Chapter 50: Military History, Punctuation Marks

Stepping out of the governor's official residence, Chen Zhong and a few guards were waiting there. Taking the reins of his battle horse from them, Zhang Cheng was just about to mount when he heard Chen Zhong say, "Commander, the General is back at the camp waiting for you. He asked you to go over there first."

Nodding in agreement, Zhang Cheng swung up into the saddle. Without a word, he whipped his horse into a gallop and headed straight for the East Gate of Changping.

Riding out through the East Gate and into the open country, he faintly heard the clamor of shouting men and neighing horses coming from the southwest of Changping city. It was likely that the various Liaodong officers camped over there were striking their tents and preparing to follow the Grand Eunuch Overseer, Gao Qiqian, to Lugou Bridge and other areas for garrison duty.

Unable to help himself, Zhang Cheng reined in his horse. Listening to the chaotic sounds of men and horses in the distance, he let out a cold snort after a long moment. He flicked his riding crop through the air, producing a sharp crack, and his group transformed into a rushing wind as they spurred their horses directly toward the Xuanfu garrison encampment.

Entering the camp, Zhang Cheng headed straight for his uncle's tent.

Zhang Yan had just returned from inspecting the camp, and uncle and nephew bumped into each other right outside the military tent. Zhang Cheng dismounted, tossed his reins to Chen Zhong, and walked up to Zhang Yan, greeting, "Uncle."

Liang Song, the infantry thousand-man commander of the garrison's right-wing battalion, hurried over. Throwing an arm around Zhang Cheng, he teased, "Governor Lu kept you behind alone—did he reward you with some other treasure?"

Giving him a sideways glance, Zhang Cheng reached out, pulled out a silk cloth case, and waved it in front of Liang Song's eyes. "Look, I guarantee it's a fine gadget a bumpkin like you has never laid eyes on."

Liang Song took it with both hands, carefully unwrapped the silk case, and pulled out the spyglass. His eyes filled with wonder, he held it to his eye and gazed endlessly toward the distant main camp gate.

"Oh my," he muttered, "brother, this is that-there mirror thing? Well, I'll be damned."

Watching his antics, Zhang Cheng smiled and asked Zhang Yan, "Uncle, what are your thoughts on this division of forces?"

"Hmph, without the Liaodong army, are our Xuan-Da elite cavalry afraid to fight the Tartars?" Zhang Yan said with a stern face.

By this time, Thousand-man Commander Liang Song had already slid the spyglass back into its cloth case, handed it back to Zhang Cheng, and clicked his tongue. "My goodness, what a beauty! Truly incredible, and even made of brass. It sees so damn clearly."

Smiling, Zhang Cheng accepted it back and said to him, "Brother Liang, the fine wine rewarded by Military Governor Yang—I've saved a jar of it for you. Come over tonight and have a few sips."

Hearing this, Liang Song's face lit up with joy. Then, stealing a glance at Zhang Yan, he winked at Zhang Cheng and said, "Can't do it. We're breaking camp tomorrow morning, and I have to inspect the guards tonight."

Naturally understanding his meaning, Zhang Cheng said no more.

Following his uncle Zhang Yan into the military tent, Zhang Cheng watched as Zhang Yan seated himself behind the desk at the head of the tent and said, "Sit down."

"Uncle, Cheng'er feels that Governor Lu is being constrained at every turn. Since the forces were divided today, I'm afraid we'll be cut off from grain supply by tomorrow," Zhang Cheng probed cautiously.

Zhang Yan's tiger-like eyes widened as he said in a deep voice, "Since our generation has entered the military, we should naturally be loyal to the sovereign, repay the nation, and devote ourselves to imperial affairs. Relying solely on a hot-blooded passion to requite the ruler's grace above and protect the common people below—how can we presumptuously discuss affairs of the imperial court?"

"Your teachings are wise, Uncle. Cheng'er will remember them," Zhang Cheng replied, lowering his head and gazing submissively.

Lifting his gaze to see no trace of anger in Zhang Yan's eyes, he smilingly produced the spyglass Lu Xiangsheng had given him, presented it with both hands to his uncle, and said, "Uncle, this was a gift from Hanlin Academician Yang Tinglin. Cheng'er believes you have much greater use for it."

Reaching out to take the silk case, Zhang Yan drew out the spyglass and inspected it carefully in his hand before telling Zhang Cheng, "Judging by the craftsmanship and material of this spyglass, Master Yang Tinglin likely intended it as a gift for the Governor. No doubt the Governor declined it, so Master Yang passed it on to you."

Hearing his uncle's words, which aligned with his own guess, Zhang Cheng asked, "Cheng'er thought so too. Should we return it to the Governor?"

To be completely honest, Zhang Cheng really couldn't bear to return such a fine spyglass to Lu Xiangsheng. Yet since his uncle had already put it that way, he naturally had to show some hesitation and make a proper gesture.

Sure enough, he immediately heard Zhang Yan say, "That won't be necessary. Governor Lu is not a hypocritical man. He holds high expectations for you, and that Hanlin Academician Yang also appreciates you greatly. All the more reason for you to apply yourself earnestly, remain loyal to the country, and avoid letting down Governor Lu's expectations."

In his heart, Zhang Cheng already deeply revered upright and capable officials like Lu Xiangsheng and Yang Tinglin. After multiple recent encounters, his admiration had only grown. Now, with both of them placing such earnest hopes in him and presenting him with a spyglass as encouragement, how could his heart not be moved?

Standing straight and cupping his fists, he declared, "Cheng'er will certainly not fail Uncle's hopes, nor the Governor's expectations. I will be loyal to the sovereign, protect the nation, drive away the slaves, vanquish the bandits, and safeguard the common folk."

"Good. That's the way a true son of the Zhang family should speak. You should head back early as well and arrange the matters for breaking camp and moving out tomorrow morning." Zhang Yan looked at the young man before him with a face full of gratification.

Taking his leave of his uncle Zhang Yan, Zhang Cheng rose and left the military tent. The moment he stepped outside, a cold gust of wind swept over him, causing him to shiver slightly.

Chen Zhong was chatting with Lin Zhiyi and Liang Song outside. Seeing Zhang Cheng emerge from the tent, he hurried over and asked, "Commander, are we heading back to camp?"

"Back to camp," Zhang Cheng said as he walked toward Liang Song and Lin Zhiyi.

Liang Song trotted up to meet him and said mysteriously, "Well? We still have a cured pig's leg over at my place."

Zhang Cheng looked at Lin Zhiyi, who probed, "A drink?"

"A drink! Let's go back and arrange the moving matters first. Come over tonight—I've got wine, strong liquor." Zhang Cheng narrowed his eyes into slits as he looked sideways at the two of them.

By this time, Chen Zhong had retrieved the horse, and Zhang Cheng mounted up to gallop toward his own thousand-man battalion encampment.

...

Back in his own tent, Chen Zhong hurried to help him take off his armor while ordering two personal guards to immediately summon all the platoon commanders for a meeting.

Before long, the four platoon commanders arrived at Zhang Cheng's tent. To their surprise, a small pot was set up in the center of the tent, currently still empty, and several makeshift small desks were scattered around.

Wu Zhizhong chuckled, "Commander, sounds like there's good news."

Hearing Wu Zhizhong say this, the other three laughed heartily as well. Only the disciplinary officer, He Biao, maintained a face as stiff as iron without a trace of expression. He found a seat on his own below Zhang Cheng, sank his weight down, and sat there.

Seeing everyone settled, Zhang Cheng said in a deep voice, "Today, Grand Eunuch Overseer Gao Qiqian arrived in Changping and divided the forces with Governor Lu."

"Divided the forces? How did they divide them..."

"What was the division like, Commander?"

The men in the tent clamored, questioning Zhang Cheng.

Zhang Cheng noticed that He Biao remained completely motionless, acting as if none of this had anything to do with him. And indeed, whether the forces were divided or not really had nothing to do with him; this was Zhang Cheng's affair, while Chi Hebiao was merely a disciplinary officer whose job was to maintain military law, discipline, and verify military merits.

"Quiet down, what are you all making a ruckus about?" Zhang Cheng raised his voice to stop them, then continued, "Our Xuanfu reinforcement army will still be led by Governor Lu. We will strike camp at the hour of *chen* tomorrow and move our encampment to garrison the eastern suburbs outside the Yongding Gate of the capital. As for the specific defense duties, Military Governor Yang will assign them when the time comes."

Zhang Guangda said boisterously, "That's right! The closer we are to the Tartars, the more chances we'll have to kill a few more. Hehehe..."

"You bearded fellow, your left platoon took the lead last time; this time it's our turn, brothers," Brother Hu said to Zhang Guangda, while Cheng Zheng and Wu Zhizhong both nodded repeatedly, driving Zhang Guangda to puff out his beard and glare in frustration.

Waving his hand to quiet them down, Zhang Cheng said, "Regarding the camp relocation, the four of you head back first and make arrangements so the soldiers can prepare. Have breakfast a bit earlier tomorrow morning, and don't delay striking camp."

"Oh, right, after you've arranged everything for the move, remember to come back later. Thousand-man Commander Liang and Thousand-man Commander Lin are coming over for a gathering, and you'll all be attending." Zhang Cheng added.

The four men assented, stood up, and exited the tent to deploy their respective preparations for striking camp and moving out. Zhang Cheng instructed Chen Zhong to start a fire and stew some meat.

Only Zhang Cheng and He Biao remained in the tent. It wasn't until this moment that He Biao spoke up, "Thousand-man Commander, the account of the Mafang battle has been recorded according to your instructions. Please take a look."

With that, He Biao produced a small booklet. Zhang Cheng took it and began to read through it earnestly, examining it page by page with meticulous care.

After finishing, Zhang Cheng returned the booklet to He Biao and said to him, "Disciplinary Officer He, this duty will still fall to you from now on. I'm planning to give this record a name—let's call it 'Military History'. What do you think?"

"'Military History'? Thousand-man Commander, does this mean every battle from now on must be recorded?" He Biao asked doubtfully.

Zhang Cheng patiently explained, "Yes. Starting today, after every battle our unit fights, the scribes must faithfully record the entire combat process, compile it into 'Military History', and summarize successful 'battle cases' that can be used as teaching materials for everyone to study. We will also summarize failed 'battle cases' to draw lessons from them and prevent repeating past mistakes. What is your opinion?"

Hearing Zhang Cheng's words, He Biao fell into deep thought. After a long silence, he finally spoke, "The Thousand-man Commander's intention is to use today's events as tomorrow's teachers. Such profound and far-reaching planning—He Biao is deeply impressed."

"Haha, I didn't bring you here to flatter me. Alright, since you're handling this matter, I can rest easy." Reaching out to pat He Biao's shoulder, Zhang Cheng continued, "Now, about these punctuation symbols, let me explain them to you as well. Look here..."

As he spoke, Zhang Cheng picked up the writing brush from the desk and began to write on a sheet of paper. He Biao initially watched while seated, but soon stood up, hunching his waist to observe Zhang Cheng's writing closely.

A brief yet detailed battle report sprang to life on the paper.

The novelty of this battle report lay in the fact that, aside from the commas and periods Zhang Cheng had previously mentioned, semicolons and quotation marks had now been added.

In Ming Dynasty scholarly writing, punctuation marks did not exist; an entire essay flowed in one continuous breath without any breaks, relying entirely on the reader's personal learning and writing conventions to pause correctly.

While this method might pose no problem for intellectuals, it created massive hurdles for the popularization of literacy and literature. Aside from learning characters and writing, one also had to master the art of pausing and phrasing.

Zhang Cheng's idea was very simple: introduce modern punctuation marks into his military camp and slowly promote them within his sphere of control. In the future, they could be used to transmit military dispatches and even aid in eradicating illiteracy among his soldiers.

Fearing that He Biao might find it hard to digest too much at once, he temporarily introduced these four most commonly used punctuation marks, allowing He Biao and the scribes to get used to them first, before considering whether to introduce new ones later.

While Zhang Cheng was explaining the shapes and uses of the punctuation marks to He Biao, Chen Zhong was busy directing several personal guards to build a fire and add charcoal. Soon, the rich, savory aroma of meat began to waft from the pot in the center of the tent...