The camel city entered Guannei Circuit and crossed Qinzhou. Along the way, Zhechong Commandants and Recording Clerks continuously appeared. They didn’t block the road or obstruct the army’s advance—they simply called out the names of their respective Zhechong Prefectures to the great army repeatedly. Then people would silently leave the military formation and stand behind the Zhechong Commandants. After no more people appeared, a Wuli Colonel would come forward to deliver the merit registers of that Zhechong Prefecture’s officers and soldiers to the Zhechong Commandant. These were all sealed with sealing wax, and only a provincial governor could open and review them, then distribute rewards one by one according to military merit. Those killed in action would receive special compensation.
After the Wuli Colonels finished delivering these documents, they quietly whispered in the ears of the Zhechong Commandants and Recording Clerks: “If you want to grab money, you’d best not set your sights on these soldiers’ rewards. Things like taking one out of ten, two out of ten, or three out of ten absolutely must not happen to them. Don’t replace physical goods with moldy silk from government warehouses either. My Commander-in-Chief has already spoken with the Director of Waterways—once such incidents are discovered, no matter whose connections you’ve used, you won’t avoid a blade to the neck.”
“You can also pass these words to the governor—they apply equally to him. My Commander-in-Chief is a man who values old sentiments. These soldiers didn’t die in the Gobi Desert—if they suffer losses at your hands, heh heh, the Commander-in-Chief will annihilate your entire family.”
“The above are my Commander-in-Chief’s exact words. Your governors can submit memorials of impeachment, can make trouble for my Commander-in-Chief, but absolutely must not hold the same standards for these killing men who came down from the battlefield. Even if their tempers are foul and their mouths are foul, just pretend you didn’t hear it, because that’s exactly what my Commander-in-Chief does.”
The Zhechong Commandants and Recording Clerks listened somewhat dumbfounded. They had never witnessed such naked threats before. They couldn’t help but look up at the large Yun character banner fluttering in the wind atop the miniature camel city, feeling that this Commander-in-Chief was arrogantly beyond measure. Never before had any military commander interfered with local government affairs like this—it was completely overstepping authority.
Seeing they still seemed somewhat unconvinced, the Wuli Colonel patted the Zhechong Commandant’s shoulder and said: “Local officials might not care about Commander Yun’s warning, but you should know what kind of person Commander Yun is. Before entering the pass, a prince—an imperial prince at that—killed several of our brothers. The result? Heh heh, that imperial prince’s corpse is already buried in the ground now. I’ve said all I needed to say. If you don’t believe it, just go ahead and try. The Commander-in-Chief also said he’d best have a few blind fools jump out so he can use them for a blade consecration.”
After conveying these matters, the supply wagons passed before these people. The clerks standing on the wagons counted those who had left the formation, then selected a bundle and threw it on the ground. The bundle was very heavy and burst open when it hit the ground. Inside were all kinds of gold and silver objects.
A brigade commander preparing to return home picked up the bundle, distributed everything to his subordinates according to the note inside the bundle, found a gold plate for himself and stuffed it in his bosom, then stood behind the Zhechong Commandant again.
“Lu San, did you make a fortune on this trip, damn you?” The Zhechong Commandant looked at Lu San with a face full of implications.
“Commandant, it’s nothing—just followed the Commander-in-Chief for several tens of thousands of miles. I’ll be straight with you—all us brothers are people you couldn’t stand, which is why you sent us to the western expedition army to eat sand in the desert. But this time, brothers have to thank you. Without that move of yours, brothers couldn’t possibly have the good days we have now. Before long, this lowly officer and the brothers will be summoned to Chang’an. If you want to control this lowly officer, you’d better save your breath.”
Lu San didn’t even look at the commandant. The Commander-in-Chief’s two-month leave was still in effect—no need to look at these people’s faces. After finishing speaking, he mounted his warhorse, led his pack horse loaded with goods, cupped his fists toward the commandant, and directly went home with his subordinates.
The Recording Clerk was greatly angered and was about to order his subordinates to arrest these bastards when he was stopped by the Zhechong Commandant, who shook his head and said: “Bear with it. There will definitely be transfer orders in the sealed packets. This is standard military practice. These people actually no longer answer to us.”
In the early Tang period, the military system inherited from the Western Wei and Northern Zhou dynasties was continued—the garrison soldier system. The garrison soldier system, which was the unit of military organization, originated from the eight tribal system of the Xianbei and corresponded with the equal-field system. After entering the Tang, due to continuous reforms, the Tang garrison soldier system became increasingly complete. The basic unit of garrison soldiers was the Zhechong Prefecture (military prefecture), beneath which were the regiment (one regiment of two hundred men), brigade (one brigade of one hundred men), company (one company of fifty men), and squad (one squad of ten men). The leaders of Zhechong Prefectures were called Zhechong Commandants and Resolute Commandants. Prefectures were divided into three grades: upper, middle, and lower. An upper prefecture had six regiments of twelve hundred men, a middle prefecture had five regiments of one thousand men, and a lower prefecture had four regiments of eight hundred men.
Such tragicomedies were performed daily. By the time Yun Ye crossed the Ba Bridge, fewer than five thousand people remained by his side. Du Ruhui went to the civil officials’ bridge, so Yun Ye could only cross the Horse-Leaping Bridge. This made the number of people around him even more sparse.
Naturally, there would be ceremonial proceedings for the army’s return. Just after crossing the bridge, he saw about a hundred people on the opposite side approaching with song and dance. Some led sheep, some carried wine, and others had baskets filled with melons, pears, peaches, and dates. These things could only be looked at but not eaten—they were all made of wax. The dancers were long-sleeved palace maids, sixteen in a group, three groups total. This was already the highest standard that Marquis Yun Ye could enjoy.
The one leading the sheep was a Palace Steward from the palace. This fellow stabbed the sheep to death with one knife, found a jade cup to catch the flowing blood, then dipped his finger into the jade cup to get some sheep’s blood and began applying it to Yun Ye’s face. Although it was only two faint strokes, Yun Ye still smelled the sheep’s gamey odor.
Xu Jingzong, who crossed the Horse-Leaping Bridge following Yun Ye, received the same treatment. This fellow wore his armor loosely today, entirely bringing shame to the western expedition army.
On Yun Ye’s side, they sang “The Chariots Go Forth,” while on the civil officials’ bridge side they sang “Breaking the Willow.” The palace maids there wore much less clothing than the palace maids on Yun Ye’s side—two pale white arms were exposed, causing the soldiers on Yun Ye’s side to have no interest in watching the song and dance on their own side.
This time it was a ceremonial dispatch of generals, so after returning, they had to first go to the imperial temple to observe abstinence and bathe for three days. Only after reporting their military achievements to Heaven and Earth would it be the Emperor’s turn to personally offer consolation.
Yun Ye smiled and glanced at Xinyue, whose face was covered in tears, then with the attendance of two palace maids, removed his campaign clothing, changed into purple official robes, stepped onto a heated carriage, and was escorted directly to the imperial ancestral temple by palace guards.
The one responsible for guiding Yun Ye into the ancestral temple was Li Tai. This fellow had a completely solemn face. He cleared his throat lightly and shouted loudly: “Did the great army achieve victory in its expedition?”
“Ten thousand victories, ten thousand victories, ten thousand victories!” Yun Ye shouted back at the top of his lungs.
“In that case, enter!”
Then four eunuchs came forward to remove the threshold. Yun Ye, wearing soft-soled boots, followed Li Tai into a small courtyard. This courtyard was tightly adjacent to the Xuanwu Gate—it was the innermost chamber.
After entering the room, Li Tai should have explained the etiquette here to Yun Ye, but he had only recited two sentences when he threw the golden册 in his hand aside and said to Yun Ye: “You’ve studied these things before, so I won’t recite them.”
Yun Ye nodded with a smile. Their eyes met, and both men’s eye sockets became somewhat moist. They simultaneously turned away and spat forcefully twice before embracing briefly, then separated as if electrocuted.
Yun Ye surveyed the room, then directly lifted the curtain and pulled out a food box from behind. Opening it, he was very satisfied—the food inside could be considered exquisite in every way, and there were even several fried chicken legs. He immediately took out one and devoured it in just a few bites.
Li Tai helped Yun Ye pour a cup of hot tea and said: “You really are a foodie. How did you know I would bring you food and specifically hide it behind the curtain?”
“If you didn’t hide it behind the curtain, where would you hide it—in your bosom? For these three days I can only drink thin porridge. If you didn’t bring me food, wouldn’t our friendship of several decades have been maintained in vain?”
Li Tai nodded, acknowledging this statement. Watching Yun Ye devour the chicken leg, he said: “Many changes have occurred in Chang’an these past few years—so many that you probably can’t even predict them. You’ve actually never properly looked at this city. This time, I suggest you truly and genuinely look it over once. Beneath the splendor, many crises are hidden. People’s hearts have indeed undergone great changes.”
“The things Wei Zheng worried about back then are becoming reality one by one. Our generals fight bitterly on the outside, soldiers crawl through ice and sleep in snow on the outside, yet we haven’t produced achievements that can match these hardships.”
“The wealthy remain wealthy, the laboring remain laboring. Although there’s no shortage of food, I miss even more the simple and honest Chang’an of ten years ago. Most of the wealth we’ve worked hard to create still flows into the pockets of those wealthy people. If this continues, I’m very worried that those who have nothing will stand up and take up weapons to demand from us the wealth we owe them.”
“The commercial system you established with your own hands is, to speak bluntly, changing flavor. Those wealthy merchants and magnates are like sharks cruising in a fish pond, wantonly devouring those weak fish. I’m very worried that in the not-distant future, only those greedy great sharks will remain in the Great Tang’s fish pond, and all those small fish will completely disappear.”
“At that time, those great sharks will tear at each other until they ruin the entire fish pond.”
Yun Ye put down the chicken leg in his hand, looked at Li Tai, and sighed: “Did you say these things to He Shao?”
Li Tai nodded and said: “Yes, I issued him a warning.”
Yun Ye picked up the chicken leg again and finished eating it. After rinsing his mouth with tea, he smiled and said: “No wonder he would rather risk great danger to open up his own country. No wonder he appeared on the war-torn battlefield with such excellent timing. I was wondering—he shouldn’t have had such courage himself, nor such boldness. Turns out you scared him badly.”
“You don’t care about such changes? A new interest group is demanding more say from the state. It will break the old balance. This will inevitably cause great chaos sooner or later.” Li Tai stared into Yun Ye’s eyes and said word by word.