Chapter 352: Forced March

After this interlude, He Village immediately sprang into action. Cart after cart was hitched to draft animals, supplies of every kind were loaded aboard, and the soldiers formed ranks and stood ready, making their final preparations for departure. Few noticed the many unfamiliar faces among the Zhao Camp ranks, and fewer still paused to consider that the supplies were far too complete.

The militia and village braves from the various mutual-defense alliances were mustered to He Village to take over garrison duties. After a brief handover, Zhao Camp set out under cover of night.

"…Master Jin has led his men over there. No matter how big the trouble at Cloud Mountain Temple gets, it'll be put down…"

"…Master Jin truly keeps us Xuzhou folk safe…"

Darkness fell. Those who needed to go home went home; those who needed to rest rested. Curiosity was one thing, but they still had to earn a living the next day, so the crowd of onlookers was small. Around He Village, all was pitch-black and still. A few large lanterns were raised high, and guided by those lights, Zhao Camp departed He Village.

They followed the official road for one double-hour. The surroundings fell completely silent, and even the lamplight of the villages could no longer be seen.

The dry rations loaded on the carts were distributed to every man. Each retainer in Zhao Camp found his pack considerably heavier.

"Liang San, every man in Zhao Camp is carrying only two days' dry rations. If your supplies don't arrive by the afternoon of the day after tomorrow, I will turn my men around at once. Do you understand?" Zhao Jin said sternly to Liang San.

Liang San, who originally attended Xu Zhenzhen, was now dressed as a Zhao Camp retainer. Standing behind Zhao Jin, he nodded firmly and said, "Rest assured, Master Jin. The young miss has already sent word to the Xu family to arrange it."

"There's no risk of word leaking out?"

"Rest assured, Master Jin. The Xu family runs many workshops in various places. We'll simply say we're preparing temporary dry rations for them. If we change course midway, no one will ever know." Liang San spoke with considerable confidence.

Zhao Jin nodded. By now, even the armor from the carts had been distributed to every man. Everyone in Zhao Camp was carrying as much as they possibly could. Only twenty men from Zhao Camp had ridden out on horseback, and aside from the Tartar hands from the mule-and-horse market, all were Zhao Camp's own men.

Once these things were unloaded, the carts turned east. They were to travel through the night, all the way to Cloud Dragon Mountain and into Cloud Mountain Temple.

At the deepest hour of the night, Zhao Camp reached the banks of the Yellow River. Boats were already waiting there, and lights flickered on the northern shore as well.

"The Yellow River allows no boats at night. This time, I'm bending the rules for friendship's sake. If anything happens to you fine folk, don't go blaming anyone but the Dragon King!" the boat boss declared in an affected, singsong tone.

"These boats and men are all trustworthy. That creepy talk is just custom — he has to say it every time we cross the river," Liang San hurriedly explained.

Though they said no boats sailed at night, it was hardly that troublesome. Both the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River were suffering a severe drought, and irrigation along the way had drawn off even more water. The night was windless, the current much diminished and very calm. They crossed to the opposite bank sitting in the boats, swift and steady.

The column reassembled on the far bank. After roll call and a head count, they set out again. The greatest trouble during the river crossing had been the twenty-some horses, all restless and panicked aboard the boats. In the end, the boat boss made the call: they blindfolded the horses and plugged their ears. Only then did they cross quietly.

The Xu family members traveling the night road alongside Zhao Camp were the few bodyguards Xu Zhenzhen had brought with her. Two of those bodyguards had gone to a different ferry crossing to take a boat back to the Xu family and make arrangements.

Liang San had been a lone bandit by trade, and the others were likely no virtuous souls either. No honest, law-abiding commoner would be so practiced at traveling by night, and always by secluded back roads at that.

The land north of the Yellow River in Xuzhou was quite different from the south — full of earthen mounds and hills, which made the going relatively arduous. Those on foot managed fine, but the riders actually fell behind. They moved with greater care, fearful their horses might come to harm.

When the sky was just beginning to brighten, the riders caught up and began scouting and clearing the path ahead. But they had not traveled long before the Xu family guides led Zhao Camp into a hollow among the hills. It was a small basin, screened on all sides by hills and mounds. Unless someone deliberately walked over to look, there was no way to discover several hundred men concealed here.

The few Tartar hands borrowed from Wang Ziyang all carried bows and weapons and were dressed as hunters. They moved together with several of the Xu family men, standing sentry and keeping watch outside, or scouting the road ahead.

The Zhao Camp retainers all shed their armor, dropped their packs, and after hurriedly eating a few mouthfuls of dry rations, seized the time to rest. There was still some shade and cool in this hollow; once the day grew hot, sleep would be impossible.

By the time the sun had shifted west, Zhao Camp was preparing to move again, and the man sent to contact the Xu family came galloping back at speed.

"Master Jin, this year the Turbid River doesn't even reach the knee. We'll wade across, and by the time we reach Qi Hill and Hua Hill, the Xu family convoy will have caught up," Liang San explained.

The Turbid River was a tributary of the Yellow River, flowing through the section of Xuzhou north of the Yellow River. Qi Hill and Hua Hill were two small hills between Pei County and Feng County.

"To be frank with you, Master Jin, Kong Jiuying has spies in the Xu family right now, and the Xu family has its own scum who leak word to the outside. So the convoy will only be told it's heading for Feng County. As for the dry rations and other supplies, we'll send men to buy them near Pei County and deliver them to you when the time comes!" the man who had followed them back added.

Zhao Jin and his companions sat in a circle. On the ground before them, they had sketched a simple map, and Liang San and the others were pointing and explaining.

"Have you scouted the state of Kong Village these past few days?" Chen Sheng asked.

"There shouldn't be any changes. But rest assured, Second Master, by the time you gentlemen have crossed the Turbid River, the latest news from there will have arrived," Liang San answered hastily.

He addressed Chen Sheng as "Second Master." Chen Sheng himself was taken aback. Zhao Jin kept his eyes on the map, and the other companions showed no reaction. Only Liu Yong shot a glance over before lowering his head again.

As night approached, Zhao Jin's forward scouts had already probed twenty li ahead. They had not encountered a single soul on the road.

"…A lot of the able-bodied young men from around here have all gone to Jing Mountain to work for pay. Only the women, children, and elderly are left at home. Once they've finished the household chores, they don't dare set foot outside…" This, unwittingly, made Zhao Camp's advance all the more convenient.

Traveling by night was extremely troublesome. It was only thanks to Zhao Camp's well-drilled formation marching that no one fell behind on the pitch-black road.

But it could not be called entirely smooth sailing either. During the night, two men's mounts carelessly stepped into potholes, snapping their legs. To spare the horses further suffering, they had no choice but to draw blades and put them down.

On that first night's march, everyone had felt a certain novelty and curiosity. By the second day, it was pure tedium. When they rested during the day, Zhao Camp was utterly silent, and many men quickly drifted into dreams.

Zhao Jin and his companions, however, had no leisure. They shed their heavy armor and still had to patrol the perimeter, then inspect the readiness of each squad. During these times, Liang San and the other men sent by the Xu family did not follow.

"Big Brother, the route is correct. Those men haven't shown anything suspicious either, and they don't avoid us when they talk in private," Liu Yong said in a low voice.

Zhao Jin nodded and answered quietly, "Send someone to check the ferry crossing every day. Report back at once if anything is off. This concerns our line of retreat — we can't afford to be careless."

"Could Cloud Mountain Temple draw suspicion?" Chen Sheng suddenly asked.

"Arrangements were made inside Xuzhou City. No one will meddle in this idle affair. Cloud Mountain Temple has its gates shut tight and allows no one in or out. For these few days, we don't need to worry about suspicion," Zhao Jin said quietly.

The carts that had left He Village together with Zhao Camp would travel through the night toward Cloud Mountain Temple. By their reckoning, they would ascend the mountain and enter the temple just as the city gates opened. Cloud Mountain Temple would then shut its gates fast, admit no pilgrims, and allow no monks to leave. To the outside world, the word would simply be that Zhao Camp was searching for lawbreakers on Cloud Dragon Mountain.

Everyone who had come into contact with Zhao Camp's movements was now under control. From what outsiders could hear and see, they would conclude only that Zhao Camp had gone to Cloud Mountain Temple.

Zhao Jin was not worried about any mishap at Cloud Mountain Temple. Ruhui's faction held it firmly in hand, and the temple had already been cowed into submission by Zhao Camp's killings — they would not dare any reckless act.

"Kong Jiuying won't imagine we'd strike him with so little warning, and even less will he imagine we're now just a little over two days' march away. These two failures of imagination are our chance at victory. The only worry is if word somehow leaks out," Zhao Jin said to his companions, quite objectively.

Two days later, Zhao Camp had grown somewhat familiar with Liang San and his men, and conversation flowed more freely than at the start.

"…The young miss is our benefactor. Our lives belong to her… The young miss has lived too hard a life. If she could marry soon, she wouldn't have to bear it all alone…"

These men of the jianghu were not only utterly loyal to Xu Zhenzhen — every one of them hoped Zhao Jin could be together with her. The meaning between their words was plain: only Zhao Jin was worthy of her.

When they reached the Turbid River, someone was there to meet them. Wading through knee-deep water, Zhao Jin's company finally drew near the official road.

Every one of Xu Zhenzhen's subordinates was closely shadowed by Zhao Camp men. Everyone understood perfectly well what the consequences would be if the promised convoy did not arrive here.

The area around the Turbid River, Hua Hill, and Qi Hill had far more villages than the land north of the Yellow River. The common folk along the official road were long accustomed to seeing the Xu family's freight convoys — usually large carts pulled by oxen or horses, with two flags planted on the lead cart. One flag bore the character "Xu"; the other flag had a tiger's head embroidered on one side and the character "Kong" on the other.

The Xu family flag needed no explanation. A power like the Xu family commanded respect wherever they went. As for the design and character on the other flag, everyone knew what that meant too. It was the recognition banner of Kong Village. Anyone doing business or trade within several hundred li, anyone running a gambling den or brothel in the city — all had to buy one of these flags. Without it, traveling merchants would be robbed on the road, and those in the lower trades would meet with foul play. With the flag, they could guarantee their own safety.

The Kong family recognition banners came in different colors and styles. Prices ranged from several dozen taels to several hundred taels per flag per year, down to several dozen taels for a single-use flag. Every price point existed.

The older folk all remembered: when Kong Village first started issuing these flags, given the ways of the various bold fellows around Xuzhou, hardly anyone paid them any mind. Of course, those who didn't recognize the flags all met with misfortune.