Chapter 103: Scheming Minds

The roving bandits' fire arrows failed to ignite the water-soaked thatched sheds. The prepared spear troops were never needed—this one-sided slaughter was over in about a quarter of an hour.

The atmosphere in the arrow tower was lively; Liu Zhiyuan and the other Shouzhou officials were animatedly discussing the battle just past. When the roving bandits had attacked the city, they had watched the entire engagement through the observation ports on the side of the arrow tower.

Liu Zhiyuan exclaimed in admiration: "I never imagined firelocks could be so formidable! No matter how fierce the brigands, before a musket ball they're like paper! I saw with my own eyes a tall, burly bandit wielding a long saber get knocked flying by a single shot! The brigand's head was shattered by the ball—a ghastly sight too horrible to behold!"

Wang Wei said with a smile: "General Huang, from what I've heard, the imperial army's soldiers don't seem fond of using firelocks. They all say the barrels are prone to bursting, loading is slow, and range is short—far inferior to bows and arrows. Yet just now we saw that firelocks seem more powerful than strong bows and far more terrifying in sound and fury. What exactly is the reason for this?"

Huang Degong leaned back comfortably in his armchair and replied with a smile: "Your Excellency Wang, you may not know this, but the firearms our dynasty currently possesses are far inferior in quality to those of the time of Emperor Taizu and Emperor Taizong. In terms of power, naturally the firelock is greater. The bows used by the army's archers are mostly of seven or eight dou draw strength—at seventy paces they can wound unarmored brigands, at sixty paces pierce cotton armor, within forty paces break mail armor, and within thirty paces penetrate heavy armor."

Liu Zhiyuan and the others had always scoffed at military matters, believing that military officers were all crude and ill-mannered men, and that only scholars who read the works of the sages were the true pillars of governing the state. Now that the enemy was at the gates, they had gained a slight understanding of military affairs, and they listened to these common military facts with great relish—no doubt merely so that in the future they could boast to others of being versed in both letters and arms.

Huang Degong took a sip of tea and, seeing the several civil officials listening to his explanation with rapt attention, felt immensely pleased with himself: These bookworms have always looked down on us military men—only in times of chaos do they realize that pens can't kill brigands, and only spears and sabers can carve out a bright and clear world!

Mimicking the airs of civil officials, he cleared his throat and continued: "Ordinary firelocks are somewhat inferior to bows in range, but a well-crafted firelock is in no way inferior to a strong bow! The drawbacks Your Excellency Wang mentioned just now are in truth the result of years of shoddy manufacturing by the court. But the firelocks my unit uses today are finely crafted pieces made by skilled artisans personally selected by His Majesty—the old muskets are far inferior to them!"

Xu You picked up the thread: "May I ask how many of the new firelocks General Huang's unit is equipped with?"

Liu Zhiyuan, displeased at the interruption, spoke up: "In what ways are the new firelocks superior to the old ones?"

Huang Degong continued: "Not only are the new firelocks finely made, the gunpowder has also been improved—range and armor-piercing capability are greatly increased! The new firelock can break mail armor at fifty paces and heavy armor within forty paces! Range extends beyond seventy paces!"

Liu Zhiyuan asked doubtfully: "If that's the case, why does General Huang's unit have only a few hundred of these? If all several thousand men carried such firelocks, what would there be to fear from the roving bandits!"

Huang Degong praised him: "Your Excellency has a discerning eye! The firelock is powerful, but loading is too slow, accuracy is somewhat inferior to the bow, and it cannot be used in rain, snow, or high winds. I've heard that the Directorate of Armaments has already produced a new type of firelock that fires without needing a match cord to ignite it—saving loading time and impervious to overcast skies and high winds. If that's truly the case, and the entire imperial army is equipped with these, the destruction of the roving bandits would be just around the corner!"

Just as the assembled men were discussing animatedly, Huang Degong's personal guard came to report that the messenger sent to contact Chen Qiyu had returned.

The messenger entered, saluted the assembled men with a military gesture, then stood and reported in a loud voice: "Gentlemen, General! Governor Chen has already led his forces to a point ten li outside the east gate of the city! When I met with Governor Chen, I reported the situation of both sides in full detail. Governor Chen praised all the gentlemen for their meritorious defense of the city and stated that he would memorialize the court to request rewards for you all!"

Liu Zhiyuan and the others were overjoyed—to receive the promise of a personal memorial from the Governor requesting rewards would surely add commendations for promotion and advancement when the Ministry of Personnel conducted their evaluations.

The messenger continued: "Governor Chen orders the General to come to his position after nightfall—he has important matters to discuss. Governor Chen will not be leading his troops into the city!"

In Gao Yingxiang's great tent of the Dashing King's camp, Liu Wenxiu was giving a detailed account of the assault on the city.

Hearing Liu Wenxiu say that the Xi'an camp's forces were withdrawing from beneath the walls to make room for the Dashing King's camp to maneuver, Gao Yingxiang found it strange indeed.

He asked: "Boy, in today's two assaults, how many men did your Xi'an camp lose?"

Liu Wenxiu reported: "Reporting to the Dashing King, the Xi'an camp lost nearly six hundred men in total. After repeated failed assaults, morale has taken a heavy blow. I feared the losses would be too severe and that when my adoptive father returns he would berate me, so I dared not send more men to attack. And fearing I might delay the Dashing King's great enterprise, I took it upon myself to withdraw the Xi'an camp's forces, waiting until my adoptive father returns to the camp to decide!"

Guo Tianxing said suspiciously: "Your Xi'an camp has tens of thousands of men—how can a loss of a few hundred make you sound the retreat? By the old rules, whoever breaks the city first gets to loot alone for half an hour. All the wealthy households around Shouzhou have taken refuge inside the city—if you could loot alone for half an hour, think of all the good stuff! Would your Xi'an camp really yield such a prize to others?"

Another chief, Hun Shiwan, said: "You boy aren't telling the truth! When you were attacking, I sent men to observe the battle—the sound of firelocks from the city walls was unceasing! Could it be you noticed something wrong?"

Gao Yingxiang also looked at Liu Wenxiu standing in the tent with a suspicious gaze. None of Zhang Xianzhong's adopted sons were easy characters—passing up an easy profit was not the Xi'an camp's usual style.

Liu Wenxiu said with a bitter face: "The imperial troops on the walls had at least a hundred firelocks. This time I sent the old camp's men—these six hundred were all elite troops of the Xi'an camp. I never thought they'd be lost here! When my adoptive father returns, who knows how he'll punish me!"

Gao Yingxiang laughed: "Yellow Tiger is always boasting about his adopted sons, saying each one is a dragon among men—today they've shown their true colors! Since you knew the imperial firelocks were formidable, why didn't you send the newly recruited soldiers up the walls first? No matter how formidable the firelocks, bury them in bodies! Pile a thousand men on them—can his firelocks still fire?"

Guo Tianxing also said: "I heard your Xi'an camp set up only a dozen or so ladders—how many men can go up at once with that few? A hundred firelocks! If you'd raised a hundred ladders, what could his hundred firelocks have done?"

The chiefs in the tent all chimed in with ridicule, and Liu Wenxiu was so ashamed his head nearly hung between his legs.

Gao Yingxiang said with a smile: "Boy, these brothers here have all just given you advice. I, Gao Yingxiang, am a man of honor—I'll permit your Xi'an camp to attack once more, and I guarantee Shouzhou will fall! What do you say!?"

With tears in his eyes, Liu Wenxiu replied: "Dashing King, all you great chiefs, I'm truly terrified now! I've lost so many veteran soldiers—when my adoptive father returns, he might well cut off my head! I absolutely will not attack Shouzhou again! Once the Dashing King takes the city, my Xi'an camp will be content to sip the broth behind you!"

The chiefs of the Dashing King's camp in the tent burst into wild laughter. That Yellow Tiger was usually so arrogant—today his adopted son had lost all his face for him. A dragon among men, crying like a little child!

Gao Yingxiang waved his hand: "Enough. Go on, get out. Clean up the corpses beneath the walls!"

Liu Wenxiu wiped away his tears, saluted, turned, and left the great tent. The jeers and mockery behind him had no effect on him at all. He sneered inwardly: Go ahead and laugh, you bandit bones—there'll come a time for you to weep!

Gao Yingxiang watched Liu Wenxiu mount his horse and ride away through the open tent flap, and said in praise: "Yellow Tiger's adopted sons are no simple characters. He bit into fat meat and cracked his tooth on a bone—knew the meat wasn't good to eat, and then cast away both meat and bone. A ruthless one!"

Hun Shiwan said: "Dashing King, that boy wasn't telling the truth! Reinforcements must have arrived in the city! The firelocks on the walls numbered more than a hundred!"

Guo Tianxing spoke up: "I fear there are quite a few imperial troops! Could be several thousand!"

Hong Tianxing interjected: "Dashing King, so do we attack Shouzhou or not? With imperial troops defending the city, it won't be easy to take!"

Gao Yingxiang laughed heartily: "Do you think I've been dragging things out at Shouzhou for days without taking the city for no reason? I've been waiting for the court's reinforcements!"

Hearing this, all the chiefs looked at him with puzzled eyes. Some thought to themselves: Has the Dashing King gone mad? There are imperial cavalry behind us—if more imperial troops arrive, what good will come of it?

Gao Xiaoxi, who had remained silent until now, asked: "Dashing King, we have imperial troops nipping at our heels behind us. If there are also imperial troops in this city, we'll be rats caught in a trap!"

Gao Yingxiang stood up, swept his arm grandly, and said with boundless boldness: "The imperial cavalry behind us number barely two thousand. I have over ten thousand elite horsemen! Dealing with those cowardly donkeys who only know how to run is nothing! I dare say the reinforcements in the city number at most a few thousand—and they're not elite troops! If they were Lu the King of Hell's crack soldiers, they'd have come out of the city long ago to fight us head-on!"

Guo Tianxing followed up: "The Dashing King speaks truly! Apart from Lu the King of Hell, there's no one the Dashing King's camp truly fears!"

Gao Yingxiang clasped his hands behind his back and continued: "If I'm not mistaken, the imperial troops in the city must have come from Fengyang! Last year Yellow Tiger desecrated the Zhu Emperor's ancestral tombs, so the Zhu Emperor would surely send troops to Fengyang, fearing we might strike there again! We've been at Shouzhou for days, so the officials in the city would certainly have sent someone to the nearest city, Fengyang, for help! Fengyang has no choice but to help! Shouzhou has city walls; Fengyang doesn't! This Shouzhou is the gateway to Fengyang—since we came from the south, the Fengyang officials would think that after we take Shouzhou we'll come for them, so they might as well send troops to defend it—at least Shouzhou has walls!"

Hun Shiwan slapped his thigh and exclaimed: "Right! If we defeat the imperial troops in the city, then when Old Ma finishes with Chuzhou and goes for Fengyang, it'll be easy pickings!"

In truth, Gao Yingxiang knew his own bitterness—he had never imagined imperial troops would reach Shouzhou!

If he had attacked the city with full force earlier, Shouzhou would already have fallen! He had been too lax, too careless!

He had never intended to attack Fengyang, nor had he any thought of relieving pressure on Ma Shizhong around Chuzhou—he simply wanted to break Shouzhou to replenish his money and grain, then fight his way back to Henan.

Who would have thought that in just a few short days, reinforcements would arrive at Shouzhou! When had the imperial army's movements become so swift? Damn it all, this was truly bizarre!

His rousing speech just now was nothing more than a refusal to show weakness before his subordinates.

It was all that damned Yellow Tiger's fault!

Judging by the timing, the imperial troops must have arrived not long ago. If Zhang Xianzhong had attacked immediately upon receiving the order, Shouzhou would have fallen long ago, and the imperial troops' arrival would have been useless!

Now with a blockade ahead and pursuers behind, he had committed a cardinal sin of warfare.

If he abandoned Shouzhou and marched west directly, moving nearly two hundred thousand people would be slow and laborious—and if the imperial troops in the city seized the moment to sally forth, all they needed was to throw the battlefield into chaos to likely send his own forces into a complete rout! Of the nearly two hundred thousand, most were actually refugees—cannon fodder Gao Yingxiang had duped into coming to die. Their deaths mattered little, but he feared they would stampede into his cavalry—that was his true capital. If the imperial cavalry behind seized the opportunity to attack and slaughter, the consequences would be unthinkable.

Breaking Shouzhou was now the only way out. This had been the plan all along—who knew that a few days of delay would turn it into such an awkward situation!

Thinking this, Gao Yingxiang decisively gave his orders: Guo Tianxing and Hun Shiwan would each lead their forces to shift camp to the east gate, and once prepared, launch a simultaneous assault with the south gate—taking Shouzhou as quickly as possible at any cost. Gao Yingxiang also sent men to the Xi'an camp northwest of the city, ordering them to attack from the western wall. As for whether the Xi'an camp actually attacked, Gao Yingxiang didn't care—so long as they made a show of attacking, it would draw the attention of the defending troops and disperse their deployment. That would be enough.