Chapter 251: Night Fire

On the night of the ninth day of the first month, a brazier was lit in the gate tower of Zhenhaimen. The retainers of the night-duty Squad Commander were warming wine and drinking a mouthful now and then. Wu Bingzhong paced back and forth in the center of the main hall, while Li Tao sat in a corner, resting with his eyes closed.

Although Wu Bingzhong had agreed to throw in his lot with Chen Xin, Chen Xin had not personally made him any promise to his face, and he secretly guessed at Chen Xin's intentions, often giving rise to hair-raising thoughts. If Sun Yuanhua and the others learned that he had gone over to Chen Xin, how would they deal with him? Zhang Dong had told him during the day that Li Jiucheng might break into the city with inside help tonight. How would Kong Youde and his men treat the people in the city? He had spent the entire day pondering back and forth in terror.

When he turned around, he saw Li Tao's manner and felt an inexplicable shudder in his heart. This man called Brother Li had brought eleven men. They wore cotton armor and chain mail at all times, carried bows, crossbows, waist sabers, and other gear, and each man also had a pack, its contents unknown.

Of the nine men who had left the city the night before, only five returned. One was gravely wounded and breathed his last in the afternoon, leaving only six. Even Li Tao was injured; the chain mail on his back had been slashed open with a gash, and his outer coat bore several blade marks. These six men were now spread out through the hall. Though they appeared scattered, they were all positioned at distances where they could instantly support one another.

Unlike the insidious, ruthless feeling Zhang Dong gave off, Wu Bingzhong could sense an extraordinary fierceness in these men's bearing. Many of his own subordinates had fought the Jianzhou Bandits in Liaodong, but few possessed such a demeanor. Apart from these men, Zhang Dong had somehow brought in over fifty more during the afternoon, all wearing Ming army uniforms. Wu Bingzhong had stationed them in several straw sheds atop the barbican wall. The temperament of these men was more like that of commanders' retainers; compared to Li Tao's group, they seemed a bit more lax, but they were equally fierce and formidable men.

In his heart, he both had confidence in Chen Xin's strength and felt considerable alarm — both because upheaval was about to erupt and because Chen Xin seemed ever more unfathomable. Dengzhou city had long been under martial law. To be able to hide so many men inside the city showed that they had made ample preparations long ago. He had no idea when Chen Xin had begun to prepare. It seemed that Chen Xin's rapid rise in Wendeng was no fluke.

The appearance of these men showed that Zhang Dong believed a major event was imminent. Their role was, first, to help defend Zhenhaimen, and second, to keep watch over him to ensure control of Zhenhaimen. Wu Bingzhong had long been mentally prepared for this, but now that the moment had come, he still felt tense. Thinking this, he glanced at the half-open main gate and caught sight of Zhang Dong's back.

Zhang Dong stood quietly by the parapet outside the gate tower. Before his eyes, the lanterns and torches on the city wall traced the outline of the fortress. The patrol lanterns inside the city flickered in and out of sight among the houses. Zhang Dong already knew the situation of this city like the back of his hand. Dengzhou's perimeter was nine li; its walls reached a height of three zhang and five chi, the same as the capital, with a thickness of two zhang, all faced externally with brick and stone. The moat outside was two zhang wide and one zhang deep. With the large number of cannons on the wall, it was indeed a strong fortress. Without inside help, Li Jiucheng's handful of men would not be enough to fill the moat.

He did not know whether the messengers had all been delivered. Writing down his own judgment was also a huge gamble on his own future. As the person directly responsible for intelligence in Dengzhou, if his judgment proved wrong, it could place Chen Xin in an extremely passive position, and he would find it hard to be entrusted with important tasks again. But if his judgment was correct, it would surely cement his position as the second-in-command of the Intelligence Bureau, thoroughly surpassing potential rivals like Wu Rong and Wu Jianzhong.

During the day, there had been no sign of activity at Geng Zhongming's residence. Chen Guangfu and Wang Zideng had reported for duty as usual. What was unusual was that all their retainers and trusted confidants had been summoned to their duty stations and had not left by nightfall. This made Zhang Dong even more confident in his judgment. Yet no matter how thorough his analysis, it was not as reassuring as one fact. As night descended, the restlessness in his heart grew steadily, like the feeling of waiting for the cup to be lifted in a gamble — a feeling he, who had made his living on the rivers and lakes since his teens, had not experienced in a very long time.

Zhang Dong forcibly suppressed the agitation in his heart and swept his eyes once more over Dengzhou's western, southern, and eastern gates. The rebels would certainly not go through the north gate. A large force on the move could not hide from the sentries on the walls on both sides and would face simultaneous attacks from two directions. The most likely option was the south gate. The south gate had not only Chaotianmen but also Shangshuimen and Xiaoshuimen. Both water gates had passageways on either side that allowed pedestrians to enter and exit, capable of pouring in a large number of troops in a short time. Another reason was that moving troops at night was not so easy. The distance from Mishen Shan to the south gate was the shortest, minimizing the chance of error; it should be the first choice.

And he believed tonight was the most likely time. Just like the mutiny on Pi Island, night was more advantageous for the prepared side. The side subjected to a surprise attack would easily fall into chaos and be unable to regroup.

Zhang Dong silently estimated the time. It was almost the end of xu hour. Apart from the whistling arrows sounding from various points on the city wall, there was no other movement. He stepped lightly, moving his feet, which were somewhat numb from the cold.

"Accountant!" A panting voice came from the city wall stairs. Zhang Dong recognized it as the messenger left at the contact point. He hurried over and asked in an urgent, low voice, "What's the situation? Has it been verified?"

"Verified. They're going to make their move this evening. At the beginning of xu hour, Wang Zideng notified the various commanders in his camp to assemble for a council. Our inside man also attended. Wang Zideng killed several who opposed him, then told the others they would strike at the start of zi hour. The inside man took the opportunity of returning to camp to lead his troops and sent someone to notify us."

"The start of zi hour — it's almost here." Zhang Dong, having received confirmed word, paced back and forth excitedly. "I said it would be tonight, and sure enough, it's tonight." Finding himself actually afraid that the rebellion would not happen, he could not help but find it a little amusing. After stopping, he let out a long breath of relief and asked the messenger, "Which gate are they attacking? Will they come for the north gate?"

"Wang Zideng ordered his men to attack the south gate and specifically instructed them to set many fires."

"Set fires?" Zhang Dong hesitated. If they were entering from the south gate, too many fires would obstruct the army's advance. "Could it not be the south gate?"

Before he could finish thinking, another liaison officer came running up to the gate tower in haste. He had run the whole way and was too exhausted to speak, his face looking extremely panicked.

"They've gone to Shengmen."

"Who's leading them?"

"Geng Zhongming."

Zhang Dong said angrily, "When did Geng Zhongming go to the Biaobing Central Camp? Why is there no intelligence at all from the men watching his residence?"

Under Zhang Dong's fierce, wolf-like glare, the liaison officer hastily defended himself, "This humble one doesn't know either. This is the first time this humble one has carried out a mission."

Zhang Dong was so furious he shoved him aside. A Dongjiang commander like Geng Zhongming still had some skills; he could evade Wendeng's intelligence network, slip quietly into the Biaobing Central Camp, and pull out his own unit.

Wang Bingzhong and Li Tao heard the noise and came out to ask about the situation. Zhang Dong gave them a rough account. Both men now knew that upheaval was right before their eyes. Even if they wanted to go report to Sun Yuanhua now, there was no time left.

"Brother Zhang, what should we do now?" Wang Bingzhong asked Zhang Dong.

Before Zhang Dong could think of an answer, a tremendous "boom" shook the entire city. Zhang Dong quickly turned to look. Li Tao pointed to the east and said with certainty, "The firelight came from near the east city gate. Firing a signal cannon in the middle of the night — they must have made their move."

"They've finally made their move." Zhang Dong laughed a few times. He felt an urge to kneel. Now, although it was dangerous, the sounds of slaughter rose to the sky near Shengmen, the southern Chaotianmen, and the two water gates. Fires shot up everywhere inside the southern city gate, starkly conspicuous against the pitch-black backdrop. The soldiers on sentry duty at various points on the wall all turned to look south and began discussing among themselves. The soldiers resting in the gate tower also hurriedly put on their clothes and watched the excitement from behind the parapet. Lacking sufficient information, many still thought it was simply a fire breaking out.

Wang Bingzhong looked around in some confusion. He had not imagined the Personal Battalion would really revolt. He muttered, "Li Jiucheng has no regard for his life. Captain Zhang, didn't you just say the Biaobing Central Camp went to Shengmen?"

"Ah? Why?"

Zhang Dong analyzed without hesitation, "The main garrison at the south gate is the largest. Now there are many fires in the south. A large army entering the city would inevitably be blocked by the flames, which does the rebels no good. Wang Zideng is a mere Company Commander with limited trusted retainers. He must have dispersed his camp troops everywhere to set fires, to prevent the south gate's main garrison from reinforcing other areas. The place they truly chose is Shengmen. The sky outside Shengmen is already tinged faintly yellow by thousands upon thousands of torches. They are attacking the soldiers at Shengmen to allow Geng Zhongming to open the gate smoothly."

Li Tao cursed fiercely, "No wonder those ambush troops last night were so formidable. They were preparing for today's assault on the city. They must have sent out their most elite Night Scouts."

Wang Bingzhong was also a commander forged by years of battle. When the moment came, he instead calmed down. He asked Zhang Dong, "Captain Zhang, what should this humble one do now?"

Zhang Dong replied flatly, "Follow our contingency plan. First, assemble all your troops and set up a defensive perimeter within two hundred paces inside Zhenhaimen, including the walls on both sides. Use debris to cut them off."

"And then?"

Zhang Dong said coolly, "There is no 'then.' Just hold your position and see when Lord Chen can arrive. As long as we hold Zhenhaimen, no one can do anything."

Wang Bingzhong was about to ask further when his younger brother hurried over to report, "Brother, Geng Jingcai has come."

Wang Bingzhong muttered to himself and turned to look at Zhang Dong. Zhang Dong quickly recalled the file on Geng Jingcai — he must be the head retainer of Geng Zhongming. His surname came from being adopted as a godson by Geng Zhongming.

"Let's go meet him together." (To be continued.)