Chapter 259: Vanguard

On the clamorous western riverbank, a small squad of cavalry had just arrived, while large numbers of dismounted horse soldiers were returning to retrieve their mounts; they parted a path to let that small cavalry squad reach the water's edge directly.

Luo Rucai and You Lihua reined in their horses and halted, their faces grim; on the opposite bank, a unit of infantry had sealed off the ferry crossing, the front ranks mostly clad in iron armor polished to a gleam, with some archers arrayed on both flanks, still trading scattered shots with the horse soldiers.

The main force of the government troops had hastily formed a rough battle array, and after a roll of drums, was now heading north. Several dozen cavalrymen patrolled back and forth along the riverbank; whenever any horse soldiers entered the river to test the water depth, they would come under arrow fire.

"Brother Luo, we can't catch them now." You Lihua tugged at his collar in agitation; he had never imagined that an army could forcibly ford a river in the depths of winter, and under the threat of cavalry at that.

He now cast his mind back; they had also captured prisoners from this government unit and knew they came from Anqing. They had fought Scorpion Block and Ma Shouying at Tongcheng, where Scorpion Block had suffered grievous losses, and this time at Fierce Tiger Bridge they had killed several hundred men from various factions, but neither he nor Luo Rucai had taken part, so they had no firsthand experience.

Their first engagement with this unit had only begun from Dongge Post Station; the horse soldiers had employed their practiced harassment tactics all along the way, and the Anqing troops had been battered into a sorry state, which made You Lihua think they lacked fighting strength — he had even mocked the Eight Great Kings' gang over Fierce Tiger Bridge. Only now did You Lihua feel for the first time that these government troops were different from the rest.

What most astonished the two men was that some soldiers were even dragging two rafts, each carrying a large copper tube that looked like a cannon, and these had already gone ahead north; the government troops had actually taken their cannons with them even in such a hasty moment.

"This dog official has no regard for his life, abandoning his baggage just to go kill people." You Lihua watched the rafts receding further and further and wiped the sweat from his forehead. "This dog official, this dog official..."

Luo Rucai said resentfully, "If we can't catch them, then open up this ferry crossing so the horse soldiers can cross and pursue."

You Lihua glanced left and right and said in a low voice, "Better to send someone to tell Gao Chuangwang and the others to pull back quickly."

"Gao Chuangwang is engaged in battle with Lu Xiangsheng; he alone might escape, but how can that great mass of men and horses get away?" Luo Rucai ground his teeth. "The two of us declared in public that we would devour this government force, and now they've slipped past us — how will the other camp heads view me, Luo Rucai, from now on? Go see if the infantry have arrived yet."

"The infantry are all lying in ambush at White Armor Bridge; how can they be shifted here at a moment's notice..."

"Then send the horse soldiers in. It's just over a hundred government infantry; you and I have seven hundred horse soldiers here — are we afraid we can't take them?"

"The ones opposite all have armor; arrows won't pierce them. Horses can't build up speed in the river; they'll be speared to death before they even reach the bank."

"There's definitely more than one way to cross the river here. Those government cavalry are about to leave — they have to protect the infantry led by that dog official. Summon all the Post Commander; each faction will cross the river by separate routes." Luo Rucai looked at the opposite bank; those government cavalry were indeed moving north in succession.

"Brother Luo, even after crossing the river, we'd still have to deal with this infantry unit first. If things still go badly at Physics Bridge, our horse soldiers will be in utter chaos when they retreat, and then these infantry will intercept them all along the river, and our men and horses will all be scattered."

Luo Rucai stood stunned for a moment; that infantry force of just over a hundred men on the opposite bank had presented him with a difficult problem. They were holding the only known ferry crossing; his own horse soldiers could only spend time probing, and afterward organizing a river crossing would still require mustering men and horses, by which time the main government force might already have marched several li away.

The situation You Lihua described could very well become reality. If Physics Bridge were lost, the old camp and the horse soldiers would need to cross the Pure Stream River again, and under rout conditions at that. Leaving such a government infantry unit behind them, intercepting everywhere along the riverbank at that moment, the horse soldiers' losses would be utterly catastrophic.

"Cross the river and wipe out this infantry team first."

Luo Rucai finished speaking unwillingly, his gaze shifting to the soldiers dragging the cannons on the opposite bank. Some of them were actually stripped to the waist, not even wearing trousers — clearly their clothes had been soaked through — and yet even in such a state they were still hauling the cannons. This stirred in Luo Rucai an inexplicable extra trace of dread.

"What the hell kind of soldiers are these."

Tang Ershuan chanted work calls as he walked along the riverbank, gripping a long rope in his hands, dragging the raft forward together with several marines. With buoyancy supporting the weight of the cannon barrel, they advanced even faster than the infantry. The team leader commanding them already had two light arrows lodged in his body; unable to pull them out, he left them in place and still shouted at the top of his lungs to rouse the marines as they hauled the raft onward.

A few scattered arrows whistled past — swish, swish — missing the marines. Tang Ershuan turned his head for a glance; on the opposite riverbank there were quite a few bandit infantry, shouting and yelling abuse toward this side, while some horse soldiers who had pursued along the river kept loosing arrows, but no one attempted to cross the river and attack.

By now they had traveled two li. The waters descending from Langya Mountain merged into the Pure Stream River at this point, forming a three-forked river channel; after passing this spot, only three li remained to Physics Bridge.

Tang Ershuan narrowed his eyes to look; the river channel ahead curved several times, so the situation at Physics Bridge was not yet visible, but from the north came the faint, persistent crack of firearms and cannon — the battlefield was not far off.

"What a sin, more people are going to die."

Tang Ershuan muttered under his breath as he walked; just then a gust of north wind blew, and he shivered from the cold again.

When they entered the river, they had no time to take off their trousers, so after climbing ashore they could only discard them. Some of the personal soldiers escorting the wounded who passed by them gave them clothes; Tang Ershuan at least managed to get a jacket, but trousers were none to be had — now the whole group went bare-legged.

The sound of hoofbeats came from behind. Tang Ershuan looked back; several artillerymen were leading two horses, the gun carriages placed on the saddles, following not far off on the bank. A wheel had just fallen off; Tang Ershuan saw it, but his teeth were chattering so hard he couldn't even call out, so he could only ignore it.

Dragging the raft the whole way, they passed the confluence, where the small stream from Hundred Families Lower flowed into the Pure Stream River. The water surface ahead narrowed, but the bandit infantry on the opposite bank were also blocked by the waters of White Armor Bridge, and no one shot arrows at them anymore.

On the opposite bank, some chaotic crowds reappeared. Since they were not far away, Tang Ershuan could make them out very clearly: all of them were the old, the young, women, and children. They pointed at the men dragging the cannons, occasionally raising a clamorous din.

The marines hauling the cannons were all trouserless, and the military uniforms on their bodies were short red jackets, vastly different in appearance from regular Ming Army troops; some were even stripped to the waist, so perhaps the people opposite had not recognized them.

Tang Ershuan knew these people were the family dependents of the roving bandits, or simply common folk following the bandits to survive, but he still could not tell whether these people counted as roving bandits or not, or whether he would have to fight them soon. He did not want to spend the energy figuring it out either; right now all his energy was focused on dragging the cannon.

After passing the confluence, the water surface grew narrower and narrower; much of the time they walked in the riverbed, both feet covered in mud, their legs and feet bone-chillingly cold, gradually beginning to lose all sensation.

Suddenly a burst of panicked screams came from the opposite side; those elderly and weak on the riverbank scattered westward as if a nest had exploded.

Tang Ershuan found a moment to glance back; that cavalry from Liuhe was pursuing along the river, the great banner of the Garrison Battalion advancing on the right rear.

Beneath the battalion banner, the Garrison Battalion infantry advanced across the open wilderness. Many had lost their shoes; some had their feet cut by ice shards, leaving strings of bloodstains on the ground, yet the formation still pressed forward doggedly to the beat of the drums.

Chen Yuwang and Chen Rulie's cavalry were down to just fifty riders; they split into two squads, sparing no horseflesh to drive off those scattered horse soldiers who had crossed the river, preventing them from grouping up to harass the infantry.

The few horse soldiers of Cao Cao's faction who had crossed were unable to mass, and in their current state could not stop the infantry's advance. As the Garrison Battalion infantry marched further and further away, Cao Cao's horse soldiers abandoned the pursuit.

Pang Yu stood up in the saddle and used his telescope to survey Zhuang Chaozheng's position. The bandit horse soldiers had already found several crossing points and were fording the river in succession; the Seventh Company still stood firm on the riverbank, with more and more horse soldiers gathering around it.

As the Garrison Battalion advanced, roving riders from both warring sides appeared nearby, spread across the periphery of the battlefield to prevent the enemy from circling around the flanks and penetrating deep behind their own battle lines. Seeing this army that had suddenly appeared, both the roving bandits and the Liao Army were somewhat alarmed; they did not know whether this force was friend or foe.

Some roving riders approached from each side to observe which faction these troops belonged to. Chen Rulie's cavalry surged forward, driving off the roving bandits' riders; this was tantamount to declaring their allegiance. A few government roving riders cautiously closed in, preparing to make contact with the Garrison Battalion's cavalry.

Hoofbeats approached from behind; Chen Yuwang led his household retainers up behind Pang Yu, his body stained with traces of blood, his household retainers now reduced to around thirty.

Pang Yu did not dare put on airs and hurriedly clasped his hands toward Chen Yuwang. "It is only thanks to your cavalry's maneuvering, Sir Chen, that our battalion was able to cross the Pure Stream River."

Chen Yuwang waved a hand dismissively. "We fight together; no need for polite words. In the past, that was one thing, but the tenacity of the infantry in your new battalion, Lord Pang, is something I have rarely seen in my lifetime."

Pang Yu could not help feeling some pride at these words. In their interactions over the past two days, he had already heard that Chen Yuwang had campaigned in Liaodong; the words he spoke could not be mere empty courtesy.

The officers all around shouted commands loudly, the Garrison Inspector team supervised everywhere, and the entire battalion's morale held even after crossing the river. Pang Yu's confidence in his own troops grew even stronger.

Chen Yuwang kept looking at Pang Yu. This old campaigner, already in his forties, could tell at a glance that Pang Yu's troops were all new recruits; in many of their eyes still lingered the submissiveness and bewilderment of the lowest laborers.

After crossing the river, many infantrymen were disheveled, and some had even lost their weapons, yet they still obeyed their officers' orders with high discipline, and so far not a single man had deserted. Before today, Chen Yuwang would have found it very hard to imagine such an infantry force.

The hundred-odd infantry left at the ferry crossing were no longer visible. When Chen Yuwang departed, roving bandits were already crossing the river downstream; one could imagine they would besiege that infantry unit. Thinking of that Zhuang Chaozheng, there was nothing remarkable about him, and his soldiers were likewise mostly ordinary new recruits, yet they all obeyed orders and stayed at the ferry crossing.

The soldiers dragging the cannons by the river did not even have clothes, yet they still pressed forward — all of this struck Chen Yuwang with wonder.

"Lord Pang, why are your soldiers willing to go so far..."

"In truth, it is not difficult. It is just like your household retainers, Brother Chen: clear rewards and punishments, strict discipline, full pay, and stout armor and sharp weapons, that is all. Also, like you, Brother Chen, I lead from the front; every soldier knows that their hard fighting will be seen by their commander."

Chen Yuwang listened, and a somewhat complicated expression appeared on his face.

By now the distance to Physics Bridge was shrinking, the sound of firearms and cannon growing clearer; the Garrison Battalion would soon enter the battlefield. Pang Yu clasped his hands and said, "Brother Chen, your men are all cavalry. If the battle turns against us, please withdraw to Liuhe; I will bear absolutely no resentment."

Chen Yuwang's cavalry had the best chance of breaking out; he could withdraw to the southeast, and since they were all cavalry, the roving bandits would not be able to catch up.

Chen Yuwang yanked his collar open. "I've fought all my life, but never have I felt such exhilaration as today — an infantry force actually daring to cross a river to attack roving bandits. I think highly of you, Garrison Commander Pang, and highly of your Garrison Battalion's soldiers. I'll stake my life alongside yours."

"Then I ask you, Sir Chen, to lead your cavalry as the vanguard, scatter those roving bandits' roving riders, and we shall strike the roving bandits' right wing together."

Chen Yuwang flicked his horse's reins and led his troops around the Array, heading toward Physics Bridge.