“Brother Liang, in Munan’s current state she is clearly unfit to continue leading the suppression team.”
Jin Feng turned to Zhang Liang. “I’ll go talk to her in a moment. If she is willing to hand over the soldier tally, the team will temporarily fall under your command.”
“Will that work?” Zhang Liang hesitated.
From ancient times, moving troops had always been a grave matter, so in Zhang Liang’s mind the soldier tally was something almost sacred.
“I’ll ask her. I don’t think there’ll be a problem,” Jin Feng replied.
In a certain sense, the Changxin Army and Qingyuan Army were the private forces of the Qing family. Otherwise the Governor of Western Sichuan would never have been able to mobilise them for bandit suppression so casually.
This also revealed just how deeply Great Kang neglected military matters and how rotten the system had become.
Mobilising several thousand men, the Governor had simply raised Zhenyuan Escort Bureau’s banner and decided everything himself.
Unless something unexpected happened, Emperor Chen Ji in the palace would probably never hear about it in his entire life.
After finishing the instructions about hunting Mr Feng, Jin Feng left the tent and walked over to Qing Munan.
The normally dashing and heroic Qing Munan had lost all her spirit. She had not washed her face for days, her hair was a tangled mess, and she looked utterly wretched.
Even when Jin Feng stood right in front of her, she did not notice and remained lost in thought.
Seeing her like this, Jin Feng gave a quiet sigh.
Everyone needs time and hardship to grow. Qing Munan was no exception.
Up to now she had been, at best, an armchair strategist who loved military affairs. This was her first time actually commanding troops, and she had immediately run into an opponent like Mr Feng.
Jin Feng knew she was a proud person. This failure had struck her hard.
If she could pull through, she would make enormous progress.
But if she could not, she might sink completely and end up like most young ladies of wealthy families in this era: married off by her parents to some well-matched rich young master and locked away in a deep courtyard for the rest of her days.
It was rare to meet someone from a rich family willing to speak up for women. Jin Feng did not want to give up on Qing Munan so easily.
Yet he could not make an exception for her either.
That would not only break the rules, it would also chill the hearts of the families of the sixty escorts who had died, and of all the escorts who remained.
After thinking for a moment, Jin Feng lightly kicked her. “Hey, come back to earth!”
“S-sir!”
Startled, Qing Munan looked up at Jin Feng and hurriedly tried to smooth the hair hanging over her forehead, suddenly at a loss.
“Are you planning to just sit here staring into space forever?”
Jin Feng waved to A-Mei nearby and had her fetch a stone for him to sit on.
“Sir, am I completely useless?”
Qing Munan rubbed her hair, her face full of guilt. “You wiped out all the bandits in Jinchuan with far fewer men and barely lost anyone. I had over a thousand troops, plus the heavy crossbows and trebuchets you sent, and still…”
At this point the normally strong-willed Qing Munan choked up and could not continue.
“Munan, you did indeed make an irreparable mistake this time,” Jin Feng said, softening his tone a little. “Everyone makes mistakes. I did too. I underestimated the enemy.
After clearing Jinchuan of bandits, I assumed they were all just trash and didn’t take them seriously enough.
I knew perfectly well you had never commanded troops in battle before, yet I handed you five thousand men at once.”
This was not just comforting Qing Munan; it was Jin Feng’s own reflection.
He had indeed been arrogant this time. He had forgotten how long he had planned and how much effort he had spent just to deal with the bandits of one county.
If dealing with one county’s bandits had required all that, the difficulty of what Qing Munan faced, clearing the whole of Western Sichuan, was obvious.
“Sir, you trusted me. That’s why you gave me the troops.”
Qing Munan shook her head in self-reproach. “It’s all my fault. I wasn’t good enough…”
“What use is saying that now? Can your apology bring A-Qin and the others back to life?
The mistake is made. I’m giving you two choices. Pick one yourself.”
“First: the Qingyuan Army and Changxin Army return to their camps separately. The suppression campaign ends here.”
“Second: the suppression team is temporarily placed under Brother Liang’s command. You return, accept punishment according to Zhenyuan Escort Bureau regulations, and take it properly!”
Jin Feng had expected her to think about it, but the moment he finished speaking, Qing Munan answered at once, “Sir, I’ll accept punishment!”
“You need to think carefully. Last time Da Zhuang made a command error that got escorts killed, he was sentenced to twenty strokes. Your mistake is far graver than his. I estimate at least forty.
Da Zhuang’s punishment was postponed because he was wounded. You’re perfectly healthy. If you accept it, it will be carried out immediately. Are you sure?”
“Forty strokes?!”
Before Qing Munan could reply, A-Mei exploded. “Sir, no! Forty strokes will kill Miss! His Lordship the Governor would never agree!”
“If you think it’s unacceptable, then take your people and get out of my sight!”
Jin Feng turned to A-Mei, his voice suddenly rising. “At Zhenyuan Escort Bureau there are only escorts. There are no young ladies!”
“This maid is willing to take Miss’s punishment!”
Seeing Jin Feng truly angry, A-Mei quickly clasped her fists and begged.
“A-Mei, enough.”
Qing Munan pulled her back. “A person must bear the consequences of their own actions!”
“Miss…” Even the usually calm A-Mei had red eyes now.
Forty military strokes sounded simple, but few ordinary people could endure them.
“I’ll give you one night to think it over. Give me a definite answer tomorrow morning.”
“Sir, I’ve already made my choice. I don’t need to think.”
Qing Munan’s voice gradually grew firm. “My father taught me from childhood that when you’re wrong you admit it. Even if you no longer let me stay at Xihe Bay, I will take my punishment first and then return to Western Sichuan.”
Jin Feng looked deeply at her once more, said nothing else, and turned to leave.
That night Qing Munan did not return to her tent. Instead she went to the tent where the fallen escorts lay, leant on a black blade, and stood guard outside keeping vigil for the dead.
Around eight or nine o’clock, muffled thunder rolled overhead and heavy rain began to fall.
It was already late autumn; the night was very cold. No matter how A-Mei pleaded, Qing Munan refused to go inside.
A-Mei had no choice but to fetch an umbrella and hold it over her.
Yet the wind rose in the night. No matter how carefully A-Mei shielded her, rain still soaked both of Qing Munan’s legs.
Jin Feng did not try to stop her. He let her stand in the rain all night.
Autumn rain, once it starts, goes on forever. The next morning the downpour still had not stopped, and Qing Munan still stood in the rain.
Now Jin Feng began to worry.
Taking advantage of a brief clearing around mid-morning, he immediately had Da Liu prepare to march home.
When A-Mei heard they were heading back, she breathed a huge sigh of relief.
These past few days Qing Munan had barely eaten or slept. One more day in the rain and she would collapse from cold long before any military punishment.
A-Mei was just about to go tell her when a pigeon landed on her shoulder.
A small strip of paper, wrapped in oilcloth, was tied to its leg.
A-Mei removed it, unfolded it, and her face instantly changed.
She rushed to Qing Munan. “Miss, His Highness is coming!”
