Chapter 413: Talent

Three days later.

Water churned in the pond as over ten Mountain Troops cadets swam back and forth across the surface.

A bamboo whistle sounded from the bank. Lu Pioneer roared from the pond's edge, "Time's up — everyone ashore."

The group of cadets climbed out, stood dripping in a row, their bare-chested, brawny squad leader at the head of the line.

"Today is the grand review of all units. The Mountain Troops cadets will not take part in the assault drill. Lord Pang has given us a new assignment."

The Mountain Troops cadets panted for breath and stared blankly at Lu Pioneer. After these past days of drilling, no one dared to ask questions casually anymore, but every pair of eyes flicked toward the drill ground.

The broad drill ground was a sheet of white glare — all of it sunlight reflecting off scale-armor plates. Massed ranks of Personal Guard Division soldiers in heavy armor formed battle lines; small bronze cannons had appeared on both wings and in the center. Beyond the wings were cavalry, though the parade ground's confines kept the skirmishing riders from extending further. Pang Yu's Vice Regional Commander recognition banner streamed high atop the review platform. This Lord Pang had lately shown intense concern for drill, appearing on the ground almost every day.

Facing them were several hundred straw-man targets draped in tattered clothes, arrayed in a horizontal formation. In the middle stood several long rows of wooden boards, each row made of multiple door planks propped up from below on benches.

A trench had been dug horizontally across the middle of the straw-man position — no one knew what it was for.

Lu Pioneer swept his gaze over them, then went on. "The assignment is to experience an artillery bombardment."

A wave of hissing rippled through the ranks. Anqing Battalion's peacetime training included drills for withstanding arrows and cavalry charges, but never an artillery bombardment. Everyone here was a probationary officer; nearly all had fought at the Battle of Chemah River, and the image of limbs flying under cannon fire was seared deep into their minds.

"Experiencing bombardment is so they know what the enemy looks like when shells are falling on them. Into the trench."

Lu Pioneer finished speaking and led the squad toward the straw-man formation. At the trench entrance stood several Martial Academy instructors. They exchanged a few words with Lu Pioneer, and the squad entered the trench. The trench only came up to chest height. As they walked, they could still see those Iron Armor Soldiers through the gaps beneath the poles propping up the straw men. The spot where they halted was directly behind those rows of wooden boards.

"Rest in place. When the drum sounds, everyone crouch down. No one stands up until the gong sounds retreat."

The cadets all acknowledged and crowded against the trench rim to watch the opposite side. Lu Pioneer and Tang Ershuan did the same. Looking head-on at the Iron Armor Soldiers across from them — bodies gleaming with a metallic sheen, faces covered by face armor, some even painted with demon and monster designs, utterly inhuman — the entire battle line carried an aura of lethal severity.

Lu Pioneer studied them carefully for a moment, then tilted his head toward Tang Ershuan beside him. "Brother Tang, do you see? The four Personal Guard Companies are split into a left and a right formation — in fact it's just one Division. But two cannons on each wing, four in the center, eight cannons in total. The artillery is allocated by Thousand-Leader Headquarters."

Tang Ershuan had seen those Iron Armor Soldiers before in passing — all of them broad-shouldered and barrel-chested, so the formation looked especially massive. Now, standing opposite them, his heart truly pounded with dread. His attention had been wholly seized by these Iron Armor Soldiers; whatever Lu Pioneer was saying about cannons, he could only shake his head in blank confusion.

Lu Pioneer kept his eyes fixed on the opposite side. "Truth be told, when it comes to the decisive moment, heavy armor troops are what get the job done. Just looking at them, they seem far more reliable than our light-armor soldiers."

"So Lord Pang gave them a few extra cannons?"

Lu Pioneer pointed at the center of the formation. "Some of the Iron Armor Soldiers train in archery, but that's only for defense. When they attack, they just slam straight into the enemy — no pausing in the middle. The Martial Academy teaches that no matter how strong your own side is, before attacking you must use long-range means to shake the enemy formation. Only then can you advance. Ordinary troops rely on bows and arrows; our Anqing Battalion relies on cannon fire — like at Chemah River."

Tang Ershuan nodded repeatedly at this. He said he didn't understand the rest, but Chemah River he had seen with his own eyes: under the artillery's pounding, the Roving Bandits' battle lines had shattered into pieces. Still, he felt the heavy armor troops were the most formidable. The bandits could hold off cavalry, could hold off the Marine Corps, but the moment the heavy armor troops went in, they collapsed. The Personal Guard Division's role in breaking enemy formations was unmatched.

"Lord Pang must have been inspired by Chemah River — use cannon fire to pound the enemy formation, then send in the Iron Armor Soldiers. Now he's doubled the cannons, so it won't drag on forever like Chemah River before the formation breaks."

"What are those cavalry for, then?"

"First and foremost, to deal with the enemy's cavalry — to protect the Iron Armor Soldiers' flanks. Once the Iron Armor Soldiers smash the enemy line, they pursue and cut heads. If the other side is all infantry, the cavalry also attacks from the flanks during the bombardment."

"So simple!" Tang Ershuan scratched his head. "Then why does my Centurion say I can't even make Banner Commander?"

Lu Pioneer chuckled. "The fighting itself is that simple. Among an officer's duties, battle is only a small part. The harder part is bringing the army intact before the enemy and forcing the enemy to take the Iron Armor Soldiers' assault head-on. Academy Director Yang told us the full story of the Susong Great Victory. Lord Pang decided very early on that the only option was to mass and annihilate the Roving Bandits. He set the battlefield on the post road. But it was only after landing at Chang'an Port that they learned the Giant Bandit leaders — Cao Cao, Ma Shouying, and the rest — had all arrived. The bandit horde numbered nearly a hundred thousand. Everyone was somewhat afraid they couldn't win. Some said fall back to Leigang, some said circle back to Taihu. It was Lord Pang who overrode all public discussion and, without a backward glance, launched the surprise raid on Erlang Town. That was what forced the bandit horde into a decisive battle with us at Chemah River. Otherwise they'd have long since fled. That is the caliber of a great general."

"Lord Pang is truly valiant." For the first time, Tang Ershuan felt a twinge of envy toward his colleagues who had entered the Martial Academy, because he would never get to hear such details. So the Susong Great Victory had involved such harrowing trials. He looked at Lu Pioneer. "Everyone in the camp says we're going to fight the Tartars. Lord Pang is drilling us hard every day. These cannons might well be meant for the Tartars."

Just then, a drum roll sounded across the drill ground. Lu Pioneer had no time to answer. He immediately ordered the squad to crouch down. By now the trench was packed with men — no longer just this one squad — and the officers leading each unit were all shouting orders.

A succession of shouted commands came from outside, then silence fell. The wind off Shimen Lake swept through the straw-man formation; scattered straw and tattered clothes rustled and sighed. Inside the trench, however, it was eerily quiet. The group looked at one another, no one speaking.

Abruptly, a long, drawn-out note from a suona horn — then thunderous cannon blasts erupted one after another. A roar filled Tang Ershuan's ears. Outside the trench came a chaotic clatter and crack; splintered bamboo poles flew overhead, shredded grass stalks and scraps of cloth danced wildly through the air.

Though Tang Ershuan was crouched in the trench, his heart still pounded madly, his legs seized by an urge to flee this place on their own. He hurriedly opened his mouth as the drill manual prescribed. The pressure on his eardrums had barely become bearable when another volley of cannon fire boomed outside. A faint tremor ran through the trench wall, and a puff of dust billowed into the trench. A Mountain Troops soldier nearby immediately started coughing.

"Only the second salvo." Lu Pioneer waved a hand in front of his nose, then simply sat down in the trench. "They'll fire at least twenty salvos."

Tang Ershuan said in astonishment, "That many? How do you know — did the Martial Academy teach you that too?"

"I saw them hauling the shells over." Another salvo struck just then; a clump of grass stalks landed on Lu Pioneer's head. He rubbed his scalp. "All Martial Academy officers have to study the essentials of artillery. Now every Thousand-Leader Headquarters has an Artillery Commander with his own square banner. In battle, he's responsible for directing all the headquarters' cannons. He decides the bombardment sequence based on the enemy formation — how many rounds each sector gets is up to him. An artilleryman's stipend silver is higher than a cavalryman's. Lord Pang certainly values them highly."

His words had barely faded when another salvo roared. This time, though, it was not a clattering crack, nor was there the dull thud of shells hitting the ground. Instead, it was a dense, rain-like pitter-patter, and the fragments that flew were scattered over an even wider area.

Tang Ershuan tilted his head. "What kind of shells are those?"

"I don't know." Lu Pioneer flipped himself up, legs slightly bent, and craned his neck to look ahead. The surrounding straw men were shattered beyond recognition. Those rows of door planks now had several gaps. On the few remaining planks in front of him, bullet holes were densely clustered.

"My lord, this type of canister shot contains sixty iron balls of seven Mace each. The shot weighs two jin ten liang, with a powder charge of fifteen liang. Within one hundred paces it can kill or wound an unarmored enemy; at seventy paces it can penetrate cotton armor; at fifty paces it can break heavy armor plates."

On the review platform, Bao Yu took a sheet of petition paper from an attendant beside him and respectfully presented it to Pang Yu. "These four cannons in the center are of the new small-cannon pattern, manufactured according to Your Lordship's new regulations after the Susong campaign. Both iron shot and canister shot are two jin eight liang, with a powder charge of fifteen liang. The barrel weighs three hundred twenty-five jin, cast from nine parts copper to one part tin. The barrel length is eighteen times the bore diameter. Compared to the last batch of barrels, weight is reduced by forty-three jin; the carriage is reduced by seven jin. Other external fittings have been adjusted up or down accordingly, for a total weight reduction of fifty-three jin. The full weight is four hundred ninety-three jin, meeting Your Lordship's requirement of under five hundred jin."

"How was the barrel weight of three hundred twenty-five jin determined?"

Bao Yu was momentarily at a loss. Clearly he was not well-versed in this particular detail. Pang Yu felt a flicker of doubt, but then it dawned on him — Bao Yu now managed the entire workshop; some specifics were bound to be less clear to him.

Sure enough, the attendant behind Bao Yu immediately stepped half a pace forward and addressed Pang Yu with deference. "Reporting for Your Lordship's awareness: the barrel weight is one hundred thirty times the shot weight. This follows Your Lordship's observation that the Roving Bandits have no cannons to exchange fire with us, and that the range of bows and arrows falls far short of cannon range. The small cannon's range could therefore be reduced slightly to lighten the piece for easier transport. This humble servant began testing at seventy times, increasing by ten times each iteration, all the way up to one hundred eighty times. The ratio that best suited Your Lordship's intent was one hundred thirty times — and it is not prone to bursting. We verified its serviceability with ten live-fire tests at triple the standard charge. The barrel length was slightly reduced from the previous standard, and range decreased by twenty paces. Both workshop and artillery live-fire testing have been completed."

Pang Yu raised his eyes to study the attendant — a man in his twenties, looking very capable and efficient. His manner before Pang Yu was respectful, but his gaze did not waver or evade. He was likely a headman in cannon production, and Pang Yu was rather satisfied with his answer. Out on the drill ground, the artillery was still firing, though the rate had slowed. Pang Yu knew the artillery drill manual well; this was sustained-fire pace, roughly two rounds per minute. Today's review was both an inspection of combat readiness and a check on the workshop's products.

The workshop's overall manager was still Bao Yu. It was mainly divided into five branch offices: Armor and Weapons, Firearms and Cannons, Paper Mill, Glass, and Carts and Carriages. A Steel and Iron Division was also in the planning stage. At present, Pang Yu's greatest concern was the cannons.

He turned his head to look at Bao Yu. "In the Susong Great Victory, the bronze cannons rendered service of the highest order — credit for which belongs in part to Mr. Bao. Their lethality lies not in how many men they kill, but in breaking the enemy's organization — what is called seizing the enemy's spirit. One must kill their flesh, but also kill their will. For killing a hundred men, in terms of both effect and area, bows and arrows are far inferior to cannon fire. The purpose of artillery, therefore, is not merely long-range killing; it is the key to seizing the enemy's spirit. The new small-cannon pattern is lighter and handier, so it will reach the battlefield faster. If testing is complete, then from now on we shall produce this pattern. But the tolerance must be brought down to one fen."

Bao Yu lifted his head to speak, but Pang Yu immediately raised a hand to stop him. "At present, the tolerances in the various branch offices are not small. For armor and weapons, a slightly larger tolerance is still usable. But if the bore-diameter tolerance for firearms and cannons is large, the artillery's combat effectiveness is greatly impaired. Each Division is allocated two cannons; each Thousand-Leader Headquarters has an additional four directly subordinate; the Personal Guard Division has double that. Add in the cannons for the various local militia units and those sold to Fang Military Gate, and we are talking about over a hundred pieces. This official cannot possibly cast individual shot for each cannon the way it's done for Red Barbarian cannons. Before Susong, we were rushing to deliver cannons — tolerances of two fen, even three fen, I accepted. But now that we are moving to mass production, it is different. To simplify logistics, all shells will have a single standard pattern. All cannons will fire the same type of shell."

Seeing Pang Yu's resolute attitude, Bao Yu could only swallow the words on the tip of his tongue. But a tolerance of one fen was, for the workshop at present, an immensely difficult demand; every process would have to be executed with the utmost thoroughness for it to be even possible.

"Mr. Bao must trust our craftsmen. Anyone who proposes a method to improve tolerance gets a one-grade stipend increase. Whatever method it takes, the workshop should achieve a tolerance of one fen for both the small bronze cannons and their shells within half a year."

Bao Yu was somewhat at a loss. He glanced back at his attendant, whose face was also tinged with worry.

Having spoken, Pang Yu turned to Yang Xueshi, who was accompanying the review at his side. "Canister shot is about to be issued to all units. Has the artillery drill manual been revised?"

Yang Xueshi, seeing Pang Yu's gaze upon him, hesitated a moment before answering. "One line has been added: when the enemy enters one hundred paces, canister shot may be used."

"Writing only that is insufficient. What appears most often in the drill manual is 'when the enemy enters such-and-such paces.' Our Anqing Battalion is the realm's finest force. Once we form ranks, we do not wait for others to come and strike us — we must take the initiative and attack. Artillery must maneuver on the battlefield. What type of ammunition to use between one hundred and three hundred paces, how many rounds of iron shot to fire, how many rounds of canister shot within one hundred paces — the lines of advance when coordinating with infantry, deployment methods on plains, hills, and mountains, embarking and disembarking from boats, methods for firing uphill and downhill. Although the artillery slaughtered the Roving Thieves at Susong, it is still far from perfected. If even the Martial Academy's curriculum is incomplete, where are the artillery units across the various divisions supposed to learn?"

Yang Xueshi, hearing the displeasure in Pang Yu's tone, could only hurriedly bow. "Your Lordship is correct. The problem is that we were already short of qualified artillery chiefs. Now we have added many more cannons. Most of the newly appointed artillery chiefs are illiterate. They can manage firing and moving the guns with some proficiency, but on the single item of range estimation and evaluation, fewer than half can pass. And that is on flat ground. For estimating range when firing downhill from a mountaintop, only one in ten qualifies. Fewer than ten men can use the sighting instruments, telescope, and other devices with full proficiency. Only two men are barely capable of directing fire for eight or more cannons. Even the daily reporting of ammunition expenditure and replenishment is mostly done by the clerks of each division."

Pang Yu could only wave his hand. "That is precisely why we established this Martial Academy. It does not only teach the use of equipment — literacy and arithmetic must also be studied. Otherwise, no one will be permitted to hold a substantive post as artillery chief."

Yang Xueshi acknowledged. The Martial Academy itself lacked instructors. For basic combat skills, veterans could be transferred from the various units to teach, but when it came to command-related subjects, there was a severe shortage of qualified personnel. The cavalry section had, with great difficulty, managed to get two officers from Chen Rulie. They were highly skilled riders, but they only knew one or two hundred characters and taught purely from experience. When infantry officers asked them questions, they often failed to get precise answers. The clerks helping to compile the teaching materials, in turn, had no military experience whatsoever and frequently failed to convey the intended meaning. The other sections suffered from similar problems, and the most severe was probably the artillery section — because this branch of service had simply never existed before.

But Pang Yu understood the reality. In the Ming dynasty, the civil and military spheres were at odds; military men were mostly coarse and uncouth, and the civilian literacy rate was not high. The bedrock of his own ramshackle organization was still illiterate. You couldn't just open a Martial Academy and expect everyone to learn overnight. The problem right now was that there weren't even instructors. He thought for a moment, then rose and walked over to Bao Yu.

"Both the Martial Academy and the army lack usable men for the artillery branch. What's most critical are men who are literate, can do arithmetic, and understand cannons. The workshop has many talented people — you could deliberately cultivate some. Otherwise, these cannons will still be hard put to fully serve their purpose."

The attendant beside Bao Yu suddenly gave a slight bow. "If Lord Pang would grant his permission, this humble man is willing to enter the army and serve as an artilleryman."