Chapter 1347: A Thousand Mixed Emotions

"Master Jin once said, if you remain, your battalion remains, and Pi Island remains, the Pi Island Soldier Battalion will be expanded into the Dingliao Independent Regiment, organized into fourteen companies — four firearms companies, ten pike companies, one supply and fodder battalion, with six three-pounder cannons attached, one cavalry company. Equipment and ammunition will be supplied by Xuzhou. Officers at all levels are to be appointed by yourself. Auxiliary militia corps are not restricted. Recruit locally!"

Qi Erkui declared in a ringing voice. When transmitting military orders one must be solemn and dignified, yet he could not help revealing a look of envy. Expanding from a five-company battalion into a regiment of sixteen companies plus a battalion — in the Zhao Family Army's promotion sequence, that was a jump of four full ranks, roughly the level of a reinforced regiment commander. It was a meteoric rise, instantly surpassing the commanders of several newly established regiments and closing in on the old commanders of the reinforced regiments.

Thinking of how he himself had endured hardship all along, leading militia to guard the salt routes and keep local order, and had finally managed to land a deputy regiment commander position during this great Northern Expedition to the capital — yet the young man before him was now a reinforced regiment commander in one leap.

What was even more enviable was the self-appointment of officers and the unrestricted auxiliary militia. This meant that the company commanders and battalion commanders of this regiment would all be promoted from among his old subordinates, and there was still the possibility of further troop expansion. The Zhao Family Army's recruits had always been selected from the auxiliary militia — first, because these men were familiar with the Zhao Family Army's regulations and drill manuals, and second, to make the militia feel they had a future. With these two points, this independent regiment might very well become a brigade in the future. According to vague rumors within the Zhao Family Army, it might even go a step further.

The name of this independent regiment and the local recruitment also set the imagination racing. Apart from the narrow Liaoxi Corridor, the vast Liaodong was all enemy territory. Millions of Han people of Liaozhen lived within it, and there were also Mongol and Jurchen tribes who were enemies of the Jianzhou Jurchens. All of these were sources of recruits, all could be expanded locally. Campaign after campaign, it would surely expand slowly. Abundant manpower, illustrious battle achievements — what heights it might reach in the future truly made one unable to resist envy.

One had to know that among the brigades and regiments throughout Xuzhou, the appointment of company commanders and equivalent ranks all required Zhao Jin's confirmation. Provisions, pay, and organization were also strictly controlled. Rules governed everything. Though everyone enjoyed the convenience of these rules, they occasionally felt constrained. With the Zhao Family Army's strength, everyone deep down wanted to act freely, but few got their wish.

According to the saying within the Zhao Family Army, only upon reaching reinforced regiment commander could one act somewhat freely, and only upon reaching brigade commander could one exercise full autonomy. Though brigade commanders and reinforced regiment commanders might not necessarily think so — that was another matter entirely. And here, separated from Xuzhou by Shandong and the sea, Zhao Song's autonomy had been granted very broadly. Qi Erkui, judging others by his own standards, was naturally envious beyond measure.

"Orders received with respect!" Zhao Song solemnly accepted the command. He was not as excited as Qi Erkui had imagined. After rising, Zhao Song instead looked toward the able-bodied men pursuing the Jurchen soldiers all over the mountains. Twenty-some days of bloody battle — half of his battalion remained.

Listening to the gathered soldiers and civilians of the Pi Island Dongjiang Garrison recount events, to have fought so bitterly and still have half left was already very fortunate. How many battalions in Liaozhen, with legacies of a hundred years or decades, had long been completely annihilated? To have half remaining, having killed and wounded Jurchen troops — if this was not luck, if this was not breaking even, then what was it? Yet some familiar faces he would never see again. Zhao Song knew that life and death were impermanent on the battlefield, but the Zhao Family Army had fought for so long and always won great victories with few casualties. He had never imagined so much parting between life and death.

Looking again at those able-bodied men who had originally been cowering commoners, Zhao Song felt they were fortunate. Having followed him in desperate combat for so long, he could finally give them an answer, and could also lead them to recover Liaodong.

Turning it over in his mind, a thousand emotions surged. Zhao Song suddenly thought: if he had not been here, if his battalion had not been here, if Pi Island had not been here — if any one of those factors had occurred, what would Master Jin's disposition have been? But this thought merely flickered past. The outcome was this; there was no need to dwell on other possibilities.

"We only brought these ten companies?" Zhao Song asked. By this point, only sailors were disembarking and handling cargo. Even the port sentries were armed sailors. No more Zhao Family Army soldiers were to be seen. Only then did he understand that only ten companies had come.

Qi Erkui chuckled and said, "Ten companies are more than enough. On these thirty-some large ships of ours, there are a full several dozen cannons. Whatever demons and monsters are on this island, we'll just blast the bastards with cannon fire!"

Before the Zhao Family Army's artillery superiority, even the fierce troops of the Jianzhou Jurchens were not worth mentioning. After saying this, Qi Erkui continued, "Regiment Commander Zhao, these ships are mostly loaded with weapons and provisions. They can replenish your Dingliao Regiment when the time comes. That's the critical matter of this trip. It's just that the cannons need to be delivered elsewhere, so we can only leave you six!"

"Can you give more Nest-of-Fire rockets?" At a time like this, Zhao Song naturally haggled over every bit.

"Those take up space and their power is ordinary. They'll be sent in the next wave."

Zhao Song nodded, bowed his head in thought for a moment, and when he looked up again, his eyes seemed to burn with flame. Staring at Qi Erkui, he said, "When can we board the ships? Use the fleet to send us to the Yalu River. We'll go fight the Tartars there!"

Qi Erkui smiled and waved his hands repeatedly, saying, "No rush. Master Jin gave instructions: have you, Battalion Commander, and your men rest and reorganize properly here on Pi Island. Only after the organization is fully replenished should you go to Liaodong."

Hearing this, Zhao Song understood somewhat, but still asked, "Nearly three thousand men on this island — the consumption of food and supplies is a huge figure. If it has to rely on the fleet for transport and supply, that's no small matter."

"No need for such trouble. Just requisition from Goryeo over here. Do they dare refuse?" Qi Erkui spoke with swagger. Zhao Song was first taken aback, then slowly nodded. With the Zhao Family Army's might, when they kept a low profile it was fine, but once they turned domineering and overbearing, others had only two paths to choose: submission or annihilation.

Ships docked one after another. Soldiers, able-bodied men, and sailors on shore toiled strenuously, unloading the supplies from the ships. Soon they piled up at the pier. Women and children from the fortress all came out to help. The younger children, unable to assist, ran laughing among the provisions and equipment. Though they got in the way, everyone treated them with smiles.

Amid this loading and unloading, the mopping-up of the Jianzhou Jurchen routed troops was nearing its end. The newly arrived Zhao Family Army companies, coordinating with the Pi Island forces burning with hatred, killed with extreme efficiency. True slaughter always happens during the pursuit of a routed enemy — and that was exactly the case now.

Only a small portion of the Jurchen routed troops fled deep into Pi Island. The rest did not even get a chance to surrender and were killed to the last man. This was also instant karma. Just days ago they had been slaughtering Dongjiang Garrison captives before the fortress positions. Who would spare them now? Tears and snot streaming, kneeling and begging for mercy, collapsing in utter breakdown and incontinence — it all happened, but none escaped the blade or spear.

On the mountain, blood flowed across the ground and killing cries shook the heavens. At the port below, orderly busyness and reorganization proceeded methodically. Those on the decks of the seagoing ships could see the full panorama and found it subtly strange and eerie.

The corpses and refuse in the port area were tidied up once more, gathered, piled, and burned. Several large cauldrons were set up, and food brought from the ships had already begun to simmer. Originally there was some salted meat and the like aboard, but the soldiers and able-bodied men on Pi Island found the smell inexplicably nauseating, so they simply prepared more grain, letting everyone eat their fill of thick congee and pickled vegetables for now.

Amid this scene, tense on one side and relaxed on the other, Qi Erkui and Cai Xing recounted the full story to Zhao Song. The rescue fleet that came to Pi Island had not set out from the Dengzhou military port in Shandong, even though that was the closest port for business. Instead, it had set out directly from the Haizhou port, which was why it had only arrived now.

"Don't laugh at me — this is old Qi's first time traveling by sea. I always thought the wind and waves were fierce and dangerous. I never imagined it would be so fast. It only took a dozen or so days to get here from Haizhou. Otherwise we'd have been too late!" Qi Erkui said with emotion.

"Actually, the winds weren't quite right. If we'd sailed during a good wind, it could have been even faster," Cai Xing added, understanding the matter better.

Although he had come here on a rescue mission, Qi Erkui did not have too many specific details. He had received urgent orders from the General's Residence at Haizhou port, directly gathered supplies and requisitioned and hired ships right there at the port, and then set sail north. The port had ample ships and no shortage of supplies. The relief force had directly drawn on the Haizhou port garrison and a nearby independent battalion.

"... Actually, Dengzhou could have been even faster. According to the Li and Yu families, they have quite a few large ships there..." The words were only half out when Qi Erkui poked him, and he immediately fell silent.

This scene naturally fell under Zhao Song's eyes. He smiled but said nothing. Of the dozen-plus cannons just unloaded, only six were left behind. The rest were loaded back onto the ships. Ten ships had not even docked; after the cannons were brought aboard, they directly set sail and departed.

The newly formed Dingliao Independent Regiment still needed to rest and reorganize on Pi Island. Besides, the seagoing ships all had very large cargo capacities, and the supplies on the remaining dozen-plus large ships were enough for this new regiment's use. Watching the other ships recede into the distance, Zhao Song had his own calculations in mind.

The fleet had probably come here without expecting the Pi Island Battalion to still exist. Relying on these cannons and the strength of one Zhao Family Army regiment, annihilating the Jianzhou Jurchen troops on Pi Island would have been enough. The fleet's supplies likely had another destination — that was the true focus of this mission. But some things were fine once understood; there was no need to dig deeper.

Luo Chen, who had been busy all along with settling and arranging matters, had already been appointed as commander of the Supply Battalion, while retaining his original post. In effect, this made him the second-in-command of the Dingliao Independent Regiment. When the Dingliao Independent Regiment struck westward from Pi Island, advancing along the coast would be fine, but once they crossed the Yalu River, the portion of logistics and supply they had to provide for themselves would increase significantly. They might even have to establish their own farms and manage commerce and the like. It was a heavy responsibility — and a heavy responsibility with a bright future.

What Zhao Song could think of, Luo Chen could naturally think of too. But he did not dwell on it at all, merely saying to Zhao Song in private, "I originally thought our Xuzhou could recuperate for two years. I never expected we'd be doing great things so soon!"

"It's good. We are part of this great undertaking while others can only watch with longing eyes. This is our good fortune!" Zhao Song said it very directly. The two looked at each other and could not help but laugh.

Thank you, everyone.