Chapter 721: line with translation of chapter title

As the morning light fully lit the riverside camp, the atmosphere on the newly cleared open ground to the east stayed tense.

The forty-seven former Huaiyuan cavalrymen had now taken off their armor and weapons, wearing only thin coarse cloth, standing in three somewhat disordered rows.

Before them stood the veteran troops of the Dao Li Battalion, holding spears and standing in formation.

Their numbers were equal.

But one side eyed them warily, as if watching bandits; the other side stood straight-backed, their gaze defiant yet scrutinizing.

Chang Yuchun stood at the front of the ranks, the scar on his face looking even more ferocious in the sunlight.

Behind him, a young man with a mole on his face muttered quietly:

"Chief Chang, does this count as going outlaw? We can't even lay hands on a sword…"

"Shut up." Chang Yuchun didn't turn his head, "If you want to eat, you must follow their rules."

Footsteps sounded.

Zhu Yue (Zhu Yuanzhang) came walking from the direction of the barracks, accompanied by Xu Da and Tang He.

He had changed into a clean set of dark blue cloth, with an ordinary waist knife hung at his waist.

His pace was neither hurried nor slow.

He walked to the open ground between the two groups and stopped.

His gaze first swept over the forty-seven newcomers.

He looked at them one by one.

He observed their eyes, their stance, the position of old calluses on their hands, and the wear patterns on their shoe soles.

Then he turned around, facing the veteran troops of his own camp.

"Listen up."

His voice wasn't loud, but it was clear enough.

"From this moment on, these forty-seven brothers have entered the gate of my Dao Li Battalion."

"During the three-day inspection period, they will have no armor or weapons."

"But after three days, if nothing is amiss, they will be your comrades."

"We will train together, fight the enemy together, and eat together."

Among the veterans, someone wanted to speak but held back.

Zhu Yue (Zhu Yuanzhang) raised his hand to stop them.

"I know what you want to say."

"Are you afraid they are spies of the Yuan court? Afraid they'll steal our grain? Afraid they'll defect later?"

He paused.

"I'm afraid too."

When he said that, both sides were taken aback.

"So—" Zhu Yue (Zhu Yuanzhang) shifted his tone, "that's why I must establish rules."

"The rules are not just for them."

"They are for everyone in the camp."

He turned to Chang Yuchun.

"Sir Chang."

"Chief Zhu, please give your orders."

"How were your forty-seven cavalry originally organized?"

"Divided into five squads, each with nine to ten men, each squad having a leader." Chang Yuchun answered succinctly, "I myself lead one squad and also oversee the whole."

"Good." Zhu Yue (Zhu Yuanzhang) nodded, "Starting today, the five squads will be broken up and mixed into the existing companies of my camp."

"The company leaders will still be filled by the original camp's veteran soldiers."

"You—" he looked at Chang Yuchun, "will temporarily hold the post of cavalry instructor, responsible for feeding and training all the horses, but without direct authority to command troops."

Chang Yuchun's eye twitched slightly.

This was an apparent promotion but a real demotion, and it completely dismantled his original organization.

But he remained silent for two breaths, then clasped his fists.

"I obey the order."

Zhu Yue (Zhu Yuanzhang)'s gaze fell upon his face.

"Instructor Chang, I know you may harbor resentment."

"But you must understand—my Dao Li Battalion is not a bandit stronghold; we do not practice sworn brotherhood."

"Here, we recognize only rules, only ability, only military merit."

He turned and pointed to the Dao Li flag flying high above the center of the camp.

"That flag represents two things."

"First, the swords in our hands must chop apart this man-eating world."

"Second, the plows beneath our feet must till a land where people can live."

"Anyone who wishes to follow this flag, I will treat as a brother."

"Anyone who dares to stand in the way of this road—"

His voice sank.

"Whether it be Yuan dogs, bandits, or those of our own camp harboring treacherous intentions, I will personally cut them down."

As his words fell, the field fell silent.

Only the morning wind rustled the flag with a flapping sound.

After a long while.

Chang Yuchun took a deep breath, then clasped his fists again.

This time, he bent his waist even lower.

"Chief Zhu's words, I understand them now."

"I, Chang Yuchun, having come here, truly wish to follow this flag."

"Please wait and see, Chief."

Zhu Yue (Zhu Yuanzhang) finally showed a faint smile on his face.

"Good."

He turned sideways.

"Xu Da."

"Present."

"Take Chief Instructor Chang to the stables to familiarize himself with the horses' conditions. The camp currently has twenty-one horses, plus the forty-seven newly arrived, making sixty-eight in total. How to allocate stalls and feed them, how to train them—let Chief Instructor Chang draft a set of regulations and report to me before noon."

"Yes."

"Tang He."

"Present."

"Newcomers, as just said, will be split and assigned to each squad. Arrange lodging and distribute today's rations."

"Remember—" he looked at those former cavalrymen still standing straight, "Treat them equally. What they eat, you eat; where they live, you live."

"Yes!"

Zhu Yue (Zhu Yuanzhang) finally swept his gaze over the whole field.

"Dismissed."

"Each squad must continue daily drills without laxity."

The crowd began to move.

Chang Yuchun followed Xu Da toward the newly built horse shed on the west side of the camp.

Behind him, the original cavalry, led by Tang He, split off toward different barracks.

The young man with a mole on his face was assigned to Guo Rong's squad.

Guo Rong nodded at him and pointed to the spot at the end of the row.

"Stand there. First take a wooden spear, then practice thrusting."

The young man pursed his lips, but still walked over.

Zhu Yue (Zhu Yuanzhang) stood in place, watching the crowd gradually disperse.

Tang He stepped closer and spoke softly:

"Elder brother, with this arrangement, regarding Chang Yuchun—"

"If he truly came to defect, he will prove himself." Zhu Yue (Zhu Yuanzhang) interrupted him, "If he is a spy, splitting his unit will not raise a big wave."

"Putting the horses under his charge tests both his ability and his loyalty."

"Within three days, the outcome will be known."

Tang He nodded and added:

"More refugees have fled from the north; this morning another dozen or so arrived. Among them are two blacksmiths who say they worked at the Huaiyuan workshop, their homes destroyed by Yuan troops, and they have fled here."

Zhu Yue (Zhu Yuanzhang)'s eyes lit up.

"Where are they?"

"They're settled in the refugee shed; I haven't questioned them in detail yet."

"Bring them here." Zhu Yue (Zhu Yuanzhang) turned around, "No, I'll go myself."

As he walked, he pulled out that dark silver-gray lump of metal from his pocket.

In the sunlight, it gave off a matte sheen unlike iron or steel.

If those two blacksmiths really have experience…

Perhaps they could recognize what it is.

Perhaps they could tell him whether this unexpected object is of any use.

Outside the east gate of the camp.

On that low hill.

A lone horse stood still.

The rider on horseback was wrapped in a dirty fur coat, only his eyes showing.

He gazed far off at the bustling scene inside the camp.

Gazing at the blade-and-plow flag.

Gazing at those former comrades whose units had been broken up yet who still stood straight.

He looked for a long time.

Then he turned the horse's head.

He vanished silently behind the hill.

Heading north.

The waters of the Huai River continued to flow eastward as before.

But this camp on the riverbank is now different from yesterday.

Fresh blood has been infused.

The old order has been broken, and new rules are being established.

And all of this was faithfully recorded by the morning light.

It was also faintly sensed by the eyes gazing from the north through the light curtain.

Xijing, Observatory.

Chen Wen lowered the scroll in his hand.

On the map was a rough sketch of the positions of the three 'azure qi pillars' urgently sent back by Yue Fei.

It overlapped with the ley‑line nodes calculated by the Bureau of Astronomy by as much as seventy percent.

"As expected…"

He muttered softly.

"It's 'pinning' the node."

"Using Yuneng Pollution to contaminate the ley lines, solidify the passage, and pave the way for the ensuing army."

He raised his head.

Outside the window, the sun was already high.

"How are preparations going on Zhao Lao nian's side?"

Zhang Cheng, standing at attention beside him, bowed.

"Director Zhao says that at the latest by noon tomorrow we can forcibly open the 'pinhole'."

"The cost is that afterward, for at least a month, we cannot conduct any directed transmissions."

Chen Wen fell silent for a moment.

"Tell him to carry out the plan as scheduled."

"Those two sets of simple codes must be sent out."

"Yes."

Zhang Cheng withdrew.

Chen Wen looked again at the scroll.

The three blue pillars were like three fangs.

They pierced deep into the ley lines of Liaodong.

And that spark in Huai Xi…

"Can it, before these fangs close, blaze into a prairie fire?"

He did not know.

He only knew that he must give everything he could.

Even if it were just a few strings of mutated pulses, a few vague concepts.

Because opposite on the board, the speed of placing pieces…

is getting faster and faster.