Chapter 234: Blade and Spear

On the southern bank of Jiangpu, several hundred horse soldiers roamed the shore, their formation quite scattered. A massive fleet of ships had arrived on the river, spreading along the water as if everywhere at once. Whether old bandits or servants, most came from the north and had never seen such a sight. The appearance of these government troops carried an air of mystery, bringing an added layer of fear. The camp on Jiangpu's south side fell into chaos, with each headman struggling to restore order.

The area where the horse soldiers roamed was called New River, dug by manpower during the Hongwu era. Three li from Jiangpu County town, it was used to moor the horse-transport ships of the Jianghuai Garrison, with a direct channel out to the Great River. Due to its nature as a military harbor, the inner side of New River's bank was broad and wide at the base, allowing warships to turn around within the harbor.

Of the seven vessels, three were small patrol boats and four were grain transports. They anchored fifty paces from the riverbank. A chaotic clamor of gongs and drums erupted from the ships, while the officers and soldiers on deck braced their shields, a small number of archers behind them loosing arrows in high arcs skyward.

Scattered arrows fell toward the shore, and the nearby horse soldiers spurred their mounts and withdrew.

A red banner of the Western Camp halted a hundred paces away. In the distance, several large banners rushed over at speed and stopped beside Zhang Xianzhong.

"Government troops who come by ship — I've never fought them before!" Zhang Xianzhong touched the scar on his cheek. "If they'd come with fewer men, we'd get more boats, and then crossing the river would be easy."

Sweeping King, who had just arrived, narrowed his eyes. "Just now they said several hundred troop ships came to Puzikou — so what do these seven here mean?"

"Several hundred troop ships? These few in the pond ahead carry about twenty men per boat. Several hundred boats at Puzikou would mean several thousand, even ten thousand troops. Where would so many men and horses come from?" A broad-faced, large-eared headman beside him said hesitantly. "Could it be that the southern Water Camp fights like this?"

Sweeping King chuckled coldly. "Since when has Shooting Down the Sky been so afraid of government troops? Who cares how they fight — wooden boats can't come ashore anyway. Gao Chuangwang will be here any moment. We'll set up a camp right on this bank and watch them try to land."

The broad-faced, large-eared bandit chief was indeed Shooting Down the Sky. Unbothered by Sweeping King's mockery, he replied flatly, "If we weren't afraid of government troops, why would we break camp and march the moment we heard Lu Xiangsheng was coming?"

Sweeping King's mouth twisted into a strange, knowing smile. Shooting Down the Sky turned back to look at him and said, "This Great River is so vast, and there are so many Provincial Administration Commissions to the south. How do you know more troops aren't following behind?"

"So this is what the Jiangnan Army looks like? The little town of Jiangpu holds out against our long siege, and now it's drawn so many government troops." Zhang Xianzhong's cold gaze swept across the river's surface for a moment. He turned back to a young man behind him. "Wenxiu, how many troops are really at Puzikou, and where did they come from? Have you confirmed it?"

The young man had a fair complexion. Compared to the roving bandits around him, he seemed gentle and cautious. He answered steadily, "Just now, some of the Child Army under Wang High Shine came and said they saw the government troops landing with their own eyes. I haven't questioned them in detail yet."

"Bring him here to speak."

The youth turned back. Xiao Wazi followed behind him and, upon seeing Zhang Xianzhong, knelt and prostrated himself on the ground.

"Greetings, Master."

Zhang Xianzhong studied him for a moment; he seemed to remember this Child Army soldier.

"What's the situation with those dog officials at Puzikou?"

"Counted fifty-three large ships disembarking. Over three hundred armored household retainers, several thousand regional troops. There were horses on the ships behind, and the officers' banners were in the middle."

Hearing that there were horses on the ships, Shooting Down the Sky and Sweeping King exchanged a glance. Government troops who transported horses by ship — this was the first time they had encountered such a thing.

"So that's a full regional command. You saw them land?"

"I didn't leave until they were within fifty paces." Xiao Wazi kept his head down and said in a deep voice, "I didn't finish counting the ships behind."

"Are the government troops fierce?"

"Somewhat fierce. After they disembarked, they chased me the whole way."

Zhang Xianzhong looked at Xiao Wazi for another moment, then suddenly turned to Sweeping King with a cold chuckle. "Officials love to talk about how the unorthodox and orthodox give rise to each other. These in the pond are the unorthodox force; over there is the orthodox. Old Huihui has gone to Silver Ingot Bridge. Leave a hundred horse soldiers here. Let's go east and weigh the mettle of this bunch."

Sweeping King and Shooting Down the Sky answered in assent, and the three turned their horses to leave.

The young man called Wenxiu called from behind, "Sworn Father, do you have more questions for this Child Army soldier?"

Zhang Xianzhong slapped his horse's rump. "Promote him to team leader. You take charge of him!"

One li east of Silver Ingot Bridge, the First Division was advancing rapidly along the official road. According to the contingency plan Pang Yu had drawn up at Dangtu, the First Division was to ignore the loading and unloading of all other supplies and head straight for Silver Ingot Bridge after disembarking.

From the docks to Silver Ingot Bridge was about five li — only half the distance of an armored assault march. On a normal march, there would be a halt for drinking water and rest, but this time Yao Dongshan did not intend to let the soldiers stop. He wanted to seize Silver Ingot Bridge before the roving bandits could react.

The surrounding rice paddies were desolate. A few fields still held the cut stubble of grain stalks, densely planted in the dry earth. To the south lay vast stretches of polder fields, still brimming with water — a poor place for either the Garrison Battalion or the roving bandits to do battle.

They had already crossed the Puzikou River outside the town. Their objective, Silver Ingot Bridge, lay on the Wangjiatao River and was the vital transport artery linking Jiangpu County to Puzikou.

The Wangjiatao River came from the north, gathering smaller streams along the way, and finally entered the Great River through the polder fields near Bazi Crossing. Most local agricultural products were shipped along this route. At this moment, the Wangjiatao river channel was empty and deserted, but in times of peace, it would be packed with all manner of small boats — the very lifeblood of Jiangpu.

Because it was a junction of water and land routes, Silver Ingot Bridge, like other important bridges of the time, had naturally formed a market town.

Crooked Face Zheng San led the detachment at the very front. Silver Ingot Bridge was just ahead, not far now. Among the houses there, roving bandits could be seen moving about.

After Wu Dacai had informed on him last time, he had been investigated by the Garrison Inspector Dui for a long while. In the end, there was no solid evidence, so he was only made Acting Squad Leader. The First Division was the vanguard of the entire battalion, the First Banner Squad was the vanguard of the First Division, and he was marching at the very front of the First Banner Squad.

"Attack into the street! Spearmen, do not leave the main road!"

The Banner Commander's roar came from behind. There were no command drums or horns. The Garrison Battalion only had drums and horns at the division level; command at the company level relied entirely on the officers' loud voices. This went against every military text of the era, but it was simply because Pang Yu had streamlined the training process — just as he had kept only sword-and-shield and long spear, the reasoning was the same: everything was for the sake of simplicity.

Behind him was the chaotic sound of footsteps. Besides their First Banner Squad, there was also a banner squad of Marine Corps soldiers. Crooked Face didn't much like them. These men didn't even have armor and carried a motley assortment of weapons. Originally meant for clearing the docks, they had instead swarmed all the way to the outside of Wanfeng Gate. It was only because their weapons were suited for close combat and their load was relatively light that they had been assigned to support the First Division in seizing Silver Ingot Bridge.

Crooked Face maintained their approach speed. The market town at Silver Ingot Bridge ahead grew closer and closer. The figures of the roving bandits became clearer. There were quite a number of them among the streets and alleys. The Banner Commander did not call a halt; it seemed they were going to crash straight in.

He pulled the rattan shield from his back. The nine-jin weight settled onto his left arm, but it didn't feel heavy. During daily skill drills, his left hand wore a nine-jin iron weight and his right a five-jin one. Now, in battle without them, his left hand felt much lighter and more agile.

"Assault formation!"

With the Banner Captain's howl, the three squads of the First Banner Squad deployed into a six-man front, just wide enough to fill the official road. Six sword-and-shield men advanced shoulder to shoulder, followed by twenty-four long spearmen, with a three-man reserve at the rear. The banner squad pushed forward at a quick march.

He held the rattan shield in front of him for protection, his eyes observing the path ahead through the gap between the shield and the brim of his hat. Fifty paces away lay the market town. Howls rose continuously from the streets and alleys as a swarm of roving bandits surged out.

Crooked Face's breathing quickened. An irrepressible impulse surged through his limbs — excitement tinged with tension. This time, they had conducted no reconnaissance whatsoever. How large the market town was, how many roving bandits were inside — Crooked Face knew none of it. What Yao Dongshan had told them before they set out was to crush all resistance, seize the market town at the west end of the bridge, and establish a defensive position.

A whistling sound tore through the air. A continuous stream of arrows flew toward them. The rattan shield in his hand shuddered from time to time with dull thuds.

Crooked Face's eyes remained exposed. Ahead on the street, the roving bandits grew denser. Archers appeared on the walls of the houses on both sides, and there seemed to be quite a few of them. A dark shadow rapidly swelled in his vision. Crooked Face quickly ducked his head. The top of his rattan shield slammed back against him. When he looked up again, a light arrow was embedded in the shield's edge.

The arrows grew ever denser. Crooked Face's rattan shield was studded like a porcupine. Behind him came the sounds of muffled groans and agonized screams — arrows from the flank had struck the rear ranks, just like the Battle of Beixia Pass. But Crooked Face knew they might not necessarily cause casualties. The First Banner Squad's equipment far surpassed what they'd had at Beixia Pass. The long spearmen were all outfitted with scale armor or lamellar armor, and their auxiliary armor was complete. These soldiers faced a live-arrow volley assessment once a month, and their fear of archery had greatly diminished. Most of those screaming were likely the unarmored Marine Corps soldiers.

Like a moving fortress, the First Banner Squad closed in at a quick march under the dense rain of arrows. Muscle memory forged day after day kept Crooked Face's stride length and pace as mechanical as clockwork.

Through the narrow field of vision at the edge of his rattan shield, he could see the roving bandits massed in the streets and alleys retreating backward. Their formation was chaotic and disorderly, the front and rear jammed together. Their shouts had turned panicked.

Crooked Face breathed heavily. The adrenaline triggered by danger stimulated his limbs, and the impulse to swing his blade and cut someone down grew ever more violent.

The moment his feet stepped into the streets and alleys, bone maces and throwing axes came flying at them. The rattan shield shook violently, the arrows stuck in it smashed loose and sent scattering through the air.

From behind came the Banner Commander's explosive roar: "Charge!"

The banner squad howled in unison. The spearmen leveled their long spears. Two spearheads appeared on each side of Crooked Face, like protective wings sprouting from his body. Six sword-and-shield men, bearing twenty-four long spears, charged at the roving bandits piled up in the street ahead.

The assault covered the entire front. The roving bandits facing the brunt of the attack fell back one after another. Those jammed in the main street could not retreat in time and fled into the open doorways and side alleys. The frontal resistance evaporated in an instant.

A few roving bandits ahead of him fled into a side alley on the left. Crooked Face had completed his screening duty — alley fighting was the sword-and-shield's responsibility. He broke from the formation and pursued them into the alley to prevent them from attacking the spearmen from the flank. Behind him, the long spearmen surged past the alley entrance, continuing their charge down the main street.

In a few strides, Crooked Face caught up to the last roving bandit. With a fierce, desperate craving, his waist saber arced high and then straight down, hacking viciously into the man's neck. The roving bandit collapsed to the left, blood spraying into the air.

Ahead appeared a roving bandit wielding a shortened matchlock spear. The man was big and burly, with a vicious face. He extended the spear to seal off the alley, looking every bit eager for a fight.

There was no room to maneuver in the alley. Behind him were the long spearmen still charging past. This was a duel between sword-and-shield and long spear — a scenario Crooked Face knew better than anything from the training ground.

Wai Lian, a trace of excitement in his eyes, did not slow his steps. He passed the Waist Saber to his left hand, drew a Short-Hafted Javelin from behind his back with his right, suddenly lunged forward a step, dropped low and spun halfway, and the Short-Hafted Javelin left his hand.

The Roving Bandit, his vision blocked by the Rattan Shield, dodged the oncoming javelin in alarm, his spear thrust veering off-target. Wai Lian had already advanced with a javelin step, his right hand drawing his Sword at the same time.

This Waist Saber Low Flat Stance from the New Treatise on Military Efficiency was a move Wai Lian normally drilled and was thoroughly familiar with. As long as he closed inside the spear shaft, he could cut down the Polearm soldier. But this time something went wrong — his right hand failed to grip the Sword hilt properly, the Rattan Shield knocked against the spear shaft, and his footwork instantly fell into chaos.

The Roving Bandit reacted very quickly. After his initial alarm, he immediately retreated a step, and the shortened Line Spear in his hands once again had striking distance.

Wai Lian seized the Sword hilt firmly and assumed the Sword and Shield's active offensive stance: shield extended forward, Waist Saber held vertical before his body. Giving the Roving Bandit no time to fully prepare, he followed with his feet advancing straight forward.

The Roving Bandit thrust his Line Spear out in haste, stabbing fiercely toward the right side of the Rattan Shield.

The Rattan Shield tilted violently toward Wai Lian's right — a common sight when Sword and Shield faced a long spear. Wai Lian had trained for this thousands of times. He immediately turned his body sideways and rotated to the left, rolled the shield, then rushed in rapidly along the spear shaft, forming the Waist Saber Riding Dragon position. The Roving Bandit could not retract his spear in time and managed only a single step back before Wai Lian was already upon him, the Waist Saber chopping straight at the Roving Bandit's face. (Note 1)

Note 1: The Waist Saber tactics recorded in the New Treatise on Military Efficiency derive their variations mostly from the Opening Garment Stance, with additional forms such as Side Head, Rolling Shield, Riding Dragon, and Diagonal Advance — all of which ordinary Soldiers can learn and apply. The most difficult is the Low Flat Stance that incorporates the Javelin; average Soldiers rarely master it, and in actual battle the errors are numerous.