Chapter 109: Walking the Dog

Around noon, several li northwest of the prefectural city.

Zhao Han was marching rapidly when a lone rider suddenly appeared ahead. The moment the rider saw them coming, he pulled back several dozen paces, yet kept blocking the way there, observing the situation.

Their position had been exposed — someone was surely galloping to the prefectural city to report.

Horses were scarce in Jiangxi, and with water networks everywhere, riding was far less convenient than traveling by boat.

That they could send out scout riders to reconnoiter clearly meant the authorities were already on alert!

"Eat!"

Zhao Han was in no hurry to move now. He ordered the eight hundred soldiers to gather and eat.

Fei Ruhe gnawed on a flatbread and said worriedly, "We've let our tracks slip. The prefectural city gates will certainly be shut tight."

Huang Yao added, "I once escorted grain to the county yamen and was kept behind to help build the city walls. The prefectural city is very tall and very large. The Gan River lies to the east, and there are moats to the south and north. The northwest side has no moat, but a hillside blocks it from afar, and descending it puts you right into a stretch of low-lying marshland."

Jiang Dashan said, "I've escorted grain to the county yamen too. Without warships, you can only assault the city from the north or south. But outside the walls are all market streets and civilian houses. The moment we pass through those streets, the city can hurry and shut the gates."

Stealing a city by surprise was no easy feat, especially a large waterside city like Ji'an.

Even with no troops defending it, once the gates closed, you would spend forever just scaling the walls — and you would still need to bring along a great many scaling ladders.

Having filled his belly, Zhao Han slapped his backside and stood up. Abruptly he said, "Head north!"

The eight hundred soldiers suddenly wheeled about. Having just eaten their fill, their marching pace was very slow, as if they were on an armed countryside outing.

The scout rider trailed them at a distance the whole way, following until the sky was growing dark. Only then did he spur his horse and race back to the prefectural city to report: "Your Honor the Prefect, the bandits have gone north by northwest. They may be fleeing toward Anfu County."

"As long as they're not coming to the prefectural city, as long as they're not coming to the prefectural city!" Xu Fusheng finally let out a breath of relief, even though Anfu County also fell under his jurisdiction as prefect.

Calming down a little, Xu Fusheng gave another order: "Quickly, take a boat and report to Governor Xie. Tell him a band of brigands is heading in the direction of Anfu County."

Zhao Han's marching speed was too fast. Though his tracks had been exposed, no one knew his true strength; they only knew it was a band of brigands from Xuanhua Township.

In truth, brigands were now running wild everywhere.

……

Yongyang Town.

Xie Xuelong received the reports from every division, and his expression turned extremely grim. His initial operational intent had already ended in failure.

Aside from Zhao Han, he had not taken any of the other rebels seriously, so he had divided his forces to sweep them north and south. Driving those ragtag bandits toward Wuxing Town, his aim had been to make all the rebels, large and small, cluster together.

When the time came, the rebels would appear to have many troops, but with such mixed origins, internal conflicts would inevitably abound.

Moreover, clustered in the direction of Wuxing Town, they would be hemmed in by great mountains on three sides, making it even easier to wipe them out in one stroke. The worst-case scenario would only be the rebels fleeing into the mountains.

Had it been any other peasant army leader, one who possessed immense personal prestige, he would surely have linked up and massed his forces, merging streams to jointly resist the government. The rebels of Shanxi and Shaanxi had always operated that way, because fighting alone was no match for government troops.

But Zhao Han refused to take the bait. Not only did he not step forward to rally the bandits, he had even played the vanishing act.

The bandit chieftains from all the surrounding townships, thinking Zhao Han had taken his men and fled, began mulling over running away themselves.

The peasant armies north of the He River, dragging their families and belongings, crossed the mountain ridges and fled straight for Anfu County. The peasant armies south of the He River skirted the great mountains and headed for the western part of Taihe County.

Killing landlords and dividing up the land — that was the conduct of entrenched bandits.

The moment government troops arrived, the horde of bandits panicked and transformed outright into two roving bands, one north and one south.

Zhao Han had miscalculated as well. He had wanted those bandit chieftains to help hold off the government troops for a few days. But the others were no fools either. Since they could not beat the government troops, they simply resorted to roving-bandit tactics and ran off to wreak havoc on neighboring departments and counties.

"What are your views?" Xie Xuelong asked.

His private secretary Li Zongxue said, "Commander, you should immediately send orders to Anfu and Taihe counties, commanding the county magistrates to join with the local gentry and swiftly recruit village braves to defend their localities. Roving bandits — roving bandits — we cannot let them start roving, or the rebel momentum will snowball larger and larger."

Zuo Xiaocheng, however, said, "The rebel Zhao is the real mortal threat. Ignore those roving bandits and strike Huangjia Town directly by boat!"

Li Zongxue also advised, "First break Huangjia Town, then turn the troops back to pursue and exterminate the roving bandits. By then it will be winter. Anfu and Taihe counties should have village braves by then as well. We can send troops to pursue, block, and intercept them — the cold alone will freeze the roving bandits to death."

Xie Xuelong pondered at length, then made his decision: "We shall follow this plan. Deploy the troops to Huangjia Town at once!"

The others all left on their assigned tasks. Xie Xuelong sat alone in the command tent, a deep unease settling in his heart.

According to the confessions of captured rebels, "Mr. Zhao" had refused to combine forces, showed no regard whatsoever for the other rebels' survival, and seemed to have led his troops into the mountains to become bandits.

And yet, Xie Xuelong could not shake the feeling that something was wrong.

Because Zhao Han's conduct in Huangjia Town did not look at all like someone planning to be a bandit — it was aimed squarely at overthrowing the dynasty and founding a new one!

Several thousand government troops set out by boat from Yongyang Town and soon landed at Lijia Bend.

Xie Xuelong sent out scouts to clear the way while he himself remained on the warship awaiting word.

Another half day passed. The scouts came back one after another to report: the area around Lijia Bend was utterly deserted, and the road into the mountains bore the tracks of many people and livestock.

Xie Xuelong's face darkened. He simply dispatched several small detachments to reconnoiter the villages along both banks.

All had gone into the mountains…

Xie Xuelong shifted his forces to Huangjia Town. It was equally deserted — not a single hair remained in the town.

What to do?

Xie Xuelong dared not pursue into the mountains at all, because the troops under his command were far too poorly trained. If they were ambushed in the mountains, the slightest disturbance would send the entire army collapsing in rout.

His private secretary Li Zongxue offered an idea: "In another month or so it will be winter. How can they sustain a long rebellion in such a bitterly cold place in the mountains? We need only station troops at Huangjia Town, drill the soldiers while we patiently wait. Let those rebels freeze and starve to death in the mountains on their own. Wait until spring opens next year to enter the mountains. By then the village braves will be more seasoned, and the rebels' morale will be utterly spent — we can smash them in one stroke!"

Xie Xuelong shut his eyes and fell into agonized thought. He could not shake the feeling that something was off.

Just then, a fast boat suddenly came speeding over. It was the naval troops he had left behind at Yongyang Town to supervise the grain supply.

"Commander, Meitang Town has been overrun by rebel soldiers! The rebel troops have crossed the river and headed east. Before leaving Meitang Town, the rebel soldiers killed several landlords. Many tenant farmers seized the chance to rise up — the area around Meitang Town is now swarming with bandits!"

Xie Xuelong jolted in shock and bellowed, "Back to the prefectural city, now!"

Meitang Town lay right beside the Lu River; word should have come very quickly.

But Xie Xuelong had commandeered every last boat, which was why Zhao Han could not seize any and had to lash door planks into rafts to cross the river. By the same token, the gentry bringing the report had no boats either and could only race all the way on muleback — the news had been delayed until now.

That mule, moreover, was one Zhao Han had left behind after taking the rest…

Xie Xuelong swiftly returned by boat with his army. Midway, he received a victory report from Prefect Xu Fusheng.

Yes, a victory report!

Over a thousand bandits had attempted to assault the prefectural city of Ji'an, only to be easily routed by the brilliant and divinely martial Prefect Xu, leading the city's able-bodied men. The bandits had changed course and were now fleeing toward Anfu County.

This news left Xie Xuelong somewhat puzzled.

After reading the letter, Li Zongxue pondered and said, "The rebel Zhao is outrageously bold—he must be planning a surprise attack on the prefectural seat. But he exposed his movements halfway, and once Prefect Xu shut the city gates, Zhao could only retreat empty-handed and flee to Anfu County to become a roving bandit. All the bandits north of the He River have also crossed the mountains to Anfu County. Zhao is surely going to join forces with them."

Xie Xuelong accepted this explanation, because the Ji'an prefectural seat was truly not easy to capture. The yamen runners of Ji'an Prefecture and Luling County alone could hold it securely.

To be safe, Xie Xuelong detached the eight hundred guard-station troops and sent them back by boat to defend Ji'an.

These guard-station troops had low combat effectiveness, worse even than local militia, and they loved to loot. Throwing them back to hold the city was just right—surely they wouldn't dare plunder inside the prefectural seat.

As for Xie Xuelong himself, he led the main force into the Lu River.

The Lu River has a tributary: heading west leads to Yongxin County, which was Li Banghua's wide-flanking route; heading north goes to Anfu County, where one could pursue the roving bandits or wait for Zhao Han to come and get himself killed.

After Xie Xuelong sailed toward Anfu County for a day, another fast boat delivered military intelligence: eighty li north of Ji'an, the bandits had sacked Baisha Town by the river, plundering livestock and grain from landlord estates along the way, then fled toward Anfu County. In every village and town they passed, many tenant farmers had been incited to revolt. The Governor was urgently requested to send troops to suppress them.

Every sign indicated that Zhao Han had indeed gone to Anfu County, attempting to link up with the Xuanhua Township roving bandits who had fled there.

Xie Xuelong's resolve hardened at once. He would not return to the Gan River line, but continue up the Lu River by boat, quickening his pace straight for Anfu County.

He had no fear at all of Zhao Han stealing the prefectural seat, because he had sent eight hundred guard-station troops back as reinforcements. Using those useless wretches to hold the city was more than enough.

……

The border zone between Luling County and Anfu County.

Zhao Han's eight-hundred-odd troops had now swelled to over thirteen hundred.

The new recruits were mostly able-bodied young men with no family ties, along with some poor folk who had secretly abandoned their homes to join the army.

When they sacked Baisha Town by the Gan River, Chen Maosheng recruited a few opera singers into the ranks, and Zhang Tieniu recruited over twenty laborers.

They now also had many donkeys, mules, and oxen to carry the grain borrowed from the landlords' estates. Ahem… these livestock were also borrowed from the landlords.

"What? We're going back again?"

Fei Ruhe said gloomily, "We've been circling around here for days—I'm about to be spun dizzy! Weren't we going to Anfu County? Why turn back to attack the prefectural seat again?"

"If you're dizzy, the government troops are even dizzier," Zhao Han said with a laugh. "Now every village and town around the prefectural seat is in revolt. If we go back, we don't have to worry about exposing our movements again."

Huang Shunde, the army Registrar, muttered, "True, we don't fear exposing our movements, but with chaos everywhere outside the city, won't the prefectural seat be heavily defended?"

"Who said that once we're back at Ji'an, we have to attack the prefectural seat?" Zhao Han countered.

Huang Yao asked, "Then what are we hitting?"

"The customs post!" Zhao Han laughed heartily. "The customs post has piles of silver, and plenty of boats too. Once we seize the silver, we can take the boats and slip away."

Jiang Dashan scratched his head. "But when we set out from Wuxing Town, didn't we agree on a surprise attack on the prefectural seat?"

Zhao Han explained, "In war, you adapt to circumstances. How can you just do whatever you planned? We exposed our movements, the Prefect shut the city gates, so we had to go elsewhere. After stirring up all the surrounding villages and towns, the officials are thoroughly confused and only know we're heading for Anfu County. I've already asked around—the shortest route to Anfu County is to take a boat up the Lu River. That Governor Xie Xuelong has surely been lured toward Anfu. At a moment like this, if we wheel around for a counter-strike, how can Ji'an withstand it?"

Fei Ruhe, who had also studied military strategy, grasped it: "This is called making a noise in the east while striking in the west—also called hitting the enemy where they're unprepared. False and real, then false again and real again. Next time you let me lead troops, I can do the same."

(End of chapter)