Chapter 1315: The Eastern Bank of the River

For Pi Island, the arrival of this fleet once again strengthened its power. The fleet brought the grain, fodder, and money that Pi Island desperately needed. With these, even now, when the crops had yet to be harvested, Pi Island had grain reserves, and its stockpiles of blades, spears, bows, and arrows became ample. Then, the ships took away people—women and children who were useless to Pi Island. A great many were taken this time, and all were paid for. This not only lightened Pi Island's burden but also earned it a small fortune.

Before departing, the fleet steward made it very clear: many more ships would come next time. Cargo was one aspect, but the main thing was people. The price was negotiable. Mao Wenlong roughly calculated that to earn enough benefits while maintaining the strength of Dongjiang Garrison, they would have to round up more people. How to round them up? Taking in refugees was no longer enough. They had to take the initiative, strike the Jianzhou Jurchen villages and stockades in Liaodong and Liaonan, and bring out those Liaodong soldiers and civilians who had already resigned themselves to their fate!

This would both bring wealth and do good. Now that Dongjiang Garrison had surplus grain and its equipment was completely renewed, this was precisely the time to act. Mao Wenlong put it plainly to his subordinates: "If we can smash a part of the Tatar scum this time, take heads and win a victory, then report to the imperial court—now that the realm is in peril, it is precisely the time to employ men. Our wealth, rank, and future prospects will be assured."

The generals of Pi Island's Dongjiang Garrison were all stirred up by Mao Wenlong's words. Having fled from various parts of Liaodong to Pi Island, struggling to survive here, and gathering the fleeing Liaodong soldiers and civilians, they truly held the ideal of recovering the Liaodong Garrison in their hearts. But likewise, they also desired rank, fame, and wealth. In this chaotic and perilous age, it was only because of this that they, once ordinary garrison soldiers and licentiates, could become Area Commanders, Vice Generals, Assistant Generals, and Mobile Corps Commanders. Originally, their foundation was on Pi Island, with no possibility of leaving. But now, according to the news the merchants brought, that Xuzhou had inflicted a great defeat upon the Great Ming. At such a time, the court would surely be in need of men. If they rendered meritorious service, the court would certainly want to bring such a force into the central government for use. Then their positions would bring solid, tangible wealth and rank.

As for the Liaodong soldiers and civilians sinking in dire straits, they naturally would not abandon them. They felt that if they could grasp greater power before returning, the effect would be better than it was now. Mao Wenlong's advocacy allowed the generals to convince themselves, and to convince others as well.

"... I see that damn Xuzhou army only moves around the port area, with no intention of going deeper into the island. They shouldn't have any schemes. Let's prepare our own plans. We'll send troops out in mid-to-late July, take Zhenjiang Fort and Liancheng Fort, then besiege Phoenix City and gather up all the commoners in the surrounding area..."

"... Right now, we need to have the various squads operating outside gather intelligence, and get the inside agents hidden among the Tartars moving. We must know ourselves and know the enemy..."

"... Go buy information from the Koreans. Go ask those sea merchants to borrow ships. With their big ships, operations will be much more convenient..."

Once the decision was made, Mao Wenlong began planning intensively. Before making this decision, Mao Wenlong first confirmed that the Xuzhou garrison showed no abnormalities, and only then dared to act. Now, the fighting against the Jianzhou Jurchens was no longer like the beginning, when they only dared to harass and not to clash head-on, not daring to engage the enemy without ten times their strength. Now, against a force of five hundred or fewer, as long as they outnumbered the enemy, they dared to give battle, and did not come off worse. Of course, in the Liaodong and Liaonan regions, the Jurchen strength was relatively weak, and Pi Island actually had the advantage here; it was very hard to encounter a force larger than five hundred.

The reason for choosing this time to strike was that during the sixth and seventh months, everywhere beyond the passes, whether the Jianzhou Jurchens or Korea, was at the critical juncture where last winter's grain stores were nearly exhausted and the autumn harvest had not yet arrived. Without military provisions, large-scale movements were naturally impossible. Pi Island, however, through trade and maneuvering, had built up a certain reserve. This was a perfect opportunity when the enemy was weak and they were strong. Once winter came, Pi Island would have no choice but to hold its ground.

The orders were passed down, and the scouts Dongjiang Garrison had placed in Liaodong and Liaonan all began to move. This time, Dongjiang Garrison sealed off the news from Xuzhou. Borrowing ships was only said to be for delivering grain and people to Jinzhou. At this time, everyone from the Cloud Mountain Firm was kept under close watch. Pi Island was not large to begin with. Originally, there had been no concealment from the merchants coming from Xuzhou, who were allowed to come and go freely. But now, they were restricted to moving only around the port area. Fortunately, Luo Chen and Zhao Song showed no dissatisfaction with this.

After receiving support from maritime trade, the improvement in Dongjiang Garrison's strength was comprehensive. Originally, scouts going into the Liaodong Garrison territory all traveled on foot, with relay horses set up only at a few key points. But this way, transmitting messages wasted a great deal of time, and reactions were often not timely. Now, they all had horses to ride, purchased from Korea, along with a small number captured. With rapid military intelligence reporting, their confidence in winning battles had grown considerably.

The thirty-li stretch of riverbank south along the Yalu River from Korean Uiju was a key area patrolled by Dongjiang Garrison's mounted scouts. Korea's military preparedness was extremely weak. Although they constantly professed that the Great Ming was the father and a son could not betray his father, in reality, they helped neither side in war and conflict. Or rather, given Korea's capability, even if they wanted to help, they could not offer much. Dongjiang Garrison had to rely on itself for vigilance and reconnaissance. The river surface about twenty-five to thirty li south of Korean Uiju was the narrowest part of the Yalu River. Crossing the river here was the easiest and most effortless, so it had to be strictly guarded.

The reconnaissance riders of Pi Island's Dongjiang Garrison landed on the shore at Korea's Cheolsan County, traveled west along the flat coastal terrain, reached the Yalu River bank, and then headed north along the river. The rendezvous point was about twenty li from Uiju. The scouts being relieved did not return to Pi Island but crossed the river directly to reconnoiter the Liaodong region. Dongjiang Garrison had many soldiers and civilians, but the number of scouts and night-ravens they could send out was small; they could only rotate them.

The six reconnaissance riders arrived at the usual rendezvous point. A few hundred paces ahead was the Yalu River. Originally, this was farmland cultivated by Korean military colonies, but now it was all overgrown and abandoned. This was because the Yalu River bank was the seesaw battleground between the Jianzhou Jurchens and Dongjiang Garrison's troops. The Jianzhou Jurchens did not care that this was Korean territory, and Korea had no ability to stop them. They could only stay far away to avoid being caught in the crossfire. This was also why they supported Dongjiang Garrison.

The group arrived at the edge of a small grove near the abandoned village, tied up their mounts, and began eating their dry rations. Coarse-grain flatbread, pickled vegetables, and dried fish—the provisions were quite good. This, too, was a result of the trade with Xuzhou. In the past, when they went out, they could only bring one or two days' worth of dry rations and had to procure the rest themselves. So-called self-procurement was nothing more than plundering and begging from the Korean villages and farming households along the way.

"Once you've eaten, leave one man on watch. The rest of you, catch some shut-eye while you can. The Grand Commander is about to use troops, so we who run ahead can't afford to be sloppy!" The squad leader in charge gave the order, and the men below shouted their assent.

Someone went to tend and feed the horses. Another sat there hesitating for a moment, then asked in a low voice: "Brother Guo, they all say that Xuzhou has rebelled and already wiped out more than half of the government troops inside the passes. What do we do next? Do we fight these Xuzhou men, or that..."

"Fight? Fight my ass. Didn't you see those Xuzhou soldiers by the port? They're just like the Grand Commander's personal guards—several hundred elite troops armored head to toe in iron, and damn it all, they're even holding cannons. How the hell are we supposed to fight them? Besides, the grain and everything else is all in Xuzhou's hands. Our mothers and fathers have been sent across the sea. Do you want to starve to death, or have your whole family wiped out?" The squad leader shot back bluntly. The man who asked was left speechless, grinning sheepishly and falling silent. The others all opened their eyes; they were very interested in this topic as well.

"Get to sleep, get to sleep. This isn't something for us to worry about. The Grand Commander has it in hand! Our job is just to fight the Tartars. Kill one, break even. Kill two, profit!" Squad Leader Guo said gruffly. The others nodded heavily. Those who had fled to Dongjiang Garrison and dared to take on the dangerous trade of reconnaissance riding all harbored deep, blood-deep hatred for the Jianzhou Jurchens.

But falling asleep immediately was not easy. The discussion just now had stirred up matters of the heart. Each man lay there with eyes closed, pondering. Having ridden hard to get here, they were all exhausted. After a moment of silence, drowsiness surged up, and they were just drifting hazily toward sleep when they heard horses neighing. Everyone snapped awake, and then heard the dense sound of footsteps.

As reconnaissance riders and scouts, they had experienced many dangerous situations and reacted instantly. Several men flipped over and stood up, weapons in hand. Without needing to be told, they knew enemies were attacking.

"It's the Tartars!" someone shouted angrily. Though the men rushing out wore the clothing of Korean commoners, their hats had fallen off, revealing the queue hairstyle with a shaved pate and a single braid—the money-rat-tail style. They were Jianzhou Jurchen soldiers!

But just as they stood up, they heard the whistle of arrows tearing through the air. Several shafts shot in from all around. Three men, caught off guard, were struck by arrows and fell. Squad Leader Guo instinctively dodged but was hit in the shoulder by an arrow. The Jianzhou Jurchens used large bows to shoot heavy arrows. The arrowheads were thicker and heavier than those of the Great Ming's longbows or the Mongol horn bows. Once an arrowhead entered the body, it immediately tore open a huge wound. Blood gushed out, and the man's strength rapidly drained away.

Squad Leader Guo knew he would not survive. The Jianzhou Jurchen soldiers rushing out from all sides knew it too. A few men went to check the others, while some chased after the one who fled. The fleeing man, seeing someone blocking his path ahead, knew he could not escape. With a furious roar, he drew his blade and charged. The man in front parried his attack, and then he was struck from behind by an iron mace. His skull shattered.

Little Liu, who had gone to feed the horses, had surely met a grim fate as well. He only needed to finish this one assignment to qualify for boarding the ships. He had even specifically arranged a wife... Who would have thought... Lying on the ground, Squad Leader Guo's field of vision happened to face the riverbank. He saw, on the opposite shore, dust suddenly billowing into the air. Many people were lowering boats and rafts, preparing to cross the river.

Squad Leader Guo's vision was already blurring. Massive blood loss was bringing him to the brink of death. As he lay dying, Squad Leader Guo only thought of his younger brother. The two brothers had fled into the mountains. When the Tartars were searching the mountain and were about to reach them, his younger brother had run out to draw them away.

"This damned, rotten world..." Squad Leader Guo uttered these final words. The Jurchen soldier who came to finish him off only saw the lips of this shot-dead Ming squad leader move slightly, but heard no sound.

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