Chapter Six: The Situation in the Western Sea

"When I was in Guangzhou, I read some Western books," He Chong'an said.

"From now on, if you need anything in this compound, just use my name. No one will dare to bully you." He Ziqi’s gaze toward He Chong'an had changed significantly. "I also have a clock here. I wonder if you know how to repair it."

He Chong'an replied, "I would need to see it first to know if it can be repaired."

He Ziqi took a box from a cabinet, opened it, and produced a palm-sized package wrapped in red cloth. He unwrapped it slowly to reveal a gold pocket watch. However, it was embedded with a lead bullet, which had crushed and deformed the casing.

Upon seeing the extent of the damage, He Chong'an frowned. The casing was twisted and warped; he suspected it might be impossible to even pry it open, let alone repair the internal components. He looked troubled and said, "This is going to be difficult."

He Ziqi said, "I know it’s difficult, but what other choice is there? Do you know whose pocket watch this is? It is your father's."

"My father?" He Chong'an was filled with confusion, and only after a delayed reaction did he remember: "Right, my father is the Marquis of Wuning."

To mask his momentary lapse, He Chong'an immediately asked, "Is Father in any danger?"

"How could he not be in danger? Once on the battlefield, who can guarantee safety?" He Ziqi replied. "However, rest assured. Your father is, after all, the Imperial Commander-in-Chief of the Western Sea, with twenty or thirty thousand troops under his command. Having fought for many years, he naturally knows how to save his own skin; it’s not that easy for him to die."

Seeing He Chong'an’s display of filial piety, He Ziqi offered a few more words of explanation before bringing the conversation back to the point. "The reason I asked you to fix this watch is related to the war on the front lines. Do you know the situation in the Western Sea?"

He Chong'an said, "Please, Uncle, enlighten me."

"The Western Sea is a mess." He Ziqi then gave a brief account of the causes and consequences of the war there.

Only then did He Chong'an realize that the so-called "Western Sea" was actually Burma.

The Great Xia Dynasty’s national power far exceeded that of the Ming Dynasty. The founding emperor established the nation, and the second emperor led northern expeditions, not only defeating the Tatar tribes but also engaging in a long-standing struggle against the newly arrived Russian Empire. Currently, the front line in the Western Regions is at Suiye Town, where they stand in confrontation with the Russians.

The Ming and Xuan emperors did not engage in many wars, focusing instead on national recovery, which left the current emperor with substantial wealth.

Upon ascending the throne, the current emperor first implemented policies to integrate the local ethnic regions into the imperial administration to train his troops. Then, he launched massive southern campaigns, annihilating Annam, annexing Luzon, and taking Old Port (Palembang). He established the Nanyang Governor's Office and organized the region into prefectures and counties. Nations large and small—Siam, Cambodia, Champa—offered their submission and land, becoming internal vassal states equivalent to local tribal administrations. He further dispatched a detachment from Yunnan to take Burma. Facing the formidable might of Great Xia, Burma naturally could not resist and was conquered in one stroke.

The emperor bestowed upon it the name "Western Sea."

The Marquis of Wuning had also participated in the conquest of the Southern Sea, earning many merits, which gave him the qualifications to guard this territory today.

The emperor’s original intention was to use Burma as a base to encompass the surrounding areas and establish a Western Sea Governor's Office, with ambitions to eventually reach India.

However, unrest in the imperial court forced the southern wars to come to an abrupt halt, shifting the strategy primarily to defense.

Yet, Burma remained unsettled.

Burma is far from the Central Plains, and the supply lines are too long. To support the region, the imperial court must either mobilize troops over thousands of miles from Sichuan, Guizhou, and Yunnan, or rely on maritime supplies from Guangzhou through the Strait of Malacca. Twenty thousand troops is the absolute limit.

But Burma, after all, was once a mighty kingdom. Like a centipede that keeps moving even after it dies, it is extremely difficult to secure the entire territory with only twenty thousand troops.

Thus, in the dozen or so years since the establishment of the Western Sea Command, various resistance organizations in Burma have never ceased. There is a small rebellion almost every year and a major one every three years.

"Actually, these local tribesmen are nothing," He Ziqi said. "The best they have are elephant warriors and leather armor; they are no match for the imperial army. The real threat is the Western barbarians in India. These barbarians constantly send people to fund the tribes and even dispatch their own forces to assist directly. When the Marquis sends official inquiries, the barbarians claim they are 'mercenaries' and talk of 'personal freedom'."

He Ziqi sneered, his expression growing grave. "These barbarians are few in number, but they are skilled with firearms, not inferior to the imperial Divine Machine Battalion. They also use the local tribes as vassals. The Marquis has suffered several setbacks. He came up with a plan to set a trap—to divide his forces and strike from multiple directions to wipe out these barbarians in one fell swoop. The problem lies right here."

"What is the problem?" He Chong'an asked cautiously.

Seeing that He Chong'an did not understand, He Ziqi sighed. "You are a member of the He family; you should at least read some military strategy. Since ancient times, the hallmark of a great general is the ability to disperse and concentrate troops at will—that is, the ability to scatter the army and bring them back together again. Most people attempt to march in lockstep or coordinate multiple prongs, only to find their forces scattered or failing to arrive in time."

"So, your father came up with a method involving these pocket watches. Every unit is issued one. They set a detailed operational plan in advance, fixing the time and issuing strict orders: at such-and-such an hour, the army must be at such-and-such a place, or the commander will be executed. Only by synchronizing the pace of the entire army can they execute a coordinated pincer attack."

He Ziqi’s eyes filled with worry. He wasn't sure if it would work; it was a novel concept.

There was much He Ziqi did not say.

He and the Marquis of Wuning were cousins who grew up together; he knew exactly what kind of man the Marquis was. The Marquis’s military style was always one of caution. This was his nature, but it was also the pressure he bore as the head of the Marquis’s household.

The outcome of his battles on the front lines determined the honor, disgrace, and survival of thousands in the Marquis’s estate. Sometimes, he would rather lose a small skirmish than risk a major battle. Even with a small defeat, his past merits would protect him from serious trouble. But a major victory might only add a little glory, while the risk of failure was absolute. A sudden defeat would result in the exile or execution of his entire clan.

Unless he was backed into a corner with no other options, the Marquis of Wuning would never rack his brains to come up with such unconventional ideas.

It was evident that the situation in the Western Sea was becoming increasingly dire.

Yet, as He Chong'an listened, he thought to himself, "This 'cheap' father of mine is quite capable."

He hadn't understood at first. Having lived in the internet age, where people can communicate anytime, anywhere, it was hard for him to imagine how people communicated in the pre-internet era without mobile phones, computers, or telephones.

In this era, once an army was deployed and separated by even ten or twenty miles, managing them became difficult. Commanders had to rely on their own initiative. Even if a messenger was sent, a single messenger could hardly control a general or command an army. They could only let subordinates act according to circumstances.

If the generals were of one mind, it was fine, but if they had ulterior motives, there were too many excuses they could use to evade orders.

A pocket watch, however, represented precise time. Military orders could be made explicit, reducing the discretionary power of the generals and allowing the army to coordinate much better.

In many old films, generals would synchronize their watches before launching an attack.

When Dong Cunrui sacrificed himself to blow up the bunker before the final assault, it was because the precise time of the order had been issued to the entire army, making any last-minute changes impossible.

In He Chong'an's memory, such synchronization was only achieved after the military reforms of Napoleon and the Prussians.

And yet, his "cheap" father on the front lines had already realized this.

He Chong'an felt conflicted about the Marquis of Wuning. The Marquis was capable, and as a member of his system, He Chong'an should have felt more secure. Unfortunately, he was an impostor.

He Chong'an said, "Does Seventh Uncle mean that there aren't enough pocket watches?"

"Naturally, there aren't enough. I’ve inquired—these pocket watches are top-tier goods from the West. A Western clock costs anywhere from two hundred to a thousand taels, and the finest ones can go for five or six thousand. As for a pocket watch, they start at a thousand taels, and the best ones are priceless."

He Chong'an was shocked. "One pocket watch costs a thousand taels?"