He Chunhua's Dilemma

"Driven by profit and seeking fame?" "Otherwise, after suffering such a catastrophe, wouldn't one be either utterly disheartened and living under an assumed name, or seething with resentment and biding their time for revenge? Who would pursue an official career so eagerly?" By the time Dong Rui barely pulled the ghost ape back from death's door, the sun was slanting toward the west. Hong Chenglüe had just received a report from a scout who had hidden in Xinhuang all night gathering intelligence on the enemy and had only now returned to the mine pit. "They intend to set out tomorrow morning?" Hong Chenglüe dismissed the man, tapped his fingers twice on the battered wooden table, and asked, "What about the scout sent to Bailu Town? Is he back yet?" Xu Yingxian answered at once, "Not yet." "We are so close to Bailu Town. Why isn't he back?" "Uh..." Xu Yingxian was tactful. "I'll dispatch someone else right away!" Hong Chenglüe said nothing until Xu Yingxian had stepped outside before calling him back: "Halt!" "General?" "Whom did you send?" "Liu Si." "Is he usually reliable?" At the end of the day, these were Xunzhou light cavalrymen who had not even known him a few days ago, not the Beijia army he had once led. He had yet to gain a deep understanding of this troop's combat habits and capabilities. "Liu Si has always been punctual and cautious. This is the first time he hasn't returned past the appointed hour." When things went against the ordinary, Hong Chenglüe felt a slight chill in his heart and thought, *Not good.* He had lived in Bailu Town for years, and the tracks he left behind could not be scrubbed away in a short time. "No need to look for him." This was his own oversight. "Order camp struck. It's no longer safe here; we're moving!" Only a handful of locals knew about this abandoned mine pit, making it an excellent hideout. What a pity. "What?" Tao Ze was taken aback. The others heard it too. Xu Yingxian immediately answered, "Yes, sir," but two other officers stood up. "That's ill-advised! Liu Si might have simply been delayed on the road; it doesn't mean something went wrong in Bailu Town!" "General Baili and so many brothers have only just received treatment. They need quiet rest right now and shouldn't be jolted around during a move. We can't drag everyone into a massive commotion just because Liu Si is an hour overdue and assume the enemy captured him." "Indeed, it's ill-advised!" These men were from Xunzhou, subordinates of Nian Zanli. Even though Nian Zanli had designated Hong Chenglüe as the commander-in-chief for operations behind enemy lines, they were not truly convinced in their hearts, feeling far closer to Baili Qing. Even if there were other places to take shelter, they couldn't openly travel along the official roads. It was bound to be the roughest mountain trails, where even a healthy person riding horseback would have their rear end go numb from the jolts, let alone critically injured men like Baili Qing who could least endure being shaken up. A few violent jolts might reopen their wounds and put their lives in danger once more. Under such circumstances, they felt Hong Chenglüe was jumping at shadows and making a fuss over nothing. Hong Chenglüe took no offense, merely asking them, "Then what do you propose?" "Send someone to Bailu Town again to make sure." Hong Chenglüe voiced no objection and even smiled faintly. "Fine, we'll do it that way." The two officers thought General Hong seemed rather genial, not nearly as ruthless, decisive, and brooking no defiance as the legends made him out to be. *** Under the old man's guidance, He Lingchuan and his group headed into the mountains. The old man was surnamed Shan and was no horseman. He Lingchuan had even hired a carriage for him, lest his old bones fall apart before they reached the destination. "I haven't been to that mine pit in ten years," Old Man Shan said, leaning out the carriage window to scan the terrain, terrified of missing the small path. "Mr. Hong was known to everyone as a good man. When my old woman nicked things from his house, he never made a fuss about it. He often went into the mountains to hunt game and would share some with us. I remember he once bagged a big wild boar—huge, must have been over five hundred jin. He wasn't stingy either, handing it out to the neighbors in the alley. *Sigh,* who'd have thought he was actually working for the Xunzhou people?" Was Hong Chenglüe merely working for the Xunzhou men? He had clearly gone to be their commander; Old Man Shan simply didn't know. He Lingchuan casually remarked, "Seems you have plenty of wild game in these mountains." "They used to run all over the place, but over the past few years they've gotten scarcer and scarcer. If you go into the mountains for a whole day and catch a single rabbit, that's Heaven showing mercy," Old Man Shan shook his head. "Once, Mr. Hong spent two days in the mountains and came back empty-handed, saying the woods were completely barren." "Eaten clean?" Indeed, having traveled this far, they hadn't spotted a single hare. "Aye. Harvests have been poor these past few years, and the authorities demand taxes fiercely. When folks have no food, don't they have to look for other things to eat?" Old Man Shan suddenly pointed. "Right here! Go in!" Where he pointed, there was no road, only dense brambles and grass. Jiao Tai drew a machete and slashed through the thick brush, hacking away a mess of tall blades before revealing what looked like a faint path. Young saplings stood crowded along it, clearly having sprung up in recent years. "It really is here! Look, I carved a mark into that boulder!" Everyone looked over and saw a knife-carved triangle on the black rock beside a stunted locust tree, though overgrown with moss and barely recognizable. "Back when we finished our shift, we'd take this shortcut back to town and save an hour!" The carriage could go no further, so Shan Youjun seated the old man in front of his saddle, and the group pressed on. The journey rose and fell, even requiring them to wade across streams and ravines. Without an experienced guide leading the way, it would have been impossible to navigate. Over an hour later, Old Man Shan pointed toward the low hill ahead. "Cross over that, and you'll see the mine pit." Maotao crept to the hilltop, peered down, and nodded to He Lingchuan. He Lingchuan immediately fished out three taels of silver and pressed them into Old Man Shan's hand. "Thank you. Here's your payment." He gave one tael more than agreed upon. Deeply grateful, Old Man Shan brushed cobwebs from his forehead and asked, "Would you folks like to know the other way out of the mine pit?" The others were startled. "There's another exit to the pit?" "Originally there wasn't." Old Man Shan took a sip of water, keeping everyone in suspense. He Lingchuan reached out and handed him another few qian of broken silver before the old man finally led them around the back of the mountain. On this point alone, He Lingchuan felt he and his old woman were truly a perfect match—cut from the exact same cloth. "Fourteen years ago, the mine was still running, with nearly a hundred men working each day. I remember back then, it was just two days before the New Year, and everyone was eager to wrap up quickly and go home. But right in the heat of the digging, the shaft suddenly caved in again." "Four or five died on the spot, and the remaining dozen or so were completely trapped. We thought we were done for, but who knew the rock wall deep within the shaft had also cracked open, letting light filter in—only the opening was too small. We used our pickaxes to widen the crack into an opening. Landslides hit several times along the way, burying the gap over and over, and we dug it out again and again before we finally clawed our way to safety." "It's been so long since then, I don't even know if that exit is still open." Following the ridge downward for over a li, Maotao suddenly hushed them from ahead: "Don't move!" The five happened to be passing between two massive boulders. Through the gap in the rocks, they could see two men sitting around a fire beyond the ravine ahead, weapons tucked at their waists. Sentries. Seeing this, He Lingchuan felt reassured. If the mine pit had no rear exit, what were the Xunzhou men doing posting two sentries here? Sure enough, Old Man Shan pointed toward that spot, indicating that the exit was right there. Hong Chenglüe had indeed planned meticulously when picking this abandoned mine pit as his base, even preparing an escape route. The five crept back quietly without disturbing the two guards. Once back near the mine pit, Old Man Shan said, "Since you officers have business to attend to, I'll be heading back." This clearly looked like the prelude to a pitched brawl; an old man like him couldn't survive it, so he had to slip away fast. The carriage was waiting for him at the end of the path, and he knew how to drive it. Only after the old man's retreating figure vanished at the end of the trail did Maotao turn and sneak toward the mine pit. The remaining three waited patiently. After about half a quarter of an hour, Maotao crept back and whispered, "There are at least six lookouts around the mine pit, all holding high vantage points where they can keep watch over everything. The open pit must be seventy to eighty zhang across. Shooting arrows from here wouldn't reach where they're eating. Beside the pit, there are a dozen or so low huts with Xunzhou men coming and going. I saw some carrying out basins of bloody water to dump; wounded men are probably lying inside." "I also heard a loud shriek—looked like Dong Rui's bizarre bird was perched on a roof preening its wings." Indeed, the aroma of cooked rice drifted up with the wind. The others asked He Lingchuan, "What do we do now?" With hundreds of enemy soldiers below and only four on their side, there was no taking them down. He Lingchuan tapped Jiao Tai. "Head back to Xinhuang to report to Father and let him decide. The rest of you, stay flat here with me and gnaw on rations." Jiao Tai took his orders, turned, and departed. Since Dong Rui's bizarre bird was here as well—sharp of ear and eye, and capable of flight—their movements had to be all the more stealthy. *** Inside a single-story brick house, He Chunhua sat staring blankly at the military loss report on the table. The grain convoy had been routed at Bailu Town, losing ten thousand dan of grain. Things were somewhat better here in Xinhuang, but over a hundred men had been killed or wounded, and more than four hundred jin of grain had been burned. Given the current state of the Yuan Kingdom, every grain levy required tightening belts, practically wringing the common folk dry once more. Even a meager amount like this would make Ke Jihai in the west drool with envy. Yet He Chunhua had personally escorted it this time, and before even reaching the front lines, half of the twenty thousand dan allocated by the royal court was already gone. When he met Zhao Pan, he would inevitably be at a distinct disadvantage. This left him deeply disgruntled. At the same time, he was torn: should he halt to hunt down the remaining Xunzhou cavalry, or safely deliver the provisions to the front line first? Looking at the bigger picture, he ought to choose the latter. As a supply convoy, the security of the provisions came first, as did keeping the soldiers at the front fed. Yet even if he chose that course, there was no telling whether Hong Chenglüe would strike again to burn the rest of the supplies. In that case, his side would be on the back foot. If he took the initiative and attacked... His surviving aides had already discussed it with him twice, and all of them insisted on prioritizing the grain transport. Yet He Chunhua had still not made up his mind. To bring this ambush battle to a close like this left him unwilling, and it would be hard to answer for upon his return. Just then, a voice called out from outside: "The Eldest Young Master's attendant requests an audience." Word had finally arrived! He Chunhua's spirits lifted. "Enter." Jiao Tai arrived covered in dust from the road, his lips cracked and parched. Before he even had time to take a drink of water, he rushed in to report the intelligence on Bailu Town and the mine pit to He Chunhua.