Chapter 378: Thick Brows and Big Eyes

"Hahaha, rise, you two heroes!" Chen Xin said, his face wreathed in smiles. He was in the old camp, now filled with corpses, receiving the two bandits who had captured Zijing Liang. All had been wiped out; a faint scent of blood drifted in the air.

In roughly the span of one double-hour, these two adopted sons had transformed from panicked, fleeing mounted bandits into heroes who had seized the bandit chief, becoming honored guests of their mortal enemies. This miraculous turn of events stemmed from the godfather tied up on the ground. The ordinary refugees wailing outside would not receive such treatment. In this era, this was how leveraging one's father worked.

"We dare not!" the two bandits said in unison. Only before entering the tent had they been told this was the Junior Guardian of the Heir Apparent, Regional Commander Chen of Dengzhou, and they were so frightened their legs trembled. They had always used ferocity to mask their own wretched mentality, but before this fierce Ming army, the only ferocity they could rely on was utterly insignificant.

The deep-seated inferiority within them was laid bare. At this moment, their fear of authority even surpassed that of common folk. The two men lay prostrate on the ground, trembling uncontrollably, not daring to raise their heads to look at Chen Xin.

Wang Mafu leaned close to Chen Xin's ear and said, "Over twenty mounted soldiers have confirmed it: this man is Zijing Liang. These two are his adopted sons. When the cavalry arrived, these two were holding blades and guarding against each other."

Chen Xin waved a hand at him, signaling that there was no need to bring up that matter again, then turned to the two men with a face full of smiles and said, "You two stalwart men have captured Zijing Liang alive, removing a grave affliction from His Majesty's heart. To recognize one's faults and correct them — no virtue is greater than this. Even if you two have committed unlawful acts in the past, they are all absolved today. This official shall also petition His Majesty to reward your merits. Please, rise quickly."

The two men kowtowed repeatedly. This Ming army was so fierce; they had originally expected a savage figure like Zhang Fei. Who knew his speech would be so courteous, his voice so gentle? The tension in their hearts greatly eased.

Guards went over and helped them up. The two rose cautiously, standing timidly in the center of the great tent, occasionally stealing glances at the imposing guards around them.

"What are your names? What posts did you previously hold in Zijing Liang's army?"

The short, stocky one rushed to speak first: "This lowly one is called Li Erbai, originally from Tingkou Town in Xi'an Prefecture. I was coerced into joining by this Wang Ziyong, forced to do his dirty work. This lowly one did not wish to follow him in doing evil, and has long awaited the official soldiers to exterminate him. Today, I finally found my chance."

The tall one immediately said, "This lowly one is called Wang Fu, also coerced into following. I merely know some horsemanship and was taken as an adopted son by that scoundrel Wang Ziyong. This lowly one has long wished to surrender to the government troops but never found the right moment."

Chen Xin chuckled and said to them, "Earlier, this official stated that whoever captures Zijing Liang would be rewarded with one thousand taels of silver. Although you two captured him together, this official's word is worth a thousand in gold, so it shall still be one thousand taels per man. However, the position of Battalion Commander involves the imperial court's system and cannot be rashly handed out in excess, so only one such post can be granted. As for whose merit is greater, this official cannot discern it. You two may discuss it among yourselves right now and give this official an answer."

Upon hearing this, the two men initially beamed with delight. But when they later heard there was only one Battalion Commander post, they exchanged glances and said nothing. Although a Battalion Commander was not a high official, in the wretched mentality of ordinary bandits, it was still very important. The envy they felt in their hearts toward officials was deeply ingrained.

Chen Xin took a drink of water from a coconut ladle, waited quietly for a moment, then asked, "Have you two finished your discussion?"

"We have, my lord." The tall one, Wang Fu, stepped forward. "Li Erbai said it himself at the time: the Battalion Commander post is yielded to this lowly one."

Li Erbai kept his head lowered, looking somewhat unwilling. Chen Xin smiled faintly and asked, "Li Erbai, did you say this?"

"This lowly one did not say that."

Wang Fu turned his head. The two glared at each other fiercely. Li Erbai continued, "It was this lowly one who struck first. Seventeen just came to pick up a bargain..."

A sudden curse erupted from the ground: "You two turtle-spawn, I'll fuck your mother's cunt, fuck your granny's cunt."

Everyone looked toward the ground. Zijing Liang had groggily regained consciousness. He opened his eyes and glared furiously at the two men. His lingering authority remained; the moment his voice rang out, the two adopted sons immediately shut their mouths and retreated two steps backward.

Chen Xin observed the great chief of the Thirty-Six Camps with keen interest. The man had a powerful build and an imposing, dignified countenance. Though his face was weary and his clothes tattered, his untamed, rebellious bearing remained. He was an entirely different breed from those ordinary refugees.

"Wang Ziyong, I hear you were originally a monk?"

"I'll fuck your mother's cunt, you donkey-balled dog of an official. You turtle-spawn are the monk." Zijing Liang finished cursing and lay back on the ground, gasping for breath.

Chen Xin shook his head and laughed. "I never imagined that even you, with your thick brows and big eyes, would turn traitor... and become a bandit. A fine lady by nature — why play the thief? Since you won't speak civilly with this official, this official can't be bothered to speak with you."

Chen Xin said to the two adopted sons, "You two discuss it clearly and report back to this official." Then he turned to Wang Mafu. "Take troops and escort Zijing Liang on a circuit through the refugee captives outside. With the bandit chief captured, it is necessary to enlighten those refugees. Bring a guard escort and ensure no one harms him; he is to be sent to the capital in a few days. Also, bring these two stalwart men along and publicly announce their names to the refugees. They are the stalwart men who captured Zijing Liang. Let those captives take these two as their models from this day forward."

The two adopted sons froze again, only reacting after a moment. Now that they were on someone else's turf, it was not up to them whether they were willing or not. Several guards came and led the three men out of the tent. The guard captain outside issued a series of commands, summoning some men for protection, and they marched in orderly steps toward the outside of the camp.

Once Wang Mafu and the others had left, Chen Xin let out a long yawn, then rose and wandered idly through Zijing Liang's great tent. There were quite a few fine things inside. Although much had been scattered and looted the previous night, what remained was still excellent, each piece worthy of being called a treasure.

Chen Xin picked up a white jade lion from the ground and toyed with it. The white color was utterly flawless, the jade's luster warm and smooth, the lion's form vividly lifelike. Though Chen Xin normally did not pursue such antiques, holding it in his hand now, he could only marvel at its craftsmanship. He also felt a touch of emotion in his heart: folk artisans could polish hard jade stone to such exquisite refinement, yet the Ministry of Works could not even produce a crude matchlock properly. Hai Gouzi was also holding a red agate bracelet, holding it up before his eyes and examining it closely.

Chen Xin placed the jade lion on a bearskin chair and said to Hai Gouzi, "Gouzi, stop looking. Go over to the staff officers and ask how the tally of battle results is coming along, so I can report the good news to Lord Lü."

"Aye!" Hai Gouzi, who followed like a tail, responded. As Chen Xin finished speaking and turned back to feel the bearskin on the chair, Hai Gouzi hesitated for a moment, then suddenly stuffed the agate bracelet into his inner pocket. He stole a glance at Chen Xin, saw that Chen Xin had not noticed, ducked his head, and left the tent.

"Lord Chen has not yet returned, nor have any relay riders come back."

Inside the great camp at Huixian, Song Wenxian spoke to Lü Zhi before him, his face also bearing an expression of anxiety.

Lü Zhi paced back and forth irritably. The previous night, the main army had moved out very quickly, with no horns blown or drums beaten. Only after everyone had left did he hear the head of his retainers report it. Following that, Chen Xin's relay rider also came to report to him, saying that the original plan had been to attack a stockade, but en route they received intelligence and made a last-minute decision to strike the bandit main camp at Xiuwu.

The moment he heard Chen Xin was going to attack seventy to eighty thousand bandits, he hurriedly tried to stop this mad act, but by the time he reached the camp gate, the main army was long gone. The sentries knew nothing when asked. Outside, it was pitch-black; they had not even lit torches. Two batches of retainers sent out had failed to find the main force, reporting back only that even the personal battalion had only half its men left behind to guard.

After that, Lü Zhi did not sleep the entire night. Although he had great confidence in the Dengzhou garrison, marching a hundred li in pitch darkness to attack an enemy force twenty times their size was something he had never imagined. Given Chen Xin's current status as Junior Guardian of the Heir Apparent, coupled with the consistently favorable impression the Emperor held of him, if anything were to happen to him, under the Emperor's thunderous wrath, who knew how many heads would roll. Even if Lü Zhi could escape blame, what followed would be the fate of the Dengzhou garrison. He knew very well how the Dengzhou garrison differed from other military garrisons. Chen Xin possessed an irreplaceable influence; even Wang Tingshi dared not try to win over any of his officers. If it devolved into the chaos of the former Dongjiang garrison, then Lü Zhi's standing before the Emperor and the palace eunuchs would plummet.

The more he thought, the more worried he became. By now, he had already been pacing near the camp gate all night. As soon as day broke, he had dispatched several batches of retainers to scout for news, and none had yet returned, making his mood even more anxious.

Lü Zhi finally could not contain himself. He stopped and said to Song Wenxian, "Mr. Song, Lord Chen is such a clever man. Why is he so reckless in this campaign? He is the honorable Junior Guardian of the Heir Apparent. How can he go risk his life against a mob of bandits? There are still tens of thousands of troops in Denglai and Liaonan that need him to hold the fort."

Song Wenxian agreed in his heart. To him, Chen Xin was a thousand times more important than Lü Zhi. If Chen Xin truly perished, all of Song Wenxian's aspirations would also come to nothing, so his anxiety far exceeded even Lü Zhi's. Song Wenxian had advised Chen Xin not to go personally at the time, but Chen Xin had not been swayed in the slightest, saying only that it was a necessary risk. Although he did not agree, it was not his place to comment on his superior, so he merely bowed slightly to Lü Zhi.

Lü Zhi turned and roared at the head of his retainers, "Send more men to scout! Take extra horses!"

That Squad Commander hurried off to arrange men again. Lü Zhi turned his head to look at Song Wenxian, seeming to want to say something, but in the end, he said nothing, shaking his head and letting out a long sigh.

Song Wenxian could only console him: "Lord Chen is a veteran of many battlefields. A mere bandit rabble is nothing to fear. With three thousand Dengzhou combat troops, he can at least withdraw intact. Even if he is besieged somewhere, we can simply ask Lord Xuan to lead the main army to the rescue."

The moment Lü Zhi thought of Xuan Mo, he felt uncomfortable. The mutual impeachments between the two had gone nowhere. Xuan Mo, as the honorable Provincial Governor, had fought well in Henan without any major blunders. The Emperor would never replace a commander mid-campaign because of an impeachment from an Army Supervisor of an external garrison. Naturally, Xuan Mo could not bring down Lü Zhi either.

The thought of having to beg Xuan Mo left Lü Zhi displeased. He frowned and pondered for a long time before saying, "If it truly becomes critical, then I'll have no choice but to swallow my pride and beg that Xuan Mo. If he dares not send relief, I shall personally go to the capital and appeal directly to the Emperor, fighting him to a mutual end."

Song Wenxian had not expected Lü Zhi to possess such a rogue spirit, and in his heart, he did not quite believe him. At this moment, he also did not wish to discuss rescue any further; perhaps it was entirely unnecessary and would only incur a gratuitous debt of gratitude. He said to Lü Zhi, "Lord Lü, with few troops in the camp now, should we transfer the remaining men of the personal battalion to the main camp? There is not much grain and fodder in that personal battalion camp; securing our main camp is the priority."

Lü Zhi looked around. Indeed, the troop strength was far too low. This main camp held the bulk of the grain, fodder, and baggage. The entire encampment had only one company of the Guard Battalion left, plus the baggage soldiers of each unit. Because the battle situation was unclear, the Squad Commander left in charge was extremely cautious. Aside from the combat troops on duty, all baggage soldiers were assembled and on standby with their own weapons.

"Then transfer the personal battalion over." Lü Zhi turned and instructed his retainers, sending them to notify the remaining personal battalion troops to hurry to the main camp.

Song Wenxian's mood settled slightly. As long as the main camp was held securely, the main army would have a line of retreat. What he feared now was that the bandits might arrive before the Dengzhou garrison. This encampment was broad and likely difficult to defend.

As his gaze swept past, he noticed that even the propaganda team was standing by at the earthen wall with spare firelocks. Their formation was a chaotic mess; even the female soldiers were holding firelocks. No matter how he looked at it, it felt utterly wrong.

Guan Xiaomei kicked Tang Wei in the leg. "Fatty, why is your leg shaking? There isn't a single bandit outside, and you're scared like this?"

"I-I ain't shakin'. I ain't scared at all." Tang Wei tensed his leg so the trembling wouldn't show through his trousers.

"If you're not scared, why is your head covered in sweat? It's not even hot today."

Tang Wei hastily wiped with his sleeve, but the copper button scraped him, making him yelp in pain. He quickly pulled a handkerchief from his belt and mopped the sweat from his fat face.

Xu Pingjie's voice rang out: "Hmph, don't believe his nonsense. That day by the Huan River, when he saw countless bandits charging, he wet his pants on the spot. A person like this can only play a Tatar on stage."

Tang Wei turned his head and argued, "That was sweat!"

"How come sweat only flows inside your trousers?"

"How should I know?" Tang Wei absolutely refused to admit it. In truth, he himself could not remember whether he had wet his pants in fright. At the time, he was still on the other side of the Huan River. When he saw the bandits covering the mountains and plains, his mind went completely blank. He could not remember anything after that.

Xie Fei, who also played a Tatar, chimed in to help: "Xu Pingjie, you're the one who was scared witless. We were all holding the riverbank. Why were you the only one guarding the horse that carried the props? Were you planning to steal a horse and flee the moment things looked bad? With Fatty looking like that, his cowardice is somewhat excusable. But I never imagined that even you, Xu Pingjie, with your thick brows and big eyes, would be such a coward."

Xu Pingjie said angrily, "I was afraid the horse would run wild..."

"When horses run wild, there are grooms for that. The Squad Commander doesn't know what's what, so he wants you to go look after the horses." Xie Fei had a quick tongue and left Xu Pingjie with no words to retort.

Xu Pingjie, shamed into anger, came over and grabbed Xie Fei by the collar. The two immediately began quarreling. The other squad members all came forward to pull them apart. Seeing a military judge looking their way, neither dared let the trouble get out of hand, so they took the chance to back down and separate.

Xu Pingjie pointed at Xie Fei and Tang Wei and said, "You two Tatars-playing bastards, let's see who's the coward. Next time we meet enemy raiders, the turtle-spawn who hides in the back — we'll each take a blade and go cut them down."

Tang Wei and the other replied, "We'll go if it comes to that. You just have to let everyone know you're the turtle-spawn. We'll oblige you."

"Stop quarreling. There are horses coming from outside."

As soon as Guan Xiaomei finished speaking, the squad members all turned to look outside. There really was a group of cavalry racing toward them, kicking up dust high in the air. Everyone watched warily. As they drew near, they were indeed roving bandits, and quite a few of them were stripped to the waist.

Guan Xiaomei raised her gun and said carelessly, "Who was talking just now? Go cut them all down... Hey, where is everyone?"

Xiaoshuo Wang