Chapter 307: Order Token

In Guache River Town, Tongcheng County, a red column was crossing the street. The common folk lining the road cheered and urged them on from time to time.

Not far ahead, Shijingpu was the junction of Prefectural City Avenue and the post road — the necessary passage from Tongcheng deep into the Anqing hinterland. During the bandit chaos of the Chongzhen Eighth Year, it had also suffered calamity. But fortunately, Tongcheng's preparations had been fairly effective at the time; the townships received early warning, and some residents managed to flee into the countryside. Back then, the Eight Great Kings and the Sweeping King were busy heading for Qianshan and other county towns, so their stay was relatively short. Shijingpu was heavily damaged, but the burned portion of Guache River market town was not large, and by now it had largely recovered its original appearance.

Last year, Anqing safely weathered the peak of roving bandit activity through winter and spring, mainly benefiting from Lu Xiangsheng's Chuzhou Great Victory. The roving bandits had been shattered into scattered forces, powerless to attack a fortified Anqing. Only small bands of roving bandits harassed Qianshan and Taihu from the mountains. Though Guache River had its scares, overall it remained stable.

Shijingpu was the transportation hub of eastern Anqing, controlling the most important official post road and pedestrian road, but its town was too heavily damaged. Pang Yu thus chose the nearby Guache River to station troops. Originally, the Second Division of the Anqing Garrison Battalion had been stationed here, and the common folk were quite at ease. After entering the tenth month this year, the bandit situation in the surrounding area grew tenser by the day. The Second Division was constantly redeployed and had basically never stayed at Guache River. Guache River originally had no fortified stronghold and was essentially in an undefended state. Consequently, many people in the town had already fled elsewhere — the first choice was still the Prefectural City, while those with relatives in Tongcheng headed for Tongcheng.

Those who remained still lived in constant fear. Today, the Garrison Battalion passing through here also made the local people happy. Seeing the familiar military banner of the Second Division especially, knowing it was that same Garrison Battalion originally stationed here, stirred the common folk to an inexplicable excitement.

Under the military banner, Wang Zenglu's expression was anything but excited. He raised his head to glance at the sky, then after looking at the sky said, "The entire division will rest and regroup for one quarter-hour."

After he finished instructing the advisory officer beside him, the hourglass was flipped over and the sand timer began. All of it was left to that advisory officer to arrange on his own. Wang Zenglu felt it was even easier than when he had managed a single company before. In other battalions, a dedicated Banner Officer was generally only assigned at the Mobile Corps Commander level and above. Now Pang Yu had assigned them even to Company Commander. Wang Zenglu did not even need to personally verify whether the signal drums were correct — the several advisory officers would check each other. He devoted more energy to considering the army's movements.

With the boom of a signal cannon, the division's drums and horns sounded, and brass gongs rang out. The column of over five hundred men halted on the official road. After two more strikes of the brass gong, the column sat down one after another, each drinking water and eating dry rations.

When the suona horn summoning the officers sounded, Wang Zenglu dismounted directly, walked into a food stall by the roadside, and his guards found the shopkeeper.

"Twelve bowls of rice broth."

"Eleven bowls!" Wang Zenglu said, then sat down at the table, one foot propped on his own stool.

That guard was a bit flustered and hurriedly counted again. Wang Zenglu did not blame him. The Second Division had a routine when marching in Anqing: when assembling officers for discussion during a march, they generally used a food stall. Military Law required officers and soldiers to eat together. Though they could not eat a meal, they could order rice broth, sweet water, or tea. Normally it was twelve bowls, but this time it was one bowl fewer, because one company had been left behind in Qianshan.

A moment later, the Deputy Battalion Commander, the Garrison Inspector, the Clerk Officer, the three Centurions, the Mobile Infantry Banner Commander, the Artillery Banner Commander, and the Supply Banner Commander arrived at the food stall one after another, each picking up a bowl of rice broth and drinking.

The last to arrive was the Mounted Scouts Flag Officer. The mounted scouts subordinate to the Infantry Division were mainly used for reconnaissance and message delivery. During a march, they were responsible for security. When halting to rest, the Flag Officer had to first confirm the signal flags of the forward and rear outriders and the left and right Flank Guard Cavalry. He was basically the last to arrive every time. Although it was a bit more arduous, the monthly pay was calculated according to the Cavalry Division, generally a full rank higher than the infantry.

After Wang Zenglu received the report of no alert, he said to the officers present, "The Circuit Intendant's order was to reach Kongcheng Town by tomorrow and Zongyang by the day after. But just now, the Advisory Room of the Garrison Headquarters sent an order token. Let me read it to everyone."

The advisory officer behind him stepped forward. "Received mounted patrol dispatch report: four hundred roving bandits have emerged from the mountains at Jifei Shoal, Taihu County, confirmed as a unit of the Left Golden King. Hereby command the Land Battalion Second Division to return to Qianshan Tianning Fort before the ninth day of the eleventh month, gather all division personnel, establish a fortified position on defensible terrain, and stockpile provisions, pending further orders. Anqing Garrison Battalion Military Office Advisory Room."

The wording of the order token was very simple, but its content was not simple at all. Tomorrow was the ninth. The Circuit Intendant Yamen's order was to reach Kongcheng Town tomorrow, while the Advisory Office demanded a return to Qianshan Tianning Fort. Departing from Guache River here, those were two completely different directions.

"Those who can read, take it and see for yourselves." Wang Zenglu tapped the tabletop. "This matter is difficult. I've called everyone together to discuss it. If you have any ideas, speak up."

To demonstrate his literate status from the night study class, Wu Dacai reached out and took the military order. He first saw the eleven-digit serial number on the right. The Garrison Battalion's military order format differed from the court's. On the far right was the serial number — the first four characters used the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches, followed by seven numerals. The coding rules were set by the Advisory Office. The serial number bore the Advisory Office's seal. At the end were the name and soldier tag number of the messenger who delivered it, and even the accent was noted.

Every time, the advisory officer receiving the military order had to first verify it was correct before it could be passed to the Chief Official. This cumbersome method was adopted because gathered intelligence indicated that the roving thieves frequently forged official documents and had repeatedly used this trick to break through cities and lure government troops into ambushes. So it was not a unique invention of the Garrison Battalion — every locality affected by the bandit chaos was changing document codes. Beyond document serial numbers, other tokens and command arrows also had corresponding countermeasures. Wu Dacai had been in the army long enough to know that war was perilous; anything involving the military was often unafraid of being troublesome.

As the order token was passed around, the hall remained very quiet. The officers looked at each other, no one speaking first. According to the Garrison Battalion's system, all participants in a Military Council could speak, and not necessarily in order of rank. But everyone was previously accustomed to obeying the commanding officer's orders. This system had not been implemented long, and everyone was still unused to it — generally no one was willing to speak first. Moreover, Military Councils were all recorded. This matter involved disobeying one side's orders, and both sides were superior officers; no one could afford to offend either.

Seeing that no one spoke, Wang Zenglu called directly on someone. "Deputy Battalion Commander Huang."

Deputy Battalion Commander Huang did not hesitate. "It should be handled according to the urgency of the military situation. The Circuit Intendant wants us to go to Tongcheng because three days ago roving thieves entered Zongyang and burned one community granary. But they were already routed by our Garrison Battalion's Water Camp stationed at Zongyang — no more than twenty or thirty men who came via a side road from Lujiang. That route alternates between water and land and cannot accommodate a large force of roving bandits. At present, Kongcheng Town already has two companies of the First Division guarding it. The roving thieves cannot take the main road to Zongyang. There is no need to mobilize in force for a few dozen roving thieves. We have encountered this kind of thing plenty of times. If we go to Zongyang, it will most likely… most likely be another wasted trip. But the Taihu roving bandits have been clearly verified, and they number in the hundreds. If they get onto the post road, they can easily move deeper inland, and then chasing them will be troublesome."

"Then Deputy Battalion Commander Huang's opinion is to return to Qianshan."

"This subordinate recommends returning to Qianshan. But if the commander says to go to Zongyang, this subordinate will certainly obey."

The Deputy Battalion Commander's statement was relatively straightforward. Wang Zenglu nodded, then looked toward the Clerk Officer. "Mr. Tu, what is your insight?"

The officers all paid attention. This Clerk Officer had not previously been in the table of organization. Only after this reorganization did he formally become an officer, at the same rank as Vice Battalion Commander. At first, everyone assumed he was someone like a scribe in a yamen, helping with writing and calculations, so in the army they often respectfully called him Mister. Who knew that later they would discover that, aside from fighting battles, many matters in the army required his consent — even including officer promotions.

This Clerk Officer Tu assigned to the Second Division was in his thirties, from Susong. He had previously been a Shopkeeper and had also worked as a scribe in the county yamen. He had happened to return home for the New Year and escaped disaster. After Taihu City was destroyed, he fled to the Prefectural City. He had always written documents in the Central Army and was selected as Clerk Officer for the Second Division, becoming a grunts. He had reported for duty weeping, and many in the army actually looked down on him.

Since arriving in the army, he had always been absent-minded. This Clerk Officer never participated in army drills, but he also did not make things difficult for people and rarely vetoed anything.

He kept his head down and said, "These matters of marching and fighting — this subordinate had best not take part."

Wang Zenglu said politely, "Though it is a matter of marching, it is also more than marching. It concerns the entire division's movements. I wish to hear Mr. Tu's esteemed opinion."

Clerk Officer Tu thought for a moment, then said, "It cannot be called an esteemed opinion, but I feel this matter depends both on sequence and on hierarchy."

Those present were all rough old grunts and did not understand upon hearing this. Clerk Officer Tu continued, "By so-called sequence, I mean that the Circuit Intendant Yamen's order came first and naturally has priority — go to Zongyang first, then return to Qianshan. By hierarchy, the Circuit Intendant Yamen is superior and the Garrison Yamen is subordinate. When the superior gives an order, the subordinate follows. Even the Garrison Yamen must obey the Circuit Intendant Yamen. This is the court's institutional order and cannot be overstepped."

"Then Clerk Officer Tu's opinion is to still go to Zongyang."

"I feel that is how it should be. This subordinate previously handled documents and knows that document exchange takes time. Most likely the Circuit Intendant's military order has not yet reached the Defense Officer Department, and our division was directly dispatched due to the urgent military situation. When the Defense Officer Department receives it, they will naturally forward it to us, and we will still have to go to Zongyang. If we go to Qianshan now, apart from disobeying orders, we will also be running back and forth, wasting effort for nothing."

The officers all listened in silence — not even a cough.

Wang Zenglu pondered for a moment, then turned to the Garrison Inspector. Although this Garrison Inspector was also at the Centurion level, he belonged directly to the battalion's Garrison Inspector system and had the authority to enforce Military Law. His status was higher than an ordinary Centurion, so Wang Zenglu had to consult him first.

"This subordinate feels that… it would be better to simply station here at Guache River, dispatch fast riders to Anqing to inform Lord Pang, and also dispatch fast riders to Tongcheng to inform the Circuit Intendant, and ask them to decide before we move. That would not be too late."

Wang Zenglu furrowed his brow slightly but did not press him. His gaze continued further back. The first Centurion was Wu Dacai.

Wu Dacai had now been promoted as he wished to Centurion of the Fourth Company. He had not initially planned to speak, but he had been observing Wang Zenglu the whole time. He had noticed Wang Zenglu's subtle expression just now.

This matter was extremely thorny. The Company Commander's meaning was very clear — he was unwilling to shoulder this responsibility alone, so he had convened the Military Council to share some of it. If everyone stayed silent, his purpose would not be achieved. As his trusted confidant, Wu Dacai would be called on sooner or later. But they had not discussed it beforehand, and Wu Dacai was also trying to guess Wang Zenglu's stance.

In the order token just now, Wu Dacai had noticed one word: it required the Second Division to "return" to Qianshan. The Second Division had originally been deployed in three locations in Qianshan, which meant the Defense Officer Department knew perfectly well that the Second Division had left Qianshan and should also know it was the Circuit Intendant Yamen that had redeployed the troops. Issuing an order under these circumstances meant either Taihu was truly urgent, or Lord Pang was doing this deliberately to clarify the chain of command.

The several superior officers before him had all spoken, and their opinions conflicted. So he was also mentally working out what to say to get through this without offending anyone. At that moment, when Wang Zenglu looked over, Wu Dacai still had not figured it out. In his urgency, something Mr. Hou had once said suddenly surfaced in his mind.

"Understanding the Left Hall Officer means understanding the yamen?"

Wu Dacai's mind raced. He murmured to himself, "Company Commander Wang is a Left Hall Officer — what does he want? Lord Pang is also a Left Hall Officer…"

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the army scribe at a nearby table, rapidly recording the preceding statements. Wu Dacai knew Military Law thoroughly and knew where these Military Council records would ultimately end up. The scene that day outside Taihu County Town, when Lord Pang ordered the withdrawal while they were building the wall, appeared before his eyes once more. Then came the fallen head of his old leader, Jiao Guozha.

Everything seemed to suddenly fall into place. All that had been said before were mere side issues. This was not a difficulty at all — on the contrary, it was a heaven-sent opportunity.

Without waiting for Wang Zenglu to call on him, Wu Dacai stepped forward on his own and said, "This subordinate believes that although what Clerk Officer Tu said has reason, it is all wrong!"

The hall erupted in noise. Clerk Officer Tu, caught completely off guard, pointed at Wu Dacai. "You — you —"

Wang Zenglu stared at Wu Dacai, his expression somewhat grave, but he did not stop him.

"This humble officer believes this is not a question of sequence or hierarchy. Military Law, Article One, Clause Three: battalion-level military orders issue only from the Adviser Division. If the Circuit Intendant Yamen has an order, it should also follow the system and be sent to the Garrison Headquarters, where the Advisory Room drafts the military order and issues it to our division. The order received today is confirmed to come from the Adviser Division. It is written clearly and unmistakably: arrive at Tianning Fortress before the ninth. Then we shall arrive at Tianning Fortress before the ninth." Wu Dacai raised his head. "Military orders are like mountains. Military Law, Article One, opens with the clear statement: a soldier's bounden duty is to obey orders. Those who defy orders on the battlefield — execution!"