Chapter 1147: Rapid Advance, Rapid Retreat

Despite their exhaustion, Zhao Jin did not allow a long rest — just a brief halt of one double-hour. Then the entire force turned east, heading back into the region between the Yi and Meng rivers. Along this stretch, those who had rested and those who had not took turns riding the horses. The mounts that had galloped nonstop the night before were left unburdened, while the rest of the men marched on foot. Anyone who truly could not keep up was allowed to doze briefly in the carts, but the column itself could not stop. Zhao Jin took no rest himself; he marched among the ranks in his breastplate.

They pressed on like this until nightfall. When they were still five li from the first target village, the column was at last permitted to rest. They halted among the hills and tangled woods five li away. To stay concealed, no fires were lit. The men made do with a meal of cold flatbread, dried meat, and pickled vegetables. Before dawn the next day, the entire force rose and set out.

When Zhao Jin's unit appeared outside the village, the whole place was thrown into confusion. In truth, the villagers only realized what was happening when the stockade gate was forced open and Zhao Jin's men charged in. A small bandit gang of just over a hundred men, which had thrown in its lot with this village, was disarmed before it could even mount resistance. The handling was simple: after interrogation, those hundred-odd men were beheaded one by one just outside the village. Then the dozen or so men who ran the village were dealt with in the same fashion.

Watching rivers of blood and heads rolling everywhere across the ground, and seeing the wolf-like, tiger-fierce iron cavalry of the Zhao Character Battalion, the villagers dared not harbor the slightest thought of resistance. They merely rejoiced in secret that the other side had not slaughtered everyone in the village. Every warning issued by the Zhao Character Battalion was treated as iron law. The second village Zhao Jin's unit was heading for lay thirty li away, but no one dared slip away to warn them.

The raid on the second target could not be kept as secret. The moment the Zhao Character Battalion appeared, several dozen mounted brigands fled the fortified manor and raced north for their lives. The Zhao Character Battalion's light cavalry gave chase directly. For this pursuit, even the firearm retainers gave up their horses. The battalion's mounts were robust, and with two horses per man, they could catch up by midday barring any mishaps.

Though the people of this manor swore they had been coerced, the Zhao Character Battalion still prepared to attack. Of course, the manor had been on full alert from start to finish and had no intention of opening its gates. But all resistance ended the moment the first cannon fired. Before the battalion's retainers even had to launch a direct assault, infighting broke out inside the manor. Not long after, the drawbridge at the manor gate was lowered. Someone came forward, knelt by the roadside holding a severed head, and invited the Zhao Character Battalion to enter.

Here, Zhao Jin did not unleash a massacre. He merely punished, in accordance with popular sentiment, a few villains who had colluded with the bandits, then set out for the next target. According to the scouts' reports, this third target harbored few bandits — only about fifty men — but the manor itself was a settlement of over four hundred households. Still, whether the numbers were large or small made no difference to the retainers Zhao Jin led. The fiercer the resistance, the more would die.

"Big Brother, I'm just afraid the brigands who fled will pass through there, and by the time we arrive, all the bandits in that manor will have run off…" Ji Xiang voiced his worry.

But once they reached the manor, Ji Xiang realized his worry had been needless. Not a single bandit had fled. The three ringleaders were covered in wounds, and all the rest had been slaughtered. They had been kept under strict guard by the manor's able-bodied men. When Zhao Jin and his force arrived, the entire manor immediately threw open its gates and came out to welcome them, deferential and terrified to an extreme degree.

After interrogation, the three bandit chiefs were beheaded. The local notables implicated in these affairs were summoned for questioning. Zhao Jin then dispatched mounted retainers to rendezvous with the pursuing light cavalry. His unit would rest and wait inside the manor. Witnessing the awe-inspiring might of these dragon-like men and horses, the sharp blades, iron armor, and even cannons, the entire manor was gripped by trepidation. They dared not show the slightest negligence, nor could they muster any petty schemes.

One double-hour later, the carts arrived from the rear. At the sight of the wagons laden with supplies, the manor's attitude grew even more respectful. When the light cavalry returned bearing severed heads, every emotion in the manor turned to sheer terror and dawning realization. The prominent household that ran the place came and kowtowed before Zhao Jin, tearfully confessing that they had also sent men to Ju Prefecture and Yishui to appeal for help, and begged Zhao Jin to show mercy. Seeing the true strength of the Xuzhou troops, he could not help but be afraid — government soldiers would be no match for them at all.

"Government troops already came. They showed their heads from a distance and then left," Zhao Jin said with a smile, soothing the magnate's terror. Such local strongmen cared only for self-preservation and gave no thought to the law or moral principles, let alone the greater good. Whoever could suppress them and whoever could give them benefits — to that person they would kowtow and submit. Although this manor had cleared itself, claiming it had no part in the actions against the Xuzhou estates, whether it was truly clean was hard to say.

But Zhao Jin was no longer inclined to hold them to account. Whatever had happened before, this manor's conduct this time was acceptable. Spare them, and when the local powers compared this to those villages and stockades that had been washed in blood and slaughter, they would know how to behave in the future.

Yet this series of strikes and swift raids launched after leaving Mengyin County had let no enemy escape. The intimidating effect of blood and slaughter was also sufficient. But what the interrogations and questioning yielded was no different from before. Nearly every trail led back to the Shu Family Manor. The locals already bore a grudge against the Xuzhou outsiders. When members of the Shu family — whose prestige was never low — stepped forward to build connections, many people immediately answered the call. As for the mounted brigands and bandits, their roots were also tied to the Shu family: either the Shu family had been ordered into action by the gentry backing them, or the Shu family had brought people in, or the Shu family had offered sufficient rewards.

"The Shu family is the key. But even the Shu family won't know too much. Under torture like that, every sordid little secret came out. There's no reason they'd hold back something big enough to trade for their lives. It looks like we'll have to go ask questions in the capital." On the return journey the next day, Zhao Jin had delayed too long at that manor. After replenishing a batch of supplies through fair trade — money for goods, payment in full — he immediately led the main force back. On the way, he and Ji Xiang discussed the gains from this bandit-suppression and mopping-up operation.

Perhaps it was some unseen force, or perhaps mere coincidence, but when Zhao Jin's unit launched its raid, the first place they struck was the Shu Family Manor. Ji Xiang had personally led the interrogation. Even a man cast of bronze or forged of iron could be made to talk. Yet the information they got was scant, and not much different from what they later extracted elsewhere.

"Big Brother, all this foul business started because the river dike burst back on our turf, didn't it? A flood the size of a sesame seed got blown into a heaven-shattering disaster out there, and then every sort of person couldn't sit still. But I can understand them stirring up trouble around Jining — what are they doing making a move here? Those estates were just set up. This isn't even our territory. Whoever's behind this must have spent a lot of effort. What are they after?" Ji Xiang asked, full of puzzlement.

"I can't figure it out either. The only thing I can think of is that they want to show others that our Zhao Character Battalion isn't untouchable, that we aren't obeyed everywhere, and that there are still plenty of unstable places," Zhao Jin said thoughtfully.

After saying this, Zhao Jin added, "Perhaps, like so many things in the past, all of this is just a smokescreen. They have some other aim."

"Big Brother, what aim could that be?"

"I don't know. Our Internal Guard may be elite, but they can only keep eyes on a few points. Everything hinges on what that Lord Shu in the capital knows."

"Big Brother, the capital is full of government offices and official runners. Ma Liu and the others have been lying low all this time. A street ambush or assassination is one thing, but to seize a capital official and interrogate him — is that even possible?"

"He's no grandee of the inner court or the outer ministries, nor some name renowned across the realm. What's impossible about it? It's only a question of whether we're willing to do it or not," Zhao Jin said with a cold laugh. After a few more words, he sank back into thought. Seeing him like this, Ji Xiang did not dare disturb him.

After a while, Zhao Jin looked up and said, "Keep to the marching pace. Get to Gegou Shop as quickly as possible. Rest there for half a day, then head to Yi Prefecture. We won't rest properly until we reach the Tian family estate."

"Big Brother, the brothers have barely rested this whole journey. We've flattened everything around here — who would dare stick their neck out and stir up trouble again? Even if government troops show up, we don't need to fear them. Let everyone catch their breath," Ji Xiang could not help saying.

"Keeping to the marching pace doesn't mean no rest. But this part of Qing Prefecture is not our territory. We can't afford the slightest carelessness," Zhao Jin said with great seriousness. At this, Ji Xiang dared not argue further. He knew his big brother well and understood that Zhao Jin had realized something.

Keeping to the marching pace only meant the daytime rest intervals were shorter. At night they still made camp and rested. There was no need for overnight forced marches. With hot soup and hot food in their bellies and the chance to sleep soundly within their own encampment, the men recovered quickly. Spirits were high, and everyone was in high glee. Exhausting as this raid had been, every battle had ended in victory, and their side had suffered no deaths. The few injuries were minor — sprains and twists from falls on the mountain paths. Everyone had merits to their name. Yet for most of the retainers, what they felt was a simple, unadulterated joy. After being cooped up in training for too long, just getting out and moving, fighting with real blades and real spears — that was its own kind of release and delight.

Compared to the retainers' high spirits, Ji Xiang looked rather listless. He made no effort to hide his boredom. "What a bunch of trash and cowards. Saying we used a butcher's axe to kill a chicken would be giving them too much credit. This didn't even count as stretching our limbs." The local bandits and militia were truly beneath the notice of the Zhao Character Battalion's retainers.

The force under Zhao Jin's command traveled all the way back to Gegou Shop just like that. At Gegou Shop, they were granted a day's leave, allowing men and horses to rest and recover fully. By all rights, Gegou Shop was now a secure location. Four militia companies were garrisoned there, and large quantities of supplies were stockpiled. Combined with the strength of Zhao Jin's own unit, no force in the vicinity could shake them. But Zhao Jin did not linger. After one day, he led the main force onward south, and also arranged for the Zhao Character Battalion's strength at Gegou Shop to withdraw back to Yan Prefecture.

This nonstop southward march left Ji Xiang and the retainers somewhat baffled. They moved as though someone were chasing them from behind. They had just put on such a dominant show of force — why leave so quickly? When had the Zhao Character Battalion ever been afraid? But these thoughts stayed in their hearts; no one voiced them aloud.

Thanks to the three old friends "Yuan Heng Li Zhen," "The Long Road," and "Dragon King of the Wind" for their tips. Thank you all for your subscriptions and monthly tickets. Brothers, everyone has a monthly ticket at the start of the month — how about casting it for Mighty Warrior of the Great Ming?