Chapter 842: Spotted

Under the combined effect of the whistling and the salt-dipped bran cake, the mount quickly settled down. Cai Huajun took a deep breath, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. Back when he refused to rob the innocent, he had specialized in targeting lone bandits around Yanzhou Prefecture and Northern Zhili, engaging in this very kind of thief-eat-thief business. The trick of luring a target close and then killing them was something he could now pull off with practiced ease.

After lowering the corpse from the horse, Cai Huajun worked swiftly, stripping off the clothes and not missing a single trinket on the body. He then took off his own garments, draping his robe over the victim, and changed into the soldier's uniform, matching the attire and accessories as closely as possible. Mounting the dead man's horse and loading the luggage onto his own, he rode north leading two horses.

On the journey north that followed, Cai Huajun made rapid progress. He did not deliberately choose secluded paths but instead hurried along the main roads. Cai Huajun knew he was at the very front, and that the enemy's scouts and mounted patrols had already been sent out. If they spotted him from a distance, they would simply avoid him. Everyone else was heading south, while he alone was heading north; they would keep their distance and could not see him clearly. The other government scouts had no inclination to ride over for a chat either. He traveled the whole way like this.

By the time he saw the encampment of the Baoding troops led by Regional Commander Lu Qin, it was nearly dark. Cai Huajun was very familiar with this area; he knew it was only a little over sixty li from Jining Prefecture. After sizing up the camp from afar, Cai Huajun deliberately made a wide detour. He only approached the camp after true night had fallen, stopping his horse to rest on a small earthen mound near the main government camp. He spread out a woolen felt and lay down, breaking half of his dry rations into pieces and mixing them into the fodder to feed the horses.

Having spent a long time in Xuzhou, he was familiar with military encampment procedures. Nighttime in a military camp demanded silence, and anyone making noise was to be killed on the spot. The night patrols and scouts also knew this taboo. Unless they carried the most urgent military intelligence, they would usually wait until daybreak to rejoin the unit. Even if a hidden night sentry discovered him, Cai Huajun could simply explain that he was waiting for morning to return to camp. Besides, in the pitch-black night, faces were impossible to make out, making it easy to bluff his way through.

Lying there watching the starry sky, Cai Huajun mulled things over. If this assignment hadn't been so perfectly suited to him, no matter how generous the price that Scholar Cai had offered, he would never have come out to risk his life. The area where the two armies were clashing now was precisely where he had often operated in the past. Among the men of the Xuzhou underworld, there were few who knew it better than he did.

He was bold, and the government troops never imagined a scout would dare to camp overnight so close to their main camp. Even if the patrol range was wide enough to discover Cai Huajun, seeing his government uniform, they would not take it seriously.

The night passed just like that. At the first glimmer of dawn, Cai Huajun was already up. He first ate two flatbreads to stave off hunger, then tended to his mount. It didn't matter if a man went hungry or thirsty, but a horse absolutely could not be mistreated. Fortunately, the supplies the government scout had carried were ample enough; otherwise, Cai Huajun would have had to go hungry this morning.

He had originally thought of circling the camp for a look, or even sneaking directly inside. But as he sized up the enemy camp in the morning light, he found it to be extremely orderly, strict, and well-disciplined. Troops were stationed on guard at every point that needed defending. After pondering for a moment on that earthen mound, Cai Huajun instead led his horse toward a more remote area further away.

Because the Liao stipend transport passed through, the situation of famine and refugees in Shandong had always been severe, and the population was sparse to begin with. Even if commoners had lived where the main camp was stationed, they would have long since fled far away to escape the scourge of soldiers, fearing looting. The vegetation in this area was actually still quite lush, not having been cut for fuel or kindling.

Cai Huajun waited a good while with his horses under the cover of the grass and scrubby trees, nearly dozing off. Just then, he heard a clamor and a rumbling din. The main army was breaking camp and heading south. He waited a little longer until the noise subsided slightly, and only then did Cai Huajun ride out, casually pulling his sun hat down a bit lower.

The main body of the government troops had already begun forming ranks and advancing. Scouts, mounted patrols, and various cavalrymen relaying orders could be seen moving about. Cai Huajun deliberately rode a bit slower. Once the cavalry had all rushed toward the vanguard, he took his horse on a very wide loop, coming up from the rear as if he were a scout just returning from a morning patrol to rejoin the unit.

Cai Huajun was indeed audacious. He simply rode along the edge of the marching formation, scrutinizing the details within the ranks as he went. Seeing him riding a military horse, wearing the uniform of a government scout, with familiar armor and weapons, the government troops assumed he was one of their own. In an army of several thousand, no one could know every face, and few even paid him any mind.

One of the officers leading the troops, also on horseback, noticed Cai Huajun's two horses and thought he understood the situation. He called out teasingly, "Looks like you did some good business! No capital outlay, and you doubled your investment in one go."

This was all because they saw Cai Huajun's own horse and luggage and assumed he had conveniently killed someone for their goods. No one found it unusual. The scouts, mounted patrols, and night-patrol cavalry were the most elite horsemen in the government army, mostly the commander's trusted veterans. They had always been a lawless bunch, and looting the locals was a common affair.

Cai Huajun merely responded in a muffled, ambiguous grunt, but he did not stop his horse. As he rode on, he noticed more and more people gathering ahead, and an officer in a Company Commander's uniform was there shouting and cursing loudly.

"... You worthless idiots! How can the ground be so soft this close to the water? This cart has gotten stuck how many times now? What are you standing around staring blankly for? Get over here and help lift the cart..."

Cai Huajun deliberately steered a bit further away. Just as he was passing by, his arm suddenly tensed, and he instinctively wanted to yank the reins and bring his horse to a halt. Because he had seen what was on the cart. It was a cannon!

Having traveled far and wide, Cai Huajun had seen cannons before. The barrel was cast from bronze and iron, with a caliber that looked to be about half a chi wide, and roughly the same length as the cart. It seemed like two of them were strapped onto a single cart...

Cai Huajun gritted his teeth and tugged the reins. He did not dismount to help move them; that would have exposed him. A cavalryman's status was far higher than a foot soldier's, and he would never lift a finger for such rough, heavy labor. Instead, he controlled his horse to circle in place, pausing briefly to get a closer look.

Two carts, four cannons. The other carts were loaded with gun carriages, cannonballs, and the like. All of these were made of bronze and iron, exceptionally heavy. Loaded onto carts traveling on dirt roads, they easily compressed the road surface and got stuck. Besides, this place was not far from Weishan Lake, and the soil was much softer than elsewhere.

Cai Huajun's heart pounded in his chest. Risking discovery by stopping, he took another careful look. This was the baggage train, and he only saw these four cannons; he spotted no others. Cai Huajun took a deep breath, shook the reins to urge his horse forward, and gradually picked up speed.

This time, however, Cai Huajun was not moving parallel to the main government army. Instead, he veered further and further off course. He needed to make a wide loop before heading south. The further he went, the more government scouts and patrols he encountered, and some began hailing him loudly. To this, Cai Huajun merely kept his head down. Only when he couldn't avoid them did he shout in a muffled voice, "Urgent military intelligence! I'm on an assignment!"

At a moment like this, naturally, no one dared to stop him. Cai Huajun could no longer suppress the excitement in his heart. It wasn't fear from being so close to the main government army; it was because he had discovered the cannons. Once this news was relayed back to the main camp, it would be a tremendous merit.

When the Zhao Battalion went on campaign, the truly life-or-death tasks were all handled by the household retainers and the trained militia. The affiliated Xuzhou martial men were merely there to assist. The reason they had been brought along was more to strengthen mutual ties; there was little hope of earning real merit or favor this way. That was why Cai Huajun had rushed to the front. He just hadn't expected to actually hit the jackpot.

Only when the main government army was nothing more than a cloud of dust on the horizon did Cai Huajun begin racing south. Now, the sooner he returned to the Zhao Battalion, the better.

He hadn't ridden long when, a little over a hundred paces away, a government scout appeared, moving at a leisurely pace. Cai Huajun paid him no mind and simply lowered his head, preparing to pass by. But just as they were about to cross paths, that government scout shouted a name Cai Huajun had never heard before and rode toward him.

Although he didn't recognize the name, Cai Huajun could tell from the tone that the original owner of the uniform and horse he now wore definitely knew this man.

Cai Huajun slowed his horse but never came to a stop, keeping his back to the other man. The man behind him spurred his horse and caught up quickly, saying with a hint of jealousy, "Old Li, I've ridden dozens of li without seeing a single fat sheep. How come you're always so lucky?"

It seemed he also took Cai Huajun for a comrade who had made a little profit on the side. When the distance between them was about a dozen paces, Cai Huajun hunched his back, lowered his head, and slowly wheeled his horse around.

"What are you doing with that bow? Aren't you..."

Cai Huajun drew his bow and loosed an arrow from horseback. The man was first stunned, then realized something was wrong. He instinctively twisted aside to dodge, but the arrow still struck him squarely in the shoulder blade. The government cavalryman let out a miserable cry, his body jerking violently on the horse. Knowing he had been hit and was in no condition for close combat, he gritted his teeth and wheeled his horse to flee. But Cai Huajun did not spur his horse to follow. He knew the man's horse would need time to turn around, and in that interval, he could easily loose a second arrow.

With another *thwip*, the second arrow found its mark accurately, piercing through the government scout's neck. The man didn't even have time to cry out before he toppled to the ground.

Only then did Cai Huajun urge his horse forward to catch up and intercept the other man's mount. The horse was slightly startled, but not yet to the point of panic.

He should have left immediately, but after a moment's thought, Cai Huajun dismounted anyway. He stripped the armor and clothes off that unlucky government soldier, took only the lighter weapons, and thoroughly searched and cleaned out all the provisions and fodder. After checking the horse's condition, he did not keep it. He simply removed its tack and let it go free. Then he raced south at full speed. This truly was the most urgent of news. When that young Master Jin had assigned everyone their tasks, he had listed several things, and cannons had been mentioned last. Yet Cai Huajun had discerned that cannons were a matter of particular importance.

The Zhao Battalion's encampment in Yutai County involved a great deal of work. Their own troops could not handle it all, so they also recruited civilian laborers locally and paid them wages.

Previously, when the Xuzhou men entered Yutai County and clashed with the estate of the Prince of Lu's mansion, it had seemed for a time that the Prince of Lu's faction had gained the upper hand and the Xuzhou men had temporarily withdrawn. But now, the people from the Prince of Lu's mansion had long since vanished without a trace. The entire county of Yutai also knew which way the wind was blowing. At the very least, the Xuzhou Zhao Battalion now held a firm upper hand. The only thing that puzzled everyone was why they still kept that terrified Yutai County Magistrate around. Weren't they supposed to be rebelling?

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