Chapter 68: Grand Feast (Part Two)

Leaving aside how Gongsun Xun was swelling with pride and satisfaction, on the other side, within just two days, Grand Administrator Wang of Right Beiping and Liu Yu, the Inspector of You Province, arrived together. Thereupon, Zhao Bao immediately joined the two senior figures in hosting a grand feast for the troops at Liucheng.

As mentioned before, a grand feast inevitably entails grand rewards. The several oxen slaughtered in the name of sacrifice, along with a dozen or so sheep, plus salted fish, wine, and such, certainly made for a lively spectacle, but once divided among twenty thousand men, it was just that. In truth, even the lowest-ranking soldiers knew in their hearts that a good meal was ultimately fleeting, and as border troops, they were no strangers to such dietary favors... The most important thing, of course, was the rewards and commendations following this great victory.

And make no mistake, despite Gongsun Xun and his mother always whispering privately about how the Great Han was doomed, in the face of this unprecedented great victory, the power of the Great Han dynasty was truly on full display. The Inspector of You Province originally held the annual funds and grain routinely sent by Qingzhou, Jizhou, and Yanzhou to support the border commanderies. Now, Liu Yu waved his hand grandly, showing no stinginess and being quite fair... It was just that transporting funds and grain beyond the frontier was too costly, so the soldiers would have to wait until they returned to collect their due from the local government treasuries.

Of course, the Great Han dynasty's credibility still held firm in those days, so the rank-and-file soldiers were naturally stirred and elated.

However, these were ultimately just the rewards for the common soldiers, and they were mostly things like money and silk. For the officers, commandery clerks, and Wuhuan chieftains who participated in this campaign, the corresponding rewards would be far more time-consuming and laborious, and could not be limited to just money and grain.

In fact, the grand feast began at noon, and by the afternoon, after Liu Yu went out to publicly announce the rewards for the common soldiers, the officers, chieftains, and clerks eagerly clustered around the three senior figures as they moved to the high platform in the center of Liucheng to resume the banquet... and also to conveniently discuss everyone's rewards.

"If the Xianbei had anyone who understood military matters," on the high platform, Lou Gui, who had followed Gongsun Xun over, could not help but snort coldly, once again making a sarcastic remark. "It wouldn't take many—just those few thousand defeated troops rallying their courage to counterattack, and I fear the Han army would instead suffer a crushing defeat, even losing Liucheng!"

"The logic holds," Gongsun Xun shook his head helplessly. "But Zibo, you are still armchair strategizing... You must understand, soldiers are human too. Every officer wants merit; who among them would willingly give up this chance to contend for credit and stay behind to guard the camp? And the soldiers are all exhausted—how could you possibly let the majority eat and drink while forcing one battalion to stay alert and maintain strict vigilance? That the Prefect earlier rewarded the Liucheng troops in advance, and now has detached a company of cavalry to patrol toward the Dalinghe, is already doing quite well."

"That is indeed the case," Han Dang also could not help but frown. "I served in the border troops before, and I know that the most critical things in the army are reward and punishment. If you try to force these officers and soldiers to do this or that right now, I fear the Xianbei wouldn't even need to come—they would mutiny on their own first!"

Lou Gui remained unconvinced: "But what if the Xianbei really do attack?"

"This brings us to what defines a supreme general or a famed commander of old," Cheng Pu, standing nearby, suddenly sighed. "Are the Xianbei not utterly demoralized right now? If their leader could truly rally their morale and counterattack, that act alone would be worthy of being called the deed of a famed commander. And if our Han army could enforce orders and prohibitions flawlessly, remaining as vigilant as before, then the commander could be compared to Zhou Yafu!"

Upon hearing this, Gongsun Fan clapped his hands sharply and immediately praised: "Brother Demou speaks absolutely correctly! In this world, knowing is always easy and doing is hard. Everyone understands the principles, but when it comes time to act, how many can truly unite knowledge and action? Someone like my elder brother, who can both know and act, is naturally the kind of pioneering hero recorded in the history books."

Lou Gui was instantly silenced, while Gongsun Xun repeatedly demurred, admitting he fell short.

And while these few were idly chatting and rambling, on the other side, the banquet proceeded in an orderly manner. First, Elder Lady Zhao and Lady Zhao came out to express their gratitude to everyone, whereupon everyone on the high platform, including Liu Yu and Grand Administrator Wang, all rose from their seats to pay their respects. Then, Gongsun Xun's grandmother-in-law and mother-in-law withdrew together... Next, the great drama of contending for merit indeed began.

The first to leap out were, strikingly, the reinforcements from the three commanderies of Liaodong, Xuantu, and the Liaodong Dependent State (Changli Commandery)... These men, emboldened by wine, one claiming how many heads his unit had taken, another boasting of his unit's valor, and yet another recounting how a subordinate of his had beheaded so-and-so—it was quite lively for a time.

To this, the three senior figures seated in the places of honor merely smiled and nodded, paying it no mind.

The fact was, these men were all troops from neighboring commanderies. According to the Han dynasty's political characteristic of treating each commandery as a state, their promotions were ultimately decided by their own Grand Administrators, Commandants, or Chief Clerks. So, whether it was Liu Yu, who held the authority to coordinate military affairs within the province, or Zhao Bao, the commanding general of this campaign, or even Grand Administrator Wang, who was just along for the ride, none of them cared how much these men exaggerated—even if you boasted of personally beheading six thousand, they would all nod with beaming smiles!

In any case, the senior figures would later hold a small private meeting. After their discussion, they would naturally send a direct dispatch to these commanderies and states, stating that your commandery was allocated... ahem, achieved five hundred head-taking credits this time, a figure recognized by both the province and the neighboring commanderies, and your commandery could then assess merits and dispense rewards as it saw fit.

And that would settle the matter.

In fact, it was precisely because these commandery troops knew their own situation that they were the first to jump out and boast without reservation, drawing some attention and livening up the atmosphere... Since everyone was happily drinking, why not enjoy it?

Besides, what if this newly arrived Inspector of You Province, Liu Yu, turned out to be a fool and inadvertently took their words as truth? Wouldn't that be a huge windfall?!

However, the performances of the neighboring commandery reinforcements eventually came to an appropriate halt, because before nightfall, there were simply too many people waiting to perform.

Sure enough, after a tacit silence, the officers and commandery clerks of the home commandery also began to step forward to claim merit. And since the Chief Clerk had died for the country and the Commandery Assistant was a civil official who had stayed behind in Yangle this time, the first to jump out today was unexpectedly the Defender of Liucheng, that Separate Division Major with a rank of a thousand dan.

Yet, this Separate Division Major truly could not boast of much merit... It was not that he had no merit—holding Liucheng was a great achievement in itself—but what else was there?

So, after a brief recounting of his merits, this Separate Division Major simply glared at the Wuhuan men over there, rolling his eyes and cursing, with nothing else to say. And Inspector Liu Yu, probably feeling that letting this continue would seriously damage the traditional ethnic harmony between Han and Wuhuan, hastily acknowledged his merit in holding Liucheng and had him sit back down.

But interestingly, after this Separate Division Major sat back down, for a moment no one else spoke up... Based on Gongsun Xun's past experience, the several Company Commanders from Lulongsai used to be quite arrogant. But one must not forget, this time they were all still bearing guilt, likely sighing in despair at Lulongsai, awaiting demotion—how could they possibly come to contend for merit?

But what of the several legitimate and powerful bureau heads among the commandery clerks? Why did they not come forward?

As Gongsun Xun pondered this, he almost instinctively looked toward the commandery's Military Bureau Head. In terms of the commandery's military affairs, this man should be the chief among the commandery clerks, right? Yet the moment he looked over, he discovered the other man was stroking his beard and smiling while staring right at him! Sweeping his gaze around, it was not just the Military Bureau Head—the entire commandery staff, every one of them, was staring fixedly at him, their former colleague!

Gongsun Xun suddenly understood and immediately laughed. Straightening the Jinxian Cap on his head, he gestured to Gongsun Fan and the others, then rose abruptly to pay his respects: "I have seen the Illustrious Prefect, seen the Regional Governor, seen Lord Wang. Your servant, Gongsun Xun, Deputy Chief Clerk of the Accounts Section of Liaoxi Commandery, has a word to speak here..."

"For the twelve provinces outside the capital region, there is one Inspector per province, rank six hundred dan. Original commentary states: Qin had Supervisory Censors to oversee the commanderies; when Han arose, this was abolished, and only Assistant Scribes of the Chancellor were sent to inspect the various provinces, with no permanent office. Emperor Xiaowu first established thirteen Inspectors, rank six hundred dan. Emperor Cheng changed the title to Shepherd, rank two thousand dan. In the eighteenth year of Jianwu, it was reverted to Inspector, with twelve men each governing one province, one province being under the jurisdiction of the Colonel Director of the Retainers. The Inspectors of the various provinces customarily tour the commanderies and states under their jurisdiction in the eighth month, review case records, and assess merit rankings. Initially, at the end of the year, they would go to the capital to report affairs; after the Restoration, they only relied on the Annual Accounting Clerks." — "Book of the Later Han," Treatise on the Hundred Officials

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(End of Chapter)