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Ch135 - Dispatch
The beat of drums sounded throughout the camp before sunrise at just the right volume, neither too loud nor too quiet, to rouse one from their dreams. The wakened soldiers scurried and scrambled to the training ground posthaste. By the thirtieth beat of the drum, a crowd of disheveled men was lined up in formation at the training ground.
Tossing his drumstick aside, Yi Yan strode to the front of the formation, the soldiers in it attempting to properly stand at attention, and said coolly, “Everyone’s here. About face! Running march, out from camp!”
Forget leaving camp; many of the men were already shivering from standing there thanks to the tenth-month temperature, having woken up too hastily to don anything over their under robes. Not that any of them dared to defy Yi Yan though, so, like good little soldiers, they all orderly and obediently ran towards outside. The dust cloud kicked up by several hundred men running in formation was a sight to behold.
These were Yi Yan’s new recruits.
News of the stunning victory at Lu City had long since reached the desk of Sima Teng; there could hardly be a greater joy to a man who was losing sleep and appetite from fear of the Xiongnu. He rewarded Linghu Kuang and Liang Feng very grandly, a large portion of it consisting of meat and wine and military provisions, and he approved Linghu Kuang’s request. Thus, Yi Yan had easily risen to the rank of thousandman commandant.
Linghu Kuang was an interesting one. After Yi Yan’s promotion, he assigned eight hundred under his command, two hundred less than what Yi Yan was officially allowed. This was a gesture of goodwill, however, as it was custom in the military for the commanding officer to leave part of the ranks empty and pocket the unclaimed salary, which allowed them to look after their confidants and personal guard when provisions were short; it was a practice that produced many perks.
Rather than pocketing the unclaimed salary, Yi Yan had stuffed the majority of the troops he’d brought from the Liang Estate into the ranks; not only bringing their numbers up to full, but also filling the officer positions at each level, maintaining a firm grip on the newly formed regiment.
The new recruits were not part of the Liang household troops, not privileged with personal military fields, but Yi Yan’s unconventional leadership — not embezzling military funds, ensuring everyone was well-fed, occasionally letting them eat meat — was enough to earn their heartfelt gratitude.
At the same time, Yi Yan made sure to hammer absolute loyalty to his lord into their heads. Only as his lord’s subordinate would they eat their fill and earn recognition for their merits. Aside from the Liang household troops, even the able-bodied commoners who’d defended the walls of Lu City had been rewarded. When it came time that the new recruits took to the battlefield, there was no question that they too would be rewarded for their military achievements. Carving it deeper and deeper into their memory gave the new recruits, who already idolized the bodhisattva, indefatigable motivation. And with the Liang household troops filling in the roles of team leaders and corporals, the unit quickly took off on the right track.
The drill they were currently practicing, rapid nighttime mobilization, seemed simplistic, but it would give them a great advantage during a night attack. An army that was alert and coordinated was much harder to stir into a panic.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Yi Yan gradually ground his new unit into shape with exacting diligence. It wasn’t enough to make them obedient; he would mold them into an unbeatable force, as loyal to his lord as the militia!
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In the previous battle at Lu City, they’d captured around two thousand and seven hundred steeds in total. A thousand of those had been distributed among the counties; two hundred had been gifted to Linghu Kuang as thanks. The remaining one thousand and five hundred horses had all been handed off to Yi Yan to build a cavalry regiment out of. They couldn’t rely solely on foot soldiers against Xiongnu cavalry, the staple of their armies. Yet, the thousand and some horses had become a cause of much moaning and groaning.
Supposing each man was assigned two, three, or even four horses, there would still be a surplus of horses. They’d have a massive headache on their hands if they didn’t gather more recruits.
“Vice Commander Zhang will send another three hundred to the commandery capital soon, most of which will be going to the cavalry camp. Hang on for a few more days. Since it’s winter, you might as well train on other horses,” Yi Yan said.
The refugee population around the Liang Estate was increasing in leaps and bounds as of late, due to Liang Feng’s commandery-wide policy for taking in refugees. Many of the refugees passing through Shangdang to Yan or Yi Province hesitatingly halted their journey; refugees fleeing the chaos in Luoyang traveled north along the roads into Shangdang. And because of the miracle that Buddha had wrought at the battle of Lu City, many pious Jie had returned to their old homes, naturally becoming serfs of the Liang Estate.
The rising number of serf households was a strain on the stockpiled grain, so Zhang He had sent the soldiers who had completed basic training and were more or less useable to the commandery capital for his lord to figure out how to feed.
Many of those being sent this time were Jie, who would be perfect additions to the cavalry.
Wang Long sighed in relief at Yi Yan’s answer, “Oh, good! I’ve been losing hair by the handful these days. Alas, with how it’s going this year, it seems like I won’t be going home to my wife for New Year’s.”
Wang Long’s grumbling wasn’t unjustified. This year, they had trained far more intensively than the last. Seeing as even their regular breaks had been canceled, a New Year’s holiday was out of the question. And besides, with the considerable distance between Lu City and the Liang Estate, they couldn’t even visit their families.
“If you want to survive the coming battle, keep training. Sweating more now is better than bleeding more on the battlefield,” Yi Yan said sternly.
Wang Long would’ve scoffed if he’d heard that from anyone else, but his commander was second to none. He had to manage the new recruits and deal with the cavalry, doing the work of several people with ease and aplomb. When their superior officers lived and ate with them, shared their joys and griefs, what had the lowly soldiers to complain about?
Yi Yan at the walls of Lu City looming in the distance and silently sighed. These days, he rarely had the chance to return to the Grand Administrator’s Mansion, and he no longer stood beside his lord every day. One reason was that he was busy training new recruits, but mostly, he felt more and more as if he should keep his distance from his lord. The sentiments accreting in his heart tormented him relentlessly, forcing him to bury his true thoughts deeper and deeper.
He knew better than anyone how astute and perceptive that person was, and he knew better than anyone just what that person thought of the lunatics who coveted him. If he wanted his secret to stay a secret, if he wanted to preserve everything he had, he had no choice but to hide. “My lord,” that address was all he had left.
Suppressing his desire bit by bit, Yi Yan focused on his work. Several days later, however, a messenger entered his camp, “Commandant Yi, His Excellency has summoned you!”
※
A vein in Liang Feng’s temple pulsed as he read the report.
The Xiongnu had formally founded their dynasty some days ago. Liu Yuan had crowned himself “King of Han,” bestowed the posthumous title Emperor Xiaohuai to the last emperor of Shu Han, honored the three ancestors and five forefathers, and established the capital at Lishi. This had caused an uproar. Four sons of Last Emperor Liu Shan yet cowered in Luoyang — what was he, a Xiongnu, venerating Shu Han for?
Sima Teng, unable to ignore the provocation of the “false Han,” immediately sent his highest-ranking general to attack Lishi. War was imminent.
But even in such dire circumstances, the court was still unstable. General Zhang Fang, perpetrator of the massacres in Luoyang, had returned on the Prince of Hejian’s orders, to crush the armies of Chen Zhen and Shangguan Si, which had retreated to Luoyang after suffering defeat at Tangyin, and escort the Emperor and the Prince of Chengdu back to the imperial seat of power. That didn’t mean, however, that Zhang Fang was an upright general acting faithfully in service to the imperial court. He’d already revealed his savage, dreadful mien when he sacked Luoyang and ate human flesh mixed with beef and mutton.
Thus, Zhang Fang’s arrival in Luoyang set off another wave of refugees. The commoners of Luoyang fled for their lives. The dynasty teetered further over the edge.
Ye City, on the other hand, was not spared either. The Xianbei Duan clan had plundered the prosperous, storied city, and to gain their allegiance, Wang Jun had let them have their way. Only after the Xianbei left Ye City did he order the restoration of military discipline and forbid them to take commoners with them, on punishment of death. Because of those orders, eight thousand women abducted by the yellow-haired Xianbei from Ye City were laid to rest on the bottom of the river Yi.
Who could spare a thought for Bing Province when the situation in Luoyang and Ye City was so disastrous? These circumstances became a breeding ground for further unrest.
In Shangdang, several bandit gangs had convened to stir up trouble. The Liang Estate’s previous bandit-clearing activities were the only reason this bandit problem was around than two thousand in number. Even so, it had to be addressed. Many of the bandits were Xiongnu; they could cause untold damage if they were to collude with Liu Yuan.
Shangdang could not fall into chaos! Thus, those bandits had to be eradicated!
“My lord!” Yi Yan strode briskly into the main hall and bowed in salute.
“Boyuan, how goes the training of the new recruits?” Liang Feng got straight to the point.
“They know how to get in formation and listen to orders,” Yi Yan answered.
“Very good. Nie County is having bandit problems. It’s about time these new recruits were bloodied,” Liang Feng said coldly.