Chapter 6: Untitled

Jinyang stood proudly on the banks of the Fen River. More than twenty li east of the city, on the flat plains, sat a military camp. Several stockades connected to form the camp, with palisades arranged in a rigorous manner. Around the camp walls, military banners flew high—besides the "Liu" banners, the majority were "Longqi" army banners.

Under Liu Zhiyuan's governance, Hedong was hailed as the foremost of all the garrisons. Aside from the added prestige of being a "dragon city of kingly enterprise," his greatest confidence came from the numerous and "well-trained" armies under his command.

Initially, Liu Zhiyuan had been ordered by edict to take up garrison command in Hedong. In less than a year, Shi Jingtang passed away. When the young emperor Shi Chonggui succeeded the throne and fell out with the Khitan, war erupted between the two states. To resist the Khitan, Liu Zhiyuan was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Northern Field Headquarters—but because ruler and ministers suspected one another, he held the title in name only, without real authority.

Amid the conflict between the two states, to defend against the Khitan while also guarding against the Shi Jin court, Liu Zhiyuan recruited soldiers extensively in Taiyuan, establishing more than ten new armies such as the Xingjie and Wujie. He also took in many scattered soldiers and wandering troops from various prefectures. By last year, he had rather ruthlessly absorbed the Tuyuhun people within his borders, seizing their wealth and livestock and conscripting their able-bodied men—his strength had expanded dramatically.

By now, under the Hedong Military Governorship, the newly established armies, together with the original Later Jin imperial army units such as the Prison City Army, numbered more than ten armies in total, large and small, with over fifty thousand cavalry and infantry—truly strong troops and sturdy horses. Of course, these armies also bore the distinctive traits of this era: complex unit designations, chaotic organization, vast disparities in size, and uneven combat effectiveness.

Among the various titled armies under Hedong, the large ones like Xingjie and Wujie were divided into left and right wings, each further subdivided into several armies, with nearly ten thousand soldiers. These two armies were Liu Zhiyuan's personal direct-line forces—after all, he had personally established them, so they enjoyed generous treatment and formidable combat power. As for the smaller ones, some had three to four thousand troops, and some even fewer. There were even armies with less than a thousand men, though most of those were assigned to defend subsidiary prefectures and passes.

The Longqi Army was also a new army of the garrison command, of medium size, with three thousand soldiers divided into three armies and six battalions. It was permanently stationed within Taiyuan Prefecture, bearing part of the defensive responsibility for Jinyang's outer perimeter. The soldiers came from diverse origins, a mix of Han and barbarian, including both elite warriors and weaklings—in short, a motley assortment. And the transformation of this army came precisely after Liu Chengyou took command.

Initially, when Liu Zhiyuan appointed Liu Chengyou as Chief Commander of the Longqi Army, there was much criticism from all sides before he even took office. Some staff officers doubted that Liu Chengyou, being young and having shown no aptitude for martial affairs before, could control the arrogant and unruly soldiers—but Liu Zhiyuan suppressed all such objections.

Later events proved the subordinates' concerns were not unfounded. Toward the "child army master" appointed from above, the officers and men of the Longqi Army were not convinced—even if he was the son of the Prince of Beiping. In the military, the strong always commanded respect, especially in this chaotic age where force reigned supreme; the fist was the only real truth.

From the very start of his command, Liu Chengyou faced enormous challenges. The officers scorned him, the soldiers doubted him. Though his status prevented them from openly defying him, the silent resistance and rejection were felt by Liu Chengyou with exceptional clarity. Military orders were difficult to transmit; communication from above to below was extremely sluggish.

In this era, military discipline could hardly be described with words like "excellent," "good," or "fine." In fact, some armies with worse discipline had greater combat power.

But the early Longqi Army was not particularly strong in combat, yet its discipline was especially poor. Officers were lax and soldiers idle, frequently committing violations of law and discipline. Since the camp was near villages and towns, the soldiers often bullied the good folk, plundered the common people, and seized civilian property—such deeds were hardly rare among the lower ranks.

At first, Liu Chengyou appeared quite passive, speaking little and staying quiet, letting things run their course while silently committing everything he saw and heard to memory. It was only after half a month, once he had thoroughly understood the situation throughout the Longqi Army, that he decisively swung down the big stick.

First, he seized several dozen soldiers who had violated discipline, making examples of them with severe punishment—those with serious offenses were directly beheaded as a warning to all. These men shared a common trait: they had basically all been on the battlefield, strong and fierce, wild and untamable—the backbone of the army. Only such arrogant soldiers dared to act wantonly; the weak-willed wouldn't dare break the law.

Some officers came to question and plead on their behalf, trying to pressure Liu Chengyou into releasing them. But Liu Chengyou, having long prepared for this, would not be intimidated—he went his own way. Moreover, as his second step, he turned the blade against the officers who had violated discipline. Given their conduct, finding fault with these officers required no difficulty at all: abusing soldiers, accepting bribes, disobeying military orders, defying military law...

Within just those two or three days, Liu Chengyou removed more than a dozen low-ranking officers such as squad leaders and Captains, and one Battalion Commander was executed on the charge of "the crime of slowing military operations." Even an Army Commander—what could be called a mid-ranking officer—was petitioned by Liu Chengyou to be dismissed and transferred away.

His attitude was extremely tough, his methods utterly ruthless. From that point on, the entire army truly realized that this "handsome young lord" Liu Chengyou was clearly a man-eating tiger. Under Liu Chengyou's forceful actions, the whole army fell into solemn order; no one above or below dared to underestimate him. Combined with the perpetually cold expression Liu Chengyou maintained, he seemed all the more imposing and fearsome.

As Liu Chengyou stirred things up aggressively in the army, complaints and accusations about his "reckless behavior" continuously reached the Prince of Beiping's residence. Toward the dissatisfaction and grumbling from below, Liu Zhiyuan's reaction was rather ambiguous—he merely soothed those officers and soldiers who had been wronged (provided they still had their lives), rewarding them with silk, money, and grain as consolation.

Additionally, he summoned Liu Chengyou back to the residence and gave him a scolding—and that was all. In truth, Liu Zhiyuan had long heard about the situation in the Longqi Army and had already intended to rectify it. Whatever his original intentions in letting Liu Chengyou command it, Liu Chengyou's actions in the process still surprised him. Beyond the surprise, perhaps there was also approval—this was likely one of the reasons Liu Zhiyuan began to formally include Liu Chengyou in discussions of Hedong's military and political affairs.

Under Liu Zhiyuan's "rebuke," Liu Chengyou conducted a self-examination, expressed that he knew he had erred, and indeed subsequently restrained himself appropriately, ceasing the harsh punishments and heavy measures. After all, his goal had already been achieved—the effect of establishing authority was accomplished. As for the officers of the Longqi Army, with their appeals coming to nothing, they could only temporarily submit to Liu Chengyou's "tyranny."

However, authority could not be lacking, yet neither could one rely solely on it—Liu Chengyou understood the principle of balancing favor with severity. To rely purely on showing force and cruelty could never last; Liu Chengyou's mind remained quite clear-headed.

With his authority established, Liu Chengyou began to dispense favors. As a second-rate unit under Liu Zhiyuan, the Longqi Army's status was not high—this was fully reflected in their treatment, which lagged far behind the Xingjie and Wujie armies by no small margin. This could also be glimpsed from Liu Zhiyuan's degree of attention: the commanders of the former two armies were either members of the Liu clan or trusted right-hand generals. The Longqi Army, though containing many veterans of the Liu family, was more like a hodgepodge.

Taking this into account, Liu Chengyou began to find ways to secure benefits for his officers and men. Rations, pay, and military supplies were never again in short supply, and from time to time there were rewards of strong liquor, pork, and mutton. Weapons, equipment, and armor were also selected from the finest available.

Having received benefits, most of the previous grievances immediately dissipated. The men of the Longqi Army gradually came to find that cold face of Liu Chengyou's rather endearing. However, even though treatment had improved, Liu Chengyou's governance of the army became even stricter, with particular emphasis on discipline. After several rounds of his suppression, those troublemakers were gradually ground down.

As time passed, the soldiers gradually grew familiar with and accepted this commander. He came from a noble background yet showed no trace of spoiled arrogance; though young in years, he handled affairs with great maturity; he was fair and strict, showing no favoritism whatsoever. Though lacking formidable personal martial prowess, his authority commanded even greater awe. Additionally, Liu Chengyou frequently went down to the grassroots level, conversing with squad and fire-team soldiers, sharing the same clothes and food—this won him no small portion of the soldiers' hearts.

Because of his strict governance, the Longqi soldiers secretly gave Liu Chengyou a nickname—the Handsome Yama. When Liu Chengyou heard of it, he immediately sent someone to find the soldier who had first spread the name and rewarded him with ten strings of cash, remarking that this "elegant title" was well chosen. From then on, the soldiers' hearts were even more attached to him.

Once discipline was rectified and the soldiers' loyalty secured, Liu Chengyou began stirring things up again. Not long ago, to improve the Longqi Army's combat effectiveness, he began eliminating the old and weak from the ranks, adjusting officer vacancies, and assigning men according to ability. He held several major martial competitions in the army—the capable advanced, the incompetent were demoted, the strong became officers, and the weak remained soldiers.

After this round of actions, over a hundred brave warriors and low-ranking officers were promoted. These soldiers' goodwill toward Liu Chengyou instantly soared to the ceiling.

Of course, where some rose, others fell. Those who had been "unjustly" dismissed or demoted naturally were not reconciled—but this time, they simply couldn't make any trouble. With the support of the many beneficiaries and Liu Zhiyuan's tacit endorsement behind the scenes, Liu Chengyou easily suppressed them. Inevitably, he still executed two or three low-ranking officers who, drunk and emboldened, had defied Liu Chengyou's authority.

Only Liu Chengyou dared to do such things—the identity of the Prince of Beiping's son gave him tremendous confidence. Had anyone else stirred things up like this, even if the officers hadn't brought him down, Liu Zhiyuan would have suspected him of ulterior motives and not allowed him to remain. What Liu Chengyou did cleverly was to report and explain every action to Liu Zhiyuan; the rectification of the Longqi Army had always been conducted right under Liu Zhiyuan's nose.

Under Liu Chengyou's vigorous rectification, the Longqi Army was completely transformed—combat effectiveness rose sharply, morale grew daily. By now, it already bore the bearing of a strong army.

Since the beginning of spring, all the armies large and small under Liu Zhiyuan's command had intensified their training. Under Liu Chengyou's orders, the Longqi Army trained especially hard, and with the reward-and-punishment system he established, officers and men alike put in exceptional effort.

The "Hey! Ha!" sounds from the drill grounds within the camp continued for a long while. Near noon, the Longqi soldiers finally finished their morning training, after which, led by their commanders, they ate in batches by battalion. In the rear camp, cooking smoke still rose—the cooks had long prepared the meals.

The soldiers in camp were especially excited today. Last night, six large fat pigs had been brought in from outside the camp, and this morning the pigs were slaughtered—those shrill, piercing squeals were so pleasing to the ear... Every month, there were always one or two such days when Liu Chengyou ordered a feast for the troops.

Several large cauldrons were filled half with water and brought to a boil, then chunks of pork cut to roughly equal size were placed inside, supplemented with scallions, pepper, salt, and oil, cooked over high heat until thoroughly done and tender. Though the method was simple, for the ordinary soldiers it was a rare "delicacy."

But even the distribution of meat had its rules. The strong ate well, the middling ate their fill, and the weak ate little or could only manage to dip into the meat broth... Regardless, having enjoyed a proper meat meal, the soldiers all showed more or less satisfied expressions.

In a tent in the eastern stockade, several dozen soldiers gathered in small groups of two or three, enjoying their midday rest. Among them was a low-ranking officer sitting on a piece of burlap. Judging by the insignia on his uniform, he was a Captain. The Captain's surname was Li. He looked quite old, but in fact was only in his twenties. Stubble sprouted in all directions, and his face wore a fierce expression. His skin was rough, his teeth yellowed, his helmet set beside his backside. He sat with one leg crossed over the other, using his pinky nail to pick strands of meat from between his teeth, wearing a thoroughly contented expression.