The cavalry troop wearing white kerchiefs flowed like a surging river crashing against stone cliffs. Before a grove of dense trees thriving by a stream, they smoothly divided into two branches, circling around both flanks of the woods.
The pursuing Forbidden Army cavalry pounced from behind like fierce tigers. They paid no attention to the cavalry detachment circling eastward from the eastern flank of the woods toward East Lu Mountain—in the direction of East Lu Mountain was the main force of the retreating Qiuhu Army, with nearly two thousand cavalry able to deploy rapidly, which was not something their scouting force of less than a hundred cavalry could provoke. They pursued along the western flank of the woods, biting hard at the twenty or thirty White Kerchief Army cavalrymen fleeing southwest.
The Chishan Army had initially worn white kerchiefs tied at the collar to distinguish friend from foe when both wore Chu army armor. Later they retained the habit of tying sweat cloths at the collar. The Southern Court Forbidden Army and Chuzhou Army had also grown accustomed to calling the Chishan Army the White Kerchief Army.
The seventy or eighty Forbidden Army cavalrymen were filled with thoughts that if they could behead over ten White Kerchief Army soldiers today, the military merits gained would let them feast on fine food and drink. Shouting hoarsely, they drove their warhorses hard, excitedly brandishing their short spears and long sabers. Some took down longbows from their backs, just waiting to close the distance a bit more before drawing arrows to shoot.
The flanks of the Forbidden Army cavalry formation became exposed. Ambushers hidden in the woods raised crossbows from the brush and unleashed a volley at the Forbidden Army cavalry formation. Then the second and third teams of ambushers stepped forward with crossbows raised, row after row of crossbow bolts piercing the air in rapid, dense volleys, like wind sounds rising at the edge of the woods.
Shouts of slaughter erupted, startling the Forbidden Army cavalry into disarray, unable to attend to everything at once.
One horse tumbled to the ground along with the Forbidden Army cavalryman on its back; another warhorse’s front hooves folded as its head plunged into the grass.
In the blink of an eye, crossbow bolts dense as a locust swarm shot eight or nine Forbidden Army cavalrymen from their horses.
The other Forbidden Army cavalrymen, not knowing the true strength of the ambushers in the woods, could only hastily dodge outward. Crowding together in their wild gallop, after pulling back distance they saw spear points and pike tips flashing in the woods—fearing over a hundred were ambushed within—they could only turn their horses around and flee upstream along the stream behind them.
Han Donghu controlled the reins, leading his cavalry to turn back in pursuit. The cavalry detachment from the other side also quickly turned back to join them.
Over two hundred horse hooves trampled through muddy ground soaked by torrential rain. However, this cavalry force had already been delayed at the perimeter for over two days and nights. Both men and warhorses were exhausted, so they didn’t have much vigor in truly pursuing this team of Forbidden Army scouts. They dispersed outward—their main task was still to drive back the teams of Forbidden Army scout cavalry pressing in from the north to the outer perimeter, not letting them slow the pace of the Shuishui forces’ southern retreat.
They chased for three or four li before returning, meeting up with the ambushers from the woods and forming ranks outside the woods on guard.
Han Donghu dismounted, signaling that the Forbidden Army cavalry had fled far away. He had men strip the armor from those Southern Court Forbidden Army soldiers who had been shot from their horses before they withdrew.
Han Donghu walked through the grass. Beyond collecting the weapons dropped by enemy soldiers, he tried as much as possible to recover the crossbow bolts that had been shot. Unexpectedly, as he walked into the deep grass, a figure suddenly lunged at him from behind.
Han Donghu heard the sound in front of him and slashed his saber backward diagonally. The blade flashed like lightning. When other cavalrymen who had come to their senses rushed over to help, they saw that the attacker was actually a Forbidden Army cavalryman who had been wounded and unhorsed in the earlier ambush battle. Having failed to withdraw with the main force after falling from his horse, he had hidden in grass that reached past a man’s waist. Seeing Han Donghu appeared to be a leading military officer and knowing his hiding place would soon be discovered by searches, he attempted a sneak attack. He never expected Han Donghu to cleave him completely open with one stroke from left shoulder blade to right waist, splitting the corpse in two, hot fresh blood still gushing out.
“Brother Hu, that stroke had skill! I’d say Blind Diao isn’t worth watching compared to you. Go back and find a chance to knock him down so he stops strutting around showing off,” someone praised.
“Hurry up and clean up, then withdraw. A man hiding in the grass and all of you are blind? When we get back, see how I deal with you!” Han Donghu slapped the man with a big ear strike, urging them not to dawdle but to finish searching the battlefield and withdraw quickly.
As new cavalry came to take their place, Han Donghu led forty-some cavalrymen to withdraw toward East Lu Mountain, joining up with the main Shuishui forces retreating south.
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When nearly fifty thousand elderly, weak, women and children had withdrawn from Yanling Wharf to Maoshan, the twenty-some li had taken a full day. Many felt it unbearably slow, yet those were still military household families from Taowu Settlement accustomed to years of semi-military garrison management.
The truly scattered sand of over twenty thousand Shuishui County people, mainly composed of various families’ sons and clansmen, retreated south in chaos with the Qiuhu Army. From when Li Pu learned of the Chishan Army’s complete withdrawal and organized the southern migration, four days had already passed, yet the main body of carts and horses had only retreated to east of East Lu Mountain.
Last night’s torrential rain left the fields hopelessly muddy. The narrow official road was crowded with chaotic streams of people and carts and horses, moving forward like a snail. The speed became even slower—half a day might not cover even three to five li.
Marquis Xinchang Li Pu’s anxiety was useless. He truly couldn’t imagine how the Chishan Army had previously managed to withdraw two to three hundred thousand women and children completely into the northern foothill mountains of the Fuyu Mountains in just five days.
Two to three hundred thousand women and children—a scale over ten times theirs.
Li Xiu led over ten guards, riding horses through the muddy ground from the east. The horses’ bellies were splattered with mud. Seeing the chaotic mess on all sides, he too was unbearably anxious.
Everyone said migrant armies were a rabble, scattered sand. He had previously lacked a direct impression, but at this moment seeing the crowded Shuishui County people in such chaos, his heart was filled with despair.
Although only sixty li remained to the relatively safe southern side of Nantang Fortress where the First Corps’ five thousand elite troops were stationed, if they continued walking this slowly, he suspected it would take six or seven more days before they could circle to the south side of Nantang Fortress.
This was also the key reason migrant armies were so ill-regarded.
Forcing women, children and family members numbering several times more than the soldiers to march together, the formation became chaotic, movement delayed, exposed for extended periods, men and horses hungry and exhausted. Such a dragging, lengthy, slowly-moving formation—three thousand troops simply couldn’t provide complete protection. In the eyes of military experts, it was full of vulnerabilities easy to attack everywhere.
If the Chuzhou Army just dispatched small elite forces to launch flanking attacks, their formation stretching front to back nearly ten li in dragging fashion would probably quickly be disrupted and routed, wouldn’t it?
Much less that the Southern Court Forbidden Army had now also dispatched large numbers of scouts and reconnaissance cavalry, biting at them from the north.
“Axiu, have there been any unusual movements from the Chuzhou Army in Liyang?” Li Pu rode forward to ask.
“Fortunately, the Chuzhou Army in Liyang hasn’t shown signs of leaving the city yet,” Li Xiu replied. “The Chuzhou Army sent another thousand troops into Liyang City at dawn. The Chuzhou Army to the east has increased to over ten thousand, but I estimate they also can’t guess the intention behind the Chishan Army’s overnight southern retreat. They worry we might be bait deliberately left behind by Han Qian, that the Chishan Army’s main force could suddenly strike back from the southwest of the Jieling Mountains at any time. They probably won’t easily deploy large forces for now. We still have the ability to use our limited cavalry forces to block small enemy reconnaissance and harassment forces at the perimeter—but if the formation continues dragging on like this, it’s not a solution…”
Li Pu turned worriedly to look at the winding, chaotic formation to the south, his face also full of worry and anxiety.
Right now the Chuzhou Army and Southern Court Forbidden Army couldn’t figure out that bastard Han Qian’s intentions, but with so many of their troops dragging along the road in such disarray, internally there were also complaints everywhere and morale was scattered.
At this moment, vague clamoring sounds came from ahead. Li Pu and Li Xiu found higher ground and gazed ahead two li away. On the east side of East Lu Mountain was a relatively higher slope where over a thousand men and women along with numerous carts and horses had left the official road to rest.
That was a formation of female family members and young children and elderly led by the Wei clan and other families. Li Yu, Yun Puzi, along with the former Shuishui County Deputy and current Shuishui County Magistrate and Qiuhu Army Adjutant Wei Zhen, who had been appointed after surrendering, were all in that formation.
Li Qi and Liu Zishu each led an elite detachment protecting the left and right flanks of that formation.
Looking from afar, Li Pu saw a Chishan Army cavalry detachment blocked there, with both sides apparently in some dispute.
Li Pu and Li Xiu, surrounded by guards, crossed through the muddy fields to reach that slope. They saw Yao Xishui and Yun Puzi supporting the elder brother whose complexion was ashen with illness, together blocking Li Qi who was full of rage.
Liu Zishu, the other person responsible for leading troops to escort this formation, was now lying on the ground covered in blood, his left arm severed at the shoulder and fallen to the side. Whether he was dead or alive was unknown.
Wei Zhen was both anxious and angry, appearing thoroughly confused with rage.
Liu Zishu’s nearly two hundred soldiers were menacingly surrounding over forty Chishan Army cavalrymen. If not for Wei Zhen blocking the front while cursing and shouting anxiously, the two sides might have already drawn weapons and started killing each other before Li Pu and Li Xiu arrived.
However, this Chishan Army cavalry detachment showed no fear despite being surrounded. With no room to maneuver while encircled, they all dismounted and formed defensive ranks with swords, shields, spears and crossbows.
Seeing Li Pu arrive, the green-robed elder along with Yun Puzi and Yao Xishui pulled the furious Li Qi aside, leaving it to Li Pu to handle this matter.
“What happened?”
Although Li Pu harbored resentment and hatred toward Han Qian, he also knew that having a bloody conflict with the Chishan Army at this moment would result in miserable consequences for them. With a grim face, he asked.
“A lowly slave from the Shang family joined the Chishan Army but has been coveting Yan Zhang’s young daughter who married into the Shang family. Just now he led a cavalry detachment past and for no reason intruded, looking around. Liu Zishu scolded him to leave and struck him once with a whip, so he drew his saber and severed Liu Zishu’s left arm. Whether he’s alive or dead is unknown…” Wei Zhen said in furious agitation.
He also knew the serious consequences of having a bloody conflict with Chishan Army cavalry at this moment, but if Liu Zishu from the Liu clan had taken this stroke for nothing and he didn’t pursue it but easily let the person go, how could he explain this to the various families?
In response to Zhang Ping’s request, the Chishan Army had dispatched over a thousand cavalry to assist in covering their southern retreat. Li Pu only recognized Zhao Wuji and Guo Que. He completely didn’t remember who that Chishan Army cavalry commander surrounded in the middle with blood-stained armor was. He immediately lowered his head to instruct his guards, having them hurry over to invite both Zhang Ping and Zhao Wuji.
Encountering such a thorny matter, Li Pu would love nothing more than to bind up this group of Chishan Army cavalry officers who coveted female family members and caused trouble, then chop off their source of calamity. But even if they needed beheading for public display to manifest military discipline, it wasn’t his place to interfere with Chishan Army soldiers. Zhang Ping was the Chishan Army’s supervising military commissioner, and Zhao Wuji was the commanding general responsible for this cavalry force. He wanted to see how Zhang Ping and Zhao Wuji would handle the lowly slave who had arbitrarily killed his subordinate general.