Chapter Fifty-Two: Reckless Audacity

The next morning, as the first rays of sunlight touched Chen Ying’s face, he slowly awoke. Rising hurriedly and finishing his morning ablutions, he glanced outside, only to be surprised by the sight of that stubborn figure still kneeling there.

“Did she kneel here all night?” he asked.

“Reporting to the general, she has indeed knelt the entire night!”

Chen Ying was secretly amazed; for a woman to possess such unwavering determination was rare.

As Chen Ying turned away, Tang Liu-niang felt thoroughly dejected.

Tang Liu-niang was from Zitong County in Shizhou, the sixth child in her family, with five elder brothers. Despite living in an era where men were esteemed above women, her family’s circumstances were unique, and since birth she had been showered with affection. Three of her brothers were already married and established, tending to dozens of acres of meager farmland, working from dawn till dusk. Though their lives were bitter and austere, Tang Liu-niang felt truly happy.

But this peaceful life was utterly destroyed with the arrival of the rebel forces from Pangqi. They ravaged her village, slaughtering everyone. To help her escape, her beloved father was decapitated by the rebels. She would never forget his last words as he died: “Liu-niang, run!”

Her five brothers were killed one after another, and even her three-year-old nephew was not spared. In just a few days, her family of more than ten people was torn apart, leaving her to endure the cruelest torment she had ever known. She resolved to survive, to avenge her parents, to seek justice for her brothers who died so unjustly.

She knew her own strength was too meager; the rebels were numerous and fierce. If she wished to take revenge, her only hope was to join the army of the Great Tang.

“That pale-faced general is truly hateful, refusing even such a simple request!” Tang Liu-niang fumed inwardly.

Suddenly, she saw a pair of black boots appear before her. Looking up, she saw the handsome, yet annoyingly aloof pale-faced general.

“Have you knelt long enough?” Chen Ying said expressionlessly. “If you’ve knelt enough, stand up!”

Overjoyed at his words, Tang Liu-niang hastily tried to rise.

“Ouch…”

She had forgotten that she had knelt all night; her legs and knees were numb and weak.

Chen Ying, quick and attentive, reached out to steady her by the waist, lifting her upright.

Tang Liu-niang’s eyes flashed with fury as she glared at Chen Ying, clutching her chest defensively.

“Relax, I have no interest in beanpoles,” he remarked dryly.

It took her a moment to realize he was mocking her for her small chest. Looking down at her barely budding bosom, her cheeks flushed with indignation.

“I’ll bite you to death!” she cried, lunging at Chen Ying’s arm and biting down.

But, unfortunately, Chen Ying was clad in armor—no ordinary armor, but general’s bright lamellar, weighing twenty-three pounds. Not only could her teeth not pierce it, even a cavalry bow at thirty paces would be ignored by this armor.

Though her mouth was soon bloodied from the metal plates, Tang Liu-niang refused to relent.

Seeing her attack Chen Ying, the surrounding guards immediately raised their weapons.

“Stand down!” Chen Ying ordered.

The guards retreated, grumbling.

Chen Ying sighed and said, “If you don’t let go, I won’t accept you as a soldier!”

“Oh!” Tang Liu-niang released her grip and stuck out her tongue at him.

Chen Ying ordered a guard to take Tang Liu-niang to eat.

Tang Liu-niang, worried and stubborn, protested, “I’m not hungry!”

“If you don’t eat, you won’t be accepted as a soldier.”

“Oh!” she replied, reluctantly following the guard to the mess hall.

“General, will you really accept her?” a guard asked.

“What else can I do?” Chen Ying replied.

“But… her origins are unclear!” Liang Zan said worriedly. “Who knows if she’s a spy for the rebels?”

“Do spies like her exist? I can tell if someone’s human or a ghost,” Chen Ying said dismissively. “Let’s go see how recruitment is progressing.”

Arriving at the command tent, they encountered Wei Wen-zhong, his eyes red like a rabbit’s.

“How’s the recruitment going?” Chen Ying inquired.

“Better than expected!” Wei Wen-zhong replied, rubbing his face and straightening up. “All are promising candidates for elite troops—we have more than twelve hundred men.”

In this era, “elite troops” referred specifically to strong men between sixteen and forty-five years of age. Chen Ying was quietly astonished. Western County was only a mid-to-lower ranked county, meaning it had between a thousand and two thousand households. To recruit over twelve hundred soldiers from a single county nearly emptied all its able-bodied men.

This, too, hinted at why the flourishing Tang dynasty could dominate the world: the entire populace valued martial prowess, the court’s summons was answered by the masses, and followers gathered like clouds. No wonder they could swallow the lands surrounding them.

“Distribute the new recruits immediately,” Chen Ying ordered. “First, fill out the ranks of Merit First Regiment, Merit Second Regiment, Archer Regiment, and Guard Regiment. As for Cavalry Regiment, we don’t have enough horses yet, so leave it empty for now!”

Wei Wen-zhong held out a ledger. “General Chen, the Cavalry Regiment can now be fully equipped. The local gentry have donated fifty-seven horses, and over a hundred recruits brought their own, so the Cavalry Regiment can be filled!”

Chen Ying was delighted. “Then assign them right away. Use veterans to lead the new recruits, train them as we march, and by the time we reach Shizhou, the new soldiers can take the field!”

Wei Wen-zhong hesitated. “But…”

“But what?” Chen Ying asked, eyeing him curiously. “Old Wei, we’ve eaten from the same ladle, shared life and death—what’s there to hide?”

Wei Wen-zhong replied, “The problem is, we don’t have enough weapons. The Western County treasury has barely any decent equipment—just twenty sets of leather armor and fifty spears, all eaten by worms and useless.”

Chen Ying responded without hesitation, “If we lack weapons and armor, we’ll make our own. Gather all the blacksmiths in town, collect iron tools and raw iron, and forge arms and armor ourselves!”

“But buying iron costs money!” Wei Wen-zhong complained. “Merit Second Commandery has less than thirty strings of coin left for oil and salt. We can’t use the brothers’ living expenses to buy iron!”

“Does the county treasury have money?” Chen Ying asked. “Even if Western County is poor, surely there’s some money left?”

Wei Wen-zhong stammered, “There is… quite a bit, actually. Over two thousand strings.”

“That’s plenty! Two thousand strings is enough for us to buy iron and forge arms and armor.”

“But that’s the autumn tax, meant for delivery to Chang’an. Using state taxes privately is a capital offense!”

“Hmph!” Chen Ying said. “Without arms and armor, do you expect us to take the field with sticks and suppress the rebellion? That’s suicide. If anything happens, I’ll take the blame. Use the county treasury funds, spare no expense, buy up all the iron tools and raw iron nearby, and forge weapons!”

“What if the court holds us accountable?”

“We’ll deal with that when I make it back alive!”