Chapter 131: Great Mountains

On the fifteenth day of the second month, Chongzhen Eighth Year, across the vast, rolling Dabie Mountains, an endless column marched along the main road beside the river valley. Seen from the sky, though it was a great army of tens of thousands, against the towering majesty of the surrounding peaks it still looked like nothing more than a thin, elongated earthworm.

In the middle of the column, two great banners, one red and one yellow, flew side by side. Beneath them, Geli Yan narrowed his eyes, ceaselessly scanning the surrounding terrain.

"What's there to see in these mountains?" Beside him, Zhang Xianzhong swayed gently in the saddle. "Just a place to hide from government troops."

Geli Yan gave a dry chuckle. "The Sweeping King's at the rear. If troops come, they'll hit him first. Why would I hide from troops?"

Zhang Xianzhong shot him a glance. "Then why stare at the mountains?"

"Last year, I went to Huoshan once, to Yingshan once, over five hundred li round trip. This is my second time to Huoshan. These mountains — go north and you're in Henan, east to Lu'an and Luzhou, west to Huguang, south to Anqing." Geli Yan gazed at the river bend ahead. "I figure, whenever troops come after us, we just burrow into these hills. There are only these few paths along the river. Find a defensible spot and hold it — even if the Great and Little Cao came, we wouldn't fear them. Leave the mountains and you can go anywhere. No one can block that many exits."

Zhang Xianzhong nodded. "Makes sense. Pick this route and the troops can't pursue."

"Otherwise, just take these hundreds of li of mountains. Advance or retreat as you please." Geli Yan turned his head to look at Zhang Xianzhong. "Old Eight, want to team up? Settle down right here in the Yinghuo Mountain from now on."

"I've got too many men. We'd starve to death in the mountains. What you're thinking — just go out and raid. How long can a few prefectures and counties supply that?"

Geli Yan leaned closer, persuading. "If we settle down, it won't be all burning and killing. Take turns raiding grain across three Provincial Administration Commissions. All the prefectures and counties in every direction combined — feeding tens of thousands is definitely doable."

Zhang Xianzhong remained unmoved. "Flatlands are better. If I don't need to hide from troops, I'm not going into the mountains."

Hearing this, Geli Yan knew he couldn't sway Zhang Xianzhong. He changed the subject. "Then once we leave the mountains, where do we go?"

"Back to Shaanxi."

"Hong Chengchou is in Shaanxi. That's no good destination. Wouldn't Henan be better? Or are you still afraid of that divination at the Stone Bridge Stele?"

"Not staying in Henan. The god in that Stone Bridge Stele temple is useless, can't tell fortunes. I carved up his statue myself." Zhang Xianzhong turned to look at the column behind them. "My own calculations are accurate. We dug up the emperor's ancestral graves. The government troops are all heading east toward Fengyang. I'm going west."

"Makes sense. You burned the Imperial Mausoleum, I helped burn Huangjue Temple. That dog emperor will help us kill plenty of dog officials, and force every route of government troops to chase us." Geli Yan quickly decided. "Then Old He will follow you back to Shaanxi first. If we run into the Chuang General's gang on the way, do we join camps with him?"

"The Chuang General's camp — no joining."

Geli Yan chuckled twice. "Old He knows you two fought over the music-playing eunuchs in Fengyang, so I asked first to be clear."

"Fight over donkey-ball eunuchs. What use is raising musicians?" Zhang Xianzhong's face was expressionless. "What generation does the Chuang General count as? He wanted them, so I went ahead and chopped them."

Geli Yan echoed, "If Gao Chuangwang were here, joining camps would be fine. The Chuang General's ambitions are too high. This time attacking Fengyang, he contributed the plan, and now he talks like he's the big master. When we first rebelled, what was he even? Dares to open his mouth and demand things from us. If it were me, Old He, I wouldn't give them to him either. But Old Eight, you're still the ruthless one — just chopped them outright."

Hearing Geli Yan's words, Zhang Xianzhong narrowed his eyes and gave a cold snort. At the Fengyang Imperial Mausoleum, he had seized a team of young music-playing eunuchs. Every leader found them a rare novelty and came to watch the troupe perform. The others just watched, but Li Inner City hinted that he wanted them. Zhang Xianzhong didn't even say he wouldn't give them — he simply chopped them. The two groups split camps over this. Li Inner City returned to Henan, and Zhang Xianzhong headed south with Geli Yan and the Sweeping King.

"Even if he wanted to go south, this official road can't handle that many people. There's still an order of march..."

Before Zhang Xianzhong could finish, a sudden uproar erupted ahead. Both men stood up in their stirrups. A section of the forward column had broken apart, men and horses scrambling over each other to flee. On the right-side mountain, several figures flickered. Stones continuously tumbled down the slope. A few ox carts, moving slowly, were still within the path of the falling rocks.

Xiao Wazi sat on the ox cart, looking up at the mountainside to the right. There, several figures were straining together, pushing a boulder from its resting place. It tumbled, crashing down toward the mountain's base.

This was already the third time today. The Roving Bandits' vanguard had, as usual, burned the villages along the way, but the mountain folk were far more vengeful than the commoners on the plains. Many mountain folk, after fleeing into the hills, found their way above the official road and continuously attacked the marching bandit army with stones. (Note 1)

Xiao Wazi's spirits had recovered well. After breaching Huangmei, they had garrisoned in the city while the Sweeping King swept through Susong, where he encountered a force of government troops. These troops had been dispatched by Zhang Guowei from Jiangnan to relieve Anqing, led by Wu Song Commander Zhang Qiwei. They had rushed over, only to find the Roving Bandits rested and waiting. The result: the government troops were easily routed at Fuchang Ridge, and Zhang Qiwei died in battle.

Afterward, the Sweeping King engaged Pan Keda, who had rushed over from Anqing. In the original history, he was defeated outside Tongcheng — his horse was even shot dead, and he only escaped back to Tongcheng because a loyal subordinate gave up his own mount. Now, though the battle wasn't at Tongcheng, the strength of forces was unchanged. Pan Keda had only those several hundred men and was naturally outnumbered. He retreated in defeat to Anqing, and the government troops' resistance in Anqing Prefecture dissolved like smoke.

Because they were waiting for the Sweeping King, Zhang Xianzhong and Geli Yan stayed a few extra days. Those few days allowed Xiao Wazi to recover his vitality. The swelling on his arm gradually subsided. His ankle hadn't fully healed, but he could get down and walk slowly now — he just couldn't run. During the march, he still had to sit on the ox cart. While the old man drove, Xiao Wazi kept an eye on the mountain's movements, gauging the threat of flying stones.

"Sir, stones coming up ahead!"

The old man driving the cart strained to pull the ox rope. The yellow ox pulling the cart lowed, tilting its head as it stopped. A cascade of stones bounced down the slope, kicking up countless fragments and dust along the way, producing a rumbling, thunderous roar, like a howling yellow dragon charging at them.

The yellow dragon rapidly approached the mountain path. With a thunderous crash, a donkey cart several zhang ahead of them was instantly swallowed by the yellow dragon. Dust shot into the sky. The largest boulder struck the carriage squarely. The sturdy wooden frame shattered into pieces like paper Horse Cart, tumbling together with the donkey into the river channel beside the road.

Small stones rained down like a shower. Xiao Wazi jumped off the ox cart on one foot, grabbed the terrified, stunned old man, and desperately dove under the ox cart's frame.

A series of thuds rattled against the cart frame. The ox lowed a few times, its hooves shifting a few steps to the left.

Xiao Wazi's scalp tingled. Stones flying down from a mountain's waist were far more powerful than those from a city wall. A stone half the size of a fist could kill a man.

The moment the noise subsided slightly, Xiao Wazi, ignoring his still-unhealed foot, scrambled out from under the ox cart and pulled the old man, ready to run forward.

But the old man suddenly broke free and went back to pull the ox cart.

"Go! Leave the ox cart!"

The old man pulled while urgently saying, "Young man, you go first! The cart can't be abandoned. If it's lost, the team leader will have my head!"

The ox, now frightened, wouldn't budge no matter how he pulled.

Xiao Wazi looked up. More stones were tumbling down the mountain. Though not as terrifyingly powerful as before, a hit still meant death. The Roving Bandits ahead and behind were all screaming and fleeing.

These stones were slightly lighter, bouncing erratically down the slope. Each collision with the mountain slightly altered their direction. Xiao Wazi had no way to judge where this stone would land.

"Young man, you go first!" The old man shouted while straining to pull the ox. "Once this old man pulls the cart out, you'll have something to sit on."

Xiao Wazi turned to leave. After running just two steps, he stopped. He turned back, looked at the old man twice, then raised his head to watch the tumbling boulder. His expression shifted for a moment, then he limped back to the ox cart and helped the old man pull the ox.

Amid the rumbling of rolling stones, Xiao Wazi no longer watched the momentum on the mountain. He just buried his head and pulled the rope. The ox finally moved, and the ox cart slowly advanced.

Another thunderous crash. The boulder that had just fallen landed on the official road behind the ox cart, smashing a deep pit into the road surface.

The two of them strained to drive the ox cart forward, clearing stones blocking the wheels along the way, and finally passed safely through that dangerous stretch of road.

Xiao Wazi's ankle was throbbing with pain again. He collapsed on the ground, and the old man came over to help him up.

"We who make our living with livestock — the beast and the cart are our lives. They can't be thrown away." The old man's weathered, dark face was covered in sweat. After helping Xiao Wazi onto the ox cart, he looked at Xiao Wazi's face and sighed. "You, young man, aren't destined for the livestock trade. If you ever face this again, you must run first."

Xiao Wazi panted. "Didn't want to run first. My brother told me to run first, and he stayed behind in Tongcheng. He told me to kill everyone in Tongcheng, and I didn't manage that either."

The old man listened, shook his head, and silently went to drive the ox.

Xiao Wazi slowly lay back on the cart frame, looked at the sky, and said softly, "Tongcheng — next time, I will kill them all."

Note 1: Ming History: The mountain folk of Anqing hurled stones at the bandits, and many bandits died.