Chapter 386: Narrow Road

"Company Commander, we're already dozens of li south of Songshan city here at Desheng Fort—why do we still need to go out scouting? If the Jianzhou barbarians were coming, wouldn't the forts ahead have already sent word? I say we scout another eight or ten li ahead, then hurry and find a sheltered spot to warm up by a fire! Spring's been here for nearly two weeks now, so why is it still this cold beyond the pass?"

In the mountain forests west of Desheng Fort, a Ming army Night Scout squad of a dozen or so men led their warhorses in a winding path through the woods.

This was a Qin army Night Scout squad sent out to reconnoiter on orders, led by Company Commander Cui Xingyun, who was past thirty. He led his horse at the very front of the column, his bright eyes ceaselessly sweeping left and right, while his ears strained to listen and distinguish the various sounds coming from around them.

Following Night Scout regulations, the dozen or so men were split into front, middle, and rear groups, each spaced about twenty paces apart—within that distance, if the front group was ambushed, the middle group's crossbows could provide immediate support, and the rear group would react quickly as well.

The one who had just spoken was Platoon Leader Gao Jin, walking behind Cui Xingyun. He was slightly younger than Cui Xingyun, tall and lean, with a long horse face that matched his build.

Both men had originally been Night Scouts of the Shaanxi garrison, each with over a decade of military service and fine martial skills. But because the border troops were rife with factional infighting, though they had earned no small number of merits, their superiors had seized the credit and pinned it on their own favorites—leaving them with nothing but a bit of reward silver.

Cui Xingyun and the others were deeply dissatisfied, but an arm can't twist past a thigh, and in the end they could only swallow their anger and keep it bottled inside.

It wasn't until Sun Chuanting took up his post in Shaanxi and began drilling new troops that, upon learning the new army lacked veteran soldiers and paid wages on time, Cui Xingyun and Gao Jin and the others put their heads together and simply took their horses, armor, and weapons and fled by night to join Sun Chuanting's ranks.

Sun Chuanting was an upright man, but he was no pedant.

He had long understood the rot in the Ming border troops. Upon learning of Cui Xingyun and the others' circumstances, Sun Chuanting felt not the slightest aversion—instead he adopted an attitude of asking no questions and letting matters take their course.

Cases like Cui Xingyun's were hardly few. In the days that followed, low-ranking border officers and soldiers kept defecting to the new army upon hearing the news, until the total number reached nearly two thousand men.

As things developed into the later stage, the Regional Commanders and senior generals of these garrisons also learned of the situation—but who dared go knocking on the Shaanxi Governor's door demanding their men back?

Helpless, these military commanders could only order their units to maintain strict vigilance and forbid all soldiers from leaving camp before the situation finally eased.

These deserters from the Shaanxi garrison, Ningxia garrison, Yansui garrison, and even the more distant Gansu garrison were for the most part veterans rich in battlefield experience. Their arrival quickly built up the skeleton of the Qin army.

Though quite a few of these veterans did indeed have somewhat poor discipline, under the Qin army's strict regulations, meals that filled the belly every time, full military pay issued on schedule, and promotion for outstanding performance, these bad habits cultivated over many years were gradually corrected.

It was precisely under the leadership and example of these veterans that the Qin army, though a new force, rapidly grew into a strong one.

In the Qin army's subsequent campaigns, Cui Xingyun and Gao Jin and the others earned several merits in succession—but this time no one stole their credit. Promotions and rewards were issued together, and Cui Xingyun rose by accumulated merit to the rank of Company Commander, while Gao Jin obtained the rank of Platoon Leader, finally stepping into the ranks of Ming army officers.

"What the hell do you know! A few days ago I learned from the Assistant Regional Commander that a large force of Jianzhou barbarians has arrived at Yizhou, and they're reinforcing every day—Jinzhou and Songshan have both closed their city gates! The Assistant Regional Commander also told me that our army's scouts outside Songshan and Jinzhou have already clashed with Jianzhou scouts several times! Judging by the barbarians' intent, they want to probe our military situation all the way south—otherwise why would they send us out of the city to investigate?"

Cui Xingyun spoke to Gao Jin while warily observing the surroundings.

After arriving at the outskirts of the capital in the autumn of the tenth year of Chongzhen and resting for over a month, part of the Qin army received orders to deploy beyond the pass in batches, crossing past Ningyuan city and taking up positions in several fort cities.

Cui Xingyun and his fifty-odd Night Scouts were under the command of Assistant Regional Commander Lei Sheng. Their unit, over three thousand men in total, was stationed at Desheng Fort southwest of Songshan.

"Company Commander, tell me—are the Jianzhou barbarians really as formidable as the rumors say? We've fought the northwestern horse bandits, bandits, and roving bandits, and those horse bandits were tough customers—but didn't we slaughter them all in the end? Can the Jianzhou barbarians be stronger than horse bandits? Stronger than those foreign troops under the Dashing King?"

Though Gao Jin had a fearsome appearance, he was born as talkative as an old woman. When he was with Cui Xingyun, Cui Xingyun only needed to lend an ear—Gao Jin handled the rest of the conversation himself.

Since they were on their own turf front and back, the relaxed Gao Jin's floodgates of talk opened wide once more.

"Ambush!"

Cui Xingyun, who had developed the habit of listening to his chatter while scanning the surroundings, suddenly let out a low shout, his body simultaneously darting to the side, then crouching low to slip under his horse's belly.

With a soft "whoosh," a heavy three-edged arrow embedded itself in the ground where his body had just been, the long shaft still quivering gently.

Over a decade as a Night Scout had made Cui Xingyun's senses far sharper than an ordinary man's, and his body's rapid reactions had become nearly instinctive.

That faint twang of a bowstring had been caught by his keen hearing, and his body immediately made the corresponding evasive move.

But Gao Jin behind him, caught off guard, wasn't so lucky. Hearing Cui Xingyun's warning, he instinctively twisted his body—a bolt of lightning-like arrow pierced through his cotton armor and sank deep into his shoulder, the tremendous impact knocking him to the ground.

After hitting the ground, Gao Jin endured the sharp pain and rolled sideways to hide behind a large tree. He quickly scrambled up and sat with his back against the trunk. Several cries of agony and the mournful whinnies of warhorses came to him, followed by the sound of heavy bodies falling and crushing young saplings. He could tell the whinnying was his own horse.

Gao Jin pressed one hand over his wounded shoulder, took several deep breaths to steady himself, then cautiously peeked out from behind the tree toward the direction the arrow had come from.

After dodging the first arrow, Cui Xingyun reached into his horse's saddlebag and pulled out his crossbow, then swiftly moved from under the horse's belly to behind a tree.

The two Night Scouts following behind him and Gao Jin hadn't been able to dodge the heavy arrow ambush. One was struck in the neck and fell onto his back, clutching the wound as he struggled a few times before going still. A great torrent of blood gushed from the tear the arrow had ripped open, quickly staining a patch of ground red.

The other Night Scout took a heavy arrow to the chest. After a dull metallic clang, the impact knocked him down as well, but he immediately rolled over and hid behind a tree.

At the critical moment, the bronze mirror protecting his heart had saved his life.

Cui Xingyun pressed his body close against the tree trunk and peered toward the front and side.

Dozens of paces away, seven or eight figures were rapidly closing in on them, using the trees for cover.

The style of armor these men wore was extremely similar to that of the Ming regular army—the difference lay in the spike atop their helmets, which was long and slender, like an upright iron rod, with a lone white tassel fluttering from it looking rather forlorn.

"It's the Jianzhou barbarians! Use the guns!"

Though the Qin army had never met the Jianzhou barbarians face to face, only the Jianzhou barbarians would appear here to attack the regular army.

Especially the bloodthirsty expressions on those ugly, cold faces—they were exactly as the Jianzhou barbarians were described in legend.