Chapter 167: In Quarters, They Observe Decorum

In the Qin army, when going on campaign, apart from weapons and armor issued by the local armories, soldiers had to bring their own changes of clothing — summer robes and winter coats — from home, and bedding was no exception.

"Bedding" meant the blankets of this era. In the sweltering summer, a single-layer thin blanket sufficed, but now it was late autumn and the weather was growing cold; a single thin layer could no longer ward off the chill, so thick bedding had to be used.

Because everyone brought their own from home or bought them at marketplaces once stationed, the stuffing inside the bedding was wildly varied. For Commandant-level officers like Li You, the bedding they used in the army was not only sewn from the finest silk but also lined with a layer of soft deerskin and stuffed with duck and goose down — light, warm, and a luxury only the nobility could afford.

For an officer of middling household origin like Heifu, bedding was sewn from decent kudzu cloth. The blanket he used, for instance, had been sewn by his mother herself, and in late autumn she had stuffed it with reed catkins gathered by Yunmeng Marsh — soft to the touch and warm enough when wrapped around the body.

Poorer common soldiers could only use coarse hemp cloth for blankets, stuffing them with dead grass and wheat stalks in autumn. This kind of bedding felt stiff and scratchy and could only barely keep out the cold…

But inside this tent that could hold ten men, Li You discovered that every piece of bedding, regardless of its make, had been carefully folded and placed at the foot of each bed.

Although the material made it impossible to fold them into the "tofu blocks" of the later-era Liberation Army, in the eyes of Commandant Li You, who loved uniformity, they looked extremely pleasing. One had to understand that, never mind the Southern Commandery troops — even in the tents of the Guanzhong elite soldiers, the finest in the land, bedding was always tossed every which way; no one ever thought to fold it on their own.

Apart from his initial startled lapse in composure when he first entered, he said nothing further. Then he walked out of the ten-man tent and went to inspect the other tents in Heifu's hundred-man encampment. Without exception, the bedding in every one was neatly folded and placed. Beyond that, armor, clothing, weapons, and large shields each had their designated storage spot, forming a stark contrast with the chaos of the other encampments…

Li You casually picked up a wooden tablet from a bed. On it was the duty and rest schedule Heifu had written: rise at sunrise and fold bedding, eat at mealtime, go out for training at the hour of Mo… Nearly every hour had a corresponding activity.

"This bedding — who ordered you to fold it?"

It could not have been the soldiers' own initiative; it had to be an order from an officer.

Heifu, who had been following closely behind, immediately responded, "This subordinate ordered the soldiers to do it."

"Why do this?" Li You asked.

Heifu said, "To unify the hearts of the many."

"Unify the hearts of the many?"

Li You's interest was piqued. He sat down directly on a bedroll where the bedding was neatly folded with a helmet placed on top and told Heifu to explain.

Heifu glanced at the circle of Platoon Leaders and Five-Hundred Commanders standing outside the tent and felt a bit awkward.

Li You, however, said, "It's fine. Speak in detail."

Heifu lowered his head and said, "Dare I tell the Commandant: the soldiers under this subordinate all come from various counties in Southern Commandery — there are men from Anlu County, from Yan County, from Jingling County — and they did not know each other before. Moreover, since being conscripted and sent north last year, the men have been campaigning away from home for a full year and have long been unable to return. In their hearts, each inevitably yearns for his own family. This is what is meant by 'the hearts of the many are not unified.' If they encounter a pitched battle, they will inevitably hesitate and look at each other, unable to obey orders and advance."

"When this subordinate was in the county, I took part in the training of replacement conscripts. One must first restrain them with ranks and files, making sure their steps are uniform, their formation orderly, and their ranks unbroken. Once in the army camp, it is even stricter. Even when soldiers go out to do things like chop firewood or graze animals, they may not go out alone; they must form ranks. Those who do not form ranks are not permitted to pass."

This was just like the later-era military rule that three people going out must walk in formation — all to instill good discipline in the soldiers even during daily life.

Internal army duties like folding blankets served the same purpose.

This kind of military "formalism" was much criticized in later eras, but its original intent was good, and it greatly promoted uniformity within the troops. If a unit cannot even manage to fold its simple bedding neatly every day, you need not expect its soldiers to obey far stricter commands during marching, encamping, or fighting.

Looking back, when he was at the police academy in his previous life, he had cursed it every day, but now it had become a habit Heifu found hard to abandon.

Uniformity is a crucial way for collective strength to coalesce and gradually accumulate through daily practice — this was what Heifu meant by "unifying the hearts of the many." Whether ancient military strategists or the armies of various modern nations, all have instinctively done similar things.

War is a thing of ill omen!

After a year of military life, Heifu had gained a completely new understanding of this saying.

In his view, the so-called "ill omen" was not the domineering aura of certain victory and unstoppable conquest, nor the tragic grandeur of mountains of corpses and seas of blood, but rather indifference to human life and the suppression of human nature!

Military discipline and regulations are premised on the obliteration of individual character. The goal is to drive this discipline deep into the marrow, to make it a part of their very being, and to give everyone a powerful sense of belonging.

Upon receiving orders as a general, one must forget one's family; going abroad to fight, one must forget one's parents; facing the enemy in battle, one must forget oneself.

That's right — forget their previous distinct identities as farmers, artisans, merchants, husbands, sons, brothers, and gain a brand-new identity, a single identity: warrior!

This principle applied just the same in the Qin army.

Therefore, as early as when they were encamped at Huyou Township, Heifu had required the soldiers under him to persist in folding their blankets every day, cultivating their obedience and discipline. When they reached Yangcheng and new subordinates joined, having the old hands teach the newcomers to fold blankets also became an excellent method to quickly integrate them into the collective.

Of course, the more important reason was that Heifu wanted to use this method to attract the attention of the commanding officers. Shaped by Qin law, many Qin officials and military officers had become obsessive-compulsive. Ranks and land grants had to be bestowed in neat hundred-mu blocks, plowing had to be done in perfectly straight lines — the army went without saying. Heifu was precisely prescribing the right medicine for the ailment…

After two months of strict demands day after day, an opportunity had truly arrived. How could Heifu let it slip by?

So he spoke with fervor and assurance: "Thus, apart from formation training, this subordinate believes that in daily life, soldiers can also be made to start with simple small tasks, to eliminate the selfishness and personal desires they had as commoners, to make them forget those indolent habits, and to make a hundred men uniform, as if they were a single man!"

Having spoken, Heifu bowed with clasped hands and said, "This subordinate is a coarse and vulgar man; these are shallow views. I beg the Commandant's pardon for making a fool of myself."

"A hundred men as if a single man…"

Li You did not scoff. On the contrary, he felt some admiration for this minor officer before him. He asked Heifu about his background, and upon learning that his family was merely a lowly Gongshi household without even a clan name, that he had served as a village constable locally, and had only earned the rank of Dafu by accumulating merit bit by bit after joining the army, Li You inwardly marveled all the more.

He had read military treatises and remembered a passage in the Wuzi: "If orders and laws are unclear, rewards and punishments are not trusted, and men do not stop at the gong or advance at the drum, then even if you have a million, of what use are they?"

When such a situation occurs, it is certainly because the commander does not know how to manage troops.

Then, what constitutes "managing troops" with clear orders and laws?

The so-called well-managed: in quarters, they observe decorum; in action, they possess awe! They advance irresistibly, retreat beyond pursuit, move forward and back with rhythm, respond left and right to signals. Even if cut off, they form a battle line; even if scattered, they form ranks.

Today's events had refreshed Li You's understanding of "in quarters, they observe decorum."

"This Commandant's inspection tour today was not in vain."

He rose, satisfied. As he walked out of the tent, he said to the Platoon Leaders and Five-Hundred Commanders waiting outside and staring at each other in bewilderment, "Heifu's management of troops can indeed be called 'in quarters, they observe decorum'! He and all his soldiers should be rewarded ten thousand cash!"

Heifu expressed his thanks. His subordinates, standing in several ranks outside, also showed delight upon hearing this, secretly thinking that these two months of folding blankets had not been in vain.

Unexpectedly, Li You turned back and added, "I only wonder whether Heifu's men, during drills, can truly act as a hundred men like one, and whether they can 'in action, possess awe.' Tomorrow, this Commandant shall put it to the test!"

…

Li You appeared refined and scholarly, but his manner of doing things was vigorous and resolute. The day after arriving at the army camp to inspect, he had the five Platoon Leaders take their subordinate soldiers and conduct a large-scale drill outside Yangcheng County.

According to Qin army regulations, the five thousand men were divided into five columns, arrayed in formation out in the field to conduct the exercise. During the exercise, three large wooden pillars were erected, one every hundred paces.

Once the army was arrayed, based on Li You's gongs, drums, flags, and signals, they separately drilled weapon skills with dagger-axes and lances, rapid marching, and running charges. After repeating the drill three times so that the army fully grasped every essential, rewards and punishments were meted out based on the quality of the drill.

In this drill, as Li You had expected, the Southern Commandery troops' mastery of ranks, files, gongs, drums, flags, and pennants was mediocre, far inferior to the Guanzhong elite.

Only Heifu, who had not slackened in formation training for two months, once again drew Li You's attention…

Using planks as drums, tiles as gongs, and bamboo poles as flags — advance at the drum, charge when the flag dips, retreat at the gong, wheel left at the signal, wheel right at the signal, sit when both gong and drum strike together. Every item was executed well.

Catching a commander's notice once might be luck; catching it twice in a row was strength.

So after the drill ended that day, Li You once again rewarded Heifu and his men ten thousand cash, and made a decision that stunned the entire company.

Heifu and all his subordinates were to be transferred entirely into the personal guard troops directly under Commandant Li You!

(End of Chapter)