Chapter Thirty: The New Official Establishes Authority

Wei Wenzhong felt it was absolutely necessary to make sure his unnaturally young superior understood the situation.

As a unit directly under the Crown Prince’s Eastern Palace, there was, of course, no problem with unpaid wages. Nor did anyone dare play tricks or embezzle under the Prince’s very nose.

The real root of the issue, however, lay in the devastating defeat the Tang army suffered at Qianshuiyuan. When the Tang clashed with Xiqin under Xue Ju, Li Yuan dispatched Li Shimin, leading eight grand generals, to confront Xue Ju. From the Eastern Palace’s Six Guards, twenty-one units were selected, and eighteen drawn out. In the end, those eighteen Zhechong provincial troops, nearly twenty thousand men, either perished at Qianshuiyuan or had their remnants absorbed and reorganized into other units. As a result, the Six Guards of the Eastern Palace now possessed less than a fifth of their nominal strength.

In truth, the “Second Merit Brigade” wasn’t even the most tragic. That would be the Right Guard’s Commander’s Battalion, which once counted five units and over six thousand men, but now had fewer than a hundred and fifty—its ranks nearly 95% empty.

The disastrous defeat at Qianshuiyuan had left the army gutted. Chen Ying could only sigh inwardly, suspecting that perhaps Li Shimin had used this as a way to eliminate rivals within the Eastern Palace, ensuring not one of the eighteen drawn units returned.

The consequences of Qianshuiyuan were now stark: morale among the troops in Chang’an was utterly shattered.

Upon entering the camp, Chen Ying saw nothing resembling a disciplined army. Some soldiers lay passed out, reeking of wine, others gambled in groups, and worse yet, some had even sneaked prostitutes into the barracks, indulging in debauchery.

According to Wei Wenzhong’s report, only three hundred fifty-three men now remained in the entire unit. The Archers’ Company was down to eighty-five; the First Merit Company fared slightly better, with one hundred and two men left; the Second Merit Company, the largest, could barely muster two squads and a handful, totaling one hundred and ten.

The situation was further complicated by the fact that the entire Second Merit Battalion was, in name and fact, composed almost entirely of nobles’ sons at officer rank and above. The First Merit Company’s Captain was Duan Zhigan, son of Duan Yanshi—the former calligraphy secretary to Li Yuan, now Prefect of Yingzhou in the Tang. When Li Yuan raised his army in Taiyuan, Duan Yanshi brought both his sons, Duan Zhigan and Duan Zhixuan, to join the cause.

Both sons had since distinguished themselves: Duan Zhigan was now a full seventh-rank captain in the First Merit Company of the Second Merit Battalion, and his younger brother Duan Zhixuan served as Second Shield Captain in the Prince of Qin’s household guard.

The Second Company Captain, Yin Yuan, came from an even more illustrious background. His uncle, Yin Qiao—also known as Yin Kaishan—was now Chief of Staff to the Prince of Qin’s expeditionary force. Critically, Yin Kaishan had no sons, and Yin Yuan had been adopted as his heir, destined to inherit the noble title of Duke of Chen Commandery upon his uncle’s passing.

As for Liu Yue of the Cavalry Company, he too was no ordinary man—son of Liu Hongji, who had served as Left General under Li Yuan’s self-declared Grand Generalship in Taiyuan, and was now Grand Commander of the Right Army, a third-rank official.

Among the four captains of the Second Merit Battalion, the only one without an illustrious pedigree was Zhang Shigui, captain of the Archers. He had led a rebellion at the end of the Sui, later defected to the Tang, and become a captain in the Eastern Palace’s Right Guard Second Merit Battalion.

Chen Ying was past the point of complaining. The entire Second Merit Battalion had been nearly annihilated at Qianshuiyuan, yet not a single officer had perished; all remained in Chang’an, living comfortably. Of the four companies, only forty-one soldiers held no official rank, meaning on average, eight officers commanded a single soldier. Smiling wryly, Chen Ying said, “Deputy Captain Wei, assemble the men.”

“Yes, sir!” Wei Wenzhong pursed his lips, but dutifully sent messengers to beat the assembly drum.

Chen Ying had never served in the army, but he knew a proper unit could muster in five minutes at most. Yet here, the drumbeat sounded for the length of an incense stick, and not a single soldier appeared on the parade ground.

Just as Chen Ying’s face turned so dark it seemed ready to rain, a burly man, shirtless and sporting a thick, black chest, stormed out, cursing, “You damned fools! Are you trying to get yourselves killed, disturbing my dreams? Beat that drum again and I’ll break your legs!”

Wei Wenzhong kept signaling frantically at the man with his eyes.

This man was none other than Duan Zhigan, captain of the First Merit Company. Chen Ying, newly arrived, was eager to establish authority and had been looking for an example to make; Duan Zhigan had walked right into his trap.

Chen Ying couldn’t help but laugh in anger.

Duan Zhigan, oblivious to Wei Wenzhong’s signals, strode straight to the messenger and, without a word, raised his fist to strike.

“Well? Why aren’t you fighting back?”

Suddenly, Duan Zhigan noticed a cold, gleaming saber pressed against his throat.

Looking at Chen Ying’s delicate, almost unnaturally pale face, Duan Zhigan grinned broadly and laughed, “Well now, you’re a pretty one. Let Grandpa Duan have some fun with you…”

He never imagined that Chen Ying was actually their new Zhechong Captain; he took him for some young noble’s page. Ignoring the blade at his throat, he reached out to touch Chen Ying’s face.

A dragon has a reverse scale; touch it and you die. For Chen Ying, that reverse scale was being mistaken for a catamite, someone’s plaything.

A howl split the air.

Before Duan Zhigan’s hand reached Chen Ying’s face, a searing pain shot through his nether regions, instantly overwhelming his senses.

Chen Ying sheathed his saber and began raining blows on Duan Zhigan’s head.

No matter how strong a man, a critical blow below the belt renders him helpless. By now, soldiers had begun to emerge from the barracks, gathering to watch.

“Deputy Captain Wei, who is that?”

“He’s tough—look at him pummeling Big Brother Duan!”

“I’d never have guessed that baby-faced fellow had it in him!”

As the officers of the First Merit Company saw their captain being mercilessly beaten, they erupted in outrage, shouting threats at Chen Ying.

Wei Wenzhong hurriedly blocked their path, saying, “That’s our newly appointed Zhechong Captain, Captain Chen! You’d be defying your superior—do you want to die?”

At this, the men fell silent.

No matter the reason, subordinates had no business interfering when a superior disciplined an underling.

With a loud crack, Chen Ying delivered a blow to Duan Zhigan’s brow, splitting it open and sending blood streaming down his face and into his mouth.

Though Duan Zhigan gritted his teeth and tried to fight back, Chen Ying didn’t give him a chance.

Though untrained in martial arts, after the battle at Jingyang, Chen Ying’s spirit had hardened. In this dog-eat-dog world, survival demanded ruthlessness. Quick as lightning, he seized Duan Zhigan’s index finger and bent it back sharply.

A bloodcurdling scream erupted as Duan Zhigan felt his finger snap.

Undeterred by pleas for mercy, Chen Ying twisted harder.

With a sickening crunch, the bone broke, and Duan Zhigan’s agonized shriek echoed across the parade ground as he fainted from pain.

Chen Ying continued to pummel the unconscious man, blow after blow, for nearly a quarter of an hour, the only sounds the dull thuds of flesh meeting flesh.

Now, every one of the three hundred officers and men in the Second Merit Battalion had stamped in their minds a label: too dangerous to provoke.

At last, Chen Ying, exhausted, stopped.

By now, even Duan Zhigan’s own mother wouldn’t have recognized him.

Turning to the assembled officers and men, Chen Ying raised his bloodied fist to his lips, sucking the blood and bits of flesh from his knuckles.

With a crimson-stained smile twisting his handsome face into something almost demonic, Chen Ying said, “Gentlemen, allow me to introduce myself. I am Chen Ying, your new Zhechong Captain!”

“We salute Captain Chen!”