As he drew near his front door, Shao Shuyi found his neighbor's household once again thrown into chaotic uproar.
A few inquiries revealed that late last night, the archers of the Police Inspection Office had turned out in force to surround Yiliao Hall, a known gathering place for the White Lotus Sect.
At first, the Inspection Office had shockingly failed to overcome the more than two hundred sectarians gathered inside the shrine hall. Left with no choice, they adopted the tactic of besieging three sides while leaving one open, driving the sectarians to scatter. In the end, they killed or wounded a dozen people and captured several dozen, among whom was his elderly neighbor.
Hearing this, Shao Shuyi was momentarily at a loss for words.
The Taicang Police Inspection Office was, after all, a formal military organ whose primary duty was apprehending bandits and thieves, and it possessed thirty foot archers. If they could not even overcome two hundred men, women, the elderly, and children, they were truly useless to the extreme.
After offering a few perfunctory words of comfort, he returned to his own home.
By coincidence, Cheng Ji was also tinkering with a foot bow.
Seeing Shao Shuyi return, Cheng Ji gave a nod, calibrated the bow, and passed it over. "Hold it and try it out."
Taking the bow, Shao Shuyi felt his hand sink slightly under its weight. Gathering his wits, he examined it closely.
In his previous life, he had visited the Dunhuang murals and possessed a rudimentary understanding of the bows used by Tang armies during the late Tang and Five Dynasties. In his view, the bow in his hand had evolved compared to those, yet not by much. It still fell under the category of a short-limbed, long-eared composite bow, only with longer ears and slightly shorter limbs.
"This is called the Kaman large bow. Along with the Makeda large bow and the wild-ram horn bow, it is one of the three great missile weapons of the army," Cheng Ji said. "This bow is made by Hangzhou artisan households, crafted from a combination of mulberry wood, ox horn, and animal sinew. Its maximum range can reach two to three hundred paces. However—"
He smiled faintly and added, "That is just talk. An experienced brigand beyond two hundred paces wouldn't fear you shooting at him in the slightest; it's only good for scaring young recruits new to the battlefield."
"What about at a hundred paces?" Shao Shuyi asked.
"Unless you are an expert, it is still difficult to hit," Cheng Ji replied.
Shao Shuyi understood. The day he had fled, the soldier from the Great Capital Battalion who had loosed an arrow at him had likely intended to hit him but missed, for the distance had indeed exceeded a hundred paces. Of course, that archer had not been Cheng Ji—Shao Shuyi had already asked about that.
After rubbing the bow's body for a moment, Shao Shuyi asked, "Can these bows only be made in Hangzhou? Can Pingjiang Circuit not make them?"
"Pingjiang Circuit has craftsmen as well, but far fewer," Cheng Ji answered. "In any case, the majority of the bows and arrows used by the Crossroads Army are supplied by the Hangzhou Armament Supervisorate. Under it are the Bow Bureau, the Arrow Bureau, and the String Bureau, which deliver supplies once a year to provide for the various armies."
"Are there Armament Supervisorates in the North?"
"Naturally there are, and the northern armament craftsmen far outnumber those in the South." Cheng Ji gave Shao Shuyi an odd look, as if asking whether he knew where the Son of Heaven and the nobility resided.
Seeing Shao Shuyi nod in contemplation, Cheng Ji added a few more remarks: "The manufacture of military weaponry is of paramount importance. Even at the Hangzhou Armament Supervisorate, the procurement of all sorts of materials is overseen by the Keshik."
"The Keshik?" Shao Shuyi's spirits rallied, and he asked, "Can that force still fight?"
Cheng Ji hesitated for a moment and shook his head. "I don't know either. I've heard comrades in the army say that after the reign of Chengzong, Han and Southerners were no longer recruited into the Keshik. Nowadays, the force is filled entirely with opportunistic sons of nobles and high officials. Fight in a war? They probably can't. If they can guard the imperial palace and hold up ceremonial regalia, they are doing well enough; most spend their days flattering superiors and worming their way up the ladder.
"Take the Hangzhou Armament Supervisorate alone—there are Keshik dispatched here. The arrows I brought along use arrow bamboo from Chuzhou for the shafts, which has always been procured by the Keshik. Chuzhou levies corvée laborers who fell the bamboo and carry it across mountains and rivers to Hangzhou, only for the supervisorate officials, overseers, and fletchers to make difficulties of every kind, demanding bribes. If no bribe is paid, they reject the batch and demand that another be selected and brought over.
"The lion's share of the bribes they collect goes to the Keshik, because they are men close to the Son of Heaven and possess immense authority."
"I see." Shao Shuyi asked, "What happened afterward?"
"What do you mean, afterward?"
"Do they still make such difficulties now?"
"Things have improved considerably," Cheng Ji said. "After Lord Li, the Chief Administrator of Chuzhou Circuit, assumed office, he submitted a memorial to the provincial branch secretariat, saying that since the supervisorate officials and fletchers found the delivered bamboo unsuitable, they should go to the mountains of Chuzhou and pick the timber themselves until they were satisfied. How could those officials be willing to do that? They ran off to inform the Keshik, and after that, the harassment stopped."
Before Shao Shuyi could react, Wang Huadu burst into hearty laughter upon hearing this. "That's precisely how those bastards ought to be handled!"
Cheng Ji, however, let out a soft sigh. "It sounds like a simple matter, yet over all these years, Lord Li was the only one willing to do it. No one wanted to offend the Keshik. In any case, the bribes were scraped together by the common folk of the prefectures and counties, so it had nothing to do with those officials."
Shao Shuyi fell silent.
People hung high the matters that did not concern them. Offending a Keshik 'commissioner,' cutting off their avenue of wealth, and easing the burden on local people—those willing to do such things were generally not considered 'clever.'
Furthermore, the Keshik, a corps that had once won glorious military distinction, appeared to be nothing more than empty show now, utterly incapable of fighting.
This was likely the eventual destiny of imperial guards in every dynasty: transforming from the elite veterans of the founding years into the sheer deadweight of the dynasty's twilight. It was just that the Yuan imperial guard had degenerated at an alarming speed.
"Enough, let's not dwell on this." Cheng Ji waved his hand and looked at Shao Shuyi. "It's getting late. Do you still wish to learn?"
"Yes! Absolutely!" Shao Shuyi raised the bow without hesitation. "Teach me archery right now."
Cheng Ji snatched the bow back with a single swipe. "Today, you will first learn the maintenance and calibration of bows and arrows, as well as how to repair minor damage on your own. You also lack a set of military attire. If you need one, I could—"
"Does that cost money too?" Shao Shuyi remarked casually.
Cheng Ji flushed in embarrassment and explained, "Life in the army is too bitter. We can't even get enough to eat, let alone drill. If we sell a bit of armor and weaponry, the superiors turn a blind eye, especially since they get a cut of the money. Later on, they just have the Armament Supervisorate make up the difference."
Shao Shuyi's eyes were truly opened.
The army of the Great Yuan was rotten to the core. It could not be ruled out that some units were capable of fighting—perhaps he had simply not encountered them yet—but judging by the condition of the Yuan forces in Jiangnan, they were hopeless. Perhaps only the central armies stationed around Dadu could compete with them in worthlessness.
If the Mongol nobles wanted to keep the realm under control, they would likely have to rely on tribal troops or foreign mercenaries, or else lift restrictions and permit localities to organize large-scale militias; there was no other way.
"I'll buy one once I have money." Shao Shuyi offered a wry smile. "If you trust me, you can advance me some equipment on credit first."
Noncommittal, Cheng Ji said, "Come, I'll first explain arrows to you. In our dynasty, there are the 'three inequalities' ..."
******
As the sun climbed, the morning's instruction came to an end. Shao, Wang, and Cheng cobbled together a simple meal, and after eating, they resumed the lesson.
Not until the sun tilted toward the west did Cheng Ji finally stop, still wanting more.
One could tell that he was a pure martial man.
Usually a man of few words, the moment training, armaments, and battlefield tactics were mentioned, he was infused with energy, and his words flowed freely.
According to him, among the more than three thousand men across the ten Guards Battalions of the Crossroads Army, those like him who still devoted some thought to a warrior's true duties amounted to barely a hundred or so.
If they truly had to fight on the battlefield, once those hundred-odd men died, the rest would scatter in a panic. Moreover, given the current trend, soldiers without enough food and clothing would only multiply, while those capable of fighting would dwindle. Eventually, after one unexpected engagement, the Crossroads Army would likely be wiped from the rolls.
Shao Shuyi joined him in sighing for a time, shared dinner with them, and then bade his farewell.
"There are still just under two dou of coarse round-grain rice left, enough to feed you for a while." Before leaving, Shao Shuyi looked at Cheng Ji. "Five sheng of that belongs to you. If things at home are truly difficult, taking a bit more is fine. It's no big deal."
Cheng Ji instinctively wanted to decline, but the words stuck in his throat, and he silently nodded.
Wang Huadu, who had been fiddling with an anchor-axe, grinned at those words. "Xiaochong, go without worry. I'll watch the place for you. I won't eat your food for nothing; when the rice runs out, I'll go find work. If all else fails—"
He swung the anchor-axe with visible effort and added, "I'll just turn to robbery without capital."
"Nonsense!" Cheng Ji barked, making a move to snatch back the anchor-axe. "If you turn bandit, I'll hunt you down."
"The Long Bridge Navy can't even clear out the water bandits on Lake Tai, so how much better could you be? Aside from helping the authorities hunt down defaulting households and bullying decent folks, I don't see that you lot are of any use at all." Wang Huadu curled his lip in disdain, but in the end he set the anchor-axe down against a tree. "Xiaochong, someone gave it to you, so put it away properly."
"When did I ever—" Cheng Ji protested anxiously.
Shao Shuyi laughed heartily. "I'm off then. I'll return on the twentieth of the fifth month, how about that?"
"I should still be here on the twentieth; I won't have had time to join the bandits yet," Wang Huadu said lazily.
Cheng Ji nodded. "That works."
Shao Shuyi nodded, scooped a few handfuls of rice into a small cloth pouch, and hurried off to catch the boat.
After he left, Wang Huadu nudged the sack of rice with his foot. "I'd guess there are still ten sheng left. Take it all."
Cheng Ji did not object, his face flushing slightly. "I won't take it for nothing. The anchor-axe will remain here as collateral. I'll take it back after the next lesson."
Wang Huadu picked up the jar of pickled vegetables and the coarse salt. "Suit yourself. I'm going to stay at my woman's place for a few days. After freeloading off her for so long, if I don't bring something back for her to see, she'll probably kick me out of bed."
Cheng Ji could not help a chuckle.
The sunset bathed Wang Huadu in warm light. Flashing his two large front teeth, he grinned brilliantly, turning as he spoke: "You should think more about yourself. In times like these, those who are loyal and patriotic meet the most miserable ends."
With that, he sauntered off into the evening.
Chapter 18