Chapter 416: A Name That Shakes the World

To the common folk of Xiangyang, last night's bandit raid was like an unreal nightmare. Fortunately, the nightmare came quickly and left just as fast — that General Dingguo led troops to the rescue, swiftly defeated the bandits, and drove them out of the city.

They held the four gates, then searched out and wiped out the remaining bandits within the city, suppressing lawless elements who were looting in the chaos. By the hour of the Ox, peace had been restored in every street and alley.

Some scattered government office runners and soldiers were rounded up and sent out beating brass gongs, announcing to every ward and neighborhood that the city was now safe and everyone could come outside.

When people came out onto the streets, the streets were perfectly clean. Had it not been for a few remaining bloodstains, they would have thought the previous night had been nothing but a dream.

There was, of course, one difference: the streets now had more armored warriors with unfamiliar accents riding sturdy horses, constantly patrolling every lane and alley, so that anyone with ill intentions dared not make a move.

These soldiers were clearly no ordinary troops, and the common folk kept their distance in awe.

Fortunately, as long as one did not break the law, those soldiers would not bother them. People's hearts settled, and they began heatedly discussing the events of the previous night. Every teahouse and tavern was packed the moment it opened, and all kinds of rumors flew everywhere — all about the Bandit Xian and that General Dingguo.

By the time the commoners who had fled outside the city returned in droves, Xiangyang had regained its former bustle.

Wang Dou took command from the western gate tower of Xiangyang, his subordinates constantly reporting to him on all developments inside and outside the city.

After Li Guangheng pursued the enemy straight out the south gate, because a portion of the bandits had scattered toward the southeast of Xiangyang, he detached a unit to chase and kill them. After the bandits within the city had been completely wiped out, Wang Dou also dispatched two cavalry units to join the extermination in the southeast.

During the pursuit of the fleeing bandits, near the Yang family river, the Shunxiang Army soldiers also discovered a group of routed government troops who were plundering merchants and commoners. After a charge and assault, the remainder were all captured — about a hundred or more. That unit's Squad Commander requested instructions on how to deal with these men.

It turned out that their leader was a government Company Commander, said to have some connection with the "Bandit-Pacifying General" Zuo Liangyu — his younger sister was currently Zuo Liangyu's favored concubine. Those captured were also arrogant to a man. Their accents varied, and interrogation revealed that many among them were former bandit surrenders or men recruited from various places to serve as soldiers and earn their keep — not all were natives of Huguang.

Wang Dou gazed out beyond the city walls and said flatly, "Lock them up together with those captured bandits and local thugs. Deal with them all together after the Xiangyang matter is settled!"

Xie Yike, standing beside Wang Dou, heard this and said contemptuously, "These government troops — useless at killing bandits, but quite adept at harming the common people. Hearing about them reminds me of the beasts I used to see in Baoanzhou and Yongning."

Wang Dou gave a cold snort. "Falling into my hands — that's just their bad luck."

The men of the central army staff exchanged smiles. They all knew the General's killing intent had been stirred. In the past, in places like Baoanzhou, he had killed countless such military scum. Running into the General's hands was indeed their misfortune.

Just then, a squad of Night Scouts came rolling in along the official road at full gallop, shouting at the top of their lungs as they rode: "Great victory, great victory! A great victory for the Shunxiang Army! Great victory, great victory — the bandits are destroyed, the Bandit Xian is slain! Great victory, great victory — the Bandit Mo is slain…"

With a roar, everyone who heard the news erupted.

Wang Dou was overjoyed as well. After the Night Scout Squad Commander reported the details in full, he burst out laughing.

Excellent. Zhang Xianzhong was finally dead. His painstaking planning had not been in vain.

The Bandit Xian was dead, killed by the troops of General Dingguo. The news spread swiftly, and at once the whole city was in an uproar.

Upon receiving the news, Military Defense Vice Commissioner Zhang Kejian, Xiangyang Prefect Wang Chengceng, and others hurried over. Seeing Wang Dou, they asked, "We hear the Bandit Xian is dead — is this true?"

Wang Dou replied, "Of course. My troops are currently pursuing and exterminating the remaining bandits. They will return soon, and then you may see the Bandit Xian's corpse for yourselves."

Zhang Kejian and the others were all visibly delighted, each murmuring, "Wonderful, wonderful…"

Zhang Kejian and Wang Chengceng exchanged a glance. Zhang Kejian said, "Your esteemed unit has slain a great bandit, relieved the nation of calamity, and eased His Majesty's worry — you have rendered a peerless and extraordinary service! As Military Defense Commissioner, how can I not show my appreciation? I shall go ten li beyond the city to welcome you!"

"Oh?"

Wang Dou studied them for a moment, then said, "Very well. We shall go out of the city to welcome them."

By now, Zhang Kejian had already rounded up some scattered government troops. He selected a subordinate officer with close ties to him, led some soldiers, and together with the various officials of Xiangyang, some village elders from each ward, and a ceremonial music troupe, they proceeded with drums and fanfare, accompanying Wang Dou and his men out of the city.

The people of Xiangyang, upon hearing the news, flocked to the city's western gate. From just outside the west gate, along the official road by the moat, all the way to the West Main Street area inside the city — everywhere was packed with crowds.

Ten li west of Xiangyang, there stood a memorial archway on the official road, with a Welcoming Officials Pavilion beside it. Wang Dou, leading his Guard Commander, central army staff, and Zhang Kejian's party, waited together by the pavilion.

Around the hour of the Sheep, the sound of hoofbeats like thunder came from ahead — great masses of cavalry, a dark tide pressing forward. Seeing that imposing sight, Zhang Kejian, the assembled officials, and the Xiangyang soldiers were all stunned. They had not imagined that besides the formidable cavalry within Xiangyang, Wang Dou still had so many elite riders outside — no wonder he had been able to destroy the Bandit Xian.

Swiftly, the great army arrived before the memorial archway, and the entire force dismounted.

Wen Fangliang, Gao Shiyin, and Li Guangheng stepped out from the ranks and strode before Wang Dou. They pushed aside the mountains and toppled the jade pillars — they knelt before Wang Dou: "We salute the General!" Armor clanged as the entire army behind them knelt in unison and roared, "We salute the General!"

Wang Dou extended his hand and said in a deep voice, "All officers and men have toiled bitterly!"

The multitude roared back, "We are willing to die for the General!"

The shout shook the four fields. The faces of the Xiangyang contingent all changed color; they trembled and dared not move.

Gao Shiyin suddenly stood up and shouted, "Bring it forth!"

At once, an armored soldier stepped forward and hurled a head before the memorial archway, roaring, "One bandit head!"

Another armored soldier came forward, threw down a head, and likewise bellowed, "One bandit head!"

Yet another man came forward and threw down a head.

And another…

Gradually, the official road before the memorial archway became piled with heads. Zhang Kejian and the others drew sharp breaths. So many heads — could it be that all the bandits of Xian's division who had raided Xiangyang had been completely wiped out?

Several armored soldiers dragged over a few corpses and announced, "Here are the bodies of the bandit commanders Bai Wenxuan, Ma Wu, and Wang Xingguo, and the Bandit Xian's adopted son Liu Wenxiu!"

Zhang Kejian and the others stepped forward to examine them. Indeed, they were the chief commanders of the Bandit Xian's force — the bandits of his division. Together with Ai Nengqi, who had been killed inside the city, the Bandit Xian's entire command had been wiped out.

At last, amid everyone's anticipation, Zhang Xianzhong's corpse was brought forward. Zhang Kejian and the others crowded around, confirmed it, and each cried out, "It is indeed the Bandit Xian! Without a doubt, it is the Bandit Xian! A good death! A good death!"

Gazing at Zhang Xianzhong's corpse, the Xiangyang crowd felt a tumult of emotions. This was the man who had been a scourge upon the Great Ming ever since the third year of Chongzhen. In the eighth year of Chongzhen, Zhang Xianzhong had even breached Fengyang, dug up the tomb of the Exalted Emperor, and cut down the hundreds of thousands of pines and cypresses in the imperial cemetery. At that time, the entire court was shaken, and the Chongzhen Emperor even donned mourning garments and went to the Imperial Ancestral Temple to weep bitterly.

In the tenth year of Chongzhen, Zhang Xianzhong feigned surrender. In the twelfth year, he rebelled again, and from then on, there was no stopping him. Grand Coordinator Yang Huchang devised the strategy of "Four Rectifications and Six Corners" and the "Ten-Faced Net," with a hundred thousand troops in pursuit — mobilizing armies and straining resources — yet Zhang Xianzhong always slipped away.

Instead, he met his end in a surprise raid on Xiangyang, dying at the hands of Wang Dou, who had come to the rescue along the road. The strangeness of worldly affairs — nothing surpasses this.

Zhang Kejian murmured, "A peerless and extraordinary deed."

Zhang Kejian sent men to find some large carts and had the bandit heads and the corpses of the Bandit Xian's commanders placed upon them. On one especially large cart, a wooden post was erected, and Zhang Xianzhong's corpse was bound high upon it. His dead adopted sons were treated the same way.

The great army entered the city. Wang Dou's troops, uniformly armored riders on sturdy horses, filled the people of Xiangyang with awe. But the large carts that followed sent the entire city into a frenzy. Countless people gathered to view the Bandit Xian's corpse — a sea of people so dense that the entire West Main Street was packed watertight, and even the rooftops were crawling with onlookers.

Finally, a high platform was erected in front of the drum tower at the street intersection, where the bandit corpses and heads were displayed to the public for several days. Every day, spectators surged like the tide, and even the Prince of Xiang could not resist going to see.

The grand scale of the spectacle was specifically recorded in the notebooks of Ming contemporaries.

At this very moment, news of the great victory at Luoyang happened to arrive in Xiangyang, shaking the entire city even further. The name of Wang Dou became known to every woman and child in Xiangyang.

Not only that — the events at Luoyang and the events at Xiangyang spread with astonishing speed throughout Huguang and into Jiangnan. Wang Dou's name truly became known across the four seas, known to all under Heaven.

Wang Dou's two great victories and two rescues of imperial princes — especially the battle of Xiangyang, which carried a certain legendary quality — its course and events were later interpreted by the world into all manner of legends, romances, operas, and novels, with countless versions and variations.

One version gained fairly wide acceptance: after the great victory at Luoyang, General Dingguo Wang Dou, acting on a directive from the Ministry of War, was racing by starlight, hurrying day and night toward Sichuan. By chance, he arrived at Xiangyang and saw turmoil within the city. He immediately dispatched scouts to investigate, and upon learning that the Bandit Xian was raiding the city, he came to the rescue at once.

Confident in his own fighting strength, General Dingguo took only one division with him, while sending two other armies to cross the Han River upstream and cut off the bandits' retreat. In the end, he successfully rescued the city and beheaded the Bandit Xian.

People of the time all marveled at Wang Dou's fortunate timing in achieving this extraordinary deed.

Of course, this version had its questionable points. For two thousand cavalry to cross the river in the dark of night was no simple matter — it required a considerable number of boats. Who helped them cross the water?

People kept coming forward claiming they had helped the great army cross the river, but when those with a mind to verify looked into it, many claims proved to be pure fabrication.

The Battle of Xiangyang was so filled with mysteries that it became a knotty problem in historical studies, a subject of endless debate for generations.

That day when the great army entered the city, Assistant Military Defense Commissioner Zhang Kejian and others dared not be negligent. They arranged for the army to be stationed and rested in the various military camps within the city, and also transported large quantities of wine and meat as rewards. Not only that, for many days thereafter, the gentry and villagers of Xiangyang continued to offer their greetings and gifts without cease.

That afternoon, after a sumptuous victory banquet at the Military Defense Circuit office concluded, Zhang Kejian and Xiangyang Prefect Wang Chengceng exchanged a glance, each nodding secretly.

Zhang Kejian warmly invited Wang Dou to a side hall for tea, then probed, "General, you have won a great victory and performed extraordinary, unparalleled deeds. I wonder how this victory report should be written?"

Wang Dou took a sip of tea without any change in expression, then set down the teacup. "What does the Military Defense Circuit intend?"

Zhang Kejian and Wang Chengceng were delighted. "There's hope."

Wang Chengceng, his face full of smiles, said, "General Wang, my intention is that we might employ a few strokes of the Spring and Autumn brush in this victory report."

Seeing Wang Dou's brow furrow, he hurriedly added, "No, no, no, General, do not misunderstand my meaning! We would never dare erase even half a fraction of the General's achievements! What I mean is, in the victory report, you might put in a few good words for me and the Military Defense Commissioner, mention us in a few lines."