Chapter 353: Victory Report

"Slow down, don't fall into the river!"

On the swaying stretcher, Wu Dacai sat up slightly. Two Fire Soldiers were carrying him across the bridge, while the Fire Soldiers' Squad leader shouted beside them.

There were many corpses on the bridge surface. The two Fire Soldiers carefully avoided them, stepping as much as possible in the gaps between bodies. Occasionally the corpses were too dense, and the Fire Soldiers had no choice but to step on them, making the stretcher jolt for a moment.

Wu Dacai glanced at his left leg. Below the fracture, it had swollen enormously. When the stretcher jolted, it felt like someone was cutting him with a knife. He dared not keep looking and turned his head to the right side of the bridge. Corpses in the river already blanketed the water's surface, bumping into each other with the current. Many Roving Bandits were still struggling among the bodies.

Just as they crossed the bridge, several dense cannon shots rang out from the west.

"Why are they still firing?" Wu Dacai was somewhat puzzled. On the west-bank bridgehead stood the Company Commander's recognition banner of the Second Division. There were some soldiers there, all busy with something. Wu Dacai's head was dizzy and muddled; for a moment he couldn't recall which Company they belonged to.

Not long after he was wounded, the Second Division had seized the west-bank bridgehead and attacked toward the east bank. After linking up with Wu Dacai's Company, two Banner Teams had charged to the edge of the market town. The streets were utterly chaotic, with a few Roving Bandits still bursting out from time to time. Wu Dacai drifted in and out of consciousness. After a while, his subordinates finally found him and first carried him into a shop with a tiled roof. Later, more than ten wounded soldiers from his own Company were brought in. The Deputy Company Commander said someone had been sent to call the Medical Officer, but none ever appeared. After some more time, someone shouted that all the wounded were to be sent to the west bank to be concentrated, and that the Medical Officers were all over there. Three Fire Soldiers then carried him across the bridge first.

The Fire Soldiers were asking for the wounded assembly point. Wu Dacai lay back down, letting the stretcher jolt as it would, simply gazing up at the sky overhead. The Fire Soldiers got directions and turned a corner. Sunlight fell on his face, then was blocked again by the walls along the street. Each time they passed an alley mouth, the sunlight would once more spill onto his face.

The light was a bit glaring. Wu Dacai turned his head to the right. The next time they passed an alley mouth, he could see his own shadow cast onto the corner of the wall beside him. Many civilian laborers were also carrying stretchers nearby, coming and going all around him. There seemed to be quite a lot of wounded. Wu Dacai was in so much pain that he had no attention to spare for anyone else's injuries.

The stretcher stopped. The surrounding buildings all seemed to be housing wounded soldiers. The Fire Soldier Squad leader went off to find a Medical Officer. Finally, they entered a courtyard. The yard was noisy and chaotic. Wu Dacai looked around. The roof of the house in front had collapsed. Wounded soldiers lay everywhere on the ground around him, some shouting, some merely groaning.

The smell of blood and sweat mingled in the air. The weather was still stiflingly hot. Wu Dacai's forehead was covered in sweat. After a moment, he sank back into a groggy sleep.

When he opened his eyes again, the first thing Wu Dacai felt was a dry mouth. He opened his eyes and looked around. There were walls on all sides, and above him was a tiled roof. Many tiles were missing, revealing numerous bright squares of light. It didn't seem as glaring as before.

Outside was a clamor of noise. To his left, someone was groaning. Wu Dacai turned his head to look and saw a soldier squatting in the corner, two arrows stuck in his shoulder, muttering something under his breath the whole time.

Wu Dacai didn't want to talk to him, but there was no one else in the room. After waiting a moment, Wu Dacai had no choice but to ask the man, "Brother, where is the Medical Officer? My leg is broken."

The soldier stopped muttering, raised his head, and looked at him seriously. "That's a light wound. You have to get in line behind me."

Wu Dacai stared blankly. "Light wound? I'm clearly severely wounded."

The soldier said earnestly, "No, no, that won't do. You're not even bleeding."

Wu Dacai's face crumpled. "But I'm about to die from the pain."

The soldier waved a hand dismissively. "Don't worry, you won't die. At worst, you'll be half-dead from pain."

Wu Dacai said angrily, "You dog, I'm a Company Commander of the Second Division. If I say I go before you, then I go before you!"

"That won't do. You say you're a Company Commander — show me your identity badge."

Wu Dacai burned with fury. He wanted to pull out his identity badge and scare this insolent soldier to death. He reached for his waist, but it was empty. He didn't know if it had been knocked off when the horse struck him.

Seeing that he couldn't produce it, the soldier sprang up with a whoosh, walked over to stand beside his head, and stared straight down at Wu Dacai. "Are you going to let me go first or not?"

Wu Dacai's fracture throbbed with pain, and his thirst was unbearable. Hearing this, he couldn't help but curse, "I damn well won't!"

The soldier stood beyond Wu Dacai's head, suddenly stretched out his right hand, and vigorously rubbed and kneaded Wu Dacai's face. Wu Dacai was caught completely off guard and had no strength in his arms. That hand, covered in thick calluses, rubbed him dizzy and disoriented.

"Not a drop of blood on your whole body, and you're pretending to be severely wounded. That won't do. Let me smear a little on you..." The soldier spoke as he rubbed, not stopping until Wu Dacai clawed wildly at him and the soldier couldn't bear the pain and let go. By then, Wu Dacai's face was smeared all over with blood and grime.

That hand was rough and powerful. Wu Dacai had been rubbed until even breathing was extremely difficult. Now he gasped for breath. He had barely taken two breaths when that person suddenly reached out again. "Smear on a bit more."

The hand rubbed his face again. Wu Dacai endured the intense pain and flailed both hands wildly in front of his face. It was a good while before the hand withdrew.

"I'm a Company Commander!"

"So what if you're a high official! When your life's about to be gone, you think I'm afraid of some Company Commander?"

Wu Dacai tilted his head back to look up at the man upside-down, raised a finger, pointed at him, and cursed, "Which damn division are you from? You dare tell me your name..."

That 'No-Go' person reached out and rubbed his face again. "So what if I tell you, so what if I tell you! Are you going to let me go first or not?"

The soldier had a sword wound on his left arm and two arrows stuck in his left shoulder. All his injuries were on his left side, so his walking and right-hand movement were unaffected. Dealing with Wu Dacai, who was in too much pain to move, was effortless for him.

Footsteps sounded at the door. The soldier hurriedly stood up. Wu Dacai finally breathed another sigh of relief. He raised his head and saw two Fire Soldiers enter, both covered in blood.

That 'No-Go' spoke first. "Hurry and take me to have the arrows pulled. He said I could go first."

Wu Dacai hurriedly said as well, "Brothers, I'm a Company Commander. This is a severe wound. Let me see the Medical Officer first."

One Fire Soldier said, "You say you're a Company Commander. Give me your identity badge."

Naturally, Wu Dacai could not produce it.

"Today I've already run into three people pretending to be Centurions." The Fire Soldier pointed at 'No-Go.' "You go see the Medical Officer first."

Wu Dacai's mouth gaped wide. "How come he goes first? His are all just flesh wounds."

"This was set by Lord Pang. Treat those who can stop bleeding first, treat those who can be kept alive first."

Talking too much made his chest hurt. Wu Dacai was already drenched in sweat from the pain. Hearing this, he was greatly alarmed and struggled to ask, "So that means I can't be kept alive?"

"He's easier to keep alive, isn't he."

"But I'm a Company Commander!"

That 'No-Go' tugged at the Fire Soldier. "Brother, pull these arrows out for me first. This sword cut here needs to be re-bandaged too. The blood's almost drained dry."

As 'No-Go' spoke, he followed the Fire Soldier out.

Wu Dacai roared in despair, "Where are the three Fire Soldiers who carried me here? They know I'm a Company Commander."

The Fire Soldier's voice came back from outside the house. "Stop pretending. You clearly know everyone's been reassigned by Xie Section Clerk to search the mountain!"

"Give me some water!"

After a moment, the other, thinner Fire Soldier came back and handed over a coconut ladle with its spout already twisted open. Wu Dacai had no time to thank him and gulped the water down without stopping.

"We're short-handed. Drink on your own. Our whole battalion has only one Medical Officer who can set bones. There are five or six people lined up over there. You'll still have to wait."

Wu Dacai nodded gratefully and watched the Fire Soldier walk out. Fire Soldiers were the lowest-status group in the army. Normally, in his own Company, Wu Dacai wouldn't even look them in the eye. Now they had nearly become the ones who held his life and death in their hands.

"I really shouldn't have gotten wounded." Wu Dacai was left alone in the stifling room. His body ached terribly. In his heart, he somewhat regretted not listening to the Banner Commander. If he had held the bridgehead, he wouldn't have been struck by a horse, nor had his leg trampled and broken.

He took a drink of water himself. Since he was drinking lying down, he spilled quite a bit. He steadied his breathing for a long while before cursing bitterly, "You bastards, just wait till I deal with you. Deal with you like Roving Bandits."

The sun slanted westward. On the post road leading to Erlang Town, Yang Xueshi rode a captured mount and was still hurrying on his way. In the fields and hills to the north, one could still see Roving Bandits who had scattered from the Chema River, many of them Red Jacket Bandits. They fled along the country paths, appearing and disappearing among the hills.

Most of these Roving Bandits were veteran battalion soldiers. In normal times, this would be a perfect chance to kill Old Bandits, but Pang Yu had given strict orders: rescue Erlang Town first, no delays along the way. What he had to consider now was not intercepting these fleeing Old Bandits, but how to use the artillery against those ten-thousand-strong Roving Bandits.

After gathering a group of infantry at the Chema River, Yang Xueshi had first gone to rescue Chen Rulie. The battlefield was already swarming with routed Roving Bandit soldiers. The Mounted Bandits who had come from Moyanpu saw the situation and knew the battle was lost. Their morale instantly collapsed. The artillery fired only one volley before the Mounted Bandits fought their way to escape, with two hundred foot soldiers chasing madly after them.

Next, the Personal Guard Division came to join the rescue of Erlang Town. There were two Company Commander in the contingent. Yang Xueshi led the force on behalf of Pang Yu and was responsible for combat decisions. Yang Xueshi raised his head and looked ahead. Zhuang Chaozheng was leading the Iron Armor Soldiers at the front. From the Chema River to Erlang Town was ten li. Along the way, Iron Armor Soldiers kept falling behind. Now they had arrived outside Moyanpu, and less than half of the Iron Armor Soldiers had managed to keep up this far.

The Cavalry Division was at the very front, actually numbering only a little over a hundred riders. They had already reached the street entrance of Moyanpu. According to earlier intelligence from the scout cavalry, Moyanpu had fallen into the hands of the Roving Bandits, with infantry guards inside. But beyond Yang Xueshi's expectations, the cavalry encountered only light resistance. A small number of bandit infantry engaged briefly, then immediately fled in panic toward the northwest.

"Section Clerk Yang." Chen Rulie rode up head-on. "The Roving Bandits at Moyanpu withdrew in advance. They must have already learned of the defeat at Chemache. The large force at Erlang Town is surely retreating as well. The Cavalry Division need not wait for our infantry — strike first to harass and disrupt the bandits."

Yang Xueshi called over Zhuang Chaozheng. The three conferred briefly and settled on a new plan. Chen Rulie immediately led the cavalry at speed. The two-li distance was covered in the blink of an eye.

Chen Rulie raised his telescope. Outside Erlang Town under the sun, a scene of chaos — tens of thousands of Roving Bandits were retreating. The streets inside the town were littered with corpses. Blades and banners of every kind lay scattered everywhere. A small cannon lay toppled in a pile of bodies, its metal gleaming faintly in the sunset. The banner of the Third Division's Company Commander still flew at the bridge head, but no soldiers from the garrison battalion could be seen pursuing beyond the town.

In the direction of the post road, about two hundred red-clad horse soldiers stood on alert. Chen Rulie put away his telescope. Throughout the entire campaign, the Cavalry Division had been in a stifled state. Before battle was even joined, attrition had reached forty percent. They could not take Moyanpu, guarded by Sweeping King. At Chemache, they could only be used as substandard infantry, nearly becoming the division with the least impact.

Chen Rulie drew his saber in one motion. "Kill the bandits!"

Over a hundred cavalry charged down the post road, straight toward the two hundred Mounted Bandits bringing up the rear.

……

Outside City River Stockade after nightfall, torches had been lit everywhere. Countless captured Roving Bandits were gathered together — dense swathes of heads, one patch after another.

Pang Yu strode across the plank bridge into the stockade. The ground around him held many corpses, and scattered silver as well, but Pang Yu did not spare them a glance. He called over several heralds.

"One One-Legged Tiger is not enough. He is only a minor bandit chief. Tell the Land Combat Division: no rest tonight. Set up defenses on every road behind Tufeng Fort. Light fire beacons at every intersection and post archers."

"Send out all the scout riders here. Mr. Ma must be found. If Circuit Intendant Shi is encountered, ask him to come first to Old County."

"Have Xie Zhaofa deploy tomorrow's military affairs. Order the Cavalry Division and Personal Guard Division to strengthen reconnaissance and defense. If an opportunity presents itself, launch a night raid. Attack the Mountain Pass at dawn tomorrow. If the assault goes smoothly, advance to the pass's mountain entrance and establish a defensive position there to block the remaining bandits' escape route into the mountains. The First Division and Land Combat Division will continue clearing the mountains north of Tufeng Fort. Capturing the bandit chiefs is the highest priority. Do not indiscriminately cut down those infantry and servants. Those willing to surrender are all to be escorted back to Tufeng Fort. Also, every division is to report its casualty count to me before daybreak."

"Go to the lake and find the Susong County Magistrate. Have him come to Chemache…"

Having spoken, Pang Yu walked straight to a thatched hut. He saw that Mr. Hou had also just arrived at the door. Mr. Hou said respectfully, "This subordinate was preparing to take the clerk officers to inspect the wounded. I have come as ordered to await your instructions."

Pang Yu nodded and gestured for him to enter the hut with him. Inside, there was a table already set with brush and ink, along with several sheets of petition paper bearing writing.

He picked up one sheet of petition paper and began reading, while speaking to Mr. Hou. "Yang Xueshi has repelled the enemy at Erlang Town. The cavalry pursued them to the Mountain Pass. The bandit infantry trampled each other in the rout — casualties are heavy. However, the bandits' Mounted Bandits are numerous, and Yang Xueshi lacked the strength to fight through the mountain pass. Zhou Er was wounded. The Third Division suffered heavy casualties. Though the losses have not yet been tallied, they certainly exceed half. One cannon was damaged."

"This subordinate congratulates you, my lord. With the strength of a single ying, you have routed a hundred thousand Giant Bandits in one stroke. This is a victory unmatched since Chuzhou."

Pang Yu finally smiled and said, "It is indeed a great victory, won entirely by the officers and soldiers of the entire ying fighting with courage. Our ying's losses have been grievous… You said just now you were going to inspect the wounded?"

"This subordinate is old and feeble, lacking the ability to join you, my lord, in battle at the front. I have been leading men in tending to the wounded all day today. At Chemache alone, there are over five hundred wounded. Here, both medical officers and civilian laborers are insufficient, and the housing is quite cramped. When this old man heard that Erlang Town had been relieved, I wished to send the wounded there by night, so they could travel by boat to Leigang for proper recuperation and avoid contracting external pernicious influences."

Pang Yu nodded. "Well done. We will go together a little later. But first, the dispatch report must be revised. It must be sent out tonight. This is the first draft written by the Document Receiving Office. This copy is the express report for the Jiangnan Times."

Mr. Hou said no more. He took the papers and began reading them carefully. Although several lanterns had been lit, the light was still somewhat dim. Mr. Hou squinted, at times holding the petition paper far away, at times bringing it close.

After a moment, Mr. Hou said in a low voice, "My lord, the dispatch report is mostly appropriate, but one part is slightly improper — these two characters, 'encircle and annihilate.'"

Pang Yu looked at the place Mr. Hou's fingers indicated. Mr. Hou continued, "Our ying did not join with the Reinforcement and Suppression Troops to encircle and annihilate the bandits. In the order token that Circuit Intendant Shi sent at the time, he stated that Deputy Regional Commander Cheng was trapped at Fengjiadu and ordered the Anqing Garrison Battalion to rush to his aid by night. It was you, my lord, who led the troops and struck the Roving Thieves a heavy blow. The order token can be appended as corroborating evidence."

"Very sound reasoning." Pang Yu immediately drew a line through the two characters for 'encircle and annihilate' with his brush. This dispatch report was critically important. Though it was only two characters, it concerned the distribution of military merit after the battle. If it was an encirclement and annihilation, then the merit would have to be split evenly between the garrison battalion and the Reinforcement and Suppression Troops. And both Cheng Long and Xu Strengthening outranked him. Pang Yu still did not know whether those two were alive or dead. If both were alive, they would take a very large share of the credit. Pang Yu rubbed his forehead again. The continuous marching and fighting, the unrelenting pressure, had left his mental spirit somewhat dazed. He had nearly missed this major oversight.

Now that Mr. Hou had pointed it out, it could be revised to state that Cheng Long was besieged at Fengjiadian, and that Pang Yu led the garrison battalion to the rescue via Susong. Then the great victory at Chemache would belong entirely to Pang Yu, and conveniently, Shi Kefa's order token would serve as the basis.

Mr. Hou spoke again. "My lord, is this dispatch report intended for Circuit Intendant Shi?"

Pang Yu shook his head. "Circuit Intendant Shi's whereabouts are unknown. This official will send it directly to the Grand Coordinator Yamen in Suzhou."

Mr. Hou pondered for a moment. "My lord, you could simultaneously send it to the Regional Inspector. As for Anqing Prefecture, a victory report should also be sent, to prevent Lord Pi from being alarmed."

"Well said." Pang Yu considered, then said, "Send a verbal message to Anqing Prefecture. The dispatch report goes to the Regional Inspector… and send a copy to the Southern Ministry of War as well."

Mr. Hou did not continue the conversation. Inwardly, he guessed that Pang Yu was unwilling to let Shi Kefa distribute the military merit, and was using the excuse of being unable to find Shi Kefa to send it first to the Grand Coordinator Yamen. Under normal circumstances, when the Roving Bandits invaded in force, Shi Kefa would certainly have sent an urgent appeal to the Grand Coordinator Yamen first. The Regional Inspector and the Southern Ministry of War would likely have received word as well. With the safety of the Great River at stake, given the anxious state of mind of the various officials upon receiving the reports, a dispatch reporting victory would surely be forwarded to the Capital at the fastest possible speed. By then, Pang Yu's military merit would be settled first. Moreover, since it was written inside that it was Shi Kefa's order, it would not affect his own evaluation for merit, and thus would not offend the Circuit Intendant.

Pang Yu rubbed his forehead and said, "Mr. Hou, help me think further — are there any other omissions?"

"My lord, you mentioned last time the matter of Qianshan County Magistrate Zhu Jiaxiang…"

Pang Yu clapped his hands. "It is fortunate I have you to help me, Mr. Hou. However, this matter is not urgent today. It still requires planning in advance."

At that moment, Guo Fengyou reported at the door. A relay horse followed him into the thatched hut. "Reporting for my lord's awareness: the Second Division reports back that there appear to still be Government Troops at Fengjiadu."

Pang Yu stood up in astonishment. "There are still Government Troops at Fengjiadu?"