Chapter 279: No Speaking Allowed

Chen Xin, confined to quarters, turned his head to look at Wang Mafu. Wang Mafu answered carefully, "Zhong Caisheng, company commander of the Third Company, Fourth Battalion, Reserve Camp — also still serving confinement."

"Oh, Zhong Laosi." Chen Xin shook his head with a faint smile. "What punishment did Nie Hong propose?"

Wang Mafu had an excellent memory; after a moment's recollection he said, "Fifteen days' confinement, demoted one rank but still commanding his original unit, fined six months' pay."

Chen Xin nodded slightly. The Zhong Laosi affair had drawn the collective attention of the earliest batch of officers. Huang Side and Nie Hong had initially planned to demote Zhong Laosi to a common soldier as a warning to others, but Zhu Guobin, Dai Zhenggang, and others jointly submitted a petition to Chen Xin, pleading Zhong Laosi's case. They held that Zhong Laosi deserved punishment, but his offense was merely disrespect toward military judges and training officers of equal rank — and as it happened, the military code contained no such article. Nie Hong and Huang Side had cited the article on disrespect toward superior officers, and the punishment was disproportionate.

When Chen Xin received the petition, he did not endorse it with any comment, but had Wang Mafu forward it directly to Nie Hong and Huang Side. The two men immediately fell silent and reduced the severity of the punishment.

Nie Hong had only taken up the post of military judge in the fourth year of Chongzhen; before that he had always been doing bloody work, and his handling of matters was somewhat crude. Chen Xin hoped that after this incident he would learn to be more methodical.

Chen Xin walked slowly into the courtyard. Zhong Laosi was still bellowing. Outside, a garrison soldier standing guard faced outward like a block of wood, paying Zhong Laosi no heed whatsoever. Zhong Laosi had already been locked up for seven days. Even aboard ship he had been kept in the hold, spending two days with the grain sacks used as ballast. The garrison soldier had guarded the hatch, allowing him to stick his head out for air but forbidding him to speak to anyone. For Zhong Laosi, this was worse than being wounded.

"Liu Pojun, I know you're locked up next door. This dumb soldier won't talk — you say something. I'm about to die of suffocation."

Zhong Laosi pressed his face to the window and yelled toward the room on the side, but that room was silent; no one answered. Fury surged up in him, but recalling that Liu Pojun's offense was graver than his own, he found some equilibrium in his heart and jeered loudly, "Liu Pojun, you at least came in the first year of Chongzhen, following Lord Chen every day. Lord Chen is a genius — every word he speaks is learning. But look at what you've picked up. That night in Dengzhou you didn't pursue — I won't even mention that. Geng Zhongming was holding Huangxian — was that place really defensible? Just send two combat squads over the mountains to cut his retreat, and if Geng Zhongming didn't flee faster than a rabbit, I'd take your surname Liu. Mr. Liu is also surnamed Liu, and so are you — how come the difference is so huge? Won't attack this, won't attack that — if you're afraid of dying, why be a soldier?"

Liu Pojun still gave no sign of stirring. The garrison soldier turned and barked, "Zhong Caisheng, shut your mouth. This is confinement. No one has ever behaved like you. If you keep howling, I'll have no choice but to report to the chief military judge."

Zhong Laosi had finally found someone to talk to. He cast a sidelong glance at the soldier and grinned. "Confinement only says you can't converse with others. It doesn't say you can't talk to yourself. I'm talking to myself — you want to control that too?"

The garrison soldier was momentarily tongue-tied. This Zhong Laosi had the military code memorized by heart; no one else had noticed you could exploit that loophole, but he had thought of it. Zhong Laosi smirked smugly and went on, "And that Li Jiucheng — damn it, after all the effort we put in, you just let him get away. Right, let me ask you something: the night I reached Zhenhai Gate, why didn't you cross the Grass Bridge directly and seize the bell tower and Book Bridge? Guan Dadi alone had them running like chickens and dogs. That scoundrel Fan Shouye actually didn't press the attack — Fan Shouye used to be such a fierce spearman, how did he turn so timid? Did you order him not to advance? You're way too timid. Did Zhenhai Gate really need that many men to defend? That mob of rebels on Zhenhai Gate Street was collapsing — with such a good opportunity, you didn't attack the bell tower. You might as well switch to clerical work from now on."

Zhong Laosi burst into loud laughter. Having vented his spleen, his mood instantly lifted. In his heart, Liu Pojun would always be a latecomer, his seniority no match for the men who had joined in the seventh year of Tianqi — if he cursed him, he cursed him. Just like that Huang Side, who only knew how to wag his tongue and was nowhere to be seen when the fighting started. Even though Huang Side was a superior officer, Zhong Laosi didn't take him seriously. That Zhao Xuan, on the other hand, had a good heart — a bit timid, perhaps, but last time during the Liaodong reinforcement he had volunteered to go, no shirking at all.

Having mined joy from Liu Pojun's misery, the gloom in his heart swept clean away, Zhong Laosi prepared to go back to his bed and lie down for a while. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed someone coming through the main gate and glanced over out of curiosity. That glance was no small matter — he saw Chen Xin and Zhou Shifa strolling slowly toward him.

"Damn it..." Zhong Laosi cursed under his breath. This Lord Chen was not someone you saw often. He must have overheard him cursing Liu Pojun just now. Although Zhong Laosi considered his own seniority greater than Liu Pojun's, he also knew Liu Pojun was Chen Xin's trusted confidant. This time, he was probably in for some tight shoes.

He hastily ducked down beneath the window and plopped onto the ground. "What's there to be afraid of? Lord Chen is the most fair-minded — he's not going to chop my head off. At worst I'll be made a common soldier. A common soldier it is, then. Anyway, they're docking six months' pay — I actually come out ahead by more than ten taels." Zhong Laosi consoled himself, his mood brightening again, and then he concentrated on listening for Chen Xin's movements.

After a while, he heard the soldier loudly greeting Chen Xin.

Then Chen Xin's voice sounded from outside. "According to military law, may this officer speak with them?"

"Officers of company commander rank and above may. Lord Chen naturally may as well."

"Good." Chen Xin answered lightly, and his footsteps moved toward Liu Pojun's side.

Zhong Laosi secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He heard Liu Pojun call out "My lord" in a choked voice. Zhong Laosi curled his lip — getting teary over just a few words, what kind of commander was that? To think he had once commanded an army of two or three thousand, with even Zhu Guobin and Wang Changfu taking his orders at the time. Inwardly, he felt it had been a waste for those two.

After that, there was only Liu Pojun's grunts of assent; he could not make out what Chen Xin was saying. Zhong Laosi pressed his ear to the door but could not hear a thing. In the end he gave up the attempt and went back to sit beneath the window.

A long while later, he finally heard Chen Xin say loudly, "Do your work well. Iron must be tempered to become steel. No one has smooth sailing all the way. You didn't do well this time, but if you improve in the future, you'll still be a stout fellow."

Liu Pojun's voice was calm and full of vigor as he answered, "Your subordinate understands."

Zhong Laosi inwardly admired this Lord Chen — in just a short while he had Liu Pojun brimming with spirit again. He calculated that once Lord Chen left, he would needle Liu Pojun a few more times.

"Company Commander Zhong Caisheng!"

"Here!"

Zhong Laosi sprang up as if by reflex. Chen Xin was standing right outside the window. He hurriedly saluted. "Company Commander Zhong Caisheng of the Reserve Camp reporting, my lord."

Chen Xin smiled and returned a military salute. "The battles of Dengzhou and Pingdu were commanded by this officer. What you said just now was all correct and very insightful. Do you have anything else to say?"

Zhong Laosi swallowed and answered loudly, "My lord is the Martial Star incarnate. Your subordinate sincerely admires you."

"Then what was all that just now? Didn't you say that if Liu Pojun was afraid to die, he shouldn't be a soldier? This officer never said I would chop your head off — what are you afraid of?"

Zhong Laosi was left gaping, speechless. Seeing his expression, Chen Xin waved a hand and smiled. "No need to be nervous. You're an old hand from the seventh year of Tianqi. You've followed this officer since the days we lived in shacks in Weihai. If you have something to say, say it boldly."

"Yes, sir." Zhong Laosi stole a glance at Chen Xin. Seeing his expression was mild, he plucked up his courage and said, "The pursuit outside Dengzhou and at Huangxian was not resolute. During the street fighting in Pingdu and inside Dengzhou, our Wendeng Camp's best tactic — divide-and-destroy — was not employed. Key transportation hubs in the city were not prioritized for control. During the Changyi pursuit, we were misled by Li Jiucheng and kept shifting troops across to the west bank. The rebels then used the boats they had seized first to cross to the east bank. With no bridge to cross midway, we could only watch helplessly as the rebels escaped, with no recourse."

Chen Xin listened quietly, his expression unchanged. Zhong Laosi began to grow nervous again, feeling he had gone a bit too far, and hastily added, "Your subordinate knows that Changyi and Huangxian were both fought by Liu Pojun."

Chen Xin showed a trace of emotion. "How would this mixed formation work?"

"Both the Reserve Camp and the combat troops are infantry units. They can't sustain a pursuit for long — Guan Dadi excepted. When they encounter enemy cavalry, at best they can beat them off; most of the enemy infantry can still scatter and flee. It's hard to inflict heavy losses, just like at Luanzhou. Cavalry like the Jianzhou bandits can withdraw, regroup their men and horses, and fight again. Furthermore, Lord Zhu's cavalry camp is still small in number — it can handle a small enemy force, but against a large formation it still struggles. Its tactics rely on tightly ordered formation charges. After one charge, they must regroup. If the enemy is too numerous, they risk being tailed and unable to regroup. So your subordinate has been thinking: our Wendeng Camp is strong in infantry and weak in cavalry. We could mix infantry, cavalry, and artillery — use the three-jin guns and firelocks to shake the enemy line, and when the enemy wavers, use the cavalry to rout them in one charge. If the enemy does not break, the cavalry withdraws. By then the guns and firelocks are reloaded, and the infantry screens their regrouping. Repeat this, and the enemy cannot help but break..."

Chen Xin's mouth fell slightly open; astonishment surged through him wave after wave. The method Zhong Laosi described was precisely the combined-arms tactic he himself had been wanting to advance. This tactic was effective against both enemy infantry and cavalry — using the firepower projection of the infantry formation to destabilize the enemy battle line, then using the mobility and shock power of the cavalry to charge repeatedly until the enemy broke.

He had never realized that this boatman who had followed him for five years possessed such insight. It seemed there was still a systemic deficiency in his approach to talent promotion. Although there were accelerated officer courses and the experimental company, there was no channel for them to display their talents in ordinary times.

"Well done, Zhong Laosi. How did you think of this?"

"I... how did I think of it? Well, I laid it out with stones myself and discussed it with my men and the cavalry fellows. I don't know how I thought of it."

"Did you not suggest it to your superior officer?"

"Zheng Sanhu wouldn't listen to me. He always thinks I'm talking nonsense."

Chen Xin nodded. Just then Wang Mafu called out "My lord" from the gate. Chen Xin knew there was urgent business and said to Zhong Laosi, "Company Commander Zhong, you've been a soldier for years now, and now you lead men yourself. Military law brooks no violation. The military judges enforce military law, and they likewise brook no contempt. Otherwise, no matter how talented you are, you'll find it hard to put it to use. Imagine if there were no military judges enforcing the law — your subordinates would each have their own agenda, and who would still be willing to fight? For your superior officers, the principle is the same. In the army, every post has its function; none can be dispensed with. What the army needs most is discipline — only then comes talent. Just now you again spoke viciously to Liu Pojun. He is also your superior officer. Clearly, you still haven't truly taken this to heart..."

Zhong Laosi blurted out, "He was just demoted to ordinary staff officer. I'm a company commander. He's not my superior officer."

Chen Xin was exasperated. He was so accustomed to Liu Pojun being the central army staff officer that he had forgotten Nie Hong had already demoted him — and inadvertently, this Zhong Laosi had seized on that detail.

Zhong Laosi immediately added, "Your subordinate will remember my lord's words. In the future I will certainly not hinder the military judges. When I see Chief Military Judge Nie and Chief Training Officer Huang, I will take the initiative to salute and will not oppose them."

"Yes, my lord."

Chen Xin finished speaking and strode away. At the gate he asked Wang Mafu, "What is it?"

"Jianzhou bandits have been sighted near Beishan. They appear to be Mongols — roughly twenty or thirty men."

"Mongols have come all the way here?"

"According to the local military households, they come once every so often — always to observe the situation at Lushun and graze their herds along the way. Shall we dispatch troops to capture them?"

"Such audacity." Chen Xin rubbed his chin. "Twenty or thirty men — we can't catch them all in one go. We'll keep the gates shut and stay inside. Have all men and horses furl their banners."

"Understood."

Wang Mafu was about to leave when Chen Xin called him back. "Go inform Nie Hong: these two men will accompany the army on the Jinzhou expedition the day after tomorrow. The remaining confinement will be made up after the Jinzhou campaign is over. Also... have him add a clause to the confinement regulations: a person in confinement may not speak even to himself."