Chapter 88: Funeral

Chen Xin saw that Company Commander Yuan and his group were hobbling along, so he sent a squad of combat troops to help. The two groups shared the same road for a short distance, and after walking a little over ten li they had to part ways. Chen Xin generously lent three mules to Company Commander Yuan to help him carry the wounded. Company Commander Yuan was deeply grateful and promised to send someone to return them soon.

On the way back, there were only half as many people as when they had set out. The others had scattered and fled that very day and were probably already home. Chen Xin was also down to half his men. Dai Zhenggang had taken three squads and left first that same day, carrying the silver. They skirted the battlefield and returned to Mazidun via the west side of Foding Mountain.

The remaining men were eager to get home, but they were carrying too much — grain, rations, and tea. Chen Xin's men were also carrying several wounded and one fallen long-blade soldier, so their speed didn't improve much. As usual, Chen Xin personally changed the dressings and cotton cloth for the wounded every day.

They didn't reach the guard city until the afternoon of the third day. Liu Minyou had already gotten word and came out to meet them with the logistics squad that had returned earlier. Yesterday, when Dai Zhenggang and the others brought men back, Liu Minyou learned that one man had died in battle and couldn't help worrying about Chen Xin, who hadn't returned yet. Now, seeing that Chen Xin was unharmed, he was completely relieved.

Liu Minyou was overjoyed at the sight of the three oxen. In the countryside, an ox was practically a status symbol and had many uses. The pigs were useful too. The combat troops' training regimen was now very heavy, and they needed to eat meat every day. Before, Liu Minyou had always gone to the guard city to buy it. Now, with seven pigs, they could last a while longer. Yesterday, Dai Zhenggang had already handed over all the looted silver and jewelry to Liu Minyou for a full accounting. Liu Minyou and Wang Daixi counted and recorded everything in front of Dai Zhenggang, working until the middle of the night to finish. This silver would also help ease their financial pressure.

In front of the troops, Chen Xin was always serious and proper, but with Liu Minyou he remained as casual as ever. He pulled Liu Minyou aside and whispered, "Among those dozen or so women we captured, is there any you fancy?"

Liu Minyou retorted, "Didn't Dai Zhenggang say you rescued them? How did that turn into capturing them? Has Director Chen decided that buying too few as a human trafficker last time wasn't enough, so now you're switching to wholesale?"

"Never mind all that. Anyway, we have all these resources now, and we can't just let them go right away. Just pick one."

Liu Minyou's mouth fell open. He stared at Chen Xin's face in astonishment. "Are you serious?"

"Serious."

"I wouldn't dare buy a wife."

"Who said anything about buying a wife? These women have been defiled by bandits — who would dare give one to you as a wife? She'd be your serving maid."

"Ah, a serving maid. That could work. But my room is so small, where would she stay?" Liu Minyou recalled the chaotic state of his room and felt rather tempted. Wang Daixi was busy every day now and had no time to help him tidy up. His room was even messier than before.

Chen Xin wore a wicked grin. "Just share a bed."

Liu Minyou shook his head firmly. "Forget it. I'll just put them to work making clothes first. It's about time to make the spring and summer uniforms anyway, and Wang Huzi's side needs people to weave the scale armor. Don't you go getting any ideas about them."

Chen Xin said, "Brother Liu, I've been parched and thirsty for over half a year now..."

That evening, they returned to their own fortified village. After dismissing the troops at the barracks, Chen Xin inspected the wounded according to regulations. Among the lightly wounded, one man's wound had still become infected. Chen Xin had no other options, so he called his personal guards to hold the wounded man down and mixed salt water to clean the wound. The wounded man bit down hard on the thick cotton cloth in his mouth in agony, constantly making muffled sounds. The veins on his flushed, suffocated face bulged, and after a short while, he passed out from the pain.

Chen Xin's unit had no military physician. The current regulation was that squad leaders and team leaders took turns caring for the wounded, and the vice company commander inspected the seriously wounded twice a day and the lightly wounded once a day. But this would certainly be hard to carry out during continuous combat. Adding a doctor or medical corpsman was extremely urgent.

After his inspection, Chen Xin immediately summoned everyone from team leader up to the administrative office for a meeting. He announced that there would be no training the next day; each squad would conduct self-maintenance but was not allowed to leave the barracks. On the third day, they would begin a combat review. Each squad would first review internally, then report to the company for a summary. At the same time, each team leader and squad leader was to complete combat evaluations of their squad members as quickly as possible. People like Zhu Guobin were required to talk to the soldiers one-on-one to check whether the evaluations by the team and squad leaders were fair.

Only after all this was completed would combat rewards be given. Zhu Guobin proposed taking a percentage from each haul of spoils as a reward. After thinking it over, Chen Xin rejected this proposal. If such a practice became customary, who would be willing to fight if they encountered a poor enemy in the future? Moreover, it would foster a value orientation centered on money. Military rewards must be based solely on the effectiveness of completing combat objectives. As for how to raise the money for rewards, that was the task of the military commander, not the army itself.

The principle of rewards was also to take the squad as the primary unit. After evaluating the entire squad, a reward standard would be set based on the squad's overall performance. Only then would individual rewards for outstanding performance be given. The role of the collective was emphasized everywhere. This was also something Chen Xin deliberately cultivated in his current army. Even in daily training, a soldier's individual skill level was not the main assessment criterion; as long as they met the basic training standard, it was enough. Greater emphasis was placed on collective coordination, and the same applied to combat rewards.

Finally, there was the burial of the fallen soldier. Liu Minyou was to arrange the cemetery and other matters the next day, with the burial set for the early morning of the third day. After all these matters were arranged, Chen Xin finally dragged his exhausted body off to sleep.

The next day, while everyone else was resting, Chen Xin took Nie Hong and Hai Gouzi to see Yang Yunnong. He presented a batch of jewelry and ornaments, saying only that it was a token of respect for the Commandant. Yang Yunnong took the hint and said nothing else, merely stating that in a few days he would send a clerk to Mazidun to tally the military merits. Chen Xin's achievement in slaying the bandit chief would not be usurped by anyone else.

Liu Minyou personally arranged the burial. He was not short of silver and bought a coffin for that soldier. They didn't have a military flag yet, so he had to buy fine red satin and have the women embroider the unit designation of the Third Killer Squad overnight. Liu Minyou was quite sorrowful. Their numbers were small, and he knew practically every one of them. This man had been a boat tracker from Tongzhou, his hometown in Northern Zhili, a bachelor with no family. Liu Minyou designated a cemetery at the foot of the hill by the sea, and this soldier became its first resident.

On the morning of the third day, everyone dressed the soldier in a brand-new padded coat, placed the long blade he had used in life beside him, and then laid him in the coffin. He had no other relatives. Chen Xin, Liu Minyou, the team leader, the squad leader, and two comrades-in-arms together carried the coffin, leading the entire population of the fortified village to that cemetery.

Zhou Shao'er stood in the front row with the First Squad. He watched as Chen Xin personally draped the squad flag over the coffin, then stood at attention facing the coffin and said in a loud voice, "Tang Haoliang, long-blade soldier of the Third Squad, Killer Squad, died heroically in the line of duty while exterminating the vicious bandit Tongtian Liang. In battle, Tang Haoliang fought with valor and fulfilled his duty to the utmost, worthy of the honor of a Third Squad combat soldier. When the Fortified Village Heroes' Shrine is completed, his spirit tablet will be moved into the Heroes' Shrine to receive incense offerings in perpetuity."

When Chen Xin finished, Zhu Guobin shouted, "Present... military salute!"

Zhou Shao'er pressed his hand forcefully to his chest. The musketeers of the firearms squad fired a volley into the sky. From the ranks of the Third Killer Squad came low, choked sobs.

"Salute concluded."

After Zhou Shao'er lowered his hand, he watched as Chen Xin and the others personally took up tools, lowered the coffin into the pit, and, leading the officers, began to fill in the earth. The soldiers of the Third Squad also took turns helping, and very quickly the pit was filled.

"Following a lord like this, dying wouldn't be in vain." Zhou Shao'er's eyes blurred as he watched Chen Xin's clothes get soiled by the dirt. He said this silently in his heart. All of them here were boat trackers who rarely received respect from others. In the shantytown, people starved or died of illness every day. The lucky ones were wrapped in a straw mat, a pit was dug, and they were buried. The unlucky ones were simply thrown into the wilderness for wild dogs to gnaw on. Dying here, there was a coffin, a spirit tablet, and also... a gravestone.

Zhou Shao'er watched as Liu Minyou and the others moved over a stone gravestone. It had been urgently commissioned from a stonemason yesterday. Yesterday, all the artisan households had also stopped their work to help. The upper half of the stone was carved with small characters reading "Long-blade Soldier of the Third Killer Squad." In the middle were the three large characters "Tang Haoliang." Below, in smaller characters, was a brief summary of Tang Haoliang's birth and death years, his place of origin, and other personal information. At the very end was high praise for his heroic conduct in battle.

After the gravestone was erected, the comrades of the Third Squad offered some wine, meat, and fruit, placing them before the stone. Chen Xin announced that from now on, every year at the Qingming Festival, the commanding officer must pay homage. Then the ceremony concluded. All the combat soldiers still felt a slight stirring in their hearts. They had never imagined that a Company Commander would personally bury an ordinary soldier with his own hands. And there was Mr. Liu Minyou, who taught them to read on ordinary days and built houses for them — this time, he had also personally carried the coffin.

Though they said nothing, what they witnessed with their own eyes was far more persuasive. They, too, could receive such respect. Lord Chen's soldiers had dignity. This was what they had concluded in their hearts from the funeral.

"All hands, attention!" Team Leader Wang Zhangfu came before the formation. After looking around, he said loudly, "There aren't many tasks today. Return to the barracks and conduct your internal squad review. Every person must speak up, pointing out problems you believe existed in the battle and proposing suggestions for improvement. If anyone cannot come up with a single point, a portion of their combat reward bonus will be deducted. This is Lord Chen's order — the combat review is also part of the combat operation. In addition, you must nominate the soldiers who fought most bravely. Our front-row squads each have two slots. They will receive this... whatever badge, personally awarded by the lord — something you wear on your body — plus an extra cash bonus."

Zhou Shao'er was a bit dumbfounded. Nominating brave soldiers was no problem — just pick the fiercest pikeman, Fan Shouye. But Zhou Shao'er himself was only a cook. During the battle, he had always been at the very rear and had never even reached the front row. How could he possibly come up with any combat suggestions?

Wang Zhangfu didn't give him time to think. He ordered a right-face and marched the entire unit back toward the barracks.

Zhou Shao'er groaned inwardly, "Oh, mother, what am I going to do now?"