Chapter 909: What’s Needed Is a Swift Solution

Lumi Cang Hutong, located in front of the military training grounds, was originally quite wide to facilitate the passage of large carts carrying grain. But now that a large group of people had spread out, it quickly became blocked, as it could once accommodate two carts side by side. Fortunately, the military training grounds were situated right against the eastern city wall of the capital, and few people went that way, so traffic wasn’t affected. However, the confrontational atmosphere there left the soldiers from Lumi Cang unsure of what to do. In the end, a soldier with a small flag came over and drove away the meddling subordinates with a few lashes, then closed the gate.

If these soldiers started causing trouble, it would be disastrous! The grain stored in Lumi Cang was meant to pay the officials’ salaries. Even though the New Year had passed, there was still enough grain for half a year. Any mishap would be catastrophic!

While others were afraid, Shi Heng, who had just spoken harshly, wasn’t afraid at all. He had been brave and aggressive since a young age and wasn’t someone easy to deal with. His enthusiasm had been further stirred by Zhang Yue’s words, and he was eager to see his subordinates become capable officers. So when the young official was suddenly silenced, he found it rather boring.

Zhang Yue, on the other hand, hadn’t expected Shi Heng to say such things. Seeing them retreat, he glanced over and then asked calmly, “What I wanted to say has already been said on my behalf. If you have any further questions or demands, speak up! Anything said today will not be punished, but after today, everything will be handled according to the rules and laws!”

The frightened young officials exchanged glances before one of them mustered the courage to step forward. After saluting, he said, “Lord Zhang, we didn’t intend to cause trouble. It’s just that those instructors are going too far! They don’t teach archery or martial arts. The first thing they did was make us run—all day yesterday! We’re all exhausted! Also, we would like to ask, Lord Zhang, as you’re an official in the Ministry of War in charge of military training, who is this person, and what right does he have to teach us?”

Being young and full of vigor, these military students, even though they knew Shi Heng’s words made sense and they couldn’t argue back, still refused to accept it. Once one started, the others joined in. Seeing this, Zhang Yue found it amusing. He tilted his head and glanced at Shi Heng, who looked displeased, gripping his whip. Then he grew serious.

“Do you think that since he’s about your age, once you take on military positions, he might not necessarily be above you, so you’re resentful?” As soon as Zhang Yue spoke these words, the silence that followed prompted him to say seriously, “He is Shi Heng, the commander of Huizhou Guard. Although he inherited the position of deputy commander of Kuanhe Guard, it wasn’t assigned to him right away; he gradually rose through military achievements. Now, in his early twenties, he’s already a commander! When he first joined the army, he was about your age, yet in just a few years, he’s already capable of leading on his own. Do you still think he’s not qualified to teach you?”
Although Shi Heng was quite arrogant, he still felt a bit embarrassed after being praised by Zhang Yue. Though he was called the commander of Huizhou Guard, Huizhou was adjacent to Danning—a place of great importance. How could there be only him as commander? Among the four of them, he was the youngest and didn’t bear the greatest responsibility for leading troops. Yet, compared to their ages, his military rank was indeed impressive enough to overshadow the others.
Although these young officials all came from military families with ancestors and fathers who were officers, it was more about having lived off the military for generations rather than having a strong family tradition of military service. The stricter elders even taught them some martial arts, while those who paid less attention simply focused on raising them. Few of them could read, and even fewer knew geography. So, there was some murmuring among them about where Huizhou Guard actually was. It took over twenty people before they gradually realized it, and then their eyes showed more respect toward a certain person.
Zhang Yue also noticed the change in their expressions, which gave him more confidence. At least these people could still be improved. This was quite normal—the more than twenty years of the Yongle era couldn’t be considered a true period of peace and prosperity. There were three northern expeditions, one northern inspection tour, plus southern expeditions to Jiaozhi and voyages with treasure ships—these were probably the effects of his “butterfly flapping its wings” on history. So, if you calculated the troops involved in the northern expeditions, it’s clear that even if these young officials had never fought, their ancestors or fathers had at least been sent to the northern grasslands and deserts for training.
Thus, the military was still just beginning to decay, not yet rotten to the core.

“The professors and instructors made you run all day yesterday just to assess your physical condition. By now you must have learned what kind of food is provided in this martial arts academy. These days, it’s a celebration for ordinary people to get a meal of meat, but here you get meat at least once a day—why? So that you have the strength to train! You are true martial officers; don’t compare yourselves to those scholars-officers of old. If you don’t even have the strength to charge into battle, how can you lead troops? As for the servants in your families, I’ll be clear today: if you pass your monthly and annual exams successfully, I’ll request the emperor to grant them exemption from duties!”

He added “grant them exemption” because the servants in the Ming Dynasty faced far greater burdens than taxes, so Zhang Yue couldn’t afford to leave any room for criticism. However, such a promise, combined with Shi Heng’s earlier question about why they hadn’t reported matters to Lord Zhang before acting on their own, left the young officials in an awkward position. After all, the food yesterday was indeed good. Though they hadn’t slept, they had gone to check—the bunks in the dormitories were warm, and just these two perks were enough to rival those at the Imperial Academy. After a long exchange of glances, someone took the lead in kneeling, and soon others followed suit, until the ground was filled with people bent over.

At this point, Zhang Yue knew the immediate obstacle was overcome. But with only a little over twenty people left, if they didn’t organize themselves properly, the number might drop to forty or even fifty. So he glanced at everyone, calmly told them to get up, then mounted his horse and dismounted at the stone step in front of the martial arts training area. He led the way through the main gate. After walking a few steps, he saw the guards still blocking the martial students outside, so he turned back and ordered, “Write down their names. Let them in first—I’ll take care of everything.”

The guards, already under pressure from strict rules set by higher authorities and facing punishment if they failed to enforce them, were relieved by Zhang Yue’s words. Although the martial arts academy was jointly managed by the Five Army Commanders’ Office and the Ministry of War, in reality, the officials in the Ministry of War, who held ultimate power over military recruitment, held the most influence. After writing down the names, they allowed all the martial students in.

Just now, when Zhang Yue was questioning those martial students at the gate, the officials in charge of martial arts training were informed of the situation. They had all been recommended by the Five Armies Command to the Ministry of War, and Zhang Yue had met them personally, so he knew well the nature of this vice minister of the Ministry of War. Therefore, they hadn’t rushed out to greet him; only now did they show up. After greeting each other, several of them couldn’t help but glance at Shi Heng, who stood behind Zhang Yue with his broad shoulders and strong build, feeling somewhat puzzled.

“I just discussed this with Duke Cheng yesterday. Those who graduate from the martial arts school, if they pass, will be granted various military positions. In comparison, the ranks of those who teach and train are far too low. If instructors are of lower rank than their students, it’s naturally difficult to enforce discipline properly. That’s why I’m here with three matters. The first two are that I plan to petition the emperor to officially recognize your status—granting you temporary positions as thousand-household officers. If you perform well in teaching, you’ll be promoted to permanent positions, so you won’t lack confidence. The second is to establish new rules for the students: if they excel every year upon graduation, their temporary positions will be converted to permanent ones after two years. If they pass but only achieve lower grades each year, their military ranks will be reduced. The third is him.”

Zhang Yue ignored the astonished expressions of the instructors and pointed at Shi Heng beside him before calmly saying, “Although you are among the best in martial arts skills among the imperial guards and have accompanied Emperor Taizu on northern expeditions, most of you have never actually guarded the borders or fought against enemies. Moreover, you are much older than those martial students. So, with the emperor’s approval, I’ve brought Shi Heng, the commander of Huizhou Guard, here to oversee the martial arts school and be in charge of training these students.”

Oversee the martial arts school? Was there such a rule?

Though everyone exchanged glances, no one dared to question it. Firstly, they feared Zhang Yue’s high rank; secondly, the martial arts school had been established and abolished repeatedly during the Song Dynasty; thirdly, it seemed harmless to them. Yet this put Shi Heng in an awkward situation as he was sized up from head to toe by everyone—from the officials to the servants—making him feel extremely uncomfortable.

After meeting with the officials, Zhang Yue ordered all the martial students gathered in the small training ground. He reiterated the regulations he had mentioned earlier to those twenty-odd students and once again assigned Shi Heng a task. Perhaps because the news from earlier had spread quickly, the students’ spirits were much better than yesterday, and there was less noise. With Zhang Yue’s emphasis, the importance of the upcoming competition rose even further.

When everyone else had left, a martial arts student of medium build did not leave immediately but insisted on seeing Zhang Yue after going through the proper procedures. At that time, Zhang Yue was placing the greatest emphasis on martial arts. Although it was against the rules, he had never been one to follow rules strictly, so he met the man in the Minglun Hall right away. But when the martial arts student introduced himself, Zhang Yue immediately remembered the military officer who claimed to be his uncle, Zhang Xin, and who had been present the previous day.

“Ning Zichun?”

“Yes, I am student Ning Zichun.” The martial arts student had expected to have to kneel and plead, but to his surprise, Zhang Yue told him to stand up after the greeting, which gave him more confidence and excitement. “Since Your Excellency attaches such importance to the competition in a few days, I have a suggestion. I heard that during the Emperor’s recent inspection tour to Danning, there were martial arts contests in the army, with winners receiving promotions and the title of warrior. Although martial artists are not as numerous as the soldiers in the army, it is said that both fame and profit are needed to inspire people. Therefore, I request that an additional title be given to the winner of this competition. That person will surely strive hard to protect this title, and others will also work even harder to win it.”

This idea made Zhang Yue think of a term—champion—and his expression became somewhat strange. He then asked with a smile, “Your idea is interesting, but have you never considered that the more prominent someone becomes, the more attention they draw? What if those people try underhanded methods if they can’t take the title openly?”

“That’s inevitable. After all, envy and jealousy are part of human nature,” the martial arts student replied calmly and confidently. “But I heard that the Ministry of War has a spy department. Why not station some there in the martial arts school? First, it’s an important place under the Ministry of War, and second, it can monitor the students’ behavior—winning two birds with one stone.”

No wonder that military officer surnamed Ning mentioned his son. This young man was quite interesting!

Zhang Yue remembered that among the students recruited for the martial arts school were hereditary officers from the end of last year, officers’ sons recommended by the Five Army Commanders, and a few sons of nobles—overall, a mixed crowd. So, seeing someone who dared to speak confidently before him and backed his words with logic, he naturally appreciated him even more. After asking Ning Zichun a few more questions, he found that the student answered logically, clearly more than just skilled in martial arts, as the Sichuan military officer had said, which made him even more satisfied.

“I’ll accept your suggestion. A champion title will be established in the future. But since you’re the one who proposed it, whether you can win that title depends on you.”

“Yes, I will surely work hard!”

Watching Ning Zichun calmly bow and leave, Zhang Yue turned to look at Shi Heng again and asked with interest, “How do you think he compares to you back then?”
Shi Heng snorted dismissively, “I wasn’t as good at pretending as he is. He definitely says whatever comes to mind!” Seeing Zhang Yue laugh heartily, he couldn’t help but ask again, “My lord, there must be a limit to my tenure as commander of martial arts training, right? I don’t want to stay here forever managing children. You must prepare someone to take my place!”
“Don’t worry, it’s just two years,” Zhang Yue said, holding up two fingers. Seeing Shi Heng sigh in relief, he couldn’t help but chuckle. “After two years, even if you want to stay here, I’ll send you back to prevent you from wasting your time. Besides, martial arts training isn’t like the imperial academy—someone can’t hold power for too long. As for your successor… Do you really think in such a vast country as ours, we can’t find someone similar to you?”
Though he spoke casually, Zhang Yue knew that if he didn’t make an effort now, it would be difficult for the Great Ming to find another person like Shi Heng in the near future.
Times create heroes. If not for the Jingnan Campaign, those generals around Zhu Di wouldn’t have stood out; if not for Zhu Neng’s death during the campaign to Jiaozhi, Zhang Fu wouldn’t have risen to prominence; if not for the Japanese invasions, Qi Jiguang and Yu Dayou might not have achieved success; if not for guarding Liaodong, Li Chengliang might not have been so notable… Now that it was a peaceful era, Toghon of the Oirats wasn’t as remarkable as recorded in history, nor was his son Esen. But who knew if another outstanding figure might emerge in the north or elsewhere?
At such a time, what was needed was decisive action!