Chapter 248: Here They Come, Here They Come

After walking over to Zhao Jin's side, Zhou Xuezhi leaned in close and said in a low voice, "Jin... Master Jin, a residence like the He family's is sure to have a secret passage. Have someone search for it first!"

"Where does the secret passage lead?"

"I don't know. By common practice, it definitely leads to some secluded, deserted spot nearby. It was meant for He Weiyuan to use when fleeing for his life."

Zhao Jin pondered for a moment, then called Liu Yong over and gave him a few whispered instructions. He only assigned Liu Yong to follow Zhou Xuezhi alone in the search. This escape route meant little to the six hundred-plus men inside the compound, but letting everyone know about it would shake their resolve to fight to the death, so it was better kept secret for now.

A short while later, Liu Yong came running back at a quick pace and likewise whispered, "Right under He Weiyuan's bed, there's a secret passage big enough for one person to enter and exit. Zhou Xuezhi and I both withdrew from that room. No one's there now."

"Assign Zhou Xuezhi to one of the other barracks. Go down yourself and see where this secret passage actually leads." Zhao Jin said expressionlessly. A passage only allowing one person through was meaningless for moving a large force.

After that, silence returned to the compound. Zhao Jin did not climb the watchtower; he simply waited below. Everything was now more or less arranged. All that remained was to conserve strength and wait for what was coming.

Not long after, Liu Yong came running back again. That tunnel led to the other end of He Family Village, but the exit was inside the firewood shed of a certain household. Liu Yong had led men all through He Family Village and clearly remembered that no one lived in that household. It was said the owner was away and only returned occasionally. He never imagined it was a point set up by He Weiyuan. At the entrance of the tunnel, they found about fifty taels of gold, along with two sets of clothes and a blade. It seemed this was what He Weiyuan had prepared for a desperate flight, but he never got the chance to use it.

Zhao Jin merely nodded. Liu Yong did not dwell on the matter either. Although his current duty was overseeing internal affairs, he had already donned his armor and was holding his weapon.

The compound fell quiet again. The mounted troop outside was not entirely idle either. Often, a dozen or so riders would mount up and charge toward this side. The archers inside the compound would immediately take their positions on the platforms to respond. The dozen or so riders would then wheel around in a wide circle from a distance and turn back. And they did not just come from one direction; they circled the entire compound. The moment they came within bowshot range, they would hurriedly spur their horses and turn back.

"They're trying to make us restless and agitated. Whoever's leading them was careless at first, but now he seems like a steady, seasoned character," Zhao Jin remarked in a deep voice.

No one knew that Zhao Jin himself was very tense at that moment. He kept wiping the sweat from his palms. This feeling was terrible. The enemy had chosen the battlefield, and he had no way to avoid it, forced to meet them head-on. Regardless of the situation, regardless of the balance of forces, he held no initiative.

But such emotions could not be shown. Zhao Jin made his assessment calmly precisely to give his comrades and subordinates an impression of composure. However, as he swept his gaze around, Zhao Jin discovered that aside from his comrades and the veteran riders who remained calm and collected, the household troops were all nervous, though not yet to the point of panic.

Zhao Jin smiled bitterly. This was unavoidable. If they could endure today, after being tempered in blood, the household troops would be completely different. Yet he was trapped defending this large residence, and the enemy would attack with superior numbers. If he tried not to be trapped, the moment they went out, they would likely be overrun by that mounted troop.

Forcing himself to appear calm, he looked left and right and spotted the messenger, Blackface Yan, standing off to one side. Everyone in the compound was either nervous or feigning calm. Only this Blackface Yan looked truly unconcerned, a goose-quill saber in his hand, glancing east and peering west with a very leisurely air.

Zhao Jin waved him over. Blackface Yan hurriedly walked toward him. Halfway there, he handed the goose-quill saber to someone nearby before approaching and offering a salute.

"No need for formalities, Old Yan. You seem to have guts. There's going to be a real fight soon."

"Master Jin jests. What's there to be afraid of or not? The moment I entered this line of work, I strapped my head to my belt. I knew a day like this would come sooner or later. I just never imagined the scale would be this grand!" Hearing Zhao Jin's question, Blackface Yan replied with a grin.

Zhao Jin nodded and said slowly, "You're quite philosophical about it. Rest assured, even if we can't win this fight, your wife and child will have someone to look after them."

Seeing Zhao Jin's amiable expression, Blackface Yan relaxed considerably and continued, still smiling, "When I was sixteen, I was still a farming laborer monk-slave at the temple. That year, when the temple was expanding its land and got into a bloody feud with a neighboring village, I grabbed a hoe and knocked down four men. That's how I got the chance to return to lay life. I've had over twenty good years since then, with wine, meat, and a respectable standing..."

As he spoke, the smile on Blackface Yan's face faded. In the glow of the lamplight, a trace of melancholy appeared on his face. He went on, "I've lived all these years with my head strapped to my belt. I always knew a day like this would come. I just never thought it would be a bloody feud with Cloud Mountain Temple... I still worry about that mother and daughter pair..."

Blackface Yan had spoken a few words with great equanimity, but his voice trailed off at the end. Zhao Jin shook his head with a smile and said, "Don't think so much about it. Who says we're bound to lose?"

"It's been worth it. Truly worth it. To have witnessed a man like Master Jin, to have seen what Master Jin has accomplished in this past half year — it's been worth it." Blackface Yan did not respond to Zhao Jin's words but instead made these two emotional remarks.

Facing such a situation, such a balance of forces, the outcome was easy to judge. Zhao Jin was silent for a moment, then slapped his own forehead and said with a dry laugh, "The busier I get, the more flustered I become. Do you know the details of these Cloud Mountain Temple monk-soldiers? How is their equipment? How is their training?"

From the moment he learned of the enemy's approach to engaging the mounted troop, Zhao Jin had been wound as tight as a bowstring. Only now did he begin to consider things comprehensively.

"I thought Master Jin already knew. Cloud Mountain Temple has over a thousand monk-soldiers. These men aren't all at Cloud Mountain Temple; they're distributed in various places. Across one prefecture and four counties, there are four subordinate temples and over twenty estates, all guarded by these monk-soldiers. They also rotate on a set schedule and must undergo consolidated training at the temple. The few men who train the monk-soldiers are said to be former government troops. They once even held the ranks of Company Commander and Battalion Commander. But the ones in overall command are Runan and Runing..."

Blackface Yan's account was interrupted by the sound of the gong from the watchtower. The gong suddenly rang out, startling everyone in the compound. Part of it was the suddenness, and part of it was that the gong was being struck too frantically, too forcefully, as if trying to smash right through the bronze gong.

Some people were so startled they cried out in alarm. Weapons even clattered to the ground. In fact, the entire village was alarmed. From the mule and horse market on the other side rose a continuous chorus of panicked animal cries.

Zhao Jin abruptly stood up and strode quickly toward the watchtower. As he was climbing up, he also heard a burst of cheering erupt from where the mounted troop was stationed to the east.

"Stop striking it!" The gong continued to sound without pause, and Zhao Jin couldn't help but roar loudly.

Unexpectedly, Yan Qianli on the watchtower didn't hear him at all. He kept on striking without stop, his body trembling uncontrollably. Zhao Jin roared again, and only then did Yan Qianli hear him. His hand went slack, and the gong mallet dropped directly onto the watchtower floorboards.

"Master Jin... Master Jin... They're..." Yan Qianli's voice had changed pitch completely. He stammered for a long time without managing a single complete sentence.

He didn't need to say it. Zhao Jin had already seen the scene to the east. In the distance, a serpent of fire was winding its way toward them. It was a column formed by many people holding torches. Just how many were there? Eight hundred? Or even more?

Although Zhao Jin knew that slightly wider spacing would make a column appear much larger, the distant procession, like a serpent of fire, still made his heart tremble. Eight hundred or a thousand was not just a number at this moment; it represented superior strength.

The "fire serpent" drew closer and closer, and could now be described as a "fire dragon." Just how many people were there? It was probably more than eight hundred. Zhao Jin drew a deep breath and turned around. He did not descend from the watchtower.

"Everyone, come over here! Come over here! Zhao has something to say! Quickly!" Zhao Jin shouted loudly from his elevated position.

The people in the compound were already restless and agitated from the gong's clamor. Hearing Zhao Jin's call steadied their nerves instead, and they immediately gathered over.

The various squads below were orderly in some places and slightly disordered in others. Everyone looked up at Zhao Jin on the watchtower. In the glow of the compound's lamps, every young face bore traces of nervousness. Even his own comrades were the same. It wasn't strange, when you thought about it. A sudden encounter could rouse courage, but during the wait, people often thought too much.

"Brothers! The enemy is here!" Zhao Jin shouted loudly from the watchtower.

Many people trembled at this single sentence. There were already many whose minds were panicked. Zhao Jin drew a deep breath and shouted again at the top of his lungs, "Zhao tells you all plainly: the enemy outnumbers us, and the enemy is stronger than us!"

The moment these words were spoken, the nervous expressions on most faces below turned to panic. A few veteran riders off to the side, not caring whether Zhao Jin could see them or not, frantically signaled him with their eyes and hand gestures. Zhao Jin understood perfectly well what they were trying to convey — simply that he must not shake the troops' morale at a time like this.

Even if he didn't say it, would hearing the cheering outside boost their morale? Zhao Jin continued shouting loudly on his own, "The moment their mounted troop arrived, we could no longer stray far from this compound. Otherwise, if the mounted troop charges us on open ground, we'll be herded like sheep and slaughtered like pigs. But if we don't leave, now that the main force of monk-soldiers has arrived, we'll have to fight a bitter battle too!"

The compound was utterly silent. The sound of hoofbeats began to stir outside. They could also hear people shouting, "People in the village are running!" "If they're not that little thief's men, ignore them!" Seeing such a brazen display of force appear, the people in the village no longer dared to stay. Never mind that the coming battle would affect them — they might even be purged along with the village. Better to run first. There was still a chance if they ran now. If they waited, they probably wouldn't be able to leave at all.

"I know some of you are thinking this: fighting to the death is the business of Zhao Jin and his brothers. If we run, it surely won't concern us. Maybe we could even go work for the other side. But I'm telling you, that's impossible!"

As his words fell, many people below trembled slightly, clearly looking as if their secret thoughts had been hit dead-on.

"So many people fighting and killing each other this close to the prefectural seat's government offices — if word gets out, it'll be a monumental case, a crime punishable by beheading and the extermination of entire families. How do you prevent word from getting out? By killing everyone, by silencing every last enemy!"

Some faces below turned even paler. The veteran riders exchanged glances, wry smiles and helplessness on their faces. They simply stopped worrying about it and instead began checking their bows, arrows, and weapons.

"I also want to tell you, this is not a dead end, not a road to certain death! We still have a way to live!"

"What way to live?" Zhao Jin had posed a suspenseful question from above, and someone below couldn't help but ask.

"Fight them! Fight them with everything you have! If we win, we live!" Zhao Jin finished with forceful resonance. Silence fell over the crowd below once more. Most faces showed doubt. Fight? With fewer men against greater numbers — could they win?

"We six brothers faced over a hundred desperate, hardened bandits, and didn't we slaughter them all? Now there are six hundred of us, and the enemy only has a little over a thousand. What's there to fear? That's not even enough for us to kill!"

A wave of laughter rippled through the crowd below. Everyone recalled Zhao Jin's fierce valor and invincibility, and immediately gained a measure of confidence. The laughter made everyone less tense.

"Fight them! Fight them with everything you have! Do you have the guts?!" Zhao Jin bellowed the question.

The clamor outside the walls could already be heard. Though the sound was not loud, one could still tell it was the kind of noise that only hundreds or even a thousand men moving together could produce. Now that He Family Village was quiet all around, this sound drifted over the walls without obstruction. Zhao's Camp, which had stirred slightly, fell silent as the grave again. The mood that had just lightened was once more lifted by anxiety.

No matter what was said, there were around a thousand men outside — mounted brigands and monk-soldiers. How could they possibly win?

Zhao Jin could also see that the mood below was turning sour. He shot a meaningful glance at Liu Yong, who was nearest, and then shouted down, "Not fighting means death! Fighting means a chance to live! Do you have the guts or not?!"

According to his plan, Liu Yong was supposed to echo him in response, which would at least buoy the atmosphere. However, if only one of his own brothers answered, the effect would be somewhat diminished. After he shouted, Liu Yong looked at Zhao Jin, then looked back over his shoulder, and for a moment didn't react. It was about to fall completely flat.

"We men of Xuzhou have no cowards, no weaklings! We'll fight! We'll follow Master Jin and fight them to the end!"

Just at that moment, a loud shout rang out from the ranks. The scene went quiet for an instant. Who had the presence of mind to save the situation? Zhao Jin hurriedly looked over. With the lamplight shining, he followed the direction of the voice and spotted the target directly.

To his surprise, it was someone he knew — none other than that chubby, slightly simple Li Can, his face beet-red as he shouted at the top of his lungs. This relative from his mother's He family had always seemed a bit dull-witted before; he never expected a reaction like this.

It started with one person shouting, then scattered voices around him joined in, and in the end everyone was shouting. What Zhao Jin said wasn't the sort of blood-boiling, heart-stirring rhetoric, but it was the plain truth — a moment's thought made it clear. The only way out now was to fight with everything they had. One person shouted, then two shouted, and the fighting spirit in everyone's hearts was gradually roused. Everyone joined the shouting. No one wanted to be a coward or a weakling.

Zhao Jin secretly breathed a sigh of relief. If no one had taken the lead like that, then the men's will to fight and their courage would never have been roused. Once the fighting started, the results would probably have been far worse.

"Take your positions! Await my command!" Zhao Jin shouted again.

After the shout, the squad leaders below began barking orders. Whether new recruits or veterans, every retainer stood solemnly at attention. The panic and confusion from moments before had already faded considerably, replaced by calm.

On the watchtower and the wooden platforms behind the walls, everyone was holding their breath, staring at the open ground to the east. A large force bearing torches had already marched in.

"... That's got to be several thousand men..." someone murmured.

Zhao Jin didn't catch those words. He had climbed back up the watchtower and was carefully counting the enemy numbers outside. The large force that had just arrived carried roughly one torch per man, illuminating the outside as bright as day. Their formation was still fairly orderly, which made counting them relatively easy.

"At least eleven hundred men." Zhao Jin descended the watchtower and said in a low voice to his companions.

Shi Manqiang let out a breath. Ji Xiang muttered a low curse under his breath. Chen Sheng and Liu Yong remained composed. Dong Bingfeng furrowed his brow and said, "Big Brother, the enemy outnumbers us nearly two to one. The compound is so large that defending it will be very troublesome. We can't distribute the archers evenly across all four sides — that would actually reduce their killing power. Better to keep them in the center as a mobile force, ready to respond at any moment."

"Put them all on the east side. If the enemy attacks from all four sides, their numerical advantage won't be able to deploy at all. They'll have to charge hard from the east, using small squads to pin down our other three sides, and cavalry to guard against us breaking out..." Zhao Jin said thoughtfully.

He paused mid-sentence, then his tone hardened as he gave his judgment: "... And they need to settle this fast. They have to take us down as quickly as possible. As long as whoever's leading them isn't a greenhorn, this is exactly how they'll set it up. The east side is the most critical. The other sides must stay on strict alert — guard against sneak attacks, and watch out for them shooting arrows from the rooftops."

His companions fell silent, then all nodded in agreement. Clever stratagems must adapt to circumstances and suit the terrain. Outside the west, south, and north walls of the He family compound lay reasonably broad streets, with residences and workshops on the other side. But the width of those streets was limited after all, which in practice restricted how many men could be placed along any given stretch.

If they attacked from those three sides, too many men on the street would be packed tight with no room to maneuver, while too few would be useless. And regardless of numbers, per unit of distance, the defenders inside the compound would always outnumber the attackers on the street. There would be no chance of victory — it would only waste their own strength in vain.

Any seasoned veteran would know to leverage their own advantages. Since they had twice the strength of the defenders, they had to use it to the fullest.

To the east of the He family compound lay a large stretch of open ground. Two hundred cavalry and over a thousand infantry could all be stationed there, and deploying for an assault would certainly be spacious enough, allowing them to bring their numerical superiority to bear more effectively.

If this dragged on too long — even just until noon the next day — a private battle of this scale would inevitably alert the authorities and bring unnecessary trouble, not to mention that Zhao Jin's companions in the city would come to reinforce him.

To settle this fast, they had to fully exploit their advantages. To exploit their manpower advantage, they had to be on open ground. The only choice was the east side.

Everyone in the compound who could draw a bow and shoot was placed on the eastern wall. A few more platforms were hastily erected. Zhao Jin came down from the watchtower and climbed up onto a high platform. He could see several armored, burly men standing at the very front, pointing toward the He family compound and talking. Their faces were indistinct, but several shaved heads gleamed in the torchlight.

"... Master, there are about thirty archers inside this compound. There's also a trench dug facing our side, but it's not wide — four and a half chi at most..." Cavalry leader Liu Cheng was giving his report.

Even though his own side dominated the region, before Runan of Cloud Mountain Monastery, Liu Cheng dared not show the slightest disrespect. The two sides had never dealt with each other before, but the sight of over a thousand monk-soldiers was more than enough to fill him with awe.