Han Qian was awakened by Tian Cheng’s push. Seeing the sun had just climbed over the treetops of the distant mountains, calculating the time he had only slept for one hour. At such a moment, being able to sleep for an hour could be considered recovering some energy. Seeing Ji Xiyao and Zhao Wuji both sitting under the tree resting, he didn’t disturb them but got up to see what Tian Cheng had discovered.
Taking the monocular telescope, Han Qian saw that the sailboat his father and the others were aboard had just turned south from the northwest direction of Old Dragon’s Mouth toward Poyang Lake. Of the two people seen at dawn, only one person remained in the River-Viewing Pavilion converted from the mountain ridge watchtower, staring at the sailboat turning southward.
At this time, several more people appeared atop Old Dragon’s Mouth, pointing at the lake and river. They seemed to have no connection with the Department of Operations’ secret agents but rather appeared to be tourists who had come out from the city to view the lake and river. Han Qian then followed Tian Cheng’s indication and used the monocular telescope to look toward the eastern foot of Old Dragon’s Mouth. He saw three people hurrying up the western peak of Old Dragon’s Mouth, and the leader was actually Ji Kun, a commander under Zhao Mingting.
Han Qian had encountered Ji Kun face-to-face at Longhua Dock.
Neither Tian Cheng nor Gao Shao recognized Ji Kun, but they could judge from his demeanor that an important figure had appeared, which was why they woke Han Qian.
Han Qian introduced Ji Kun’s identity to Tian Cheng and Gao Shao. Both their expressions showed a surge of spirit.
The Secret Bureau’s Left Bureau’s current greatest disadvantage and drawback was that it had been established for too short a time, with no prior accumulation whatsoever. All information had to be sorted through and accumulated from scratch bit by bit.
Not only did Tian Cheng and the others know nothing about the Department of Operations’ important figures, even though a group of people had been dispatched westward half a month early by Han Qian, in such a short time they obviously couldn’t have much understanding of the major bandit gang forces along the river. They also had no reliable sources of information locally.
Others might think catching Ji Kun’s whereabouts again was quite ordinary, but Tian Cheng and Gao Shao were both people who had done actual work and knew that with such great disadvantages, they could still force the enemy to reveal themselves first—this was by no means ordinary skill.
This also made Tian Cheng and Gao Shao feel somewhat reassured. After all, following a shrewd and capable superior, even if extremely strict and cruel, was infinitely better than following a fool who would lead everyone into a pit.
The Department of Operations was subordinate to the Bureau of Military Affairs, specifically responsible for gathering military intelligence both internally and externally. Besides Zhao Mingting, there were several other Vice Directors in charge of affairs. In areas where enemy and ally intermingled, the Bureau of Military Affairs’ Department of Operations also specially established various sections responsible for gathering intelligence in specific regions, with commanders leading these operations.
A person like Ji Kun was a major general commanding one front under Zhao Mingting.
The night before last, Ji Kun was still in Chizhou. When he met with Han Jun, Guo Nu’er and the others caught his whereabouts, also confirming that Zhao Mingting definitely had measures unfavorable to them. But afterward he vanished without a trace again.
Han Qian hadn’t expected Ji Kun’s movements to be so swift—he was already in Jiangzhou.
Not only was Ji Kun fast, but the lookouts Han Qian had arranged along the post road between Chizhou and Jiangzhou hadn’t seen Ji Kun pass by. This showed that the Department of Operations under Zhao Mingting’s direction indeed had their own methods for concealing tracks and hiding forms—they truly shouldn’t be underestimated.
Ji Kun quickly climbed to the top of Old Dragon’s Mouth. They apparently truly found no suspicious points about the several tourists on the peak. And with all the roads into Old Dragon’s Mouth under their control, they gathered in the River-Viewing Pavilion to watch the sailboat slowly entering the Poyang Lake water system, completely unguarded against the possibility that Han Qian and his group could see the situation atop Old Dragon’s Mouth so clearly from such a distance.
However, Ji Kun’s side had four people, all skilled military men. Han Qian’s side also only had four people. Even if they alerted the enemy at this point, they didn’t have complete certainty of victory. More importantly, the main reason Han Qian was guarding here was to see what local forces Ji Kun would contact.
Han Qian had Tian Cheng and Wildcat Gao Shao quickly rotate rests. Since he had already been awakened, he could continue watching for another hour.
Han Qian crouched in the thicket, silently observing everything. After half an hour, the sailboat sailed to the southwest direction of Old Dragon’s Mouth, dropped anchor and moored. The ship began preparing breakfast, with cooking smoke rising slowly.
This was what Han Qian had arranged with his father—after the ship entered Poyang Lake it would stop for some time. Besides being wary that the forces Ji Kun contacted might be lake bandits in Poyang Lake, and they couldn’t just crash in without confirming anything, there was another purpose—only this way could he deduce the enemy’s possible deployments from the Department of Operations’ secret agents’ reactions.
Near noon, Han Qian was awakened again. He saw three burly, vigorous men ascend Old Dragon’s Mouth and rendezvous with Ji Kun.
At this time it was Zhao Wuji and Ji Xiyao’s turn to crouch in the thicket standing watch.
They had long since discovered these three people’s tracks, and had also seen that half an hour ago over ten mounted vigorous men had ridden together with these three from the south. At this time these ten-plus riders were hiding in a forest to the south, not advancing together to Old Dragon’s Mouth to attract attention.
Very clearly this group were the river bandits and lake pirates Ji Kun had contacted in Jiangzhou. Moreover, they came from the south, so they should be water brigands from Poyang Lake.
Han Qian looked again toward the Poyang Lake mouth. Zhao Wuji and the others had seen half an hour earlier that two sculling boats were stopped on the nearby lake surface with suspicious movements—very likely sentry boats the water brigands had sent out.
Jiangzhou city had a water camp. Normally speaking, no matter how rampant river bandits and lake pirates were, they wouldn’t strike in nearby waters. But after the sailboat added water-deflecting boards and increased speed, their whereabouts had been unpredictable these past two days. Han Qian believed Ji Kun feared losing the opportunity to attack and would very likely urge the water brigands they contacted to strike within Jiangzhou territory.
Han Qian pushed Ji Xiyao awake and asked him, “Are you confident you can swim back to the ship without being detected by the enemy agents?”
Ji Xiyao took the monocular telescope and carefully examined the water area around Old Dragon’s Mouth, then said, “I can circle to the south, find a boat to cling to the bottom, and should be able to quietly go see the Old Master, but it might take quite a lot of time.”
“No problem. Without our signal, my father’s side will continue to stop there and wait,” Han Qian said. “When you see my father, tell him about the situation here and have him go to Jiangzhou city first, giving the water brigands Ji Kun contacted more sufficient time to gather.”
Ji Xiyao was somewhat confused—shouldn’t they hurry to escape before the water brigands had gathered?
Han Qian had no way to explain too much to Ji Xiyao. He had him immediately head south to find an opportunity to enter the water.
Hasty escape wasn’t a solution. The water brigands Zhao Mingting could contact in Jiangzhou, Ezhou, and other places wouldn’t be only one group. And the useful information in their hands was too limited—they didn’t even fully know which faction these water brigands Ji Kun had contacted belonged to, or exactly how much strength they had.
Having his father immediately go to Jiangzhou city to temporarily avoid danger while giving this group of water brigands time to gather—only when the water brigands were gathering toward Jiangzhou could they see more details, thereby conducting a targeted counterattack.
After Ji Xiyao left, Han Qian said to Zhao Wuji, “You go to Hukou County city. Guo Nu’er and Lin Zongjing should be able to reach Hukou County before evening. Additionally, gather the two groups who arrived at Hukou County ahead of time. After nightfall, head south along the main road on the eastern side of Old Dragon’s Mouth!”
“Raid the water brigands’ lair?” A gleam of light flashed through Zhao Wuji’s precociously mature eyes as he asked.
“We first have to find the water brigands’ lair before we can talk about that.” Han Qian curled his lips in a cold smile.
Han Qian continued to remain in the thicket with Tian Cheng and Gao Shao until they confirmed that Ji Xiyao had circled several li south to enter the water, using a fishing boat for cover to sneak back to the sailboat and rendezvous with his father. Only then did the three of them leave Ji Kun and the others still remaining atop Old Dragon’s Mouth and exit the forest.
Heavy rain had fallen at dawn. The post road south of Old Dragon’s Mouth left clear and chaotic hoofprints. Han Qian didn’t wait for the water brigands Ji Kun had contacted to return south but directly followed the chaotic hoofprints heading south for over fifty li until they reached a large expanse of grassland. Seeing both left and right submerged by the flooded lake waters, they could no longer find traces of the water bandits’ passage.
Han Qian and his group waited to the side. Near dusk, they saw the dozen-plus mounted water brigands who had rushed to Old Dragon’s Mouth at noon to meet Ji Kun ride their horses back here. Without any hesitation, they directly spurred their horses to ford into the lake.
Only then did Han Qian and his group see that among the mixed trees with roots submerged by lake water were two rows of willows, winding toward a fishing stronghold seven or eight li away trapped in the water by the flood.
Looking carefully, Han Qian could see this fishing stronghold had many differences from nearby villages. Besides occupying a rather precipitous position in the lake, a high, thick stone wall whose top could accommodate walking people encircled the fishing stronghold—it could be called a fortress in the lake. The village strongholds on the left and right, even if they also had stronghold walls, mostly had badly damaged earthen walls.
Han Qian and his group weren’t familiar with the nearby terrain, but looking at the distribution of mixed trees half-submerged in the lake water, they could judge that even in autumn and winter when Poyang Lake’s water level dropped, the fishing stronghold would only have one extremely narrow passage connecting it to the land to the east. It could be said to be a place easy to defend and hard to attack. The other village strongholds, after the water level fell, should still all be connected to the land.
The folk customs around Poyang Lake were fierce and aggressive. Many fishing households alternated between fishing and piracy—fishing in their free time, then swarming when merchants and travelers passed through. Taking advantage of lax official defenses to gather and attack and plunder cities had also occurred before.
Prefectures and counties reported that in the five-hundred-li expanse of Poyang Lake, five hundred groups of water brigands roamed. Even if somewhat exaggerated, it was sufficient to prove local areas deeply suffered from water brigands’ harm.
With the aid of the monocular telescope, Han Qian saw that after these dozen-plus mounted water brigands forded into the stronghold, soon many black-canopied boats from nearby village strongholds also gathered there. In the end, a total of sixteen black-canopied boats, led by two boats of larger build and faster speed with both oars and sails, sailed into the depths of Poyang Lake under cover of night.
Han Qian roughly estimated that among the eighteen bandit boats were hidden over two hundred water brigands. Moreover, many of these water brigands were ordinarily just common fishermen. It was hard to imagine how miserable their fate would be if they were surrounded by these water brigands without any awareness.
Han Qian, Gao Shao, and Tian Cheng endured mosquito bites in the thicket, waiting until midnight when Zhao Wuji, Guo Nu’er, and Lin Zongjing led four groups to rendezvous.
Han Qian and his group had long since clearly observed that besides the old, weak, women, and children in the fishing stronghold, only about ten able-bodied young men remained for defense. Everyone hid in the forest distributing blades and shields, donning armor well. After eating their fill, twenty-five people covered their faces with cloth and, following Han Qian by the light of stars and moon, forded toward the fishing stronghold.
At this time the benefits of the monocular telescope’s long-distance viewing were even more evident.
Without the monocular telescope, even if they could see from afar the dozen-plus mounted water brigands ford on horseback, horses had large builds—being able to ford a river on horseback didn’t mean ordinary people could directly wade across.
With the aid of the monocular telescope, Han Qian had confirmed early on that all along the route, the deepest water would only reach their waists. At the same time he had also clearly determined the positions of the enemy’s sentry posts.
After confirming that the ten remaining water bandits only had sentry posts at the southwest and northwest corners of the fishing stronghold, watching the water surfaces to the southwest and northwest—apparently guarding against other water brigands rowing boats over for surprise attacks—they were lax in defense on this side. Only half an hour ago had two people carrying lanterns patrolled the night along the stronghold wall, but at this time they had already descended from the stronghold wall, gone off somewhere to slack off.
Without being able to confirm these things with the monocular telescope, their raid on the stronghold would be a reckless act.