Chapter 826: A Beardless Boy

This argument swayed both Dong Bingfeng and Zhang Hubin. The whole reason for blocking the canal was that Wang Youshan had been thrown into the Imperial Prison. If the other side could help get him out and settle this uproar with dignity, who knew how much trouble it would save the Zhao Camp? It seemed far less troublesome than they had anticipated.

"You two young masters, I can see you are both extraordinarily brave. If you are willing to serve the court, my lord the Grand Coordinator is very keen to foster promising juniors. Though I have yet to report back, I will stake my life and fortune on an oath right now: within two years, you will surely rise to Garrison Commander, and guarding an entire region thereafter is not impossible. You must understand, the court is in dire need of talent, and you two..." This advisor had a real knack for seizing an opening. Seeing the atmosphere ease, he immediately began recruiting.

But halfway through his words, he saw the expressions on Dong Bingfeng and Zhang Hubin's faces change. The advisor shut his mouth at once and smiled, picking up his teacup.

With that, the discussion had reached its natural end. The advisor tactfully took his leave. As he was walking out the door, Dong Bingfeng made a point of adding one last remark: "If your lord truly has some means in the capital, send Uncle Wang back to Xuzhou as quickly as possible. That would make this matter much easier to resolve, and then there truly would be no need to fight. It would be convenient for everyone."

"Of course, of course. Since your side shares this intention, my lord the Grand Coordinator will certainly do his utmost." The advisor agreed readily.

After seeing them off, Dong Bingfeng returned and said simply, "Send a letter to Big Brother at once and tell them about this."

"Sixth Master, don't they ever consider the court's interests when they do things? Shouldn't they be sending a great army to strike us? Why are they negotiating with us instead?" Zhang Hubin asked, puzzled.

A look of confusion also crossed Dong Bingfeng's face. He just muttered, "I suppose it's always like this. The officials in the Xuzhou Guard handle things the same way."

This hardly counted as an explanation. Zhang Hubin shook his head in bewilderment and said, "Why does it feel like these officials are just the same as the great households?"

After the party sent by Grand Coordinator Guo Shangyou of Fengyang left Qingjiangpu, they rendezvoused with the attendants waiting outside, yet they still numbered no more than ten men. None of the officials from Huai'an Prefecture or the county, nor the Garrison Commander of Shanyang, had come to see them off or receive them. In official circles, this was an act of extreme discourtesy. In the past, there would have been fawning attentions all around.

But the men sent by the Grand Coordinator paid this no mind. The two Battalion Commanders of the personal troops from Xuzhou and Langshan, however, had been tense the entire time. From the moment they entered to the moment they left, they wore expressions of constant trepidation. There had indeed been people tailing them, though not very closely. Once they left the bounds of Qingjiangpu, the watchers withdrew. Yet even knowing this, the two Battalion Commanders still did not relax.

The Grand Coordinator's advisor and that personal attendant, by contrast, had been grave and cautious on the way there, but looked considerably more at ease on the way back. Even so, they remained silent for the entire journey.

Their party was all on horseback and quickly left the territory of Huai'an Prefecture, entering Yangzhou. By the time they stopped at the post station outside Baoying County, everyone was finally completely at ease.

Although the Grand Coordinator of Fengyang, the Vice Commander of Langshan, and the Assistant Commander of Xuzhou had hierarchical distinctions, each was relatively independent, with no direct chain of command between them. So when they rested, they kept to themselves and did not move as a single group.

When the Grand Coordinator's envoy arrived, even though he did not enter the city, the entire Baoying County administration still went out of their way to curry favor. Not only was there wine and food provided, but the servants attending them were also fully staffed.

The Grand Coordinator's advisor and that personal attendant sat together, while the two Battalion Commanders simply claimed fatigue and returned to their rooms to rest. Watching their tightly shut doors and windows, expressions of contempt and disdain appeared on the faces of both the advisor and the attendant.

"Before I met them, I thought they were some kind of big shots. I never imagined they'd be just a few wet-behind-the-ears kids, easily fooled by a few words. The troops from Xuzhou and Langshan are just too useless," the advisor said with considerable ease, sipping his wine.

The attendant beside him said nothing. The advisor smiled and lowered his voice to ask, "Old Jiang, you came on behalf of Mobile Corps Commander Jiao to observe. Did you see anything?"

"With you all being this cautious, what could I possibly see?" the "attendant" replied offhandedly.

Even though his identity had been exposed, this Old Jiang still maintained the manner of a personal attendant, showing not the slightest hint that he was a military officer's trusted man. He picked up his wine cup and set it down again, pondering for a long while before speaking once more: "Young and impetuous — it's probably no lie that they can fight. But young men are inflexible and only know how to charge headlong. These two look easy to fool. Anyone who would assign two such gullible men here — that Zhao Jin is probably no genius either."

Old Jiang had spoken with great restraint, but the advisor nodded slowly, grasping the full implication.

"My lord, what Secretary Yang and your subordinate, Squad Leader Jiang Hu, have reported is very clear. Those Xuzhou rebels have nothing but hot-blooded courage, yet they likely know nothing of military strategy. They only know to block the river at Qingjiangpu but never thought to sweep away the government troops around them. Against such brainless bandits, a single elite cavalry raid will surely win a great victory."

Inside the official residence of the Grand Coordinator of Fengyang, only Grand Coordinator Guo Shangyou and Jiao Dayong, the Mobile Corps Commander of the Grand Coordinator's own Standard Battalion, were present in the study. Hearing Jiao Dayong's words, Grand Coordinator Guo fell into thought. After a long while, he spoke: "Every one of our several military forces north of the Yangtze in Southern Zhili has already suffered heavy losses. Why should we shoulder this blame? You would also be plunging deep into danger."

"My lord, Circuit Inspector Zhu and Transport Circuit Inspector He have already sent six-hundred-li express memorials to the capital. They have stated that the canal situation is a rebellion plotted by local hegemons. If we merely report it as a disorderly mob gathering, we will certainly be unable to account for it. And even a disorderly mob gathering requires us to dispatch troops to disperse them. If we lose, we still bear the blame. Since we must bear the blame either way, why not try a surprise cavalry raid? If we lose, we were prepared to report a defeat anyway. But if we win, it would be a tremendous merit for restoring canal transport and quelling the rebellion. It is well worth the attempt!" Though Jiao Dayong was a military officer, his analysis was clear and logical.

Grand Coordinator Guo sank into thought once more. Originally, based on the report from Battalion Commander Liu Meng of his personal troops and the replies from the military officers in Xuzhou and Langshan, he had already concluded that the Zhao family of Xuzhou was a hedgehog — better to pull back his hand and accept censure than to reach out and get pricked bloody. But after sending his advisor to negotiate and receiving the news that came back, he now sensed an opportunity. And after hearing it, Jiao Dayong had become eager to fight.

"Back then, that Ma Chonghao led two thousand cavalry and was still scared back. How can you be so confident?"

"My lord, those two thousand cavalry were a loose mob. If you, my lord, personally issue the orders and deploy them, the authority of the court and the law will be behind it. Whoever dares disobey will face military justice; whoever dares flee — well. Besides, Xuzhou is the bandits' lair, so naturally their strength is concentrated there. But this Qingjiangpu is several hundred li from Xuzhou. They can't reach it!"

Seeing Grand Coordinator Guo still hesitating, Jiao Dayong added another point: "My lord, if the bandits were truly powerful, they would have openly rebelled long ago. Why would they be so half-heartedly blocking the river and claiming they are crying out for justice?"

"Our Standard Battalion has barely over a thousand troops. Is that enough men?"

Hearing these words from Grand Coordinator Guo, a trace of excitement appeared on Jiao Dayong's face. With great confidence, he said, "We can muster three hundred cavalry here, and Langshan can provide another three hundred. Request that you, Grand Coordinator, transfer two hundred more from Fengyang. Eight hundred elite cavalry in a forced march surprise attack — that will be more than enough!"

Seeing that Guo Shangyou's expression remained impassive, Mobile Corps Commander Jiao Dayong continued, "My lord, the Xuzhou bandits at Qingjiangpu have no more than two thousand infantry and just over a hundred mounted troops. Cavalry against infantry is worth ten to one. If we can mobilize these eight hundred cavalry, that is an overwhelming advantage. Striking suddenly, we are certain to win a great victory."

"You mean to follow the agreement, first advance the main army to the Baoying County area, and then send the cavalry forward to launch a surprise attack?" A smile appeared on Grand Coordinator Guo Shangyou's face.

Jiao Dayong knew the matter was settled. Smiling, he replied, "My lord Grand Coordinator is indeed well-versed in military texts. That is precisely how to deploy the troops. Those young bandit chieftains at Qingjiangpu are far too naive, likely thinking that an agreement is truly an agreement. Moreover, Qingjiangpu has no city walls or moats for cover, making it perfectly suited for a rapid cavalry advance. We will catch them completely off guard and win a decisive victory. Once we prevail here and canal transport flows freely again, whether to continue the war or make peace will be entirely your decision, my lord."

Grand Coordinator Guo Shangyou of Fengyang nodded slowly, then said in a deep voice, "It is still better to report it as a disorderly mob gathering for now. We can memorialize the true situation after the battle is won, to avoid too much entanglement. Let us begin preparations at once!"

The two Battalion Commanders representing the Vice Commander of Langshan and the Assistant Commander of Xuzhou were summoned back to the Grand Coordinator's presence. After a brief secret discussion, the Battalion Commander from Xuzhou was placed under guard by the Grand Coordinator's men, while the personal Battalion Commander from the Vice Commander of Langshan, together with a messenger dispatched by the Grand Coordinator of Fengyang, rode at full speed back to Langshan.

In addition, fast riders were sent from Taizhou to Fengyang. At the same time, the Grand Coordinator issued one official dispatch after another. The circuit intendants of the various sub-circuits, as well as Yangzhou Prefecture, Chuzhou, Luzhou Prefecture, and Fengyang Prefecture, all began mobilizing troops and provisions to converge near Gaoyou Subprefecture, preparing for a joint campaign to suppress the disorderly people blocking the canal.

Since the canal transport route was cut off, the troops of Xuzhou and Huai'an Prefecture could not be mobilized. The forces stationed at Langshan and Fengyang, however, were unaffected and began assembling for battle.

All of this was done with great fanfare and naturally could not be concealed. News continuously fed back to Qingjiangpu, and from Qingjiangpu it was urgently sent on to Xuzhou.

The more tense the moment, the more Zhao Jin refused to leave the vicinity of the He Estate. Every day he drilled and reorganized the troops, processed intelligence from all sides, and every few days rode out to the Yellow River to check on the readiness of the boats there. Now, vast quantities of supplies were being transported from north of the Yellow River as well, and much of the personnel transfer also relied on Yellow River shipping. The boats were the most critical matter.

Zhao Jin received the letter from Qingjiangpu. The conditions proposed by the envoy sent by Grand Coordinator Guo Shangyou of Fengyang aligned almost perfectly with Zhao Jin's own thinking.

"It's good that they have this idea." Zhao Jin's assessment was brief. He immediately wrote a reply and arranged for fast riders to deliver it at once.

As it happened, not long after the reply to Qingjiangpu was sent out, news arrived from the capital. From the blocking of the canal, to the information feeding back to the various levels of government, to those levels reporting up to the central court, to the central court formulating a response — adding in the travel time, a full month had passed since the Zhao Camp blocked the canal. It was now about to enter the eighth month, and the weather had turned from the scorching heat of that time to a pleasant coolness.

Thanks to the three old friends "Qi Sanwen, Yuan Heng Li Zhen, and Tian Xia Zong Heng You Wo" for their tips, and thank you all for your subscriptions and monthly tickets.