Chapter 488: Crossing the River

The sky was just beginning to brighten. On the roads inside Cizhou Village, infantry were forming ranks; cavalry were already waiting outside the village.

Pang Yu raised his telescope and examined the cavalry unit that had appeared to the west. Attacking at dawn was Sun Chuanting's personal decision, but each camp was stationed in a different place. The farthest, Zhou Yuji, was at Wuqing County seat (present-day Chengguan Town), nearly fifty li from Ci Prefecture. The other military units also had to march a stretch of night road. Pang Yu had been worried all along whether they could arrive on time.

Cao Bianjiao and Li Chongzhen were like Pang Yu — since they expected battle today, they had not withdrawn far yesterday. They had their auxiliary troops march through the night to provide logistics support; otherwise, an eighty-li round trip would have severely drained the cavalry's stamina.

Tu Dianli hurried over and reported, "The adjutants sent to liaise with each camp have all reported back. Li Guozheng lost one team on the way and brought two hundred sixty. Cao Bianjiao brought five hundred seventy. He Mobile Corps Commander took another seventy to screen the east side of the North Bank. Zhou Yuji lost one team and brought two hundred twenty cavalry. Li Chongzhen had forty men desert last night and brought one hundred seventy."

The situation was better than he had expected. Although every camp was short of its full quota, each one had arrived.

The total number of household retainers now still stood at one thousand three hundred. Adding the five hundred from Anqing, they still had close to two thousand cavalry. The household retainer cavalry of the Border Army were superb riders, and nearly all were equipped with cotton armor. Though there were only a bit over a thousand cavalry here, they already represented a very substantial portion of the Border Army's combat strength.

Lintao had a paper strength of five thousand troops, but its elite core was seven Company Commander retainer cavalry. Li Chongzhen had two thousand five hundred and suffered heavy losses at Jiazhuang; now only one hundred seventy retainers remained. Li Guozheng's paper strength was unclear, but Sun Chuanting had told Pang Yu that he personally selected every infantryman and cavalryman in the Provincial Commander's Standard Troops Battalion. These two hundred-plus cavalry of his were likely the elite core of the Provincial Commander's Standard Troops as well.

The border garrisons also fell into arrears on pay, but no matter what, general officers had to guarantee the basic income of their household retainers — whether through border trade, raiding, or begging for alms, it all depended on the general's ability. If a general could not secure his retainers' pay and provisions, his death in battle was only a matter of time. This could be considered a form of survival-of-the-fittest positive elimination in the Border Army.

These two to three thousand men outside Cizhou Village were not many in number, but they were essentially the elite combat power of the King's Relief Army. If they were defeated today, what came after would be even more hopeless. So Sun Chuanting was also under immense pressure.

"Sir, Sun Doutang is ten li away with the remaining Provincial Commander's Standard Troops troops."

Pang Yu nodded. He knew they had come following Cao Bianjiao. Sun Chuanting had only dispatched the troops yesterday; he himself and Liu Yuliang had stayed at the county seat, because yesterday was just going through the motions, while today was real battle. His purpose in coming nearby today was to prevent people like Wang Pu from fleeing too easily.

The best thing about Sun Chuanting was that he did not make trouble. Because after today's attack on Wangzhuang, the cavalry would need to roam and harass, Sun Chuanting had said at last night's military council that he would not come to Ci Islet, to spare the various camps from having to detach troops to protect him. That made things convenient for everyone.

Chen Rulie hurried over from outside the village. "Jurchen Slave scout cavalry have appeared on the east side of the South Bank. They're preparing to cross the river to reconnoiter. Lintao Garrison's scout riders have already begun intercepting them."

Pang Yu knew the Qing army had detected something. They were prepared for this — to skirmish in the pattern of previous days. They could not permit the Qing army to cross the river, to prevent them from discovering the massed cavalry too early. But this pattern could not hide things for long. The Qing army would soon sense something different. The intensity of the confrontation would gradually escalate, which would naturally draw more Qing troops to the scene. By then, they would be unable to stop them from crossing the river to scout.

"Sir, the cavalry from all camps are in position."

"Request each camp to dispatch additional scout cavalry to block the Eastern Invader scouts. The cavalry will use three anthem calls as the signal to advance to the riverbank."

"Centurion, five hundred civilian laborers have been mobilized. They can all go to Wangzhuang."

Outside Ci Prefecture village, cavalry were formed up and ready to move on the road. All cavalry had already mounted their horses, except for the forty-odd men at the village's west corner.

Manda'er stood outside the crowd, glaring furiously toward the west flank, where a banner he knew all too well flew. "Even Li Chongzhen gets to go fight — what face does he have to go? Even he gets to go! Our whole battalion, and we're the only ones who can't go. Worse than that damned Li Chongzhen!"

The scout cavalry around him were all craning their necks to look. Yang Shisan's mouth moved a few times, but he said nothing more. Qin Jiuze glanced over indifferently, looking entirely unconcerned. Yang Guangdi kept his head down and did not go over to placate Manda'er. This group of scout cavalry were all dejected. Because of Pang Yu's arrangement, the scout cavalry had become the only ones not participating in the battle.

Centurion Chen Bin heard it too, but he was in a bit of a dilemma. Chen Rulie had already told him this was a direct order from Sir Pang. Changing it would be very difficult; he would have to go and petition Pang Yu in person. A commanding general was swamped with matters before battle, and Chen Bin found it very hard to muster the courage to disturb Pang Yu.

After thinking for a moment, he walked over to Qin Jiuze. "Old Qin, do you think we should go ask Sir Pang for permission to fight?"

Qin Jiuze, his face utterly impassive, looked up at him. His eyes flickered slightly. After a moment, he said, "Going to fight a round... would be fine too."

Chen Bin's original thought was that Qin Jiuze, being relatively steady, would be most likely to say forget it. He had not expected this reply.

Everyone around was staring at him. A surge of bravado rose in Chen Bin. He waved his hand and cursed, "Fine, I'll go, damn it."

He spurred his horse and galloped over to Chen Rulie. Chen Rulie was in the middle of confirming routes with several centurions. After hearing him out, he did not object, but made it clear once more that this was Pang Yu's order, which a battalion commander could not alter, and told him to go find Pang Yu himself.

Chen Bin had guessed it would be like this. He turned and hurried toward where Pang Yu was. When he reached the Central Army position, Pang Yu was speaking in low tones with Jiang Guoyong and the Logistics Mobile Corps Commander, probably giving instructions about the carriage train's movement.

All three were superior officers. Chen Bin dared not go over and interrupt. He waited a good while, but they still had not finished. Seeing that the adjutants around him had already packed up their things and the army was about to march, Chen Bin grew anxious.

A voice suddenly spoke beside him. "Centurion Chen, why are you still here?"

Chen Bin turned his head and saw it was actually Wu Dacai, leaning on a crutch. Because Chen Bin had been unable to speak when he was promoted to centurion, Wu Dacai had just given him the promotion talk two days ago to make up for it. The impression was still relatively fresh.

He immediately explained the situation. Wu Dacai thought for a moment, then looked up toward where Pang Yu was. He said to Chen Bin in a low voice, "Having this fighting spirit is a good thing, and what you say makes some sense. I will go speak with Sir Pang."

Chen Bin nodded gratefully. Wu Dacai silently composed a draft in his head, then walked over to Pang Yu.

Jiang Guoyong was in the middle of speaking. Seeing Wu Dacai approach, he stopped. Wu Dacai said tentatively, "Might I trouble you for a moment, sir?"

Pang Yu gestured for Jiang Guoyong and the Logistics Mobile Corps Commander to continue their discussion, stepped aside a couple of paces, and said to Wu Dacai, "What is it, Dacai?"

"Sir, you previously gave the order that the scout cavalry were not to participate in today's battle, and were to go north of Yangcun to intercept Eastern Invader scouts. This humble man knows it was to spare the scout cavalry pointless attrition. But just now, the newly appointed Scout Cavalry Centurion Chen Bin strongly requested to fight. This humble man listened to his reasoning and found it also had some merit, so I have come especially to petition you, sir."

Pang Yu listened patiently. Wu Dacai continued, "Sir, you have said that cavalry is a purely offensive arm. The scout cavalry have always been combative; their spirit is high. They have also fought well since rallying to the king. It is just that their losses were heavy, which damaged their spirit. Now they number only forty-odd men, and among them are many newly arrived Border Army men and escort masters. Today, on the eve of battle, the entire battalion is joining the fight. If only the scout cavalry withdraw in the face of battle, they will not be able to show their faces when we return to Anqing. I fear their spirit will only dwindle further."

Pang Yu showed not the slightest anger. Instead, he nodded and said mildly, "Then how does Dacai think it should be handled better?"

"This humble officer thinks, since they are asking to fight, if we do not let them join the battle, that bit of spirit will not be easy to restore. Chen Bin is the newly appointed Scout Cavalry Centurion. If you grant him this, sir, and fulfill the soldiers' and officers' wish, it will be easier for him as centurion to lead the troops. This humble officer thinks letting them fight a round would be good. Those newly arrived Border Army men and escort masters can also gain experience. Without fighting, they cannot become elite soldiers."

Pang Yu thought for a moment and said, "I did not consider it so thoroughly before. Dacai speaks reason. But the adjutants have already packed up their things; it is inconvenient to write a revised order now. I will have an adjutant relay a verbal order to Chen Rulie, granting the scout cavalry permission to join the harassment operations until the end of the noon hour. After that, they will still follow the original plan. Dacai may inform Chen Bin first: there are no scout cavalry who retreat in the face of battle. This officer grants him this."

Wu Dacai was overjoyed. He had originally just been testing the waters; he had not expected Pang Yu to be so decisive. He turned to head toward Chen Bin, then suddenly remembered something and turned back.

Seeing this, Pang Yu turned squarely to face him again. Wu Dacai's face carried a hint of excitement. His right hand twitched twice as he said, "Sir, this humble man also wants to..."

"Dacai, just now I was discussing with the Logistics Division. There are five hundred civilian laborers this time. Although they have all experienced battle formations, they are not soldiers after all, and I fear they may panic at the critical moment. This officer must personally follow the heavy armor soldiers in the attack. I still need an experienced general officer to oversee the rear. I have thought it over, and this heavy responsibility is most suitable for Dacai alone."

Wu Dacai was stunned for a second, then loudly responded, "This subordinate accepts the order! Please rest assured, sir. This subordinate will certainly lead the civilian laborer team well."

Pang Yu patted him on the shoulder. "The signal will be given soon. A great battle today — Dacai must look after himself as well."

"Thank you for your concern, sir. Please do not personally risk danger. The entire Anqing Battalion depends on you, sir."

Pang Yu smiled and nodded. Wu Dacai saluted, then turned back to tell Chen Bin. Chen Bin hurriedly rushed back to report the news.

Wu Dacai was helped onto his horse by his personal soldiers. He rode along the column toward the rear. On the way, he passed the scout cavalry and happened to hear a burst of enthusiastic cheering. Wu Dacai watched cheerfully, not giving up until his head could twist no further.

Next came the dense ranks of heavy infantry. Wu Dacai urged his horse past them. Those heavy armor soldiers had not yet donned their armor. Their long pole weapons were propped up together in stands. The soldiers sat leaning against one another on the ground to conserve strength.

Finally, he reached the carriage train. Prepared this time were fifty carriages loaded with various supplies, plus five hundred civilian laborers. They would help improve the fortifications at Wangzhuang. There were also twenty people from the Military Medic unit. Because they considered the possibility of being besieged by the Tartars, the wounded could not be evacuated to the rear, so they had split the Military Medic unit, sending half into Wangzhuang.

Wu Dacai stopped in the middle of the logistics column. It was all civilian laborers and logistics soldiers here. Carriages and people were everywhere; it looked chaotic. The air was thick with the smell of mule and horse dung.

His guards came to his side, preparing to help him dismount. But Wu Dacai did not move. He shifted his crippled leg slightly and sat on the horse's back for another moment, letting out a long sigh.

Just as he was leaning sideways to dismount, a clear, resonant anthem call rang out.

On the North Bank of the Yongding River, a dense mass of cavalry appeared on the riverbank. The sunlight reflected off their Ming helmets, glittering with countless points of light.

On the open fields of the South Bank, the Border Army's scout riders were chasing enemy scout riders. Scattered Qing reinforcements were rushing over from every direction, but compared to the Ming army's enormous numbers, they still seemed extremely thin — clearly, they were utterly unprepared for today's attack.

They had not anticipated that the Ming army, with whom they had developed a tacit pattern of going through the motions along the way, would suddenly and without warning change its method of warfare. Some Qing troops, after approaching the riverbank, turned their heads and fled south, shouting and yelling all the way, looking hasty and panicked.

Before approaching the riverbank, the Ming army had not raised any banners or signals. Now, on the riverbank, concealment was no longer possible.

The eighteen-chi Regional Commander's Red Banner rose first on the east side. Next came Pang Yu's Deputy General banner. The commanding officers' recognition banners of each camp were raised in succession. From east to west, they were: Lintao Main-Battalion, Anqing Cavalry Camp, Capital Battalion, Shaanxi Provincial Commander's Standard Troops Battalion, and Xuan-Da Supervisor Battalion Central Battalion.

Then came the lower-level recognition banners. Layer upon layer of banners rose under the sunlight, fluttering in the morning breeze. One thousand eight hundred warhorses gathered on the North Bank of the Yongding River. The white vapor from their breath nearly merged into a single sheet.

Pang Yu gazed into the distance at the southern bank of the Yongding River. With no vegetation at this time, he could make out quite a bit of farmland there, but also many frozen hollows; the land looked pitted and pockmarked, and among them were some disconnected ditches and channels, apparently old riverbeds where the course had shifted. Once the ice thawed, this kind of terrain would severely limit the Qing army's mobility.

At that thought, he tilted his head and glanced east. The early morning sunlight slanted over from the east, spilling warmly over his body. He could not help murmuring, "Sun, put some muscle into it, melt that ice faster."

Beside him, Chen Rulie's face was flushed crimson with excitement. He turned his head and said to Pang Yu, "My lord, what did you just say?"

Pang Yu drew a breath. "Sound the horn. Cross the river."