Chapter 1305: The Connoisseur Sees the Skill

"Keep your voice down. So what if it is? The old gentleman changed his clothes to come here—maybe he's on some secret business. We mustn't make a fuss. There are plenty of that traitor Zhao's spies around here."

"I understand. That Lord Lu is young, but he's a lucky star for our Daming Prefecture. Those newly established government troops were running wild, and weren't they only brought to heel after he arrested and beheaded a few..."

Lu Xiangsheng, standing at the front of the crowd, did not hear the chatter behind him, nor did he notice that commoners from Daming Prefecture were actually here. He waited quite at ease for the main force of the Zhao Family Army to arrive. He wasn't particularly worried about his own situation. Before coming to Shandong, Lu Xiangsheng had made thorough inquiries and learned that this region did nothing to officials and gentry merely passing through. Every year, so many officials, merchants, and nobles traveled north and south along the canals of Shandong and South Zhili, and no one had ever seen the Xuzhou bandits take any action against them.

Lu Xiangsheng also knew that dressing as a military man was more normal than dressing as a scholar, but there were conveniences to a scholar's attire as well. At the very least, he could recite classics and chapters off the cuff, and he carried the credentials of a Xiucai and a Juren on his person. If anyone questioned him, Lu Xiangsheng certainly wouldn't foolishly admit to being the Prefect of Daming. He would simply say he was a scholar traveling south for study. With a scholar's identity, things would generally be more convenient.

For Lu Xiangsheng, this was the second amusing irony. He was a native of Changzhou Prefecture in South Zhili, and spoke the soft southern Mandarin dialect. Yet, if he kept his mouth shut, anyone looking at his tall, broad-shouldered frame would take him for a military man from the north, never a southern scholar—despite the fact that Lu Xiangsheng's martial skills were truly outstanding and he was quite famous for them locally.

At twenty-four, he became Prefect of Daming Prefecture in Northern Zhili, a major local official of the senior fourth rank. By any measure, his career could be called smooth sailing. Add to that his origins in Changzhou Prefecture, South Zhili, and he looked every bit a talent of the Donglin faction, placed and supported by higher-ups to secure such a bright future. He was of the same nature as Hong Chengchou, who was heading to the capital—both were factional seeds planted before the reform and rapid promotions began.

But a closer look told a different story. In the current Ming system, Daming Prefecture was one of the worst posts, just like those prefectures and counties bordering the frontier. Daming Prefecture was right next to Xuzhou and was even flanked on two sides by the influence of the Xuzhou Zhao Family Army. No one knew when the flames of war might sweep through, leaving death in defense of the city as the only path. Lu Xiangsheng was truly accomplished in both civil and martial arts. He had passed the Jinshi examination in his early twenties, and with his Donglin-affiliated background, he should have been assigned to one of the Six Ministries for a few years before being sent out to a provincial post. But during his observation period in the capital, his temperament was too direct; his words offended people, and offended them deeply. He was immediately dispatched to Daming Prefecture as Prefect. It looked like a promotion, but in reality, it was a death sentence.

Wei Zhongxian established the Daming Garrison, then created the post of Grand Coordinator of Daming. But in the process of the joint campaign against Xuzhou, they suffered a crushing defeat, and the Grand Coordinator of Daming was brought down by the attacks of political enemies. The Daming Garrison, seen as a product of Wei Zhongxian's misrule, was ignored by everyone. As a result, morale was in turmoil. The retreating troops of the Daming Garrison committed all sorts of atrocities daily. Coupled with the coercive pressure of the Xuzhou Zhao Family Army, all the prefectures and counties of Daming Prefecture lost the will to work, simply waiting for the Zhao Family Army to come and put everyone out of their misery. Then, for a time, the Zhao Family Army couldn't be bothered to come, which made the local situation even more chaotic. There were even cases of murder and robbery in broad daylight. The local gentry had already contacted Xuzhou. If Xuzhou troops weren't coming, they at least needed to arrange for Cloud Mountain Trading and the farms to move in; otherwise, life was simply unbearable.

As it happened, when Xuzhou sent people over, Lu Xiangsheng also arrived to take up his post. As soon as he got there, he dealt with the unruly soldiers with lightning speed. He used the silver in the prefectural treasury to recruit able-bodied civilians, then cooperated with the half-hearted gentry, personally leading teams to enforce the law and patrol. He not only punished the disorderly soldiers but also cleaned house among the various officials who had been perfunctorily slacking off. Within a few months, order in Daming Prefecture was excellent, and everyone, high and low, was quite convinced.

Those who had sent Lu Xiangsheng to Daming Prefecture in the first place certainly had no good intentions. They all thought that with Lu Xiangsheng's fiery and unyielding temper, he wouldn't last long here before clashing with the Xuzhou bandits, at which point he would surely die without a burial place. When Lu Xiangsheng finished restoring order in Daming Prefecture and Xuzhou's trading firms and farms began to move in, what those people in the capital didn't expect was that Lu Xiangsheng turned a blind eye to it all. This allowed the local gentry and commoners to breathe a sigh of relief and also kept the peace between Daming Prefecture and Xuzhou.

Acting so freely and winning such popular support, Lu Xiangsheng became less particular about laws and regulations. For instance, an official entrusted with defending the territory was not supposed to leave his jurisdiction without authorization; crossing the border even once could lead to impeachment and dismissal. Yet, in order to observe the Zhao Family Army, Lu Xiangsheng actually came in disguise from Daming Prefecture. In any case, he was accompanied only by trusted family servants, and the officials of Daming Prefecture could cover for him, telling outsiders he had merely gone to Neihuang and Kaizhou.

Lu Xiangsheng was well-versed in military texts and practiced martial skills. He had an extremely deep understanding of military affairs and law. Compared to those armchair civil and military officials in the court, Lu Xiangsheng held immense awe for the Xuzhou Zhao Family Army. Although he had not made a special trip to Xuzhou or the Zhao Family Army's camps elsewhere to observe, the superficial glimpses he had caught and the fragmentary bits he had learned were already profoundly shocking to him. What others dismissed as fantasy, he knew to be reality—it was simply a matter of what kind of troops had been forged.

Precisely because of this, while in Daming Prefecture, Lu Xiangsheng simply pretended not to see the Xuzhou power. Since the other side wanted an ambiguous coexistence, he would follow suit with an ambiguous coexistence. At this current juncture, it was the Ming that needed time more, not Xuzhou.

Now, with such a good opportunity for close observation, while others just watched the spectacle and novelty, someone familiar with military strategy and affairs could see a great deal. Lu Xiangsheng naturally had to come. What he held in his heart was a grand ambition. Lu Xiangsheng did not want to simply coexist with Xuzhou like this forever. This realm was the Ming's realm, and this realm still had its orthodox righteousness.

A light rain had fallen a few days ago, making it difficult to judge the Zhao Family Army's distance by dust clouds. However, the arrival of the advance cavalry meant the main force was not far off. Hearing the sound of hoofbeats, everyone grew excited and pressed forward.

The Zhao Family Army's cavalry rode past with shouts, cracking their riding whips with sharp snaps that exploded right before the eyes of those crowding too close, frightening everyone into a hasty retreat. The road, which had just become congested, widened out once more. At this moment, Lu Xiangsheng began to focus his gaze intently, unwilling to miss any detail.

But Lu Xiangsheng's personal guards were quite displeased. The master was upright and fiery, and his servants naturally shared that temperament. One couldn't help but mutter, "Bandits flaunting their might. This kind of skill is only good against commoners."

"It's not bad. Out of all those whip cracks, only two actually hit anyone. If it were government troops passing through, there'd be blood by now," Lu Xiangsheng said calmly, his eyes still fixed on the Xuzhou cavalry riding past.

He did not explain to his subordinates. Some words would draw too much attention if spoken now. When these cavalrymen first passed before his eyes, Lu Xiangsheng thought they were nothing special. Such elite troops could be matched by the personal soldiers and household retainers of any military commander. Moreover, the horsemanship of these cavalrymen before him couldn't be called superb—merely passable. But after several dozen riders had passed, he began to notice something different: a rough similarity.

The horse tack on each mount, the armor and weapons of each rider, even the riding skill of each cavalryman—these were all about the same. By conventional standards, one could say they were cast from the same mold. Such uniformity in saddles, bridles, weapons, and armor indicated excellent logistics. Similar riding skills and movements showed uniform training standards. Although Lu Xiangsheng had never been on a battlefield, he had read many documents and records and chatted idly with veteran generals and soldiers who had seen real combat. He had formed his own understanding of military matters. It was just as Qi Jiguang's *Record of Military Training* stated: on the battlefield, the key is advancing and retreating in unison, with neat formations. No matter how much you leap, dodge, wheel, or flourish, it is useless against the spears and blades of thousands. And the Zhao Family Army cavalry before him gave Lu Xiangsheng exactly this feeling of "uniformity and cohesion."

Perhaps these cavalrymen were just for show. For a triumphant return like this, they'd naturally want to display their most impressive troops to the public. Lu Xiangsheng found a skeptical excuse for himself, but he quickly overturned this doubt, because he noticed that the cavalry running back and forth were not just the initial few dozen riders, but several hundred rotating in shifts. If several hundred riders could all be trained to this standard, then this was a first-rate elite force. Such elite cavalry was something only the Supreme Commanders of the border armies could possess—and even they might not have it now.

When the main body of the Zhao Family Army came into view, a stir ran through the crowd. Such a mighty and formidable battalion was indeed different up close. Look at that armor, look at those weapons, look at that orderly formation. The idle onlookers could only see to this extent. But Lu Xiangsheng felt his breathing grow labored. The ignorant could only see the spectacle, but he felt the pressure bearing down on him, the chilling, murderous aura that turned this summer day into deep winter. Lu Xiangsheng even felt he could not catch his breath.

After seeing the ranks of the Zhao Family Army, the last shreds of doubt in Lu Xiangsheng's mind dissipated. No wonder they could achieve such overwhelming, devastating victories—so this was what a powerful army looked like. The elite troops described in Qi Jiguang's *Record of Military Training* and *New Treatise on Military Efficiency*, and in all the other military texts he had read, the army that existed in an ideal state like the Golden Age of the Three Dynasties—it was right before his eyes, even more elite than those descriptions.

Lu Xiangsheng, Prefect of Daming, had not lost his head. He was observing very soberly. He could certainly see that the soldiers before him were in a relaxed state. He could even see fatigue and eagerness on each of their faces—perhaps all soldiers looked like this after a long campaign. Yet even so, the column they marched in was so orderly and unbroken. He could even faintly hear the sound of uniform footsteps. Though not perfectly aligned, the steps of such a unit would always be somewhat synchronized. In other words, the precision of this army's foot drill was ingrained in their very bones, showing just how intensely they had been trained.

From the time he first heard the name Zhao Jin, then sorted through the threads and calculated the time of Zhao Jin's rise in Huaixi—it had been less than ten years to this day.

Today is Old Bai's birthday. Time really flies.

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