Chapter 154: All-Out Offensive

Fenzhou City.

Li Shien, Vice Commissioner of the Southern Shanxi Military Defense Circuit, strode swiftly out of the prefectural government office.

He thought to himself, another polite brush-off.

The full title of Military Defense Circuit is "Military Defense Circuit for Rectifying Such-and-Such a Region." It holds a seal of office but no official stamp, and may command the guard-battalion troops, yet is itself subject to the control of the supreme commander and governor.

Its duties are drilling guard-battalion troops and local militia, arresting bandits and suppressing civil unrest, and managing guard-battalion soldiers, provisions, funds, and military farmlands.

Initially these posts were created on an ad hoc basis, but to strengthen local defense, they have now become permanent.

Lately, Li Shien has been busy with one single matter: securing grain.

His post is Military Defense Circuit, but the position of this circuit in Shanxi is extremely awkward. The guard battalions of Fenzhou Prefecture were originally all princely fief herd-and-household battalions, and to this day they still answer to the princely estates.

Simply answering to the princely estate is not the problem — that would be easy to resolve.

But the decay of the military farmlands has made the guard battalions economically dependent on the princely estates, and that leaves no remedy. One does the work of whoever feeds one — that is an immutable principle.

As for Li Shien, although he is a native of Northern Zhili, he studied in Xizhou in his early years while accompanying his father at his post, and he understands Shanxi's situation very well.

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

Rectifying the guard battalions — he could forget about that. That was not something a mere fourth-rank official could accomplish.

Military Defense Circuit, Military Defense Circuit — it was established primarily to suppress peasant revolts, so his mission was to ensure that no peasant revolt broke out in Fenzhou Prefecture.

The drought had persisted for several years, worsening with each one. Only this year had the drought conditions in Shanxi slightly eased, but west of the Lüliang Mountains, the people's livelihood remained destitute.

Fenyang, where Fenzhou City is located, lies east of the Lüliang Mountains, but one cannot say that the area west of the Lüliang Mountains is not part of Fenzhou Prefecture.

Therefore, after discussions with many officials of the prefecture, he took charge of water conservancy projects and city wall construction. His tentative plan was to first restore the long-abandoned irrigation works in the three districts of Ningxiang, Shilou, and Lin County, and then heighten the city walls, to guard against bandits from Shaanxi entering Shanxi.

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

And there lay the difficulty. Those three counties were dirt-poor; the revenue offices of the county administrations could not even produce a thousand taels of silver, so there was simply no place to start.

And the prefectural government office refused to part with a single coin, so the matter fell into a dead loop.

Today he once again entered the prefectural office to discuss building irrigation works and organizing and drilling militia in the three counties. The moment others heard it, they knew he was asking for money, and without even waiting for him to open his mouth, they began lamenting their poverty.

In the end, with no other recourse, he had to wait until dusk and then slink dejectedly out of the office.

Off duty, he planned to go have a couple of drinks to drown the bitterness 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, a light-blue Daoist robe with subtle patterns, jade and a sachet at his waist — graceful and poised, except that his clothes were travel-stained, and a treasured sword also hung at his waist. He was walking over quickly.

No matter how Li Shien racked his brain, he could not recall this man. He could not help raising his hand and asking: "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, he said: "Have you forgotten? Xizhou stipend student, Che Cai!"

With his words, memories gradually surfaced before his eyes. Li Shien's expression softened, and then he raised his hand and clasped Che Cai's shoulder, 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. After that... ah, it's a long story."

Reuniting with an old friend, Li Shien turned and had someone prepare a carriage. Grasping Che Cai's arm, he walked forward: "A long story calls for a leisurely chat. Tonight, we have all the time in the world. 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 and headed straight for Wen Lake east of the city. By the lakeshore, they found a private room in a wine shop, ordered three meat dishes and three vegetable dishes, and 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 wine, Che Cai slowly recounted his experiences over the years: "My family has been a single line of descent for three generations. My elderly 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 knows as well — my family has farmed at Zaowang Mountain for generations. We were never wealthy; it was only in my generation that anyone could study. Back at the prefectural school, my fellow students never stopped mocking my family's poverty, but before I had even passed the licentiate exam, Su'nang had already joined me."

Li Shien set down his wine cup and nodded, sighed, and 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'nang permitted me to take a concubine. I sought out a woman from a musician household at Fanjia Mountain in Yonghe County. She had a proper appearance, understood charm, and could play the qin and dance. Some time ago, I brought her into the household."

Hearing Che Cai speak thus, Li Shien cupped his hands and revealed an envious smile, saying: "In that case, Brother Che, with a beauty by your side enjoying the blessings of a harmonious pair, what more could a man ask for!"

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

Li Shien was just raising his cup to clink with Che Cai. At these words, he froze, and the smile on his face likewise solidified: "Troops from 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 the 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."

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

The wine cup dropped.

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 through 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 in a single blaze. I could not even recognize which corpse was Su'nang. Fanjia Mountain was also slaughtered clean. Yue'nang, even in death, still wore the floral 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 calamity 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, had led his forces to seize civilian boats at Jiazhou, mounted small cannons, and bombarded the Kehu Fortress ferry crossing. Then his entire force crossed the border. Thousands of men and horses gathered and swarmed in Lin County for two days before striking north straight for Xing County.

When Che Cai left Lin County seat, he heard that the Kelan-Shilou-Xizhou Defense Commander was mobilizing troops, but to the north, the Hequ Regional Commander had been defeated by Wang Jiayin. Two columns of bandit troops were jointly attacking Kelan Prefecture — the Defense 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 garrison commander to abandon the pass and flee. Then the Qinglong Ferry Patrol Office was also slaughtered to the last man. Immediately after, with several thousand men, he swept through Yongning Prefecture.

In fact, he had even been tied up once on the road. Over ten bandit riders swept in, bound him, and planned to demand valuables from his family. But later, for some unknown reason, when they heard 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 he should do. He could not even bring himself to collect the corpses.

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

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

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

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 they were licentiates — that was when he sought out Li Shien.

Che Cai recounted all these matters to Li Shien 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 who went to Kelan Subprefecture, 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 the Fenzhou Guard.

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

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

The Fenzhou Guard had always been understrength. In theory it had just under 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 numbered only two thousand.

If you had to count, there might be two hundred more.

All of them hereditary military officers, from Commander down to Company Commander, who hadn't secured substantive posts.

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

Li Shien no longer had any heart for drinking. The beautiful, pleasing 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 experience stirred an indescribable sense of dislocation in his heart.

What these people were doing was strange. What were they up to?

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

The Guard troops, relying on the protection of the princely estates, 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 for judgment and punishment.

Events unfolding a mere few hundred li away had become a separate world, cut off by the barrier of the Lüliang Mountains.

This tranquil, peaceful scene outside the window, with fishermen singing goodnight — 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 unprovoked calamity, his family ruined and his kin 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 have no plans, why not stay by my side for the time being and lend me a hand — what do you think?"

Matters having come to this, Che Cai knew this was Li Shien's self-deprecating courtesy. There was nothing he could 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 at once!"

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

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

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

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, under the repeated insistence of Military Defense Circuit Intendant Li Shien, along with his guarantee of the source's authenticity,

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

But because night had already fallen and there were no boatmen on the Fen River, the mounted courier spent time searching for a boatman along the bank, causing a delay. By the time this report was relayed from Hongshan Post Station to Taiyuan and Pingyang, it 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 the Ningshan Guard in Ze Prefecture, escorting two Portuguese cannons loaded on four-wheeled gun carriages, had already passed through Xi Prefecture's seat and entered the borders of Yonghe County.

But the owner of these two Portuguese 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. What they were calculating was not how much money to distribute among the eight sentries of combat and support troops under his command, but rather the number of carts needed to transport supplies.

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

But it would not be the rear supplying the front — instead, the front would be sending supplies back to the rear.

Old Master Huo had been an interesting sort of local gentry. His family didn't have much land, and their grain stores were only a bit over a thousand dan, yet the household held a full twenty-two thousand-plus taels of silver.

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

The officers and non-commissioned officers of Lion Battalion had already received their share. Lion Battalion was still in that state of having silver but not knowing what to spend it on, so everyone displayed an extraordinary spirit of 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 gear was sold once again to the Work Sentry.

By now, the Work Sentry had a mountain of assorted weapons, armor plates, padded coats, military gear, and the like.

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

Liu Chengzong planned to ship these things back to Apricot Creek 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 and strode into the hall, saying to Liu Chengzong, "General, the Guard troops from Ze Prefecture have already halted at Sangbi Mountain. The man they sent over has been detained."

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

"They came over hoping to have Old Master Huo send men to take delivery of 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 keep an eye on them from a distance."

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

Liu Chengzong rose, rubbing his hands together. "Have the Left Sentry strike camp — go bring my cannons back!"

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