Chapter 61: Zhou Yuji
Chapter 61: Zhou Yuji
Jinzhou.
“Ready my horse!”
Yang Xin, full from a meal, picked his teeth as he walked out of the restaurant. The attendant beside him quickly led his horse over with a wide, ingratiating smile. Yang Xin casually tossed him a few pieces of broken silver, and amid the waiter’s hasty thanks, he stepped onto the mounting stone and got on his horse.
“Giddy up!”
He suddenly urged the horse forward.
“Move aside, don’t block the road!”
A shout came immediately.
He turned his head in surprise, seeing dozens of riders galloping wildly from the east.
In the middle was a civil official in a blue robe, looking ahead at the commotion as if no one else was around, clearly accustomed to this style. On the road, a child carrying a basket selling peaches had just tried to duck aside but slipped on the muddy ground after the recent rain. The peaches in his basket spilled everywhere, and he instinctively bent to pick them up. But by then, the leading cavalryman was already right behind him. The cavalryman, also startled, cursed angrily and hurriedly reined in his horse. The horse whinnied and stopped, but due to momentum, it slid rapidly forward…
Yang Xin leaped forward like lightning, sweeping past the terrified child in an instant, and grabbed the horse’s right ear.
He roared and yanked downward with all his might.
Yet at that very moment, as if echoing his roar, an identical shout came from the other side, and an identical hand appeared on the horse’s left ear. As if rehearsed, that hand also pulled down in sync with his motion. Yang Xin stared in astonishment at the young face opposite him; the other was also staring back in shock. But their violent actions made the horse plunge headfirst toward the ground, then flip over backward with its hindquarters in the air. The rider on its back was instantly thrown off. Fortunately, the horse didn’t completely flip over, but its head was now less than half a meter from the child. The child stared blankly at the horse’s head suddenly before him, while above, the thrown rider screamed as he flew past. Across the horse’s head, Yang Xin and the young man locked eyes…
Yang Xin shook his head and snapped back to awareness.
“How dare you, you reckless fool! How dare you harm an imperial soldier!”
An angry roar followed immediately.
The young man also snapped back to reality, looking somewhat panicked at the horse on the ground. The horse was completely ruined; its legs were broken from their violent force. The fallen cavalryman was also badly hurt, lying in the muddy road and howling in pain.
But at least there was the mud.
The ground, freshly rained on, wasn’t dry and hard like stone; otherwise, he might have broken ribs from that fall.
Yang Xin turned to look at the angry shouter.
This was the officer of this cavalry troop, wearing chainmail armor. In fact, Ming Army cavalry at this time generally preferred wearing this, as cotton-padded armor was impossible in summer. Throughout the Ming dynasty, the main opponents of the Ming forces beyond the passes were essentially the Mongols, who were mostly light cavalry. Similarly, to adapt to pursuits on the grasslands, the Ming Army had gradually evolved into light cavalry with fast horses, light bows, and sharp blades.
This system worked well against the Mongolian cavalry.
Late Ming border garrison generals liked launching swift raids with elite household servant troops as light cavalry. They fought impressively against the Mongols, such as Li Rusong, and this was the best method against Mongolian herders. But the problem was, this system was ineffective against the Eight Banners heavy infantry with their heavy armor, powerful bows, and shield carts. The light arrows shot by Ming light bows struggled to penetrate the heavy armor of the Eight Banners infantry, whereas the latter’s heavy arrows could easily pierce the Ming light armor.
Similarly, the Mongolian cavalry also suffered disastrous losses against the Eight Banners.
Their issue was the same as the Ming Army’s: too much focus on light cavalry, losing the ability to fight against formed heavy infantry. If we set aside the later factor of the Jiannu acquiring cannons, and reverted the Ming Army to heavy infantry from the cold weapon era like the Song Army, or turned the Mongols back into the heavy cavalry of their western campaigns, they might not be as passive against the Jiannu as they were now.
Of course, that wasn’t needed anymore.
It was the age of firearms now; directly using cannons was simpler than anything else.
“Commander, you certainly put on a grand display of authority!”
Yang Xin sneered coldly.
“Arrest him! Send him first to Zhongtun Garrison. We’ll deal with him after paying respects to Military Commissioner Xiong!”
The officer roared angrily.
The civil official behind him hadn’t spoken the entire time.
“Pay respects to Military Commissioner Xiong? I just came from Military Commissioner Xiong’s place. We had breakfast together this morning. Would you like me to lead the way, Commander? I could mention how impressively authoritative you were, riding recklessly and nearly trampling people, and how you wanted to tie me up. But if you tie me up, these letters from Military Commissioner Xiong won’t reach their destination!”
Yang Xin said.
As he spoke, he pulled out the token Xiong Tingbi had given him.
The officer’s face instantly fell.
He cautiously glanced back at the civil official…
“Since you’re Military Commissioner Xiong’s messenger, why are you lingering in the city? Leave immediately!”
The civil official barked.
“You’ll have to let me leave first!”
Yang Xin said.
The civil official waved a hand with impatience.
The officer hurriedly moved aside with his cavalry. Yang Xin signaled with his eyes to the young man, who clearly wasn’t foolish. These men might not arrest Yang Xin, but that didn’t mean they wouldn’t arrest him. Yang Xin had Xiong Tingbi’s protection; he did not. He quickly walked to Yang Xin’s horse. Yang Xin reached out and pulled him up, and he swung onto the horse behind Yang Xin. The two rode on the same horse straight past the cavalry.
“Councilor Wang!”
The officer’s voice reached Yang Xin’s ears.
“Let it be. We’ll give Xiong Tingbi some face for now. If even a household servant is like this, this Liaodong Military Commissioner isn’t someone easy to deal with, seeing even a household servant act like this!”
The civil official said.
Yang Xin didn’t listen further, quickly urging the horse out of Jinzhou’s east gate. He didn’t stop until they reached Xiaoling River Station, where he let the young man dismount. This person was clearly a local. After getting off, he immediately greeted one of the station attendants, then turned and clasped his hands toward Yang Xin.
“Thank you for your help, elder brother!”
He said gratefully.
“It was nothing. You’ve got good skills yourself!”
Yang Xin replied with a smile, returning the gesture.
This man was no less than Cao Wenzhao. Although Yang Xin had provided most of the force in that earlier moment, he could feel the man’s strength from the other side. To react like that in a split second showed considerable agility. And he was a good person. Yang Xin dared to act like that because he had nothing to fear; he knew his own speed and strength could handle it. But for this man to dare do it was genuinely heroic.
“Aren’t you afraid they might come after you later?”
Yang Xin asked.
“What’s there to fear? I’m planning to join the army anyway. At worst, I’ll just leave. They wouldn’t go so far as to trouble my family over this. That was Guangning’s Circuit Intendant Wang Huazhen and his trusted follower Sun Degong. As long as I don’t enlist in Guangning, what can they do to me? Besides, they were in the wrong here. If they go too far and provoke public anger, it won’t benefit them either. I am, after all, a local; I have a clan behind me. May I ask for your honorable name, elder brother? I am Zhou Yuji, registered in Guangning Zhongtun Garrison.”
The young man said.
“Zhou Yuji?”
Yang Xin drew out the syllables, just as he had when he first heard Cao Wenzhao introduce himself.
“Ah, I’m Yang Xin, from Hejian. I injured a City Patrol Censor in the Capital City and, by His Majesty’s grace, was ordered to come to Liaodong with Military Commissioner Xiong as a commoner to kill enemies and atone for my crime. Since you wish to join the army, why not come with me? I’m currently on orders from Military Commissioner Xiong to deliver letters to the Yehe Tribe. Come with me, and when we return, I’ll recommend you to become one of Xiong Tingbi’s personal guards. Then we can fight enemies together on the battlefield. Speaking of which, with skills like yours, you’re a true warrior. So far, you’re the second person to give me this feeling. Once you become Xiong Tingbi’s personal guard, Wang Huazhen and his lot won’t dare trouble you anymore.”
He continued.
He had already recruited Cao Wenzhao as a personal guard for Xiong Tingbi; might as well add Zhou Yuji to the mix. With that, Xiong Tingbi’s retinue would be quite impressive. Of course, mainly because then, when he went out on special missions later, he wouldn’t have to go alone. With Cao Wenzhao on his left and Zhou Yuji on his right, that lineup would be equally impressive.
Zhou Yuji stared at him in astonishment.
“What? Not daring?”
Yang Xin said.
“It’s not that I’m not daring. The Yehe Tribe is outside Zhenbei Pass. The main road via Shenyang is definitely impassable now; Kaiyuan and Tieling are both occupied by the Jiannu. Going north on the main road means running into their patrols; the two of us certainly wouldn’t make it through. We’d need to head north from Guangning, exit the border wall, and skirt through the Mongolian grazing lands. That route isn’t particularly dangerous; it’s vast, sparsely populated grassland. As long as we have enough horses and provisions, we can gallop freely. Even if we encounter Mongols, we can easily avoid them. In fact, with a bit of caution, we might not even run into them—the hundreds of miles of grassland have very few Mongols in total. I’m just surprised by what you said, Brother Yang. You actually dared to strike a Censor and even received an imperial decree from His Majesty. That’s truly astonishing.”
Zhou Yuji said honestly.
“We can talk about that on the road. I’ve got plenty more that might astonish you. Striking a Censor is nothing! Do you need to prepare anything else? Oh, here, I have a silver note. Take it for your family first!”
Yang Xin said.
He handed over a fifty-tael silver note.
Zhou Yuji was around twenty; it was unclear whether he had married his famously formidable wife yet.
“What is this for, Brother Yang? Do you take Zhou Yuji for someone greedy for money?”
Zhou Yuji said sternly.
“This is a settlement allowance, considered from Xiong Tingbi. I’m just advancing it for him; I’ll get it back from him later. Regardless of how our trip turns out, your family needs to be settled first! As for Xiong Tingbi, don’t worry—he’ll definitely accept anyone I recommend. Although I’m a commoner, he still needs me for many things. Besides, someone like you is exactly what he wants!
Take the silver note back home first. I’ll wait here for you.
When you return, we’ll head north together. But this journey is time-sensitive; we’ll need to change horses frequently and ride hard. I have Xiong Tingbi’s written order to requisition military horses from relay stations along the way. But you’ll need to endure riding at least three hundred li a day. If you think you can’t handle it, just say so. Don’t delay my mission.”
Yang Xin said.
“Don’t worry, Brother Yang. Whatever you can endure, I certainly won’t fall behind!”
Zhou Yuji said with a confident smile.
That was a bit of an exaggeration. Yang Xin decided that once they left the pass, he’d try riding four hundred li a day with him.