Chapter 1254: Morning Drill

As long as a military officer usually conducts himself decently and hasn't fallen out with his colleagues, you can't even have him arrested for questioning. You're a civil official with a hundred or so guards — trying to lay hands on a military officer who commands an army? How could you possibly pull that off?

Now everyone just maintains a surface courtesy and ritual. If you want to move troops, you can only negotiate — there's no way to demand more. One thought constantly gnaws at Wang Zaijin: Sun Chengzong, the man who impeached him and got him dismissed, what can he actually accomplish over in Liaodong? Those Liaoxi military houses are experts at eating empty payrolls and drinking soldiers' blood, but expecting them to go into battle and fight — that's a joke.

Sometimes Wang Zaijin privately wonders why the eunuch faction commands troops as easily as moving their own arms, and those crude military officers serve them wholeheartedly. The reason is simple: the eunuch faction is willing to give benefits. As long as you do the work, silver and official posts are yours. But civil officials can't do that — they think everything is a matter of course, that it should be so by regulation. And anyway, what right do you crude, boorish soldiers have to demand so much...

The officers below naturally had no idea of the sentiments in Supreme Commander Wang Zaijin's heart. Wang Zaijin reined in his emotions and said gravely, "Although our army is certain to win and the bandits certain to lose, this is still a bitter battle involving tens of thousands of troops, and neither side is particularly short on provisions. This official has heard that the Xuzhou bandits place great importance on their supply lines — sending troops to raid them likely won't be easy. If we fall into an enemy ambush like tonight, that would just be pointless losses."

Hearing this, the officers below all nodded in agreement. Seeing their attitude, Wang Zaijin's brow furrowed and his expression soured, but a man who had served as Governor-General possessed a depth of composure and self-restraint far beyond the ordinary, and his face quickly returned to normal.

The Xuzhou bandits could be considered a lone army deep in Northern Zhili territory, with still some distance between their main force and the Linqing encampment. Sending cavalry to raid their supply lines and cut off their retreat would have been the superior strategy, but the cavalry of the two Yangs had come over to surrender and reported that the Xuzhou bandits didn't fear cavalry at all, and that their firearms could inflict heavy casualties on mounted troops. Once the officers heard this, they immediately grew cautious. Cavalry and horse troops were the lifeblood of every faction — naturally no one was willing to send them out to be worn down. And though everyone had happily divided up those newly arrived thousand-odd cavalry, what's in your hands is now your own — how could you possibly send it out to be spent?

Later, as the Xuzhou bandit army advanced, each faction sent out cavalry to probe them. Not only did they gain no advantage, they lost several hundred riders in the process. Now there was not just hearsay but concrete examples, and everyone was even less willing to take risks. Under these circumstances, even if Wang Zaijin wanted to employ some clever stratagem, no one would pay him any heed and no one would carry it out. He could only use strategies that everyone could accept.

Speaking of this matter reminded Wang Zaijin of his experiences in Liaodong, and he nearly failed to suppress his rage. But in the end he calmed himself and continued in a deep voice, "Behind us lies the vital region of the capital, where the divine city is located. This makes steadiness all the more paramount — we absolutely must not act rashly or court danger. We should use our strengths to counter the enemy's weaknesses. Our army is mighty, the bandit rabble sickly and weak. We should advance with the force of Mount Tai bearing down, defeat the bandit army in a direct engagement, seek victory without demanding total victory. Accumulate small victories, and only then can we achieve a great victory!"

Though the wording was refined and sounded very reasonable, stripped bare it simply meant relying on superior numbers, everyone clustering together and pressing forward, not taking risks to attempt any encirclement or annihilation, seeking first to avoid mistakes, and then forcing the bandit army to retreat. This was the steadiest, most risk-free strategy. Such an arrangement naturally suited the officers who wanted to preserve their strength best of all.

"Even if the bandit rabble had three heads and six arms, we have over thirty thousand border troops, twenty thousand from the capital garrison, and twenty thousand from Zhili — we'd crush them by sheer weight. With a threefold superiority like this, there's truly no need for clever tricks or courting danger. Just fight them fair and square." Zhang Jixian declared loudly. Everyone nodded again. What was the basis for predicting victory or defeat on the battlefield if not the relative numbers of troops? A threefold-plus advantage was the greatest guarantee of victory. Not to mention that government cavalry was already close to ten thousand — if they could lose this, the sun would rise in the west.

Wang Zaijin and Zhang Jixian had naturally discussed this beforehand. If they couldn't coordinate, there would have been no way to march. When Zhang finished, Wang Zaijin turned to Colonel Hong, who commanded the capital garrison, and said, "Colonel Hong, detach a unit of troops and send them to Tianjin. That is the foundation of our army's provisions and baggage, and the hub for receiving follow-up troops. It must not be lost under any circumstances. Set out at once tomorrow morning."

"Your subordinate obeys the order." Colonel Hong rose and answered.

The officers leading troops from Shanxi, Zhending, and Baoding showed cold sneers on their faces. They understood exactly what Wang Zaijin meant. Among the capital garrison troops this time were some sons of the nobility and inner-court officials, eagerly come to earn merit, and some muddle-headed ones who just wanted to watch the excitement. If any of these people got killed or wounded, everyone would suffer the consequences. So they were sending these people back to Tianjin first.

This time Supreme Commander Wang Zaijin didn't even bother to hide his frown. The regional commanders, vice generals, and colonels below didn't take him, the Supreme Commander, seriously at all — otherwise they wouldn't have shown their expressions so brazenly.

The realm is about to descend into chaos. From now on, the words of scholars probably won't carry as much weight as those of soldiers. This thought suddenly surfaced in Wang Zaijin's mind. The idea made him shiver with alarm, and he hurriedly cast it aside. Steadying himself, he said solemnly, "Tomorrow the border troops of Xuanfu and Jizhen will fight in the center. The capital garrison will hold the city and the various encampments. The Shanxi border troops, together with the Baoding troops, will be on the west. The Zhending troops will be on the east. Together we shall encircle and destroy the bandit army."

This set the formation for the next day's great battle. The officers all rose to their feet and acknowledged the order in solemn voices. This orderly scene made Wang Zaijin feel a bit more comfortable. He hoped that after this great victory, he could be transferred to a rich and prosperous region for a term as Governor-General, and then retire to his hometown. The court was no place to stay — he could see the eunuch faction was about to raise Sun Chengzong up, and there would surely be a death struggle with the Donglin faction. As he thought this, Wang Zaijin wore an expression of grave solemnity and said in a deep voice, "Gentlemen, this battle will certainly take time. As long as we respond with composure, the bandit rabble will inevitably be destroyed!"

"The Supreme Commander speaks truly. After all, this war is being fought on our Great Ming's own ground. The bandit rabble only advanced this far through a burst of speed. Once we hold them in place, troops from every corner of the realm will gather here, and then an army several times, several tens of times larger will arrive. How could those Xuzhou bandits not be annihilated? As long as we stay composed, a great merit is guaranteed to come our way!" Zhang Jixian chimed in, and the solemn atmosphere in the room immediately lightened considerably.

"I wonder whose hands that Xuzhou liquor will fall into afterward?" Colonel Hong, who commanded the capital garrison, said with a grin. Everyone in the room began to laugh.

Wang Zaijin smiled faintly, but inwardly he was dismissive. Back when he studied the moral essays of the sages and took the civil examinations for official rank, and later when he handled military affairs and read many books on war, exchanging views with his advisors, they always spoke of "orders strictly obeyed and prohibitions strictly observed," of "stern and orderly discipline." Yet from his experiences these years, from Liaodong to here, he had indeed seen a few wolf-like, tiger-like men, but far more were worthless mediocrities. The officers were like wealthy gentry and great merchants; the soldiers were like lowly slaves and bondsmen. This was all he had seen these years. Could it be that the crack troops described in the military manuals were like the "Golden Age of the Three Dynasties" — a myth that never truly existed?

Zhao Jin rose very early. By the time he awoke, perhaps a hint of white had already appeared at the horizon, but peering through the gaps in the tent, it was still pitch black. Zhao Jin took a deep breath. It was already early summer, yet the early morning in Jinghai County was still quite chilly.

As he turned over and sat up, there was an immediate reaction outside. A personal guard peered in through a gap in the tent, saw Zhao Jin standing on the ground, and hurriedly asked for instructions from outside.

As he washed his face with the cold water brought to him, the personal guards reported on the two night raids and said that all had been quiet since. After drying his face, Zhao Jin asked, "How long until we break camp?"

"About two quarters of an hour."

Having received the answer, Zhao Jin was silent for a moment, then said, "I'll go practice with the spear for a while first. Everything else as usual."

The personal guard hadn't expected this reply and paused, startled, before hastily acknowledging. Zhao Jin drank a mouthful of tea, then directly picked up his long spear and stood before his command tent. The area in front of the commander-in-chief's quarters naturally had ample open space, and it was set apart from the surroundings, so there was no need to worry about disturbing anyone.

The attendant personal guards, however, were somewhat excited. They had only heard that Zhao Jin and his companions were all unmatched in valor, that back in the day a few of them had faced hundreds of fierce bandits and slaughtered them. They wondered what kind of superb martial skill that must have been. But these personal guards had come late — Zhao Jin's martial practice and demonstrations were mostly done at his private residence, and they had hardly ever seen them. Hearing that he was going to practice now, they all wanted to witness it. A few even harbored thoughts of picking up a move or two.

But Zhao Jin's drill was monotonous and dull. First he loosened up his body, then he picked up the long spear, held it level, stepped forward, and thrust again and again. The movements were unvaried. Or he would raise the long spear and thrust forward with very small movements.

This was clearly no different from the daily drills of the various brigades and companies. The soldiers and troopers practiced these exact same combat techniques. Everyone said Master Jin's martial skill was superb — shouldn't it be the kind where you whirl a long spear like a windmill, leaping high and crouching low?

The personal guards thought this, but naturally no one voiced it. They even had to show admiration on their faces. Still, being young and full of vigor, their expressions were somewhat stiff. Zhao Jin paid no mind to what the onlookers were thinking. He just practiced, thrust after thrust. Yet this monotonous routine brought many memories to mind — from learning martial arts with his second uncle Zhao Zhenxing, all the way to the ambush in the snow. If Sun Dalei hadn't died, he would now be commanding a brigade. Or maybe I wouldn't have trusted him with that, and would have kept him by my side to manage Yunshan Trading...

"You all think there's nothing special about this, don't you?" Niu Jinbao asked aloud. Now that the number of personal guards had increased, Niu Jinbao no longer had to stand watch day and night as before and could rest on a regular schedule.

At this question, many of the personal guards flinched, then forced smiles and hurriedly answered, "Master Jin's martial skill is superb!" "Just watching makes the hairs on my body stand on end — so murderous!" "Truly extraordinary..."

Niu Jinbao swept his gaze around with a smile. In the light of dawn and the torches, the young guards' insincere expressions were clearly visible. These young guards had all received instruction from Niu Jinbao after joining the personal guard, so he naturally understood their thoughts perfectly. But at a time like this, there was no need to expose them.

"What you learned in the companies was this. After joining the personal guard, what I taught you was also this. You've been muttering among yourselves, saying I'm hiding my true skills and not passing them on, that I've taught everything to Sun Dalin." Niu Jinbao said teasingly. At this, the personal guard soldiers all looked somewhat embarrassed — they hadn't realized Niu Jinbao had long known about their private discussions.

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