"What are our casualties?"
"Seven wounded. One took a bad hit, but he isn't dead," a soldier reported. "The bandits are a rabble, but their fortress was solidly built. It wasn't an easy assault." These brigands had clumsy martial arts and no origin power to speak of. Against regular troops, what could they do except lie down and wait to die?
Fu Xin spat. "Didn't men still get hurt? There are villages everywhere—why couldn't we just take one of those? Food and drink right there for the taking, far better than this forsaken wilderness."
Attacking law-abiding commoners was always easier than storming a bandit lair.
"This place is far better concealed," Hong Chenglüe answered offhandedly as he walked out of the row house. "And there is no shortage of food and drink here either."
Back when he lived in Bailu Town, he had known this fortress was the largest gang within a hundred li, boasting more than three hundred men. With so many mouths to feed every day, they could never have survived purely on raids down the mountain. Rumor had it that these bandits colluded with merchants at the foot of the mountains, trading their plunder for grain.
Even though Hong Chenglüe had launched a surprise assault, it had taken four or five two-hour periods to bring the stronghold down. When they opened the storehouses afterward, they found grain and supplies of every kind in abundance, much to everyone's delight.
In truth, every peasant knew that when harvests were poor and stealing from neighbors was impossible, one could always dig out the field mice at the edge of the fields. A mouse hole might yield a pleasant surprise—at the very least, enough to cover several meals.
Evidently, the "field mice" they slaughtered this time had run a thrifty household, with surpluses kept even in lean years.
"Hong!" The moment Fu Xin laid eyes on him, his vision went red with fury. He lunged forward and grabbed Hong Chenglüe by the collar. "Leaving us in that mine pit to die—what the hell did you mean by that?!"
The bodyguards behind Hong Chenglüe stepped forward to drag him off, but Hong Chenglüe raised a hand to stop them.
"I ordered everyone to withdraw, yet you refused," Hong Chenglüe said coldly. "You disobeyed military orders and brought about the total destruction of your force, and that is somehow my fault?"
"You never went down the mountain to intercept the government troops! Why?!"
"We descended the mountain and found no sign of the government troops. We could hardly return empty-handed, so we set out to carry out Marshal Nian's overarching mission—striking behind enemy lines and burning grain supplies. What is wrong with that?"
Fu Xin looked left and right. Though furious, he had not completely lost his head, and he soon noticed the disparity in numbers. "So did you succeed in burning them? Well?! Did you use us as bait, kill the provincial governor, and burn the grain, or not?!"
His voice grew louder and louder until it became a raw roar. Soldiers came pouring out of the row houses.
Hong Chenglüe seized Fu Xin's wrist, twisted it outward, and drove a fist into his chest, sending him stumbling back five paces until he nearly collapsed onto the dirt.
Fu Xin's personal guards immediately surged forward.
Holding his hands behind his back, Hong Chenglüe asked, "Where is General Baili? At the very worst, you could have evacuated through the mine tunnels out the back of the mountain, couldn't you?"
The way he had left for Baili Qing and his men was not a dead end.
So long as he acted swiftly, Baili Qing had still stood a chance of escaping.
Fu Xin held his tongue in bitter sulking, leaving one of his bodyguards to answer for him: "The Xiazhou troops circled around to the back of the mountain, blasted the tunnel exits shut, and flushed the men out with smoke. General Baili... was captured. We lay in ambush on the ridge and watched—the leading Xiazhou commander executed every last one of them."
A commotion broke out across the fortress. Even on Hong Chenglüe's brow, a blue vein twitched.
The government troops had slaughtered Baili Qing and all the surrendered soldiers from the mine? Ruthless.
Yet thinking it over, when on the march transporting grain with no convenient way to handle prisoners, putting them to the sword was indeed the simplest solution.
He fixed his gaze on Fu Xin. "Then how did you survive? Did you turn tail out of cowardice?"
Fu Xin bristled with rage, but the chilling frost in Hong Chenglüe's eyes froze his spine. Stiffening his neck, he ground out, "We caught the enemy off guard and hacked our way out!"
"Abandoning one's commander and fleeing is punishable by beheading under military law," Hong Chenglüe said, his words sending a shiver through the man's core.
"However, we are short on hands. I will give you a chance to redeem yourself through meritorious service." Hong Chenglüe suddenly drew his blade. Fu Xin felt only an icy bite across the back of his hand, the pain following a heartbeat later.
A severed little finger tumbled to the ground.
He let out a sharp howl of agony, clutching his left hand as blood poured without stopping.
Waiting until the screams subsided slightly, Hong Chenglüe continued, "If you dare stir up trouble again—whether speaking out of turn against your superiors, instigating discord, or shrinking back in fear of death—it will be your head that drops next."
Fu Xin bowed his head, no longer daring to meet his gaze, though his back teeth ground together with an audible crunch.
Hong Chenglüe swept his eyes over the crowd, and every soldier lowered their head.
With Baili Qing dead, this army had no choice but to follow Hong Chenglüe's command. Nor did they have anywhere else to go; Xiazhou was deep behind enemy lines.
Hong Chenglüe added, "Strip off your clothes."
Fu Xin looked up in disbelief. "What?"
"Strip and submit to inspection, lest someone has placed a tracking spell on you."
Under the gaze of over a hundred pairs of eyes, Fu Xin's face turned crimson. "No, I... I..." Stripping naked before so many soldiers was more agonizing than death.
Deputy General Xu Yingxian hurried forward to smooth things over. "Conducting the search inside one of the row houses works just as well! General, that will do as well."
Hong Chenglüe nodded.
Several guards stepped forward and escorted Fu Xin into a small cabin off to the side.
Hong Chenglüe turned and strode off, his expression cold as ice.
Wu Qing had been watching from inside a row house the entire time. Only now did he emerge to ask, "General Hong, what do you plan to do next?"
"Bide our time and conceal our strength. He Chunhua's nearly ten thousand dan of grain will certainly reach the front lines; there is no way for us to intercept it now. We can only wait for the next opportunity to strike behind enemy lines."
"Dispatch some men to circulate through three or four of the central and northern counties and townships to gather intelligence," Hong Chenglüe said, having already formed his plan. "In addition, request another three hundred light cavalry from Marshal Nian for me."
The two entered a row house. Seeing that no one else was present, Wu Qing lowered his voice. "General Baili fell, and Fu Xin escaped back here. That wasn't an accident, was it?"
"Of course not," Hong Chenglüe snorted. "The Xiazhou troops deliberately let them go to cause trouble for me. Fu Xin still has over a dozen men with him. Our surprise attack on the Xinhuang camp failed, and morale is low, so this is no time to dispose of him."
He lowered his voice as well. "When does the court expect me to return to Beijia?"
"National Preceptor Shuangye said you should hold out behind enemy lines for as long as possible. You must devote your efforts to the situation on the Han River front."
The Han River front? In other words, when he could return to Beijia depended on his performance at the Han River? Hong Chenglüe pondered for a moment. "I have been gone for too long. Which National Preceptor currently holds the paramount position in our kingdom?"
"Presently, National Preceptor Mianbing holds the seal in rotation." Holding the seal conferred supreme executive authority; the four National Preceptors had always taken turns wielding it.
Hong Chenglüe's pupils contracted slightly, but quickly returned to normal. "What a coincidence. She was holding the seal when I left as well." No wonder National Preceptor Shuangye's words lacked backing.
Wu Qing offered an obliging smile. "Indeed, indeed." Yet inwardly he thought, *I had long heard there was bad blood between General Hong and National Preceptor Mianbing. It seems the rumors are true.*
The two continued discussing supplies. Soon, a bodyguard arrived to report:
"Fu Xin's search is complete. No tracking arts or implements were found."
"Understood." Hong Chenglüe waved him away, well aware that after this search, Fu Xin would hate him to the bone.
Moreover, many soldiers in the stronghold harbored complaints against him. After all, Hong Chenglüe was a native of Beijia, while these men were Xunzhou light cavalry. Remarks like "the Beijia general treats Xunzhou lives like dirt" had reached Hong Chenglüe's own ears during his rounds.
Troops that were not his own were never easy to command.
He turned back to Wu Qing. "How is A-Jin? Has she settled in comfortably?"
Wu Qing smiled. "Rest assured, that village is exceptionally well hidden. The lady has two attentive elderwomen attending to her meals and washing, and people to chat with her. She is far more comfortable than you are."
Hong Chenglüe still felt a trace of worry. "I was thinking... should I bring her over here?"
"Better not," Wu Qing said candidly. "We have no fixed abode and never know when we might have to move. A... delicate woman marching alongside light cavalry would find it far too arduous." Above all, it was inconvenient.
Hong Chenglüe let out a breath and nodded, knowing in his rational mind that this was the right choice.
Wu Qing continued, "Over the past few days, every township and village has been hunting down bandits and spies, running strict checks on outsiders and unfamiliar faces. I hear the gaol in Haotian Township is packed to bursting, and several dozen people have already been dragged out to be beheaded for public display. Panic reigns everywhere, and tensions are higher than ever before."
"Mr. Wu, will you be implicated?"
"I will be fine. My caravan carries official documents, so nothing can touch my head. In lean years like this, merchants like us are more vital than ever." Wu Qing sighed. "The local officials are also spending tremendous effort sending men through every mountain village, digging three feet into the earth to root out Xunzhou troops. You truly had great foresight, General Hong. If you had casually occupied a mountain village to settle down in, you would be forced to beat an ignominious retreat by now."
"This is likely the provincial governor's decree; local officials have no choice but to comply. I burned over ten thousand dan of He Chunhua's military grain, and he must be driven mad with rage."
Wu Qing laughed. "Indeed. Bounties for your capture are about to be plastered across every corner of central and northern Xiazhou."
Hong Chenglüe's concern was not for himself. "Is there a bounty on A-Jin?"
"None that I have seen."
Their discussion concluded, the two parted to attend to their respective tasks.
***
Benlei Village.
Spring waters were rising, and the creek gurgled gently.
Two peasant women were washing clothes by the stream. Looking up at the sky, one murmured, "Why does it look like rain already? It was bright and sunny when we came out!"
A vast expanse of dark clouds had drifted in from somewhere, swallowing half the sky. Sunlight still shone brightly above their heads, but the eastern sky was swallowed in murky black.
"Hurry up and wash. Once we're done, we head straight back."
"What is it with this spring? Nothing but endless rain. After all the trouble of getting some sun, it only lasts a few hours," the woman complained. "The firewood is all damp. Lighting a fire is a chore, and the smoke chokes you half to death."
"Aunt Liu, let me ask you something," the other woman said. "Don't you help out in Village Head Chen's kitchen? I heard several relatives came to stay at his place?"
"Ah, yes." Aunt Liu beat the laundry vigorously on the stones. "Word is she's a female relative from an affluent household in the south. She fell ill and was sent to the countryside to recuperate in peace."
"How come I heard quite a few people came?"
"It is quite a few. Three or four elderwomen alone, plus several men who look like compound guards... or escorts? One is lean and wiry, the other burly. Whenever they look at anyone, it's like a glare. Fierce-looking as can be," Aunt Liu said. "All of them came just to wait on that lady."
The other woman wondered aloud, "What illness could she have that keeps her from being treated in the city instead of being sent down to the countryside?" Everyone knew conditions were better in the city; even if the countryside had one or two physicians, they were mere barefoot doctors whose medicine could never hold a candle to the big cities.
"I wouldn't know either. I only know the village head gave up his main house for them to live in. That noble lady stays inside all day long—scarcely anyone has ever caught a glimpse of her."
Chapter 287