Chapter 184: Before the Battle

On the twenty-eighth day of the twelfth month in the ninth year of Chongzhen, the encampment of Lu Xiangsheng's forces outside Yun County was filled with laughter and cheer—joy shone on the faces of every officer and soldier in each camp.

He Kai, Bureau Director of the Ministry of War's Military Appointments Bureau, arrived with the relevant personnel. After publicly reading the imperial edict and the promotions and rewards granted to the officers and soldiers, the entire army was elated and inspired.

Once He Kai finished proclaiming the edict, he went to Yunyang Prefecture to rest before hurrying back to the capital. Having to travel far from the capital on official business during the New Year naturally displeased him. Moreover, though he was a Bureau Director of the Ministry of War, he had never cared for military men, and this trip offered little profit—with a newly promoted Grand Secretary like Lu Xiangsheng present, he dared not openly solicit bribes.

Upon learning of their promotions and rewards, Zu Kuan and the others' earlier grievances vanished completely.

Zu Kuan leapt from Regional Commander to a first-rank grand general, surpassing his father and standing shoulder to shoulder with his uncle, with hereditary privileges besides. This filled him with smug satisfaction, yet also left an indescribable taste in his heart.

Li Chongjin was even more delighted, beaming from ear to ear.

When he and Zu Kuan had been ordered to the interior to suppress the bandits, he too had been deeply resentful. He never expected that in just over a year, he would climb step by step from Mobile Corps Commander to the rank of Regional Commander. He knew full well that had he stayed in Liaodong, he'd have been lucky to reach Assistant Regional Commander by the time he died.

All men are selfish—who doesn't wish for promotion and wealth, to bring glory to their ancestors?

But the number of senior officer posts in Liaodong was limited, and even when the court approved promotions, they went to those connected to the Zu family.

In Liaodong, military promotion wasn't based on merit—it was based on connections.

Without connections and backing, no matter how many battle merits you earned, it was useless. You'd top out at Mobile Corps Commander.

But once war broke out, you as Mobile Corps Commander had to lead the charge—and if you died in battle, that was just your bad luck.

Li Chongjin wasn't part of the Zu family's inner circle. Had his family not guarded Liaodong for generations over a hundred years, and had he not been tough and able to take a beating, he wouldn't even have made Mobile Corps Commander.

I gave my all in Liaodong, and I've repaid the Zu family's kindness. I, Li Chongjin, no longer owe the Zus anything. From now on, it's time to repay His Majesty's appreciation.

Li Chongjin quietly made his resolution.

Huang Degong, Qin Yiming, Gao Qixun, Wu Qun and the others naturally became even more loyal to Zhu Youjian. Everyone felt their efforts hadn't been in vain—all their toil had been repaid in full.

Lu Xiangsheng appeared calm and carefree on the surface, but in his heart, his gratitude toward Zhu Youjian was beyond words.

A scholar dies for one who appreciates him.

He had risen from Prefect of Hejian to the lofty position of Grand Secretary. Though he had devoted himself wholeheartedly to the Great Ming along the way, without His Majesty's appreciation and grace, without His Majesty shielding him from the countless attacks in the court, his official career would never have been as smooth as it was now.

Lu Xiangsheng knew his own weakness: he was too upright, scorned intrigue and schemes, good at planning affairs but poor at planning for himself.

Such a temperament, by all rights, was unsuited to standing in the court. Had he met an emperor with weak ears, no matter how great his merits, he would have faded away under various machinations—or even met an end of utter ruin.

His Majesty was truly a wise ruler of broad mind. Since the eighth year of Chongzhen, His Majesty had shed his former impatient, suspicious nature and become steady, magnanimous, brilliant, and wise.

Whether in his own case or that of Hong Chengchou and Sun Chuanting, His Majesty always employed men without doubt and doubted not those he employed, repeatedly encouraging his ministers to act freely and take bold responsibility. He also provided powerful support and guarantees in logistics and supplies, which made the previously arduous bandit-suppression campaign increasingly easy.

Now civil officials, military officers, and soldiers alike were all filled with confidence in completely eradicating the roving bandits, sweeping away the earlier pessimism, doubt, and low morale. The previous crisis had been thoroughly reversed.

The Dashing King had already been beheaded, and Shaanxi was basically pacified. As long as the Dashing General and his forces before them were slain, the bandits that had plagued the Great Ming for around a decade would be entirely wiped out, and the jumping villains beyond the passes would ultimately meet their doom as well.

The various forces that had campaigned for years abroad didn't place much importance on the New Year. Especially the soldiers of the Tianxiong Army—they had followed Lu Xiangsheng fighting north and south since the second year of Chongzhen and hadn't returned home in years. Compared to their fallen brothers, being alive was enough; whether they celebrated the New Year didn't matter.

On the eighth day of the first month in the tenth year of Chongzhen, two contingents of the Capital Camps finally arrived at Yunyang Prefecture after more than a month of long-distance marching. Upon learning that Lu Xiangsheng had camped at Yun County, Shenji Camp Regional Commander Mao Yuanyi and Wujun Camp Regional Commander Feng Xun, after arranging their own encampments, each led their personal guards to ride together to Yun County thirty li away to pay respects to Lu Xiangsheng, Grand Secretary of the Eastern Pavilion and Coordinator of Five Provinces, and receive his deployment and arrangements for the various forces in the coming Battle of Yunyang.

In the main hall of the Zhushan County yamen, the Eighth Great King Zhang Xianzhong sat arrogantly behind the great desk where the County Magistrate normally held court, while his adopted son Ai Nengqi, fully armored with hand resting on his waist saber, stood at his side.

Two rows of armchairs were arranged below the hall, where Old Muslim Ma Shouying, Wrinkled Eye He Yilong, Cao Cao Luo Rucai, and Sky-Collapsing Heaven Liu Guoneng sat with their chief generals.

Luo Rucai shot a glance at the solemn-faced Zhang Xianzhong and thought to himself: Damn your mother, we're all righteous armies—why the hell are you sitting up there! Since when did we become your subordinates?

Liu Guoneng, meanwhile, thought: I wonder if Old Li Number Four has managed to see the Governor, and I wonder what the court thinks of our surrender.

Before receiving Zhang Xianzhong's summons for all the leaders to come to Zhushan to discuss important matters, Liu Guoneng had already dispatched Li Laosi, who was always traveling, to Xiangyang, carrying heavy bribes to buy off officials in the government, hoping to gain an audience with Fang Kongzhao, the Huguang Governor stationed in Xiangyang.

Luo Rucai spoke up carelessly: "I say, Eighth Great King, what's this business you've called us here for? Don't tell me you've caught a bunch of beauties and want to share them with us?"

He Yilong, Old Muslim, and the others who knew his nature burst into loud laughter.

Luo Rucai was lecherous by nature. After leading his troops from place to place, sacking prefectures and counties, his first order of business was always to have his men scour for beautiful women for his pleasure. Even now, his tent held dozens of women from all over the Great Ming—debauchery in broad daylight was routine for him.

Zhang Xianzhong waved his hand grandly and laughed: "What are a few women worth? When you leave, I'll gift you a few, Old Luo!"

Hearing there really were beauties, Luo Rucai's earlier discontent vanished instantly. He clapped his hands and laughed: "The Eighth Great King is truly generous! I, Cao Cao, owe you one!"

Zhang Xianzhong put away his smile and said gravely: "I've invited all you leaders here today because I have important matters to discuss with everyone! This concerns the very life and death of all our righteous armies! All leaders must perk up and listen well!"

Seeing how serious he was, the others put away their joking and frolicking and sat up straight to hear him continue.

Zhang Xianzhong looked at them with satisfaction, leaned forward with one arm resting on the armrest of his chair and the other elbow propped on the great desk, sweeping his gaze across the crowd as he continued: "My boy went to Xiangyang earlier to buy supplies and picked up some news: Gao the Dashing King was captured in Shaanxi, sent to the capital, and sliced to pieces by the court! The Dashing King's army was completely wiped out!"

The men below the hall exchanged looks of alarm upon hearing this.

Whatever sour remarks they made openly or privately, in their hearts they had to admit that Gao Yingxiang's power was far beyond their own. Especially his nearly twenty thousand elite Fan and Han cavalry—all the other bandits combined couldn't match them.

How could such a formidable figure just vanish like that? Which government army was so fierce?

This wasn't their fault. In this age of extremely blocked information, they knew nothing of the Battle of Shouzhou months earlier. They had spent these months roaming through the mountains and rivers of Xiangyang Prefecture, with no way to learn of major events in the outside world.

Recovering his wits, He Yilong spoke up first: "Eighth Great King, is this news reliable? Which government army defeated the Dashing King?"

He was from Suide Prefecture in Yan'an, a fellow townsman of Gao Yingxiang's. Though he had joined Gao Yingxiang's ranks because he couldn't stand being controlled by others, he still greatly admired his fellow townsman.

Cao Cao chimed in: "Those twenty thousand elite cavalry under Gao the Dashing King weren't pushovers! We've fought the government armies for years, and the ones who can actually fight number only a few units. I've never heard of any government army capable of swallowing Gao the Dashing King whole!"

Zhang Xianzhong said in a deep voice: "Months ago, I joined forces with Gao the Dashing King to attack Shouzhou, but unexpectedly we were ambushed by government forces attacking from inside and out. After that, I led my men all the way from South Zhili to here, and Gao the Dashing King's forces also suffered heavy losses. Seeing the government armies massing, he had no choice but to head for Shaanxi—and there, in Xi'an Prefecture, Shaanxi Governor Sun Chuanting captured him!"

Zhang Xianzhong's expression was very grave as he spoke of Gao Yingxiang's capture, but in his heart, he still felt incomparably pleased.

Old Muslim Ma Shouying said in surprise: "Where did this Sun Chuanting come from? Could he be even more formidable than Hong Chengchou? Looks like Shaanxi is off limits!"

Zhang Xianzhong nodded: "Old Ma's right—we can't go to Shaanxi! Hong Chengchou was already there, and now there's an even tougher fighter in Sun Chuanting! What I have to say isn't just about Gao the Dashing King—we're in trouble now too!"

The men, already unsettled by Gao Yingxiang's capture and execution, grew even more tense at his words.

Zhang Xianzhong said solemnly: "Before the New Year, my men reported to me that government scouts seemed to be spying on us! I then sent men north to investigate, and they found government checkpoints on the road south of Yun County—they couldn't go any further! That means government troops have arrived at Yun County, though we don't know how many! I figure it must be Lu the King of Hell! They're the same forces that ambushed us at Shouzhou!"

Old Muslim had heard of Lu Xiangsheng's name but had never fought him.

Cao Cao hastily asked: "I've heard of this Lu the King of Hell—they say he can really fight. Eighth Great King, you've fought him. Tell us, is Lu the King of Hell tougher than Hong Chengchou and that fellow who beat the Dashing King?"

He Yilong said: "Tough or not is another matter. What's urgent now is to find out how many government troops there are. If there are a lot, we run; if there are few, we fight them!"

When Zhang Xianzhong learned government troops were coming, he immediately knew it was Lu Xiangsheng.

Now that Gao Yingxiang had fallen, the only famous names among the righteous armies were himself and Old Muslim and the others—the court would never let them go.

Zhang Xianzhong knew the government armies would come for him, but he hadn't expected them to arrive so quickly.

Only by defeating or driving back Lu Xiangsheng could his strategy of long-term operations at Huangmao Pass continue. Otherwise, he'd have to keep running.

Pan Du'ao and Xu Yixian were also extremely in favor of his strategy of occupying southern Yun as a base, and used the example of the founding emperor of this dynasty to encourage him: if one wishes to accomplish great things, one must hold a territory; if one still wanders about as before, one will forever remain a bandit.

But Pan Du'ao believed that although the terrain around Huangmao Pass was strategically important, it was not yet sufficient to serve as a true stronghold—the best base for the Xi'an Camp was Shu.

As long as they entered the difficult-to-traverse Sichuan region and then found a suitable place to settle, within a few years the Xi'an Camp would undergo a complete transformation.

Although Zhang Xianzhong felt what the two men said made sense, he was somewhat reluctant to give up the two counties he had managed for several months. Just as he was hesitating, the government troops had already arrived.

According to what his men had scouted, government troops had already appeared near Banqiao Mountain, northeast of Zhushan, numbering several thousand.

Banqiao Mountain was only a little over forty li from Zhushan. If they began retreating southwest to Dachang and Daning now, the government troops would soon catch up once they noticed.

If they ran south, they would enter Jingzhou Prefecture, crisscrossed with waterways; if walled cities blocked their path, the government troops would still be able to surround them like dumplings in a pot.

To the east was Xiangyang Prefecture, where Old Huihui and the others had just been defeated not long ago, and the government troops there were also numerous.

Running now was not the best choice. On the battlefield, once one side begins to retreat—even an orderly withdrawal—if the enemy pursues closely, the retreat can easily turn into a rout. This was especially true for the roving bandits, whose organization and discipline were extremely poor; such an outcome would happen nine times out of ten.

Moreover, to withdraw from Zhushan to Dachang, the journey was several hundred li, with several rivers in between and roads that were complex and difficult to traverse.

More importantly, there was no one to guide the way.

Zhang Xianzhong was not a man of grand strategy. After arriving in southern Yun, he had never thought of going to Shu, so he had not sent anyone to scout the route.

With an unknown road ahead and pursuers behind, it was basically impossible to safely withdraw with ten to twenty thousand men.

Now there was only one path to take: join forces with Old Huihui and the others, hold the Zhushan and Fangxian area, and if that truly failed, flee into the deep mountains.

But if they were truly defeated once more, recovering their strength would depend entirely on luck.