Chapter 256: Engagement

In the afternoon in Dengzhou, smoke rose everywhere in the city. Countless mutinous soldiers and commoners fled wildly through the streets and alleys. The city's idlers and loafers all emerged, acting as guides for the mutineers. The Liaodong refugees, usually so honest and timid, also turned into vicious rioters. Years of pent-up resentment from oppression had suddenly found an outlet, transforming these once docile sheep into wild beasts. They spontaneously banded together, armed with clubs and cleavers, and surged in groups into the streets, alleys, and houses to burn, kill, and loot.

Wu Rong led three Action Team members threading through the alleys west of the department government office. Several commoners by the roadside, too exhausted to run, saw their military uniforms and were so terrified they knelt and begged for mercy, knocking their foreheads loudly against the stone slabs.

The few men had no time to bother with these people. They needed to find some thatched huts that would catch fire easily to create chaos. Turning into an east-west alley, a group of local commoners, supporting the elderly and carrying the young, came from the western alley entrance. Seeing several men in Ming army attire at this end, they screamed in unison, turned, and fled back the way they came. Just as they rushed out of the alley, they were surrounded by a mob of rioters. The rioters shouted loudly in Liaodong accents, swinging clubs and cleavers in a wild, chaotic assault. The men among the commoners began fighting back against those Liaodong rioters, and the ground at the alley entrance was instantly covered with rolling bodies.

Wu Rong had no wish to join such a chaotic brawl. He spotted a half-open door to a nearby house — a thatched hut. He ran up and kicked it open. Inside lay the bodies of a man and a woman. He went straight to where the firewood was stacked, opened the coconut ladle he carried on his back, and poured on some tung oil. A team member behind him came up and lit it with a fire stick. Another picked up a few burning sticks of firewood and tossed them onto the roof. Seeing flames leap up from the roof, Wu Rong waved for the men to withdraw and was the first to step out the door.

When he reached the doorway and looked, the fighting at the alley entrance had grown fiercer. The surrounding rioters, summoned by their comrades, were gathering in ever greater numbers, surrounding those commoners and beating them to death. The heavy clubs swung down on the resisting men with dull, sickening thuds. Even those already on the ground were not spared; the clubs fell heavily with a whoosh, and several commoners lay face down on the ground, already unresponsive under the blows.

The last strong commoner man was swinging a shoulder pole in resistance, retreating in Wu Rong's direction. The narrow alley prevented the rioters from using their numerical advantage; instead, the man knocked two of them down. Finding an opening, the man turned and fled. One rioter, seeing soldiers behind him, immediately shouted loudly: "Grab him."

Wu Rong came from the Personal Guard, and was from Qingzhou. The Personal Guard's requirement had always been to be purely professional soldiers. Although he had been in the Intelligence Bureau for a year and carried out several elimination missions, he was unwilling to kill ordinary commoners.

The fleeing commoner, his face contorted and eyes wide, charged fiercely forward. Wu Rong instinctively drew his short Japanese sword, still hesitating in his mind. The man, seeing a Ming soldier blocking his path, let out a great shout and raised his shoulder pole high.

The instinct forged by Wu Rong's daily martial training drove his body to step forward nimbly, feinting to the left. The man, in a dazed state after the brawl and relying solely on brute strength, used his running momentum to bring the shoulder pole whistling down to the left. Wu Rong had no extra time to think; he deftly dodged the pole, and his short Japanese sword plunged with a thud into the man's lower abdomen.

The reddened eyes of the burly man slowly went blank. Wu Rong shoved him aside. The two rioters who had followed rushed up and struck the burly man's head fiercely with bricks, beating until blood and brain matter splattered everywhere. Only when the burly man stopped responding did the rioters look up at Wu Rong, still standing there. One of them smiled ingratiatingly and said, "Master soldier..."

Wu Rong glanced at the burly man's bloodied, mangled face and said flatly, "He's yours."

The rioters immediately turned and began searching the dead burly man's body. The coarse grain cakes they found were tossed aside. Other rioters behind them continued surging into the alley, clubbing to death several people kneeling and begging for mercy by the roadside, then smashing open courtyard doors one after another and charging in.

A team member behind Wu Rong nudged him lightly. Wu Rong snapped back to attention and led his men away, running toward another alley...

A group of cavalry galloped along Dengzhou's East-West Main Street. The mutinous soldiers and idlers chasing each other on the street scrambled to hide under the eaves along the roadside. Li Jiucheng surveyed the corpse-strewn street with indifference. This was his city. A feeling of smug satisfaction welled up in his heart.

He had personally led troops to clear the South Gate, busy for half the day before the remaining southern troops finally surrendered completely. Chen Guangfu's command flag had also been raised on the battlements of the Ying'en Gate to the west. All four gates of Dengzhou, except Zhenhai Gate, were now under the control of the Dongjiang troops.

Li Jiucheng hastily arranged the defense of a southern barbican and two water gates, ordering Kong Youde to personally guard the foot of the city stairs to prevent those soldiers from running off to loot, then headed for the West Gate himself. The western part of the city housed most of Dengzhou Prefecture's government offices; the prefectural treasury and the Provincial Governor's government office were both there. He needed to seize the stores as quickly as possible. Those supplies were vital to the rebels' subsequent plans and were also bargaining chips to consolidate his own position. He had to keep them under his own control.

Past the Bell Tower, the bodies of some soldiers appeared on the road. Li Jiucheng's expression darkened. The city was full of smashing and looting. Clashes between Liaodong soldiers had also broken out in multiple places in the southern city. The various units were scattered everywhere; even the retainers he sent out had vanished. The city was in a state of complete chaos, so he dared not disperse his forces further now. He could only instruct Kong Youde and Li Yingyuan to do their utmost to gather their subordinates, while he personally led over a hundred trusted men and rushed to the western city.

When he reached the intersection of Zhenhai Gate Street, he instinctively looked north. Flames licked from many buildings along Zhenhai Gate Street; the entire street was shrouded in smoke, making the situation at the North Gate completely invisible. Li Jiucheng cursed inwardly. Did these soldiers not know that setting fires could cause the blaze to spread? What use would an empty city be then? But he had no time to fight fires now. He rode straight for Ying'en Gate. When he reached the head of Shu Bridge, he saw nearly a hundred soldier corpses and wounded men on the street, but no one was attending to them.

Li Jiucheng jumped off his horse and grabbed a wounded Squad Commander. Staring at him fiercely, he demanded, "Which battalion are you from? Why have so many died here?"

The Squad Commander wiped the blood from his face and retorted, "Who the hell are you, to be worthy of questioning me?"

Li Jiucheng froze for a moment, then a hint of cruel smile appeared on his face. He shoved the Squad Commander to the ground, and his Japanese sword rang out as it left its scabbard, tracing an arc that cleanly severed the Squad Commander's head. The Squad Commander didn't even have time to cry out in alarm; his head, just beginning to show a panicked expression, rolled a few times and came to rest on the bloodstained bluestone slabs.

The dozen or so wounded soldiers nearby cried out in terror, struggling to their feet and fleeing in both directions. Li Jiucheng swept his gaze over them, then looked at the head on the ground and gave a savage grin. "I am Li Jiucheng." He walked over to a wounded soldier whose leg was injured and couldn't run, pointing his sword at him. "Why have so many died here?"

"M-my... my lord, we... we're all from the Right Battalion. Chen Guangfu's men killed our brothers. We fought a battle with them here. Lord Geng brought men and stopped it. Later, fighting broke out to the west too, and he went on toward the prefectural government office."

Li Jiucheng sheathed his sword, leaped onto his horse, and galloped toward the prefectural government office inside the West Gate. In front of the government office's main gate, he found the utterly exhausted Geng Zhongming and Chen Guangfu. Both men hurried forward when they saw Li Jiucheng arrive.

Li Jiucheng immediately berated Geng Zhongming: "Why has the city turned into such a mess? Nearly a hundred of our own men dead or wounded at the head of Shu Bridge! And tell your men: loot if they must, but damn it, stop setting fires everywhere!"

Geng Zhongming said meekly, "Lord Li, please calm your anger. Neither I nor Commander Chen told them to set fires. It was all reckless soldiers fighting each other over plunder that started the clashes. I and Commander Chen have been going everywhere to suppress it; it's quiet now."

Li Jiucheng suppressed his anger and looked around. Geng Zhongming leaned in and said, "There are over a hundred thousand taels of silver in the prefectural treasury, and the granaries of the prefecture and county are piled high with grain. I've sent men to guard them all, awaiting your inspection, my lord."

Li Jiucheng finally heard some reliable news. His mood slightly improved, he asked Geng Zhongming, "Have the mounted scouts we sent out reported back? Where is Wang Bingzhong?"

Geng Zhongming was stunned. He had been busy seizing goods and suppressing the infighting among the rioters, and only now remembered this matter. Naturally, he couldn't say he had forgotten. He replied calmly, "Those scouts haven't returned yet; presumably they've gone rather far. As for Wang Bingzhong, I ran into a squad commander under Wang Bingzhong on Zhenhai Gate Street. He said Wang Bingzhong left the gate tower last night and was looting with his retainers near the Sanguan Temple. He couldn't be found for a while. At that time, there was Liaodong soldiers fighting each other at Shu Bridge, and I was in a hurry to suppress it, so I ordered that squad commander to find him quickly and bring Wang Bingzhong to the prefectural government office to see you. I haven't seen them yet."

Chen Guangfu also chimed in, "The city is in such chaos; Wang Bingzhong must have gone off to grab some spoils too. Most likely he just can't be found."

Geng Zhongming continued, "Right now, our Liaodong troops hold most of the city. Wang Bingzhong only has a few hundred men, and Lu Zhi in the Water Fortress has only a handful of troops. What trouble could Wang Bingzhong possibly cause? Given his fence-sitting nature, he'll undoubtedly join us. There's no rush..."

Li Jiucheng's status was now different from before. He raised his horsewhip and lashed Geng Zhongming several times, cursing, "Do you think I'm afraid of that scoundrel Wang Bingzhong? That Chen Xin in Wendeng has been quiet for days now. Everything around us is damnably silent. We need all four gates firmly in our hands to be at ease; otherwise, the things you've looted might not end up being yours. I told you this morning to find Wang Bingzhong, and now it's past mid-afternoon and still no sign of him. Is this how you do things? Send your retainers immediately to gather the men and follow me to Cao Bridge."...

Three cavalrymen dressed in Ming army uniforms rode in from the East Gate into the narrow passage between the prefectural city and the Water Fortress. The naval troops and southern soldiers on alert atop the Water Fortress walls already knew Dengzhou had fallen. Now as jumpy as startled birds, they fired bows and guns one after another. Some even fired Frankish cannons. The parapet erupted in a noisy din of bangs and booms. Roof tiles on the houses in the passage were sent flying in splinters, but the three riders galloped through unscathed, all the way to the Zhenhai Gate barbican. There, they raised a waist token toward the top of the wall, waving it in a triangular pattern in the air.

An Action Team member on the wall saw the secret signal and immediately ordered several gate-guarding soldiers to open the side gate. After entering the city, the three riders were led directly up to the gate tower, where they met the extremely anxious Zhang Dong. Upon seeing the lead rider, Zhang Dong exclaimed in surprise, "Sir Zhou?"

Zhou Shifa removed his helmet, revealing his cold, stern face, chapped in several places by the wind. He gently patted Zhang Dong on the shoulder, then walked on his own to the inner parapet of the gate tower. Before him, Dengzhou city was shrouded in smoke and dust, with dazzling tongues of flame leaping here and there. Cries and howls carried on the wind. Only Zhenhai Gate Street below the tower was relatively quiet. Within a hundred paces, many piles of firewood and straw were laid along the street. Some Action Team members walked about on the empty street, directing captured commoners to haul more firewood. Thirty paces from the city gate, a new street barricade had been built, where several Frankish cannons brought down from the city wall were emplaced. Several Action Team members were loading ammunition into the cannons' chambers beside them. Everything seemed very composed.

Zhang Dong came over and stood beside Zhou Shifa. Zhou Shifa turned to look at him, his face full of an appreciative smile. "Well done. The situation at Zhenhai Gate is stable. Lord Chen has already reached Pingshan. Dengzhou is within an hour's march."

The great weight on Zhang Dong's heart was mostly lifted. He had been single-mindedly creating chaos within the city. The rebels had yet to launch an effective attack north of Cao Bridge. Only a few rebels had come over from the ice to the west, and they were limited to looting valuables.

Now the main army had reached Pingshan, which was only twenty li from Dengzhou, separated from Mishen Shan by Mount Maan. It was both concealed and able to provide close support. The only fear was being discovered by rebel scouts. The rebel main camp at Mishen Shan was quite strong. If Li Jiucheng confirmed that Chen Xin was coming from Qixia, he might send troops from the city to reinforce the Mishen Shan camp, thereby blocking Chen Xin in the mountains. So what Zhang Dong most wanted to know was when Chen Xin planned to enter the city. But Zhou Shifa disliked subordinates prying on their own initiative; he would tell him what he was willing to share.

Zhou Shifa put away his smile and asked in a deep voice, "What's the situation inside the city?"

Zhang Dong gave a general account of the situation in the city. Based on information fed back from Action Team activities in various places, the other three gates had all fallen into rebel hands. He then went on to describe Wang Bingzhong's last-minute betrayal and the countermeasures he had improvised.

After listening, Zhou Shifa said, "Your response was very astute. Zhang Dong, you have earned the highest merit in the Battle of Dengzhou. However, it's not yet dark. Lord Chen originally planned to launch a surprise attack on the Mishen Shan main camp after dark, then enter the city. When I came over just now, I observed the rebel camp at Mishen Shan. Their defenses are lax, with only a handful of old and weak soldiers left. I wasn't even questioned once on my way here. The Mishen Shan camp won't pose a threat to our army's passage. I've already sent word to Lord Chen, suggesting that we can skip attacking that place. So we only need to muddle through the two-plus shichen until around nightfall, and this Dengzhou will belong to our Wendeng Battalion."

Zhang Dong said, puzzled, "My lord, the rebels have been burning and killing inside the city all day. Whatever needed clearing out should be cleared out by now."

Zhou Shifa looked at the hellish city and smiled. "This official believes Lord Chen's meaning is: the cleaner, the better. What others do is never as thorough as doing it yourself. What we want is a Dengzhou that belongs to the Wendeng Battalion."

Zhang Dong voiced his agreement in a low tone. Although Zhou Shifa had originally been a city soldier and ruffian, when it came to ruthlessness, few in the Intelligence Bureau could match him. This Dengzhou plan had been repeatedly refined and decided upon by him and Chen Xin, employing every sinister scheme and cunning plot. Now that the moment of harvest had finally arrived, he naturally hoped the fruits of victory would be even greater. Presumably, the follow-up plan for the final phase had also been worked out between him and Chen Xin.

This was the Intelligence Bureau's greatest advantage. There were many things the commander would not tell the military officers but would discuss with the head of the Intelligence Bureau. The psychological closeness would gradually surpass that with the professional officers.

Just as Zhang Dong was about to continue his report, a fierce volley of cannon fire erupted from the direction of Cao Bridge. Both men recognized the sound of Frankish cannons and general's cannons, indicating that combat had begun there, and it was no small engagement. Immediately after, the sound of horns came from the south.

Hearing the horns, Zhou Shifa knew they belonged to the rebels. The Special Duty Team and Action Team never used such command instruments. He took out his flintlock pistol and calmly began loading it, while saying to Zhang Dong, "Who's defending over there?"

"It's Li Tao. He's placed two Frankish cannons and one No. 2 General Cannon at the bridgehead. If he could hold them with blades and bows, he wouldn't use the cannons. It must be a large force making a determined assault."

As the two were speaking, a mounted Action Team member rode up below the gate tower and shouted up at the wall, "Li Jiucheng led men to storm the bridge and was just beaten back. They're rallying their forces now. Captain Li has ordered men to prepare to ignite the fire points along the river."

Zhang Dong looked at Zhou Shifa, awaiting his instructions. Zhou Shifa finished loading his ammunition, looked up, and said, "You know the situation here best. Proceed according to your plan. If it truly cannot be held, send up the smoke and fire signal to notify Lord Chen. There are lookouts on the peaks of Pingshan who can see it. I will defend this very gate tower. If Li Jiucheng wants the North Gate, it will be over my dead body."

Zhang Dong smiled. "The city is in such chaos. Even if they issue orders, how many soldiers can they rally at once? And even if they do rally them, they've all just come into wealth — how much fighting spirit can they have? Your subordinate is actually more at ease now than at daybreak."