Chapter 183: Wind Rises at Datong

On the official road from Datong Garrison to the settlement post.

The border wind already carried a knife-like chill, whipping up dust and sweeping across bare branches with a low, moaning sound.

It was still early; the sun hung lazily in the sky, its light feeble and listless, unable to dispel the bleakness and bitter cold that filled the world.

Amid this stillness, a burst of urgent hoofbeats approached from afar, like a rolling thunderclap, shattering the morning quiet.

A squad of crack cavalry appeared on the horizon, their armor gleaming with cold iron in the faint light, the dust they raised like a yellow dragon charging straight for a small relay post beside the road.

"Whoa—"

The lead retainer reined in his horse, his movements crisp and efficient.

He dismounted, drew a wax-sealed dispatch from his breast, and strode briskly into the post.

Moments later, a post soldier dashed out, a single feather plume stuck in his hair, and sprinted eastward.

Among the company, a young general in a flying-fish robe also dismounted.

He looked no older than nineteen — none other than Wang Shide, Assistant Guard Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

He paid no attention to the departing post soldier, but walked straight to a newly erected wooden tower beside the relay post, tilted his head back, and bellowed:

"We've got work! Get your ass out here!"

His shout was full of vigor, cutting clean through the wind.

A head immediately popped out atop the tower, and right after, another man crawled out from beneath the platform, rubbing his bleary eyes.

Wang Shide raised the envelope in his hand high and declared loudly: "Alpha-grade beacon, seventeen characters — transmit at once!"

The man below, upon hearing "Alpha-grade beacon," jolted fully awake in an instant. Not daring the slightest delay, he hurriedly reached out to take it, bobbing his head and bowing:

"Right away, Chief Wang! On it now!"

With that, he grabbed the rope ladder dangling from the side of the wooden tower and scrambled up it with a few nimble moves.

A moment later, a huge red flag rose from the top of the wooden tower, waving in a figure-eight pattern against the cold wind for a short while.

Over ten li away, atop another identical tower, faint flags seemed to be waving in response, though they were barely discernible to the naked eye.

Once the flag signal was complete, the semaphore arm atop the tower began to rotate slowly, swinging into different angles to tap out the seventeen characters one by one.

The escorting cavalry had long since dispersed with a whistle, forming a loose perimeter a hundred paces out, lazily scanning their surroundings.

Ma Shilong, Regional Commander of the Ji Garrison; Zhang Fengyi, Governor of Datong; and Qu Jiazhen, Regional Commander of Datong — all three had also long since dismounted and stood quietly to the side, watching Wang Shide direct everything with methodical precision.

Ma Shilong cast an unobtrusive glance at the other two, and only when Wang Shide had finished handling everything did he speak:

"Assistant Guard Commander Wang, this 'Thousand-Li Lightning-Flash Relay Platform'... can it truly send a message to the capital and back within a single day?"

Wang Shide cupped his hands in salute, his young face brimming with pride, and said with a smile:

"Commissioner-in-Chief Ma, the men privately just call it the 'telegraph station.' No need for all that 'Thousand-Li Lightning-Flash' business — far too much of a mouthful."

"This memorial of yours, seventeen code characters — it'll reach the capital in two shichen at most."

"If His Majesty approves it immediately, you'll have a reply before the end of the shen hour."

"Two shichen..." Qu Jiazhen, Regional Commander of Datong, studied the somewhat crude-looking wooden tower with keen interest, clicking his tongue in wonder. "This method is born from beacon-fire signaling, yet far surpasses it. Using semaphore arms to display forms, observing them with telescopes, link by link — truly an inspired idea."

Standing to the side, Zhang Fengyi, Governor of Datong, stroked his beard and likewise sighed: "For frontier alerts and warnings, this method is indeed peerlessly sharp. Two shichen to the capital — then to reach the Shanxi Garrison, it would be even faster, no? A pity that ordinary dispatches run to hundreds or thousands of words; such a fine instrument cannot serve them."

Ever since inheriting his father's post, Wang Shide had thrown himself headlong into building this telegraph-station system.

Hearing such praise now, he felt a share of the honor, and the youthful urge to share his knowledge could no longer be contained.

"Governor Zhang, you are mistaken!"

He could not help but straighten his chest, his voice rising a notch.

"The speed of transmission depends on two things: distance and character count. The greater the distance, the more relay stations, and naturally the slower it goes. The fewer the characters, the faster the transmission, recording, and verification at each station."

He enunciated each word deliberately: "For example: 'Chahar, fifty thousand, raid, Datong.'"

"Gentlemen, observe: a piece of military intelligence like that — seven words, four code characters. Add four standard codes for sender, recipient, time, and alert level, and it comes to only eight codes in total!"

Wang Shide raised a single finger and said with a grin: "One shichen — one shichen, and it would be laid before His Majesty's desk!"

Zhang Fengyi smiled faintly and seemed about to speak, but Wang Shide, his face already flushed, cut in excitedly:

"In truth, the telegraph station's efficiency goes far beyond that! This telegraph method improves with each passing day — it practically changes overnight!"

"Before I left the capital, I heard from the craftsmen in the bureau that if the lens-grinding technique for the telescopes can be refined further, doubling the observation range, then the distance between stations can be extended, the number of relays reduced, and the speed naturally doubled!"

"And then there's the encoding method! His Majesty personally imparted the subtlety of 'long and short encoding.' He said that commonly used characters should be assigned short codes, and rare characters long codes. In this way, the total character count for ordinary military dispatches can be drastically reduced!"

"What's more, it is said that commonly used terms differ from place to place. The capital often uses 'ministry deliberation' and 'imperial edict,' while the frontier garrisons often use 'incursion' and 'thirty thousand, fifty thousand.' If we can tailor different codebooks to local conditions, efficiency can rise yet another level!"

Wang Shide grew more and more animated as he spoke, his face radiant.

"With so many layers of improvement combined, in a few more months, an alert from Datong to the capital might take no more than a single stick of incense!"

His words poured out in an endless torrent, full of spirit and vigor.

Yet the three grand frontier officials opposite him listened in utter bewilderment.

Ma Shilong fared somewhat better — after all, he was a recipient of the codebook and had usually mulled things over with his staff advisors.

His questions today had been posed mainly for the other two to hear.

As for Zhang Fengyi and Qu Jiazhen, the expressions on their faces were somewhat subtle.

If the telescope were improved to see farther — that they could understand. It simply meant the beacon towers could be spaced farther apart.

But what followed — "offset encoding," "short codes and long codes," "different codebooks" — sounded like sheer gibberish, leaving the two of them dizzy and bewildered.

Yet both were seasoned bureaucrats who had navigated the treacherous waters of officialdom for many years, deep and unreadable. They would hardly embarrass a young Embroidered Uniform Guard officer over such a trifle and make him lose face.

Whether they understood or not, they both wore perfectly measured smiles, nodding from time to time with expressions that said, "Ah, so that's how it is," and "I quite agree."

For a moment, the scene was one of perfect harmony — so much so that Wang Shide talked until, in that frigid wind, fine beads of sweat seeped from the tip of his nose.

Fortunately, the telegram was a short one. In barely the time it takes a stick of incense to burn, the man atop the wooden tower stuck his head out and reported loudly:

"Chief Wang, Alpha-grade telegram — transmitted three times per regulation, confirmed complete!"

Wang Shide, hearing this, immediately reined in his chatter. His expression turned solemn, and he cupped his hands toward the three men:

"My lords, by regulation, a Grade-A telegram requires secondary confirmation by the banner officers along the route. This humble officer must hurry to the next station to verify it. I take my leave now!"

With that, without the slightest hesitation, he turned, strode a few paces to his horse, swung into the saddle, clamped his legs, and with a crisp "Hyah!" galloped off eastward along the post road, soon dwindling to a tiny black speck.

The scene fell silent in an instant. Only the sound of the wind remained, along with the impatient snorting and pawing of the warhorses.

Zhang Fengyi and Qu Jiazhen exchanged a glance, each catching a flicker of relief in the other's eyes.

After a long moment, it was Governor Zhang Fengyi who broke the silence with a dry laugh. "Heh. This Assistant Commissioner Wang is rather… swift and decisive. A young man of rare talent."

Ma Shilong nodded and replied offhandedly, "Spirit is always a good thing. He's more approachable than the Embroidered Uniform Guard men I've encountered before."

Though his lips offered pleasantries, his body had already turned, and his eyes rested calmly on the two men.

Beneath that calm lay a sharp edge that brooked no argument.

"My lords, a few days ago, when the military situation was urgent, this general conveyed His Majesty's telegram orders to you. You could still say then that for matters of state and war, only the official seal and credential could not be substituted, and that you must await the court's explicit decree."

"But… yesterday His Majesty's edict arrived. Surely you two… are ready to accept orders now?"

The atmosphere, at that moment, subtly shifted.

The smile on Governor Zhang Fengyi's face did not change; he remained as genial as ever. Cupping his hands, he said, "Commissioner-in-Chief Ma jests. Now that the court's explicit decree is here, we local officials shall of course comply. All provisions, fodder, soybeans, and military equipment — Datong will do its utmost to raise them and ensure the army is well supplied, without the slightest delay."

His mouth spoke of "doing its utmost to raise them," yet he uttered not a single word about contributing troops or men himself.

Regional Commander Qu Jiazhen was even more direct. He stepped forward and clasped his fists.

"Commissioner-in-Chief Ma, this officer has already drawn a hundred veteran soldiers from the border-wall forts — men well versed in the water, grass, and geography of Mongol lands — along with several tribal liaison officers who have dealt with the various tribes for years. All are assigned to your command for your use."

"As for the troops of Datong Garrison… as you well know, the border defenses are heavy, and every pass requires strict guard. We truly dare not move them rashly. I beg Commissioner-in-Chief Ma's understanding."

Ma Shilong sighed inwardly.

Six thousand cavalry striking out beyond the frontier, driving straight for the enemy's lair — this was the first such expedition since the Wanli years.

No one knew how it would ultimately turn out.

Though he held the Son of Heaven's pardon in his hand, he was after all the commander of a guest army. To demand that these two local powers stake their careers and throw their full weight behind him was truly asking too much.

So be it. Six thousand elite cavalry would suffice.

That Tiger Chieftain's military strength — he had seen it for himself back in Liaodong.

It might be enough to hold down the Mongol Right Wing here at Datong, but in the end, it was no match for this elite cavalry of his.

With that thought, a faint smile appeared on his face. He bowed to the two men in turn and offered a few polite formulas — "I am indebted to you, my lords," "Should this battle be won, I would never dare claim the credit alone."

Once the official courtesies were done, the smiles on Zhang Fengyi's and Qu Jiazhen's faces grew a touch more genuine. After a few more pleasantries, they cupped their hands and took their leave.

Ma Shilong stood where he was, watching them go. The faint smile on his face slowly faded, settling back into calm composure.

He did not mount his horse at once. Instead, he turned and gazed once more at the telegraph station, now fallen silent, then followed the direction it pointed, casting his eyes far into the distant east.

The wind still blew. The grit it kicked up stung his face with tiny pricks of pain.

His Majesty's purpose in this campaign was not merely a victory, plain and simple.

The delicate calibration — when to press and when to feint, when to advance and when to pull back — all of it required him, the executor, to plan with meticulous care.

Once this telegram lay upon His Majesty's desk, what move would that young Son of Heaven make next?

Would he choose the prudent course, or would he hold to his earlier radicalism?

That earnest talk in the imperial study before his departure still rang in his ears. Yet the sovereign's mind was an abyss — who could truly fathom it?

And would the situation on the steppe truly unfold as he had deduced? What if his deductions were wrong — what then?

To send an army on a long expedition — defeat in battle was not the only loss. A campaign that exhausted its strength without result was a loss just the same!

A thousand calculations, ten thousand threads of thought — all of them finally coalesced into a crushing weight of pressure, pressing down upon his heart.

Ma Shilong slowly exhaled a breath of stale air, the white mist instantly shredded by the cold wind.

No matter what, this first battle since my return — I, Ma Shilong, can only press forward!