Chinese Generals Summoning System

Chapter 33: Cheng Yi’s Background

Upon returning to the residence in the western part of the city, Liu Ji did not tell anyone—including the several military commanders he had summoned—about his plans to go to Qianzhou to guard the border. He would wait until his father had finished taking the medicine prescribed by Doctor Zhang before saying anything. After leaving the Chen family’s residence, Liu Ji suddenly felt that his agreement to guard the border in Qianzhou had been a bit rash. It wasn’t that he was afraid to go to Qianzhou, but rather that if Doctor Zhang’s prescription proved ineffective against the toxins in his father Liu Hao’s body, the situation would become dire. At the time, he should have insisted that the Chen family take full responsibility for treating his father, Liu Hao, until he was fully recovered—only then would he agree to serve on the frontier in Qianzhou. Unfortunately, in the heat of the moment, he hadn’t thought things through and had simply hoped that Doctor Zhang’s ancestral prescription would work. The Chen family acted swiftly. That very day, they dispatched a steward accompanied by several servants carrying gold, who rode fast horses to the prefectural capital of Cangtong to purchase black rhinoceros horn. The very next day, Chen Yan personally delivered five qian of black rhinoceros horn to the mansion in the western part of the city. However, it cost the Chen family 440 taels of gold to purchase those five qian of black rhinoceros horn. Chen Yan then sent someone to invite Dr. Zhang to the residence on the western outskirts of the city. All the other ingredients listed in the prescription had been gathered and were carried by one of Dr. Zhang’s apprentices. Dr. Zhang examined the black rhinoceros horn, nodded in satisfaction, and then instructed his apprentice to divide the five qian of black rhinoceros horn into five portions and add them to the five packets of herbs. After Liu Hao had finished drinking all five doses of the decoction over the course of two days, his complexion had returned to normal, and his high fever had subsided after just two doses. He was now able to get out of bed and walk slowly for a short while. Doctor Zhang returned to the residence on the west side of the city to take Liu Hao’s pulse, then announced that the toxins in Liu Hao’s body had been completely purged; he only needed to rest quietly for a while longer before making a full recovery. Liu Ji immediately expressed his deepest gratitude to Dr. Zhang. Although the Chen family had already settled the consultation and medication fees, Liu Ji still slipped Dr. Zhang 20 taels of silver to thank him for saving his father’s life. Chen Yan, who had been staying at the residence in the western part of the city for the past two days, saw that Liu Hao was no longer in any serious danger. After a moment’s hesitation, he walked over to Liu Ji and said in a low voice, “The day after tomorrow is our departure for Qianzhou. Your maternal grandfather has already persuaded County Magistrate Wang Ji. Magistrate Wang has agreed to let you replace your eldest maternal uncle in guarding the border at Qianzhou, and he has also appointed you as a Captain of Qi County. I have the appointment documents and the Captain’s identification token right here with me. I’ve also brought the deeds to the two shops and the land title for 200 mu of paddy fields. They’ve all been registered with the county government office. All you need to do is affix your thumbprint, and these deeds will belong to your Liu family.” “All right, Second Uncle, give me all the documents! Where am I supposed to assemble the day after tomorrow?” “The day after tomorrow, go first to the Chen family’s ancestral home. After you’ve joined up with the 90 soldiers selected by our Chen family, your maternal grandfather will take you to the county yamen. There, you’ll find another 710 soldiers contributed by other powerful families in Qi County. All 800 of them will become your subordinates.” Liu Ji took the property deeds, land titles, the military commission for the rank of Xiao Wei, and the identification token that Chen Yan had given him. After glancing over them briefly, he tucked them into his robe, then stepped away from Liu Hao and Liu Tie and summoned Hua Xiong, Chen Hao, Yue Yi, You Tong, Liu Pi, Gong Du, and Cheng Yi to gather around him. These past few days, Cheng Yi had continued to use the alias Li Zhuo. However, he got along well with the other generals, smiled more often, and grew increasingly respectful toward Liu Ji. Over the past few days, the generals under Liu Ji’s command had engaged in some sparring with one another. To Cheng Yi’s great surprise, he never imagined that this young master of the Liu family would have so many formidable warriors under his command—especially Hua Xiong and Chen Hao. If he were to encounter either of them on the battlefield, he might not even last twenty rounds before being beheaded. Then there was Yue Yi—his martial skills were certainly no less than his own—while Liu Pi, Gong Du, and You Tong were only slightly inferior to him. It must be noted that Cheng Yi’s previous status was no small matter; he had once been the youngest captain in Fusu City, a key border stronghold in Qinzhou. Fusu City served as the prefectural seat of Fusu Commandery in Qinzhou. Despite his youth, Cheng Yi’s martial prowess ranked among the top five commanders of the Fusu City border garrison. Even against Zhang Baofeng, Fusuicheng’s most formidable warrior, Cheng Yi could hold his own for forty or fifty exchanges without being defeated. Early this year, more than a dozen Khitan tribes on the grasslands suddenly joined forces, amassing an army of approximately 150,000 to invade Qinzhou. They quickly laid siege to Fusuicheng, determined to finally remove this stumbling block that had repeatedly thwarted their southward advance. The nomadic peoples were not skilled at sieges, let alone against a fortress as sturdy as Fusu City. Although the border garrison’s officers and soldiers struggled even to put food on the table due to the imperial court’s arrears in military pay—which had caused a large number of them to desert—and compounded by the widespread practice of military commanders in the Great Jin Dynasty drawing salaries without actually serving,the border garrison at Fushui City—which should have been at full strength of 40,000—barely numbered 10,000 when the Khitan army laid siege to the city. A captain like Cheng Yi would normally command a force of about 1,000 men, but in reality, he had only a little over 400 under his command. However, all 400-plus were cavalry, and they constituted the only remaining cavalry unit in Fusui City. Yet even with the Fusu City garrison’s insufficient strength, the 150,000-strong Khitan coalition army, despite besieging Fusu City for more than half a month, failed to breach its walls and suffered nearly 8,000 casualties of their own. The Khitan coalition was forced to continue besieging Fusu City while raiding other parts of Fusu Commandery; ultimately, they retreated to the grasslands with nearly 50,000 Jin people they had captured. As the Khitan army retreated, Cheng Yi and his cavalry were dispatched from Fusu City. Following their superior’s orders, they were tasked with monitoring the Khitan forces to verify whether they had indeed returned to the grasslands. During the defense of Fusu City, the more than 400 cavalrymen under Cheng Yi’s command did not participate in the fighting; the commander of the Fusu garrison was by no means willing to commit his only cavalry unit to the brutal siege. Consequently, when Cheng Yi witnessed the Khitans indiscriminately slaughtering the captured citizens of the Great Jin, he could no longer contain himself. He led his force of over 400 cavalrymen in a charge against the rear ranks of the Khitan army—even though the number of Khitan cavalrymen in those rear ranks far outnumbered the 400-plus riders under Cheng Yi’s command. After a fierce battle, Cheng Yi and his troops managed to kill nearly 600 Khitan soldiers. However, because they were surrounded by a force of Khitan cavalry more than ten times their size, they suffered heavy casualties themselves. Crucially, the Khitan cavalry had already set a trap in the rear ranks; in the end, aside from Cheng Yi, who escaped wounded, all 400-plus cavalrymen under his command were wiped out. After Cheng Yi fled back to Fusu City, the commander of the border garrison there flew into a rage,for Cheng Yi’s cavalry unit was the last fully organized cavalry force under his command. What infuriated the commander even more was that one of the military officers under Cheng Yi’s command was his own nephew. In a fit of rage, the commander of the Fusu City border garrison immediately ordered that Cheng Yi be dragged out and beheaded; no amount of pleading from the other border garrison commanders could dissuade him. Just as Cheng Yi thought his death was certain, his close friend—Zhang Baofeng, the most formidable warrior in Fusui City—suddenly charged onto the execution ground. With a few punches and kicks, he knocked the officers and soldiers preparing for the execution to the ground. He then led a warhorse over and urged Cheng Yi to flee immediately. Cheng Yi didn’t want to drag his friend into this, but Zhang Baofeng assured him he’d be fine—as the commander-in-chief’s trusted and favored general, the worst that could happen to him was a few lashes afterward. Cheng Yi was an orphan raised by an old Taoist priest, from whom he had also learned martial arts. After the old priest passed away from illness, the 18-year-old Cheng Yi joined the border troops of the Great Jin Dynasty. After fleeing Fusu City, Cheng Yi had nowhere to go and was forced to wander aimlessly. Unwilling to become a bandit, he eventually, out of sheer necessity for a full meal, found himself—by a stroke of luck—among the disaster victims recruited by the Chen family. Later, he was recruited by Liu Ji to serve under him as a stablehand. Liu Ji told the seven military commanders exactly what was happening—that he was about to replace his uncle Chen Qi to garrison the border at Qianzhou—which immediately filled them with righteous indignation toward the Chen family. Chen Hao even said angrily, “My lord, your maternal grandfather is utterly shameless. Why don’t I go and chop off that old man’s head for you!” Liu Ji waved his hand and said, “Chen Hao, don’t do anything rash. He is, after all, my maternal grandfather. Besides, the Chen family did save my father’s life. Everyone, get ready—we’ll be setting out the day after tomorrow!” Liu Ji then turned to Cheng Yi and asked, “Brother Li Zhuo, we’re about to head to Qianzhou to garrison the border. I wonder what your plans are?” “Brother Li Zhuo, come with us!” Le Yi suddenly said to Cheng Yi in a solemn voice. “That’s right! Brother Li Zhuo, wouldn’t it be exhilarating for us all to go and slay the barbarians together?” Hua Xiong added. Liu Pi, Gong Du, and You Tong also urged Cheng Yi to go with them to Qianzhou. Only Chen Hao scratched his head, puzzled as to why Li Zhuo wouldn’t be going to Qianzhou, given that they were all the lord’s personal guards. Cheng Yi clenched his teeth and suddenly dropped to one knee before Liu Ji. “Young Master, my real name isn’t Li Zhuo—that’s just an alias. My real name is Cheng Yi!”