Chapter 207: Blessing

When Chen Company Commander left, Mr. Hou still accompanied him at his side. Neither was in the mood to talk, and they passed through the prefectural gate in silence. A wind had risen in the deep autumn night, already carrying a hint of chill. The Garrison Commander's banner on the flagpole before the gate stirred faintly in the breeze. The sentries still stood ramrod straight, as if they had never moved. The duty officer stood below the steps; hearing the gate open, he glanced this way but did not greet Mr. Hou.

The Water Camp attendants waiting outside immediately came forward to meet them. Mr. Hou had assumed Chen Company Commander had come on horseback and was preparing to say his farewells at the mounting stone, but then he saw a small four-man sedan chair halted beyond the abatis.

Chen Company Commander's steps were somewhat heavy; he walked very slowly the whole way. Mr. Hou had no choice but to slow his own pace as well, following behind that slightly paunchy silhouette.

When they finally reached the sedan chair, Chen Company Commander stopped and turned to Mr. Hou, looking as if he wanted to speak but held back.

"I respectfully see Lord Chen off." Mr. Hou took a step back, signaling that he had no intention of conversing with him.

Chen Company Commander sighed, cupped his hands toward Mr. Hou, and boarded the sedan. The lead bearer gave a shout, and the sedan rose smoothly and headed west. The four bearers moved with a steady rhythm; the sedan compartment swayed very little — clearly they were accustomed to working together.

Mr. Hou shook his head. One skill he had honed in the county yamen was judging a person's wealth by their sedan chair. Sedan-bearing was a technical trade — lifting off, walking, setting down, crossing bridges, ascending and descending steps — all required practiced coordination among four men to keep it steady. Only wealthy households would keep sedan bearers, who were of little other use, on permanent retainers, which was why they could be so well-trained. Seeing that sedan just now, he knew Chen Company Commander possessed considerable family assets.

Earlier in the study, when Pang Yu — a young superior — had pressured and suppressed Chen Company Commander without the slightest regard for face or sentiment, Mr. Hou had felt some sympathy. But now, seeing the sedan, he felt Chen Company Commander had not suffered unjustly. In the past, Mr. Hou might have envied Chen Company Commander's skill at extracting money, but after his entire family was slaughtered by the Roving Bandits at the start of the year, he now wished these military men would be more capable at fighting. Yet Chen Company Commander, by his very appearance, did not look like a man who could lead troops, let alone the fact that a Water Camp Company Commander could afford four sedan bearers — that told him the Water Camp could not have much fighting strength. At least Pang Yu had left him a way out.

He touched the silver ingot inside his clothes through the fabric, let out a low sigh, bent his waist slightly, and turned back through the side gate.

The lights were still on in the two rooms on the west side. The door had just opened, and some soldiers were coming out, talking quietly among themselves as they prepared to return to the barracks through the east side gate. Mr. Hou shifted direction, intending to go back to the Rear Office by way of the left side of the Main Hall. If Pang Yu had no other arrangements, his duties for the day would finally be done.

He had taken only two steps when he suddenly heard from his right, "Sir, you haven't rested yet."

Mr. Hou stopped and looked over. He saw a figure approaching. Only when the man drew near, by the lantern light along the surrounding covered corridor, could he make out who it was.

A smile broke across his face. He glanced toward that room and said, "So it's Dacai. You've come to attend this night school too."

Wu Dacai came over and bowed attentively. "Lord Pang gave us the day off today. I wanted to come pay my respects to you this afternoon, but the people in the Document Receiving Office said you were in a meeting, so I went back to camp. I never expected to run into you here. This night school — today was my first time, in the second class. Don't laugh at me, sir, but back in the countryside, reading and writing were grand matters that only the Licentiate gentlemen could manage. I didn't dare come at first, but then I heard that if you get the literacy certificate, they add five qian to your monthly pay, so I plucked up the courage to give it a try."

Mr. Hou laughed in spite of himself. "That was set by Lord Pang — five qian indeed. Over a year, it's no small sum. Who else is in your class? Surely they're not all there for those five qian of silver?"

Wu Dacai scratched his head. "From the First Unit, there are two squad leaders and three soldiers. I don't know the others' names yet. Oh, and there's Wang Zenglu."

"Wang Zenglu started learning quite some time ago. How is it that he's in your class now?"

"The Second Unit lost over half its men at Beixia Pass. While they were reorganizing at Tongcheng, he was busy reorganizing the Second Unit and fell behind in his lessons. Now that we're back in Anqing, he has to follow our second class." Wu Dacai glanced over there. The soldiers and officers had all left. The two clerks who taught the class had just come out and were each locking the doors. He lowered his voice. "I've heard people in the army say that the Second Company lost too many men at Beixia Pass, and Lord Pang intends to discard him."

Mr. Hou gave an "oh" and shook his head. "Wang Zenglu's Second Company did suffer heavier losses. However, Lord Pang has already reached a conclusion: although the Second Company's losses were greater and there were quite a few desertions, overall they fought a bloody battle and defeated the enemy. Wang Zenglu's courage is commendable; at the very least, he will retain his original post. Besides, the Second Unit was brought back up to full squad strength, not reorganized. His Lordship has largely settled on the overall plan; the reorganization is about to begin."

"So that's how it is. I also felt that Lord Pang values Wang Hundred-Commander. That Second Unit piled up corpses several layers deep on the Official Road — even horses couldn't break through. And that Wang Hundred-Commander, he really does learn characters fast. He's willing to help in class, too, and tells everyone they can ask him if they don't understand something during the week."

"Why ask him? Can you understand what those two clerks are teaching?"

"I understood today. They gave each of us a copy of the Military Literacy Chart. Tonight we learned five characters."

Mr. Hou said with keen interest, "That booklet was compiled by Lord Pang. What characters to write, what sentences — he decided all of it. He gave it to the Document Receiving Office for proofreading and had this old man check for any missing characters. They're all terms commonly used in the military. The first line, I recall, is 'one two three four five.'"

"Just as you say, sir. Today we learned exactly 'one two three four five.' That first line is easy to write and easy to learn. The second line is a bit harder — it's 'six seven eight nine ten.' I got the first five characters down in one evening. But the people in the earlier class say the characters later on are very difficult."

Mr. Hou laughed. "When learning something, don't listen to others talk about easy or hard. Some people deliberately say it's hard just to show off their own ability. When you actually reach that point yourself, you'll realize it's nothing special. Those two lines form a couplet — they're the easy part. The lines after that, as I recall, are 'units, tens, hundreds, thousands, ten-thousands; head, door, frame, vessel, item; li, fen, qian, liang, jin; inch, foot, yard, mile, pace; front, rear, left, center, right; east, south, west, north, direction; soldier, squad, team, banner, company; enemy, us, infantry, cavalry, cannon.' When you get to those, they'll be harder than today's, but once you know them, it's very easy. In the third unit, this old man will also be giving you lessons on official documents."

"I'm just afraid I won't be able to learn it. I hear there are frequent tests as well."

Mr. Hou counseled him, "Tests there are, but in your camp, individual skills and formation drills are tested every few days too. The night school follows the same principle. It's just that Lord Pang has divided it into what he calls units. When the first unit ends, there will be a unit test, proctored by the Central Army Guard. They'll take the characters you've learned and form them into sentences — you'll have to be able to read them and write them. For example, with the characters I just mentioned, you could write 'three li to the northwest, five hundred enemy cavalry,' and so on."

"Then I truly don't know if I can pass the test. Even though it's an extra five qian of silver a month, I hear that after this, there will be tests every three months. If you don't pass, that five qian a month is gone. In the end, it might all be hard work for nothing. I'm a bit hesitant."

"Dacai, you mustn't think that way. Lord Pang often tells me that there is a shortage of usable men in the army. Every day I hear his lordship's words — what he needs are soldiers and officers who can read, not scholars who talk about war. He means to put them to great use. His lordship takes this night school very seriously. The revised Military Law clauses have already been sent to the Document Receiving Office. A new clause has been added: those who obtain the literacy certificate will be given priority in promotion."

Wu Dacai looked cautiously at Mr. Hou and lowered his voice. "Speaking of promotion, since I've happened to meet you tonight, sir, might I ask — when will my temporary post as squad leader be formally conferred?"

Mr. Hou glanced around. This Wu Dacai had not been out of the countryside for long. Although he had spent time in the Central Army, he still lacked experience. He asked about things far too directly. If people around them overheard and word reached Pang Yu, it would give Mr. Hou a reputation for leaking information and being unreliable.

He hesitated a moment, then took two steps toward the wall, stopping only when he reached a spot against it. Wu Dacai hurriedly followed. Only then did Mr. Hou say to him in a low voice, "In this reorganization, Lord Pang intends to establish the rank of Company Commander above Hundred-Commander. Under each Company Commander, there will be three Hundred-Commanders. In total, there will be three Battalion Commander Bazongs and three Central Army Bazongs. The total troop strength will be over fifteen hundred, with infantry at twelve hundred. The cavalry and infantry of the former Central Army Personal Guard Unit will be organized separately. Compared to the previous six Hundred-Commanders, there will be roughly half again as many Banner Captains and squad leaders. Those who rendered meritorious service at Beixia Pass will all be promoted in this round. For now, everyone remains at their original posts. Those being promoted are mostly veteran soldiers. As for you…"

Wu Dacai's heart pounded fiercely. From the sound of it, he might even have a chance to be promoted to Banner Commander. He asked impatiently, "What about me?"

"In the list of officer candidates Yao Dongshan submitted, your name was not on it."

"Oh." Wu Dacai stood stunned for a long moment before uttering that single word. He felt as if the sky and earth were spinning.

"I hear it was blocked at Jiang Guoyong's end. Nowadays, officer promotions require the Garrison Inspector's signature before they can reach Lord Pang. Jiang Guoyong said your gambling incident came to light only two or three months ago. Your military merit can be acknowledged, but a promotion would be hard to justify to the men. Yao Dongshan did not argue strongly for you, so he submitted another name instead." Mr. Hou shook his head. "In these officer promotions, the Document Receiving Office only issues the paperwork. This old man truly has no power to help."

Beneath the dim covered corridor, Wu Dacai hung his head and remained silent for a long time. Mr. Hou sighed and said to him, "Still, your military merit from the bloody battle and breaking the enemy at Beixia Pass has been confirmed. Even if there is no promotion this time, you certainly won't be passed over next time."

Wu Dacai kept his head lowered. Promotion in the army was not easy. If he was passed over this time, next time he would be one step behind everyone else — maybe even two steps. For example, someone whose merit this time warranted promotion to squad leader might, riding this reorganization, be promoted to Banner Captain. In the future, even if he risked his life, he might not catch up those two steps. His voice was thick with unconcealed dejection. "This humble one understands."

Mr. Hou looked at his expression, thought for a moment, and then counseled him further. "What do temporary gains and losses matter? The fact that you can be here learning characters in the evening already puts you far above the other soldiers and officers. Think about it — you drill and exhaust your bodies during the day. Anyone who can still come here in the evening, disregarding fatigue, to tax their mind — that person possesses great perseverance. The future prospects of those who can read and those who cannot are vastly different. Put all your heart into this night school. Lord Pang has hired teachers for you and provides free paper, brushes, desks, and chairs. Where else under heaven is there such a good superior officer? You have it even easier than ordinary scholars from modest families." A look of reminiscence appeared on Mr. Hou's face. "Such generous treatment — when I was young, I couldn't even dream of it. As a child, I lived by the city wall; my family was poor. Where was there a place to study? Later, it was my mother who sewed shoe soles for others, barely scraping together enough to find a teacher to teach me to write. If not for that, I would never have later entered the county yamen as a clerk."

As he spoke, his voice grew choked with emotion. Wu Dacai knew that his mother had been killed along with the others when the Roving Bandits invaded Susong at the start of the year. It was inevitable that he would think of it now. For a moment, Wu Dacai forgot his own promotion worries, but he did not know how to offer comfort.

Mr. Hou composed himself for a moment and said, "One mustn't dwell on these past matters. So, Dacai, in this world, promotion is important, but you must understand — to have your wife, children, and parents by your side, that is the greatest blessing Heaven bestows. Without that blessing, what use is the highest office or the greatest wealth?"

Hearing this, Wu Dacai knew that Mr. Hou had indeed been stirred to painful memories. His entire family of seven had died in Susong at the start of the year. Clerk Hou himself had survived only because he was away in Anqing on official business. When the Roving Bandits withdrew, he had gone back and buried his whole family with his own hands. Wu Dacai's own disappointment truly could not compare to his. It would not do to speak further of his own troubles. He quickly bowed and said, "This humble one will heed your words, sir. Please don't dwell on those unhappy things. I won't keep you from your rest any longer."

Mr. Hou waved his hand. "You go on. This old man still has to return to his lordship. His lordship is a young man; at night, he grows even more spirited. If he isn't resting, this old man dares not rest."

Wu Dacai dared not say more. He hastily saluted and left. Mr. Hou watched Wu Dacai disappear, then turned alone and walked toward the passage on the left side of the Main Hall.

In the quiet night, there was only the sound of his own footsteps. The lanterns of the Main Hall cast his solitary shadow long upon the ground. When he reached the passage at the side of the Main Hall, Mr. Hou let out a long sigh and stopped.

The light in the passage was somewhat dimmer. The sentries at the Second Hall were far away, and there were no patrolling roving sentries either. Mr. Hou leaned his back against the wall of the Advisor's room, tilted his head up, and gazed at the expanse of inky-black sky above the passage.

From the dim lane came the sound of low sobbing. In the stillness of the night, no one noticed.