Chapter 510: Unfolding

Early the next morning, Zhong Laosi arrived at the forward outpost by the north gate where fighting had occurred the previous night. On the ground lay nearly ten bodies in red military uniforms, along with seven bloodied Later Jin soldiers.

The second squad of the second platoon, first company, second battalion had suffered heavy losses here. Platoon leader Liu Liu was with the third squad, while the company sergeant major Guan Dadi was with the first squad in the center. The NCOs there lacked sufficient experience and failed to control these fanatical soldiers in time. After firing, the soldiers immediately charged out, engaging the Later Jin troops in bayonet combat. With friend and foe locked together, the special operations team and mountain infantry responsible for close combat could only wait on the perimeter. Even Guan Dadi, burning with anxiety, dared not rush into the melee.

In the darkness, there was no way to bring the power of the Dengzhou bayonet squads to bear. It became a chaotic brawl of individual fighters. The Later Jin soldiers held the upper hand in skill and killed ten of the young soldiers, but the remaining six soldiers fought on with mad ferocity. Relying on sheer bloody courage, these fearless young soldiers ultimately forced the remaining Jianzhou bandits to retreat, then killed every one of the wounded Later Jin soldiers who could not flee.

The squad leader was dead too. Of the three corporals, one remained, plus five surviving soldiers. Nearly everyone was wounded. Only three lightly wounded men were left on the scene. This squad was basically finished.

Zhao Xuan saw that Zhong Laosi's expression was off and quickly leaned in to whisper in his ear, "Don't say anything else for now. First, offer them some comfort."

Zhong Laosi paused for a moment, then nodded. He went up and exchanged a few words with each soldier, patted each of them on the shoulder, and then told them to go rest and reorganize.

Most of their comrades were dead. Amid their grief, the few soldiers still felt a trace of excitement. After these three men left, Zhong Laosi's face darkened. He grabbed Guan Dadi and snarled, "Did you, damn it, tell them or not to stay put after firing? Is their close-combat skill good enough for that? What kind of sergeant major are you?"

Guan Dadi replied woodenly, "I told them several times before we set the ambush. If you don't believe me, ask Liu Liu."

Zhao Xuan came over and pulled Zhong Laosi's hand away, urging as he did so, "Speak calmly. Speak calmly."

Liu Liu, standing to the side, said, "My lord, we haven't done combined drills with the close-combat troops yet. We only gave instructions right before the ambush. The men hadn't practiced it, so when the fighting started, everything fell into chaos."

"Both of you will be punished," Zhong Laosi roared. "The accompanying military judge will record this. Disciplinary action will be taken according to military law once the operation is complete."

Guan Dadi stared down at the ground. Zhong Laosi glared at him for a long moment, then noticed a slash mark on his uniform. He exhaled softly and asked, "Are you wounded?"

Guan Dadi shook his head. Hearing this, Zhong Laosi's anger flared again. "You've been a soldier for over four years, and you still can't recognize all those few characters. You managed to learn the firelock — can't you show some damn ambition and learn all those characters properly? Get lost!"

Guan Dadi hung his head, saluted, and left. Zhao Xuan came over and said to Zhong Laosi, "This wasn't Guan Dadi's fault. They held the ambush position..."

"That's not what I'm worried about." Zhong Laosi frowned, picking up a broken bayonet from the ground. "Even Su-steel bayonets are still no match for a broadsword. In close combat, the flintlock is completely inferior against Later Jin soldiers. If the mountain infantry and the Jimo battalion hadn't been with us this time, defending against a night raid would have been truly difficult."

Zhao Xuan probed, "So what do you plan to change going forward? Add a mandarin duck formation from a battalion?"

"I've considered that," Zhong Laosi said, shaking his head. "But if we do that, we'd essentially be back to the old organization — mixed arms, with all the extra trouble in command and training that brings. When Lord Chen saw it last time, what he emphasized most was single-arm units and rapid force formation. I reckon he won't agree. But I still have to bring it up."

As Zhong Laosi and the other man were talking, Guan Dadi had already walked back to the assembly area, preparing to return to camp with the unit. Tang Wei stood in the ranks, his face pale as he looked at the ten bodies on the ground. They had all been soldiers from his platoon — enthusiastic and full of energy, playing soccer during training breaks. Tang Wei could usually only keep up with them for half a match. In the blink of an eye, they had become cold corpses, soon to be burned to ashes and taken back to Dengzhou.

He had seen many corpses in Henan and had handled quite a few as well, but those faces were unfamiliar to him. Even the soldiers of the Dengzhou garrison had little interaction with him. The cultural troupe had always been in the safest positions — a world apart from what he felt now.

"Second platoon, right face!"

Tang Wei turned mechanically and followed the main force toward the camp. The camp had already been packed up. The accompanying Dongjiang soldiers served as auxiliaries, helping haul their baggage and tents. The main force was about to continue advancing toward Haizhou, to draw Jianzhou bandit forces into garrisoning Haizhou and thereby facilitate the Liaonan Brigade's southern offensive at Gaizhou.

Because of the previous night's raid, the soldiers had been on high alert. They were supposed to rotate rest, but aside from that Wang Zhanqing, no one could sleep. Now, back with the main force, their nerves relaxed, and waves of exhaustion swept over them.

Xie Fei said to Tang Wei beside him, "Good thing our squad didn't lose anyone."

Tang Wei stared at the ground and grunted in acknowledgment. Xie Fei turned his head curiously and asked, "What are you thinking about?"

Tang Wei glanced around, then leaned in and whispered, "I was thinking — if Sergeant Major Guan weren't in our squad, would we be lying on the ground as corpses too?"

"You scared?"

"I... I'm thinking about my parents. I'm their only son. If I die in battle in this godforsaken place, what will happen to them later?"

Xie Fei looked at Tang Wei for a moment, then said, "Why didn't you think of that earlier? You dragged me into becoming a combat soldier with you. If I'd gone back to the Huangxian county seat, I wouldn't even have had to serve as a reservist."

Tang Wei said awkwardly, "I didn't... it was just a moment of..."

Xie Fei cut him off. "Save it. You're here now whether you like it or not. If you leave now, you're a deserter on the battlefield. If they catch you, it's execution by firing squad. Besides, if you don't fight, you won't be able to marry Little Sister Guan."

Tang Wei said with a troubled face, "Then I'll think of some other way."

Just then, Guan Dadi happened to walk up beside Tang Wei. Tang Wei suddenly said to him in a low voice, "Sergeant Major Guan, how about I help you learn to read?"

Before Guan Dadi could answer, Liu Liu up ahead barked a furious shout: "Stay at the rear of the column. Move out toward Haizhou."

On the eighth day of the third month, the Second Guards Battalion encountered Later Jin troops deployed defensively in a mountain valley. They had restored an old beacon tower from the Gaizhou era and expanded it into a defensive line spanning the valley, controlling the narrow official road. The Later Jin army placed great importance on Haizhou. It was a key stronghold in central Liaodong, guarding the Later Jin's core territory, so they had begun constructing defensive lines on the mountain roads the previous year. To reduce supply difficulties, these were all located in the mountain passes not far from Haizhou.

Though small, these defensive lines had largely copied the Dengzhou garrison's defenses at Lushun. In front of the line were crisscrossing earthen walls and trenches. The walls held emplacements for great general cannons and Frankish breech-loaders. Behind the line, numerous shielded carts were kept in reserve, so that if the line was breached, they could be used for a counterattack.

Zhong Laosi's objective was not here. The feint against Haizhou was merely to support the Liaonan Brigade. His main target lay in the direction of Lianshan Pass. But Haizhou still needed to be hit, to fulfill the requirements of the Military Orders Department.

And so, on both the Gaizhou and Haizhou fronts, three days of attacks began. Dengzhou mountain infantry fought Later Jin scouts in the mountains on both sides of the river valley. On the main road, the Dengzhou garrison bombarded the Later Jin defenses daily, then launched several assaults.

The Later Jin soldiers defended with great resolve, almost as if they were protecting their homeland. The scout warfare in the mountain forests saw victories and losses on both sides, with neither able to gain an advantage over the other. On the third day, the Dengzhou garrison and the Dongjiang garrison launched a joint assault, breaching one section of trench wall, only to be driven back out by a wave of Later Jin armored soldiers counterattacking.

Having completed this step, Zhong Laosi judged that the objective of pinning down the enemy had been achieved. He led his men in a gradual withdrawal. This offensive had cost fewer than a hundred lives, and Later Jin casualties were roughly the same.

After the Dengzhou garrison withdrew, the Later Jin immediately sent scouts to track them, only to discover that the Dengzhou troops had begun constructing fieldworks near an abandoned military fort fifty li away, seemingly to stockpile provisions. These fieldworks blocked the Later Jin scouts from probing further south. The two sides faced off from a great distance.

The Second Battalion's attack schedule was more or less on plan. Just as the fighting in the mountains near Haizhou was ending, the Liaonan Brigade on the Gaizhou front began its assault. Dengzhou cavalry and dragoons advanced along the old official road, bypassing Yulinpu to harass Gaizhou. The Later Jin forces at Gaizhou had over two thousand cavalry, comparable in number to the Dengzhou garrison, but they were no match for the Dengzhou cavalry in pitched battle and could only resist through skirmishing tactics.

Once the Dengzhou cavalry had probed and clarified the strength of the Later Jin troops at Gaizhou, they began bypassing Gaizhou. Between Qiaotoupu and Yaozhoubao, Later Jin bondservants all shrank back into their forts. Haizhou and other places were thrown into alarm three times a day, making it impossible to continue farming.

With the cavalry holding the advantage, Dengzhou infantry approached Gaizhou for the first time. A mandarin duck formation battalion from the Liaonan Brigade reached Yulinpu and, together with a portion of the dragoons, attacked Yulinpu, preparing to eliminate this forward outpost of Gaizhou. They brought six eight-pounder cannons to bear.

On the northern front at this time, Huang Long had reached the vicinity of Hetu Ala. This was the garrison city of the Jianzhou Guard, the earliest lair of the Later Jin. However, its actual importance now was far less than places like Shenyang; it held more political significance. The northern route army swept through the mountain villages among the towering peaks and ridges. This somewhat avaricious Regional Commander was still willing to put in effort fighting the Tatars, and he successively overran multiple stockades and forts. Hetu Ala was also unable to carry out farming. If this dragged on into the fourth month, they would face a harvestless autumn.

Shen Zhixiang's forces smoothly drove off the Jianzhou bandit forward outpost at Fenghuangcheng. This route moved sluggishly and showed little enthusiasm for attacking Lianshan Pass, but they were quite enthusiastic about scouring the area around Fenghuangcheng for Liaodong specialties like ginseng, sable pelts, and eastern pearls.

After completing its feint, the Second Guards Battalion established defensive lines on both mountain roads leading to Gaizhou and Haizhou. The main force of the mountain infantry company was deployed at these two points, each reinforced by several hundred Dongjiang soldiers. They interdicted Later Jin reconnaissance and put on a show of preparing to stockpile grain and continue the offensive. Between the opposing lines, they laid numerous hidden devices — ghost swords, landmine cannons, traps, and the like. The mountain infantry were quite proficient with such things. The longer the standoff lasted, the more solid the defenses became.

With the feint complete, Zhong Laosi swiftly gathered the main force of the Guards Battalion and force-marched toward Tongyuanbao. At this time, Shen Zhixiang's forces had only just set out from Fenghuangcheng, advancing along the Jinjia River valley toward Lianshan Pass. (To be continued...)

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