Chapter 440: Ambush

"Did you see Lu Doutang killed with your own eyes?"

In the dim main hall of the inn, Qin Jiuze nodded slightly. "Surrounded by Tartars. Dead."

There were only four people in the hall. Besides Qin Jiuze, there were also the Banner Commander, Yu Lao'er, and Yang Guangdi.

The Banner Commander looked at Qin Jiuze, whose features were indistinct in the gloom. "Was the Xuan-Da Army completely wiped out, or did some escape?"

"The General Officers took their Household Retainers and fled north. None of the various General Officers should be dead."

The Banner Commander frowned. "So Lu Doutang was the only one who died. Then why didn't you flee with the General Officers, or go join the Liao Garrison with those other two?"

Qin Jiuze replied curtly, "None of them truly wanted to fight the Tartars. I didn't like it, so I didn't go."

"We aren't Runners. We're a Military Camp from Nanzhili. We truly want to fight the Tartars, but we lack good Night-Not-Returning scouts. Are you willing to follow us and fight the Tartars?"

The wrinkles on Qin Jiuze's forehead deepened, as if he were raising his eyes to observe. After a moment, he said, "Willing to follow."

"Then I'll take your Soldier Tag. Once you follow, you're a man of our Cavalry Camp, and you can't just leave whenever you want."

Qin Jiuze nodded again. The Banner Commander looked at him twice, then turned to Yang Guangdi. "Yang Guangdi, Qin Jiuze will follow you. First get him something to eat. Our army is somewhat different from the Xuan-Da forces. You're responsible for teaching him the rules."

Yang Guangdi was momentarily stunned, but the Banner Commander didn't wait for him. Having spoken, he turned and headed for the door. At the doorway, he looked back at Yang Guangdi. "Qin Jiuze was a Point Scout in the Border Army, a man of skill. You teach him the rules — that doesn't make you his master. You must also learn techniques from him."

Yang Guangdi responded with an "Aye." After the Banner Commander left, the three in the dim hall were silent. Qin Jiuze said in a deep voice, "Yang Guangdi, where's the food?"

"Here, this, I have two flatbreads here."

"And horse fodder."

Yu Lao'er over on the other side let out a snort. "What, are you acting like a lord now?"

Yang Guangdi replied, "I'll go get the fodder from the Banner Commander in a bit. It wasn't easy to transport on the road."

Qin Jiuze slowly sat down, took out his Tinder Pouch, and struck it. After a moment, he lit the tinder, then carefully held crumpled dry grass to the flame. The dry grass caught fire, and Qin Jiuze laid a few small twigs on top. Soon the flames leaped up.

"Why did you all kill that commoner?"

"Yang Shisan killed him." Qin Jiuze reached over and placed a split door plank onto the fire. "He thought the man outside was with those other two. Kill one first, one less enemy."

The fire gradually grew stronger, bringing a trace of warmth into the room. Yu Lao'er also sat down. Looking at Qin Jiuze in the firelight, he said, "Qin, whether you were a Night-Not-Returning or a Point Scout in the Xuan-Da forces, here in this Scout Cavalry Squad, you listen to the Squad Leader and Team Leader in everything you do. If you can't help, fine, but don't stir up trouble and get others killed."

A plume of smoke billowed from the fire. Qin Jiuze coughed, waved his hand twice in front of his face, then backed away a little. He casually removed his helmet and set it aside, not picking up Yu Lao'er's thread of conversation.

Yang Guangdi tilted his head to look at Qin Jiuze before him. The man was not young; his hair was already streaked with white, the wrinkles on his face deeper than many old men's. He didn't seem particularly strong either, yet somehow he gave the impression he could fight.

The Banner Commander had inspected these three Xuan-Da soldiers' Soldier Tags, horses, and equipment. Everything matched their own accounts, confirming they were indeed Xuan-Da Border Army. They had been hearing about this army often lately; the Scout Cavalry had even been orally drilled on the names of the various Camp Heads and commanding officers of the Xuan-Da forces. The deepest impression, of course, was Lu Xiangsheng.

"Qin... Uncle Qin, is Lu Doutang really dead?"

Qin Jiuze still answered curtly, "Dead."

Yang Guangdi was silent for a moment, then said, "I was rescued at Chuzhou. It was all thanks to Lu Doutang defeating the Roving Bandits."

In the dim light, Qin Jiuze slightly raised his head to glance over. His eyes were not large to begin with, and the emotion in them was unreadable.

"Just now I heard you say you were from the Dudao Biao Central Camp, and your Vice General was named Li Zhongzhen. I remember the people from the Martial Academy saying that your Li Vice General was also at the battle that saved me."

Qin Jiuze snorted. "Li Zhongzhen is your family's. He came from the Liao Garrison."

Yu Lao'er tilted his head and asked, "Li Zhongzhen is the Central Battalion Vice General. Lu Doutang is dead — why could he still escape? In our Cavalry Camp, if the Chief Officer dies in battle and a subordinate flees, his head is chopped off the moment he returns to camp."

He pointed a finger at Qin Jiuze. "If Li Zhongzhen hadn't run, you Night-Not-Returning scouts should have died in battle alongside your Chief Officer too."

"I told you, Li Zhongzhen is your family's Chief Officer. My family's Chief Officer was surnamed Xu. The men who truly wanted to kill the bandits are all dead."

Yang Guangdi stood up and said loudly, "Lord Pang is my family's lord! Li Zhongzhen is not! My family's Lord Pang is the one who truly wants to kill the bandits! This time we traveled a thousand li from Nanzhili just to come kill Tartars."

Footsteps sounded at the door. The few men turned to look. The lamplight at the doorway flickered, and the Banner Commander strode in carrying a torch.

"Yang Guangdi, what are you yelling so loudly for? Afraid the Tartars can't hear you? Everyone come over — Qin Jiuze, you too."

The men gathered around. The Banner Commander spoke directly: "The remaining commoner says he fled from the Guanxiang of Wei County. Before noon, he saw a squad of Tartars at Er Shilipu — about a dozen or so men, one Bright Armor Tartar. They captured a few commoners and headed back after noon."

Hearing the words "Bright Armor Tartar," Yang Guangdi instinctively looked up at the Banner Commander's forehead. There was a conspicuous scar there, left by the Bright Armor Tartar they had encountered last time at Chujiaquan.

The Banner Commander crouched down and drew a line on the ground with a stone. "If their main camp doesn't move, the Tartars will likely operate the same way tomorrow. We set out before dawn and lay an ambush at Er Shilipu in advance. First Squad at the west entrance, Second and Third Squads in the middle."

"You three." The stone drew a circle representing Er Shilipu. Then the Banner Commander made a few random smears southwest of the circle. "There's a patch of woods here. The commoner says there's a road at the west end of the Pu that leads into the woods. Find this road yourselves and block it. Don't let the Tartars escape that way. Any questions?"

Qin Jiuze had been quietly staring at the pattern on the ground. Hearing this, he looked up with a trace of surprise, as if he hadn't expected them to want to annihilate the Tartar Scout Cavalry entirely, much less that the Banner Commander would consult with them.

Yu Lao'er asked, "Bring the horses?"

"Bring them. If any Tartars get past, you can chase them."

Yang Guangdi raised a hand. "My Fire Lance is powerful against armor. Should I still be at the west end to hit the Bright Armor Tartar?"

"Two Crossbows are enough. Yu Lao'er, give me your Crossbow. Yang Guangdi, find a good position yourself — best if you can hit the west end and block the road at the same time."

The Banner Commander looked up at Qin Jiuze, signaling him to ask questions.

For the first time, Qin Jiuze seemed slightly ill at ease. He coughed once and said, "Today it was a dozen or so Tartars, perhaps just scouting. Tomorrow it could be several hundred."

"The Tartars passed this road a month ago. Money, grain, women, children — all were looted clean. The Tartar forces must have gone south of Wei County to plunder. Scouting Er Shilipu is just to see if there are any commoners they missed. They won't send many troops out. If too many really do come, we'll hear the hoofbeats and run."

Qin Jiuze listened and nodded. He said to the Banner Commander, "Need bean fodder. Otherwise the horses won't catch up."

"Yang Guangdi, come get it in a quarter-hour." The Banner Commander looked at Qin Jiuze. "Best if you can take one alive."

Having said this, he took Yu Lao'er's Que Zhang Nu, stood up, and walked out.

The three returned to their respective spots. Yang Guangdi, thinking about ambushing Tartars tomorrow, felt a surge of excitement. He took out his Lumi Gun and wiped down the powder pan. Yu Lao'er leaned against the fire and went to sleep.

Qin Jiuze watched Yang Guangdi clean his gun for a long time, then shook his head slightly.

……

Fifteenth day of the twelfth month. Er Shilipu, east of Wei County.

Yang Guangdi stared blankly at the woods before him. This was nothing like the small grove he had imagined. It was a vast elm forest. The edge of the woods already reached Er Shilipu; the alleys within the market could all lead into the forest.

In the densely populated areas of Jiangbei, one rarely saw woods like this, because the land had long since been turned into farmland, and trees could never grow. But on this march north, everywhere past Fengyang had woods like these.

The land problem in the north was even more severe than in Nanzhili. It was indeed as Pang Yu had said — no one wanted the land even if you paid them silver. Much land had been abandoned with no one to take it over. After years of lying fallow, these woods had formed. The most common among them was the elm, which spread the fastest.

This patch of woods was probably a few decades old. Some of the elms looked very tall.

Because the elm forest was irregular, Yu Lao'er spent half the day searching but still couldn't find a position that could cover both the ambush and the roadblock. The three had no choice but to set up their ambush along the forest path near the west end, their horses tethered just twenty paces away.

In the forest, bird calls came from time to time. Qin Jiuze sat leaning against a large tree, took out his Waist Saber and inspected it, then pulled out a dark, thin little knife; its blade, perhaps from frequent sharpening, looked very short and thin.

Yang Guangdi was coiling his own Fire Rope. Seeing Qin Jiuze's little knife, he said, "Uncle Qin, what could that little knife of yours possibly cut?"

Yu the Second chuckled twice.

Qin Jiuze ignored them. Just then, a figure suddenly appeared at the edge of the market. Yang Guangdi's hands trembled. Yu the Second waved his hand and said, "It's the Banner Commander."

The Banner Commander had not ridden a horse. He ran over in great strides to a tree. Yang Guangdi and Yu the Second hurried over and hoisted the Banner Commander onto their shoulders. The Banner Commander grabbed a branch above, and climbed up into the tree.

He sat sideways on the branch. Crack— he pulled open a three-section Telescope and gazed into the distance.

Qin Jiuze slowly stood up, staring blankly at the Banner Commander in the tree. When Yang Guangdi came over, Qin Jiuze murmured, "Lu Doutang also has a Telescope like this. He keeps it like a treasure."

"Every Banner Commander of the scout cavalry here has one. The infantry Company Commander and the Artillery Artillery Chiefs all have them too. They can see very far."

The words had barely faded when the Banner Commander, hanging from a branch, jumped down. He said to the few of them, "I've seen clearly. Over a dozen riders are coming from the west. They must be Tartars. Get ready."

As soon as he finished speaking, he ran swiftly into the market. Along the way, many birds flew up.

Yu the Second cursed, "What does the Drill Manual say? Do not startle the birds. The Tartars will all be scared off."

Yang Guangdi lit the Fire Rope and said to Yu the Second with a smile, "The Tartars have no Telescope. They can't see it. The birds will settle back down in a moment."

The market town quickly fell silent. The birds landed again. Then, from the east end of the market, a plume of white smoke rose, as if someone were Cooking. Yang Guangdi knew it was to lure the Tartars over.

The three hid in the forest, listening as the crisp hoofbeats on the Official Road gradually drew near. Yang Guangdi could tell clearly: it was just over a dozen horses. The hoofbeats remained very even, without any pause or acceleration. The Tartars seemed to be out for a stroll, completely unguarded.

Yang Guangdi blew the Fire Rope bright, pulled out another length, and after adjusting it, peered out through a gap in the trees. The market town was utterly silent. The hoofbeats drew closer. Birds flew up from the west end of the market.

Yang Guangdi's palms were still a little sweaty. He gripped the gun stock and turned his head to look at Qin Jiuze. He saw that this Xuan-Da Army Soldier was still leaning quietly against the tree trunk, showing not the slightest worry.

Suddenly, a sharp horn blast rang out — it was the scout cavalry's Drum Sounding. Yang Guangdi's attention immediately snapped back to the market town.

The hoofbeats instantly turned chaotic. Bowstrings twanged ceaselessly. Screams and curses intertwined.

Yang Guangdi blew on the Fire Rope again and aimed toward the market town. Just as he leveled the gun, a rider burst out from an alley. The rider was slumped over the horse's back, seemingly wounded. His clothing was unclear, but since none of the ambushing scout cavalry were mounted, the one who came out was definitely a Tartar.

Yang Guangdi did not hesitate. The Lumi Gun roared. White smoke billowed before him. Yang Guangdi frantically waved his arm to disperse the smoke and looked on, full of hope. In the end, not only did the rider not fall, but he veered and entered the forest.

Yu the Second lowered his bow and cursed, "Missed again, damn it. You reload. I'm going after him."

He sprinted to his mount, Mounted Horse, and gave chase at full speed.

Yang Guangdi's face was bright red. While urgently reloading, he watched the situation in the market town. The Battle Cry there was fierce, but judging by the fact that a Tartar had fled, the scout cavalry should have the upper hand.

But the more anxious he was, the slower the reloading went. The Fire Rope was blown away again. The burning tip had undoubtedly gone out. Yang Guangdi had to relight it, which would be another great hassle.

"Uncle Qin, get your bow ready..."

When Yang Guangdi turned his head to look, he was stunned. The tree trunk was empty. The two horses tethered behind were also gone without a trace.