Chapter 186: Reward Silver

He Huchen was remarkably considerate.

Like a timely rain, he had prepared medicine, tents, and campfires for Lion Camp, even readying clothes-drying racks and poles.

Of course, Gao Yingdeng was a great benefactor too — thanks to him, Lion Camp ate horse meat once again.

As the first captured officer in Lion Camp's history, Liu Chengzong gave him a focused lecture: "Look at Huang Shengxiao — bare-assed, deep behind enemy lines, hacked down a bunch of gunners, came back and still fired the cannon. That's valor."

"Now look at you — faster than anyone else, dove headfirst into an infantry formation. Who the hell uses cavalry like that? That's recklessness!"

Gao Yingdeng's face drooped as he lay on the cot, holding a baked bun in embarrassment. "That's how we always charged. Ningsai Camp taught it that way — if the first charge doesn't break them, find another opening; if it does, drive straight through. They should've routed."

"Did you even look at the terrain? Did they have anywhere to rout? Hundreds of men jammed in a narrow lane... Forget it. You really were brave. I'm not upset about losing a few horses — I'm afraid of losing a fine general if you die."

Liu Chengzong looked at Gao Yingdeng and said, "From now on, you charge when I tell you to charge. Understood?"

Gao Yingdeng nodded repeatedly from the cot. Only then did Liu Chengzong let it go. He walked out of the tent, exhaled a breath of stale air, and breathed in the fresh mountain forest air after the rain.

This had infuriated Liu Chengzong. The man clearly hadn't been through the battle against Li Bei.

The only reason he let it slide was that Gao Yingdeng was holding a baked bun in his hands.

You don't scold a child while he's eating.

The mountain forest was lush and glistening. After the utterly exhausting battle, Lion Camp's soldiers slept peacefully in their tents, with only the patter of rain on canvas and the occasional crisp crackle from the campfires breaking the silence.

Song Shouzhen sat cross-legged by the campfire, just having positioned his erhu to play a tune, when Liu Chengzong called him into the command tent. Liu pressed a small notebook onto the wooden table and said, "Write this down for me: every outpost's supply team is to prepare rain gear and firearm rain covers. The artillery outpost is to carry folding cannon shelters."

Once Song Shouzhen finished writing, Liu Chengzong put the notebook away and told him not to disturb the soldiers' rest with music before letting him go back.

Wearing a dried, plain-colored inner robe, Liu Chengzong moved a camp stool and sat in front of the tent, listening to the rain.

The season wasn't cold, but if your clothes stayed wet, even wearing a padded jacket for too long could freeze a man to death.

The right sleeve of his robe had a huge tear and he had ripped it off.

A medic had just stitched up his right arm, and he couldn't exert strength with it for a while.

No one had cut him. Perhaps the bow's sinew backing had split from moisture and lost draw weight, or perhaps it had simply reached its limit — the battlefield was so chaotic he'd had no time to check.

In any case, the broken bow struck his arm. Had he not been wearing a cotton-armored coat and iron vambrace, it would have been a bloody disaster.

As it was, just a flesh wound needing a few stitches — lucky enough.

Only a pity about that ninety-jin heavy bow.

Before long, Fan Sanlang, wearing a straw rain cape, came trotting over holding a soup jar. "General, ginger soup."

Liu Chengzong nodded, took the ginger soup, and asked while blowing on it gently, "Have all the combat and support troops had theirs?"

"Some still haven't. Li Laochai's men haven't had any. The supply outpost just asked — should we give some to the prisoners this time too?"

"Lion Camp drinks first. Once they're done, boil some for Li Laochai's men. Then release them all — let them go make trouble for He Huchen."

Fan Sanlang nodded and left to deliver the message. After passing it on, she saw Liu Chengzong still sitting in the same posture, face tilted up properly, gazing at the mountains, so she stood beside him.

After she'd stood there a while, Liu Chengzong turned his head and asked, "Why aren't you sleeping? What are you standing here for?"

"The General is thinking about how to defeat the enemy. I'm protecting you."

The answer made Liu Chengzong laugh. He raised his arm and pointed at the mountains. "Beautiful, isn't it?"

Fan Sanlang nodded.

"What strategy to break the enemy — I'm just watching the mountains and listening to the rain."

Liu Chengzong smiled. It was now afternoon. They had risen at the third watch, marched several li while the sky was still dark, then fought a battle — everyone was utterly exhausted.

"The deputy commander and outpost leaders are all asleep. I'll hold out a little longer. Once they wake, I'll sleep."

Liu Chengzong glanced at Fan Sanlang as he spoke, then turned back with a frown. "When did you put on an arrowhead? Aren't you afraid of stabbing yourself?"

Fan Sanlang wore a three-edged iron arrowhead, ground smooth, around her neck. Liu Chengzong scolded, "Didn't you see that mud monkey nearly got killed by an arrow today? Take it off at once."

"Mud monkey" meant Huang Shengxiao. That guy also wore an arrowhead strung on a cord around his neck.

He said that very arrow had shot off half his ear, and since hundreds of arrows hadn't killed him, wearing it brought good luck.

Today he had stripped off every piece of clothing except that arrowhead. He wasn't killed by the gunners when seizing the firearms, but he fell and nearly stabbed himself to death with his own arrowhead.

At the mention of the arrowhead, Fan Sanlang's expression grew complicated. She lowered her head and said softly, "This is the arrow that killed Fan Sanlang."

"Then later I'll find you a piece of leather. Sew a cover for it yourself."

Though Liu Chengzong had never asked Fan Sanlang about her circumstances in detail, the fact that a girl used a boy's name, combined with what happened at Fan Family Mountain, let him guess roughly what kind of story it was.

He shook his head and murmured with feeling: "You lie beneath the springs, your bones ground to dust; I linger in the mortal world, my hair full of snow."

"Bai Juyi dreaming of Yuan Zhen?"

Oh!

She actually knew it.

Liu Chengzong clapped his hands, then shook his head. "A fine poem, but too bitter."

Life is bitter enough already — why chew on yellow lotus for sport.

He turned his head and said, "Besides, you're nowhere near that age. Pursue something joyful."

Fan Sanlang nodded, looked toward the green mountains, then after a moment turned back. "What kind of poems does the General like?"

"What do you think?"

"Since the General enjoys listening to rain so much — 'Spring waters bluer than the sky, in a painted boat listening to rain as I lie'?"

Liu Chengzong laughed. "Since entering Shaanxi, have you seen any spring waters? I like: 'A million bandit soldiers besiege Nanyang, no relief in sight, no grain in store.'"

Fan Sanlang had still been a little melancholy, but now it was all stifled back. She thought carefully and asked, "What poem is that? What's the second half?"

"'One day when the city walls are breached, some wail for their fathers, some wail for their mothers.'"

Both broke into smiles. Fan Sanlang was beside herself with laughter, then reined in her mirth and said, "Composed by the Ming dynasty poet Liu Chengzong?"

"Hm... How could that be? Tang dynasty. Composed by the Tang dynasty poet Zhang Dayou, titled 'Siege.'"

"There really is such a poem?"

Liu Chengzong nodded with utter seriousness. Fan Sanlang blinked, still certain Liu Chengzong was fooling her.

Just then, the sound of horse hooves trampling mud came from the dirt road at Upper Flat. Chengyun, wearing a straw rain cape, came back sniffling.

He walked up to Liu Chengzong and shook his head. "Found him in a mountain gully. Zhao Xi, same as Feng Wenchang — both dead."

Liu Chengzong shut his eyes at those words, tilted his head back, and let out a long sigh. "Such suffering."

Zhao Xi and Feng Wenchang were both squad leaders under Gao Xian's sentry post. Each post had five men in that role, roughly equivalent to a centurion in the regular army.

Lion Camp had eight sentry posts in total. The vanguard, rear, center, left, right, and artillery — six were combat posts. The vanguard post under Yang Yao was west of Yellow Dragon Mountain, and the center post brought up the rear, so altogether twenty squad leaders took part in this battle.

Chengyun pressed his lips together and exhaled through his nose, then lowered his head and said heavily, "Rear post left squad leader Zheng Qianxi — killed by cannon fire. Rear post squad leader Sun Guoyong had his left arm shattered and is still feverish."

"Left post left squad leader Lian Daqi, defending the left-flank ridge against enemy troops, took an arrow to the forehead. Already awake and bouncing around."

"Right post forward squad leader Feng Wenchang fought the enemy on the right-flank ridge and took four arrows. Rear squad leader Zhao Xi fell off a cliff. Center squad leader Gao Yingdeng charged into the enemy formation and was surrounded, trampled by many men."

Chengyun paused, then said, "In this battle, seventy auxiliaries died and thirty-three were gravely wounded. Forty-one battle soldiers died, including fourteen squad sergeants. Three squad leaders died and three were gravely wounded."

"Struck down, trampled, or fell to their deaths — five hundred sixty-six government troops. Seven hundred twenty captured. In camp, the right post suffered the heaviest casualties and also took the greatest toll."

Liu Chengzong nodded slowly. He knew why the right post's casualties were high and its kills many.

Wang Wenxiu's rear post bore the greatest pressure, but in the fighting along the central official road, both sides wore full armor. They fought back and forth half the day, and in truth, only those shot or struck in the face actually died.

The rear post's greatest casualties came from the thirteen cannon barrages before the close-quarters fighting began.

A one-ounce cannonball — if it hit you, you were either dead or maimed.

But the fighting on the left and right flanks was different.

To climb the slopes and seize the battlefield, both friend and foe traveled light. The left post, pinned against the cliff face and shot at from above by government troops, held no advantage.

The right post climbed straight onto the ridge and fought the government troops hand-to-hand. One squad leader died in the fighting; another lost his footing, fell off the cliff, and smashed his head on a rock.

And the right post also had Gao Yingdeng, captured by his own men — he had charged into the enemy formation and nearly been trampled to death himself, let alone the soldiers under him.

The casualty figures fell within the range Liu Chengzong could accept, but the loss of squad leaders still weighed heavily on him.

Liu Chengzong nodded firmly once more and said to Chengyun, "I understand. You've been busy all day. Go drink some ginger soup and get a good night's sleep."

"This battle was fought well. Brother, don't be too hard on yourself either."

Chengyun bit his lip, not knowing how to offer comfort, so he simply chose not to. He shook his head. "Brother, there's still someone you need to see. Might cheer you up a bit."

Someone to see?

Had Chengyun picked up another captive, one ranked higher than Gao Yingdeng?

Just as Liu Chengzong was thinking this, he saw Chengyun wave toward a spot not far away. A man who had just tied up his horse, wearing a straw rain cape and a conical hat, stepped forward.

He took off his hat — it was He Yong.

"You — how did you find your way here? Are you insane?"

Liu Chengzong looked first at Chengyun, then at He Yong. "There's a battle on. How did you get here?"

"Got captured again, obviously." He Yong said it as if it were the most natural thing in the world. He even turned around, pointed at the big muddy boot print on the back of his rain cape, and said, "General Lion, could you have a word with your pond patrols? Tell them to stop beating people up on sight. This has happened several times now."

"This is a battlefield. Not putting an arrow through you the moment they see you is already showing mercy."

Liu Chengzong stood up, set aside his emotions, handed his camp stool to Fan Sanlang, and beckoned He Yong. "Let's talk inside the tent."

He Yong was surprisingly polite. The moment he entered the army tent, he took off his rain cape and his filthy boots, leaving them at the entrance, and only then sat down on the felt rug to complain. "You broke camp and didn't even tell me. I searched for days in Yanchuan, then went to Yichuan, asking everywhere before I found out you'd entered Yellow Dragon Mountain."

Liu Chengzong did not address that. "Hold on — you came all the way here to me. What if government troops had blocked you? What about Fish River Fort?"

"No chance of being blocked. I originally meant to tell you — no need to bother with He Huchen, just head straight west. But you moved too fast."

He Yong spread his hands as he spoke. "But you moved too fast. I couldn't catch up."

Liu Chengzong frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Wang Jiayin's gone back to Fugu, loaded with spoils. Only this time, his dealings have been exposed."

"Exposed?"

"Right. Grand Coordinator Hong is like a man sent specifically to root out corrupt officials. That Zhang Nian you bribed — he's been taken down. The men Wang Jiayin bribed, Assistant Regional Commander Yang Maochun and Mugua Garrison Commander Wang Weizhen — all exposed."

He Yong spread his hands. "Though those two hadn't been dealt with yet. Gushan Camp Vice General Li Zhao entered Mugua Fort on the second day of the sixth month, gave Wang Weizhen a tongue-lashing, and told him his crimes deserved death ten thousand times over."

"That fellow's a ruthless one. That very night, he urgently sought out Wang Jiayin, attacked the very fort he himself garrisoned, set a fire, and burned Vice General Li Zhao to death in the government office. He's openly rebelled."

Liu Chengzong listened, eyes wide. This Wang Weizhen was truly ruthless — it was the equivalent of He Renlong inviting Liu Chengzong to strike Fish River Fort.

"It doesn't end there. Early on the fourth day of the sixth month, Wang Jiayin went to Huangfuchuan. He originally meant to bring Assistant Regional Commander Yang Maochun in on the grand enterprise. Yang had taken plenty of bribes from him but didn't want to rebel. In the end, the assistant regional commander's clerk was one of Wang Jiayin's men — name of Quan Wuxi. He opened the city gates and killed Yang Maochun."

"At noon that same day, they entered Clearwater Camp. The camp officers Chen Tianfu, Jiang Qiu, and Jiang Xia were Wang Jiayin's inside agents. Opened the gates as usual — killed those who needed killing, looted what needed looting."

"On the fifth, back to Fugu. The inside agent was called, damn it, surname Li, something Guo — ah, Li Guoxuan. He seized the local magistrate Guo Huacheng. Wang Jiayin personally picked a Liaodong man living there, named Liang Yingke, and installed him on the spot as a puppet county magistrate."

The string of news from the northern frontier struck Liu Chengzong dumb.

From Huangfuchuan to Gushan Fort — all four forts along the edge of Fugu County had been pulled up by Wang Jiayin.

And the provocation was thick. Hong Chengchou assumed office on the first day of the sixth month. Wang Jiayin returned to northern Shaanxi and began pulling up forts on the fourth.

Had he not known perfectly well that Wang Jiayin was too far away to receive word of what was happening on his end, Liu Chengzong would have thought Wang Jiayin was coordinating operations with him.

Still, for a coordinated operation that relied on dream-delivered messages, the two of them seemed to be doing rather well.

Liu Chengzong spent a good while digesting this information before asking He Yong, "So what now? Wang Jiayin has stirred up this much trouble — what will Hong Chengchou do?"

"He'll certainly act. He's dispatching the General-in-Chief of the Central Route, Vice General Yin Tixin, along with Bai Yiqing, who oversees the Yulin Circuit and Shenmu Circuit, to lead troops on a punitive expedition. But I asked General He."

He Yong said mysteriously, "I don't know why, but the General said that as long as Wang Jiayin holds the city, those two most likely won't be able to deal with him."

"In truth, it was the General who sent me to bring you this news. He said that by the time I saw you, word from Yulin Garrison would have reached Du Wenhuan as well. If they can't handle it, they'll certainly have to call Du Wenhuan back."

As He Yong relayed all this, he had been in a rather listless state the whole time. Only when he finished did he seem to come alive again, his eyes even lighting up as he leaned forward slightly.

He lowered his voice. "General Liu — is this news enough to pay out the court's back wages?"

"Then stay here with me for a while. If Du Wenhuan really does withdraw his troops, then for you crossing a battlefield to find me, I will certainly get you that one hundred and fifteen."

Liu Chengzong rose as he spoke and lifted the tent flap to gaze outside.

Just as Chengyun had said — seeing He Yong and learning the news he brought had indeed lifted his spirits considerably.

Liu Chengzong turned his head. "But this is not back wages. The court still owes you. This is reward silver from me."