Chapter 503: Why Be a Soldier

"You still want to go be a soldier?" Liu Minyou finished reading the resignation letter in his hand and looked up at Zhang Erhui in surprise.

Zhang Erhui puffed out his chest and said, "I want to join the Guard Battalion."

"You are the Director of the Construction Department, a backbone of our Dengzhou Garrison, and your performance over the years has been excellent. Big Brother also hopes you will stay. Think it over carefully."

"I've thought it through! I don't want to be Director. I've wanted to be a combat soldier ever since Weihai. Back then, you, my lord Liu, said I was too young and told me to help out in the workshop first. I've been doing that for eight years now and even became Director, but I still want to be a combat soldier."

Liu Minyou looked at the desk and asked softly, "Is it that you dislike the position in the Construction Department? Or do you feel the pay is too low?"

"I don't dislike the Construction Department, but doing all that planning and budgeting makes me restless."

Liu Minyou looked up at Zhang Erhui, then pulled a bell cord. A secretary appeared at the door, and Liu Minyou said loudly, "Call Yang Yi in."

Zhang Erhui looked at the door curiously. A moment later, a very young officer, who looked only seventeen or eighteen, entered. Zhang Erhui recognized him—he was the uniformed guard assigned to Liu Minyou by the Adjutant Office. This Yang Yi had a glib tongue; every time he saw Zhang Erhui, he would call out "Director, Director" with great warmth.

"Yang Yi, how old are you this year? What military rank?"

"Eighteen! First-Class Non-Commissioned Officer!"

Liu Minyou pointed at Yang Yi and said to Zhang Erhui, "Call him 'Superior.'"

Zhang Erhui's mouth hung open. At twenty-two, he had been the head of the Construction Department for several years, leading more and more people, and had long grown accustomed to being in charge. Facing this lowly guard, he truly could not bring himself to say the word "Superior," and his face flushed red. Yang Yi stood in place, somewhat at a loss.

"Can't say it?" Liu Minyou asked. Zhang Erhui did not answer.

Liu Minyou waved his hand to dismiss Yang Yi, then said to Zhang Erhui, "Then let me tell you, in the army there are Squad Commanders and Company Commanders your age. No matter what Director you are now, that is a post in the Civil Affairs Division. In the army, you start as a Private First Class, joining a group of new recruits at the training base. There, you might even run into people from the Construction Department's work crews—people who used to be your subordinates several levels below you—but you will have to call all of them 'Superior.'"

Zhang Erhui lowered his head and stared at the floor. Liu Minyou walked up to him and said gently, "Everyone has their own path. The path you imagine may seem wonderful, but it might not truly suit you."

Zhang Erhui said in a low voice, "I have always wanted to be a soldier."

"Erhui, you now have a wife and a concubine, and three children. It's not like eight years ago. This year the Military Affairs Department just issued an order to discharge ordinary combat soldiers who have more than two children. If you really go to enlist, the Military Affairs Department might not even select you. Even if you get in, what if someone from the Construction Department labor teams becomes your officer? How are they supposed to treat you, their old Director?"

Zhang Erhui looked up at Liu Minyou, tears welling in his eyes.

Liu Minyou patted his shoulder. "I know you've always wanted to join the army, and it was the civil side that held you back. But the Civil Affairs Division is just as much a part of the Dengzhou Garrison. Without our Civil Affairs Division, where would the army's pay and provisions come from? I need you here too. Stay. You're a Reserve Company Commander in the Construction Department anyway, so that counts as being a soldier."

Zhang Erhui stood for a moment, wiped the tear stains from his face, nodded slightly, and turned to leave, desolate.

"Pangzi, you're back?"

Xie Fei and Huang Shan happily went up to take Tang Wei's backpack and bundle, hurriedly rummaging through the contents. When they found the oil-paper-wrapped cured meat and salted fish inside, the two of them immediately cheered.

Xie Fei poured out all the meat. He also found a packet of Fujian-produced rock sugar and white sugar (Note: existed in the Ming Dynasty, see *Tiangong Kaiwu*, Volume 6, "Gan Shi") and immediately opened it to share with Huang Shan. Huang Shan ate with a face full of smiles. Without enough service time and no home to return to, he had only five days off for the Spring Festival and spent the New Year in the barracks with the comrades who stayed behind. In his heart, he actually envied those who could go home very much.

When he turned to look at Tang Wei, he found that Tang Wei had already collapsed onto the bed. Huang Shan leaned over and asked, "Pangzi, did your family agree to your marriage with Little Sister Guan?"

Tang Wei stared blankly at the ceiling and said absentmindedly, "The Military Affairs Department wants to discharge only sons and those with no heirs."

Xie Fei held a piece of rock sugar in his mouth. "What's that got to do with you?"

Tang Wei sat up and said to Xie Fei, "The Military Affairs Department is discharging only sons, and I happen to be one."

Xie Fei said gloatingly, "I have an older brother and a younger brother. My older brother is already in the garrison farm, and my younger brother is still working at that lacquerware shop in Huangxian. I don't worry about my family. So what are you going to do?"

Tang Wei lowered his head and said, "Didn't get to marry the wife this time, and there's no more leave after this. Probably won't be able to have a kid this year. By this time next year, I'll be discharged."

Xie Fei sat down next to Tang Wei. "Then you can't marry Little Sister Guan. Write her a letter and explain—it's not that you didn't want to fight for it, it's that the Military Affairs Department won't allow it."

"What's there to explain? My... my parents are getting old. It's good to go back too."

Xie Fei clapped his hands and said, "Then you should be happy about it."

"But... but I've kind of grown to like being a soldier. On the way back, someone shared my cart, and people were all rushing to get on my cart, saying it was safer with a combat soldier. I've never experienced anything like that before."

"Hmm, that's true. When I went back, the neighbors praised me when they saw my uniform. No wonder Little Sister Guan said she was looking for a combat hero."

Huang Shan asked while eating candy, "You keep talking about this Little Sister Guan. Is she some goddess descended from heaven?"

"A goddess." A trace of longing appeared on Tang Wei's face. "When I watch her talk and sing opera, my heart feels wonderful. She's just a bit dark-skinned."

Xie Fei burst out laughing, glanced at Tang Wei, and said, "The goddess in Pangzi's eyes—I've seen plenty who are far more goddess-like than Little Sister Guan."

Huang Shan wiped his mouth. "Then just find another one. I think, as long as you have a house and land, and a wife to hold while you sleep, life would be just perfect."

The two of them rolled their eyes at Huang Shan in unison. Xie Fei turned to Tang Wei and said, "Don't you still have a year? You're great with reading and accounting. As long as you perform a meritorious deed, you can be promoted to officer, and then you won't have to leave."

"That's right." Tang Wei's eyes lit up and he sat up. "But are we going to fight or not?"

He shouted at Yuan Guzi, who was sitting outside, "Squad Commander Guzi, are we going to war?"

Yuan Guzi was doing push-ups on his own bed. Hearing this, he replied, "I don't know. Haven't heard anything about going to war, only that mountain training starts in a couple of days."

Tang Wei deflated and fell back onto the bed. Xie Fei leaned over and asked, "Pangzi, let me ask you something. Are you being a soldier for Little Sister Guan, or for yourself?"

Tang Wei stared blankly at Xie Fei for a moment, and finally shook his head. "I can't say."

Two months later, the Liaodong Sea thawed. On the parade ground east of Dengzhou Naval Base, the training field was filled with figures in red. Commands to fall in rose and fell in succession.

"Sit down!" The company commander leading them gave a loud shout. Tang Wei and over two hundred other soldiers sat down on the ground in unison, sending up a cloud of dust. The company commander then designated the duty officer and ran back toward the company commander's flag, completing the prescribed reporting procedure around the company commander.

Tang Wei's Second Guard Battalion had set out from Jiaozhou five days earlier, marching along the repaired official road to Dengzhou. The briefing at departure said it was a long-distance march for training, and Tang Wei didn't think much of it—until they entered the Dengzhou area, when Tang Wei began to feel it might not be just a training exercise.

Strings of horse-drawn carts entered through the camp gate, unloading batches of wooden crates. With one glance at the markings painted in red on them, Tang Wei knew they were fixed ammunition cartridges for infantry flintlocks. He had seen them many times during live-fire exercises. The quartermaster quickly began counting and inspecting the goods, completing the handover with the Supply Department personnel. They were about to issue live ammunition.

Tang Wei breathed on his hands, then gripped the icy barrel of his gun again. Though the flintlock that had accompanied him for months was cold, it gave him a sense of reliance in his heart. His fingers moved downward, touching the hammer with its bolt. No flint was installed between the two iron pieces. In his waist pouch was a carefully selected piece of flint. This small stone was one of the key components of a flintlock; every soldier had several. Upon entering a combat zone, they would be ordered to install it on the hammer. His right arm brushed against a long, strip-like object—it was the bayonet hanging from his belt. This triangular iron bayonet, made of imitation Su steel, was not cheap. Its socket was fitted over the barrel and rotated a small half-turn, secured by the barrel's lug, then the base of the socket was fixed with a bolt, turning it into a flintlock capable of close combat. It was also Tang Wei's primary combat weapon.

On his left hip was also a short dagger, a backup weapon for line infantry. It was only a psychological comfort; against heavy cold weapons like broadswords and spears, it was little different from being bare-handed.

The company commander led a few soldiers to collect the ammunition boxes, but they were not distributed to the soldiers yet. Staff officers from various departments came and went busily, yet without appearing chaotic.

The atmosphere was clearly different from training. Tang Wei looked toward the high reviewing stand. Zheng Sanhu, Zhong Laosi, Zhao Xuan, Liu Pojun, and others were all on the stand discussing something. High above the stand fluttered the Dengzhou Garrison's red-backed Flying Tiger military flag. On the right side was planted the Second Guard Battalion's skull-and-Flying-Tiger flag—a Flying Tiger with bared fangs and claws standing atop a skull.

Tang Wei really liked this design. It was much more imposing than the other battalions' flags of a Flying Tiger chasing the sun or a Flying Tiger holding a spear. He heard that Master Chen had designed several, and Battalion Commander Zhong had directly chosen this most unconventional one.

"Stand up!" The company commander came over with an angry shout. This company commander was from the Guard Battalion, had taken a crash course at the Military Academy, and spoke with crisp efficiency—and hit people with crisp efficiency too. In any case, Tang Wei found him more terrifying than the Tatars.

The company stood up in unison, singing "Man Jiang Hong" as they marched out of the camp gate toward the naval base. The cheering of the onlooking civilians along the way sounded like thunder. Tang Wei unconsciously puffed out his chest. Guided by garrison military police, the Second Battalion entered the naval base, where the shore was lined with vessels large and small.

Tang Wei's platoon was assigned to board a No. 2 Fujian junk. The entire unit assembled by squad on the deck, then filed into the cabin to be assigned sleeping berths. After stowing their luggage, the soldiers came back up onto the deck and sat down dispersed by squad.

At that moment, the Fujian junk slowly left the shore and headed toward the water gate. Tang Wei poked his head out by the bulwark. Although he grew up in Aoshan Guard by the sea, this was indeed his first time riding such a large seagoing vessel.

After watching the scenery for a while, the platoon leader came to the position by the mast. This platoon leader was Tang Wei's new recruit instructor, Liu Liu, who had likewise been transferred from the Mobilization Department due to incomplete unit organization and directly entered the combat troops. As soon as he stood in place, the chatting soldiers below all fell silent, and Tang Wei hurriedly sat up straight as well.

"Listen up, everyone. Now issuing the official campaign briefing. Our battalion will take part in the upcoming Liaodong spring offensive. This offensive will mobilize the majority of the forces in southern Liaodong to conduct comprehensive raids and disruption operations against the Jianzhou Bandits' central Liaodong periphery. The hope of recovering Liaodong is not far off. We will land at the Qingniwa military port in Jinzhou, rest and reorganize for two days, then march toward the Xiuyan area. Our company's mission is to follow the battalion main force into Xiuyan, await opportunities to attack Haizhou, Gaizhou, Fenghuangcheng, Lianshanguan, and other locations. Accompanying us will be a regiment from the Jimo Company Commander headquarters, a mountain infantry company, and a small number of special operations personnel. The attack zone consists of mountainous river-valley terrain. Remember the experience from mountain training at the Fushan Forward Garrison. Remember the discipline of our line infantry. Formation, formation, and formation..."

At that moment, cheers erupted all around. The soldiers raised their heads one after another to look around. Tang Wei stuck his head out again. Not far to the right, there was also a No. 2 Fujian junk, flying the Wendeng blue-background Flying Tiger flag. At the top of its mast was a six-chi Regional Commander's red banner, bearing a large character: Chen.

"It's Lord Chen's command ship!" Liu Liu shouted, throwing himself against the bulwark.

Tang Wei and the others rose to their feet one after another, cheering toward the command ship on that side. Across the sea, a thousand sails raced, and answering calls rose from all directions, waves of cheers shaking the maritime frontier. (To be continued...)