Chapter 01: Chronicle of the Expedition
“Chariots rumbling, horses neighing, soldiers with bows and arrows at their waists. Fathers, mothers, wives, and children rush to see them off, dust obscures the Xianyang Bridge, clutching at clothes, stamping feet, blocking the road with tears, their cries of grief rising straight to the clouds.”
Silently reciting Du Fu’s “Song of the War Chariots” in his heart to prepare his emotions, knowing that Grandmother and the others would surely cry as if uncertain of life and death, Yun Ye had to suppress the wild joy in his heart and display a reluctant expression of parting.
The household was extremely quiet, not a sound to be heard. Wang Cai was standing under the large tree enjoying the shade while flicking his tail, with Xiao Ya’s little pig lying at his feet.
The military orders had already reached the house. Old Grandmother must have seen them. The chaotic scene of chickens flying and dogs jumping over walls that he had imagined in his mind did not appear—only an eerie silence.
Fearing that Grandmother would cry herself sick, he rushed in several steps to the back hall. He saw Grandmother, Aunt, and his paternal aunt preparing his luggage. Grandmother had spread the iron armor on the kang, carefully wiping it with silk cloth before applying wax, her expression calm. His paternal aunt and aunt were using five-colored silk threads to tie the armor’s silk cords—there were a full six of them beside them. His older sisters were taking out garments from the chest one by one, discussing which ones would be most suitable to bring.
“I only need autumn clothes and winter clothes, nothing else will be needed. They don’t need to be attractive, just sturdy.” This war wouldn’t require a full year—just one winter would see it concluded. Having experienced the locust plague, the Great Tang Dynasty couldn’t afford a protracted war.
“Ye’er, why does Grandmother feel your battle armor is so light? It’s different from Zhuang Santing and the others. Their battle armor all weighs fifty or sixty pounds. Why don’t you also exchange for a heavier set? Grandmother isn’t reassured about you wearing such armor. I’ve heard people say that arrows fly like rain on the battlefield—can such thin iron plates really withstand them?”
“You don’t need to worry. Although my grandson’s armor is light, it uses the finest hundred-times-refined steel. It’s indestructible, not comparable to Old Zhuang and the others’ armor. Please be at ease. Your grandson won’t even go onto the battlefield. I’ll just stay in the rear treating wounded soldiers, watching to see if those Turks will use plague, guarding against them doing evil deeds. This battle armor is sufficient.”
“On the battlefield you kill me, I kill you—who knows how far the battle will actually go? Ye’er is still so young. How can the military bear to send Ye’er up there? If something bad happens, how will the whole family survive?” Aunt had just started to cry when Grandmother kicked her off the kang.
“You crow’s mouth! Who told you to say such inauspicious words?” Not satisfied with just kicking her, Grandmother threw the wax block in her hand at Aunt’s head, very angry.
Having been struck, Aunt didn’t dare resist and just sat on the ground sobbing.
Yun Ye helped Aunt up and said to Grandmother: “It’s not your grandson’s first time on the battlefield. This time is even more comfortable than last time. I hear we’ll be staying in the city—there’s no danger. I know you worry about me. Aunt is already forty years old. Please don’t blame her anymore, otherwise your grandson will worry about home while away.”
Grandmother sighed and said: “You are the only male in the family. Going to battle is originally a man’s duty. A whole household of women can’t help you one bit and only cause trouble. You’ve had it hard enough, having to support such a large family at such a young age. My poor grandson has suffered.”
Old Grandmother was unexpectedly strong, without her usual crying and fussing appearance. That resilient poor old woman had returned.
Since ancient times, Qin soldiers have endured bitter warfare. Guanzhong has always been an important recruiting ground for all dynasties.
Since men serve as soldiers, naturally some will die in battle. In Guanzhong, every family wearing mourning clothes and every household crying in grief was nothing new. This cultivated the fierce and formidable temperament of Guanzhon women. With no men in the household, they could only rally the family themselves. Old Grandmother was doing exactly this now. After Yun Ye left, she might hide in a room and cry alone, but before he departed, she absolutely would not shed a single tear.
The Bu Qu—these were the Tang Dynasty generals’ private armed forces, meaning personal guards who followed their commander through life and death. The Yun family only had fifty aging veterans. Despite Grandmother’s advice, Yun Ye insisted on bringing fourteen of the younger old soldiers to the front lines.
Before leaving, he naturally had to arrange the academy properly. Yun Ye felt completely reassured leaving everything at the academy to Li Gang. The old gentleman was the perfect choice in terms of both reputation and capability. At most, he would only be gone nine months.
“Marquis Yun, on this expedition, this old man has nothing else to say except hoping you take care of your health and return victorious. On the day of your triumphant return, this old man will host a banquet in celebration. Don’t worry about the academy—this old man will return it to you intact.” Li Gang’s expression was grave as he guaranteed this to Yun Ye word by word.
“It’s precisely because you’re at the academy that this youngster can boldly go to the military to accumulate capital while demonstrating our academy’s exceptional qualities. Although people enjoy the various new tools that enable them to work faster and more easily, they look down on those who invent these things. This is a contradiction. Our academy will pioneer this for the world, starting bit by bit. One day we will make them understand that learning has many forms—not just poetry and literature.”
“Haha, it’s good that you have such ambition. This old man hopes to live to see that day.”
“Young man, we won’t say much more to you. In any case, you have plenty of connections in the military. Take care of yourself.” Several teachers actually clasped their fists in salute—this was a first.
“I also want to go to the military! I also want to see the magnificent bearing of our Great Tang warriors!” Li Ke waved a short ceremonial sword, talking non-stop. Fortunately the other academy members were on vacation, otherwise Li Ke wouldn’t be the only one whose blood was pumping.
“What would you do if you went? Would the soldiers protect you or advance to kill the enemy? Go build your house. I’ll inspect it when I return. If it’s not built well, you know the consequences.” He had no time to deal with this little brat. Over there, Xiao Qiu had already poked her head out from the corner of the wall several times.
Xinyue was very shy and refused to come out from the room. Her usual boldness had gone somewhere.
Yun Ye just stood smiling at the doorway, waiting for her to come out. After waiting a long time, he finally saw Xinyue wearing a bright red wedding gown embroidered with golden threads. The youthful and radiant young maiden image was gone. Her hair was styled in a married woman’s coiffure, her face heavily made up, and she held a vase in her hands—this was a new bride’s attire.
Yun Ye was startled and turned to look at Master Yushan. Master Yushan was looking at his granddaughter with affection, with a trace of pride in his eyes.
“Young man, this is a Guanzhong custom. When a man goes to war, if he has a fiancée, then the fiancée may wear wedding attire to see him off. This is the highest courtesy a woman can express. If you die in battle, she can only remain a widow for life to fulfill this bond.” Daoist Sun, dressed for a long journey, explained to Yun Ye from the side.
Everyone tactfully departed. They had come to witness the ceremony. Xiao Qiu gently closed the door, leaving the small courtyard to form its own world.
“Your appearance today is very beautiful.” After saying this, Yun Ye wanted to slap himself. Wasn’t a woman’s most beautiful day the day she wore her wedding gown?
“I’ll wait for you to return. If a woman wears wedding attire and hasn’t married within a year, it’s very inauspicious.” Xinyue’s voice was very soft.
“If nothing goes terribly wrong, I’ll return in nine months. Then I’ll marry you. I won’t die. With such a beautiful wife, even if I were to die, I’d become married first before dying. Otherwise, it would be too much of a loss.”
“Bad person! Can’t you say something nice? You’re always like this to me.” Xinyue was somewhat dissatisfied with Yun Ye’s performance and put down the vase to pinch him.
Wrapping his arm around Xinyue’s soft waist, he pulled her into his embrace. Before she could react, he kissed her heavily. Xinyue’s body became as if boneless, softly nestling in Yun Ye’s arms, allowing him to act as he pleased.
Only after a long time did Yun Ye reluctantly leave her soft lips. Looking at the half-closed eyes of Xinyue, he said: “Let’s just make do together for this lifetime. You’re not allowed to regret it.”
“Bad person!” Xinyue began to roar, her two hands pinching wildly at Yun Ye’s body.
“Stop pinching. If you keep pinching, I’ll become a dead man.” Struggling to escape from Xinyue’s clutches, time was getting late. If he delayed further, he wouldn’t catch up with the main force.
Xinyue leaned against the doorframe watching Yun Ye depart, muttering “bad person” under her breath, her heart full of the words Yun Ye said before leaving: “I’ll return very soon.” She wanted to send Yun Ye off happily, but tears involuntarily flowed down.
Also crying were Xu Jingzong’s family members. From the moment he received the military orders, he hadn’t felt a shred of security. He didn’t know how Yun Ye would actually arrange his assignment. If Yun Ye had any intention to harm him, he need only place him in the military ranks to fend for himself, which would be sufficient. Looking at his own frail body, Xu Jingzong deeply regretted his decision. Why did he go to the academy when there was no need? Now it was a thousand times more dangerous than at court. Being suppressed by the senior officials would at most mean being sent down to the provincial counties. Now, not only consorting with a bunch of military brutes, but with life and death uncertain—it was truly his own massive miscalculation.
Sun Simiao drove a horse cart slowly following behind Yun Ye. He also wanted to see what exactly was going on with the plague the Turks were releasing. He was hauling two large carts of medicinal materials for the frontline soldiers. He really couldn’t understand why Yun Ye wanted to haul several large carts of spices. Most suspicious was that beside them was also a wretched-looking fat man, and the two hadn’t stopped their furtive conversation the entire journey.
“Xiao Ye, you say we can really make a fortune this time?” The plump He Shao quietly asked Yun Ye.
“Of course. Trust me. You risked your life joining the military this time—how could this younger brother let you return empty-handed?”
“Captured goods must be turned over to the national treasury. How would we have any opportunity to get our hands on them?” Old He became even more confused.
“That gold, silver, and horses naturally must be turned over to the state. I’m talking about those things that can’t be turned over. Now that we’re going to war, there will certainly be many dead horses, dead cattle, dead sheep, and the like on the battlefield. As long as you collect these things and process them into delicious military rations to sell to the commander, think about how much profit there’ll be! Moreover, when those soldiers receive rewards, they definitely won’t feel safe keeping them on their persons, right? If you take them in hand and send them back to their homes, collecting some fees is still acceptable, right? Think about it—not only earning money but also accumulating virtue. After this, won’t all such business in the military be yours?”
Going to war means losing money? Yun Ye planned to use Old He as a small experiment to see if small business could earn money. After all, he had no experience doing big business. Everything at home was entirely managed by Grandmother and his paternal aunt. He just started things off and then let go, not bothering with them. While he spoke profoundly, he was actually an enormous paper tiger.
Last time in Longyou, seeing Old Cheng and the soldiers of the Left Militant Guard only caring about enemy heads and not about the livestock corpses lying everywhere, Yun Ye had cried out about the waste, only to be scorned by Old Cheng. This time, with the entire Great Tang nation short of food, he wondered whether doing this would help with the war effort.