Chapter 857: The Whole People

(Brother Cd, you overcounted the protagonist’s and allied forces’ troop numbers by too much — made me recalculate several times. Still, thanks for your input; some of the organizational details in it are quite good. And Brother Dongli, your suggestion is very good too. I’m out of energy, will add more next week.)

On the eighth day of the fourth month of the seventeenth year of Chongzhen, the Great General of the Punitive Expedition Against the Caitiffs, Eternal Peace Marquis Wang Dou, personally penned and published a mobilization manifesto, “Raise the Army,” setting the hearts of the entire populace ablaze with fervor.

Everywhere in Xuanfu Garrison, groups of youths took to the streets with swords, marching and weeping blood. In the wineshop of Baoanzhou, Li Xiangqing had already fully blended into the atmosphere of the Eastern Route. Like his elder friend Zhou Houren, his face was flushed red from drinking; he pounded the table with his scabbard and roared, “Deploy the troops, deploy the troops — slaughter every last roving bandit, exterminate the barbarian caitiffs!”

They danced with swords and sang loudly, together intoning the Border-Pacifying Army’s military anthem, “Horses Trample Yanran.”

People from every trade and all walks of life formed associations to show their support for the troop deployment. Great crowds of common folk surged into the streets, cheering and leaping with joy at the Border-Pacifying Army’s imminent march. Whenever soldiers passed by, a chorus of “Ten Thousand Victories” erupted.

The main streets were thronged like tides; countless Sun-Moon-Wave-Tao banners flew. In particular, masses of people flocked toward the Grand General’s residence. They packed densely in the square, shouting “Ten Thousand Victories” at the mansion in excitement, their tsunami-like cheers rising wave after wave.

Seething with passion, everywhere was a boiling crowd, dazzling cold glints of blades and swords, fluttering little flags. A few years ago a simple, rudimentary nationalist thought had already taken root in this land, and now this fervor erupted completely.

“War has begun — the nation needs you!”

“Sir, Madam, please donate some money and grain for the soldiers going to war.”

In every Protectorate, students of Xuanfu Garrison took to the streets, delivering impassioned propaganda speeches for the coming war, and many spontaneously raised military funds for the troops. These were not only students of the Wang Dou system, but also scholars from every academy.

Everyone had come to realize that, whether roving bandits or Tatar caitiffs, both these monsters had to be utterly eradicated; otherwise, their peaceful and stable lives would be affected in the future.

The same went for ordinary commoners. The Tatars went without saying — bestial things, every incursion leaving mountains of corpses and seas of blood, blood flowing across the wilds. And as for the roving bandits, perhaps at first some commoners knew little about them, but now they understood: they were a swarm of locusts — wherever they passed, everything was stripped clean.

They had toiled so hard to support their families. If the roving bandits ever came, what if they too were scraped clean like the commoners of the capital? So they too had to be completely wiped out. Whether roving bandits or Tatars, all must be slaughtered without a trace.

Unknowingly, they too surged forth like a tide, and in the end everyone was swept up in it, forming a nationwide frenzy.

They donated money and goods, all willing to contribute their share to the war effort.

Never before had the hearts of the people been so united.

Never before had the hearts of the people burned so hot.

On the ninth day, the Sanjin Commercial House announced a donation of one million silver dollars to the troops going to war. In particular, the current president of the Sanjin Commercial House, Zheng Jinglun, and the vice president, Lai Mancheng, each donated an additional one hundred fifty thousand silver dollars in their personal names, causing an uproar across all sectors of society.

On the tenth day, Eternal Peace Marquis Wang Dou expressed his appreciation for this. At the same time, he stated that the money and goods donated by the common people were all from the clothes on their backs and the food in their mouths, saved through daily frugality. Though they performed this good deed for the nation, how could such goodwill go without recompense?

He ordered that all money and goods donated by the people be converted into bonds and returned one by one into the people’s hands, and declared that in the future not only would the principal be fully repaid, but there would also be dividends, at an interest rate even higher than bank deposits. This triggered an even greater wave of donations.

At this, even more gentry made bold moves. Originally they had followed the tide and donated money and goods, but mostly in amounts of a hundred or a thousand silver dollars, just to show goodwill. Once the bonds were issued, they scrambled to buy ten thousand, a hundred thousand silver dollars’ worth.

On the eleventh day, the Wang family clan of Datong bought one and a half million silver dollars’ worth of bonds in one breath, frightening the wealthy households of Taiyuan Prefecture, Pingyang Prefecture, and other places into rushing to Xuanfu Garrison to buy, while rich men from Shaanxi, Ningxia, and other regions also stirred at the news.

Mongols from beyond the frontier also raced over desperately to buy.

In the end, the total amount of donations rapidly approached the five-million-silver-dollar mark.

…

“I never imagined Xuanfu Garrison had so many righteous people!”

Inside the former Prince of Gu’s mansion, a youth of sixteen or seventeen, wearing a net cap and a bright yellow python robe, was exclaiming with emotion.

This youth wore the attire representing the Crown Prince; his face still bore traces of childishness, now tinged with lingering excitement. He was none other than the Ming Crown Prince Zhu Cilang, who had fled the capital.

Standing beside him were several men — the very righteous heroes who had rescued the Crown Prince and gotten him out of the capital that day. One was a smiling, chubby Righteous Hero Wu, his expression genial, yet from his eyes an occasional sharp gleam flickered. Another was around forty, tall and thin, with high, prominent cheekbones, gloomy and silent, his features like those of an old farmer.

The Crown Prince called him Righteous Hero Li; he heard others call him Qiang-ye, and he himself sometimes called him Qiang-ye too.

There was one more, in his thirties, with a somewhat melancholy expression, his right arm slightly impaired; the Crown Prince called him Righteous Hero Xiao.

On the night of the nineteenth day of the third month, the Crown Prince, rescued by the righteous heroes, fled the capital through Youanmen, then headed south, fleeing all the way to Laishui, then following the Juma River upstream, fleeing all the way into Mashuikou. Then he entered the Eastern Route of Xuanfu Garrison, passing through Baoanzhou and other places toward the garrison city.

What he saw and heard along the way greatly broadened this youth’s horizons.

Pitiable Zhu Cilang — after being established as Crown Prince in the third year of Chongzhen, he had spent most of his time confined within the Zhongcui Palace. Then in the eleventh year of Chongzhen he began formal lectures outside the palace, with one court grandee and attending lecturer after another expounding subtle and profound principles to him, never enjoying a single day of ease or happiness.

Now the nation’s affairs were troubled and chaotic, tormenting his father and tormenting this youth as well. That heartbreak and exhaustion lasted until that night — he would never forget the scene that night of weeping and parting in anguish with his imperial father and mother. That sorrow and heartbreak lasted until the moment he fled into Xuanfu Garrison.

Even the days of flight were filled with the chaos of war, a land shattered, sights everywhere too painful to behold. But after fleeing into Xuanfu Garrison, it was another world entirely: no more corpses of starvation strewn across the wilds, no more refugees and beggars, no marauding soldiers or roving bandits — only stability, safety, prosperity, and beauty.

Every village and fort in Xuanfu Garrison was clean and tidy, hamlets clustered densely without interruption. The roads here were broad and smooth; the pedestrians walking them were full of vitality, their faces glowing with health, brimming with energy. The common people here were prosperous and spirited, courteous and refined, orderly in all their conduct.

The planning here was excellent, everything in perfect order, and public security was especially good. The attendants following him were merely a display of status, no longer a worry for his safety. The Crown Prince saw that many girls in the garrison city strolled the streets even at night, without the slightest concern for personal safety.

Dense population, the crowing of cocks and barking of dogs within earshot, flourishing shops row upon row — compared to what he had heard and what he had seen in memorials about the rest of the Great Ming, this place was a completely different, beautiful world.

Everything, everything, had an enormous impact on the youth. At the time, he told the several righteous heroes beside him that the future of the Great Ming ought to be like Xuanfu Garrison.

After arriving at the garrison city, his impression of Eternal Peace Marquis Wang Dou was also extremely good — neither arrogant nor fawning, calm and steady, with vast schemes in his mind, and very respectful toward him as well, his company as pleasant as a spring breeze. Every time he spoke with him, the Crown Prince felt he gained much and longed to have long, heartfelt talks with him often. It was a pity that the Eternal Peace Marquis was busy with official duties, and such opportunities were rare.

His attitude also underwent a one-hundred-and-eighty-degree shift. He repeatedly said to the righteous heroes beside him, “How hateful that treacherous ministers deceived Imperial Father, so that a great talent like the Eternal Peace Marquis could not be properly employed, leading the nation’s affairs to decline to this state.”

During all those years the Crown Prince was in the palace, the ministers around him naturally never spoke well of Wang Dou. They even frequently attacked him in his presence, saying he competed with the people for profit, was especially domineering and arrogant, and was in truth a great traitor to the state — such a man, the ruler must keep far away.

But what he saw with his own eyes and heard with his own ears turned his thoughts and ideas entirely in another direction. Later, reading the newspapers and seeing the matter of pursuing stolen goods to aid military funds, seeing one official, merchant, and ennobled noble after another raided and countless taels of silver confiscated, he could not help but sneer: “These people were so unrighteous — they deserve this retribution!”

He recalled how at the time his Imperial Father had exhausted his heart and mind over the matter of provisions and pay, while every civil and military official made excuses and shirked — so it was all to defect to the new dynasty. It was a pity the roving bandits’ nature never changed, and in the end they too drank the bitter fruit they had brewed with their own hands; only the commoners of the capital could be pitied for suffering along with them.

He said bitterly, “Competing with the people for profit, competing with the people for profit — the ministers always told me, the orphaned prince, that the Eternal Peace Marquis competes with the people for profit. Now I understand: this ‘people’ refers only to themselves! A pack of rats, betraying imperial grace without a care, only for private gain!”

He also read in the newspapers that Grand Secretary Chen Yan, State Uncle Zhou Kui, and others had been tortured into revealing silver amounting to no less than five hundred thousand taels per household — and how much was his Imperial Father’s private treasury? All the gold, silver, and vessels in the imperial palace combined amounted to no more than three hundred thousand taels, and the state treasury had only two hundred thousand taels of silver left.

Yet these rats, holding high office, had more silver in their homes than the state treasury.

He said even more bitterly, “These people deserve death a thousand times over, unworthy of sympathy! The roving bandits pursuing stolen goods to aid military funds — well pursued! Let us see if you still try to defect to the new dynasty!”

He said to the righteous heroes beside him, “These sanctimonious sorts always speak ill of the Eternal Peace Marquis. Now I understand what ‘competing with the people for profit’ truly means. The Eternal Peace Marquis put it well: there is a distinction between the great interest and petty interests of the state. What the ministers talk about are all petty interests, only for their own single family or clan; what the Eternal Peace Marquis speaks of is the great interest. Take from the people, use it for the people — this is also why Xuanfu is so peaceful, prosperous, and wealthy.”

He further said, “For the Great Ming to become rich, strong, and resurgent, it must follow the path of Xuanfu Garrison.”

However, he had some worries. He had discussed with Wang Dou, and Wang Dou believed that on the day before the troops marched, the Crown Prince could declare a regency — only with proper title would his words carry proper authority. The Crown Prince of course agreed. Aside from wanting to appoint the Eternal Peace Marquis as Duke Who Pacifies the State, with the titles “Regional Commander of All Military Affairs Within and Without” and “Grand Master of Splendid Happiness,” he also wanted to appoint him as Senior Grand Secretary of the Cabinet.

But Wang Dou declined. Apart from the post of Grand Regional Commander, for Senior Grand Secretary he recommended the former Minister of War Chen Xinjia. For Minister of Revenue, he recommended the Viceroy of Xuan-Da, Ji Shiwei. As for the remaining personnel, he believed they could be discussed further and selected from among the hundred officials after the Divine Capital was recovered.

For instance, he believed that the Nanjing Minister of War, Shi Kefa, was upright, strict, and clear-minded, and might serve as Left Censor-in-Chief of the Chief Surveillance Bureau, or as Minister of Rites. The Fengyang Viceroy, Ma Shiying, was steady and reliable, and might also enter the capital to seek a post.

But the Crown Prince was worried: “Only today do I realize that loyal ministers are all in Xuanfu Garrison; everywhere else they are sanctimonious sorts. Can people like Shi Kefa really be entrusted with great responsibility?”

In the Crown Prince’s mind, the cabinet ministers and the high officials of the Six Ministries should all be replaced with talents from Xuanfu Garrison and the Protectorates.

Yet now Wang Dou had only designated Zhong Rong as Left Vice Minister of Revenue, Lin Daofu as Right Vice Minister of War, Fu Mingqi as Left Vice Minister of Rites, Tian Changguo as Right Vice Minister of Works, Chi Dacheng as Right Vice Minister of Justice, and so on. Apart from these, almost none of the other posts had been changed.

Oh, he did recommend quite a few people for local Provincial Governors and prefectural and county officials, but this was far from what the Crown Prince had envisioned, leaving him somewhat dissatisfied.

Of course, what the two agreed upon was that Righteous Hero Wu and the others, for their commendable loyalty and righteousness, should be employed in an extraordinary breach of convention and appointed to posts such as Regional Commander and Assistant Regional Regional Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Still, the Crown Prince was worried. He said to the righteous heroes beside him, “Officials outside Xuanfu Garrison have no talent to speak of and no virtue to speak of — can they really be competent in these posts? Even people like Shi Kefa and Ma Shiying — I fear they are just more sanctimonious sorts.”

He sighed: "The Marquis of Yongning told me we must unite all forces that can be united, take the greater picture as paramount, and stabilize the Great Ming. ...Only, why are loyal ministers always wronged? Judging by the talents of the gentlemen in the Xuanfu Garrison and the Protectorate, they would be more than capable of serving as Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet or Ministers of the Six Boards."

Since this youth, who had grown up in a sealed environment, set foot in the Xuanfu Garrison, his outlook on life and his values had completely changed. He even deeply loathed hearing anyone speak ill of the Marquis of Yongning. Once, Du Xun, the Eunuch Grand Defender of the Xuanfu Garrison, secretly came to him to tattle on Wang Dou, which made the Crown Prince extremely displeased and filled him with disgust toward Du Xun.

However, seeing how the Marquis of Yongning was open-minded and modest, and yet still allowed someone as scheming and malicious as Du Xun to hold the important post of Director of the Urban Management Bureau in the Xuanfu Garrison, perhaps he could learn from that. After the Divine Capital is recovered in the future, he would just let Du Xun serve as the Director of the General Urban Management Bureau.

With the recovery of the Divine Capital and the handling of state affairs looming in the future, this youth felt uneasy in his heart. He consulted the righteous men beside him, hoping to hear their opinions.

This journey had been fraught with peril, rushing and killing, breaking through encirclements several times. These righteous men also seemed omnipotent, and their loyalty to him went without saying, causing the youth to involuntarily develop a feeling of reliance and trust toward them. The young man very much wanted to hear their views.

Righteous Xiao said: "Though this humble one is not from the Xuanfu Garrison, I do know that the Marquis of Yongning has military and civil affairs academies that specially train officials. Most officials in the rest of the Great Ming are inadequate. Perhaps we could discuss with the Marquis sending more officials to the Xuanfu Garrison for training, to learn how to do things, rather than how to be officials."

The Crown Prince said with keen interest: "Indeed. This is what is meant by 'one takes on the color of one's company.' If you gather with corrupt officials, you become corrupt; if you gather with loyal ministers and honest officials, you become better. We truly must send more officials for training and make it a regular practice."

Righteous Li said: "The Xuanfu Garrison is a paradise on earth, but this humble one has heard that the Marquis of Yongning is actually quite idle. When there is work, his subordinates do it."

The Crown Prince said: "I have also heard this. The Marquis of Yongning also told me, 'Do not use those you doubt, and do not doubt those you use,' which is worthy of my deep reflection. If one employs the Marquis of Yongning, one must employ him well, and not let one's thoughts run wild, causing fruitless suspicion between sovereign and minister. One man's strength is also limited; otherwise, why would our ancestors have established the posts of Chancellor and Senior Grand Secretary?"

Righteous Wu said with a beaming smile: "This humble one does not understand much, but knows one saying: 'Stay close to worthy ministers and keep petty men at a distance.'"

The Crown Prince greatly praised this: "Correct. The worthy minister is the Marquis of Yongning. Listening more to his words can never be wrong. Although my Imperial Father was diligent, there were too many treacherous ministers by his side, which led to the calamity at the capital."

He said with emotion: "Indeed, people like the Marquis of Yongning who are wholeheartedly devoted to the country are truly too few. That is why there are many righteous people in the Xuanfu Garrison, and few elsewhere."

After arriving at the Xuanfu Garrison, besides reading every issue of the Xuanfu Times with an insatiable thirst, the Crown Prince went about incognito, roaming the streets under the cover of the righteous men. After all, with a youth's lively nature, he was always unwilling to be shut inside and wanted to go out, walk around, and see things.

Public security here was also very good, with no danger whatsoever, and moreover, no one controlled him...

The Marquis of Yongning actually knew about the Crown Prince's several incognito visits. He said: "Going more among the common people, sharing joy with them, and understanding their heartfelt thoughts is a good thing. This is the image of a sage sovereign. However, one must pay attention to safety."

This made the Crown Prince feel warm inside, and also gave him a sense of freedom and unrestraint. If this had been in the old palace, had those attending and lecturing ministers known of it, they would have all knelt to remonstrate, even to the death, and would never rest until they had turned him into a rigid moralist.

Compared to his former life in the palace, this life made the Crown Prince increasingly feel that the Marquis of Yongning was a loyal minister.

This morning, accompanied again by the righteous men, he secretly took to the streets. By then, the mobilization proclamation had been issued, and the streets were ablaze with fervor. Countless people surged onto the streets, waving small flags. There were also many youths his age parading and giving speeches. Everything filled him with excitement and novelty.

There were also many students raising donations. Passing a street, the Crown Prince even saw several female academy students soliciting donations. The Crown Prince also donated five silver dollars into one girl's box. That girl sweetly said: "Thank you, righteous sir."

This made his heart thump fiercely a few times.

All along the way, he saw an unending stream of people donating money and goods, all spontaneously from the common people.

Upon returning, he also heard astonishing news: the Sanjin Trading Company announced a donation of one million silver dollars, which made the Crown Prince sigh with deep emotion. Compared to the capital back then, the Xuanfu Garrison had so many more righteous people, which further strengthened his resolve that the Great Ming must follow the path of the Xuanfu Garrison.

At this moment, traces of excitement still lingered on his face. He stayed a while longer in Prince Gu's mansion but still felt restless. After Chen Xinjia, Ji Shiwei, and others who had come to visit left, he changed clothes again with Righteous Wu and the others and secretly slipped out of the mansion.

In the afternoon, the streets were even more fervent. Everywhere were parading crowds and a forest of banners. He first sat in a restaurant and sang "Horses Trample Yanran" together with the other patrons for a while. Then the Crown Prince left the restaurant, followed the flow of people, and involuntarily wandered to the front of the Grand General's mansion. The square here was a dark mass of heads, and the waving small flags were like a sea.

Hearing the unending, mountain-roaring, sea-roaring shouts of "Ten Thousand Victories," the Crown Prince could not help but shout along. He shouted "Ten Thousand Victories" for half a shichen, feeling his throat become somewhat hoarse, before walking away still longing for more. After returning, he was still too excited to sleep.

Everything about the Xuanfu Garrison, especially that fiery atmosphere, deeply intoxicated him.

Rhythmic clanging sounds rang out unceasingly, sparks flew in all directions, and heavy, water-powered forging hammers continuously struck the red-hot iron stock, forging it into uniform, thick, and textured fine iron plates. Looking around, dense forging hammers stood like a forest, and craftsmen coming and going were all busy operating the hammers and raw materials. The fiery power of steel was displayed here beyond doubt.

Some craftsmen wearing fox-fur hats and overalls took the fine iron plates away to cool, then stacked them to one side. Looking around, the stacks were like small mountains.

In another factory shed, these fine iron plates reappeared, but were first tempered, then sent under a gigantic water-powered forging hammer, beneath which there seemed to be a mold. Then the great water-powered hammer started, slowly rose, and finally rushed down, carrying immense stamping pressure. With a loud clang, it stamped the fine iron plate into a shape in one go.

It seemed to be the front half of a breastplate used by soldiers. Then this front half of the breastplate was taken away for quenching, finally forming the required armor part.

Loud clanging sounds rang out unceasingly. In the spacious factory shed, there was more than one stamping press, and the molds under each stamping press were not of a single type.

An endless stream of front halves and back halves of breastplates were stamped out, and when joined together, they formed a complete fine-iron breastplate.

A bespectacled man who looked like a master craftsman would occasionally inspect these breastplates. Breastplates were constantly pulled out and sent to the outdoor testing range for tests: slashing with blades, stabbing with spears, shooting with arrows, and even bombardment with firelocks at different distances.

After breastplate after breastplate was forged and stamped out, and passed quality inspection, they were still semi-finished products and were sent to another workshop. Inside were mostly soldiers' wives, also wearing uniforms. They were responsible for the inner lining, perforation, and fine polishing tasks. Compared to scale armor, the manufacture of these breastplates was relatively simple, but they were more than sufficient for use on the original garrison militia.

Moreover, these armors were all made of fine iron. Such equipment was something even many retainers in the Ming army could not possess. Even when used by the C-grade troops, they still looked very imposing, unique to the Great Ming.

Only after the inner lining was sewn and wrapped, and the straps were attached, was a breastplate finally completed.

Looking around, the breastplates were polished to a bright shine, gleaming with the textured luster of metal. The inner lining was a thick, dark red cloth, so it would not chafe the body. The two sleeves extended out, almost to half-sleeve length. The collar protruded and was folded over, resembling a shoulder scarf. The red cloth lining below reached about to the thigh, making the overall aesthetic rather dazzling.

The straps at the ribs were also leather buckles. After a soldier put on this breastplate, paired with an eight-petaled iron cap helmet, his image was imposing, fully displaying a soldier's heroic bearing.

This was the Jiajiaying Military Factory in the Xuanfu Garrison. Besides manufacturing bird guns, it also produced armor and weapons.

Compared to when Wang Dou first arrived at the Xuanfu Garrison, the changes here were also strikingly prominent. Reservoirs had been built on the river, providing stable water flow for the various hydraulic drilling machines and forging hammers, so production efficiency was astonishing.

Last year, due to the mass organization of garrison militia and the equipping of troops, the armor stockpiled in the military factory had been emptied. However, under this powerful productivity, the warehouses were quickly filled again. If there were battle losses, replacements could be made quickly, ensuring the troops had good equipment, with no worries about what lay behind, so they could fight with peace of mind.

And this situation was not unique to the Jiajiaying Military Factory; it was just that because the steel plant was right next door, the scale of this military factory had expanded even more.

Huailai Guard, the Laozi Warm Station twenty-five li west of the city.

This route was where the troops would march. Ensuring the soldiers ate well, drank well, and rested well along the way was something the castles along the route had to guarantee. Thus, one by one, the post stations and relay stations became military depots, and a continuous stream of supplies was transported to each warm station.

Looking across this area: the Chenzi Warm Station, the Laozi Warm Station, the Yizi Warm Station — chickens, ducks, pigs, fish, sheep, vegetables, fruits, flour, rice of various grades, hemp rope, timber, water vats, a wide array of supplies, all converged inside and outside these warm stations.

Logistics personnel, brandishing gleaming silver dollars and colorful grain tickets, simply purchased supplies from the various large garrison villages and castles. Major merchants and the common people also spontaneously offered support. Every day, people came and went, carts and horses streamed in an endless line, and the hubbub rose to the sky.

Near the warm station, Chen Xu was directing the construction of some mat shelters for the marching troops to use for drinking water and resting. Not far away, students and Propaganda Department personnel were busy painting slogans on the walls of the warm station. Many children gathered around to watch, waving small sun-and-moon flags, hopping and cheering.

Chen Xu wiped away a handful of sweat. These mat shelters should have been built long ago, only...

Firecrackers sounded, and gongs and drums made a deafening noise. Another team of local villagers came beating gongs and drums. They were all carrying pigs, carrying sheep, and bearing vegetables and fruits on shoulder poles, heading this way in a grand manner. Clearly, it was more nearby common people spontaneously coming to support with supplies.

A logistics worker beside him slapped his head: "Oh, what wave is this now? I'm about to collapse from exhaustion."

Another logistics worker said: "The neighbors have donated too many things. There's no place left to pile them... This would be more than enough not just for two hundred thousand men, but even for four hundred thousand."

After the mobilization, the fervor of the common people had reached a shocking level. They transported all kinds of things. The various military depots and supply stations were piled full of all sorts of supplies. There were even coffin shops that donated quite a few coffins to the expeditionary army, leaving people unsure whether to praise or curse them.

Hearing the complaining tone in their voices, Chen Xu suddenly frowned. He barked: "These are righteous people. How dare you speak so rudely!"

His gaze grew distant, as if recalling his own past as a trench-filling hero. In the blink of an eye, all these years had passed, and the changes in the Xuanfu Garrison were vivid before his eyes.

He said: "With the people's hearts like this, what more is there to say?"

Smiling broadly, he went forward to greet them.