Chapter 109: Magnanimity and Mettle

This isn't right, is it?

Two hundred forty border troops coming to join him — Liu Chengzong was naturally overjoyed.

But then he sank into deep worry.

A few days ago at Baijiachuan, when all the armies fell into chaos and only the Mule Battalion held formation in good order — that hadn't really meant much.

After all, everyone else had performed badly; only Gao Yingxiang's main force and his Mule Battalion had stayed in place.

It wouldn't have made Gao Yingxiang lose face.

He and Gao Yingxiang had never been particularly close — if you swapped in someone petty, you could even say his old man had once had some unpleasantness with Gao Yingxiang.

This so-called master-disciple bond was a helpless arrangement back in prison, and now it was just going with the flow to band together and survive.

But this scene Yang Yao had stirred up, coming out of who knows where — if Liu Chengzong and Gao Yingxiang traded places, he'd be very unhappy in his heart. Who exactly is the leader here?

Judging others by oneself, this is called the guest usurping the host.

If he stayed with Gao Yingxiang any longer, sooner or later they'd be together in name only.

Smack!

Gao Yingxiang's palm slammed heavily onto the table, startling Liu Chengzong so badly that his just-released hand flew back to his saber hilt — thinking, damn, I'm sitting here worrying about us drifting apart in spirit, and now Teacher Gao won't even keep up appearances for me?

But who could have guessed — Gao Yingxiang wasn't even looking at him. He raised an arm and pointed at Yang Yao: "Damn it all, is Gao Yingxiang so worthless that no one wants to join me?"

"Ha ha ha!" With that, he threw his head back laughing and clapped Liu Chengzong on the shoulder: "Lion, this is a good thing! Don't keep them kneeling — quickly take in these brothers... You must serve General Liu well from now on, or we'll all hold it against you!"

This was the second time Liu Chengzong had witnessed Gao Yingxiang's strength — magnanimity.

Put the same situation on someone else, and few could sincerely feel happy for another.

Even just offering insincere congratulations is already an act that goes against human nature.

Whether sincere or not, it was all magnanimous.

After speaking, Gao Yingxiang saw he wasn't moving and assumed he was worrying about provisions, so he leaned in and whispered: "It's fine, I still have grain and fodder here."

Liu Chengzong said nothing. He rose, stepped back, and faced Gao Yingxiang, cupping his fists and bowing with a belly full of apology.

Gao Yingxiang raised a hand and patted his arm, then pointed at Yang Yao, his face all 'go for it, big brother's got your back.'

He thought Liu Chengzong was thanking him for the grain aid, but in truth, Liu Chengzong was grateful that Gao Yingxiang had taught him a lesson.

Becoming a leader is easy.

When no one knows where to go, if you carve out a path, your will becomes the direction of the group.

But being a good leader is hard. The world is full of people born with the makings of emperors, kings, generals, and ministers who end up abandoned by all.

Magnanimity matters greatly.

Liu Chengzong turned, approached with a trace of wariness, helped Yang Yao up, and asked: "You said you're a company commander from Guyuan — how did you find me?"

Yang Yao rose. Liu Chengzong was younger than he had imagined, which threw him off for a moment. He paused, then nodded, understanding this was a question about his background, and cupped his fists: "General was also border army before, so I won't go on about back pay. Last year, in the twelfth month, a few deserters from our camp were caught by the chiliarch during the Longevity Festival and slowly sliced to death on the command platform."

Oh, the border troops who mutinied at Guyuan last year.

Liu Chengzong nodded, glancing at Cao Yao, Gao Xian, and the others seated at the other table. He knew this matter all too well — their two squads of Yuhe Fort border troops had drawn the short straw and been disbanded precisely because of the Guyuan incident.

Yang Yao said: "We brothers killed the chiliarch, fought our way through Sanshui, Yaozhou, and other places, then later joined up with Second Brother Wang of Baishui. After Second Brother Wang died, we were hunted by government troops and wandered everywhere."

In truth, Yang Yao didn't need to say it — Liu Chengzong could tell just from that scar-riddled armor how many battles they'd been through.

"When all hope was lost, we heard that the General was up north attacking post stations, defeating government troops, releasing defeated soldiers, and not troubling the common folk. We set our hearts on joining you and scouted along the way. Just happened to meet Heaven-Reaching Monkey on the road and learned the General was camped here, so we came."

Liu Chengzong nodded to himself — this checked out. He said: "In these extraordinary times, since Company Commander Yang once joined Second Brother Wang, do you know a fierce general under him named Song Shouzhen?"

"Fierce general?"

Yang Yao thought briefly and shook his head: "The brave fighters under Second Brother Wang were all us brothers. There was no fierce general called Song Shouzhen. There was a man surnamed Song who played the erhu — a musician from Fuzhou."

Put that way, it matched up.

Liu Chengzong's heart held no more doubt. He stepped forward, drew Yang Yao over, and cupped his fists: "Right, a musician. Since we're all border army brothers, from now on I, Liu, will rely heavily on Brother Yang."

Everyone was delighted. Gao Yingxiang waved his hand: "Bring a few more bowls. Ying'en and Heaven-Reaching Monkey, go together outside the camp and arrange a campsite for Company Commander Yang's men. Then bring all the squad leaders from Company Commander Yang's unit here — everyone drink and eat meat, and let Lion get to know his new followers."

Polestar and Heaven-Reaching Monkey took the order and went to handle matters. Yang Yao was also pulled to the table by Liu Chengzong.

Gao Yingxiang started to speak, then hesitated, and finally couldn't hold back. Holding his wine bowl, he looked at Yang Yao with a very strange expression: "Company Commander Yang, you... Lion, I'm not trying to pry your bricks loose — I genuinely want to know, has Company Commander Yang truly never heard of Gao's name?"

It was very strange. Gao had run around the four border garrisons for all these years — even Mongols from beyond the passes, when they fled into Han territory, knew to come join him. Could his name really carry so little weight in Guyuan?

Yang Yao's answer was very official and polite: "The great name of Dashing King Gao is like thunder piercing the ear — I have long heard of it."

Gao Yingxiang froze, as if something were stuck in his throat. He adjusted his breathing before recovering from the awkwardness, leaned forward, and fixed both eyes on Yang Yao: "Then why didn't you join me?"

This was what puzzled Gao Yingxiang most.

It wasn't that Liu Chengzong was no good — Liu Chengzong was excellent, otherwise he wouldn't have made a special detour into Shanxi to find him.

But when it came to joining someone, wasn't it a matter of taking shelter under a great tree?

Any clear-eyed person could see that Wang Jiayin was a great tree, and he, Gao Yingxiang, was also a great tree — but Liu the Lion was a crumbling wall. Joining others was safe; joining Liu Chengzong was dangerous.

It wasn't strange that Yang Yao's group had specifically sought out Liu Chengzong — after all, they were all border troops, with a naturally higher foundation of trust.

But he, Gao Yingxiang, was clearly right here. Heaven-Reaching Monkey couldn't have failed to mention him, yet Yang Yao still wouldn't so much as glance his way.

He had to know — where exactly had things gone wrong here?

Gao Yingxiang looked first at Liu Chengzong, then at Yang Yao, and explained: "This has nothing to do with you joining Liu the Lion. Even if more people join Liu the Lion or Heaven-Reaching Monkey in the future, that's fine — everyone has their own aspirations! It's just that Gao must know..."

He sat up straight, patted his broad chest, and said earnestly: "Is it that I can't win people over, or is my reputation bad? I need to change."

The rank of company commander wasn't high, but generally their ability, intelligence, and education wouldn't be too poor.

A common soldier had to take part in at least two battles and earn merit in both, and in between serve as a squad leader leading troops while studying military knowledge at a martial academy or fort school, before he could serve as a company commander.

Or they came from a hereditary guard officer background — that was much simpler, with family learning passed down and guard academies available, most could competently fill battalion officer posts.

Besides, Yang Yao, who had fought his way out of a mutiny, had, after a short time blending in, already realized that his actions had put Liu Chengzong in an awkward position.

He too had bitterness he couldn't express. He had originally thought that with Liu Chengzong's ability, even if they merged camps with these refugee armies, he'd be treated like an ancestor in camp, the kind of figure who walked sideways wherever he went.

Who knew Liu Chengzong would be so young?

"General Liu, King Chuang Gao, to be honest, before I came I never imagined the General would be so young and accomplished... but even if I had known, I would still have come to join General Liu."

Yang Yao spoke while watching the expressions of the others at the table. "I don't know King Chuang's caliber, but in Ningzhou in Qingyang, I once joined forces with local bandits like Sun Monkey and He Zijie, and later I also joined Wang Er'ge. They all treated us border army brothers with great kindness and respect. For that regard and respect — all eight hundred of us brothers."

This description was basically equivalent to Liu Chengzong's position under Gao Yingxiang — managing all army provisions, working without heavy labor, a unit maintained solely to serve as a guardian deity whenever government troops appeared.

Yang Yao raised his hand in a two-finger sign, his face showing grief he could not hide. "Dead and scattered, dead and scattered — now only this handful remain. I never wanted to join a great chief, but if we let ourselves plunder freely, our hearts would scatter."

This was in truth a very dark principle. The *Book of the Later Han* compares employing men to raising hawks: when hungry they serve you, when full they fly away.

Of course, hunger and fullness do not mean whether one can eat one's fill, but rather the security, wealth, and satisfaction of various desires that a group can provide.

A band of border troops plundering wantonly — obtaining wealth and goods is not hard. But once they have wealth and goods, why would anyone still follow you? Couldn't they just take the gold, silver, silks, and satins and run back home?

You are the bandit chief. The soldiers are not.

Even if they stay by your side, they will turn from a pack of desperate men into a bunch of rich old gentlemen. How much of their fighting spirit can possibly remain?

To put it plainly, anyone who can live decently has no wish to live day to day with no idea what tomorrow holds.

"Since we had to join someone, we've had our fill of suffering — when we should run, we'd be greedy for possessions and insist on fighting; when we should fight, we'd panic and flee blindly. We had to join someone who knows the trade. Not only must the chief understand soldiering — his subordinates must be true men too."

When Yang Yao finished, he raised his wine bowl to Liu Chengzong. "Among the chiefs with a reputation today, I would only join General Liu's division. It has the look of a righteous army."

Liu Chengzong listened, nodding inwardly. He glanced back, then took a small sip from the bowl.

Since childhood he had eaten the last-meal rice and drunk the parting wine — his tolerance was excellent.

But he had no fondness for drink, and was even a little afraid of drinking.

In his heart he always felt it was a summoning ritual.

As if the very act of lifting a wine bowl to his mouth would summon his stern-faced elder brother behind him, roaring that drinking was forbidden in the army.

Yang Yao was an interesting man. This was a company commander who pursued a higher cause.

A higher cause — Liu Chengzong understood.

Nearly a thousand years of contention for supremacy through the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods had driven the military theory and technology of the Central Plains to rapid advancement, reaching the bottleneck of what the technical conditions of the time allowed.

In every dynasty since, no army failed to sustain its regular forces with the higher cause of defending home and country and personal honor.

But the fortunes of a state wax and wane. At the founding of every dynasty, there was not only a higher cause, but also the tangible benefits of merit-bestowed titles, battle-merit land grants, and even hereditary privilege for descendants. By the golden age, with abundant goods, a rich populace, and a strong state, the army's tangible rewards grew even greater.

Yet by a dynasty's end, generally only this wisp of higher cause remained to keep the army breathing.

Still, Liu Chengzong felt that, leafing through all the histories, a situation as stifling as the army's current plight was exceedingly rare.

Peasant uprisings under heaven were countless, and roving bandits and brigands even more so — yet government troops had always held the side of the higher cause. Even at a dynasty's end, in the early stages of rebellion, regular troops rarely surrendered to rebels.

Quelling rebellion for the state, rising in rank and office — the perfect union of national destiny and personal advancement.

Especially in this Great Ming era, when organization, training, morale, firearms, armor, and barding were all incomparably more complete than in previous ages.

In over a thousand years, the balance of strength between peasant rebels and government troops had never been so lopsided.

At that moment, Liu Chengzong suddenly wanted to laugh, but feared the laughter would turn to tears.

Sitting across from him was a former officer of the Great Ming Empire whose heart yearned for a higher cause.

When the higher cause of defending home and country was crushed by hunger, one could only seek, somewhere between letting the troops run wild and protecting the land and its people, a balance point where bellies could be filled and lives barely preserved.

This was not laughable. It was bitterly ironic.

What was laughable was that he was the balance point in Yang Yao's eyes.

Soon, several of Yang Yao's subordinates were brought over by Heaven-Climbing Monkey, and another table was set up for them in the camp.

The infantry company commander called Wang Wenxiu did not look the least bit refined — a great beard merged with his hair into one.

Hu Sanhuai and Wu Yangchen, the two squad leaders, were one thin and one fat. Then there were the brothers Han Shipan and Han Shiyou, both powerfully built — they were household troop leaders.

All were crack troops of Guyuan Garrison.

When everyone met, they were still a bit reserved. Gao Yingxiang no longer pressed the border troops about his own shortcomings, but instead drew on his experience traveling through the four garrisons to liven up the table. At that, he was truly peerless under heaven.

Even Liu Chengzong, who disliked drinking much, drained half a bowl — and that was with him keeping a tight rein on himself.

As for Cao Yao, no need to say more. He was a man who loved his drink to begin with, and having finally gotten his hands on wine, he drank until he was practically carried back.

Liu Chengzong had been a little worried about Cao Yao drinking too much. When he first looked, the man was still fine, and the two even chatted for a while — Cao Yao sighed that it was time to return to Yan'an, that he missed his wife.

But a while later, when the meat on the table was all eaten and the gathering was about to break up, Liu Chengzong looked around again — Cao Yao and Feng Rang were both gone from the table, and not under it either. Searching everywhere, he found them on the hilltop to the east, having piled up a few stones and now kowtowing.

As they kowtowed they shouted names, and finally, tongues thick, they embraced and wept bitterly — leaving the teetotal Gao Xian and Wei Qian'er standing below the hill with arms folded, utterly mortified.

The two of them shouted over a hundred names Liu Chengzong had never heard. Had he not caught the name Liu Yujie among them, he truly would not have known what they were doing.

Even Gao Yingxiang and the others were stirred, coming over to look up the hill. He asked Liu Chengzong, "Lion, what are those two brothers of yours doing? And who is Liu Yujie? The name sounds familiar."

Liu Chengzong sighed. "A subordinate general of General Du. In the forty-seventh year of Wanli, he fled Sarhū with the two of them. At Liaoyang they ran straight into Military Commissioner Xiong, and he was executed... Please excuse them, Master Gao. The two have had too much to drink — they're paying respects to fallen comrades."

"Carry the two of them back to camp. Stay alert tonight — don't let these two go wild with drink and cause a camp panic." Liu Chengzong said this to Wei Qian'er, then turned to take his leave of Gao Yingxiang. Only then did he say to Yang Yao, "Come, let's return to camp as well. I'll give you and Company Commander Wang the vanguard and rearguard formations. We'll discuss the details back at camp. Tomorrow, follow me back to Yan'an."

The group raised torches and threaded through the mountains, each returning to their own camp.

The brothers Han Shipan and Han Shiyou became Liu Chengzong's household troop captains. Yang Yao and Wang Wenxiu each took command of the vanguard and rearguard as their officers, and the border troops under them were reorganized on the spot into combat soldiers under those commands.

The next morning, Liu Chengzong took his leave of Gao Yingxiang and led his division toward Yan'an.

They had just emerged from the mountain pass when he heard someone shouting for him. Turning back, it was Gao Yingxiang, galloping in pursuit with a thick-shafted long spear clamped under his arm.

Only when he drew near did Liu Chengzong see clearly — it was not a long spear Gao Yingxiang carried. The vermilion shaft was long and blunt-tipped, adorned with an old tassel-head of pheasant plumes and pearl cords from who knows where. It was a great furled banner of red satin with yellow borders.

"Master Gao? This is..."

Gao Yingxiang said nothing, only smiled from horseback. He raised his arm, gripping the twelve-foot pole in his palm and shaking it out. The great red banner with yellow borders unfurled in the wind, and at its center, stitched in yellow thread, was an enormous character: Liu.

Gao Yingxiang spurred his horse forward and pressed the great banner into Liu Chengzong's hands, smiling. "It's time you had a banner of your own, General Liu."