Chapter 386: The Column

He had no idea how long he lay there before Wang Dashan drifted back into that state of utterly perfect comfort. This time there was no bone-deep chill — instead, a gentle warmth spread through his body, free of any pain. He wished he could lie like this forever.

"The master's about to leave. We're going back to Susong."

Wang Dashan reluctantly opened his eyes. The woman had eaten her fill; after digesting for a while, a faint glimmer of life had finally returned to her gaze. She stared fixedly at Wang Dashan.

"Go, go… Susong." Wang Dashan looked around blankly. "Which road do we take?"

The two of them froze at the same time. Before becoming a servant, Wang Dashan had never even been to Anqing Prefecture. The farthest place he had traveled in his entire life was following his master to Taihu County Town. He often went to Susong County Town, but that was only a few dozen li away — at a quick pace, he could make the round trip in a single day.

Over the past half-year, he had already been dragged across several provinces. After entering the Yinghuo Mountain Area from Taihu, he had completely lost all sense of direction. After that came Jiangbei, Henan, and now Huguang — he didn't even know which direction Anqing lay in.

"This road ahead is no good. The Grand Master is up ahead — if they catch us, they'll plant our heads. Behind us are Government Troops… No, not going."

Wang Dashan climbed to his feet. His head was still terribly dizzy. He steadied himself carefully, then raised his eyes to look around. The camp ground, after the Government Troops' cavalry raid, was a scene of utter devastation. Corpses littered the ground everywhere. The wounded were still moaning in low voices, and faint sounds of weeping drifted from somewhere.

He stood outside the broken wall. Beside him, the Xu family's campfire still had a few smoldering embers, forming a hazy, thin mist before his eyes.

"Husband, let's head far away." The woman struggled to her feet. "The Roving Bandits and the Government Troops are all on the Official Road. We'll go far from it."

"If those Native Folk see us, they'll just brain us with a hoe all the same."

The woman pulled at his hand. "Either way, it's death. If by some chance we slip through, we go back to Susong."

"Back to Susong." Wang Dashan repeated it numbly. A faint light gradually kindled in his eyes. "Back to Susong!"

Leaning on each other, the two of them stood up. Some of the servants who had scattered earlier were already drifting back, rummaging through corpses and the wounded for food.

"We have to bring grain." Wang Dashan let go of the woman and staggered over to Xu Liang's side. As he lifted the grain sack, he glanced again at Xu Liang. The blood from the head and neck wound was congealing, caught between liquid and solid, and no longer gave off any warm vapor. Wang Dashan took a few panting breaths, then turned back to support the woman.

"How did the Xu family man die?" Only now did the woman see Xu Liang's corpse. A look of terror crossed her face.

"The Government Troops killed him." Wang Dashan snapped impatiently. He pulled the woman around the broken wall. The Official Road appeared before them. The road surface was strewn with dead and wounded servants. Some people were sprawled over the bodies, wailing.

Neither of them paid any attention. All kinds of household goods lay scattered nearby. Wang Dashan spotted a quilt — it was Second Locust Master's satin quilt cover. What mattered was that it was quite thick and heavy; it would surely be very warm to wrap up in. It must have belonged to a wealthy household before. On countless freezing winter nights, Wang Dashan had dreamed of it countless times.

Almost without thinking, Wang Dashan bent down to pick it up. The quilt was unfurled. He had no time to tie it up, so he simply hoisted it onto his shoulder. The quilt was soft and thick, draping over his chest and back. Instantly, he felt much warmer.

The woman had already picked up a pot. Wang Dashan reached out and took it. The two of them scavenged as they went. Many of the items were fine things the masters had used. More important was grain. They would not pass up any grain they saw. In a short span of time, they pieced together belongings for this little household. Wang Dashan now had two grain sacks strapped to his back.

Once the initial excitement faded, he began to feel the strain. The woman took back the pot. Scattered human silhouettes moved nearby. They carried only grain sacks. As they passed the scavenging pair, they sized each other up. No one spoke. They passed by in silence, also moving away from the Official Road, in the same direction as Wang Dashan.

"There's a saber, too."

Wang Dashan spoke to the woman. Those people just now might be the first wave of enemies on the road ahead. Once they were far from the Official Road, they would start robbing each other for the grain that meant survival. The quilt would be a target, too.

He stopped and looked around everywhere. Beside the Official Road, he spotted a Waist Saber pinned under a broken carriage. No one else had noticed it. He immediately dashed over. The moment his hand closed around the ice-cold hilt, a sudden surge of excitement rushed through Wang Dashan's heart.

He straightened up, saber in hand. A servant passing nearby saw him and at once showed a frightened expression, veering far away to go around. Wang Dashan stood there gripping the saber. It seemed that no one dared provoke him now, no one dared bully him anymore. The servants searching for goods nearby all hastily kept their distance.

A Waist Saber like this was something only masters had — or else the head servant. Wang Dashan stood frozen for a moment before remembering to draw the blade and look. Just then, another burst of hoofbeats sounded from the Official Road.

Wang Dashan froze for a second, then spun around and ran toward the woman. "Run!"

He pushed with all his strength, but his weakened body made his steps unsteady. After a few paces, he tumbled to the ground. He struggled several times but couldn't get up. The hoofbeats on the Official Road were approaching fast. The woman cried out urgently. Wang Dashan scrambled and crawled his way to her side. It took considerable effort to strap the quilt and grain sacks back onto himself. The two of them strained every sinew to flee away from the Official Road, but the weight on his back made every step a torment for Wang Dashan. He soon fell again. The woman tugged at him, then collapsed herself.

The hoofbeats were now clearly audible. Wang Dashan had no strength left. He looked in terror toward the sound. Seven or eight mounted figures were clearly visible. At first glance, he spotted Second Locust, then Xiao Wazi. Behind them were some people on foot, chasing to catch up. They weren't far — it must be those servants who had followed to collect grain.

"It's Xiaowazi Laoye, the Second Chief… Quick, the quilt!"

Wang Dashan flailed in panic. He laboriously shed the quilt from his back, then threw off the other items as well, dragging the woman aside so the masters wouldn't see he had been trying to flee.

Chaos swirled all around. Other servants were still bolting. The Second Master shouted something, and two Horse Soldiers immediately spurred their mounts in pursuit. Wang Dashan didn't look. Using the surrounding confusion, he discarded the rest of the items hanging on his body, including the grain sack whose strap had broken.

The woman clutched his hand, weeping. "Keep it."

"That belongs to the Xu family. If Xu Zhu comes back, we won't be able to explain."

"What's there to explain? Just keep a little…"

Wang Dashan forcefully pushed the woman's hand away. The grain sack felt heavy in his grip. Wang Dashan gritted his teeth and dropped it on the ground. Finally, his gaze fell on the Waist Saber lying on the ground. That pitch-black scabbard seemed to hold some peculiar pull. Wang Dashan stared at it, his mind starting to go blank.

The hoofbeats halted not far away. Before Wang Dashan could look up, a sharp pain suddenly exploded across his shoulder. Wang Dashan fell to the ground and looked — it was Xiaowazi Laoye.

"Get packing, now!" Xiao Wazi roared, then spurred his horse toward the broken wall.

Wang Dashan let out a breath of relief. By now, more chiefs were returning along the Official Road one after another. Escape was no longer possible. Fortunately, Xiao Wazi hadn't suspected anything. For now, all he could do was help the woman and head back.

The two of them panted in silence, trudging with heavy steps to the broken wall, when they heard a burst of hoarse, ragged wailing.

Xu Zhu had already returned. His wife and children likely hadn't run far, and they had come back here as well. The whole family was gathered around Xu Liang's corpse, weeping and howling.

Xiao Wazi dismounted and circled the area, looking for his own valuables. He had been with the Western Camp long enough — being raided by Government Troops was nothing new. The devastation before his eyes was all too familiar. When he walked past Xu Liang, Xiao Wazi passed by indifferently, not even sparing a glance.

Wang Dashan hung his head. He stole a glance at the Xu family. That firewood chopper was still beside Xu Liang, but no one had noticed it. Xu Liang had died during the Government Troops' raid. Of course everyone assumed the Government Troops had killed him. No one would think of any other possibility.

A slight easing in his heart — then suddenly, a person stood up from the pit right in front of him. Wang Dashan's eyes widened in terror. Three families had lived outside this broken wall. Besides him and the Xu family, there was this old man surnamed Li.

The old man had been captured by Xiao Wazi only at Macheng. He was all alone — gaunt, dried-up, and silent. Normally, the Western Camp forbade servants from talking privately among themselves. Wang Dashan didn't even know his name. From the moment the Government Troops launched their raid, Wang Dashan had been in an abnormal state. He hadn't even noticed this old man's existence, hadn't so much as glanced into that pit.

If the old man had been in that pit the whole time, he must have witnessed the entire process — the killing, the stealing of food. He would also know that Wang Dashan had tried to flee.

If he were to speak of it, never mind Xiao Wazi the chief — Xu Zhu alone would take both their lives, his and his wife's.

Wang Dashan's mind was a tangled mess. His mouth felt parched, his tongue dry. Just then, Second Locust Master rode over on horseback. He shouted to Xiao Wazi, "The Government Troops are the Anqing Army. Master Liu says we move at once, meet up with Eight Master at Gucheng."

"Pack up anything useful and move fast." Xiao Wazi bellowed at the few servants. "The Household Retainers will be back soon."

Wang Dashan answered distractedly. When he looked up again, Old Li happened to turn his head back. His gaze met Wang Dashan's, and he didn't avoid it in the slightest. The corner of the old man's mouth twitched faintly.

……

On the eleventh day of the first lunar month, Xiong Wencan's great banner entered the east gate of Xiangyang.

Pang Yu, bringing Xie Zhaofa along, met Chen Rulie at the city gate. From Anqing to Xiangyang was a journey of over a thousand li, cutting across northern Huguang. Both men's faces were etched with the dust of the road.

Chen Rulie gave a brief report on the Cavalry Chief-of-a-Thousand Department's situation. After arriving at Xiangyang, they had been unable to enter the city and had to camp outside the walls. After the two companies joined up, the usable manpower and horses numbered only five hundred. The rest were either sick men or sick horses.

The Cavalry Chief-of-a-Thousand Department had deployed its full strength on this military expedition. Of over nine hundred men, nearly fifty percent were now lost. There had been only a few small-scale engagements in between; the vast majority of losses came from illness and injury. Though the losses were considerable, cavalry was still irreplaceable. Whether over long distances or short, they demonstrated mobility far surpassing that of infantry. If infantry and cavalry were mixed together, they could never catch up with the bandit spawn, who were so adept at fleeing.

Because of Chen Rulie's pursuit, Chuang Tatian's Recruit to Surrender came ten days later than in history. He had first fled to Zaoyang, and only yesterday formally submitted his petition accepting the Recruit to Surrender. Xiong was preparing to settle him in Suizhou.

Pang Yu asked wearily, "Where are the Eight Bandits right now?"

"The Western Camp split into two columns at Macheng to plunder grain separately. One column headed for Zhongxiang, the other for Xiangyang. The Eight Bandits' main camp has already reached Gucheng County in the northwest and set up a camp there. The Zhongxiang column seems to be west of the Han River. Our scouts haven't detected any word of them."

"The map."

Chen Rulie spread a map on the ground. It was crudely marked with roads, towns, mountain ranges, rivers, and bridges.

In the former Garrison Battalion's military office, there was a dedicated survey room whose duty was mapmaking. Pang Yu himself knew nothing of cartography and could offer no technical guidance; he only required that road distances be clearly marked, and that post stations, walled cities, rivers, bridges, and ferry crossings must all be annotated. The military-necessity map of Anqing itself was already complete, and they were currently producing maps for Huangmei, Lu'an, and other places — far more convenient and intuitive than the empire-wide route handbooks used by merchants.

But for areas beyond their own region, they were essentially groping in the dark. They had nowhere to even find local geographic maps, and could only sketch roughly based on the empire's water and land routes. These showed only road conditions, not terrain; they knew nothing at all of the market towns and villages along the way, and campsites required cavalry to scout a day in advance.

Fortunately, Chen Rulie's cavalry had arrived early. His roving riders had scouted the area around Xiangyang and drawn a rough sketch — at least better than nothing.

"Where exactly in Gucheng are the Eight Bandits?"

"Baishazhou, on the north side."

Gucheng lies northwest of Xiangyang, where the Han River makes a bend. Baishazhou is blocked by rivers on both its north and east sides.

Pang Yu pointed to the west side of Gucheng. "Is this entire area mountains?"

"All mountains. I've heard this mountain range connects four provinces. Whenever things turn against them, the roving thieves flee here."

Pang Yu frowned at the map. "The Eight Bandits chose a place rather like Anqing — backed by mountains, facing a river, with both a natural barrier and an escape route. If we want to exterminate them, we'd need to cross the river and then seal off the west and south sides. This force coming from Zhongxiang will certainly encamp on the south side to prevent being surrounded."

Xie Zhaofa, standing nearby, said in a low voice, "Since the Eight Bandits are about to be recruited to surrender and become government troops, they will have to obey Lord Xiong's orders. When the time comes, we'll have them find another station, and they'll lose this terrain advantage."

Pang Yu shook his head. "Until the formal recruitment, they are still bandits. The Advisory Room is to thoroughly reconnoiter the military-necessity geography around Gucheng and draw up battle plans for a surprise assault and encirclement of the Eight Bandits. Even if we don't strike them immediately, we must be prepared for any contingency. What other bandit camps are in the vicinity?"

"Lord Xiong has set his headquarters at Xiangyang. Government troops from every route are converging here. Zuo Liangyu just arrived from Nanyang yesterday. Aside from the Eight Bandits and Chuang Tatian, the rest of the roving thieves have all fled to Henan. During my pursuit, the Western Camp and Chuang Camp also had no stomach for a fight — they fled at the first clash with my cavalry. Every prisoner we took, whether old bandits or servants, all claimed they had already accepted recruitment and called themselves government troops."

Pang Yu looked up at the towering city wall of Xiangyang. Snow had been drifting down these past few days; the black wall face looked both solid and desolate.

"Zuo Liangyu actually obeyed orders and came this time. He's the direct-command force Lord Xiong selected. Twelve more divisions were authorized, but in the end it's still these old battalions." Pang Yu shook his head with a faint smile. "What other forces have arrived?"

"Zuo Liangyu brought only five hundred cavalry. They've been encamped outside the north gate these past few days. There's also Henan Regional Commander Zhang Renxue, who arrived just two days after me, bringing a thousand infantry and cavalry, encamped at the east gate. This Regional Commander is like you, my lord…" Chen Rulie raised his head and looked at Pang Yu. "A Presented Scholar who cast aside the brush to take up arms."

"A Presented Scholar serving as Regional Commander?" Pang Yu stared at Chen Rulie in astonishment. In his two years in the Ming Dynasty, he had long since grasped the status of a Presented Scholar — naturally far surpassing his own rank as an Imperial Academy Student of the Handsome Youth category.

"He was even a Censor once. I've heard he volunteered to become a military officer, and the Emperor specially created the Henan Regional Commander post for him. I only learned this in the past few days from the general officers in his camp."

Pang Yu nodded. He had indeed never heard of the Henan Regional Commander position before. Even Zuo Liangyu's Regional Commander post was borrowed from the Sichuan Army's establishment. For Zhang Renxue to have the Emperor create a post just for him, he was likely a man of great ability, accomplished in both civil and military affairs — surely already taken under Lord Xiong's command as well.

"Which other general officers are under Lord Xiong's command?"

Chen Rulie said respectfully, "Regional Commander Chen of the Dengzhou Garrison."