Chapter 717: The Great Dispersal

Xu Tiebiao ignored the interrupting Ma Liu entirely and stared straight at Ma Chonghao. "Old Ma, you know exactly what's going on. His Lordship sent me here with men to bolster your presence — at most, to fight a smooth, easy battle, then take our share of the silver and profits back home. He didn't send us here for a real fight! Look at the situation right now. His several thousand troops are terrifying. In all my years in the army, I've only heard that the troops Great Commander Qi led back in the day were like this. Think about it — Qi Shaobao, what kind of man was he! If Zhao Jin's troops really can compare to the Qi army of old, then taking our few hundred cavalry over there is just serving ourselves up on a platter, isn't it? Useless as they may be, these men are the lifeblood of our Lord and the other lords. One dead, ten dead — I can answer for that. But if more die, my own head won't be enough to pay for it. Never mind my head — even my Lord's position might not be secure! If you won't accept my decision, go reason with His Lordship. So long as His Lordship nods, I, Xu Tiebiao, will charge through a mountain of blades and a sea of flames for you without a second word!"

Hearing Xu Tiebiao's words, Ma Liu opened his mouth but said nothing more. In his heart he knew that, for all the man's bold talk, Xu was dead certain the Duke of Wei would never agree to let him lead troops into such a risk. And it made sense. These noble houses' private soldiers and commanders were both family assets and, to some degree, part of the state's establishment. Using them for private feuds without any official sanction — if it ended in an easy victory, fine, but if casualties were too heavy, there would be major trouble to begin with. What's more, the very foundation of a military noble house's standing was this core strength. If the losses were too great, there was no guarantee that the Duke's own clan and the other noble families wouldn't raise an internal challenge. Then the criticism would be fierce, and if it reached the imperial court, having someone else inherit the title was entirely possible.

Besides, even setting aside all these matters of court law, in daily life the Duke needed these elite personal guards for his processions and retinue. In times of peace, a hereditary noble in Nanjing — even one with the exalted rank of Duke — was still in Nanjing, not the capital. He couldn't maneuver much at court, and with no women from his family enjoying favor in the imperial palace, what else could he rely on to preserve the Duke's dignity and prestige? What could he rely on to amass wealth and advantage? It all came down to those few hundred private soldiers and commanders. They absolutely could not be lightly squandered.

When the nobles seized land outside the city, they needed their private soldiers. When they tore off all pretense and fought each other inside the city, they relied on their private soldiers. When their turn came to serve as Nanjing Garrison Commander, if they wanted to get things done and line their pockets on the side, if they wanted to keep a grip on the battalions, they still had to depend on these private soldiers.

Such vital assets, the very lifeblood of the house — bringing them out to show off prestige and reap benefits in ordinary times was one thing. But if it meant truly risking them in a fight, and a fight with no proper name or standing at that, then it was completely not worth it. Even if Lord Xu himself were here, his words would likely be the same.

Earlier, observing the battle formation in the rain, Xu Tiebiao had seen Zhao's Battalion standing utterly immovable. That dense, murderous aura had already chilled the heart of the seasoned Xu Tiebiao. He understood perfectly: against troops like these, his few hundred cavalry had virtually no chance of victory. They said cavalry held an overwhelming advantage over infantry from high ground, but that battle line was like a mountain — how could it be shaken? If the charge failed to break the line, and the cavalry lost its momentum, trapped within the infantry formation, how could anyone possibly keep their life?

Seeing a military formation like that, all those outlandish rumors from before suddenly became hard fact. Thinking back on everything he had heard along the way, Xu Tiebiao was even less willing to make a move. So he quickly steeled his resolve and, disregarding face and friendship alike, directly told Ma Chonghao he wanted to beat the retreat.

He had thought Ma Chonghao would be frantic. After all, they had divided up plenty of spoils along the way, and Ma Chonghao, in order to win over Xu Tiebiao's group — the largest faction — had indeed given them an outsized share. If Ma Chonghao got serious about it, it would truly be hard to explain. But Xu Tiebiao had already hardened his heart. Compared to Ma Chonghao, the Duke's household assets were more important. When it came down to it, if things turned into an internal bloodbath, some matters would just have to be set aside.

Xu Tiebiao kept calculating inwardly, but he never expected that Ma Chonghao, sitting bowed on the carriage, would, after a long dazed silence, slowly nod. No anger, not even a few words to try to keep them. That gesture instantly let Xu Tiebiao breathe a sigh of relief — after all, he didn't want to tear off all pretense with Ma Chonghao either.

"Old Ma, this time it's me, Xu, who owes you a favor. I'll remember it. When you get back, next time I'll treat you to a few cups by the Qinhuai River and properly beg your forgiveness!"

With that, Xu Tiebiao said no more. He had made the gesture of friendship, and given Ma Chonghao face. As for whether Old Ma would even make it back — that was no longer his concern.

But Ma Liu grew frantic, because the way Ma Chonghao nodded made him look like a man whose soul had left him — wooden and dull, barely alive. That earlier bold, high-spirited confidence was completely gone.

"Damn it all, didn't we say we had no grudge against each other? That Ma Chonghao — isn't he just setting a trap? This place is clearly a dragon's pool and a tiger's den. Zhao Jin's soldiers are every one of them fierce as wolves and tigers, elite troops the likes of which you rarely see, yet he told us we could just come and grab the man! Damn it, what a mess. If we'd actually listened to him and attacked, never mind recovering any silver — we'd probably have left more than half our men buried here, and we wouldn't even know how badly the eunuch would curse us when we got back. Forget it. Anyway, I'm done. I'll muster the men right now and take them straight back to Fengyang… Hah! A fool like this, no wonder he got kicked out of the capital. The way I see it, he won't last long in Nanjing either…"

In another carriage, Commander Hu, who had come from Fengyang, was cursing loudly, seemingly on purpose so his voice would carry over. Faced with such humiliation, several of Ma Chonghao's trusted men glared furiously in that direction, but Ma Chonghao just sat there in a daze, head bowed, making no response at all.

And so this group returned to the manor, immediately throwing the army's encampment into turmoil. The moment they got back, Commander Chu and the trusted men Shi Ping'ao had sent to accompany them hurried off to report what they had seen. As for Xu Tiebiao and Commander Hu, they wasted no words at all — they directly passed down orders and began mustering their own contingents.

The various forces that had stayed behind had all originally been in high spirits, waiting for good news from their own people — waiting for someone to describe how Zhao's Battalion was fierce in appearance but cowardly at heart, outwardly strong but inwardly weak, how they would be scared out of their wits, and how just going over there to put on a little show of force would let them seize the man at once, after which they'd just wait to receive mountains of gold and seas of silver.

But no one expected that the news they brought back would be like a basin of ice water, thoroughly dousing everyone's burning hopes. Those who had come here were all the elite of their respective houses. Though the rank-and-file soldiers below them were kept like beggars, these men themselves all knew their trade. Hearing their leaders and comrades describe that mountain-like battle formation, describe those ranks standing utterly immovable in the torrential rain — they understood perfectly well what such discipline and sharpness meant. Even those who refused to believe it, who couldn't accept it and still muttered about taking one more gamble, could only shut their mouths under their leaders' stern orders.

Commander Chu, sent by Xuzhou Mobile Corps Commander Zhou Baolu, and Shi Ping'ao, sent by Langshan Vice Regional Commander Lu Quanyou, had long been simmering with anger at Ma Chonghao's conduct. Once they heard their subordinates' reports, the two men hesitated no longer. They immediately mustered their contingents and gave the order to leave, without the slightest dallying. And Commander Hu from Fengyang, having failed to gain any benefits from start to finish, also left very crisply — though before departing he still left behind a heap of sarcastic mockery, clearly deeply dissatisfied with this entirely fruitless expedition.

Only Xu Tiebiao's group was the largest, and mustering and preparing took some time. Yet they too left the manor before nightfall, and the speed of their assembly and march was astonishingly fast. Their thinking, however, was simple: now that they had clearly grasped the situation over there, the sooner they left the better. Staying here was far too dangerous — what if that pack of wolves and tigers from the He Estate came charging over?

After returning, Nanjing Embroidered Uniform Guard Assistant Commander Ma Chonghao had been in a daze the whole time. Ma Liu helped him change into dry clothes and had someone boil ginger soup and bring it over, but Ma Chonghao took only one sip before passing out completely.

Seeing his master like this, Ma Liu panicked at once. He hurriedly called for people to carry Ma Chonghao to the bed, then sent someone into the city to fetch a physician. When they lifted him, he touched Ma Chonghao's forehead — it was already burning hot, clearly a fever from catching a wind-chill.

But Ma Chonghao was a martial practitioner who had always tempered his body. Wind and rain had never bothered him. He had been perfectly fine yesterday — how could he suddenly fall ill today? This could only be a sickness of the heart. It was because he had seen the formation of Zhao's Battalion and knew he had already failed. All his previous schemes had come to nothing, and so the rush of fury and desperation had overwhelmed him…

The physician came, took one look, and merely said he had contracted a wind-chill. After checking his pulse, he prescribed medicine and stated very plainly: the patient was strong and robust, clearly a martial practitioner; being unconscious was no great danger. Once he woke, with medicine and rest, he would recover very easily.

After dealing with the illness, the physician was anxious to leave, saying that Master Jin's side had sent people into the city to conscript physicians to see patients. Every bit of fresh ginger and all medicinal herbs for treating fever and wind-chill in the city had been bought up. It was said that Master Jin's household troops had all been caught in the rain today. Though few had fallen ill, Master Jin was compassionate and wanted to ensure there was not a single mishap.

At this point, how could Ma Liu care about any of that? Only by paying double the price and issuing a long string of threats did he manage to keep the physician there, have him examine Ma Chonghao more carefully again, prepare several more doses of medicine, and wait there for Ma Chonghao to wake.

Of the Embroidered Uniform Guard's hundred-plus riders, over sixty had been seconded from the Nanjing Embroidered Uniform Guard. These men had, of course, been hoping to follow Ma Chonghao to win merit, build a career, and get rich. So at the start they had been overjoyed. But now that things had reached this point, they too understood that everything had fallen through. That being the case, why not leave? What were they still waiting here for?

Even if that Cripple Ma made it back to Nanjing, he'd be in huge trouble. If they didn't leave now, were they waiting to catch even more bad luck? Who still cared about this Assistant Commander now?

Holding such thoughts, the several squad leaders conferred briefly, then all mounted up and rode off — a complete and utter dispersal. Toward these disloyal men, Ma Liu paid no attention — and even if he'd wanted to stop them, he couldn't have.

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