Chapter 123: Rout

"Maitreya descends to be born, the Buddha appears at Shifokou!"

The diehard followers around Li Shengming took the lead in shouting the slogan. The sect members seemed spellbound, their spirits suddenly roused. Over five thousand of them, keeping time with the drumbeats, shouted the slogan as they marched forward.

Nie Hong's ears were ringing from the din. Taking advantage of a lull in the slogans, he asked Zhao Xuan, "What's this 'Stone Buddha' thing?"

Zhao Xuan lowered his voice. "Two meanings. One, the Wenxiang founder Wang Sen was from Shifokou in Luanzhou, and the Wenxiang Sect all believe Maitreya Buddha will be born at Shifokou. This Li Shengming claims he came from Shifokou. The other meaning — when I first arrived, to gain Li Shengming's trust, I gave him an idea. I buried a stone Buddha statue under the biggest tree on Yaoshan. I bought it in Ninghaizhou, carved those eight characters on it myself, and added the line 'When the Li flower blooms, he is emperor.' Then at night I sent people to set fires, making it look like holy light. At daybreak I had the villagers go check, and they dug it up themselves. After that, they believed Li Shengming even more."

Nie Hong felt his head swell. He cursed, "Only you could think that up. You bastard are the real swindler."

Zhao Xuan dared not talk back. He just stared at Li Shengming up ahead. The Wenxiang Sect followers' morale was soaring like a rainbow, their shouts shaking the heavens. The ragged sect members, clutching farm tools, advanced resolutely toward the opposite side. There was still one li of distance between the two armies.

In the Wendeng Battalion's battle line, Chen Xin observed the enemy's impressive momentum. He turned to Zhou Hongmo beside him and said respectfully, "My lord, these bandit rabble actually have some spirit. You, my lord, have been through a hundred battles — do you have any brilliant stratagem to advise this younger brother?"

Zhou Hongmo looked at the beggar-like army across the field, curled his lip in disdain, and said, "These Wenxiang Sect rioters — when they gather a few thousand, they dare claim a hundred thousand. Before battle, they think Maitreya has possessed them, their arrogance blazing. But if it really comes to a fight, I say just let your firelocks, Brother Chen, fire a few volleys. Once their morale collapses, they'll flee for their lives."

Chen Xin, looking full of admiration, said, "Lord Zhou speaks true. Then this younger brother need not worry. First, let us suppress their momentum."

Zhou Hongmo looked at Chen Xin with satisfaction. This man, though he had sidelined him, was generous with his share of the spoils and treated him with great respect daily, always requesting instructions and reporting on major matters. In this campaign to exterminate the Wenxiang Sect, he himself would inevitably claim the lion's share of military merit. After all, he was the commanding officer of Wendeng Battalion.

Chen Xin turned to Zhu Guobin and ordered, "Have the cavalry on both wings begin harassing attacks. Send two more cavalry squads to reinforce them, but do not charge the enemy line."

Zhu Guobin acknowledged the order and dispatched two cavalry squads to circle around and reinforce each wing. The green flag at the Wendeng Battalion's center waved. The thirty-odd scout riders on both wings began closing in on the enemy line. Most of these men were selected from the Dongjiang troops, skilled in riding and archery. Most of these Dongjiang soldiers had experience fighting the Jianzhou bandits and were utterly composed before such an enemy. The Wenxiang Sect followers opposite had no ranged attack weapons whatsoever. The cavalry all dismounted fifty paces out. Every five men left one horse-holder; the others drew large arrows from their quivers and drew their bows at the cultists on the periphery.

A series of twanging bowstrings rang out. Over twenty large arrows with rhomboid heads tore through the air. The rioters' tattered rags could not stop the sharp arrowheads. Screams rang out in succession from both wings. The shouting of the rioters on the edges fell into chaos, their momentum greatly diminished. The cavalry immediately loosed another volley of large arrows. Another dozen or so were shot down. They had no shields, and the crowd was extremely dense — essentially, no arrow missed its mark.

The sect members under attack on both wings instantly lost the energy to keep shouting and crowded chaotically toward the center. Some fierce sect leaders, seeing the situation turning sour, bellowed and led a group of followers in a charge at the cavalry. At twenty-three paces, the cavalry each stowed their bows, retrieved their horses from the horse-holders, and scattered farther away. The sect members could not catch up. Once the distance widened, the scattered cavalry dismounted again and shot at their pursuers. Those pursuers, seeing comrades around them struck down one after another, lost all morale and hastily retreated back toward the main formation. The cavalry did not seize the moment to pursue and slaughter. Only a few men who could shoot from horseback urged their mounts after them and shot several more with Kaiyuan bows (cavalry bows). The other cavalry soon closed in again to harass. Both wings were now utterly demoralized. Especially the soldiers using foot-drawn crossbows — the bolts they loosed were far deadlier than arrows. Whenever their crossbow strings twanged, the Wenxiang Sect's rabble erupted in panicked shrieks. The rabble's two wings had been completely compressed toward the center...

The chaos on the wings quickly spread to the center. The work chants could no longer be raised. Seeing this, Chen Xin thought that if he released all one hundred cavalry, they might well rout the enemy. These cavalrymen also trained daily, organized in twelve-man squads, all currently equipped with cold weapons — trident-spears, saber-staffs, quick-spears. They had no mounted musketeers organized like Qi Jiguang's cavalry battalions. Otherwise, these rioters would have been even less able to endure. In the late Ming, rioters numbering tens of thousands were often chased and beaten by a few thousand government troops. Apart from their poor organization, the disparity in weaponry was a major reason. What the rioters lacked most were ranged weapons like bows and arrows. Often their morale was sapped before they even engaged. The moment close combat began, their morale collapsed.

Chen Xin said to Liu Po's unit, "Ambush troops, advance on both wings."

The flags representing the First and Third Company Headquarters at the center waved. After the company flags acknowledged the order, one platoon of ambush troops on each flank began moving toward the enemy's wings.

The Wendeng Battalion cavalry came and went, harassing the Wenxiang Sect's wings into a chaotic mess. Foot bows at fifty paces had some killing power, but killing outright was not easy. In total, only about a hundred lay on the ground, but the effect far exceeded killing a hundred men. Chased back and forth like this, they finally reached just over a hundred paces, about to enter the firelock range.

The harassing cavalry ceased their harassment and pushed outward. The Wenxiang Sect followers had just breathed a sigh of relief when they discovered government infantry appearing on both wings. The rioters' formation was now almost a single blob. Over five thousand men were surrounded on three sides by just over two thousand government troops.

Zhao Xuan had long expected they could not defeat the Wendeng Battalion, but he never imagined they would be in this state before battle was even joined. Though he had never experienced a major battle either, seeing the sect members' chaos told him defeat was certain. The crowd around him grew more and more packed. Nie Hong repeatedly shoved nearby people to keep them from getting too close.

Dong Dacheng, his face covered in ferocious flesh, bellowed orders up front. The sect leaders and group heads cursed and shouted continuously, barely maintaining the most basic order. Dong Dacheng dispatched several capable lieutenants to rush to the wings and lead the sect members in pushing outward a bit. The formation improved slightly from before.

The space around Zhao Xuan loosened a little too. His eyes remained fixed on Li Shengming. This man was extremely crafty; as he walked, he had gradually fallen to the rear. This man was the life-saving talisman for him and his nephew. Zhao Xuan absolutely could not let him slip away.

The Wenxiang Sect rabble advanced to within a hundred paces. Li Shengming stood up from his chair and pointed his goose-feather fan. Seeing Li Shengming standing tall, the sect members erupted in a frenzy of shouting. The great drums beat urgently. The Wenxiang Sect's morale suddenly surged to a peak again. Dong Dacheng's great banner pointed forward. Ignoring the ambush troops on the wings, the leaders, high and low, led the sect members in a frontal charge. Over five thousand rioters surged like a tide across the open ground.

Zhao Xuan also kept close behind Dong Dacheng and Li Shengming. Ahead was a sea of bobbing backs. Nie Hong was saying something beside him, but the hoarse, desperate screams all around made it impossible to hear anything.

They had just run a dozen paces when a long trumpet blast sounded from the opposite side. Zhao Xuan suddenly remembered Nie Hong's warning, but at this moment he dared not crouch down — he would surely be trampled to death by those behind him. He hastily sidestepped and ducked behind a large man.

A string of firecracker-like reports rang out. Many screams rose simultaneously from the front ranks, followed by panicked shrieks. Those in the rear ranks had to sidestep around the casualties on the ground, disrupting their lines and affecting the entire momentum of the charge.

Li Shengming seemed startled too and scrambled down from his grand armchair. Zhao Xuan slowed his pace, staying near him. Too focused on Li Shengming, his foot caught on something and he fell to the ground. He scrambled up quickly and turned his head to look. It was a sect member shot in the chest, raising his head slightly and reaching a hand toward Zhao Xuan, bright red bloody froth continuously spilling from his mouth, as if hoping Zhao Xuan would save him.

Zhao Xuan was frozen with fright. As he stood helpless, a large hand like iron pincers pulled him up. Nie Hong's voice sounded in his ear: "If you want to live, stick close."

At the word "live," his mind immediately cleared considerably. Dragged by Nie Hong, he followed behind the human current. He spotted Li Shengming's figure again, but the man had already shed his outer robe, wearing underneath a tattered garment just like an ordinary sect member.

The second long trumpet blast sounded. The same scene repeated. Many more fell up front. The blood and screams had a powerful effect on those around them. Some sect members had already thrown down their hoes and turned to flee. At fifty paces, the third volley arrived. Many in the front ranks, having witnessed with their own eyes the gruesome sight of comrades falling, desperately wanted to retreat. Those behind kept surging forward. The two sides blocked each other, and forty paces in front of the Wendeng Battalion's line, they fell into utter chaos. The fourth volley rang out at the right moment. Over two hundred combined-fire guns fired in unison at forty paces, inflicting massive casualties on the packed crowd. The sustained blows completely extinguished the Wenxiang Sect's morale.

After the fourth volley, a short trumpet blast sounded from the opposite side. A few breaths later, another sounded. Nie Hong knew it was the formation-deployment trumpet. The killer squads had already spread out and were about to advance. He hurriedly pulled Zhao Xuan in front of him. Before he could speak, a series of thunderous explosions suddenly erupted ahead. Countless sect members ahead fell like mown grass. A large iron ball blasted a bloody path on the right side, bouncing to a stop several dozen paces behind and to the side. Nie Hong's eardrums roared; he hurriedly opened his mouth. This was also his first time facing a direct hit from crouching-tiger cannons, and at a much closer range than the eighty paces used in training. Even with many sect members shielding him in front, it still shook him to the core. The other sect members had completely descended into madness.

Nie Hong took several deep breaths and shouted at the dazed Zhao Xuan, "The main army is about to charge! Keep your eyes locked on Li Shengming!"

Zhao Xuan finally snapped out of it and nodded hastily. At that moment, a rhythmic drumbeat began, followed by the sound of synchronized footsteps hitting the ground. The rioters at the very front watched in terror as the enemy before them — the red human wall had withdrawn to the rear ranks, replaced by government troops wielding cold weapons. Clad in iron armor gleaming with cold light, gripping all manner of sharp blades, they pressed forward in silence.

They soon entered thirty paces. The drumbeat changed, becoming urgent. All the government troops quickened their pace and began their charge. The remaining sect members stared at the oncoming solid armor and sharp weapons. The last shred of religious fanaticism vanished without a trace. Just as they had come, everyone screamed hoarsely and fled for their lives, sprinting madly backward. Many were knocked down and trampled to death.

Zhao Xuan, Nie Hong, and a few others mingled within the crowd, fleeing with them. Zhao Xuan's head was still ringing from the cannon fire, but his eyes remained locked on Li Shengming. Li Shengming still had some core followers around him, and Dong Dacheng was with them. From the Wendeng Battalion's formation behind came the sound of the central army's great drum, war cries shaking the heavens. Nie Hong knew the pursuit had begun. He dared not run at the very front; the roving cavalry all around were already cutting down those who ran fastest.

Li Shengming had already put on a felt hat. Dong Dacheng and several underlings supported him as they fled northward. This Li Shengming was indeed a seasoned swindler — he was not overly flustered even in this situation, always keeping to the middle of the group, and had already changed clothes. Had Zhao Xuan not been prepared, he would certainly have lost track of him. Now, spotting an opening, Li Shengming shouted to his men and dashed swiftly toward a spot with no cavalry.

Listening to the shouts of fleeing men all around, Zhao Xuan licked his dry lips. "Li Shengming, don't you dare disappear."

—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

That day, the Wendeng Battalion slew over 1,300 rioters in formation. The remaining sect members all scattered and fled. Chen Xin had tested nearly every troop type. In one day, he routed twice his number of cultists. Nearly every soldier in the Wendeng Battalion had seen blood. Now they were brimming with confidence, yet also felt they hadn't had their fill of fighting, especially the killer squads. After all, the enemy had basically been broken by firearms already; they had mostly been killing men from behind.

That evening, the gentry of Laiyang came one after another to the military camp to reward the troops. The next day, the Wendeng Battalion began advancing toward Zhaoyuan. On the road, the scout riders encountered Nie Hong and his group. They were quickly brought before Chen Xin. Chen Xin found a civilian house to receive them, accompanied by Zhou Shifa and Huang Side.

Zhao Xuan held high the head of Dong Dacheng and said carefully to Chen Xin, "My lord, yesterday, relying on your lordship's divine might, the demon horde was shattered. This lowly one seized the chance to slay this demon ringleader, to repay your lordship."

Hai Gouzi stepped forward, grabbed the head by the hair, and turned it over to examine it. He then looked at Chen Xin. Chen Xin waved his hand. Nie Hong had already reported to him earlier; he knew it was the real bandit chief. This Zhao Xuan was in the gray zone between useful and expendable. The man had managed to infiltrate the enemy and accomplish this task — he had some ability. Planting a nail in the Wenxiang Sect wasn't exactly a shameful secret; there was no need to silence him.

"Where are Li Shengming's and Dong Dacheng's caches of illicit silver?"

"My lord, Li Shengming was captured alive by Lord Nie. Last night we interrogated him and learned his silver is in a cave atop Yaoshan. Dong Dacheng's is in his home village of Liujiazhuang. Lord Nie forced that out of him too. Thanks to Lord Nie's high martial skill, otherwise this lowly one does not know if we could have taken Li Shengming alive."

Chen Xin smiled and asked Nie Hong, "Li Shengming had no underlings with him?"

Nie Hong retracted the fierce glint in his eyes and replied in a low voice, "This Zhao Xuan is a... well, he always carries knockout powder on him. While boiling water, he drugged the whole lot unconscious. But he was too timid to act. I and my two men did the killing. Dong Dacheng had some martial skill; this lowly one feared accidents and didn't dare keep him alive."

Chen Xin nodded and said to Zhao Xuan, "You handled this matter well. In a moment, first take the cavalry to retrieve the illicit silver from Yaoshan and Liujiazhuang. Afterward, you may stay in Wendeng. As long as you don't dabble in that damned heresy again, you'll be guaranteed a peaceful life."

Zhao Xuan kowtowed repeatedly. "I thank your lordship for your great kindness. Only, this lowly one does not know how to farm, and I do not know how to support a family. However, I am literate. Having witnessed your lordship's divine might this time, I now know there exist men like heavenly gods in this world. I wish to seek a post under your lordship..."

Huang Side suddenly spoke. "My lord, this subordinate wishes to take him into my Instruction Unit. I am short-handed there and need more people. This man happens to be literate and has a decent way with words."

"The Instruction Unit?" Chen Xin was somewhat concerned about this former cult member.

Huang Side said helplessly, "My lord, Mr. Liu has already declared he will absolutely not send any new instructors. Of the current ten, several are also unsettled. Right now, each is responsible for two platoons. Talking with the soldiers, helping them write letters — that alone consumes all their time. We are truly short of people."

Chen Xin looked at the pale-faced young man on the ground and said to Huang Side, "Then you must keep a close watch on him. If I learn he is still preaching about Maitreya Buddha, the Eternal Venerable Mother, or anything of that sort — just once is enough — I will behead him first, then dismiss you from your post."

Zhao Xuan listened with his head lowered and hastily agreed, "Your lordship is gracious. This lowly one will absolutely never speak of those heretical things again. I have long been utterly disgusted by them. So-called scriptures, the Lamp-Lighter, the Buddha, Maitreya, the Red Sun, the White Sun — they are nothing but fabrications to deceive foolish peasants and ignorant women. This lowly one knows this deeply, which is why I have lived in constant fear. Now that I can live the life of an ordinary person, I will never utter half a word of such matters again."

A thought stirred in Chen Xin's mind. This man was thoroughly familiar with the White Lotus system's doctrines and inner workings. He could perfectly serve as a model case. Used well, he could thoroughly root out any possibility of cults appearing within the army. Chen Xin put on a kindly smile. "This official believes you. However, for now, you may not work independently. When our Wendeng Battalion returns to camp, you will conduct a lecture tour, explaining to the soldiers how you fabricated scriptures to deceive those mountain villagers. Only after the soldiers all know the inside story of this White Lotus cult will you be allowed to take on independent duties. Then you can draw full pay and rations."

Zhao Xuan agreed gratefully. After he left, Huang Side said to Chen Xin, "My lord, the bandit chiefs have all been captured. Do we still go to Zhaoyuan?"

"Of course we go."

Huang Side glanced at Zhou Shifa. Chen Xin smiled. "Just speak freely."

"My lord, we fought all the battles, but the military merit will likely be mostly claimed by Zhou Hongmo. Why should we labor to make his wedding dress? In any case, Dengzhou's orders were only to defend Wendeng."

Zhou Shifa and Nie Hong both listened with cold expressions. Chen Xin tapped his fingers lightly on the tabletop. After a long pause, he said, "Instructor Huang is always thinking of our Wendeng Battalion's interests. Very good. I have my own calculations on this matter. We advance toward Zhaoyuan first."

After the few men left, the Wendeng Battalion continued its advance. At the same time, an army ten times larger than the Wendeng Battalion was also on the march. They had quietly reached the border wall west of Xifengkou. All the passes along the Great Wall were now within a single day's march.