Chapter 60: Pursuit 2

Under Xu Zhiyuan's guidance, Lu Xiangsheng went straight to the government office after entering the city, and upon reaching the second hall, Lu Xiangsheng took the seat of honor while Xu Zhiyuan and the others sat to the side as companions.

After servants served tea, Xu Zhiyuan smiled and said, "Your Excellency the Governor, the bandits have fled far away. Why not remove your armor and change into plain clothes to relax properly? This official has already arranged a banquet in the flower hall to wash away the dust of your journey."

Lu Xiangsheng took a sip of tea, set down the cup, and smiled: "I thank Your Excellency for the kind offer, but there is no need for a banquet—a simple meal will suffice. Wearing armor has become a habit; over time I even forgot I was still a civil official, hehe! Once the cavalry pursuing the roving bandits returns and the battle statistics are compiled, after the whole army eats and rests for an hour, I will lead the troops north to pursue the main force of the Dashing King's bandits. Today's rout was not their main force—Gao Yingxiang is the true mortal threat to our dynasty. As long as we wipe out Gao the Dashing, the remaining bandits will amount to nothing!"

Xu Zhiyuan smiled: "Your Excellency the Governor is truly a pillar of our dynasty—a civil official who carries out the deeds of a military commander, victorious in a hundred battles. It is said that the roving bandits fear Your Excellency to the extreme and have even dubbed you 'Yama the King of Hell.' This shows how resounding your reputation is, enough to make the bandits flee at the sight of you. We officials are all deeply ashamed of our inadequacy in comparison, hehehehe!"

Wang Renyuan and Zhao Yuzhi also heaped endless praise on Lu Xiangsheng's abilities. Lu Xiangsheng smiled bitterly and shook his head: "Where is there such a thing as victory in a hundred battles? What general in this world is ever undefeated? I merely devote myself wholly to repaying the sacred imperial grace and fear neither death nor danger. In several years of fighting the bandits, the hardships and perils encountered have been too numerous to count—we have held on solely through the soldiers' loyalty and righteousness toward the court. Over years of campaigning, countless fine young men have been buried in foreign soil. When I think of it, I feel deeply ashamed before their parents and families!"

Wang Renyuan clasped his hands and said, "What this official admires most is Your Excellency's loyalty and righteousness. I have heard that in every battle, Your Excellency fears neither arrow nor stone and even leads the charge into the fray—what courage that is! To be honest with Your Excellency, when the roving bandits climbed the city walls just now, I too gripped a sharp blade, wanting to fight the bandits myself. But on the battlefield, the bloody killing aura rushed at my face; the bandits were fierce and savage, my legs trembled, and I could barely hold my blade. So whenever I think of Your Excellency's ferocity, I prostrate myself in utter admiration!"

Zhao Yuzhi also praised: "What Lord Wang says is also this official's heartfelt sentiment. This was my first time on the battlefield, and I finally witnessed how perilous combat is. And this was merely a defensive battle—it cannot compare to the battlefields Your Excellency has traversed. Yet even such a small-scale engagement, I have no desire to experience a second time. Your Excellency is also a civil official, a jinshi by examination, risking life and death for the Great Ming—truly a model for our kind and the pride of us civil officials!"

Xu Zhiyuan continued: "We officials have also experienced life and death now. Just now, when the city was about to fall, we had already resolved to perish together with the city. Fortunately, Your Excellency arrived in time and saved our lives. I do not know about others, but after experiencing life and death, this official feels as though he has seen through everything. Forgive my bluntness—if the roving bandit rebellion is pacified, given Your Excellency's loyalty and ability, should you not enter the Grand Secretariat to take charge of affairs, this official would be utterly disappointed in the court!"

Wang Renyuan and Zhao Yuzhi also nodded repeatedly. Having shared hardship together, the scheming and calculation among them had vanished entirely. Their vision and perspective had now been elevated, and what they had just said came from the heart—not flattery or sycophancy. Although Lu Xiangsheng was an important minister, he was after all engaged in military affairs, and his voice in the imperial court was very limited.

Lu Xiangsheng waved his hand: "I accept Your Excellency's kind intentions. What I do is not for glory or wealth, but because I cannot bear to see the common people suffer devastation and displacement. The Emperor has entrusted me with such a heavy responsibility, and I tread carefully every day, as if walking on thin ice, terrified of failing His Majesty's trust. Fortunately, our Emperor is wise and decisive, giving me tremendous support from many angles. From the second half of the eighth year of Chongzhen until now, nearly a year has passed, and the situation has greatly improved. I am in the south, Governor Hong is in the north—if this situation continues, the roving bandits will eventually be destroyed. Of that I have no doubt!"

After drinking tea for a while, Lu Xiangsheng inquired about the specific circumstances of the defense of Chuzhou. Xu Zhiyuan recounted the battle in full, including how the three of them had prepared to meet death at the end, but omitted the part about entrusting Dong Qigao with escorting the young and old to flee to the Southern Metropolitan District. When the account concluded, all three heaped praise on Dong Qigao's talent and courage, and expressed their intention to submit a personal memorial to the court to commend his merits.

After hearing this, Lu Xiangsheng also expressed deep admiration for their integrity. He spoke: "The three lords and that Garrison Commander Dong managed to resist the bandits without losing an inch of territory under such a disparity in strength between enemy and ourselves. I will certainly submit a memorial to commend your merits. This battle also cost my Tianxiong Army no small casualties, especially among the severely wounded who need quiet recuperation. Our army is about to march out again, so I would ask Your Excellency to temporarily house these wounded. It would be best to engage skilled Bureau Directors of medicine to treat them properly, and they need attentive daily care—preferably coarse-working women from the countryside, for women after all know how to care for people. I will leave silver to cover the costs of medicine and servants, so as not to put Your Excellency in difficulty. I will also leave several men to watch over them, and once their wounds are fully healed, they will leave together!"

Xu Zhiyuan said solemnly: "Rest assured, Your Excellency the Governor. The soldiers were wounded to relieve the crisis of our Chuzhou—this matter is our city's unshirkable duty. We will certainly see that the wounded soldiers fully recover their health. As for the matter of silver, this official finds it hard to accept Your Excellency's words. From top to bottom, Chuzhou is filled with people who bear gratitude in their hearts. If this official spreads word of this matter, I believe the gentry and common folk will compete to donate funds for their care!"

Lu Xiangsheng smiled and clasped his hands in thanks: "What Your Excellency says is reasonable—I was being overly ceremonious, hahaha!" Everyone burst into hearty laughter together.

At this moment, a servant came to report that the banquet was prepared and invited the lords to take their seats. Lu Xiangsheng then went to the flower hall to dine, while Wu Dading and Hu Chun were accompanied by government office staff for their meal.

During the meal, Lu Xiangsheng did not drink wine. After sampling a few fine dishes, he asked for staple food. Because of his long time in the military and daily martial training, Lu Xiangsheng had an astonishing appetite. Chuzhou was still north of the Yangtze, so the locals' staple was also steamed buns—large buns weighing several liang each. Lu Xiangsheng ate eight in one go, leaving Xu Zhiyuan and the others stunned and dumbfounded. They could never have imagined that a proper civil official of jinshi background would wolf down his food with such gusto, utterly lacking in refinement—and eat so much besides. The several of them sighed inwardly, their admiration for Lu Xiangsheng growing several measures more.

After the meal, Lu Xiangsheng was to return to the military camp. Xu Zhiyuan and the others saw him off at the city gate. Lu Xiangsheng mounted his horse and galloped away with Wu Dading and Hu Chun.

Returning to the simply pitched camp, Li Chongjin, who had pursued the routed bandit remnants, had already led his troops back. The cavalrymen had removed their armor and unsaddled their horses, and were standing in the cleaned waters of the Chu River washing and grooming their warhorses. Judging from everyone's expressions, this pursuit had yielded considerable gains, and the Sichuan infantrymen were all beaming with joy as well.

Countless gentry and common folk had come to the camp, arriving of their own accord. The goods they brought to reward the troops were piled up like mountains—wine, meat, vegetables, and grain were everywhere. After expressing their thanks, they left their gifts and departed. People kept returning to the city while new arrivals kept coming—the entire camp was as bustling as a market fair. All this deeply moved even the Liaodong cavalry and the Sichuan army, who had always regarded commoners as livestock and dogs, and many of them began to change their attitudes from this point on.

Upon arriving at the main tent, Lu Xiangsheng sat behind the large desk. Tianxiong Army Adjutant Yang Maogong, Li Chongjin who had been promoted to Vice Regional Commander, Sichuan Army Regional Commander Qin Yiming, Mobile Corps Commander Gao Qixun, and others came forward one by one to report on the battle.

In this battle the government forces won a great victory. From the initial infantry engagement to the subsequent pursuit by cavalry and Sichuan troops, nearly forty thousand bandits were killed in total. The Liaodong cavalry chased for over thirty li, and in the end only the bandits' mounted force and some major chieftains escaped northward. The government horses were spent, so Li Chongjin finally called it off. On the way back they naturally searched and stripped the corpses, and every man came away with substantial gains.

Government casualties numbered over a thousand, including four hundred thirty-seven killed and six hundred fifty-three wounded. The vast majority of the casualties were suffered by the Tianxiong Army—the bandits' desperate attacks had inflicted enormous losses upon them. The Liaodong cavalry lost seven men, all of whom had their horses stumble and throw them before being hacked to death by the bandits' blades. The Sichuan troops had pursued a shorter distance and excelled at small-unit fighting, so they suffered no fatalities, only a few light wounds.

Lu Xiangsheng smiled: "This great victory is a rare one indeed. I will certainly submit a memorial to the court detailing this battle in full. All you generals need only wait for your merits to be rewarded!"

The generals were all overjoyed—it seemed everyone would be getting promoted again this time.

Lu Xiangsheng continued: "You all saw just now how the gentry and common folk of Chuzhou treated the government troops. Whether commoner or soldier, all are subjects of the Emperor. Therefore, the various vile military habits of the past must be corrected, so that we may not betray the people's support and affection!"

Li Chongjin and the two Sichuan generals looked sheepish. The Tianxiong Army had always maintained strict discipline, but the other two armies had more than once harassed and harmed the common people. It seemed these bad habits would have to be changed from now on—all of them thought simultaneously.

Lu Xiangsheng continued: "The whole army gets extra rations—the logistics camp the same! After eating, rest for two hours, then strike camp and head north. We are going to meet the Dashing King Gao Yingxiang again!"