Chapter 128: The Spy

On the twenty-ninth day of the eleventh month, under the gloomy skies of Beizhili, a biting north wind howled across the land. On the official road twenty li southeast of Guanxian, fleeing crowds and carts jammed the way, the cries of women and children rising from time to time. Word had spread that Tatars had appeared nearby, throwing everyone into panic, as if the Tatars would arrive at any moment. The gates of Guanxian were shut tight, and people from nearby villages and towns were also fleeing. Food grew even scarcer; the price of portable flatbread and steamed buns had already risen to ten times the usual. Robbery and looting happened everywhere. Even so, people helped the elderly and carried the young, terrified of being left behind, straining every sinew to push south through the bitter cold. Possessions too heavy to carry were abandoned all along the road, and beside it lay many corpses of those who had collapsed from illness or exhaustion.

In a field to the right of the official road, the Wendeng Battalion sat in orderly ranks on the ground, their own cotton quilts spread beneath them. They took a rest like this after every ten li of marching. More than fifty donkey and horse carts were parked behind them on the right side of the road, a soldier from the supply corps standing atop each cart to prevent anyone from seizing military stores. Several military judges led garrison troops on patrols around the area, while the instruction officers seized the moment to boost morale. The closer they drew to Jingshi, the more the soldiers' nerves tightened; the instruction officers had more work to do.

The refugees on the official road stole fearful glances at these government troops, their eyes holding both hope and a measure of dread.

Chen Xin, several company commanders and chief officers, and Zhu Guobin, who had just hurried back, gathered in a circle to discuss the military situation. In the middle was a stool picked up by the roadside, a map spread open on top of it.

All news from Jingshi had now been cut off. Chen Xin was completely in the dark about the situation around the capital. The plan he had so carefully devised could not be put into action at all; he did not even know where the Jianzhou Bandits were right now. He could only slow the march and advance with extreme caution, while sending out scout riders to reconnoiter. If the main Jianzhou force was heading south, he would have no choice but to pull back for the time being.

Over the past two days, more and more people had been fleeing south. The information gleaned from the refugees was wildly inaccurate, most of it contradictory, but on one point they all spoke with one voice: the relief armies had all been defeated, and the Jianzhou Bandits were moving south, plundering people and property along the way.

Zhu Guobin pointed to the spot on the map marked with the characters for Guanxian and reported: "My lord, Tatar scout riders have reportedly been seen near the southern wall of Guanxian. I sent a squad of night scouts disguised as postal couriers to circle the area around Guanxian; they did not encounter any enemy riders. They did, however, capture several routed soldiers from the Guanning Army who were robbing refugees."

Chen Xin's spirits lifted and he asked, "Have you interrogated them? How goes the battle at Jingshi?"

"The Jianzhou Bandits crossed Jizhou on the thirteenth and drove straight for Jingshi. The Guanning Army only set out on the fourteenth, detouring via Hexiwu, and reached the southeast corner of Jingshi on the sixteenth. The Jianzhou Bandits arrived on the seventeenth. The Xuan-Da Army also arrived on the seventeenth and rested in the barbican at Deshengmen, but His Majesty did not permit the Guanning Army to enter the barbican. On the twentieth, the Jianzhou Bandits split into two columns and fought a major battle with the Xuan-Da and Guanning armies. Both armies were routed with heavy losses. According to the intelligence sent by Mr. Song, the capital garrison is even less reliable. The few routed soldiers we captured fled under cover of night on the twenty-sixth. At that time, the Xuan-Da Army was still at Deshengmen and the Guanning Army outside Zuoanmen; both were still engaged in scattered skirmishes with the enemy, but their ability to pin down the Tatars is probably very limited by now. On the twenty-fifth, the Jianzhou Bandits moved south. Several Guanning soldiers said they are likely encamped at Nanhaizi, and are probably plundering the southern environs of the capital."

Chen Xin's face was grim. He cared not a whit that the Jianzhou Bandits were looting; the more loot they carried, the less inclined they would be to fight to the death. The crux of the matter was that if the main Jianzhou force had moved to Nanhaizi, his own route from the south to Jingshi would be an exceedingly dangerous journey.

Still unwilling to give up, he asked, "What is this place called, and what are the road conditions from here to Jingshi?"

"We are now at Xishi, not far from the seat of Guanxian. Further ahead is Liucun. From Liucun, following the Guanxian city wall north leads to Lvjiaying, and west leads to Shilipu. Another ten-odd li beyond that, there will be very few people on the road. North of Guanxian, only a handful of people are still fleeing; the condition of the official road is about the same as this stretch here."…

"Apart from the bridges, can the ice on the Hunhe (Lugou River) bear passage?"

"It can. Men and horses can cross; heavy carts should be able to cross as well."

"In which direction are the Jianzhou scout riders most active?"

Zhu Guobin paused, then replied, "That… that is unclear. Our men did not encounter any Jianzhou scout riders. According to several fleeing refugees, someone saw a group of Tatars circling the walls of Guanxian to inspect it."

"By your estimate, if the Tatar scouts near Guanxian were to return to camp, what would be the latest they would head back?"

"If the main Tatar camp is still near Nanyuan, they would have to start back by noon."

Chen Xin nodded. Although Zhu Guobin's report lacked exhaustive detail and precision, the Wendeng Battalion had few cavalry and night scouts; for intelligence gathering to reach this level was already quite good.

Chen Xin turned his head toward Dai Zhenggang and the others. "Gentlemen, how should we proceed? I would like to hear your views."

Dai Zhenggang said, "Since the Tatars have shifted camp from the north to the south of Jingshi, Liangxiang and Fangshan are very likely to become their targets. They may also already be moving south toward Guanxian and Zhuozhou. We would be better off entering nearby Guanxian. For one, we could protect the local populace; for another, we would have a city wall to rely on and avoid encountering a large Jianzhou force in the open field."

Zhu Guobin added, "The Tatars have penetrated deep into the capital region this time and hold no fixed city. Moreover, with the Xuan-Da and Guanning armies still present, they are unlikely to divide their forces and may shift camp at any time. Therefore, their scouting range will not be too far. According to those two Guanning soldiers, they halted for two days after reaching Jingshi. I estimate their scouting cycle is two days each time. Guanxian is over a hundred li from Jingshi. I judge that those near Guanxian are all scout riders. They appeared near Guanxian this morning, so they must have set out yesterday and will certainly return today. If the report they bring back deems Guanxian easy to attack, then Guanxian is very likely to become a target for the Tatars."

Chen Xin lowered his head slightly, pressing his hand against his chin and rubbing it. He worried not only about a Jianzhou attack, but also about the situation after reaching Jingshi. The fighting strength of the Xuan-Da and Guanning armies had been severely damaged. As soon as any army arrived, it would surely be forced by those presumptuous civil officials to throw itself into the flames like a moth. Relying on Wen Tiren alone might not be enough to stop that. His original plan had missed this point, and he was now reconsidering the timing of his arrival at Jingshi.

How strong exactly were the Jianzhou forces? He suddenly felt a bit uncertain. Now that the Jianzhou army had shifted south of the capital, if their scout riders really had appeared near Guanxian, the Jianzhou Bandits might intend to plunder Guanxian or Zhuozhou. If he continued forward, he was very likely to encounter the enemy in the open field. The main army was already not far from the Jianzhou Bandits and could be discovered at any moment. If the risk was too high, he would rather abandon this opportunity for political speculation.

Chen Xin asked, "Guobin, how are the defenses of Guanxian?"

"Extremely dilapidated. Many sections of wall collapsed by rain have not been repaired. There are not many men on the walls either, and most of them are ordinary civilians. I fear it is neither solid nor safe."

Chen Xin raised his head and decided to advance another stretch and then decide based on the situation. He instructed Zhu Guobin and Pu Zhuang, "Deploy all cavalry and night scouts. Within ten li of our perimeter, if you encounter enemy scouts, attack immediately. Do everything possible to capture prisoners."

After speaking, he addressed the other chief officers: "The Central Army Guard is responsible for clearing the road. The main force will set out in a quarter of an hour. March in field combat formation, all troops in full armor. Each arquebus squad is to have their matches ready. We will make camp at Liucun today; no rest stops in between. Inform the entire army: from this moment on, military judges and commanding officers will enforce discipline according to battlefield regulations."

"Yes, my lord." The officers all wore grave expressions. Battlefield discipline was now in effect; offenses that previously warranted a beating would now be punished by beheading.

After acknowledging the order, Dai Zhenggang said to Chen Xin, "My lord, why not camp beneath the walls of Guanxian? That would be more conducive to defense."

"Once we reach the walls, too many eyes will see us, and our army's movements can no longer be kept secret." Chen Xin was somewhat perfunctory; in truth, his greatest concern was that it would be hard to escape once they were at the city walls.

"But how shall we act tomorrow? If we continue advancing and are discovered, and are surrounded by the main Jianzhou army in the open field, that would be…"…

"Tomorrow we will fortify our position and not move for now. Take down all banners and flags. We will act after we have clearly ascertained the Jianzhou movements."

As they were discussing, a clamor broke out on the official road beside them. Zhu Guobin turned his head to look. Next to a cart pulled by two horses, a man who looked like a carter was arguing with the people in the cart; it seemed he no longer wanted to drive.

The carter's loud voice carried over: "We agreed on this when we left Tongzhou! I've hauled you this far, and there are no Tatars around. Drive the cart yourself! I'm going with these government troops to kill Tatars!"

The people in the cart were a middle-aged couple who looked like merchants. The merchant pointed at the carter and cursed, "You ungrateful wretch! When you drifted inside the Pass, if I hadn't taken you in, you would have starved to death long ago."

"Did I eat your food for nothing? I worked like an ox and a horse for you for three years, without a single coin in wages. I've more than repaid your kindness. To tell you the truth, even if the Tatars hadn't come, I've long wanted to quit." The carter was not old. As he spoke, he pulled a bundle off the draft horse's back and slung it over his own shoulder.

"You ingrate from Liaodong! It serves you right that your whole family was captured by the Tatars!"

The carter glared fiercely at the merchant and said, "Say one more word, and I'll…"

The merchant's temper flared as well; he still had the air of a master. He cursed, "You'll what? You dare to kill someone?"

The carter actually pulled a short knife from his bundle, his eyes fixed savagely on his master. Only when a flicker of panic crossed the merchant's face did he say, "I'll stab your two horses to death, and see if your whole family gets captured by the Tatars."

The merchant backed down somewhat, his tone softening. He offered to give the carter some silver to take them one more stage south.

Chen Xin had no interest in watching the excitement and turned back to the map. Zhu Guobin was about to turn back as well when, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a man leading a horse heading north amid the southbound flow of people. The man wore a fur hat and had his face wrapped in thick cloth. Head lowered, he walked silently along the left side of the official road, separated from the Wendeng Battalion on the right by the pedestrians in the middle. Had it not been for the carter's argument, Zhu Guobin would likely not have noticed him.

Zhu Guobin said quietly to Chen Xin, "My lord! That man is suspicious."

Chen Xin looked where he pointed. The man's behavior was indeed suspicious. If he were a relay rider, he would not have dismounted and kept such a low profile, and ordinary people generally would not be heading north at a time like this.

Chen Xin beckoned to Nie Hong and gave him a few instructions. Nie Hong then led five guardsmen over. Zhu Guobin also picked up his infantry bow and followed toward the official road.

Though the man kept his head down, his eyes had been watching this side all along. Seeing the soldiers heading in his direction, he suddenly drew a straight-bladed knife from under his long robe and hacked viciously at the neck of a woman beside him. With a sickening thud, the woman's head was severed, flying several paces away, blood spraying from her neck far and wide. The surrounding area instantly erupted in screams; the crowd scattered like hornets from a smashed nest, running wildly in all directions. The man then shouted at the top of his lungs, "The Tatars are here!!!" He immediately sheathed his knife, leaped onto his horse, and plunged into the densest part of the crowd, attempting to use the chaos of fleeing people as cover to escape.

Zhu Guobin recognized his weapon at a glance and shouted excitedly, "A Tatar smooth knife! Seize him!" At the same time, he left the chaotic official road and moved into the outer field, planning to circle around to a spot where the crowd was thinner and cut the man off. As he ran, he kept his eyes on the official road. The area around the road was a sea of bobbing heads, people constantly crying and screaming, "The Tatars are here! The Tatars are here!" The weak were knocked to the ground and instantly trampled by countless feet. The man, crouched low over his short horse, flickered in and out of view among the crowd and had already advanced twenty paces ahead. Given the height of the Mongol horse, Zhu Guobin had no way to shoot him through the crowd.

Zhu Guobin's heart burned with anxiety. From that man's position, he had surely seen the Wendeng Battalion. He absolutely could not be allowed to escape and report back.