Chapter 4

His current top priority is to find Sheng Bao's main camp.

Although he did not witness the outcome of today's battle with his own eyes, in a war with a technological gap, the ultimate retreat of the Qing army was probably inevitable. The difference was that due to that successful ambush, the entire army was not completely annihilated.

He knew that after the Qing army's defeat, Sheng Bao himself would retreat to Dingfu Village to reorganize the troops and gather the scattered soldiers. Dingfu Village is about twenty miles northwest of Baliqiao. Guan Zhuofan estimated that he had walked for less than two hours when he saw the military tents outside the village.

He was in a hurry to get here because he needed to reclaim his identity.

So far, he only knew that he was a low-ranking military officer in the capital garrison, holding the position of a ninth-rank outer delegate with a feathered hat. He knew nothing else. A person without an identity cannot survive in this world. He needed to find his comrades and figure out who he was, where he lived, and who else was in his family. Another odd but necessary thing to find out was his age.

When he reached the camp, he reported the names that the executioner had called out just before the beheading to the sentry—Alhatu, Cai Erjia, and Tumen. These were the people who had charged with him, and he didn't know if any of them had survived.

In the defeated army, the unit numbers were complicated, so finding people became a legitimate reason. Guan Zhuofan's luck was good, and soon the sentry brought someone to meet him.

"Kuan San!" The bearded officer came out, slightly squatted, and hugged Guan Zhuofan's waist.

The waist-hugging salute is a form of greeting among good friends of the Manchu people, usually performed by the younger to the older. Guan Zhuofan saw that the bearded man was clearly older than himself, and this salute was undoubtedly out of gratitude for his shout of "disobedience" today, which saved everyone's lives.

"Come to my tent first, I've already sent someone to call Old Cai!" The bearded man took his hand and led him into a tent in the camp. Inside, another person was already sitting, short and sturdy, who looked at Guan Zhuofan with surprise and stood up, bowing to him: "Xiao Kuan, thank you!"

This was a more formal salute, showing even greater gratitude. Just as Guan Zhuofan was about to return the bow, he was held back by the two men.

"You don't need to be so polite, both Old A and I owe our lives to you, Xiao Kuan."

This was Cai Erjia, and the bearded man was Alhatu. Guan Zhuofan looked at the two with a questioning gaze and asked, "The others..."

Alhatu's eyes dimmed, and he shook his head: "Of the seven who charged, only Old Cai and I are left. We thought you wouldn't make it back..."

"Let's not talk about that, it's all fate!" Old Cai waved his hand and smiled at Guan Zhuofan: "You were very impressive today, and Old A wasn't bad either; he personally killed a foreign soldier."

"Is that so? Congratulations, Brother A!" Guan Zhuofan thought, so one of the enemy casualties was killed by Old A.

"The important thing is that he brought back the head, which is a rare thing!" Old Cai said enthusiastically, "The general promised to promote Old A to a cavalry commander, which means he will be our superior in the cavalry camp in the future." He laughed heartily.

Guan Zhuofan thought, so we are in the cavalry camp. A cavalry commander is a sixth-rank position, roughly equivalent to a battalion commander in the Green Standard Army. If it's a real position, it's quite valuable.

Alhatu felt a bit embarrassed and quickly interrupted, "Don't talk about these meaningless things anymore. Come, let's drink!" He then pulled out two large oil-paper packages and a gourd from behind the bed, smiling proudly: "Old Xiang's braised beef and mutton, not bad, right? The wine is from a big wine jar on the street, just make do with it."

The three of them drank and ate meat in the tent, and soon they all felt a bit tipsy.

"Brother," Alhatu said with a sigh, "we all misjudged you, never thought you had such hidden depth."

"Brother A, I can't accept that," Guan Zhuofan smiled, "today was just a stroke of luck."

"Old A is right," Old Cai continued, "Xiao Kuan, I always said you were a good person, just too timid and cowardly, sometimes... well, sometimes a bit of a wimp. Who would have thought you'd show your true colors today! When you spoke to General Sheng, you were so confident. I was kneeling on the ground, thinking this kid must be crazy, but who knew General Sheng would actually buy it!"

Guan Zhuofan had a question and seized the opportunity to ask, "How did two such brave men like you violate the military law of fleeing in battle and end up facing execution?"

"I and Old Cai made the same mistake," Alhatu said with a bitter smile, shaking his head, "our horses were untrained. During the first charge, when the enemy fired their rockets, the horses panicked and ran around. Those who ran forward or to the sides were fine, but we two were carried right to the general. We couldn't control them! Tell me, who else should be executed? There's no place to appeal."

Guan Zhuofan laughed, understanding the situation.

"By the way, the camp's deputy commander came to ask about you just now," Alhatu suddenly remembered something important, "the general promised you a real position as a feathered hat officer if you survived. I'll take you to see the deputy commander tomorrow."

"About that..." Guan Zhuofan hesitated for a moment and said, "I don't plan to take that position."

"What?!" Old Cai exclaimed, "You must be crazy again!"

Since the Qing army's campaigns against the Taiping rebels, there have been many promotions due to military achievements, and the system of buying offices has led to a devaluation of ranks. A position that should be valuable now has three people waiting for it. Even a general's personal guard could be promoted to a third-rank official but had no position to take, so he continued to serve as a guard. In the future, these stories would be told as jokes, but they also show that a real position is the most coveted thing. Therefore, Old Cai's reaction was not surprising.

But Guan Zhuofan had his own considerations. War is dangerous, and high rewards come with high risks. Even a seventh-rank real position means a life of constant danger, and it's not guaranteed that he can always escape death like today. Since he planned to live well in this era, he wanted to find another path, first to ensure stability and security.

However, he couldn't explain these thoughts to Cai and Alhatu. Guan Zhuofan thought for a moment and decided to use the reason he had fabricated.

"Without hiding anything from the two of you," he sighed, putting on a puzzled expression, "I can only remember seeing the two of you, but I can't remember anything before today."

Cai and Alhatu listened to Guan Zhuofan's story of his amnesia, from being hit by a French shell, to being saved by his yellow horse, to being unconscious for a whole day, to walking for half a night to find the camp, to seeing the two of them like family... All of it was true except for the amnesia.

After listening, they were both shocked and moved. They looked at each other, and Old Cai spoke first.

"Xiao Kuan, you have a case of soul separation!" Old Cai, who considered himself well-informed, said solemnly, "Western weapons are very strange. When the cannons fire, many people lose their souls! But don't worry, I see that your three vital energies are still present, and your spirit is still attached. If you go home and rest for a while, your lost soul will gradually return."

This was a good explanation, Guan Zhuofan thought, making his reason for leaving the camp even more legitimate.

"Kuan San, can you remember anything about your family?" Alhatu, being more mature, thought more about his situation.

Guan Zhuofan shook his head.

"Oh—" Old Cai understood, and now that he remembered nothing, he needed to be briefed.

"You and Old Cai are from the Inlaid Red Banner, I'm from the Plain White Banner, we're all good friends," Alhatu said, "your home is in Shoubi Alley in the southern part of the city, the third... or fourth courtyard from the south, anyway, I'll take you there tomorrow. Your father, mother, and older brother are all gone, and... and... you don't talk much about your family." At this point, Alhatu glanced at Old Cai, and both of them looked a bit embarrassed and ashamed.

Guan Zhuofan thought, it seems that the person he had taken over had not been very popular in life, and he might not have been particularly close to Old A and Old Cai. Their current friendliness was probably due to his impressive performance today.

"Ah, if Ma Eqi were here, it would be good, you two were the closest," Old Cai said regretfully, "unfortunately, he was killed in the first charge, leaving his wife and children, which is truly pitiful."

Guan Zhuofan remembered the name Ma Eqi.

"Regardless of the past, from today on, I consider the two of you my brothers," Guan Zhuofan said sincerely, "I can go home by myself tomorrow, the city is not big, I won't get lost! But I have two things to ask you to do for me in the camp. First, please take a leave for me, I can't fight in my current state. Second, please resign the real position of the feathered hat officer for me, I'll just stay as an outer delegate with a feathered hat."

Although both are called feathered hat officers, their statuses are very different. An outer delegate with a feathered hat, also known as a blue feathered hat, is a non-regular appointment, with a ninth-rank status. A feathered hat officer, however, is a seventh-rank position, a legitimate military officer of the court.

"No way!" Alhatu thought for a while and shook his head. Seeing Guan Zhuofan looking at him, he quickly said, "Don't misunderstand, taking a leave is easy, I'll handle it. But resigning the real position, I don't think that's a good idea. At least get the seventh-rank appointment and the official uniform first. Even if you don't take the real position, you can still wear the uniform to impress people. You don't have to decide right away, you can think about it. If you really don't want the position, you can negotiate with Old Wu for some compensation, it's worth a few hundred taels of silver, and you shouldn't let him profit from it."

Guan Zhuofan understood. If he didn't take the position, someone else would, and Old Wu would benefit. Alhatu was genuinely concerned for him, which made Guan Zhuofan grateful. "Brother A, I'll follow your advice, whatever you say, I'll do."

"You don't need to worry about it. Just show up early tomorrow, and I'll handle the rest, even the fees for the clerks."

"That's not right! The fees should be paid by me." Guan Zhuofan refused. According to the customs of the time, any official promoted had to bribe the clerks to get the appointment, or they would delay the process. The same applied when receiving the official uniform. Guan Zhuofan didn't know how much it would cost, but it was unreasonable for him to get a promotion and have someone else pay for it.

"Xiao Kuan, the money will be paid by Old A and me, don't worry about it," Old Cai said, seeing Alhatu hesitate, "you don't remember, but your situation is not good!"

Guan Zhuofan understood, in simple terms, he had no money. He felt depressed and couldn't speak.

To be born into such an unfortunate person, with a dead father, mother, and older brother, and to be so poor that he couldn't even afford the fees for a promotion—was this what the heavens called a way out?

"Right," Old Cai's eyes lit up, remembering something, "you mentioned once that you were engaged!"

I was engaged? Guan Zhuofan was very interested.

"It's... it's..." Old Cai hesitated again, "I don't know if you actually got married."

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