Chapter 445: Swift Assault

At noon on the seventeenth, at Eighteen-Mile Post northwest of Linqing Prefecture, a Three Officials Temple stood in the market town. It had not been destroyed when the Qing troops passed through earlier. All sorts of shouts and cries came continuously from inside the temple, while outside its gate a line of mule carts was parked. The cart drivers squatted on the ground to one side, and from time to time cavalrymen rode in and out of the temple gate.

The Anqing Scout Cavalry had set up their forward base here. The scout cavalry operating on the front lines comprised one Company plus two Banner Teams, along with over thirty men from the Martial Academy Far Scout Test Team who had crossed the river. These men were dispersed across various points on the front line. Eighteen-Mile Post served as the transit base for intelligence and supplies — the grain the men ate and the beans the horses consumed were all transferred through here. In this time and place, that grain was more precious than gold or silver.

Because the Qing army had passed through, all local order had been utterly destroyed. The common people were displaced and homeless. Refugees fleeing from Nangong, Julu, and Wei County were especially numerous; they all hoped to reach the large city of Linqing, where they could both evade the Qing troops and have a greater chance of obtaining food.

Government troops in Linqing had been highly active before this. Besides scouting Qing army movements to the west, they also frequently plundered any commoners they encountered. During the daytime, the commoners moved with extreme caution — the moment they heard hoofbeats, they fled into the countryside.

The commoners feared the government troops, and the government troops also had to guard against each other. If they encountered supply trains from other garrisons, although they generally did not kill, there were times when they would rob them all the same.

After the Anqing Battalion arrived near Linqing, they constantly had to deal with other government troops, nearly all of whom operated under the banner of Shandong Regional Commander Ni Chong's Vanguard and chose to transport rice and beans at night to evade the cavalry of other government units. Even so, on multiple occasions soldiers had seized both grain and mules together. Because the Linqing encampment was such a tangled mess, they could not even tell who had robbed them. Thus, any grain that actually reached the hands of the frontline scout cavalry was extremely precious.

After the fourteenth, nearly all the Liaodong Cavalry on the front line had fled back to Linqing. Tens of thousands of officers and soldiers huddled inside and outside Linqing's walls. Fewer government troops traveled the roads, because everyone feared encountering Tartars on the way. The official road beyond ten li from Linqing became virtually a no-man's-land. Any surviving commoners who discovered government troops here would deliberately steer clear. This actually proved a boon for the scout cavalry's logistics — they could now transport supplies even in the daytime, ensuring that frontline reconnaissance proceeded smoothly.

After receiving the new military orders from the Advisory Room last night, the frontline scout cavalry would now pull back, leaving only a small number of sentry horsemen at the very front. Today's transfer of rice and beans was temporarily halted.

A Banner Commander ran in from outside. He escorted a relay rider over to the Centurion. The relay rider looked extremely anxious; he did not even present his order token first, but directly handed over a dispatch letter. "Sir, two Tartar spies were captured at Youfang Ferry before nightfall yesterday."

The Centurion took it and tore it open in one motion, first checking the seal of the Advisory Room. "Captured before nightfall yesterday — why was this not in last night's consolidated intelligence report?"

"Encountered at Dai Family Bay. They were discovered repeatedly probing and testing the ice surface. The Central Army interrogated them and confirmed they are Tartar spies. Both were previously captured at Qinghe. The Tartar banner that took them was reportedly blue with red trim. Their families are still with the Tartars. Because they knew the roads well, the Tartars sent them along small paths to the river to check the ice. They went to Youfang Ferry first, then to Dai Family Bay. They confessed that over twenty men came out together, all unshaven, but they did not all go to the same place. Some of the others have already crossed the river and headed east. These two set out early on the morning of the fourteenth. The Tartars ordered them to return to Hongguan Camp by the evening of the sixteenth and wait."

The Centurion immediately flared with anger. "Intelligence this urgent, why is it only arriving now? Since they were caught at Dai Family Bay, they should have been interrogated at Dai Family Bay on the spot, and I should have been informed that very night!"

The relay rider stood stunned for a moment, then said, "It was the cavalrymen delivering rice and beans who encountered them on the return trip. They seized the men and went straight to Weijiawan. They say it was the middle of the night before they were sent to the Central Army. Perhaps there was a delay somewhere — I wouldn't know."

The Centurion glared at the relay rider, then handed the dispatch letter to the Clerk Officer beside him. "Testing the ice means they truly intend to head east. See what the Advisory Room's opinion is."

The Clerk Officer read it through quickly and said, "The Advisory Room has determined that the Tartars will cross the river eastward within two days. The order is that all frontline Banner Teams must pull back to River East today. The Central Army has already begun its retreat. Today only the First Cavalry Division remains at Weijiawan; all other troops and civilian laborers have already pulled back."

"To deliver this order now, we'll need to send out four groups of relay riders. The men who know the routes well are just these few. Have these several..."

The Centurion was still calculating when several cavalrymen ran in from outside. The one in front was drenched in sweat. The Centurion looked up and knew at a glance that this was a cavalryman who had ridden a long distance. Contrary to what ordinary people imagine, sitting on horseback is not as comfortable as riding in a cart. Long-distance riding is an enormous drain on both mount and rider. A skilled rider can conserve some strength, but it is still no easy task. Ordinarily, without urgent business, no one would push their horse so hard.

"Centurion, sir, I am sent by the Second Division Banner Team to report. At the beginning of the Chen hour, on the border between the township direction and Wei County, we visually confirmed three hundred Tartar cavalry moving east. Estimated strength is one thousand cavalry, advancing east all the way from Wei County, right on our heels. They are at most a dozen or so li from here."

"So fast!" The Centurion calculated briefly, then turned and shouted toward the main hall, "One-quarter-hour evacuation! Burn whatever can't be carried!"

Immediately, a soldier inverted an hourglass. Several subordinate officers bellowed orders, passing the command down. The main hall instantly fell into chaos. Their position served as a transit hub; aside from personal gear, everything from documents to rice and beans had to be dealt with. They could not simply leave at a moment's notice the way frontline scout cavalry could.

The order was relayed outside, and the Three Officials Temple erupted into disorder. The Centurion grabbed a man passing by. "You, go to Yao'an Town and deliver the order. Tell them to watch their north flank and withdraw immediately via the southern route from Chujiaquan..."

Before the words had faded, another scout cavalryman came running from outside. He faced the Centurion and said loudly, "From the Yao'an Second Banner Team. At the Mao hour this morning, over two hundred Tartars were spotted in Wei County marching toward Guantao. One Squad of the First Cavalry Division Scouts has lost contact. The Directly Subordinate Second Banner Team encountered a Tartar force at Yao'an at the Chen hour. The Tartars moved with extreme speed. One Squad of Five from the Directly-Attached Scout Company Second Banner failed to pull back. We visually confirmed five hundred mounted Tartars advancing east. Estimated total Tartar strength is two thousand cavalry. They are about to reach Pointed Mound Market. Estimated line of advance: Chujiaquan."

"The order to pull back was sent last night — why are so many men still not withdrawn!"

The Centurion cursed, sweat beading on his forehead. He did not even look at the map. The places just named were ones he studied every day; they were all marked in his mind.

Chujiaquan was a ferry crossing south of Linqing. This Qing force was moving east from Yao'an Town — it was not the same force the Second Cavalry Division scouts had just reported. Adding the force spotted this morning in the direction of Guantao, that made three separate Qing forces already. By his mental estimate, there would certainly be one from the Qinghe direction as well.

They had not anticipated the Qing army would move so swiftly. Even though the Advisory Room had issued a warning yesterday, some scout cavalrymen had still been cut off behind Qing lines. These men were caught in a pincer between multiple Qing columns. The roads were already severed. Even if they managed to stay alive, they would find it nearly impossible to rejoin the main force before the campaign ended. They were essentially lost.

Based on the three intelligence reports received so far, it was confirmed that the Qing army had launched a large-scale operation. They were very likely using all the main roads to maneuver their forces in separate columns. The direction of movement was eastward. The Advisory Room's judgment had been correct.

From Wei County to Eighteen-Mile Post was about sixty li. The Qing vanguard's advance objective for today would certainly pass beyond this point. The two spies captured yesterday had been ordered to return to Hongguan Camp, which meant the Qing army would advance at least as far as Hongguan Camp.

The Qing army was coming on with terrifying speed. There was now no way to notify the other Banner Teams. He could only hope they had all detected the threat in time. As for how many would reach the designated assembly point, he would not know until tonight.

The Centurion bellowed toward the main hall, "Set the fires now! Everyone withdraw! Follow yesterday's contingency plan: first assembly point Youfang Ferry, second assembly point Dai Family Bay, third assembly point Weijiawan! Withdraw!"

The remaining men in the hall abandoned any further packing and rushed out to get their horses. The last man had just emerged.

From outside the temple gate came the sounds of whipping and braying mules. In the courtyard, scout cavalrymen were already lighting torches. Once the others had splashed tung oil over the piles of rice and beans, they immediately set them alight. The courtyard blazed with roaring flames.

The Centurion mounted his horse. The Clerk Officer appeared again before the horse's head. "The Far Scout Test Team is at Balizhuang — we must notify them!"

The Centurion grabbed a scout cavalryman passing by. "Go to Balizhuang and tell those Far Scout good-for-nothings to retreat east immediately!"

"How do you know the Far Scouts don't get along with the scout cavalry?"

Beside a cellar in Balizhuang, Tang Ershuan stared blankly at Tan Laizi in front of him. Balizhuang lay west of Linqing, with Eighteen-Mile Post to its northwest and Pointed Mound Market to its south. It was the Far Scout Team's encampment on Hexi.

Tan Laizi sat on a bean sack and took a ferocious bite from the chicken leg in his hand. Among the Anqing Battalion troops around Linqing, plenty of men got to eat meat, but only two people could eat chicken legs cooked by a professional chef: Tan Laizi and the Boat Dock Master. Even Pang Yu ate the same mess-hall food as the troops.

"How do I know? Because I, Tan Ye, say so. Why else would they be camped separately?" Tan Laizi said mysteriously. "Why don't the Far Scouts and the scout cavalry get along? Because what the Far Scouts do is pretty much the same as the scout cavalry. You lot have learned everything they know, so the master starves to death. That's why they pushed you far away — and why I have to go to two different places to check the rice and beans."

Tang Ershuan tilted his head. "I heard them say it's because you're shameless. You saw the Far Scout Team didn't bring a scale, so you deliberately split the inspection into two places so you could skim some off."

"Slander! All slander spread by the scout cavalry!" Tan Laizi stood up, furious and indignant. "What have I skimmed? Who said that? Bring him here to say it to Tan Ye's face!"

Tang Ershuan gave a foolish grin and lowered his head, saying nothing.

"You think Tan Ye wanted to come check the grain? This place is crawling with Tartars. Who else but Tan Ye would come to manage your food and drink? I tell you, go ask around all of Xuzhou — who doesn't know Tan Ye from Anqing? Everyone says he's a living bodhisattva, the kind you'd set up a living Buddha statue for at home. The moment he shows up, he gives them silver to earn. If they don't want to go to Huai'an to exchange their banknotes, Tan Ye exchanges them right outside the city wall, saving them the back-and-forth travel. No travel means no running into Roving Bandits out there, which means their lives are preserved. The life of the head of the household is preserved, and the whole family can survive. Tell me, isn't that merit as vast as heaven? If that's not a living Buddha, what is? A good man like that, and you dare say Tan Ye skims? What have I ever skimmed from you lot?"

Tan Laizi patted the now-thickened stack of banknotes in his bosom, a wave of satisfaction filling his heart. But his lingering anger had not yet subsided. He made as if to walk out of the market town, then looked up and saw a pile of stripped corpses ahead of him, stacked layer upon layer. Just as he walked past, several black rats were startled out from the edge of the corpse pile and darted swiftly into the gaps between the bodies.

These corpses were people killed during the Qing army's first passage through. Some of the bodies on the outer edge of the pile had already been gnawed until they were mutilated and incomplete.

Tan Laizi shut his eyes, unable to look, and hastily retreated a couple of steps. "Tang Ershuan, why hasn't that captain of yours sent men to bury these?"

"The ground's too hard. Can't dig a pit that big." Tang Ershuan stamped his foot on the ground. "It's way colder than Anqing. Frozen rock-solid, I tell you."

Tan Laizi cautiously turned his head to glance back at the corpse pile. "Tan Ye's telling you, you've got to be careful staying in this place. Too many dead people here, the yin energy's too heavy. It easily breeds miasma. Breathe that in and you'll catch plague — no joke. I've heard travelers on the docks say a whole city can die out. Especially don't go walking around at night. Who knows how many vengeful ghosts are about."

"They were all killed by the Tartars. The vengeful ghosts will surely go after them."

"Hmph. And Tan Ye's been busy hauling grain. Those damned Tartars these days — once Tan Ye frees up his hands, he'll casually lop off a few dozen of their heads!" Tan Laizi craned his neck to peer into the cellar. "Is the grain just going to be moved into this cellar? Hurry up and get your captain over here to check it. Tan Ye still needs to get back to Weijiawan."

Tang Ershuan was about to answer when he heard three horn blasts sound in succession from the east. After a moment, they sounded again.

"The captain's calling assembly."

Tan Laizi waved a hand dismissively. "Not my captain. Tan Ye's going to rest a bit. Tell that captain of yours to hurry up. Once he signs and puts his mark on it, Tan Ye is heading back."

Tang Ershuan hurriedly ran off to the east. Tan Laizi, bundled up thick and clumsy, had been about to lie down on the grain sacks, but the corner of his eye caught the corpse pile again. He turned his head and looked around. Across the street, there was still one mud-brick house that had not been burned. After thinking for a moment, he headed that way.

The horn from the east sounded again, one urgent blast after another.