Chapter 1265: Herding the Sheep

The Zhao Family Army cavalry controlled their horses' speed, maintaining formation as they advanced. With several hundred paces still to go, a full-tilt charge would leave the horses spent and slowing just as they reached the enemy. The front ranks leveled their lances, while those behind made their own preparations.

When they caught sight of Tianjin's walls, the routed troops fleeing at the front finally breathed a sigh of relief. Shelter behind city walls meant safety, after all. Having lived through the battle below Jinghai's walls, they knew full well that these walls couldn't hold back the Xuzhou men, but getting inside to rest, reorganize, and resupply before running further was still the better option. The military officer commanding this defeated force had kept their spirits up the whole way, saying that reaching Tianjin early meant getting into the city to replenish. If another battalion got in first, they'd likely shut the gates on those coming after.

The man rallying and gathering this force was a Mobile Corps Commander from Ji Garrison. Because he hadn't borne the brunt of the attack and had been quick to read the battlefield, his core unit's strength remained intact. He also had ulterior motives. Every unit on that battlefield had suffered a crushing defeat, their vitality badly damaged. If he seized this chance to scoop up more troops and increase his own strength, his standing would rise accordingly once they returned.

What he never accounted for, in all his calculations, was that the Zhao Family Army cavalry was already waiting here — and had been waiting all night. The cavalrymen might still be yawning, but their horses were rested, well-fed on grain, and full of vigor.

When the cavalry's orderly ranks kept emerging and shifting formation as they charged forward, yesterday's still-fresh terror of defeat resurfaced. At first, there was no reaction. Then they saw the helmets, the chest armor, and those immaculate formations — and everyone understood.

The soldiers racing at the very front, desperate to get into the city, let out a collective cry. Without the slightest resistance or preparation, they simply scattered and fled in every direction. In truth, the moment the government troops saw those orderly ranks, they knew it was the Zhao Family Army. Besides those Xuzhou bandits, whose cavalry moved with the same precision as infantry? There was no point in thinking further — saving their own skins came first.

As the Zhao Family Army cavalry charged in, these several thousand routed troops collapsed completely. The Mobile Corps Commander among them didn't linger to fight. He didn't even spare a thought for his own core troops, fleeing directly with his personal guards and household retainers. At a moment like this, survival was all that mattered. He even had to consider turning bandit or surrendering. If even Tianjin had fallen to the Xuzhou bandits, the capital itself was in imminent peril!

The Zhao Family Army cavalry inflicted few casualties. These several thousand government troops were all running; those who couldn't escape simply dropped to their knees and surrendered on the spot. They had no stomach for battle whatsoever. The fighting here was easy, but from the walls of Tianjin, none of these details were visible. All they saw were earth-shaking battle cries and dust clouds blotting out the sky — surely a deadlocked melee. At a moment like this, sending troops out from the city was the perfect chance for a pincer attack.

Ji Xiang remained at the rear the entire time. In a battle like this, no one would shrink back or retreat even without a commander leading from the front. His mind wasn't even on the routed troops; he kept turning his head to look toward the city. While the cavalry swept back and forth across the field, someone climbed to the top of a grain mound and frantically waved a red flag. Even with the dust stinging their eyes, the signal was still clearly visible.

The moment he saw this, Ji Xiang pulled a brass whistle from his pocket and blew it in sharp, urgent bursts. On a battlefield roaring with hoofbeats like thunder and battle cries everywhere, the whistle's sound didn't carry far — but the nearby companies could hear it, and that was enough. The company commanders who heard it began blowing their own whistles in turn.

Following the whistle signals, the Zhao Family Army cavalry, already operating in independent companies, began to wheel about. There was truly nothing on this battlefield worth lingering for. The routed troops had been thoroughly shattered and scattered. A force so negligible posed no threat even if it managed to regroup — it would just mean cutting them down one more time.

As Ji Xiang led his troops in a charge toward the city gate, soldiers carrying flags climbed atop several grain mounds, waving their banners from time to time to relay information. Just as the main force completed its turn, scattered cannon fire rang out.

At the sound of the cannons, the Zhao Family Army cavalry ranks erupted in cheers. But Ji Xiang, still on horseback, couldn't help cursing: "Who gave the order to fire? Don't scare the enemy back inside!"

After shouting this, Ji Xiang turned directly to a personal guard beside him and barked: "Go tell the gunners to hold their fire!"

As the guard wheeled away, Ji Xiang muttered to himself: "If we could seize this chance to charge into the city and take Tianjin, the credit would be immense."

Only six cannons had the range and killing power to reach that far. Because the guns were positioned separately, three of the three-pounder cannons couldn't bear on the target due to their firing angles. Still, two six-pounders and one three-pounder landed near the city gate, causing over twenty casualties and throwing the government troops into disarray. How could the Xuzhou troops outside the city — clearly advancing as light cavalry — suddenly have artillery? The reason became apparent soon enough: those newly arrived Guangdong ships on the river looked suspicious.

The brief panic didn't make the government troops retreat. Inside Tianjin, they had been at a loss — but the moment government troops appeared from the south, morale soared and eagerness for battle surged. From their perspective, the main government force from Jinghai County had returned to relieve them and was now locked in combat with the bandit army. This was the moment to sally forth from the city and strike from both sides, smashing the bandits utterly — a golden chance to earn military merit.

After marching out of the city, they took casualties from the cannon fire, but the commanding officer drove his troops forward regardless. They had long since spotted those cannon emplacements set among the grain mounds and warehouses. The dock area wasn't far from the city. Once they marched out and formed ranks, a single charge could overrun the guns. If they faltered here at the gate, unable to advance or retreat, that would be a disaster. From the high vantage of the city walls, one could see a great deal. Besides the cannon positions, they could also see the Xuzhou bandit cavalry pouring out in full force. If this wasn't a golden opportunity, what was?

What pleased them even more was that after that single volley, the cannons fell silent. This only spurred the soldiers on, urging them not to hesitate or stall, and they managed to form up in good order outside the city.

But their joy was short-lived. The dust cloud in the distance still hung in the air — yet the Xuzhou cavalry was already charging straight back at them. Tianjin had only a few hundred cavalry and nearly three thousand infantry inside its walls. A force of that size was naturally no match for the two thousand Xuzhou cavalry outside. The commanding officer in Tianjin knew this well; the reason he'd dared to sally forth was precisely to coordinate with the outside force. His own numbers were small, but combined with the troops outside, they'd have the advantage.

Who could have imagined the Xuzhou cavalry would move so fast? They'd smashed the "reinforcing" government troops and immediately wheeled back to attack. The moment they saw the Zhao Family Army cavalry bearing down on them at full gallop, the Tianjin troops — who had just formed ranks but hadn't yet moved — were thrown into chaos. The several hundred cavalry at their head reacted the fastest: without a word, they bolted straight back toward the city, cutting down without mercy any infantry blocking their path.

But Tianjin's response was equally swift. The instant they saw the Zhao Family Army cavalry charging toward them, the soldiers and civilian militia guarding the gate began closing it at once. Those who made it inside were lucky; those who didn't were abandoned to their fate. The government troops outside collapsed on the spot. Seeing the Xuzhou cavalry return in full fighting order, who couldn't figure out what had become of the "reinforcements"? Saving their own skins was all that mattered!

The mounted unit Ji Xiang led paid no attention to the government troops formed up outside the city. His only goal was to charge straight into the city itself. But he was still a step too slow. Before they could reach the moat, the drawbridge had already been raised. Ji Xiang knew there was nothing more to be done. After cursing a few times below the walls, he returned to his main force and redeployed the defenses around the grain storage area.

The entire engagement, back and forth, took no more than a single two-hour period. To the Zhao Family Army, it was routine — but to the men of the fleet watching, it was utterly mesmerizing. They had spent years at sea, and though they knew of the Zhao Family Army's strength in the abstract, they'd never had a concrete sense of it. Seeing it with their own eyes today — two thousand cavalry sweeping through government troops like a hot knife through butter, handling everything with such composure — only now did they truly grasp just how vastly superior the Zhao Family Army was compared to government forces.

The men of the Zheng Family's Great Fleet and the Yu Family's ships each reacted differently, while the Zhao Family Army's own sailors were beside themselves with excitement and wild joy. At sea, they counted for little; the entire voyage north had given them few chances to hold their heads high. But after today's battle, they could clearly feel the awe and deference from the other factions — of course they were elated and thrilled.

They weren't the only ones to realize this. The civil and military officials inside Tianjin understood it too. Just half a two-hour period after the battle ended — right around lunchtime — Tianjin's north gate swung open once more. Under the escort of mounted guards, people fled toward the west and north. Even without giving chase, Ji Xiang could tell these were the city's prominent figures, heading to the capital and Ji Garrison to report the emergency. But Ji Xiang had no intention of sealing off the news. There was no need whatsoever.

That battle below Jinghai's walls had already decided the fate of Northern Zhili. The Xuanfu Garrison troops were shattered; Ji Garrison had been dealt a heavy blow; the capital garrison was useless to begin with. And the government troops from Zhending Prefecture, Baoding Prefecture, and Hejian Prefecture had suffered defeat after defeat — they were even less worth mentioning in terms of combat effectiveness. What remained now was simply the Zhao Family Army's pursuit of victory, and whatever step Zhao Jin chose to take next.

Every time he pondered this question, Ji Xiang grew a little agitated. Back when he was a boy helping his parents run a cooked-food stall, he could never have imagined that a few years later he'd be this wealthy and powerful, leading great armies on campaigns east and west, with the entire realm nearly within arm's reach. Yet Ji Xiang also knew that his elder brother had no intention of seizing the realm this time. He had his own comprehensive plan and didn't want to move so quickly.

Ji Xiang couldn't understand why it had to be so slow, why the fruit hanging right before their eyes shouldn't be plucked. He was even more impatient about when he'd finally get to enjoy that wealth and luxury. The rush and thrust of battle thrilled Ji Xiang, but he loved fine wine and beautiful women just as much. Back in Xuzhou, it had been fine, but during that brief garrison at Qingjiangpu, Ji Xiang had learned what true luxury and pleasure really were. And he knew, moreover, that such pleasures weren't out of reach — he could have far more, and far better, if only his elder brother would lead them all to seize the realm. But Zhao Jin was never in a hurry, and Ji Xiang was finding it hard to bear.

Thoughts aside, Ji Xiang would never share these musings with anyone else. He knew he also loved this life of spurring his horse at full gallop, charging into the wind to cut down the enemy — he just harbored an even greater longing for wealth and pleasure.

But there was little leisure for brooding now. More and more routed troops were streaming toward Tianjin. After their defeat, they'd scattered in every direction to flee and pillage, and moving at night was difficult — showing up at this hour was already doing well. They came in squads of three or five, or in larger bands of several hundred to over a thousand. Ji Xiang had deployed every man under his command except the sailors on the ships, sending them out in rotation to herd the routed government troops.

Things are really rough right now — Old Bai has to push through!

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