Chapter 187: A Ruthless Man

Zhou Shifa led two men into the Central Army headquarters. The sentries came up to search the two behind him. One was in his thirties, the other close to fifty, with graying hair and a face full of wrinkles. But both were broad-shouldered and thick-waisted. Facing the search, their expressions were cold and grim, showing no displeasure whatsoever.

Pu Zhuang coldly sized the two of them up, then waved them in. Chen Xin's Central Army headquarters had been expanded once — an outer wall was added, and inside it was a two-courtyard structure. The outer courtyard was very spacious, serving as the office space for the staff, military law, logistics, and training departments. This was the operating body of the Wendeng Battalion. Through these departments, Chen Xin controlled the slowly swelling armed force. The courtyard held some fitness equipment. The inner courtyard contained Chen Xin's own main hall, meeting room, sand-table room, official business room, and aide room, plus one office reserved for civil affairs, used by Liu Minyou when he came to Wendeng. Chen Xin handled military affairs exclusively here; residence and ordinary official receptions were conducted at the Garrison Commander's residence in the old camp.

The soldiers walking in the courtyard were all rigid and precise, as if stamped from the same mold. When they saw Zhou Shifa, they all came to attention and saluted. The two men behind him showed expressions mixed with surprise and envy.

At the entrance to the inner courtyard, two more personal guards stood watch. Officers like Zhou Shifa normally did not need to be announced, but since he had outsiders with him today, Zhou Shifa left the two men in the gatehouse. He returned a moment later and said to the older man, "Qi Wen, come out. Zhang Dong, stay here."

The heavily wrinkled Qi Wen hesitated a moment, glancing at the younger man. The man nodded indifferently, so Qi Wen went out and followed a personal guard inside. Pu Zhuang stayed in the gatehouse with the remaining man, eyeing the one called Zhang Dong with lingering suspicion. Zhang Dong, for his part, was utterly unconcerned, acting as if the surrounding personal guards did not exist, casually picking up the tea brewed by a guard and drinking it.

After about a quarter of an hour, Zhou Shifa called out again from the doorway, "Zhang Dong, come with me."

Only then did Zhang Dong stand. He clasped his hands toward the guard who had brewed the tea, then went out. Zhou Shifa led him into the inner courtyard. It was very quiet here. Likewise, there was not much decoration; everything was very austere.

"Whatever the lord asks you, answer honestly. General Chen is an extremely astute man. He has his own way of judging and using people. Don't try any of your petty cleverness," Zhou Shifa said as he walked, quietly instructing him.

Zhang Dong bowed, accepting the advice. "This humble man understands. We two also heard of the Wendeng Battalion's deeds at Shanhai Pass. We hold the lord in deep respect and admiration, and came specifically to offer our service. We would never dare deceive."

Zhou Shifa nodded. "Good that you know. I have a good opinion of you two, but whether it works out still depends on whether the lord agrees."

As they spoke, they arrived at the door of a room. Zhou Shifa led the way in. Zhang Dong entered and saw that it was not the main hall at all, just an ordinary room, and completely bare of decoration inside. Several soldiers stood within. A chair was placed in the center, and a desk was set at the head of the room. A young military officer in official robes sat there — needless to say, the boss of the Wendeng Battalion.

Zhang Dong immediately felt somewhat uneasy. The surrounding walls were all bare. Soldiers stood on every side, giving him a feeling of having nowhere to hide. But he was an old hand of the jianghu, and quickly suppressed that flicker of panic, kneeling to pay respects to the officer at the head.

Chen Xin stood, his face full of smiles. "There is no need for such ceremony, brave sir. The main hall is in use by the staff and training unit today, so I must receive you here. Please do not take offense."

Seeing that this superior was amiable, Zhang Dong relaxed a little. He kowtowed, then stood. Chen Xin gestured for him to sit, and also carefully scrutinized the man. This was a specially arranged room, an environment deliberately designed to create a sense of being seen through. The chair Zhang Dong sat on had no armrests, and its backrest was set far back, making his body feel unsupported, thereby influencing his psychological state. This Zhang Dong had only been slightly uncomfortable at first, but calmed down in moments, sitting squarely and steadily, his eyes full of a venomous air — he had a bit of the secret agent about him.

Chen Xin smiled and asked Zhang Dong amiably, "I met that brave Qi just now. I hear you are both from Guangning. What trade were you originally in?"

"Yes, this humble man and Qi Wen are both from Guangning. I won't deceive you, my lord. Qi Wen and I were both in the street-fighter trade in Guangning, usually helping people with revenge and debt collection. In the second year of Tianqi, when the old chieftain overran the city, though I'm no good man, I was unwilling to be a slave to the Jianzhou bandits. I wouldn't stoop to the kind of ancestor-selling deeds of a Li Yongfang. So before the Jianzhou bandits entered the city, I first led some brothers to escape to the outskirts. Later, I heard Yang San was at Thirteen Hills, so I went to Thirteen Hills too."

Chen Xin calculated — from the second year of Tianqi to now was nearly ten years. This man was in his thirties, meaning he had become a street-fighter boss in his early twenties. While Zhang Dong spoke just now, Chen Xin, though smiling, had been watching Zhang Dong's eyes. When narrating, his eyes shifted to the right, a sign his brain was recalling memories — likely the truth. The Reid interrogation method from America was often borrowed in business negotiations as well. Chen Xin had participated in many negotiations and had a bit of study in it.

"So that's how it is. Your home destroyed by the Jianzhou bandits — you have suffered much, Brother Zhang. In my Wendeng Battalion, there are also many Liaodong refugees. They too have a blood-deep hatred for the Jianzhou bandits. That is one reason my Wendeng Battalion does not fear them."

Zhang Dong stood and said, "My lord speaks truly. When Guangning fell back then, the city's beams were hung full of Han people. The slave soldiers burned, killed, and looted in the city. The old chieftain posted notices telling the commoners to return to the city, but in the end, they were all seized and taken to Liaodong as slaves. Countless died or were injured on the road. Which Liaodong man does not share an irreconcilable hatred with the old chieftain?"

Chen Xin sighed and waved him to sit, then said, "I heard from Zhou Shifa that you went back to Guangning at the time?"

Zhang Dong continued, "Answering my lord, this humble man did go back. At the time, everyone was panicked. Many fled toward Shanhai Pass. The roads were full of corpses. Many of us brothers had family and couldn't make it to Shanhai Pass. We hid in the wilds with nothing to eat. Secondly, we thought the imperial court might soon send a great army to retake it. At the time, the old chieftain posted notices telling the commoners to return to the city, so Qi Wen and I went back to Guangning to scout. We saw the situation in the city and conveniently captured a slave soldier. Under interrogation, we learned they were going to take everyone as slaves. So we left again immediately. And indeed, that's what happened later."

Chen Xin praised, "Entering the wolf's den and capturing a slave soldier alive — Brother Zhang, you have great courage. I wonder, have you trained in martial arts?"

"I have practiced some boxing, and have always been in the killing trade. I'm skilled with short blades and unarmed combat."

"Then how did Brother Zhang interrogate that slave soldier?"

"The Jianzhou bandits originally had no script. Seventy percent of their tribe speaks Mongolian, thirty percent speaks our Great Ming tongue. Guangning controls the juncture between Liaodong and Mongolia. In the horse markets, Mongols come and go trading in great numbers, so this humble man can speak Mongolian."

Chen Xin nodded. If he truly excelled in these two close-combat skills, he must be a man of extreme courage, which also fit his street-fighter background. Zhang Dong's answers still showed no flaws, and he certainly had no counter-interrogation training. Chen Xin basically believed his identity and background. Zhou Shifa, standing nearby, was also very satisfied with Zhang Dong after hearing this. In his mind, this type of person was most suited for doing unsavory things.

"Then, Brother Zhang, do you have any family?"

"Gone. When I left Guangning, I still had a wife and a concubine, and a son not yet one year old. They died on the road later."

"Oh." Chen Xin shook his head and sighed, then asked, "I've heard the common people of Thirteen Hills were very heroic, holding the mountain and resisting to the death, such that the Jianzhou bandits could do nothing. Brother Zhang was on the mountain then. Do you know why, in the end, success slipped away at the last moment?"

"This humble man was indeed on the mountain. Yang San was also from the Guangning street-fighter trade, highly skilled in martial arts, known as the Great Hero. He knew me from before, so after I went up the mountain, he assigned me to guard a mountain pass. He also had me participate in every council. At the time, there were tens of thousands on the mountain. We ate grass roots and tree bark. Even catching a mountain rat led to fights and snatching. Yang San sent people repeatedly to Shanhai Pass to seek help, but the various lords kept passing the buck. The Jianzhou bandits below the mountain kept calling for our surrender. In the end, another leader, Pockmarked Bi, got crooked ideas. While Yang San was down the mountain, he started a revolt. The result was mutual slaughter on the mountain — we collapsed without a fight. Of the tens of thousands, only a thousand escaped to Ningyuan in the end."

Chen Xin noticed Zhang Dong's eyes begin to shift upward, but he still asked unhurriedly, "When Pockmarked Bi revolted, how did you escape, Brother Zhang?"

Chen Xin had kept a smile on his face the whole time. Zhang Dong had relaxed considerably by now, and his tone was somewhat lighter as he said, "This humble man fought Pockmarked Bi's gang. More than half my brothers died. The people on the mountain had starved for a long time. Once the killing started, no one recognized anyone else. The whole mountain was full of people hacking and slashing wildly. I could no longer stay, so I took Qi Wen and fled, all the way to Ningyuan."

Zhou Shifa sighed. "Thirteen Hills held out for so long. If the various lords had put in just a little effort, how could those tens of thousands of righteous people have died in vain? Your escape along the way must have been extremely perilous."

Zhang Dong's eyes returned to a state of recollection. "Exactly. Below the mountain, the Jianzhou bandits were intercepting and killing everywhere. We all fled under cover of darkness. The bandits lit bonfires along every road. We dared not make a single sound on the way. Fortunately, a villager from Thirteen Hills was traveling with us and found a treacherous cliff we could climb to cross the Jianzhou bandit lines."

Chen Xin suddenly asked, "What about your family, Brother Zhang? Did you not take them with you when you were on the mountain?"

Zhang Dong hesitated slightly, his eyes shifting left and upward again, and said, "My wife and concubine were both lost on the mountain."

"And your son?"

Zhang Dong reacted quickly, immediately saying, "I carried my son on my back down the cliff."

Chen Xin stared at Zhang Dong. The man's eyes showed a trace of panic, but overall he remained very calm.

Zhang Dong's eyes kept shifting left and up, but his face wore an expression of agony. "But this humble man still couldn't save him. After we came out, we happened upon a band of roving cavalry. My son woke up. He was always underfed, and the moment he woke, he would cry. To keep everyone from being caught, I covered my son's mouth and nose. I never thought I would smother him to death. For ten years, this humble man has been haunted by guilt."

The several personal guards in the room all showed expressions of pity. Chen Xin shook his head and sighed. "Brother Zhang, you are a true hero." He stood and said, "From now on, Brother Zhang, follow Lord Zhou and do your work well. You must make the Jianzhou bandits pay blood for blood."

Zhang Dong knelt again. "Thank you, my lord."

Chen Xin had Zhou Shifa help him up. Seeing that Chen Xin had given his approval, Zhang Dong was full of joy and again professed his loyalty to Zhou Shifa. Chen Xin offered him a few more words of encouragement, and Zhou Shifa led Zhang Dong out.

Suddenly, Chen Xin asked from behind, "Zhang Dong, what was your son's name?"

Zhang Dong stopped in shock. He had no guard against this at all. He turned his head, mouth agape, staring at Chen Xin.

Chen Xin gave him no time to think. "How old was your son, and how many months?"

Zhang Dong stammered somewhat, "Zhang... Zhang Xiao... small... one... one year old."

Zhou Shifa, seeing Zhang Dong tongue-tied, stepped back and barked, "Speak quickly! What are you hiding?"

"What year and month was he born? What are his eight characters of birth?"

"Tian... Tianqi..."

Chen Xin slammed his palm on the table and shouted, "You killed your own son, and for ten years have been haunted by guilt. How can you not even remember your son's birth time? Qi Wen has already told us everything about your affairs. If you still try to hide things, you will certainly spill your blood right here."

The personal guards all around drew their blades in unison. Zhang Dong's eyes darted — he knew he could not talk his way out. He immediately knelt on the floor, sweat seeping from his forehead.

Chen Xin sat back down, pulled a short musket from his bosom, and began slowly loading it with powder and shot.

"Zhang Dong, the people I want are not merely ruthless and hard-hearted. More importantly, they must be loyal. If you lie even when I question you, how dare I use you? What you just said that was untrue — confess it all truthfully, one by one. If you haven't finished by the time I finish loading this gun, don't blame me for being merciless. And I warn you, this gun can fire without a matchlock. It loads much faster than an ordinary musket."

Sweat from Zhang Dong's forehead dripped drop by drop onto the floor before him. Only now did he understand why Qi Wen had been summoned first — in a moment of elation, Chen Xin had seized the opening. Now four personal guards stood around him, blades in hand, watching him. Even Zhou Shifa had drawn his sword.

Zhang Dong finally raised his head, already somewhat terrified. Seeing that Chen Xin had already loaded the priming powder, he spoke rapidly to Chen Xin: "This humble man was indeed a Guangning street fighter. Qi Wen too. Going back to Guangning to kill slave soldiers is also true. But on Thirteen Hills, I was with Pockmarked Bi's gang. However, I did not mean to surrender to the Jianzhou bandits. At the time, there were no reinforcements outside and no provisions inside. I was unwilling to wait for death, but also unwilling to surrender to the Tatars. Pockmarked Bi promised to let me leave Liaodong safely... My family... I ate them on the mountain. I never had a son myself..."

Chen Xin had already placed the lead ball at the muzzle and was drawing the short ramrod. Without looking up, he asked Zhang Dong, "Whose child did you smother?"

"Several commoners' children. All the infants traveling with us were smothered by me." Zhang Dong seemed to have thrown caution to the wind and continued, "I carried one infant's corpse with me. Everyone ate it together on the road. That's how we reached Ningyuan."

"And after you entered the pass?"

"After entering the pass, I continued as a street fighter at Shanhai Pass. Over these years, I've been to every province in the north, always in the killing trade. Originally I had five brothers. Three have died over the years. Of the old brothers, only Qi Wen remains. I also found some new brothers. Last year, the gang fell out over uneven profit-sharing. There was an internal fight. The brothers all scattered. I happened to hear of the Wendeng Battalion's deeds. In my heart, I admired you, my lord, so I came to Wendeng to offer my service."

Chen Xin tamped the charge firm, straightened his right arm and aimed at Zhang Dong. Zhang Dong's face twitched twice, then he instead put on a dauntless look. "Everything else this lowly one said is the truth. I came with all my heart to serve you, my lord. If my worthless life is taken by a hero such as yourself, it would not be in vain."

Chen Xin asked coldly, "Everything else is the truth?"

"All of it is the truth. My lord may freely have Qi Wen confront me. If there is any discrepancy, my lord can kill me then — it will not be too late. This lowly one's life is not worth much, but I would hate to tarnish my lord's illustrious judgment."

Chen Xin suddenly smiled and raised the muzzle. "You have nerve. With a gun pointed at you, you still dare use words to corner me. You said you are highly skilled in unarmed combat — is that the truth?"

Zhang Dong straightened his back and answered composedly, "The truth."

Chen Xin called over a personal guard and said, "Wu Rong, exchange a few empty-hand moves with him."

The personal guard called Wu Rong immediately sheathed his blade and shed his armor. He came from Zhaoyuan, had trained in martial arts since childhood, and arrived at Wendeng Camp in the second year of Chongzhen. He was the foremost fist-fighting expert in Chen Xin's guard unit.

Once Wu Rong was ready, Chen Xin said to the two of them, "You two will trade a few moves. When I call stop, you stop."

Zhang Dong agreed, then turned to Wu Rong with a smile, cupped his hands, and said, "Brother, please go easy on me."

Wu Rong saw his amiable expression. It looked like the lord was already going to employ him, and the man's finger joints were thick, covered with scars and heavy calluses — he must be someone who regularly trained in bare-hand techniques. Likely they would be comrades from now on, so Wu Rong also cupped his hands in salute.

Just then, another personal guard helping Wu Rong put away his armor made a slight noise behind him. Zhang Dong looked past Wu Rong's back and let out an "Eh?" Everyone turned to look behind Wu Rong.

The moment Wu Rong turned his head, Zhang Dong suddenly shot forward like a hunting leopard, one hand snapping toward Wu Rong's throat. Wu Rong was caught off guard and hurriedly blocked with both hands. Zhang Dong had anticipated his reaction; instead of continuing the throat lock, both hands followed the momentum to seize Wu Rong's right arm, locking the joint against its natural bend. In an instant he was behind Wu Rong, his foot hooking Wu Rong's leg to force him kneeling to the ground, and only then did his left arm lock around Wu Rong's neck.

These few moves were as swift as a hare taking flight and a falcon stooping. Only then did the other personal guards react, one after another pressing their blades against Zhang Dong's neck. Zhou Shifa also rushed over with his blade. Seeing Wu Rong's face already flushed crimson from the choke, he roared, "Let go, now!"

Zhang Dong did not even glance at the Qi-family blades at his neck. He only stared at Chen Xin and said, "My lord has not yet said to stop."

Chen Xin watched this Zhang Dong coldly. He knew Zhang Dong would not dare deliver a killing blow — otherwise he would not be merely choking Wu Rong; a direct pinch would have shattered Wu Rong's laryngeal cartilage into fragments.

He extended his hand and said, "Stop."

Only then did Zhang Dong release Wu Rong. After pulling him up, he apologized to Wu Rong repeatedly. Wu Rong clutched his throat, so furious his eyes blazed. Had Chen Xin not been present, he likely would have started another fight with Zhang Dong on the spot.

Chen Xin slowly rose and said, "Zhang Dong will undergo one month of basic training in the recruit company. Upon passing, he will report to the Intelligence Bureau."

Zhang Dong finally knew his life was spared. He let out a long breath, apologized to Wu Rong once more, and was led out the door by a personal guard.

Zhou Shifa hurriedly said to Chen Xin, "My lord, this lowly one failed to see the man clearly and allowed such an incident to occur. I beg my lord's punishment."

Chen Xin said to Zhou Shifa, "There is no failure to see clearly. The Intelligence Bureau is not the army — it is precisely this kind of man we need. This Zhang Dong is not bad. After a little knocking into shape like this, Zhang Dong can be used. Make him Reconnaissance Squad Leader. Wu Rong will be Action Squad Leader. With that, this Intelligence Bureau will be easy for you to manage. Within three months, I want to see results."