Chapter 254: Night Sentry

"There's no boat here — how are you going to cross the river?"

Blacksmith the Centurion slapped his thigh. "The Marine Corps all make their living on the Great River — if they can't get across some little creek like this, the Land Battalion would laugh themselves to death."

A team leader beside him muttered, "Centurion, aren't you from the Land Battalion yourself?"

"I'm not now! Lord Pang said the Marine Corps is the Marine Corps, so it's not the Land Battalion. This job I fought for myself this time — get everyone over here for me, and you'd better come up with something for me."

Soon several dozen Marines formed a circle around the fire, those in front sitting, those behind standing.

"Crossing's easy — tear down a few carriages, take the timber off, build a raft, and you're across."

"Right, right, this Pure Stream River's small, the winter current's so slow it's nearly dried up — a raft'll get across fine."

"Can't guarantee the raft won't flip though. Fall in and you can swim across, but wet clothes'll kill a man."

A soldier in the back row raised a hand. "Bring a spare set besides, wrap it in some kind of whole hide — waterproof."

"What hide is there around here? There's only horses... a dozen or more dead ones on the official road."

Blacksmith slapped his thigh. "Then what the hell are we talking about? Send men to drag a few over and skin them. Third Squad, you go tear down carriages, build two rafts."

A team leader beside him said quickly, "Sir said only a few men are crossing to scout — one raft's enough."

"Build two, pick the better one to use. Get on it now."

Those called on left at once. Blacksmith swept his gaze around. "Now I'm picking men — anyone want to cross the river, speak up!"

None of the several dozen Marines raised a hand. Everyone stayed dead silent, afraid the slightest sound might give Blacksmith the wrong idea.

Tang Ershuan kept his mouth shut tight. Crossing the river at night was no joke. If there'd been a boat it would be one thing — that Pure Stream River was nowhere near the Great River, and with it being winter, the water level was no problem — but the far bank's terrain was unfamiliar, and with so many horse soldiers around, if they got lost and didn't make it back before dawn, they'd be killed by the horse soldiers for sure.

Thinking of those Roving Bandit horse soldiers running rampant in the daytime, Tang Ershuan suddenly let out a hiccup.

"Tang Ershuan, that's one."

Tang Ershuan froze, then hurried to explain. "Centurion, that was just my—"

Blacksmith the Centurion cut him off without waiting for an explanation. "Lord Pang said those who earn merit scouting across the river this time will be first in line for the next promotion. Hou Shuban was there listening — even if he doesn't remember, I will. Anyone else want a promotion?"

Everyone looked at each other. Immediately seven or eight hands went up. Tang Ershuan swallowed a mouthful of saliva and choked back his protest.

By the pitch-black Pure Stream River, a dozen or so Marines quietly reached the riverbank, carrying a crudely built raft.

A muffled grunt came from the front — the raft tilted right. The others quickly strained to steady it. On the less than one li from camp to the riverbank, they'd tripped on field ridges, mud pits, and ponds more times than they could count.

"Slow, slow — we're at the river. Set the raft down."

Blacksmith, leading the group, called out low. Everyone set the raft down and crouched on the ground to wait.

"What are you breathing so heavy for? Can't even hear the water. Hold it in for me."

Tang Ershuan shut his mouth and looked around. The camp's firelight was already a li away, but he wasn't too nervous — in terrain like this with field ridges everywhere, the Bandit Cavalry couldn't possibly move at night, and there shouldn't be any path-lurking soldiers from the bandits on the riverbank either.

Northeast across the Pure Stream River, there were quite a few points of firelight, showing the Roving Bandits were massing there. Tang Ershuan was completely in the dark about this reconnaissance mission — they didn't know Chuzhou's exact location, only that following the Pure Stream River would get them there. Judging by the firelight now, there were plenty of bandits there. Whether they could even reach the city walls smoothly...

The sound of water could already be heard ahead — the river channel wasn't far now.

"Those not crossing, come here and put the raft in the water."

The Centurion's voice rang out. A few Marines who'd come to do the heavy lifting picked up the raft. After a moment, the sound of splashing water came — they were already in the river.

Tang Ershuan said nervously, "Centurion, do we have to go right up to the city wall to look? Otherwise how'll we know if the Roving Bandits have broken through?"

"No need to get right up against the wall, understand? If they've broken through, the Roving Bandits will all be inside the city staying there. At most, only some servants will be left outside. We just need to see whether there are many people outside the city, and what kind of people they are — that's enough."

Tang Ershuan let out an "oh." The Centurion truly deserved to be Centurion — he was a bit smarter than him after all.

Even though the Centurion was very smart, Tang Ershuan still couldn't set his mind at ease. The cavalry raid in the daytime had dealt him a massive mental blow. Although killing a horse soldier at the end had eased the pressure a little, it hadn't fully released, and now tonight, of all the rotten luck, he'd been picked to cross the river and scout.

"Didn't we capture two wounded Roving Bandits? Interrogating them would've done the job."

"One says government troops are coming from the north, the other says they're still going to attack Chuzhou city. Which one does Lord Pang believe? Are there really government troops coming from the north? Who's coming? How many troops and horses? Can you tell Lord Pang or not?"

Tang Ershuan was instantly tongue-tied. It seemed this trip was unavoidable, whether he wanted to go or not.

Crossing the river at night held many dangers. The Pure Stream River's channel was gentle — the stretch they were on belonged to the river's middle reaches. In winter, large areas of the riverbed lay exposed, but it hadn't run completely dry. The depth of the water in the middle was unclear. Falling into the water in winter meant, at best, a failed scouting mission; at worst, losing your life.

After crossing, the eastern bank was completely unfamiliar — not only were the roads unknown, but they might also run into the Roving Bandits' night sentries.

All around was pitch-black, while firelight flickered in the distance, giving this winter night an inexplicably strange feeling.

"Move out. Come on, get on the raft."

Chuzhou's city walls were ablaze with lights. On a stretch of river shoal along the Pure Stream River southeast outside the city, four Marines lay prone among the reed stumps. The Roving Bandits had cut all the surrounding reeds away, leaving only the stumps behind.

Their river crossing had gone fairly smoothly. Tang Ershuan's left foot had gotten soaked. After reaching shore, he'd discovered the horsehide pouch held no spare shoes, so he'd walked barefoot for about six or seven li. But he'd gone without shoes since childhood — the calluses on his soles were thicker than shoe soles. Apart from the cold, there were no other effects for now.

Blacksmith the Centurion put away his telescope and said to the few men in a suppressed voice, "There are lanterns on the wall — Chuzhou hasn't fallen. On Physics Bridge, Bandit Infantry are moving back and forth. Under the bridge, there are torches... Roving Bandit horse soldiers. Men and horses can pass under Physics Bridge — the river water there must be very shallow. Make sure you remember that."

Tang Ershuan squinted but still couldn't make out Chuzhou's wall — all he saw was a streak of light. As for under Physics Bridge, even less — a complete blur. He had no idea what kind of magic treasure that thing in the Centurion's hand was, to be able to see so far. He didn't dare ask to try it either — he felt a magic treasure like that wasn't something he could touch.

After thinking it over, he still couldn't help asking, "Why does a lantern on the wall mean it hasn't fallen?"

"Lanterns are lit to stop people sneaking up the walls. If it'd fallen, why the hell would they still be lit?" The Centurion said impatiently, "They must be planning to attack Chuzhou's east wall, or else they're going to engage the government troops east of the city. We'll circle around — head northeast of the city."

Tang Ershuan's scalp went numb. "Why do we have to keep going north?"

"We're going to see how many government troops there are, and who brought them — otherwise how do we go back and report to Lord Pang?"

Having said this, Blacksmith stood up and headed northeast, stooping low.

"What a sin." Tang Ershuan muttered, then followed behind Blacksmith.

They skirted two li outside the glow of the Roving Bandit camp's fires. The four men groped their way forward in the darkness. They encountered no path-lurking soldiers from the Roving Bandits along the way. The further north they went, the brighter the fires grew — just like back at Tongcheng, the Roving Bandits had lit fires at intervals around the camp's perimeter, in a defensive posture.

The circle they took was very large. After about one double-hour, the firelight ahead gradually thinned. Blacksmith pulled out that tube again and lay prone on a small hillock to observe.

Tang Ershuan was a bit tired, but didn't dare disturb Blacksmith the Centurion. He was fairly at ease now, because with that magic treasure tube, they could observe from a great distance — the risk of running into Roving Bandits was greatly reduced. He lay prone on the icy ground and looked himself. The Roving Bandit camp's fires ended here. In between was a vast stretch of dark zone. Further north, in the night, large and small campfires were scattered about, facing off against the fires to the south from a distance.

"When the Marines attempted to make contact with the government troops to the north, they were shot back at with random arrows and one man was wounded. It's still unclear which unit it is, but Grand Coordinator Lu is the most likely. The scouts' rough estimate is that this government force numbers around two to three thousand."

Beside a fire by the official road, the Garrison Commander's battalion had propped up a broken carriage frame to serve as Pang Yu's conference table. A circle of officers surrounded the table, listening to the latest intelligence obtained.

Pang Yu used a stalk of rice straw as the Pure Stream River, a stone as Chuzhou City, and a piece of black Charcoal laid across the straw as Physics Bridge. Pointing with his fingers, he said, "The terrain east of Physics Bridge is flat, with few houses, suitable for a large army to give battle. The Roving Bandits are still shifting troops to the east bank tonight — they intend a decisive battle with Chief Minister Lu. Once Chief Minister Lu is wiped out, Henan, Huguang, and Nanzhili will have no more large government forces left, and they can rampage as they please."

Zhuang Chaozheng said in a low voice, "If Lord Lu is defeated, the Roving Bandits will turn around and besiege us."

"This position we hold — the Official Road is higher than the surrounding ground, there are plenty of ponds around, our infantry is suited for defense. With the Heavy Armor Infantry here, and the Roving Thieves' horse and foot both lacking armor, and we still have Two Cannons — they won't take this place without losing ten thousand men." Wang Zenglu looked around. "No fear of a siege either. We brought over three hundred dan of grain, and we have over a hundred head of livestock we can slaughter. Two or three months won't starve us out."

Hearing this, Mr. Hou quickly chimed in, "This is the most prudent course. Once Chief Minister Lu smashes the enemy, we follow up in pursuit — another great victory can be expected."

Everyone nodded together. They were a bit uneasy now about fighting cavalry in the open, but holding behind a Trench — that they did not fear. With fifteen hundred men here, three hundred dan of grain could last ten days normally, twenty if rationed. And over a hundred horses and Mules, each five or six hundred jin live weight — strip out the innards and blood and such, even if they've gone lean from hunger, they'd still feed the men for ten or twenty days. The Roving Bandits, they figured, would not have that much time to besiege them.

So for the men of the Garrison Battalion, holding their ground and waiting for Lu Xiangsheng and the Roving Bandits to decide the outcome was the best choice. Whoever won, they could preserve their lives.

"We lead troops into Battle to seek victory. As long as there is a chance to win, we must strive for it with everything we have." Pang Yu slowly stood up. War was not his passion; what he needed was to use battle achievements to build credibility, to steadily increase his own strength. Holding their ground would preserve his strength, but it carried no war premium for him.

The strength Cao Cao had displayed was clearly superior to his infantry force in this kind of harassing warfare. But once the Garrison Battalion formed ranks and fought a head-on engagement, Cao Cao's Horse Soldiers were not strong — one could even say they had no way to deal with the Garrison Battalion at all.

If he was to coordinate with Lu Xiangsheng, Pang Yu would need to Attack the Hundred Family Bridge. The whole Ying would have to advance in battle formation, which meant abandoning all the baggage and rations. If the Roving Thieves could not carry off the grain, they would simply set it ablaze. In any case, the provisions would be gone.

Once he seized White Armor Bridge, Pang Yu would seize the initiative, threatening the entire Right Wing of the Roving Bandits. Coordinating with Lu Xiangsheng's frontal engagement at City East, routing the Two Hundred Thousand Roving Bandits before them — what tremendous merit that would be. Through it, he could enter Lu Xiangsheng's field of vision, enter the emperor's field of vision.

But if Lu Xiangsheng's frontal engagement failed, Pang Yu would have delivered himself like a lamb into the tiger's Mouth — besieged by the Roving Thieves' great army at White Armor Bridge, and without provisions. No siege by the Roving Bandits would even be necessary; the whole Ying would collapse that very day, with almost no one escaping alive. An active offensive was yet another all-or-nothing gamble, but the returns were exceedingly rich. Even setting aside the Lu Xiangsheng factor, the Rations and Pay and Copper Coins that could be seized after routing the Roving Bandits would be an enormous Fortune.

Pang Yu turned to look at the blacksmith Centurion. "Take a few fast-running Soldiers, bring the Telescope, and cross to the opposite bank before dawn to lie hidden and observe. The place where they give battle should be City East. As long as you confirm that the government troops can hold their own against the Roving Bandits, send a man back with word. Best if you can confirm whether it is Chief Minister Lu leading the troops."