Chapter 88: Undefended

In the early morning light, Tongcheng echoed with the crowing of roosters, and a thin layer of cooking smoke drifted over the county town. The sound of footsteps came from the city wall, where several squads of men in black ran in formation, carrying an assortment of weapons on their shoulders.

A chimney not far from the wall belched a cloud of thick smoke, which the wind carried right over where Pang Yu stood. Pang Yu waved a hand to clear the air, then walked toward the Dongzuo Gate city tower nearby.

The Zhuang Squad in its current state was a far cry from the army Pang Yu envisioned. The men selected were indeed strong and sturdy, and the recent intensified stillness drills had improved their discipline and focus somewhat, but their level of organization was still far from sufficient to carry out military operations — there had even been desertions.

What Pang Yu naturally could not know was that in this era he inhabited, whether in the East or the West, the self-motivation of armies was nothing like that of the age after the rise of nationalism. Even in Europe, which was just beginning its early modern military reforms, the soldier's consciousness was no different from the feudal age; the moment they broke from the ranks, they would slip away in droves. Officers had to guard against soldiers fleeing as if guarding against thieves, keeping them constrained within the ranks at all times. The dispersed skirmishing tactics of later infantry were nearly impossible to execute at this time.

So Pang Yu abandoned his illusions and added the three extra men into the ranks. The city tower was harder to escape from than the Ye Family Old Residence, so he moved the Zhuang Squad onto the city wall, each team garrisoning one tower, with the team leader sleeping in the doorway to prevent desertion.

In the mornings they would run a circuit around the city wall, then stand atop the tower with their weapons to familiarize themselves with the terrain. This also allowed passing commoners to see them, which had a modestly reassuring effect.

After several days of chaos, the city gradually settled down. The Anqing Prefectural Office sent another official document saying that no actual Roving Bandits had been sighted in Qianshan or Taihu, and that they were suspected to be only local bandits. People were less afraid of local bandits, so those who had entered the city returned outside the walls. The Community Soldiers cobbled together from the various wards and neighborhoods came to nothing, and the work of building grass depots on the city wall was also suspended. Only the Zhuang Squad continued their daily task of hauling stone blocks up to the wall as physical training.

Tongcheng's six gates resumed normal operations as before, and the peasants from the villages who had not yet finished paying the autumn tax continued to come into the city to sell grain and pay taxes. Everything seemed to have returned to peace.

Both alerts about the Roving Bandits had come from the mountain region, and Pang Yu could not shake the feeling that things were not so simple. Looking again at Tongcheng's mobilization this time, it was still rather chaotic. Pang Yu recorded every problem he identified, one by one, planning to write them up as a Tiaochen to submit to Yang Erming.

Men from the Fast Squad appeared below the city tower. Dongzuo Gate was Ruan Jin's jurisdiction, and they were responsible for guarding and inspecting the city gate during the day. With the situation tense lately, Yang Erming had specially permitted both the Fast Squad and the Zhuang Squad to skip the Morning Session at the county yamen.

The various Zhuang Squad teams arrived at the city tower one after another, standing at their positions on the tower and panting heavily as they leaned on their weapons.

Tongcheng's city wall was six li in circumference, and the teams were stationed at scattered positions, so the assembly point was always at Dongzuo Gate. Pang Yu had therefore designed a turnaround route for each of them, all roughly six li in distance.

These peasants still had no method for formation running; they all started out fast and grew slower and slower, exhausting much of their stamina. Pang Yu did not bother to remind them — they would figure it out on their own after running enough. His only requirement was that the entire team arrive together. In the ranks, some men carried two long spears, spontaneously helping their teammates. Pang Yu hoped they could forge a team spirit sooner rather than later.

The area in front of the city tower was slightly wider than the rest of the wall. The six Zhuang Squad teams stood in two rows. After they had rested and straightened up, Pang Yu came before the formation.

"Today's training tasks: First through Fourth Teams, after breakfast, move along the city wall to the Zhidu Nunnery location between Nanxun Gate and Xiangyang Gate, wall section number one hundred and twelve. The First Team will drill scaling the wall with bamboo ladders. The other three teams will take turns drilling long-spear city defense tactics. The key training point is mastering the timing of thrusting at enemies climbing onto the wall. Every time a climbing enemy appears at the battlements, three long spears and one javelin must strike him simultaneously. Drill commander is Second Team Leader Wang Zenglu. Pay attention to ladder safety. Before dinner, this Squad Leader will conduct spot checks. Does each team understand?"

The team leaders all stepped forward and answered loudly, "Understood."

Pang Yu waved his hand and said, "Teams one through four, move out."

Wang Zenglu stepped one pace out of the ranks and led the four teams southward.

Pang Yu turned to the remaining two teams. "Fifth Team, your training this morning is archery. There are only five bows — use them in rotation. Do not worry about accuracy, only about shooting far. The training location is outside the North Arch Gate. Try not to disturb passing commoners."

The Fifth Team leader stepped out and retrieved the five bows from inside the Dongzuo Gate city tower.

In the late Ming, bows were not actually strictly controlled equipment. In regions threatened by Roving Bandits, the proclamations issued by local yamen offices often summoned skilled archers from their jurisdictions and encouraged commoners to practice archery for self-defense. Many civilians practiced archery, though few reached a level practical for the battlefield.

Two of Pang Yu's five bows were gifts from Ruan Dacheng. Ruan Dacheng claimed to be able to ride and shoot, and Pang Yu had once watched him shoot an arrow — it had some force, but since Pang Yu had never practiced himself, he could not judge Ruan's skill. Ruan Dacheng did tell Pang Yu, however, that beginners should focus only on distance, not accuracy, which Pang Yu felt made sense.

Pan Yinglou had also given Pang Yu a bow. He was Fang Kongzhao's in-law, and according to him, the Fang Family had even more weapons. If Fang Yizhi, Sun Lin, and the others had not gone to Nanjing, the Ze Society could probably have mustered ten bows.

After the Fifth Squad had gone some distance, Pang Yu looked at the remaining Sixth Squad. This squad's leader was Yao Dongshan. Although a bit rash, he could keep his men in line, and at this moment he was the one who put Pang Yu most at ease.

Pang Yu waited a moment, then said, "The three men who ran off a few days ago have been hiding outside for several days. The Fast Squad got word that these three returned to their own homes yesterday. The Fast Squad men asked me whether they should help the Zhuang Squad capture them and bring them back."

The members of the Sixth Squad looked somewhat bewildered; they could not quite grasp the meaning behind Pang Yu's words.

Pang Yu was determined to have these three men captured and brought back — not to force them into soldiering, but to impose supplementary punishment. Otherwise, it would not serve as a sufficient warning to the rest of the Zhuang Squad.

Pang Yu turned to Yao Dongshan. "Constable Yao, how do you think this Squad Leader should reply to the Fast Squad?"

Yao Dongshan raised his head and said loudly, "Squad Leader should tell those riffraff of the Fast Squad that the face the Zhuang Squad lost, we can earn back ourselves. No need for the Fast Squad to meddle. I can go alone and drag those three back."

"That is exactly how I replied to the Fast Squad. What the Zhuang Squad's business, the Zhuang Squad can handle. Today, Constable Yao's task is to lead the team and arrest those three men. One man from the Fast Squad will act as guide. I hope that, in front of him, you can all win back the Zhuang Squad's face."

"Squad Leader, rest assured. If Old Yao can't catch them, I'll just move into their homes and see where they run off to. If they really dare not come back, Old Yao will tear their houses down."

Pang Yu looked at Yao Dongshan for a moment, then suddenly laughed. "Well said. What this Squad Leader wants is exactly that kind of determination to get things done no matter what. Those three are in three different villages, none of them close. Constable Yao, take your team and set out at once. This Squad Leader will await your good news."

After Yao Dongshan led the last team away, the Dongzuo Gate city tower suddenly felt empty. Pang Yu walked to the battlements and looked around. Outside the wall, Zilai Street bustled with people coming and going; children chased and played in the alleys; on the distant Official Road, carts and horses flowed in an endless stream — a scene of a prosperous and peaceful era.

Shifting his gaze slightly southward, Liu Xiucai's tall wooden tower jutted up incongruously above the rooftops.

……

In the afternoon, inside the Fast Squad Duty Room, Pang Yu met the two mounted couriers who had just returned. Jiang Fan was also there with him.

"You two have had a hard journey. Sit, both of you, and speak."

Pang Yu said this as he stood and gestured, indicating for the two mounted couriers to sit.

Both men looked travel-worn. Each cautiously perched on the edge of a chair, while Jiang Fan pulled up a stool and sat beside Pang Yu.

The mounted courier on the left cupped his hands toward Pang Yu and said, "Your subordinates reached Qianshan and saw no particular panic anywhere, so we went on to Taihu. The commoners we met had all heard about the Roving Bandits coming out of the mountains, but said they were only scattered bandits, and that Yingshan had not been taken by the Roving Bandits either."

"That means the alert reported from Qianshan is unreliable."

The two mounted couriers exchanged a glance, then nodded to Pang Yu.

Pang Yu thought for a moment, then asked, "What about the items I asked you to buy?"

The two men hurriedly pulled several things from their saddlebags. "This is the official dispatch in reply from the Qianshan County yamen. This is an oil-paper umbrella from Bai's Umbrella Shop on Front Street in Taihu County — their shop sign is carved on the wooden handle."

Pang Yu took it and examined it carefully. These mounted couriers had been sent a long way out, and no one knew where they had actually gone. Pang Yu worried they might have hidden somewhere and fabricated their intelligence, so he had thought of this method of verification.

Since Qianshan County had previously sent an official dispatch, it was appropriate for Tongcheng to send a reply, and sending a mounted courier was fitting. Taihu County's yamen, however, had not been in contact with Tongcheng, so going there uninvited would have been improper.

So Pang Yu had made some inquiries and learned that a certain Bai's Umbrella Shop in Taihu was fairly well-known, which could serve to verify they had indeed gone there. He had simply phrased it as asking them to bring back goods, without being so blunt.

"This umbrella is indeed quite fine. A relative of mine says they only like umbrellas from this shop — that's why I had to trouble you two to bring one from so far." Pang Yu opened the oil-paper umbrella and looked at it. "From what you saw, what defensive preparations do Qianshan and Taihu have? Are there any troops stationed there?"

"We saw no preparations, nor any troops."

"Do they have things like logs, stone blocks, or cannons on their city walls?"

The two mounted couriers stared blankly for a moment. Finally, one of them said, "Replying to Squad Leader, Qianshan only has city gates, no city wall at all. Taihu has only an earthen wall, and it's collapsed in many places — nothing can be placed on it. As for Susong, this humble one has not seen it personally, but while in Taihu I made inquiries and heard that Susong also has no city wall."

Now it was Pang Yu's turn to be astonished. He had thought Tongcheng's defenses were lax, but at least it had a city wall for protection. If the Community Soldiers were mobilized according to plan, with one person guarding each battlement, it would still have some defensive capability. Now, hearing about the situation in Susong, Taihu, and Qianshan — no troops and no walls — they were practically undefended.

"Then have the commoners fled the cities to take refuge, either heading to the countryside or traveling on the river?"

"From what this humble one saw, in Qianshan some commoners moved to the countryside, but in Taihu the commoners are all going about their business as usual. In the streets and alleys, people talk of the Roving Bandits even less than they do here in Tongcheng. The county yamen is busy collecting the autumn tax; even the city gates have no one guarding them. It's said the Three Squads have all gone to the countryside for the Tax Grain Comparison."

Jiang Fan leaned in and said quietly to Pang Yu, "Squad Leader, are we worrying too much over nothing? Qianshan hasn't done anything, yet we, so far away, have stirred up a hornet's nest. Perhaps it really is just local bandits inside Yingshan, and the Sweeping King has already been wiped out by the government troops."

"We cannot let our guard down until it's confirmed. From the Qianshan County Boundary to the Tongcheng County Seat is only sixty li — cavalry can reach it in half a day, and even on foot it's a day's journey. If we wait until something happens to prepare, it will be too late."

Pang Yu finished speaking and said to the two mounted couriers, "You two did not fear the Roving Bandits and brought back reliable intelligence for this Squad Leader. Jiang Fan, take them to Pang Ding and have them each receive five taels of silver as reward."

The two mounted couriers thanked him profusely. After they left, Pang Yu sat back down in his seat, his right hand tapping the tabletop. Of Anqing Prefecture's five counties, three had defense preparations that were utterly laissez-faire, and the Anqing Prefectural Office was also very nonchalant. This truly disheartened Pang Yu. Perhaps the Prefectural Office had intelligence on the Roving Bandits and knew they could not reach Anqing — otherwise, the calm in places like Qianshan and Taihu could not be explained. Here he was drilling the Zhuang Squad, and in the end he might just become a laughingstock.

Pang Yu spat on the ground. "Could it be that the Roving Bandits really can't reach Tongcheng? Then why the hell am I spending money and effort training so many Zhuang Squad men?"