Chapter 74: Scouting The Enemy
November 16th, the third watch, fourth quarter.
Xiao Yi had slept early last night. He woke up at the sound of the cook squad and decided to take some time to practice mounted archery.
His body was still aching terribly, so he could only start by stretching himself, using his fingers to push out the lactic acid accumulated in his muscles.
Guo Xin, who was sleeping next to him, also woke up and asked, rubbing his eyes, “What are you doing?”
“Aching.”
“Oh, I’m aching too. I’ll massage you, you massage me.”
After a while, Guo Xin’s pig-like screams echoed from the communal bed, waking everyone up.
The tent flap was “swish” and pulled open, and Liu Tingrang strode in.
“Commander Xiao, I heard you were once the Deputy Commander of the Control Crane Guard?”
“Yes.”
Xiao Yi asked curiously, “How did you know, Brother Liu?”
“I told him last night while we were chatting,” Guo Xin said, baring his teeth.
Liu Tingrang asked, “Are the talismans and military robes still with you?”
“Yes.”
“The General wishes to see you. Please come with me.”
Xiao Yi then followed him to the main camp tent.
Guo Chongwei was already fully armored and having his morning meal. Seeing him arrive, he directly gestured to the Hu Bing and lamb on the desk.
“Sit down and eat.”
“Understood.”
“When did you leave the capital?”
“The sixth.”
“Ten days. Do the Imperial Guards know you’ve defected to the Marshal?”
“My official position is low, and the time is short, so they might not have noticed me. But Li Hongwei didn’t kill Wang Yin, and Li Ye and Nie Wenjin saw that I was alive, so they must know I’ve abandoned the dark and turned to the light.”
“It doesn’t matter. You don’t need to see them. Just bring my men into the enemy camp for a look around, gather intelligence, and deliver messages.”
“Okay.”
“You will depart at the first quarter of the Mao hour, wait at Liu Zibei, and when I lead my troops to drive away the Southern Army scouts, you will follow them as they flee into the enemy camp. You must return to camp before the You hour.”
“Understood!”
“Please eat.”
After Guo Chongwei finished speaking, he got up and walked out.
Xiao Yi had a large appetite. While looking at the map showing the Southern Army’s strategic deployment, he chewed through all the food on the desk.
He went back to change into a military robe, re-armored himself, and had Lu You, Fan Si, and Wei Liang bring out their camp talismans. He instructed Old Pan and Hua Nong to train the troops well today.
“Where are you going? Why are you wearing an Imperial Guard military robe again?” Guo Xin said directly. “I’ll go with you.”
“To manage the supplies and copy documents. Are you coming?”
“Forget it, go on your own… Nian Battalion’s young ladies, I’m coming to train you today!”
“Don’t cause trouble.”
Before the first quarter of the Mao hour, Xiao Yi arrived at the drill ground.
Liu Tingrang had already brought two men and prepared horses, all of whom had changed into Imperial Guard military robes.
“Commander Xiao is here. These two are skilled men from my unit, Cui Yanjin and Hai Jin. Their mounted archery is among the best in the army.”
“Greetings, Commander Xiao!”
“No need to be polite. This mission, we live or die together.”
“Understood.”
Xiao Yi observed carefully. Cui Yanjin was older, nearly thirty, tall and burly, with a fierce look on his face. Hai Jin was twenty-four or five, with an foreign appearance, lean and agile, and a fierce demeanor.
At that time, names were often “Jin,” “Wei,” “Rong,” and so on, likely related to the admiration of military merit.
“Depart.”
As the morning light first bloomed, four riders left the camp.
Their horses’ hooves shattered the frost and snow that had accumulated overnight. They did not take the official road but turned into the continuous woods.
This was a scout’s infiltration route.
After about an hour, the four stopped, dismounted, and held their reins as they looked south from the edge of the woods.
“That’s Liu Zibei over there.”
Liu Tingrang tethered his horse, leaned forward, and said, “Do you see that ridge of earth? Qili Shop. Murong Yanchao’s main camp is on the crest of the ridge. This area is heavily patrolled by Southern Army scouts, so don’t show yourselves yet.”
Xiao Yi looked out. The dirt ridge of Qili Shop lay like a dusty yellow ribbon in front of them. On the hill, faint black shadows could be seen, which must be Southern Army watchtowers.
He recalled the map in his mind and knew that Murong Yanchao was stationed here, acting as a pivot with the main force at Chigang, bordering the Jinshui River, thus securing both the high ground and the water source.
“Hai Jin, go sprinkle some.”
Liu Tingrang pulled over a saddlebag, took out a leather pouch from it, and threw it to Hai Jin. He then turned to Xiao Yi and explained, “Mugwort powder, to mask the horses’ scent, so they aren’t detected by the Southern Army’s keen noses.”
“Are you talking about actual dogs?”
“Yes, greyhounds. They have them around the camp. We can’t be too careful. Murong Yanchao’s retainers have deadly arrows; I lost two brothers yesterday.”
As they spoke, Liu Tingrang took out a stack of flags from his saddlebag and gave one to each person.
“These are captured enemy flags. Hold them up later.”
Xiao Yi took one and unfolded it. It was the yellow military flag he had captured the day before, with “Taining Army Left Wing Vanguard Scout” embroidered on the edges.
Liu Tingrang pointed at the enemy camp again and said, “See? The Southern Army’s camp gate changes guards every half hour. At the precise hour of the Si, several patrols will pass by Liu Zibei. Their troops are mixed, and they won’t recognize each other, which is when General Guo will make his move.”
Xiao Yi said, “There’s still about an hour or so.”
“Yes, we’ll wait for the General.”
Liu Tingrang took out two white felt blankets, wrapped one around himself and Xiao Yi, and had Cui Yanjin and Hai Jin share the other. The four then lay down in the snow to wait.
“Commander Xiao, do you know why the General is letting you take this personal risk?”
“Why?”
“General Wang saw you training yesterday and praised your methods to General Guo at night. The General, seeing you are young and inexperienced, wants you to learn from all aspects. A good foundation needs to be tempered by real fire. He ordered me to guide you hands-on. If there’s any offense or rudeness, please bear with it.”
“Thank you. I will always remember the support of both Generals and the care of Brother Liu.”
“We are brothers in arms, no need for such politeness.”
Liu Tingrang grinned and said, “I’m not bragging, but although this mission is dangerous, with the equestrian and archery skills of our four, few Southern Army soldiers can stop us.”
After waiting for a while, the shadows on the treetops gradually shortened. Suddenly, the sound of horses’ hooves and shouting came from the north.
“They’re here!”
Xiao Yi looked towards the official road to the north and saw dozens of Southern Army scouts being driven out of the woods, galloping towards Liu Zibei.
He had been hiding for so long that he didn’t know there were so many people in the woods.
Afterward, the sound of dense and orderly horses’ hooves approached.
“Go.”
The four quickly mounted their horses.
Xiao Yi gripped the yellow flag and rode towards the Southern Army scout formation.
Behind him, scattered arrows fell, two striking his back armor.
“Thwack.”
Not far away, a Southern Army scout was shot off his horse.
Xiao Yi glanced back and saw that it was Guo Chongwei himself who had shot an arrow from a hundred paces away. He didn’t know the draw strength of the bow, but his accuracy was remarkable.
“Those rebellious traitors are getting desperate! Let’s retreat to the camp first!”
“Go!”
Some Southern Army scouts shouted, their voices filled with panic.
Xiao Yi and his three companions were fast. They quickly charged to the front of the formation. They heard Guo Chongwei and over two hundred cavalry pursuing closely behind, continuously firing arrows and killing scouts.
Finally, their horses galloped onto the earthen ridge and approached the Qili camp.
The Northern Army was still retreating. It wasn’t until the archers on the watchtower began firing arrows that they stopped their pursuit.
Xiao Yi truly felt a sense of having escaped from death.
He lowered his head to catch his breath. His peripheral vision caught sight of a twenty-foot-wide moat in front of them, where laborers were planting sharpened stakes.
Inside the moat, a wooden palisade stood ten feet high, with a post every ten paces, heavily guarded. A large banner of the “Taining Army Military Governor” hung from a tall pole within the camp, fluttering in the wind.
At the camp gate, armored soldiers held halberds, requiring every scout entering the camp to have their wooden token verified, after which their appearance was scrutinized.
Liu Tingrang tugged at Xiao Yi’s reins and shook his head.
This was a signal to abandon entering Murong Yanchao’s main camp, as the inspection was too strict.
“Go to the Imperial Guard camp.”
Murong Yanchao was the vanguard of the Southern Army; the main body of the Southern Army was behind him.
The four swaggered along the camp fence, passing through Qili Shop, and headed directly for Chigang.
After crossing the mountaintop, they looked out to see a dense expanse of camps spread out, exactly as the captive had described.
Across a gentle mountain hollow, the southern mountaintop was Chigang, with the Jinshui River flowing slowly beside it.
A large camp on the summit of Chigang was still being expanded. This was the main force of the Southern Army Commander Hou Yi, and many other camps surrounded Chigang: Yuan Xi, Liu Chongjin, Wu Qianyu, Zhang Yanchao… their positions were arranged just as on Guo Chongwei’s map.
“The camps are built very well, but the generals are too mixed. Commander Xiao, which camp should we go to?”
Xiao Yi had already thought about it and said, “Yuan Xi.”
“Why?”
“He is a great general under Shi Hongzhao and the Commander of the Shenwu Army’s Left Wing, in charge of one-third of the Imperial Guard’s elite forces. His status is comparable to Nie Wenjin’s, so he and Nie Wenjin do not get along, and he doesn’t know me.”
“Commander Xiao understands the Southern Army generals this well?”
“I’ve read some resumes in Shi Residence’s study, but I haven’t heard of Hou Yi.”
“Haha, Old Man Hou Yi retired long ago, that’s why you don’t recognize him. He is a veteran general of four dynasties: Tang, Jin, Shu, and Han, with the highest seniority in the army.”
As he spoke, a look of disdain appeared on Liu Tingrang’s face. He said, “The General happens to have a letter for him. Watch me shoot it into his main camp.”
While speaking, they had already galloped down the slope and headed straight for Yuan Xi’s camp.
“Stop! Verify your credentials!”
The soldiers at the camp gate shouted, their long spears held horizontally.
Xiao Yi proudly declared, “Xiao Yi, Deputy Commander of the Control Crane Guard’s Left Wing, sent on orders to deliver a message!”
He did not dismount but directly threw his talisman and official document over.
“So it’s Deputy Commander Xiao. May I ask why you are coming from the Taining Army camp?”
“Is it any of your business?! Find an empty tent for my horse to rest.”
A scolding was more effective than any explanation.
The four rode their horses into the camp.
Liu Tingrang said in a low voice, “We’ll first assess the camp’s defenses and the direction of the grain and fodder, then find an opportunity to deliver the letter.”
Xiao Yi observed calmly. The camp had just been established, and Imperial Guards were driving laborers to build various defensive structures.
The tents were arranged according to regulations, with ten tents forming a block, leaving a three-foot-wide passage between blocks. Shallow ditches were dug next to the passages, drawing water from the Jinshui River, and firebreaks were set up.
This showed that Yuan Xi had set up his camp with considerable method.
The four slipped into a tent. Cui Yanjin and Hai Jin guarded the tent entrance.
Liu Tingrang took out a charcoal pencil and paper and quickly drew a map.
Xiao Yi supplemented what he saw and heard in a low voice.
“The stable is on the east side, with fodder piled up. The west side is the armory. The north side is the mess tent, I can see smoke…”
Suddenly, there was a commotion outside. The two lifted the tent flap and looked out, seeing a great general leading cavalry towards the summit of Chigang in the distance.
Xiao Yi stared intently at the flag and said, “It’s Yuan Xi. He must be going to see Hou Yi.”
“Let’s go to his main tent to deliver the letter.”
“I’ll do it. Give it to me.”
Liu Tingrang took out a stack of letters from his boot, looked them over, selected the one Guo Chongwei had written to Yuan Xi, and handed it to Xiao Yi.
The letter had a faint smell of foot odor.
Xiao Yi took it, and with the three of them, walked out, swaggering directly towards Yuan Xi’s main camp tent.
“Halt! Who is trying to enter the tent?!”
The armored soldiers at the tent entrance blocked them, their attitudes fierce.
Xiao Yi’s attitude was even more arrogant. He shouted, “Xiao Yi, Deputy Commander of the Control Crane Guard’s Left Wing, sent on the order of the Imperial Uncle, to deliver secret military intelligence. Request Shenwu Army Left Wing Commander Yuan Xi to personally receive it!”
“The General is not here. Give me the letter.”
“This is secret military intelligence.”
“I’ll take it in. This is the main camp tent; outsiders are not allowed.”
Xiao Yi frowned, showing displeasure, but still handed over the letter.
His gaze followed as an armored soldier lifted the flap and entered, placing the letter on the desk.
In an instant, he glanced at the map hanging behind the commander’s desk.
“What are you looking at?!”
“Watching you put away the Imperial Uncle’s letter properly.”
Xiao Yi then led the three of Liu Tingrang and turned to leave.
When there was no one around, Xiao Yi said in a low voice, “I saw the troop movement map. The route was to Chan Prefecture. It seems they had to stop and garrison at Chigang because they encountered General Guo.”
“Huh? I thought they were prepared to intercept us there.”
“No, for them, it was unexpected.”
“General Guo only brought five commanders, and the Southern Army didn’t even attack?”
“They might not be sure about the situation in Chan Prefecture. Looking at the map, their strategic intention was to set up defenses at the Yellow River crossing.”
“It’s done,” Liu Tingrang said joyfully. “This is important intelligence.”
