Top Scholar

Chapter 156 Settling the Karma
In addition to the civil service training system, the Ming Dynasty also had a military officer training system, although it was rather rudimentary. For example, there were local military examinations and metropolitan military examinations, but no military academy examinations or palace examinations, so there were no military scholars or military champions.

In addition, there was a school system for training military officers. In the capital, it was called the Imperial Guard Martial Academy, and in the provinces, it was called the Guard Martial Academy. For example, the Guard Martial Academy in Luzhou educated young officials, hereditary officials, and martial arts students from various garrisons.

Only martial arts students could participate in the triennial martial arts provincial examination. Commander Ma knew that Su Tai would definitely be the next member of the Su family to join the army, so he wanted Su Tai to take the path of the martial arts examination, which was much more promising than starting as a junior officer!
The problem is that Yongning Guard doesn't have its own martial arts academy, so the young men who need to take over the family all have to study at Luzhou Guard's martial arts academy. In the future, Ma Qianli will inevitably have to go there to study as well...

Moreover, what outsiders may not know, Ma Qianhu knows very well that although martial arts may seem insignificant, its value is not much different from that of the prefectural and county schools.

Firstly, all three types of students in the martial arts academy—young military officers, those who inherit military titles, and martial arts students—will eventually become officers of various ranks. Secondly, these officers mostly serve in the same military command or even garrison, naturally forming small cliques that monopolize various military resources.

Those officers who rose through the ranks from the bottom would never be able to enter this small clique; they basically only reached the level of a centurion...

Therefore, getting into the Imperial Academy is not so easy. Commander Ma could only send his grandson in, but he couldn't guarantee that Su Tai could also get in. That's why he wanted to take advantage of this victory to secure this rare opportunity for Su Tai.

Su Youcai had never eaten pork but had seen pigs run, so he agreed on the spot without discussing it with his father.

Of course, the old man was also very happy. This time, not only did he not leave the table, but he also toasted Magistrate Lu and Commander Ma several times.

“Brother, you’re too kind. We’re brothers, so we’ll definitely help each other and help the kids improve together,” Ma Qianhu said with a big laugh, putting his arm around his shoulder.

"You've done such a great service this time, can you also be promoted?" the old man asked.

“Impossible.” Commander Ma gave a wry smile and said, “I’m sixty years old this year, age catches up with me.”

"If only the commander were ten years younger," Zhou, the centurion, quickly remarked. While martial artists might not be the best at flattery, their enthusiasm was second to none.

“If I were ten years younger, I’d be a centurion like you when I go back.” Commander Ma’s bitter smile deepened. “Such a big operation, and I didn’t report it. Even if I can explain it on the surface, how could the commander not be furious?”

"Indeed." Everyone nodded in agreement.

But there was no other way, because if we reported it, the commander would definitely not agree... Although both Yongning Guard and Luzhou Guard border Hejiang County and have the obligation to assist in its defense, Shangbaisha Water Village is located between Luzhou and Hejiang, far away from Yongning Guard, so it is obviously more appropriate for Luzhou Guard to take the lead in eliminating it...

Although there was no procedural impropriety in Ma Qianhu's deployment this time, it was indeed suspected of overstepping his bounds and even humiliating the Luzhou Guard... It would be strange if the commander agreed to it.

He knew all this perfectly well, but he still indulged himself a little before retiring. First, money is a powerful motivator; he had spent his whole life farming in the mountains and never made as much money as he had this one time.

Secondly, his brothers had followed him for over a decade or two, and he had to give them a chance to make a name for themselves and get rich.

Furthermore, it also helped Erlangjiu establish a foothold in the county town, which was related to his retirement savings...

And most importantly, we forged an unbreakable alliance with the Su family. We fought side by side; that's a bond forged in life-or-death situations!

Moreover, he estimated that although Ma was currently stronger than Su, in less than ten years, the situation would shift to Su being stronger than Ma. At that point, it would be difficult for the Ma family to curry favor with the Su family. Therefore, he figured that giving them as much as possible now would be a million times more effective than forcing them to cooperate later.
~~
"You'll be demoted again?" Sure enough, the old man asked worriedly.

Commander Ma was very pleased, as this meant that Su Dacheng finally considered him one of his own, and he smiled and said:

"Don't worry, old brother. I'm already sixty years old. Why would he want to mess with me? Besides, if he kicks out old Ma, who will protect the peace of Taiping Town?"

He then smiled slyly and said, "The commander will wait for me to retire. But as long as he doesn't touch me, I'll stay here as long as I can."

“How about Brother Ma and his brothers go to Luzhou tomorrow to meet the new Huang Bingxian? He’s different from the previous ones… When I reported to him the other day, he told you not to worry.”

"Is that so?" Commander Ma was tempted, but after thinking about it, he shook his head and said, "That would be going overboard. If we go back like that, we'll really get a hard time."

"Sigh, alright. I'll do my best to smooth things over for you." Magistrate Lu sighed apologetically. He was able to report directly to the military commissioner because he had the prefect's approval; the commander of Yongning Guard was still in the dark.

The full name of the military commissioner of Luzhou was "Xuzhou-Luzhou Military Commissioner and concurrently Inspector". The military commissioner and inspector held the same positions and had the power of military supervision over two prefectures, three guards and one pacification commissioner. Huang Ke, the deputy provincial inspector of Sichuan, was appointed as the commissioner.

The one who should have reported to Huang Bingxian was the commander. If Commander Ma had bypassed the commander and reported directly, it would have been far more serious than him deploying troops without permission.

After all, the latter could be excused by saying "the situation was urgent and I acted on my own initiative," but there is no excuse for reporting to a higher-level superior. Any boss would get rid of him, even if he was close to retirement.

~~
Seeing that the atmosphere at the table was a bit dull, Commander Ma raised his wine cup and said with a smile, "Brother Lu, there's no need for that. Before accepting your invitation, I had already thought it through. I won't regret doing this!"

As he spoke, he began to sing in a high-pitched voice: "In this life, one must do a few things without regard for personal gain or loss. I am about to retire from the military and return to my hometown. How delightful it would be to rid the people of a scourge!"

"Well said!" The crowd applauded and, led by Magistrate Lu, raised their glasses to toast Commander Ma's fervent spirit!
Commander Ma drank the cup to the brim, then said to everyone, "Let's also toast our elderly parents together. From now on, we'll all rely on their protection!"

"Respect our elderly parents!" The members of the Taiping Thousand Household Office then joined their commander in offering a toast.

"Rest assured, everyone, as long as I, Lu, am here, I will definitely protect you all!" This time, Magistrate Lu didn't beat around the bush and readily agreed.

"Very well, now I can finally rest easy." Commander Ma happily toasted with Magistrate Lu. Then, the banquet transitioned into... well, I mean, free time.

Commander Ma then pulled the old man away from the banquet. Magistrate Lu, however, was completely bewildered by the flattery of his subordinates and gentry.

~~
The proprietress and Su Youcai left earlier and went back to her uncle's house on the back street.

Auntie had already packed their luggage and prepared food for the journey.

"Sister, are you leaving today?" The aunt was reluctant to part with the boss's wife and held her hand tightly.

"They're all family, why are you being so fussy?" the eldest aunt said bluntly. "The most important thing is to tell them to go back and earn money. Do you know how much it's cost to feed hundreds of people these days?"

"Yes. We have to earn back the money we spent." The proprietress was already used to the advanced way of addressing her as "aunt" and "grandmother," and said without changing her expression, "Today is the first day of the lunar month, hurry back, and you can still catch the big part of the temple fair."

"That's right! The women of our Su family not only don't hold their men back, but they're just as capable as men!" The eldest aunt was very pleased, feeling that her second brother's wife had her own unique style. As she spoke, she put her arm around Xiaotian and said:
"I can't help you with making money, but you don't need to worry about anything else!"

"Okay." The proprietress nodded with a smile and said to Xiaotian, "Then you should listen to your auntie."

"Mmm." Little Tiantian nodded and whispered, "Auntie's cooking is delicious."

"This child..." The proprietress gave a helpless, bitter smile. "He just keeps speaking the truth."

The group then escorted Su Youcai and the landlady to the dock, watching them board the crooked-bottomed boat and sail away down the Chishui River.

~~
In the evening, the crooked-bottomed boat arrived at Dabingtan.

Here, the valley is deep, with sheer cliffs on both sides, and a large area of ​​sharp rocky beaches in the middle of the river, like fangs and a gaping maw, as if to devour all passing ships.

Moreover, the river here has a huge drop, with a drop of several meters. Even in the dry season, the current is extremely rapid, which is not only very dangerous, but also makes it impossible for boatmen to go upstream on their own.

When the boat reached the shore, the boatman asked the passengers to disembark, and all the cargo on board had to be unloaded. He then sent the boatman to a nearby village to hire boatmen to pull the boat along, and of course, he would give them red envelopes (cash gifts) today.

Taking advantage of this time, Su Youcai accompanied the proprietress to a secluded spot on the beach.

Su Youcai found a flat area facing the riverbank, threw away the scattered pebbles, and said softly, "This will do."

After saying that, he quietly stepped aside.

The proprietress laid out the incense, candles, paper money, and two jars of Erlang wine from the basket. She then lit a pair of white candles and three incense sticks with a tinderbox, and began burning the paper money.

This is where the Ho brothers met their demise...

As she burned paper money, she told Da He about the events that had occurred over the past year.
"...I've already paid off all the debts you left behind. The Su family has avenged you for the person who killed you. I've even fulfilled your wish to sell Erlang wine in Hejiang County..." The proprietress murmured through her tears.

"As for my daughter and me, you don't need to worry about us anymore. We'll be fine. In short, all karma has been resolved, so go and be reborn in peace..."

As she spoke, she poured Erlang wine onto the nearly burnt-out paper money, and the fire suddenly intensified, bursting into blue flames and sending black ash into the sky.

The ashes swirled in the air a few times before finally dissipating like smoke in the mountain wind...

After paying her respects to her deceased husband, the proprietress wiped away her tears, resolutely turned around, and walked towards Su Youcai, who was waiting there, without ever looking back.

By this time, the boat trackers had already used ropes to pull the empty boat upstream, passing through the treacherous shoals, and, with the help of red envelopes, had even helped reload the cargo.

The boatman then called out to the two men from afar to board the boat.

"Let's go home." Su Youcai smiled as he looked at the relieved proprietress.

"Okay, let's go home." The landlady nodded and mustered up her courage to take his arm.

Su Youcai was taken aback and asked, "What happened? Did you sprain your ankle?"

"Nothing much." The proprietress gave him a shy nudge and whispered, "Anyway, things are getting worse by the time we explain, so it would be a waste not to do anything."

"Haha, that makes sense. They've already said it, so why should we be polite?" Su Youcai then held the proprietress's hand tightly and didn't let go the whole way.

(End of this chapter)