Chapter 964: All Within the Calculations

Once Wang Zhaojing over there quieted down, Zhao Jin glared at him and said, "What you just said wasn't wrong either. This battle involves too much; we can't afford to be careless. The results will be decided tomorrow or the day after. The battlefield is one thing, and cleaning up after the battle is another. You're going back to prepare supplies and gather the Cloud Mountain Trading personnel and the militia. Otherwise, what use is it if we take this place but can't hold it? On the battlefield, we have us. For civil and internal affairs, we need you, Mister Cao, Mister Zhou, and the others to handle it. What's so hard to understand about that?"

Wang Zhaojing stood there stunned for a moment, let out a long breath, bowed with clasped hands in salute, and said in a strained voice, "I lost my composure."

"Is deciding victory on the battlefield a major affair, but gathering provisions and managing the estates and civil administration not?" Zhao Jin retorted.

Paying no mind to Wang Zhaojing's subsequent reaction, Zhao Jin continued, "Here beneath the walls of Jining, on flat terrain, any fight will be nothing more than an open-field formation battle. There are no tricks to play. It all comes down to adapting on the spot. Everyone conserve your strength and sharpen your edge. Prepare for battle tomorrow. Tonight, we stand watch in shifts. I'll take the first one."

Chen Sheng, Shi Manqiang, and Ji Xiang were all brimming with fighting spirit. Wang Zhaojing seemed lost in thought, though his face showed a look of relief. Liu Yong, who had remained silent the entire time, walked out last. Once everyone had left the command tent, a hint of worry finally appeared on Liu Yong's face. Lowering his voice, he said, "Big Brother, there's been no word from Leizi. News came from Linqing today—Leizi and five brothers are no longer there. No one knows where they've gone."

Zhao Jin started, then said through gritted teeth, "Reckless! Did he come to Jining, or did he head over to Ziyang?"

"Big Brother, we've been unable to get any word from Jining or Ziyang. Leizi is anxious too. I reckon he came here himself..."

"Fool! This situation doesn't yet require you to throw your lives away!" Zhao Jin said helplessly.

Liu Yong also shook his head. Zhao Jin took a deep breath and added, "We can't worry about that now. Send men to make inquiries first. Everything else will have to wait until the situation is settled."

"It's not that you're in the rear, not charging into battle, so you're not serving loyally. If you all go risk life and limb, then who gathers intelligence? If the intelligence is unclear and the army loses the battle, whose responsibility is that? I just said Zhaojing is overthinking things, but you and Lei Cai have been overthinking things all along too." Zhao Jin spoke with some heat.

Liu Yong lowered his head and acknowledged. Zhao Jin wanted to say more, but in the end, he just patted Liu Yong on the shoulder and said in a muffled voice, "We're all brothers. There's no favoritism or difference between us."

So close to the city of Jining, with enemy scouts probing, and the wells in the estate poisoned, one would think that the Zhao Character Battalion would not be allowed a peaceful night in the deep dark hours. Yet the night was very quiet. Nothing happened during Zhao Jin's watch. When he rose in the early morning to hand over to Chen Sheng, he was told the night had been entirely peaceful.

Wang Zhaojing rose early, preparing to depart and return. His expression was much calmer than the night before. When he came to take his leave, he specifically asked, "Big Brother, how do you plan to arrange things today?"

"We'll march to the foot of Jining's walls and wait for them to come out and fight. The Zhao Character Battalion arriving here means they can no longer move and can only hole up inside the city. But holing up inside the city is a dead end. They have no choice but to fight." Zhao Jin's answer was very simple.

"When I return this time, I will prepare everything thoroughly and await word of the Zhao Character Battalion's great victory."

"We will win," Zhao Jin replied.

Wang Zhaojing departed under the escort of mounted household troopers and Xuzhou volunteers. Zhao Jin summoned Chen Sheng, Shi Manqiang, Ji Xiang, and Liu Yong. Pointing at the distant city of Jining, he said, "March the army forward along the river. For lunch, eat only dry rations. If the Smelling Incense Sect refuses to fight, then we set up camp and fortify, and make plans tomorrow. If they want to fight, then we fight!"

After saying this, Zhao Jin looked at Liu Yong and said, "We'll be fighting outnumbered. We must guard against getting tangled in a chaotic melee. You and your men will stay close and guard me."

"Rest assured, Big Brother!" Liu Yong was startled at first, then answered solemnly. In a major battle like this, it was extremely rare for the inner guard troopers to have such an assignment.

Breaking camp and setting out at this time was different from before. The militia, inner guard troopers, and some Xuzhou volunteers in the ranks began boarding the canal boats. The mounted troopers and volunteers split into four squads, guarding the perimeter of the main force. The ox and horse carts, fully loaded with supplies, were escorted by Xuzhou volunteers and followed at the very rear. The canal boats set off a quarter-hour later than the main force.

Tuan commanders, company commanders, and squad commanders at every level bellowed orders. Shouts, footfalls, the clanking of armor, the lowing and neighing of oxen and horses, and the clatter of hooves mingled together. Yet, inexplicably, the entire force seemed very quiet. A solemn, killing atmosphere silently permeated the air.

Ji Xiang led the infantry of the personal guard unit. Zhao Jin directly commanded the cavalry. Liu Yong led the elite warriors of the inner guard unit, protecting Zhao Jin's side. Looking from afar, Lu Da of the First Regiment and Zhang Hubin of the Fourth Regiment both had expressions of excitement on their faces. The regiment formation rarely participated in major battles, and they had not experienced many.

The household troopers had bamboo tubes and gourds tied at their waists, filled with salted cool boiled water, along with baked oil cakes. There would be no time to light fires and cook at noon.

The truly outstanding mounted troopers and Xuzhou volunteers spurred their horses out of formation one after another, galloping back and forth between the city and the main force, reporting on the situation and movements there. Others rode in even wider arcs, heading to other sides of the city. Even on the west bank of the canal, there were scouting cavalry and probing horsemen, constantly relaying messages via boats.

No traces of large refugee bands were found outside the city. However, it was too quiet outside Jining—one could even call it deathly still. By the regulations of Great Ming cities, the city proper was limited in area, with large numbers of commoners living outside the walls. Although the refugee siege had caused great destruction outside the city, there shouldn't be not a single soul there. Even if all the commoners were dead and the Smelling Incense Sect rebel army was all inside the city, it shouldn't be so utterly devoid of life, completely like a dead city.

"What harm does this scorched-earth policy do to us?" Zhao Jin asked himself. Those beside him didn't know how to answer.

As long as the canal waterway remained open, the Zhao Character Battalion could be supplied by boat. There was no way to poison the canal water system, so blocking the wells was also useless. These actions did no damage to the Zhao Character Battalion whatsoever, only wasting manpower in vain.

As they drew closer to the city, the Zhao Character Battalion's main force began to slow its pace, so that they could shift formation and respond if the enemy attacked. But Jining city still showed no sign of movement. According to the scouts' reports, there weren't even many defenders on the city walls. At this distance, they should have been able to clearly see the movements of the Zhao Character Battalion's army.

"Could it be that Jining city is already completely empty inside?" Liu Yong said, then immediately dismissed his own suggestion, frowning as he said, "If it were empty, then the news couldn't be contained. We would have known long ago."

"There must be something strange," Zhao Jin said in a muffled voice. After saying this, he smiled and said easily, "Whatever tricks they have, we'll do what we do."

When an army moves, the water consumed by men and horses is enormous, and they cannot go a single day without it. Therefore, an army on the march must rely on waterways and must camp close to a water source. Otherwise, there would be major chaos. Outside Jining, the Zhao Character Battalion didn't have many choices for a campsite—simply along the canal, the only variable being the distance from Jining's city walls.

Jining's moat had already been filled in during the siege battles. The Smelling Incense Sect forces entrenched here seemed to have no intention of digging it out again. From the city wall outward, it was now all flat ground.

Zhao Jin estimated the distance and gave the order: "Set up camp four li from the city wall."

Having marched since early morning, the sun was now slanting westward. The Zhao Character Battalion's main force had made a brief stop at noon to eat a simple lunch. The march was tedious, and after several shichen of traveling, everyone was somewhat weary. Upon hearing the order to set up camp, the ranks grew a bit restless and disorderly; everyone was eager to rest.

The standard-bearing troopers planted the Zhao Character Battalion's great banner—red-bordered on a black field—into the ground. This marked the campsite. The entire army halted. The cavalry turned to standby, ready for battle. The main force's column shifted into a horizontal line. The ox and horse carts at the rear slowly moved forward; the camp and fortifications would be constructed mainly using the cart frames. Cavalrymen also rode back along the riverbank; they were to notify the canal boat fleet following behind.

Zhao Jin sat on his horse, expressionless, watching the Zhao Character Battalion gradually move into position. Thanks to the years of uninterrupted march drills, everyone proceeded methodically, without any oversights. Everything seemed normal and could be logically explained: the main Smelling Incense Sect rebel force had gone to attack Ziyang, the prefectural seat of Yanzhou, leaving Jining city empty inside. Upon learning of the Zhao Character Battalion's main force attacking, they dared not act rashly and merely shut their gates to defend. Yet this kind of "normal" was simply far too abnormal.

"Thump." Faintly, the sound of a drumbeat could be heard. This shouldn't be noise from the Zhao Character Battalion. Zhao Jin raised his head to look toward Jining city. The drumming should be coming from that direction. Had he misheard?

Seeing that his fellow troopers had the same reaction, Zhao Jin knew it wasn't an auditory hallucination. In the very next moment, the drumming grew louder, then transformed into a thunderous roar, as countless drums and gongs were struck simultaneously.

Every man in the Zhao Character Battalion's main force was startled by this sudden roar, lifting their heads to look at the city. That it had been so deathly still just moments before, and then erupted into such a sudden, explosive roar, was truly shocking beyond measure.

As the thunderous gongs and drums sounded, countless banners and flags suddenly rose atop the city walls, as if sprouting from the battlements out of thin air. Banners of every color waved and swayed above the walls. At the same time, countless people shouted and howled, as if the entire city of Jining, top to bottom, was bellowing and roaring. It was truly like a roaring mountain and a tsunami, shaking heaven and earth.

After being startled, the Zhao Character Battalion's ranks began to grow somewhat disordered. The scene was utterly bizarre and utterly shocking. Unable to fathom what mystery the city was conjuring, even the company and squad commanders at every level were somewhat stunned, too dazed to even manage their men.

Amid this terrifying display, the previously tightly shut city gates suddenly swung wide open. Like a reservoir opening its sluice gates, a countless torrent of people surged outward, rushing out.

The shouting from atop the city walls gradually coalesced into a unified chant: "The Central Prosperity Fortune and Virtue, Maitreya Descends to the World." So many people shouting in unison was truly soul-shaking.

The human torrent surged out from the city gates, seemingly endless. The rushing flow of people pressed forward ceaselessly, like a tidal wave crashing forth, submerging everything, devouring everything.

Thank you to the two old friends, "Light in the Darkness, User" and "Great Ming * Warrior," for your tips. Great Ming Warrior needs more subscriptions, monthly tickets, and tips. Once I adjust my condition, I'll release some big news. I want to test my limits and go all out for a few months. Please look forward to it, everyone.