Chapter 93: Disposition (Part Two)

Gongsun Xun struggled to sit up, but the effort drained all his strength.

"Wenqi." Hearing movement, Lu Fan, who had been sleeping in the corner of the tent keeping watch, was instantly awakened, and his face immediately filled with joy. "The old soldier who cut out the arrowhead for you said that if you could wake before dark today, it would be eight-tenths certain you'd be fine... As expected, I knew you had some measure of fortune."

Gongsun Xun forced himself to endure the pain and smiled bitterly. "The torches are already lit — doesn't that mean it's already dark? What fortune is there in that?"

"It's not dark yet." Lu Fan spoke while smiling and rose to come check on him, but as soon as he stepped forward he realized his whole body and hands were covered in mud and water, so he stopped. "It's only afternoon; it's raining outside."

"It's raining?" Gongsun Xun, sitting there, concentrated his mind as best he could and pondered. "Rain is both good and bad. The good part is the Xianbei will have trouble pursuing us; the bad part is the fire at Mount Danhan might well be extinguished by it — a pity, really. But we can't worry about that now. Are we still moving along the river... Is there a rock under me?"

"Yes, it suddenly rained in the afternoon, and we truly couldn't find a dry place, so we had no choice but to carry you up onto this. As for the march, Wenqi, don't overthink it. When we first decided to cut out the arrowhead for you, Yigong and Demou discussed it and had already moved a fair distance eastward beforehand, hoping to avoid pursuers and local herders."

"That's good." Gongsun Xun then asked again. "For my wound, how long have we been stopped here?"

"From morning until now."

"Have the personnel been gathered and accounted for?"

"Hard to say." Lu Fan could not help but smile bitterly as he answered. "Most of the Wuhuan shock cavalry simply ran off on their own — after all, Shanggu Commandery, downstream along the Chuochou River, is their homeland. The remaining armored soldiers, trained infantry, and auxiliary conscripts also suffered considerable losses in last night's battle. On top of that, many who made it back may not have found their horses... By our count, there are only seven or eight hundred men around us now!"

Gongsun Xun fell silent for a moment. "What about the officers and clerks of each company and platoon?"

"Those are fine." Lu Fan sighed slightly. "Aside from those few Xianbei men from Liaoxi whom you valued, who have vanished without a trace, even that Lou Zibo managed to escape!"

"Mohu..." Gongsun Xun was about to ask in detail, but a wave of dizziness suddenly swept over him, and he had no choice but to grit his teeth and let it go. "Summon the army clerks immediately — I have orders to give!"

Lu Fan dared not delay. He immediately went out into the rain and soon brought back quite a number of people.

Gongsun Xun looked out — besides Lu Fan, there were Cheng Pu, Han Dang, Lou Gui, Cheng Lian, Wei Yue, Gao Heng, and several others, actually packing this small tent to the brim. All of them were now staring at him with expectant eyes!

How to put it? That these men were all here could be considered something of a miracle.

"It is now afternoon," Gongsun Xun had no time to think further and could only get straight to the point. "So the soldiers should all have rested well, and the wounded should have all received basic treatment?"

"Please set your mind at ease, Sima." Cheng Pu hurriedly answered. "We have not dared to slacken in the slightest."

"Does the Young Lord mean we should hurry on our way as quickly as possible?" Lou Gui caught on at once and was the first to speak up. "Travel through the night, in the rain?"

"Yes!" Gongsun Xun forced himself to answer. "Hardship now is better than dying here... In the end, we are still too close to Mount Danhan, and we have neither grain nor fodder. If pursuers catch up, we have no strength to resist. In short, we will not be safe for a single day until we are back within Han borders!"

The group of army officers looked at one another wordlessly, but all nodded in agreement.

"However, even in retreat we must maintain formation and fighting strength..." Gongsun Xun continued to force himself to give instructions. "Concentrate the wounded. Combine them with the Jiuyuan cavalry platoon, the trained infantry platoon that fought hard yesterday, plus those two platoons of auxiliary conscripts and the two platoons of armored soldiers from Gao Heng's unit — form them into the central army and place them in the very middle... Then, Yigong, take the volunteer guards, who have the strongest fighting strength, and open the path two or three li ahead. Demou, take the remaining armored soldiers who still have fighting strength and trail two or three li behind as the rearguard... Understood?"

"Aye!"

The men answered in a roar.

"As things stand, there's nothing to be done about those who didn't catch up." Gongsun Xun sighed again. "But for those who did... since they have come this far, I dare not say we won't let a single man fall behind, nor dare I promise everyone will live, but we must do our utmost to bring them home. Even if they die, we must find some nag to carry them back for burial... I am wounded and cannot manage camp affairs. I only hope you all will unite as one!"

The men were just about to speak when they saw Gongsun Xun beckon to Lu Fan. "Ziheng..."

"I am here!" Lu Fan hurried forward.

"My strength is spent." Gongsun Xun slowly lay back down. "I entrust the affairs of the central army to you!"

Seeing this, none of the men dared speak further. They promptly withdrew from the tent and busied themselves according to his orders.

First, Han Dang immediately assembled the most elite volunteer guards, and after being pulled aside by Lu Fan for a few words of instruction, he set out at once, heading directly east.

Next, those units that had suffered heavy losses the day before also forced themselves to rally, gathered up most of the livestock, and, supporting the wounded, slowly set out to follow.

Among them, Gongsun Xun himself was placed in a sling bed suspended between two horses, swaying and jolting along, drenched by the rain as they advanced.

Finally, after the central army had traveled some distance, Cheng Pu then led some soldiers who still had fighting strength, trudging step by step through the mud, to set out and follow behind.

After a night of arduous travel, Gongsun Xun had actually improved considerably, but being soaked by the rain caused his condition to fluctuate instead. From time to time he would develop a fever and lapse into unconsciousness. Under such circumstances, although the men were anxious, they absolutely dared not stop.

However, fortunately, summer rain can hardly last long. By the time the next morning arrived, the sunlight reappeared, flint and other items could be used again, and moreover, they were finally somewhat farther from Mount Danhan. So the men quickly regrouped, dried their clothes and armor and tents, lit fires to boil soup, and slaughtered horses to stave off hunger... For a time, they could finally catch their breath.

"Has the Young Lord drunk the meat broth?" Seeing Lu Fan emerge from a tent, Han Dang hurriedly pressed him.

"He drank it." Lu Fan sighed. "The wound has also been re-dressed with medicine, and he has fallen asleep again. I've also assigned the two most capable men among the auxiliary conscripts to help look after him. It's just that, after all, the camp lacks a true physician, and such jolting is no way to recover from an injury. We still need to get back as quickly as possible..."

The men all nodded in silence.

There was no help for it. With arrow wounds in this era, it truly came down to luck more often than not. Some men were clearly struck by a filthy arrow, yet once the arrowhead was cut out, they could rise and be lively within half a day, only needing to wait patiently for the wound to scab over. Yet others were struck by a 'clean' arrowhead, one that only lodged in the flesh, but if things took a turn for the worse, they would simply die.

So, aside from thinking of hurrying on their way as fast as possible, the men truly had no other solution.

"My thinking is, since the rain has already stopped, why not make camp and rest during the day, and still travel at night?" After accepting a bowl of horse-meat broth, Lu Fan asked tentatively before taking a single sip. "For one, it is cool at night; for another, this way we can also evade pursuers... I am no expert in military matters after all — what do you all think?"

"If we do that," Lou Gui frowned slightly, "digging pits and cooking during the day — the smoke and fire would actually be quite conspicuous."

"It doesn't matter." Han Dang immediately cut in. "In our current state, if someone truly comes after us, how could we possibly conceal it? Since we've already been hiding by day and traveling by night for a day, we might as well continue. Rest well during the day and march at night — that's all."

"Exactly." Cheng Pu set down his soup pot and wiped his stubble-covered mouth. "Right now, the priority is to hurry and deliver the Sima and the entire army to Han territory. It doesn't matter whether it's day or night — we march just the same!"

With these three having spoken thus, the rest naturally had nothing more to say.

However, the short-statured Gao Heng had just lowered his head to drink his soup when he suddenly recalled something and quickly looked up. "Right, Military Patroller Han, I have a question for you... Earlier, to evade pursuers, our army moved east for a stretch and left the Chuochou River. Last night's march was even more obscured by heavy rain, so we had no sense of direction. You are the one opening the path — I wonder where exactly we are now? And how many more days until we reach Shanggu?"

Han Dang was taken aback upon hearing this, but he did not answer directly. Instead, he looked toward Lu Fan... This action immediately stirred displeasure in Gao Heng's heart, but given the current situation, he could hardly show it.

"I won't hide it from you, Military Patroller Gao." Lu Fan only managed to answer after gulping down several mouthfuls of horse-meat broth — of course, he had no idea that Gao Heng was actually just a subordinate clerk. "Yesterday I was still somewhat worried about pursuers, so I had Yigong continue east for about another shichen before turning south... But rest assured, the volunteer guards under Yigong's command do not lack men familiar with waterways and terrain. Even in rain and darkness, they can discern direction by the growth of water plants. It's just that now we must to some extent consider the Sima's wound and the other injured men, so our marching speed is unavoidably slower. To reach Shanggu, it will still take several days."

Hearing Lu Fan invoke Gongsun Xun's name, all the surrounding officers thought no more of it... After all, after that night's battle, this Independent Division Major's prestige among the remaining seven or eight hundred men was beyond question — it could be said that all, high and low, submitted to him wholeheartedly! Even Gao Xuanqing, who had past personal grudges with Gongsun Xun and Gongsun Zan and also carried the implication of an Army Supervisor, could not help but feel somewhat abashed at this moment.

And so, after a day of rest and recovery, when the sky darkened toward dusk, the men set out once more. By this time, everyone's spirits were a hundred times stronger than when they had first fled. Moreover, with absolutely no sign of pursuers, the men could not help but relax somewhat, and there was even quite a bit of chatter during the march.

"Elder Brother!"

Gao Heng, bearing his own shield, spear, armor, and a roll of tent canvas, was trudging along with his head down when he suddenly heard a familiar Bohai accent. He lifted his head and squinted into the darkness, only then clearly making out that it was an old brother who had followed him from Bohai... This man, wounded in the leg, was currently sprawled atop a nag beside him!

"What is it?" Gao Heng chuckled as he moved closer. "Don't tell me you need to piss and are asking me for help? If you ask me, you'd be better off just pissing right onto the horse — cleaner that way..."

"Elder Brother!" This Bohai youxia was immediately speechless and could only hurriedly point to the sky. "I'm not joking — look at the stars!"

"What about the stars?" Gao Heng tilted his head back for a glance and was greatly puzzled. "There are many stars in summer — it's not as if I don't know that..."

"That's not what I mean." The soldier quickly answered. "Elder Brother should know that I once sailed with my family on the sea, shipping goods to Liaodong."

"Of course, so what?"

"So I recognize the star patterns!"

"You recognize star patterns?! If you recognize star patterns, then please tell me — on what day will I reach the rank of two thousand dan?"

"I only recognize them a little," the soldier hastily corrected himself. "At the very least, I know how to tell direction by the stars. Look, the Northern Dipper is over there..."

Gao Heng sighed helplessly.

"What I mean is," the soldier finally stopped wasting words, "why have we been heading east for half the night? At first, going east could be explained as leaving the Chouchou River to evade pursuit, but what point is there in continuing east now?"

Gao Heng glanced at the Big Dipper in the sky to his left, then roughly gestured, and suddenly it hit him too: "It does seem we're heading east... but what's wrong with going east for a while? You have to understand, not every place along the border wall has a passable road. Maybe there's an easier pass to the east, just like when we marched out this time — we first went to Gaoliu in Dai Commandery, then crossed the frontier."

"Elder Brother!" The soldier was utterly speechless. "Is that the same thing? Back then it was an army of over ten thousand, plus over ten thousand civilian laborers, plus all kinds of baggage and supplies — so we had no choice but to take the main road through Gaoliu Fortress! But now we're only a few hundred men... the Shanggu border wall stretches hundreds of li. Even if there's no main road into the frontier, are there no small paths?"

"Right!" Gao Heng suddenly saw the light. "And don't I remember that not far behind the border wall in Shanggu Commandery is Ningcheng, where we usually reside? That's where Lord Xia's Protector of the Wuhuan Colonel's garrison is — fully stocked with military supplies and fully manned. Wouldn't we be safe if we went there?"

"That's exactly what I mean!" The soldier nodded hurriedly. "In the current situation, every day we enter the frontier earlier is a good day... I think these men from Yanmen probably don't know the geography here, which is why they've taken the wrong path!"

"That makes sense. I'll go find Clerk Lu." Gao Heng said no more. He tossed his tent and other gear straight onto the ground, kept only a waist saber, and turned to head toward the rear.

Unexpectedly, when Lu Fan, who was also trudging along with his head down, heard this argument, he was immediately both shocked and furious: "Gao Xuanqing, what are your intentions, sowing discord among the troops at a time like this?!"

Gao Heng was briefly stunned, then instantly flushed with anger: "What kind of talk is that, Clerk Lu? What part of what I said is wrong?"

Han Dang was leading the way several li ahead, and Cheng Pu was bringing up the rear several li behind. At this moment, these two were naturally the highest-ranking men in the central column, so as soon as the dispute broke out, it quickly drew a crowd of onlookers from all around.

Lu Fan opened his mouth to speak, but seeing the soldiers stopping to watch and not knowing how to refute, he could only force out a rebuke: "Just focus on the march! The Marshal has entrusted all central column affairs to me!"

"But you have betrayed the Marshal's trust!" Gao Heng was already hot-tempered by nature, and now he could hold back no longer. "I clearly told you that heading south would quickly bring us to the border wall, yet you insist on detouring east! Don't you know that behind the southern border wall is Ningcheng, where Lord Xia is stationed? Even the Marshal could swiftly rest and recover there..."

The surrounding soldiers erupted into chaos at these words, and a clamor of noise rose on all sides.

"The Marshal is still unconscious. Zibo, go quickly to the rear and bring the Marshal to Demou in the rear guard for safekeeping!" Hearing that last sentence and seeing the reaction around him, Lu Fan's expression suddenly changed completely. He turned his head and directly gave this order to Lou Gui beside him.

Lou Gui froze for a moment, then immediately turned and ran toward the rear.

Seeing this, Gao Heng grew even more furious. He actually drew his waist saber and pointed it at the other man: "What is the meaning of this? Is what I said not for the good of the entire army?"

By this point, many soldiers could no longer resist disobeying orders. They lit torches and stood around the two men in stunned silence...

"The Grand Ancestor burned Mount Danhan and turned back. On the road he encountered rain, and the soldiers, marching at speed, fell into disorder and lost their way again, until there was a mutiny that the Grand Ancestor could not quell." — New Book of Yan, Volume 1, Annals of the Grand Ancestor, the Martial Emperor

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(End of Chapter)