Chapter 507: Adding Some Muscle to the Youzhou Garrison

No rations, no weapons, no baggage trains—they wanted only gold and silver valuables, copper coins, and silk.

This reply, this kind of list, was something Su Youde had never anticipated.

To give or not to give—that was a very serious question.

How to give was a problem, and how much to give was also a problem.

It made one's head ache.

In the study of the Jizhou prefectural yamen, Su Youde looked at Li Qinchou, hesitating to speak.

He handed the list in his hand to the other man, his expression seeming to say: You are a military man—do you think we should give it or not, and how much?

Li Qinchou glanced at the list and found that everything written on it consisted of movable wealth; not even sheep hides or cowhides—military supplies that could be used directly as money—were mentioned. He could not help feeling puzzled.

What could an army want with such movable wealth?

He too was utterly baffled.

"Your Excellency, are there still such things as gold and silver valuables, copper coins, and silk in the yamen's storehouses?"

Li Qinchou's expression was peculiar; in any case, from what he recalled, there seemed to be none. When Huangfu Weiming raised his army, he had made lavish use of the silk in the prefectural storehouses of every prefecture and county to buy grain from the great households of Hebei for military supplies.

How could they possibly produce money now?

"We still have quite a bit of grain, but no money. From what I can see of that Fang Qinghe and the Yinqiang Xiaojie Army, they don't seem to be short of grain either."

Su Youde said resentfully, stroking his small beard, seemingly concocting some devious scheme.

"Lord Su, if there's no money, then what do we do?"

Li Qinchou was dumbfounded.

Since they could send this 'plague god' away, there was no need to be squeamish about it—the faster the plague god left, the better.

As for the wealth demanded on the list, the quantity was actually not all that alarming; it fell within the psychological bottom line of Su Youde and the others.

Spend money to buy peace; everything else would have to wait until after Huangfu Weiming stationed troops in Jizhou.

Now, having no money made things very difficult to manage.

"There is indeed none in the prefectural storehouses, but the great households of Jizhou should still have some movable wealth.

When the fire is burning your eyebrows, you can't worry about everything."

Su Youde gave a cold, sinister chuckle.

With 'the nation in crisis,' how could he worry about so much?

Better the fellow Daoist die than this poor Daoist!

However, Li Qinchou did not have so many cunning twists in his mind; he was somewhat unclear on exactly how to raise the money.

The money in the great households' hands had also been earned from selling grain to the government earlier. Now the government wanted to take some of it back—how could those people possibly be willing?

If those people treated them like beggars and casually tossed out a pittance, it still wouldn't solve the problem!

"This matter is simple. General Li, take men to the homes of those great households and discuss it with them. Just say there's a rumor that the rebel army has already dug tunnels leading into Xindu City. They can't get many people in, and they can't breach the yamen, but they very well might enter the city to pillage.

Our troops are limited, and Xindu City is too large—we inevitably can't cover everywhere. So let each household donate some money, so the government can recruit more militia soldiers for patrols. Everyone pulls together to get through these hard times."

A cold gleam flashed in Su Youde's eyes as he spoke.

In any case, the character for 'official' has two mouths—good or bad, real or fabricated, it was all his to say.

Whether there were bandits or not;

whether there were tunnels or not.

It was all Su Youde's sole decision—he said there were, so there were.

The great households in the city who were willing to give money—everything could be negotiated; dispatch a few militia soldiers to guard their doorways, and naturally their safety could be assured.

Those unwilling to give money would get no soldiers dispatched.

It was entirely possible that 'bandits' might emerge from the tunnels to raid their homes, murder, and set fire.

When the time came and they suffered misfortune, they shouldn't come running to the yamen to complain.

As for whether those 'bandits' were the Yinqiang Xiaojie Army, or routed and fleeing soldiers who had slipped into the city from who knows where—none of that mattered.

Whatever Lord Su said, that was what it was.

After Su Youde gave Li Qinchou detailed instructions, this man who had fought on battlefields could not help breaking out in a cold sweat.

When it came to treachery, these civilian officials truly were the treacherous ones—combo moves, one set after another!

"Understood. This humble official will go attend to it at once. What if I encounter someone obstinate and unyielding?"

Li Qinchou nodded, clasped his fists in a salute to Su Youde, and asked with some hesitation.

Su Youde beckoned him over and lowered his voice to impart a few tried-and-true ruthless tricks.

Li Qinchou suddenly saw the light, and a cruel smile surfaced on his face.

However, Lord Su was the one stationed at the yamen, so he certainly could not show his face. Therefore, the matter of 'doing the dirty work' could only be handled by Li Qinchou.

Fortunately, Li Qinchou was not one to get bogged down in details.

He took men and visited every great household in Xindu City; at each one, he repeated Su Youde's words.

Then, to make things easier, Li Qinchou went straight for the big moves and put Su Youde's instructed method into action!

Households willing to pay got soldiers to guard their gates—everybody happy, everybody fine.

Those unwilling to pay had a halberd planted in front of their gate. It was given a fine-sounding name: 'Distinguished noble house; bandits keep away.'

You won't show goodwill, so naturally I won't send soldiers to guard your gate. So I'll plant a halberd in front of your house as a token gesture, to scare off the bandits.

Don't tell me this doesn't follow proper rules—I, Li, am just a rough soldier who doesn't understand etiquette.

Li Qinchou's heart was clear as a mirror: he was simply playing the rogue.

As early as the Han Dynasty, there was a custom of 'planting halberds before one's gate'; by the Sui Dynasty, no one below the third rank was permitted to plant halberds.

By the Tang Dynasty, the requirements for planting halberds had loosened, but the rules had become more detailed. Officials of different ranks, even officials of different departments, had precise regulations regarding the number and type of halberds that could be planted before their gates.

After all, the Tang Dynasty was a rigidly stratified aristocratic society.

But regardless, non-officials and those without Confucian temples or altars were not permitted to erect halberds before their gates!

If bandits paid a visit to a household permitted to erect halberds before their gates, they would of course very likely die a gruesome death.

But Li Qin cou was now playing this trick, and his aim clearly lay elsewhere. The viciousness of his intent was something every great household that had a halberd planted before its gate could well understand.

Sure enough, those diehards who refused to pay immediately lost their backbone the moment they heard halberds were to be erected before their gates, and one after another they obediently paid up.

Thus within a single day, Su Youde had gathered the funds together, and just as night fell he dispatched someone to rush them to the Yinqiang Xiaojie Army camp.

After receiving the "gift money," Fang Chongyong did not hesitate either, immediately riding without rest to lead his troops back to the grain boats.

All along the way, he was on pins and needles, terrified that the garrison troops in Xindu City would pursue his column.

These gold, silver, and treasures took up little space and were easy to carry, and they were a cavalry unit, so they had no fear of being pursued.

It was just that Fang Chongyong was very worried about unforeseen complications.

His plan was not to become entangled in a drawn-out war of attrition with the Ji Province garrison. Taking a few county seats, disrupting the local political order, and then quitting while ahead was the best strategy.

By dusk the next day, the army finally returned to the grain boats. Duan Xiushi, who had been guarding the boats, saw the main force of the Yinqiang Xiaojie Army return, and his suspended heart was finally put at ease.

Never mind that Fang Chongyong had led his troops to Ji Province in a rush of merely a few days; Duan Xiushi guarding the boats felt as though each day lasted a year, terrified that someone would board grain boats and give pursuit.

At this point, one must mention Zhou Zhi.

If Zhou Zhi had strictly carried out An Shouzhong's plan and fully preserved the grain boats and baggage, rations, and fodder, then at this very moment, they and their accompanying grain boats would probably have just reached the position where the Yinqiang Xiaojie Army was located.

At that time, An Shouzhong's cavalry would already have been in position, and how the battle would have unfolded would have been hard to say.

It was precisely this one wrong move by Zhou Zhi that led to every subsequent step being reactive.

This is what happens when a mediocre talent does not understand the rhythm of war—once the rhythm is thrown off, one gets led by the nose.

"Jiedushi, you've finally returned.

This humble officer has already prepared everything. Let the horses board the boats to rest, and we can head north to Anling County in De Province.

Anling is a small city; taking it will not be difficult.

After taking Anling, continuing north leads to Bai Bridge in Dongguang County, where a great deal of baggage has accumulated. Especially after we took Bei Province, the grain boats that were being transferred from You Province and Cang Province turned back halfway, and most of them are now stopped there."

Duan Xiushi rattled off a great deal, having essentially scouted out the enemy situation in the north. In short, the enemy's intercepting forces had not yet arrived, and the timing was perfect!

"Mm, well done."

Fang Chongyong nodded slightly, very satisfied with Old Duan's logistical work.

Forage and concentrated feed for the horses had to be prepared separately, and preparing the concentrated feed also took time—all of this work had to be done in advance. Reconnaissance to the north could not cease either; someone had to mind all these matters.

"Pass down the order: head south to Bei Province. Aside from those rowing the boats, everyone else is to rest compulsorily. There will be a major battle after we reach Bei Province."

Fang Chongyong issued the order to Che Guangqian beside him.

"Jiedushi, we're going to Bei Province now?"

Che Guangqian asked with a look of puzzlement, thinking he must have misheard.

"Correct, Bei Province."

Fang Chongyong nodded with a calm expression.

Seeing that the generals all wanted to speak further, Fang Chongyong quickly waved his hand and said, "There's no time to lose. Now is not the time for explanations. Let us set off first, and I will explain to you on the way."

Che Guangqian had no choice but to relay the order. Soon, the fleet set out toward Qinghe County in Bei Province. Only the lead boat had a fishing lantern lit; all the others extinguished their lights and silently followed behind.

The generals came into the cabin of the lead boat, and Fang Chongyong spread out a "Hebei Rebel Army Deployment Map" that he had drawn himself on the wooden planks.

"Do you know why the Tang frontier often spans hundreds of li, yet at the slightest stir, the Tang frontier army can learn of it,

while Hebei is densely populated, yet the rebel army is as good as blind?"

Fang Chongyong looked around at everyone and asked in a low voice.

In truth, everyone present had thought about this question, but none had thought deeply about it. After all, the pace of the previous battles had been very fast, and there had been no time to review many things.

Seeing no one playing the straight man, Fang Chongyong had no choice but to continue: "The rebel army's lack of popular support in Hebei is one thing; on the other hand, they also lack beacon towers, horse relay stations, and patrol scouts."

The generals suddenly understood. They were all perceptive men, just not as broad in their thinking as Fang Chongyong. With a little prompting, they grasped the reason.

Many times, a small detail can influence grand strategy, even determine success or failure.

Beacon towers are early-warning outposts for infantry.

Horse relay stations are sites for cavalry to swap horses.

Patrol scouts are reconnaissance troops on routine patrol, not scouts attached to a field army.

In the Tang frontier garrisons, such places are numerous.

Do not assume that a beacon tower is garrisoned by only a few men—in fact, it is quite common for a beacon tower to have not a single person inside.

Because the patrol area is so vast, even if only one man were stuffed into each beacon tower, the garrison still could not manage.

So these places are spots where patrol units "check in," merely inspecting whether there is anything unusual in the vicinity.

Horse relay stations are even smaller, accommodating at most two horses, and are places for patrolling cavalry to change horses.

Similarly, such outposts are scattered all over the frontier, and not every one of them has horses, let alone men.

The reason the Tang frontier army can defend such a long border line is precisely because of the support of countless small outposts like these.

But after the Hebei rebel army rose in revolt, they did not bring these things to the southern side of Hebei!

Even if they wanted to build them, they could not. Marshal Huangfu intended to seize Chang'an; Hebei would no longer be a border line in the future, so what was the point of building these worthless things?

It was precisely because Fang Chongyong keenly noticed this point that he dared to lead troops in strikes all across Hebei.

Because the various prefectures and county seats in Hebei, without field armies, were essentially wide-open blind men with extremely poor vision! Especially after they lost the support of the local populace, they were even less able to send out reconnaissance.

This was the source of Fang Chongyong's confidence.

"Brilliant! The locals in Bei Province hate Zhou Zhi and his lot to death, so they certainly won't tip them off. Add to that our boat-borne surprise attack under cover of dark night and high winds, and the enemy will never expect us to double back!"

He Changqi laughed heartily.

This time he had not misspoken, because it was indeed so.

"A rebel cavalry force has arrived at Qinghe County. This Jiedushi anticipates they will become the main force pursuing us. This army poses a great threat."

Fang Chongyong spoke while making a chopping gesture with his hand, then continued:

"Qinghe County's town is limited in size, so it's impossible to bring several thousand horses into the city to stable them. The stables must be outside the city. This surprise attack is to burn the stables and let those horses run free.

Once the enemy troops panic and rush out of the city, we will strike and crush them in one blow! This will surely deal a severe blow to their strength!

I have already sent scouts to investigate the general locations. I have to say, the people of Beizhou truly long for our return—gathering intelligence on the rebel army's deployments was practically effortless."

Fang Chongyong said with a cold laugh.

The intelligence the scouts brought back was astonishing, but even more astonishing was that locals of Beizhou had actually become guides, leading the Yinqiang Xiaojie Army's scouts to reconnoiter enemy positions before calmly withdrawing.

With locals providing cover, the scouts could even draw maps on the spot, working entirely at their leisure and without the slightest rush.

He who loses the hearts of the people loses the world—this scene also served as a quiet warning to Fang Chongyong.

An Shouzhong was very skilled at laying out defenses, but even he could not withstand having too many guides.

Where his camp positioned to form a pincer with the city was, where the stables were, where the baggage and granaries were—all had been investigated with crystal clarity by the locals.

Fang Chongyong's original intention was to head directly north, but after learning the situation in Qinghe County, he felt it was time to intimidate that bunch of soldiers in the Hebei garrisons.

When an army cannot be known, its might cannot be measured!

"He Laohu, you are responsible for leading five hundred men to burn the stables. I trust you are already quite skilled at this work."

Fang Chongyong said with a smile.

He Changqi had been about to say something else—in truth, he did not want to do this kind of sneaky work; he preferred to fight head-on in open battle.

But though he did not like it, the men under his command loved it!

In war, one must follow military orders, not act according to one's own preferences!

He Changqi hung his head and reluctantly accepted the order.

Fang Chongyong secretly found it amusing, then turned to look at Wang Nande and said, "General Wang, lead one thousand five hundred troops to ambush by the riverbank near the stables. The moment you see anyone from the enemy camp heading to reinforce the stables, lead the cavalry straight into a charge."

Wang Nande laughed heartily and accepted the order, glancing at He Changqi with a look of triumph on his face.

Fang Chongyong then said to Che Guangqian, "You lead five hundred troops, each man raising two torches, and beat drums at the wooden bridge on the south bank of the canal as a feint. When the enemy on the north bank sees firelight and drumbeats on the south bank, they will certainly not know our army's true strength and will not dare to pursue easily. Remember: if the enemy does not move, we do not move. If the enemy crosses the river, simply set fire to the bridge."

"Orders received!"

Che Guangqian took the command arrow, patted He Changqi on the shoulder, and wanted to laugh but feared offending him, so he held it back with great effort.

"Old Duan, prepare rations and fodder. After we finish this fight, we head north quickly."

Fang Chongyong instructed Duan Xiushi.

"Alright, all of you go and prepare now. For this battle, I, the Jiedushi, will simply wait in the cabin for good news.

This battle is one of the prepared against the unprepared, the planned against the unplanned. Whoever loses will answer to military law!"

Fang Chongyong put away the smile on his face, looked around at everyone, and said in a deep voice.

"We will surely return victorious!"

The generals shouted in unison.

After everyone had left, Fang Chongyong finally lay down on the bunk in the cabin, his head buzzing.

These past days of running his mind at high intensity, planning various battles, had already pushed him beyond his limits. Fang Chongyong decided to rest properly right now and let his subordinates improvise for this battle.