Chapter 298: Chaos in the City, Peril at the Gate

Xu Hongju casually took a gourd, pulled out the stopper, drank a few mouthfuls, wiped his mouth, and said, "Big Brother left some things unsaid, but I understand. Don't look at the Mu family still being in Dongchang Prefecture—their roots are right here in Xuzhou. As long as that damn Zhao Jin is around, when the Mu family people come back they'll be able to grow big. There are people in the Mu family who want to be the sect master too. If we don't smash their setup to pieces, my Big Brother's position won't be secure. The Mu family rose up by serving the old master; our Xu family was just burning incense at the bottom..."

At this, Xia Zhongjin, standing nearby, coughed and said, "Second Master, some things are best understood in the heart. If word ever reached the master, it wouldn't be convenient."

Xu Hongju nodded, handed the gourd in his hand to Xia Zhongjin, fixed his eyes on the city, and said, "They're about to make a move inside the city, aren't they?"

"Old Fifth going in this time is the signal. The people inside the city will follow and launch right away. Second Master, this subordinate will go over there and wait. You must be careful on your side too—that Kong Village bunch aren't the kindly sort." Xia Zhongjin clasped his fist and walked south. Xu Hongju smiled and nodded, saying, "I'm a man who came up through slaughter too. I'm not afraid of anyone. Don't worry, go attend to your business."

Xia Zhongjin nodded, and a dozen or so men clustered around him as he headed in another direction. After he had walked a dozen or so paces, Xu Hongju shouted, "Old Xia, do you think that Zhao Jin will bring men to rescue Xuzhou?"

"How would he have the guts? Forget him—with a scene this big, even the government troops would have to mass together before they could come. Second Master, rest easy!"

"I'm not afraid of him coming; I'm afraid he won't come. If I take care of this brat, Mu the Second might even owe me a favor." Xu Hongju laughed heartily.

On the western section of Xuzhou's city wall, Garrison Commander Wang, Garrison Commander Liang, Chen Wu and Zhao Zhentang from the yamen, and Gao Hongyuan of the militia were all present. By now, anyone could see that the main direction of the bandit assault was the west, and the forces inside Xuzhou were likewise massing toward this side.

"Have these bandits gone mad?" Gao Hongyuan muttered, puzzled.

"Never mind mad or not, Master Gao, you go first to the general's residence, take some men, and guard the lady and the young master well. If things really go wrong, lead them out the east gate. You go first—no need for you to worry about things here." Garrison Commander Wang spoke with no courtesy at all.

But everyone understood the meaning behind his words. Gao Hongyuan bowed with clasped fists and said, "Then I'll go. What each of you does here, I will tell my brother-in-law."

After he finished speaking, Gao Hongyuan hurried down from the wall. No one had time to see him off. Garrison Commander Liang frowned and said, "Old Chen, you need to keep some yamen runners in the city. I'm worried there'll be trouble inside the city. If things go wrong inside and out at the same time, we won't be able to cope. Old Zhao, you can see the situation now. The two of us garrison commanders are going to concentrate all our men on the west. You take the militia and look after the other three sides. We can't spare the attention now."

"There's someone who knows what he's doing among these bandits. Damn it, they chose a position that forces us away from the bastions and the barbican."

Chen Wu and Zhao Zhentang also nodded grimly. Just then, they heard someone shouting as they came up: "Careful with the charcoal fire!" "You few, keep bringing water up without stopping!" They turned to look and saw it was Wang Zhaojing, wearing soft armor, directing the civilian laborers as they hauled things up.

"Uncles, your nephew thinks our stock of boiling oil is low and should be saved for critical moments. In ordinary times, boiling water can wound the enemy just as well!" Wang Zhaojing came up, saluted, and spoke.

Zhao Zhentang shook his head and said, "You're going to sit for the provincial exams this year. What are you doing here, soaking up so much blood-qi? Go home and keep safe. You're not needed here."

"Uncle Zhao, one more person means one more share of strength. If Brother Zhao were inside the city, he would do the same," Wang Zhaojing replied fervently.

"You're an odd one—a scholar-seed who actually likes martial matters, and you're not just here to get in the way," Garrison Commander Wang said gruffly from the side, a smile on his face.

Garrison Commander Liang spoke up: "Since you want to help, go to the north gate. All of us are here on this side; no one's minding the other sections. You go and keep an eye on things!"

Wang Zhaojing bowed and turned, striding away. Once he had descended from the wall, Chen Wu said, "Don't think he can't help. Those lads they've trained, plus the tough fighters among the city's riffraff, might not be any worse than your soldiers. Still, it's good that he's going elsewhere. Best if nothing happens to him."

"His father is a censor in the capital. The prefect and our general are still waiting for his father to come and wrap things up. If anything at all happened to this boy, how could anyone bear the responsibility?" Garrison Commander Liang said.

"Still, the boy isn't annoying. None of that sour scholarly air about him. When the time comes..." Garrison Commander Wang chimed in, but before he could finish, the clamor outside the city rose again. The human wave that had just receded slightly surged forward once more—the second wave of attacks had begun. Roars rose from the wall, wails rose from below, and dust flew up to the sky.

Below the walls of Xuzhou in the summer of the forty-fourth year of Wanli, slaughter and death covered the ground everywhere, like hell itself.

Inside the Wang family compound, a separate area had been set aside for He Cuihua and the Zhao family servants to live. "Servants" really just meant the Zhao San couple and the pair of siblings Zhao Jin had taken in. Everyone in the Wang household knew these were honored guests and served them with great attentiveness.

Beyond that, the ten Zhao Camp household guards who routinely protected the Zhao family were still stationed here. Wang Zhaojing had also assigned five of his own family's crack guards to help. On the outermost perimeter, thirty street toughs drawn from Chen Ergou and Butcher Li's crews stood watch. The safety of Zhao Jin's mother was a matter of the highest priority. Wang Zhaojing had even deliberately left behind two men who could ride, so they could go seek help the moment anything happened.

"Tsk, tsk, that young master looks all rich and noble, but he doesn't hesitate one bit when killing. Those looters taking advantage of the chaos—he slaughtered them right in the street!" The street toughs on the outer perimeter were all chatting idly. There was hardly anyone to be seen on the streets now, and the faint roar from outside the city could be heard even inside, making them uneasy and restless. But they couldn't go anywhere else, so they could only chat.

"That's martial skill he's trained up alongside Master Jin all these years. How could his ability be poor? Didn't you see the yamen runners come by, all grins and praise..."

"Chen Ergou and Butcher Li must have had their own little schemes. They were dumbstruck when they saw the dead bodies." In private, they had no respect at all for these headmen.

The two were chatting happily when they heard footsteps behind them. They turned to see a servant from the Wang household approaching, carrying a food box. He came up, opened the box, and inside were white-flour buns. From the smell, they were most likely pork and scallion.

"You two have worked hard. The house steward sent this humble one to bring you food." The servant was very polite. The two street toughs had already swallowed several mouthfuls of saliva. White-flour buns stuffed with meat—they couldn't eat these more than a few times a month, yet today they were feasting.

The two men didn't mind the heat, grabbing the buns and wolfing them down, grease trickling from the corners of their mouths. The servant, having delivered here, seemed to be at the end of his round. He stood there and said, "With tens of thousands of bandits outside, who knows if our Xuzhou can hold out."

One tough gulped down a bun in two or three bites, then grabbed another and said thickly, "Scared my ass. Back when the White-Robed Rebels passed through Xuzhou, they couldn't take it either. Those were desperadoes on horseback. What can this bunch outside do, starved half to death as they are?"

The so-called White-Robed Rebels were the White-Robed Divine Soldiers of several decades past—a revolt of horse-breeding households. Those men had swept south and north and had also passed through Xuzhou, besieging it for days but failing to take it.

Many of the Wang household servants had followed the family back from the capital and didn't understand these local tales; they just nodded along.

"What's going on?" one tough shouted. All three of them could hear rapid footsteps and muffled shouts: "Stop!"

The two toughs threw aside the buns in their hands and each drew their weapons—nothing more than short knives and axes. They saw a middle-aged man running frantically toward them from the intersection ahead, pursued by a dozen or so men. A quick glance made it clear the middle-aged man was being chased by the men behind him.

"Help! Help! I've served Master Jin!" the middle-aged man running in front screamed at the top of his lungs. The dozen or so men chasing him also pulled weapons from inside their clothes.

The two toughs had been about to get out of the way, but upon hearing the name "Master Jin," they stopped at once. One tough shouted at the top of his voice: "Brothers, someone's forcing their way in here! Too many for us to stop—everyone come help!"

The other man roared angrily: "This is Master Jin and Young Master Wang's turf. Have you no fear of death?"

Inside this city of Xuzhou, invoking Zhao Jin's name was enough to scare off most people. But the dozen or so men giving chase glanced at each other, and then, weapons in hand, continued forward. The murderous look on their faces made it clear something was wrong.

Just then, men surged out from behind the two toughs, equally fierce and aggressive. "You dare barge into this place? Do you want to die?"

The several dozen toughs on the outermost perimeter were never far apart to begin with. The sound of footsteps had already struck them as odd, and once the shouting started, naturally they all came over.

The middle-aged man running in front was gasping for breath and nearly at his limit. The moment he entered this area, he stumbled and sprawled flat on the ground. Seeing so many men pour out, the dozen or so pursuers halted. Then they spotted household guards armed with long spears appearing at the other end of the intersection. There was no way they could fight through this. One man spat on the ground and cursed furiously: "Traitor! Sooner or later we'll burn you alive."

The dozen or so men turned and ran outwards, vanishing around the corner of the intersection. The toughs and household guards on this side knew that guarding the residence was the priority, so no one chased after them.

"Isn't that Zheng Quan, the incense-burner?"

"Word is he and his wife are big shots in the incense-burning scene in Xuzhou. What's he doing here?" The street toughs were all local snakes who knew every corner; naturally they recognized him.

Zheng Quan scrambled up from the ground on all fours and said, frantic and furious: "My son and daughter both work for Master Jin! Send someone quick to rescue my wife! Take me to see Young Master Wang, fast! I have the most urgent news to tell—hurry, or this city of Xuzhou will be in danger!"

The list of things to do in that one outburst was considerable. The Wang family guards and the household guard headman put their heads together. Five household guards, two family guards, plus a few street toughs were called over to escort Zheng Quan away. The moment Zheng Quan opened his mouth and dropped Master Jin's name, then linked it to the safety of Xuzhou, no one dared take it lightly.

The family guards and household guards carried weapons, but it was the street toughs who proved truly useful. The group hadn't walked more than a few streets before they ran into acquaintances. Immediately, men were shouted at to spread the word in all directions. Before long, several dozen more toughs arrived. One group went on to the Wang residence to reinforce the guard there; the other group stayed with this escort. Numbers made a show of strength—after all, the men who had just been chasing Zheng Quan numbered over a dozen themselves.

Zheng Quan's house wasn't too far from here. The group hurried over, only to find the courtyard gate and the house door both wide open. Seeing this, Zheng Quan, walking in the middle of the crowd, went weak in the knees and nearly dropped to the ground. Everyone charged straight in. The house and courtyard were a complete mess; someone had clearly just been here searching. At this moment, Zheng Quan found a burst of energy. He ran into the side room, pushed aside a cabinet in the corner, and revealed a cellar underneath.

"Wife, are you in there?"

A reply came from the cellar. Zheng Quan's body went limp—this time from relief. But he didn't even pause to open the cellar cover. He turned and said, "I must trouble you good men to take my wife to Young Master Wang's house. That's probably the only safe place right now. I need to see Young Master Wang immediately. It's big—a matter of heaven and earth!"

Believe him or not, seeing the state of Zheng Quan's home and how frantic he was, and with the street toughs all saying this man was a headman in the city's incense-burning sect, everyone began to take it seriously.

They went to the western wall to look, only to learn that Wang Zhaojing had been sent off to the north gate. Everyone hurried to the north gate, but Wang Zhaojing wasn't there either. The men escorting Zheng Quan simply split into two groups: one took Zheng Quan east, while the other rode south to find him.

"Several dozen household guards from Zhao Camp, thirty family guards from our Wang family, plus the able-bodied young men from the city streets we can use—our several hundred men might not be inferior to the government troops and militia. Yet they insist on treating me like a child." Wang Zhaojing grumbled atop the city wall. At that moment, he was on the eastern section of the wall.

The north gate was an inauspicious gate. Moreover, for countless years, foreign invasions had always come from north to south, so the north gates of cities everywhere were generally sealed shut and unused. In plain terms, this side was just a stretch of wall, relatively easy to defend. Wang Zhaojing checked the alert status there, then took his men to the eastern wall.

At Wang Zhaojing's complaint, Uncle He, standing beside him, merely smiled and said, "Young Master, they wouldn't dare let anything happen to you. Everyone in Xuzhou, high and low, is still waiting for the old master to come and cover for them."

Everyone understood the intricacies involved. Wang Zhaojing paused, smiled bitterly, and shook his head. He looked outside the city and said, "The bandits are fixated solely on the west. All the other sides are perfectly quiet."

Uncle He was about to speak when he spotted someone coming up onto the wall. He frowned and said, "Why aren't you watching the house? What are you doing here? Has something happened?"

The person who came up was actually a guard from the Wang family. The guard slipped aside, and Zheng Quan came running straight toward Wang Zhaojing. Uncle He froze, his hand already on the hilt of his blade. Zheng Quan rushed up and dropped directly to his knees, saying, "Young Master Wang, the followers of the Fragrance Sect inside the city are planning to open the gates and let the roving bandits outside in."

"What?" Wang Zhaojing froze, then was instantly horrified. Just as he opened his mouth to speak, his words were drowned out by a sudden eruption of massive noise from the west — the attack over there had begun again.

"... Half a month ago, a mission head from outside the city came in. After entering, he ignored orders and his whereabouts were unknown. Just this morning, an acquaintance came running to see me, saying the mission heads were going to open the city gates and let the roving bandits in. The moment he finished saying that, he walked out the door and was hacked to death. I hid my wife in the cellar, climbed out the back courtyard, and came to report this, Young Master Wang..." Zheng Quan fought desperately to control his voice, terrified he might accidentally shout it out.

Wang Zhaojing stood stunned for a moment, shook his head, and immediately snapped back to his senses. He spoke to Uncle He: "Uncle He, no wonder these roving bandits dare to assault the city so recklessly. They have assurance. Three city gates — they'll come through..."

Before he could finish, someone nearby shouted: "Look inside the city! A huge crowd is gathering — what are they doing?"

Wang Zhaojing hurried to the edge of the parapet and looked toward the inner city. He saw many people converging from every street, all heading toward the city gate.

"Have they all gone mad? Have they all gone mad?" Wang Zhaojing muttered twice, then drew his sword outright and roared, "Those I brought with me — follow me down!"

At that shout, the household troops of the Zhao camp, the Wang family guards, and the men conscripted from the marketplace all followed. Over two hundred men hurried down from the top of the wall.

Guarding the gate below were twenty-some soldiers and bailiffs, plus nearly two hundred militia members. Every one of them was extremely tense. The several headmen in charge kept shouting, "What are you here for? Fall back at once!"

"One step further and you'll be killed without mercy!" Wang Zhaojing roared as he reached the base of the wall. He raised his sword, and the men behind him all bared their weapons as well.

The people advancing forward all stopped in their tracks, expressions of terror appearing on their faces. Now this group began to sense something was wrong — those who had come were all old men and old women, along with some middle-aged wives. At a time like this, the entire city's populace was either hiding at home or had been conscripted to help. These people should have been hiding at home. What were they doing coming here?

Wang Zhaojing also sensed something was off. He pointed his sword directly at one woman and said, "Elder sister, in these chaotic times of war, what are you doing coming here?"

The moment that woman saw the cold, gleaming blade, her face changed and her legs went weak. She stood there trembling uncontrollably. Only when Wang Zhaojing impatiently barked the question again did she answer, her voice tinged with tears: "The mission head... the higher-ups said that coming here to burn incense and kowtow would keep our Xuzhou from being broken by the roving bandits. They also said if we didn't come, the gods and buddhas would bring down punishment..."

The old men and women behind her all nodded in agreement. Those who believed in gods and buddhas were mostly muddled folk like these, and judging by their expressions, they didn't seem to be faking it.

Wang Zhaojing was taken aback. If the Fragrance Sect intended to use these people to open the city gates, wouldn't that be a joke? These people who had come were already too afraid to advance — some had even turned around to leave.

"Roving bandits outside the city! Roving bandits outside the city!" Someone on the wall shouted another warning. Wang Zhaojing's heart jolted again. Could it really be collusion?

"Uncle He, keep watch here. I'll go up to the wall and take a look." Wang Zhaojing gave this instruction, then swiftly climbed the steps to the top of the wall. Outside the gate, there were indeed several thousand refugees. Their formation looked somewhat more orderly than the large force to the west, but they still appeared chaotic and noisy.

"Young Master Wang, we're short-handed here — go request reinforcements from the west side!" someone shouted. There was no one of high rank in this area; Wang Zhaojing was the leader now that he had arrived.

The refugees outside the city suddenly erupted in clamor, howling as they charged toward the base of the wall. Everyone atop the wall was shaken by this sudden burst of howling, each tensing up and preparing for battle. Just at that moment, they heard someone inside the city shouting at the top of their lungs: "Open the gates to welcome the gods and buddhas! Open the gates to welcome the gods and buddhas!"