Chapter 254: Troops Forged

While joining the county magistrate and county clerk in petitioning the commandery to promote public latrines in Jiangling and other cities, Heifu also did not neglect his own duty: drilling troops.

On the southern outskirts of Anlu County, the clamor of gongs and drums rang out unceasingly. Heifu and the others stood atop the city wall looking down, and saw on the broad open ground over a thousand soldiers from different townships and villages, divided into several sections, some drilling formations, some drilling flags and drums, advancing or halting, striking or retreating according to the gong-and-drum signals — it all looked quite impressive…

Watching this scene, Ji Ying, who was responsible for relaying Heifu's orders, sighed with emotion: "It makes me think back to three years ago, training among the rotational conscripts together with the County Commandant. And now, the County Commandant is already training and commanding a thousand men — truly like a dream!"

"Everyone starts as a raw recruit."

A smile appeared on Heifu's face: "I am no exception; I learned it all step by step. When I was a rotational conscript, I learned to be a squad leader; when I was a platoon leader, I learned to be a company commander; when I was a company commander, I learned to be a battalion commander…"

Even a transmigrator must keep learning. Heifu had gone through over a year of military life, and he had very humbly learned the methods of drilling and managing troops from Yang Xiong and Li You — now they were being put to use.

Sunzi's Art of War mostly discusses strategy and tactics; for training, Wuzi is more detailed. Heifu had the good fortune to borrow this book from Li You, spent half a year reading and copying it, and now knew it by heart.

In the chapter "Governing the Troops" of Wuzi, it specifically discusses matters of advancing the army, conducting battle, training, organizing units, and command.

Soldiers often die in battle from lacking skills and are defeated from being unfamiliar with tactics. Therefore, in the way of employing troops, training comes first. Once one man learns the skills of combat, he can teach ten men. Once ten men learn, they can teach a hundred. Once a hundred learn, they can teach a thousand. Once a thousand learn, they can teach ten thousand. Once ten thousand learn, they can teach the entire army.

Applied to the Qin army's organization, this becomes: "When the squad leader has finished training, they join with the section leader. When the section leader has finished training, they join with the platoon leader. When the platoon leader has finished training, they join with the company commander."

When finalizing the conscription roster, Heifu gave priority to those who had already served in the commandery or county, along with young men who had done rotational corvée labor — all of these counted as reservists, at least familiar with advancing, retreating, left, and right.

In the first ten days of the seventh month, they also completed basic organization in their respective villages and hamlets. Each hamlet contributed five to ten men, organized into squads and sections, with the hamlet elder or hamlet chief serving as section leader or squad leader. Every two villages were organized into one platoon, with the village chief serving as platoon leader.

This also accorded with the military principle that "neighbors in village and hamlet are grouped together, squads and sections guarantee one another" — officers knew their soldiers, and the soldiers trusted and were familiar with one another, making it easy for them to stick together.

In the middle ten days of the seventh month, after these men assembled at the county seat, they were quartered in separate camps. Heifu then organized them into a larger unit: the regiment.

…

"The five hundred men from Yunshui Township and Yunmeng Township shall be the Rear Regiment, commanded by Commandant Clerk Li Xian!"

"The five hundred men from the county seat and Beijiao Township shall be the Front Regiment, commanded by Beijiao Township Patrol Chief Dongmen Bao!"

Dongmen Bao was already of the Bugeng rank, and also the head military officer of a township. Over the past half year he had gained considerable prestige in the county seat and Beijiao Township; making him a battalion commander was entirely proper.

And Li Xian, because of his merit in the earlier capture of Yun Man and Li Ping, had been promoted by the commandery from Zanniao to Bugeng, and was also qualified to serve as a battalion commander.

After this order was issued, everyone congratulated the two men. Li Xian accepted the congratulations with a smile, confident he could do the job well. But Dongmen Bao, afterward, came to find Heifu looking deeply troubled and uneasy, and without a word, bowed low and said:

"I am a rough man. When it comes to fighting, I only know how to charge straight ahead with my head down. I don't understand drilling troops or leading them at all. I'm afraid I'll do a poor job as battalion commander and disappoint the County Commandant…"

The fellow did know himself — Dongmen Bao was an expert at charging into enemy lines, but how much skill he had for drilling troops was indeed uncertain.

But Heifu had his own plans in mind.

"Are you willing to forever remain a mere company commander? To take orders from Xiao Tao or Li Xian? You now hold the Bugeng rank, and you are well respected by the people of the county seat and Beijiao Township. If that were the case, not only would the soldiers feel indignant on your behalf, but I think you yourself would not be content either."

"Or, would you rather be my personal guard company commander? Personal guards must not leave their commander's side by even half a step. If I kept you always by my side, watching helplessly as others charge into battle, you would not be at ease either, and your strengths would also be buried."

Hearing this, Dongmen Bao also realized that he could not do either of those posts. At that moment, Heifu clapped him on the shoulder and said:

"A-Bao, your martial skill is outstanding, and you are brave in battle. Though Qin law stipulates that those of the Dafu rank and above may not break through enemy lines to take heads, a battalion commander, when the fighting becomes critical, must still lead the troops from the front. All you need to do is watch my banner and obey my orders. When I order you to stand by, do not move half a step; when I order you to charge, then wave your banner and be my vanguard!"

Although Dongmen Bao had previously lacked ambitious aspirations, ever since Heifu had spurred him on with the ambition of being enfeoffed as a marquis, he had begun to take up his martial skills again, and had even bashfully asked Heifu about matters of drilling and managing troops. His current problem was merely a lack of confidence, not an inability to change. Encouraged by Heifu, his blood surged, and he readily agreed!

Heifu divided the two five-hundred-man units into the Front Regiment and the Rear Regiment. Dongmen Bao led the vanguard, while Li Xian served as the reserve force; this way, their two different personalities could be fully utilized.

To put Dongmen Bao's mind at ease, Heifu also had his personal guard centurion Xiao Tao, along with one hundred county soldiers serving as bodyguards, assist him with the training.

This method was truly effective. The county soldiers were a standing force, well-trained, all understanding gongs and drums, familiar with banners, and knowing advance and retreat. Leading the soldiers from the various villages and hamlets in training, in less than five days they had re-familiarized themselves with formations and arrays.

The changes in military formations in this era were still: "circle and square them, sit and rise them, march and halt them, left and right them, front and back them, divide and combine them, assemble and disperse them." Heifu had long since trained these to the point of nausea when he was a rotational conscript and in the army.

After this came the more complex gongs, drums, flags, and banners. Fortunately, everyone had one or two stints of service experience and already had a foundation. In just ten days, they had all become familiar with the drums for pace, quick march, charge, general, commander, and captain. When the flag dipped, they quick-marched; when the pennants streamed, they struck fiercely — they were beginning to look somewhat like an army…

"Wuzi says, only when every change has been practiced are they issued their weapons."

Not until the end of the seventh month did Heifu open the county armory and distribute weapons to everyone.

The military texts say: "The order for instructing in battle: the short shall hold spears and halberds, the tall shall hold bows and crossbows."

Heifu had each platoon leader distribute weapons according to each soldier's physical condition, but the proportion of the five weapons had to be reasonable to meet different tactical needs. Thus, among the five hundred men, those bearing dagger-axes, halberds, spears, sword-and-shield, and bows-and-crossbows each numbered one hundred — the crossbowmen required extensive training, so they had already been training on the archery range under Xiao Tao for a month.

Wuzi also says: "Let the strong hold the banners, the brave hold the gongs and drums, the weak be assigned to logistics, and the wise serve as planners." Thus Heifu also completed his final conscription, rounding out his central army in addition to the Front and Rear Regiments.

Though the central army was not large in number, its composition was quite complex. Ji Ying served as the order officer, leading ten men to maintain communication among the front, center, and rear sections. The stable master of Yunshui Township, Yu Shuo, served as a cavalry officer, leading ten riders as scouts.

If the Front and Rear Regiments were the two hands, then the orderlies and scout riders were Heifu's throat, tongue, and eyes.

Mu, a common soldier who had once been a rotational conscript alongside Heifu, was a tall and sturdy fellow. Heifu had him and several other equally tall and strong soldiers carry his banners, and another ten men were responsible for the drum chariot — this counted as "let the strong hold the banners, the brave hold the gongs and drums."

The county master artisan Shi, whom Heifu had dealt with before, was conscripted into the army. Heifu had him lead a hundred merchants and craftsmen to manage arms, provisions, bedding, and other supplies. Bu Cheng, who knew medicine, led ten men as medics and first-aid personnel — this counted as "the weak be assigned to logistics."

In addition, beside Heifu, the jail clerk Yue served as the military law officer, and the Gongshi rank-holder Quji from Zhaoyang Hamlet served as a clerical aide — this also counted as "the wise serve as planners."

Thus, after the men had practiced with their weapons for another five days, Heifu issued an order to all unit officers, deciding to conduct the first combined drill of a thousand men!

…

On the fifth day of the eighth month, just on the eve of the autumn harvest, at Heifu's invitation, the county magistrate, county clerk, and all the officials in the city came to the southern city wall to watch.

The public fields near the county seat were already a sheet of golden yellow, ready to be harvested in a few more days. And outside the gently rippling moat, on the open ground surrounded by rice paddies, over a thousand soldiers stood in two sections, kneeling on one knee on the ground, quietly awaiting the order.

On the city wall, the one hundred personal guards under Xiao Tao had also changed into new uniforms. One platoon of sword-and-shield soldiers carried hide-covered shields, their sharp swords polished to a gleaming shine; one platoon of crossbowmen also bore crossbows on their backs, as if ready to shoot at the enemy at any moment. Moreover, ten sturdy men like Mu stood to Heifu's left and right holding banners; the great flags fluttered in the wind, yet the ten men stood perfectly motionless.

Seeing that the time was about right, Heifu personally beat the great drum on the city wall!

With the first drum roll, the soldiers began to re-form their ranks, spreading out to the left and right and presenting a battle formation.

After the second drum roll, the soldiers — sword-and-shield men in the front ranks, spearmen and halberdiers in the rear — heeded the orders of Dongmen Bao and Li Xian. They advanced at the sound of the drum, struck hard at the heavy drum, halted at the sound of the gong, and retreated at the heavy gong. For a moment, swords and shields were like mountains, dagger-axes and spears like forests — a magnificent sight. And viewed from the city wall, the whole was also in good order.

Three drum rolls, then four had passed; faint sweat showed on the soldiers' foreheads, yet they still swiftly reassembled. As Heifu beat the fifth heavy drum roll, they began to form a marching column, walking past below the city wall in neat order, and they also turned their heads toward the wall and shouted loudly:

"Qin shall prevail!"

The shout of a thousand men shook the clouds, making one's scalp tingle.

Qin's army shall prevail! This was the idea Heifu had been instilling in them every single day for the past month.

County Magistrate Yong He and the others, seeing this, all praised it endlessly: "First drum, ready the troops; second drum, practice the formations; third drum, hasten to eat; fourth drum, strict inspection; fifth drum, march forth. When the drum sounds are in accord, then raise the banners. The orderliness of the troops the County Commandant has drilled already rivals that of the commandery troops…"

In this past month, everyone had seen Heifu's hard work. He had not even returned to his home near the county seat more than a few times, staying in the barracks all day long, and every other day he would also make rounds of the camp, talk at length with the soldiers, and look after their food and clothing.

The military officers were all his trusted former subordinates, responsive as his own arms. The soldiers were all sons of his own county, their backgrounds well known. Over these past few years, Heifu's various deeds had thundered in their ears, and Heifu himself was a classic example of someone who had leaped through the dragon gate by military merit. Those soldiers who had their hearts set on rank regarded him as a model. Stirred up by Ji Ying, whom Heifu had assigned to the task, and influenced by the propaganda of "Qin's army shall prevail," their enthusiasm for war was very high.

But Heifu only said modestly: "Sweat more in peacetime, bleed less in wartime — that is all."

Yong He nodded: "I have heard that the Commandery Commandant has ordered the troops of each county to assemble at Yan City before the end of the eighth month. The County Commandant can still train them for another ten-odd days…"

"There isn't that much time."

Heifu laughed. "I plan to have the soldiers drill together once a day, and on the tenth day of the eighth month, I intend to disband them…"

"Disband!?"

The county magistrate, Yong He, was shocked. "The army is about to march — why disband them?"

Heifu said, "During my inspection I chatted with the soldiers and found that right now they worry most about two things. First, after being away from home over a month and heading north to fight, they likely won't return for half a year or more — they're reluctant to leave, and their winter and summer clothes aren't fully ready. Second, the autumn harvest is imminent; without them at home, the harvest will be delayed a great deal."

"Therefore, I've decided that on the tenth day of the eighth month, the entire army will break into small groups. Each platoon leader, squad leader, and fireteam leader will take the men back to their villages for the autumn harvest, for a period of seven days. On the eighteenth day of the eighth month, at the hour of the Rooster, they are to reassemble here!"

Yong He and the county assistant exchanged glances. Although Heifu had the final say in military matters, they still had misgivings. "County Commandant… what if the soldiers leave and never come back? What then?"

Heifu smiled. "Kill."

"Military law binds squads and fireteams in mutual guarantee, with villages as the unit of comparison. If one man fails to return, his squad leader and fireteam leader share his crime. If one squad is late, the platoon leader dies. Deserters — their entire families become convict laborers, bondservants and bondmaids, and the whole village shames them! I will inform everyone of this in advance: I can love them like my own newborn children, but they must also fear my axe and halberd!"

"In the use of troops, the greatest harm is hesitation; the calamity of the three armies is born of doubt. I do this so the soldiers know I trust them, so they can bid farewell to their families. I also hope they will not betray me. If they do, what use are such soldiers on the battlefield? At the critical moment, they will become the black sheep that harm the herd. Better to kill them…"

Heifu rested his hand on his sword and looked at the soldiers. In that moment, he suddenly possessed the bearing of a commander:

"The Commandery Commandant ordered me to train elite troops. Only when a thousand men are of one heart, and rejoice at the prospect of battle — only then are they elite troops! Only then can they march!"

PS: Chapter 2 will be in the evening.

(End of chapter)