Chapter 339: Deployment

North of the Chema River, inside and outside a stockade surrounded by water channels, a clamor of voices rose. Over a hundred corpses floated on the surface of the moat, and Red Turbans were leading horses in and out across two makeshift bridges spanning the trench.

This was City River Stockade, one of the Chema River strongholds Shi Kefa had pushed to build. Because it was near the river, they had dug a moat and channeled in river water to strengthen its defenses. The other stockade stood on a hill slope not far to the west, named Tufeng Fort. Similar to Qianshan Tianning Fort, it used the natural slope of the hill to enhance its defensibility.

Most of the surviving common folk near the Chema River had gathered here. In normal times they could farm nearby or continue doing business along the post road. Based on the experience of Chongzhen Eighth Year, the Roving Bandits would not attack a fortified stockade like this. But this time the bandits had joined camps to invade, and on the very first day of their arrival they began a siege. Without regular troops garrisoning it, the stockade did not display much defensive strength. Within two days it fell, and instead became a shelter for the bandits to rest and recover. The Western Camp and Chuang Tatian's main camp were set up in these two places respectively.

Sweeping King, who had arrived last yesterday, did not enjoy such treatment. He had been ambushed on the march; the servants and family dependents trailing behind were all scattered. Forced to fight hastily at Ink Smoke Shop, the battle situation was extremely unfavorable. After that he was chased and struck all the way by Wang Zenglu. Only when he reached the Chema River did he receive support from Cao Cao's troops, finally stabilizing his footing at a spot two li west of the river. But his baggage and servants suffered heavy losses. At night they did not even have enough tents, and under the threat of engagement with the Garrison Battalion, they got no rest the entire night. In the latter half of the night the Government Troops continued attacking, and they lost some more men and horses.

Sweeping King himself, arriving at City River Stockade at this moment, was utterly bedraggled. He hurried across the makeshift bridge over the trench, entered the stockade gate, and upon seeing a group of bandit chiefs, immediately began shouting and cursing.

"What's there left to discuss? That Garrison Battalion attacked me all night — all Household Retainers in iron armor, killed so many brothers from the main camp. They're only one li from the bridge, and you lot don't come up to fight together, still discussing donkey balls."

Gathered around were over ten bandit chiefs. Zhang Xianzhong, Luo Rucai, and Liu Guoneng were in the center. Zhang Xianzhong turned his head at the sound and, seeing Sweeping King, said, "Just about to discuss with you."

Sweeping King slashed his hand through the air. "I listened to you and came to join camps. From yesterday afternoon till now, those dog officers and soldiers have been beating me — servants and belongings all lost clean. Surely we're not going to lose the main camp here too. In the blink of an eye it'll be daylight. Don't talk about any discussion. Old Eight, you're in charge — give me a word: how do we fight?"

"With your ability, Sweeping King, one Southern Troops unit can't take your main camp." Luo Rucai chuckled and stepped closer to Sweeping King to placate him. "It's just that this Anqing Battalion came fast. Old Eight and I also only just got back. We always have to explain things clearly to you before we can settle on a method."

Sweeping King turned his eyes to him. "Then speak plainly."

"Over on the east side, the Government Troops at Fengjiadu have mostly collapsed, but there are still some hateful dog officials holding that slope with their Household Retainers — probably still three or four hundred men. Can't take it in a short while. And over here the fighting is urgent..."

Sweeping King's mouth twitched. "The road that was originally blocked, you opened it for no reason. That old general officer naturally knows there's an ambush. Saying it like this, there are Government Troops front and back — on what grounds do you say the main camp won't be lost?"

"Brother Zhang, don't be impatient. Although those Government Troops at Fengjiadu are still there, they're only blocking the post road. They don't have the ability to come out and fight. Carts just can't get through. Our main camp can still pass below the slope on horseback." Luo Rucai paused, then continued, "Further east, that bridge was half burned down by the Government Troops, but a High Shine unit of Chuang Tatian's has already seized and is holding it. There's still a way out."

Sweeping King swept his gaze over those present. He saw Liu Wenxiu behind Zhang Xianzhong, and the bedraggled You Lihua. Suddenly he spat and cursed, "Screw your mothers' fur. Everyone here is a Long Family who can fight, and you've been beaten into this state by a bunch of Jiangnan troops. That whatever Pu has its road blocked, the bridge is only half left. If we run like this, all the rations and pay and women are lost. Go into the mountains and wait to starve? It's just one Anqing Battalion. Turn back, kill them all clean, snatch back the rations and pay — then this Anqing is our territory. That's the damn way out."

The several major bandit chiefs looked at each other. Luo Rucai's eyes shifted a few times. He turned to Zhang Xianzhong and said, "Sweeping King speaks reason..."

A red flash lit the night sky. Deafening cannon fire sounded from the south. A horse passing nearby whinnied and was hastily pulled away by a horse soldier.

Everyone looked south. Luo Rucai withdrew his gaze and continued, "The dog officers and soldiers are now only one li from the bridge. Old Eight, both your camp and Chuang Tatian's are here — you can't leave now either, unless you're willing to abandon all that rations and pay and servants. That scout cavalryman Wenxiu captured confessed: the Anqing Battalion has only three thousand troops. They rushed here overnight, bent on putting us to death. Since they're so detestable, then as Sweeping King says, let's all put our lives into it and settle things with them for real. That force at Fengjiadu is already no threat. Once this Anqing Battalion is destroyed, this Anqing territory is ours. Coming and going will be easy from now on — the way out will be open."

Zhang Xianzhong rubbed the scar on his forehead, walked over and clapped Sweeping King on the shoulder. "I was the one who called you to join camps. Erlang Town was lost by my Wenxiu. Your affairs were always mine to manage."

He took two steps back toward Luo Rucai. "Cao Cao was also called here by me, Old Zhang. Just now you urged me to fight to the death — nothing more than fearing I wouldn't save your camp. What do you take me, Eight Great Kings, for? Your mind is full of tricks; I'll mark this one against you first. But your camp was lost at Erlang Town — naturally, I'm going to take care of that too."

Cao Cao wasn't embarrassed; he just chuckled.

"And the rest of you Long Family — Old Zhang called you to join camps, not to lose men, horses, and servants." Zhang Xianzhong continued, pointing his hand one by one at You Lihua and the other minor bandit chiefs. After pointing, he put his hand back on his forehead. "This year's fate is bad. Fighting all the way from Henan to this Jiangbei territory, the lads below haven't had a few full meals. The way here and the way out are both tight. Now these Anqing soldiers still want to bully us, want to cut off our way out. Huguang yields no food; going back means most will starve. If we don't destroy this Anqing Battalion, we have nowhere left to go."

Cao Cao and Chuang Tatian both nodded repeatedly. Zhang Xianzhong bared his teeth in two laughs. "I came precisely to exterminate them. Anqing is a place with plenty of rations and pay. In total they only have these troops. That bunch at Fengjiadu is already routed. All that's left is this Garrison Battalion. If they hadn't come, we couldn't take that Prefectural City of Anqing. But since they've come, perfect — we'll wipe them out in one go. That Prefectural City will naturally be ours."

Chuang Tatian stepped forward and said, "Since we've joined camps, we're all here seeking a way out together. The original plan was to destroy the Anqing troops right here anyway. The Anqing Battalion delivered itself to us — saves us the trouble of looking for them."

You Lihua and a few other minor bandit chiefs hurriedly stepped up, signaling their resolve for a fight to the death.

Sweeping King spat again. "Who was it last time who said that general officer of the Anqing Battalion is that Yamen Dog from the Tongcheng city wall? Back when he was still a Yamen Dog, he cost us that many men. Perfect — we'll settle accounts all at once."

Luo Rucai looked at everyone and said, "Also, last year at Chuzhou, the ones crossing the river were this same Anqing Battalion — mostly infantry. Just now it was said they have three thousand men. Their Household Retainers seem more numerous than the average general officer's — probably five or six hundred. Wenxiu said they brought cannons. At Pukou they also brought cannons. Yao Tiandong was killed by their cannon fire. We'll settle accounts, but let's not be rash and throw our formation into chaos."

Zhang Xianzhong grunted. "They came from a distant place to attack. We have two stockades here, more to eat than them, and more men than them. Let's wait for them to attack first. If they strike the west side, we strike the east side. We must pin them down so they can't move freely. Once they lose their edge, Old Huihui will cut off their retreat at Erlang Town. With over a hundred thousand of us surrounding and attacking from all sides, no fear they won't be destroyed. The old rule: I'll set the formation first."

Luo Rucai spoke first. "The Government Troops came from the west along the post road. Your stockade is in the north. We'll deploy along the north side. The west side is naturally critical — I'll defend the west side."

The Garrison Battalion was coming from the west. Currently the Roving Bandits occupied the market town on the west bank of the Chema River, plus the two stockades to the north, forming a semi-encirclement of the post road. The greatest likelihood was that the Government Troops would attack from the formation's west side. Cao Cao could be said to have voluntarily taken on the heaviest combat task.

Once the west side was settled, the rest was easy to assign. Zhang Xianzhong took the center. Sweeping King also withdrew to the center. Because Liu Guoneng had arrived earliest, part of his camp was already east of the Chema River, so he was assigned to the formation's eastern wing, garrisoning the market town west of the Chema River.

Then came the minor bandit chiefs. You Lihua hesitated briefly, but still chose to deploy on the western wing together with Cao Cao.

They were all veterans of many battles and had coordinated with each other many times. In just a moment they completed their staff work, then returned to their respective troops to prepare for the great battle at daybreak.

Once most had dispersed, You Lihua sidled over and muttered resentfully to Cao Cao, "Elder Brother, why did you pick the west side..."

"This Anqing Battalion is different from other Government Troops. What they love most is seizing bridges." Cao Cao turned to look at You Lihua. "At Puzikou they seized Fierce Tiger Bridge; every camp lost several hundred mounted men. At Chuzhou, though they didn't seize a bridge, they crossed the Pure Stream River and left troops to hold the ferry crossing — same principle as a bridge — and chased all the way to Zhulong Bridge, killing countless. This time they seized Erlang Bridge again."

You Lihua said with sudden understanding, "Elder Brother thinks they will definitely attack the bridge over the Chema River first."

"Absolutely certain." Cao Cao looked at the pitch-black south. "That dog official didn't come to rescue Fengjiadu. He came to collect heads. Once he seizes the bridge over the Chema River, we'll be trapped here. Only then will he have enough heads to get promoted. So he will definitely seize the bridge. Chuang Tatian looks farthest away, but in the end he'll surely suffer the heaviest casualties."

You Lihua looked around. The vicinity was a stretch of shallow hills, gradually deepening to the north, and further north were continuous mountain ranges. To the east was the Chema River; to the west was also a stretch of shallow hills. That bridge over the Chema River was indeed the only way out.

He said to Cao Cao with admiration, "Elder Brother's divine foresight is unmatched."

"There's one more thing I haven't told you." Cao Cao turned back and pointed west. "Behind this mountain there's a small path leading to the Mountain Pass. If we're truly defeated, this is the only retreat. Only by staying near the west side is there a chance to escape. Find Old Huihui and you can still live."

You Lihua's mouth dropped open in surprise. "Elder Brother has never been here before — how do you know it in such detail?"

"Since I'm called Cao Cao, naturally I'm sharper than others. Before nightfall, Old Eight wanted to contact Old Huihui. I took on the task. I asked the various camps for some servants captured from the stockades — all locals from this Chema River area, just sitting there with no one questioning them. I asked and understood at once. I took the path behind here to the Mountain Pass and found Old Huihui. Tomorrow he'll attack Erlang Town to tie down the Anqing Battalion."

"Then why not have Old Huihui take the small path here to join camps?"

Cao Cao glanced at him. "If he could bring troops through it, would it still be called a small path? That path is just enough for escaping with your life. Don't tell anyone else."

You Lihua understood tacitly. Fleeing for your life is different from ordinary times — only with few people would you not draw the Government Troops' attention.

Another cannon blast sounded from the south. Cao Cao frowned and cursed, "That path is just a precaution against the worst. We have a hundred thousand men here — this dog official is simply courting death. Go back and quickly prepare a meal. At daybreak, bring your troops to my position."