Futile Devices Scans

These twenty-two soldiers had been under soft confinement in the front courtyard squad rooms for nearly ten days, and they were already so idle they were about to grow feathers, so irritated they were about to fester into miasma.

First, they did not know what exactly they had come to Kuiyuan to do. Second, they did not know when they could leave. Third, they did not know whose orders they were supposed to obey now.

After Zhang San and Li Si killed Daoist Ma and left that night, their own identities and positions became extremely awkward as well. If they believed what Li Si had said, and Li Si truly had been acting under the Commander’s orders, then it seemed they ought to be on the same side as Li Si the assassin, in which case they should have been swept out by the County Magistrate and driven from Ant County. If they did not believe what Li Si had said, then it seemed the only person left for them to rely on was the Strongman, but the Strongman was being nursed half-dead in the County Magistrate’s residence, and for the time being, they could not see him either.

Their relatives were all being held as hostages in the capital’s military camp, so they did not dare desert and leave on their own. Nor did they wish to come into conflict with the people of the county yamen. They could only remain shut up in the squad rooms day after day, waiting for an unknown fate.

Yesterday, Zhang San and Li Si had suddenly returned, and Zhang San had even become Militia Commander, but he had not given them any instructions either, still keeping them penned up and fed. Envoy Li was said to have been injured and was recuperating, so he apparently had not yet had time to make arrangements for them.

They could only continue waiting in frustration. The longer they waited, the more stifled anger built up in them, and the more restless and uneasy they became.

After waiting and waiting, they finally waited until Envoy Li came to find them.

–

Li Si’s way of doing things was very simple. He called everyone out to stand in the courtyard and asked directly, “Are you willing to be under my command?”

The twenty-odd men were all stunned by the question.

Someone among them said, “What do you mean, willing or unwilling? We came out under orders. The only question is whether we should or should not!”

Li Si thought about it and realized that was true. It seemed this was not something he should ask everyone’s personal wishes about. So he took out the Imperial City Directorate waist token, held it up, and said, “I received the Commander’s final order and succeeded him as Imperial City Directorate Envoy. He ordered me to kill Daoist Ma and deliver the secret letter to Kuiyuan, and I did both. Prefect Zhang of Kuiyuan decoded the secret order. His Majesty commanded us to escort someone back to the capital. Since you came under orders, you should escort that person with me. Then you ought to obey my command.”

What he said was quite reasonable. After thinking it over, the twenty-odd men all knelt and saluted. “We await Envoy’s orders.”

Li Si nodded in satisfaction. This was his first time being a leader, so he was somewhat unused to it, but he supposed it was just like being a drill instructor—whatever he taught, everyone else would do.

He said, “Go back to your rooms and pack your belongings. Bring your bedding and pillows, reclaim your weapons, and move lodgings with me tonight.”

–

Li Si led the twenty-two soldiers, carrying weapons, bedding, and pillows, in a mighty procession to the County Magistrate’s rear garden. Everyone was settled in the meditation room and study on either side of the garden.

The chairs, tables, and beds inside were all made of fine golden-thread nanmu wood. Fine charcoal was piled before the heated alcove and fireplace, and there were all kinds of sandalwood statues of immortal masters, coral ornaments from overseas, and walls and shelves filled with calligraphy and painting collections. It could truly be called magnificent and luxurious.

Compared with the shabby, cramped, and crude squad rooms at the county yamen, this was simply the difference between clouds and mud. Everyone curiously touched and examined things everywhere.

One soldier who had visited great households in the capital before said, “Good heavens, is this really a County Magistrate’s house? Even the homes of princes and nobles aren’t much more than this. What exactly is this County Magistrate’s background?”

Another said, “He invited that Strongman to stay in his own house, but made all of us squeeze into those broken-down squad rooms! He even took away all our weapons and made us look at the yamen runners’ faces every day, guarding against us like we were thieves!”

Everyone began cursing, complaining about the County Magistrate’s various acts of contempt and neglect toward them.

Li Si did not know how to soothe his subordinates’ fierce emotions. He only said, “Do not make noise.”

His voice was quiet, and those rough soldiers did not hear him at all, continuing to argue loudly inside the room.

Li Si could only use the same methods he used to discipline new recruits. He leapt onto the writing desk, picked up a scroll of calligraphy, and struck it hard against the bookshelf beside him. With a sharp “dong!” he then shouted coldly, “No shouting in the army!”

The soldiers went quiet for an instant and all turned to look at him. Seeing his young, fresh face and his serious manner, they soon began muttering softly again. In the end, they were not very convinced by him.

After all, he had originally only been an ordinary member of their group of fifty. It was only because of good luck that he had seen the Commander one last time and obtained a token. Everyone followed him because the circumstances forced them to, but many of those present were veteran soldiers with their own skills and experience, and they did not particularly take him seriously.

Li Si jumped down with the scroll in hand and struck it with another “dong!” on the head of the soldier who had been muttering the loudest.

The soldier was knocked into a stagger. Covering his head, he retreated several steps and glared angrily at him.

“No shouting!” Li Si glared back.

The soldier wanted to say something in anger, but the comrade beside him pulled him back.

Li Si raised his voice. “You will all lodge here. Three meals a day will be delivered by my order. Choose two squad leaders. If you have any needs, have the squad leaders tell me. Every day at the hour of Mao, the squad leaders will bring the men out for training. First practice fist techniques and blade techniques in the courtyard, then practice three-man formations and five-man formations. I will come supervise at the hour of Mao.”

Someone below muttered again, “Why are we suddenly training soldiers now? On the road here, the Commander never made us train…”

Li Si raised the scroll toward him, and that man resentfully shut his mouth. It was not that he feared pain; mainly, being struck on the head in public by a kid was too humiliating.

After Li Si put on a display of authority and settled the twenty-odd brothers, he prepared to leave.

Before he left, someone else asked, “Envoy, we’re willing to obey you, and if you say train, then we’ll train. But how long are we training here? When do we set out for the capital? Didn’t you say we’re escorting someone? Who are we escorting?”

Li Si’s face went blank. He could have said, “In a few days, once my injuries are a little better, we’ll leave,” but his throat stuck, and the words would not come out.

“Train first. I will make arrangements,” he finally said, then turned and left with a blank face.

–

Night had fallen, and the small town was utterly still. With twenty-odd people suddenly gone from the county yamen, the place also became empty and quiet.

No lamp had been lit in the main room of the rear courtyard. Li Si sat alone on Zhang San’s large bed, wrapped in the tiger cloak, curled into a small ball.

This posture pressed against the whip wounds on his chest and abdomen, making them sting continuously, yet he did not move at all, quietly enduring the pain in the darkness.

He hoped his wounds might fester a little, then rot for another ten days or half a month, or even refuse to heal for one or two years.

But of course that was impossible.

Last night, Brother Xiao had said here, “In a few days, you’ll have to leave. Once you leave, we may not see each other again in this lifetime.” At that moment, his mind had gone blank with a buzz, and before he could think of anything, his tears had already poured down.

Nor had he been allowed to think any further. Brother Xiao had pressed his face against his chest, and warmth, firmness, and softness had rushed toward him all at once… and that was that. His mind had gone dizzy, and everything after that was unknown to him. It was as though, the moment he opened his eyes, it was already morning, fragrant pinched dough pieces were on the table, and a new day had begun.

He had originally planned to stick tightly to Brother Xiao all day, so Brother Xiao would never again be able to say words that made him sad. But then Junior Clerk Chen had come to find him, and he had gone to find the soldiers—that was when he finally realized the responsibility he bore.

Was Brother Xiao sending Junior Clerk Chen to ask his opinion also meant to remind him to shoulder responsibility?

So those sad things did not cease to exist just because Brother Xiao did not say them aloud.

Only now could he concentrate and think carefully about it—Brother Xiao was right. The time left for him and Brother Xiao to be together truly was not much.

He was the Imperial City Directorate Envoy and bore His Majesty’s mission. He had to lead these twenty-two soldiers to complete their orders, not to mention that his elderly grandmother was still alone and helpless in the capital, so he could not keep finding excuses to linger here. Brother Xiao also had his own duties as Militia Commander. With war urgent, he should not continue wasting time on Li Si—for example, today, when he had to go investigate the North Gate, he could not bring along Li Si, this drunken, dazed burden. Brother Xiao also knew official matters came first.

After this parting, Li Si would be in the capital and Brother Xiao would be in Kuiyuan. Wherever they went, whatever they did, both would have to obey military orders, neither of them free to act as they wished. It truly would be difficult to meet again.

A few days ago, at the relay station in Kuiyuan, he had also thought about how he might have to leave the next day. At that time, he had only felt that there were still so many things he wanted to say to Brother Xiao, and that he felt somewhat reluctant to part. He had not realized that once they parted, it would be so difficult to meet again. But now, for some reason, just thinking of Brother Xiao’s face, just thinking that he might never see Brother Xiao again, made him so sad that his whole body hurt and his chest tightened until he could barely breathe.

Li Si had already tasted the pain of parting by death, and now he had to face the bitterness of parting in life. Unable to bear it, he buried his face in his knees.

–

Zhang San led people in dismantling part of the city wall, clanging and hammering for half a day before they finally dug a small hole through the rubble large enough for one person to pass. When he crawled out to look, it really was a long-unused road overgrown with weeds. Seeing that night had grown deep, he instructed Liu Wu to choose four capable and quick-witted constables the next day, bring dry rations and drinking water, and divide them into two groups to scout the route. Then he dismissed everyone to go back and rest.

He returned late at night, carrying a lantern into the rear courtyard. Seeing that the courtyard was pitch-black and no lamps were lit in any of the rooms, he guessed that Li Si and Cook Wu and her husband were all asleep. He therefore moved quietly and returned to his own main room.

He saw the tiger-fur cloak curled into a ball on his bed and thought Li Si had fallen asleep wrapped in it, so he quietly walked over and reached out to touch it, only for his hand to meet empty air.

There was nothing beneath the cloak. When he shone the lantern over it, there were only a few faint drops of water. He rubbed them between his fingers; fortunately, it was not blood.

He did not know where Li Si had gone, and panic kept rising in his heart. He turned to go out and wake Cook Wu and her husband, but after another thought, decided to first check Li Si’s room.

He pushed the door open softly and shone the lantern inside. Sure enough, Li Si was curled up alone on the bed, his back to the door, looking as if he were sound asleep.

Only then did Zhang San breathe a sigh of relief, though he had no idea what this little fool was up to. The little fool had clearly clung to him shamelessly last night, insisting on sleeping in his main room, so when Zhang San carried him back that afternoon, he had simply sent him straight to the main room. He had even specially told Cook Wu to heat the heated brick bed in the main room.

So why had he gone back to his own room now?

Zhang San had sent Junior Clerk Chen to ask Li Si about settling the soldiers purely because those soldiers had been brought out by the “Envoy,” so of course Envoy Li’s opinion had to be sought first—he had always respected Li Si’s status as “Envoy,” otherwise he would not have tucked the jade pendant onto Li Si back then either.

How could he have known that Envoy Li had misunderstood, thinking Zhang San was urging him to “take responsibility”?

Zhang San did not understand what was going on. He was reluctant to leave, yet he had no reason to squeeze onto Li Si’s bed and sleep there. He turned and shut the drafty door, then stood quietly at the doorway, holding the lantern and looking at Li Si’s back for a long time.

In the end, he gave a soft sigh, opened the door, and left.

Only after hearing his footsteps disappear beneath the corridor did Li Si, who had been pretending to sleep, slowly turn over. In the darkness, he silently opened his eyes. All the watery sheen had sunk into the ink-black dark.

–

Zhang San tossed and turned all night and only fell asleep near dawn, rarely sleeping in late.

When Cook Wu came to knock and deliver breakfast, he rose from bed with a heavy, aching head. Draping on his padded jacket, half-awake and half-asleep, he stuffed a roasted cake into his mouth and asked with his cheeks bulging, “Sister Wu, has Li Si gotten up?”

Cook Wu said, “Young Master Li left early this morning, ah. He said he was going with those soldiers…”

Zhang San thought Li Si had gone back to the capital with the soldiers and was so frightened that he sprang up. “What! His wounds haven’t even healed! Why did he leave already! What if he runs into bandits on the road! Didn’t I tell you to watch him? How did you just let him go!”

He blurted out a long string of words in panic, stopped eating the cake, gathered up his outer robe, and was about to run out.

Cook Wu chased after him and finally managed to finish her sentence: “…to the County Magistrate’s garden!”

Zhang San, who had already stepped barefoot into the courtyard: “…”

Embarrassed, he hopped back inside, sneezing twice from the cold, and went to the bedside to put on his shoes and socks. “Cough. My fault for being impatient. Sorry, Sister Wu. Don’t mind me.”

Cook Wu laughed cheerfully. “The Boss dotes on Young Master Li.”

Zhang San coughed again, guilty and not daring to answer.

He swiftly dressed himself, washed up simply by the basin, swallowed a bowl of congee in a few large mouthfuls, then took the two remaining cakes in hand and coughed. “Sister Wu, I’ll trouble you to tidy up here. I’m going to check on him. If County Commandant Liu comes, tell him to find me over there.”

Cook Wu nodded. “Take care, Boss. There are still two cakes left in the stove. Why don’t you bring them to Young Master Li? He seemed to have something on his mind this morning and barely ate a few bites.”

“He didn’t even eat his fill!” Zhang San said angrily. “That fool!”

He tucked away four cakes and hurried off in a blaze of anxiety.

–

Li Si had not slept all night either. In the morning, for the first time ever, he could not eat. After two mouthfuls of congee, he felt nauseous, but he could not bear to waste food, so he forced himself to finish the whole bowl.

Those soldiers had been confined for ten days with nothing to do. Now that they finally had a spacious place to move around, they had all risen early, split into pairs, and were practicing fist techniques in the courtyard.

Leader Li entered the courtyard and looked around. Everyone was full of vigor as they practiced, tangled together in pairs, fighting so closely it was as if they were glued to each other, exactly like the way he and Brother Xiao had been when they first met. The sight made his heart ache, and he held onto the courtyard gate and vomited.

The soldiers: “…” Does he think we look too disgusting, hugging each other while fighting?

After Li Si finished vomiting, he wiped his mouth clean and explained with a wooden face, “I ate too much this morning. Continue.”

⸻

By the time Zhang San arrived, Li Si had just led the soldiers in splitting into small teams of three or five and begun drilling formations.

This group of soldiers had been selected according to some nonsense about the Five Elements belonging to fire, and they had no coordination with each other. They were scattered soldiers from different armies and camps. There were infantry, cavalry, and naval troops among them, and ordinarily, each branch trained differently, while each man was skilled in different weapons. They all seemed to be veteran soldiers of many years, but in truth, it was very difficult to train them together.

Li Si first divided the soldiers into two groups according to whether they were good at riding or not, not placing them in the same team. Then, according to the weapons each man was skilled in, he arranged each team to include long weapons, short weapons, archers, and shield-bearers. Finally, following the basic formations laid out in the official military manuals, he ordered them to drill and coordinate.

Zhang San watched from the side for a while and felt that Li Si’s method of training troops was worth pondering.

Li Si had spent years in the capital, so his approach was one of discussing war on paper. The imperial guards stationed in the capital had not fought in years, and with Grand Preceptor Tong and Chancellor Cai colluding for many years, embezzling military funds and drawing empty salaries, the army was rotten with corruption inside and had very low combat strength. When training troops, they merely copied the military manuals and drilled empty forms day after day.

Zhang San’s methods were completely different. He had come from slaughtering pigs and chopping meat, gone onto the battlefield with real blades and real spears at fifteen, never read a single military manual, yet fought across more than half of Great Xuan and learned all his killing skills through blood and slaughter.

But Zhang San was good at killing, not at teaching others, because to learn the skills he possessed, one had to fight for eight years and kill for eight years. That set of things could not simply be copied and handed to new recruits.

Li Si’s method of training troops would probably be useless if they went onto the battlefield against the fierce, heavily armored Xiao Army. But in a short period of time, it could quickly guide new recruits who had never fought before into the basics, and it could also quickly cultivate coordination and tacit understanding among veteran soldiers. It was, after all, a shortcut method.

In short, it had advantages and disadvantages, but at present, the advantages outweighed the disadvantages.

–

Zhang San watched silently and did not disturb Li Si as he trained the soldiers seriously. After some time, Liu Wu also arrived. The two men observed the soldiers’ drills while continuing to discuss military preparations.

When the two of them had discussed military preparations over the past two days, they had had neither money nor weapons, so Zhang San had entertained the idea of confiscating the County Magistrate’s property, causing quite a bit of argument between them. Now, discussing the matter again, they had that large chest of silver cakes found in the tunnel, and their finances were rather comfortable, so the conversation between the two was quite cheerful.

Zhang San ordered Liu Wu to post notices throughout the county, recruiting able-bodied young men as temporary village soldiers, paying them monthly salaries, not tattooing their faces, and allowing them to return to civilian registration after the war. The newly recruited soldiers would be led by several veteran archers and would come to this garden every day to train together with Envoy Li.

As for the county’s registrars, Zhang San also followed the example of Kuiyuan City and ordered them to specialize in organizing military equipment and provisions so that they could be drawn upon by all sides.

At the same time, he also imitated Prefect Zhang and recruited other strong men and women as laborers, paying them in grain, to rebuild the northern city gate and to build an outer barbican at each of the northern and southern city gates.

The earthen fortress below the mountain would also become a military fort. Between the maze and the earthen fortress, a new fortress gate would be built, while the watchtower and rammed-earth outer walls would all be rebuilt and reinforced.

With layer upon layer of arrangements set in place, Ant County and the earthen fortress together had practically become a proper military stronghold.

⸻

Liu Wu accepted his orders and hurried away, while Zhang San also had to go around making arrangements everywhere.

Before leaving, he saw that the morning training supervised by Li Si had already ended. The yamen runners had delivered food, and the soldiers were all resting beneath the corridor and eating breakfast. Only Li Si stood alone under the corridor after supervising them for an hour, his face deathly pale.

Earlier, Zhang San had not wanted to go up and disturb him, but now he quickly stepped forward, draped the tiger cloak he had brought over him, moved a chair from the study for him to sit on, and took out the roasted cakes for him.

The moment Li Si saw him, his heart ached. Before he even reached out to take the cake, he turned his head and vomited again.

Zhang San: “…”

He did not suspect Li Si of being disgusted by him. Instead, he suspected Li Si had a fever again and reached out to touch his forehead.

“You do seem a little hot,” he said doubtfully, bending down to cup Li Si’s face and press his own forehead against Li Si’s. “Hotter than me… why is your face getting hot too?”

Li Si forced him away, turned his head aside, and touched his own forehead. In a low voice, he said, “I don’t have a fever. I’m not sick.”

“Then why…”

Li Si kept his head turned away and refused to look at him. “I still have to train the soldiers. Go do your work.”

If Zhang San still could not tell that Li Si was sulking, then he would be blind.

He was an overbearing person by nature. It was fine when he had been cold to Li Si earlier; that had been out of good intentions, because he had not wanted to ruin Li Si. Besides, when Li Si had crawled into his room, clung to him, and acted spoiled, hadn’t he surrendered too? But now Li Si was sulking and ignoring him—that would not do! He had to find out why!

He asked directly, “What’s wrong with you? Why were you hiding from me last night? I know you weren’t asleep then.”

⸻

A few soldiers under the corridor were still eating. There was only that one corridor, so every word could be heard clearly, and just now they had also seen the two of them affectionately pressing their foreheads together. The soldiers held flatbreads in their mouths, their bright eyes all swiveling over, faces full of curiosity.

Li Si felt terribly upset, but he was clumsy with words and could not say it. Seeing the soldiers all looking at them, he quickly stood and hid to one side, still saying, “I have to train the soldiers. Go do your work.”

Zhang San could not keep tugging at him in front of everyone either. He stood stiffly for a while, then said, “The county is going to recruit new soldiers. I’ll have to trouble you to help train them over the next few days.”

Li Si said, “All right.”

Zhang San could only turn and leave first.

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