Chapter 436: Leave

The bathhouse, separated from the boiler room by only a single wall, had not quieted down since the troops returned, its chimney billowing coal smoke at all hours.

First, wash the mud and grime from your body under the iron pipe, then jump into the bathing pool built of large bluestone and cement, and comfortably soak in a hot bath until your skin is flushed red before heading back to camp to sleep... this had already become a pleasure the soldiers of the Flying Tiger Battalion adored.

Such enjoyment was hard to come by in the seventeenth-century north. In this era, let alone all winter, plenty of northerners couldn't manage a single bath all year.

The rich could bathe in wooden tubs at home; the poor could only go down to the river in summer. As for winter bathhouses... without a boiler, the primitive large-cauldron heating technique simply could not meet the water temperature demands of several pools, so public bathhouses in the north were very rare in this period.

Since the bathhouse was divided into separate pools, circles naturally formed.

The innermost pool was usually occupied only by the Special Operations Team members and the Navy. The most numerous Flying Tiger Battalion soldiers all stayed in the large outer pool.

Chen Erye was half-lying in a corner of the pool at this moment, a towel draped over his forehead, occasionally taking a sip from the wine flask on the tray beside him — leisurely and content.

But his contentment was soon disturbed.

With a splash, a figure jumped into the pool and darted to Erye's side like a swimming fish, his face full of impatience as he whispered urgently into his ear: "Erye, why are there three heads credited to me on the merit report?"

Erye slowly opened one eye, cast a sidelong glance at the anxious Mei Fuxi, then closed it again.

Ever since Young Master Mei had cut down that green-skinned Tartar, Erye had regarded him as "one of our own with decent prospects." So after closing his eyes and thinking for a moment, Erye slowly asked, "What, you think it's too few?"

"Erye, what are you saying!"

How could Mei Fuxi possibly think it was too few? By the open rules, three heads in a guard post could get you promoted from Banner to Total Banner — and these were high-quality genuine Tartar heads at that!

A second-generation guard post kid like Mei Fuxi was nothing like those bottom-rung military households. From what he had seen and heard, he had witnessed far too many ugly scenes of officers fighting over credit and shirking blame. Never mind three genuine Tartar heads — even for just one, those officers in the guard post would scheme with every trick in the book and beat each other's brains out.

So when they returned for rest and reorganization this time, Mei Fuxi had not taken the single head he himself had killed to heart at all: Erye had saved his life, and afterward hadn't breathed a word about his disgraceful state at the time, so as for the head — take it, the Young Master didn't care.

Yet the strange thing was precisely this: he had been credited!

He would have believed it if the higher-ups had swallowed that one head of his; instead, when someone had forcibly padded it to three for him, that was when a certain person's heart truly lost its footing.

Hearing Mei Fuxi's somewhat sheepish reply, Erye, eyes still closed, gave a hehe smile: "Set your mind at ease, Young Master. This bit of merit is nothing in the eyes of the Regional Commander."

"But if that's the case, haven't I just swallowed your merit, Erye?"

Chen Erye curled his lip at these words.

He couldn't exactly tell the young man that for a Hidden Residence old retainer, National Scholar, and imperially gifted Ensign, this old man was certain to follow one path to its end and head straight down the road of a rebel — the Great Ming's merits and nobility ranks were useless to him.

"I'm just using you as a model for others to see. Accept the merit with peace of mind, and don't jabber on about it anymore."

Hearing Erye put it so bluntly, Mei Fuxi's hanging heart finally settled. With a hehe smile, he picked up the wine cup from the tray and took a sip, then the Young Master said quietly, "Erye, my father sent word — he's arranged a family banquet tonight and requests the honor of your presence!"

Chen Erye opened his eyes at this: "Old Wealth is treating? That's a rare thing — a free meal is not to be missed!"

"Yes, he's specially roasted a sheep and a camel."

"I'll go to Battalion HQ to request leave."

"Let's go together!"

That evening, to thank Erye for saving his life, the Mei father and son specially hosted a banquet at home and treated Erye to a hearty meal.

After the feast, having attentively dispatched a carriage to send the well-fed and satisfied Erye off, the Mei father and son brewed pure tea and sat in the study to begin their pure conversation: "Tomorrow the Commander wants to see you. When you go, mind your manners at all times — don't play the fool."

"Commander? Which Commander?" Mei Fuxi, who had just sat down, was a bit bewildered by the topic his old father had suddenly tossed at him.

Mei's father gave a bitter smile: "Which one could it be? Our own Right Guard Commander, Mei Yingwu. When you go, you are to call him Clan Uncle."

Mei Fuxi still didn't get it: "What does the Commander want to see me for?"

"When an outstanding talent emerges in the clan, shouldn't he be seen?" Mei's father sighed lightly: "Ever since the last Commander died in battle in Liaodong, our family has grown distant from the guard post these years. I never thought that today, thanks to your blessing, the Commander would remember this Registered Thousand-Household again."

Hearing this, Mei Fuxi was still somewhat puzzled: "Even so, your child is but a foot soldier — can three heads truly stir the Commander?"

"Foolish." Mei's father fixed his gaze on his only son and spoke seriously: "What they've taken a liking to is your future prospects under Regional Commander Cao! You're ranked first on the merit roster — you've certainly caught Regional Commander Cao's eye!"

"Oh..."

Mei Fuxi did not answer at this moment. He picked up his tea bowl and drank a few mouthfuls. After considering for a while, he then slowly said, "To be honest with you, Father, from what I have seen in the camp these days... this matter does not follow the usual path of merit reporting. Nor does that Regional Commander necessarily think highly of your son — he may well have long forgotten someone like me."

"Oh?" Mei's father was surprised to hear this: "What do you mean by that?"

Mei Fuxi's expression was grave at this moment. Only after a long while did he organize his words and say, somewhat hesitantly, "This is just my wild guess, but perhaps this Regional Commander Cao is somewhat different from his peers — he doesn't seem like someone who cares much about court rank and fame..."

"Father, there is something you do not know. In truth, of these three Tartar heads, only one can really be counted as your son's..."

And so, Mei Fuxi slowly recounted everything he had seen and heard in the Flying Tiger Battalion, along with some of his personal impressions.

After hearing all this, Mei's father was also greatly astonished: "Now that is strange. A military officer who treats merit so lightly — this old man is hearing of such a thing for the first time."

"Perhaps he simply doesn't hold the court's titles and ranks in any regard." After a long silence, Mei Fuxi finally spoke the words he had been holding in his heart: "This Regional Commander was formerly a sea bandit chief recruited and granted amnesty by the court. It would not be surprising if his conduct were... somewhat unrestrained."

"Silence!"

Mei's father understood his son's implication in the first moment, and he hurriedly signaled him to shut his mouth: "How can you speak recklessly of such matters? You must never mention this to anyone in the future — be careful not to bring a fatal calamity upon yourself!"

"Your son understands." Mei Fuxi nodded glumly.

"If that is the case, then this Lord Cao's coming north for the King's Rescue this time is likely a case of having ulterior motives!"

Mei's father was now stroking his long beard, pacing about the room as he thought deeply.

After considering for a long while, Mei's father ultimately produced a plan of responding to all changes by remaining unchanged: "The current situation is chaotic; one must still be cautious in all things. You have now taken this martial path, so serve honestly under Lord Cao. Do not make a show of the merit-reporting matter — simply drift with the current."

"Fuxi understands."

The outcome of the Mei father and son's nighttime discussion was something the northbound Transmigrators had not anticipated. So, never underestimate the intelligence of the ancients. Even relying on fragmentary information and speculation, the Mei father and son had still seen through part of Cao Darao's true heart and mind.

After the nighttime discussion ended, Mei Fuxi, his heart laden with concerns, retired early. Early the next morning, he went to Jinwei City. Amid the city's forest of government offices, he quickly found the Right Guard Office. After announcing himself, he waited in the gatehouse for the Commander to grant an audience.

Commander Mei Yingwu had inherited his post through the generations and was in his early forties. His round face looked amiable and genial, well-rounded in every aspect, without much of a military man's bearing.

When the two sides met, the Commander put on no airs. Instead, he chatted about family matters with Young Master Mei, deploying a bit of nostalgia.

After reminiscing about the close relationship between Mei's father and the Commander's family, Mei Yingwu offered Mei Fuxi some encouragement, expressing that he should serve well under Regional Commander Cao. Finally, Mei Yingwu said with meaningful emphasis, "After all, a good man who came out of the Right Guard," then lifted his tea to see his guest out.

After this brief summons, the Mei family could be considered as having returned to the mainstream line of sight within the Jin Right Garrison.

Yet Mei Fuxi did not care about this change.

After this period of joining the Flying Tiger Battalion and dealing with the Transmigrators, it could be said that Mei Fuxi's horizons had been greatly broadened, and he had come to recognize that there existed in this world powers he had never before witnessed.

These powers included not only those formidable weapons, but also the military training he had received over this time, as well as the theoretical knowledge such as the "Organizational Capability Theory" that had been instilled in him.

Moreover, the generous treatment of ordinary soldiers, the egalitarian internal relations, and the various hidden benefits — these unheard-of things all made Mei Fuxi recognize one issue: how a true soldier lives.

It is no exaggeration to say that this recent period of military life has completely shattered the concept of "military household" he had held since childhood.

Precisely because of these conceptual changes, Mei Fuxi actually looked down somewhat from the bottom of his heart on the olive branch extended by the Commandant. The merit that Regional Commander Cao never even took seriously had unexpectedly stirred such waves in the garrison.

Mei Fuxi now held a bone-deep contempt for the garrison's whole set of utterly combat-incapable, intrigue-ridden, rotten-to-the-core institutions.

So after paying his visit to the Commandant, he returned home to bid farewell to his elderly father and mother, then hastily mounted his horse and returned to camp to report back from leave — the young man had thoroughly fallen in love with the vigorous, spirited life of the military camp.

After returning from this training march, the Transmigrators deliberately granted the soldiers of the Flying Tiger Battalion leave in rotation.

The reason was simple: the next time they set out, it would truly be time to get serious with the Tartars, so these native soldiers basically all got one chance to go home.

At the same time, some pre-battle preparations were also being arranged in intense secrecy.

Among these, logistics was undoubtedly the most critical priority.

In addition to the canned supplies arriving with the transport ships, Tianjin also received a batch of compressed biscuits newly produced in the Kiln District, along with several pieces of semi-manual equipment for making compressed biscuits and a corresponding group of production workers.