Chapter 265: The Soldiers Can Be Put to Use

The "Southern Army" commanded by Meng Wu numbered one hundred fifty thousand men, of whom eighty thousand were combat troops, divided under eight Commandants and comprising eighty Company Commanders in total.

As General Wang Jian, supreme commander of Qin's six hundred thousand strong army, came to inspect the Southern Army, among these eighty Company Commanders, only Heifu had the chance to accompany Deputy General Meng Wu, Commandant Li You, and others in escorting the old general on his tour of the camp…

Heifu had been personally called forward by Wang Jian to speak. Wang Jian asked whether this game of "football" was his idea. Heifu diffidently said yes, saying he had thought of it from cuju, simply wanting to give the soldiers under him something to do.

He did not boast or brag, but said earnestly: "I venture to tell the General, as Commandant Li once told us, that from the moment a soldier enters camp, he is no longer a free man; he should in principle forget boundaries and kin, and at the sight of the foe forget himself."

"But staying long in camp, with nothing to do beyond eating, sleeping, drilling, and the occasional routine patrol, after several months it is hard to avoid tedium and even the breeding of violent qi. This violent qi spreading through the army is like a fierce poison in the human body. If there were battles to fight, one could at least vent this poison outward, but with no battles now, left unchecked, the poison accumulates within. Lately in every camp, soldiers are often restless — gambling, brawling in private, sneaking into the tents of the camp-market women. The Commandant ordered us to investigate strictly, and though all were severely punished, the offenses still recurred despite repeated bans. Yet ever since we had the game of football, the soldiers under me have had something to do and have all settled down…"

Heifu's words were very down-to-earth, and they made Wang Jian nod inwardly. Back in Xianyang, he had heard of this man's name — after all, he was a meritorious officer who had followed Li You and fought at the Battle of Tongyang — and just now Li You had also spoken of Heifu with much praise.

He was not wrong: letting soldiers wait so long they grow weary does no good for army management and can even affect morale.

Sunzi says: In the morning, spirit is keen; by day, spirit flags; at dusk, thoughts turn homeward. Therefore, one skilled in warfare always avoids the enemy's fresh keenness and waits until their morale is low and flagging before launching an attack. Meet the enemy's disorder with your own order, meet their rashness with your own calm composure, draw near to await the distant, be at ease to await the weary, be full to await the hungry — these are the general principles of gauging the foe.

After arriving at the front, Wang Jian deliberately avoided battle and waited for four full months precisely to wear out the morale of Chu's whole nation in arms, and to make his own soldiers forget the shadow of Qin's great defeat in the last battle — so that Chu's morale would sink day by day, Qin's eagerness for battle would grow day by day, and the morale of foe and friend would be reversed.

If during this standoff the Qin army's own morale plummeted, how would that do?

In the past, the kings and generals of the feudal lords devised many methods to solve the morale problem.

For instance, Guan Zhong of Qi and Goujian of Yue conscripted women into the camps to comfort the soldiers. When the army had no battles to fight, the soldiers would vent themselves in the women's quarters, and through a bout of clouds and rain, restore their martial vigor.

This method, however, gradually proved to do more harm than good. First, the military yin-yang experts believed that women in camp cause morale to wane — with one woman in the army, the minds of ten thousand men would stray from training and battle.

Thus, starting from the Mohist defense codes, it was decreed: "When women come to the main army, let the marching men walk on the left, the women walk on the right, and none walk side by side. All shall proceed to their defensive posts; those who disobey shall be executed."

And Shang Yang likewise amended the statutes: "Let there be no women in the camp market!"

Since the Qin army could not, like the armies of the Six States, rely on camp quarters and comfort women to boost morale, the only recourse was to loosen the constraints on the soldiers and let them engage in pastimes like wrestling, stone-throwing, and distance-leaping. A few men playing, a hundred watching — besides killing time, it could also lift morale and give the soldiers exercise.

Yet never had any game, like this "football," so swiftly swept through the ranks, making the soldiers' hearts leap with the rolling of that little leather ball, and drawing from them roars and cheers like those when storming an enemy line in battle…

Beyond letting the soldiers pass the time and forget the tedium of camp life, Wang Jian also glimpsed in it something of the principles of military contest and the art of war.

At that moment, Li You, holding the ball at just the right moment, remarked with feeling:

"I have heard a legend. It is said that when the Yellow Emperor fought Chiyou at Zhuolu, after capturing and killing him, he flayed his skin to make a target and had men shoot at it, rewarding those who hit often. He cut his hair to make a banner, called the Chiyou Pennant. He stuffed his stomach to make a ball and had men kick it, rewarding those who struck it often — this is the origin of cuju. Gradually, this thing was often played in the army, an amusement to train warriors, and was especially favored in Qi and Chu."

"But the cuju of Qi and Chu is mostly a game for duelists and bravos to show off their skills, of no use in formation battle. Yet this football played by the men of Southern Commandery today is different. It not only entertains, but can also drill formations — ten men striving together can then achieve victory."

Thereupon Li You suggested: "General, why not spread this game of football throughout the army? Let the armored soldiers practice resisting the foe as the line vanguard, let the shock troops practice breaking through as the forwards, and let the junior officers act as squad leaders on the field to practice command. It is both a game and each gains what suits him — would that not be excellent?"

This was what Heifu, over the past several days, had obliquely and persistently instilled in Li You, and Li You had finally used it to make this suggestion to Wang Jian. Seeing his superior cite classics and allusions, with the limelight at last falling on him rather than Heifu, Heifu was very pleased — now he need not worry about the guest usurping the host's role.

Though Wang Jian was the Qin commander-in-chief, the thigh Heifu would cling to for the next ten years was still the Li family. Even Wang Jian's own grandson, Wang Li, would later need Li Si's patronage to advance — this point had to be clearly recognized. If in a moment of vainglory he tried too hard to impress Wang Jian, making his superior Li You lose face and creating a rift between them, that would be far from ideal…

Wang Jian was a perceptive man. He glanced at Li You, then at Heifu, who had lowered his head with a faint smile, but did not expose the matter. He merely laughed heartily: "Not bad. We can have the troops of the Central and Northern Armies learn it too. Only, if this catches on, I fear that in cities like Shangcai and Ruyang, the pig bladders people used to casually toss away will start fetching a price."

The commander-in-chief had made a joke, so of course everyone around joined in the loud laughter. After laughing a while himself, Heifu cupped his hands again and said: "General, your subordinate has one more presumptuous request…"

He could keep a low profile, but he still needed Wang Jian to remember him.

"What request? Speak freely."

Heifu said: "At first I called this game 'football,' but now it seems not quite fitting. I beg the General to bestow a name!"

Wang Jian did not refuse, nor did he hesitate. Stroking his graying beard, he said: "Commandant Li says that cuju originated from Chiyou's stomach. In the eastern lands of Qi and Chu, Chiyou is the Lord of Arms. And this game today also comes from cuju. Moreover, our army will use this method to train elite troops in the art of war and military contest… Shall we call it Arms-ball?"

Arms-ball? Heifu wondered silently whether it would later be confused with ping-pong… but inwardly grumbled that it was still better than calling it rugby, since that thing had not yet been introduced to China.

After this exchange, Wang Jian was fairly satisfied with Heifu's performance. It seemed this young Company Commander, who did not even have a surname, truly understood a bit of military art and knew how to train and lead troops. When he asked further and learned that Heifu was only twenty-one, Wang Jian could not help but sigh with emotion:

"When this old man was twenty-one, I was merely the County Commandant of Wu County in Hedong Commandery, with only five hundred men under me…"

Having said this, he glanced again at Li You and sighed once more: "At thirty, I was no more than a minor Gongcheng rank, serving as a court gentleman in Xianyang Palace."

He shook his head, letting his graying beard flutter in the wind: "The young are to be held in awe — how do we know that those to come will not surpass the present?"

"The General is old but vigorous!"

So said Heifu, and the others caught on, saying in unison: "General Wang is old but vigorous, a pillar of the state!"

Hearing this, Wang Jian also laughed heartily: "Indeed — while Jing and Chu are not yet destroyed, how can one speak of old age?"

…

In the camp of the Southern Commandery troops, Wang Jian still had pigs and dogs slaughtered, providing the best food and drink to comfort the soldiers, and personally ate and drank alongside them, which moved the soldiers deeply. He even disregarded his advanced age of over sixty to serve as the kick-off man for a match, kicking the leather ball toward the two teams of soldiers, drawing another burst of cheers…

Wang Jian could be said to have the strongest presence of anyone Heifu had met since arriving in this era — even stronger than the authority and statecraft that Ye Teng, the Governor of Southern Commandery, deliberately projected. He was awe-inspiring without anger, and treated the common soldiers kindly like an old squad leader, yet commanded heartfelt reverence. This attitude of drawing close to the troops won him the love and esteem of all.

After old General Wang's inspection tour, the Southern Commandery troops, whose morale was already good, were even more fired up. And so, just as he was about to board his carriage and leave, from the ten thousand and more soldiers seeing him off, someone suddenly shouted loudly: "May I ask the old General, when do we go to war? We wish to fight!"

"Yes, when do we go to war? We can't wait any longer — we want to kick the Chu soldiers' heads like balls!" someone seconded.

After a burst of raucous laughter, everyone's hearts seemed united. Ten thousand men dropped to one knee before Wang Jian, struck their shields with their swords, and asked in unison: "General, lead us into battle!"

Wang Jian was very pleased with their spirit. He steadied himself on the carriage and had the orderlies loudly relay his reply to the soldiers.

"The moment for battle draws near — you men need not wait much longer!"

The reason Wang Jian had dragged this campaign out so long, only defending and never attacking, was that he had considered Chu's vast territory and large population. If he led the army deep inside, the Chu forces would be scattered everywhere, making it hard to pin down their main strength. Dividing his forces risked repeating Li Xin's disastrous mistake, and he had no taste for playing hide-and-seek with Xiang Yan.

By holding firm here with the main army, he was certain to draw the Chu army to Qin's front. After months of standoff, with the busy farming season of the second month approaching, the Chu army's provisions were running short, and the Chu soldiers should also be growing lice in their armor, anxious to return home and plant their fields!

Seated in the carriage back to the main camp, Wang Jian thought to himself: "Seeing Heifu, I know the junior officers can be put to use; and now, I also know the common soldiers can be put to use… The chance to ride the momentum and strike the Chu army, to destroy them in one blow, is close at hand!"

PS: This is a make-up chapter for an Alliance Leader. Thanks to "Angry June First" for becoming an Alliance Leader of this book. Currently still owe 7 chapters.

(End of Chapter)