Chapter 197: Shedding Armor

"General, you have finally come. Those Qin bandits are utterly evil…"

On the eighth day of the eleventh month, in Yang'an Village of Langling County in Chu's Ruxi region, the young Chu noble Jing Ju listened distractedly to the local elders' tearful complaints while silently cursing his luck for being saddled with such a troublesome assignment.

"It's all that junior Cavalry Clerk Zhongli Mei's fault!"

The matter began three days earlier. Jing Ju was a scion of the Jing lineage, a clan descended from King Ping of Chu — since King Ping's full posthumous title was "King Jingping of Chu," one of his sons took Jing as his clan name. After flourishing for three hundred years, it had branched out and become one of Chu's three great ducal houses.

Thus, though Jing Ju was barely past twenty, he was already a Company Commander, marching north with the main army to join Xiang Rong in besieging Shangcai.

Unexpectedly, just as they were advancing to the Ru River, a scout Cavalry Clerk named Zhongli Mei came galloping back at full speed, an arrow lodged in his body and two more in his horse's hindquarters. By the time Zhongli Mei reached the main army, he was nearly unconscious, but with his last shred of awareness he reported what he had seen to the general.

At the same time, their force of five thousand also received a message sent by Xiang Rong, saying that a remnant Qin force that had slipped through the net was at Tongyang邑 a hundred li to the northeast, possibly fleeing toward the Ru River. If spotted, they were to destroy it in passing…

Comparing the two reports — wasn't this exactly the Qin force Zhongli Mei had seen, disguised as Chu soldiers!

The general took this very seriously and thereupon singled out Jing Ju, ordering him to take over a thousand men and pursue that Qin force…

And that was how Jing Ju got dispatched to Ruxi.

Zhongli Mei was gravely wounded and tossed onto a cart, carried along with no one knowing if he was dead or alive. Guided by another scout who had escaped back, Jing Ju and his men hurried to the small ford, only to find that the Qin soldiers had already completely crossed over and had conveniently burned the ford along with all the boats…

Burning one ford would have been one thing, but Jing Ju led his men further north along the Ru River's eastern bank, hoping to reach the next ford. Only then did they discover that the next two fords had also been burned by the Qin soldiers!

Jing Ju dared not attempt a river crossing either, fearing the Qin force would strike them mid-crossing. They could only march for another day. Not until noon the following day, after sending scouts to the opposite bank and confirming the Qin soldiers were truly gone, did they find a few boats and spend several shichen slowly ferrying the thousand men across.

By this point, Jing Ju's troops had fallen more than half a day's march behind the Qin soldiers.

When night fell on the eighth day of the eleventh month and they reached Yang'an Village, Jing Ju learned that the Qin soldiers had earlier that morning impersonated Chu troops to trick open the village gate…

Yang'an Village was a small settlement of fewer than five hundred households. When Jing Ju arrived, no village head came out to greet him; only a few elderly local worthies remained, pouring out tearful complaints about the Qin soldiers' "atrocities."

"The Qin bandits were led by a dark-faced man. They claimed to be clan troops of Duke Dou of Hu County, but the moment they entered the village gate, they bared their fangs, seizing the village head and grandee. Then they sought out physicians and medicines for their stinking wounded soldiers. After that, they forcibly occupied the village head's residence, carried a sickly man in from a cart, and ordered the villagers to boil water, slaughter dogs, kill chickens, and prepare meals. Once they had eaten their fill and saw the hour growing late, they looted a great deal of grain, hoisted it onto their shoulders, and conveniently abducted the village head and grandee as well…"

The local elder's goatee quivered as he spoke; he was clearly badly frightened. Although Langling County bordered Qin, it was no vital thoroughfare. In past wars between the two states, the Qin had shown little interest in this area, and not many soldiers had passed through.

"How many shichen ago did they leave?"

"They departed three shichen ago."

After hearing this, Jing Ju made his assessment.

"The Qin soldiers have likely exhausted the grain they brought from Tongyang. That's why they risked tricking open this small village — to resupply on the spot and rest a while. Right now, they're no more than half a day's march ahead."

At that moment, a subordinate sidled up and said, "According to Cavalry Clerk Zhongli Mei, the Qin soldiers are carrying many wounded, and in their haste they abandoned all their carts on the Ru River's eastern bank. With so many wounded in tow, they certainly can't move fast. Moreover, marching through Chu territory, fleeing night after night, covering over a hundred li without rest, they must be utterly exhausted and famished. If we pursue at speed, Lord Jing will surely rout them!"

Before the subordinate could finish, Jing Ju impatiently waved him off. He had heard that Duke Hu Douran, an acquaintance of his, had led two thousand men and been soundly defeated at Tongyang by this same Qin force of less than a thousand — and had even been taken captive himself. Jing Ju had no desire to follow in his footsteps.

Winning would be fine, but if he lost, not only would he disgrace his clan, he might even be pressured into suicide… Why court such trouble?

There was no harm in being cautious. Jing Ju sought no merit, only to avoid fault.

He even declared with a straight face, "The general also said: expel this Qin bandit force from our borders, and ensure they do not disrupt the main army's siege of Shangcai. That is the foremost priority!"

And so they simply settled down to rest in this small village, ordering the local elders to once again boil water, slaughter dogs, kill chickens, and prepare meals — repeating everything the Qin bandits had done.

Only after resting the night did Jing Ju, picking his teeth and patting his full belly, lead his troops out of the hapless little village and continue his unhurried "pursuit" of the Qin force — though to any observer, it was indistinguishable from an escort.

In Jing Ju's view, the war had already reached a lull. Chu was no longer in danger of annihilation, and the great clans could continue ruling their domains and subjects as before. There was no need to fight with the desperate ferocity of the old general Xiang Yan.

Though their pace was unhurried, by the ninth day of the eleventh month, the chariots and cavalry Jing Ju had placed at the vanguard still caught up to the Qin soldiers' tail.

When the informed Jing Ju rode a light chariot to the southern bank of the Zhuo River, he saw that those Qin soldiers, wearing Chu army uniforms and flying Chu army banners, had already completely crossed this stream — barely ten zhang wide — and were now far in the distance.

This river effectively served as the border between Qin and Chu, as it still did. Once across, one entered the Qin-held cities of Wufang and Zhuyang. Qin and Chu had once again entered a standoff along the Shangcai–Yangcheng line, and these two places were likely garrisoned with considerable troops.

The Qin soldiers on the opposite bank spotted them too. Several Qin armored soldiers drinking at the river's edge immediately began shouting, and one big fellow even undid his belt and urinated into the river in provocation.

Yet Jing Ju took no offense. He had his charioteer turn the carriage around, and once back with the main force, told everyone with a beaming smile:

"This general has already driven the Qin soldiers out of our borders. Turn around at once and return to Shangcai! Report our achievement to General Xiang!"

…

At the same time, on the Zhuo River's northern bank, Hei Fu — who had concealed his entire force in the brush, ready at any moment to strike an enemy mid-crossing — watched the Chu troops on the opposite bank abandon their river crossing and retreat in orderly fashion. He could only scratch his cheek, somewhat disgruntled.

"Is this Chu general a coward, or is he clever?"

Then he turned to Douran, who was tied up in a cart, lying among the sacks of grain they had looted the day before, and said with a grin, "Duke Dou, it seems not all descendants of the High Yang Emperor are as noble and contemptuous of death as you."

Douran gave a cold snort and turned his head away. All along the journey, he had met Hei Fu's questions with utter indifference. Consequently, Hei Fu had gotten nothing out of him and naturally had no way of knowing who had written to Douran about the events in Anlu County.

"I don't believe you'll keep your mouth clamped shut once we're in Qin."

Hei Fu had no time to torture Douran. He immediately called back Dongmen Bao and the others he had stationed by the Zhuo River to provoke the Chu troops on the opposite bank.

"Pick up the pace and head west. Let's try to spend the night at Wufang!"

In seven or eight days, they had covered over three hundred li. Everyone's stamina had reached its limit…

Fortunately, the finish line was not far now.

…

Twenty li west of Hei Fu's river crossing point, the city of Wufang (present-day Suiping County, Zhumadian) was now fully mobilized, as if facing a formidable enemy.

In recent days, the war situation between Qin and Chu had shifted again: Li Xin, who had once vanished within Chu, had circled back to the Yangcheng area with his remaining twenty thousand troops. There, coordinating with Meng Tian, he had established a defensive line at Yangcheng and Shangcai, repelling several Chu assaults.

The Chu forces now dared not divide their troops either. With a single order from Xiang Yan, a hundred thousand troops also concentrated along this line. The two sides faced off with equal numbers. The string of Qin defeats since Xiangcheng had been greatly stemmed, and as the weather grew colder by the day, the war once again entered a delicate equilibrium…

This standoff could not last long. As both Qin and Chu soldiers shivered in the cold wind, they were also thinking, "When the first snow falls, that will probably be when the two states withdraw their armies."

By then, both sides would share a common enemy: winter. If they recklessly kept their troops in the field, the number of men frozen or frostbitten to death by the bitter cold might exceed those killed by blades and spears.

Yet at this very moment, scouts came reporting that a small force of "Chu troops" had crossed the Zhuo River northward and was heading straight for Wufang!

Upon hearing this, the Wufang County Commandant was greatly alarmed!

"Could the Chu army's true plan be an oblique strike — first taking Wufang, then advancing north to Yingchuan, or striking west at Nanyang?"

But that did not seem right, for this Chu force was far too small. After the scouts repeatedly confirmed that it numbered only seven or eight hundred men with no reinforcements behind it, the County Commandant — always a bold man — decided to lead the thousand troops transferred from Nanyang Commandery out of the city to engage the enemy!

Half a shichen later, when they spotted this "Chu force" in the distance, the soldiers were marching along the Zhuo River in loose formation, looking utterly exhausted. Upon discovering the orderly Qin army formation ahead, instead of hastily halting to form ranks, their faces lit up with delight and they quickened their pace.

Moreover, several riders came from the opposite side, holding high Qin's black banners. They galloped to just beyond arrow range and shouted at the top of their lungs, "Don't shoot! We are Qin troops — Qin people!"

"Qin people?" The County Commandant was stunned, and then witnessed a scene he would never forget for the rest of his life.

As if in response, the seven or eight hundred men marching along the Zhuo River began, as one, to shed their armor.

They shed their crimson Chu armor, riddled with holes from arrows and blades, and threw it all into the gurgling, flowing Qu River, letting the heavy leather armor sink to the icy riverbed…

They stripped off the filthy, brownish Chu garments they had worn for seven or eight days, and tossed them into the Qu River too, letting them drift away downstream with the current…

In the shivering, biting wind, having shed armor and stripped off clothes, the crowd now clad only in thin summer garments then laid down every Chu army crimson banner they held, replacing them with the Qin black banners they had hidden for days and washed spotlessly clean…

Hands were trembling, banners were fluttering.

Looking out, there was one banner of a Five Hundred Leader, and several small Hundred-Man banners, all looking spirited and imposing — a stark contrast to the crowd, who, stripped of their outer clothes, were shivering so hard their teeth chattered…

And at the very front was a Commandant's Tiger-Bear Fang Banner, placed upon a war chariot. Inside the chariot lay a frail Commandant, his face full of gratified relief. He had the charioteer drive closer and showed the County Commandant his Commandant's Tiger Tally.

"You are Commandant Li You!"

The County Commandant's eyes went wide. Plenty of news had come back from the front lines. In this great defeat attacking Chu, the Qin army had lost troops and officers — a total of eight Commandants had fallen in battle or gone missing, and one of them was this very Li You before him. He was the King of Qin's son-in-law, the Commandant of Justice's son…

Now, after vanishing for ten days, Li You had finally appeared alive! This was huge news that would shock the entire army.

And watching these soldiers discard their Chu armor and Chu clothes, along with the captured Chu army banners, the Wufang County Commandant could more or less piece together what they had been through.

"That I have returned alive is all due to Hei Fu's merit, and the merit of all these soldiers!" Li You smiled weakly, cupped his hands toward the Wufang County Commandant, and asked him to lead everyone into the city.

Only then did the Wufang County Commandant snap out of his daze and shout, "Quickly, quickly arrange for the Commandant and all the soldiers to enter the city! And have the city prepare clothes and bedding, heat the stoves, and let these comrades warm themselves up!"

A thousand soldiers of the Nanyang Commandery troops parted from the middle, opening a path. They watched Li You's carriage pass by, then turned their heads to watch as one comrade after another, clad only in a single layer or even bare-chested, passed through.

Though these men were shivering violently in the cold wind, their spirits were remarkably high. Each held his head high, for they did not see themselves as broken remnants of a defeated army — they were heroes and warriors who had turned defeat into victory, fought three hundred li behind enemy lines, and ultimately returned triumphant!

However, Dongmen Bao, walking ahead of Hei Fu, had lost the swagger he'd shown when he stood by the water's edge, pissing into the wind and mocking the Chu people. His snot was running long, and after a sneeze, he muttered, "Finally got that damn armor off. This campaign is finally over too…"

Hei Fu was not so bedraggled. He let everyone else go ahead, then stood at the very end of the column, looking back behind him, toward the vast Chu lands on the opposite bank.

There lay the promises he had made, and many souls awaiting his command, waiting for him to bring them home…

"No."

He said softly, "This war has only just begun!"

PS: Phew, the first Chu campaign is finally written. Next up, a new chapter. Also, it's the end of the month — seeing as I'm writing ten thousand words a day, I'm begging for monthly tickets, ahhhh!

(End of Chapter)