Chapter 111: Beside the Road

Zhou Yueru strode along the edge of the road, avoiding the deep cart ruts in the middle — stepping on that uneven surface not only twisted ankles easily, it also bruised the soles of her feet.

In early spring, some farmers were still working in the fields beside the road. The official road, normally bustling with carts and horses, lay deserted; scattered common folk carrying bundles on their backs walked from north to south — perhaps heading to Anqing Prefectural City to escape disaster, perhaps seeking refuge with relatives in the south. Some carried loads on shoulder poles, likely goods they had meant to sell in the city but were now returning with because the city gates had been sealed.

Tongcheng was not far now. Scattered dwellings began to appear along the roadside, most locked up tight with iron general's locks, but passing by two houses, she saw people still moving about inside.

"Aren't they afraid?" Zhou Yueru wiped the sweat from her forehead. The weather had seemed to turn colder again these past few days, but this journey on foot still left her feeling overheated.

A distant sound, like a large firecracker, came from far away. Zhou Yueru looked up toward the front — in the sky above the direction of Tongcheng, a trail of white smoke hung in the air.

The people walking on the road all turned their heads to look. Zhou Yueru stopped in her tracks. A moment later, another cannon blast sounded.

"It's... the signal cannon!" Zhou Yueru suddenly remembered — during the drill when the city was sealed the day before yesterday, they had fired one from the gate tower. It was an iron tube.

The travelers on the road were clearly alarmed, all quickening their pace southward. They could hurry south, but Zhou Yueru was heading north. She stopped where she was, not daring to step forward.

Just as she was at a loss, two peasants came running around the bend ahead. Heads raised, they ran with every ounce of strength they had.

The two sprinted closer. One of the people carrying luggage shouted, "What's happened at Tongcheng?"

The one running in front gasped for air and only managed to shout a single word — "Run!" — before flashing past in an instant.

Zhou Yueru's face changed color. She hurriedly asked the second man, "Have the roving bandits come?"

The second man waved frantically at the crowd without slowing down, shouting with all his might, "They're... attacking Tongcheng. Men on horseback... are here."

The crowd on the road froze. Then someone let out a shriek and, following those two, fled desperately south along the official road.

Sure enough, the clatter of hoofbeats sounded in the distance. Panic-stricken, Zhou Yueru ran a few steps south behind someone else, then suddenly stopped. Pang Yu's words surfaced in her mind.

"Don't take the official road!" Zhou Yueru screamed toward the retreating backs heading south. "Drop your things and run west! Get into the hills!"

The cluster of fleeing backs twisted and sprinted on. No one paid her any attention.

Zhou Yueru, her face flushed crimson, stamped her foot. She looked left and right — west of the rice paddies, there were hills. Some of the steeper slopes had not been cultivated, and the base of the slopes was thick with weeds.

She immediately lifted her skirt and ran desperately toward the hills. The hoofbeats on the official road grew steadily clearer. Zhou Yueru sprinted at full speed along the field ridges; the uneven, hard-packed dirt path that normally hurt her feet — now she felt nothing at all.

The hills ahead heaved violently in her vision. The field ridges were nearly behind her. Her breathing grew more and more ragged, yet her legs felt no fatigue. In such desperate urgency, Zhou Yueru still stole a glance back — no mounted figures had yet appeared on the official road.

But there seemed to be several figures following behind her. Zhou Yueru had no time to look closely. With a final desperate effort, she neared the hills. Beside this hill were a few grave mounds and a bamboo grove. The path from the field ridges passed between the graves and the hill. If she could circle around the hill, that would be best — but the hoofbeats already sounded very close.

The weeds were within arm's reach. Zhou Yueru dove headlong into the thick grass. Without pausing to catch her breath, she raised her head and looked north — a rider in red had just appeared at the bend.

Looking back along the path she had come, she now saw clearly that the several figures were one man and two women. The young man and young woman each held a child in their arms. They could run no more and had hidden behind the grave mounds. Trailing last was an old woman, carrying a blue cloth bundle on her back, still hobbling slowly along the field ridges.

Don't run this way. Zhou Yueru thought desperately, aching to shout at the woman. But the old woman, one hand braced on her waist and the other supporting the bottom of her bundle, still stumbled and staggered toward her.

The mounted figure approached swiftly. Someone shouted. A man dismounted in one fluid motion and came striding in pursuit along the field ridge. Through the grass, Zhou Yueru could see the gleaming blade in his hand.

Zhou Yueru's heart pounded wildly. She shrank deeper into the grass, pressed her head to the ground, and dared not make the slightest movement.

Before her eyes was nothing but dense blades of grass. In her ears, besides the thundering hoofbeats, was the old woman's ragged breathing — her panting like a bellows being worked furiously. She had clearly exhausted every last bit of her strength.

The ragged breathing broke off for a moment. The sound of something falling. Then the breathing resumed.

Zhou Yueru tilted her head slightly. Through a gap in the grass, she saw the old woman now lying on the ground, right at the spot of the grave mounds.

A pair of black Tartar boots appeared beside her. The pursuing figure had reached the old woman, only a few steps from the grass where Zhou Yueru hid. Zhou Yueru raised her gaze; through the obstructing blades of grass, she could still make out a youth in red.

He held a sharp waist saber. Planting one foot on the old woman's body, he raised the saber high — then suddenly sensed something amiss. Looking up, he saw the two adults and two children behind the grave mounds.

Both sides froze in shock. The four stared in terror at the youth. The young woman let out a low cry of alarm; the man beside her quickly reached out and pressed down on her arm, signaling her to stay silent.

The red-clad youth's movements halted. Zhou Yueru's heart leaped into her throat. The young couple had clearly seen where Zhou Yueru was hiding. If they were captured, they might well give away her position.

The main body of riders on the official road continued their pursuit, swiftly overtaking those fleeing along the road and capturing them all.

A few red-clad riders stopped at the field ridge, looking in this direction, seemingly waiting for this red-clad youth. From their angle, they could not see the four behind the grave mounds, much less hear them speak.

Just when Zhou Yueru thought she too was doomed, a complicated look flickered in the youth's eyes. He did not shout out, nor did he raise his blade to cut down the couple.

The man, hands trembling, pulled a coin pouch from his bosom and held it up before him, weeping softly, "I beg the Thousand-Year Lord to spare my family. This silver is an offering to the Thousand-Year Lord."

The youth said nothing, nor did he continue looking toward the grave mounds. He only lowered his head and looked at the old woman on the ground. The roving bandits in the distance suspected nothing and remained waiting where they were.

The man saw a glimmer of hope and hurriedly continued, "I beg the Thousand-Year Lord to grant my family a path to life. In the days to come, we shall burn incense and pray for blessings for the Thousand-Year Lord every day, never daring to cease as long as we live."

The red-clad youth was silent for a moment. That brief silence felt to Zhou Yueru as long as ten thousand years.

The captured commoners on the official road were herded together. Someone made them kneel in a row. Several red figures, wielding larger blades, were sizing them up.

Amid Zhou Yueru's terror, the youth finally spoke in a low voice: "Cover the children's mouths. Any sound, and all die."

He still kept his eyes on the old woman on the ground, giving those watching from a distance the impression that he was questioning her.

The couple hurriedly covered their children's mouths.

Wailing and screaming erupted on the official road. When Zhou Yueru looked over, one person had already been beheaded.

The young man seemed to think of something and urgently added, "I beg the Thousand-Year Lord to spare my aged mother. She is over sixty. Great is the Thousand-Year Lord's mercy!"

The old woman lying on the ground had finally caught her breath. Hearing this, she suddenly spoke: "There are companions watching. Let the Thousand-Year Lord kill this old body and be done with it."

The young man cried urgently, "Mother, you—"

The youth did not let him finish. He raised his blade and plunged it fiercely into the old woman's chest. Her head jerked upward, her neck straining taut, her mouth gaping wide open — then her head lolled to the side and fell back to the ground.

The young couple bit down hard on their lips, their heads trembling uncontrollably, yet they dared not make a single sound. The two children's eyes were wide open, filled with terror, their mouths clamped tightly shut by the couple's hands.

Zhou Yueru held her breath. She watched the youth pull out his blade — the crimson blood on its edge so piercingly vivid.

The youth wiped his blade on the old woman's clothes. He opened the blue bundle and made a show of rummaging through it for a moment. Finally, he cast one last glance at the two adults and two children, then slowly walked back toward the official road.

Once he reached the official road, the waiting roving bandits shouted a few words together, then mounted their horses and galloped southward. No one paid any further attention to this spot.

Zhou Yueru let out a long breath. The family of four behind the grave mounds gazed at the old woman's corpse, sobbing quietly — their kin right before their eyes, yet they could not go to touch her.

After a moment, the man wiped away his tears. Holding his child, he kowtowed twice toward the old woman, then, pulling the woman with one hand and using the bamboo grove for cover, headed toward the hills to the southwest.

Zhou Yueru took two ragged breaths. Lying in the grass, she slowly crawled westward. The sharp blades of grass cut numerous bloody nicks into her face and hands, yet she felt not the slightest pain.

At last she crawled to the far side of the hill, where the official road was no longer visible. Only then did Zhou Yueru stand up. A wave of dizziness washed over her. She stood in place for a moment, then got her bearings and followed the small paths between the hills toward West of the City in Tongcheng. By now, the sky was gradually darkening.

Night fell. Outside Tongcheng, all was pitch-black. No one knew where those roving bandits lay hidden.

On Tongcheng's city wall, lamps blazed brightly. Every five battlements held a high lamp. Behind the brightly lit battlements, community soldiers stood packed in dense ranks. From Dongzuo Gate to Nanxun Gate, the defensive focus, the deployment was two men per battlement, with one ten-man support squad for every fifty battlements — also community soldiers. Three squadrons of the Zhuang Squad were stationed respectively at these three city towers, while one additional squadron waited at Bean Family Bridge as a reserve force, ready to reinforce this section of the defense line at any moment.

Inside the Xiangyang Gate tower, Yang Erming sat before the desk with a heavy expression, studying Pang Yu's city defense map while listening to his report.

"After the Roving Bandits launched their surprise attack on Xiangyang Gate, over a hundred riders in red arrived via the Official Road. Seeing they could not seize the gate, the majority of the cavalry followed the Official Road and went south. Only fifty or sixty riders remained outside the city."

Yang Erming asked nervously, "Why would they bypass our Tongcheng and head south?"

"According to the intelligence I have gathered, they did the same at Luzhou. It should be to cut off the Official Road, blocking the escape routes of the common people. This also prevents messages from being relayed, facilitating their next move against the other county towns of Anqing."

"So that is how it is." Yang Erming drew a rough breath and asked with some worry, "Today it was only one or two hundred Roving Bandits, and they nearly took Tongcheng. Pang Squad Leader, in your judgment, can we truly hold Tongcheng?"

Pang Yu looked at Yang Erming and said with firm resolve, "Though today was perilous, I am more certain than yesterday that we can hold. Your Excellency is the pillar of the people's morale and should be even more steadfast in this conviction."

"Oh? Why is Pang Squad Leader more certain?"

Pang Yu bowed and said, "First, regarding the Roving Bandits: before yesterday, I had never seen them either. But after reaching the City Wall today, I carefully examined the Roving Bandits on Zilai Street and the cavalry that arrived later. I have some humble observations for Your Excellency's consideration."

Yang Erming nodded. Pang Yu continued, "The first wave of bandits who launched the surprise attack by cart were all able-bodied young men. This group served as the assault vanguard and were undoubtedly the bandits' elite. Their attack was cunning, swift, and ferocious, nearly seizing Xiangyang Gate. The second wave of bandits who arrived on horseback were half youths. Among these two groups, all wore red clothing. I saw no one wearing Iron Armor (Note 1). Their weapons were mostly Waist Sabers and long swords, with some carrying Wolf Tooth Clubs, Great Axes, and Short Spears. Twenty to thirty percent were equipped with bows. Their arrows killed several men on the city wall at the very start, as our defending Community Soldiers peeked out to observe and often paused motionless at the Arrow Crenels. Afterward, once the Hanging Curtains were set up on the wall and the Community Soldiers threw projectiles without exposing their heads, the bandits' arrows caused almost no casualties. After that, the bandits had no follow-up tactics. It is clear they lack effective means to counter the city wall. In City Defense, we hold the advantage."

Yang Erming found some sense in this. He had not expected Pang Yu to discern so much expertise in such a short time, and he felt slightly more at ease. He turned his head to look at the pitch-black outside the city and said, still somewhat worried, "What arrived today was only the Roving Bandits' Vanguard. We do not know if a larger force is behind them. That main force may have other methods."

"From the intelligence I have gathered, Chao County and Lujiang have already fallen. The situation in Hefei County is unknown. The Roving Bandits march extremely fast. According to information provided by refugees fleeing Chao County, the bandits reached Chao County on the twenty-second, roughly the same time they attacked Hefei. After an interval of about two days, they began their assault on Lujiang. This means these locations were not struck by the same single force. The Roving Bandits must have divided their forces at Luzhou to attack the various surrounding cities and towns. They may also be attacking Shucheng simultaneously. From this intelligence, we can deduce that the bandits' attacks emphasize speed. The time they spend attacking a single county town may not be very long. As long as we unite with a common purpose, the Roving Bandits will surely recognize the difficulty and withdraw."

Yang Erming suddenly looked at Pang Yu and said, "If the Roving Bandits divided their forces to attack Tongcheng, then those who arrived today number only a few hundred. If they intend to retreat toward Henan, no large force will come. It will be just these few hundred."

"That would naturally be for the best." Pang Yu pointed at several City Towers on the map and said, "Even if the bandits' main force comes, Tongcheng has over two thousand Community Soldiers. I will deploy the Zhuang Squad at the three southeastern city gates. As long as we ensure the gates are not lost, even if the bandits scale a section of the City Wall, only a few will be able to get up."

Yang Erming quickly waved his hand and said, "You absolutely must not let a single one get up."

Pang Yu cupped his hands and said, "Your Excellency, please rest assured. Although our Tongcheng Zhuang Squad was only recently established, many loyal and courageous men have already emerged today. We will certainly protect the safety of Tongcheng."

"Pang Squad Leader, you have taken great pains. After hearing your words, I feel much more grounded. I must still make an inspection tour of the city's various wards with Jiang Zhihuai and Wang Wenyao. As for the city wall, I must ask..."

Just as he reached this point, the urgent, insistent sound of the Watchman's Clapper rang out from within the city. Yang Erming stopped speaking in astonishment. A Runner rushed urgently into the gate tower and said, "Reporting to Your Excellency, a fire has broken out inside the city!"

Note 1: Regarding the equipment of the Roving Bandits, in the records of the sixteenth year of the Chongzhen reign, Zhang Xianzhong's Scout Cavalry were conducting a night reconnaissance when they heard the sound of armor plates rubbing together from riders across the river. They judged them to be Government Troops' Scout Cavalry, because "only Government Troops have armor." In their many battles with Government Troops, the Roving Bandits certainly must have captured armor. Therefore, the judgment is that the Roving Bandits placed an extreme emphasis on mobility. Even if they kept captured armor, they would discard it first when fleeing. As for the recorded claim of Gao Yingxiang's force having thirty thousand Heavy Armor cavalry, that is completely unreliable. If one had thirty thousand Heavy Armor cavalry, why flee in panic? They would have long since contended for the realm.