Chapter 84: The Big Pit

In the East Garden of the Ye Family's old residence, sixty-six Guards stood divided into six squads. Before them stretched a long trench, the excavated earth piled on both sides. It was about one zhang wide and eight zhang in total length. At each end of the trench, a white line marked with lime was drawn, followed by a gently descending ramp that extended to a two-zhang flat section in the middle. The earthen wall in that middle level section was roughly seven chi deep.

Most of these Guards came from farming backgrounds, and digging trenches was probably the part of their recent training they adapted to best — this work fell entirely within their comfort zone.

They were also quite pleased to have completed the task Squad Leader Pang had assigned and were waiting for Pang Yu's praise. In their guess, the three basins of meat on the wooden platform were one of the rewards for digging the trench.

"Not badly dug," Pang Yu said, glancing over the trench before turning his head and lowering his voice to Pang Ding behind him. "Next time Mr. Ruan comes, don't bring him to the East Garden."

Pang Ding hurriedly acknowledged. A perfectly fine garden dug up into this state — of course he would be embarrassed to let Ruan Dacheng see it.

"You've all been standing here for these past days. It's time we add something new." Pang Yu looked at his standing men and pointed to the wooden platform. "There are six squads here, but only three basins of meat."

The Guards' hearts began to tighten with tension. Though they still did not know Pang Yu's true intent, instinct told them those three basins of meat were not a reward. They seemed to have truly dug a big pit for themselves.

"There are six squads here. Two squads form one group, and each group gets only one portion of meat. With many men and little meat, it's hard to divide, so we will hold a competition. The two squads will each start from the white lines at opposite ends of the trench and advance toward each other. Whichever squad has all its members reach the opposite white line first gets to eat that portion of meat. The losers not only get no meat, they must also stand silently beside the winners while they eat. After the winners finish, the losers must also help them wash the bowls and chopsticks before they can eat their own plain rice."

Pang Yu finished speaking and swept his gaze over the formation. The formation was utterly silent. After these days of standing-still training, these Guards were far more obedient than when they had arrived. Still, hearing Pang Yu's words made all their eyelids twitch.

"The amount in each basin is actually barely enough for two squads to eat, but I am giving it to only one squad — the squad that wins. Why?" Pang Yu faced the formation, paused for a moment, then shouted, "Because on the battlefield, there is no second place! The victor wins all rewards; the loser is left with nothing, not even their life. This is the truth you must always keep in your hearts from this moment on."

Pang Yu finished and waved a hand toward Xu Lengzi on the platform. Xu Lengzi opened an hourglass, and sand streamed continuously from its narrow spout.

"Before the hourglass runs out, each squad may freely discuss strategy. Dismissed."

The group of Guards listened, then stood dazed for a while. The six squads had only been formed the day before. Although each squad lived in one room, many still could not call each other by name, and there was no leader at all.

Hesitantly, each squad eventually gathered into its own huddle. They at least knew not to let their opponents overhear, so the discussion was quiet. Pang Yu walked back and forth among the squads, observing the members of each.

When Pang Yu reached the First Squad, he reminded them, "The First Squad and Second Squad compete first. Watch the hourglass."

The men of the First Squad all raised their heads to look at the hourglass on the platform. Pang Yu had no timekeeping tools; this hourglass had been borrowed from the Yin-Yang Official.

The strongest Guard in the First Squad spoke as he stripped off his upper garment, revealing a lean, powerful torso. Cursing, he said, "Nothing to discuss. Just charge over there. Whoever blocks this old man from eating meat, this old man will tear him apart alive."

Pang Yu already recognized him. This man was called Yao Dongshan, one of the two masons from the first batch. In the quarry, his job had been hauling, and he was far stronger than the others. That day, he had been delivering stone into the city and happened upon Pang Yu's recruitment meeting, so he had stayed.

The reason Pang Yu remembered him was that yesterday, when they brought back pigs, one pig refused to enter the pen. Yao Dongshan grabbed the pig by its hind legs and casually tossed it in.

The rest of the First Squad were mostly farmers, unable to offer any suggestions for this kind of group action. The bunch of them stared at each other blankly, wasting time.

Pang Yu turned and walked to the Second Squad. Leaning in to listen, he found the Second Squad's men also all talking at once, somewhat chaotic.

"Just charge, that's all. One on one, no one drag anyone else down. This old man isn't afraid of anyone anyway."

"This width can only fit five people across. One on one won't work; it has to be two on two."

"Our squad has eleven men. Let me figure this out, how to line up in two rows..."

Pang Yu waited a moment. That man never did solve this first-grade arithmetic problem. The others did not wait for him either and continued their chaotic discussion. Pang Yu shook his head and was about to step away.

Just then, a voice from within said, "Did you all clearly hear Squad Leader Pang's words? It's when an entire squad's men have all crossed the opposite white line that they get to eat the meat. Whether you win one-on-one or two-on-two is useless. Winning and losing is counted by squad. It's like a boat race — a squad is one boat. Victory means the whole boat wins; defeat means the whole boat loses. There's no such thing as one or two boatmen winning."

The voice was not loud, yet it let everyone in the squad hear clearly. When Pang Yu heard it, he immediately stopped and patiently waited for the man's next words. The others in the Second Squad were also drawn in by his words, and one man urged him to quickly offer a plan.

That voice continued, "We can do it this way..."

The others unconsciously all crowded around that man. Pang Yu glanced over a Guard's shoulder. The speaker was a farmer of twenty-five or twenty-six, with ordinary features that were hard to remember. Pang Yu could not recall his name.

At that moment, he had taken off his upper garment. The skin of his body was darkly tanned. Though lean, he was not weak. In a low voice, he patiently laid out the deployment to his group of squadmates, his tone calm and without the slightest urgency.

Pang Yu's purpose in designing these various competitions was, first, to forge their team spirit; second, to train their ability to comprehend orders; and third, to build their capacity for planning and execution. In the process, Pang Yu could observe the traits of each squad's members. He had not the slightest doubt that under the stimulus of competition, those with potential would always stand out.

Pang Yu memorized the man's features, then walked on to the next squad.

"Thump, thump, thump" — three drumbeats sounded.

He arrived at the middle of the trench. The First Squad and Second Squad were already in position at the two white lines. Both squads had, without prior agreement, arranged themselves into a three-row formation. In the First Squad, only Yao Dongshan was bare-chested; the Second Squad was entirely bare-chested.

At this moment, both squads were somewhat eager to try. When people face a competition, they all have the desire to win, let alone when they are all young men.

Xu Lengzi and Pang Ding each held a small red banner at the white lines, serving as referees. If one squad had all arrived, they would raise the banner to signal. Those two were also the last Runners left here. Pang Yu was doing his utmost to reduce the connections between the two squads. Xu Lengzi and Pang Ding were both planned to be assigned to the Capture Squad later — in any case, they would not remain in the Zhuang Squad.

Pang Yu raised his hand toward the drummer on the wooden platform. The Zhuang Squad now had sixty-nine men in total, which could not be evenly divided into six squads. Pang Yu had picked three to serve as Flag Drummers. Unfortunately, the flags were not yet made, so all three were acting as drummers. And what was even more shabby was that the only drum was also borrowed from Ruan Dacheng — a theater drum. When struck, it sounded somewhat crisp and lacked the solemn lethality of a war drum. But Pang Yu could not be bothered with that; it was better than nothing.

His hand dropped, and the drumbeats began at a slow rhythm. Pang Yu kept his hand in the air for a while to guide the rhythm. That drummer had a fair bit of talent and grasped the rhythm quite well. Pang Yu did not know how war drums were actually used, but in his understanding, they should control footwork and also the soldiers' emotions. In any case, if they went to war, they would certainly need them. Using drumbeats as accompaniment in this kind of competition would let the Zhuang Squad grow accustomed to the drums.

In the trench, both squads shouted loudly at the same time and charged toward the opposite side. Pang Yu had no time to direct the drummer further; he turned back around to carefully observe the battle situation.

Yao Dongshan took the lead, using the ramp to continuously accelerate. His squadmates could not catch up, and the formation stretched out long and chaotic.

The Second Squad stayed clustered together, jogging slowly. That dark-skinned farmer ran at the very back, constantly shouting slogans and occasionally calling out reminders to speed up or slow down.

Just as the Second Squad reached the end of their own ramp, Yao Dongshan had already run across the flat middle section of the trench. With ferocious, unmatched force, he slammed headfirst into the Second Squad's formation.

The Second Squad's first row instantly collapsed into a tumbling mess, three men knocked over by Yao Dongshan. Then Yao Dongshan bellowed and swung his arms wildly. No one in the Second Squad could stop this powerful mason. Two or three men in the formation's second row were also shoved to the ground by him. The dark-skinned farmer at the very back, knowing he was no match, quickly stepped aside. Like a wild bull, Yao Dongshan burst out of the crowd, charged up the ramp, and ran toward the other side's white line.

Behind him, men from the First Squad continued to charge through. The dark-skinned farmer gave low-voiced reminders. The Second Squad did not use force to block them and let five more pass through in succession. By now, Yao Dongshan had already reached the white line. The First Squad had more than half its men across. He could not help but watch and laugh heartily.

The dark-skinned farmer suddenly shouted, "Stop them!"

All the men of the Second Squad gathered together, tightly forming two rows. Relying on their superior numbers, they blocked the remaining opponents coming from behind. The dark-skinned farmer called out a work chant, and the Second Squad pushed the five remaining opponents forward.

The situation instantly reversed. The other four squads watching all jeered at once, and an uproar rose from all sides in the East Garden.

How could those five withstand eleven opponents? Moreover, they only now realized that not taking off their upper garments had been a major blunder. Their opponents were all bare-chested; once they sweated a little, their bodies became slippery, offering no purchase at all, while their opponents could grab and pull their clothes. They were at a complete disadvantage. The five were steadily forced back, step by step, as the Second Squad rapidly approached the white line.

Yao Dongshan blurted out a curse, "Charge! You stupid bastards!"

He had barely cursed twice when the Second Squad had already shoved those five to the ground. The Second Squad swarmed over the white line.

Yao Dongshan shook his head. "Those few won't get to eat meat. A pity. Damn fools, stupid as hell."

Xu Lengzi's red banner went up. Pang Yu shouted, "The Second Squad wins victory and receives one basin of braised meat. You may begin your meal immediately in the corridor. All members of the First Squad, go to the corridor and stand in silence, watching the First Squad eat."

"Huh?" Yao Dongshan's mouth gaped wide open and could not close for a long while.

The Second Squad all cheered and jumped for joy. Pang Yu let them have their excitement. Only by striving for victory in intense competition could team spirit and a sense of honor be forged.

After they had calmed down a little, Pang Yu came before the formation and asked the dark-skinned farmer, "What is your name? Where are you from?"

The man immediately bowed and said, "This humble one is Wang Zenglu, from the south side of North Gorge Pass."

"Have you always farmed at home?"

"Always..." Wang Zenglu paused, then said, "I went with a relative to Anqing and worked as a boatman for half a year. After the relative died, I came back."

"What route did you run boats on?"

"Mainly Nanjing."

Pang Yu nodded and said, "Wang Zenglu, I'll remember you. The Second Squad did well. Go eat."

The Second Squad erupted in cheers again. They gathered under the covered corridor around the meat basin and ate ravenously. Just as Pang Yu had said, the meat portion was a full double serving. The First Squad, meanwhile, stood dejected and silent outside the corridor, swallowing their saliva as they smelled the meat, watching those damned opponents feast and gorge themselves.

The other four squads, having watched the contest, were all murmuring in low discussion. Pang Yu said loudly, "Before the competition, each squad may confer briefly to refine their tactics."

As soon as Pang Yu finished speaking, the other squads immediately huddled into their own tight circles, discussing and stripping off their upper garments one after another.

After waiting a short while, Pang Yu began pacing slowly among the squads again. Just as he finished listening to the Fourth Squad, he saw Mr. Sun appear in a fluster at the round archway of the East Garden.

Pang Yu hurried over to greet him and said with a smile, "Mr. Sun, what's the rush? Don't tell me the Roving Bandits are attacking or something."

Mr. Sun caught his breath for a moment, then pulled Pang Yu aside and lowered his voice. "Really — truly — the Roving Bandits have come. The County Magistrate wants you to go to Tuisi Hall immediately to confer. The time has come to deploy the Zhuang Squad."

Pang Yu looked at Mr. Sun's anxious expression and knew he was absolutely not joking. His scalp couldn't help but prickle. "The Zhuang Squad has only just begun drilling. What Roving Bandits… where are they?"

"Qianshan just sent an Official Dispatch. The Roving Bandit Sweeping King has reached Yingshan County, and scattered Roving Bandits have come out of the mountains to raid the foothill regions of Taihu and Qianshan… Pang Squad Leader, the Roving Bandits have truly come."