provisions for the army, and fresh from a great victory with over six hundred and seventy heads taken, greatly boosting our army's morale. Come, generals, let us raise our cups and drink a toast to General Wang."

Everyone in the tent hurriedly poured a cup of tea, rose with a roar, and shouted: "To the Viceroy, congratulations! To General Wang, congratulations!"

They all drained their cups in one gulp.

Lu Xiangsheng laughed heartily and sat down. His eyes swept brightly over everyone: "Now that our army's provisions are ample, after the troops have rested for a few days, our entire force of over ten thousand shall offer a blood sacrifice and pledge ourselves to battle. We shall seek out the slave main force and strike a painful blow against the enemy invaders."

Everyone roared in unison: "Kill the enemy, repay the nation! Strike a painful blow against the enemy invaders!"

Wang Dou also roared a few times along with the crowd, then sat down.

But as he observed them, behind those great roars, each man faintly harbored his own thoughts — naturally, hearts filled with fear. After all, the Qing army was powerful and had a towering, fearsome reputation. For these ten thousand troops to clash head-on with the Qing soldiers, he feared the Xuan-Da officers harbored reservations deep down.

Moreover, the feudalization of the various officers was growing more apparent by the day. In the face of a powerful enemy, many harbored thoughts of preserving their own strength. Even figures like Hu Dawei and Yang Guozhu, who were historically both loyal and righteous, unavoidably also had such thoughts. The control that civil officials leading troops held over these officers had been steadily declining. Even with Lu Xiangsheng's prestige in Xuan-Da, this problem still existed. More importantly, his Viceroy's Personal Battalion had been stripped of more than half its men by Chen Xinjia. The remaining several hundred men of the Tianwei Army were the weakest force among these ten thousand plus.

Sure enough, Datong Regional Commander Wang Pu quickly rose and said: "Viceroy, the slave-bandits are powerful. Compared to the slaves, our ten thousand plus men are still far too weak in strength. To seek a decisive battle with the slaves now — is it not still a bit early?"

Lu Xiangsheng furrowed his brow. It was true that now he could often only motivate the various Regional Commanders with loyalty and righteousness, not daring to be overly harsh in reprimand, for fear of provoking unexpected trouble.

He said gently: "Regional Commander Wang, the slave-bandits run rampant across the lands of the Great Ming. The common people have long yearned for the royal army to rescue them from their misery, to blunt the fierce edge of the caitiffs, and to end the suffering of this plundering and burning. As subjects of the Great Ming, we should not begrudge ten thousand deaths to repay the nation's grace. How can we fear the caitiff cavalry's strength and not dare to speak of battle?"

He glanced at Wang Dou: "General Wang's great victory has already proven that so long as our officers and men are filled with the heart to repay the nation, they can likewise deal heavy blows to the caitiff cavalry. They are nothing to fear."

Wang Pu gave a dry laugh and sat back down with a rather embarrassed expression.

Yang Guozhu and Hu Dawei remained silent, pondering. Lu Xiangsheng, with some expectation, called on Wang Dou by name: "General Wang, what is your view?"

Among all the generals in the tent, aside from the three Regional Commanders, only Wang Dou was called on by name — a clear sign of Lu Xiangsheng's high regard and expectations for him.

Hearing Lu Xiangsheng's voice, pair after pair of eyes turned to Wang Dou.

Wang Dou stood, clasped his hands, and said: "Viceroy, I have a word to say, but I do not know if it is appropriate to speak."

Lu Xiangsheng said: "General Wang, please speak."

Wang Dou said: "As Commander Wang said, the caitiff cavalry are powerful. Our Xuan-Da government troops have long suffered hunger and exhaustion. To seek a decisive battle with the slaves now is indeed premature. It would be better to send out many scouts to discover where there are small bands of enemy troops. Our ten thousand plus Xuan-Da troops can then strike with thunderous force. On one hand, we can relieve the suffering of their harassment; on the other, we can train the army. Once the troops have recovered and no longer harbor fear, then we can seek battle with the main slave cavalry force."

As soon as Wang Dou finished speaking, Wang Pu slapped the table in admiration: "Brilliant! What General Wang says is extremely reasonable. So young, yet already possessing the bearing of a famous general. Rare, truly rare."

He raised a thumbs-up to Wang Dou, his face full of deeply impressed admiration.

Yang Guozhu glanced at him, then also rose and said solemnly: "Viceroy, I also believe General Wang's words are prudent and well-considered. Our Xuan-Da officers and men number only a bit over ten thousand, and they have long suffered hunger and exhaustion. To seek a decisive battle with the main slave army now is truly not the time."

Everyone in the tent spoke thus. In particular, Wang Dou, who had twice won great victories, also agreed that prudence was best. Lu Xiangsheng furrowed his brow. He pondered for a long while, then said slowly: "Very well. Let the troops rest and reorganize for a few days. Scouts report that there is a band of slave-bandits in Qingdu County, numbering no more than a few thousand. In three days, our great army shall move to Qingdu and annihilate this band of slave-bandits completely."

As he said this, he slammed his palm on the table with a loud bang.

Hearing that the Qing troops there numbered only a few thousand, Wang Pu set his mind at ease. With over ten thousand Xuan-Da officers and men, and a fierce general like Wang Dou present, what was there to fear? He was the first to roar: "We shall follow at the Viceroy's saddle, kill bandits and earn merit, and render service to the imperial court!"

Everyone in the tent roared in unison. Seeing that the army's morale was usable, Lu Xiangsheng was very pleased. He was just about to speak when suddenly a personal guard hurriedly entered the tent and reported a few words to him.

Lu Xiangsheng rose in astonishment: "An envoy from the capital, bearing an imperial decree?"

Everyone in the tent was stirred. Lu Xiangsheng hastily adjusted his robes and cap and led the generals out of the tent to receive the decree. Before any of them had stepped outside, they heard a shrill voice ring out from beyond: "The imperial decree has arrived! Lu Xiangsheng, Yang Guozhu, Wang Dou, receive the decree!"