Chapter 53

After the inspection, Liu Jun returned to the temporary barracks inside the castle assigned to them. Like the other local militia members, he drew water from the well to wash up and then fell asleep on his bed.

After a night of marching, fighting, and marching again, he had been so excited that he didn't feel tired. But once he relaxed after washing up, he immediately felt extremely exhausted and fell asleep in no time.

Two hours later, a servant came to wake him up.

"What time is it?"

"It's almost noon," the servant replied. "Don't worry, the troops haven't set out yet. County Magistrate Lu has arrived, along with many officials. Orders from above say we can't set out until tomorrow. I was going to let you sleep longer, but Mr. Mei sent someone to call you over."

Liu Jun rubbed his slightly sore eyes, put on his clothes, and headed to the central meeting hall of the castle.

As he approached the meeting hall, Liu Jun noticed many horses tied outside, along with several carriages and sedan chairs. Many men in different attire, clearly servants, stood nearby.

Seeing these people, Liu Jun guessed that quite a few important figures had arrived.

Speed was usually crucial in military operations, and immediate action to strike at the enemy's lair was the most important thing. The longer the delay, the more likely it was that the enemy would become aware and prepare, or even escape. However, he also knew that once things got involved with officials, it was hard to move quickly.

"Jiye, you're here. Come, Mr. Mei is waiting for us," Li Chunjiang said with a smile as he waited at the door.

"Who's here?"

Li Chunjiang glanced at the carriages and servants and whispered, "They're quite significant. The incident at Lin Family Village has caused a big stir, and even the provincial governor's office knows about it. I heard the governor slammed the table and set a deadline for solving the case. You know, recently Zhang Xianzhong and Luo Ruzai have surrendered and rebelled again in Junzhou, causing panic everywhere. At such a time, a massacre like this has greatly angered the higher-ups."

"County Magistrate Lu has rushed over, and the Huangzhou Guard has sent a commander personally. Moreover, the military commissioner has also come. As soon as Mr. Zhao arrived, he announced that he would take charge of the anti-bandit operation. He's now gathering the Huangzhou Guard, local militias, and the county's constables. It looks like he's planning a major operation," Li Chunjiang said with a hint of sarcasm.

The bandit lair only had a few hundred people, with only about a hundred able-bodied bandits left. Dealing with them didn't require such a massive force. The Baosheng Castle militia could have handled it and guaranteed success. However, since Mr. Zhao had the authority, everyone had to comply.

The military commissioner was a type of circuit intendant, under the jurisdiction of the provincial censors. Initially, there was no such position, but after the early Ming period, circuit intendants were established under the three provincial commissions and above the prefectures and counties in important regions. They were dispatched by the provincial governor and censor, and later, the military commissioner was established among the circuit intendants.

The military commissioner was responsible for military affairs and provisions, and also handled judicial matters, prohibited private tea trade, managed water conservancy and military farming, and could directly participate in combat. Therefore, the military commissioner could be seen as a regional military commander, with significant authority over military matters.

In Huguang, there were two military commissioners. The one overseeing Macheng was officially called the Lower River Defense Commissioner, stationed in Qizhou, responsible for the area from the Han River downstream to Qihuang and De'an, covering all of eastern Hubei. Mr. Zhao's official title was the Lower River Defense Commissioner and Military Censor.

To put it simply, these circuit intendants stationed in various regions were like small governors, with smaller jurisdictions than governors but strong authority over the prefectures and counties under their jurisdiction.

With Mr. Zhao personally arriving, he naturally became the overall commander of the anti-bandit operation.

When Liu Jun entered the meeting hall, he immediately recognized Mr. Zhao. In the hall, only he was wearing a blue official robe with a white pheasant badge. Liu Jun knew that in the Ming Dynasty, officials of the fifth to seventh ranks wore blue robes, and only fifth-rank civil officials had the white pheasant badge.

Mr. Zhao was a fifth-rank civil official. The military commissioner was a temporary position, like governors and generals, without a specific rank. The rank of the official depended on their original position. For example, military commissioners were usually appointed from deputy or assistant censors, who were fourth and fifth-rank officials, respectively.

Since Mr. Zhao's badge was a fifth-rank white pheasant, his original position was an assistant censor.

Though only a fifth-rank official, he had jurisdiction over the two prefectures and eight counties of Qihuang.

Liu Jun was observing Mr. Zhao, who was also observing Liu Jun and Li Chunjiang.

"These two young talents must be the captain and deputy captain of the Nine-Headed Bird cavalry, who recently wiped out the bandits," Mr. Zhao, in his early forties, wearing a blue robe and a black hat, with a long beard, looked somewhat thin but very refined.

He looked at Liu Jun and Li Chunjiang with appreciation, "Li Chunjiang, the top scholar of the last provincial examination in Huguang, a genius known since childhood. Liu Jun, a student of the Huangzhou Guard, known for his bravery and intelligence, and exceptional martial arts. Both of you are just twenty years old, truly remarkable. I can't believe that such young talents could recruit and train the Nine-Headed Bird cavalry in just over a month and then defeat over fifty fierce bandits without a single casualty. Truly impressive, very impressive."

Liu Jun and Li Chunjiang bowed and said, "This is all due to the wise command of County Magistrate Lu and Mr. Mei."

Mr. Zhao just smiled. Though a civil official, he was well aware of the flattery in the official world. Before coming, he had sent people to gather detailed information about the bandit situation and the two young men, Li Chunjiang and Liu Jun. He knew that the victory at Xing'an Temple was personally commanded by these two young men.

However, he didn't reveal this.

"Each of the two young talents will be rewarded with one hundred taels of silver!" Mr. Zhao was pleased to have such capable young men under his jurisdiction and generously offered two hundred taels of silver as a reward.

Liu Jun saw that Mr. Zhao only rewarded them and not their team members, understanding that Mr. Zhao wanted to win their loyalty. He nodded and thanked him, accepting the reward.

Mr. Zhao turned to Mei Zhihuan, "Mr. Mei, I didn't expect such capable young men under your command, yet you kept them hidden from the court. That's not very fair."

Mei Zhihuan, though retired, was originally a scholar and a junior imperial scholar, and had served as a governor twice. He maintained a senior demeanor before Mr. Zhao, waving his hand and smiling, "Eastern Hubei is a land of talent, and there are many capable young men."

The two laughed heartily.

"Mr. Mei, please introduce them to me," Mr. Zhao said with a smile.

"I was also planning to introduce some young talents to Mr. Zhao," Mei Zhihuan replied.

Mei Zhihuan began introducing the people in the hall. Among them were several officers from the local militia, including the commander of the main battalion, Hu Gongguo, who had a degree, and several captains with scholar degrees, such as Lu Yuansun, Lu Yuanrang, and Zhou Muying, all from Macheng.

Additionally, there were scholars from Huanggang, such as Wang Guangshu, Yang Jishan, Yi Daosan, Yi Mingfu, Ma Shiyi, Wang Zijing, Dai Jin, and Fan Weizhang, as well as Cheng Jishan, Wu Zaiyu, Jiang Zhongqing, Wu Guoyu, Geng Yingzhou, Zhou Congxian, Qin Zihui, and He Binran from Huang'an, and Zhang Xiangfei.

These people came from the two prefectures and eight counties of eastern Hubei. Some were direct officers of the Baosheng Castle militia, like Lu Yuansun, while others were leaders of local militias. However, they all shared a common identity: they were either degree holders, scholars, or students, and all from prominent local families, who were local gentry and landowners. Their militias were primarily composed of their own servants.

Mr. Zhao personally came to command the anti-bandit operation, and Mei Zhihuan immediately sent people to invite these gentry leaders who commanded local militias.

Seeing these people, Liu Jun was truly amazed. This was just a small part of those who had come; many more were on their way. Originally, he thought Mei Zhihuan's militia of over a thousand men was impressive, but now he realized it was just the tip of the iceberg. Eastern Hubei had many powerful gentry, and their local militias were astonishing. If all the militias in the two prefectures and eight counties were counted, they might already number over ten thousand.

However, it wasn't surprising. The Ming military system had long been in decline, especially in inland regions like Huguang, where it was even worse, with lax military preparedness. Eastern Hubei was wealthy and bordered the Dabie Mountains and Xunyang. Years ago, Xunyang had seen a rebellion by displaced people, with over a million refugees gathering in the mountains. The court eventually suppressed the rebellion and even established a new prefecture and appointed a governor.

However, in recent years, there had been continuous small and large rebellions, and bandits had risen. The gentry couldn't rely on the court's army and had to protect their property, land, and personal safety themselves. Now, every major family had their own servant teams, and larger families had established local militias, ranging from dozens to hundreds or even thousands.

The court fully endorsed and even supported this situation. The gentry paid for and recruited servants and local militia, purchased military equipment, and equipped the militia to protect their regions and maintain order, reducing the burden on local officials.

Mr. Zhao was warmly welcoming the gentry in the hall. Later, he began introducing his own people.

The first was a large, fat man who looked like a butcher but had a fifth-rank official position. He was the commander of the Huangzhou Guard, named Zhu Chong, who had been ordered to bring two hundred men to assist Mr. Zhao in the anti-bandit operation. However, of his two hundred men, only fifty were capable servants, while the other one hundred and fifty were just his tenants, unable to form a proper formation, lacking armor or weapons, and carrying bamboo spears and wearing civilian clothes, purely for show.

Though a fifth-rank military official, military officials were far less respected than civil officials, especially those from the guard. Before Mr. Zhao, a genuine scholar and military commissioner, Zhu Chong behaved like a guard captain.

Even when facing the leaders of the local militia, like Liu Jun, Zhu Chong was very humble. Though he was a regular officer, and the others were just local militia leaders without official ranks, they had degrees and were from prominent local families, so Zhu Chong didn't dare offend them.

The others were Mr. Zhang's servant team leaders, a few clerks, and some minor officials from Huangzhou Prefecture.

Zhu Chong greeted everyone with a smile, but few of them really paid attention to him. Ming guard officers were despised by the gentry.

Liu Jun, however, greeted him warmly.

"Liu Jun greets Commander Zhu."

Seeing Liu Jun's good attitude, Zhu Chong felt flattered, as someone was finally paying attention to him.

"Truly impressive, Liu Deputy Captain is from the Huangzhou Guard's military academy, so we are family."

Liu Jun smiled, "Yes, seeing Commander Zhu feels like seeing family. Without the Huangzhou Guard's training, I wouldn't be where I am today."

This pleased Zhu Chong, "You are so capable, it's a waste for you to stay in the local militia. Later, I will recommend you to the commander for a position in our Huangzhou Guard. If you're willing, I can guarantee you a position as a hundred-man commander in my battalion."

Liu Jun didn't believe his promise. A hundred-man commander, though small, still commanded over a hundred men, and it wasn't something a battalion commander could just promise. Besides, the guard was a corrupt place, and he didn't want to go there.

"Thank you, Commander Zhu, but Mr. Li Chunjiang has asked me to help manage the Nine-Headed Bird cavalry, so I can't leave."

"Understood, understood." When Zhu Chong heard Li Chunjiang's name, he immediately gave up the idea of recruiting him. Li Chunjiang was from a powerful family, and he couldn't afford to offend them.

At this point, Mr. Zhao, seeing that everyone had met, said with a smile, "Now that everyone is here, let's discuss how to attack the bandit lair and eliminate them. Mr. Gongji and Mr. Jiye, what are your thoughts?"

"With so many esteemed seniors present, we are just juniors and don't dare to show off. Please, sir, make the arrangements, and we will follow your orders."

In front of so many people, Liu Jun didn't want to take the spotlight. After all, the saying goes, "The tallest tree catches the most wind." The Nine-Headed Bird had already gained a reputation from the previous battle. For the next battle, they just needed to play a supporting role. With so many troops, the battle would go smoothly no matter how it was commanded.

Tomorrow's operation, the Nine-Headed Bird would treat it as a long-distance drill and a military exercise. They would just be the cheerleaders.

Besides, they could earn some mobilization silver and provisions.