Volume Two, Chapter Two: All the Captains Present, Only One Receives the Order

Through a crack in the woodshed door, Wang Jiaojiao caught sight of Gao Chouduo’s robust figure. Before she could fully comprehend the situation, Wang Xingde was already urgently pressing her and her mother to come out of the shed at once.

As soon as they stepped out of the woodshed and before they could steady themselves, a wooden handcart was already brought before them. Wang Xingde lent a hand, helping the two of them climb aboard and take their seats. Gao Chouduo let out a shout, and the two men pushing the cart set it in motion, wheeling her and her mother toward the inner courtyard.

Clutching the railing of the cart, Wang Jiaojiao anxiously turned her head to look at Wang Xingde, while her mother asked, "Where are they taking us?"

"To Li Erlang's house! Say no more, just sit tight, you and Jiaojiao," Wang Xingde said, leaning on his wooden staff as he walked alongside the cart to protect them.

One of the two men pushing the cart smiled and said, "Auntie Wang, have no fear. Erlang specifically ordered us to fetch you to his home."

Only then did Wang Jiaojiao recognize the two men at the cart: one was Yao Agui, and the other was Zhang Fusheng.

A thought involuntarily arose in her mind: "Could the Wagang bandits truly have arrived? Is that unruly scoundrel afraid my family might fall victim to looting, which is why he specifically sent Gao Chouduo and the others to take us to his house first?" An ineffable feeling stirred within her heart—lingering fear, mingled with a strange and inexplicable sense of relief.

Emerging outside the courtyard, under the flickering glare of torches, the lane was densely packed with dozens of people, young and old, women and children alike. Children were crying, while adults whispered anxiously among themselves. Seeing Wang Xingde and the others emerge, Shiwulang stepped forward and offered a ingratiating smile to Gao Chouduo. "Chouduo, what about us?"

Gao Chouduo’s orders from Li Shandong were to rush to Wang Jiaojiao’s residence immediately upon entering the city and escort Wang Xingde’s family to the Li household. As for the rest of the residents in the Wang household, Li Shandong had given no instructions, but Gao Chouduo possessed a strong sense of responsibility. With a grand sweep of his massive hand, he declared, "Follow me, all of you!"

With that, the group of people fell in behind him and all departed the neighborhood alley.

Snatching up a banner left on the cart, Gao Chouduo gripped it firmly in one hand while wielding an iron mace in the other. With his head held high and long strides, he led the crowd directly forward.

Wave after wave of Wagang bandits, carrying blazing torches, brandishing spears, and gripping sabers, poured incessantly through the western gate of the city. Some scattered into various alleys along the streets, while others ran forward shouting. The entire street was in a frenzy, and as far as the eye could see, there were nothing but ferocious, fierce-looking outlaws!

Terrified, Wang Jiaojiao pressed her face against her mother's lap, not daring to look out at the slightest thing anymore.

It felt as though they were soaring through the mist. Amidst the shouts of outlaws and the weeping echoing from various neighborhoods, a seemingly endless amount of time passed until the cart finally turned into a alleyway. Here, it was noticeably much quieter, with no outlaws having entered the premises.

Shortly thereafter, the cart came to a halt in front of a gate.

Several people were already waiting at the entrance. The leader hurried forward, bowed respectfully, and said, "Old Master Wang has arrived? My elder brother is inside the house, waiting for you."

Li Liang and a few others cleared a path, allowing Yao Agui and Zhang Fusheng to push the cart into the courtyard.

The dozens of people who had followed were far too numerous for the courtyard to hold, so most of them remained out in the lane. Only Shiwulang and a few local security wardens accompanied Wang Xingde and the others into the courtyard to see Li Shanyin.

Gao Chouduo did not enter the courtyard either. He waved the banner in his hand and said to Li Liang and the others, "Big Brother Xu has given the order that among the brothers in the stronghold, any whose families reside in Weinan must not be subjected to harassment or plunder by anyone. Later on, I will plant Erlang's banner outside the alley gate, and both the neighborhood and this household will be guaranteed safety. Big Brother Yao and Fourth Brother Zhang will stay behind, but I cannot linger. I must go quickly to find Erlang!"

At that moment, the threshold had just been removed, and Yao Agui and Zhang Fusheng were pushing the cart into the courtyard. Gathering her courage once more, Wang Jiaojiao glanced up at the banner Gao Chouduo was holding. It was a black flag, and inscribed upon it were the words: "Li Erlang, Colonel of the Left Second Mansion."

No wonder that earlier on the street, despite the multitude of outlaws passing right by their cart and the large crowd, not a single person had attempted to rob them. It was all because of this black flag!

A young maid stepped forward to welcome them, and the cart carrying Wang Jiaojiao and her mother had already entered the courtyard.

Leaving the entrance of the Li household, Gao Chouduo planted the black banner outside the alley gate. After exchanging a few words with Qin Jingshi, Jiao Yanglang, and others keeping watch at the alley entrance, he hoisted his iron mace, stepped back onto the street, merged into the relentless, flowing stream of Wagang bandits, and hurried toward the county government office.

The county government office had already been captured.

Outside, the lamps blazed with a brilliant light as bright as day, and Liu Hu'er led dozens of stalwart men to guard the gates of the yamen.

***

Seeing Gao Chouduo run up, Liu Hu'er smiled, nodded, and said, "Big Brother is currently discussing matters inside with Erlang and the others. Will you go in and wait?"

Gao Chouduo replied, "I thought the county office hadn't been taken yet, and I came over to help."

"Big Brother made a promise to Magistrate Ma that those who surrender will be spared, so he surrendered."

Gao Chouduo said, "In that case, I'll go inside and wait."

He entered the county office. The front courtyard and the surrounding corridors were also fully guarded by men armed with spears and sabers.

These men all recognized Gao Chouduo, so no one stopped him, allowing him to ascend the corridor freely.

Upon reaching the entrance of the main hall, Gao Chouduo poked his head in to take a look.

Inside the hall sat more than ten people, facing the entrance. Occupying the primary seat was a young man in his early twenties, wearing a black turban, clad in chainmail, and sporting a full beard—none other than Xu Shiji. Seated opposite one another along the two sides of the hall were the remaining men, some clad in round-collared robes and others still wearing armor; the majority of them were colonels from the Fenghuang Branch Stronghold. Li Shandong was among them, seated at the very end of the group on the left.

Xu Shiji was speaking.

Gao Chouduo withdrew his head and strained his ears to listen.

He heard Xu Shiji saying: "This battle was fought well. It took merely a single night to capture Weinan. When Lord Zhai learns of this, he will undoubtedly rejoice. Anyone who performed meritorious service in taking the city tonight shall certainly receive a generous reward. But a reward is a reward; most of us are men of Dongjun. Now that Weinan has been conquered, ties of native soil cannot be ignored. Here, I will reiterate the military discipline I laid down for you before the attack on the city. Putting tonight aside for the moment, starting tomorrow, no units entering the city are permitted to plunder the common people of the county under any circumstances. Anyone who violates this military discipline of mine shall be executed without mercy!"

The colonels in the hall all assented in unison.

Softening his tone and wearing a faint smile, Xu Shiji continued: "The reason we were able to capture Weinan in just one single night, apart from the officers and men of every unit pressing forward bravely during the assault on the city gates, is because our greatest contributors are none other than Brother Shen and Brother Dai. Had Brother Shen and Brother Dai not led the brave men to serve as our internal agents within the city, we certainly could not have taken Weinan so swiftly! Brother Shen, Brother Dai, your meritorious service has already been recorded in the battle report sent to Lord Zhai, and Lord Zhai will undoubtedly bestow generous rewards upon you two virtuous brothers as well."

Among the men seated on the right side of the hall, two stood up, bowed deeply with cupped hands, and said, "In capturing the city tonight, Erlang is the true hero. How could we younger brothers dare to claim credit?"

This "Erlang" did not refer to Li Shandong, but rather to Xu Shiji's younger brother, Xu Shibi.

"Brother Shen" and "Brother Dai" were both powerful figures in Weinan County. One was Shen Shimao, the older of the two at around forty years of age; the other was Dai Chuyue, the younger one in his early thirties.

The background to this was that Zhai Rang had finally been persuaded by Li Mi, Xu Shiji, and others, leading him to accept Li Mi's proposal to "raid Dongjun and Xingyang Commanderies to secure provisions." Five days ago, Zhai Rang personally led the main force of the Wagang army—comprising outlaws from the main stronghold and all its branch strongholds, totaling over 13,000 men—and marched out of the mountains in full force.

Upon leaving the mountains, the first county city they attacked was not Weinan, but Baima.

There were two reasons for this: first, Baima County was closer to Mount DaPi; second, Baima County was the commandery seat of Dongjun.

After a two-day siege, aided by the pre-positioned elite troops who had sneaked into the city and the internal agents responding from within, they captured Baima County city the day before yesterday.

Once Baima County city was taken, a military council was held.

Li Mi proposed at the meeting that, firstly, the majority of Wagang's leaders and troops were natives of Dongjun, meaning Wagang's influence in Dongjun was immense, with Wagang members present in every county. Secondly, Baima was the political and administrative hub of Dongjun, and since Baima had now been captured, there was no longer any need to keep the main force lingering in Dongjun. As for the remaining counties of Dongjun, a detachment of troops could easily be dispatched to conquer them. As for the main force, since "speed is the essence of war," they should immediately march south to attack before Xingyang Commandery could react.

Zhai Rang deemed this correct. After deliberation, it was decided that Xu Shiji would be responsible for capturing the remaining counties of Dongjun, while a small force would be left behind to garrison Baima. Yesterday morning, Zhai Rang and Li Mi led the main force southward toward Xingyang Commandery.

Dongjun comprised a total of nine counties. Three of them were situated in the northeast of Baima—namely, the northern and eastern parts of the commandery—which were Weinan, Puyang, and Lihu.

Compared to Dongjun, Xingyang Commandery possessed vastly more grain due to its location along the Bian River, making Xingyang the primary strategic focus of Wagang's military campaign this time. Yet why must Dongjun be conquered first before striking Xingyang? Primarily for two reasons. First, Dongjun had to be held in firm control to secure the supply lines and military movements stretching from Mount DaPi all the way to Xingyang Commandery. That was the first reason. The second, equally crucial reason was Zhang Xutuo. If Dongjun were not secured under their control, the moment Zhang Xutuo led his troops south from Qijun in the northeast, the rear of the Wagang army would fall into grave peril.

Comparing these two reasons side by side, the latter was patently more urgent.

Thus, having accepted the mission of leading his own forces to conquer the remaining counties of Dongjun, Xu Shiji chose to strike the three counties in the east and north of the commandery—Baima, Puyang, and Lihu—first. These three counties formed a contiguous band from north to east, lying directly across the inevitable path Zhang Xutuo would take if he marched southwest from Qijun along the Yellow River to enter Xingyang Commandery. Among these three counties, Xu Shiji selected Weinan as his primary target.

First of all, Weinan was the county closest to Baima among the three eastern counties, sharing a direct border with it; only by capturing Weinan first could they proceed to take Puyang and Lihu. Secondly, Weinan was Xu Shiji's hometown, giving him the confidence to capture it within a short span of days.

That being said, despite having the "confidence to capture it within a short span of days," neither Xu Shiji nor the troops under his direct command had any prior experience in laying siege to cities—or, if one insisted, their only slight experience had just been gained through the battle of Baima. Therefore, Xu Shiji had never actually anticipated that they could conquer Weinan County city in a single night.

One must realize that the city of Baima had been besieged by the entire Wagang army of over ten thousand men, also with the assistance of internal agents, and it had still taken two whole days to capture. Although Weinan's city defenses could hardly compare to those of the commandery seat of Baima, the attacking force was also much smaller, consisting merely of Xu Shiji's two thousand or so men. Xu Shiji's original projection was that capturing Weinan within three to four days would already be considered a commendable feat.

Now, Weinan had been won in a single night.

Staid as Xu Shiji was, given his youth—he was only in his early twenties—this was the first county city he had captured under his independent command, and Weinan was his hometown, bringing a distinct flavor of "returning home in glory." Thus, despite sitting in the primary seat with an air of poised calm, his heart was actually brimming with excitement.

He invited Shen Shimao and Dai Chuyue to be seated, dropped the subject of capturing Weinan that night, and turned the conversation toward the next phase of military operations. He said, "Zhang Xutuo may already have learned of our massive troop mobilization to attack Dongjun and Xingyang Commanderies. Before long, he may dispatch troops southward to do battle with us. We must seize both Puyang and Lihu before he makes his move. How shall we attack Puyang and Lihu? I have already formed a plan. Among these two counties, I have decided to launch our primary attack on Lihu first!"

To the east of Weinan lay Puyang, the two counties sharing a border; to the southeast of Puyang lay Lihu. In other words, Puyang was close to Weinan, while Lihu was further away.

As soon as Xu Shiji uttered these words, most of the men in the hall looked puzzled.

Luo Xiaode, the vice-chieftain of the Fenghuang Stronghold and Xu Shiji's second-in-command, asked with astonishment, "Big Brother, Puyang borders Weinan. Why not attack Puyang first?"

Xu Shiji replied, " Precisely because Puyang borders Weinan, it is best not to attack Puyang first. Lihu is far from Weinan; naturally, the magistrate and military commanders of Lihu will assume our forces will attack Puyang first. This means that if we choose to strike Lihu first, we can achieve the effect of 'catching them off guard.' By my estimation, it will be somewhat easier to attack than Puyang."

This argument made sense.

Yet Luo Xiaode still harbored worries. He said, "Big Brother, if we attack Lihu first, what about Puyang? What if Puyang dispatches troops to launch a rear attack on our forces? Wouldn't we find ourselves caught in a dilemma between advancing and retreating?"

Xu Shiji said, "Therefore, we must detach a force to harass and besiege Puyang, ensuring our main force has no worries at our rear when we attack Lihu." He glanced around the hall and asked, "Gentlemen, who among you is willing to take on this mission of harassing and besieging Puyang?"

Not a single one of the Fenghuang Branch Stronghold's colonels present in the hall was a fool.

Who could fail to see that the mission of harassing and besieging Puyang was a classic thankless task?

The looting and merrymaking after capturing Lihu would be something the force sent to harass Puyang could not enjoy. Not to mention that—although Xu Shiji had already issued a military order prohibiting his troops from plundering the common people of Weinan, his order was "no more plundering starting tomorrow," implying tonight's actions were uncontrolled; by the same token, when Lihu was captured in the future, the same rule would surely apply, at least permitting plundering on the very day Lihu fell. Furthermore, it would be fine if Puyang sent no troops to rescue Lihu, but if Puyang did dispatch troops to save Lihu, the force tasked with harassing Puyang would be forced to intercept and fight them off.

In the brightly lit hall, the colonels of the Fenghuang Stronghold, seated opposite one another, looked among themselves after Xu Shiji posed his question, but not a single person uttered a sound.

Even Nie Heitai sat in silence.

Then, a man stood up from his mat, raised his hands in a salute, and said, "Big Brother, I am willing to lead my unit to harass and besiege Puyang."