Chapter 115: Eating, Sleeping, and Beating Up the Chuang King

On the nineteenth day of the eighth month, Yanchuan.

In the camp outside the city, a young and gallant officer stood before the central command tent, bowing deeply. He said softly, "General, your humble subordinate, Ma Ke."

"Enter."

Li Bei closed the supply ledger, glanced back at the terrain map hanging on the tent cloth, twisted his sore, numb neck, and asked, "Well?"

Battalion Commander Ma Ke entered the central command tent, knelt to perform the military salute, then rose and said, "The county office has tallied the corpses and reported the merits. The regulation heads number one hundred and forty-one. Two belonged to women who had lived on the city outskirts."

Ma Ke hung his head, his manner humble. He paused, then cautiously raised his head and said, "It has now been determined that they were killed by Chen Shiyao of the Vanguard Battalion's Left Division Third Squad, and Feng Guangli of the Left Division Sixth Squad... General, the Vanguard Battalion Commander is a replacement officer from Yulin Garrison, and the Vanguard Battalion Left Division Commander is a soldier borrowed from General Ai's command. What of military law in this case?"

Li Bei was not a burly man, and his voice was very cool and clear. Hearing this, he showed no anger, merely raising a hand to slap the books stacked on the left side of his desk. He said, "Nonsense. Before the battle, everyone signed the fourth guarantee bond: no plundering or killing of women and children, no seizing of the common people's livestock. Was that a game? Tell Wang Shilong, if he doesn't execute them, I will execute him. As for Battalion Commander Liu Guozhen, if he cannot enforce military law, have him lead his troops back to Shenmu to find Vice General Ai. I have no further use for this man."

Ma Ke raised his head and urged further, "But General, what if they truly clamor and leave? The captives among the bandits say that the Chuang King's gang numbers over ten thousand. Our own battalion is not even at full strength; two of the three battalion commanders are borrowed. If another leaves... The court may have filled the battalion commander posts, but what use is that?"

His words made Li Bei sigh.

This Yan'an Vice General was indeed stifled and frustrated.

Courier stations and express relay posts everywhere had been destroyed, leaving the government troops completely in the dark about the situation around Yan'an Prefecture. Eight days ago, Yulin Garrison received a letter from Yan'an Prefect Zhang Nian.

In the letter, Zhang Nian launched into a blistering tirade against Chief Regional Commander Wu Zimian, saying Commander Wu was utterly despicable. Not sending troops to aid Yan'an Prefecture in its campaign was one thing, but what did he mean by not replying to seven consecutive letters? Hurry up and send back the detained messenger runner!

It left Wu Zimian dumbfounded. This was the first letter he had received, and what detained messenger runner was there?

Li Bei took up his post hastily, not daring to go to the prefectural city to recruit troops. He scraped together forces from Yulin Garrison, borrowing two full-strength battalion commander units: one led by Meng Ruhu, a tribal chieftain of surrendered frontier people from beyond the passes, and the other by Liu Guozhen, under the command of Shenmu Vice General Ai Wannian.

Only Ma Ke was the little brother who had followed him from company commander up to battalion commander. Even his own household retainers had to be thrown in just to fill out the ranks of Ma Ke's battalion.

"The court has fought the Jianzhou in the northeast for ten years. The southeastern commoners resist taxes at every turn. In the southwest, An Bangyan and She Chongming have also been fought for nine years. Now in the northwest, there are mutinous frontier troops and starving peasants in revolt."

Li Bei stood up, walked over to Ma Ke, brushed the dust from his iron armguard and straightened his collar, and said, "Yulin's troop strength and provisions are both limited. The court has already given me everything it can. You are brave and eager for battle, and in the future, you will be a pillar of the court. But your temperament is impatient; when rushed into matters, you are prone to panic. In the future, do not speak such words of complaint again."

"Yes!"

Ma Ke bowed his head in salute and said, "Your subordinate thanks the General for his guidance."

"I truly envy you young men." Li Bei was very satisfied with his subordinate's attitude. He shook his head with emotion, then sat back down before the central command desk. With a solemn expression, he said, "This campaign to suppress the rebellion will be fought for a long time yet. If I am sent elsewhere in the future, you must remember sixteen words."

Ma Ke's eyes widened. "Your subordinate swears to follow the General unto death!"

"Foolish words. You are an officer of the court. What would you swear to follow me unto death for?"

He thought very highly of Ma Ke, this young low-ranking officer. If this were the early Tianqi years, when Li Bei was still serving in Ji Garrison, he would have accepted those words.

Perhaps he truly could have led Ma Ke for a lifetime.

But now it was different. Years of setbacks had left him little time for the rush of military life. He could not lead Ma Ke for a lifetime.

Li Bei shook his head and said, "Remember this: in a campaign to suppress rebellion, fear not that the bandits are many, fear only that they are few; fear not that the bandits stand and fight, fear only that they run."

The young officer Ma Ke lowered his head, turning these sixteen words over and over in his mind. After a long while, he raised his head and said, "I beg the General to forgive your subordinate's dullness, and to kindly explain in detail."

Li Bei was not angry; instead, he greatly praised Ma Ke's thirst for knowledge. He gestured for him to sit opposite, and only then began to explain: "Though the bandits are numerous, they are not to be feared. Look at the bandits in Shaanxi today. Those common soldiers, some are coerced, some are tax resisters—they are not worth fearing. It is the many bandit chieftains who matter: some are frontier army officers, some can command a following and win men over. All are bold men. Which of them is willing to live under another?"

"We do not fear many bandits because their commands are not unified. Without unified commands, their hearts are not aligned. Without aligned hearts, their wills differ. When the left flank resolves to fight to the death but the right flank surrenders first, then the left flank also cannot fight to the death. They are easily broken."

Having said this, Li Bei gave Ma Ke a moment to ponder, though in his own heart, he was also sighing with emotion.

This all came from his conclusions about the court's repeated defeats against the eastern slaves. Now, applied to the bandits, it fit so perfectly.

Once Ma Ke nodded in understanding, Li Bei continued: "Not fearing the bandits when they stand and fight follows the same logic. If they cannot win in open battle within, and no strong relief force is coming from without, how can one speak of defense? The roving bandits' troops are a motley mix, easy to infiltrate with spies, and they lack heavy cannon. No matter where they try to hold, it is dead ground. Whenever they dare to defend, be it as short as three to five days or as long as ten-odd days, they will collapse without being attacked."

"When bandits are many and run, we can still pursue. But when bandits are few and run, we cannot catch them, and our provisions are insufficient for a pursuit. We can only slowly scout their situation, then strike swiftly for a swift victory... Now, do you understand?"

Ma Ke snapped to attention at these words. The plates of his armor clattered with a rustling sound. He saluted again and said, "Your subordinate understands. Many thanks for the General's guidance!"

Ma Ke left.

Not long after, the sound of him proclaiming the execution came from the camp's parade ground. Then the government troops fell into a great clamorous uproar, which took a long time to subside.

Inside the central command tent, Li Bei let out a breath of relief. He knew that from now on, the frontier troops under his three battalion commanders would obey his orders.

Only with this could he dare to advance into Yan'an Prefecture to suppress the bandit soldiers.

This bandit suppression was different from before.

The battle a few months ago, beheading the Tiger General of Ganquan and campaigning against the Old Huihui gang at Yellow Dragon Mountain, had been much simpler.

Yan'an Prefecture had given him intelligence on Ganquan and could also provide him with the bandit situation at Yellow Dragon Mountain. Though provisions were insufficient and the soldiers were starving, a quick battle and a swift resolution could solve the problem.

But this time was different.

In Qingjian, he had handed the map to the county office and told them to mark the areas where bandits were entrenched. The county office drew a circle around Yanchuan.

At first, he thought the bandits were in Yanchuan. He never imagined that the Qingjian county office had drawn the safe zone.

They said that Yanchuan only had the big bandit Hun Tianwang's gang, that it had rained there, and it was still relatively peaceful.

Every county in Yan'an Prefecture outside of Yanchuan had bandits. Their leaders were unknown, their numbers were unknown, their locations were unknown. It was even unknown whether those counties were still under court control.

In just three months, how had the situation deteriorated to this extent?

Fortunately, the provisions Hun Tianwang had plundered helped, giving him a brief moment to catch his breath.

Three critical tasks lay before him. First, to help Yanchuan County re-establish its courier stations and express relays to exchange intelligence with Yulin Garrison. Second, to send men south to investigate and ascertain the true situation in Yanchang and the other counties.

The final point was to urge the new commander of Yan River Pass, still in Yulin, to take up his post as soon as possible, to prevent the bandits from crossing the border into Shanxi.

In the evening, a household retainer came to the central command tent to report that the captives taken in the campaign against Hun Tianwang had begun to talk.

Pages of military intelligence were laid out one by one on Li Bei's desk.

Hun Tianwang was called Zhang Yingjin. The great bandit chieftain Gao Yingxiang, who had previously plundered various regions, had tried to persuade him to join camps. Hun Tianwang had not agreed.

Now, with his forces defeated, he would likely flee south to the Chuang King Gao Yingxiang, who was entrenched in Yanchang.

"Your subordinate also extracted one more piece of intelligence under interrogation."

Ma Ke cupped his fist and said, "The Chuang bandit had spoken with the Hun Tian bandit about controlling the central and southern parts of Yan'an Prefecture to meet the Three Border Supreme Command's campaign of suppression."

Li Bei was overjoyed. "Oh? This is beneficial to Guerrilla Commander Wu, who is attacking the Qingyang bandits. Speak quickly."

"Yes! The Chuang bandit has divided many bandit chieftains across various locations. When the government troops advance from Qingyang and Ningzhou, they plan to retreat northward in stages from Fuzhou, wearing down the government troops' provisions and strength, drawing them to Yanchuan for a decisive battle... The Hun Tian bandit agreed to this."

Li Bei fell silent for a long time upon hearing this. Finally, contrary to his usual demeanor, he pounded the desk with his fist, startling Ma Ke.

"Gen... General, your subordinate believes this stratagem is not particularly brilliant," Ma Ke said. "Moreover, since we already know of it, we need only send word to Guerrilla Commander Wu in Qingyang, and we can turn their own scheme against them."

"That's exactly why I'm angry — not because of the battle situation. This is what I meant: you don't fear the bandits holding their ground; you fear them running."

Li Bei shook his head. It was hard to put his inner feelings into words.

The plan was simple, and the people tasked with carrying it out were a rabble.

But the fact that it would actually work — that was what infuriated Li Bei.

What did shame look like?

A bunch of bandits, openly calculating the government troops' provisions, stamina, and marching speed.

Finally reaching the conclusion that their own provisions were more plentiful than the government troops', their stamina greater, their marching speed faster — so all they needed was this method to deal with the government troops.

Was that not a disgrace to the government troops?

The most unbearable part was that this thing really worked, because the Later Jin had calculated their provisions the exact same way.

These people, born from the Ming army system, all could and would fix its flaws — only they themselves could not change.

Li Bei said, "It's already too late to turn their own trick against them. King Hundun has fled to Yanchang County. The bandits there will surely know by now that we're garrisoned in Yanchuan. The bandit army will be on guard. I doubt they'll come running toward Yanchuan again. That one… what was his name — the Yujubao retainer who struck the Yanshui Pass?"

Ma Ke cupped his fist and added, "Liu Chengzong. The General once ordered your subordinate to go to Yujubao to meet Guard Commander He and inquired about his circumstances."

That was the name.

Li Bei nodded and asked, "Here at King Hundun's place, is there any news of this man?"

"No. The prisoners only mentioned the Invader Gao Yingxiang. They did say that Gao Yingxiang also advanced toward Yanshui Pass, but for some unknown reason, it seems he only stayed at the Yellow River crossing for half a day before leading his troops south."

Having said this, Ma Ke slowed his speech and asked, "General, could this Liu Chengzong… still be in Shanxi?"

"Very likely."

Li Bei nodded. "I sent someone to ask the defending officer at Pingdu Pass in Shanxi. They said no one crossed the pass before Gao Yingxiang. When Gao Yingxiang reached the Yellow River crossing, the garrison at Pingdu Pass came out and formed ranks on the pontoon bridge, startling Gao Yingxiang away and keeping Shanxi safe."

"That doesn't sound right, General… I heard from the prisoners that Gao Yingxiang's forces had plenty of deserters, and also some Tatar riders who'd come seeking refuge. The Yanshui Pass was broken by Liu Chengzong's men, who never showed their true strength."

Ma Ke shook his head. "With the handful of men at Pingdu Pass, they could fend off Gao Yingxiang?"

"It's different. Gao Yingxiang is not like Wang Jiayin. He's never breached a military fort or walled pass. He's always plundered everywhere. Only Ansai Garrison surrendered — he never fought a head-on, hard battle. It's indeed possible he was frightened off."

Li Bei compiled the intelligence he had gathered and analyzed, "The commoners at the Yellow River crossing also said that on the far bank hillside that day, government troops were indeed arrayed in formation. Later the commoners were driven off by the bandits, and not long after, the bandits swept away and left."

Having said this, he reminded, "Liu Chengzong is no man who hides his strength. Ever since he attacked Yan'an City to rescue his father and rose in revolt, he has broken cities, destroyed passes, and seized postal relay stations. Patrol Commander Lu and Squad Leader Bao were both defeated by him in succession. And a man like that just suddenly vanishes?"

Ma Ke smiled. "He must be lying low. Guard Commander He of Yujubao said his father is a Provincial Graduate, and his elder brother Liu Chengzu is a squad leader. Both brothers are also Licentiates who took the military examinations, and both should have passed the Provincial Exam… I really don't know what the Magistrate of Fushi and the Yan'an Guard were thinking, provoking them."

Li Bei deeply agreed with this and nodded. "And now look — two fine generals, driven alive into banditry by them."

Mentioning this, Li Bei grew angry — angry at everyone, not just the Magistrate of Fushi and Battalion Commander Zhang, those two dead men who drove the Liu family to revolt.

Also at Guard Commander He Renlong of Yujubao, and at Administration Vice Commissioner Hong Chengchou, who gave him the idea of releasing the troops.

Good men should have just been kept in Yujubao, fed and housed at the government's expense.

With provisions and pay insufficient, maintaining military discipline while dealing with a bunch of bandits was already hard enough — and now he had to free up a hand to deal with a bunch of frontier troops.

Bastards, every one of them, making his job harder for no good reason!

"Not finding Liu Chengzong won't do…"

Li Bei slowly shook his head and narrowed his eyes. Not finding Liu Chengzong stuck in his throat like a fishbone. "We must get to the bottom of this — whether Liu Chengzong is in Shanxi or not, and whether he has formed a joint force with Gao Yingxiang."

The current situation was already very clear to Li Bei.

All the major bandits within Yan'an Prefecture, except Liu Chengzong, were in the south-central region from Yanchang to Yijun.

The government troops had split into two routes: one was Li Bei's force at Yanchuan, the other was Mobile Corps Commander Wu Weifan, suppressing bandits in Qingyang Prefecture.

The Guyuan Three-Frontier Supreme Command was also mobilizing troops and assigning commanders. There would likely be a force entering Yan'an from the Qingyang direction, plus Administration Vice Commissioner Hong Chengchou holding Hancheng, able to seal off the southeastern exit.

One main force in the east and one in the west, forming a pincer — they could trap the bandits in south-central Yan'an Prefecture. The great net on all four sides was already laid; they only needed confirmed intelligence to begin the extermination campaign.

Only this Liu Chengzong worried him endlessly.

"The final decisive battle absolutely must not happen in Yanchuan in the northeast, as the bandits hope — that would make it easy for them to leap into Shanxi."

Li Bei rose and pointed at the map. "Instead, we must drive the bandits as much as possible northwest toward Ansai and Bao'an, using the Great Wall's border ramparts as a boundary, borrowing the strength of the border-wall government troops to completely pen them in and finish them in Yan'an Prefecture."

Ma Ke smiled. "General, since you've already set the plan, what is there left to worry about?"

"I worry that Liu Chengzong is in Shanxi and has already joined forces with Gao Yingxiang. As things look now, we have the bandits surrounded in Yan'an Prefecture. But if Liu Chengzong seizes the moment to leap back into Shaanxi, then the bandits will subtly be encircling our own force."

Ma Ke slowly nodded. But how on earth could they figure this out?

He asked, "Then shall your subordinate dispatch a courier to Yan'an Prefectural City to ask the Prefect whether he has returned home?"

"No need. Figuring this out is very easy. Tomorrow, the scouts sent to probe Yanchang should be back. We eat, we sleep. If we want to find out where Liu Chengzong is…"

Li Bei fixed his eyes on Yanchang County on the map and smiled. "Just strike Gao Yingxiang."