Chapter 104: Meeting Face to Face

After nightfall, Huang Degong led a dozen or so personal guards out through the north gate, rode several li north before circling east, and finally met Chen Qiyu in a mountain gully ten li east of Shouzhou city.

By this time, tens of thousands of roving bandits had already gathered east of the city. Guotianxing and Hun Shiyang led their respective troops and spent several hours setting up camp within a radius of several li outside the city, waiting for dawn to attack the eastern city wall. The reason they did not choose to attack at night was mainly that people of this era generally lacked nutrition and commonly suffered from night blindness. If they carried torches or lit bonfires, they would only serve as targets for archers in the dark.

The Fengyang relief troops packed the narrow mountain gully to the brim. More than three thousand Xuzhou soldiers plus two thousand from the new Fengyang Guard—except for Guo Tai and his twenty-odd personal guards who had horses—the rest were all infantry.

Chen Qiyu led his forces to the vicinity of Shouzhou around noon. Guo Tai's personal guards were sent out as scouts—first, to probe the enemy situation, and second, to find a campsite where the army could conceal itself and rest.

After finding this mountain gully, Chen Qiyu came personally to inspect it. He was quite satisfied with the location, so several thousand government troops camped there.

On the road from Fengyang, Chen Qiyu had already encountered Shouzhou's messenger halfway. After setting up camp, Chen Qiyu sent several men back together with the messenger, intending to report to Shouzhou that he had arrived with his army.

These men had not gone far when they happened to meet the personal guards Huang Degong had dispatched, so they brought Huang Degong's guards back to camp to meet Chen Qiyu. After receiving his orders, they returned to the city and reported to Huang Degong.

The scouts detected that the roving bandits were moving their camp toward the east gate. To avoid exposing their position, Chen Qiyu decisively ordered all scouts recalled. Soldiers were forbidden to make noise, cooking fires were not allowed to show open flames, and no lanterns or lights were permitted at night, lest the bandits' scouts discover the army's movements. In truth, the roving bandits had never paid much attention to scouting, but to guard against any contingency, the government troops strictly enforced the military orders.

The reason Chen Qiyu was so cautious was that he planned to launch a surprise attack from behind while the bandits were assaulting the city, hoping to inflict a heavy blow in one stroke—giving the emperor and the court a pleasant surprise and completely erasing the negative impact of the Chariot Gorge defeat on his reputation.

In a large ox-hide tent lit by a faint candle, Huang Degong met Chen Qiyu.

Although Huang Degong had never met Chen Qiyu before, he deeply admired this famous first Governor-General of the Five Provinces. Though his tenure had lasted less than a year, under Chen Qiyu's command the Ming army had dealt heavy blows to the roving bandits who seemed poised to spread across the entire Great Ming. Though the ending was not perfect, few among the military officers disputed his breadth of vision and depth of strategy.

Because the lamplight was dim and visibility poor, Huang Degong could not clearly make out the several men inside the tent. After respectfully performing the military salute to Chen Qiyu, who wore a large red official robe, Huang Degong felt slightly puzzled: Lord Chen should be seated in the host's position, but why was a military officer sitting side by side with him? That shouldn't be! When we military men meet high officials like a Governor, we should only stand below the dais!

Just as he was pondering this, Chen Qiyu called him by his courtesy name and laughed: "Hushan, come pay your respects to Governor-General Lu!"

Governor-General Lu?

Huang Degong was stunned for a moment. A name flashed through his mind like lightning!

Lu Xiangsheng!

The man in armor sitting side by side with Chen Qiyu was actually Lu Xiangsheng, the Commander-General of the Five Provinces!

Huang Degong quickly stepped forward, knelt on both knees, and in his excitement loudly announced himself: "Your subordinate, Vice Regional Commander of Shandong, Huang Degong, pays respects to the Governor-General! I have long admired your reputation! I never expected to meet the Governor-General in Lord Chen's tent! Your subordinate has been remiss!"

"General Huang, please rise! I have heard that you are His Majesty's favored general. That you have heeded the call and come from a thousand li away to reinforce us shows you are a truly dutiful and responsible commander!" Lu Xiangsheng said with a gentle smile.

Huang Degong stood up, cupped his fists, and replied: "Governor-General, Lord Chen, as a Ming officer, obeying superior orders is simply my duty. I do not deserve your praise!"

Lu Xiangsheng praised him: "If all Ming officers were like General Huang, why would we worry about failing to destroy the bandits and barbarians!"

Chen Qiyu laughed: "Hushan, you must be wondering how Governor-General Lu came to be in my tent?"

Huang Degong quickly cupped his fists and said: "Your subordinate is indeed a bit confused! I knew the Governor-General was previously in the Chuzhou area and assumed it would be several more days before he could arrive with his army. I never imagined I would see the Governor-General here tonight!"

Lu Xiangsheng smiled and replied: "I arrived in the vicinity with my cavalry around the hour of wei. The infantry is still over a hundred li away. Along the way, my scouts fanned out to reconnoiter and happened to discover Lord Chen's camp, so I came to coordinate with him!"

Huang Degong suddenly understood. Lu Xiangsheng commanded the Liaodong cavalry, whose Night Scouts were all battle-hardened veterans with rich experience. Although the Fengyang army was hidden in the mountains, they had still left quite a few traces. The roving bandits only patrolled near their own camp and had not sent anyone to scout the surrounding area. The two armies were not far apart, yet the bandits had not discovered them.

But the Liaodong Night Scouts' reconnaissance range was extremely wide—not just several dozen li ahead, but also the hills and thickets on both flanks, to guard against ambushes. It was one Night Scout who, while gazing into the distance from a nearby hilltop, spotted the Fengyang army's tents.

When Lu Xiangsheng learned that government troops were camped nearby, he immediately guessed they were the relief forces from Fengyang. After instructing Li Chongjin to find a suitable place to conceal the troops, he brought a few personal guards and came here.

While waiting for Huang Degong to arrive, Lu Xiangsheng firmly declined Chen Qiyu's invitation to take the host's seat. Chen Qiyu's seniority far exceeded his own—he had passed the jinshi examination many years earlier—and was a senior figure in both officialdom and the examination halls. Lu Xiangsheng also greatly admired Chen Qiyu's abilities. In the end, Chen Qiyu proposed that the two sit side by side, and only then did Lu Xiangsheng reluctantly agree.

Chen Qiyu spoke up: "Governor-General Lu and I have already deliberated today. Since Hushan has arrived, let us ask Governor-General Lu to explain the battle plan for this engagement to Hushan, so that all parties may act accordingly!"

Lu Xiangsheng did not decline further. After all, he was the imperially appointed minister in charge of military affairs for the five provinces, holding ultimate command and decision-making authority.

He said gently: "This time, our army's several columns have all arrived. The Dashing King and the Chuang bandit have grown lax and careless—this is the perfect opportunity for us to annihilate the roving bandits! I have already ordered my force of over ten thousand to march day and night, and they are expected to arrive after noon tomorrow!"

Huang Degong was thrilled upon hearing this: he had never participated in such a large-scale battle. Tens of thousands of government troops attacking hundreds of thousands of roving bandits from three directions, with two renowned civil officials overseeing the battle—this battle was sure to be a great victory!

Lu Xiangsheng continued: "After this discussion, General Huang will return to the city and immediately begin arranging the city defenses. Tomorrow the bandits are expected to launch a full-force assault. General Huang must hold the city at all costs and await the arrival of the Tianxiong Army! Shouzhou is like a fortress blocking the bandits' advance route, and with pursuers threatening their rear, once the bandits are exhausted and their morale wanes, Governor-General Chen and I will launch a pincer attack and catch them off guard. General Huang must sally forth from the south gate in time—under the combined assault, the bandits are certain to be defeated!"

Huang Degong clasped his fists and said: "Rest assured, my lords. Your subordinate will definitely hold Shouzhou to buy time for the main army to arrive! However, I have a plan and am not sure whether I should speak it or not?"

Lu Xiangsheng and Chen Qiyu said simultaneously: "Speak!"

Huang Degong said: "Your subordinate observed the bandits' formation from the city wall. Though their numbers are great and their camp vast, their disposition is utterly chaotic! I wish to send men tonight to raid the bandit camp! This would disrupt their plans for tomorrow's assault and delay their attack, buying more time for the Governor-General's main army to arrive!"

Lu Xiangsheng and Chen Qiyu pondered this. After a moment, Chen Qiyu spoke first: "This plan is excellent! The bandits may already know there are reinforcements in the city, but relying on their numerical superiority, they have not taken the reinforcements seriously! Nor would they ever imagine we would dare a night raid! If this plan succeeds, it will surely deal a heavy blow to their morale!"

Lu Xiangsheng also said: "I concur with Lord Chen! This plan is feasible! But reserves must be kept at the city gate to receive the raiding troops upon their return. Also, bring plenty of tinder and flammable materials—set fires in multiple places to throw the bandits into chaos! If we can find their cavalry camp, even better! Seize the chaos to burn their fodder and startle their warhorses—once the horses panic and stampede, the casualties they cause will exceed those on the battlefield!"

Chen Qiyu praised: "Governor-General Lu's words are excellent! If the night raid goes smoothly, the bandits will surely suffer great losses! Shouzhou may well become the burial ground of the Dashing King and the Chuang bandit!"

Lu Xiangsheng added: "The target of tonight's raid will be the bandits' main camp to the south! The enemy to the east is somewhat fewer in number—they are merely a detached force. I judge that the south holds the Dashing King's main camp and cavalry! So, strike where it hurts most! General Huang, everything depends on you!"