Chapter 1318: Each with Their Own Designs

Chen Jisheng's face darkened. The sharpest weapons of the Xuzhou troops were precisely these fire lances and cannons. He had thought that, with danger pressing, the other side might relent a little — he never expected them to yield not an inch. Chen Jisheng swept a glance over Zhao Song and Luo Chen and said sullenly, "Then I thank Leader Zhao and Mister Luo for your goodwill. I shall send men over shortly to move the supplies."

With that, Chen Jisheng turned and left. After two steps, he turned back again and said with a cold sneer, "It has been a long time since I last went inside the Pass. I never knew righteous duty there had grown so faint."

"Righteous duty exists. Your righteous duty is yours; mine is my own," Zhao Song replied, yielding not an inch in words either.

Once Chen Jisheng had left and the trading company's main gate was shut, Zhao Song and Luo Chen climbed to a high vantage point together to survey the bustle outside the company's perimeter. Luo Chen said quietly, "Battalion Commander, something about the Eastern River Garrison's actions doesn't sit right. The island's strength should be enough to hold it. Even if it weren't, there's no reason for them to come begging for our help. That Mao Wenlong is extremely wary of us."

Zhao Song did not answer Luo Chen's question. He only said sullenly, "If winds and waters favor us, the ship will take three days to reach Dengzhou. An express rider from Dengzhou will take three days to deliver the message. At the very fastest, we won't know the news for another twelve days. If Shandong and Xuzhou are to take any action, it will likely be twenty days from now. During this stretch, we cannot afford to slacken."

The two descended from the high ground, but Zhao Song noticed that the expressions of his five company commanders were off. He understood at once what they were thinking. Zhao Song had only recently been promoted to battalion commander; he was also one of the most senior company commanders in the Zhao Family Army and knew his subordinates' thoughts best.

"You're all thinking we ought to fight the Tartars, aren't you?" Zhao Song walked over and asked.

Now that their thoughts had been laid bare, the company commanders did not bother to hide them. One of them spoke up in a rough voice: "Battalion Commander, the government troops of the Eastern River Garrison aren't the same as us, but when it comes to fighting Tartars, we should help if we can. Isn't fighting Tartars a righteous and honorable deed? If we go back and tell Lord Jin, he'll praise us too!"

Luo Chen furrowed his brow and was about to speak, but Zhao Song stopped him. Zhao Song said with a smile, "You all joined the Zhao Family Army later than I did. You never went through Lord Jin personally drilling the troops. Day in and day out, he told us about Yue Wumu smashing the Jin army, and later he told everyone how Sarhu was lost, how Liaoyang and Shenyang were taken. I'm just like you — I want to go fight the Tartars too, and so does Lord Jin!"

"But don't just fixate on going to fight the Tartars. Have you forgotten everything you learned in foot drill? How many men does it take to form a square formation, and what must you have to call it a square formation? You need eight hundred men or more to form a square, and you need a quarter of them with bows and firearms to provide cover — not one condition can be missing. What do we have?" Zhao Song's tone was not stern; he spoke as if reasoning things out.

The company commanders' expressions grew serious. Zhao Song continued, "The Tartars are not like government troops. They have many bows and are skilled archers; they dare to charge and fight. Didn't you hear in the academy that the Jianzhou Jurchens and the steppe Mongols follow two different paths? The Jianzhou Jurchens are like government troops ten times more elite, advancing and withdrawing with strict discipline. If those several hundred men of ours get charged, how long can your hundred-odd fire lances hold them off? Once their archers close in and shoot, can you stop them? With just these few companies of ours, even if the enemy simply came crashing in with blades and axes, how many waves could you withstand?"

Luo Chen's expression had already flickered — he had never considered so much. Luo Chen had previously served in the Embroidered Uniform Guard and had seen plenty of government troops and rough-and-tumble fighters in the capital and out in the provinces. Even the most elite battalions and camps could not match what he saw before him: a petty officer in charge of a hundred men who understood not just the how of battlefield matters but the why. Zhao Song was speaking in considerable depth, yet the company commanders had all understood him.

By now, the company commanders' faces showed shame. Zhao Song smiled and lowered his voice: "The government troops on Pi Island number in the thousands, close to ten thousand. If you count all able-bodied men who can move, there are probably twenty thousand. What are our few hundred men in this sea of humanity? I fear we'd be scattered and overrun before the fighting even began. What would we do then?"

These words carried a different implication. The company commanders' faces all changed. One of them hesitated, then still asked, "Battalion Commander, if the Tartars really do attack, are we just going to stand aside? I'm afraid by then we won't be able to leave even if we wanted to!"

"With only these two ships, how would we leave? We must act when the time comes. But right now, with the sea between us, the Eastern River Garrison has so many ships, and the Tartars know nothing of naval warfare — how has the situation suddenly become so critical?" Zhao Song asked in return.

The Eastern River Garrison needed to cross rivers and seas, maintain contact with the Deng-Lai Garrison in Shandong, and provide support to the Jinzhou area in southern Liao. They still had a fair number of ships. Though they could not match the Xuzhou fleet in tonnage or quality, they were serviceable enough. Before coming to Pi Island, Zhao Song and the company commanders had all received training and learned that the Jianzhou Jurchens were utterly inept at anything related to naval warfare — hence Zhao Song's remark.

At high tide, the distance between the northern tip of Pi Island and the southern tip of the mainland was about four li; at low tide, it was just over two li. This width was really nothing to speak of. Moreover, although Pi Island had hilly terrain, the coastline all around had no sheer cliffs or precipices — it was entirely gentle, sloping beaches. Such terrain was ideal for an enemy amphibious landing.

The officers of the Eastern River Garrison naturally understood this principle, so they had built defensive works and low walls on several of the beaches closest to the mainland and set up defenses there. At this juncture, everyone on the island — soldiers and civilians alike — worked without a trace of slacking, every person laboring diligently. All of them had lived through the horrors of having their homes destroyed and their families wiped out by the Tartar slaves, then being hunted down in flight. They all knew what kind of hellish scene would unfold if the Tartars made it onto the island. With their own lives at stake, no one dared be careless.

By this time, one could already see dust swirling and banners fluttering along the coast of Tieshan Commandery in Goryeo, opposite Pi Island. The flags marking the affiliation of the Jurchen Eight Banners were clearly visible. One could also see the Jianzhou Jurchen troops setting up camp and felling trees over there, and even make out their officers riding along the shore, gazing out to sea.

"Tartars who don't know the taste of death. On land, you may run rampant — do you think the sea is your domain too?" Mao Wenlong stared fixedly at the opposite shore, his expression savage.

Someone nearby called out, "Lord Chen has returned!" Mao Wenlong's spirits lifted, and he quickly turned to look. Chen Jisheng, his face grim as water, shook his head. Mao Wenlong's expression darkened as well. Chen Jisheng walked up to him and said in a low voice, "Those Xuzhou people are stingy. They're unwilling to help and unwilling to lend us their firearms. This subordinate feels they may have seen through something."

After saying this, Chen Jisheng hesitated, then added, "It's also possible that the eyes and ears they planted learned of the secret. After all, it's impossible to completely prevent word from leaking when we're mobilizing reserve troops!"

"These bastards who can't tell friend from foe!" Mao Wenlong cursed in a burst of fury.

But Mao Wenlong did not remain uncomposed for long. He immediately regained his calm and said, "Those two hundred fire lances of theirs won't make much difference anyway. We have enough firearms of our own. This time, we'll deal the Tartars a heavy blow, then go to the capital to report our merits. The court won't just ignore battle-worthy battalions like ours."

Li Jiucheng, who had been supervising the labor on the beach, walked over and interjected, "It's a pity those Xuzhou bandits have cut off our contact with the Deng-Lai Garrison. The cannons and Frankish gun crews they promised can't get here, and Xuzhou won't lend us their cannons either. Otherwise, the Tartars crossing the sea would be nothing but live targets!"

Mao Wenlong shook his head and said, "What's the use of talking about that now? Pull out the reserve troops, tighten security everywhere. Don't worry about the Xuzhou side's port — that area faces the open sea, and the Tartars don't have the ability to circle that far around. This time, we're in for a major battle!"

The order was given. Not long after, from a village stockade a few hundred paces north of the Cloud Mountain Trading Company, over a thousand Eastern River Garrison troops withdrew and, under their officers' lead, headed elsewhere. Meanwhile, at the northern tip of Pi Island closest to the mainland, the Eastern River Garrison had already launched boats and sent out skilled boatmen to approach and observe. Although the great army of the Jianzhou Jurchens had already assembled many rafts, once boats were in the sea and had time to react, trying to catch them with rafts was utterly impossible.

"... Grand Commander, the Tartars have seized many of the nearby Goryeo commoners to do labor — they're felling trees... This time, they've likely come with no fewer than five thousand men. Judging by the banners, it should be the Plain Red Banner..."

"... The Tartars are guarding the shore tightly. Their cavalry patrols ceaselessly along the coastline. Every spot on the mainland where a landing could be made is held..."

Seizing commoners for corvée labor was a common tactic of the Jianzhou Jurchens, so no one was particularly surprised. The able-bodied strength Pi Island could muster was close to twenty thousand, while the enemy had come with a little over five thousand. The officers of the Eastern River Garrison felt no relief whatsoever. Five thousand true Tartars was an immensely formidable force. In a field battle on land, that was the equivalent of five thousand personal retinue soldiers of the Great Ming. With the remnant and defeated troops gathered on the island, they would be no match at all.

Yet the officers of the Eastern River Garrison also had confidence, because the Jianzhou Jurchens knew nothing of naval warfare and lacked suitable vessels. In a fight between ships and rafts, and in a battle fought at sea, the Eastern River Garrison would have the advantage no matter what. That was why Mao Wenlong wanted to kill two birds with one stone: besides reaping battle honors from the Tartar slaves, he also wanted to make a move against the Cloud Mountain Trading Company. In the past, he had never regarded the clerks and staff of the trading company as worth his notice. But now, there were weapons and armor for a full five hundred men, plus firearms and ammunition of sufficient quality. If he could swallow that up, he would immediately have the equipment for two thousand household retinues. If he could also absorb those several hundred Xuzhou soldiers, he could even establish a new army. By then, Mao Wenlong would not merely be the Grand Commander of the Eastern River Garrison — even in the provinces inside the Pass, he would be a Grand Commander in substance and in name.

"Grand Commander, my lords, the weapons from the Xuzhou trading company have arrived! The blades and spears are all top-quality goods, the edges are all new, and the armor is all new too. They even gave us an extra twenty bows and four hundred arrows!" An excited young voice could be heard. Mao Wenlong and the others, who had been gathered in discussion, looked over and saw it was Battalion Commander Kong Youde. They all broke into beaming smiles, as if they had just picked up a huge bargain.

Mao Wenlong shook his head, not knowing whether to laugh or cry, and said with a scoff, "Such shallow sights."

"Grand Commander, the Xuzhou trading company has sent out a dozen or so men, saying they want to help out in various places around the island. They're probably scouting for information everywhere," someone came over to report. Although the whole island was frantically busy preparing for battle at this moment, the men keeping watch on the Cloud Mountain Trading Company had not decreased by a single one.

Thanks to the three old friends "Duan Yichen, User Basically Harmless, and Huaji" for their tips. Thank you all for your subscriptions and monthly tickets. Thank you for your support.