Chapter 180: 178: Besiege Wei to Rescue Zhao

Those guard-station soldiers Yang Jiamo had brought along to plunder originally numbered several hundred, but most took advantage of the chaos to flee back to their hometowns.

Only a few dozen, men who actually belonged to the Nanchang Guard, trickled back one after another to report the news.

The first group to return numbered seven. From mid-afternoon that day, they fled for their lives without stopping deep into the night. Along the way, exhausted and starving, they groped in the dark to kill and drive off some commoners, ate some food, and lay down on a bed to rest.

By dusk the following day, when the city gates of Nanchang were nearly closed, these seven men finally raced back to the Nanchang Guard.

In fact, merchant ships from the Fengcheng docks had already brought word to Nanchang that very day. Only they had provided no details. As soon as these guard-station soldiers fled back, the Nanchang Guard Commander immediately took them to see Governor Li Maofang.

Li Maofang asked, "Why was Regional Commander Yang pursued all the way to Fengcheng?"

One guard-station soldier answered, "Regional Commander Yang took us into the countryside to suppress bandits and confiscated the property of several landlords who had joined the rebels. Those landlords had so much grain and money in their homes that we couldn't finish moving it even after two double-hours..."

"Shut your mouth!"

Li Maofang was furious and pressed him, "Speak of the fighting. I did not ask how you robbed the gentry."

That guard-station soldier hurriedly said, "We were in the middle of moving things when two or three thousand rebels came charging at us. Regional Commander Yang won the first engagement and chased the rebels across several fields, but those rebels ran too fast and we couldn't catch them, so we had to pull back. As soon as Regional Commander Yang withdrew, those rebels came charging back. After dragging on like that, the rebels' naval force arrived. Regional Commander Yang disembarked outside Fengcheng county town and led his troops into the city."

"He fled into the city?" Li Maofang asked.

"We didn't see clearly." The guard-station soldier shook his head. They had been focused only on fleeing for their lives and had not dared to approach the county town — how would they know the situation over there?

Li Maofang asked again, "Why did you not enter the city together with Regional Commander Yang?"

The guard-station soldier's face crumpled. "Everyone was fighting to disembark at the time. Regional Commander Yang was afraid he couldn't run fast enough, so he had his household retainers kill us Jiangxi local troops, saying we were blocking his path off the boat. We weren't scattered by the rebels — we were scattered by Regional Commander Yang's household retainers killing us."

Li Maofang was instantly speechless. He could imagine just how wretched Yang Jiamo must have been at that moment.

When Yang Jiamo fought in the north, he always abandoned his infantry to cover the rear. To put it bluntly, he let the infantry block the enemy while he took his household retainers and rode off on horseback. But once he got to Jiangxi, he couldn't ride horses, and his household retainers were wearing iron armor — they couldn't even run properly even if they wanted to.

The Jiangzhou Military Defense Circuit Vice-Commissioner, Dong Xiangheng, was currently training naval forces on Lake Poyang.

Li Maofang sent someone to summon Dong Xiangheng and at the same time invited the officials of the Jiangxi Three Provincial Offices to deliberate.

The Left Provincial Administration Commissioner, Ding Kuichu — the very one who valued money over his own life and who, in the end, surrendered and had his entire family killed.

The Right Provincial Administration Commissioner, Zhang Bingwen — this gentleman died a heroic death in history.

At the time, he was serving as Left Provincial Administration Commissioner of Shandong when the Tartars breached the passes and attacked Jinan. The eunuch Gao Qiqian held a massive force but shrank back in Linqing, not daring to move. Zu Kuan arrived with reinforcements but hesitated and wavered, too afraid of the enemy to engage.

Zhang Bingwen mobilized the commoners inside the city and held it for half a month. The city gates were breached on the second day of the new year. He then led the commoners in street fighting against the Tartars. Outnumbered and outmatched, he was struck by an arrow and died. His wife, concubines, and maidservants — more than ten people in all — threw themselves into a lake and drowned.

The Jiangxi Provincial Surveillance Commissioner was named Wu Shiliang. He was already eighty-five years old this year. This venerable gentleman had only passed the jinshi examination at the age of sixty-nine. In history, he also donated a hundred thousand taels of silver to the Southern Ming court to recruit troops for war. When he resigned from office and returned home, he died of illness at the age of ninety-seven.

The position of Jiangxi Regional Military Commissioner was temporarily vacant; the previous holder had died of illness some time ago, and the court had yet to make a new appointment.

"The rebels are attacking Fengcheng, and Regional Commander Yang is besieged inside the city," Li Maofang sighed. "Gentlemen, tell me — should we send reinforcements?"

Ding Kuichu hastily said, "We must not fall for the rebels' trick of luring the tiger from the mountain. What if the rebels launch a surprise attack on Nanchang while we go to the rescue?"

Zhang Bingwen, however, asked, "How many usable troops does Jiangxi currently have?"

Li Maofang answered, "Troops fit for battle number no more than one or two thousand. The rest are all newly trained soldiers. As for the naval forces, they suffered heavy losses in the summer and are likely no match for the rebels' sailors either. Regional Commander Yang does have several hundred elite troops — all battle-hardened armored men from the north."

"Only one or two thousand troops fit for battle?" Ding Kuichu was so alarmed his back went cold.

Li Maofang sighed. "There are over ten thousand new recruits, but they've only been drilling for two or three months. The rebel Zhao of Luling has a notorious reputation for ferocity. These new recruits probably wouldn't dare fight him."

Zhang Bingwen suddenly spoke up. "The Prefect of Guangxin, Zhang Yinggao, has five thousand hardened soldiers under his command and is currently suppressing bandits in Nanfeng County. We can order him to march on Jishui and strike directly at that rebel Zhao's rear. That would produce the marvelous effect of besieging Wei to rescue Zhao."

"This plan is feasible," Li Maofang said, then asked Wu Shiliang, "What is the venerable gentleman's view?"

Wu Shiliang, eighty-five years old, sat there as if about to fall asleep. His eyes half-closed, he said, "We must ascertain the true situation. Do those several hundred armored troops under Regional Commander Yang still exist or not? If they do, Fengcheng must be relieved. If they do not, then saving it is pointless. Those several hundred armored troops are the key — they are the only elite soldiers Jiangxi possesses! Without those armored troops, Nanchang is a prize in the rebels' bag. When they choose to take it depends solely on that rebel Zhao's mood."

This blunt truth left everyone instantly speechless.

"Bang!"

Zhang Bingwen suddenly slammed the table. "That wretch Yang Jiamo! For no good reason, he went looting in rebel territory and turned the whole situation into this mess!"

Just then, a Governor's attendant appeared at the doorway.

"Governor, urgent military intelligence."

"Come in and report."

The attendant bowed and entered the room. He cupped his hands toward the assembled officials and said, "A messenger has arrived from Fengcheng County to report. There is also a gentryman named Wang Tingshi requesting an audience."

"Bring them both in," Li Maofang said.

Before long, Wang Tingshi and the messenger entered the room together. The officials all rose and bowed with clasped hands.

Wang Tingshi returned the bow and said, agitated, "Gentlemen, I hear the rebels have already surrounded Fengcheng. My Wang clan's entire estate is here in Nanchang. I beg the Governor and all you gentlemen to permit me to spend my own funds to recruit two thousand local sons as soldiers to defend the city of Nanchang."

Everyone was overjoyed.

Li Maofang grasped Wang Tingshi's hand and said, "With your help, sir, Nanchang has nothing to fear."

Wang Tingshi declared with righteous solemnity, "To defend one's native place is but one's duty."

Although Wang Tingshi had been dismissed from office and was living in retirement, he was a local gentryman and was willing to raise two thousand troops to help fight. He was immediately regarded by the many officials as one of their own.

Wang Tingshi stayed on directly to observe this important council.

Li Maofang questioned the messenger. "How did you get out of the city?"

The messenger answered, "The County Magistrate offered twenty taels of silver and sent out over ten messengers. We were lowered from the city walls in bamboo baskets at night. As for the other messengers, this humble one does not know their fate. This humble one quietly swam across the moat, traveled day and night without stopping to the riverbank, and spent five mace of silver midway to hire a boat to Nanchang."

"Do Regional Commander Yang's household retainers still survive?" Wu Shiliang suddenly asked.

The messenger answered, "Some were lost. Three or four hundred remain."

The messenger handed over the letter. The officials examined it carefully — it indeed bore the great seal of the Fengcheng County Magistrate.

The messenger knelt and knocked his head on the floor. "I beg you, honored sirs, to send troops at once to relieve Fengcheng!"

Fengcheng County, atop the gate tower.

Regional Commander Yang Jiamo and County Magistrate Xie Longwen sat facing each other, eating atop the gate tower.

Whatever grudges lay between them, they were now grasshoppers tied to the same rope. They had reached a temporary cooperation.

Cooperate how?

Write a letter to trick the Governor into bringing troops to rescue them!

If they told the Governor that Yang Jiamo's household retainers had already been wiped out, the Governor would certainly not send troops. Only by saying the retainers were still intact would the Governor have a motive to come to the rescue, because he would still need to rely on those retainers for future battles.

"Ai, my official career has reached its end," Xie Longwen sighed.

Sending a false plea for help to deceive the Governor — even if they won this battle, Li Maofang would certainly bear a grudge, and could easily find some charge to impeach him and cost him his post.

Yang Jiamo laughed coldly. "First, let's keep our heads."

Suddenly, a section of the northern city wall erupted in commotion. The two men, thinking a mutiny had broken out, hurriedly set down their chopsticks and ran to investigate.

It turned out Xie Longwen had been scattering silver to recruit soldiers, and the enlistment pay for the garrison troops had been embezzled. At the same time, the local militia they had previously recruited seized the chance to join in the pay riot, because their monthly grain rations had been embezzled too.

Yang Jiamo headed straight for the county yamen, cut down the private secretary with one stroke of his blade, and returned carrying the head, shouting: "The man who embezzled your pay — I have already killed him! Tomorrow, your full pay will be issued without fail!"

The Assistant Magistrate, the Constable, and the Registrar, seeing the private secretary's severed head, were so terrified they trembled all over.

Because they three had also had a hand in the embezzlement of military funds.

That very night, the three gathered for a secret conference.

"Why don't we just surrender?"

"The three of us have done evil... our reputations are foul. I fear we would be put on public trial and condemned by the rebels."

"If we deliver the city, that is a merit. It can more or less redeem our crimes. If the rebels breach the city, we will certainly not escape death."

"Last time, when that Huang Yao fought his way into the city, he only took the County Magistrate's head, and even had us help keep order. The rebels are reasonable; they will surely let us atone for our crimes with merit."

"Right, right, General Huang Yao is very reasonable, and he is outside the city right now too."

"This city cannot be held. Sooner or later the rebels will break through."

"Old Liu, how many trusted men can you muster?"

"Forty-odd."

"That Yang Jiamo is highly skilled in martial arts. We must devise a plot to kill him."

"Who can get hold of poison?"

"I'll see what I can do."

"..."

Yang Jiamo and Xie Longwen did not wait for the Governor's relief troops. Instead, it was the Prefect of Guangxin, Zhang Yinggao, and the Prefect of Fuzhou, Cai Bangjun, who received Li Maofang's letter urging them to besiege Wei to rescue Zhao.

Cai Bangjun had risen through the ranks with remarkable speed — a jinshi in the first year of Chongzhen, and already a Prefect by the fifth year of Chongzhen.

This gentleman did little else but devote himself single-mindedly to cultural and educational work, and even recruited scholars to compile the Gazetteer of Fuzhou Prefecture.

It was only when the religious bandits of Nanfeng grew so outrageous that they actually seized the county seat that he finally recruited local militia to suppress the bandits, and invited Zhang Yinggao to cross prefectural borders and assist in the campaign.

Just a few days earlier, Zhang Yinggao, leading over 4,000 troops, and Cai Bangjun, leading over 2,000, had finally wiped out the Nanfeng religious bandits, with only a few dozen secret sect followers escaping into the mountains.

"Master Danru, should we dispatch the troops?" Cai Bangjun was deeply apprehensive, for the name of the Luling rebel Zhao was far too notorious.

Zhang Yinggao sighed and said, "The Regional Commander is besieged; we cannot simply sit by and watch. Moreover, we are not going to fight the main rebel force, but to lead our troops in a surprise raid on Jishui county seat. The purpose of this expedition is not to take the city, but merely to enter the territory of Jishui and force the main rebel force to withdraw from Fengcheng."

"I defer to your judgment in all matters, Master Danru." Cai Bangjun understood nothing of warfare. Had it not been for Zhang Yinggao's help, he would not have dared to suppress the religious bandits on his own.

Zhang Yinggao was, in truth, deeply troubled. Li Ruolian, whom Li Maofang had framed and demoted, was the elder brother of his close friend and fellow student. They had grown up together, and Zhang Yinggao and Li Ruolian were as close as brothers. In terms of personal feeling, Zhang Yinggao would gladly strangle Li Maofang. Even in terms of public duty, Zhang Yinggao wished to impeach Li Maofang — this Governor was simply too despicable.

But now, he had no choice but to help, or Nanchang would be in grave danger!

The government troops of Guangxin and Fuzhou prefectures set out together by water, descending along the Chongren River, then midway turning into the Wu River, thrusting from the rear straight toward Jishui county seat.

Besiege Wei to rescue Zhao.

(Busy this afternoon, only two updates today.)

(End of chapter)