Chapter 606: Signal Arrow

In the dead of night west of Baoji City, the three Ningxia Army encampments seethed with unease.

They had only marched south from the north that afternoon, and now in the night their old northern camp had been set ablaze; the darkness was so impenetrable they could not even tell from which direction the Marshal's troops had struck.

Panic-stricken, the camps erupted in clamor. Amid the sudden chaos, Cao Wenzhao had no time to don his armor. Exposing a bear-tiger frame of fat-wrapped muscle and thrusting out his general's belly, he burst from his tent, nearly bypassing thought itself, and issued two orders at once.

The first was for his younger brother Cao Wenyao to detail cavalry and form two hundred-man squads.

One was a hundred-man scout squad, each man taking five horses, to cross the Wei River on rafts and patrol ten li out on the north bank, galloping back to report any emergency.

The other was a hundred-man night-watch squad, to advance several hundred paces beyond camp on the Wei River's south bank, pairing off in rotating shifts through the entire night to guard against a surprise attack.

The second order was for his nephew Cao Dingjiao to form inspection teams and make a complete round of the three camps, checking for absent or deserted soldiers, while also inspecting the safe storage of horses, gunpowder, and marching rations.

Only after issuing these two orders did Cao Wenzhao calm down. He walked back into his tent, threw on a thin battle jacket, and after a moment's thought, added to the household retainers flanking him: "Send word to Divine General Shen — order his troops to rest facing north, ready for field battle with the Liu bandits... Adjutant General Bu's camp is closest to the east; let him rest easy."

"Also have someone tell Left General that there is no sign of alarm in the north yet, tell him not to panic."

Cao Wenzhao figured that since Bu Yingdi's troops were camped closest to Baoji City, and given the Baoji garrison's spineless habit of not daring to loose arrows even with a great army at their walls, they could be completely ignored.

And with Baoji City ignored, the eastern flank was shielded by friendly forces like Zuo Liangyu and Long Zaitian — a fairly secure direction.

Now that Liu Chengzong had deployed his forces to the north, a major battle was certain within the next couple of days, so naturally the Ningxia camps had to be fully on alert for war; they could not all be manipulated by a strategy of exhausting their troops.

At least one camp needed proper rest, so they would have reserves of strength when battle was joined.

But it was precisely the coward he had dismissed — Luo Rucai — who sallied out from Baoji City with his men.

The commander Luo Rucai chose was named Li Rujia, a squad leader.

He was an orphan from Ansai. Back when he was thirteen or fourteen, he had followed a band that preyed on the rich, begging to survive by carrying ladders and poles for them. Later, when Yan'an Prefecture ran out of grain, that band scattered.

By the time Liu Chengzong massed several peasant army camps to fight Li Bei at Mount Jiapao, he was nearly starved to death, hiding in the mountains with others, waiting for the battle below to end so they could scavenge the dead for food.

Later, Luo Rucai asked if he dared to kill. Li Rujia said yes, went to the camp and ate army grain, and from then on followed Luo Rucai.

By then he had been wandering over a year and could not even remember his own name, only that his surname was Li.

The name Rujia was actually given to him later by Luo Rucai's uncle, Luo Daien, on the road to Qinghai.

Before that, because starvation had left his whole body bloated and his belly huge, people called him Starving Ghost or Little Ghost.

Li Rujia was like most peasant army squad leaders of this era: neither his martial skill nor his learning was outstanding, but he was numb to orders, fought desperately in every battle, and dared to strike and kill, treating neither his own life nor others' as worth a thing.

Luo Rucai appointed him leader of the ghost soldiers not because of any extraordinary talent, but because his name sounded fitting for a ghost soldier.

Luo Cao was shrewd and sinister, yet possessed extraordinary empathy. The moment he saw the flames from the burning Ningxia camp, his mind instantly put himself into the mindsets of both Ming armies — Zuo Liangyu's and Cao Wenzhao's.

Zuo Liangyu had besieged him by day; seeing the situation shift at night, he would certainly be on guard against Luo's troops sallying from the city.

Cao Wenzhao's three camps, on the other hand, had just marched south that afternoon and had yet to join the siege when trouble broke out behind them; right now they would be panicked and fearful.

By common sense, Baoji should not have sent troops out of the city tonight.

Because the purpose of ghost soldiers was to infiltrate the enemy camp when they were completely off guard, sabotage from within, and achieve the goal of startling and harassing the enemy.

But now, those several pillars of fire to the northwest had already thrown all the armies outside the city into shock; even the dullest man would be wide awake by now. Sending those few ghost soldiers charging in would just mean fighting a night battle head-on.

Even if every man were Lü Bu, they'd be shot into sieves by cannon fire.

Yet, Luo Rucai did the exact opposite. He said to Li Rujia: "Zuo Liangyu assaulted the city by day and is now on guard against us. The Ningxia troops who just shifted camp are different. You will leave the city, loop north, and along the way fly Zuo's banners. Pay no mind to any scouts or patrol riders — ask everyone you meet what happened in the west, then charge into the camp and cut down everyone you see!"

"Once the great deed is done, loose a signal arrow beneath the walls, and I will send troops to open the gates and bring you in!"

Luo Rucai had a gut feeling that the burning of the Ningxia Army camp to the northwest was an omen.

An omen that the Grand Marshal was making a major move tonight.

On that basis, he did not mind adding his own tiny effort to make this night even livelier.

Li Rujia accepted this order without a single word. He had no intention of returning to Baoji City alive. He simply said: "General, get your subordinate a bowl of wine to drink."

Luo Rucai burst out laughing, ordered wine brought over, and also had a meal prepared for Li Rujia's troops.

Li Rujia selected three hundred subordinates, armored up and mounted, then kowtowed three resounding times each to Luo Rucai and Luo Daien. He wrapped the horses' hooves and silently led his troops out through the west gate.

After leaving the city, he followed Luo Rucai's orders, first looping north, then after galloping a hundred-odd paces, lit torches, unwrapped the horses' hooves, and with torches blazing and a great clamor, charged westward.

"Out of the way! What's going on in the west? How did the camp get burned?"

Bu Yingdi's night sentries posted outside the city were already panicked by the burning camp to the northwest. Suddenly encountering this cavalry unit, and in the dark of night where uniform colors were hard to distinguish — not to mention the Changping troops and Yunnan soldiers to the east already wore different colors — they all assumed for a moment these were friendly forces from the east.

Not one dared block their path; some even wanted to join the column and act as guides.

Li Rujia dared accept only one guide. He dismissed the rest with a few curt words, saying only that more of Zuo's troops were coming up behind to reinforce.

In truth, he knew his command included both Han and Tibetan soldiers. The Tibetans were fine as long as they stayed silent, but the Han soldiers all had northern Shaanxi accents; the more they talked on the road, the easier it would be to give themselves away.

Fortunately, the Marshal's troops were also regulars. When he said he was a squad leader of the Changping troops, the Ningxia night sentries dared not make small talk with him and simply focused on leading the way, which saved him a great deal of trouble.

The first camp they passed along the way was Bu Yingdi's. Li Rujia had initially wanted to charge and strike, but seeing Bu's camp so lax in its defense, he had the patrol rider guide him toward Cao Wenzhao instead, thinking he would look around more as they went; if Cao's camp was equally unguarded, he could behead a Regional Commander tonight.

He never imagined that once past Bu Yingdi's camp, the road ahead would suddenly be under tight guard and strict defense.

The three hundred mounted troops were blocked by night patrol soldiers under Cao Wenzhao and forbidden to advance further. The patrol then summoned Cao Dingjiao to question them.

Cao Dingjiao arrived on horseback with several riders upon hearing the news. He had been frantically busy tonight, patrolling all three camps; many soldiers were so badly frightened by the burning northern stockade that they could not steady their nerves.

He did not take Li Rujia seriously at all. For one, trouble had broken out on the western road, so it was perfectly normal for Zuo Liangyu to send troops to inquire; for another, this party had already reached the central army and had been led here by his own scouts.

Subconsciously, it never crossed his mind to suspect rebels. He assumed that passwords, unit designations, and such had already been verified earlier.

Without a trace of wariness, Cao Dingjiao approached, clasped his fists in salute, and casually asked: "I am Mobile Corps Commander Cao Dingjiao. This must be Brother Li of the Changping Army? The bandits have burned four camps to the north, but have made no further moves. We've troubled our friendly troops to come — please report back to Marshal Zuo and tell him to be wary of the enemy troops to the north tonight. Our Grand Commander fears it may be a feint to the east while striking west."

Li Rujia's heart was pounding so hard it nearly leaped out of his chest. He swallowed involuntarily. Fortunately, Cao Dingjiao seemed unconcerned, merely asking a few casual questions. Li hurriedly replied: "Yes, this humble officer will return and report to the General at once."

"General?"

Cao Dingjiao paused at that form of address and asked offhandedly: "May I ask which General Brother Li serves under?"

Li Rujia's heart sank — he'd slipped up. Zuo Liangyu's troops should call him Marshal; the term General was clearly wrong. He lowered his head, his gaze darting shiftily, scanning Cao Dingjiao's attendants from the corner of his eye as he mentally calculated the odds of a sudden attack succeeding. His mouth, however, answered on its own: "Reporting to the General, this humble officer is a squad leader under General Luo."

In truth, by this point Li Rujia was already ready to strike, his hand creeping toward his waist. Only the sight of Cao Dingjiao's robust build and the several sturdy riders beside him made him hesitate, fearing a surprise attack might fail.

He never expected Cao Dingjiao to nod with sudden understanding: "Oh, General Luo has long been famed as a valiant commander from Henan — no wonder Brother Li has a Yan'an accent."

The General Luo Li Rujia meant was Luo Rucai of the Marshal's headquarters.

But the General Luo Cao Dingjiao heard was the Ming court's Mobile Corps General Luo Dai of the Reinforcement and Suppression Army.

Luo Dai was a native of Yan'an Prefecture, but he had been fighting bandits in Henan all along. Now he served under Zuo Liangyu in the Reinforcement Army and had a reputation as a valiant commander.

It was a case of a blind cat stumbling onto a dead rat — a sheer fluke that hit the mark.

Li Rujia, seeing this, said hastily, "Then this humble officer will return at once to report. Since the rebels are feinting east to strike west, General, please be on your guard tonight."

Cao Dingjiao nodded in agreement and took his leave together with Li Rujia.

Li Rujia wheeled his horse around and, as he rode back, silently signaled his attendants with hand gestures. In an instant, the dozen or so riders around him tensed up. Some gripped their bows, others reached for their waists — every one of them prepared for combat.

Cao Dingjiao also turned his head and urged his horse a few steps forward, when suddenly a doubt stirred in his mind. Strange… why would Zuo Liangyu send a mere squad commander from Luo Dai's command?

At that thought, he heard the stir of the cavalry behind him and turned his head again. "Brother Li, please hold a moment!"

But to his shock, the moment Li Rujia turned his head, he raised his bow, nocked an arrow, and loosed a whistling arrow straight at him!

The whistling chisel-point arrow gave a short, piercing shriek and in a flash buried itself in Cao Dingjiao's body. At the same instant, the mounted troops under Li Rujia all drew bows and nocked arrows, loosing a wild volley into the darkness toward the spot the whistling arrow had marked.

Then, in the briefest span, two more swishing waves of arrows followed. Over a hundred shafts riddled Cao Dingjiao and his dozen-odd attendants like hornets' nests. Warhorses toppled dead one after another, and as for the men, whether they lived or died was anyone's guess.

In a lightning flash, Li Rujia's cavalry surged forward in a mass. With bone maces and gilded clubs they swung full circles, battering down soldiers who tried to rise. Several riders even dismounted and, with goose-quill sabers, rushed in to finish them off with a flurry of stabs.

Everything had happened in the space of a breath. The shriek of the whistling arrow threw Cao Wenzhao's main camp into chaos, and many soldiers came rushing out from beneath the camp gate.

Li Rujia paid them no heed. He simply reined in, gave a sharp whistle, and loosed another whistling arrow in the direction of Bu Yingdi's camp. At once, his three hundred cavalry surged toward that camp in wave after wave.

With great shouts of "The northern rebels are upon us!" they rampaged through the three camps, charging straight into the unprepared camp of Bu Yingdi, kicking over braziers and setting tents ablaze.

Bu Yingdi's men had only just received Cao Wenzhao's order to rest easy. Startled by the sudden whistling arrows, they came pouring out of their tents in panic. All they heard was the news that the northern rebels had struck. Many had just turned to look west when a rider galloped past and clubbed them to the ground with a single blow of a gilded mace.

Once inside the camp, Li Rujia's cavalry rampaged unchecked, killing everyone in sight. At a distance they loosed arrows; up close they raised blades and hacked. Relying on their horses' hooves to scatter and trample, they also set loose the Ming army's own tethered warhorses, sending them stampeding everywhere. In the blink of an eye, the camp was a scene of soaring flames, overturned men and rearing horses.

The officers in Bu's camp had no idea how many enemies there were, only that they had come from the west. Everyone assumed that the camps of Cao Wenzhao and Shen Guangxian had already been overrun and that all was lost.

Many officers hastily rallied a few dozen men and broke out eastward. Yet there were also plenty of men of hot blood who led their troops in a fierce counterattack, clashing in confusion with Cao Wenzhao's men who had come in pursuit of Li Rujia.

Bu Yingdi himself, armored and helmeted, burst out of the command tent. At the sight of the chaos in his camp, he felt as though he wanted to die — he could not even lift his feet to move.

Yet his despairing, stupefied stillness had an unintended effect: the Ming officers rallying around him felt reassured. The general is so composed — it probably isn't anything serious.

Soon, the chaos in the camp gradually subsided as the last few dozen ghost soldiers, with nowhere left to flee, were cut down. The border troops of Cao Wenzhao and Bu Yingdi, who had been fighting each other inside and outside the camp, cleared up their misunderstanding and set about rounding up the scattered fugitives from the chaos.

But the instigator of this whole upheaval, Li Rujia, was already fleeing east by then.

Around him were over six hundred men, both infantry and cavalry.

Fewer than half of his own cavalry had made it out of the camp alive; the rest were Bu Yingdi's men, who had fled in blind panic amid the utter chaos.

Li Rujia had never imagined that the Ningxia troops would break out alongside him. It was only when he had gathered over three hundred men around him that he realized half of them were not his own.

But he was riding a tiger and could not dismount. After a night raid and a frantic escape, the hundred-odd men of his own who remained were simply too exhausted to fight another one-on-one battle. He could only steel himself, keep gathering the scattered fugitives, and continue fleeing east.

At this point, he had no idea what to do either. He had half a mind to flee back to Baoji City, but he feared that once he reached the walls, the Ming troops, having come to their senses, would kill him.

He galloped past the west gate, then past the north gate, and was about to keep heading east when, from an angle, several dozen riders bearing torches cut across and barred his path, shouting loudly, "Halt! Who goes there?"

A surge of joy rose in Li Rujia's heart: General Luo has sent men to meet us!

But immediately doubt crept in. I haven't even loosed my whistling arrow yet — how are they already out here?

To his utter shock, several hundred more infantry and cavalry emerged from the shadows. Someone at the front of the ranks shouted, "I am Mobile Corps Commander Luo Dai, under Marshal Zuo! Who comes?"

Li Rujia was dumbfounded. He cursed inwardly: Damn it, it's *this* General Luo!

But since he was already here, his eyes darted and a plan sprang to mind. He shot a glance at his attendants, and the dozen-odd riders all spurred their horses, passing word left and right: "Tell the men — we're beneath the walls of Baoji. These are likely Luo Rucai's men. Everyone keep your weapons ready, and loose arrows on my whistling signal."

The hundred-odd riders passed the low-voiced order down the line, and soon the word had spread among all six hundred infantry and cavalry.

For a moment, a few of the ghost soldiers from Luo's command muttered to themselves, but the far more numerous Ming fugitives suspected nothing. They drew their weapons and braced themselves for battle.

Li Rujia then led several dozen trusted riders forward at a gallop, shouting as they rode, "This humble officer is a squad commander under Mobile Corps General Cao Dingjiao! General, save us — the rebels are upon us!"

Amid the pounding of hooves, the cavalry charged toward the torchlight with a battle cry.

Under the veil of night, a whistling arrow let out a piercing shriek.