Chapter 163: Besieged

Ma Jinzhong set down his wine bowl, belched, and a foul stench burst from his mouth; his swarthy face was tinged with a greenish-pale pallor.

He squinted his already drunken eyes, swept a glance over Hundian Wang and Renyi Wang, who were burying their heads in their food, and said with disdain: "I say, you two chiefs, is it that you haven't had mutton in a long while? Why so greedy? What I said earlier—are you two willing or not?!"

Renyi Wang held a lamb leg bone in his hand, chewing a large chunk of mutton as he mumbled indistinctly: "Chief Ma, if you have something to say, just say it. Old Zhang and I are listening!"

Of the three, his strength was the weakest; he had fewer than ten thousand men under his command, and only a thousand or so veteran soldiers he could field, so he had long since put himself in his proper place.

Hundian Wang Zhang Sanshun had over ten thousand men under him, with more than two thousand veterans, making him one of the stronger forces in the northwest; but compared to Ma Jinzhong, who commanded over two thousand cavalry and more than ten thousand infantry, he still fell far short.

When he heard that Ma Jinzhong had designs on becoming the boss of the northwestern bandits, though he was unconvinced in his heart, he had no choice but to yield to superior strength and could only wait and see how the wind blew. This time too, he had been forced by circumstances to come and merge forces, thinking to follow along and fight an easy battle to pick up some gains, then make plans once his power grew.

Hundian Wang set down a fatty piece of mutton, wiped his grease-stained hands on his robe, swallowed the meat in his mouth, and then spoke: "I've heard that the newly arrived Governor, old Sun, wiped out the Dashing King Gao at Black Water Valley; the Dashing King had a large and powerful force—the three of us combined couldn't match him. Chief Ma, didn't your kinsman Ma Shizhong also follow the Dashing King? This time it's likely bad! Now with Regional Commander Cao and young General Cao here in Fengxiang, that's already enough for us to handle. If we stir up too much trouble and draw that Governor Sun over here, what then?"

Ma Jinzhong snorted: "As for my brother's situation, I don't know either—every man has his own fortune, let him be! Old Zhang, you're just timid. Regional Commander Cao and young Cao we do fear a bit, but saying that Governor Sun could come here just shows you don't understand anything!"

Renyi Wang took up the thread and asked: "Chief Ma means Governor Sun can't reach our side? How do you figure? Isn't this territory of ours also under Governor Sun's jurisdiction?"

Ma Jinzhong raised his wine bowl and took a big gulp, wiped the wine stains from the corner of his mouth, looked at the two men who were waiting eagerly for him to continue, and after a pause, said smugly: "You two don't know—in that northern Shaanxi territory, the righteous army numbers several hundred thousand men, and they're raising quite a ruckus over there! How would the court have any leisure to bother with us? Right now they must be mustering large forces to suppress the northern Shaanxi righteous army! Could Governor Sun not go?"

Hundian Wang retorted unconvinced: "What Chief Ma says, I know all of it. But if the court wipes out the northern Shaanxi righteous army, won't they turn back around to deal with us?"

Renyi Wang chimed in: "Old Zhang makes a good point! We'd better hold back a bit. I say let's not attack Lingtai—robbing the big households of grain and breaching a city to kill officials are two different things. If we truly anger the court, once they finish with northern Shaanxi they can come for us! I think if we keep our raids small, the court won't take much notice, and as long as we have wine to drink and meat to eat, that's fine!"

Ma Jinzhong glared and bellowed: "Bullshit! With guts like a pair of dogs, how did you two ever become righteous army?! Now in Fengxiang and Pingliang, what big households are left for us to rob? Those cowards have nearly all fled into the county towns with their grain and gold! Outside there's nothing left but poor farming villages and mud-legged peasants! Would those wretches, even poorer than us, keep meat for us?! It's true the Dashing King Gao was wiped out, but how many years did the court spend to capture him? Is a few hundred thousand righteous army in northern Shaanxi easy to suppress? As I see it, without three to five years, the government troops simply can't take northern Shaanxi! While we have this window, if we don't grow ourselves, are we just supposed to lie down and wait to die?!"

Ma Jinzhong's speech left Renyi Wang and Hundian Wang with nothing to say in reply.

The two thought it over carefully—what Ma Jinzhong said did indeed make sense.

Gao Yingxiang too had risen from a small bandit to a great outlaw chief; this group of theirs had known the Dashing King's name even before they rebelled, and only this year had Gao Yingxiang been wiped out by government troops. This showed that not all government troops fought like the two Generals Cao.

Now, as Ma Jinzhong had said, they should seize the opportunity to grow strong while the government troops were likely throwing their full force into suppressing the northern Shaanxi righteous army and had no time for them for the moment.

Robbing the big households in the countryside alone was useless—those households were merely landlords with somewhat more land, and the grain and supplies stored within wouldn't be much. But a county town was different: the wealthy of the county almost all lived in the city, along with all sorts of shops and the government storehouses—how much good stuff would that be? If they could take a county town, the grain and gold inside would be worth a hundred big households!

And once they had enough capital, wouldn't recruiting soldiers and buying horses be easy?

At this thought, Hundian Wang slapped the table and shouted loudly: "We're doing it! We'll attack Lingtai!"

Renyi Wang followed: "Fine! We'll listen to Chief Ma! If young General Cao comes looking for trouble again, our tens of thousands of men will be just enough to destroy him!"

Ma Jinzhong clapped his hands together and said happily: "Good! Now that's how chiefs should act! Today let the lads rest well; tomorrow we head east! Once we breach the city, I, Ma Jinzhong, will not go back on my word—we three split the good stuff equally!"

Just as the bandit camp was bustling with activity, on an unnamed plateau several li northeast of White Stone Plateau, several government scouts in cotton armor crouched in the tall, dense grass, gazing toward White Stone Plateau.

This plateau's terrain was somewhat higher than White Stone Plateau a few li away; standing on it, the entirety of White Stone Plateau and the terrain for over ten li around lay in full view.

Though this plateau was more strategically formidable than White Stone Plateau, it was smaller in area and not suited for stationing a large army.

After surveying the surroundings for a long while and confirming that Upper and Lower White Stone Plateau had only one main road on the south side, with the other three sides being steep slopes and dense forests, the man at the lead made a hand gesture, and the group hunched over and turned northward.

At the edge of a hidden grove on the plateau, several government scouts hid behind trees, bows drawn and arrows nocked as they warily scanned their surroundings; a dozen or so war horses were tethered to tree trunks, leisurely nibbling at the weeds on the ground.

With the rustling sound of footsteps, figures emerged faintly from the tall, thick wild grass as the scouts who had finished reconnoitering the terrain crawled out from the grass. That government squad leader called everyone to gather close, briefly explained what they had observed, then ordered several scouts to return to camp and report, while he led a few men to stay and continue investigating. The several scouts acknowledged the order, went to the trees, untied the reins, mounted their horses, turned their heads, and with a squeeze of their legs, galloped northward.

On a flat, wide stretch of wasteland thirty li north of Jingzhou in Pingliang Prefecture, all manner of banners fluttered in the wind; nearly ten thousand Qin troops were resting in place by their respective camps, awaiting orders to prepare for the midday meal.

Throughout the entire camp, only the occasional neigh of a war horse could be heard; whether officer or soldier, all were forbidden from conversing with one another. The government troops sat in circles on the ground by squad, with swords, spears, muskets, and all manner of weapons placed at their sides, ready to form ranks and meet the enemy at a moment's notice.

When men pass ten thousand, they stretch beyond the horizon without end.

The entire Qin army camp stretched for over ten li; viewed from above, this stretch of ground had become a sea of fiery red. Apart from the officers in black iron armor, all Qin soldiers wore bright red cotton armor, and red tassels fluttered from their conical iron helmets. Set against the vast swath of vivid red, every soldier looked exceptionally valiant and imposing.

Scouts constantly galloped in and out of the Qin army camp, relaying all manner of military intelligence.

At the center of the camp stood Sun Chuanting's command tent, with eight personal guards standing solemnly on each side of the entrance, swords at their hips.

Inside the tent, behind a large table, Sun Chuanting was bent over examining a map, while Xie Renxing, dressed in a scholar's robe, was busily working nearby with several recruited literati.

Sun Chuanting had led his troops southwest from Yan'an Prefecture, passing through Heshui and Ningzhou in Qingyang Prefecture before arriving at Jingzhou in Pingliang Prefecture yesterday—only a little over two hundred li from Fengxiang Prefecture.

The Qin army had first rushed from Xi'an Prefecture to Yan'an Prefecture, rested only a few days, and then turned back toward Fengxiang Prefecture. By the time they reached Jingzhou yesterday, they had marched over a thousand li in more than twenty days, losing more than three hundred men along the way to illness, falls, and other injuries. These sick and wounded had been placed in the prefectural and county towns they passed for treatment, with appropriate men left behind to look after them; once recovered, they were to return to Xi'an Prefecture.

The sound of hoofbeats came from far to near, but those inside the tent were unaffected and continued their own busy work, not knowing which scout had come to report military intelligence this time.

Regional Commander Zhou Yuji had sent out several groups of scouts to the south, north, and west to investigate the terrain and military situation within a radius of roughly forty li.

With a sharp shout from the personal guards outside the tent: "Halt! Dismount!"

Several riders a dozen or so paces from the tent reined in their horses and dismounted, then announced loudly outside the tent: "Report! Urgent military intelligence!"

Hearing this, Sun Chuanting straightened up and called out: "Come forward and report!"

A scout strode quickly into the tent, dropped to one knee, clasped his hands in salute, and reported loudly: "Report to the Governor! Thirty li ahead, a large force of roving bandits has gathered! Numbering fully thirty thousand or so!"

Everyone in the tent stopped their work and looked toward Sun Chuanting.

Sun Chuanting's brows shot up as he demanded: "Did you see the bandits' banners? Which bandit force is it? How much cavalry? Any sign of striking camp? Come closer! Mark the position on the map!"

The scout saluted, rose, and came to the large table. He hesitated a moment as he looked at the crude, rough map, silently estimating the bandits' position in his mind, then extended a finger and pointed at a spot: "Reporting to the Governor, the bandits are here! Your subordinate saw no banners raised by the bandits and cannot tell which force they belong to! Though numerous, they are in complete disorder; the cavalry should number over a thousand mounts! No sign of striking camp!"

Sun Chuanting looked at where the scout pointed, then swept his gaze around the surrounding area and immediately understood—the bandits had gathered in force, clearly aiming for Lingtai County town.

He immediately ordered the entire army to eat, form up and march south at the hour of wei, and be sure to reach the bandits' encampment before nightfall.

The next morning around the hour of chen, just as the bandits on White Stone Plateau were noisily finishing their meal and Ma Jinzhong had ordered the entire army to advance on Lingtai County, the scouts he had sent out came back in a flurry to report: ten li below the plateau, a large body of government troops had been spotted; the only passage connecting White Stone Plateau to the outside world had been blocked by government troops, and the tens of thousands of righteous army were trapped on White Stone Plateau.