Chapter 69: Chapter 69

Seventy or eighty warhorses swept across the boundless wilderness like the wind. Though they had left Beijing far behind, Zhu Cilang and his party still dared not slow their pace. Wu Sanmei rode at the very front; her horsemanship was the best of them all, and the white steed beneath her was a fine horse she had ridden all the way from Ningyuan. So after they left Chaoyang Gate, she took the lead to clear the way. The remaining several dozen riders all followed close behind Wu Sanmei. Sanmei wore a suit of white cloth-faced iron armor, so nearly one with the white steed beneath her that from behind, one could only see her tall figure rising and falling with the horse's motion.

Truly the beauty of motion!

Zhu Cilang clamped his legs painfully around the horse's belly, enduring the soreness spreading through his buttocks and thighs, and stubbornly refused to slow down. He could ride, but compared with Wu Sanmei, his horsemanship was far inferior. The main reason was lack of practice, so his seat was weak and he could not hold the horse steady; he could only let his rear end keep making intimate contact with the saddle. Thump after thump, just like a spanking! If they had to ride several hundred li like this, his backside would certainly be a bloody mess, almost as bad as taking a court flogging.

Looking back, the walls and towers of Beijing were already receding into the distance, and the roar of cannon and the cheers of soldiers could no longer be heard. Clearly, the battle for the inner city of Beijing had not yet begun!

There was no telling whether Li Zicheng was still deploying his forces, or whether Luo Yangxing, Gao Yushun, and Guang Shiheng had already knelt in surrender.

If they had knelt, Li Zicheng's pursuers would probably come sweeping after them in force at any moment...

"Thousand Years!" Wu Sanmei shouted. "We've caught up with the main column!"

The main column was the force of picked troops led by Wu Xiang, Li Ruolian, Zhu Chunjie, and Pan Shuchen, along with the key personnel they were escorting in the retreat and the wagon train carrying gold and silver.

And these so-called picked troops were in truth a motley crew thrown together at the last moment, made up of the three Hardship Camps, the First Guard Camp, the First Tiger Guard Camp, the First Dragon Cavalry Camp, and some guards from the households of officials. They numbered about seven thousand in all. Of these, about thirteen hundred were cavalry, six hundred were musketeers, and about a thousand were elite infantry capable of close combat. The remaining thirty-one hundred were filler troops, good only for watching over the carts, horses, and camels. In addition, there were about a thousand able-bodied sons and household guards from noble and official families, also filler.

At present, three hundred light cavalry from the Hardship Camp's iron cavalry had been dispersed to serve as scouts, while Wu Sanfu led a thousand iron cavalry of the Tiger Cavalry Camp, reorganized from the Great Han Generals and the household retainers of the capital's nobles, to put on a show of strength. The remaining fifty-seven hundred were under the control of Wu Sanfu, Li Ruolian, Zhu Chunjie, and the others, and had left through Chaoyang Gate one step ahead of Zhu Cilang.

Zhu Cilang had stayed behind at the stone bridge over the moat outside Chaoyang Gate to hand out money, and after the money was distributed, he had also seen to it that the small number of soldiers left to hold the gate closed it — these soldiers were led by Luo Yangxing's younger brother Luo Xiushen, and had already been fed full with silver beforehand.

Moreover, Zhu Cilang did not require these men to die as martyrs for the Great Ming... a token effort would be quite enough.

As for Luo Xiushen, he naturally had another important task!

Only after watching Chaoyang Gate slowly close did Zhu Cilang mount his horse and, with Wu Sanmei and the others, gallop through the night to catch up with the main column that had set out long before.

They were almost the last group to leave through Chaoyang Gate!

Yet this seemingly brave and fearless arrangement had been carefully planned by Wu Xiang, a true professional at fleeing the battlefield.

Zhu Cilang was the pillar of morale, so he could not be the first to run; otherwise, panic would spread and trouble would follow. Then everyone would scramble to flee for their lives, the whole force would collapse into chaos, and once Li Zicheng was alerted, there would be no hope of getting away.

Besides, when fleeing a battlefield, it is not necessarily true that running early is safe and running late is dangerous.

For those who run early may be a heavily laden column, moving slowly and therefore easier to overtake. While those who run late can be a lightly equipped small party, mounted on fast horses and moving swiftly, very hard to catch.

Furthermore, veterans who pursue fugitives on a battlefield generally prefer to chase after baggage trains — there is more plunder in them!

The iron cavalry led by Wu Sanfu were the sort few men would chase hard. "Do not press a desperate foe" refers to exactly this kind — poor and fierce, and catching up with them would mean a bitter fight.

And Zhu Cilang, escorted by a small party of elite troops, was a very small target on the battlefield. By day he might be pursued, but at night, generally no one would bother them... Anyone still galloping at full speed in the dead of night was most likely an elite scout. Who would be so idle as to chase them down? The roving bandits were not Manchus; they would not go looking for a hard target to fight.

Besides, Wu Xiang had long since prepared fat bait for any small pursuing force — among the fugitives who had left through Chaoyang Gate and Dongzhi Gate were many lower-ranking officials and members of noble families who, for various reasons (either they had fallen behind or left the city too late), had failed to keep up with the main column. Most of them were traveling with their families and valuables, perfect for drawing off pursuers.

And in the plan Wu Xiang had drawn up, the main column carrying the Chongzhen Emperor and Empress Zhou was, at any moment, a piece that could be sacrificed. If they encountered a large pursuing force, he would break out with his trusted household retainers and his wife, Lady Zu.

At the same time, Wu Xiang carried signal rockets, and when breaking out he would fire them to alert Wu Sanfu and Wu Sanmei.

Then Wu Sanfu would lead the iron cavalry to cover Wu Xiang, while Wu Sanmei would take Zhu Cilang to rendezvous with Wu Xiang and Wu Sanfu, father and son, and together they would go to join Wu Sangui... With a great column carrying millions of taels of gold and silver to draw off the roving bandits, Wu Xiang, Wu Sanfu, and Wu Sanmei could certainly protect Zhu Cilang in the breakout.

But such a breakout would be the worst of all possible plans...

So when he heard Wu Sanmei shout that they had caught up with the main column, Zhu Cilang breathed a great sigh of relief.

Wu Sanmei had already reined in her horse, then stood up in the stirrups to look around for a moment before turning back to Zhu Cilang, who had ridden up beside her, and said, "Thousand Years, the main column is safe and sound!"

"Good," Zhu Cilang exhaled. "Are there pursuers behind us?"

This question was not directed at Wu Sanmei, but at two gray-bearded Eastern Palace guards. Both were veterans of the Valiant Guard Camp who had once served as scouts, and had retired to rest in their old age. A few days earlier they had joined the Hardship Camp, and afterward Wu Xiang had assigned them to the Eastern Palace Guard Camp.

One of the two old soldiers, like Wu Sanmei, stood on his horse's back to look around, but instead of gazing straight ahead, he was watching the sky for any rising dust. The other old soldier slid off his horse, lay flat on the ground, and pressed his ear to the earth.

Before long, both old soldiers came before Zhu Cilang, and the expressions on their two aged faces were extremely grave.

The one who had been watching the sky spoke first: "Thousand Years, there are pursuers!"

The other added, "A good many men and horses!"

Zhu Cilang's face was calm, and he asked unhurriedly, "How far away?"

"Twenty li," one old soldier answered.

Zhu Cilang nodded and said to Wu Sanmei, "Can you see Tongzhou?"

"Yes," Wu Sanmei said. "About ten li ahead there's a walled town; that should be Tongzhou."

"Let's rejoin the main column first, then head for Tongzhou together." Zhu Cilang thought for a moment, then added, "Tongzhou has Governor Song Quan of Shuntian, and he has a thousand men in his governor's guard, plus some carts, horses, and boats. If we can get the accompanying families and the gold and silver onto boats, we should reach Wuqing tonight. Cao Huachun will be waiting there to receive us, and with his help, getting to Tianjin Guard won't be difficult."

...

Just as Zhu Cilang was spurring his horse toward the main column where the Chongzhen Emperor and Empress Zhou were, on the official road about five li east of Beijing's Chaoyang Gate, a column of cavalry in white caps and blue robes, some three or four hundred riders, was advancing in formation.

At the very front rode a cavalryman of towering build, with thick brows, large eyes, and a full beard running along his jaw. He rode a black horse, one hand holding the reins, the other gripping a flagpole tipped with a gleaming silver spearhead. From the pole hung a great red banner, and at its center, embroidered in black satin, was a single enormous character: "Roving."

The rapid beat of hoofbeats came from ahead, and before long two riders, likewise in white caps and blue robes, came galloping along the official road. Only when they reached the rider bearing the great banner did they suddenly haul on the reins. Both warhorses reared, forehooves high in the air, then slammed down hard upon the ground.

One of the riders cupped his hands toward the banner-bearer from horseback and said with a grin, "Company Commander, the Zhu rebels who left the city have split into two columns — one heading northeast, one heading east. Neither is any kind of elite force, and both are carrying plenty of fat sheep... The brothers up ahead have already caught quite a few! Let's hurry and grab some too!"

The other rider added, "The brothers scouting ahead also report that in the column heading northeast there may be the Zhu rebels' Emperor and Empress, and in the column heading east there's probably a Crown Prince! But who knows if it's true?"

"What?" The banner-bearing man, addressed as a commander, stared with round leopard eyes. "The Zhu rebels' Emperor has left the city? Then who's up on Zhengyang Gate?"

(End of Chapter)