Chapter 28: Victory Report

Mou Dayong saw the bandits in chaos, then roared: "Archers fall back, cover fire, spearmen and sword-shield men advance, go!"

The archers' achievements inspired the militia behind them. Seeing that the bandits opposite were even worse off than themselves—at least they had knives and spears in hand, while the enemy wielded clubs and dung forks—the militia's courage surged. Following Mou Dayong's roar, they stepped forward. Two hundred spearmen formed four ranks front to back. The front rank advanced holding spears over a zhang long, while the ranks behind gripped their spears tightly and followed close, their steps disorderly but carrying a measure of momentum. The sword-shield men on both flanks held wooden shields in their left hands and waist knives in their right, guarding the spearmen's sides.

Passing by Nine Dragons, who was pinned beneath his mount, a sword-shield man swung once and cut off the head of Nine Dragons as he struggled to free himself from under the horse. The great bandit who had terrorized the region for years died at the hands of an unknown militiaman.

Zuo Erhu sat on his horse, watching Nine Dragons fall and the chaos ahead, fury burning in his heart. He drew his blade and roared: "Sweeping Tiger, have the foot soldiers in front fall back to both sides. Take the Old Camp up and have the musketeers and archers pin down their formation!"

Li Hanwa, hearing this, unhooked his waist knife and waved it at the Old Camp behind him: "Up!" He spurred his horse forward at a trot, slashing left and right with his scabbard to drive off the foot soldiers blocking the way, cursing loudly for them to get out of the way.

By now most of the bandit foot soldiers ahead had fled into the fields on both sides. Once those blocking the official road were driven off, the militia's spear formation was only a few dozen paces from Li Hanwa. Li Hanwa reined in his warhorse. Over twenty archers and musketeers caught up behind him. The archers drew and loosed a volley at the militia, while several musketeers blew on their match cords and fired. Several loud reports rang out, and smoke instantly shrouded the front. Cries of pain rose from the militia spearmen as well—all twenty-odd arrows landed among the densely advancing spear ranks. Several militiamen struck in the head or neck died on the spot; the rest who were hit toppled over, clutching their wounds and screaming. One spearman in the front rank took a musket ball to the chest, spat blood, and fell dead—the shot had shredded his innards.

The militia fell into panic, their formation halting at once. Many turned their heads looking around, ready to flee. Mou Dayong, riding on the flank of the formation, had escaped the barrage. Seeing the militia on the verge of collapse, his eyes went wide with a hint of bloodshot, and he roared: "Advance, advance! Anyone who retreats will be executed!" With that, he dug in his heels, raised his blade, and charged.

By then the bandits' second volley of arrows had arrived, and another dozen or so men fell. Seeing the Constable charging forward on horseback, some of the braver militia shouted and followed with blades and spears toward the bandits. Mou Dayong's warhorse was about to reach the archer ranks when a long arrow flew from behind and struck dead center in his eye socket. The tremendous impact knocked him backward off his horse, and he died as he hit the ground.

A few dozen paces away, Zuo Erhu lowered his longbow and stared coldly ahead. He had meant to shoot Mou Dayong's horse, never expecting to hit a vital spot and kill the man outright.

Li Hanwa saw the enemy commander fall and roared with excitement: "The dog magistrate is dead! Charge!"

The archers had scattered to both sides, and the bandit Old Camp surged forward. Seeing their Constable slain, the militia lost all will to fight. They scattered in a rout, throwing down their spears and sprinting back the way they came. Xun Wenli, at the rear, saw this and let out a long sigh, thinking: is this the place where pursuit means death?

Zuo Erhu knew the victory was his. He ordered the cavalry behind to pursue. The bandit foot soldiers who had fled into the fields saw the tide turn in an instant and ran back toward the official road. A mass of infantry began fighting over the blades and spears the militia had abandoned on the battlefield, and the road fell into chaos again. When the bandit cavalry arrived, they were blocked by their own foot soldiers. Zuo Erhu and Li Hanwa cursed loudly, but the din was so great the infantry couldn't hear them, and the cavalry had no choice but to halt.

At that moment, the earth began to tremble. Zuo Erhu looked about in alarm. Dense hoofbeats rang out like hammers on drums. On the right side of the official road, a hundred-odd paces away, a cavalry force suddenly appeared in his sight. Zuo Erhu screamed: "Government troops! It's government troops! Government cavalry! Quick, quick—form up, form up!"

The infantry fighting over weapons were startled by the rolling thunder of hooves. They straightened up and looked around. The moment they saw the dust plume of the charging cavalry, the Yongwei Camp's horsemen crashed straight into the bandit ranks from the flank with a thunderous impact.

Luo Shifang rode at the very tip of the wedge, alone in front, with his personal guards half a horse-length behind on either side. The entire cavalry formed a cone, spreading wider toward the rear.

The first to bear the brunt was that hundred-strong cavalry. Luo Shifang released the reins and swept his spear forward with both hands. Several bandits who had no time to react were knocked from their saddles, then trampled to pulp by the charging warhorses.

Luo Shifang's spear swept side to side without cease. The bandit cavalry's formation was paper-thin, and in the blink of an eye he had cut straight through them. After the horses surged forward a bit more, Luo Shifang wheeled his mount and charged at the disordered infantry, the cavalry following close behind. After several repeated charges, no clusters of enemies remained on the official road—the bandits had scattered in every direction. Luo Shifang disdained to chase such rabble. He reined in his horse and ordered the cavalry to continue the pursuit, sparing any who knelt. Then he sent a guardsman to inform Xun Wenli to have the militia clean the battlefield and gather the surrendered bandits.

Xun Wenli had just been about to draw his sword and kill himself. The blade was barely out of the scabbard when the Yongwei Camp charged past. In less than half an hour, the so-called bandit cavalry and Old Camp had been cut down to almost nothing.

Xun Wenli stood dumbfounded, then, forgetting all dignity, screamed at the top of his lungs. The fleeing militia heard the thundering hooves and stopped in their tracks. Turning back, they too were stunned by what they saw. When the guardsman Luo Shifang had sent relayed the order to clean the battlefield, the militia erupted in cheers and raced each other toward the field.

Xun Wenli found Mou Dayong's body and stroked it, weeping without end. The militia picked up the blades and spears they had discarded and searched everywhere. Whenever they found a wounded bandit groaning, the enraged militiamen ran them through with spears, then cut off their heads. Some rifled through the dead bandits' clothing, and finding silver, glanced around to make sure no one was watching, then secretly tucked it into their robes.

The fleeing bandits' two legs could not outrun the cavalry's four. Amid the shouts of "Kneel and live!", the vast majority knelt where they were, awaiting the government troops' disposition.

The Yongwei Camp's cavalry had the arriving militia bind the bandits' hands behind their backs with their own belts, then drove them together on the official road. After a count: twelve Yongwei Camp men wounded, none killed. The militia had twenty-eight dead and sixteen wounded. In total, over seven hundred bandits had been slain and over eight hundred captured. Thirty-eight horses were seized, along with three muskets and several hundred blades, spears, bows, and arrows. Armor on the dead bandits was stripped off as well.

Identified by captured bandits from the Old Camp, Zuo Erhu, Li Hanwa, and other bandit chiefs had all died in the Yongwei Camp's first charge. Zuo Erhu's body had been trampled beyond recognition by the warhorses—it was only through his armor and clothing that an Old Camp soldier recognized him.

Luo Shifang did not dismount. The wounded soldiers would return to the county seat with the militia for treatment. Leaving fifty cavalrymen to help the militia escort the prisoners back to the county seat, he led the rest toward Zuo Erhu's stronghold.

Nearing the stronghold, they met a Yongwei Camp soldier coming to report. The stronghold had already been taken, with no friendly deaths and only a few light wounds. Luo Shifang ordered a hundred men left behind to watch the horses and stand guard, then led the remaining soldiers on foot up the mountain into the stronghold.

The fighting inside the stronghold had just ended as well. Yongwei Camp soldiers were escorting prisoners and cleaning the battlefield, burying the dead. Seeing Luo Shifang arrive, the Company Commander leading the force, Sun Kaizhong, saluted and reported: "This officer led his unit in ambush near the stronghold gate, waiting until the main bandit force had marched far down the mountain before striking the gate. These grass bandits were truly lax—the few old and weak men guarding the gate hadn't even closed it. After disposing of several sentries, this officer led the unit charging into the stronghold. The bandits' elite had all marched out; only the old, weak, women, and children remained. After killing several dozen, one shout of 'Kneel and live!' brought surrender from the rest. This officer was just interrogating the bandits on where their storehouse is. This officer judged that the general must have won, so sent men to report and invite the general to come inventory the spoils!"

Luo Shifang laughed: "What 'Neat King,' what Old Camp—border troops by origin, yet no better than clay dogs and straw horses! A few charges and they're gone without a trace! Magistrate Xun is a sensible man—he knew exactly why I came to the stronghold and didn't say a word. It seems when I report back to Lord Sun, I'll have to put in a good word for him. A fine man—it would be a pity if he went home to retire!"

Just then a soldier came to report that Zuo Erhu's storehouse had been found, and invited the general to come inventory it.

Luo Shifang, Sun Kaizhong, and several other Company Commanders went to the rear of the stronghold, where several storehouses sat on a stretch of flat ground, guarded by armed Yongwei Camp soldiers.

Luo Shifang and the others walked to the door of the first storehouse. Sun Kaizhong drew his waist knife and chopped off the lock. Luo Shifang entered first, the others following.

Inside the spacious room were a dozen or so wooden chests of varying sizes, all locked. Sun Kaizhong went to a large chest, raised his blade to cut the lock, then flipped the lid open with one hand. A blinding white light flashed. Sun Kaizhong sucked in a sharp breath. Luo Shifang and the others hurried over to look—the huge chest was packed with neat rows of silver ingots, each a full fifty taels. By rough estimate, the chest held around ten thousand taels.

Even Luo Shifang, born to a prominent family, had received only ten taels a month as an allowance back home—he had never seen so much silver. He was deeply shaken. The others, all from poor families, stood stunned, greed flickering in their eyes.

Luo Shifang was the first to recover. He coughed, and the others snapped back to their senses. They then opened the remaining chests one by one. The large chests all held silver. The smaller ones held jewelry, jade, and antiques—some of the ornaments still stained with blood, spoils of Zuo Erhu's robbery and murder. A preliminary estimate put the total at seventy to eighty thousand taels of silver—the accumulation of Zuo Erhu's years of plunder. Quite staggering.

Sun Kaizhong carried a small, heavy chest to Luo Shifang. When opened, golden light blazed—it was packed with gold ingots. Luo Shifang took it, weighed it in his hand, and estimated three to four hundred taels.

Luo Shifang pondered a moment, then set the chest on the ground, crouched, and took out the gold ingots, dividing them into several equal piles on the ground. He and the four Company Commanders each got exactly sixty taels.

He stood and said: "This gold is easy to carry. Take one share each—and make sure no outsider learns of this!" The men were overjoyed and reached for the gold to tuck into their robes. Sun Kaizhong hesitated, then took out ten taels of gold and offered it to Luo Shifang, saying: "The general is the commander. How could a commander share equally with his subordinates? You should take more!"

The others snapped to attention and each took ten taels from their own share to hand to the commander.

Luo Shifang laughed and cursed: "You've followed me for years now. Don't you know what kind of man I am? Stash it and get out. Remember—never let an outsider know!"

Sun Kaizhong scratched his head and grinned: "Offering is our duty; accepting is the general's kindness!"

The men tucked away their gold and left the building, then went to inspect the other storehouses.

Of the remaining storehouses, two were granaries holding a full three thousand dan of grain. One was a warehouse of cloth, salt, needles, thread, and similar supplies—after all, Zuo Erhu commanded over two thousand men, and daily consumption was enormous. Another storehouse held weapons, armor, and a few sacks of gunpowder. Luo Shifang and the others naturally thought little of these. After leaving the buildings and discussing among themselves, Luo Shifang decided that aside from the silver, everything else would be left to Shanyang County. After all, he led cavalry—there was no way to transport the grain back to Xi'an, and organizing laborers and carts would take considerable time. Luo Shifang had no patience for it, so he simply gave Xun Wenli the favor.

Since the largest bandit force in Shanyang had been wiped out, no danger remained in the vicinity. Luo Shifang gathered all his soldiers except the fifty guarding prisoners and the storehouse, and announced a reward of ten taels of silver per man, fifteen for the wounded. The government troops roared with joy—this equaled over half a year's pay for them.

After the rewards were distributed, Sun Kaizhong found several carts in the stronghold and directed soldiers to load the chests of silver—five full carts. Several soldiers who had driven carts back home served as drivers, and Luo Shifang led his men back with the carts. Passing the county seat, he sent word to Xun Wenli to arrange men and carts to transport the grain and escort the prisoners, saying he still had military orders to fulfill and could not call in person, but would surely speak of Magistrate Xun's merits before the Governor upon his return. The Yongwei Camp soldiers on the mountain and the dozen or so recovering in the county seat would catch up with the main force once Shanyang County took over the aftermath.

Since there was no need to rush on the return, and the carts laden with silver moved slowly—requiring the men to lift and carry them over ruts and rough patches—it took a full five days to get back to Xi'an.

Sun Chuanting, Zhuang Yuanzhou, and Cui and Xie—the men who had scouted the Xi'an forward guard in previous days—were discussing strategy in the inner study when Sun Zhi'an came to announce that Luo Shifang had returned and was waiting outside the gate.

Sun Chuanting hurriedly bade him enter. Luo Shifang, still in his armor, strode into the study, knelt on one knee, and reported loudly with clasped hands: "This officer, by your orders, launched a surprise attack on the bandit force of the Neat King Zuo Erhu in Shanyang County. We slew the bandit chiefs the Neat King Zuo Erhu, Sweeping Tiger, and Nine Dragons, killing over seven hundred enemies in total and capturing eight hundred. Our own unit had twelve wounded and none killed. While engaging the enemy, this officer sent Company Commander Sun Kaizhong to storm the bandits' stronghold. In total we seized over seventy thousand taels of silver and three thousand dan of grain, with countless other supplies. As the grain was inconvenient to transport, this officer brought back only the silver. I beg your pardon for acting on my own authority!"

Everyone in the room was overjoyed. Sun Chuanting rose, beaming, and helped Luo Shifang to his feet, laughing in praise: "General Luo is a true fierce warrior! The Yongwei Camp lives up to its name as the finest army under heaven! Victory in the first battle—four hundred men breaking an enemy several times their number, with not a single death. You rival the finest troops of Han and Tang! Hahaha! Come, come, sit down quickly and tell us the full story of this battle!"

Luo Shifang saluted and sat, then recounted in detail how he had led his men to Shanyang, met with the magistrate, devised the ambush, charged into the fray, and sent officers to storm the stronghold. Hearing that the Shanyang magistrate—a civil official—had taken the field himself, and that the Constable had fought to the death, all present sighed with admiration.

Zhuang Yuanzhou smiled and clasped his hands in congratulations to Sun Chuanting: "You have been in Shaanxi less than a month and already wiped out a bandit force—how gratifying, how congratulatory! The first fire has been lit; now we shall see how the second burns!"

"It is all thanks to His Majesty's discerning eye, sending elite troops like the Yongwei Camp, and a fierce general like Luo to aid me. In the days ahead I will need all of you to offer your counsel without reserve. Together we will pacify Shaanxi as soon as possible!" Sun Chuanting declared with feeling.

Everyone reseated themselves. Sun Chuanting took the host's seat, Zhuang Yuanzhou and Luo Shifang sat on the left, and Cui Shisheng and Xie Renxing on his right—civil and military arrayed in full complement.

Zhuang Yuanzhou said: "My lord, you should immediately draft a victory report and submit it to the court. First, to reassure His Majesty and the ministers; second, to rouse the morale of the other government forces fighting the bandits. Reports of government victories are rare these days. I believe your victory dispatch will go some way toward reversing the dispirited state of the other troops!"

Sun Chuanting praised: "Zhongfang speaks well. You shall draft the victory report! Shifang deserves the highest credit, the Shanyang magistrate's bold assumption of duty the second, and the fallen Constable's deeds must also be reported so the court can compensate his family. Once the seal is affixed, send it by six-hundred-li express to the capital!"

Zhuang Yuanzhou acknowledged the task. Sun Chuanting continued: "The next step, as we just discussed, is to take the guard stations to task. We have both our own firsthand findings and intelligence from the Embroidered Uniform Guard's chiliarchy—the matter has reached a point where it must be dealt with, or it will become another popular uprising! Shifang's great victory comes at just the right time, to make those who pay lip service to my orders tremble, and to show that Sun is no man arriving in Shaanxi empty-handed! Shisheng, Renxing—while Mr. Zhuang drafts the victory report, the two of you shall issue a notice in the Governor's name, summoning all officers of chiliarch rank and above from Xi'an's three guard stations to a meeting at the Governor's hall before the si hour the day after tomorrow. Any who fail to appear without cause will face military law!"