Dong Zhou wrote:...
"What the city needs during a time of tension is an armed group under the authority of one man? We have guards and soldiers who are at least answerable to the city, to the commanders and to the civil authorities, as conflicted as that may be. Who would your militia be answerable to?"
Li Jun was getting quite worked up, she wasn't shouting yet but her voice was rising.
"I will not be remembered by history but whoever is in charge of Wan, I will seek to maintain peace on the streets, to ensure the law is upheld. If armed groups start forming then this city will not find stability. If you go ahead with raising your own troops, I will do all I can to oppose you and restore order."
"Relax... your guards and soldiers, as long as they do their duty to protect the city and its people, then I don't see there would be any conflict between them and the group I had in mind. If you find me or my men, breaking law and disturbing order, then be my guess, do what you see fit to do."
"We just want to protect our loved one. Our parents, spouses, kids, sisters... when no one seem to care about us. If you ask to who, we will be answerable to, then that would be my answer."
"You all busy with your struggle for power and I guess later you all are going to be busy at preparing battle. Not that it's wrong. In this situation, I guess that's just the right thing to do. After all, no one can live in peace if the rebel win. But then, once you recruit our young and strong one, who is left to protect the old? The little ones? The sick and disabled? Don't act like you're omnipotent and omniscience being who could be everywhere at the same time. When you lead your soldiers and guards to battle, can you watch over the family whose their men been drafted to serve your army?"
"Can you even guarantee that none of your beloved guards and soldiers, might use their authority to take advantage over us? Don't forget, I've been in the army for years... serving the glorious Han dynasty. Even guards and soldiers are human with their own flaws and desires. Some truly deserved to be called heroes, but I won't be so blind to think that none of them would be tempted by their greed and even acted upon it."
"And guess what? Just a few days ago, one of my neighbor told me a story, about bunch of guards drinking and getting drunk while they're on duty, in the middle of the day. Do you really think bunch of people like that can give us civilians sense of security!?"
"And you know what? Who do you think, the worst people I ever see in my life? Yes, you guess it right... soldiers... guards... especially when bunch of self righteous bastard decide that being a soldiers means that they deserve to be treated better, that they are above other people! Self righteous bastards who think that their ranks and position, means they have the right to decide who should live and who should die!"
"Oh.. let's send those new recruits as bait for our enemy. Put those old and disabled at front, let them absorb the enemy charges. Get those who are heavily injured back home, we have no use of them here. Back home? To live like beggars? Who cares, as long as they help their glorious generals to win the war and be the hero of our country."
Li Jun's raised voice, seemed to rile the middle aged veteran, it could be seen from his voice that grew louder as he answered. But it seem that he finally let off all the frustration out of his chest and his grew calmer.
Slowly Huang Dong turned his head toward the empty class, he sounded tired when he spoke, "Can't you see that people are scared? Those who should protect them, left them. Those who stay, are busy at eyeing the empty seat. Maybe once we have any functioning government, people will slowly regain their trust. But at least, for now, they need some sense of security."
"The men I gather..., do you think we have enough money to buy swords or spears or leather armors? <chuckle bitterly> If you see us as a threat, I believe you can send some of your men to slaughter us all. You won't even need to send tens of them."
"...we might not have any decent weapon and the strength to win against trained men. Against people who are used to violence. But together, we could at least make those who want to take advantage over the lack of public safety, think twice before commit any crime. Small time thieves... drunkards... the local bullies... And if any of your
'guards' think he could use his authority to bully one of us... hmph! I'll show him a move or two."
"Of course, I have no power to protect everyone, but at least I hope I can protect those near me. Those children..., my pupils... Elder Zhang who live across the street... Aunty Yu and her daughter..., my friend's family..."
His shoulder slumped down as he felt powerless and tired.
As she tried to calm down, she did give his naval plan as fair mind as she could manage but she had no naval experience.
"I am not a naval expert like Liu Shentong and Liao Ju but wouldn't it be better to have strong ships and strong troops to try to hold the river? The river has two routes the rebels could go down so how many naval commanders would you need?"
Huang Dong yawned, he didn't get enough sleep last night, "Well, since you know those naval experts, then I think you can ask them. I'm just old and tired veteran. Useless in real battle but if the rebel have no one who have experience and no ship of their own, then a naval commander could lead a relatively small and inexperienced troop to stop them."
Huang Dong scratched his chin, "Hmm... maybe 3 or 4 units of 1000 men could do. There is no 100% guarantee in war but the chance is good. Of course it all depend on how the rebel deploy their troop and the skill of their generals. That's why we need information."
"The river has two routes, but it's not like our army will stand like a statue. We will move in accord the movement of our enemies. The point is, they must cross the river if they want to reach our city. So I don't think as long as those who lead that units have their brain and eyes, we have a good chance to stop the rebel. Once again, with one condition, the rebel have no one who understand naval battle."
"The problem is... the river is closer to Xiang Yang than Wan. If we want to block them at the river, then we should dispatch our troop as soon as possible. I don't think it is a big problem. After all we only need a handful of them, the rest could stay in Wan to be trained. We could post them near the river and act based on the situation. If we see that the enemies are well equipped (ship, bows?) and the generals know what they're doing (navy skill), it won't be too late for this unit to retreat. It took times for the rebel to cross the river and by the time they reach the northern shore, our troop will already reach the safety of our city."
Huang Dong stood in silence for a while, he seemed to think about something.
"Well, actually there is nothing to lose by dispatching our troop toward the river. Even if the enemy proved to be too hard. There might be many opportunity to harass some of their weakest unit. Something we will never know until the battle started. A commander with good judgment can do many things. But if we don't dispatch any army, even if there is a good chance to weaken the rebel's army to our advantage, there won't be no one who could do about it."
He straightened his back and said, "I believe, if you don't dispatch any unit to guard along the river, then you might regret about it later. But if you do, even if the rebel's army proved to be too strong and don't have any weaknesses for us to take advantage. You won't lose anything."