Chapter 153: All-Out Offensive

Fenzhou City.

Li Shien, the Deputy Commissioner of the South Ji Defense Circuit, strode quickly out of the prefectural government office.

He thought to himself, another polite but firm brush-off.

The full title of the Defense Circuit is "Military Defense Circuit for Rectifying Such-and-Such," holding a seal of authority but no official commission, empowered to command the guard-battalion troops but subject to the control of the governor-general and grand coordinator.

Its duties were to train guard-battalion troops and local militia, capture bandits and suppress civil unrest, and manage guard-battalion soldiers, provisions, funds, and military farmlands.

Initially established on an ad hoc basis, it has now become a permanent post to strengthen local defense.

Lately, Li Shien had been preoccupied with one single matter: requesting grain.

His post was Defense Circuit, but the position of Defense Circuit in Shanxi was extremely awkward; the guard battalions of Fenzhou Prefecture were originally all princely fief herd-guard battalions, and to this day they still answer to the prince.

Simply answering to the prince's estate was not a problem — that was easy to resolve.

But the decay of the military farmlands made the guard battalions economically very dependent on the prince's estate, and that left no solution; one does the work of whoever feeds them — that is an immutable principle.

As for Li Shien, although he was a man of Northern Zhili, he had studied in Xizhou in his early years while accompanying his father at his post, and he understood the situation in Shanxi very well.

Thus, from the very start of his tenure, Li Shien knew exactly what his job as Defense Circuit was supposed to be.

Rectifying the guard battalions was not to be hoped for — that was not something a mere fourth-rank official like him could accomplish.

Defense Circuit, Defense Circuit — it was established mainly to suppress popular uprisings, so his mission was to ensure that no popular uprising occurred in Fenzhou Prefecture.

The drought had persisted for several years, growing worse each year; only this year had the drought situation in Shanxi slightly eased, but west of the Lüliang Mountains the people's livelihood remained destitute.

Fenyang, where Fenzhou City was located, lay east of the Lüliang Mountains, but one could not say that the lands west of the Lüliang Mountains were not part of Fenzhou Prefecture.

Therefore, after consulting with many officials of the prefecture, he took charge of constructing water conservancy projects and building city walls, temporarily planning to restore the long-abandoned water conservancy facilities in the three districts of Ningxiang, Shilou, and Lin County, and also to heighten the city walls to prevent Shaanxi bandits from entering Shanxi.

The idea was excellent, but carrying out these tasks required money.

That was the difficulty; those three counties were dirt poor, their county revenue offices could not even produce a thousand taels of silver, so there was simply no way to begin.

And the prefectural government office would not part with a single coin, so the matter fell into a dead cycle.

Today he had once again entered the prefectural office to discuss constructing waterworks and organizing militia in the three counties; the moment others heard it, they knew it was about money, and without even waiting for him to open his mouth, they began lamenting their poverty.

In the end, with no recourse, he could only slink dejectedly out of the office as dusk fell.

Off duty, he planned to go have a couple of drinks to dispel the gloom in his heart.

He never expected that just as he stepped out of the office, he would hear someone beside him shouting: "Brother Shien! Brother Shien, don't go!"

Thinking it was some good friend who had come to Fenzhou Prefecture, Li Shien turned his head.

It was a somewhat aged middle-aged gentleman, wearing a cloud-brocade square cap on his head, clad in a light-blue Daoist robe with subtle patterns, jade and a sachet hanging at his waist — graceful and poised, though his clothes were travel-stained, and a treasured sword also hung at his waist, as he strode quickly over.

No matter how Li Shien racked his brain, he could not recall this man, and could not help raising his hand to ask: "May I ask who you are, sir?"

"Brother Shien, it's me! We studied together at the Xizhou County School. In the forty-second year of Wanli, when the earthquake struck and the county school collapsed, you were reading in the back hills. It was I who went and called you out, supporting you as we ran down the mountain path, and right after, the mountain crumbled with a roar like thunder."

The old gentleman was very agitated, walking up before him and saying: "Have you forgotten? Xizhou licentiate, Che Cai!"

With his words, memories gradually surfaced before his eyes; Li Shien's expression softened, and then he raised his hand to embrace Che Cai, saying: "It's Elder Brother Che! How many years has it been since we last met! Are you still in Xizhou?"

In truth, Che Cai was nearly ten years older than Li Shien.

"Still in Xizhou. Later, you passed the provincial exam and then the metropolitan exam. After you left, I served as a Confucian instructor in Xizhou for two years, and afterward... ah, it's a long story."

Reuniting with an old friend, Li Shien turned back to have someone prepare a horse-drawn carriage, and took Che Cai's arm as they walked forward: "A long story can be told slowly; we have all night tonight. You've been in Xizhou yet never came to find me — you'll have to drink a few extra cups later!"

When the coachman arrived, the two rode out of the city, heading straight for Wen Lake east of the city, where they found a private room in a lakeside tavern, ordering three meat dishes and three vegetable dishes, along with two pots of Fenjiu liquor. They opened the window to listen to the fishermen's evening songs and watch the sun set behind the western hills.

After three rounds of drinks, Che Cai slowly recounted his experiences over the years: "My family has been a single line of descent for three generations. My old father always longed to hold a grandson sooner. My wife and I were married for over ten years without a child — we didn't know whose issue it was. I thought of taking another wife, but it was nothing more than a thought."

"Brother Shien also knows, my family has farmed for generations at Zaowang Mountain. We were never wealthy; it was only in my generation that we managed to study. Back in the prefectural school, my dormitory mates never stopped mocking my family's poverty, but before I had even passed the licentiate exam, Su'niang had already chosen me."

Li Shien set down his wine cup and nodded, sighing, then asked: "Brother Che, to this day, you still have no heir?"

"I adopted a distant nephew, but who doesn't want a child of their own? Last winter, Su'niang permitted me to take a concubine. I sought out a woman from a musician household in Fanjia Mountain, Yonghe County. She was of proper appearance and knew the arts of romance, could also play the qin and dance. Some time ago, I brought her into the household."

Hearing Che Cai say this, Li Shien cupped his hands in salute, an envious smile on his face, and said: "In that case, Brother Che has a beauty by his side and enjoys the blessings of a harmonious household — what more could a man ask for!"

Yet Che Cai's face held little joy; instead, it bore an indescribable sorrow, and even deep hatred in his eyes: "But seven nights ago, troops entered Zaowang Mountain — troops of the Fenzhou Guard!"

Li Shien had just raised his cup to clink with Che Cai's, but upon hearing this, he froze, the smile on his face solidifying: "Troops of the Fenzhou Guard?"

"The Fenzhou Guard's banner troops crossed the border on a military operation, and the Military Defense Commissioner actually knew nothing of it?"

Che Cai's eyes seemed to blaze with raging fire: "That concubine of mine was surnamed Du. She had a younger sister not yet married, and her family was truly impoverished. Three days after her elder sister entered my household, she returned home to invite family and friends to a feast. I had promised the younger sister I would find her a good match, so I went to Lin County to visit a friend."

"Were it not for that, today, instead of sharing wine and conversation, I would be visiting you in your dreams dressed all in mourning white!"

The wine cup slipped and fell.

Li Shien shook his head in alarm and said: "I — Brother Che, I truly did not know the Fenzhou Guard crossed the border. That Commander Zhang Zhan was stationed at Shilou half a month ago to defend against routed troops returning from the capital relief expedition in Northern Zhili. How dare he cross the border?"

After a brief moment of panic, Li Shien regained his composure and quickly pressed: "What is the situation at Zaowang Mountain now?"

"Gone. Zaowang Mountain and Fanjia Mountain — both gone. Not a single person left. The houses at Zaowang Mountain were burned to the ground by a single torch, and I could not even recognize which corpse was Su'niang. Fanjia Mountain was also slaughtered clean; Yue'niang, even in death, still wore the brocade I had made for her."

The old licentiate sat in the armchair, his fists pressed rigidly beneath the table. In truth, he himself did not know why he had sought out Li Shien.

His hometown suffering a military rampage was not the first misfortune he had encountered.

In fact, in Lin County, he had been unable to find his old friend; that place had also suffered a military rampage.

The great bandit Bu Zhan Ni, coming from Qin lands, had led his horde to seize civilian boats at Jiazhou, mounted small cannons to bombard the Kehu Fortress ferry crossing, and then crossed the border with his entire force. Thousands of men and horses gathered at Lin County for two days, then swept north straight for Xing County.

When Che Cai left Lin County seat, he heard that the Kelan-Shilou-Xizhou Garrison Commander was mobilizing troops, but the Hequ Assistant Regional Commander to the north had been defeated by Wang Jiayin, and two bands of bandit troops were jointly attacking Kelan Prefecture — the Garrison Commander might not be able to hold them off.

And as Che Cai traveled south, he also heard that the great brigand Gao Yingxiang from Shaanxi had first captured Wubao, forcing the Mengmen Pass commander to abandon the pass and flee, and then the Qinglong Ferry Patrol Office was also slaughtered to the last man, after which he swept through Yongning Prefecture with a force of several thousand.

In fact, he had even been captured once on the road. Over ten bandit riders swept in, tied him up, and planned to demand ransom from his family, but later, for some unknown reason, upon hearing he was from Yonghe County in Xizhou, they let him go.

They only took his travel money.

At the time, Che Cai had been quite happy to have survived the calamity; how could he have known that upon returning to Xizhou, what awaited him was the destruction of his family and home.

These past few days he had been wandering in a daze, utterly at a loss as to what to do, unable even to collect and bury the corpses.

The day before yesterday, he had tried to seek out the Yonghe County office, but before he had walked south a few steps, at a village where he rested, he heard the villagers talking.

They said General Liu, who had come from Shaanxi, had defeated the Fenzhou Guard banner troops in Yonghe County, and had executed over four hundred of the banner troops who had taken part in the massacre of Zaowang Mountain and Fanjia Village.

Che Cai didn't believe it, and he no longer dared go to Yonghe County either.

When he was in Lin County, he'd still had some silver on him, but now his home had been burned, he didn't have a single bit of spare wealth left on his whole body, and if he went over there and got caught by bandits, this time he'd have no money to give them.

Only later did it occur to him that the Military Defense Circuit Intendant of Fenzhou Prefecture had been his classmate back when he was a licentiate — that was when he sought out Li Shien.

Che Cai told Li Shien all these things one by one, leaving Li Shien utterly dumbstruck.

How had it suddenly come to this?

That so-called General Liu came from Xi Prefecture, General Gao marched into Yongning Subprefecture, and wasn't there also General Ni heading for Kelan Prefecture, plus General Wang who struck Hequ.

The Yellow River line in Shanxi was practically undefended.

And most important of all was what Che Cai had said — the matter of Fenzhou Guard.

"That bastard Zhang Zhan just let the troops under my command be wiped out like that?"

Seventeen hundred Guard troops — Li Shien's heart was bleeding.

Fenzhou Guard had always been understrength. In theory it originally had somewhat fewer than four thousand Guard troops, but a good number of those four thousand were scattered among the eastern and western princely estates and various princely manors; those that could be normally mobilized amounted to only two thousand men.

If you insisted on counting, there might be another two hundred.

All of them hereditary military officers, from Guard Commander down to Company Commander, who had never secured substantive posts.

And now, in one stroke, they were nearly all dead.

Li Shien no longer had any heart for drinking. The pleasing, delightful scenery outside the window now looked strange in his eyes.

Bandits had entered west of the Lüliang Mountains — that he knew.

But his former classmate's experiences stirred an indescribable sense of dislocation in his heart.

The things these people were doing were strange. What were they up to?

What were the soldiers doing, and what were the bandits doing?

The Guard troops, relying on the princely estates' protection, grew ever more reckless in an increasingly chaotic world.

The bandits defeated government troops, then set up a court right there in the valley, publicly exposing their crimes and subjecting them to trial and punishment.

Events unfolding just a few hundred li away had become two separate worlds, cut off by a single Lüliang Mountain range.

This tranquil, peaceful scene outside the window, with fishermen singing evening songs — now a false vista — was it even worth looking at anymore?

He turned his head and asked Che Cai, "Brother Che, what do you plan to do now?"

Che Cai shook his head, his face ashen. Having suffered undeserved calamity, his family ruined and his loved ones dead — what plans could he possibly have?

"My mind is in utter turmoil right now. I must report this news to the prefectural office as quickly as possible, and also have Taiyuan and Pingyang prefectures informed, so we can coordinate and set up a defense line along the Lüliang Mountains. Since you, Brother Che, also don't know what to do, why not stay by my side for now and lend me a hand or two? What do you say?"

Matters having come to this, Che Cai knew this was Li Shien's self-deprecating way of putting it — there was nothing he could actually help with; Li Shien was simply finding him a place to stay.

Once Che Cai had expressed his thanks, Li Shien promptly rose. "There's no time to lose — I'm heading to the prefectural seat right now!"

The fourth day after Liu Chengzong annihilated the seventeen hundred Guard troops of Fenzhou Guard.

The eleventh day of the third month, in the third year of the Chongzhen reign.

The news was first brought by Xi Prefecture licentiate Che Cai to Military Defense Circuit Intendant Li Shien.

Li Shien then relayed the news to the prefectural seat. The prefectural seat's response strategy was to first dispatch reconnaissance riders west into the Lüliang Mountains to investigate the situation in the various counties.

However, at the repeated insistence of Military Defense Circuit Intendant Li Shien, and with his guarantee of the source's authenticity,

this report was ultimately sent that very night by the Fenzhou prefectural seat via express horse, eastward to Hongshan Post Station between Pingyao County and Qi County.

But because it was already late and there were no ferrymen left on the Fen River, the mounted courier searching the banks for a ferryman caused a delay, and the time this report was relayed from Hongshan Post Station to Taiyuan and Pingyang was already the morning of the twelfth.

In the end, it was still a step too late.

What was late was not the defense line set by the authorities, but rather that just the day before, forty Guard troops from Ningshan Guard in Ze Prefecture, escorting two red-barbarian cannons loaded on four-wheeled gun carriages, had already passed through Xi Prefecture city and entered the borders of Yonghe County.

But the owner of these two red-barbarian cannons, Old Master Huo, was no longer among the living.

Liu Chengzong was sitting in the main hall of the Huo family fortress, doing calculations together with Chengyun — not calculating how much money the eight sentries of combat and support troops under his command should be allotted, but calculating the carts needed to transport supplies.

They wanted to establish a supply line between Yonghe County and Yanchuan County.

But it wasn't the rear supplying the front — it was the front supplying the rear in reverse.

Old Master Huo had been an interesting sort of local gentry. His family didn't have much land, and their stored grain was only a little over a thousand shi, yet the household possessed a full twenty-two thousand-plus taels of silver.

Even after deducting what was distributed to the soldiers, the silver remaining in Liu Chengzong's battalion headquarters was still enough to cast a thousand-jin red-barbarian cannon.

The officers and non-commissioned officers of Lion Battalion had already received their share, and now the battalion remained in that state of having silver but not knowing how to spend it, so everyone displayed an extraordinary spirit of selfless dedication.

From sentry commander on down, nearly all officers spent their silver on purchasing arms and equipment for their subordinates. There was buying, but also selling — replaced equipment was sold once again to the Work Sentry.

Now the Work Sentry had mountainous piles of every kind of weapon, armor plate, padded coat, military gear, and the like.

They couldn't carry these things forward with them; the Logistics Sentry couldn't haul it all.

Liu Chengzong planned to ship these things back to Apricot River, and have Lin Wei mobilize the craftsmen of the princely manor to sort through them, repairing damaged armor plates and weapons.

Just then, Wei Qian'er announced himself at the door, strode into the hall with great steps, and said to Liu Chengzong, "General, the Guard troops from Ze Prefecture have already halted at Sangbi Mountain. The men they sent over have been detained."

Liu Chengzong set down his brush and laughed. "Ha, what did the men they sent say?"

"They came over wanting Old Master Huo to send men to receive the cannons, but I was worried they might learn about what happened at the Huo family fortress from the common folk, so I've sent men to watch them from a distance."

"Then what are we waiting for? Chengyun, keep at the calculations here. Send someone to have Li Wanqing take troops into Yanchuan."

Liu Chengzong rose, rubbing his hands together. "Have the Left Sentry break camp — we're going to go bring my cannons back!"