Chapter 92: Advancing on Separate Columns

Chen Qiyu immediately sent men toward Chuzhou, because Lu Xiangsheng was already on the road rushing to Fengyang. The purpose of sending men was to make Lu Xiangsheng change his marching route — to cut straight from Chuzhou to Shouzhou and attack the roving bandits from the east.

He ordered Huang Degong's personal guards to turn back, telling Huang Degong not to rush to Fengyang but to cut straight from Huaiyuan to Shouzhou and seek an opportunity to attack the bandits. From the intelligence Chen Qiyu had obtained, the water level of the Guo River was already very low — soldiers could wade across on foot, so there was no need to muster boats for transport, which would save a great deal of money and resources.

As for himself, he would personally lead two thousand elite troops of the Fengyang Guard, plus more than three thousand men under Guo Tai, launching an attack from the northeast. This formed a posture of three columns advancing separately. Under the pincer attack of over twenty thousand elite government troops, the Dashing bandits and the Xi'an bandits would be lucky to escape with their lives, let alone their skins. What he did not know was that behind Gao the Dashing there trailed a Liaodong cavalry force of over two thousand men — and those were wolves waiting for the chance to pounce and tear their prey apart.

Chen Qiyu knew very well that if he wanted to continue to accomplish anything at court, military merit was the only path.

Especially since, from the intelligence brought back by the scouts, Zhang Xianzhong and Gao Yingxiang had now joined forces — this was a perfect opportunity to win distinction.

Chen Qiyu already knew that the culprit who had destroyed several structures of the imperial mausoleum and burned the Dragon Rising Temple was Zhang Xianzhong. Word had it that the Emperor hated Zhang Xianzhong to the bone and had once declared that all bandits under heaven could be pardoned — only the Xi'an bandit could not.

Zhang Xianzhong was incomparably cunning. Knowing that burning the imperial mausoleum would enrage the Emperor, from then on he had always stayed close to Gao Yingxiang, using Gao the Dashing as a great tree to shelter himself, lest the government troops hunt him down with reckless abandon.

As long as he could capture and kill the Xi'an bandit this time, his position as a capable minister in the Emperor's eyes would become unshakably secure, and his future career would proceed smoothly. If he won further merit on the battlefield against the roving bandits, taking his place among the court officials in the future would be only natural, and entering the Grand Secretariat was also quite possible — and that would be the highest glory a minister could attain. As long as the Great Ming did not fall, the descendants of the Chen family would benefit endlessly. At this thought, he immediately gave the order: the Fengyang Guard and Xu Prefecture's Guo Tai's forces were to prepare at once, and once ready, the entire army would advance on Shouzhou.

On the official road from Chuzhou to Fengyang, a vast army was marching. The column was divided into four parts: the Liaodong cavalry formed the vanguard, the Tianxiong Army personally established by Lu Xiangsheng formed the center, over six thousand Sichuan troops formed the rear, and the baggage camp brought up the very back.

Lu Xiangsheng was not in the ranks of the center army, but in the Liaodong cavalry column of the vanguard, with over a dozen personal guards following behind him. Li Chongjin rode slightly behind by half a horse's head, keeping him company at his side.

Apart from three hundred riders detached to the very rear to protect the baggage camp, the remaining thousand-odd riders of the Liaodong cavalry advanced at the very front as the vanguard, keeping a distance of about ten li from the Tianxiong Army behind them. Lu Xiangtong led his hundred-odd riders as the point, ranging twenty li ahead to scout the road conditions and enemy movements.

Because the weather was hot, the army had assembled early and eaten their meal. Taking advantage of the cool of the morning, the vanguard had set out around the hour of Mao. Now it was nearly noon, and they had already traveled nearly thirty li from Chuzhou city. Summer days were very long. If they made camp and rested before darkness fell, at the current pace they could march about eighty li today — this was already very fast. The distance from Chuzhou to Fengyang was over two hundred li, and barring accidents, they could arrive in three days.

The official road from Chuzhou to Fengyang was well maintained — wide and flat, with ample room for three riders to advance abreast.

Lu Xiangsheng silently calculated the roving bandits' marching route and speed in his heart, then compared it with the government troops' marching speed and reached a conclusion: although his own side had fought a major battle at Chuzhou, it had not taken long. After the battle they had rested only half a day, then set out for Fengyang early the next morning — there had been no delay at all in between.

And although the Dashing bandits and Xi'an bandits had set out several days earlier than his own side, judging by the vast scale of the bandit host, their marching speed, and their habit of looting along the way, his own side could certainly reach Fengyang earlier than Gao Yingxiang, and would have more time to calmly arrange their formation to meet the bandit army in battle.

Of course, all these deductions were based on the premise that Gao Yingxiang and Zhang Xianzhong intended to attack Fengyang again. If the bandits' objective was not Fengyang but somewhere else, and he led his troops in pursuit, then he would have made a great detour for nothing.

Looking at the bandits' route, heading south was absolutely impossible — only north and west were open to them. Fengyang lay to the northeast of the bandits' direction of advance. Moreover, it had no city walls, and Zhang Xianzhong had attacked it once last year — there was no telling he might not go and wreak havoc there again. In any case, the bandits absolutely must not be allowed to disturb the imperial mausoleum again. Compared to Fengyang, the importance of the other prefectures and counties was ultimately somewhat lesser.

Because of the distance and the complex terrain along the way, Zu Kuan's force had never been able to make contact. His role was essentially to harass the roving bandits and keep them constantly worried about their rear. But his force was too small to confront nearly two hundred thousand bandits head-on. Only after the main force arrived, with the cooperation of the infantry, could an attack be launched against the bandits.

At this thought, Lu Xiangsheng turned sideways and said: "Chongjin, send five hundred riders ahead to Fengyang at once, and inform Governor Chen to make early preparations, lest the bandits send a small detachment on a surprise raid. The various guards at Fengyang are weak in combat strength — if the bandits send elite troops on a swift strike, I fear they would collapse at the first clash. If your five hundred riders are there, the bandits will find it hard to succeed."

Li Chongjin had been transferred from Liaodong to the Central Plains to suppress the bandits, and had followed Lu Xiangsheng for nearly a year now. During that time he had experienced several battles of various sizes, going from initial resistance and opposition toward Lu Xiangsheng to the admiration and respect he felt now. By now he obeyed Lu Xiangsheng's military orders unconditionally — a change that stemmed mainly from Lu Xiangsheng's immense personal charisma.

A senior court minister with a proper jinshi background, he personally led the charge in every battle; he never embezzled the soldiers' merits, and always distributed the spoils of war fairly; he was utterly loyal to the Emperor and the court, and several of his closest family members had followed the army and fought desperately on the front lines. As a military officer, Li Chongjin's admiration for such a man of loyalty and righteousness came from the bottom of his heart, because this perfectly matched the image of the loyal minister and good general in the storybooks.

Upon hearing Lu Xiangsheng's order, he immediately clasped his fists and answered: "Yes, sir! This humble officer will select the men at once and ride for Fengyang!"

Having said this, Li Chongjin spurred his horse forward, preparing to select and dispatch his men, when suddenly the urgent pounding of hooves came from afar. Looking up, he saw a great cloud of dust floating in the air, lingering for a long time without dispersing.

Lu Xiangsheng stopped Li Chongjin's movement and said: "Wait! Perhaps the scouts have military intelligence to report! Listen to what he has to say before you go — there's no rush!"

Before long, the figure of Lu Xiangtong galloping at full speed appeared in everyone's sight, with several riders following close behind.

Lu Xiangsheng pulled on the reins, and his steed Wuming Ji stepped to the side of the road and stopped, waiting for Lu Xiangtong's arrival.

A moment later, Lu Xiangtong and several riders galloped up. The group reined in their mounts a few paces before Lu Xiangsheng. After a bout of "xilili" war-horse neighing, they all dismounted one after another.

Lu Xiangtong hurried forward a few steps, sweat having washed streaks through the dust on his face. He knelt on one knee and reported with clasped hands: "Report to the Regional Commander! This humble officer led the scouts as ordered — there is no enemy presence within thirty li ahead! We happened to meet men sent by the Fengyang Governor's office and the Shanyang county troops to deliver a message. This humble officer ordered the others to continue scouting and brought the messengers along! I examined their waist tokens — their identities are confirmed beyond doubt!"

Lu Xiangsheng nodded and said: "Where are the messengers?!"

Zhang Dabiao, the squad leader of Huang Degong's personal guards, and Liu San, Guo Tai's personal guard sent by Chen Qiyu, both stepped forward, knelt on one knee in the military salute, and loudly announced their names in greeting.

Lu Xiangsheng said in a deep voice: "Rise! What military intelligence do you have? Speak quickly!"

The two men stood up. Zhang Dabiao clasped his fists and said loudly: "Report to the Regional Commander! My master has led the Shanyang county troops to Huaiyuan County. Yesterday my master sent this humble one and several others to report to Lord Chen at Fengyang. Lord Chen's scouts learned that the Dashing bandits' force was in the Shouzhou area, so he ordered my master to lead the troops straight for Shouzhou, and sent this humble one to inform the Regional Commander: Lord Chen has already led the Fengyang Guard and the Xuzhou relief troops to Shouzhou. Please, Regional Commander, do not go to Fengyang — change course and head directly for Shouzhou!"

As the squad leader of a commander's personal guards, one needed not only loyalty and courage, but also a quick mind and a glib tongue, so as to convey the commander's orders clearly and without error to officers at every level. Although Zhang Dabiao was illiterate, he had expressed the military intelligence very clearly.

When Lu Xiangsheng heard that the bandits had not gone to Fengyang, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He nodded approvingly and said: "You have worked hard! Xiao Wu, reward them! And take the two of them to rest and eat!"

Zhang Dabiao and Liu San hastily knelt and kowtowed to thank him for the reward. Lu Xiangsheng's close personal guard Wu Dading led the two men away to drink water and eat. In the scorching summer heat, riding nearly two hundred li was indeed very hard work.

After the two men left, Lu Xiangsheng ordered: "Bring the map! Chongjin, you come over too!"

A personal guard brought the map. Lu Xiangsheng and Li Chongjin dismounted, and the guard spread out the map. The two men began examining the terrain of the surrounding area.

The map could be said to be extremely crude — it only marked the official roads and the main cities and mountains. Many small paths and small rivers were not indicated at all.

After pondering for a moment, Lu Xiangsheng said: "Although there is an official road from Fengyang to Shouzhou, if our army detours through Fengyang, it will greatly extend our marching time. The only option now is to send men west to Dingyuan County and have the local authorities send someone to guide us, so the army can head straight for Shouzhou from our present position. Xiangtong!"

Lu Xiangtong, who had been drinking water at the side, hastily put down his waterskin and answered: "Here! What are the Regional Commander's orders?"

"Go personally to Dingyuan, and have the local authorities find someone who can ride and knows the route to Shouzhou well, then return at once!" Lu Xiangsheng ordered.

Lu Xiangtong clasped his fists in acknowledgment, then turned, mounted his horse, and galloped away.

"Find a shady spot and dismount to rest — when the rear column arrives, the whole army will eat!" Lu Xiangsheng continued to order.

The cavalry column continued forward for a short while until they reached a grove of trees beside a stream. After sending out several riders to stand guard, the whole army dismounted, removed saddles and weapons, and took off their armor. The officers and soldiers either led their horses into the shallow stream to wash them, or went into the grove to lie down and rest, waiting for the rear column to arrive.