Chapter 45: You Better Watch Yourself

In the eleventh year of Chongzhen in the Great Ming dynasty, on the sixth day of the tenth lunar month, near the hour of Shen, the sun had already slipped below the horizon, leaving the light of day dim and obscure.

Upon receiving the Emperor's imperial edict, the Grand Coordinator Lu Xiangsheng immediately sent word to Zhang Cheng, summoning him to the Viceroy’s temporary headquarters. He said to him, "Zhang Cheng, the Emperor has issued an order to the Ministry of War to promptly dispatch officials to verify the enemy heads taken in battle as military merits. You should return and make preparations. Tomorrow, I will send Chen An to hand over the heads of the Jiannu, the captives, as well as their banners, drums, and gongs, so that they may be escorted to the capital for verification."

After chatting with Grand Coordinator Lu for a while longer, Zhang Cheng rose and returned to his camp to prepare for the upcoming handover of the captured enemy heads and prisoners. However, instead of going straight to his own encampment, he first proceeded to the military tent of his uncle, Zhang Yan.

Liang Song, the infantry colonel who had just arrived in Changping, was also inside Zhang Yan’s tent. Seeing Zhang Cheng enter, he hastily greeted him, saying, "Mighty little commander! I heard that in this single battle, you lopped off over a hundred Tartar heads?"

Zhang Cheng smiled and replied, "Tiger Liang, you arrived too late. Had you been there, those hundred-odd Tartars wouldn't even have been enough for you to hack through."

Everyone inside the military tent burst into laughter.

At that moment, Zhang Yan spoke up, "Tiger, you will still need to exert yourself tonight. Go and inspect the camps. Keep a sharp eye on those captives."

Liang Song acknowledged the order and strode out. As he passed by Zhang Cheng, he whispered, "He Heizi has already hauled all your supplies back to your camp. Tell me, little commander, aren't those supplies of yours a bit excessive?"

"Not at all, cavalry troops have all sorts of odds and ends," Zhang Cheng replied evasively.

Seeing that there was no one else in the tent, Zhang Yan said to him, "A tree that stands taller than the forest will always be battered by the wind. You and I are both military men; slaying bandits and driving out the Tartars is our bounden duty. Yet ever since you entered the capital to aid the defense, your performance has been overly conspicuous, which is bound to draw jealousy and resentment. This is truly unwise. You are still young, and your path ahead is long. If you make too many enemies now, I fear it will prove detrimental to your future."

Hearing this, Zhang Cheng fell into deep thought. After a long silence, he finally spoke, "Uncle’s deep affection and earnest concern touch my heart profoundly. I well know that everything you say is entirely correct. Yet, since a man stands between heaven and earth, he ought to forge ever onward. Looking at the grand trend of the world today, chaos is already brewing; this is precisely the moment for a good man to sacrifice himself in service to the country. How can one afford to hesitate and look backward with every step?"

Zhang Yan's gaze suddenly intensified as he stared fixedly at Zhang Cheng. After a long moment, his eyes dimmed, and he said softly, "Our Zhang family has served in the military for generations, repeatedly earning battle merits to achieve our present standing. Our only course is to remain loyal to the sovereign and repay the state, so as to requite heavenly grace. You must take good care of yourself."

..........

When Zhang Cheng returned to his own military tent, it was already bustling with lively noise. The four sentinel commanders were boasting to He Biao, the newly arrived pacification officer and centurion, about their respective moments of valor during the Battle of Mafang.

"Old He, you have no idea how fierce those Tartars were! Their waists were this thick, and that fellow's mace was this long..." Zhang Guangda was in the middle of a boastful rant when Zhang Cheng stepped into the tent and stood quietly right behind him, completely unnoticed by the speaker.

"...I told that blockhead, if you can beat me, I'll let you go... The motherfucker had no martial ethics... launching a sneak attack on yours truly..." Spittle flying and gesturing wildly in the midst of his dramatic tale, Zhang Guangda suddenly noticed that everyone else was grinning as they looked behind him.

Unconsciously, Zhang Guangda turned his head back, only to find Zhang Cheng's large face practically pressed against his lips. He abruptly took a step back, scratched his head somewhat sheepishly, and stammered, "Commander... Sir... When did you get here...?"

Staring at Zhang Guangda with wide eyes, Zhang Cheng smiled and asked, "Who has no martial ethics?"

Roars of laughter erupted inside the tent. Zhang Guangda snapped out of his daze, scratched his head, and laughed aloud as well.

He Biao did not laugh. His dark face remained rigid, resembling a dead man's visage devoid of any expression. His slightly hoarse voice cut through the laughter of the others, "Commander, He Biao has not failed his mission. The transported supplies have all arrived completely. Please inspect them, Commander."

"Mm, they have already been inspected," Zhang Cheng replied perfunctorily. With that, he pulled He Biao by the hand and continued, "I was just hoping for you to arrive; I have something to discuss with you."

As he spoke, Zhang Cheng drew a small booklet from his bosom. Opening to the first page, which was densely filled with many small characters, he handed it to He Biao and said, "Old He, let's talk about a serious matter. This right here records the entire course of the battle at Mafang, but I was thinking, might we change the way it is written down?"

..........

He Biao picked up the booklet, flipped through it for a moment, and asked, "How should we change it? Is there something inaccurate about the way it's recorded?"

The others also wore looks of utter bewilderment. Almost none of them were literate; Chen Chung could recognize a dozen or so characters, Hu Daké knew a little over a hundred, and as for the rest, it was best not to mention them at all.

"Look here, Old He," Zhang Cheng said as he picked up the writing brush from the desk and began to write. He merely wrote down the spoils of the Mafang battle, with the sole difference being that he added commas and periods—two punctuation marks—into the sentences he wrote.

"You see, by using these two symbols to break things up, the sentences become simple and easy to understand. Wouldn't this make it much easier when we transmit military intelligence within our own ranks?" Zhang Cheng said excitedly to He Biao.

After studying it for a long time, He Biao remarked, "It is indeed much more concise and clear this way, but the scribes might find it unfamiliar and difficult to use at first. Besides, writing in this manner might invite ridicule if shown to outsiders."

"This is only for use within my own command; official documents for the outside will still be written in the original format," Zhang Cheng replied.

He Biao thought for a moment and said, "Very well. I shall go find the scribes and have them re-record the events of this great Mafang victory according to this new writing format."

Zhang Cheng patted He Biao on the shoulder and said, "This is precisely why I was looking forward to your arrival. Communicating with you is always so refreshing."

The two men looked at each other and laughed heartily.

..........

On the tenth day of the tenth lunar month in the eleventh year of Chongzhen, the weather was clear and the sun shone brightly.

Aside from the imperial reinforcement troops from Xuanfu, Datong, and the Three Shanxi Garrisons, who had all arrived by the sixth day, the reinforcement armies from the various garrisons of Guanning had also completely arrived by the afternoon of yesterday.

Outside the city of Changping, dense rows of military tents blanketed the earth as far as the eye could see. Wherever the sight reached, there were elite troops of the Great Ming who had come to the rescue of the capital, stretching for dozens of miles in a continuous encampment with a momentum unmatched by any other.

On this day, Gao Qiqian, the eunuch supervisor of all the imperial reinforcement troops across the realm, suddenly arrived in Changping. Behind him followed several junior eunuchs, along with an escort of elite cavalry from the capital garrisons. Their armor gleamed brightly, and they all wore uniform crimson cloaks.

Grand Coordinator Lu Xiangsheng went out personally to welcome him. As the two met, the supervisory eunuch Gao Qiqian immediately spoke up, "Lord Lu, I have come to collect a reward from you."

Guessing a portion of his intent, Lu Xiangsheng feigned ignorance and said, "Your Honor, you jest."

"Lord Lu, where is that Zhang Cheng who slew the Tartars at Mafang? The Emperor's imperial edict is right here; summon him along with Yang Guozhu of the Xuanfu Garrison to come and receive the decree." As he spoke, Gao Qiqian turned slightly to show Lu Xiangsheng a red sandalwood tray held by a junior eunuch behind him, upon which rested a brocade box wrapped in yellow silk.

Lu Xiangsheng hurriedly instructed Chen An, the personal general accompanying him, to summon Yang Guozhu and Zhang Cheng to hasten to the Viceroy's temporary headquarters to receive the imperial decree.

He then escorted Gao Qiqian into the temporary headquarters first. Once the two had taken their respective seats as host and guest, Lu Xiangsheng detailed to Gao Qiqian all the events of the past two days regarding the Emperor's bestowal of silver, horses, and iron whips, and further stated:

"In my view, His Majesty's fighting spirit is extremely keen. We have no choice but to charge forward courageously and slay the enemy to repay the state's grace, so as not to fail the sacred will. As for the optimal strategy for defeating the enemy, I have already formulated a plan in my breast. It so happens that the Supervisor has honored my headquarters with his presence today, and I wish to humbly receive your enlightened instruction."

The corners of Gao Qiqian’s clean-shaven face twitched slightly upward, and he asked with a meaningful, enigmatic smile, "Lord Lu, I wonder what brilliant strategy you have to teach me?"

Lowering his voice, Lu Xiangsheng said softly to him, "I plan to launch a surprise attack on the Jiannu encampment from four directions under the cover of moonlight on the night of the fourteenth. Catching them unawares, we shall throw their ranks into utter chaos and make them think twice before daring to run amok in the imperial domain of our Great Ming. Your Honor, what do you think of this?"

Gao Qiqian’s expression turned somewhat cold, and his interest was clearly lacking. With a chilly laugh, he remarked, "This eunuch has only ever heard of attacking Caizhou on a snowy night; I have never heard of attacking an enemy camp on a moonlight night."

Subjected to such mockery, Grand Coordinator Lu Xiangsheng felt anger surge within his heart. He even had the urge to raise his foot and kick the supervisory eunuch Gao Qiqian right out of the headquarters hall, but he rationally chose to endure, struggling with all his might to control his emotions.

For he knew that if he could not stomach such taunts now, it would be a minor matter for him to bring disaster upon himself, but the greater cause of battling the Jiannu could then be spoken of no further.

Suppressing his fury, he forced a smile and said, "The Jiannu are arrogant in their recent victory and will undoubtedly look down upon us, growing lax in their vigilance. Moreover, striking under the cover of moonlight with all our elite forces assaulting from four sides, we can surely shatter the enemy in a single blow. Even if we cannot rout them completely, we will deal a blow to their foundations and make them hold our reinforcing army in awe."

"The enemy is numerous while we are few; at a time like this, prudence should be our supreme strategy," Gao Qiqian said unconcernedly, picking up his teacup and gently blowing across the surface.

Surging anger rose anew within Lu Xiangsheng, and his voice gradually heightened as he said, "It is precisely because the enemy is numerous and we are few that I have chosen the strategy of a surprise attack."

"Lord Lu, launching troops so rashly—if by any chance we fail, is that not staking everything on a single throw?" Gao Qiqian twirled his teacup, maintaining his nonchalant attitude.

Growing steadily more enraged, Lu Xiangsheng raised his voice and said, "Deploying surprise troops to achieve victory is a routine matter in military strategy. How can you call it staking everything on a single throw?"

"This matter is of grave importance. Lord Lu, do not be impatient; allow me to consider it carefully first, so as to ensure a foolproof strategy." Gao Qiqian’s lips curled upward into an unreadable, enigmatic smile.

The conversation between the two men abruptly fell into a stalemate. Neither was willing to make concessions, and both remained silent, quietly sipping their tea.

At that very moment, Chen An led Yang Guozhu, the Regional Commander of Xuanfu, and Zhang Cheng, the Colonel, back into the hall.

Abruptly changing the subject, Gao Qiqian said with a beaming, smiling face, "Lord Lu, now that everyone has arrived, this eunuch shall first proclaim the imperial decree."

The incense table and offerings had already been prepared outside and were now brought out and arranged in proper order. Everyone, including Grand Coordinator Lu Xiangsheng, hastily straightened their attire and armor.

Inside the headquarters, Zhang Cheng stood in a daze behind Yang Guozhu. Suddenly, he heard a rather shrill voice ring out: "The imperial decree has arrived! Lu Xiangsheng, Yang Guozhu, Zhang Cheng, receive the decree!"

Grand Coordinator Lu Xiangsheng retreated to the middle of the hall and knelt down facing the incense table. Chen An followed behind Lu Xiangsheng and knelt slightly behind him to his right, while Yang Guozhu knelt to Lu Xiangsheng's left, roughly half a step behind.

Zhang Cheng knelt a step behind Regional Commander Yang Guozhu. Raising his eyes for a stealthy glance, he saw a man clad in eunuch attire walk up to the prepared incense table and stand there with a rigid, upright posture.

This eunuch appeared to be in his forties. He was rather tall and robust, presenting a vigorous and exceptionally dashing figure, yet his face was smooth and beard-less. Amidst his imposing physique, there was a hint of effeminacy. He wore a three-mountain cap inlaid with gold, brocaded robes, and an exquisite jade belt around his waist that caught the eye, while his entire face radiated a smug and complacent expression.

Behind him followed several others similarly dressed as eunuchs. Each of their faces bore an effeminate cast, exuding that unique, sinister aura characteristic of eunuchs, accompanied by a faint, distant scent of urine drifting on the air.

Zhang Cheng silently surmised that this scoundrel must undoubtedly be the notoriously infamous Eunuch Gao Qiqian from later history.