Chapter 226: A Nauseating Journey

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Cao Wenzhao took the water skin his subordinate handed over and fiercely gulped down several mouthfuls.

He gazed west, brows tightly knit; he gazed east, his face full of worry.

This was a nauseating journey.

After his nephew clashed with Yan'an Adjutant General Yang Yanchang over the execution of surrendered bandits, Yang Yanchang did nothing else — he simply became even more devoted to his duties.

As the vanguard officer, Yang Yanchang went mad, leading his troops on a frenzied charge across the land of Shanxi.

He attacked bandits wherever he saw them, and it was no sham fight but real combat; as long as the enemy force was less than five times his own, he would pounce like a mad dog and rout them at top speed.

Strangely enough, though, Yang Yanchang could always keep the bandit soldiers he recruited, yet he never had any prisoners.

Wherever Cao Wenzhao's sword pointed and wherever Yang Yanchang's troops passed through, Cao Bianjiao could forget about seeing a single bandit.

This was a very bad situation. They had countless reasons to convince themselves to kill surrendered bandits, but no way to convince Yang Yanchang.

Whether telling him the court had no means to solve the famine, or telling him that if they let surrendered bandits go they would rebel again in the future, or even stating outright that heads meant merit, promotion, and reward money.

Soldiers hung their own heads on their belts — wasn't it all for this?

But none of it worked.

Yang Yanchang didn't care. He didn't want promotion or riches, and he didn't want these men getting promotion or riches either.

So, by himself, he blocked everyone's path to advancement.

Cao Wenzhao had no other choice. If he let Yang Yanchang keep charging ahead like this, his men would mutiny.

He could only have Cao Bianjiao take a separate force and strike in all directions ahead of Yang Yanchang.

Most infuriating of all, Yang Yanchang also filed complaints — to Shanxi officials, to the Grand Coordinator of Yansui — saying these Guanning troops were stealing his credit, that he was the vanguard officer.

Cao Wenzhao reporting the problem to Hong Chengchou was useless too; Supreme Commander Hong was quite pleased to see a rising star of a general shining bright in Yan'an Prefecture, not far from Yansui Garrison.

What's more, Hong Chengchou couldn't directly redeploy Yang Yanchang anyway. In theory, both Hong Chengchou and Yang He were Yang Yanchang's superiors, but Yang Yanchang only had to answer to Lian Guoshi.

For a time, they battered the Shanxi famine bandits, mountain bandits, and rebel troops until they wailed for their mothers. The nursery rhymes people made up all went "Yang the Bodhisattva, Cao the King of Hell."

When the rebel troops saw Yang Yanchang, they either left him some good food, left his men some plundered money, or just joined him outright.

When they saw their Guanning troops, they either fled without a trace long before, or once battle started, fought to the death.

The strangest thing was that there were always people behind them slowing their advance.

Cao Wenzhao believed Shanxi's problem was not just the famine.

It was also plagued by demonic books and heretical cults, and the plague was severe.

This extremely important problem — these good-for-nothing officials and gentry of Shanxi had all failed to notice it. Ask them, and they all said they knew nothing.

The scope was enormous. Almost from the moment they entered Shanxi, wherever they went, White Lotus followers rose up in arms!

After finishing a fight up front, they still had to turn around and fight the White Lotus sect behind them.

It tormented their Chief Grain Transport General Wang Ziyong terribly. Wang Ziyong's troops were all civilian conscripts, laborers recruited from the Tongzhou canal, solely responsible for hauling their supplies without complaint.

The army provisions were seized time and again. Though Wang Ziyong guarded them well, they still lost varying amounts of grain and had no choice but to let the local authorities continue requisitioning.

Moreover, the transport team lost many men. To replenish their numbers, they could only recruit civilian conscripts locally, which not only slowed the advance but also set a terrible precedent.

White Lotus demonic men infiltrated the ranks.

It tormented General Wang Ziyong so badly he became incoherent and gesticulated wildly.

This pacification campaign in the interior was far more difficult than Cao Wenzhao had ever imagined.

It was not until the army marched to Yonghe Pass, having crossed the entire breadth of Shanxi, that Cao Wenzhao met the first man with any sense: the garrison commander Fu Renxi.

He was the only official who could tell him clearly that the White Lotus sect had already become a rampant disaster in Shanxi.

Fu Renxi said he didn't even dare mention it to others, because the influence of this White Lotus uprising was so great and its spread so wide that many officials pretended to know nothing about it.

Therefore, Fu Renxi was deeply convinced that the White Lotus followers gathering in Shanxi were surely planning some great undertaking in the future.

Crossing the Yellow River, Yang Yanchang returned to his homeland, while Cao Wenzhao's nauseating journey was only just beginning.

Cao Wenzhao had always thought the bandits were all in Yan'an Prefecture, but Yan'an Prefecture was quiet and peaceful, full of desolate villages and empty houses, living in contentment — with no people.

Even Yang Yanchang could find no one to fight.

It had the feel of an impending storm, with wind sweeping through the tower.

No commoners, no bandits, and naturally no provisions. The only good news was that the White Lotus sect's influence did not yet seem to have crossed the Yellow River.

Grand Coordinator Hong was longing for their arrival and transferred them straight to Fugu County to besiege Wang Jiayin.

As soon as they reached Fugu, Supreme Commander of the Three Frontiers Yang He brought three hundred garrison troops and relocated to Ningzhou. Fifty li away from him was the Yan'an titan bandit Liu Chengzong, leading an army of nearly ten thousand.

It was enough to scare a man to death.

Hong Chengchou had no choice but to dispatch this army, along with Mobile Corps General Zuo Guangxian's unit, to Ningzhou.

The local supply capacity was very poor, so Zuo Guangxian took five hundred men along the Great Wall route, passing through Huan County south to Qingyang Prefecture and straight on to Ningzhou.

Cao Wenzhao's army brought their own rations and took the Yan'an Prefecture–Fuzhou route, entering Heshui County via the Ziwu Ridge and heading south to Ningzhou.

In truth, Liu Chengzong's multi-person early warning system had not failed anywhere.

The only error, perhaps, was just Yang Yanchang and He Yong. He Yong had followed He Renlong to the siege at Fugu and therefore could not pass word to Liu Chengzong.

As for the others, they all knew Yang Yanchang was one of their own, so they saved themselves the extra trip and let Yang Yanchang deliver the news.

Yang Yanchang had intended to deliver the news too. After crossing the Ziwu Ridge and reaching Heshui County, he planned to pass the message along, but then another transfer order from Hong Chengchou arrived right on his heels.

Wang Jiayin had colluded with the northern barbarians to raid the border, attacking forts and stockades along the way, so Supreme Commander Hong wanted to transfer him back.

Before Yang Yanchang could send word, the offensive was canceled, and naturally there was no longer any need to pass a message to Liu Chengzong.

They returned to Yan'an Prefecture via the Ziwu Ridge, retracing their original route back to Yansui Garrison.

The Guanning troops grew war-weary.

Even ignoring the constant fighting all the way from Northern Zhili to Yansui Garrison, just the trek from Yansui Garrison to Heshui County, and then from Heshui County back to Yansui Garrison, had sent them scurrying two thousand li.

A supreme commander and a grand coordinator, walking the dogs out here.

Cao Wenzhao was stretched too thin, so he discussed with Yang Yanchang: Aren't you the one who dashes around like a mad dog? Over in Ningzhou, Liu Chengzong is your old defeated foe — you go deal with him, and I'll go reinforce Yansui Garrison.

Yang Yanchang refused. He had an extremely firm grasp of his own strength; his moment of opportunity had not yet arrived, and Liu Chengzong would not lose to him.

Whenever Liu Chengzong decided to move, that would be when his moment arrived.

The army, grumbling all the way, reached Yansui Garrison and threw themselves into the war against the Mongols.

This was only because Wang Ziyong had extorted a bit of grain from the county yamens in various Shanxi counties, keeping the soldiers from starving — otherwise the army would have collapsed long ago.

Two months of marching and fighting, bandits ahead and White Lotus followers behind, officers at odds and sick of the sight of each other, and they had dashed four thousand li.

It often happened that when they mustered the next day, the cavalry wanted to mount, but the warhorses refused to let them; even if they got mounted, if they didn't keep a tight rein while on the move, the warhorses would try to lie down.

Even the horses couldn't take it. Just from swapping horses with the garrison troops in Shanxi, they had rotated through their unit's warhorses twice over.

Trading good horses for nags, trading two nags for one nag — military orders were absolute, and there was no help for it even if they didn't want to swap.

After great difficulty, they beat back the Mongols at the Great Wall. Wang Jiayin fled. Then Yang He issued transfer orders to Hong Chengchou with stern wording: Guyuan had been taken, the Han Prince's estate had been overrun by bandits, and Cao Wenzhao must be redeployed to Pingliang to suppress the rebellion.

But for the Guanning Army, they were actually quite happy to be in this situation.

At least when fighting inside the passes, they didn't have to worry about enemy reinforcements arriving before their own, nor about their own reinforcements showing up and just standing by watching.

Even less did they have to worry about dying beyond the passes with no one to collect their corpses, the enemy feeding their flesh and blood to dogs and building new forts one after another.

But Yang Yanchang's men couldn't take it, and Wang Ziyong's men could take it even less.

The two discussed that they had to think of something — they couldn't be led around like dogs on a leash. Let Guanning play by themselves.

A once-in-a-thousand-years golden opportunity appeared when they crossed the Ziwu Ridge for the second time.

Wang Ziyong called out the Crop-King Gao Yingxiang from Lion's Hollow. The original plan was for Gao Yingxiang to cut off the retreat route while they contacted Liu Chengzong ahead, burying this Guanning Army force in Qingyang Prefecture.

Never in their wildest dreams did they expect Yang He to go back on his word.

He said Liu Chengzong had saved the Han Prince's estate, and the Emperor was going to enfeoff Liu Chengzong in Qinghai. In an instant, everyone went mad.

Yang Yanchang had originally almost reached Ningzhou, but he immediately turned around and fled north, even ignoring Cao Wenzhao. Taking Wang Ziyong with him, he passed through Heshui County, crossed straight over the Ziwu Ridge, and fled back to Fuzhou.

Cao Wenzhao thought to himself, that bastard runs damn fast.

But it was nothing to be surprised about. Ever since Yang Yanchang had fallen out with him over killing surrendered bandits, the guy had kept dashing ahead. As for Wang Ziyong, he probably just didn't want to keep going.

Never in their wildest dreams did they expect that after the vanguard and baggage train crossed the Ziwu Ridge, what awaited him on the mountain path were bandit soldiers he hadn't seen in a very long time!

Gao Yingxiang had him blocked on the west side, preventing them from returning to Yan'an Prefecture.

The terrain of Ziwu Ridge was much like Mount Huanglong. Ever since the Taihang Mountains, the Guanning Army had been attacking like mad without ever using their heavy equipment. The cannons and army provisions were all with Wang Ziyong; all they carried were small cannons of thirty or forty jin.

Gao Yingxiang had ten Great Lion cannons firing in rotation, and on the narrow mountain path, their pressure kept the Roaring Pearl cannons from even entering firing range.

They couldn't even touch the enemy before being beaten back step by step.

With no other choice, Cao Wenzhao had to withdraw from Ziwu Ridge, thinking that at least there was Heshui County behind them where they could briefly resupply. If that didn't work, they could go via Huan County and follow the northern Great Wall back to Yansui Garrison.

Who could have known that two days earlier, Heshui County Magistrate Jiang Yingchang, who had just treated him to a meal, saw he had lost a battle and directly sealed the city gates, forbidding them from approaching.

Cao Wenzhao was so furious he felt like attacking the city. He stood outside the moat drawbridge and cursed for a full quarter-hour: double-dealing bastard.

Gao Yingxiang didn't come out of Ziwu Ridge either, just using the terrain and weapon advantage to pin them down on the mountain path. There was nothing they could do.

Suddenly, the excellent situation was gone.

Weighing the distances: if they went north, they would reach Huan County after two days of hunger, and Huan County might not provide them with supplies either.

Going south to find Yang He and figure out a way to get some grain was more feasible.

But one day after setting out, word came from Yang He: Ningzhou was so poor they were pawning their pants, there was no grain or fodder to supply them, and they should go north.

Now if they went north, they would need to go hungry for three more days.

Originally on the Ningzhou plateau, there had been Han Chaozai's force they could have plundered for grain, but Han Chaozai's men had been smashed through by Zuo Guangxian and had fled to Zhenyuan County.

Most awkward of all, within Ningzhou's borders, they couldn't even plunder the common people.

The common people were even poorer than they were, every one of them burrowed into underground caves. And without heavy firepower or siege equipment, their ability to attack forts and stockades was not much better than Old Jackal Li's.

There was only one place nearby with ample grain and fodder — Pingliang Prefecture.

Cao Wenzhao didn't want to rob Pingliang Prefecture.

He figured Pingliang Prefecture had been robbed by bandits earlier. To the southeast in Ningzhou were the armies of Yang He and Lian Guoshi. He himself had come from the east, and to the west was Liu Chengzong, who had submitted.

So that gang of bandits who had plundered the prince's estate — they definitely hadn't left this area.

If he went over and wiped out that bandit force, with ample grain and supplies secured, couldn't he then continue back to Yansui Garrison to await orders?

Never in their wildest dreams did they expect that bandit force had vanished.

Not exactly vanished, actually — both generations of the Golden Cicada were near Ningzhou.

Some time ago, when Yang He was gathering refugees, a group of refugees led by a blacksmith settled on the terraced mountain land by the Malian River. That blacksmith never drank again.

These people had enough money and grain to reclaim the land. Yang He was very welcoming to such common folk. That place is now called Cold Cicada Village in Ningzhou.

And in the mountains not far from Cold Cicada Village, the second-generation Golden Cicada, Zhu Danyu, who had been hammered by Lian Guoshi, was resting and building up strength, from time to time gazing westward full of hatred.

He was plotting to seize the Han Prince's stipend rice.

Only the true mastermind behind the scenes had vanished into the vast, boundless mountains with the money and grain.

But Cao Wenzhao's troops didn't come away completely empty-handed. They still found a gang of petty bandits looting in the chaos and got hold of enough grain to last a few days.

Yet before they could lead their troops away, someone attacked their patrol riders.

Judging by how those patrol riders were deployed, they should be proper border troops. In a river valley five li wide, they had placed one patrol soldier every li.

Layer upon layer of flag signals were sent westward. When the Guanning Army's patrol soldiers pressed forward, they fought them. When the main army pressed forward, the forward patrol soldier would fire a signal cannon and fall back to the next patrol soldier's position, retreating westward in overlapping waves.

Cao Wenzhao intended to send men to report, but the messengers were shot dead.

They had never seen anything like this: Do I look that much like a bandit, or are the western troops all such pricks that they just don't communicate with anyone?

Very strange.

Cao Wenzhao had not failed to consider Liu Chengzong, but the moment he thought of it, he found it laughable — was that even possible?

He had seen Gao Yingxiang's troops. It wasn't strange for bandits to have border troops under them, to understand battle formations, know how to use weapons, and be organized — that was normal.

But relay soldiers are a highly specialized troop type, and they require extreme coordination — with that chaotic mess of flag signals, unless you fully absorb an entire relay unit, a handful of relay soldiers can't accomplish anything.

You send a flag signal, but others can't read it — it's the same as having no flag signal at all.

Not to mention something like this, transmitting messages across valleys stretching ten li, twenty li, or even farther — this isn't something a few relay soldiers can pull off. It requires coordination from twenty-four relay stations or more.

This means there is at least one battalion of Northwest Border Army to the west.

"Find this Regional Commander — I'm going to string him up from a tree and flog him!" Cao Wenzhao viciously hurled his waterskin to the ground. "We enter Shaanxi, and what the hell have these worthless bastards been doing? County seats won't manage the grain, and the government troops are screening off my battlefield!"