“Commander, are you talking about that Goguryeo trophy mound?” Lai Chuanfeng asked Yun Ye quietly. He couldn’t be certain their group had been assigned such a difficult task.
“Old Lai, you’re right—it’s that one. I heard there are thirty-five thousand skeletons that need to be brought back. Of course, Goguryeo claims there are a hundred thousand. We need to cremate them all and bring them back to the Great Tang. What do you think?”
Seeing the wonderful expression on Lai Chuanfeng’s face, Yun Ye knew how much this task had shocked him. The commander had just said they had no reinforcements, no flanks—only this lone army penetrating deep into Goguryeo territory. The difficulty was extraordinarily high.
“Commander, why us? We’re just the navy, not skilled at land combat. To dig up graves, we’ll definitely have to go ashore.” Under Yun Ye’s gaze, Lai Chuanfeng’s eyes became somewhat scattered.
“There’s no other reason—because we’re the most elite force in the Great Tang Navy. The armies confronting Goguryeo now cannot and don’t have the ability to penetrate deep into Goguryeo territory. Besides, His Majesty doesn’t want war to start now either. So right now we’re basically damned pirates, except we’re only plundering skeletons.”
“Understood, Commander. This subordinate will immediately begin training the soldiers according to these requirements. I just don’t know how much time you can give this subordinate. These marine brothers still need further training before they’re ready for the battlefield.”
Lai Chuanfeng quickly straightened out his position. Since it couldn’t be avoided, he’d steel himself and go. Soldiers who take military pay must be prepared for such situations.
“Actually, it’s nothing too serious. The Great Tang lacks manpower, and Goguryeo likewise lacks manpower. Liaodong is a wilderness—scattered across the thousand-li plain are just a few small cities. We’ll travel up the Liao River against the current. As long as we destroy all three cities along the river, we can swagger into the Liao River and do whatever we want. It’s not really difficult. Even I, a commander who’s never been to battle, am not afraid. What’s a deputy general like you scared of?”
“Commander, that won’t do. We’ve long agreed on the division of labor—you sit in command at Chang’an while these matters are left to us subordinates to handle. If this subordinate dies, it’s no big deal. With you around, the wives and children at home will definitely be cared for. If something happens to you, even if we subordinates perfectly achieve the objective, we’ll gain nothing for our efforts.”
Hearing that Yun Ye wanted to go personally this time, not only did Lai Chuanfeng object, but Yang Yueming, Yang Yueli, and Gou Feng all expressed disagreement. If Yun Ye went to Liaodong, he’d only be a figurehead, serving no purpose while seriously hampering the army. Best not to go if possible.
“I don’t want to go either, but who among you knows how to use gasoline? If that stuff isn’t handled properly, it will cause disaster. Old Lai, you have at most two more months to prepare. At the same time, gasoline preparation cannot stop. Only by preparing plenty of this stuff will we have hope of winning.”
“The entire army will deploy. If I, a bare commander, stay at camp watching the gate, I’ll be laughed to death. So I must go. Besides, after I go, if I see unfavorable results in the future, my heart will feel somewhat better.”
Gou Feng stepped forward and said, “The Commander speaks correctly. When you go to Liaodong, you need only hold the rear position. Charging into battle naturally falls to us. We haven’t fought in years. Last time against the Xueyantuo, we had no part. This time we must kill to our hearts’ content.”
An action that counted as a momentous event for the Lingnan Navy, through the conversation of several men, gradually became fascinating. The colonels below also each expressed their determination to satisfy their killing urges in this rare operation.
Seeing his subordinates’ minds had stabilized, Yun Ye took advantage of the moonlight to rush back to Yushan. Just entering the gate, he saw a fellow squatting under the eaves eating noodles in great gulps. Looking at his clothes, he was clearly a seventh-rank official, but watching him eat, he was purely a starving ghost reincarnated. The steward attended to him on the side, peeling garlic cloves for this fellow while advising, “No need to rush like this. The kitchen has plenty. This is already the third bowl—careful not to overeat. Have some garlic. Eating noodles without garlic doesn’t make you a Guanzhong person.”
“Good Uncle Qian! I’ve been in the wilderness for nearly three years! Every day eating roasted meat, or else fried rice. Eating a few bites of wild vegetables counted as celebrating New Year. All along the way at the post stations, I forcibly restrained myself from eating their noodle dishes, fearing it would ruin my appetite. These years, you know what I craved most? The府’s noodles! I just hoped that upon reaching the manor, I could have seven or eight bowls. Tomorrow I’ll go to the academy and get a high plate of braised pork—not a single potato—with a bowl of wine, and eat my fill.”
After speaking, he lowered his head again and slurped down another bowl of noodles. There was no chewing motion—one end of the noodles reached his stomach while the other end was still in the bowl.
“Qu Zhuo, you’re back! Excellent! I’ve always worried about you alone in the deep mountains and forests. Now that you’re back, it’s wonderful. Not bad, not bad—already wearing the green robe so quickly. A twenty-year-old already reaching seventh rank with full authority—not easy. Have you seen your mother?”
Hearing Yun Ye’s voice, Qu Zhuo’s nose tingled and he nearly shed tears. He wiped his eyes, struggled to stand up, and saluted Yun Ye, saying, “This student has been on the frontier for three years. Thanks to Teacher caring for my mother, allow this student to bow in great gratitude.”
Yun Ye stepped forward quickly to support Qu Zhuo, carefully examining this former menial worker. The youthful innocence on his face had long faded, replaced by a pair of resolute eyes and a face with distinct features.
“You earned your own honor. Don’t thank anyone. Even your teacher doesn’t have the face to claim his student’s achievements. The court’s reward of a seventh-rank official position with full authority is well-deserved. It’s far higher than the nominal sixth-rank position you held before—not just a little bit. Three years of bitter endurance in the wilderness has finally refined a slippery boy into a pillar of talent. Come, come, I haven’t eaten either. Join me for another bowl.”
The most comfortable way to eat noodles is squatting under the eaves, each person holding a big bowl—the bigger the bowl, the more imposing. Back when he returned to his hometown, even bare-bottomed little brats held bowls bigger than their heads, fiercely shoveling food under the eaves. The skill was practiced from childhood—one hand supporting the bowl bottom, mouth resting on the bowl’s edge, eating with such gusto. Now that they’d become wealthy people, how could they forget their roots? Three people squatting together under the eaves eating noodles—quite a spectacular sight.
After finishing a bowl of noodles, he turned back to see Old Qian beside him, too full to get up, and asked, “You should have already eaten. Why did you join us for a second meal?”
Old Qian’s old face reddened slightly. He put down his bowl, took Yun Ye’s empty bowl, and said embarrassedly, “Just now watching you and Qu Zhuo eat so comfortably, this old man couldn’t resist having a bowl too.”
The three laughed together. The bowls were indeed somewhat large. After eating a full large bowl, they felt rather stuffed. Looking back at the empty bowls, they couldn’t help but lament their declining years. Last year they could still eat two bowls; this year it had been cut in half.
Strolling with Qu Zhuo in the garden, digesting while listening to him explain interesting events in Nanzhao, it was obvious Qu Zhuo was racking his brains to speak of happy matters. Yun Ye would never believe there was only joy there and no sorrow.
“That’s how it was, Teacher. After you escaped down the river, this student took the opportunity to incite those wandering knights to rebel. The Great Tang’s Bai Qi Si secret agents also seized the chance to rise up. After killing off those barbarian kings, Dou Yanshan’s trusted followers had mostly died. The gold was also looted by those wandering knights. Unfortunately, they were destined to have the fortune to take it but not the life to spend it. The prefectural soldiers from Shu surrounded all the exits. Anyone found with gold on them was immediately beheaded with one stroke—not even a second question asked.”
“Those people were destined to die. Dou Yanshan engaged in capital offenses. Since they dared get involved, they had to be prepared to die. People die for wealth, birds die for food—the ancients truly did not deceive me.”
Qu Zhuo nodded and continued, “Not long after, a deputy commander from Bai Qi Si arrived, ordering this student to continue befriending the native kings of Nanzhao—Meng Shezhao, as well as the Wu Man and Bai Man. This student had contact with them all. Of the Great Tang’s thirty-six autonomous prefectures in Nanzhao, this student can say I’ve traveled through all of them, gaining a preliminary understanding of that place.”
“The barbarians are completely different from us, but their conduct has quite an ancient style. For a long time, this student thought he’d arrived in the sage king era. Only after seeing the miserable state of those slaves did this student awaken with alarm. Nanzhao’s order is built upon the suffering of slaves. The cruelty of the chieftains’ punishments toward those slaves—this student almost dares not speak of it.”
“What’s there not to dare speak of? I know one method—putting insect eggs in a living person’s mouth, then sealing all the openings on their body. Those insects slowly grow by feeding on the person’s flesh and blood. Strangely, these insects can slowly devour a person’s bones but absolutely won’t touch their skin. In the end, the entire person becomes a large skin bag. Those insects mate inside the bag and lay eggs until their numbers burst through the human skin. Supposedly, this thing is called a ‘cocoon person.’ How do you feel?”
“You truly have seen it. Why didn’t you stop it?” Qu Zhuo became somewhat agitated mentioning this matter. Yun Ye looked at him strangely and said, “Did you stop it?”
Qu Zhuo nodded, pointing at a young girl standing in the shadows. “It’s her. I couldn’t bear to watch her be made into a cocoon person, so I exchanged my jade pendant for her. Originally I wanted to let her go home, but she refused to go back no matter what. I had no choice. The Great Tang doesn’t allow barbarians to leave the forests. I could only bring her back to the Great Tang under the title of concubine. What do you think?”
Yun Ye turned to look at the weak woman shrinking in the shadows—small, thin, at most only ten years old. He backhanded a slap to Qu Zhuo’s head and said angrily, “You bastard! She’s still just a small child! Where did you learn all that benevolence, righteousness, propriety, and integrity from the academy?”
Before Qu Zhuo could open his mouth to explain, the little girl rushed over and bit down hard on Yun Ye’s thigh.