Chapter 243: Chuang Wang

Beyond Jiangpu city twenty li away, the sky blazed with torchlight; west of the city, campfires stretched in a broken line, intermittent for over ten li.

In the main hall of a large compound outside the West Gate, several charcoal braziers had been lit, filling the hall with a warm ambiance, yet the circle of burly men seated around made the atmosphere somewhat cold.

The man seated high in the place of honor wore a red archery robe, with two deep scars on his face. He had already removed his leather hat, revealing a neatly bound three-piled topknot. He gripped a sheep rib, chewing slowly; the others were also eating their meat, waiting for someone to speak first.

"Is this bunch of government troops from Anqing?" The burly man in the seat of honor broke the silence in the hall, asking as he ate.

"At nightfall I came back from that bridge to the north and caught a lost soldier on the road, who said he was from the Anqing Garrison Battalion." Sweeping King, his face covered in fierce flesh, held a sheep forehoof, the meat mostly gnawed off. He glanced around at the others. "Brought him back and interrogated him. Just a garrison commander, a thousand-plus troops, two cannons, and a few hundred naval troops still on the boats."

"How could a garrison commander have the silver to train several hundred iron armor soldiers? That soldier must be spouting nonsense — don't believe him." The sallow-faced Eight Great Kings spat, then turned to the red-clad man in the seat of honor. "Fourth Brother, have you ever seen a garrison commander with armor and cannons?"

The red-clad man nodded slightly, still gnawing on that sheep rib. This was none other than Chuang Wang Gao Yingxiang, who roamed unchecked across the northern Ming Dynasty. Because of the two scars on his face, he had also earned the nickname Gao Bazi.

He had only just arrived at Jiangpu before nightfall today, originally intending to rendezvous with Eight Great Kings and the others to prepare an assault on Jiangpu County. He had not expected to hear of today's great defeat: not only had several hundred horse soldiers been lost, but nearly ten thousand men at Silver Ingot Bridge had been routed by a few cannon blasts from the government troops. Several headmen had fled back to Jiangpu with the old camps and horse soldiers; most of the servants had scattered on the road, and even now people were still arriving at Jiangpu in a steady stream.

Ma Shouying's camp was closest to Silver Ingot Bridge and had suffered the heaviest losses. Not only had his servants been scattered, but he had nearly lost the family dependents of his old camp as well. Fortunately, darkness had fallen quickly when the government troops attacked, and they had not discovered the location of Ma Shouying's old camp, allowing him to move it to Jiangpu under cover of night.

So attacking Jiangpu was no longer the priority. The most pressing matter was how to deal with this government force, and the first step was to ascertain its origins.

He raised his eyes and looked at Zhang Xianzhong. "I've never seen such before, but we've never been to this Nanjing region either. It's hard to say the southern troops aren't simply like this."

Zhang Xianzhong shook his head. "I went to that Anqing last year. Sweeping King and Geli Yan went too. We didn't see any troops like this."

Sweeping King also agreed. "When we went last year, we broke three county seats. Only that Tongcheng didn't fall. At Susong we even defeated a force from the prefectural city — utterly ordinary. If there had been an Anqing Garrison Battalion, we would have encountered it. At first I didn't believe it either, but after I cut off three of his fingers, he still said it was Anqing. I'm a bit confused myself."

"It is Anqing." A voice suddenly spoke.

Gao Yingxiang set down his sheep rib and looked at the man on his right. "Does Horse Leader recognize them?"

Ma Shouying threw aside his sheep bone and said resentfully, "That dirty trick with the cannon fire — I saw it at Shucheng. They hid the troops in front, loaded the cannons, then had them clear away and fired. Nowhere to hide. It's the troops that came from Tongcheng. It must be this garrison battalion, no doubt."

Gao Yingxiang's expression remained unchanged. "That means it's a camp unit trained within a single year. Did you find out who the general officer is?"

No one below spoke. Gao Yingxiang frowned slightly and said coldly, "Yao Tiandong's head was taken, and none of you even know who took it?"

Sweeping King gritted his teeth and replied, "That soldier said the general officer was a yamen runner headman from Tongcheng last year."

As he spoke, he exchanged a glance with Zhang Xianzhong. Their eyes met, and both recalled the situation at Tongcheng the previous year.

They had both traveled the world and seen countless cities. Some large cities fell at the first assault; some small towns held out stubbornly. Tongcheng itself had nothing particularly special about it, but because it was not far away, the image of that yamen runner headman standing on the battlements quickly surfaced in their minds.

Zhang Xianzhong turned to Gao Yingxiang. "That's the one. I've seen that dog of a runner."

Gao Yingxiang grunted in acknowledgment and asked, "Anything remarkable about him?"

"At first thought, nothing remarkable. But thinking carefully, Tongcheng had no troops then, yet they had heavy armor and beat back the men who climbed the walls. At night, those dog runners and local militia even dared to sortie and raid our camp..."

Just as he reached this point, a burst of gongs, drums, and horn calls sounded from the east, with responses from various directions, followed by faint battle cries.

Sweeping King spat and hurled the sheep bone in his hand into the brazier. "That piddling Jiangpu town is hateful too. Relying on a bunch of local militia, they dare provoke me."

Gao Yingxiang listened carefully for a moment, then suddenly said, "It's gong-beating in two places. North of the city is inside Jiangpu; there are troops coming from the east."

The bandit leaders below stirred slightly. They had not expected that a mere thousand government troops could actually sustain continuous operations — not only fighting in the afternoon, but marching over ten li at night to raid their camp.

Liu Guoneng slowly stood. "I gave my word today: if the government troops raid the camp, I would lead my old camp to strike them. I beg Chuang Wang's pardon, but I must go now."

Gao Yingxiang waved his hand. "Chuang Tatian's word is naturally trustworthy. But this thousand-odd government infantry — after a major battle, three hundred is the most they could send out. It's just a feint. Outside this city there are 200,000 men. Afraid of a donkey ball? With General Li Chuang east of the city, sit down and drink."

Liu Guoneng swept his gaze over the others. Seeing no objections, he slowly sat back down.

At that moment, the gong sounds outside intensified again. This time they sounded closer, seemingly right near the West City Wall. The men in the hall turned their heads to peer outside, and some murmured in low discussion.

Gao Yingxiang, however, kept his head down, gnawing on the sheep rib that had little meat left. Zhang Xianzhong had already finished eating and was drinking from his wine bowl on his own. Liu Guoneng also did not look outside; he lifted a copper kettle warming on the charcoal brazier and poured wine into Gao Yingxiang's and Zhang Xianzhong's bowls.

The gong sounds subsided again. The men relaxed slightly, and the hall returned to calm.

"All of you are old camp chiefs. You've besieged no fewer than seventy cities if not a hundred. When you need to keep steady, keep steady. A biting dog doesn't bark. Beating gongs and drums to raid a camp is just meant to scare people." Gao Yingxiang finally finished the meat, casually tossed the bone behind him, wiped his hands on his trousers, leaving several dark grease streaks, then stood up.

He was tall and imposing. As he slowly paced at the head of the hall, he carried a natural air of authority.

"I caught a government soldier at the Wharf docks in Hezhou — from some team in the Anqing Garrison Battalion's water camp. Came by boat, anyway." Gao Yingxiang spoke thoughtfully. "That soldier was badly wounded. Died after a brief interrogation. General Li Chuang and I discussed it; we fear Lu Xiangsheng is coming, mobilizing troops along the river to encircle us. That's why we only stayed two days in Hezhou."

The moment the various headmen heard the name Lu Xiangsheng, they all held their breath. Compared to this strange and treacherous garrison battalion, Lu Xiangsheng was an old adversary, and none of them hid their fear of the man. With Lu Xiangsheng now pursuing them from behind, tension was inevitable.

"I didn't expect this Anqing lot would take boats and get ahead of us. They're blocking Puzikou, trying to cut off the road east. I'm thinking Lu Xiangsheng is probably coming from the west."

A low murmur of discussion rose in the hall. Many of them had already been at Jiangpu for some days and knew this was dangerous ground. After the government troops landed today, it had become even more perilous.

North of Jiangpu was all mountain region, and the roads had limited passage capacity. To the south was the Great River. The official road east to Liuhe was still open for now, but the government troops had already seized Fierce Tiger Bridge, and not far past the bridge lay the official road to Liuhe. If the main force tried to move toward Liuhe, they would face a side threat from the government troops at Fierce Tiger Bridge — not to mention the troops had cannons, which could likely bombard the official road from the western end of the bridge. No one could march under those conditions.

So the road east was also cut off. If Lu Xiangsheng truly came from Hezhou or Quanjiao, everyone would be trapped around Jiangpu city. Then they could only flee via the mountain paths to the north, and with Lu Yanwang in pursuit and the various camps scrambling against each other, only a small fraction would likely escape.

Zhang Xianzhong looked at Gao Yingxiang. "Fourth Brother means we abandon Jiangpu."

"Abandon it. This Jiangpu is a small city with tough troops. I only just arrived today and already see every camp fleeing back. We've all risked our lives running long roads — you have to respect fortune. Jiangpu is no place to linger."

Ma Shouying over on the side said, "Then all the horse soldiers the various camps lost at River East — we just let that grudge go?"

"If you can't beat Lu Xiangsheng, you should avoid him. Government troops fight to earn a meal too. What use is holding a grudge?" Sweeping King chuckled darkly. "I'll follow Chuang Wang's lead."

Gao Yingxiang looked toward Liu Guoneng. "Chuang Tatian, say your piece."

"If we're leaving, leave early. This Jiangbei region has too many river ponds — very inconvenient for running. Better to head for Henan."

When Gao Yingxiang's gaze fell on Zhang Xianzhong, Eight Great Kings tilted his head and said, "Leaving still needs a destination. Where does Fourth Brother say we should go?"

"West is doubling back. South is the river. East gets more and more cramped — scouts say there are even more river ponds than here." Gao Yingxiang returned to his seat and sat down. "North."

Zhang Xianzhong immediately followed up. "Tomorrow the Western Camp will take the vanguard."

At these words, some around him showed faint disdain. If Lu Xiangsheng was in pursuit, the rear guard was the most dangerous position; the vanguard was actually the safest, and could also plunder goods.

Gao Yingxiang did not immediately respond. He pondered for a moment before saying, "The Western Camp will take the vanguard, as far as the walls of Chuzhou."

Liu Guoneng suddenly spoke up at this point. "Yao Tiandong lost his head, but his old camp is still here. Whose banner do they march under tomorrow?"

The moment the words left his mouth, Zhang Xianzhong's face turned cold and he looked over at him. Liu Guoneng took a sip of wine, set down his bowl, and met Zhang Xianzhong's gaze coldly. The various bandit leaders in the hall now showed a hint of excitement. Before Gao Yingxiang had arrived, Zhang Xianzhong had the strongest force, and his camp was not far from Yao Tiandong's. Not long after returning to Jiangpu, he had already sent men to Yao Tiandong's old camp, preparing to annex that force. Word had spread privately before the meeting. Everyone resented this, and now Liu Guoneng was raising it to shatter Zhang Xianzhong's wishful scheme, giving Zhang Xianzhong no face whatsoever.

Gao Yingxiang sat in place, his expression steady, hands resting on the armrests as he slowly rubbed off the residual sheep fat, letting the two men's gazes battle it out.

After a moment, Gao Yingxiang said to Sweeping King, "The rule was that when an old camp chief dies, he can seek his own way, or the various old camp chiefs can decide. The men below always need a path to survive. Zhang Leader, lay out a method."

Sweeping King chuckled again. "Since Chuang Wang has spoken, I'll say a few words. Yao Tiandong's camp is neither small nor large. If it all goes to any one camp, suddenly adding that many mouths isn't easy to feed. Old Ma here lost the most from his camp this time, so let him take a bit more to support. The other camps split the rest evenly to support — no one gets overburdened, and it avoids breeding dissatisfaction among the camps."

Liu Guoneng immediately said, "I agree."

The others promptly echoed their agreement, with Ma Shouying the most enthusiastic. Zhang Xianzhong swept his gaze around the hall, knowing the matter was now beyond his control. Roving bandit camps were nothing like government troops with a formal structure; everyone just lived by plundering, and camps poaching from each other or outright annexation was commonplace. Whether one's word carried weight depended entirely on strength, and strength meant each camp's old guard and horse soldiers. No matter who Gao Yingxiang had speak at this moment, he would not let the Western Camp monopolize Yao Tiandong's remaining elite. Even Sweeping King, who had long colluded with Zhang Xianzhong, would not yield on a matter of strength. With everyone sharing the spoils, Zhang Xianzhong's power would increase only marginally, posing no threat to Gao Yingxiang at all.

Gao Yingxiang said flatly, "Then let it be so."

He summoned one of the four kings behind him and gave orders, assigning him the execution of dividing Yao Tiandong's remaining forces. (Note 1)

Once the main direction was settled, the meeting that followed held little substance. They drank wine a while longer, then each returned to their own camp stockade.

Liu Guoneng and Zhang Xianzhong went out the door one after the other. Zhang Xianzhong stopped outside, watching as Liu Guoneng mounted his horse ahead and departed into the distance.

Zhang Xianzhong's scarred yellow face twitched. In a low voice, with a slight smile that was not quite a smile, he murmured, "Liu Licentiate, Liu Licentiate."

A young man beside him leaned in and said, "Rest easy, Sworn Father. One day he will fall into our hands."

Zhang Xianzhong rubbed his nose. "Let's go."

……

Note 1: In Gao Yingxiang's camp there were four kings, below them were generals, and below the generals were the Precious Banner and High Shine.