Chapter 73: Section One

"I am Kong Youde, Mobile Corps Commander of Guangning."

"I am Huang Shi, Supplementary Mobile Corps Commander of Guangning."

After the two loudly announced their names, the officer in front promptly clasped his fists in salute: "I have long admired your reputations. I am Zhang Pan, Regional Military Commissioner of Lüshun and Mobile Corps Commander of Dongjiang."

Since the Guangning army had already been destroyed, Mao Wenlong's forces clearly needed a new designation. Although the formal establishment of Dongjiangzhen would still take some time, the imperial court had already bestowed the official seal. Moreover, Mao Wenlong's headquarters were set on Dongjiang Island — Pi Island — so Mao Wenlong's forces had already begun calling themselves the "Dongjiang Army."

Huang Shi and Kong Youde, having just endured hardships to reach Lüshun, naturally knew none of these details. Huang Shi was not particularly fazed; he knew of the Dongjiang Army from history, so hearing Zhang Pan call himself a Dongjiang Mobile Corps Commander did not surprise him.

Huang Shi's line of thought was very clear, with three objectives:

First, do everything possible to win the goodwill of the Dongjiang Army's ranks, earn the trust of fellow officers, and make them feel he was a vivid person, not a killing machine.

Second: put down roots in Liaodong and make Mao Wenlong rely on him. With no civil officials meddling in Liaodong, it was truly a paradise for cultivating influence and tempering one's abilities.

Third: lead troops independently. As a Dongjiang officer of non-direct-line origin, if he stayed at Mao Wenlong's headquarters, he would be at a disadvantage in the scramble for merit. Huang Shi knew that his actions in Guangning were both an advantage and a burden. Only by achieving even greater merit for Mao Wenlong could he possibly rank among his trusted confidants; he had no intention of acknowledging a godfather.

Kong Youde had none of these political considerations. He knew nothing about Dongjiang, but though outwardly rough, he was inwardly meticulous. In a flash he understood, and realizing that Zhang Pan was one of Mao Wenlong's trusted men, he quickly said loudly: "So Military Commander Mao is already the Regional Commander of Dongjiangzhen. This is cause for celebration."

"Cause for celebration." Huang Shi, inwardly cursing his own slow reaction, also hurriedly echoed the flattery. When in Dongjiang, if one failed to speak of the superior's achievements, was one afraid others wouldn't notice one's own outsider origin?

"The imperial court has appointed Military Commander Mao as Regional Commander for Pacifying Liao." Zhang Pan smiled faintly, taking the two puzzled-looking men each by the hand: "As for why they are not called the Pacifying Liao Army, I will explain slowly to you both. A banquet has been prepared in the city to wash the dust from your journey, generals. Please follow me."

After entering the city, Zhang Pan shed his armor and donned a deep-blue official robe with a brown bear embroidered on the chest. On his head and feet he also changed into a black gauze cap and black boots, and around his waist was a brand-new silver-patterned jade belt.

Kong Youde's three thousand Liaodong refugees, every household in mourning, were also arranged by the Lüshun Ming troops to eat and rest.

At the welcoming banquet there was some rice wine, along with fresh fish, shrimp, and some vegetables and fruits. Huang Shi and Kong Youde, who had been eating chaff and pickles these past days, naturally ate until their mouths streamed with grease. Most importantly, this banquet also had vinegar and sugar, and the dishes were made with sea salt, which made the two men, who hadn't even had salt to gnaw on, extremely happy.

During the meal he toasted them each a round. Kong Youde naturally drained his cup in one gulp and even downed three bowls in a row, but when toasting Huang Shi, the latter merely made a token gesture, repeatedly saying "I can't."

Kong Youde watched Huang Shi bury his head in his food and, feeling he was getting the short end of the stick, could not help cursing: "Brother, you really are like a starving ghost reincarnated. How much room can wine take up? It's not like there won't be any more to eat tomorrow."

At that moment Huang Shi's mouth was still stuffed full of food. He made unintelligible noises, gesturing wildly with his hands in an attempt to argue his case.

"No matter, no matter." Zhang Pan smiled as he swept his gaze over the two men who were eating like a whirlwind scattering wisps of cloud, and quickly ordered his personal guards to bring more hot dishes. In his mind, Huang Shi's originally rigid and hard image also became blurred.

When they first started eating, Huang Shi and Kong Youde were still neatly dressed, but the steaming hot food soon made the two gluttonous fellows sweat profusely. They shed their armor one after another and loosened their belts. Before the two men put down their bowls and chopsticks with satisfied burps, Zhang Pan had been waiting for them very genteelly, not speaking much with them.

Kong Youde was the first to strike up a conversation with Zhang Pan, chatting about the journey to Lüshun. Kong Youde's face was full of self-satisfaction, and as he listened to his account of commanding the journey, Zhang Pan secretly admired him. The two talked for a long time before Huang Shi declared himself full and asked someone to bring him a bowl of salted meat broth to aid digestion.

Hearing Kong Youde constantly call Huang Shi "brother" while Huang Shi always addressed him as "elder brother," Zhang Pan inquired about it. Upon learning they had sworn an oath of brotherhood, he promptly offered his congratulations.

Kong Youde kept desperately trying to paint Huang Shi in a flattering light. Zhang Pan, appearing casual, also asked a few offhand questions, but each one struck at a key point, and he quickly figured out whose contributions were greater.

Huang Shi watched Kong Youde's face grow redder and redder, knowing he was afraid that without great merit, he would not sound good. Actually, with the battle of Guangning, Huang Shi no longer had the slightest worry.

Although Huang Shi was inwardly grateful, seeing Kong Youde make no mention of his titles "General of the Dung Pit" and "General of the Bath" made him sigh inwardly that even the famous generals of this era had no more insight than this. That military sanitation system, sufficient to be passed down to later ages, was truly a great achievement that could not be overstated.

Later, the topic naturally turned to the situation in Liaodong. Kong Youde and Zhang Pan were both first-rate generals of this era, and Huang Shi possessed a vast amount of knowledge from later ages. The three each expressed their own views; the depth of their insights and the foresight in anticipating the enemy were naturally far beyond what the Guangning civil official clique could hope to match.

The unanimous view of the three was that the Ming army still temporarily lacked the ability to contend with the Later Jin on land. So the topic quickly shifted to maritime frontier issues. For instance, Lüshun, in the traditional Chinese sense, was nothing more than an isolated city, penetrating a thousand li deep behind enemy lines. But relying on the continuous supplies sent from Pi Island, not only did it show no signs of being an isolated city, it was instead brimming with vitality.

"Military Commander Mao's plan is to use the sea as the frontier, constructing a defensive line along the Liaodong sea islands and coastal fortresses. As long as the Jianzhou slaves lack a navy for a single day, this line will remain as solid as a metal barrier for that day." Zhang Pan's words were quite confident, and his expression was very self-satisfied.

"Military Commander Mao possesses great talent and bold vision," Kong Youde murmured in flattery. Having just arrived in Lüshun, he was still influenced by traditional military thinking, so seeing Lüshun's land routes cut off, with hostile lands stretching a thousand li all around, he still felt somewhat uneasy.

Zhang Pan had encountered this kind of worry from Kong Youde many times before. As a traditional Chinese officer, he was not very clear on how to explain it — how, according to military doctrine, such an isolated city in dead-end terrain could instead possess the capacity to expand outward.

In fact, Zhang Pan himself had not fully thought through this principle, so he decided to let Kong Youde experience it for himself in the future: "The only thing worth worrying about is the Jianzhou slaves' sea ban. The slaves have ordered that no one is allowed to live within fifteen li of the coast, and all fishermen must relocate inland. This has brought considerable trouble to our army's collection of supplies and personnel."

"On this point, my lord Zhang, you worry too much." As a person from a later era, Huang Shi had a profound awareness of maritime power. He completely lacked Kong Youde's unease: "By doing this, the Jianzhou slaves have essentially given up contesting the maritime frontier with our army. It is truly the height of folly."

"The height of folly?" Kong Youde furrowed his brow. "Why?"

"General Huang, please explain. I, your subordinate, feel this move is extremely vicious." Zhang Pan also immediately focused his attention intently. Mao Wenlong had established a series of isolated coastal outposts, and Huang Shi was the first soldier Zhang Pan had met who was completely unconcerned about this.

The Chinese of this era still could not grasp the critical importance of command of the sea. Huang Shi knew that the confidence he displayed would be a very conspicuous matter: "By doing this, the Jianzhou slaves have essentially given up control of the coast. It is tantamount to proclaiming to all of Liao: as long as you flee within fifteen li of the coast, you are under the domain of the Great Ming!"

Huang Shi laughed heartily and said: "The Liaodong sea coast stretches a thousand li. How can they possibly control it all? That is the first point."

"And the second point?" Zhang Pan immediately pressed.

"The second point, again because of the thousand-li Liaodong sea coast. If our army wants to send spies into Liaodong, we can strike everywhere. The Jianzhou slaves have only fifty to sixty thousand able-bodied men. How can they possibly guard it all? And there is a third point." Huang Shi pondered for a moment, then turned his head to ask Kong Youde: "Elder Brother, what do you think the third point is?"