Chapter 509: Ambush Sentries

On the seventh day of the third month of the eighth year of Chongzhen, the Central Route Guard Battalion began feint attacks toward Gaizhou and Haizhou. The distance from Xiuyan to Gaizhou was two hundred and forty li. Deployed were two flintlock companies, one mountain company, and five hundred Dongjiang soldiers, accompanied by one four-pounder cannon and four crouching-tiger cannons. The distance from Xiuyan to Haizhou was roughly the same. This route had three flintlock companies, one mountain company, five hundred Dongjiang soldiers, accompanied by one four-pounder cannon and four crouching-tiger cannons. Shang Kexi personally led a thousand troops to Tongyuanbao to coordinate relations between the Dengzhou and Dongjiang garrisons and prevent conflict. The rest of the Second Battalion remained in Xiuyan to provide support.

"Hair bristling with rage, I lean on the railing, the pattering rain has ceased. I lift my eyes, and roar toward the sky, my fierce heart ablaze..."

On the mountain road to Haizhou, military songs rang out in bursts. The red marching column flowed through the towering mountains and steep ridges. Today was already the second day of the march, with about one hundred and fifty li left to Haizhou. Because the mountain roads were narrow, the Dengzhou flintlock soldiers marched in a three-file column. When marching on flat plains, they used a six-file column. When encountering the enemy on two sides, defending in place formed the battle line. There was also a formation using the banner company as a unit, advancing with a squad-wide front, with the front-to-rear interval exactly matching one squad's combat front. When the flank encountered the enemy, each banner company turned ninety degrees sideways, forming a combat front facing that direction. This type of advance was mainly used for attacks, roughly identical to that of the seventeenth-century Prussian army.

Others sang with great vigor, but Tang Wei only made a show of it. His main energy was spent battling the mud underfoot. The mountain road, trampled by the soldiers ahead, had turned into a muddy paste that clung to Tang Wei's filthy shoes. Inside his shoes it was slippery and greasy. Some mud splattered onto his leg wraps, making his white puttees look gaudy and mottled.

Tang Wei couldn't help but glance around with envy. Many soldiers marched barefoot. These young soldiers mostly came from farming households, mountain folk, and fishermen. The vast majority had never worn shoes growing up; their lives only began to improve after entering the Dengzhou garrison. But their skill at walking barefoot remained. Tang Wei had been slightly better off since childhood and had always had shoes. The soles of his feet had never developed that kind of thick callus. He dared not compare himself to these men. In front of these even younger teenage soldiers, Tang Wei couldn't appear too cowardly either. He could only endure it the whole way, only taking out his last pair of shoes when resting at night.

"Little Huang Taiji, not used to muddy roads?" When the singing paused, a gentle voice came from beside him. Xie Fei and the others nearby all chuckled quietly.

Tang Wei turned his head and saw it was Battalion Training Officer Zhao Xuan. He hurriedly moved to salute, but Zhao Xuan had already said, "No saluting during the march. Let's talk as we walk."

Yuan Guzi up ahead heard someone talking and prepared to turn back and rebuke them, but upon seeing Zhao Xuan, he turned his head back. It was permissible for an officer to come ask questions. This Zhao Xuan had an astonishingly good memory. He could remember eight or nine out of ten people he had met, and could call many by name. He had previously seen Tang Wei act in a play, so ever since he recognized Tang Wei, he had always called him Little Huang Taiji.

Tang Wei said, somewhat embarrassed, "Replying to Training Officer Zhao. My home area is flatter, flatter. I'm not used to walking in the mountains."

"It's nothing. Look at my shoes." Zhao Xuan pointed downward. Tang Wei followed his gaze. Those shoes were no better than his own. Zhao Xuan continued, "My family was also well-off when I was young. I always had shoes to wear. As I've told you all before, I was later deceived by the White Lotus Sect and became a minor leader. Though there was some hardship, my heart was always worried. After entering the Dengzhou garrison, I endure hardship alongside the soldiers, but my heart is joyful. I feel there is no place in the world more comfortable than the Dengzhou garrison."

Tang Wei chuckled. The best thing about this Zhao Xuan was that he had no airs. He was also responsible for the entire army's anti-White Lotus Sect affairs, going to various units to speak from personal experience, recounting his own "glorious days" in the Red Sun Sect, a branch of the White Lotus, including how they deceived people and so on.

Zhao Xuan smiled at Tang Wei, "So don't worry. If someone like me can persevere, you should be able to as well."

Tang Wei immediately felt much more at ease and quickly nodded. Zhao Xuan looked around at the others and loudly asked them, "Brothers of the First Company, Second Regiment, we're going to kill Tatars. Are you happy or not!"

"Happy!" the nearby Dengzhou soldiers answered in unison. Another man roared, "Drive the Jianzhou bandits back to Hetu Ala!"

"Not drive away, kill them all!"

Zhao Xuan laughed heartily. These teenage soldiers of sixteen or seventeen were brimming with fiery passion, making him feel many years younger himself.

He stepped forward to hurry ahead, preparing to check the front. When he reached the head of this file, an excited voice said, "My lord Zhao, the mountain path is wet and slippery. Don't tire yourself out."

Zhao Xuan saw it was Liu Liu, a Dongjiang soldier from the old Lushun days. Back then, before attacking Jinzhou, Zhao Xuan had given him one of his own garments, something this Liaodong man had always kept in his heart. But Zhao Xuan was soon transferred away, and Liu Liu hadn't seen him for a long time. After arriving in the Second Guard Battalion, Liu Liu had made a special trip to find Zhao Xuan and express his thanks.

Zhao Xuan patted Liu Liu on the shoulder. "Work hard. I hear you've started a family now. Better than your Squad Commander, Old Fourth Zhong. He's picky about everything. I've arranged countless matches for him, and there hasn't been a single one he's taken a liking to."

Liu Liu touched his polished helmet and grinned foolishly. Zhao Xuan laboriously hurried further ahead. "Sergeant Liu, I remember the last letter you received from home said your family's fat sow was about to have piglets. Did she have them?"

The sergeant up ahead answered, "Had a whole litter. Another letter came from home. I asked Staff Officer Jiang to help me read it..."

Xie Fei beside him said quietly to Tang Wei, "This Zhao Xuan really has a good memory, even remembers about piglets."

"Doesn't he just. Hey, tell me, if I'm no good at fighting, could I become a training officer? I've acted in plays too, I'm decent at speaking, and my reading and arithmetic aren't bad now. That way I could stay on."

Xie Fei blinked and said, "That's true, but no training officer has ever received a combat medal for fighting."

Tang Wei tilted his head and thought for a moment. It was indeed so. He was about to continue when three short bugle calls sounded ahead. Liu Liu's voice immediately roared, "Entering threat area. Load ammunition and fix bayonets."

On the right side of the marching column, two corpses of Later Jin White Armor soldiers hung upside down high from a large tree by the roadside. Their silver-white armor was still stained with spots of blood. On the ground beside the road lay the bodies of three soldiers. Two wore the armbands of the Dengzhou Special Service Team; the other looked like a Dongjiang soldier.

Several riderless horses grazed by the roadside. Old Fourth Zhong spat on the ground. A Special Service Team captain beside him said, "Six in total. We only killed these two wearing heavy armor. The other few escaped. This is already the third group of White Armor encountered around Xiuyan. Ordinary armored soldiers are even more numerous, all using dispersed methods."

Old Fourth Zhong mused, "Their aim must be to intercept and kill our scouts and relay riders. These Jianzhou bandits are more familiar with Liaodong and have hunting skills. Now in spring, it's even possible for them to lie hidden in the mountain forests for dozens of days."

The Special Service Team squad leader said, "My lord, our flintlock companies are suited for formation battles. Dealing with this kind of mountain harassment still depends on the mountain troops and our Special Service Team. Should we go search the mountains?"

Old Fourth Zhong frowned in thought for a moment, then looked up at the densely forested towering mountains around them and shook his head. "The mountains are too vast to search in haste. Our move on Haizhou is only a feint. First secure today's encampment. Take my order and go ahead. Lead the mountain infantry and Special Service Team to prioritize setting up defenses around the planned campsite."

After the captain left with the order, Old Fourth Zhong opened his simple cloth map. Looking toward the Gaizhou direction, he said, "So many Bayara. Could it be the Jianzhou bandits also plan to attack Xiuyan from Haizhou?"

In the Liaodong mountains on an evening in the third month, it was still bitterly cold. Tang Wei rubbed his hands together and breathed a puff of hot air onto them. This was the north side of the encampment. Tang Wei's banner company, cooperating with a Special Service Team group, was serving as ambush sentries in this direction, mainly to intercept Jianzhou skirmishers and prevent them from harassing the main camp.

If a large enemy force launched a night raid, they could only serve as an early warning and would mostly likely all die in battle. However, according to the estimates of the Military Order Staff, the Later Jin army in recent years couldn't even get enough to eat. Night blindness was severe, and those capable of night raids were exceedingly few. There would be no large-scale night attack.

"Awoo..." A long wolf howl echoed far through the pitch-black night sky. Immediately after, some bird calls sounded in the vicinity.

"Sounds a bit fake. The Jianzhou bandits might be coming," Xie Fei said quietly beside him.

Tang Wei and the others crouched in a shallow trench, their hearts pounding fiercely. He had mostly performed in Dengzhou before. It was only after going to Henan that he truly experienced combat. During the first great battle by the Huan River in Lin County, Tang Wei's legs had trembled so badly he couldn't walk. Most hatefully, they male team members were later sent to bury headless corpses, which ruined his appetite for days. But the Henan expedition had considerably tempered his psyche. That actual battlefield experience was something words could not describe.

The Jianzhou armored soldiers habitually used the sounds of beasts and birds to communicate at night. The Dengzhou soldiers had fought them many times. The Jianzhou bandits' tactics had not improved over the years and had long been thoroughly memorized by the Dengzhou garrison.

Tang Wei placed his right thumb on the hammer. His eyes fixed on a lantern thirty paces away. Though the lantern's flame was not strong, in this pitch-black old riverbed in the mountains, it could illuminate a wider area than usual and had always been one of the methods to guard against night raids.

Tang Wei glanced to his left. It was pitch black and silent. Over there was their second squad, a group all sixteen or seventeen years old. They usually shouted with wild fervor. He wondered how they would fare in a real fight.

With a whoosh, a heavy arrow flew from the darkness beyond, accurately striking the lantern. The arrow shaft carried a spray of sparks as it tore through the lantern cover. The lantern light was extinguished in an instant. The broken lantern swayed violently a few times in the darkness with a whooshing sound, then stopped.

"Ready!" Guan Dadi's voice sounded softly. He was the sergeant major leading the night shift and the backbone for these new recruits.

"Remember to close your eyes, remember to close your eyes," Tang Wei constantly reminded himself in his mind. He crouched and pulled back the hammer. The click of the sear engaging gave him considerable peace of mind.

A sharp whistle came from the outer perimeter, traveling southeast along Tang Wei's position. Tang Wei immediately leveled his rifle, aiming toward where the lantern had been. During training at the Pingdu assembly base, in exercises against the Dengzhou Blue Team, he had heard this before. It was a whistling arrow used by the Tatars for communication at night.

The sound of iron rings scraping came, followed by several muffled groans. Clearly, they had stepped on the caltrops they had laid. Behind Tang Wei, in a foxhole, a flame flared. A torch spun through the air, and in the firelight, seven or eight figures flashed into view.

"Fire!"

Tang Wei closed his eyes and pulled the trigger. Even through his closed eyelids, he could still sense the bright muzzle flash. A recoil force hit his shoulder. The thick smell of gunpowder smoke rushed into his nostrils. The squad's sixteen flintlocks fired simultaneously, shooting toward their own front. The gunfire was deafening in the silent night.

The explosive flash of fire vanished in an instant. Several screams came from ahead. Tang Wei's mouth went dry. His hands trembling, he pulled a paper cartridge from the leather cartridge box on his waist, but did not load it. The success rate for loading in the dark was very low. Firing at all was a stroke of luck. If a large wave of Later Jin soldiers came for a night raid, Tang Wei would only be able to use his bayonet and would most likely ascend to heaven.

Parched with thirst, he heard the twang of bowstrings ahead, followed by the sounds of clashing blades. It was the Special Service Team and mountain infantry engaging the enemy in close combat. Relying on musketeers alone could not stop enemies breaking through at night.

A volley of gunfire also rang out from the darkness on the left. Tang Wei couldn't help but glance over. After firing, a frenzied roar erupted from that side. Tang Wei heard the sound of "Kill the Tatars." It seemed those teenage soldiers had charged out.

"Do not sortie," Guan Dadi's voice came. Tang Wei quickly turned his head back. The torchlight on the ground ahead gradually died out. The sounds of slaughter ceased. Several figures moved briefly and shouted once in this direction. It looked like the Later Jin soldiers to the front had already withdrawn.

On the left, the shouts of killing still shook the sky. Footsteps came from behind. When Tang Wei turned to look, Guan Dadi was already hurrying toward the left. (To be continued...)