Chapter 196: Report

On the official road one li north of Xiaoguanpu, the dead and wounded lay strewn everywhere, the air filled with agonized screams. Wu Dacai was drenched in sweat, sprawled on the ground panting heavily. A figure beside him stirred slightly. Wu Dacai picked up a long spear from the ground, gripped it near the spearhead, and stabbed at the person's waist.

There was no real force behind it, and the aim was even worse — it only grazed a bit of skin and flesh off the person's waist. Wu Dacai breathed heavily for a moment, then crawled over to the person. Gripping the shaft with both hands, he stabbed desperately at the heart. With a wet thud, the spearhead sank in. The person shuddered once and finally stopped moving.

Wu Dacai went completely limp and collapsed onto his back. Even with his eyes closed, the world was blindingly bright. The sun blazed overhead, scorching the earth, and the air was thick with the stench of blood. Around him, others were still groaning — most of them trampled by the Roving Bandits themselves. Wu Dacai had no energy left to deal with them. If a single bandit showed up now, they could take his life with ease.

From the ambush site to here, he had fought his way through the whole distance. He had lost count of how many times he had stabbed, had no idea whether he had killed anyone or not, and even less idea how he had ended up lying on the ground. The memories in between were a blur.

Wu Dacai felt his mouth parched and tongue dry. From the moment they had spotted the Roving Bandits until now, the thought of drinking water had never even crossed his mind. He reached for his waist and felt around — his coconut ladle was nowhere to be found. He wanted to go drink from the fields, but for the moment he simply had no strength left. He had no choice but to abandon the idea.

He lay there in a daze for a while, then heard low, rasping grunts nearby. Wu Dacai struggled to his feet, propping himself up on one arm to look around. Not far ahead, a person in a white coat was swinging something repeatedly, the movements somewhat labored.

Wu Dacai had recovered a bit of strength, but the thirst was even more intense now. He looked around blankly on the ground, and his eyes finally settled on the man he had just killed. Because they were so close, this was the first time since the battle began that he had really looked at a bandit's face. The man was probably not yet thirty. His eyes were slightly rolled back, showing the whites, and his mouth hung half open, as if a scream had been cut off before it could finish, and life had simply vanished.

He wore a tattered shirt on his upper body; the right side had come open and lay spread on the ground, half his torso completely exposed. From the spear wound, dark red blood still oozed slowly. He looked very thin and frail, his ribs showing in rows. On his shoulder were marks worn by a carrying pole. On his feet were a pair of straw sandals. Beside him lay a pitchfork, its tines all blunted.

He was no different from any other head of a household back in the village. If you saw him in the farmland, he would be the most ordinary of farmers. But lying here on this official road, he was called a Roving Bandit.

Wu Dacai stared blankly for a moment. A gourd on the far side of the corpse caught his eye. Wu Dacai leaned over the man's body, stretched out his hand, and managed to reach the gourd — perhaps it had belonged to this very man.

He shook it; there was still water inside. With effort, he pulled out the stopper. Wu Dacai was about to put the gourd's mouth to his lips, but after a moment's thought, he raised it higher instead and tilted his head back to catch the stream of water.

The water had already been heated by the sun, but as it went down his throat, it still felt incomparably clear and cold. The splashing water brought a sense of comfort to his body.

The water in the gourd was soon poured out completely. Wu Dacai sat for a moment, feeling his spirit return somewhat. He struggled to his feet, raised his hand ready to toss the gourd away, hesitated, then hung the gourd on his belt instead.

He took one last look at the man's face. Wu Dacai stepped on the corpse, pulled out the long spear, and staggered forward.

The person ahead had also just stood up. What he held in his hand turned out to be a short axe, and he too walked with faltering steps. After only a few paces, he spotted a Roving Bandit crawling on the ground. The man simply sat down on him, pressed a hand against his neck to pin the bandit to the ground, raised the axe, and hacked at the back of his head.

"You'll hit your own hand."

Dragging his long spear, Wu Dacai walked up beside him and said listlessly. Wai Lian raised his head and looked at Wu Dacai blankly. His head and face were drenched and spattered with dense blood, making his features completely unrecognizable. If not for that asymmetrical face of his, Wu Dacai would not have identified him so easily.

Wai Lian lowered his head again and hacked twice more. The person on the ground was utterly silenced. Only then did Wai Lian stand up. The white coat on his chest was now a sheet of blood red, and the edge of the axe in his hand was covered in notches.

Wai Lian raised his left hand and pointed down the official road. "More."

Wu Dacai looked over lazily. On the official road ahead, scattered Roving Bandits were still fleeing — most of them wounded, hobbling along at no great speed.

Without waiting for his response, Wai Lian walked slowly onward on his own, also hobbling. His left leg seemed to be injured.

Wu Dacai sighed and followed behind, but his legs felt as if they were filled with lead. He had no strength at all to catch those people, and Wai Lian didn't look like he could catch them either.

"Stop chasing! There might be a whole bunch of bandits up ahead!" Wu Dacai shouted at Wai Lian's retreating figure. They were already one li from Xiaoguanpu, now in hilly terrain, and would soon enter Shucheng territory.

"So what if there's a bunch? Just means a few more to kill."

Wu Dacai cursed, "What's the use of killing a few more."

Wai Lian kept walking. Wu Dacai had not been back in this team for long, and unlike the send-off he'd received when he left, he had returned with a stain on his record. Now the whole team looked down on him a little. Normally, he feared the Squad Captain most, and then this Wai Lian — because Wai Lian had already become a Squad Leader of Five, and was exactly the one in charge of him, with a particularly fierce temperament to boot.

But today, Wu Dacai seemed to fear nothing. He shouted at Wai Lian in anger, "It's just the two of us here now. If you keep going, I'm heading back too, and I'll leave you for the bandits to eat raw."

"Get lost." Wai Lian glared back over his shoulder, but his feet did not stop.

Wu Dacai spat, turned around, and started walking back — and came face to face with Yao Dongshan, with Dong Mingyuan beside him and a group of soldiers behind them. Yao Dongshan was covered head to toe in blood and mud, though he seemed to have wiped his face with water somewhere.

Wu Dacai jolted alert and immediately stopped, standing in place. "Reporting to the Centurion!"

Yao Dongshan hurried over and clapped Wu Dacai on the shoulder. "You dog, well killed — all of you, well killed."

Wu Dacai's shoulder was knocked askew by the slap. He couldn't understand how Yao Dongshan still had so much strength. Dong Mingyuan, by contrast, looked utterly exhausted and merely nodded at Wu Dacai.

Yao Dongshan pointed toward the official road. "What's the situation up ahead?"

Wu Dacai's fatigue vanished in an instant. "Reporting to the Centurion, your two subordinates pursued the enemy to this point. The situation of the Roving Bandits ahead is unclear. With hills blocking both sides and being far from the main force, this lowly one feared there might be a bandit ambush and was just about to turn back and report to the Centurion."

Before Yao Dongshan could speak, Dong Mingyuan beside him interjected, "That is exactly correct. Military Law states that when entering mountainous or wild terrain, troops must advance in separate units. The front, left, and right must all be thoroughly scouted before the main force can march."

"No more scouting." Yao Dongshan waved a hand. "Scout any more and the bandits will all have run. Lord Pang's military order: our First Company is to find the Bandit Camp today before we can halt."

Wu Dacai hurriedly said, "This lowly one was thinking the same. Last night, no campfires were seen to the north, yet the bandits arrived at Xiaoguanpu just after daybreak. That means the bandits did not march here through the night, but left their camp after dawn. Their camp must be not far from Xiaoguanpu. Now that they're retreating in defeat, if we just pursue them, they'll have to abandon their camp and flee for their lives."

Yao Dongshan frowned in thought for a moment, then looked at Wu Dacai. "That makes sense."

Wu Dacai puffed out his chest and said loudly, "This lowly one is willing to be the Pioneer. We must find the Bandit Camp today."

Yao Dongshan and Dong Mingyuan both showed expressions of approval. Yao Dongshan clapped him on the shoulder again. "Never figured you, Wu Dacai, were such a stout fellow, and you talk sense too. For now, you'll act as the First Squad Captain."

Dong Mingyuan grunted and tugged at Yao Dongshan's sleeve, signaling him to be cautious. Yao Dongshan waved a hand. "Gambling is gambling, killing well is killing well — that's enough to be a Squad Captain."

Wu Dacai's scalp went numb, and for a moment he couldn't speak. Being a Squad Captain meant more monthly pay and an easier path to promotion — but what did 'acting' mean?

Dong Mingyuan over on the side lowered his head and said, "Your Squad Captain, he's already... ah."

"What's with the 'ah'? He's just dead as a ball." Yao Dongshan wiped at the bloodstains on his chest. "Which battle doesn't kill a few Squad Captains? Enough talk. Open the road ahead. Find those bandit spawns' camp so we can report back to Lord Pang."

Inside and outside Xiaoguanpu, horses were everywhere. Below a small hill on the north side of the Stores and Societies, the terraced fields were crammed with mud-caked Roving Bandit captives squatting in rows. They had exhausted all their strength in the muck of the paddy fields.

Corpses floated in every paddy field; here and there, people were still being chased, and on the more distant river flats, scattered fighting continued.

Pang Yu lowered his telescope. The main battle at Beixia Pass was over, and his mood finally relaxed. The Roving Bandits seemed to have collapsed from sheer terror. The Horse Soldiers at the front had fought quite ferociously and had already held off the Garrison Commander battalion's surprise assault, but the rear units had suddenly crumbled, and the forward defense had collapsed right after.

This was Pang Yu's first Field Battle, and an improvised Encounter Battle at that — vastly different from the set-piece formations and engagements he had imagined before. But in the end, they had won. The enemy killed and captured numbered at least six or seven hundred, and most importantly, they had seized quite a few warhorses. The exact count hadn't been tallied yet, but Pang Yu's rough estimate was around two hundred — an unexpected delight.

Shi Kefa's great banner — "Shi, Assistant Administration Commissioner of the Jiangxi Provincial Administration Commission and Commissioner of the Anchi Military Defense Circuit" — was approaching Xiaoguanpu. Pang Yu hastily put away his telescope and waited respectfully at the crossroads to receive him.

The horse stopped before him. Shi Kefa's riding skill was passable. After dismounting, he could hardly conceal his excitement.

Pan Keda and Xu Strengthening, who were following, both looked rather displeased. Just now, Pang Yu had led men to block the road, refusing to let their troops through, forcing them to send men down into the paddy fields through the homesteads. Movement in the paddy fields was far too slow, and by the time their men arrived, the live horses had mostly been led away. They had only managed to snatch some severed heads, but ordinary bandit heads were worth little — far less practical than warhorses.

"Since last year, the Roving Bandits have not shied away from government troops. In the sixth month of this year, Cao Wenzhao and Ai Wannian, the most battle-hardened in the Border Army, died at the bandits' hands one after another. At this moment of upheaval, General Pang has broken the enemy in a single battle — this can truly be called turning back the raging tide."

Pang Yu hurriedly demurred. He had not yet seen the latest Court Gazette, but rumors were spreading all along the river that Cao Wenzhao and Ai Wannian had been killed by the Roving Bandits. Pang Yu had no idea who these two men were, but from the sound of it, they must have been very formidable figures — otherwise, the whole realm would not be buzzing with the news.

For Shi Kefa to say that the bandits no longer shied away from government troops suggested that in the past, the bandits had mostly fled at the mere sight of government soldiers. Judging from his current demeanor, his earlier reluctance to give battle must have been influenced by the deaths of those two fierce generals, leading him to overestimate the bandits' combat strength.

"I dare not accept such praise, my lord. I just conducted a rough interrogation. This bandit force belongs to Scorpion Block's unit. They arrived at Shucheng together with Ma Shouying, and it's said they plan to assemble there with the Whole King. While waiting, Scorpion Block was sent south to plunder, which is how they came to Beixia Pass."

Shi Kefa let out an "Oh." "Then has their subsequent course of action been determined? Will they join forces to attack Tongcheng?"

"I have not yet obtained that information. Combat is still ongoing. I intend to overrun Scorpion Block's camp and continue attacking toward Shucheng tomorrow."

Xu Strengthening, standing behind, interjected coldly, "Beyond Xiaoguanpu is Shucheng — that is the Fengyang Governor's jurisdiction. If we enter another's designated territory without authorization and inadvertently disrupt the Canal Transport Governor's grand encirclement plan, I fear it would be quite improper."

Pang Yu knew Xu Strengthening was also displeased with him, but he was merely a Guest General. Even if he was displeased, there was little he could do to Pang Yu. Now, with the great victory at Beixia Pass, as long as Shi Kefa was satisfied, everyone else was irrelevant.

But Shi Kefa still hesitated. He glanced at Xu Strengthening, then said, "Chief Commander Xu speaks the truth. The Canal Transport Governor has his own plans — perhaps he is already encircling these several bands of roving bandits."

Pang Yu felt a headache coming on. He now had a great victory in hand, but it would be best to secure more spoils. The Garrison Battalion had suffered significant casualties this time — the relief silver would be unavoidable, and the loss of equipment was also heavy. Shi Kefa could provide only limited supplies, while the roving bandits, having plundered all along their path, would have seized no small amount of gold and silver. And since they had no need to purchase anything, most of that gold and silver would have been used to bribe government troops — their camp was certainly not short of it.

Another matter was his desire to capture Scorpion Block, dead or alive. After all, judging from the Court Gazette, the imperial court cared most about the major bandit chieftains.

But Pang Yu already knew how to move Shi Kefa. He thought for a moment, then said, "This subordinate understands your excellency's concerns. But the roving bandits plundered the people of Tongcheng at Xiaoguanpu, and your excellency is the father-mother of Anqing. This humble officer merely wishes to relieve your excellency's worries — only to rescue those common folk, and will absolutely not advance deep into the Shucheng county boundary."

Shi Kefa furrowed his brow and pondered for a long while. Pang Yu could see a rich inner drama playing out in him.

"Only as far as Scorpion Block's camp ground. No further."

"This subordinate obeys."

Having resolved this matter, Shi Kefa stepped forward. "This official shall personally interrogate the resurrected roving bandit ringleader."

Pang Yu hurriedly beckoned several personal soldiers over and ordered them to bring the captive. After giving the instruction, he also summoned Hou Shuban.

"Hou Shuban, draft a report on the Beixia Pass Great Victory at once. Bring it to me for review when it is done."

Hou Shuban stared blankly. "Your excellency, by 'report,' do you mean a detailed report to be submitted to the Grand Coordinator Yamen?"

"It has nothing to do with the detailed report. Just narrate the process of our great victory — no need to cover every aspect as a detailed report would." Pang Yu considered further, then added, "Focus mainly on the might of the Anqing Garrison Battalion. It is for the Times. It must make anyone who reads it feel that our Anqing Battalion is invincible under heaven."