Chapter 2153 - Harassment
Zhu Si was quite hesitant. The current channel basically passed through the middle of a sandbar. The sandbars on both sides were flat and open; apart from a few reed patches, visibility and fields of fire were excellent. Never mind a large ambush force—even a dozen men couldn't hide there.
But the northern waterway was different. On one side lay the open river and sandbars; on the other rose vegetated hills along the bank, capable of concealing scores or even a hundred men with ease.
He wasn't worried about Imperial troops' or Yao fighters' arrows, but he had to guard against their firearms. During training at the Military-Political School, the instructors had stressed repeatedly that although the enemy's ranged weapons were primitive, if employed from good cover or fortified positions, their killing power was still considerable—especially in ambushes, where a single successful surprise attack could often inflict heavy casualties on a unit.
But continuing to loiter here wasn't an option either. Zhu Si nodded: "All right! We're changing course!"
At that very moment, about a dozen li downstream at Fengchuan County seat, the Beiwei Army lieutenant in charge of Fengchuan's garrison was laying out arrangements for the next day's routine patrol and the more critical task of escorting the transport convoy on the West River.
Normally a county seat like this wouldn't warrant regular troops for garrison duty—a single National Army company was the standard complement. But the sudden outbreak of the Yao uprising had made this place strategically vital overnight.
Fengchuan, a stronghold established when the Central Plains first penetrated Lingnan in the pre-Qin era, was truly the key to the two rivers. It lacked the prestige of Zhaoqing, seat of the Governor-General, and the bustling prosperity of Wuzhou, the junction of the Two Guangs, being just an ordinary county seat with old walls and dilapidated buildings, much like the many other county towns the Southern China Army had passed through—hardly worth a second glance from any passing Elder. Yet its position commanding the confluence of the He River and the West River still demanded a bright red flag on the General Staff's maps.
Setting aside Fengchuan County's significance for the West River itself, the He River that flowed into the West River in front of the county seat was a lifeline running straight through to Hezhou and Lianzhou. If anything went wrong at Fengchuan, the Beiwei troops operating deep in the interior to suppress the uprising would find their provisions cut off. As the Yao uprising expanded further, Fengchuan's importance as a transportation hub became ever more apparent. The Joint Logistics Command had not only established a supply depot here but had set up a field hospital specifically for treating and evacuating the wounded.
Large quantities of supplies and personnel had to be transshipped here; the temporary staging areas were piled high. If the enemy staged a surprise attack—even just setting a fire—Director Hong would be jumping up and down with fury. To say nothing of the troops fighting deep in Lianzhou and elsewhere, or the National Army companies besieged in the county seats of Lianzhou and Hezhou.
For this reason, Zhu Mingxia had been forced—despite the critical shortage of troops—to detach an entire company to garrison Fengchuan. The Guangdong National Army Command had also reinforced the location with an additional National Army company. Their mission was identical to that of the Wuzhou battalion: hold the town, and use motorized boats to conduct show-of-force patrols along the river, promptly sweeping away any potential threats to shipping.
Thus Lieutenant Mi Longtao of the Beiwei Army had arrived at Fengchuan County. Upon arriving with his company, he not only strengthened the town's defenses but also established a position atop Pagoda Mountain, about ten li north of the town on the north bank of the West River. Although the mountain was unassuming, it commanded an excellent view; on a clear day, one could see Wuzhou City from the summit without binoculars. It also allowed simultaneous surveillance of large swaths of the West and He Rivers. Geographically, it and the county seat sat on opposite banks of the West River, forming a mutually supporting strongpoint configuration that effectively guarded the river confluence. Mi Longtao had deployed a company and several artillery pieces there, along with observer teams equipped with high-powered telescopes and signalmen with semaphore flags and signal lamps.
Mi Longtao was in the middle of assigning tasks when his orderly suddenly knocked and entered, reporting an urgent situation from the Pagoda Mountain observation post.
"What's the situation?" Mi Longtao was not particularly surprised—of late, such "urgent situations" had been all too common. Small bands of brigands and Yao militants frequently appeared along both banks of the West River, attacking villages and passing ships. Though most of the time they failed to breach defended villages or capture convoy vessels, each attack sent the Fengchuan garrison into high alert—after all, far too many supplies were stockpiled here.
"The observation post reports: they've spotted an escort flotilla of six vessels that appears to be stuck in the Jieshou Shoal area upstream. The smoke from the flotilla has shown no significant movement for some time, and they can faintly hear gunfire."
"Order Pagoda Mountain to maintain observation and report any developments immediately!"
After the orderly left, Mi Longtao glanced at the map. If enemy contact could occur at Jieshou Shoal, the situation in this region was grim indeed. He raised his head and looked at the subordinates gathered around the table.
"No doubt about it—that has to be the Wuzhou National Army patrol flotilla that was scheduled to arrive at Fengchuan around noon today. Almost certainly they've run into some trouble." He turned to ask a middle-aged man dressed in Ming-era native clothing, with a topknot and a bushy beard: "Any activity outside the town these past few days?"
The middle-aged man was the captain of Fengchuan County's Investigation Squad, responsible for intelligence collection inside the town and in the surrounding area. His men were mostly locals. Though the personnel weren't entirely reliable, the intelligence they gathered was quite useful—serving as the eyes and ears of the local garrison.
"Recently, the scouts haven't reported any large enemy forces arriving or massing—so I believe that even if they've encountered an attack, it's probably just small-scale harassment." The middle-aged man seemed confident. Despite his Ming-native appearance, he was actually a veteran naturalized citizen who had received specialized training at the External Intelligence Bureau.
By External Intelligence Bureau standards, armed groups of over a hundred men counted as "large enemy forces." Once a group exceeded that size, its food supply requirements and marching accommodations became so conspicuous that concealment was virtually impossible—there was no way the Investigation Squads operating along both banks of the West River would fail to notice.
Still, if the convoy had been attacked by a small armed group, there was no reason for them to stop. According to escort patrol regulations, if a flotilla encountered small-scale harassment, they were to return fire with shipboard weapons and were not to land and engage unless absolutely necessary, lest they fall into an enemy trap. Lieutenant Mi didn't know Zhu Si or Li Dong personally, but he trusted that the convoy's commander would at least know these regulations.
Yet the flotilla had stopped, indicating they had encountered a difficulty they couldn't overcome. In that case, he had no choice but to deploy troops to assist.
"The enemy situation is unclear; we must maintain vigilance. I will lead First Platoon and board boats immediately to proceed upstream and assess the situation. The deputy company commander will lead Second Platoon on standby at the dock. Prearranged signals: one green flare means all clear; one red flare means enemy contact, reinforce immediately—Second Platoon is to board boats and rendezvous with me. All other personnel assume battle stations!"
"Yes, sir!"
"Order the Pagoda Mountain outpost to heighten alert and watch for enemy activity along the He River direction," Mi Longtao added.
Orders complete, Mi Longtao took his command saber from the wall and buckled it on. "Beat the assembly drum!"
Just as the Fengchuan garrison was beating the assembly drum and preparing to move out for rescue, Li Dong and Zhu Si's convoy in the northern channel had already taken several volleys of yiwo feng rockets.
Where the enemy had scrounged these things was anyone's guess. The escort flotilla had entered the northern channel with extreme caution. Everything had gone smoothly for most of the route—calm and uneventful—when suddenly a chorus of shrieking came from the shore as arrows split the air. Then dozens of trails of black smoke erupted raggedly from the trees, streaking toward the flotilla.
"Yiwo feng!" Zhu Si at the head of the column shouted—in Dengzhou, he had watched General Sun's troops demonstrate these things. A hexagonal wooden tube that one man could carry on his back. Once ignited, dozens of rockets would spew forth, making quite a spectacle.
Before he finished speaking, the rockets came hurtling towards the flotilla. In truth, these rockets were no different from the yiwo feng Zhu Si had seen on the drill ground: they flew wildly in all directions—Zhu Si didn't know there was something called Brownian motion that could perfectly describe what he was witnessing. But dozens of rockets trailing black smoke and careening through the air was still quite an intimidating sight, and the National Army soldiers aboard immediately began to stir.
"Hold steady!" Zhu Si drew his command saber and waved it. "Calm! Stay calm!"
Though the yiwo feng rockets' trajectories were wildly erratic, with almost no accuracy to speak of, their general direction was correct—they were adequate for area attacks. Seven or eight of the several dozen rockets struck Boat No. 1 and Boat No. 3 behind it, but all were deflected by the bamboo-bundle screens and iron plates. The most threatening one hit the lookout platform on Boat No. 1, startling the observer, who quickly ducked behind the iron railing.
"Signal all boats! Full speed ahead! Get out of here!" Zhu Si commanded loudly.
Just then, a second volley of yiwo feng fired, then a third, a fourth... wave after wave of rockets streaked toward the flotilla. Under cover of the densely wooded and hilly banks, the enemy would fire a burst and move on. Though they caused no casualties, the constant stream of rocket attacks—the black smoke in the air, the shriek of passing rockets, the staccato of arrows striking and bouncing off the screens—sent the barely-trained National Army soldiers into panic. Though many claimed to have been Imperial troops, few had actual combat experience. Their reorganization training since joining the National Army had focused only on formation and discipline; they only knew how to mechanically follow orders to form up, march, thrust bayonets, and volley fire—many hadn't even fired live ammunition from a Nanyang rifle yet.
Fear and tension mounting, the men on the heavy matchlock muskets began firing without orders—shots that had no targets and no aim, exactly like the morale-boosting volleys Ming troops often used in battle. The banjiu guns blazed wildly not only at the north bank but also at the south-side sandbar where not a soul could be seen.
(Chapter End)