Chapter 298: Shrewd

"Brother Pang, my life is bitter, so bitter." Xu Strengthening's eyes reddened as he spoke, as if recalling a wretched past. He reached out, picked up the wine cup on the table, and drank a mouthful on his own.

Pang Yu sat opposite him. This was a dilapidated little courtyard at Fierce Tiger Bridge. The owner had fled and never returned; it was now the two men's temporary lodging.

"Sir Xu, please do not worry and distress yourself. Lord Zhang never said you absolutely must go on the rally to the king campaign."

"How could he not have? First he said you would lead the troops. Now Lord Zhang has already discussed with Feng Yuanbiao splitting into two routes — you lead the Anqing Garrison Battalion, and Feng Yuanbiao leads the other route, which is me, your brother." Xu Strengthening made a show of wiping away a tear. "Tell me, what was that Gao Bazi doing earlier? Not caught sooner, not caught later, caught right at this critical moment. I was doing perfectly fine as Wusong Regional Commander, hadn't fought a battle in years. The Roving Bandits ravaged the north clean, but they never crossed the river, did they? Yet Anqing just had to be in Jiangbei. For over a year now, I've been campaigning a thousand li from home, never mind the constant fear and anxiety — every time I asked for rations and pay, I got treated like a concubine's bastard son, forced to endure every kind of disdain. The rank-and-file grunts below are waiting to eat and find women, and I have to go shamelessly begging before every official. You think it's been easy for me?"

"Isn't that just how it is for us military officers?" Pang Yu reached out, lifted the wine pot, and poured more into Xu Strengthening's cup. "Who told us we couldn't write those civil examination essays?"

Xu Strengthening's eyes bulged. "And what good are those civil examination essays? Can they exterminate the Tartars? Can they suppress the bandits? Their essays are a dazzling shower of flowers, but in the end, it's still us military officers who have to go risk our lives. Of those General Officers who fought the Tartars, how many survived? Pity my newly taken outer-room concubine — Brother Pang, you don't know, that charm, that figure — what suffering awaits her now, oh."

He let out a sigh, stared blankly at the wine cup before him, and said, "That dog Feng Yuanbiao, if he wants to go earn rally to the king merit himself, why doesn't he bring his own Zhenjiang Battalion? Why doesn't he bring Yongsheng Camp or Jinshan Battalion? Why drag me, a Wusong Regional Commander, along?"

Pang Yu hastily urged, "Commander Xu, please lower your voice. There are many ears around here."

Xu Strengthening suddenly slammed the table. "I'm a man marked for death — what do I have to fear? Let them hear! My commission was given by the Ministry of War. Of the nineteen commanding officers in the Yingtian Jurisdiction, Lord Zhang has already written out the evaluations. Mine says 'steady, heroic, and astute' — that rank is secure. So what if Feng Yuanbiao hears? When is it his place to interfere?"

Having said this, he threw his head back and drained the cup in one gulp, then slammed it onto the table with a bang. His grip slipped, and the cup actually sprang up with a whoosh, then dropped with a crack and shattered on the floor.

"It's over, it's over. This campaign bodes ill." Xu Strengthening immediately collapsed onto the table and began to sob.

Pang Yu was in a poor mood and too weary to console him further. Gao Bazi had been captured in Shaanxi — a major victory since the bandit suppression began, and at the same time a great achievement for Lu Xiangsheng. But for Xu Strengthening, it was not good news. Hong Chengchou's meteoric rise through military merit had created a sense of urgency among the other Grand Coordinators. If a major chieftain like Gao Bazi could be captured, his force must have suffered a devastating blow. Chuang Camp had always been the strongest faction among the Roving Bandits, so government troops could now direct more strength against the other camps.

If Gao Bazi's capture was no accident, then the Roving Bandits as a whole would enter a relative low period. Zhu Dadian might increase the Relief Troops, and Zhang Guowei naturally could not afford to be caught on the back foot again. With rations and pay barely sufficient for now, Feng Yuanbiao leading troops on the rally to the king campaign had already been decided.

In the eyes of many officers at this moment, fighting Roving Bandits was hard work; fighting Tartars was selling your life. Xu Strengthening had already concluded that rally to the king was a death sentence. Pang Yu knew no persuasion would help. In the two days since the news of Gao Bazi arrived, the Anqing Army had been arriving in batches, the departure date was drawing near, and under the daily influence of Xu Strengthening's defeatist mood, Pang Yu was growing increasingly tense himself.

The rally to the king route required passing through three administrative regions: Nanzhili, Shandong, and Northern Zhili. Pang Yu was keenly aware of the difficulty of long-distance marches, whether by water or land. His earliest thinking had been that the Capital was too far — by the time they arrived, the enemy would likely have already withdrawn beyond the passes. Everyone would just be going through the motions; if worst came to worst, they could simply waste time on the road. But now it seemed every superior officer was acting as if injected with chicken blood. And with Feng Yuanbiao, a civil official, leading troops, it was equivalent to having an extra Army Supervisor — finding loopholes would probably not be so easy.

Xu Strengthening was still weeping across from him. Pang Yu's own head ached just thinking about it, and he couldn't help but drink a cup himself. Before he could swallow the mouthful of wine, both men's Personal Soldiers appeared in the courtyard at the same time.

Pang Yu's Personal Soldier hurried over and whispered in his ear, "Sir, Lord Zhang's military order: the Relief Troops are to set out immediately."

Pang Yu was so shocked his mouth hung open. Only one thousand one hundred men of his Garrison Battalion had arrived, and Xu Strengthening had a mere four hundred. None of them had rested and reorganized. The departure had clearly been set for three days later — he had no idea why the order had come so suddenly.

Xu Strengthening grabbed hold of Pang Yu, tears and snot streaming down his face. "Brother Pang, we agreed on this beforehand — on the march, we absolutely, absolutely must stay together. You cannot abandon your brother."

……

Under the night sky, the Garrison Battalion camp was hung with lanterns everywhere. The large central lantern had a red horizontal bar across the middle — a Central Army marker Pang Yu himself had designated, to make it easy to identify at night.

Inside the Central Army command tent, the Iron smith Company Commander and Zhuang Chaozheng had just left. The Marine Corps and the Personal Guard Division were the main force for this rally to the king campaign. Because the deployment was so hasty, only thirty cavalry had arrived — at most capable of courier and liaison duties.

Pang Yu rubbed his face and asked Mr. Ma, who sat beside him, "Sir, you have seen it all. The troops have not been rested and reorganized, and roughly five hundred have yet to arrive. Why such haste?"

"News has come from the Capital."

Mr. Ma's expression was very mysterious. He drew a slip of paper from his sleeve. "Burn it after reading."

Pang Yu hastily took it. Only two short lines were written on it: "The southeast is a vital region for wealth and taxes, and bandit alarms shake the neighboring areas. Zhang Guowei is to exert himself fully in defense preparations. The assembled troops need not enter the Capital for guard duty; they are to return at once to their respective Garrison Posts. Let the Ministry be aware."

To dare address Zhang Guowei directly by name — Pang Yu knew at a glance who this was. But for Mr. Ma to produce it like this, it was clearly not an officially received reply. That meant the imperial edict had not actually arrived yet; this was intelligence obtained through other channels.

Astonishment filled his heart. This imperial edict reply must again be a confidential Ministry of War document. The responsibility borne by the relay couriers was too great — Zhang Guowei certainly would not have the nerve to send someone to intercept and open it en route. That meant someone handling it at the Ministry of War in the Capital knew the contents and had sent it ahead through other message channels. Reading the Chongzhen Emperor's reply, it was brimming with confidence, and the message had been sent out smoothly, indicating that the Capital's external communications were not severed. It seemed the Emperor was very confident about handling this Tartar incursion.

But no matter what, now that he knew the definite news, a great stone in Pang Yu's heart fell to the ground. His entire body seemed to relax.

After the relief, Pang Yu suddenly recalled something and asked, "Since we need not enter the Capital for guard duty, why must we still break camp?"

"Before His Majesty's imperial edict returns, the rally to the king army must set out."

Pang Yu did not catch on for a moment. "Why is that?"

Mr. Ma was silent for a moment, then said, "His Majesty handles affairs with an emphasis on practical results. If a subject speaks much and does little, His Majesty is not pleased. Since our Yingtian Yamen submitted a memorial pledging rally to the king, we must actually do it. Therefore, whether the army has broken camp or not — in His Majesty's eyes, there is a difference."

Pang Yu paused blankly for a moment, then sudden realization dawned. The army would set out now, and receive the imperial edict while on the march — this would make their rally to the king pledge appear genuine and heartfelt, not perfunctory empty words. In short, it was all about putting on a show and performing this drama to the fullest before the Emperor.

"Break camp. Tomorrow morning… Should I break camp overnight?"

"Breaking camp overnight is also correct. The imperial edict will be received by the morning of the day after tomorrow at the latest. You must reach Chuzhou before then."

Pang Yu calculated in his mind. His troops here were all infantry — covering the distance to Chuzhou in a single day would likely be somewhat difficult.

Mr. Ma added, "Chuzhou has the Southern Court of the Imperial Stud. Once the main army arrives there, they will provide some horses, and another memorial will be submitted."

Pang Yu understood again. So the Southern Court of the Imperial Stud also wanted to earn this display of merit, and at the same time it would serve as corroboration for Yingtian's rally to the king effort. From Fierce Tiger Bridge to Chuzhou was not far — less than a hundred li. A forced march could make it.

"Then I shall pack up overnight and definitely reach Chuzhou tomorrow."

Mr. Ma took back the slip of paper and lit it over the nearby oil lamp. "This matter must not be spoken of to others. I came here to urge the departure. Telling General Pang the whole story was improper of me."

"I understand." Pang Yu quickly said respectfully. He knew this sort of thing could not be disclosed; it was only because Mr. Ma was an old friend that he had told him this.

When escorting Mr. Ma out of the tent, he had Pang Ding discreetly hand over a five-hundred-tael silver note. He accompanied him all the way to the camp gate, then had several cavalrymen escort him back to Puzikou.

Once the party had gone far, Pang Ding said in a low voice, "Young Master can rest easy now. No fighting Tartars."

"What rest easy? You think I'd be afraid of Tartars? Sooner or later I'll send them fleeing at the mere sight of us." Pang Yu said lightly, "Fighting Roving Thieves has lost its thrill. I've long wanted to fight the Tartars. A pity — no chance."

Pang Ding pursed his lips. "Then should we move that bit of rations, pay, and silver away first?"

Pang Yu looked at him, somewhat taken aback. "Just bring the rations and pay along. Why would… You mean we should send it back?"

"That was rally to the king rations and pay. Now they say it's not rally to the king anymore. In the next couple of days, Nanjing will get the news, and then the various yamens will likely cross the river to…"

"To demand the supplies, rations, pay, and silver back." Pang Yu gave a cold snort. "They wish. So I'm supposed to have made this trip for nothing?"

"Young Master, think about it. The one who owes the money is the Grand Coordinator Yamen. When the time comes, Lord Zhang will definitely arrive even faster than the Nanjing yamens. It's just that right now he needs us to make this trip to Chuzhou, so he hasn't opened his mouth yet."

Pang Yu pondered for a moment. He felt Pang Ding's logic was very sound. He did a quick mental calculation: of what had been allocated from the Grand Coordinator Yamen, only fifty percent remained. If they now had to return it, who knew by what accounting — he would take a huge loss.

"Returning the money won't be that easy. Move it out. When the time comes, just say it's already been distributed to the soldiers." Pang Yu suddenly thought of his brother Xu Strengthening and instructed Pang Ding, "Go and give Commander Xu a word of warning, in case he hasn't thought of this."

"He's shrewder than us. Young Master, look over there — Xu Strengthening is already moving things to the dock."

Pang Yu looked eastward. Sure enough, Xu Strengthening's camp was brightly lit. Several horse carts had just left the camp, apparently heading for the dock. It seemed he too had gotten inside information from the Grand Coordinator Yamen — and yet he hadn't come to warn him.

He spat. "We'll move ours too. Load the silver first, and ship it across the river tonight!"

The words had barely left his mouth when a roll of drums sounded from Xu Strengthening's camp. The north camp gate swung wide open, and the army surged out with a rumble, crossing Fierce Tiger Bridge and heading north toward Chuzhou — without the slightest intention of traveling together with Pang Yu.

Pang Yu stared blankly for a moment, then cursed, "Absolutely shameless."

……

On the thirteenth day of the eighth month, the two great rally to the king armies vied with each other, advancing toward Chuzhou with ferocious momentum.

Xu Strengthening had abandoned all his heavy baggage. His four hundred men carried only two days' rations, racing ahead swift as the wind. Pang Yu needed to maintain his army's unit cohesion and simply could not outrun him, falling behind by roughly thirty li.

But Xu Strengthening's fast running came at a price. Along the way Pang Yu saw quite a few of his routed troops. Because the matter of the imperial edict could not be disclosed to subordinates, the soldiers still believed they were going on a rally to the king campaign. Xu Strengthening focused only on hurrying forward, so his control over the Military Camp had to be relaxed out of expediency, and desertion naturally increased.

The ones leading the Provincial Commander's Standard Troops Battalion were Zhang Ruolai and Chen Yuwang. These two lacked sensitive political awareness; more likely, they simply hadn't managed to get the exact information. Because even with the Standard Battalion, Zhang Guowei would not speak of it casually — it all depended on how close their ties were with those core adjutants. As a result, the two of them were still packing baggage and supplies at Jiangpu, and ended up falling to the very rear. They couldn't even outrun Pang Yu.

According to non-combat forced-march standards, the Garrison Battalion's infantry covered eighty li a day. Chuzhou was slightly farther, but still under a hundred li. With no harassment from the Roving Thieves and no baggage train in tow, the Garrison Battalion reached the walls of Chuzhou within a single day. Familiar with the terrain, they made camp directly at the old Camp Ground outside the Court of the Imperial Stud. Xu Strengthening's camp was right next to it.

Once Pang Yu's force of eleven hundred men had finished pitching camp, the Central Army set up the command tent and assigned tasks — drawing water, feeding horses, posting sentries, setting the Night Password, and so on. After the bustle, he went to inspect the camp gate. Looking up, he found that Xu Strengthening had set his camp gate directly opposite.

Both had thrown up simple camps. The Garrison Battalion had brought its own Javelins to serve as a camp wall. Lacking crossbars, they laid Long Spears across them, which merely marked the camp perimeter. Xu Strengthening had not even brought Javelins; he simply stuck Long Spears into the ground and strung a single hemp rope between them as a wall. Still, to his credit, he had at least built a camp gate.

Above the camp gate, two Red Banners fluttered and snapped in the wind, bearing nine large characters: "With Utmost Loyalty, rally to the king — Wusong Regional Commander Xu."

No need to ask — he'd had someone rush-make them the night before. Pang Yu, busy arranging military affairs, had never even thought of such a thing. As a military operation staged for show, Xu Strengthening had clearly played a superior move once again.

Pang Yu stared at those two fluttering Red Banners and muttered a curse under his breath, "This shameless bastard."