Chapter 508: Moonless, Windy Murder Night

At the third watch of the night, the most drowsy hour of the day.

An Shouchong yawned, stood up and left the magistrate's office. He took a few personal guards to patrol the city once, and found nothing amiss.

This made him involuntarily let out a sigh of relief.

As the grain requisition continued in the villages around Beizhou, An Shouchong keenly sensed that the locals were beginning to harbor deep hatred toward them.

Their refusal to cooperate was crystal clear!

Often solitary soldiers vanished without a trace, and supplies were frequently stolen, ultimately untraceable and left unresolved.

The situation was somewhat unfavorable, but not a serious problem.

Because they would not be stationed permanently in Beizhou, but would move northward along the canal as troops to encircle Fang Chongyong.

Even if the locals despised them, so what? What could be done?

Anyway, if the sky fell, Huangfu Weiming would hold it up!

An Shouchong was not worried at all.

Feeling drowsy, he couldn't help but yawn.

Suddenly recalling something, An Shouchong looked around and asked, "By the way, where is Zhou Zhi?"

"General An, General Zhou is at the outer camp!"

A personal guard replied.

An Shouchong gave a slight nod, then remembered that the two of them had long ago agreed to guard separate locations, acting as mutual checks.

An Shouchong felt something was off today; in the vague darkness he constantly sensed that something bad would happen, yet he couldn't articulate why.

However, according to the rotation plan, today indeed had General Zhou outside the city while he was inside.

Tomorrow they would swap: he would be outside, Zhou inside, along with their troops, all exchanging posts.

Of course, such elaborate effort was for defensive needs, to prevent key positions (like the city gate) from having their commanders bought off and causing a disaster.

An Shouchong's military deployments were meticulous, yet he cared not at all for the locals' lives or his relationship with them. Perhaps, in his view, those "commoners" were simply not worth his attention.

He climbed the city rampart, patrolled once, even confirming the identities of each gate commander, then finally let out a sigh of relief.

Probably due to excessive tension, An Shouchong felt his nerves were overly sensitive.

"How is the military situation around Beizhou? Have the bandit troops from Jizhou returned to Beizhou?"

An Shouchong turned his head and asked a nearby guard.

"The main road and the official road are quiet."

The guard sneered in reply.

"What about the canal?"

An Shouchong asked in a deep voice, already sensing the guard was placating him.

"General An, what could happen on the canal? The last scouting party reported that the bandits had already moved to Dezhou, and the ships are still docked there."

The guard continued with an ambiguous answer.

An Shouchong gave a slight nod, sighed, and said, "Go fetch the ten‑troop staff yourself!"

The guard's face stiffened, then he clasped his fists in salute and left.

An Shouchong also understood what was happening; there was a cause, but he didn't want to dwell on these minor lapses.

Because of the locals' attitude in Beizhou, An Shouchong could not, like on the frontier, set up a dense intelligence network.

Scouts from the army traveling to Dezhou took a long time round‑trip, riding on horseback both ways, which was very arduous.

Those traveling alone were easily ambushed by locals; the scouts were reluctant to do the job, so their sortie frequency was low.

Basically, with little activity overall, they could report back; the reconnaissance couldn't be especially detailed.

Just like the story "The Boy Who Cried Wolf," the scouts made several trips to Dezhou, surveyed the troops, and found that the Yinqiang Xiaojie Army only had ships parked on the canal, while the army itself was already ravaging Jizhou.

Who would truly think the Yinqiang Xiaojie Army intends to strike back?

Just give a perfunctory report and it's done!

And An Shouchong could not lead cavalry to attack the boats on the river, so he could only quietly amass strength in Beizhou. He would wait for grain from Liyang to arrive in Weizhou, then join forces with Weizhou's reinforcements, escort the supplies back to Beizhou, and then make plans.

Various reasons prevented An Shouchong from monitoring the eastern situation in real time.

The feeling was unpleasant, constantly causing him worry.

"Has General Zhou sent someone to report safety?"

An Shouchong asked another guard beside him.

The guard, a bit nervous, swallowed a mouthful of saliva before slowly replying, "General An, an hour ago the outer camp sent someone to report safety; the code and orders matched."

"You need not be nervous; without mistakes you won't receive the military staff."

An Shouchong forced a faint smile, waved his hand lightly, and said.

He instantly realized his incessant, neurotic questioning had frightened the guard beside him.

"Return to the yamen."

An Shouchong casually ordered, then immediately descended from the rampart.

Just as he turned, the guard beside him inadvertently glanced toward the stables outside the city. Not looking was fine, but the sight terrified him to his core!

"General An! Over there! Over there!"

The guard, frightened into incoherence, grabbed An Shouchong and forced him to turn and look!

"What else…"

An Shouchong turned to scold, then saw the shocking scene.

The stables not far outside the city were ablaze! Flames roared, spreading at a breathtakingly rapid speed!

Cries, the horses' whinnies, and the crackling of burning wood blended together, indistinguishable.

Amid the firelight, a squad of cavalry could be seen hurling flaming oil into the stables. An Shouchong's pupils suddenly contracted, a surge of blood rushing to his head.

The days of fatigue had already made his body unable to bear the weight.

An Shouchong suddenly went white‑eyed, then fell backward unconscious.

"General An!"

The few bodyguards behind An Shouchong were also frightened into a stupor, hurried over to support him, preventing him from falling straight onto the ground.

These people at times pressed the body's acupoints, at times shook the other's body, but An Shouchong did not wake; his breathing continued, so he was probably just fainted.

The bodyguards could no longer attend to the fire at the stables outside the city; they carried An Shouchong back to the magistrate's office to settle him, and kept watch outside the bedroom without leaving for a moment.

……

Horses are herd animals; after an accident, in the chaos many horses often run away following other horses.

Wang Nande, who was lying in ambush on the banks of the Yongji Canal, watched the herd fleeing from the stables and ran after the "Arson Squad" led by He Changqi.

They actually broke their formation, all rushing toward the distant cargo boats. From afar they looked like a band of fleeing defeated soldiers.

Wang Nande couldn't help but smile secretly.

He Laohu, fearless in leading troops into battle, ended up having his formation disrupted by a bunch of beasts. If he were to lose because of that, he wouldn't even have a place to cry.

However, it seemed the garrison of Qinghe County's city did not sortie out to pursue, so He Changqi escaped a disaster; his luck was good.

Fang Chongyong had instructed Wang Nande to engage only the pursuers from the large camp outside the city, not those emerging from within. There were certainly cavalry inside the city; if they chased out now, they might still capture spoils. After all, Fang Chongyong had not anticipated the horses' habit of following a cavalry unit, nor that a scattered herd would cause trouble.

"Do you think He Laohu and his men look like a pack of bereaved dogs?"

Wang Nande asked the bodyguard beside him.

Those nearby dared not answer; such talk could spread easily and have undesirable repercussions.

Wang Nande could mock He Changqi for winning the battle in a pitiful way, but his bodyguards dared not utter similar words.

Seeing no one echo him, Wang Nande felt uninteresting himself, fell silent, and focused his gaze toward the large camp outside the city.

Soon, a dense line of infantry ran toward the stables, each brandishing a torch, like a fire dragon.

They were in the light; Wang Nande was in the shadows. By peering from darkness, he saw everything clearly.

Half the troops wore armor; some bore wooden spears, others carried swords and shields.

The other half were unarmored, some holding lassos—apparently to catch horses. Others carried several wooden buckets, seemingly to fight the fire.

"General Wang, should we charge?"

A bodyguard whispered.

"No rush, wait a bit longer."

Wang Nande noticed the enemy formation was still quite dense, people packed together. If chaos broke out, they might still be able to form a defensive array. Charging now was not the optimal timing.

Qinghe County's city had a moat, drawing water from a northern tributary of the Zhang River.

Soon, Wang Nande saw many people discard swords, shields, and spears, even shedding armor, splashing water from within the moat.

Then they lifted buckets toward the stables, dousing water in an attempt to extinguish the blaze.

"Military band, beat the drums!"

At that moment, Wang Nande gave the order directly; he was ready to make a desperate gamble.

Dong dong dong! Dong dong dong!

Dong dong dong! Dong dong dong!

The muffled drumbeat sounded, and the Yinqiang Xiaojie Army cavalry, already poised, heard it and surged out from the artificial forest along the riverbank!

Wang Nande charged at the front; using the horses' momentum, he shook his Masuo and beheaded a Hebei rebel soldier retreating toward the city gate!

The severed head flew high, hit the ground and rolled many times before stopping.

The cavalry's impact was undeniably evident.

Because An Shouchong was unconscious, the garrison on the walls grew frantic, yet no one dared to open the city gate to let the routed soldiers in, nor to sortie out for reinforcement.

At that moment, countless torches lit up on the opposite riverbank! Along with the torchlight came deafening drumbeats!

It seemed to strike each defending soldier's heart.

"Can't go out, absolutely can't go out!"

On the city wall, everyone felt a surge of helplessness, constantly reminding themselves they must not leave the city.

If the city's main force went to pursue the enemy, the enemy troops across the river could cross to assault, or a sudden strike from behind could join the fight; any of these would be a terribly frightening prospect!

Yet the helpless feeling was that the Hebei rebel soldiers on the wall only had to consider whether to send reinforcements. Those fighting the fire at the stables outside the city, however, had many more concerns.

For example, how to survive this chaotic melee!

Wang Nande, almost bloodshot with rage at the foot of the city, showed no mercy to the disorganized Hebei rebels. One thousand five hundred cavalry were split into three units, following a previously drilled formation, and surged toward the west, east, and south directions respectively, pursuing the routed troops all the way.

The one‑sided slaughter stimulated each cavalryman's nerves; they killed as if it had become muscle memory, and in the pitch‑black night there was no surrender, no disarmament without killing.

In the dim yellow firelight, they had abandoned friend‑or‑foe distinction. Anyone not on horseback was slain without mercy!

Many of the long spears broke when thrust into enemy bodies during the rapid charge. They quickly switched to short weapons such as pick‑hammers and battle‑axes to continue the melee.

Outside Qinghe County's city, it had almost become a hunting ground full of 'prey'.

Cavalry chased after infantry who had lost their weapons, and the latter could not possibly mount any effective resistance.

When they emerged it was hurried, when forming ranks their gear was incomplete, and when fighting the fire they were struck with blunt weapons.

Not to mention that Zhou Zhi's battlefield tactics were merely average; even if Han Xin were here now, he would only have a chance to flee.

In the Battle of Pengcheng, Xiang Yu crushed the Han king's six hundred thousand troops with thirty thousand cavalry. The infantry's formation was shattered; after a surprise attack, even a capable general could not organize effective resistance.

At this moment, it was just like then.

The Hebei rebel soldiers on the wall turned pale with fear, watching the one‑sided slaughter below: the heads rolling on the ground, the severed limbs, the blood that in the night showed no color.

It continuously battered their nerves. Many felt a churn in their stomachs.

They secretly felt relieved, thinking that according to An Shouchong's daily rotation rule, if the attacking enemy had arrived a day earlier or later, they would have been the ones to die!

It was a pure win‑or‑lose gamble!

In less than an hour, the shouts of killing from below the city gradually faded, and the sound of horse hooves also receded. Looking across the river, all the torches on the opposite bank were extinguished, but it was unknown whether the ambush troops were still there.

Within a short distance from the city, corpses of the Hebei rebels littered everywhere, making one's scalp tingle.

At that moment, with the help of a personal guard, An Shouchong slowly climbed the city wall. He placed both hands on the wall, looked outward, and saw, under the firelight, corpses everywhere.

The sight made one's scalp tingle.

In the places the firelight could not reach, there were certainly many more corpses, and, of course, enemies might be lying in ambush.

Anyway, no one was willing to test the situation, and no one dared to open the city gate to collect the bodies.

An Shouchong's face turned ashen as he gazed at everything outside the city; the tragedy was truly heart‑wrenching, making those who saw it weep.

He clenched his fists, feeling anger, remorse, and a deep sense of unwillingness.

But there was nowhere to vent!

He could have done something, but after thinking, An Shouchong realized that even if he hadn't fainted, there was nothing he could do inside the city.

Leaving the city… would be almost tantamount to courting death.

This made him feel discouraged.

After a long while, An Shouchong finally rasped to a personal guard, "Send the order down: after dawn, go out of the city to collect the bodies. Anyone who leaves the city before daybreak shall be executed without mercy."

"Understood!"

The personal guard carefully took the command and left, daring not utter a word for fear of angering their own commander.

At this moment An Shouchong's heart ached to the point he could barely speak; he shook his sorrowful face, and after a long pause let out a long sigh, "Return to the magistrate's office; there is nothing left to see here."

If earlier at Liaocheng he had been left empty‑handed and suffered a small loss at Qinghe County, An Shouchong could still find excuses, saying he did not personally lead the troops, that the enemy was cunning and feigned a strike, and so on.

Anyway, if he personally took up the sword and fought with real weapons, he might not lose.

However this time, Fang Chongyong gave An Shouchong a resounding slap!

"I am striking you, and I did it while my forces were inferior to yours, suppressing you so completely that you have no strength to retaliate."

"Do you accept that?"

An Shouchong was not convinced, but the harsh reality left him unable to argue.

He was angry, unwilling to lose, yet could not open his eyes to tell a lie.

This made An Shouchong internally conflicted, his confidence trampled to fragments.

The few personal guards beside him exchanged glances—"You look at me, I look at you"—daring not speak, they silently stayed behind An Shouchong.