Chapter 271: Blinded by Success

On the twelfth day of the second month of the fifth year of the Chongzhen reign.

The Wei River, which originates from Mount Jiwu, had thawed, carrying small ice floes as it flowed from south to north toward the Liao Sea. A weary force had just crossed the Wei from the eastern bank and was now traveling on the official road outside the county seat of Changyi. Mingled among them were people in civilian clothes. Many of the soldiers in the ranks had lost their armor, and some no longer even had weapons.

Li Jiucheng, his face etched with wind and frost, stood by the roadside. The defenses of distant Changyi County were lax, but he no longer had the slightest interest in attacking it. Kong Youde and Chen Guangfu stood beside him, their eyes vacant. They had inexplicably captured Pingdu Prefecture and thought they had found a place to catch their breath, only for Chen Xin to arrive beneath the city walls just four days later.

On the night of the second day, the east gate guarded by Geng Zhongming suddenly swung wide open. Amid the chaos, the rebel army could not organize an effective resistance. The Wendeng Battalion skillfully employed street-fighting tactics, routing the rebels completely. Fortunately for them, the attack was not swift, and most of the rebels were able to flee the city in disarray through the west gate that had been left open.

Geng Zhongming's own troops all defected to the Wendeng Battalion. Moreover, with even more men scattering and deserting along the way, Li Jiucheng and the others gathered troops as they went, but in the end only about fifteen hundred men remained. Including some family members, they were down to just three thousand. Even Wang Zideng had vanished without a trace; according to one of his retainers who escaped, he had been captured by Geng Zhongming's men. Under these repeated blows, the entire army had no morale whatsoever. The moment the Wendeng Battalion appeared before them, they would likely surrender.

Chen Guangfu asked coldly, "Li Jiucheng, this Changyi cannot withstand a single blow. Are we going to attack or not?"

"Attack what? Anything we take will just belong to the Wendeng Battalion," Kong Youde said through gritted teeth, his voice fierce.

Li Jiucheng no longer held the position of a leader either. When they left Dengzhou, there had been four or five thousand soldiers and disorderly civilians, plus family members, totaling seven or eight thousand people. They looted all along the way and gained quite a lot in Huangxian. The land in Huangxian was barren and unsuitable for farming, but half the population engaged in trade (Note 1). Although it looked impoverished, the county town's residents were actually relatively wealthy. Moreover, both Huangxian and the prefectural seat of Laizhou, Yexian, had large gold mines. The gold they plundered from Huangxian and along the way alone amounted to as much as sixty thousand taels. Because Geng Zhongming's betrayal was so sudden, most of the looted wealth was lost again, and now the greater part of it had benefited the Wendeng Battalion.

This time, he had not even had time to take Sun Yuanhua with him, leaving him with no bargaining chips whatsoever. Faced with successive defeats, his prestige had plummeted. Even Chen Guangfu now addressed him by his given name, and the rebel army no longer had a true leader.

Unable to vent his anger, Li Jiucheng could only reply with a dark expression, "Chen Guangfu, do you still not understand Chen Xin's viciousness? He is waiting for us to capture cities for him, and then he seizes the spoils from us. Just as Sun Yuanhua said, we are merely making wedding clothes for him."

Chen Guangfu let out a loud cry, drew his Japanese Sword, and slashed at a small tree beside him. The sharp blade cut through the tree trunk with a crack, severing it at the waist. "Chen Xin, you bastard! You won't even accept our surrender. You're determined to drive us Liaodong soldiers to a dead end!"

After shouting, he flung the Japanese Sword away, sat down heavily on the ground, and groaned wearily.

Kong Youde was equally dejected. After a long while, he finally said, "We still have to raid a manor today, or we'll have nothing to eat."

"I'm done fighting. Chen Xin is chasing after you, Li Jiucheng. I'm not following you anymore either. I'm going to Yishan in Qingzhou to become a bandit." Chen Guangfu suddenly stood up.

Li Jiucheng said coldly, "You, Chen Guangfu, are also a ringleader of this rebellion. No matter where you turn bandit, Chen Xin will not let you go."

Chen Guangfu froze for a moment, then suddenly rushed forward and grabbed Li Jiucheng, the veins bulging on his face as he cursed furiously, "I was perfectly fine staying in Dengzhou, but you, you dog Li Jiucheng, beguiled me into rebelling with you, even saying I'd be the master of Dengzhou. Now I can barely keep my life. I'll take you down with me!"

Caught off guard, Li Jiucheng was tackled to the ground by Chen Guangfu. Both men were wearing cumbersome armor and wrestled together in the dirt. Their respective retainers drew their weapons. Kong Youde loudly ordered the retainers to stop fighting each other, but he watched indifferently as Li Jiucheng and Chen Guangfu brawled, making no move to intervene verbally.

Both men had risen through the ranks from common soldiers and each had some fighting skill, but Li Jiucheng was a cut above. With a fierce roar, he kicked Chen Guangfu away, stood up, and with a sharp ring drew his Japanese Sword, pointing it at Chen Guangfu's chest.

Chen Guangfu remained relentless. He slapped the Japanese Sword aside and threw himself at Li Jiucheng again, the two of them grappling once more. Li Jiucheng gained the upper hand several times but never dared to deliver a killing blow to Chen Guangfu. He now had no prestige whatsoever. The soldiers following him were not particularly loyal; they remained in the ranks only out of habit and the helplessness of having nowhere else to go. Morale was at rock bottom. If he actually killed Chen Guangfu, this last remnant of a force would simply disintegrate.

Li Jiucheng could only defend himself with all his might. Once Chen Guangfu had exhausted himself, Li Jiucheng forcefully pushed him away. Chen Guangfu slumped to the ground, gasping for breath.

Kong Youde said coldly, "Have you two fought enough? If you have the energy, think about whether there's any way out of this alive."

Li Jiucheng stood up, brushed the dirt from his clothes, and looked around at the retainers. His expression shifted for a long moment before he finally spoke. "I can't think of a plan right now, but Chen Xin is waiting right behind us. You know what he's waiting for. He's placed his cavalry to the southeast precisely because he wants to drive us to break through Changyi, and perhaps then force us toward Qingzhoufu, so he can follow and continue to reap the benefits. I would rather fight him to the death than serve as this bastard's vanguard again."

Chen Guangfu suddenly roared, "If you want to die, go die. To hell with fighting him to the death."

"Chen Guangfu, if you keep talking nonsense, I'll cut you down with one stroke."

Chen Guangfu looked up blankly. It was Kong Youde who had spoken. He stared fixedly at Chen Guangfu and said, "Are you still thinking of defecting to him? Chen Xin gave us no way out back in Dengzhou, relentlessly forcing us to flee toward Laizhou. If you want to go and surrender, I won't stop you. We have sacked nine counties, one department, and one prefecture, and our hands are drenched in slaughter. The Emperor must hate us to the bone. Chen Xin has only captured Li Yingyuan and Wang Zideng so far. If you, Chen Guangfu, deliver yourself to him, you would be the highest-ranking officer, yet without a shred of merit to your name. Do you think Chen Xin would protect you? He would trade your head for an official promotion. By this time next month, your head will be on display for merit verification at the Ministry of War. If you don't believe me, go ahead and gamble. I'll make this clear right now: if you're thinking of using my head to claim merit, you'd best abandon that idea early. I'm on guard against you at all times."

Both Li Jiucheng and Chen Guangfu looked at Kong Youde with some astonishment. Ever since the Wuqiao Mutiny, this man had rarely offered ideas in the army. Later, Li Jiucheng had gradually taken the lead, and Kong Youde seldom spoke at length. Yet today, his words were clear and logical.

Chen Guangfu hastily denied it, "Brother Kong, do not misunderstand. I have never had such an intention."

"I don't care whether you have that intention or not. The situation before us is clear. Knowing Chen Xin's character, he will not give us a way to live. Even if some other superior officer were willing to offer us amnesty, he would certainly find a reason to annihilate us completely before that could happen, using our heads to trade for his own promotion. There is only one path to survival now. That dog thief has no navy. Even if he wanted to mobilize the Dengzhou navy, he couldn't do it immediately. To stay alive, we must go out to sea, to Dongjiang."

Having suffered repeated setbacks, Li Jiucheng's mind was not as sharp as before. He failed to react for a moment and asked blankly, "Take a boat to Dongjiang?"

"The rivers everywhere are thawing now. Following the Wei River northward, there are fishing villages all along the way. Yu'erzhen, Luozipu, and other places have private ports with large ships. Some of our old brothers from Dongjiang still know how to sail."

Chen Guangfu asked in surprise, "How do you know there are private ports at Yu'erzhen and Luozipu?"

"How could I not know? The navy men sell their goods all the way to Qingzhou and Laizhou, often using the private ports nearby. I've been here once myself."

Li Jiucheng and Chen Guangfu exchanged a glance. The navy was all southern soldiers and Shandong men. They had never been able to benefit from it before, yet Kong Youde had managed to get a share, and they had never heard him mention it until now.

Kong Youde gritted his teeth. "Don't think I made much. It was just a bit of tea money. To seize enough ships, we can't let those fishermen get word and flee. Our advance must be swift, and we must also deceive Chen Xin's forces behind us."

Chen Guangfu, like a straight man in a comedy duo, asked, "Then how do we deceive them?"

Kong Youde had clearly become the backbone of this remnant force. He had been forced into rebellion at Wuqiao, and his resolve had never been firm. He had always hoped for amnesty and let Li Jiucheng take the lead in everything. Now that he was driven to a dead end, he had instead cast aside all hesitation. A look of self-assurance came over his face. "Today, we will make a show of attacking Changyi. The Wendeng Battalion will certainly slow their pace, waiting to pick up the spoils after we break the city. We will stay here for a day, pretending to build siege equipment, while actually sending scouts to reconnoiter the coast and see if the sea ice has thawed. If we can find ships, then we will suddenly break camp…"...

"I plan to drive them to Changyi, then push them further west to the vicinity of Qingzhoufu. There, near Qingzhoufu, I will crush them, behead the ringleaders like Li Jiucheng, and let the scattered remnants flee into the mountainous region south of Qingzhou. That area is a continuous range of mountains. Those with strong fates may survive, and Qingzhou will inevitably be plagued by banditry. When the time comes, you can send some men from Daze Mountain to Qingzhou to find a foothold there."

Chen Xin spoke softly, pointing at the map on the table. Standing opposite him was Wu Jianzhong. Wu Jianzhong's knife-sharp face was wrapped in cotton gauze, through which a fresh red color was seeping — a wound he had just received at Pingdu Prefecture. Because of his outstanding performance at Pingdu Prefecture, Chen Xin now regarded him as a rising star in the Intelligence Bureau and intended to promote him vigorously.

Wu Jianzhong understood Chen Xin's plan: to leave behind this band of routed soldiers, who were tougher than government troops, and let them turn to banditry in Qingzhoufu, thereby preparing the ground for a legitimate military advance into Qingzhou in the future.

Qingzhou was not under Dengzhou and Laizhou's jurisdiction. Without such a pretext, it would be very difficult for Chen Xin to extend his hand there. After thinking it over, Wu Jianzhong asked in a low voice, "My lord, why not keep them around to run through a few more places? The haul from Pingdu Prefecture will likely surpass that of Dengzhou. Gold, silver, and jewels were scattered everywhere in several of the rebel camps. Wang Bingzhong and Geng Zhongming are still mopping up remnants inside the city and can find other valuables. If we could drive them to Jinan Prefecture, the profits would be even greater..."

"The imperial court is about to offer amnesty. Prolonging this is inadvisable. This matter involves factional struggles at court, and I absolutely will not permit them to receive amnesty. Besides, this sort of thing cannot be done too many times, or it will be hard to keep secret. The gains this time are already quite good. Pingdu Prefecture has over two million mu of land (Note 2). As long as I can get my hands on five hundred thousand mu, I will not fear the Jianzhou Bandits. One cannot grow fat on a single mouthful. Leave a loose end in Qingzhoufu; it is time to stop while we are ahead."

Chen Xin clasped his hands together. This Wu Jianzhong was steady, fierce, and a man worth employing heavily, so he spoke with him a while longer to deepen the bond between superior and subordinate.

"This matter is settled then. Jianzhong, that wound on your face must be properly cleaned. Once it becomes infected by external pathogens, it will take great effort to treat. For the next few days, do nothing else. Find a good residence and recuperate."

"My lord, this superficial flesh wound is of no consequence. Affairs in the city are numerous and complicated. Bureau Chief Zhou has also assigned many urgent tasks..."

"Tasks are always urgent, but they are not worth injuring my great general. I will speak to Zhou Shifa about it myself."

A trace of emotion flickered across Wu Jianzhong's resolute face. Not being good with words, he simply stood, saluted, and then left.

Chen Xin immediately pulled out from under the table the inventory of spoils from Pingdu Prefecture that Dong Yu had just compiled. He read the figures over and over, his eyes gleaming with greedy light. Just then, the adjutant from outside entered and delivered a military report sent back by Liu Po's army.

"What does Liu Po's army say?" Chen Xin asked without raising his eyes, still looking at the inventory of spoils.

"He says the rebel army has halted outside Changyi City. Several bridges over the Wei River have been burned by the rebels. He plans to make camp and then find a suitable place to cross the river."

"Mm, understood. Send a reply telling him to remember the plan I gave him. Nothing else."

Seeing his complete concentration, the adjutant quietly withdrew. Chen Xin looked for a long time, then finally leaned back in his chair and murmured smugly to himself, "Li Jiucheng, Kong Youde, on behalf of the people, I thank you. Please continue to carry forward and go realize your life's value in Qingzhoufu."