Playing Their Hands

For this operation, He Lingchuan felt he had nothing to hide, which was why he had sent such a blunt, straightforward man. Of course, it was also because Jiao Tai possessed the finest sense of direction and navigation in the wilderness. If his old man resolved to strike, they would have a dependable guide to lead the way. By now, Elder Liang of Chuanyun Pavilion had also arrived and taken a seat to listen. When Jiao Tai explained that the remnants of the Xunzhou roving cavalry were hiding in an abandoned mine pit, that their own side had gunpowder, and that they had discovered the rear exit of the mining tunnel, He Chunhua could not help but shout several hearty "Good!"s. He slammed his hand onto the table and stood up. "Can you still find the way to that mine pit?" "Naturally!" He Chunhua could finally make his decision. "You lead the way. We depart at once!" As he spoke those words, a profound sense of relief washed through him. Turning to Elder Liang, he said, "As for Xinhuang, I must trouble Elder Liang to watch over it." "Think nothing of it," Elder Liang signed with his hands, his disciple beside him translating aloud. "Chuanyun Pavilion is willing to do whatever modest part we can." He Chunhua immediately ordered the army to prepare to march. Half an hour later, He Chunhua personally led a force of one thousand two hundred men out of Xinhuang heading west, rushing straight toward the abandoned mine pit of Bailu Town. Wu Shaoyi was left with five hundred men to hold the garrison at Xinhuang, assisted by Elder Liang of Chuanyun Pavilion. *** The abandoned mine pit. Hong Chenglüe was eating his meal, alternating bites of yellow millet steamed buns with gulps of hot water, wolfing it down. The millet buns were coarse, somewhat dry, and caught in the throat. Yet Hong Chenglüe ate with great relish; these were the best steamed buns he had tasted in nearly two months. Once the millet reached his stomach, it swelled with the hot water, bringing a deep and satisfying fullness. On the table sat half a golden-roasted pheasant. Although the feathers had not been entirely plucked and the skin was slightly charred, the soldiers who had temporarily served as cooks had done their best. Hong Chenglüe did not touch the roast bird. Instead, he picked up the plate and carried it into Baili Qing's sickroom. The general remained comatose and unresponsive. An officer attending at the bedside had no choice but to rise when he saw Hong Chenglüe enter. Hong Chenglüe waved a hand dismissively. "No need to stand on ceremony. How is General Baili?" "He is recovering well. He should wake soon." Hong Chenglüe set the roast pheasant on the table. "When General Baili wakes up, warm this up for him to eat." "Understood." Though Hong had given up his own ration, the officer merely suspected he was trying to win people over and did not even bother offering a proper acknowledgment. After all, this man had been promoted by Baili Qing himself. Right then, hurried thudding footsteps echoed outside, and a soldier rushed in, out of breath. "General Hong...!" Hong Chenglüe raised a hand to cut him off, stepping out of the room into the open clearing. "Come over here and speak. Do not wake General Baili." Noticing the commotion, the other officers gathered around as well. "A large force of Xiazhou troops has appeared at the foot of the mountain—nine hundred or a thousand men! They look like they're searching the mountain, generally heading in this direction!" At those words, a chill ran down everyone's scalp. Had the Xiazhou troops truly tracked them down after all? As luck would have it, the second scout dispatched to Bailu Town returned at that very moment, reporting that the first scout was dead in Hong Chenglüe's vacant house! Moreover, according to the townsfolk, people from the Xiazhou prefectural administration had indeed come inquiring about last night's happenings. Hong Chenglüe's fears were finally confirmed. The two officers immediately turned their eyes toward Hong Chenglüe, regret gnawing at their hearts. If only they had evacuated this afternoon... Everyone awaited Hong Chenglüe's decision. His expression was grave as he made a split-second call: "Xu Yingxian, Tao Ze, follow me to draw the Xiazhou army away!" He then turned to the other two officers. "You two stay behind to guard General Baili and our wounded brothers. If we fail to hold them back, retreat to Xinqiao Township." With the commander issuing decisive orders in a crisis, the two men accepted at once. The officers and men felt a surge of admiration. Fortunately, the Xunzhou roving cavalry had long grown accustomed to sleeping on their armor and weapons, ready to spring up and slay enemies at any second. In less than half a quarter of an hour, they had saddled their mounts, buckled their gear, and were ready to depart. Hong Chenglüe left another fifty men to defend the abandoned mine pit and hastily set off with the remaining two hundred seventy or eighty. They galloped forward over two hundred zhang, yet found no sign of the enemy. Advancing another two to three hundred zhang along the mountain path, there was still no trace of them. Only when the column neared the foot of the mountain did another scout come rushing over: "Reporting! The Xiazhou army has turned north." What was to the north? No one knew. Which meant, if the Xiazhou army wasn't coming this way after all... The soldiers stared intently at Hong Chenglüe, only to see him beckon Tao Ze over, whisper a few words into his ear, and assign thirty men to him. This thirty-man squad then set off toward the rear. What now? Hong Chenglüe swept his broad hand forward. "Pass my order: the entire force marches east, to Xinhuang Town!" The soldiers were stunned. What? Hong Chenglüe shot them a chilling glare. "Have you not passed the order yet?" Someone asked foolishly, "Should we send word back to the mine pit?" Xu Yingxian yanked at him. "The commander has given his orders, and we carry them out. Don't make trouble where there is none!" The cavalry force of nearly three hundred immediately marched east, neither returning to the mine pit nor sending any word back. Seeing Hong Chenglüe riding in the lead with no one beside him, Wu Qing spurred his mount to pull up abreast and asked, "Did you do this deliberately, General Hong?" Hong Chenglüe didn't even lift an eyelid. "Do what?" "You bypassed the shortest route to Xinhuang Town." Wu Qing had conducted business throughout northern Yuan and was familiar with the local roads. "Taking this route adds an hour to our ride." "But it is safe." Wu Qing gave a sudden start, then pondered for a moment. "You mean that route is occupied? By... the Xiazhou army?" This was Xiazhou territory; Governor-General He's troops could naturally march with absolute confidence, unlike their own furtive movements. Hong Chenglüe glanced at him. "You are a sharp man, Boss Wu. Nian Zanli ought to have hired you as an advisor." "Spare me. By nature, I am lazy and dislike being tied down." "When the scout failed to return, I assumed he had been captured. In that case, we had to prepare for the possibility that our hideout had been compromised. The safest course was to relocate, but those two subordinates of General Baili refused." "If I were He Chunhua, once I learned the Xunzhou men were hiding in an abandoned mine pit in Bailu Town, I would almost certainly send troops to exterminate them," Hong Chenglüe said slowly. "He is a man driven by vanity. He came to Xiazhou seeking fame and advancement. I burned ten thousand dan of his provisions; he cannot easily answer to the front lines, let alone the provincial administration, and he must feel utterly disgraced." "You know the state of Xiazhou as well as I do—held under the thumb of the Four Great Clans for years. He Chunhua barely managed to establish a footing here through two victories. If he goes back like this, his authority will be halved at the very least. Will it be so easy for him to govern both military and civil affairs after that?" Wu Qing chuckled. "Indeed. The Four Great Clans would trip him up so badly they'd snap one of his legs." "Furthermore, even if he doesn't hunt us down now, we might very well intercept his supply train later. The Luanshitan shoals north of Xinhuang offer intricate terrain perfect for an ambush. Thus, he must redeem his failure with merit; if he catches wind of our whereabouts, he will never pass up this chance." Hong Chenglüe held the reins loosely, seated with casual ease, yet murder laced his every word. "So, I shall grant his wish." Wu Qing's smile faded slightly. General Hong was treating Baili Qing, his two subordinate officers, and nearly a hundred sick, wounded, and frail men as bait! When He Chunhua led his army to swallow the lure, his rear would be completely undefended, allowing General Hong to strike swiftly and burn the provisions remaining in Xinhuang! This move to pull the rug from beneath the enemy's feet was vicious beyond measure. The Xiazhou army had wounded so many Xunzhou cavalrymen, believing those casualties would become a burden to Hong Chenglüe—never imagining they would instead become the bait that lured them out. Yet General Hong's treatment of Baili Qing and his two officers was ruthless in its own right. Having conveyed Nian Zanli's military orders, Wu Qing understood the dynamic well. Baili Qing had originally commanded the Xunzhou roving cavalry, only for Hong Chenglüe to be dropped in out of nowhere to seize command. Baili Qing harbored deep resentment, and the two had clashed over the past few days. On the other hand, if He Chunhua eliminated these disobedient leaders along with the sick and wounded, Hong Chenglüe could smoothly assume undisputed command of the Xunzhou roving cavalry afterward—an army could obey only a single voice. Wu Qing had initially assumed Hong Chenglüe would employ placating measures, but it seemed he lacked the patience for it. *** He Lingchuan was sleeping soundly when someone abruptly patted his shoulder. "Young Master, wake up!" He Lingchuan shook his head and rubbed his eyes. "What is it?" He hadn't dreamed of Panlong City again. How dull. "There's movement below," Maotao whispered. "Looks like troops are mobilizing." The young master possessed an impressive talent for sleep: using a bundle of clothes for a pillow, he could drop onto the bare ground and snore away in no time, blessed with rock-solid sleep quality. Little did he know that He Lingchuan had served as a patrol guard in the Panlong dreamscape, where sleeping rough under the open sky was standard operating procedure, something he had long grown accustomed to. "Troop mobilization?" He Lingchuan snapped wide awake. "How many?" "Their horses were kept in the woods, but now they're almost all being brought back and saddled." Where were they heading? He Lingchuan's eyes darted thoughtfully. Was Hong Chenglüe going out to raid supplies? He should have stockpiled plenty of grain from defeating Wu Shaoyi, enough that he had no short-term worries—he had even distributed the surplus to the folk of Bailu Town. Could he be raiding for medicinal supplies? Even so, that wouldn't require deploying this many men. Could it be...? Shan Youjun whispered, "Could these fellows be retreating?" "Possible," He Lingchuan mused. "After all, the scout they sent to Bailu Town never returned. Perhaps this Hong fellow is just that cautious." The three resolved to follow. However, the Xunzhou men's next maneuvers left He Lingchuan somewhat baffled. The main body geared up, mounted their horses, and set out in a tearing hurry. Yet the sentries around the mine pit had not been withdrawn, and after Maotao scouted again, he reported that there were still people down below. Quite a few remained, in fact. So they weren't relocating to pitch camp elsewhere? Then where were these two-hundred-odd Xunzhou riders bursting forth heading? The three backed away quietly, fetched their horses, and stealthily tailed them. The Xunzhou main force rode down the mountain first, appearing to loop halfway around in a circle, their intentions impossible to discern. Dusk was falling, casting deep shadows across the mountain woods. It grew increasingly difficult for Maotao to track the vanguard's traces, such as hoofprints and horse droppings. He Lingchuan instinctively rested his hand on Fusheng, the chill radiating from its hilt aiding his concentration. Right at that moment, a sudden tremor seized his heart, as though an immense peril had descended upon them. His ears twitched. Amidst the stillness of the wilderness, he caught the faint sound of suppressed breathing—and from more than one person! He couldn't help shouting a low warning: "Careful!" The words had barely left his lips when an arrow flew from the shadows, whistling straight toward Maotao!