Chapter 1173: The Minor Western Expedition

"... Qingzhou Prefecture and Jining Department are both smokescreens. The bustle of this martial tournament is a smokescreen too. Using the chaos and commotion to arrange and position the various forces — we really have been too lenient with those wealthy households, and they've grown far too greedy. A little prodding and they'll move..."

"... This scheme is well laid, but the person orchestrating it has been methodical from start to finish, always hiding very deep. Yet if he were truly someone who does great things, how could he not know these are all petty tricks? When great armies clash, contending for cities and seizing territory, you cannot stake victory or defeat on the assassination of some martial ruffian or some cleverly laid trap. So I believe this Qingjiangpu tournament ground is also one link in the chain, and this link too is a smokescreen..."

"... If they could kill me, this scheme would certainly not be poor. But if they can't, wounding me would also be good enough. And if I'm neither dead nor wounded, I would certainly remain here in Qingjiangpu to make arrests or recover from the shock. By staying here, those two thousand government cavalry would swiftly close in, making it impossible for me to leave Qingjiangpu. No, no — no matter what, they must prevent me from returning to Xuzhou and Pizhou..."

"... Those two thousand riders entangle and block me at Qingjiangpu, then the Grand Coordinator's Garrison Battalion, the Langshan troops, the Fengyang troops, and perhaps even government soldiers from Nanjing combine to surround Qingjiangpu, cutting you off here from Xuzhou and Pizhou. That is their true intent..."

"... Big Brother is right. This method is indeed vicious. They want to leave our Zhao Character Camp leaderless, unable to coordinate front and rear..."

"... You two think about the government army's disposition. The Shandong troops face the First Brigade head-on, while the Daming government troops are on the First Brigade's flank and rear. Then the Daming government troops and the Henan forces can also threaten Xuzhou's front. The Fengyang troops here threaten Qingjiangpu's flank on one side while attacking Xuzhou from the south on the other. The government army's layout is meant to force our several hubs to fight in isolation, unable to combine into one force..."

"... Master Jin, Master Yong, this subordinate believes the government army is far too arrogant. Doing this is simply courting death..."

"... Old Li, you're not wrong, but the government army doesn't know that every brigade and every regiment of ours can fight. They only think Xuzhou or Jining has combat-capable brigades. Now they're pressing in openly from all directions, precisely to devour the Zhao Character Camp's weaker brigades and tie down our strong forces, until they can finally assemble superior strength and force a decisive battle with us. We have confidence, but we must not grow arrogant. After all, these are forces twice our number. And when the government army presses in, Xuzhou and Pizhou may hold, but the gentry and commoners in the other areas will likely be no better than those here in Qingjiangpu. That too is a problem for us..."

They talked deep into the night and at last roughly sorted out the full sequence of events. It had to be said, the imperial court had planned this very thoroughly. Originally, the Zhao Character Camp had always used vague tacit understandings to occupy territory in practice. But this time, the court used that same vague tacit understanding to position troops around the Zhao Character Camp's perimeter, having seen clearly that the Zhao Character Camp would not rashly start a war and needed peace to consolidate, and so they planted piece after piece on the board.

A great army requires preparation to move. For a camp of several thousand to achieve complete stealth is fundamentally impossible. But if you station the troops close enough, you can achieve surprise, and then use cavalry for a swift raid at the most critical point — this negates the distance. This time it was more or less the same. The moment the court's great army moved, the Zhao Character Camp's various posts learned of it. But within two to three days of learning the news, the government troops had already entered and were immediately on the verge of engagement.

"They think we won't be ready in time. That's not exactly wrong of them — it's just that they're treating us as if we were the same as their government troops." Zhao Jin judged.

"All the chaos everywhere this second half of the year erupted from the finest details, from places we thought insignificant. Fortunately, every post dealt with it severely, which kept it from spreading. If we'd been negligent from the start, we'd likely be in great trouble right now. But this time we've also learned many lessons. For instance, our Zhao Character Camp used peaceful consolidation to lull others, yet we ourselves were lulled by it too, forgetting the greater trends of the realm. Aside from the floods, this year the realm has enjoyed favorable weather. The Liaodong stipend could still scrape together silver. In the north, the Mongols, and in the northeast, Jianzhou, neither made any major moves. In the southwest, the government army won several great victories. What does this tell us? The court has surplus strength, and it can deploy that surplus strength at its leisure. So whom are they going to deal with?" Zhao Jin's voice had grown somewhat hoarse, but Liu Yong and Li Dajin in the room were both listening, utterly absorbed.

"The Tatar caitiffs on the frontier are a skin rash, an irritation. We are in the heartland, not far from either the Southern or Northern Capital, and we hold the hub of Xuzhou — we are the dagger at their heart. In ordinary times they feign goodwill toward us, but the moment they have a free hand, they will immediately fight us to the death. When I say we've been lulled and grown careless, I don't just mean everyone else — I mean myself as well. You two think about it: haven't we come to regard ourselves as the authorities, as part of this realm?"

At this question from Zhao Jin, Liu Yong and Li Dajin exchanged a glance, then both slowly nodded. A bitter smile spread across Zhao Jin's face. He continued, "We've become far too orderly, more meticulous about rules and principles than the authorities themselves, which made us think we are the authorities, forgetting that we and the authorities are not the same thing, and that we and this realm are fundamentally incompatible."

Li Dajin and Liu Yong's expressions grew solemn. Zhao Jin shook his head and went on, "This is actually my fault. I shouldn't have wanted to wait. I thought we could lie low and wait a few years, wait until the fruit on the tree ripened, then go pick it as a matter of course. But I never imagined that now, holding territory nearly the size of a province and blocking the Grand Canal hub, others would never tolerate us waiting."

At this moment, though Liu Yong was younger than Li Dajin, he was the more composed of the two. Li Dajin's face, on the other hand, showed stirrings of excitement. He could not help but ask, "Master Jin, are we going to fight this to the finish this time? Then many things need to be prepared in advance?"

Compared to Liu Yong, Li Dajin yearned far more for the prospect of fighting to the finish and winning final victory. At that stage, the glory, wealth, and power would be a hundred, a thousand times greater than now. And Li Dajin was already forty — he could not afford to wait much longer.

Zhao Jin naturally understood his thoughts. Smiling, he spoke frankly, "This time we may not fight to the finish. The reason they dare to launch this now is also because the Grand Canal freezes over in winter. Once spring comes and the ice thaws, the canal opens for navigation — the grain tribute absolutely cannot be delayed. Even if Wei Zhongxian's power overshadows the court, he cannot obstruct everyone's profits. By then, there will surely be a resolution."

Though Zhao Jin spoke lightly, grave expressions remained on Liu Yong and Li Dajin's faces. After Zhao Jin finished, Li Dajin could not help but ask, "Master Jin, what if they disregard the grain tribute and insist on fighting on?"

"Then we fight!" Zhao Jin said with a smile.

That night, Zhao Jin slept less than two shichen. Fortunately, he was young enough to endure it. When he rose the next morning, the sky was just beginning to pale in the east. Dong Bingfeng and the various headmen and managers of Qingjiangpu were already waiting outside. The fully rested household troops were sorting and inspecting their equipment. The mounts were somewhat restless, neighing low without cease.

"Those who should be arrested, arrest. But do not arrest those who shouldn't be. The merchants and commoners of Qingjiangpu may stay or leave as they please. You needn't worry — there is no better place to make a living under heaven right now. They won't be willing to leave. And if they do leave, others will come to take their place. The offensive must be resolute. In this fight, there is no room for half-measures. After this is over, Fengyang Prefecture, Yangzhou Prefecture, and Huai'an Prefecture are not permitted to have any government camp larger than a thousand men. Prisoners are not to be released — seize them and put them to labor!" Zhao Jin gave his simple orders.

Zhao Jin swept his gaze over the people before him — Dong Bingfeng, Liu Yong, Zhou Xuezhi, Li Dajin, Wei Mugen, and the others. Every one of them wore a solemn and grave expression, as though what they were about to do this morning carried immensely significant meaning. Zhao Jin nodded and added, "This time, we may fight only to a measured conclusion, but we may also fight to the finish. For grain and fodder reserves and for able-bodied conscripts, prepare according to the worst-case scenario. No matter how things turn out, if we prepare ten-tenths, we can never go wrong."

The group roared their assent. When they raised their heads, Zhao Jin could not help but laugh. He said, "I thought your faces would show anxiety and dread. I never expected you'd all be itching to go. That's good too!"

At Zhao Jin's teasing, everyone burst into laughter. Zhao Jin swung up onto his horse, rode a few steps, then turned back and admonished Liu Yong, "Xiao Yong, you must get to the bottom of this. From the Yellow River flooding until now, the entire sequence of events must be made clear. I never imagined the court and the authorities would be this proactive. We cannot make this same mistake a second time!"

Zhao Jin flicked the reins, and his horse surged forward. Behind him, the crowd bowed in unison to see him off. The thunder of the massed cavalry's hooves shattered the early morning quiet. The riders were all advancing light, each man with two horses — the spare horse carrying armor, equipment, and provisions. Over a thousand men, three thousand horses, and supplies for four thousand had been readied in a single night. The household troops of the Zhao Character Camp showed no surprise, taking it as a matter of course, never realizing that this preparation alone had left many in Qingjiangpu speechless, thinking: such a colossal beast, and yet there are people who don't know when they're courting death, going to provoke it. Why invite disaster?

"Qingjiangpu won't have a good New Year this time, but our Zhao Character Camp will have a fat one!" As the horses galloped and the cold wind struck their faces, drowsiness scattered. Zhao Jin said with a smile to Tao Gui beside him. Tao Gui nodded repeatedly.

During such a large formation march, Zhao Jin did not ride at the very front as people might imagine. Instead, surrounded by several dozen personal guards, he rode in the forward-middle section on the right flank of the column. The several company commanders of the cavalry household troop took turns riding beside him. They moved with ease, not treating the imminent battle as anything too serious — not out of contempt for the enemy, but out of absolute confidence in their own strength.

Fifteen hundred riders, three thousand horses — a formation of this scale had not been seen in Qingjiangpu and the surrounding region for many years. Though Zhao Jin and his men departed early, everyone along their route was startled awake. First they felt the ground tremble, then thought they heard thunder on the horizon. When they finally saw this great host, they were all stunned and shaken. But no one dared step outside; all hid behind their doors or crouched atop their walls, stealing furtive glances.

The Zhao Character Camp's cavalry column did not advance at full speed — after all, this was not yet a charging raid. On all four sides of the formation, plainclothed light riders continuously shuttled back and forth with reports, bringing news from every direction to Zhao Jin without pause.

"... Twelve hundred Fengyang government troops have already left Linhuai..."

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