Chapter 117: Section One: Etiquette

Completely disbanding the retainers would undoubtedly cause a huge uproar. Both the officers and their retainers would certainly oppose it resolutely, and even Huang Shi himself would have trouble explaining it to the several dozen "Huang family men." So Huang Shi took a path of "saving the nation by indirect means." As the director, Huang Shi cast himself in the role of the kind face, while Bao Jiusun took on the heavy burden of playing the harsh face.

He proposed that no officers should receive extra subsidies, which meant that until the situation on Zhangsheng Island improved, all retainers doing private work would have to be supported by the officers themselves. At the same time, for administrative convenience, Bao Jiusun also proposed that officers temporarily not receive private plots or military household assignments — which meant the retainers would have no private work to do either.

Huang Shi immediately approved these proposals, so the officers and retainers first lost their economic benefits. All retainers had to obey Bao Jiusun's arrangements, or else forget about receiving the soldiers' rations. Then Huang Shi also ordered that soldier training must be unified. The "righteous" basis for this order was that the army was newly formed, and the soldiers must follow a single command.

To make others comply, one must start with oneself. But when Huang Shi proposed giving up his private plots and retainers, even Zhang Pan opposed it with all his might, so Huang Shi knew this was easier said than done. He first announced that he did not want those one thousand mu of land, but he allowed a few officers to keep half of what they were due — five mu.

The other officers earnestly urged Huang Shi not to be too hard on himself. In defending Huang Shi's interests with all their strength, they were also defending their own property. If Huang Shi truly kept nothing at all, then they would be too embarrassed to keep their five mu. Because their opposition was so fierce, in the end Huang Shi had to retreat somewhat. He revised the plan — setting aside fifty mu of land, the income from which would serve as a welfare fund for the officers, including Huang Shi.

This plan finally passed. The four Company Commanders had nothing left to say and handed over their fields and retainers. In this way, the feudal sprouts on Zhangsheng Island were largely strangled.

The discontent of those retainers also had to be appeased. Huang Shi assembled the nearly one hundred laid-off retainers and gave them a speech. He first pointed out that if they wished to maintain their relationship with their masters, that was permissible, and when economic conditions allowed, they could return to work — in any case, whether conditions were good or bad was for Huang Shi to judge.

Secondly, these retainers would be trained as officers. Huang Shi planned to establish a training system similar to a military academy. Why call it similar to a military academy? Because all of this had to be carried out under the name of troop training. Huang Shi did not have the reckless courage to openly run a military academy. The bond of teacher and student was a lethal weapon in ancient times — the Donglin, Qi, Chu, and other factions had all risen this way. The ancients may not have anticipated it, but they were absolutely not stupid. Huang Shi estimated that any perceptive person could see through the significance of a military academy at a glance, so he only intended to reap the practical benefits of academy students, not daring to covet a title like "Principal Huang" that would bring fatal disaster upon himself.

"This training unit will no longer engage in production. During the day, Garrison Commander He will be responsible for drilling them." Huang Shi began to lay out the training unit's tasks.

He Baodao seemed to have something to say, but hesitated, and in the end respectfully responded, "Your subordinate obeys."

"At night, I will teach them to read." Seeing the astonished expressions on his trusted aides' faces, Huang Shi smiled. "Just simple characters, enough for them to understand the most basic military orders."

"Beyond that, Garrison Commander Jin will be responsible for teaching them military law, ensuring they understand the reasoning behind every article of military law." Huang Shi turned his gaze toward Jin Qiude.

"Is that necessary? Just make them memorize it by heart," Jin Qiude replied with some dismissiveness.

"It is very necessary." Huang Shi had always felt that making subordinates understand the reasoning behind orders was very important, and communication between superiors and subordinates was also essential. He casually picked an example and asked Jin Qiude, "For instance, our army's military law stipulates: on the battlefield, if a soldier flees, the officer may execute him on the spot. But if a deserter escapes and returns alive, he must be treated differently — the ringleader is executed, accomplices are flogged, and the officer may not execute them without authorization. Why?"

"Fleeing on the battlefield causes extremely adverse consequences, so the officer must of course do his utmost to prevent such behavior. And if the rule were that all deserters are executed without exception, then soldiers would not dare to return to the ranks. Once the deed is done, one must still do one's best to gather scattered troops." Jin Qiude answered fluently; he and Huang Shi had already discussed this question.

"Correct. Soldiers are our army's most precious asset, and must not be sacrificed lightly unless absolutely necessary. The soldiers in the training unit can precisely use the study of military law to understand the significance of our army's military law. Another example: our army's military law stipulates that those who shrink back before battle should be executed on the spot by the officer. But if our army has victory firmly in hand, and some new recruits dare not advance to assault a city or kill the enemy, I believe discretionary handling is permissible. After all, new recruits will always grow into veterans. I hope my officers can make judgments based on the battlefield situation, rather than rigidly enforcing military law."

"Your subordinate understands. Your subordinate obeys." Jin Qiude also thought there was some small sense in what Huang Shi said.

"Finally, Garrison Commander Yang's task. Every soldier in the training unit must understand the significance of logistics, and also have basic knowledge — for example, how many jin of fodder each warhorse eats per day, how many li of marching will wear out a pair of straw sandals, and so on. They must also learn some simple arithmetic." Huang Shi had originally wanted to promote Arabic numerals, but Jin Qiude produced a set of Suzhou numerals. Huang Shi looked them over and thought they were not bad, so he decided to promote Suzhou numerals first, since they offered convenience in communication. (Suzhou numerals: 〇〡〢〣〤〥〦〧〨〩〆, the ancient Chinese numerals from zero to ten used for calculation.)

"Gentlemen, I am not training the soldiers of this training unit as mere soldiers. Everything taught to them will be tested. Hmm, let us call this test the Squad Commander Qualification Examination. All soldiers who pass completely will receive the title of Acting Squad Commander. Henceforth, all officers in my Fire Relief Battalion must be selected from those who hold this title."

Huang Shi had also prepared many battle case studies, including Xiping, Shaling, Guangning, the expedition to Lushun, and this time's Lushun defensive battle and ambush battle. "All soldiers who obtain the title of Acting Squad Commander will be led by Garrison Commander Zhao to study the course of these battles. As for that Li Yunrui, I will also have him take charge of instructing key points in reconnaissance. Finally, I will personally test them. Those who pass will be granted the title of Acting Company Commander. Henceforth, all Company Commanders in my Fire Relief Battalion must hold this title before they can receive their post."

"Do you all understand?"

"Your subordinates understand." The four newly appointed Garrison Commanders replied in unison, loudly.

Huang Shi was very satisfied with this plan. Once it was widely implemented, the foundation of the army's feudalization would be broken. His trusted aides also had no major objections; their respective factions were still far from established.

In the fifth month of the third year of the Tianqi reign, Zhangsheng Island finally welcomed the long-awaited Army Supervisor...

As soon as the small boat steadied, Huang Shi, wearing a square-winged black gauze hat, a third-rank black bear official robe, and short-topped black boots, shook his wide long sleeves, bowed respectfully toward the cabin, and declared in a clear voice, "Your humble general, Assistant Commissioner-in-Chief Huang, respectfully awaits Lord Wu."

The military officers behind Huang Shi also loudly chanted in unison, "Your humble subordinates respectfully await Lord Wu."

They had rehearsed this motion many times, and this time it was truly flawless, not a second off, every word enunciated clearly, everyone's tone both respectful and earnest.

Li Yunrui had told Huang Shi that the eunuchs, needless to say, and even the Embroidered Uniform Guard officers and soldiers no longer dressed as the Son of Heaven's personal troops. In the capital, they always wore black gauze and flying-fish robes rather than battle armor. As for weapons, no one had carried them for years; at their waists hung only the bronze badge of the Guard Suppression Office. Over many years, the Great Ming had developed the custom that officials meeting each other must wear long robes and black gauze hats, or else be considered discourteous and disrespectful.

Upon hearing this, everyone thought it best to dress according to their customs, first making a good impression on this Army Supervisor Lord Wu and the two Embroidered Uniform Guards. So these officers led by Huang Shi each shed their military uniforms and changed into their respective rank's official robes. Every man combed his beard and hair meticulously seven or eight times before daring to appear in public.

These officers, usually busy half to death, were always in military uniforms and armor. Only during the rehearsal the day before yesterday did they rummage through chests and cupboards to find the matching official robes and black gauze hats. They discovered there were no ready-made Garrison Commander insignia. The seventh-rank black dog insignia on Zhao Manxiong and the others' robes were all hand-drawn — larger than a pig's ear and pointier than a fox's snout.

With his head lowered toward the ground, Huang Shi saw from the corner of his eye the cabin curtain swiftly lifted open.

"Long have I heard of General Huang's great name; to meet you today is truly a fortune of three lifetimes —" A drawn-out voice with a shrill tone rang out, its cadence and inflection almost singing a line from Beijing opera.

This tone came to an abrupt halt, and then two hearty, rough laughs reached their ears. A deep, masculine voice conveyed a soldier's forthright boldness: "General Huang, I have long admired —"

This voice also stopped.

"All officers and soldiers, dispense with ceremony." The shrill voice sounded somewhat dry.

"We thank Lord Wu." Huang Shi bowed slightly once more, then gathered his long sleeves and stood straight.

The first person before him wore fish-scale armor, with a tiger-head belt at the waist and a cheek-guarding, ear-sliding helmet on his head. The black strap was tightly fastened under a clean-shaven chin. Though his legs were clad in red cloth trousers, below the knees were a pair of cowhide military boots, and on his wrists were fine steel wristbands, binding the cuffs tightly... The bizarre getup was hard to imagine, simply indescribably incongruous.

The two men behind him wore bright red capes slung diagonally. Their oar-paddling army trousers and cowhide military boots went without saying; at their hips hung long black-scabbarded swords. On their bodies was the gold-trimmed silver-scale armor reserved for the Son of Heaven's personal troops. The shaggy beards on both men's faces were also very disheveled, clearly unkempt at a glance.