Chapter 68: A New Beginning

That evening at dinner, two tables of wine and dishes were set out in the second courtyard of the Zhao family home. Everyone close to Chen Xin came to attend, including Tan Shunlin, the Neighborhood Head of Erdaojie. He knew Chen Xin was no longer the man he used to be, and coming as a witness was a good way to draw closer. Chen Xin had no elders in Tianjin; Lady Zhao had originally harbored some misgivings, but now seeing even the Neighborhood Head present, she set her mind completely at ease. Zhao Xiang only came out to meet everyone briefly before returning to her boudoir. During the feast, naturally no one dared mention that Xiao Jiahua, and so host and guests alike enjoyed themselves thoroughly, and the engagement was thus settled.

Chen Xin drank until he was slightly tipsy. Before curfew, he took his leave along with everyone else. He and Zhu Guobin first escorted the drunken Old Cai and his son back to Liye Fang, then headed back to Erdaojie. Just as they got home, the dusk drum from the bell and drum tower sounded. Chen Xin suddenly remembered he had arranged to speak with Zhao Xiang that evening, and had completely forgotten about the curfew. But since he had already given his word, he could not break faith; he still had to make the trip. Chen Xin turned to look around the courtyard — because of the engagement feast today, everyone was here.

"Hai Gouzi, come with me for a trip." Chen Xin still called on this henchman. Zhu Guobin and Dai Zhenggang would be proper subordinates from now on, not so convenient to bring along to witness private matters like this.

Hai Gouzi did not ask where they were going, just followed Chen Xin out the door. The two first went to the Erdaojie medicine shop, knocked to get it opened, and casually bought a packet of medicine for wind-cold. If the night patrol caught them, they would say they were out buying medicine, and would generally be let off. Then they headed north out of Jingdong Fang. At the ward gate's watchpost, it happened to be Zhou Shifa on duty today. Seeing the two heading out, he came over and said, "Brother Chen, heading out at this hour — aren't you freezing?"

Chen Xin saw the fire burning in his watchpost and remembered that Zhou Shifa would also be going with them to Weihai. He took the chance to ask about Zhou Shifa's family situation. This Zhou Shifa was also a tough, reckless type who never saved money; past twenty and still unmarried. His mother had passed away the month before, leaving only one younger brother, who was already married and had his own family. So he planned to follow Chen Xin to Weihai.

Chen Xin thought over his personnel arrangements and decided to place Zhou Shifa by his side as a guard. This man had served in the Ming army before; best not to let him bring those bad habits into the ranks. Keep him close for a while to temper him first.

"Thank you, Brother Chen. I'll definitely work hard. From now on, whoever Brother Chen says to hit, I'll hit; whoever Brother Chen says to kill, I'll kill." Zhou Shifa rubbed his hands together happily.

Chen Xin smiled and said in a low voice, "Shifa, have you ever killed anyone?"

Zhou Shifa nodded. "This time going to Shanhai Pass, I chopped off a few deserters' heads."

Chen Xin heard the flat tone in his voice; his mental fortitude seemed decent. After a few words of encouragement, Zhou Shifa opened the ward gate for them, and Chen Xin led Hai Gouzi stealthily out onto the main street beyond.

Fortunately, the north ward gate exit was not far from the Confucian Temple. The two proceeded with extreme caution, evading one night watch patrol, and slipped into the alley behind the Japanese dried seafood Dian. It had been snowing recently; the sky was covered with dark clouds, not a sliver of light at night. On the main street, the white of the accumulated snow still allowed some distinction, but once inside the alley, it was truly so dark one could not see their own hand in front of their face.

Hai Gouzi pulled out a fire striker, wanting to light it. Chen Xin stopped him. "Don't light it. In this pitch darkness, a single spark can be seen from far away." Hai Gouzi had no choice but to tuck it back into his coat. The two felt their way along the wall, moving forward, estimating they had reached the position of the third courtyard. They removed their gloves and carefully groped along the wall, searching for a small hole.

After laboriously feeling around for a good while, Chen Xin's hands were numb from the cold. At last, he saw a tiny point of light ahead. Reaching out to touch it, sure enough, there was a thread end.

"Good heavens, finally found it." Chen Xin pressed his eye to the hole and looked — there was still a wooden board on the other side. It seemed she had grown impatient waiting. Chen Xin first pulled the thread end out a little, put his hands inside his coat to warm them up, then slowly threaded the string through the small hole at the bottom of the paper tube.

"Hey. Hey." Chen Xin called into the paper tube twice. No response.

"Gouzi, knock on the wall. Gently. A bit further over that way."

After Hai Gouzi knocked a few times, the wooden board inside moved aside. A pair of large eyes peered through the hole, and a voice was speaking, but the hole was too small and the wall too thick. Even pressing his ear to the hole, Chen Xin could not make it out clearly. He had no choice but to tug the string several times in succession, and finally felt two answering tugs from the other side. Chen Xin gave another "Hey" into the paper tube, then pressed his ear to it.

"Hey, there really is sound inside here." Juxiang's voice came through the paper tube.

Chen Xin spoke into the paper tube again. "Pull the string taut."

A moment later, Zhao Xiang's clear voice came through from inside. "It's taut."

"I can hear you."

"Ah, so clear! Young sir, what did you rig up over there? How can there be sound inside a paper tube?"

Chen Xin said smugly, "I am the greatest physicist of this era. I have invented the world's first telephone."

Zhao Xiang's voice came through the paper tube. "You crafty, whimsical young sir, blowing up a mere paper tube into something like this. What 'telephone' — is it for the Goddess of Lightning to use?"

Chen Xin turned his head and said to Hai Gouzi, "Gouzi, go keep watch at the alley entrance. Wait until I come out."

"Oh!" In the pitch black, just from the sound, Chen Xin could picture Hai Gouzi's silly grinning expression.

Once Hai Gouzi had left, Chen Xin continued, "My lady, you don't understand. The Thunder God speaks like a thunderclap; the Goddess of Lightning can hear him without any paper tube."

"Who gave you leave to call me that? I'm not your lady right now, you know."

"We're already engaged. Our names are already written on the Stone of Three Lives. Think you can still run away?"

"Young sir, aren't you cold?"

"With you keeping me company, I'm not cold."

There was a brief silence inside the paper tube, then Zhao Xiang's voice drifted over, faint and ethereal. "You must treat me well from now on. I like you so much. I think of you every day."

A long-lost sensation struck Chen Xin's heart, like the feeling of a first love from many years ago. Perhaps he had sought out Zhao Xiang with many ulterior motives, but he truly did like this young girl very much.

"Little lady, I will treat you well."

Chen Xin said it softly. Then neither of them spoke. They listened quietly to the faint sound of breathing in the receiver, savoring the strange stillness. Snowflakes began drifting down from the sky again, landing softly on Chen Xin, slowly piling up on his shoulders...

————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

"All hands, fall in."

Zhu Guobin stood beside the ship, roster in hand. It was still that same simple dock. There were quite a few docks like this in the vicinity; every year, part of the southern grain supply was shipped to Tianjin via ocean-going vessels, all of the Fujian junk design, so there were a number of such docks around.

Chen Xin stood on a crate so that everyone could see him. Before him were five neat squads of trackers, all standing with heads high and chests out, their hair bound into topknots with netted cloth. Everyone had trimmed their hair (Note 1) and changed into new padded jackets, all in a uniform blue-green. Ming army padded jackets were reversible — blue-green on the inside, red on the outside. Generally, new recruits wore the blue-green side to distinguish them from veterans. And in Tianjin, it was not so conspicuous.

After this period of light training by Zhu Guobin and the others, these trackers had already begun to take on some proper form. By contrast, the group from Yanggu that Dai Zhenggang led nearby was far worse — standing crooked and slouching, staring dumbly at the formation over here.

Liu Minyou had boarded the ship first, and after checking over the bedding and grain with Zhang Da, he also came to the deck to watch the bustle. Liu Minyou looked at Chen Xin's back before the formation and knew this old friend was still advancing down the path of contending for supremacy. He could not possibly listen to him; he had his own pursuits. Even back in their school days, Chen Xin had been a person of extremely firm resolve, absolutely not someone Liu Minyou could change.

But with him ceaselessly stirring things up like this, when would Liu Minyou ever be able to settle down in peace? Liu Minyou unconsciously glanced toward Tianjin and touched a pair of gloves inside his coat. They had been given to him by Shen Lishi when he went to the shop today to say goodbye, stuffed into his hands when no one was looking. They were sewn together piece by piece from leftover scraps of fabric from making clothes. Who knew how long she had worked on them. Liu Minyou sighed inwardly.

Zhu Guobin stood beside Chen Xin, respectfully listening as Chen Xin muttered for a while. Then he walked over to that crooked, slouching group from Yanggu and said loudly, "Now we reorganize. Each squad will have twelve men. The original squad rosters remain unchanged. Those from the Yanggu side whose names are called, step forward."

Dai Zhenggang hurriedly told them to stand properly. Half of these Yanggu men were pure farmers. The past two days had been spent busy cleaning up their personal hygiene; they had never trained at all. The Zhangjiawan trackers had already learned a great deal on the journey to Tianjin, so the difference between the two groups was like night and day.

"Huang Yuan, Jiang Zhe."

"Here." Huang Yuan and the other man stepped forward.

Zhu Guobin pointed at the first squad. "Fill in at the rear of the squad."

The two went to the rear of the squad and stood there timidly. The Zhangjiawan trackers around them twisted their heads to look at them. Chen Xin watched impassively. A minor matter and already ripples ran through the formation. After all, they had not yet undergone intensive discipline training; having them look like this now was already not bad.

Once the five squads were filled out, these were the combat troops Chen Xin had planned — five Mandarin Duck Formation squads in total. Chen Xin cleared his throat and began his address. "I am Chen Xin, Company Commander of Weihaiwei. Remember the comrades beside you. From this moment on, you will eat and sleep together. On the ship, you may be assigned tasks at any time. Figure out how to complete them yourselves. If a task is not completed, the entire squad will be punished. You five squads form one company. I am the company commander. This man, Zhu Guobin, is the training officer, responsible for your daily training, and he also directly leads one squad. Lu Chuanzong and Dai Zhenggang are company vice-commanders, each leading two squads. Other disciplinary rules will be announced by Zhu Guobin later. Begin boarding."

A buzz of murmuring rose from the ranks. Everyone looked around. Many were worried about what these punishments might be. In the Ming army, there were punishments like cutting off ears or noses; beheading was not considered unusual either. How could they know that Chen Xin's disciplinary regulations had not even been fully drafted yet, and that he was frantically poring over the Jixiao Xinshu every day.

Chen Xin did not explain. He stood beside the gangplank. As each soldier passed by him, Chen Xin handed him a silver ingot and said a word of encouragement. "This month's pay. Work hard." Every tracker knelt and kowtowed.

Chen Xin had carried Zhou Shao'er's iron pot all the way to Tianjin, and he required Zhu Guobin, Dai Zhenggang, and the others to help those who were physically weaker. Discipline was very important, but it was not everything. He greatly admired the Prussian army during the Franco-Prussian War era. From the very start, one had to foster comradeship within the army. Fortunately, these three squad leaders had all come through hard times and had never been any kind of leaders before; they all obediently helped those weaker in strength. People were no fools — whoever treated them well, they would treat well in return. The trackers from Zhangjiawan all held Chen Xin and his men in great respect, all rejoicing that they had come to the right place and found a good proprietor.

They could eat their fill every day. After arriving in Tianjin, they had bathed and changed into brand-new clothes. Everyone looked completely refreshed. Now they had received silver on top of that — none of this could be faked. Those who had been a bit worried about punishments just now also set aside their concerns.

After the five squads of combat troops boarded, it was the turn of Artisan Household Group A. Though called a group, it actually consisted of only five households, a dozen or so people. The one leading them was a man named Tang Zuoxiang, who looked like an honest farmer. They were all military artisans from Tianjin, truly unable to survive any longer. As soon as Deng Keshan went and spoke to them, they agreed, and they were impatient to leave, because if they did not leave, there would be no silver to take.

To settle everyone's hearts, Chen Xin distributed silver to each person before they boarded, to avoid any emotional disturbances breaking out at sea. After Artisan Household Group A boarded, the remaining people from Yanggu came next. Eleven were left; they were originally all simple farmers. Chen Xin temporarily organized them into one squad as well, planning to have them do rear-echelon logistics and farming work first.

Once all the family dependents had boarded, the ship was loaded with over a hundred people. This red-seal ship could still hold them, but it was a bit cramped. This time, the ship flew the military flag of the Tianjin Naval Force. Song Wenxian had spent several dozen taels of silver to grease the palm of a Company Commander to buy it — truly far cheaper than before.

The two squads of twenty-four trackers — they were all men who had spent long periods on the Grand Canal and had seen plenty of this sort of thing. All of them knew a bit, and they helped pole the ship away from the dock, entering the Wei River, which was already drifting with floating ice. Old Cai, Deng Keshan, and the others who had come to see them off all cupped their fists in salute from the dock. Liu Minyou and Chen Xin also cupped their fists and bowed, bidding them farewell.

After entering the river channel, those trackers on deck assisted Ba Zi and the others in hoisting the sails. Some of the others held bamboo poles, ready to push away the larger chunks of ice.

Liu Minyou came over beside Chen Xin and said, "Isn't Zhu Guobin the combat squad commander? How come he's become the training officer now?"

Chen Xin replied flatly, "I thought it over. Better I take the company commander post myself. If everything is delegated down, what would I be in charge of?"

Liu Minyou knew Chen Xin was uneasy about entrusting the troops to anyone else. Watching the figures in blue bustling about on deck, he asked Chen Xin, "You really are willing to spend silver, even making them new clothes. My clothing shop's profit this month wouldn't cover it either."

Chen Xin said in surprise, "Didn't I tell Zhang Da to go to the clothing shop and settle the silver?"

"It was settled. I'm just lamenting how expensive it is to maintain soldiers. This time, each man got a padded jacket, an inner lining, a short outfit, two pairs of trousers, and two pairs of shoes. Just for clothing alone, each man cost over three taels. And that's not counting what you spent coming from Zhangjiawan. Good thing the boat is your own, or else you'd really be spending."

Chen Xin took a deep breath. "This is nothing. They still need over a hundred taels of silver a month in pay. Once we reach Weihai — building houses, farming tools, seeds, plow oxen, weapons, armor, grain — everything costs money."

"Then why buy so many clothes? You should know to economize a little."

Chen Xin pointed at the trackers in front of them and asked, "Shopkeeper Liu, look at them. When I first saw them at Zhangjiawan, they were like the African refugees we've seen — filthy, dull, numb, timid. Now look at them. What do they have more of?"

"Hope?"

"And a sense of honor. Don't underestimate these fine new clothes. This is the most immediate, tangible change they feel. It's the foundation of a sense of honor. Before you can form a modern army, a sense of honor is the most reliable spiritual driving force a military can depend on — surpassing the spirit of sacrifice, valor, and duty. So this money is well spent."

"Tsk, you're an office director — how do you know all this? Who said it?"

"Comrade Jomini (Note 2)!"

"Who is Jomini?"

"A general under Napoleon, a very strong military theorist. He and Clausewitz are regarded as the two great authorities of Western military thought."

Liu Minyou teased, "So you plan to just buy them new clothes and cultivate a battle-worthy army?"

Chen Xin laughed. "Of course not just that. This is only a necessary condition, not a sufficient one. I don't know much either — still learning. Once we reach Weihai, I'll feel my way slowly."

"Learn more. The day you truly reach the battlefield, you'll pay the tuition with fewer lives."

The two stood side by side on the steering deck, watching the outline of Tianjin grow farther and farther, until it finally vanished on the horizon.

－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－

Note 1: This is not head-shaving, but hair-trimming. In ancient times, long hair could also be cut short; otherwise, hair would grow several meters long. But the nature of the head-shaving decree is entirely different — that needs no explanation.

Note 2: Jomini, a French general, whose major military work is "Summary of the Art of War." As a general who participated in many of Napoleon's campaigns, his several works are the most authoritative texts for studying Napoleon's military thought.