Chapter 981: The Bandits Breach the City

But the uproar grew louder and louder, the chaos more and more violent. In the direction from which the shouts and turmoil rose, a great fire had even ignited. Just as everyone was panicked and uncertain, someone suddenly came running with news: the rebels of the Smelling Incense Sect had entered the city!

This news struck like a bolt from the blue, terrifying everyone who heard it. Hadn't they been scattered and slain by the government relief troops during the day? How could they have infiltrated the city? No matter how much they doubted and refused to believe, the shouts of slaughter and the flames were no illusion. And this great chaos was spreading toward the whole city. Looking again at the raging fire over the princely city, should they go fight the fire, or protect their own homes first...

When they understood what the shouted slogans were, the common folk of Ziyang City felt their hearts and gall bladders split from terror. Those rebels had actually charged in. Many able-bodied young men had been conscripted to stand guard on the city walls and had seen that dark, dense encampment and the troops putting on a show of besieging the city. Upon hearing they had entered, their first instinct was that an unknown number of men were pouring in to kill, so they simply called their families to flee first.

Even if one wanted to resist, alone and outnumbered, how could they contend with the ferocious and crazed Smelling Incense Sect rebels? Those rebels only wanted to indulge themselves in one final spree before death, to live enough to break even. And that was not even counting the blades and weapons still in their hands.

As for the local ruffians and vagrants who were never content in the first place, they grew excited at this moment. The chaos of war was the perfect time to make a fortune. In the looting and violence, no one would know who did what—they could just blame it all on the Smelling Incense Sect rebels. Besides, the rebels had already fought their way into the city; at worst, they could just convert and join the army themselves.

These ruffians and vagrants banded together, wielding all sorts of implements, and began their work, wildly shouting "Maitreya Descends, Western Paradise Kingdom" as they did. This threw the situation in the city into even greater chaos. No one knew how many rebels had entered. Watching the burning Princely City of Lu and listening to the din and clamor in their ears, everyone felt that the end of Ziyang City had come.

Just as the great chaos in the city was about to erupt, the Zhao Character Battalion's unit silently left Ziyang City. The cavalry was used as the rearguard this time; if the government troops in the city dared to pursue, they would immediately turn and strike back.

However, when the government troops in the city reached this city gate, they were completely baffled, unable to figure out what the other side was trying to do. Were they colluding with the Smelling Incense Sect rebels? But there was practically no one outside the gate. How many could have slipped in during such a short time? And if one wanted to rebel and breach the city, there was absolutely no reason to abandon the city gate. The gate was just left empty like that, and the encampment was empty too. If one wanted to seize Ziyang City, these two critical points had to be held.

From the city wall, they could see traces of that strange unit of "government troops." In the dark of night, the people moving with lantern light were very conspicuous. But the government troops did not leave the city to pursue. Who knew what tricks might be lurking in the darkness beyond the lamplight? They could not afford to truly fall into the enemy's trap. However, judging from inside and out, they could deduce that even if bandits had entered the city, their numbers could not be very large. Just closing the city gates would be enough to suppress them.

After the household troops led by Zhao Jin assembled at the city gate, they headed straight in the direction of Jining. Even if someone on the city wall peered out, they only saw them disappear into the darkness, not knowing where they had gone.

Having routed the refugee camp, launched a night raid on the Princely Estate of Lu after entering the city, and then withdrawn the entire unit, neither the household troops nor the horses of the Zhao Character Battalion had gotten sufficient rest. But at this moment, they could not afford to worry about that. The most critical thing now was to get as far away from Ziyang City as possible.

Traveling at night, they did not worry about encountering any enemies. In the pitch black, even bandits could not see. To be absolutely safe, they still had the household troops of Mongol origin ride ahead to scout and screen. They were considered the group whose men and horses were in the best condition.

They traveled like this until daybreak. Looking back, the city of Ziyang was no longer in sight. They found a hollow that sheltered from the wind and hid them from view, went in to feed the horses and rest. Zhao Jin only gave everyone an hour and a half. After the brief rest, they had to continue on the road; there could be no delay.

Centurion Qiao Shan was somewhat relieved. If they wanted to kill him to silence him, there had been countless opportunities during the night march. Yet the Zhao Character Battalion had simply led his family forward in silence, showing no intention of making a move. At this moment, they even brought over hot soup and dry rations. Qiao Shan was fairly steady of mind, but his family did not think so. They had been anxious and terrified since the night before, and were utterly baffled by their current predicament. The only thing they knew was that the Princely Estate of Lu had been bathed in blood by these people before them, and their own family might very well have become accomplices.

Originally a respectable official family, now they bore the status of rebels. Thinking of this, grief truly welled up from their hearts. The men's faces were ashen with defeat, and the women wept outright. Centurion Qiao Shan could only patiently console them, enduring and bearing the quiet complaints of his family. He could not say, after all, that if he had not agreed, the entire family would have met a violent death months ago.

He had been threatened back in Xuzhou and had witnessed their fearsome power. Naturally, he had to readily agree to the demands the Zhao Character Battalion made at the time. But upon returning to Shandong, returning to the prefectural city of Ziyang, he thought he had reached a place of safety and treated his prior agreement as a passing breeze. Who could have imagined that the Zhao Character Battalion also had arrangements within this city? The person who came to his door put it simply: you must do as instructed. If you do not, you will die and your family will be wiped out. If you try to report us, we will die, but you will still die and your family will be wiped out. You have been to Xuzhou and know the strength of our Master Jin. Whether he can truly accomplish this, you can weigh it yourself.

It was not that Centurion Qiao Shan had not considered informing the authorities, so that multiple parties could join forces and wipe out these audacious Xuzhou desperadoes in one fell swoop. But he had also been to Xuzhou, and no matter how he thought, he could not conceive of a way to eliminate the threat forever. He still remembered the scene of the Zhao Character Battalion routing the Baoding Garrison's government troops in open battle. With such strength, the Princely Estate of Lu and the various government offices in Shandong had absolutely no way to deal with Xuzhou. No one could stop Xuzhou's methods. If he did not agree, no matter how you looked at it, it was a dead end.

Moreover, Centurion Qiao of the Guard Corps had other considerations. He had been handling official duties in Yanzhou Prefecture, Shandong for so many years, and had watched the region grow more turbulent day by day. He also constantly heard from various sources about the court's defeats in Liaodong and the southwest. In such times, Xuzhou could be so prosperous and peaceful. Placing a bet there might not necessarily be a dead end.

Having thought it through, he agreed. By the time the "relatives" came to his door and moved in, Centurion Qiao knew he no longer had a choice and could only follow through step by step. However, Centurion Qiao was not as downcast and pessimistic as his family. The news of the great victory beneath Jining City was still completely unknown within Ziyang City, but he already knew of it. Such rampant and vicious Smelling Incense Sect rebels had been quelled so overwhelmingly by the Xuzhou troops. This only increased his confidence.

Still, people always have their little calculations. Watching his family exhausted and bedraggled, listening to their complaints, Centurion Qiao consoled and endured while glancing toward the Zhao Character Battalion's ranks, hoping to see a state of disheveled exhaustion among the Zhao Character Battalion's household troops, hoping someone would fall behind during the night march. That would at least give him a little satisfaction.

But after observing, Centurion Qiao was disappointed. From top to bottom, the Zhao Character Battalion was indeed very tired, yet showed no sign of disarray. Everything followed regulations, everything operated with strict precision. And last night, advancing under the dim lamplight, if it had been government troops, there would certainly have been desertions and stragglers. Yet the Zhao Character Battalion had not a single man missing.

Seeing all this, Centurion Qiao Shan took another deep breath, thinking to himself that he had best keep those little calculations to a minimum. From now on, his family's future and safety would be one with Xuzhou.

"It's fortunate there's hardly anyone around; otherwise, we couldn't even get a mouthful of hot water," Liu Yong said in a muffled voice. Lighting fires to cook would create smoke, easily spotted by outsiders. However, with the great horde of refugees passing through and scattering, the common folk either entering the city or being swept away, and no traveling merchants to speak of, it was actually quite convenient for the Zhao Character Battalion.

After refilling Zhao Jin's bamboo tube, Liu Yong handed it back and spoke again: "If the chaos in Ziyang City is still ongoing, we should be able to see smoke and dust after daybreak. The disturbance should have subsided by now."

"As soon as it's light, the chaos can't continue. Ziyang City has enough strength inside. The bandits and the thugs looting in the confusion only amount to a handful of people," Zhao Jin said.

Liu Yong nodded, but then asked with concern: "Big Brother, will the government troops pursue us?"

"They don't even know how badly things went at Jining yet. Besides, the bandit threat is still present. With just those soldiers, they might not even have enough to defend the city; how would they dare to come out after us?" Zhao Jin replied with a smile.

Over on the other side, Ma Chonghao had made his rounds and came over, sitting down below Liu Yong. He smiled and said, "Master Jin, Master Yong, our Zhao Character Battalion is still young after all. When we moved against the princely city last night, we must have killed quite a few of the old, weak, women, and children. The household troops all look rather uncomfortable. Though those of Mongol origin are heartless and carefree about it."

Zhao Jin and Liu Yong exchanged a glance, both shaking their heads helplessly and sighing. Zhao Jin took a gloomy sip of water and said, "Such things have to be done. We won't do them often in the future. But feeling uncomfortable in the heart is a good thing. If indiscriminate slaughter becomes a habit, men's hearts grow violent and rash, and military discipline becomes hard to enforce."

Ma Chonghao nodded with a smile, then directly changed the subject: "Master Jin, what do we plan to do about the Prince of Lu over in Weihui Prefecture, Henan?"

"It's not that everyone who's caused trouble must be killed. Weihui Prefecture is separated from us by the Yellow River and doesn't get in our way. Why bother with them?" Zhao Jin said irritably. Ma Chonghao chuckled a few times and said, "Master Jin, from here on, the stage for our Xuzhou is going to be grand."

"Xu Hongru is still in Zou County, and Jining City hasn't been taken yet. It's not a sure thing," Zhao Jin said calmly.

Liu Yong remained silent at the side. He knew that Ma Chonghao's seemingly presumptuous words were actually a gesture of closeness. After the slaughter at the Princely Estate of Lu, Ma Chonghao was truly one of their own now.

"Big Brother, the Prince of Lu and his heir have been killed. Will the court arrange for some relative or nephew of the Prince of Lu to inherit the title? Wouldn't that make everything we did a waste?"

"No. Do you think the court actually wants so many feudal princes? The Emperor is willing to enfeoff his own sons and brothers—that benefits his own house. But for those clan relatives who branched off decades or centuries ago, he doesn't have such good intentions. One more feudal prince means the court loses that much more tax grain and revenue. One less prince means they gain quite a bit. Everyone above and below can calculate this profit and loss clearly," Zhao Jin replied.

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