Chapter 754: Wolves Chasing the Tiger

The Incense-Smelling Sect Hierarch, Xu Hongru, was one of the most top-tier figures in all of Shandong. Since he had put out the word using his own token, everyone believed it to be true. Had it been anyone else, they would have worried whether the silver could actually be produced, but the Incense-Smelling Sect had been amassing wealth in Shandong for so many years and had such a grand operation; they could certainly produce it.

With others, one might still worry about the truth of their words, but if Incense-Smelling Sect Hierarch Xu Hongru's word meant nothing, how could he ever hold his head up in Shandong again, how could he command his subordinates? No one worried about that.

With so much silver laid out plainly before their eyes, who wouldn't be tempted, who wouldn't turn green with envy, who wouldn't want to give it a try?

Who was Zhao Jin? Everyone had heard the name, but this Zhao Jin was merely a powerful magnate from Xuzhou in South Zhili. A fierce dragon does not crush the local serpent—what use was a man from Xuzhou here in Shandong?

The news sent out by the Incense-Smelling Sect was not false. It said that Zhao Jin was leading over four hundred cavalry—that was indeed a sizable force, and a single faction might not be able to swallow it. But the heroes of Shandong from every path had all received word. If everyone went, they could surely gnaw him down. After all, it was forty thousand taels; even split among everyone, that was still a few thousand taels of profit. And if by chance they could cut down Zhao Jin, that was a solid ten thousand taels in hand!

Moreover, the Incense-Smelling Sect had operated in Shandong for so many years and had an extremely deep understanding of the region. Although this time the message and bounty were sent out in haste, every recipient of the bounty was a powerful magnate with sufficient strength—from government army officers to local tycoons, to the dragon heads and helmsmen of the underworld. Only those qualified to claim this bounty received the message.

As for the Shi family blocking the road, they were merely a pawn used by the Incense-Smelling Sect to obstruct Zhao Jin's movements. Unfortunately, Zhao Jin's troop was far too ferocious. After the Shi family was wiped out, the others weighed the situation and dared not approach to provoke them.

But the other factions had not seen that battle, nor did they know just how formidable Zhao Jin's troop truly was. What they had to do was simple: rush over, block Zhao Jin, and try their luck.

Throughout the entire Yanzhou Prefecture, undercurrents surged everywhere within range. A certain Colonel's cavalry suddenly mobilized, claiming they were going somewhere to suppress bandits. A certain tycoon gathered nearby cavalry units and local experts, saying they were going on a distant journey for a martial contest. A big boss of the greenwood gathered his followers, saying they were going down the mountain to make a fortune.

Galloping cavalry could be seen everywhere on the main official roads. Commoners and traveling merchants, unaware of the truth, thought some major event was unfolding. But it was already near year's end, and the land of Shandong was bleak and barren; there simply weren't that many people active outside the cities, so few took notice.

There were also some small bands who dared not hope for the heavy reward of tens of thousands of taels, but one hundred taels per head was equally tempting. Upon receiving the news, they too swarmed in, wanting to take a bite out of this "fatty meat."

When Zhao Jin's troop approached Jinxiang County, their pace slowed considerably. Small bands of cavalry began appearing around them, following at a distance, neither too close nor too far, drawing nearer at the slightest lapse.

It was almost dark, and four groups had already caught up from the surrounding area. Zhao's Battalion's large formation was built for sustained running, but not for charging.

By now, all the city gates were closed, and no ordinary travelers or merchants could be seen on the official roads. Even the villagers had long since returned to their dwellings. At this hour, the world outside the city walls was a lawless one.

Each of the four surrounding groups numbered around forty to fifty riders. The group to the east was especially brazen, drawing near from time to time. When they approached within bowshot range, the household troops of Zhao's Battalion would move to drive them off, and they would hastily spur their horses away, letting out wild, mocking laughter that left the men of Zhao's Battalion cavalry restless and agitated.

"It seems we can't travel through the night!" Zhao Jin said from horseback, then raised the long spear in his hand high. This was the signal to halt. Amid a chorus of shouts, the entire formation came to a stop.

"Daxiang, pick fifty men with the best riding skills. Have them wear only breastplates, one man with two horses. Kill every last man in that group to the east. Bring back the horses and bring back their heads. Go now!" Zhao Jin gave the order from horseback. Ji Xiang acknowledged and went to make his selections.

Zhao Jin turned his head and added, "Xiaoyong, pick thirty men with the best archery. If any more draw near, shoot them dead on the spot."

"Send word to the scouts up ahead. Find a village estate. We'll rely on that estate to set up camp and rest tonight." Zhao Jin gave his final order to Meng Zhiqi. The personal guard shouted an acknowledgment and spurred his horse forward.

The large formation stopped right in the middle of the official road. Ji Xiang rode along, selecting household troops he knew well. Ever since Dong Bingfeng had gone to the Third Regiment, the cavalry had also been under the Personal Guard Corps, so he naturally knew these men.

One by one, men were selected. They dismounted and hurriedly transferred their excess baggage to the packhorses. The order was clear: pursue as lightly equipped as possible.

Earlier, when the large formation was on the move, the small bands of cavalry around them had constantly pressed close to harass. But the moment the formation stopped, they scattered far away.

"These are all seasoned old bandits. When a large formation goes quiet, if they pounce, they might be chased down. When a large formation moves, it can't easily turn, so it's convenient for them to come up and take a bite." Zhao Jin commented coldly. The sun had already set, and the lingering sunset glow still lit the world, but it would not be long before dark.

"The mounted bandits of Shandong are famous across the land. I heard my grandfather say that many of Shandong's bandit gangs have been passed down for generations, and they're actually just the local gentry and tycoons. In normal times, they're law-abiding citizens; they only go far afield to plunder." Chen Sheng added.

Zhao Jin raised his long spear and waved it. The large formation began moving forward slowly again. By this time, Ji Xiang was no longer leading the troop before Zhao Jin, but had brought his selected men to the eastern flank of the formation.

As soon as the large formation here began to move, they could see those several small bands in the distance drawing near again. Zhao Jin shook his head and remarked with a sigh, "For a place like Shandong to have so many mounted bandits—it really baffles the mind!"

"What's there to be baffled about? It's been a chaotic place since the time of the Founding Emperor. Tang Sai'er's rebellion, the Prince of Han raising troops, the White Lotus Sect and other cults stirring up trouble generation after generation, and on top of that, the scourge of the canal—how could it not be chaotic? Wasn't it just the other day we were saying, along the canal, they forbid digging wells, forbid diverting water from rivers and streams for irrigation. With all this torment, how are the common people supposed to live? They can only turn to banditry to survive." Chen Sheng spoke up from beside him.

"Brother Xiaojin, I remember you telling me Shandong was a good place. You even said Dengzhou and Laizhou over there were especially good. It wasn't until I went there that I found out it's the poorest and most miserable." Mu Shulan interjected from behind.

Zhao Jin shook his head with a smile and casually made up an excuse: "A place that good, if it were in our hands, we'd definitely make it second to none, even compared to Xuzhou."

Many things from his past memories differed from the present. Most of the time, he wouldn't make a mistake, but occasionally, he would still feel a moment of disorientation.

The large formation began to run again. Those several small bands spurred their horses and began to draw near. It looked almost like child's play, but in truth, it concealed lethal intent. The men of Zhao's Battalion knew this very well: the slightest lapse in vigilance, and these cavalry bands would tear a chunk of flesh from Zhao's Battalion.

This approach was the same as the previous one. Just outside bowshot range, the small cavalry band to the east stopped drawing nearer and instead cursed and jeered loudly, doing their utmost to provoke and taunt.

However, the cavalry of Zhao's Battalion kept their composure very well, simply pressing forward in silence. They advanced in this silent parallel, showing no reaction whatsoever. The small band on the outer eastern flank drew a little closer again. After several rounds of harassment and cursing, the men here would either break ranks to give chase in restless agitation, or endure in numbness. But whether they broke ranks or endured, both were moments when vigilance relaxed—moments when the bandits could draw near and strike.

Even while harassing, the cavalry band had not completely let down their guard. They drew a few steps closer, then retreated further away, wary that this might be a trap. But when Ji Xiang had selected his men, he had already given his instructions. All the riders pressed forward with taut faces, as if they were ignoring the curses and provocations entirely. It wasn't as if they'd lose a piece of flesh over it.

The men of the harassing cavalry band finally felt at ease. In their eyes, these men from Xuzhou had finally grown lax, falling right into their scheme.

They drew closer and closer. When they closed to about twenty paces, the household troops on the eastern flank of Zhao's Battalion's cavalry reacted. Those on the outer edge all seized their bows, drew, and fired!

At just over twenty paces, even if one reacted, trying to turn one's mount and flee during the process of drawing a bow and nocking an arrow was impossible—there was no escaping the killing range of the bow. The time it took to flee out of range was enough to loose two volleys.

With the jolting of the horse and the swaying of the rider, mounted archery was only accurate within a dozen or so paces. But at this distance, simply loosing the arrow was enough, whether it struck man or horse.

Two volleys of arrows rained down. Men toppled and horses fell, chaos erupting. Ji Xiang gave a sharp whistle and spurred his horse to begin turning. The large formation had not been moving fast to begin with, so wheeling the horses around was not too difficult.

The small cavalry band that had approached from the east already sensed something was wrong. Over a dozen corpses, and another dozen or so men who had fallen from their mounts due to injury or their horses being spooked. The rest no longer cared for their companions; they shouted and spurred their horses to flee, crouching as low as possible on their horses' backs, terrified of being struck by an arrow.

Ji Xiang and his men needed time to turn, but so did the small band that had drawn near. A few managed to escape a few steps ahead by luck, but the four or five riders at the rear were directly cut off. At such close range, they had no chance to fight back. Long sabers hacked down, long spears thrust—one by one, they were slain and fell from their horses. The remaining dozen or so riders were scared out of their wits, lashing their horses to gallop madly, but they could no longer shake off Ji Xiang's pursuing troop.

Everyone's mounts had roughly the same level of exertion; the mounts of the small cavalry band were even slightly more fatigued. How could they possibly outrun the cavalry of Zhao's Battalion, who had been moving forward at a steady pace, conserving their horses' strength? Sooner or later, they would be caught. Not to mention, even if the men couldn't catch up now, the arrows still could.

Those who had fallen from their horses naturally could not escape. These men had none of their earlier arrogance. Some turned and ran outward in despair, while others wailed and knelt on the ground, begging for mercy.

Another twenty riders from Zhao's Battalion turned to pursue. They killed the fleeing ones one by one, and cut down the pleading ones one by one as well, leaving only one man, trussed up tightly and tossed directly onto an empty packhorse, to be taken away.

The other small cavalry bands that had been constantly drawing near had long since been scared into retreating far away, keeping a distance of several li, not daring to approach at all.

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