Chapter 198: To Lord Yuan Ye, To Wanjin!
It was the plum rain season again.
The sky was as if covered by a giant gray curtain, pressing down heavily on the earth. Fine rain fell like cow’s hair, weaving a hazy net that gently enveloped the entire world.
Raindrops hit the bluestone path, splashing small water droplets with a crisp sound. Pedestrians, either holding oilcloth umbrellas or wearing straw raincoats, hurried along the streets of Pingshan Town.
After all, it was the season for rice cultivation, and everyone was very busy and in a hurry.
However, Guo Tailang sat at a street-side wine stall, looking at the rain curtain with great leisure.
He had already retired from the army and was assigned a new job as a flag captain. His work location was this Pingshan Town, built on the Chita Peninsula for just over a year. However, he hadn’t reported for duty at the town hall yet. He wanted to take advantage of this leisure time to gather with his old brothers.
Well, all four of them, the Guo family brothers, had retired. He, being an officer, retired two years later, while Wan Cilang, Piao Sanlang, and Pen Silang only reached the rank of non-commissioned officer. After completing their mandatory service, they renewed their contracts for another two years as veteran soldiers. Then, as the Wanjin Army began to focus on conscripting “good family men” who had families, they kicked out these three bachelors after Odaka Castle was “recaptured.”
However, because the three of them had received “basic education” in the barracks, could read a few hundred characters, and knew some arithmetic, and because they had developed good obedience and discipline under the constant threat of execution, they were all absorbed into Wanjin’s civil service system after retirement. They all served as “civil servants” in the southern part of the Chita Peninsula.
Wan Cilang worked as a police officer in Southern City, Piao Sanlang was an office clerk at the Kizumura village office, and Pen Silang was responsible for militia training in Shimoage Village.
Of course, this was last year’s situation. Although Wanjin now had a postal system, making sending letters much easier and no longer relying on the irregular deliveries of traveling merchants, the four men weren’t that sentimental. Without any serious matters, they wouldn’t send letters to each other. So, five months into the year, Guo Tailang had no idea what the others were up to.
Anyway, he had sent a letter, telling those three guys to get their butts over to see him, their elder brother. He just didn’t know if they could find the time.
Guo Tailang sat waiting at the wine stall, watching the pedestrians hurry by, enjoying the leisurely peace, and suddenly felt a bit nostalgic for his barracks life.
The Wanjin Army’s military discipline was indeed strict, with frequent executions. But once you got used to it, it wasn’t that bad. As long as you didn’t intend to rape and pillage, slack off when carrying out orders, or be a coward in battle, you generally wouldn’t lose your head. Even if you made a minor mistake in daily life, the most severe punishment would be to dig manure pits and drive manure trucks. Once you got used to it, it was nothing.
On the contrary, the income in the army was very high. There were large allowances for marching and combat, as well as numerous other subsidies, making their income several times that of ordinary people. More importantly, food, clothing, housing, and transportation were all provided by the army, so they didn’t have to spend a single coin. Now that they were retired, such good times were over, and they would have to fend for themselves.
He was naturally quite frugal. Thinking that he could no longer freeload from Lord Yuan Ye, he felt a bit of regret.
More importantly, he had become accustomed to the barracks life, to the constant rows and columns of people. Now, sitting alone in the rain, he felt a strange melancholy.
To be honest, he still kind of wanted to continue being a soldier.
Being a soldier in Wanjin was glorious. In the past two years, he had often participated in disaster relief work. Occasionally, when he went out on leave, he would be widely respected by the public. Children would even follow him, looking at him with envious eyes, wanting to touch his military uniform. He actually enjoyed it. Unfortunately, his mind was too slow, and he always learned things a step behind others. After reaching the rank of flag captain, he couldn’t get promoted any further. He also couldn’t keep up with the newly promoted flag captains. In several military exercises, he either lost inexplicably or won by clinging to stronger allies, never standing out.
Guo Tailang watched the rain curtain, listened to the sound of the rain, and reminisced about his barracks life. His thoughts drifted, and even the wine tasted a bit bland. Just then, a familiar voice came from behind him: “Brother Tailang!”
Well, this wine stall was run by disaster victims. It was just an open-sided shed, accessible from three sides.
Guo Tailang turned his head and saw Piao Sanlang smiling. He immediately got up in surprise and greeted him, “Third brother, come sit down quickly.”
They had slept in the same room for a long time, endured digging manure pits under military discipline together, and fought side-by-side on the battlefield. Now, after almost two years apart, they were both filled with emotion upon meeting.
Guo Tailang signaled the stall owner to serve Piao Sanlang some wine, then asked with concern, “Where are the second and fourth brothers?”
He was previously stationed at the northern end of the Chita Peninsula, while these three brothers were all in the southern part. They were in closer contact and met more often.
Piao Sanlang took a sip of sake to warm himself and casually replied, “I don’t know, they should be here soon!”
“How are they doing now?” Guo Tailang refilled Piao Sanlang’s wine, very concerned about his old brother’s current situation. In a sense, these three, plus Shi Pusa, were the only relatives he had in this world.
“They’re still the same!” Piao Sanlang said with a laugh. “Second brother still wants to marry another woman and argues with his wife every day. Fourth brother is full of complaints, has failed matchmaking attempts repeatedly, and is working hard!”
Guo Tailang also laughed and cursed, “That second brother of ours…”
Wan Cilang had always been lecherous and thought about women every day in the barracks. In the early days, everyone in the Ninth Small Flag thought this guy would eventually be executed for violating military discipline. Fortunately, Wanjin Army executed a group of people fiercely when it was first established, which thoroughly scared him. He then only dared to talk about it and didn’t dare to look at women too much until he retired, thus surviving.
Then, the moment he retired, he got married and even had a daughter. But he wasn’t satisfied with just a wife and daughter and wanted to take another concubine. However, his wife was also formidable, with brothers and income, giving her a lot of confidence. She argued and fought with him at home every day. Last year, when Piao Sanlang and Pen Silang wrote letters, they mentioned it and mocked him severely.
This was a usual form of entertainment for their group of five. Wan Cilang would incessantly talk about women at night, and the three of them would laugh at him for amusement.
Piao Sanlang then spoke about Pen Silang’s misfortunes and asked with concern, “Brother Tailang, how is Shi Pusa?”
“Shi Pusa is also the same, continuing to be a flag captain.” Guo Tailang had mentioned this in a previous letter, but sighed, “However, when I left, I heard he was going to be promoted again, likely to deputy regiment commander!”
He never expected that among the five of them, the one who was doing the best was the slow-witted Shi Pusa. Although he joined the latest, he advanced one step each year and was about to become a high-ranking officer in the Wanjin Army, with the qualifications to govern a region independently.
However, he couldn’t complain. Wanjin was full of peasants, where the capable rose and the incapable fell. There was no room for connections, nor was there any way to establish them. Shi Pusa dared to fight and kill, always leading the charge. He had military merit, and although he was slow, he could often get to the core of issues when looking at things. In exercises, he could often win unexpectedly. Guo Tailang was convinced.
At least in exercises, he was convinced.
Guo Tailang sighed, feeling that if he had Shi Pusa’s brain, he probably wouldn’t have been relegated to the administrative system even if he failed the assessment. But Piao Sanlang wasn’t concerned about Shi Pusa’s career and immediately asked, “I’m not asking about that, I mean… how is he with that widow?”
“That widow!” This was also a topic they often discussed. Guo Tailang immediately said with interest, “Shi Pusa helped her open a shop with money last year. He goes to help whenever he has leave. I think the two of them have probably gotten together.”
“They got together after all?”
“Probably!”
“Isn’t she several years older than Shi Pusa?”
“Shi Pusa is still too young. When a woman wants to make a move on a man, the man can’t defend against it.”
“That’s true!”
Guo Tailang and Piao Sanlang discussed for a while longer whether Shi Pusa and the widow were having a fleeting affair. Then Guo Tailang asked with concern, “What about you, third brother? What are your plans now? Have you found a woman you like?”
Piao Sanlang shook his head. “I don’t plan to get married for now. I… resigned.”
“Resigned?” Guo Tailang was surprised and quickly asked, “Why did you resign out of the blue?”
Working at the village office was also a proper and good job, eating “imperial rations” just like any other. It was certainly better than farming, and many people wanted such a job but couldn’t get it. He couldn’t understand it for a moment. Piao Sanlang sighed, “I don’t really like patrolling river channels and mediating disputes all day. I still want to… want to go into business. I couldn’t get away before, but now that there’s nothing much going on, I just resigned.”
“You’re planning to sell candles, right?” Guo Tailang nodded in understanding. Just like Wan Cilang saving money to marry a wife, Piao Sanlang had been saving money to start a business since he joined the army. At that time, Tong Wulang had boasted about joining him, but Tong Wulang was later transferred to become a matchlock gunner and was killed early in the defense of Xin Wanjin, an arrow from a samurai of the Imagawa Family piercing his left eye from below the city.
“I plan to make lacquer seed wax. I’ve seen the demand for wax in workshops increasing over the past two years, and I think it can be profitable,” Piao Sanlang replied confidently, not acting on impulse. “In a couple more days, I’ll be heading to Xin Wanjin, where I’ll set up a small workshop. Do you remember Kame-no-suke from the Third Small Flag? He went to the ironware workshop after retiring. Now, the ironware workshop uses wax for lost-wax casting, and there’s not enough wax. He said I can sell wax directly to the ironware workshop.”
He had been planning this for a long time. When he retired, he wanted to continue working as a “civil servant” and see how things went. After all, he had been confined in the barracks for several years and was somewhat out of touch with the outside world. However, the Chita Peninsula had been hit by frequent natural disasters for two consecutive years, with typhoons and floods occurring together. Even though he disliked his job, he felt he couldn’t just resign.
That would be too much like deserting. Deserters were the most despised in the Wanjin Army. Even after retirement, his pride wouldn’t allow it. Moreover, Yuan Ye had bought him, fed him well, made him strong, taught him to read and write, and kept his promise to grant him freedom after his service. He didn’t want to leave during such a difficult time; it would be too ungrateful.
Guo Tailang didn’t think about these things. He just felt a bit regretful. He had the best relationship with Piao Sanlang, but he was going south while Piao Sanlang was going north. It seemed they still wouldn’t be able to spend much time together in the future.
However, as an elder brother, he naturally supported Piao Sanlang’s pursuit of his “ideal.” He immediately asked, “Is the money enough?”
If it wasn’t enough, he could lend some or invest in a share. He had saved a considerable amount of money during his five or six years in the army. However, he had given up on his own “ideal” of buying a piece of land to farm properly and planned to work as a “civil servant” until he died.
“It’s enough!”
Piao Sanlang had also saved a lot of money during his time in the army, as had Wan Cilang and Pen Silang. Otherwise, Wan Cilang wouldn’t have been clamoring to marry another concubine. He wasn’t short of startup capital and said with full confidence, “If it’s not enough when I get to Xin Wanjin, I’ll ask Lord Yuan Ye for a loan. He promised that if we wanted to start a business, Lord Yuan Ye would lend us money interest-free. He always keeps his word.”
“Lord Yuan Ye is a good person, he will definitely keep his word…” Guo Tailang sighed sincerely.
In his opinion, Yuan Ye was an excellent lord. In the past two years, there had been frequent floods and typhoons, and various famines. Yuan Ye actively provided disaster relief and saved countless lives. Moreover, he treated retired soldiers well, arranging jobs and providing various special privileges, as if he were afraid they would starve to death. It felt like his years of service hadn’t been in vain; it was worth it!
If it were those samurai and local lords, they wouldn’t care about the lives of commoners. In fact, during disasters and famines, these samurai and local lords would exploit them even more, trying to find ways to compensate for their losses.
Honestly, it was just that Yuan Ye thought he lacked potential and didn’t want him anymore. If Yuan Ye had been willing to keep him, he wouldn’t have minded fighting for Wanjin for a few more years.
“Indeed, Lord Yuan Ye is a good person!” Piao Sanlang also affirmed sincerely. In a sense, Yuan Ye had changed his destiny, given him a future, allowed him to eat his fill, and provided him with the capital to realize his dreams. Just being able to eat his fill was something he couldn’t even dream of before.
He directly raised his cup and said, “To Lord Yuan Ye, to Wanjin!”
The two Wanjin men clinked their cups and drank it all down, sincerely hoping that Wanjin would get better and better.
Only when Wanjin gets better and better will they, the people of Wanjin, get better and better!
Only then will they live like human beings!
