Chapter 250: Decision

The main gate of Zhenhai Gate creaked open. Four men leading horses emerged first from the dark archway, making very little sound — the horses' hooves were all wrapped in thick cotton cloth.

After seven men armed with bows and crossbows came out, Zhang Dong appeared from behind the gate. He quietly instructed the horse-handlers: "Be careful on the road. If you encounter Kong's patrol riders, abandon the horses and go overland. As long as it's plowed ground, their horses may not outrun a man. Once you reach the hills, you'll be even safer — none of them have your training. In any case, you must deliver the intelligence to the army before dawn tomorrow."

The four messengers nodded in unison. Zhang Dong studied them carefully. These men were all the best of the Action Team and Special Service Team, having traveled back and forth many times and knowing the routes intimately. After Kong's forces besieged the city, they had carried out similar missions before.

But the danger of leaving the city now was still immense. The rebels were about to launch their attack, and the ambush troops and patrol riders along the roads would multiply, especially for the two heading to Qixia — they faced the greatest peril.

He turned to the buck-toothed Special Service Team member and said: "Bucktooth, your group goes to Qixia. You're in charge. Decide the specific route yourself. I suggest you don't cut directly through Mishen Shan and Kui Shan."

Bucktooth looked utterly unconcerned. He was a veteran Night Scout from Shanxi Garrison who had made many winter trips into the Mongol steppe and had long been immune to danger. He had performed excellently on Shenmi Island last time, and once the army expanded, he was certain to be promoted. He grinned and said: "Won't say how I'll go. Anyway, the letter will be delivered by early tomorrow."

Zhang Dong smiled faintly. He knew these men had all faced death many times and generally disliked revealing their specific plans, especially since he was not Bucktooth's direct superior. Men like Bucktooth, who had endured countless hardships, would not genuinely respect an ordinary superior officer. So he did not take offense. For him, it was enough if just one man from each group made it through; the other was expendable. None of them knew the specific content of the intelligence. The letters they carried were all numbers that required cross-referencing with a specific book to translate back into the original text. Moreover, this operation absolutely forbade anyone being captured alive — otherwise their families would all be executed. This Bucktooth before him had also just gotten married in the ninth month, making him a man with family ties.

"Then I wish you all a smooth journey. If things go fast, we'll meet again right here in three days." Zhang Dong gave the four a solemn military salute. The four returned the salute according to protocol. Bucktooth chuckled: "We'll always meet again — if not here, then in the Shrine of Heroes. Eat grain while alive, eat incense when dead. What's there for me to fear?"

Lanterns hanging from the parapets on both sides moved slowly along the walls, like fireflies drifting in the dark night. The four men, spaced fifteen paces apart, crossed the open ground between Dengzhou's prefectural seat and the Water City. The four carefully trained warhorses had their mouths muzzled and made no neighing sounds. The only noise was the faint rustle of the men stepping on the snow.

Li Tao, leading seven or eight Special Service Team members armed with bows and crossbows, provided cover front and rear, using scattered houses to conceal their movements. After they had gone about a hundred and ten paces, a sharp whistle rang out from Dengzhou's north wall. The dozen-plus men in motion all halted and crouched low. That was a timed signal arrow specially devised by the wall officers to prevent the sentries from falling asleep — it alerted the wall troops at regular intervals. After a moment with no sign of anything amiss, they resumed moving forward.

The Water City's perimeter was only three li, and the Zhenyang Gate side was relatively narrow. They quickly emerged from the lane and reached the open ground to the northeast. The pitch-black night was utterly still. The Special Service Team providing cover advanced first. Li Tao and two others spread out in a fan formation ahead, carefully searching as they moved. The four behind split into two groups, following ten paces behind the three in front.

Bucktooth also drew his heavy crossbow. The terrain outside the city was vast. North of their position was Dengzhou's parade ground; east was the direction of Fushan County. The fields in between were dotted with ambush troops from both sides. They could only move as close to the northern edge as possible, but danger still existed.

Li Tao advanced at a rapid pace, soon reaching two hundred paces from the city wall. Once they could get two or three li out, the danger would lessen greatly. Just then, a sudden rustle came from the right front. Li Tao threw himself flat on the ground. A throwing axe whistled past overhead. Ten paces away, a signal arrow immediately shot up, and several dark figures burst from a snow hollow with howls.

Behind him, bowstrings twanged repeatedly. Two dark figures ahead crumpled to the ground. But shouts came from farther away, approaching this position. Li Tao swiftly drew a throwing axe from his belt and hurled it at the foremost enemy. A dull thud sounded. That enemy soldier twisted and fell, screaming loudly in agony.

Bowstrings twanged repeatedly to the south as well, but in the blurry field of vision there was no accuracy. Li Tao only heard one man behind him grunt low in pain. The Special Service Team immediately loosed a volley in that direction. The powerful bows and crossbows hissed through the still night. Before they could finish reloading, another seven or eight black enemy figures appeared, like specters rising from hell. The three men in front each swiftly drew two short guns and fired repeatedly at the vague silhouettes.

The short guns were even less accurate than long guns. Only two were hit; the rest still lunged forward fiercely. Li Tao cursed his luck inwardly. They must have run into elite Night Scouts from the Dongjiang troops. Farther away, more signal arrows whistled, continuing to relay the alert to other rebel ambush posts.

Li Tao knew they could not delay — they had to fight and finish fast. At this point, neither side had a way back. Li Tao drew his reinforced waist saber and charged head-on. The four team members behind him followed in unison. Li Tao shouted loudly behind him: "Everyone run back to the city!"

Hearing the shout, Bucktooth knew Li Tao meant to mislead the enemy. He led the three messengers, turning north and quickly heading east to get away. The two sides fought a life-and-death struggle in the darkness to the south. The whooshing of swinging blades came continuously, mixed with the crisp clang of strikes hitting armor. Moments later, the twang of bowstrings and the whistle of arrows in flight came from that direction again.

Bucktooth silently led the messengers east at a rapid pace. The sounds of battle gradually faded. Bucktooth had no idea what had become of the Special Service Team, but from the noise he could tell it must have been a bitter fight. He suppressed the urge to go help and broke trail at the very front. This time, after going a full three li, they encountered no more enemies. Bucktooth halted the group and said to them: "We part ways here. You two heading to Ninghai Prefecture — don't travel together either. Take separate routes. Avoid the official roads as much as possible. You all know the village paths. If the horses can't manage, abandon them and go on foot. Remember, our brothers paid with their lives for us to get out of the city. Don't think that if one man delivers the letter the mission is done. Every single one of you must do everything you can to get through. Otherwise, the mission is not complete — unless you're dead."

The two men of the Ninghai group nodded at the same time. Without further words, the four saluted and clasped hands according to Wendeng Camp custom. The two each picked a direction and vanished into the deep night.

Bucktooth said to his remaining teammate: "Take my horse. Ride double mounts through Fushan County and turn toward Qixia. Once you reach the mountain entry point, don't ride the official road anymore. You know the paths there too. In any case, get to the southern slope of Hu Shan." He paused. "If the rebels catch you, end it yourself. Holding onto false hope only means you suffer. If you can't endure and talk, your family in Wendeng won't live."

That team member asked him quietly: "Then how will you go without a horse?"

"Don't worry about my business. You go your way."

The team member smiled, clasped his hand, and led the horses away east.

After the man had disappeared, Bucktooth felt the secret letter on his person and headed directly south, toward Kui Shan. He moved as nimbly as a spirit fox in the snow — he actually intended to cut straight through the Mishen Shan area where the rebels were encamped, taking the shortest route to Qixia.

On the afternoon of the ninth day of the first month, Guan Dadi was serving as an ambush sentry at a mountain pass three li below the northern slope of Hu Shan. With him was the entire combat group — ten pikemen and ten musketeers in total, with a squad of combat troops on each flank. Farther away, on the hilltops, were light cavalry scouts from the main army. Whenever someone passed on the main road, they would signal first. Since arriving here, they had already seized over a hundred passersby, most of them nearby mountain folk, all indiscriminately detained in the camp.

Guan Dadi found this assignment somewhat boring. He tucked his hands into his sleeves and crouched behind a boulder, sheltering from the north wind blowing through the pass. Snowflakes were falling again, drifting down onto everyone's shoulders. He looked up at the sky. It would soon be dark, and then he could return to camp and smoke in the designated tent.

"If only I could smoke now." Guan Dadi grumbled inwardly. He had no idea who made the rule against smoking on duty. It was practically his only pleasure. Feeling the tobacco pouch in his coat, he actually salivated.

"Signal! Guan Dadi, draw your saber. Wang Xian, get the rope. Prepare to seize." The squad leader's voice came. Guan Dadi drew his waist saber, knowing it was another tedious task — nothing more than intimidating some passerby, then tying them up and sending them to the camp.

He peered out from behind the boulder. On the distant mountain path, a figure was slowly approaching, moving somewhat haltingly, limping along with a dragging right leg. As the figure drew nearer, Guan Dadi realized he was wearing Ming army uniform — Wendeng Camp was not equipped with this kind of mandarin-duck battle robe. His alertness rose. He concealed himself well. This was no ordinary passerby; it was very likely a rebel scout.

Several combat soldiers on both sides of the road also signaled him, telling him not to step into the road yet. Guan Dadi pulled his head back. Only when he could hear footsteps did the combat soldiers shout. Guan Dadi rushed onto the official road, saber in hand, and looked closely. Facing him was a sallow-faced soldier, who turned his head to look at the surrounding troops. Guan Dadi noticed an arrow stuck in his back and a knife wound on his thigh, tightly bound with several wraps of cotton cloth. The cloth and the padded trousers around it were already stained red with blood.

Seeing Guan Dadi and the surrounding combat soldiers, the soldier actually grinned, revealing a mouthful of buckteeth. "Don't wave that blade in front of me. When I was playing with blades, you were still suckling milk. Your grandpa here is from the Special Service Team, Second Squad."

Bucktooth shakily pulled the secret letter from his coat. "Give this to Lord Chen. Has the other messenger arrived?"

Before Guan Dadi could answer, he collapsed to the ground with a thud. The surrounding soldiers hurriedly scrambled to lift him up. The officer in charge, hearing it was a Special Service Team courier, personally took the secret letter and rushed back to the main camp.

Guan Dadi and the others carried Bucktooth together to a sheltered spot and found a medic. The medic felt his pulse and frowned. "Probably too much blood loss. Quickly, get boiled cotton cloth to bind the wound tightly and transport him back to camp."

Guan Dadi immediately handed over his own cotton cloth. As he helped hold it tight, he heard the medic mutter to himself: "Must have been wounded near Mishen Shan. To have run this far — those Special Service Team bastards are really damn tough."

In the main army camp, Zhou Shifa hunched over a small table. After reading the translated secret letter, he looked up at Chen Xin. The secret letter listed clues discovered by the Intelligence Bureau but gave no clear time. At the end, Zhang Dong had written his reasoning for his judgment.

Chen Xin sat in a chair with his eyes closed, deep in thought. He did not want professional officers like Zhu Guobin to know the inside details. The only person here he could discuss with was Zhou Shifa.

Zhou Shifa did not disturb him either. He too could not determine the timing. Now it all came down to the decision of the army's commander. After a long while, Chen Xin said softly, eyes still closed: "Shifa, if you had to decide, what do you think is better?"

"My lord, if the rebels launch tonight and we set out immediately as well, they would have a full day to run amok in Dengzhou. This subordinate feels that is slightly too short. According to the last intelligence, there are not many troops in the Water City. It's garrisoned by Lu Zhi. Zhang Keda's main battalions are all deployed south and east of the city, especially south. They can at least hold out for some time. If the rebels launch tomorrow night instead, we would arrive too early. And we still don't know if the Jiaoshan Camp in Ninghai Prefecture has received the message."

Chen Xin opened his eyes. "If we arrive too early, we can only save Dengzhou. Dengzhou will still be that same Dengzhou — at most, it gets a new Provincial Governor."

Zhou Shifa understood Chen Xin's thinking. He weighed his words: "But if we arrive too late, once the rebels consolidate the city defenses, with the abundant supplies inside and the help of the red-barbarian cannons, it will be far harder to attack. What's most worrying is Wang Bingzhong. We gave him ten thousand taels of silver. If the rebels enter the city and loot it — Dengzhou has many wealthy households, and the take would far exceed that. Moreover, Kong Youde and the others are fellow Liaodong men like him. If he switches sides to the rebels, we won't have the strength to breach the city. And if the rebels further take the Water City, they'll have a way of retreat..."

Zhou Shifa paused, then added: "If my lord is worried the purge won't be thorough enough, we could seal some of the rebel troops inside the city, then conduct a house-by-house sweep and root out the major households on the list entirely."

"My combat troops cannot carry out such missions." Chen Xin rejected this suggestion. His combat units had to be pure soldiers. Carrying out too many missions like this would sooner or later infect them with the vices of the Ming army.

"We don't need to use our own men. We can recruit some Liaodong soldiers who surrender, have Wang Bingzhong lead them, and then in the end, Wang Bingzhong..."

"Then what if we arrive too early?"

Zhou Shifa thought furiously. "Then we say they haven't delivered the forty percent share, and we confront them near Shu Shan. According to the intelligence gathered and summarized, Li Jiucheng is an extreme gambler and highly suspicious. He has slaughtered heavily all along his path through Shandong and must believe the court will settle accounts later. And Sun Yuanhua can't even save himself. Once our Wendeng Camp enters Dengzhou, he won't have the slightest room to resist. So no matter what, he won't agree to pacification. This subordinate believes he will definitely keep us at bay on one hand while continuing his big gamble on taking the city with inside help on the other."

Chen Xin straightened up, his eyes shifting constantly. Intelligence could never be perfectly clear forever. When it was time to gamble, the commander's decision was needed. He abruptly stood and walked to the map. "Have the main army's scout cavalry go out first disguised as traveling merchants. Clear out the enemy ambush posts along the route and set up torch markers for night marching. Except for the sentries, all other troops are to begin resting immediately. Inform Zhu Guobin: meal at quarter to midnight, begin marching at the hour of the ox. Also dispatch relay riders to the Jiaoshan camp. If they haven't received the message, have them abandon the heavy baggage and force-march to Dengzhou. Additionally, send word to those mountain strongholds to eliminate the targets near Laiyang and Qixia."

Zhou Shifa knew Chen Xin had made his decision. Unable to hide the tension and excitement in his heart, his voice trembled slightly as he loudly acknowledged: "Yes, my lord!" (To be continued.)