Chapter 1188: This Won

After another day's march, as the sun was about to set, they were less than two li from the Shang Family Manor. All the mounted retainers mounted their horses, and the firearm retainers lit their match cords. If battle broke out now, they would have to advance first to block the enemy and buy time for the main army to deploy its formations. But no one was that tense, because a chaotic night battle would be disastrous for both sides — especially for the government troops.

They could see the main gate of Shang Family Manor standing wide open. Cavalry were filing out in a steady stream, but they did not charge forward — they simply formed ranks in front of the manor gate. They could also see more and more people appearing on the manor's wall tops.

"One thing I can judge by now: coming here, the government troops have an easier time with logistics and provisions than we do. We can only resupply from what's loaded on our carts, while they have stockpiles. And right now we're worn out from the march, while they're waiting at ease, ready to meet our tired force." Zhao Jin spoke in a low voice, as if talking to himself. Zhang Hubin and the others had already returned to their respective units to take command.

"Master Jin, where should we set camp!"

"Five hundred paces from Shang Family Manor. I want to see whether they'll come out or not. Order every regiment and every company to be on full alert — be ready to engage at any moment!" Zhao Jin gave the order in a loud voice.

The order was passed down, and the Zhao Battalion's marching column slowly spread out. The retainer companies advanced to the front, the militia followed behind, and the mounted retainers took position on the right flank of the main force. They pushed forward like this. According to military doctrine and historical precedent, striking the Zhao Battalion before they could secure their footing right now would be an excellent choice.

They could see the government cavalry in front of Shang Family Manor's gate stirring restlessly, even pressing forward several times, but in the end they still did not move.

When a large infantry force is deploying its formation and has not yet secured its footing, a cavalry charge can easily throw it into chaos. If enough pressure is applied, it can even cause the infantry to collapse entirely. Once one section breaks, the routed troops, driven by the cavalry, will crash into their own comrades and throw them into disorder. Then the rout spreads, and it becomes a total collapse. This is one of the reasons cavalry can defeat a larger force.

The Zhao Battalion's movements at this moment looked full of openings no matter how you viewed them. If the government cavalry charged now, they would have a very high chance of success. But the government troops did not move. This actually left Zhang Hubin, who was fully prepared at the front, feeling frustrated. The Personal Guard Brigade's Second Regiment was more than capable of stopping the charge, and then they would use firearms to teach them a lesson. Once the Zhao Battalion's own cavalry detachment circled around, they could swallow them up outright.

"Master Jin, the government troops have cannons over there!" A retainer scouting enemy movements came to report.

Zhao Jin's expression turned stern. He took the far-seeing glass handed over by Sun Dalin, narrowed his eyes, and began observing the wall tops of Shang Family Manor. To Zhao Jin, this so-called "far-seeing glass" was crude beyond belief, but this item from the Western Ocean was the best tool available at the moment.

The distant scene was drawn closer. He could see the government troops making preparations on the wall tops. Government cannons did not have the gun carriages and mounts of the Zhao Battalion's artillery. Dragging and emplacing them took a great deal of time, and if they weren't properly secured, firing recklessly would endanger their own men.

"Pull back eight hundred paces and set camp. Mounted retainers will cover the rear." After lowering the far-seeing glass, Zhao Jin gave the order in a cold voice.

The messenger retainers surrounding Zhao Jin all paused for a moment, then spurred their horses and scattered to relay the order. By now, the various units of the Zhao Battalion had already begun unloading supplies and were making preparations to set camp. Several of the faster-moving sections had already started driving in wooden stakes. To halt and retreat now would not only create a host of extra problems, but also cause disorder in the ranks — and that would truly give the enemy an opening to exploit.

But an order was an order, and in wartime, Zhao Jin's commands brooked no contradiction. Once the order was passed down, after a moment of stunned surprise, every regiment and company began working again in tense haste. The Zhao Battalion had one advantage over other organizations: they drilled constantly and had contingency plans for all kinds of situations, including a sudden retreat like this on the battlefield.

The Personal Guard Brigade's Second Regiment and the non-cannon companies of the Firearms Brigade all moved forward, making preparations to meet the enemy and cover the rear. The remaining units began repacking and reloading their carts. The Mounted Retainer Regiment split into several groups to patrol and await orders. The rest of the units turned their rear columns into vanguard and began a slow, orderly withdrawal.

At this moment, Zhao Jin was somewhat tense. He kept watching the wall tops of Shang Family Manor through the far-seeing glass. The government troops were busily piling up earthen platforms. After placing the cannons on them, they still had to secure them in various ways. This would take no small amount of time. Yet if they opened fire while the Zhao Battalion's main force was retreating, it would inevitably cause chaos and casualties.

On the entire westward march from He Family Manor, scouts and informants along the route had been continuously reporting information, but none had mentioned the government troops bringing cannons — and more than one cannon at that. It seemed the enemy had concealed them very well.

"Master, should we open fire now and knock out the cannon emplacements on top of Shang Family Manor?" Meng Zhiqi came over to report. He was also equipped with a far-seeing glass; whatever Zhao Jin could see, he could see too.

The various units of the Zhao Battalion had already begun their retreat. Although the far-seeing glass could bring distant objects into clear view, it could only make out the general picture. Zhao Jin could not determine the caliber of the enemy cannons, but he could observe that their activity seemed to be slowing down. Zhao Jin looked up to check the sky; in the eastern night sky, starlight was already twinkling.

"No need to fire. Keep a few light cannons on standby. If the enemy opens fire, immediately return fire. If they don't move, we don't move either," Zhao Jin replied.

Setting camp and then suddenly breaking camp left the Zhao Battalion's units somewhat disordered, but this disorder, in the eyes of the government troops, could only be described as orderly. The government cavalry in front of Shang Family Manor's gate did show signs of wanting to move again, but in the end they still did not charge forward, simply allowing the Zhao Battalion's main force to withdraw to the newly designated position.

The terrain was all flatland. Choosing a campsite was merely a matter of water sources and roads; over a distance of eight hundred paces, the difference was not great. Once the main force had withdrawn to this spot, Zhao Jin finally breathed a sigh of relief. He gave a special instruction, however: on the side facing the enemy, they absolutely must build earthen wall fortifications. This order was immediately carried out.

"Battalion vice-commanders and above, come to my command tent for a council." Zhao Jin gave a simple order, then looked back at Shang Family Manor, over a thousand paces away. It was brilliantly lit over there; presumably, their view of the Zhao Battalion's camp was the same. The mounted retainers and the retainers of each regiment and company were on rotational guard duty in groups of three, ready at any moment to respond to a government attack. Most likely, the government troops inside Shang Family Manor had made similar arrangements.

Before long, everyone Zhao Jin had summoned arrived at the command tent. Their expressions were all very solemn. Setting camp and then suddenly pulling back surely meant something had happened. Moreover, it wasn't just Zhao Jin and Meng Zhiqi who knew about the cannons — quite a few people had observed them, and others had heard the news.

"The government troops brought cannons with them. While we were setting camp, they were preparing to open fire — that's why we had to pull back." Zhao Jin came straight to the point and explained. The men nodded gravely.

Zhao Jin looked around at everyone. They were solemn and serious, but showed no fear or anxiety. This state of mind satisfied him greatly. Zhao Jin continued, "I trust our scouts and informants. If they had seen the government troops had cannons, they would have reported it immediately — and reported it as the most urgent intelligence. The fact that we're only learning of it now means the government troops deliberately concealed them. They wanted to catch us off guard, to hit us when we were unprepared. When we were setting camp today, they had a chance to fire, but they still held their fire. Why? Because they want to use them at the critical moment."

Everyone understood what Zhao Jin meant. It was already dark. Even if the cannons inflicted casualties on the Zhao Battalion and threw its units into chaos, the enemy would have no way to exploit the results. They could only send out their cavalry, but those would be checked by the Zhao Battalion's own mounted troops. In daylight, however, they could press forward with their entire army and achieve the maximum result.

"Master Jin, the government cannons are fixed in place. Your subordinates are not afraid. When battle begins tomorrow, I am willing to lead the troops at the front!" Zhang Hubin stepped forward to volunteer.

The moment Zhang Hubin made his stance known, every commander and leader in the tent stepped forward to volunteer, each afraid of being left behind. Only Meng Zhiqi stood to the side; his Firearms Brigade truly could not charge to the front. "... Your subordinate is not being reckless. In the span of half a shichen or one shichen, the government cannons can only strike an area a hundred paces square along a single line at a single point. Your subordinate will simply avoid it. When the time comes, I'll charge up Lü Family Manor and seize the cannons directly..."

"I know you are not afraid. I also know you can charge forward with valor. When our Zhao Battalion first started, we had only spears, and not even ten full-strength hard bows. What did we rely on? We relied on our courage and unstoppable drive." Zhao Jin praised them with a smile.

Seeing that everyone was about to volunteer again, Zhao Jin waved his hand to signal for silence, then continued, "They brought cannons with them. To achieve surprise, it would have to be when the two armies encounter each other, form ranks, and engage — then they suddenly open fire. That's how they'd inflict real damage. From today's situation, while they were certainly at ease, we were also able to observe carefully. The high points on the wall tops were impossible to miss. From this, we can roughly deduce that this government force never intended to fight us in the field from the start — they want to tie us down."

Slight confusion showed on everyone's faces. Zhang Hubin, however, seemed to be pondering something. Zhao Jin continued, "Over ten thousand government troops, positioned at the edge of the Xuzhou heartland, able to threaten the nerve center of our Zhao Battalion at any time — how could we ignore them? We have to commit enough troops to deal with them. But once we come here, if they refuse to fight, we can't just retreat. Over ten thousand troops garrisoned inside a fortified manor with strong earthen walls — a direct assault would certainly cost us casualties. Yet if we ignore them, how can we ignore a thorn this large? Their aim is to tie us down."

At this, everyone began to understand. Zhang Hubin interjected, "Master, the government troops want to tie us down so that Xuzhou cannot send support to the other fronts."

"Exactly! Ever since before the new year, all those sordid schemes and chaotic maneuvers have been aimed at dispersing our strength, so that the court can send large armies from different directions to defeat us piecemeal. We only have so much strength — once it's dispersed, we become weak. And the court can keep adding more. If they break us at each point, in the end they can combine their forces against Xuzhou. It's not a bad plan." Zhao Jin drew his conclusion.

"From start to finish this time, they never wanted a quick decision. They wanted to weaken us as much as possible. From the assassination at Qingjiangpu to the cavalry's rapid advance — it was all to make sure I couldn't take command. The government troops in Daming and Henan are meant to pin down our Xuzhou main force. And all their other deployments follow the same pattern." Zhao Jin shook his head as he spoke.

After Zhao Jin finished laying out the government troops' plan, the regiment commanders and company commanders in the command tent showed no fear or panic on their faces. Instead, they exchanged glances and seemed even more fired up. Zhang Hubin cupped his fists and said, "Master, the government troops may have planned well, but they don't understand the strength of our Zhao Battalion. Tomorrow, the Personal Guard Brigade's Second Regiment is willing to charge at the forefront. Your subordinate is ready to sign a military pledge with you, Master Jin — tomorrow we will break through Shang Family Manor!"

Thanks to old friends "Duan Yichen" and "Yuan Heng Lizhen" for their tips. Thanks to everyone for your subscriptions and monthly tickets — thank you all.