Chapter 1734: Shi Kefa Knows How to Dig a Pit!

Shi Kefa had long since realized things were going badly!

When he received Zhu Youjian's privy purse funds and set off for Zunhua County with the officers and soldiers sent by the Directorate of the Imperial Horses to take up his post, he already knew trouble was coming.

Of all the county magistrates in the Great Ming, how many took office escorted by officers and soldiers from the Directorate of the Imperial Horses? How many received fifty thousand taels from the Son of Heaven's privy purse? How many were handed an edict to raise three thousand local militia? All these things together could only mean one thing: Shi Kefa's term as magistrate of Zunhua might well end with him dying alongside the city.

And after taking office, he made several trips along the Ji Garrison Great Wall on Zunhua's border, and understood just how deadly the post the young emperor had given him truly was.

He had assumed the eastern barbarians were far away in Liaodong, a long way from Zunhua!

He never imagined they had already reached the outside of the Ji Garrison's border wall — separated from Zunhua County by just a single wall!

What was more, there seemed to be hardly any guards on the Ji Garrison wall. If the slave rebels attacked, no matter how you looked at it, it was going to be a disaster!

So while he worked day and night on city defenses, organizing militia, stockpiling grain and fodder, and preparing military supplies, he also readied himself to die for his principles. As early as the sixth month, Shi Kefa had adopted a son from his own clan, ensuring the family line would continue (Shi Kefa was no longer young, but had never had a son). After that he prepared two taels of the finest crane's-crest poison, carrying it on his person for emergencies. Finally, there was a first-grade nanmu coffin. That coffin was now being carried by four tall, sturdy men from the Zunhua militia, following Magistrate Shi Kefa — now clad in cloth-faced iron armor and mounted on a short-legged Mongol horse — as he made his rounds through Zunhua County town. Along with the coffin and Shi Kefa himself were a full five hundred Zunhua militiamen, likewise wearing cloth-faced armor.

Shi Kefa's three thousand Zunhua militiamen had all been carefully selected, every one of them able-bodied! Apart from the officers and backbone cadres sent down from above, all the rest were native Zunhua men through and through. They were honest, simple farmers or mountain folk of clean background; townsmen from Zunhua's county seat were not accepted. Moreover, each man had to have a family — no lone men without kin. Once selected as a militiaman, his family had to move into Zunhua city with him — if they were going to die, they would die together!

As for the militiamen's pay, though it did not match that of the regular troops of the Ji Garrison, it was not too poor: one shi of grain a month, plus five qian of silver a month. The monthly grain was raised by Zunhua County itself, while the monthly silver was paid first from the privy purse funds Zhu Youjian had allocated — and whether grain or silver, Shi Kefa personally distributed it to each man, with not the slightest deduction!

Besides personally managing the monthly grain and silver so that they were paid on time and without deductions, Shi Kefa the magistrate also personally handled the procurement of the Zunhua militiamen's armor and weapons. Each man got a suit of cloth-faced iron armor and an iron flying-saucer helmet, all made according to samples obtained from the Directorate of the Imperial Horses, with absolutely no skimping permitted. Their weapons included willow-leaf sabers, swallow-tail shields, throwing darts, Qi-family spears, small short bows, three-eyed guns, as well as bed crossbows mounted on Zunhua's walls — and of course the rolling logs, hurled stones, thunderbolt fireballs, and other implements essential for defending a city. Not all of it could be called top quality, but at least everything was serviceable.

Seeing the Zunhua militiamen in their cloth-faced armor and saucer helmets, carrying all manner of weapons, march past in orderly ranks — and seeing Magistrate Shi Kefa, barely arrived at his new post, already parading a coffin through the streets — the elders and townsfolk of Zunhua County knew things were bad. For anyone who still did not understand what was happening, Magistrate Shi had long since arranged for loud-voiced runners to go about beating gongs and shouting.

"The Jianzhou slaves have broken through the wall and are raiding! Officials, gentry, and commoners must resist the slaves as one!"

"The Jianzhou slaves are savage and slaughter without number — only by fighting for your lives can you save them!"

"The county town gates are closed, the streets under martial law — every household must send able-bodied men up to the walls to help defend!"

To hold a city, militiamen alone would not do — the masses had to be mobilized! These days Shi Kefa had set aside the classics of the sages and spent all his time studying works like the Record of City Defense, the Xiangyang City Defense Record, and the city-defense chapters of the Complete Essentials of the Military Classics. He could not claim mastery, but he had learned a good many methods, and he understood that to keep the invading eastern barbarian host outside Zunhua's walls, he had to mobilize every force that could be mobilized — and use every dirty trick that could be used!

Seeing that Magistrate Shi's drilling and defense preparations were all quite methodical, the gentry and commoners of Zunhua County finally felt somewhat reassured.

But only somewhat — after all, what was breaking in this time was the savage eastern barbarians!

Just as the people's hearts were wavering between panic and calm, a rider on a fast horse came galloping from Zunhua's east gate. Spotting the official placards of Shi Kefa, who was then patrolling the city, the rider spurred straight toward him. On the horse was an aging veteran soldier. He did not dismount before Shi Kefa, but cupped his hands from the saddle: "Magistrate, the slave rebels' vanguard cavalry has reached ten li east of the county town!"

"Good!" Shi Kefa fought down his terror, nodded firmly, then swept his burning gaze around him and raised his voice: "This magistrate shall now go out of the city and fight the slave rebels to the death!"

What? Out of the city? So ferocious?

The Zunhua commoners who had gathered to watch were all startled. The bustling street instantly fell dead silent.

Shi Kefa pointed at the nanmu coffin and roared: "This magistrate will carry the coffin out of the city, so the slave rebels may see the courage of a Ming official who holds the land!"

In field battles, the Later Jin army's vanguard was always their finest White Armor troops — not, of course, to charge the enemy lines first, but to ride ahead of the main army as scouts and outriders.

Their main tasks were three. First, to strike at the enemy's light cavalry patrols — to blind the enemy by destroying the eyes and ears he had scattered across the field!

Second, to search out the enemy's main force, probe his defenses, and provide intelligence for the main army's subsequent operations.

Third, to seize grain and fodder, while at the same time striking at the enemy's supply lines.

If these three tasks were carried out well, the Later Jin army would gain every advantage, and even before the main decisive battle was fought, it would already be in an invincible position.

The man who, on the afternoon of the eighth day of the eighth month, led a squad of White Armor troops charging up outside Zunhua city was Duolongduo, a lieutenant of the Plain White Banner's Bayara camp.

Though he had only thirty White Armor troops with him (thirty-one counting himself), three or four hundred ordinary Ming infantry were nothing in his eyes. And since he had entered through the Da'ankou border wall and fought his way to the east of Zunhua County, he had not seen three or four hundred Ming troops — he had not even seen thirty or forty. The odd Ming soldier he did spot fled at the sight of him; no one dared to fight Lord Duolongduo!

With all this martial prowess and nowhere to use it, Duolongduo was getting impatient. Wasn't the area inside Da'ankou supposed to be the headquarters of the Ming Ji Garrison's Regional Commander?

Where were the troops?

Had they all been eaten up by phantom payrolls? Couldn't they have left a few for Lord Duo?

Just as he was stewing in frustration, he arrived outside Zunhua city — and saw a force of roughly two or three hundred Ming infantry in blue cloth-faced armor, carrying long spears and holding shields, swaggering across a pontoon bridge over a moat that was unusually wide, and forming up in disorderly fashion outside Zunhua city.

From the look of it, they meant to fight the Great Jin State's White Armor troops?

Duolongduo could scarcely believe his eyes! So there really were Ming infantry who did not know fear! He looked again, and could not help laughing. For he saw that the man commanding these Ming troops was actually a civil official in a blue robe and black gauze cap — and beside this civil official, several sturdy fellows were carrying a coffin!

Ha! Here was a Ming civil official who understood nothing and just wanted to gamble with his own life!

You can't even form up two or three hundred infantry properly — what damn use is carrying a coffin?

Duolongduo raised his horsewhip, pointed forward, and shouted: "Lads! Form up and charge! Hit them before they finish their formation — smash them apart!"

Even as he shouted, the White Armor troops following him had already begun gathering of their own accord, forming a charge formation (still rather loose, in truth), and then, without sparing the horses, they wheeled around under Duolongduo's lead and launched their assault against the flank of those two or three hundred Ming troops.

A massed charge of thirty-one White Armor troops — how could two or three hundred Ming troops who could not even form up properly possibly withstand it?

Duolongduo could almost see himself cutting down that Ming civil official with one stroke, then storming into Zunhua city to burn and kill. But just as he leveled his lance, spurred his warhorse to its utmost, and charged at full speed — his horse's hoof suddenly plunged into empty air, and its whole body sank. Before Duolongduo and his horse could react, several sharpened bamboo stakes thrust upward, piercing straight through the horse's body and driving hard into Duolongduo's thigh!

It really hurt!

(End of Chapter)