Chapter 957: The Backbone of the Northern Liang Iron Cavalry

The people of Longqing County in Ling Province were once the most arrogant throughout Beiliang. Whether they were border soldiers, scholars, or merchants, they all stood tall with pride. This was because Longqing was the hometown of the former Grand General Zhong Hongwu. Zhong Hongwu had commanded Beiliang’s cavalry for over a decade, accumulating immense influence, with proteges and former subordinates spread across Beiliang. He was also renowned for fiercely protecting his own, openly bestowing favors upon his hometown when promoting military officers. As a result, the people of Longqing County considered themselves superior.

Before the Xiangfu era, Longqing County was undoubtedly a highly sought-after place; prominent families across Ling Province coveted matches from Longqing. However, after Zhong Hongwu’s death, the county’s fortunes declined drastically. This was particularly true after Zhong Chengxin, Zhong Hongwu’s eldest son and former magistrate of Longqing County, was promoted to an official position in the provincial capital. He repeatedly and openly displayed prejudice against officials from his hometown within the yamen, causing Longqing County to completely lose its backbone.

Consequently, of the three most prestigious counties in Beiliang – Longqing for marriage, Yanzi for keeping mistresses, and Huangnan for scholarly pursuits – only the latter two remained. For instance, during the massive construction effort at Jupei City, ordinary Beiliang citizens not registered as military households or artisans could earn a significant sum by volunteering to help build outside Liang Province Pass. Poor people from various parts of Ling Province flocked there, but responders from Longqing County were few. While this was partly due to the general affluence of Longqing residents, the well-known unspoken grievance prevalent throughout Beiliang was the key factor.

Beiliang’s populace has historically been fierce and martial. Although Ling Province was wealthy, military families were ubiquitous, certainly no less numerous than in Liang and You provinces. Back then, the Crown Prince, who wielded immense power in Ling Province, regardless of his initial intentions, ultimately uprooted the Zhong family, that towering tree which had sheltered the entire county. The people of Longqing County were both fearful and resentful, their complex feelings impossible to articulate in a few words.

Thus, when an ordinary middle-aged man from Longqing County’s main city decided to seek work in Jupei City, his neighbors began to scorn and despise him. Especially upon hearing that he intended to move his wife and son out of Beiliang, the disdain escalated beyond mere idle gossip. Some even verbally abused him to his face, completely disregarding the decade of neighborly ties they had accumulated. Soon, others brought up old grudges, claiming that this man, Lu Dayuan, was not originally from Beiliang. He had later married a woman from Longqing County, registered his household there, and thus rooted himself in Longqing. For years, as a butcher selling meat, he had always conducted fair business and never made ill-gotten gains. However, his decision to go to Jupei City this time incurred public wrath, turning his family of four into outcasts. Some loose-tongued busybody recalled that this "Lu bast*rd" had once blurted out during a drinking session that Beiliang had little chance of winning the second war against the Beimang barbarians. This caused an uproar. For three days, Lu Dayuan's butcher shop couldn't sell even a single pound of a hundred-jin pig, forcing him to stew meat at home every day as if it were New Year's. During this time, when Lu Dayuan gave a large piece of prime tenderloin to a lonely elderly woman at the end of the street, she threw it directly out the door. The good-natured Lu silently picked it up and took it home.

That day, a large basin of fragrant stewed meat was ready at home. Lu Dayuan squatted on the doorstep, looking towards the courtyard gate, patiently waiting for Xuanzi to return from school for dinner.

He had two sons. The elder, already sixteen, was currently staying and studying with a scholar who had a well-stocked library in Huangnan County, often sending letters home to report his well-being. Lu Dayuan and his wife were both illiterate. In the past, they would take these family letters to Xuanzi’s school and ask the stern teacher there to read them. The old teacher would read every word to Lu Dayuan, who would then return home and tell his wife the general meaning. These trips back and forth were Lu Dayuan’s most contented moments. Lu Dayuan still remembered that when his elder son was young, he often complained that his father wasn't a Beiliang border soldier, which made him unable to hold his head high among his peers. Later, as the child grew older, he became more and more promising in his studies, eventually becoming a well-known young talent, and there were more smiles and laughter in their home. Although the younger son also had similar complaints, with a supportive elder brother to bolster him, he wasn’t as sullen or gloomy about his father’s unremarkable honesty as his elder brother had been when he was young. He was always a cheerful child who loved to grin and laugh. Only occasionally, upon hearing that a classmate’s relative had achieved military merits and been promoted outside Beiliang Pass, would he return home, squat in the courtyard and sigh, or pick up the wooden short saber his father made for him and run wildly around the courtyard until his energy was gone, and his frustration dissipated. Then it was time to eat, time to study. By and large, life for the family of four was getting better and better. As for events like the massive monument of enemy heads built at Hulu Pass during the first Liang-Mang war, the brutal battles at Hutou City in Liang Province, the hundreds of thousands of nameless steles erected on Qingliang Mountain, or the young prince regaining his Grand Pillar of the State title—none of these had any bearing on their family.

His wife unknowingly walked up to him, hesitated, and softly asked, "Is Mr. Liu unwilling to read that letter for us?"

Lu Dayuan scratched his head, grunted, and looked full of remorse.

The woman, though not beautiful, was gentle-natured. She smiled and said nothing.

Suddenly, a young schoolboy ran crying into the courtyard. Seeing his parents, one squatting and one standing, he stopped. Wiping away his tears with his arm, he sobbed heartbrokenly, "I don't have a father like you! Useless and spineless! I don't want to leave Beiliang with Mother!"

Lu Dayuan was stunned.

His wife angrily said, "Xiangzhu, you are forbidden to speak to your father like that!"

The child had never seen his mother so angry. He was dumbfounded and even forgot to cry.

Lu Dayuan secretly tugged his wife's sleeve and whispered, "Xiuer, don't vent your anger on the child."

His wife, still furious, glared and said, "No respect! Did Mr. Liu teach you to read and write so you could use it to insult people?!"

The child felt even more aggrieved and resentful. He hunched over, covered his head, and squatted on the ground, whimpering miserably and helplessly.

The man stood up, gently picked up the child, carried him back into the house, and sat him on a long bench. Rubbing the child’s head, he smiled, "Xiangzhu, I'm actually not angry that you cursed me like that. On the contrary, I'm very happy."

The child haphazardly wiped his face, secretly glanced at his mother sitting across the table, and seeing her still frowning, remained sullen. Anyway, the neighbors called his father "Lu the great mute," so if he acted mute today, he could only blame his father, not Lu Xiangzhu.

The man was about to say something to his wife when she softly said, "Dayuan, you're the man of the house; what you say goes. Once you're outside the pass, remember to dress warmly. It's freezing cold, and snow is heavy in winter. You'll be working often, and it's not your own home where you can find shelter anytime. Oh, I’ve prepared three extra pairs of cotton shoes for you; don't mind if the soles are thick..."

Listening to his wife's almost continuous rambling, the man showed not a trace of impatience, smilingly assenting to everything. Occasionally, he would lower his head to put a piece of meat into the bowl of the child sitting in his lap, who was eating his dinner.

Children, after all, don't bear grudges. If this was true for peers they squabbled with, it was even more so for their own parents.

Soon, the child looked up and puffed out his chest, saying, "Dad, I'm telling you, Mr. Liu told us that according to Beiliang military law! Those who retreat in battle shall be beheaded! Good thing you're not one of our border soldiers, or else, hmph hmph!"

The man didn't know whether to laugh or cry. His wife leaned forward, put another piece of meat into the child's bowl, and said, amused, "You chatterbox! You often doze off during evening studies, but I've never seen you this spirited!"

The child made a funny face, ate the delicious, succulent stewed meat, then turned to his father and seriously asked, "Dad, do you know how many capital offenses ('beheadings') there are in Beiliang military law?"

The man asked, "Do you know?"

The clever child rolled his eyes, "Anyway, a countless number!"

The Xu family of Beiliang was renowned throughout the land for its strict military discipline.

It’s said that the Butcher, during a discussion with the emperor and ministers in Wuying Hall, joked, "I, Xu Xiao, an unlettered brute, only know one clumsy method: killing. I don't hesitate to kill enemies, nor am I soft-handed with my own soldiers. That's how I have today's army."

Those who retreat in battle, behead!Those who kill innocents for personal gain, behead!Those who prematurely spring an ambush, behead!Those who abandon their sword or horse without cause on the battlefield, behead!If a squad leader falls in battle but the entire squad survives, the entire squad shall be beheaded!If a captain falls in battle but his entire company remains intact, the entire company shall be beheaded!

Of course, besides these bloody ironclad rules, the Beiliang border army also had regulations for rewarding subordinates. If a subordinate's merits were not rewarded, regardless of whether it was by a commanding general or a squad leader, there would be immediate execution in the military camp. Those who embezzled military pay or pensions, regardless of the amount, would face immediate execution!

The man burst out laughing after hearing the child's words.

The child suddenly asked, "Dad, after Mom and I go to that place in the Central Plains called Songbai County, will our family have enough money to buy a bigger house?"

The middle-aged man chuckled, "That would be difficult. I haven't saved much money over the years, and the Central Plains are far richer than our Ling Province."

The child sighed with a touch of disappointment.

The man continued to smile, "But don't worry, once I'm at Jupei City, I won't forget to send you money."

The child, mimicking an old man, shook his head pompously and recited, "'The Master says: Riches and honors cannot corrupt, poverty and lowliness cannot swerve, power and might cannot subdue. Such a one is a true man!'"

The man asked curiously, "What does 'The Master says' mean? Can you explain it to your dad?"

The child chuckled, "It just means 'Mr. Liu said that Sage Zhang said.' You don't even know that, Dad, you're so uneducated!"

The man said with contentment, "It doesn't matter if I'm uneducated, as long as you and your brother are educated."

At the mention of his brother, the child immediately beamed with pride, "I'm far inferior to my brother! Even Mr. Liu says my brother is formidable!"

The man laughed heartily, "Aren't you both my sons?!"

The woman looked at the father and son, a gentle smile on her face.

She didn't understand war or scholarship. But having witnessed many people and events through years of managing household affairs, she understood a simple truth: some men reserve their harshest words for those closest to them. But others save their best temperament for their own family.

Her man was the latter.

So, whether it was the ordinary routine of over a decade or the current gossip from neighbors, she never felt she had made a mistake marrying this man.

The child asked, "Dad, where was your hometown? Was it that Songbai County?"

The man nodded, "Yes. But when I was your age, times were hard. There was no one left in my family, and I was on the verge of starvation, which is why I left my hometown."

The child giggled impertinently, "No wonder the neighbors say Mom was blind to fancy you."

This time the woman didn't get angry; she simply stifled a laugh.

The man was even less likely to get angry. He glanced at his wife and said, "Indeed!"

The child then worriedly asked, "Dad, is my brother really going to Jiangnan Province to travel and study? When will he be able to meet us in Songbai County then?"

The man softly said, "I don't know either, son. All my life, ever since I was very little, I vowed that my sons would get an education. I always felt that only scholars amounted to anything, and whatever else you did, no matter how much money you made, it didn't amount to much. I lost my parents very early, and I only knew that for more than a dozen generations, my ancestors were all farmers. So, coming to Beiliang and meeting your mother, Xiangzhu, was truly fortunate. Otherwise, if you and your brother took after me, you wouldn't be cut out for studying!"

The child grumbled, "Then why don't you treat Mom better!"

The man said helplessly, "I'm only capable of so much; there's nothing I can do."

The woman's eyes curved into gentle crescents. The man said he felt lucky, while she felt very happy.

The day his wife and son left Longqing County with their luggage, the man slowly walked back into the city along the post road, returning to his humble alley. After a moment's thought, he carried the family's last two pig legs and went to two places: one he secretly left at the old woman's doorstep at the end of the street, and the other he delivered to Mr. Liu's house.

During this process, the man endured countless sneers and spit.

Finally, the man returned home and pulled out a dusty wooden box from under his bed. He never opened this box, and his wife, understandingly, never asked about it.

This man, who had been quiet and reserved for over a decade in the alley, carried the heavy wooden box into the courtyard, squatted down, and vigorously wiped off the dust.

The man muttered to himself, "My two old comrades, back then, shortly after I arrived in Beiliang with you, the campaign the Grand General led us on against Beimang was truly frustrating! We won, but then we withdrew. Many of us, including me, angrily left the border army. Only later did I learn it was the old Emperor of Liyang's scheme; he was afraid we'd wipe out Beimang in one fell swoop, and then his throne would truly be lost. I haven't had the face to see you all these years. As for fighting, I, Lu Dayuan, joined the army at fourteen, became a squad leader the next year, a captain at sixteen, and by eighteen, I was a deputy general following the Grand General to Liang. When have I ever been afraid? I just left the border army early, otherwise, wouldn't Wang Lingbao, Li Mofan, and those young pups have to cower before me?!"

The common folk on the street were puzzled. After the sound of horse hooves, they saw seven or eight elite cavalrymen, armored and armed, stop at Lu Dayuan's doorstep.

This made the common folk worried. Although they cursed Lu Dayuan, the outsider good-for-nothing, he had been their neighbor for over a decade. Lu Dayuan wasn't a bad person, and they shared a deep affection; otherwise, how could they curse him to his face?

They hoped that "Lu the silent one" hadn't angered the government garrison!

The leader of the elite cavalry was a sturdy man over forty, currently the commanding officer of the local garrison in Longqing County, serving as a powerful cavalry captain for over a decade!

Longqing residents might not know him personally, but they knew he was highly esteemed by General Han Laosan of Ling Province. It was said he was as close as a brother to Hong Shuwen, who hailed from the elite Fengzi Camp with a strong military background!

How could he not become a powerful colonel or provincial deputy general in the future?

A trusted cavalryman under the captain quietly asked, "Captain, who are we seeing off that requires your personal presence? Usually, you wouldn't even spare a glance for those military families close to the Zhong clan. Is there someone so extraordinary in our Longqing County?"

The captain sneered, "Those mere figureheads aren't even fit to feed horses for the man in that house!"

Then the captain proudly declared, "Back in my day, I was the one who fed his horse!"

"Is that something to boast about?"

The cavalrymen exchanged bewildered glances.

"Has our Captain had his head knocked lately? He wasn't like this before; he used to be so arrogant!"

When the cavalrymen finally saw the man with the satchel step out of the courtyard, they were a little stunned. He was only moderately tall and sturdy; he didn't look like anyone extraordinary.

The captain quickly dismounted, then led an unridden warhorse forward, cupped his fists, and solemnly said, "Ma Yunwu, Cavalry Captain of Longqing County! Reporting to the Old Deputy General!"

The man with the satchel also carried a long object wrapped tightly in cotton cloth. He glanced at Ma Yunwu, whom he had intentionally avoided for over a decade, and snapped, "When addressing someone, if their title has 'deputy' in it, are you insulting them? Do you fancy yourself the Grand General, who in Taian City enjoyed greeting all those deputy military commanders and second-in-command civil officials?"

Ma Yunwu shrank his neck and dared not reply.

The man named Lu Dayuan looked around, straightened his back with pride, and cupped his fists, saying, "These past years, I, Lu Dayuan, thank you all for your care!"

All the common folk on both sides of the street looked bewildered and stood awkwardly.

Lu Dayuan hung his satchel on one side of the saddle, then expertly swung himself onto the horse.

Regardless of whether the upcoming journey outside Liang Province pass was a win or a loss, Lu Dayuan had no intention of returning alive to Ling Province within the pass.

After over a decade without armor or a blade, how could he not make up for it with blood!

Ma Yunwu softly reminded him, "By law, old veterans of Beiliang are allowed to carry swords on the street."

Lu Dayuan raised an eyebrow, finally unwrapped the cotton cloth from the long object, revealing an old-fashioned combat saber. He carefully hung it at his waist.

Lu Dayuan turned to look at Ma Yunwu, who couldn't possibly follow him beyond the pass. "If we lose, there's nothing to discuss. If we win, and my two sons ever return to Ling Province, tell them that their father was a butcher, but even more so, he was one of the Xu family's Iron Cavalry!"

Ma Yunwu nodded vigorously. Of a thousand words, only two escaped his lips: "Take care!"

Lu Dayuan squinted at him, "Young pup, I knew back then you wouldn't amount to much. And sure enough, you're only a measly captain today."

Ma Yunwu's face turned red.

Lu Dayuan suddenly unclipped the combat saber, tossed it to Ma Yunwu, and laughed heartily, "Forget it, I'm going to use a new Beiliang saber in battle anyway. Considering you fed my horse for so long back then, this one's yours!"

Ma Yunwu received it like a treasure. Such a man was actually moved to tears.

This combat saber was indeed a first-generation Xu family saber!

It symbolized the rise of the Xu family's Iron Cavalry across the Spring and Autumn lands, and their invincibility throughout the Central Plains.

It was precisely because of that original Xu family veteran cavalry battalion that today's Beiliang Iron Cavalry became paramount under heaven!

And this man hailed from one of the Xu family's veteran battalions: the Full Armor Battalion!

Top-rank cavalryman, Lu Dayuan!

The common folk on this street naturally wouldn't know that after Grand General Xu Xiao grew old, he often remarked to his assembled civil and military officials in Qingliang Mountain's council hall that "that rascal Lu Dayuan was the fiercest in battle, a match for Lu Qiuer, truly formidable."

Chu Lushan would always protest, "But that guy Lu always charged forward desperately, never caring about military tactics. He's definitely not as good as me."

Yuan Zuozong would then expose him, saying, "But he never lost a single battle."

The Butcher would then nod, "Exactly, just like me."

Then a certain young Crown Prince would offer a sarcastic remark.

Around early autumn this year, many old Xu family veterans like Lu Dayuan began heading beyond the pass.

And they were the backbone of Beiliang's Iron Cavalry.

At this moment, Lu Dayuan and Ma Yunwu rode their horses out of the city together, muttering to themselves.

The young elite cavalrymen only heard faint, indistinct sounds.

After escorting Lu Dayuan to the post road outside the city, Ma Yunwu watched him depart, remaining silent for a long time.

Finally, as he turned his horse around, Ma Yunwu also silently recited: "My Xu family Full Armor Battalion, our scouts range far and wide, that is 'scattering the net'; forming an unmoving camp is 'laying the groundwork'..."