Chapter 235: The Alley

On the open ground west of Silver Ingot Bridge, over a thousand horse soldiers had just reached the outskirts of the market town. Plumes of white smoke rose from the town ahead, and from every street and alley, more than a thousand Roving Bandits burst out, scattering in all directions across the open field. Some even emerged from the river channel, their bodies soaking wet — clearly they had jumped from the bridge or forded across from the opposite bank.

Zhang Xianzhong studied those street openings closely. Servants were still fleeing from every direction, and the defenses at Silver Ingot Bridge had been completely routed in such a short time, which troubled him. The buildings blocked his view, and he still could not spot any trace of that government force.

Though over a thousand horse soldiers and the Old Camp had already arrived, with even more servants coming up behind — their numbers would soon reach ten thousand — everyone remained panicked and uneasy. The great bandit chiefs present dared not commit their men to this market town.

Zhang Xianzhong himself was somewhat shaken. By their reckoning, the delay at New River had not been long. Those government troops would need time to disembark, and bringing horse soldiers to reinforce Silver Ingot Bridge should have gotten them there first no matter what. Who could have guessed the enemy had already fought their way to the west end?

This government army, come from who knew where, had caught them completely off guard. Silver Ingot Bridge was likely lost, and the one suffering the greatest loss was Ma Shouying, who was stationed nearby.

By the custom formed over years of roving, whenever they reached a place, they would rest temporarily in the houses to recover their strength and spirit — even more so in winter. When they left, they would set it all ablaze, so the government troops pursuing behind could make no use of it.

Jiangpu County, a vital communication hub on the Great River, had always been a prosperous region, with a great many houses outside the city walls as well. Though Silver Ingot Bridge was smaller than a walled city, as a market town it held abundant supplies and buildings. Ma Shouying's men were encamped in this area, both to guard against reinforcements from Puzikou and to enjoy good conditions for storing goods and keeping out the cold.

Though they had only breached Quanjiao after leaving Luzhou, the region along the river north of the Great River was rich and its people prosperous. Market towns large and small dotted the official road, and they had still plundered a wealth of supplies.

With the scouting ability of the Roving Bandits' horse soldiers, they could give early warning against nearly any land pursuit. By destroying infrastructure along the way, a short march would gain them the advantage in retreat. But this time, troops transported by water clearly lay beyond their experience, because horse soldiers could not scout movements on the river.

This government force came on with ferocious momentum. The moment they landed, they launched an offensive, and within a single two-hour period had taken Silver Ingot Bridge five li away — utterly incomparable to the sluggish movements of ordinary government infantry.

Ma Shouying's face was dark. He had a contingent of horse soldiers stationed here. Though most of them had fled, the supplies they had looted remained inside the market town — there had been no time to move them out. The losses could be called devastating.

Liu Guoneng turned his head to look at the others. "Only ten li from our camp. We cannot let these government troops stay here. Can this market be retaken?"

Before anyone could answer, a unit commander burst out of a street opening, scattering silver coins as he ran. The Roving Bandits watching knew the government troops were right behind him.

The first government soldier appeared at the street opening of the market's main road. This man was clad in iron armor from head to toe, a long spear in his hand, its upper half already stained red. He ran even faster than the unit commander, catching up in a few strides. Before the eyes of several thousand Roving Bandits, he drove his spear clean through the commander's back. Planting his foot on the corpse, he pulled the shaft free, then stopped. Just like that, he stood brazenly at the street opening, treating the silver ingots scattered across the ground as if they were invisible.

Behind him, other government troops appeared — all of them in iron armor. Someone was shouting orders, and these spear soldiers halted one after another, forming a defensive array at the street opening. Their formation remained remarkably tight and disciplined.

A stir ran through the Roving Bandits gathered on the plain. Veterans of countless battles, they could tell at a single glance whether government troops were strong or not.

The Roving Bandit headmen present now wore grave expressions. One look at that equipment told them the armor was thicker than that of the Border Army. Even the Household Retainers of ordinary border troops used chain mail, cotton armor, or cloth armor, because they had to account for the burden on their horses. Scale armor like this was only used by the personal guards of General Officers, since they had extra horses or servants to carry the load.

Heavy infantry of this kind moved slowly. If they were the ones pursuing from behind, no one would be the least bit afraid. But if they were ordered to assault a market town held by such iron-armored soldiers, they would absolutely refuse.

Sweeping King looked at Liu Guoneng. "Seeing that armor, forget about retaking the market. We need to discuss where to withdraw."

Zhang Xianzhong's sallow face twitched. "With Fourth Brother in the Combined Camp, we even killed Great Cao. You scared of these donkey-ball Jiangnan troops?"

Ma Shouying's mount shifted uneasily beneath him. He tugged the reins to steady it. "That's reasonable talk. With so many men, we can't withdraw today anyway. Old Eight, give us a plan. They hold the bridge now — where do we stop them?"

Zhang Xianzhong looked left and right. "A Regional Commander with a thousand-odd men, a bit of armor, so what? I don't believe he dares come all the way to the walls of Jiangpu. We've got more horses — who the hell blocks them? Chuang Tatian, take your Old Camp across that bridge to the north..."

Liu Guoneng suddenly said coldly, "When it's everyone's business, everyone should contribute."

Ma Shouying's cold, dark eyes shifted, glancing at Liu Guoneng. Right now, he was the one suffering the greatest losses. Liu Guoneng clearly had no intention of fighting this force alone and wanted to drag every faction into committing troops.

Sweeping King observed the others for a moment, then chuckled. "Old Eight's idea is that the dog official only has a thousand-odd men, so horse soldiers should harass them from the rear. That way they won't dare push from Silver Ingot Bridge. But Chuang Tatian's fear is also right — crossing that northern bridge is easy, but then there's only that one retreat route left. If government troops block it the same way, not a single horse comes back. Whose Old Camp doesn't ache for their own?"

Zhang Xianzhong waited a moment, expressionless, then suddenly forced out a smile.

"Then every faction contributes a hundred — horse soldiers or Old Camp, doesn't matter." He tilted his head to glance at the end, where the lesser power Yao Tiandong stood, and added, "Yao Tiandong sends fifty. Any Old Camp Chiefs here willing to go lead them?"

None of the Roving Bandit headmen spoke. Even Yao Tiandong was unwilling to go. The camps of the Roving Bandits were all loose assemblages, and even within each camp it was the same patchwork. They needed to band together to assault towns and cities, and sometimes to combine forces against pursuers. But when faced with a combat mission that offered no direct benefit, they were rarely of one mind.

"Wenxiu, you go lead them."

As soon as Zhang Xianzhong finished, each chief gave orders to his own men. Their efficiency was high — several hundred cavalry quickly assembled and went roaring off toward the north.

At that moment, the government troops at the street opening stepped forward a little. Clearly, more men had arrived behind them. Sword-and-shield soldiers kept coming, forming up in ranks ahead of the spear soldiers. Then archers took positions on both flanks. Scattered archers and light infantry also appeared atop the walls. The defense grew increasingly solid.

Zhang Xianzhong rubbed his nose. "Whose dog official leads these troops? Your mother's hair, not easy to hit."

"The defending general at Puzikou won't open the city gates."

Pang Yu waved a hand to dismiss his personal soldier. He was not surprised to hear it. Having led troops for some time now, he knew that when government troops arrived in a foreign district, the local officials guarded against them more strictly than against bandits — it was the norm by now.

He stood on the river embankment, watching as a cannon was being unloaded from a grain transport ship below. "Unloading" was the word, but in truth it was eight Marine Corps soldiers in two rows, carrying it down two gangplanks.

The eight Marine Corps men, all former dock porters, had veins bulging on their necks as they moved their feet with extreme caution. One man on the steps was directing them. They had carried heavy objects before in daily life, but something this heavy was rare.

The nearly thousand-jin cannon barrel bent the gangplank downward. It bobbed and swayed with their every step, creaking and groaning. The onlookers held their breath, afraid that even a sound might collapse the plank.

When the two men in front stepped onto the stone stairs, everyone let out a slight breath of relief. But the part where they climbed the steps would tilt the cannon body. If the ropes binding the cannon were not secure, not only would the cannon be ruined, but the porters would be crippled if not killed.

Pang Yu turned and walked a few steps inward. He needed to check on the cannon, but he would not stare at it the whole time. By now, grain sacks were piled along the streets of the dock, and braziers had been lit inside several broken-open shops.

Over ten cavalrymen led their horses past. Two of the horses still had wet coats. There had been plenty of mishaps when the cavalry embarked and disembarked. Fortunately, the Puzikou dock was broad. The cavalry had begun coming ashore while the infantry was still disembarking, and the riders in the best condition were already fanning out to the north.

"Sir, the scout cavalry reports a band of mounted Roving Bandits coming from the north, roughly several hundred horse soldiers. Company Commander Wang has halted the Second Division outside Wanfeng Gate. He's blocked the official road from the north and awaits your orders."

"Where did these horse soldiers come from?" Pang Yu flipped through the map in his hand. Only one bridge was marked on it. He figured these horse soldiers were now trapped between the city wall and the river channel — they were already in his bag, and he could capture another batch of horses.

Before he could feel pleased, the scout continued, "Company Commander Wang captured a horse soldier outside Wanfeng Gate. He says they crossed the river at Fierce Tiger Bridge to the northwest, led by one of Zhang Xianzhong's subordinates."

Pang Yu's heart sank. His map did not even show this Fierce Tiger Bridge. Northwest of Puzikou, only the official road from Jiangpu to Liuhe was marked. Clearly, his intelligence was flawed.

All his information came from boats traveling to and from the Anqing docks. Those men ran river trade and might never have gone north at all, or simply paid no attention to this bridge. So all along, he had only thought about controlling Silver Ingot Bridge.

"The Second Division stays outside Wanfeng Gate. Deploy defenses on the spot and ensure the Roving Bandits' horse soldiers cannot pass through on the official road," Pang Yu said decisively.

Right now, the Third Division and his personal troops were still at the dock. A large quantity of supplies was piled there, and much remained unloaded from the ships. He absolutely could not let the Roving Bandits' horse soldiers charge into the dock. But this unsettled him — he did not know what other critical details he had missed.

Mr. Hou leaned in and said quietly, "The front is already engaged. Will you command from the dock or from Wanfeng Gate?"

Pang Yu glanced out at the river. Sure enough, Pang Ding was still on the ship's bow, watching him. The closer to shore, the greater the danger. At the dock, he could run if things turned bad. Going to Wanfeng Gate would not be so easy.

Just then, the Marine Corps men began a work chant, climbing the steps one by one. The thousand-jin bronze cannon rose higher and higher. The sailors and soldiers around them shouted encouragement, and the dock was a clamor of noise.

Pang Yu kept watching. Amid cheers, the cannon reached the top of the steps and was set firmly on the ground.

He twisted his mouth and said to Mr. Hou, "Send word: the Third Division holds the dock. The Personal Guard Unit accompanies me to hold Wanfeng Gate."