Chapter 111: Be a Little Harder

Chen Xin, leading Nie Hong and a few other personal guards, ran panting along the circular track he himself had designed. All around him, soldiers were running in formation by banner squads, loudly shouting a one-two cadence. The combat troops had weights tied to their legs and arms. For them, the morning run was the easiest part — three laps around a roughly five-hundred-pace circuit was no hardship for these trackers, fishermen, and mountain folk. The trackers' physiques went without saying; the fishermen and mountain folk had struggled against the natural environment since childhood, and both their stamina and willpower were stronger than those of people from flatland regions.

Before he crossed over, Chen Xin had exercised purely for fitness. After arriving at Weihai, he initially joined the combat troops on their runs, but later, as his duties grew more complex, it turned into a morning fitness routine. After returning to Wendeng Camp, he had been busy evaluating and appointing or dismissing new officers, inspecting the village militia, and organizing and perfecting the drill manual. Once all that was done, he had just started training alongside the combat troops. Thrown abruptly into such intensity, he was already struggling after little more than a lap.

He carried no weight at all, yet by now his mouth was parched, his heart was pounding wildly, and his breathing was ragged. Surrounded by soldiers, he absolutely could not appear too useless, so he fought desperately to feign a relaxed demeanor. But his limbs grew weaker and weaker, a tightness kept gripping his scalp, and it looked like he would not last the three laps. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Liu Pojun emerge from the guardhouse and hurry in his direction.

Chen Xin silently cried out a prayer of thanks. He stopped at once, so exhausted he wanted to brace his hands on his knees. Summoning his last reserves of strength, he went to meet Liu Pojun as steadily as he could, all the while taking huge gulps of air to regulate his breathing.

"My lord, Mr. Liu has arrived. He has already been received in your office."

Chen Xin still could not speak. He nodded with feigned composure. Seeing that he said nothing, Liu Pojun did not continue his report and simply fell in behind him. Chen Xin felt a twinge of puzzlement. Liu Minyou had even more on his plate than he did, so busy all day his feet never touched the ground; he generally did not make the trip to Wendeng Camp. Why was he so free today?

When they reached the outside of the office, through the window he saw Liu Minyou inside, restless and unable to sit still. Chen Xin walked in and laughed heartily. "A rare guest, a rare guest! Welcome, Brother Liu, to inspect my Wendeng Camp."

The moment Liu Minyou saw him, he said urgently, "Inspect what? I can't be bothered to look at those child laborers of yours. More and more people are fleeing from Dongjiang. Right now, counting the ones we bought, it's nearly three thousand. There are shacks everywhere, and the people in the surrounding fortified villages all know about it. Yang Yunlong has already sent someone to inquire. He had Wang Yuanzheng bring word, asking just who all these people are."

Chen Xin knew that his recent movements had been somewhat conspicuous and that alerting Yang Yunlong was only a matter of time. It was yet another excuse for the man to demand silver. He could only blame himself for not being the top authority and always having to be subject to others.

"Then arrange for them to come to Wendeng Camp. If they come here, we'll have enough people to open up farmland."

Hearing Chen Xin say this, Liu Minyou seemed somewhat reluctant. These people from Dongjiang could endure extreme hardship. The five-qian-a-month job of drilling gun barrels in the workshop — they all found it astonishingly good. Now countless people wanted to do it. With sufficient manpower, Mazi Er Dun's affairs had also gone much more smoothly. Production of the combined-mechanism muskets had risen to two hundred per month, and last month, for the first time, iron armor output had exceeded fifty suits. So he did not want to let them go. He had come to find Chen Xin for a more important matter.

Liu Minyou said bluntly, "There's no silver left."

Chen Xin scratched his head. He could roughly calculate it. At the start of the year, they had seized some silver from the bandits, which together with their original funds totaled over ninety thousand taels. He had been a bit greedy and invested eighty thousand into the maritime trade, pooling a hundred thousand taels' worth of goods with Song Wenxian. How could the remaining ten thousand-odd taels possibly be enough? It was now the beginning of the fifth month. From the second month until now, just the wages for the soldiers and the workshops had cost five or six thousand taels. On top of that, grain still had to be purchased from the rice shop. Weihai had over two thousand people, and Wendeng Camp, including soldiers, had over four thousand. They also had to buy so many raw materials like iron stock, gunpowder, and cloth. It should indeed be nearly exhausted.

Chen Xin had few options at the moment, but as the head of this system, he was the one who had to solve it. He paced a few circles inside the room. The only answer was still to strike the bandits. Only by striking them would there be no further trouble. He walked straight to a map and traced along the borders of Wendeng County. To the west was Laiyang, to the north was Ninghai. The bandits within Wendeng itself who could flee had all fled. No one was foolish enough to wait around for a Wendeng Camp that was more ferocious than they were.

Ninghai was too close to Dengzhou, so he dismissed the idea. Chen Xin studied Laiyang. That place also had many bandits. He would just pick a few to ease their financial problems, and incidentally drill the troops and integrate the newly joined Dongjiang soldiers. Over five hundred Dongjiang veterans had been selected so far and were arriving at Wendeng Camp in batches. Some who had reached Weihai earlier had already largely recovered. With guaranteed nutrition, they could now undergo high-intensity training, and along the way they could also go strike some bandits.

Thinking this, Chen Xin grinned at Liu Minyou. "The army costs the most money. It should also go earn a bit."

Liu Minyou understood that he meant to strike the bandits and urged, "Then you have to make them move fast. If the money truly runs out, the workshops will have to stop."

Chen Xin was also calculating the time. Song Wenxian and the others had set sail in the third month and would probably not return until the end of the month. If things went poorly, it might be as late as the beginning of the sixth month. The profits this time would belong to him and Song Wenxian, giving them over a hundred thousand taels of ready silver on hand, after which things would be much easier. He had already planned this year's outlays for greasing palms. Wen Tiren still had to be visited, as did Qian Yuanke, Wang Tingshi, Zhang Keda, and Yang Yunlong. Someone like Wang Yuanzheng did not need such payments. Chen Xin alone had bought three thousand shi of grain from him this year, from which the man had surely profited several hundred taels.

Having thought it through, he said to Liu Minyou, "I'll do it as soon as possible. Two days at most and we'll move out. Once we've seized the silver, I'll split the spoils with you. Since you're here, stay a few more days. This place is like a refugee camp right now. You can do some planning while you're at it. When the silver comes back, we'll invest a bit to improve things."

Liu Minyou hesitated a moment, then shook his head. "There's too much to do in Weihai. I still won't stay. What about Yang Yunlong — how do we answer him?"

Chen Xin chuckled. Yang Yunlong was a smooth operator who knew how to handle matters. His sending Wang Yuanzheng to ask was nothing more than fishing for a reason to demand silver. "Answer him with silver. We can't produce it right now. I'll write him a letter. Officially, we'll just say they are refugees. When you go back, take twenty cavalrymen with you and keep a tight watch around the fortified villages. Don't let any of those Dongjiang people slip away and start babbling elsewhere. Weihai Guard is easy to manage, but if word spreads to Dengzhou, I'm afraid Wang Tingshi will force me to hand the people over."

Liu Minyou was somewhat angered. He utterly could not fathom the minds of these high officials. Even if Mao Wenlong were guilty of a thousand wrongs, what crime had the multitudes of Liao refugees in Dongjiang Town committed? He said furiously, "Every one of them a Metropolitan Graduate, yet human lives are worth so little in their eyes. They've read all those sage classics right into the bellies of dogs."

Chen Xin quickly tried to soothe him. "That's why they're called corrupt officials. I only said it was a possibility. His Excellency Wang might not necessarily be willing to go that far. Those matters are beyond our control, but whoever comes to Weihai, no matter how many, we must take them in."

"But it's already nearly three thousand. If there are any more, how can we possibly afford to support them? Yet if we don't take them in, our consciences cannot bear it."

"Brother Liu need not worry. Doesn't Wendeng Camp have nearly twenty thousand mu of land? Let them come and farm it."

Liu Minyou sighed. "Those we bought and those who fled are all able-bodied men and women, practically no children. They were likely the first ones who would have been eaten. These people have no burdens; they are all strong laborers. They hate the Later Jin the most, and they also hate the high officials of the imperial court. If you support them, they will recognize only you. I've only just figured this out. You must have had your eye on the Liao people from the very start."

Chen Xin smiled apologetically. "Nothing escapes Brother Liu. Still, you should also see my benevolent side. Since you're here anyway, don't rush off. How about going to see the school I've built for those children?"

"You were willing to spend money on a school? For the youngest children?"

"For children of all ages."

At the mention of the school, Liu Minyou's mood finally lifted. "I've thought it over. We don't need all-around talent right now. The training cycle for young children is too long. I plan to teach only those around fifteen, running an accelerated course of half a year to a year. Just like a vocational high school: half a day of classes, half a day of work. After a year, if they can recognize some common characters and do basic arithmetic, that's enough. After graduating, they can work as low-level laborers in the workshops, doing some of the simpler jobs. They'll be able to support themselves. Later, if they want to study on their own, we can set up something like a night school. That way we can reduce our training costs."

Chen Xin looked at Liu Minyou in astonishment. "Brother Liu, that's an excellent method. We won't teach that rotten eight-legged essay stuff. Half work, half study — both learning and working get done, and they come out as semi-skilled laborers. I am truly in awe. Brother Liu, after being a leader for so long, your art of compromise has reached great perfection."

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Because of the school, Liu Minyou decided to stay one extra day before leaving. Wendeng Camp was a hundred li from Weihai Guard, a full day's journey even on horseback, and he was genuinely somewhat tired. Liu Minyou's two assistants had taken the horses to the cavalry camp to find fodder. Liu Minyou accompanied Chen Xin to inspect the school at a fortified village outside Wendeng Camp. After Xu Yuanhua had filed that complaint last time, Chen Xin had not gone to deal with the man. He felt that Liu Minyou also needed some reliable subordinates, and it would not do to undermine their loyalty to Liu Minyou.

The two men, accompanied by their personal guards, made a circuit of one fortified village outside the south gate, then proceeded to the farming colony area outside the east gate, where there were nine fortified villages. Liu Minyou had seen plenty of poverty and had developed a strong tolerance for these shack districts. After touring two fortified villages, he directly asked to see the school.

Chen Xin seemed to have put real effort into it. Xu Yuanhua whispered to Liu Minyou that Chen Xin had pulled a banner squad of village militia to help with the construction. Progress had been very fast, and they were only waiting for teachers to arrive before starting classes.

Liu Minyou nodded repeatedly. He had trained a batch of young teachers at Mazi Er Dun who were about to graduate. They had learned a fair number of characters and some arithmetic, and he had also taught them some basic educational methods. Given that Chen Xin was using child labor, he had originally not planned to send any teachers over. But now that Chen Xin wanted to run a school, he immediately decided to dispatch half of the teachers. Liu Minyou then had Xu Yuanhua take him to see the farmland and irrigation works. The Baolong River had a much greater water volume than the Qincun River. Over a dozen waterwheels stood along the riverbank, ceaselessly turning to lift water and pour it into the channels. The twenty thousand mu of land Chen Xin had occupied had only recently fallen fallow. The three thousand mu planted last year had already ripened, yielding one shi two or three dou per mu. The farming households of Wendeng Camp were now harvesting.

After carefully inspecting several shack districts, Liu Minyou felt the sanitation was far too poor and demanded that open drains and latrine pits be built within the shack areas. Xu Yuanhua agreed to everything. Then Chen Xin took Liu Minyou to observe a village militia drill. The ranks were orderly and already had the bearing of a strong army.

Liu Minyou had recently been rather critical of the army, but after all, he was the one supplying this army with its materiel, and he still felt a sense of reflected pride. They watched for a while until it was time for the evening meal. The group ate with the village militia before returning to the military camp. By the time they reached the camp, the recall bugle had long since sounded. Chen Xin took the initiative to produce his waist tag for the sentry. After the sentry saluted, Chen Xin helped Liu Minyou register before leading him inside.

After the evening meal, each unit handled its own internal affairs. At night, if there was no emergency assembly drill, the combat soldiers were free to do as they pleased, but they could not leave the main camp. Chen Xin banned gambling in his army. The recent training intensity was also high, so the combat soldiers generally just rested. The dark drill ground was silent and still, only the lanterns of the night patrol swaying through the barrack area.

As the two men led their personal guards past the edge of the drill ground, Chen Xin heard the whooshing sound of blades and staves being swung. Drawing closer, he saw a dark human figure in the middle of the drill ground.

Nie Hong stepped forward and shouted, "Halt!"

The dark figure stopped at once. Nie Hong brought his lantern over and flashed it before his face. It was none other than that first Dongjiang soldier to arrive, Li Donghua. Both Chen Xin and Liu Minyou recognized him. Liu Minyou walked over and asked, "Li Donghua, have you already been promoted to combat soldier?"

Li Donghua said respectfully, "Yes, I was promoted just three days ago. At first, this humble one was led through foot drills by an instructor in Weihai. I only arrived at Wendeng Camp not long ago. Training Officer Zhu said I was the fastest ever to rise from village militia to camp soldier. I am now a pikeman in the First Squad."

"Then why are you practicing with blade and staff?"

"Wendeng Camp has no large maces. I use this blade-staff to practice. In case my pike breaks, I can still use a fire soldier's weapon."

Chen Xin said approvingly, "Willingness to train is good. How has your body recovered?"

"To answer my lord, this humble one was originally very strong and could also grab food on the island, so I did not go too terribly hungry."

Liu Minyou advised him, "You've only just recovered. Don't add extra training."

Chen Xin also knew that the army's high-intensity training had an impact on the human body. After being pushed, one could burst forth with tremendous physical power in the short term, but the body's later decline would also be faster than that of an ordinary person. Yet in an era of war, who could worry about such things? He asked Li Donghua, "How long do you train on your own at night?"

"After finishing weapons practice, I run five more laps and do several hundred repetitions of various physical exercises. I don't go back until I can't move anymore. This humble one does not like to talk and has nothing else to do in the barracks."

Liu Minyou said, "Don't be too hard on yourself. Life as a camp soldier is already grueling. Just follow the plan."

"Mr. Liu, if a man is not hard on himself, how can he be hard on the Jianzhou Bandits once he's on the battlefield?"

Chen Xin's eyes suddenly lit up. He too had felt recently that the combat soldiers' training had become too routine. He immediately said to Li Donghua, "Tomorrow, report to the Central Army guardhouse. You are appointed as… as Training Advisor. For now, you will receive squad-leader treatment. Next month's training plan will be revised by you."