Chapter 845: Something of a First Battle

At the start, Regional Commander Lu Qin still suspected a trick. After asking the Shandong local troops and learning that they hadn't received such treatment either, his misgivings only deepened. Under this heightened vigilance, he gradually came to realize that the locals were genuinely helping. The Baoding Army's officers and men couldn't help but sigh with emotion — these Shandong commoners really had been made to suffer terribly by the Xuzhou rebels. Otherwise, they would never be so devoted to the imperial army. The moment the government troops arrived, the people came out with baskets of food and jugs of drink.

After asking those few questions, Regional Commander Lu Qin fell silent, simply letting his mount follow the army's advance. The officers, seeing their commander deep in thought, didn't dare disturb him. After a while, the Baoding Regional Commander raised his head, his expression now somewhat more relaxed, and said with a smile, "Those Xuzhou bandits really are arrogant, actually wanting to fight our army in an open, honorable field battle."

The Xuzhou bandits hadn't split their forces; their main army was advancing. And with no undulating terrain nearby, just an endless plain stretching to the horizon, and the two sides less than three days apart — under such circumstances, only one conclusion could be drawn: the Xuzhou bandits had chosen a direct confrontation, a battle fought fair and square.

Once Lu Qin made this judgment, the trusted officers behind him erupted. You said this, I said that, all shouting over each other, their words full of mockery and ease.

"How weak must the troops of the Southern Metropolitan Region be, to let this gang of bandits run so rampant!"

"They're just courting death. Makes it easy for us brothers — a great merit delivered right to our hands!"

"My blade hasn't tasted human blood in ages. This time I'll let it drink its fill!"

"I hear those southern soldiers do nothing but eat rice and fish all day, the weather's warm, and they've got those tender-skinned little ladies — they've long since gone soft. No wonder trash like that let the Xuzhou bandits run wild."

At this, Lu Qin turned back, his expression stern: "When the Wanli Emperor entered Korea to suppress the Japanese pirates, wasn't it the southern soldiers who fought best? Going back further, when Qi Shaobao suppressed the pirates and garrisoned Ji Town, wasn't it the southern soldiers he relied on? Nothing on the battlefield is trivial — you absolutely must not underestimate the enemy!"

Everyone fell silent. Regional Commander Lu Qin continued, "Although thirty years of peace have nearly ruined the Southern Metropolitan Region's troops, we cannot look down on these bandits. Several guard battalions over in Xuzhou — I reckon quite a few bandits come from guard battalion backgrounds. There have to be nearly two thousand brave and fierce ones, plus a few hundred desperadoes. They do have some strength."

"What river pirates, what famous names — once our government troops spread out in formation and get to work, it's just chopping melons and slicing vegetables!" someone muttered. Compared to the mounted bandits and brigands who gathered in mountain forests and stockaded villages, the government troops at least had some training and coordination, as well as relatively decent equipment, so naturally they fought with ease. In the eyes of the Baoding officers, these Xuzhou bandits were about the same.

No one knew whether Regional Commander Lu Qin heard this or not. He continued his analysis there: "Our army must not underestimate the enemy, but the bandits have underestimated us. They haven't split their forces to harass our flanks, nor have they coerced innocent civilians to drive before them — they're just coming at us on their own. This clearly shows they take our army for those pampered, wealthy troops of the Southern Metropolitan Region. They've grown arrogant and conceited. In the current situation, as long as our army is cautious and careful, and advances bravely, victory is certain!"

"The General is brilliant!"

"The General is right! When we spread out in formation and fight head-on, who do we Baoding troops have to fear? We're not even afraid of the Tartars, let alone these clay chickens and pottery dogs!"

The morale of the men behind Lu Qin immediately soared. In their minds, since the Xuzhou bandits had chosen an open, honorable battle, committing their main force to a major fight on flat ground, there would be no schemes or tricks, and no need to worry about the trouble of coerced civilians. The two sides would simply clash in a direct contest of strength.

But at most, the bandits numbered just over five thousand. Those two thousand brave and fierce, those few hundred desperadoes — they were only at the level of passable bandits. The government troops numbered a full six thousand and more, with nearly a thousand cavalry besides. Once on the battlefield, wouldn't it be just chopping melons and slicing vegetables? The bandits' arrogance and conceit had instead given the government troops ample convenience.

"Maybe we won't even need to fight. Once the cannons roar, won't that bunch of Xuzhou local thugs be scared witless, pissing and shitting themselves, kowtowing in terror!" someone shouted in jest. Everyone burst into laughter; even Lu Qin couldn't help but crack a smile.

Then the Baoding Regional Commander Lu Qin's expression turned solemn. He raised his voice and declared, "All officers, hear my orders! The entire army is to quicken its advance. Cavalry are to screen the front, rear, left, and right — guard against enemy raids. Tonight, each battalion will take turns standing watch, on alert against a night camp assault. After this battle, I will petition for honors on your behalf. Rich rewards are certain!"

The officers roared their assent. After giving his orders, Lu Qin softened his tone and added a reminder: "This expedition is being watched by Eunuch Wei himself. If any of you want to rise in the future, you'd better give it your all!"

Their answering shouts grew even louder. The dust cloud raised by the main government force thickened and swelled; the army's column, like a giant serpent, quickened its advance.

In truth, Zhao's Camp was even more on guard against a camp raid than the government troops were. Moreover, Zhao's Camp constantly worried that the lightly defended Xuzhou might suffer a sneak attack, or that something might stir again at Qingjiangpu. Fortunately, everything remained relatively calm.

This situation put Zhao Jin somewhat more at ease. It showed that the court's central authorities had a tacit understanding with him. Before they could clearly gauge the balance of strength and estimate the cost of annihilating Xuzhou, neither side wanted to start a major fight.

Unlike the government scouts' assessment, Zhao's Camp's own estimate was that they would encounter the enemy one shichen or half a shichen before noon tomorrow. The reason for the earlier meeting than the enemy's estimate was that Zhao's Camp's marching speed far exceeded the other side's — the accumulation of their usual drilling was no joke.

At night, a large army could accomplish little. Moving a large force at night, with the slightest carelessness, could lead to desertions or even the entire force scattering in chaos. The slightest disturbance or mishap would be a major disaster. Besides, after a tiring day's march, continuing to move at night was too draining — exhausted troops obviously couldn't do much.

The only possibility was to use an elite force to raid the other side. But neither side's scale was small; to shake the opponent, one would have to draw off enough strength, and neither side could spare that. What's more, at this moment, both sides had their scouts and patrol riders spread wide. The slightest unusual movement by one side would certainly be detected and reacted to in advance by the other.

At this juncture, no one in the government army was still saying the bandits' scouts and patrol riders were incompetent, because the casualties among the government scouts had begun to mount. The reports coming back all said the bandits' archery and horsemanship were formidable, and they fought with reckless disregard for death. Many government scout cavalrymen wouldn't even venture far from the main camp — they'd dawdle a while, then return and report that everything was normal. In any case, the two main forces were moving straight toward each other, and it was night; there wasn't much time left, and there wouldn't be any unusual movements anyway.

The reason for this was that Zhao's Camp had loosened the restraints on its cavalry. At this time and distance, intelligence had become secondary; inflicting as many casualties on the enemy as possible was what mattered. The cavalry retainers, who had been stifled for a long time, now cut loose. The archery and riding skills of the Mongol retainers, combined with the other retainers and men of the jianghu, proved exceptionally lethal.

Still, scattered skirmishes between small groups at night, no matter how fierce, amounted to at most a few or a dozen casualties. Both sides silently conserved their strength, waiting for tomorrow's battle. That was what would truly be decisive.

The retainers had gone to bed early, but Zhao Jin and his companions couldn't sleep so soon. After inspecting the camp, they still had to take turns on night watch. If the government cavalry launched a night raid, it would be a major problem, and they had to be prepared to respond.

"Today, three groups in total came to join the army, but with a little probing, we knew they were scouts sent by the Smelling Incense Sect. Following Big Brother's orders, we killed the leaders and scattered the rest. Only one group, as soon as they arrived, said they wanted to see Big Brother and even called out Sister Lan's name," Liu Yong reported inside the tent.

Zhao Jin waved his hand dismissively. "Unless it's something like urgent military intelligence of the gravest importance, just detain them in the camp. We'll see them after the battle."

Liu Yong acknowledged the order. Zhao Jin continued, "Tomorrow, use the carts to set up a temporary fortified camp. Only the militia and the laborers will be inside. You take the men of the Internal Guard Squad and keep watch."

After saying this, Zhao Jin glanced over at Ji Xiang. Ji Xiang wore an expression of complete composure, but a closer look revealed that both his expression and movements were somewhat stiff. Zhao Jin shook his head helplessly and pointed at Ji Xiang. "Your most important task tonight is to fall asleep. Don't be yawning when you go into battle tomorrow!"

Ji Xiang shuddered and scrambled to his feet. The movement was so abrupt he nearly knocked over his chair. Somewhat flustered, he said, "Rest assured, Big Brother, your junior brother will definitely fall asleep."

Zhao Jin and Chen Sheng exchanged a glance and said with a wry smile, "You definitely won't be able to sleep. When you lie down, just tell yourself: think about nothing. Maybe you'll drift off."

"It's not just Daxiang who's nervous. I'm a bit unsure myself," Chen Sheng spoke up. "When it comes to vicious fighting and sneak attacks, it's actually not that hard — you just crash in and kill. But this kind of large-scale pitched battle, how exactly do you fight it? I've heard people talk about it plenty, and your second uncle talked about it some in the past, but I still can't quite think it through." Shi Manqiang, beside him, nodded with heartfelt agreement. Ji Xiang's face showed a touch of shame — he was currently so worked up with excitement that he hadn't even thought of these things.

Zhao Jin paused for a moment, then deliberately spoke in a relaxed tone: "When you lead your regiment into battle, you have to keep your formation neat and order the soldiers to thrust with their pikes. When you have several regiments, you can think of each regiment as a single soldier. The regiments must also align with each other, obey orders, and coordinate with one another."

This was explained very simply. Chen Sheng nodded slowly and said, as if grasping something, "I remember that time outside Xuzhou City when we put down the roving bandits — our three squads formed a triangle, each point looking after the others, serving as each other's head and tail. Will we fight that way this time too?"

"No. It depends on tomorrow's battlefield. The use of troops must be flexible, not follow rigid rules," Zhao Jin patiently explained. It seemed Chen Sheng and Shi Manqiang were equally restless and uneasy. After all, strictly speaking, this was Zhao's Camp's first open field battle against an enemy army — and an army of government troops that outnumbered them, at that.

Everyone nodded. Zhao Jin swept his gaze over his companions and said with a smile, "To be honest with you all, I probably won't be able to sleep tonight either."

Everyone paused, then burst into laughter. Only then did they truly relax a little. Zhao Jin said with a smile, "Whether we feel confident or not, whether we're afraid or not, this battle must be fought. So there's no use overthinking it. We've already done everything we should."

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