Chapter 2288: Sharpening Knives
The words struck like thunder, leaving the bandits dumbstruck. One by one, they stared at Gou Er with suspicious eyes. Wuzhou was a prefecture city, a key stronghold of the Two Guangs, once the seat of the Governor-General himself. After the Hair thieves had occupied it, they'd repaired the walls and reorganized the defenses; there were garrisons both inside and outside the city. Without a great army assembled, without cannons and siege equipment—to think they could break into Wuzhou with just two hundred men! Wasn't that a fool's dream?
After a long moment, someone finally asked in a trembling voice, "Second Master Gou! Are you... are you really serious about this?"
Second Master Gou nodded and smiled. "Look at you, standing there like idiots! What—you all think I've gone mad? Let me tell you, I'm not the only one who thinks so—I feel like I'm crazy too!" He let out a wild laugh. "But I'm telling you, I'm not crazy. Before us lies a once-in-a-thousand-years opportunity!"
"What opportunity?" The bandits were immediately interested.
"I'll tell you the truth. Inside Wuzhou city is the greatest treasure of all—a True Hair!" Gou Er's face twisted into a savage grin. "Once we have this True Hair in our hands, do you still need to worry about silver and a future?"
The bandits erupted in thunderous cheers, rubbing their fists and rolling up their sleeves, their heads filled with muddled dreams of promotion and riches.
"Why tell them all this? Soldiers just need silver—point them somewhere and they'll fight..." Hu Rotten Eye complained. "Say too much and they start getting ideas."
"That was the old way!" Gou Er said. "Things are different now. When you get down to it, we're not government soldiers—we don't issue pay. Everyone following us is just scraping for a mouthful of rice. For something this dangerous, if you don't explain things clearly, they won't follow. Jiang Suo told me: to lead soldiers into battle, first you have to make them understand why they're fighting and what they're fighting for. When soldiers have thought it through and feel it's worthwhile, they'll throw their lives into it. I think he's right..."
"Isn't Jiang Suo's approach exactly the Hair thief method? If he likes their way so much, why'd he desert?" Hu Rotten Eye said. "Besides, without silver, can fancy talk really move these soldier-lords? Every civil official who's ever commanded troops—didn't they all make fine speeches, laying out Heaven's principles and human feelings with perfect logic? And weren't they still staring down soldiers demanding their pay?"
"It's nothing more than hatred. I've noticed he sometimes calls out 'Senior Sister, Senior Sister' in his nightmares. Probably some relative of his died at the Hair thieves' hands."
"A good man, then!" Hu Rotten Eye acknowledged.
"He'll be coming over soon to discuss things with us," Gou Er lowered his voice. "Some things only the few of us should know."
"Understood!" Hu Rotten Eye nodded, eager yet uneasy. "But tell me—this Yi Haoran running the show, is he going to use us as suckers?"
"That's not impossible," Gou Er admitted. "We'll have to keep our guard up." He blinked. "Here he comes."
Jiang Suo had rushed back from Wuzhou in one go. The plan had entered its specific implementation stage. Yi Haoran had not only given him detailed intelligence about Wuzhou's internal regime organization and defenses but had also handed over a concrete action plan.
Though Yi Haoran hadn't seen the specific security plan Qian Duo had drafted, he had roughly deduced that the 2nd Squadron would depart one day in advance for Fengchuan to meet the boat fleet. That meant the night before the grain ships arrived, Wuzhou would be at its emptiest: only one company would remain inside the city, plus a National Army squadron at Sanheui.
"...Master Yi's strategy is to strike on that very night," Jiang Suo explained. "When fire is raised as a signal at Sanheui, we assault the camp in full force. Master Yi leads men onto the walls to respond, while General Song's force enters the city to raid and kill Xie Hair."
Gou Er understood Sanheui's situation: several thousand captives, guarded by only a hundred National Army troops plus several hundred "Retained Personnel"—mostly men just like themselves who certainly wouldn't fight to the death over official business. Attacking under cover of darkness, whether or not they had inside help, whether or not they could take the camp, at least they wouldn't suffer losses. If things went poorly, they could simply withdraw—they wouldn't be trapped inside the city.
By comparison, Song Ming's force would be taking enormous risks. Lacking luck, they might well be annihilated.
But fortune and disaster were two sides of the same coin. Song Ming was taking the greatest risk, but if he succeeded, the credit would be his too. Nothing to dispute there. Gou Er's own subordinates were a mixed bag—they couldn't bear such heavy responsibility. Getting second-class credit would be plenty. What Gou Er truly wanted now was a proper official appointment—big or small didn't matter, just something to stand on. He'd had enough of bandit life in these mountain gullies.
Hu Rotten Eye asked, "What signal do we use?"
"Fire will be raised inside Sanheui as the signal. At that moment, our brothers inside will start the arson. When you see the flames, charge in with everything you've got. The brothers inside will coordinate from within—we break the camp in one stroke."
Jiang Suo explained that after breaking the camp, they should set more fires and make as much noise as possible. When the Hair Army came from Wuzhou to reinforce, they would immediately withdraw.
"...As long as our brothers lure the Hair Army out of the city, the job is done. The rest is up to General Song." He looked at Gou and Hu with an inquiring gaze.
Gou Er nodded to indicate he had nothing to add. Hu Rotten Eye, however, frowned. "I can't find any fault with this method. Advisor Yi has thought it through! But what about reward money for the brothers?"
"What reward money?" Jiang Suo asked.
"Brother Jiang, you served as an official for a few months—don't you know the Great Ming's rules? Going into battle requires reward money. In the old days, when we were doing the robbery business, the brothers didn't bring it up because we were risking our lives for ourselves. But this time, we're properly going into battle, risking our lives for the Court! Without reward silver, who's going to exert themselves?"
"Once the mission succeeds, the Court will naturally grant titles and rewards..." Jiang Suo had indeed served as an official, but during his time leading the household guard, daily trivial matters had mostly been handled by Yi Haoran. He knew very little about military and bureaucratic customs—and had no interest in learning. Hu Rotten Eye's question left him momentarily speechless.
"Brother Jiang, you're truly green!" Hu Rotten Eye sneered with his crooked eye. "What does Court titles have to do with common soldiers? Give a man two or three taels of silver and tell him to put his head on the block—think he'll go? Besides, what if General Song fails? What Court is going to give a damn about you then?"
Jiang Suo had no ready answer. To him, a superior's order meant unconditional execution; he had no concept of needing money before men would fight. Embarrassed, he said, "I don't have any silver on me. And I doubt Master Yi does either... Let me go ask him again, see if there's some way to raise some."
Gou Er understood this was just Hu Rotten Eye posturing—making a show of the favor he was granting so he could negotiate terms later. So he didn't spoil the act, only played the mediator:
"Big Brother Hu, don't make things difficult for Brother Jiang—where would he get silver? Even if Advisor Yi had a few taels, it wouldn't be enough."
Jiang Suo had no idea what game they were playing. He could only say, "I can only ask you two Big Brothers for help..."
Hu Rotten Eye made a show of displeasure, grumbling about various difficulties. Gou Er made a pretense of persuasion. Only then did things settle down.
After this performance, the three discussed how to deploy the men and how to attack. Hu Rotten Eye originally wanted to send a few capable local bandits to scout ahead, but Gou Er stopped him.
"Advisor Yi has eyes and ears there. Whatever information we need, he can provide. Why send our own men? If they're captured, won't that give away the secret first?"
They made their arrangements. Thirty trusted subordinates would stay to guard the mountain stronghold—in case of failure, they'd still have somewhere to fall back to. After weeding out the old, weak, sick, and disabled, they selected one hundred fifty capable bandits.
Weapons they had in plenty. The scattered remnants of the Ming Army had left large quantities of sabers, spears, and firearms throughout Guangdong. They even had about forty suits of the relatively rare armor. In Jiang Suo's assessment, these bandits couldn't fight the Australians in formation—but for a night raid, they had a forty to fifty percent chance.
Song Ming received Zhang Yong's message and began his pre-battle preparations. Song Ming's force was much smaller—just fifty men including himself. But nearly all of them were elite: either his personal soldiers or household servants of civil and military officers. Almost every man had armor. Their fighting spirit was fierce; they were almost to a man bold fellows who believed "wealth and honor must be sought in danger." When they heard they would be raiding Wuzhou and capturing a True Hair alive, they howled with excitement, immediately scraping and washing their weapons, checking their armor, each afraid of missing his chance at fortune.
But Song Ming knew this battle would likely be nine deaths and one survival. Never mind charging into Wuzhou and facing the Australian elites in direct combat—even if everything went smoothly and they managed to take the True Hair, the Hair thieves would never let them go. They would pursue with light cavalry without question. Others might not know, but Song Ming had been there at the Battle of Chengmai; he had personally experienced the terror of being hunted by the Hair thieves.
The Fubo Army's pursuit was not only fierce but relentless. After the great defeat at Chengmai, they had pressed almost all the way to the walls of Qiongshan city, their infantry forcing cavalry to collapse in flight. If he hadn't abandoned his horse and left the main road midway, he might not have escaped.
Regardless of whether they succeeded, they had to think through their escape route beforehand.
Obviously, heading toward Guangxi was out of the question—the government soldiers there could barely protect themselves. Their only option was to go north, fleeing along the He River to Hezhou in Hunan. That was virtually their only choice.
In recent days, they had been roaming around Wuzhou and had become somewhat familiar with the surrounding terrain. They had roughly calculated which roads to take for withdrawal, where to rest along the way, and where to get on the water and board boats. Everything was planned out one by one, with men specifically sent to make preparations.
Once Song Ming had everything settled, he called over his personal soldier Zhang Yong and handed him a letter and a bag of silver:
"Keep the silver and the letter with you. On the night of the operation, don't enter the city. If we succeed in Wuzhou and escape safely to Hunan, nothing more need be said. But if the battle goes against us and I'm trapped in Wuzhou, bring this letter back to my home. Give it to my parents, my wife, and my children. Understood?"
Next Update: Volume 7 - Guangzhou Governance Part 492 (End of Chapter)