Chapter 54: Scouting the Path

Lu Xiangsheng led the Liaodong cavalry out of Hezhou city and advanced toward Chuzhou. The villages along the official road on both sides were deathly silent. Scout riders shuttled back and forth, continuously relaying the results of their reconnaissance. The roving bandits had already looted these villages clean—in each village there was almost nothing alive except corpses. The common folk had either fled, been killed, or been carried off.

This sort of scene was nothing new to Lu Xiangsheng. He promptly sent word to the baggage train behind, instructing them to bury the bodies of the slain villagers. The weather was growing hot, and if the dead were not buried, it would bring plague—that was the most terrifying thing of all. Once it spread, even the strongest army would lose its fighting ability.

The cavalry rode three abreast along the official road at a walking pace. When they had gone about twenty li from Hezhou city, Lu Xiangsheng ordered a halt to rest and wait for the Tianxiong Army infantry and the baggage train to catch up. The main body of cavalry came to an open area before a village beside the road. After arranging sentries around the perimeter, the riders dismounted one after another, removed saddles and weapons from their warhorses, and entered the village to find wells to wash and feed the horses. Lu Xiangtong volunteered, leading the Night Scouts of the Tianxiong Army to reconnoiter the enemy. After the great battle with Gao Yingxiang last time, they had captured several hundred warhorses. Apart from the wounded and crippled, over a hundred were still usable. Lu Xiangtong had selected more than thirty men skilled in riding and archery from the original Night Scouts, forming a cavalry squad with two horses per man. He then invited several experts from the Liaodong cavalry to train them. After more than half a year, this squad had become quite formidable.

The village was not large—only about a hundred households—but now it was completely empty. Lu Xiangsheng and Li Chongjin, accompanied by Wu Dading and several other personal guards, walked a circuit around the village and discovered more than ten corpses, all of them elderly people. Presumably these were people who had refused to leave their homes to flee the bandits and had been killed for it. Every household, inside and out, was in complete disarray. Lu Xiangsheng ordered his guards to carry the bodies to open ground behind the village and bury them. One guard came to report that the house of a wealthy family in the village had been cleaned. The two men followed the guard to that house to rest and wait.

Lu Xiangtong led more than ten riders at a trot along the official road. These riders were all veteran Night Scouts with rich experience. As weapons forged by the capital's Armory Directorate arrived in an unending stream, the Night Scouts naturally had first pick. Each man was equipped with a compact hand crossbow and three bolts with steel-tipped points—capable of piercing iron armor at twenty paces and leather and cotton armor at thirty. Each wore a buttoned-front cotton armor jacket lined densely with copper studs, greatly improving their defense against arrows. On their heads they wore conical iron helmets with red tassels, on their left arms small leather shields, and in hand each carried a slightly curved long saber suited for slashing. Bows were slung on the left side of the cotton armor, quivers on the right. In a pouch on the right side of the horse hung a short axe for throwing at enemies. This equipment could be called superb in the extreme.

After riding more than twenty li, Lu Xiangtong ordered a rest. The men came to a grove of trees at the foot of a small hill not far from the road. After dismounting, they tied the horses to several trees, took water bags and ration bags from the horses' saddle pouches. Two men were assigned to feed the warhorses, two climbed to the hilltop to keep watch, and the rest sat together in a circle, drinking water and eating.

Night Scout Zhao Yong took off his helmet, removed the inner lining, then pulled out several handfuls of fried flour from his ration bag and put it inside. He poured in water and kneaded it into a small dough ball, then pinched off a piece and stuffed it into his mouth. As he chewed, he laughed: "Damn, this is really good! Chief, you know what we used to eat before? That pickled vegetable was saltier than salt, that pot helmet bread was harder than stone—one bite and you'd crack half a tooth, and it didn't even fill you up. Less than an hour after eating, your stomach would start growling again. This stuff is way better. Damn, it smells great!" The others nodded in agreement.

Lu Xiangtong swallowed a big mouthful of fried flour, took a drink from his water bag, and laughed as he cursed: "You've only had a few proper meals and you've already forgotten what hunger feels like?"

Another Night Scout, Li Shitou, said: "The chief's right. Old Zhao, have you forgotten? In the seventh year of Chongzhen, we were chasing bandits in the mountains near Yingcheng. We ran out of food for three days. The commander himself ate tree roots and grass bark to set the example, and we held on until we killed Saodipi before coming out of the mountains!"

Lu Xiangtong continued: "I heard from a Ministry of War official escorting grain that this marching ration was thought up by His Majesty himself. His Majesty sympathized with how hard we have it fighting the bandits, so he created such fine food to supply the entire army. We can eat our fill now—don't forget His Majesty's grace!"

Zhao Yong said: "Let's not even talk about the army rations—that's thanks to His Majesty. But this armor and these weapons we've got now are truly formidable. I feel like I could take on five men by myself now!"

Zhao Shuangui, who came from the same village as Zhao Yong, chimed in: "Chief, we can't go back empty-handed on this scouting mission. We've got to kill a few bandits and bring back their heads, to show those Liaodong barbarians! Those barbarians walk around with their noses in the air every day, they look down on us!"

"Exactly! Let's kill a few rebel scouts this time and show those fellows!"

"I'm not bragging, but if we fought those barbarians now, we wouldn't necessarily lose!"

The Night Scouts all shouted in agreement.

Lu Xiangtong glared at them and said in a low voice: "Quiet! Zhao Yong, Shuangui—you two go relieve the brothers on the hill so they can come back and eat. In a quarter of an hour we move on!"

At that moment, Sun Cai, who had been on watch, came hurrying down from the hill. Reaching the men, he spoke: "Chief, there are several riders on the official road a few li ahead! They're heading this way!"

Lu Xiangtong immediately ordered everyone to prepare for battle. The men quickly put away their water bags and food and ran to their warhorses. Zhao Er also came down from the hill. After everyone mounted up, Lu Xiangtong said in a solemn voice: "There are no other government troops in this area, so whoever is coming must be bandit scouts! When we engage, everyone use bows first—those with good aim shoot the men, those without shoot the horses! Then charge in and fight hand to hand!"

The bandit scouts on the official road numbered more than twenty riders. Their leader was Ma Liu, an old bandit of horse-thief origins. Back when Gao Yingxiang was still a horse dealer, he had known Ma Liu and his gang of horse thieves. Gao Yingxiang would often sell weapons purchased from border troops to the bandits, and the bandits would hand over various goods they had stolen for Gao Yingxiang to fence. Gao Yingxiang was generous and open-handed, often buying stolen goods at higher prices than others, which earned him a good reputation among the horse thieves. In the first year of Chongzhen, when Gao Yingxiang rose in rebellion, many horse thieves flocked to join him.

Ma Liu, formerly just an ordinary horse thief, was now a minor leader commanding over a hundred riders. Since cavalry was useless for besieging cities, and with nothing to do in camp, Ma Liu had personally led more than twenty riders out to scout.

The bandit riders on the official road advanced in scattered groups of two or three. They were about seven or eight li from the main camp, and since they had just passed along this road a few days earlier, Ma Liu and his men were in a very relaxed mood. Those who were close friends rode together in groups, telling dirty jokes and laughing, with occasional bursts of lewd laughter rising from the column.

Ma Liu looked at a small hill not far ahead, then turned to Hu San beside him and said: "Once we get around that hill, we'll rest a bit and then head back. Back at camp we'll gamble in my tent—make sure you bring enough silver. Anyone who welches is a grandson!"

Hu San laughed: "Sixth Master is always eyeing our silver. Every time we gamble we lose everything. If Sixth Master is short on cash, just say the word—we'll hand it over directly!"

Ma Liu laughed smugly: "When it comes to gambling, you lot are hopeless. I, Ma Liu, don't even want to win anymore, but you bastards insist on playing with me. I couldn't refuse even if I wanted to, hahaha!"

The more than twenty bandit riders, chatting and laughing, gradually approached the hill, drawing closer and closer to the grove where the government troops were hidden. When they were about sixty paces from the treeline, a sudden twang of bowstrings sounded, and more than ten arrows flew out from the woods. The foremost bandit riders either took arrows and tumbled from their horses, or their mounts were struck by several arrows—men and horses went down in an instant, and several lost their fighting ability in the blink of an eye. Before the bandits could react, a second volley of arrows came flying, killing or wounding several more. The bandits in the rear were terrified out of their wits and wheeled their horses around to flee. At that moment Lu Xiangtong burst out of the treeline at the lead, with the rest of the government troops charging out behind him on horseback. A warhorse only has killing power once it builds up speed. The bandits, caught by surprise, needed a moment to turn and flee, while the government troops were charging straight ahead—their horses had already built up speed after covering several dozen paces. By the time the bandits had wheeled around and tried to accelerate, the government horses were already near their maximum speed. Lu Xiangtong urged his mount past one bandit rider, gripped his long saber, and swept it across the bandit's neck. That bandit flipped over and fell from his horse. A short axe flew past from behind him and slammed into the back of another bandit a few paces ahead, who pitched forward, then tilted sideways and fell from his horse. By now the government horses had reached full speed, and the few remaining bandit riders had no chance to fight back—every single one was cut down from their saddles.

Lu Xiangtong slowed his horse. The warhorse carried him forward several dozen paces on momentum before he pulled the reins, and the horse wheeled in a half circle and turned back. Lu Xiangtong shouted his orders: "Dismount and finish them off! Keep one alive to question about the bandits' main camp!"

The government troops trotted their horses forward slowly. At each fallen bandit, one man would dismount to check. Those who were gravely wounded but still alive were given the finishing blow. Then all the bandits' heads were severed, the short axes that had been thrown were retrieved, and the masterless warhorses were gathered up.

Lu Xiangtong rode back to the treeline, dismounted, tied his horse to a tree, then sat down on a rock. He took off his iron helmet, pulled out his water bag, and took several deep drinks. Zhao Yong came trotting over, took his water bag, and also gulped down a long draught. Setting the bag down, he let out a long breath and said: "Chief! The bandits' main camp is less than ten li away, and their defenses are lax! Chuzhou city hasn't fallen yet! That's all the bandits know!"

Lu Xiangtong's heart stirred. He gave his orders: "After you finish clearing the battlefield, bury the bodies. Then gather the brothers together—I've suddenly had an idea, and I want to discuss it with everyone!"