Chapter 59: A Disorderly Mob

The soldiers of Jingbian Fort advanced in formation, weapons in hand, their footsteps pounding the ground in uniform rhythm — a truly intimidating display of power.

The military households of the three forts kept retreating step by step; many had already made up their minds to flee. Jia Duonan, Lu Xianyang, and Zhang Shutang all wore extremely ugly expressions. Watching their own panicked and terrified people beside them, they realized they had been wrong to come — they had absolutely no ability to stand against Jingbian Fort.

Not to mention that the Jingbian Fort soldiers advancing in formation were all well-trained and looked as if they had been through real battle. Even if these men had not formed up and merely fought as a disorderly mob, the three forts combined could at best muster a little over a hundred able-bodied men, the rest being old and weak. Against these Jingbian Fort men, they would gain no advantage whatsoever — let alone the fact that behind the stockade wall, Jingbian Fort still had several hundred more military household members.

Jingbian Fort had always been secretive, constantly concealing its strength from outsiders. People like Jia Duonan only knew that Jingbian Fort had developed well in recent years, but how many people lived inside, how many soldiers it had — these matters Jingbian Fort had always treated as core secrets, never letting outsiders know.

Only at this moment did the men of the three forts suddenly realize: the hundred-plus battle soldiers of Jingbian Fort before them were probably more than a match for all the garrison forces of Shunxiang Fort combined. When had Jingbian Fort trained these hundred-plus soldiers?

The Jingbian Fort soldiers kept pressing forward in perfect order, their faces steady and stern, simply advancing with weapons in hand. The weapons they held faintly gleamed with a bloody light, as if they had already tasted blood, which made them all the more terrifying.

The military households of the three forts retreated in bewilderment, each man clutching a spear or staff, yet none knew what to do. Were they really going to engage these Jingbian Fort soldiers? If they did, the casualties would surely be horrific, their lives thrown away here — was everyone truly willing?

Jia Duonan and the others also retreated involuntarily, each of them deeply regretting in their hearts that they had ever waded into these murky waters. If a fight truly broke out, would things spiral completely out of control?

At last, Wang Dou's command rang out again, and the advancing formation halted.

But then came Wang Dou's shouted order: "Battle formation!"

"Kill!"

The hundred-plus Jingbian Fort soldiers roared as one. In an instant, they shifted formation, the ranks expanding outward to both flanks, and the atmosphere grew even more oppressively grim.

With this change of formation, among Jingbian Fort's three-rank array, the six sword-and-shield men serving as squad leaders in the front rank immediately stepped forward one pace, their cold, grim gazes fixed on the three-fort military households now only twenty paces ahead.

Within their squads, the three pikemen also spread out in a single line, following close behind them with pikes at the ready. The two matchlock gunners in each squad dispersed to either side of the pikemen, raising their matchlocks and aiming at the three-fort military households ahead.

The three battle ranks unfolded into a three-wave attack posture. The six sword-and-shield men at the very front had each already drawn a javelin, gripping it in the right hand, while resting their saber across the handle-loop of their shield, bracing the saber with the wrist. They waited only to hurl their javelins when closing to melee — whether they hit or missed, they would immediately take the saber in the right hand and slash from behind the shield.

The several sword-and-shield men, javelins in hand, each picked out a target among the three-fort military households ahead. In their minds they calculated: once the javelin was thrown, where on the opponent's body would it strike? After throwing, how should they advance to slash and kill?

These sword-and-shield men of the first rank were all veterans who had joined the previous year. In daily javelin practice, nearly every one of them could hit a hanging copper coin from twenty paces away. Now the enemy was only twenty paces distant — at such close range, with such large targets, each man could at the very least strike an opponent in the chest.

The battle formation was already deployed; the men could advance to attack and fight at any moment.

The Jingbian Fort soldiers stood ready in tight array. Though they had assumed attack postures, every man still stood motionless — their rigorous daily training had taught them to obey their superior's orders in all things. Yet every man's muscles were taut, blood surging, teeth clenched, ears straining to hear Wang Dou's combat command from behind.

Seeing the appearance of the Jingbian Fort soldiers before them — especially the several sword-and-shield men in front, each bearing a shield and clad in iron armor, armor that was genuinely fine, thick and solid, likely impenetrable to spear or blade — and seeing their murderous intent, the three-fort military households grew even more terrified. They crowded around Jia Duonan and the others, their voices urgent: "My lords, what do we do? Are we really going to fight?"

"Must we truly stake our lives? It's not worth it."

"I say we all just leave. These Jingbian Fort men are desperadoes — we shouldn't throw our lives away here."

"Right, let's go. Losing face is better than losing your life."

Everyone was talking at once. Jia Duonan and the other two all wore ugly expressions. Though they loudly ordered the able-bodied military households around them to pull themselves together, the men clutching spears and staves remained a chaotic mess — a classic mob, utterly incomparable to the Jingbian Fort soldiers before them.

These people might manage a disorderly brawl, but facing a real battle formation like the one ahead, they were utterly terrified — probably not even a match for a single exchange.

The able-bodied men of the three forts at the front were all terrified, and the old, weak, and womenfolk behind them were even more pitiful. They worried only for the lives and safety of their menfolk or sons and grandsons ahead. They had long since thrown away their hoes and carrying poles; some, seeing the worn shoes on their feet would hinder escape, also cast them aside, heedless of propriety between men and women.

Fortunately, no peasant woman had bound feet — big-footed, they could flee quite nimbly.

They shrieked in a chorus: "Don't fight, let's just go!"

At that moment, Wang Dou's cold voice rang out again:

"Ready!"

"Ready — raise spears!"

"Kill!"

With a resounding "Hua!", the spearmen in the formation roared as one and raised their spears in perfect unison — a forest of spear points.

They drilled only this one move in daily training; each man had practiced it countless times.

"Run!"

Seeing the Jingbian Fort soldiers about to charge, the military households of Zhou Village, Hu Village, and Chafang Fort could no longer contain their inner terror. The able-bodied men at the front threw down their spears and staves and fled for their lives.

Once they started running, it was all over. With a roar, the military households of those forts all burst apart, every one of them fleeing backward. Some, dazed and disoriented, even fled to the sides, unable to tell direction, not knowing where they were running.

In the chaos, some were trampled or shoved down, and cries of pain followed.

Jia Duonan, Lu Xianyang, and Zhang Shutang stared dumbfounded for a moment, then, under the cover of their trusted men, had no choice but to flee backward with the crowd.

They had painstakingly schemed to draw together the military households of three forts and bring them here — yet the Jingbian Fort soldiers had merely deployed a formation and already routed them.

All their calculations turned to foam and smoke before this absolute power.

Watching the three-fort military households flee in utter disarray, both the Jingbian Fort soldiers in the battle formation and the Jingbian Fort military households behind the stockade wall burst into loud laughter. Even the children clapped their hands in glee.

Wang Dou shook his head as well. A mob was a mob. Even if some of their able-bodied men could barely put up a fight, the atmosphere of fear was contagious. With everyone fleeing, those able-bodied men were utterly useless.

Wang Dou now understood something about the bandit rebellions of ancient times — why tens of thousands of troops, facing a few thousand government soldiers, were always routed and sent fleeing with their heads in their hands, even when many of those government soldiers were corrupt and worthless. The formal, rank-and-file battle of ancient times was truly too important. An army without formation and organization, no matter how numerous, was just food for the enemy's mouth.

Han Chao and Gao Shiyin likewise laughed heartily. "This bunch of cowards — they ran before the fight even started!"

Gao Shiyin, visibly stirred, called to Wang Dou: "My lord, shall I take some men and chase them down, cut a few of them down?"

Wang Dou said: "No need. They're just military households from a few forts causing trouble, all from the same Battalion. They're not mortal enemies — let them flee."

Han Zhong snorted: "These bastards got off easy!"

As they spoke here, the hundred-plus battle soldiers in formation still stood in strict array. Without Wang Dou's order, though they laughed aloud, they dared not move on their own — a lesson learned from many beatings with the military rod in ordinary times.

At the same time, each man felt a surge of pride. After this incident, they had come to recognize their own strength, and also that indescribable sense of collective power. They always felt that within the battle formation, each man was deeply at ease, because front and back, left and right, their comrades were protecting them, while they themselves were also responsible for protecting their comrades' safety.

The power of the collective and the bond of comrades — they could not put it into words, but they felt it. They exchanged glances, all smiling with great satisfaction.

Zhong Diaoyang had remained mounted at Wang Dou's side the entire time. Now he gave a soft exclamation: "They're coming back?"

Everyone looked over in surprise. Sure enough, the military households of the three forts were straggling back in scattered groups of three or five, once again carrying spears and staves — though their numbers seemed much reduced. No doubt in the earlier flight, some had run off who knew where. Among them, a cluster of people was escorting several mounted men who looked like officers.

Han Chao, who had been leading several night scouts dispersed around the perimeter on guard, now came galloping over swiftly. He clasped his fist from horseback: "My lord, a group of government troops is approaching from the southeast. By their appearance, they seem to be men from Luanzhuang Fort!"

A cold glint flashed in Wang Dou's eyes. He swept his hand and shouted: "Form up!"

Immediately came the sounds of orderly movement. The squads of Jingbian Fort soldiers rapidly assembled, once again forming the tight square formation from before. Every man gripped his weapon, on strict alert. At the same time, the several night scouts rode out to disperse, ready to relay the latest intelligence at any moment.

Seeing this, the Jingbian Fort military households behind the stockade wall also surged out in droves — several hundred people, men and women, old and weak alike, all brandishing the spears and wooden staves in their hands and shouting at the top of their lungs. The momentum was tremendous. Today, whoever dared to invade their fort, they would fight them to the death.

Almost simultaneously, the military households of the three forts — Zhouzhuang, Huzhuang, and Chafangbao — arrived together with that group of officers and soldiers from Luanzhuang Fort.

Dust billowed as the group of officers and soldiers from Luanzhuang Fort spurred their horses and galloped over. They numbered about a dozen men. Wang Dou saw that every one of them wore iron armor, possessed outstanding horsemanship, and moved with agility. Their faces and builds were rough and sturdy — clearly they were the sort of men who were retainers.

The leader of this group was a tall, middle-aged military officer. He wore no armor, but was dressed in the official uniform of a Company Commander. From his appearance, he seemed to be the fort commander of Luanzhuang Fort.

This officer was precisely the fort commander of Luanzhuang Fort, Wang Liwei. Leading a dozen riders forward, he saw from a distance that Wang Dou was arrayed in strict readiness, and could not help being startled. He thought to himself: Jingbian Fort is only a garrison fort; how can it have so many well-trained, crack troops, seemingly comparable to his own retainers? Looking further at their strict and orderly battle formation and equipment, as well as some Jingbian Fort night scouts gathered in the distance, Wang Liwei was even more astonished and involuntarily drew a cold breath.

He had originally come with aggressive momentum, but now, after a moment’s thought, he gave an order. Immediately the dozen riders from Luanzhuang Fort all dismounted far off, and the group proceeded on foot to show they bore no hostile intent.

At the same time, Wang Liwei also spotted the large crowd of military households from the three forts arriving over there. He furrowed his brow, wondering what had happened at Jingbian Fort. Pondering as he went, he simply led the men from Luanzhuang forward in great strides.

Wang Dou swept a glance over those officers and soldiers from Luanzhuang Fort, and saw ahead that the military households of the three forts — Zhouzhuang, Huzhuang, and Chafangbao — were again gathering with spears and clubs. Yet each person’s expression bore a sense of fear and shrinking back; they merely fixed their eyes on the group of people approaching from the middle.

Wang Dou looked coldly at those three men — Jia Duonan, Lu Xianyang, and Zhang Shutang — thinking to himself that these people truly had no regard for their own lives, while also wondering why they had gathered and come again.

He spurred his horse forward, with Han Zhong and several others following behind him. Wang Dou shouted: “Jia Duonan, our fort’s quarrels stay within the fort. Why have you allied with people from outside forts to deal with my Jingbian Fort?”

Jia Duonan was greatly alarmed. He raised his voice and cried: “Wang Dou, stop your slander! We had no idea that the people from Luanzhuang were coming. This matter has nothing to do with us.”

Although the fact that people from Luanzhuang Fort had come to make trouble for Wang Dou gave Jia Duonan and the others a sense of schadenfreude, the charge of allying with outsiders to fight against people of one’s own fort was far too grave, so Jia Duonan and the others naturally scrambled to disavow any connection.

Lu Xianyang touched the large tumor on his chin and said in a sinister tone: “Chief Wang Dou, we happened to encounter Lord Lin of Shun Fort and the Garrison Investigator Lord Chi. Now that both lords have arrived, regarding today’s matter, we had best explain it clearly. Let’s not drag in irrelevant trifles!”

By this time, Wang Liwei had already led his subordinates up before the various parties. He said: “Chief Wang Dou, this officer is the fort commander of Luanzhuang Fort — Wang Liwei, Left Company Commander of the Rear Battalion of the Guard. The military households of your Jingbian Fort have encroached upon the garrison lands of several forts under my jurisdiction — Huangtupo, Tangjiawa, and Yangtianzhuang. I hope this matter can be given an explanation to this officer. Your superior has arrived at just the right time — let us explain it clearly!”

Everyone’s gaze turned toward the two officers from Shun Fort, who had by now dismounted and were striding out from the crowd.