Chapter 362: Discussion

"Little sister, just look at these two young ones — that fate of theirs, it's simply unbreakable. No matter how they kicked up a fuss before, in the end they're still pulled together, and that was decreed by the Son of Heaven himself. Tell me, in all the world, is there another match like it? Fate, truly fate."

In the rear office of the Garrison Headquarters, Aunt Liu's face was creased all over with laughter as she held Pang Yu's mother by the hand and talked without stopping. The cheap old mom was also all smiles, while the cheap old dad sat off to the side drinking tea with Uncle Liu.

Pang Yu sat to one side, looking rather unwell. Although he had won a great victory, the aftermath involved far more than he had imagined. The original plan had been to escort the Sweeping King to Pukou, but the Roving Bandits in the Yinghuo Mountain area had yet to settle on a direction. Though they dared not enter Anqing in force, there were still plenty of them skirting the mountains to raid and plunder. His plan was vetoed by Shi Kefa, which meant the trip to Nanjing kept being delayed.

Fortunately, the bandits also needed to eat, and the Yinghuo Mountains could not sustain so many. Since the way toward Anqing was blocked, Zhang Pangzi and Hun Shiwan had now come out of the mountains, crossed Lu'an Prefecture, and headed east. Jiangpu and Liuhe were once again within striking range. Pang Yu had been waiting for a summons from Zhang Guowei so he could go to Jiangpu to assist in the suppression, but instead of a call to arms or an imperial edict promoting him, what arrived was an imperial decree forcing him into marriage.

As soon as Shi Kefa received the reply decree, he went to the Liu household. Aunt Liu did not wait a single day before dragging Pang Yu's parents along to Anqing — supposedly to make a marriage proposal.

Pang Ding's voice sounded right next to his ear. "Young master, given your current valuation, you're getting fleeced all the way to grandma's house."

Pang Yu gave a snort and turned his head to look at Pang Ding, who had leaned in close. "Victory and defeat aren't decided yet. It's just one decree, isn't it? When a general is in the field, he is not bound by every command of his sovereign."

"But young master, you aren't in the field. This is the Garrison Headquarters. Circuit Intendant Shi himself said he absolutely must drink this wedding wine of yours."

"What does he understand? My marriage, my important life matter — what right does a Circuit Intendant have to decide it?"

"It's not the Circuit Intendant deciding — it's the Emperor deciding. Aunt Liu is here to propose marriage. It'll be settled today."

"Who says it's settled? Everything can be discussed. Your young master here even captured the Sweeping King and sent the Eight Bandits fleeing at the mere sight of him — dealing with one Aunt Liu is well within my ability."

At that moment, Pang Ding looked up toward the outside and hastily patted Pang Yu on the shoulder. Pang Yu turned to look and saw that his mother and the others had all gone into the courtyard. Because this rear office still served as the workplace of the Advisory Room, the main room temporarily used in the West Wing was extremely cramped. The cured meat they had brought was all set outside. His mother had two guards carry it off to the kitchen and did not let Aunt Liu help. With nothing to do for the moment, Aunt Liu had walked over to the pond and was watching the fish beneath the rockery.

Pang Yu immediately went out and sidled up beside Aunt Liu. "Aunt Liu, let's you and me talk things over."

Aunt Liu turned, saw Pang Yu, and at once stumbled back three steps — deng deng deng — her heel catching on the stone edge of the pond, nearly sending her bottom-first into the water.

Pang Yu hurriedly reached out to pull her, but Aunt Liu did not extend a hand to grab his. In her haste she executed an iron bridge, arching her waist to steady herself, staggered, and barely managed to keep her footing. She then nimbly sidestepped two paces away, held out a hand toward Pang Yu, and said with a stern face, "Brother Yu, let's be clear beforehand — just as you said before, our family will provide the betrothal gifts. From now on we're one family, and with your Nine Yang Qi, this calamity is resolved. As for anything else, don't say another word. Even if you speak to me, I won't answer. If there's anything to say, wait until the formal hearing."

"It's true that the White-Bearded Immortal brought another message. What he said before needs to be slightly amended. Your nephew cannot keep it from you."

"Even if the immortal brought a message, your aunt won't listen. He's an immortal, after all — how could he go back on his word?"

Pang Yu took a step closer. "Everything can be discussed. Aunt, set your heart at absolute ease. Your nephew here only wants what's best for both families. Our two families have been neighbors for so many years — surely your nephew wouldn't harm you."

Aunt Liu said firmly, "Your aunt never said you meant harm. But there will be no discussion. In all my years, your Aunt Liu has figured out one truth."

Pang Yu asked curiously, "What truth is that?"

"All disputes come from discussion. If there's no discussion, there are no disputes. I, your Aunt Liu…" She slapped her own chest. "From now on, I discuss nothing."

With that, she rubbed her hands together on her clothes, skirted around Pang Yu, and hurried off.

……

"Those who are already married — their houses can be allocated a bit larger."

In the main hall of the Garrison Headquarters, Pang Yu rubbed his reddened nose and continued, "Have the gambling dens sort out the title deeds. The Household Office needs to go inspect them. Officers of different ranks receive different houses. If any are somewhat dilapidated, find someone to repair them before issuing them to the officers. We cannot give out rundown houses."

"How should this be handled in the accounts?"

"All entries should be recorded as purchases by the Garrison Headquarters. The Household Office must keep a record of this. These are properties of the Garrison Headquarters. Even if the title deed is transferred to the officer, the Household Office's record must remain."

"There aren't many with courtyards. Even counting the Banner Commanders, it won't be enough, and it's not enough even for the Centurions."

"If there aren't enough for the Banner Commanders, don't rush to buy more for now, or housing prices will skyrocket. Set the reward amounts according to the number of housing units. If we issue one to every officer, then what kind of reward is that?"

Pang Yu set down his brush and looked across the room. Present today were mainly the Section Clerk of each office in the Garrison Headquarters, along with Mr. Hou and Bao Yu — primarily to handle administrative matters.

"This battle merit report from the Land Combat Division has no issues, but the rewards and promotion recommendations are both inappropriate. Tang Ershuan faced five Roving Bandits. He did not wait on the spot for reinforcements, but instead, heedless of danger, sought out the enemy alone. In the end, he captured and killed all the surrendering bandits, among them the Sweeping King, who has plagued the realm for years. This is a meritorious service. The reward should not be constrained to first or second class. It would be appropriate to raise the reward silver to one hundred taels, and in addition, grant a small courtyard within the city to inspire the troops to emulate him. However, his promotion is inappropriate."

Yang Xueshi hesitated a moment, then said, "This… according to military law, it counts as Strike General Merit. He should be promoted two ranks to Banner Commander. Counting the killing of five old bandits, promoting him to Centurion is already undercounting."

Pang Yu shook his head. "He was originally a Team Leader who was demoted — there are only a few like him in the whole battalion, which shows he lacks leadership ability. If you promote him again, he'll most likely be demoted again later. The same goes for Xu Lengzi in the Personal Guard Division, and there are similar examples in the other divisions."

"Then if there's no promotion, the only reward is silver."

"Not everyone is suited to be an officer, but such a brave warrior should naturally have room for advancement. We can establish a separate Non-Commissioned Officer rank for soldiers, divided into four grades. The monthly pay will correspond to Team Leader, Banner Commander, Centurion, and Company Commander. If later there is a need to correspond to Thousand-Leader, it can be added at that time. The Military Office, following what this official has just said, shall formulate the NCO rank pay scale and promotion system."

Jiang Guoyong raised his hand. "With this additional NCO rank, how do we distinguish seniority between NCOs and officers? If there is an NCO whose pay corresponds to a Company Commander, does a Centurion have to obey that NCO's orders?"

"An NCO is still a soldier. Even if his monthly pay equals that of a Centurion, he must still obey the officer's commands. This official's meaning is that he remains in his original position, but both his status and monthly pay are elevated, without affecting the chain of command."

After he finished, Pang Yu looked around the room. "This item involves the military system. Before this official returns from Nanjing, everyone must complete the revision of the military law."

He County Yamen glanced at the agenda in his hand and said, "The next item is military reform. Although the Ministry of War has not yet finalized the changes, word has come from Zhang Military Gate that the Anqing Garrison Battalion is to be reorganized into the Cavalry Camp. The Water Camp remains at its original strength, and the Land Battalion troop count is set at 3,500. To match the new troop count, Thousand-Leader Headquarters must be established above the division level, with officers promoted upward from the divisions accordingly. In light of the importance of artillery demonstrated in the Susong Campaign, each Thousand-Leader unit will have an additional Artillery Commander, each leading one artillery division."

Pang Yu added, "The Roving Bandits are still in the Yinghuo Mountains. Each division is to deploy along the mountain region. The recruitment of new soldiers must be completed as quickly as possible. That former Preparatory Division has been an empty shell since the last expansion. This time it must be filled. As soon as a batch is sent to supplement the battalion troops, recruit another batch. All troop counts will be listed under the Anqing Guard. In particular, we must recruit cavalry reserves. Right now we have over seven thousand horses and mules, of which two thousand can be selected as warhorses and three thousand as riding horses, yet the entire battalion has only a little over three hundred cavalry!"

He finished and looked at Yang Xueshi. "Section Clerk Yang worked at a post station before. When recruiting cavalry, it's naturally best to find men who have ridden horses. Zhang Military Gate also told us to recruit cavalry from the Border Army, but after all this time we've only gotten seven, and those were deserters from other camps. Here in Jiangbei there's no way around it — we can't find that many men who've ridden before. The shortfall is too great now. Don't worry about whether they've ridden or not. Anyone who looks like they have some talent and is suited for cavalry, recruit them first for training. Eliminate and replenish as you go. Otherwise, the cavalry battalion will never reach full strength, and just keeping the horses is very expensive. Before the seventh month, you must recruit at least a thousand men."

"Understood."

Without waiting for He County Yamen to continue the agenda, Pang Yu turned to Bao Yu. "I am not satisfied with either of these two fire lances. The stocks are awkward to use — you still have to hold them with both hands to fire. If they aren't braced against the shoulder, accuracy will likely suffer. One of them can be shouldered, but it's still a bit short. The main problem is the ignition rate is far too low."

Bao Yu was still in charge of the workshop. Aside from the small cannons, none of the other items yet met Lord Pang's requirements. His face reddened at these words. After a moment's pause, he said, "This self-igniting arquebus — we have no sample to study. When I was in Nanjing and Suzhou, I did hear missionaries mention that such chert-striking mechanisms have been seen on seagoing ships. If Your Excellency wishes to use fire lances, it would be better to stick with fire ropes. I can begin production immediately." (Note 1)

"I will not accept bird guns." Pang Yu waved his hand. During the last fake rally to the king expedition, the Southern Ministry of War had sent over quite a few bird guns. In the end, they kept a portion and brought them back for drill and firing. What dissatisfied Pang Yu most was the rate of fire.

After two years of fighting, Pang Yu could be considered a veteran. Nowadays, battles were won by formation. He wanted to use long-range firepower to shatter the enemy's formation, so fire output had to be fast. Since Fang Yizhi had mentioned last time that self-igniting arquebuses now existed, Pang Yu naturally wanted the better option. It was just that he had never managed to buy a sample in Jiangnan, and so manufacturing had run into problems.

Bao Yu noted it down and then reported on the matter of replenishing armor and weapons. Each office took its turn discussing business, and it was nearly dark by the time they finished the agenda.

After everyone dispersed, Pang Yu lay back in his chair, unwilling to return to the rear office. Dinner had been arranged personally by his mother — to be eaten together with Uncle and Aunt Liu. Since he had failed to talk Aunt Liu around, it was essentially a betrothal banquet.

The moment he thought of Aunt Liu's face, Pang Yu lost all interest. He could only close his eyes and recall the lovely image of Liu Ruozi by the riverbank, which made him feel slightly better.

He County Yamen had not yet left. He said in a low voice, "Your Excellency, this letter is from Jiang Fan. He says Mr. Ma will arrive in Wuhu in ten days to help smooth things over with the yamen. We can make our move at the docks."

With a whoosh, Pang Yu sat bolt upright. "Are the men from the Canal Gang and the Land Combat Division ready?"

"The Canal Gang has already gathered manpower at the Hezhou docks. The Land Combat Division has detached fifty men — the first batch of thirty has already reached Hezhou. Another twenty remain in Anqing because they are needed to train new recruits."

"Transfer them to Hezhou immediately. Tell Jiang Fan that this time, controlling the dock porters is enough. Absolutely do not touch the Tax Pass."

……

"Brother Ershuan, I heard that Lord Pang personally pinned this medal on you?"

Tang Ershuan nodded and looked at Tan Laizi before him. He and this man, Tan Ya, were old acquaintances from the docks. Tan had come specially today to see him. This was a courtyard next to the Wanyi Granary. He had heard before that it belonged to some Boat Dock Master, but at some point it had become the property of the Garrison Command. It was now being used to house several dozen wounded men, with people assigned daily to provide meals and do the cleaning.

Most of the wounded were four to a room, but because Tang Ershuan had performed a meritorious service, he shared a room with a Centurion who had lost a leg — from the Second Division, it seemed. Tang Ershuan stole a glance at him. The Centurion lay on the bed with his eyes closed, his leg still splinted with wooden strips.

This Centurion had only just arrived. Ever since he came in, he had worn a cold expression and said nothing. Tang Ershuan had heard from others that his leg had not been set properly and that he would never be able to serve in the army again. Tang Ershuan had plenty of wounds, but none as severe as his. The doctor said that with two or three months of rest and recuperation to restore his blood and qi, he would be fine.

Tan Laizi paid no attention to the Centurion. He picked up the medal and examined it. It was a shiny brassy yellow, with the design of an axe and an iron anchor on it. "Brother Ershuan, do you think this is made of gold? But it doesn't feel like it to the touch. Could it be filled with lead inside?"

Tang Ershuan shook his head. "No idea whether it's filled with lead or not."

"With all my years of surprise down at the docks, Tan Ye here can tell you — it's definitely been filled with lead." Tan Laizi shook out his hand. "Not worth much money."

He casually tossed the medal back onto Tang Ershuan's bed, placed the dried fruit and the wine and meat he'd brought under the bed, glanced back at that Centurion, then leaned close to Tang Ershuan's ear. "I hear that Zhou Yong from our Canal Gang is a fellow Liantan native of yours."

Tang Ershuan nodded. Tan Laizi grabbed him by the sleeve. "Well, Brother Tan's got something to discuss with you — could you put in a word with him for your Brother Tan? I still want to run the Women's Camp."

"The Women's Camp?"

Tan Laizi sat down on the edge of his bed. "Here's the thing. When Tan Ye here was in Erlang Town, I was running the Women's Camp. Who knew the fighting the next day would be so fierce? You didn't see those Roving Bandits — they fought all the way to the south side. How was one man supposed to watch and control several hundred women by himself? Anyway, a few of them ran off. So this time Zhou Yong won't let me run the Women's Camp. He wants to send me to Qianshan to manage a fortified village. Tell me, what's worth managing about that?"

Tang Ershuan didn't know how to refuse. Zhou Yong had gotten into the Canal Gang by selling out the old Gang Leader, and originally he'd paid Tang Ershuan no attention at all. But after getting that medal this time, Zhou Yong had — for whatever reason — warmed up again, and had even made a point of coming to visit Tang Ershuan once. If he brought it up now, he could probably get a word in.

"Then it's settled." Tan Laizi could barely hide his excitement. He rubbed his hands together again. "Brother Ershuan, you don't understand. That Women's Camp — let me tell you, Brother Ershuan — it's truly a fine destination. Once your injury heals and you come, Tan Ye here will take you into the camp…"

"But Brother Zhou seems to have gone downstream. I don't know where. We'll have to wait till he gets back to talk."

Tan Laizi froze for a moment, scratched at the scabs on his head, and said angrily, "How come all the Canal Gang men have gone out? Where'd they go? Why wasn't Tan Ye consulted about this?"

……

Note 1: By the 1620s, flintlocks had already spread to East Asia, mostly used aboard armed merchant ships. In 1631, Joseon already had records of flintlocks. Within China, aside from the Military Equipment Illustrated, they are also recorded in He Rubin's Military Records. In the Macau area, such flintlocks were likely not a rarity.