Chapter 45: Good Characters

Zhou Shixiang really did intend to brand those Qing army prisoners, because he genuinely wanted to absorb these Jiangxi Green Standard soldiers, yet he feared they could not be trusted.

People say use no one you doubt and doubt no one you use, but with him it had become: use them even while doubting them. These Jiangxi Green Standard soldiers had, after all, been soldiers for several years, unlike those young men who understood nothing.

If he could make them join the Taiping Camp wholeheartedly, they would be of great use, and at critical moments they could be put to major use. But how could he make these prisoners serve him without constantly worrying they would turn on him and stab him in the back?

Ge Wu's words were crude, but the reasoning was sound. Though men are not the same as livestock, Zhou Shixiang made up his mind: he would treat these prisoners as livestock and brand each of them with a mark that would ensure they could never turn against him!

No sooner said than done. Zhou Shixiang set down his rice bowl, summoned a minor clerk who kept the muster roll, and told him to find someone in the city who knew how to brand livestock.

The request left the clerk thoroughly baffled; he had no idea what Zhou Shixiang wanted such a man for, but he did not dare ask too many questions and went off to find someone.

The man he brought back was a middle-aged blacksmith surnamed Guo, nicknamed "Guo the Sledgehammer." He was the only blacksmith left in Luoding, ordinarily making a living by mending pots and repairing knives for the residents, and his home had escaped unharmed in the great fire the night before.

Branding livestock was no skilled trade; it relied on a red-hot branding iron. As long as the required mark was made into a mold beforehand, one simply heated it red and pressed it onto the body.

So when Guo the Sledgehammer heard that Zhou Shixiang wanted him to make a mold for branding people, and would pay one tael of silver and twenty jin of rice, he agreed without the slightest hesitation.

In his eyes, there truly was no difference between branding people and branding livestock — as long as the customer paid, anything was easy!

Zhou Shixiang then briefly described the mark he wanted branded to Guo the Sledgehammer. The latter was taken aback for a moment, then went home to fetch his tools and followed Zhou Shixiang to the subprefect's yamen.

Including Shao Jiugong, the Company Commander, there were altogether eighty-eight Qing army prisoners held in the subprefect's yamen.

They had all served in the Jiangxi Green Standard for quite a long time; most were old Green Standard hands who had enlisted in the sixth year of Shunzhi (the third year of Yongli). Of course, every last one of them was Han.

Their backgrounds were also rather mixed; they had originally done all sorts of things.

For example, Shao Jiugong, the Company Commander, had originally been a personal guard of Kong Guozhi, a Mobile Corps Commander under Jin Shengheng, a subordinate general of the Ming dynasty's Marquis of Ningnan, Zuo Liangyu.

After Zuo Liangyu died, his son Zuo Menggeng led the troops in surrendering to the Qing. At that time, the Manchu Qing's Prince Ying, Ajige, wanted Zuo Menggeng to lead his officers to Beijing for an audience.

Jin Shengheng, fearing the Manchu Qing would strip him of his military command, petitioned Ajige for permission to lead his troops in an attack on Jiangxi, expanding territory for the Manchu Qing and thereby preserving his own command.

Because Ajige lacked the troops to occupy Jiangxi, he granted Jin Shengheng's request.

From then on, Jin Shengheng became the Qing dynasty's Regional Commander of Jiangxi, and Kong Guozhi was promoted to Assistant Regional Commander for the merits he had earned in the attack on Jiangxi.

In the fifth year of Shunzhi, Jin Shengheng and his subordinate Wang Deren, dissatisfied with the Qing court's rewards, raised the banner of revolt in Nanchang and returned to the Ming. The next year the venture failed; Jin Shengheng took his own life and Wang Deren was killed.

Kong Guozhi, however, had opened the city gates and surrendered on his own initiative before the city fell, and so was pardoned by the Qing army.

He was then appointed Regional Commander of Southern Jiangxi by the Qing Regional Commander, the General Who Subdues the South and Gusa Ejen, Tantai.

Shao Jiugong was Kong Guozhi's personal guard. When his master surrendered to the Qing again, he naturally followed as a personal guard.

From then on, he continued serving the Manchu Qing under Kong Guozhi, and had taken part in the Battle of Ganzhou when Li Chengdong marched north to seize Jiangxi. The previous year he had been transferred south to Guangdong and taken part in the Chaoshan campaign.

Because he had followed the Kong brothers for a long time, and if he had no merit he at least had toil, at the beginning of the year Kong Guozhi had released Shao Jiugong from his personal guard post and made him a Company Commander under his younger brother Kong Guoliang.

The experiences of the rest were by and large similar to Shao Jiugong's. More than half had originally served in the Ming army; only a dozen or so were soldiers Kong Guozhi had newly recruited in Ganzhou later on.

When Zhou Shixiang reached the subprefect's yamen, he went straight to the prison, where Peng Dazhu was standing guard with his men. Seeing Zhou Shixiang arrive with a blacksmith in tow, Peng Dazhu could not help feeling curious.

Ge Wu, who had come along, grinned with a mischievous look and told him about Zhou Shixiang's plan to brand the prisoners. After hearing it, Peng Dazhu's face immediately broke into the same mischievous grin.

"You start the furnace first, make the mold, and heat it red!"

Zhou Shixiang ordered Guo the Sledgehammer to get on with his work, and had two soldiers help him start the furnace. Then, when the furnace was about ready, he told Peng Dazhu to bring out Shao Jiugong.

This man was the highest-ranking prisoner officer and their leader, so Zhou Shixiang was determined to brand him first.

When Shao Jiugong was brought out, he saw at once the furnace burning charcoal and blowing air, and he also saw a fellow carving a mold. His heart gave a thump, and he had no idea what the Ming army was up to.

He was not left wondering for long. Zhou Shixiang spoke: "Let me ask you — are you willing to bring your men and join my Taiping Camp?"

"Join the Taiping Camp?"

Shao Jiugong was startled, then immediately nodded vigorously and cried out, "This humble one is willing, willing! This humble one is a Han man to begin with — how could I be content to serve as the Tartars' jackal!

To be honest with you, General, this humble one has long hoped to return to the Ming. If not for that dog Kong Guoliang keeping close watch, this humble one might well have already defected to the Ming by now!"

Zhou Shixiang had expected Shao Jiugong to hesitate at least a little before answering, which would have shown an inner struggle and seemed more convincing. Instead, the moment he finished speaking, Shao Jiugong was already thumping his chest and declaring his willingness.

Saying one thing and meaning another, it seems this fellow has long been prepared, just waiting for the day he'd be offered surrender!

Zhou Shixiang sneered: "Your mouth says you're willing, but how do I know you're not lying to save your skin?"

At these words, Shao Jiugong immediately pointed to the sky, and with a fervent look declared, "If the General does not believe this humble one, this humble one can swear an oath to Heaven!"

"I never believe in oaths."

Zhou Shixiang cut off Shao Jiugong before he could swear, staring at him with cold menace until Shao Jiugong's scalp prickled. Fortunately, the other man did not keep staring.

Instead his expression relaxed, and he said, "Very well then. To prove your sincerity, I'll have a few characters branded onto your back."

"Branded characters? What characters?" Shao Jiugong's eyes went wide, but inwardly he was secretly pleased. A few branded characters and you think I'll really follow you?

"You'll know once they're branded on, won't you?" Zhou Shixiang said, a little impatient.

Seeing this, Shao Jiugong said hurriedly, "I'll take the brand, I'll take it!" He paused, then asked, "But how are these characters branded, and where?" His gaze fell on the burning furnace, and he could not suppress a shiver; his face instantly turned pale.

"Why so much jabbering?"

Zhou Shixiang could not be bothered to waste words with him. With a wave of his hand, Ge Wu and two of his men stepped forward, forced the already terrified, pale-faced Shao Jiugong to the ground, and yanked up his clothes.

Over on the other side, Guo the Sledgehammer picked up the branding iron, now glowing red from the charcoal fire, took aim, and pressed it onto Shao Jiugong's back.

With a sizzle, the stench of burning flesh filled everyone's nostrils, and Shao Jiugong screamed in agony: "Aiya!"

Guo the Sledgehammer might never have eaten pork, but he had seen pigs run; he knew the branding time could not be too long, nor too short. Too long, and the man's life could be branded right out of him. Too short, and once the scar formed the characters would be unclear.

After only about three seconds, Guo the Sledgehammer lifted the iron away. Shao Jiugong had already passed out from the pain. His back was red and black all at once, a dreadful sight.

Zhou Shixiang was very satisfied with Guo the Sledgehammer's workmanship. The characters looked perfectly neat, and the heat had been controlled to perfection. Though it looked terrible, it was only a surface wound; it would not harm sinew or bone, and would heal in a few days.

After Shao Jiugong was revived with a splash of water, the searing pain from his back made his teeth chatter. The pain bored into his heart and split his lungs; he wanted to cry out, but did not dare.

Only after a long while did the pain ease a little. Then he managed to force himself to his feet and asked Zhou Shixiang in a trembling voice, "General, what characters did you brand on my back?"

Zhou Shixiang smiled faintly and said, "Good characters. Not many — five of them: 'Shunzhi is a dog.'"

Shunzhi is a dog?

Hearing those five characters, Shao Jiugong felt as if he had been struck by lightning. First he stood dumbstruck as a wooden chicken, then his vision went black and he fainted again.