Chapter 553: Intentions

Inside the Zongyang Gate, on the Anqing Battalion parade ground, over seven hundred soldiers in short jackets stood at solemn attention under the scorching sun. They had just completed an offensive drill, every man drenched in sweat. On the reviewing platform stood the official banner of the Defense Circuit Intendant; Pang Yu's recognition banner and the Fang banner were on the other side, all drooping in the windless air.

Shi Kefa, in full official robes, was pouring sweat, beads of it sliding ceaselessly down his forehead. He wiped his face a few times, then turned to Pang Yu and said, "The drill is finished. Let the officers and men rest."

After giving instructions to the Banner Officer, Pang Yu said to Shi Kefa, "Please, sir, enter the headquarters to conduct your inspection."

Shi Kefa said no more for the moment. The group descended from the main platform together, crossed the parade ground, and entered the Anqing General Military Headquarters through a side gate.

The Main Hall of the headquarters was still like a sauna. Clerks and scribes from every office waited below the hall. Pang Yu said quietly, "The documents from each office have been prepared in advance in the rear hall. If, after reviewing them, sir, you need to question anyone, your subordinate will summon the relevant Clerk to report."

Today, Shi Kefa had come for a formal inspection, first going to the parade ground to observe the drill. Pang Yu had been forced to wear his full official robes; on the platform, with no fan allowed, he had long been drenched in sweat. If they were to conduct business in the Main Hall, he would have to keep the robes on. He guessed Shi Kefa was also finding it somewhat unbearable, so he proposed going to the rear hall.

Shi Kefa hesitated a moment, then nodded. The group entered the rear hall together. Advisors immediately came over to fan them. Pang Yu quickly removed his official hat, pulled open the collar of his robes, grabbed a palm-leaf fan, and began waving it furiously. He felt much better at once.

Shi Kefa also removed his official hat and, uncharacteristically, loosened his robe's collar slightly. This would have been impossible when he first arrived in Anqing; as long as he wore his official robes, he was always impeccably proper. Now, there had been a subtle change.

The documents were laid out on the table. In the past, when he came, he would first review the documents and then hear reports, but this time he showed no intention of looking at them.

A few guards brought in watermelon and tea. Shi Kefa took a piece of watermelon offered by an Advisor and began eating. Seeing that Shi Kefa was in no hurry to review the documents, Pang Yu was naturally happy to do the same and quickly gulped down some tea.

"Anqing is fine in every way, except that I am a northerner and always find the height of summer somewhat hard to endure."

Pang Yu set down his teacup and echoed the sentiment. He did not know what Anqing's climate would be like in later times, but from his experience in the late Ming, the summers could be called scorching, while the winters were also very cold. Shi Kefa's hometown was the Capital, where summers were not necessarily much cooler, just different from Anqing's stifling heat.

Shi Kefa took a bite of watermelon and continued, "Ever since I took office in Nanzhili, I have spent most of my time on the Zhongjiang. Outsiders call this post the Anchi Circuit, but it is actually the Chi-An-Tai Circuit. The station was originally in Chizhou, then changed to Wuhu, and later changed back to Chizhou. All this changing back and forth was useless. In the end, I have been stationed in Anqing the longest, and these past few years have been the most turbulent."

"Sir, you have spared no effort. That Anqing has enjoyed several years of peace and become a patch of pure land in Jiangbei is thanks to you. As a native of Anqing, I thank you, sir, on behalf of all my fellow townsmen, for your noble integrity."

Shi Kefa waved his hand. "A patch of pure land in Jiangbei is not the achievement of one man alone. It relies on the united hearts of Anqing's officials and people, especially the bloody battles fought by the soldiers of the Anqing Battalion. Civil and military officials like you and me working in harmony is rare elsewhere."

Pang Yu understood the implication in Shi Kefa's words: this Circuit Intendant was about to be promoted to Grand Coordinator. In fact, Zhang Guowei had recommended him before the rally to the king, but the situation everywhere had eased at the time, there were no vacant Grand Coordinator posts, and the transfer was temporarily shelved.

This time, when the Eastern Invaders breached the border, three Grand Coordinators were arrested in a single postwar reckoning of rewards and punishments. According to the information Pang Yu had received, the prospects for these three Grand Coordinators were grim, and all their positions would need to be filled.

Shi Kefa had the great victory at Susong during his tenure in Anqing. After that, the Roving Bandits all detoured around Anqing, forming a stark contrast with the devastation in other parts of Jiangbei. When the Eastern Invaders entered the border this time, the Anqing Army had supplied its own rations and pay and taken the initiative to rally to the king. The bulk of Pang Yu's own troops were mostly at Gucheng; the majority of the forces he led were, on paper, part of other Anqing units, not solely the Anqing Battalion. Within a few months, they had earned military merits twice, standing out like a crane among chickens amidst a sea of routs and salvaging face for the imperial court. Shi Kefa would naturally share in the military merits, and promotion to Grand Coordinator was only logical.

Pang Yu had already heard wind that Shi Kefa would soon be transferred. Since arriving in Anqing, Shi Kefa was one of the few people Pang Yu had heard of in his previous life. They had worked together for several years now. In terms of strategic planning, command, and defense deployment, Shi Kefa's overall thinking was rigid, his decision-making slow and conservative, and his use of rations and pay inefficient. Pang Yu had always been dissatisfied with him on many counts; on the matter of building fortified strongholds alone, the two had fought several document battles before Zhang Guowei.

But Shi Kefa had no intention of harming others. He almost never privately undermined Pang Yu due to disagreements. Although his efficiency was low, at least their direction was aligned; the most that could be said was that he offered little assistance.

After his trip north to rally to the king, where he endured the cold stares of local officials all along the way and racked his brains coordinating with the northern armies, Pang Yu's perspective shifted. When he had fought in Anqing before, he had thought Xu Strengthening and his bunch of Jiangnan Troops were utterly incorrigible; upon returning from rallying to the king, he suddenly found them tolerable. His attitude toward Shi Kefa was much the same. Now that they were about to part, he even felt some reluctance, yet when he thought of where Shi Kefa was going, he wished he would leave sooner.

In this round of rewards and punishments, the three arrested Grand Coordinators were from Zhending, Yingtian, and Shandong. Zhending and Yingtian were both in Northern Zhili. Shi Kefa's native registry was the Capital, so he could not serve in his home province and could only go to be the Shandong Grand Coordinator. By the time he left the Capital, the Ministry of Personnel had largely settled the matter, pending only the emperor's approval.

Most of Pang Yu's fighting during the rally to the king had taken place in Shandong. He had gained a direct understanding of that province's strategic position, which became even more important in his overall strategy, because he had currently chosen the area south of Dongchang as the decisive battleground against the Eastern Invaders.

Pang Yu's plan to establish a logistics base in Xuzhou was primarily due to Xuzhou's geographical location, but also because it belonged to Nanzhili, making coordination with Zhu Dadian easier. Now that Shi Kefa was going to Shandong, Pang Yu would have even more convenient conditions to prepare the battlefield directly in Shandong, and there was still ample time.

From Shi Kefa's perspective, Shandong was devastated after the war. The areas the Qing army had passed through had their production and living facilities utterly destroyed. This year's grain harvest would certainly be poor. New Local Bandits would breed among the displaced populace, and as time went on, survival resources would grow ever scarcer. Local Bandits were swarming everywhere. On his return journey, Pang Yu had suppressed bandits along the way at places like Tongcheng Post and Dongchang; the situation in Shandong was extremely dire.

Meanwhile, the bandit hordes of the Central Plains had rebelled again. The elite troops from various provinces that had previously suppressed the bandits had all gone to rally to the king, suffering heavy losses in the process. The remainder needed rest and reorganization. The Roving Bandits, on the other hand, had spent the two years under pacification conserving their strength. Blocked by the Anqing Battalion, the Western Camp had not gone to Sichuan as they had in history, but instead directly raided into Henan.

This year, Henan suffered a great drought. After the Western Camp raided into Henan, its momentum swelled dramatically. The various Roving Bandit camps had repeatedly expanded their range of activity into eastern Henan, not far from Shandong. Once the Roving Bandits and the Local Bandits linked up, the situation would instantly become a prairie fire.

Shandong, located in the interior, had long lacked an effective military force. Shi Kefa was going to Shandong without bringing his own troops. He would also need a reliable external ally, a situation much like Fang Kongzhao's initially. But if one looked further ahead, Shi Kefa would have to face the next Qing invasion, possibly in less than two years. If the Qing army again invaded in winter, counting from the start of the last border incursion, there was only a little over a year left. Shandong was in ruins and awaiting reconstruction; this new Grand Coordinator faced a thousand tangled threads, a situation far more urgent than Fang Kongzhao's had been.

"Wherever your high office takes you, sir, if there is any way I can be of use, please do not hesitate to command me. Your subordinate will do his utmost to accomplish it." Pang Yu thought for a moment, then said, "Shandong has just suffered a great calamity; nowhere is peaceful, and there will be many occasions to use troops. Sir, on this assignment, you absolutely must have your own reliable force. However, Shandong lies in the interior, and its troops have always been weak. After this disaster, rations and pay will be difficult to collect for a time. Your subordinate is willing to first contribute some rations and pay to assist with your turnover needs."

"That is not permissible." Holding half a piece of watermelon, Shi Kefa turned to Pang Yu and said sternly, "General, your intentions are good, but if I truly go elsewhere, General Pang and I will no longer be in the same chain of command. Rations and pay cannot be raised and shifted as they were in Anqing. This money and grain are part of the imperial system; income and expenditure must be absolutely clear. Private transactions are strictly forbidden."

"Sir, your lesson is correct. Your subordinate was not proposing a private transaction. At present, the Roving Bandits are flaring up again in Henan, and no one knows when the Eastern Invaders will breach the border again. Shandong faces enemies on two fronts and cannot afford any delay. Your subordinate merely meant that we should at least train the troops first, and when the rations and pay are fully collected later, they can be repaid. That would be convenient for both sides."

Shi Kefa shook his head. "The road ahead is fraught with hardship and danger. It is precisely at such times that one must hold to the center and uphold rectitude. Such are the moral principles. General Pang, you must not overstep by even half a step."

Pang Yu was stunned for a moment. His previous discussions with Fang Kongzhao had gone so smoothly, and after nearly a year away, his impression of Shi Kefa had blurred. Now, Shi Kefa's character came back into sharp focus.

"That place is indeed as the General describes: mountains and rivers broken, enemies on two fronts. If the battalions are unfit for use, the region will certainly be difficult to pacify. In the future, whether for reinforcement campaigns or rallying to the king, I will still have to deal with the General. I hope the General will be as steadfast as ever. You and I, civil and military, of one heart, shall strive to win peaceful days for the common people of the realm."

Pang Yu quickly nodded. After a moment, Shi Kefa raised his eyes to look at Pang Yu. "The use of troops in that place will likely be no small matter. I intend to transfer Chen Yuwang to the Provincial Commander's Standard Troops there. The Army Courage Battalion here will still need a capable General Officer to command it. General Pang, you have many skilled fighters under your command; feel free to recommend someone to me."

Pang Yu was somewhat surprised. Shi Kefa meant to hand the Army Courage Battalion over to Pang Yu. Since he was leaving his post anyway, he was doing him a favor. But from what Pang Yu remembered, Shi Kefa was not a particularly generous man. Today he was acting out of character, which made Pang Yu inwardly raise his guard.

Sure enough, Shi Kefa hesitated a moment before continuing, "I have one more matter I wish to discuss with the General..."

"Circuit Intendant Shi's plan is to take Chen Yuwang's Household Retainers from the Army Courage Battalion, with Chen Yuwang serving as Deputy General of the Shandong Provincial Standard Battalion. The post in the Army Courage Battalion would then be given to one of my men. Following that, he proposed another condition: to take half the Heavy Infantry from the Tongcheng Standard Troops Battalion, with Zhuang Chaozheng serving as Deputy General of the Standard Battalion Left Battalion. This would free up another position in the Tongcheng Standard Troops Battalion, which he also implied would go to me, without delaying Zhuang Chaozheng's career. The troops would become his Shandong Provincial Standard Battalion. So, he is trading two official posts for troops."

Late at night in the Central Army Secretariat, Pang Yu had just set down an empty bowl. He had drunk a bowl of crucian carp soup made with Ma sugar and let out a comfortable sigh.

Seated across from him were He County Yamen and Mr. Yu. This Rear Office was the vital core of the General Military Headquarters. Previously, the space had been cramped, with only the Advisory Room located in the Rear Office. Now, they had bought the two neighboring civilian residences and expanded it to double the size. The Military Office, the Document Team, and the Pacification Squad had all moved into the Rear Office.

The documents on the desk were piled mountain-high, all of which both He County Yamen and Mr. Yu deemed necessary for Pang Yu to review and sign. He County Yamen was the Chief Clerk of the Document Forwarding Office, handling documents for the entire headquarters. Mr. Yu was the Head Clerk of the Central Army Secretariat, handling Pang Yu's personal documents. Within the headquarters, this served as a system of mutual checks and balances.

Pang Yu had put in several night shifts and roughly processed the accumulated documents. This process also conveniently allowed him to understand Anqing's internal affairs over the past year.

He County Yamen took a small sip of fish soup. "Then you certainly did not agree, sir. What you want are troops, not official posts."

Pang Yu looked at Mr. Yu. "What does Mr. Yu think?"

Mr. Yu hastily set down his bowl. "Sir, you most certainly would not agree. First, the land of Shandong is devastated; rations, pay, and expenses will be difficult to sustain. Circuit Intendant Shi will not allow us to provide relief or turnover funds. Without guaranteed rations and pay, within three months of arriving, that Heavy Infantry unit will be no different from the troops of other commands—a waste of one of your elite units, sir. Second, Shandong is too far. Once the troops go there, they become Guest Troops, growing estranged from our Anqing Battalion. As the months and years pass, it will still be a waste of one of your elite units, sir."

Pang Yu smiled faintly. Mr. Yu then lowered his voice and continued, "Those three Thousand-Leader Headquarters over in Huguang have not returned for over a year now. It's natural for troops long away to grow homesick. The place is so far that sending a message takes a month. Over time, estrangement is inevitable. If we send another unit under Zhuang Chaozheng out here, all that Heavy Infantry's full-body armor and weapons were painstakingly procured by you, sir. For years, their military stipend silver has been several times that of the Jiangnan Household Retainers. If some civil official can casually transfer them away, in the future, our Anqing Battalion won't be enough for them to divide up."

"I did indeed refuse him, and I did not ask Zhuang Chaozheng for his own opinion." Pang Yu pushed the empty bowl aside and raised his eyes to He County Yamen. "Circuit Intendant Shi is being promoted. A new man will come to the Defense Circuit Intendant post here in Anqing, and an Army Supervisor is also set to come. Our own battalion's General Officers, each promoted according to the court's rewards for merit, will many of them independently lead a Camp Head. According to the court system, they will no longer be my direct subordinates. But the troops and officers will still be drawing their pay from me. Whose troops are they, ultimately? On the surface, Anqing looks the same as before, but internally, things are different. We must first get this internal situation clear."

He County Yamen quickly said, "That is why the military system must be reformed. This humble one feels that the headquarters itself also needs some changes."

Pang Yu flipped through the remaining documents. "I haven't seen any Dispatch Submission on military system improvements. Has the Military Office settled on a strategy?"

He County Yamen glanced at Mr. Yu, and seeing that the other had no intention of speaking, continued, "The most contentious point is the improvement of the mixed Thousand-Leader Headquarters military system. The Military Office has proposed one Headquarters with three Divisions, and adding a Heavy Infantry Company specifically to counter the Eastern Invaders' White Armor Soldiers. Zhuang Chaozheng and Zhou Er both approve of this strategy. The First Unit and Second Unit have sent replies largely in agreement, but they believe the cavalry increase is too small to effectively pursue Bandit Cavalry. They hope to add a separate regular Cavalry Division, or half a Division, plus Skirmishers, to be sufficient. Chen Rulie's opinion is that we don't have enough cavalry to begin with. A single Bandit Camp Head or Jurchen Slave Banner can easily field several thousand cavalry. Dispersing them further is useless. The cavalry battalion should be concentrated in one place to crush a portion of the enemy in a single blow, not be dispersed for use."

Pang Yu grunted in acknowledgment. He County Yamen continued, "Another proposal came from Wu Dacai. He submitted an entirely different mixed Thousand-Leader Headquarters strategy, using one Headquarters with four Divisions. Each Division would use only one Banner Team of cavalry, including one Squad of Skirmishers; the rest would all be Relay Horses and Flank Guard Cavalry. In a Thousand-Leader Headquarters of four Divisions, all Mobile Infantry and Fire Soldiers would be converted to Fire Lances, with no Heavy Infantry. Zhuang Chaozheng and Wu Dacai have argued fiercely. They've already clashed twice in meetings, each submitting separate memorials to the Central Army Secretariat."

At this point, Mr. Yu, who had remained silent, spoke up: "If a Heavy Infantry Company is added to the mixed Thousand-Leader Headquarters, the Centurion must come from the Personal Guard Division. That means over a dozen positions for Banner Commanders and Team Leaders, all naturally coming from the Personal Guard Division. Every family wants to secure a future for their men. Previously, all the Heavy Infantry was on the Personal Guard side, just one Thousand-Leader Headquarters in total. Once they enter the mixed Thousand-Leader Headquarters, the number of such positions multiplies many times over. With Zhuang Chaozheng giving them a boost, the men of the Personal Guard Division can later be promoted within the Combined Camp to Company Commander, Vice Battalion Commander, and Battalion Commander. Zhuang Chaozheng would then spread his branches and leaves, and his status in the army would naturally rise."

Pang Yu nodded and smiled. "Then what is Wu Dacai after?"

"When Wu Dacai was in the army, he offended every Division and every Thousand-Leader Headquarters. No one is his trusted confidant; even the people in the Document Team don't necessarily defer to him. So he has to start a new stove. Anyway, no one else wants that Firearm Team. If he picks it up, they become his trusted followers. At least he'll have some branches and leaves, which is better than being a loner like he is now."

Pang Yu clasped his hands together, staring at the desk without speaking for a long time.