Chapter 165: A Victory at the Start

Fang Jifan watched his father panting heavily like an old ox.

The next moment, Fang Jinglong covered his chest with his hand and groaned, “Ouch… chest pain… ouch!”

Manager Yang quickly stepped forward and supported Fang Jinglong.

“Take my father to rest. He is so frail and always worries me,” Fang Jifan frowned and shook his head.

Manager Yang answered, but when he tried to help Fang Jinglong walk away, he felt that Fang Jinglong’s body was unmovable like a boulder.

Fang Jinglong shouted excitedly, “No rest! No rest! I’m fine. I was just too astonished. It’s nothing. I have things to do. I made an appointment with Duke of Yingguo and Jianzhou Marquis for a drink. I must go. I must go!”

Manager Yang said anxiously, “Sir, you are not well. Why drink…”

Fang Jinglong looked at Manager Yang disdainfully, “What do you know? I need to drink even more at a time like this. Do you know Duke of Yingguo’s son, that Zhang Something-Xin? He was really good-for-nothing. Duke of Yingguo is good in everything except teaching his son. I’m an old brother of his, so it’s my duty to go teach him not to ruin a good lad. Tell me, such a big boy only knows farming all day long, and even gained some insights in farming! Last time I went to Duke of Yingguo’s mansion for a drink, his son came. I asked him what he’d been up to lately. He said farming. I asked him what kind of farming, and he started counting on his fingers, saying farming is a great study—how deep the plowing should be, how to dig the flue, how to channel water, when to sow. Duke of Yingguo almost cried listening to him, saying that our ancestors followed Grand Progenitor and Emperor Wen to conquer the world on horseback, how could such a useless son be born!”

“I must give Duke of Yingguo a good lesson. He knows nothing, just beats his silly son randomly on the ground. I have to tell him that teaching a son is like leading an army—there must be a method.”

As he spoke, he happily looked down at the letter in his hand. It roughly described what had happened in Longevity Palace. Fang Jinglong made clicking sounds with his mouth, and his spit splattered. He raised his eyes and said, “My son Jifan…” He lifted his head…

Only to realize one thing—Fang Jifan had already slipped away.

Fang Jinglong smiled, patted the letter, and said to Manager Yang, “Manager Yang, I don’t recognize many of the words in this letter. Read it aloud for me.”

Manager Yang couldn’t help saying, “But sir, don’t you often read books?”

As soon as he spoke, he realized something and hurriedly said, “Then this student will certainly read it properly for you.”

Fang Jinglong sat down and leisurely crossed his legs. Somehow, he suddenly felt his own image had grown much taller. He lifted his leg slightly and, while waiting for Manager Yang to read the letter, couldn’t help sighing, “Nowadays, the families in the Capital are truly declining generation by generation. Why? It’s because they don’t know how to teach their sons! Scholars often say it’s the father’s fault if the son is untaught. I deeply agree with that…”

…

“Victory report! Victory report!”

Outside the Guizhou Provincial Governor’s headquarters, a dust-covered rider arrived swiftly. A panting yamen runner from the Express Delivery Station dismounted from his horse.

Since the entire Guizhou was in a state of war, officials from various provincial offices all worked at the headquarters.

Provincial Governor Wang Shi, after the previous governor Wang Yue’s defeat and the initial setbacks in the campaign, became more cautious when suppressing the Rebel Army.

About two months ago, His Majesty personally issued an Imperial Decree, ordering Guizhou to immediately establish a Mountain Brigade. Wang Shi did not dare to delay. Although he found it somewhat incomprehensible—in his view, Guizhou’s troops were a mixed lot; there were Wolf Troops recruited from native people, guest armies transferred from Jiangnan, and main forces from various Guizhou garrisons. Establishing a Mountain Brigade now would require drawing personnel from each garrison, which was actually inappropriate. After all, the Wolf Troops, guest armies, and local soldiers might not even share a common language and harbored their own grievances. Forming a specialized Mountain Brigade wouldn’t be very effective.

However, since it was an Imperial Decree personally issued by His Majesty, which bypassed the Grand Secretariat and clearly represented His Majesty’s own idea, how could Wang Shi dare to defy the decree?

Thus, a group of robust soldiers from the native troops, guest armies, and various Guizhou garrisons was selected, totaling three thousand men, and they began training!

To show that he was doing his utmost, Wang Shi almost tilted the supply of provisions and pay toward this unit. Among them, the robust soldiers drawn from Guizhou garrisons were quite familiar with the local conditions. The Wolf Troops, being native people, were adept at traversing mountains and ridges. As for the guest armies, most were drawn from places like Fujian and western Zhejiang.

Admittedly, it turned out quite effective. In Guizhou, with ample provisions and pay, there were actually few disputes within the Mountain Brigade. Those who were selected already had good physical fitness and were motivated to quell the rebellion and earn merits. With sufficient money and provisions provided, they all conserved their strength and built up energy.

Therefore, half a month ago, Wang Shi decided to let the Mountain Brigade gain some experience, but there had been no news since.

Now, this cry of victory immediately set the governor’s headquarters abuzz.

The newly assigned Palace Eunuch Supervisor from the Imperial Palace, the deployed Brocade Guard Qian Hu, the Guizhou Administration Commissioner, the Guizhou Regional Military Commander, the Transport Commissioner, the newly appointed Guizhou Regional Commander, and the Guiyang Prefect—all the key figures on Guizhou’s stage, sharp as hounds, emerged one after another. In no time, the governor’s main hall was packed.

Ever since Mi Lu started the rebellion, none of them had slept well for a single day.

Qian Yue was defeated and killed; the Regional Commander died in battle; the Palace Eunuch died in battle.

It was enough to send a chill down everyone’s spine. The imperial court immediately transferred them here to organize a new suppression campaign. But the problem was—should they advance or not?

Advancing would very likely lead to the same fate as Qian Yue and the others—truly tragic. But if they hid inside Guiyang city every day and the war made no progress, that would be even worse. The imperial court would surely be displeased, and then no one could escape; they would all be charged with negligence of duty and allowing the bandits to run rampant.

Everyone was anxious. Hearing there was a victory report, they were all overjoyed, their faces glowing. Usually, they wore sour expressions, but today they were beaming, as if a huge burden had been lifted from their hearts.

Wang Shi gathered his spirits and sat high at the head of the main hall. This newly appointed Provincial Governor had already received the Victory Report. As he opened it, his face lit up with excitement.

“Good, good, good! This is all thanks to the soldiers’ concerted efforts! The Mountain Brigade sent a victory report: thirty li east of Gold Dust Stronghold, they encountered the Rebel Army, engaged the bandits, killed seventy-nine bandits, and the rest all fled. The Mountain Brigade seized the momentum and took Gold Dust Stronghold in one go, killing another six hundred and seventeen rebels! The total beheaded is over seven hundred…”

Wang Shi, beaming and stroking his beard, laughed heartily: “Hahaha… This is a great achievement! Winning at the very start will surely terrify the Rebel Army! This Mountain Brigade really brings honor! Excellent! Someone, immediately report the victory to the Capital!”

Killing nearly seven hundred enemies…

The officials present looked at each other. This could indeed be considered a significant victory.

In many people’s minds, it seemed that unless ten or eight thousand died in a battle, it wasn’t really a victory.

But in fact, for one single battle, especially in the mountainous terrain of Guizhou where only small-scale forces could fight, such a result was already beyond expectations.

Most importantly, the greatest significance of this Victory Report was that it marked a good start in suppressing Mi Lu’s Rebel Army. If this report reached the Capital, who knew how excited the imperial court would be.

Wang Shi’s eyes shone brightly. Shaking his head excitedly, he continued, “Immediately dispatch it through the Express Delivery Station without delay!”

“Wait a moment!”

At that moment, a raspy voice suddenly called out. Everyone turned to look and saw Yang Xiong, the Eunuch Official, raising his little finger, holding a tea cup, and giving a creepy, ambiguous laugh.

Wang Shi slightly frowned. This Yang Xiong was a Palace Eunuch, a eunuch sent from the palace. Even though Yang Xiong was a nobody in the palace, out in the provinces, he was like the Emperor’s eyes and ears. Even the Provincial Governor couldn’t help being wary of him.

Wang Shi then asked, “Eunuch Yang, do you have something to say?”

Yang Xiong glanced around and then said with a grin, “All unrelated personnel, please leave for now.”

The so-called unrelated personnel naturally referred to the clerks attending the meeting. The clerks knew their place and quickly excused themselves. In the hall, only the leading figures of Guizhou’s Administration Commission and other authorities remained.

Everyone looked at Yang Xiong with puzzled expressions. In fact, compared to other eunuch officials, Yang Xiong had been quite easy to deal with since arriving in Guizhou. He had also been surprisingly refrain from meddling in military affairs.

Yang Xiong lowered his head and took a sip of tea before saying with a false smile, “The Victory Report cannot be sent like this.”

Cannot be sent like this?

Everyone was puzzled, looking at each other.

Then Yang Xiong said slowly, “This merit… is too small.”

Hiss…

Everyone present was shrewd. Eunuch Yang apparently thought it was too small and wanted to report a larger number.

But Wang Shi frowned and said, “If we overreport, that would be falsifying merit. Eunuch Yang, falsifying merit is a serious offense! Once the imperial court investigates…”

“Provincial Governor Wang knows how to be an official, but not how to be a subject,” Yang Xiong chuckled, his smile meaningful.

Wang Shi exchanged a glance with the Administration Commissioner.

As for the Guizhou Regional Commander and Regional Military Commander, they also seemed to look at each other. Everyone grew wary. Surely this Eunuch Yang knew how much the imperial court was focusing on Guizhou’s war situation. Falsifying merit—what a risk and what consequences it would bring!

In this era, although the Great Ming’s military readiness was lax, it hadn’t decayed to the core yet. So, while they might slightly inflate the numbers and distort some facts…

For example, regarding this victory, Wang Shi would use a vague number in his report, like “over a thousand beheaded” and “several strongholds captured in succession,” then enthusiastically boast about his own leadership contributions. But after all, they still had professional ethics—they couldn’t exaggerate too much.

Meanwhile, the Brocade Guard Qian Hu Wang Dao stood aside with arms crossed. From beginning to end, his face showed no expression, only staring coldly at Yang Xiong.