Chapter 53: King Sailfish Dragon Drum

Xu Xiao typically spent years camping out with ordinary soldiers on the Beiliang border, seemingly at peace only when he could personally oversee the barbarian troops from Beiman, whose numbers were no less than Beiliang's iron cavalry. After the Princess Consort passed away and their children grew up, the eldest daughter, Xu Zhihu, married far away to Jiangnan. Then, the second daughter, Xu Weixiong, traveled thousands of miles to study at Shangyin Academy. Four years ago, the Crown Prince embarked on his travels. Although the "Yellow Barbarian" was still in the Prince's manor for a while, now everyone had completely left.

However, these matters of emperors, generals, and marquises were of no concern to Old Xu the blind man. For years, any news about the Grand Pillar General came from hearsay while buying distiller's grains at the wine shop. He heard it and let it be; what else could he do? He had fought alongside the Grand Pillar General for many years, but as a young cavalryman, he had only seen him once from a distance. Back then, the one holding up the main gate was Wang Jian, the Great Spirit, the army's top vanguard. During the bloody battle of Yique, a not-yet-blind Old Xu charged out of the city gate with the Grand Pillar General. He watched General Wang kneel, holding the massive city gate with both hands, allowing his Liaodong comrades to rush out. At that time, General Xu had not yet been enfeoffed as a prince of a different surname or granted the title of Grand Pillar General; he merely cast a glance back at the city gate.

All soldiers of the Beiliang army firmly believed that the Grand Pillar General was the foremost hero of their time. Among the Four Great Generals of the Spring and Autumn period, purely by battle records, the Grand Pillar General certainly couldn't compare to Ye Baikui, whom Shangyin Academy hailed as unique in five hundred years. Before the Battle of Guanlan City, Ye Baikui claimed an undefeated record in a hundred battles. Even Wang Sui, the former Prince Consort of Dongyue, was more graceful and composed than Xu Xiao, let alone Ye Wusheng of Western Chu, who lost a national war after just one engagement and was so humiliated that he had only a few hundred cavalry left to flee. Yet, in the end, the only one who stood firm, apart from the other great general in the same court, was Xu Xiao. Moreover, of the nine kingdoms during the Spring and Autumn period, the iron hooves under the Xu banner conquered six. The cultured general, who rose to fame twenty years after Xu Xiao, only subdued two insignificant small states. How could he stand shoulder to shoulder with the King of Beiliang?

This was the Grand Pillar General's capability.

It was only mid-month, and Old Xu, the blind man, couldn't bear to spend his coppers on distiller's grains, so he could only savor his saliva to satisfy his craving.

As he aged, Old Xu, the blind man, often liked to sit on a wooden stool in warm weather and recall his youthful heroism. He thought of the survival tricks taught by veteran soldiers, of fighting with bloodshot eyes the first time he held a crossbow, of comrades whose heads were cut off like stalks of wheat beside him, of the thunderous hooves of enemy cavalry, and of the final decisive battle of the Spring and Autumn period at West Leibei. There, the Princess Consort, dressed in white mourning clothes, personally struck the war drum. The drumbeats were like thunder, ceaseless until Western Chu was vanquished. Who in the entire army wasn't moved?

Old Xu tilted his head, his face, weathered like old tree bark by war and sandstorms, pressed against his smooth wooden crutch. Most old veterans were like this: accustomed to war knives and crossbows, they felt something was missing from their hands after miraculously surviving and leaving the army. After his leg broke, this crutch proved to be a great help.

For years, he had listened to a bunch of scholars speak cynically, claiming that most veterans who fought with the Grand Pillar General died without a good end, and only Xu Xiao ended up as a prince of a different surname. If Old Xu's leg hadn't been broken, he would have jumped up and cursed them. What do these simple-minded scholars know? Those who have truly been on the battlefield understand that swords and blades have no eyes. Were the Grand Pillar General's countless scars fake? Did he inflict them upon himself with knives, arrows, and spears? If even the Grand Pillar General hadn't become the King of Beiliang, wouldn't all those veterans who fought to their last breath have died in vain? Who would then remember the six hundred iron-clad warriors of Liaodong, or the three hundred thousand Beiliang iron cavalry, unmatched in the world today?

Old Xu, the blind man, spat, cursing, "Those damned scholars are the most boring! If I were younger, I'd slap their teeth out of their mouths!"

Now, a familiar voice came from above Old Xu, who gasped for breath after just a few steps: "Old Brother Xu, are you still in good health?"

Old Xu hurriedly stood up. The speaker was the yamen official who had brought silver to his home previously and had immediately ordered his retainers to thoroughly repair the thatched cottage. As expected, the cottage had not leaked wind or rain since, and one tael of silver was delivered to him punctually every month. Old Xu was a veteran who had fought in countless battles and vaguely guessed that this official had also served in the military, as he carried an air of ferocity. Don't think it was just a trick; although Old Xu, not being particularly brave, didn't often slaughter pigs himself, he had spent most of his life in the army. Even when eating, those fierce soldiers who had killed dozens looked more menacing than ordinary people.

The man gently pressed down on Old Xu, the blind man, who was about to stand up with his crutch, and said with a laugh, "Old Brother Xu, please sit and talk. Make yourself comfortable. Why be so formal with me?"

Old Xu didn't insist. Being old, he no longer pretended to be strong like a young lad. He tilted his head to "look" at the man and said cheerfully, "I'm doing well, very well. I eat well and sleep soundly. I'm just waiting for the end of the month to buy some wine and meat to treat myself. These days, the world is peaceful, and I have no worries about food or clothing. It's truly wonderful. This is my honest opinion. I'm a blind man, so I can't speak with my eyes open but my mind closed, honored sir, isn't that right?"

The visitor smiled slightly and said, "Old Xu, you're not blind at all. Your wisdom is far superior to many officials and generals."

Old Xu, the blind man, blushed and said, "Honored sir, you flatter me too much; I don't deserve such praise. I'm just an old Beiliang veteran who managed not to die. I once heard a young fellow named Xu mention 'being wrapped in horsehide after death,' but I didn't quite understand it. Anyway, it's better to live poorly than to die well. Now, I'm not afraid of death; living to this age means I've lost nothing. My only concern is that one day I might go to sleep and not wake up. If I die, I die, but there won't be anyone to carry my coffin. That troubles me. That young Xu fellow laughed and said to find him if it came to that, but he might not be seen for an entire year. I doubt it."

The yamen official calmly said, "That young Xu fellow promised to carry your coffin?"

Old Xu, the blind man, instantly became animated. "Exactly! That young Xu fellow is a good person. Old Xu has never been wrong about people. It's just that he's a bit carefree with many things, like climbing walls and stealing ducks. I even worry he won't find a good wife later on. Just a couple of days ago, he brought a pot of good wine here to chat, but he said he was heading out again soon. Unfortunately, I woke up craving the wine at night and accidentally drank the remaining half-pot. Otherwise, I could have treated you today, haha! Honored sir, please don't mind Old Xu's rambling when I chatter on about such trivial things."

The man laughed, "Not at all. Nowadays, it's hard for me to find someone to chat with. Old Brother Xu, do you want some wine? I forgot to bring some when I came. After I got older, I usually don't drink unless I'm at home, but I'll make an exception today. If you can wait, I'll send someone to buy some."

Old Xu, the blind man, quickly waved his hand. "No need, no need. Your urgent matters are more important, honored sir. How could I let you waste your time and spend money here?"

The man smiled and comfortably enjoyed the afternoon sun with Old Xu, the blind man. The warmth spread over them, more pleasant than any silken robes or luxurious attire.

Old Xu turned sideways, leaning on his crutch with both hands, his expression dazed. "My biggest regret in this life is not having seen the Grand Pillar General up close. An old brother who passed away last year was much luckier. During the Battle of Jingyang, when hundreds of thousands of surrendered soldiers were buried alive, he was only a hundred steps away from the Grand Pillar General. My old brother kept talking about it even before he died, so proud, even when he was out of breath, he still wanted to contend with us."

The person beside him, whom Old Xu, the blind man, had always taken for a minor yamen official, said softly, "Xu Xiao is merely a hunchbacked old soldier. What is there to see?"

In an instant, Old Xu's mind went blank. If he could survive a battlefield littered with millions of bones, could he be a fool? In Beiliang, who would dare to say that Xu Xiao was merely a hunchbacked old soldier? Other than the Grand Pillar General, who else?

Old Xu's frail body, which required a crutch to walk, began to tremble violently. Finally, this old Beiliang veteran, who had merely eked out a living, was overcome with tears. He turned his head, his lips trembling, and choked out, "Grand Pillar General?"

The man neither admitted nor denied it, simply calling out to Old Xu, the blind man, "Old Brother Xu."

Old Xu, the blind man, appeared to go mad. He struggled to his feet, disregarding the Grand Pillar General's attempts to stop him, threw away his crutch, and knelt on the ground. He expended all his strength, all the heroic spirit from thirty years of battling across six kingdoms, and all the resilience from ten years of merely surviving. With immense effort, he suppressed a veteran's passionate cry and kowtowed, saying, "Xu Yongguan, a low-ranking cavalryman of the Fish Drum Battalion, one of the eighteen veteran battalions of Jinzhou, pays respects to General Xu!"

The eighteen Jinzhou battalions were all gone now. Like the six hundred iron-clad warriors whose fame gradually faded, younger Beiliang cavalrymen only heard whispers of their inspiring deeds. The Fish Drum Battalion was renowned as the foremost battalion fighting to the death under the Xu banner. Their last battle was at West Leibei. There, the Princess Consort, dressed in white mourning clothes as pure as snow, personally struck the Fish Dragon Drums, as tall as a man, rallying the Fish Drum Battalion and others. With a single surge, they won the defining battle for the Liyang Dynasty. Nearly a thousand men of the Fish Drum Battalion fought to the death without retreating. Only sixteen survived. Cavalryman Xu Yongguan lost an eye in that battle; the arrow and his eye were pulled out together, yet he continued to fight until he collapsed, unconscious, among the dead.

In truth, to the old veterans, "Grand Pillar General" or "King of Beiliang" were titles used by outsiders. Deep down, they still preferred to call him "General Xu."

Old Xu, the blind man, his face streaming with tears but smiling, was helped by Xu Xiao to sit back on the wooden stool. "This life, I've lived enough, General Xu. May this humble soldier dare to ask, is that young Xu fellow perhaps...?"

Xu Xiao softly said, "He is my son, Xu Fengnian."

The old veteran pressed his face against the crutch that the Grand Pillar General had personally picked up for him, murmuring repeatedly, "I've lived enough, I've lived enough..."

Xu Yongguan, the last surviving veteran of the Fish Drum Battalion, slowly closed his eyes.

"General Xu, Princess Consort, you have a good son. I, Old Xu, must go find my old brothers for a drink and tell them that the thunder of Beiliang's three hundred thousand iron cavalry hooves will only make the enemy more terrified. They will not diminish, nor will they weaken. Under the King's Xu banner, the Fish Dragon Drums will sound."

Old veteran Xu Yongguan died peacefully.