Chapter 2155 - Relief of Xugang
Graduate-school officers referred to those who had graduated from the three-year officer training program—proper academy-trained professionals. They were a cut above the current Beiwei Army's Military-Political School graduates.
"Oh, it's nothing really." Zhu Si felt awkward, and the comment had stirred up old grievances. With his service record, he should have been promoted to sergeant and selected for the Military-Political School long ago—if he had gotten into the school, he would have come out as a regular army officer, not some National Army captain, forever a notch below everyone else.
Now that he was in the National Army system, going back to the Beiwei Army was probably impossible—after all, he had been promoted from the enlisted ranks. Proper officers had all sweated for years before entering the Military-Political School, then worked their way up from second lieutenant one step at a time.
He sighed: "Actually, I've been falling short. I only made corporal last year. I guess my progress just isn't fast enough, even though I'm a battalion commander now..."
"Don't lose heart. Beiwei Army, National Army—we're all soldiers of the Council of Elders. Don't put ranks in your head and sort people into classes." Mi Longtao tried to comfort him. "There's plenty more fighting to come. Once you've got battle achievements, three promotions in a row isn't impossible."
"Yes, yes, you're right, sir." Zhu Si was exceedingly deferential.
By the time Zhu Si left the command post, it was already noon—Mi Longtao had kept him for a meal, and also had the cooks prepare a hot meal for the National Army patrol. Eating a proper hot meal on solid ground was certainly better than crouching on a deck gnawing hardtack.
Li Dong had supervised the replacement and repair of all the damaged bamboo screens and had topped off the ships' fuel. Because Fengchuan was a forward supply base, everything was readily available. Though steam coal could only be provided to the gunboats and tugs, ordinary firewood was in ample supply—and it was proper split wood, far better than the assorted deadwood and rice straw they had been scrounging.
Zhu Si inspected the preparations. Everything was flawless, yet the lingering unpleasantness from his meeting with Lieutenant Mi made him lash out: "Such a small thing took this long! How many times have I told you—speed is essential when executing a mission!"
"Yes, sir!" Li Dong had a vague sense that the battalion commander held some grudge against him. He hastened to report: "We actually finished half an hour ago..."
"If you finished half an hour ago, why didn't you report to me immediately?!" Zhu Si's voice was sharp.
"You were eating with Lieutenant Mi at the time..."
"Once a task is complete, report immediately! Didn't your instructors at the NCO school teach you that?! How did you even graduate?!"
"Yes, sir!" Li Dong had no choice but to continue standing at attention and taking the dressing-down.
Just as Zhu Si was preparing to continue his tirade, an urgent drumroll sounded. Both of them recognized the beat at once: fresh enemy contact.
Zhu Si forgot about showing his authority. He looked around somewhat at a loss, wanting to find someone to ask what was happening. He suddenly spotted Mi Longtao emerging from the command post in full battle gear, issuing orders as he walked. Seeing Zhu Si and Li Dong, he stopped and called out loudly: "Yunan County's Xugang Village is under heavy attack by a large enemy force. We're moving to reinforce immediately. You come along and coordinate!"
Zhu Si was momentarily speechless—he really didn't want to get sucked into a fight. This was his first combat patrol; if he could just complete a single round trip without incident, he'd make a good impression on Qian Duo and Chief Xie. If the operation fell apart and cost a dozen casualties, what would they think?
In theory, he had his own orders to execute, but those orders didn't conflict with Mi Longtao's request: "Patrol along the river, clear both banks of enemies, maintain security." Even if he refused now, once their flotilla reached the downstream area, they would end up in this battle anyway.
"Well? Any problems?" Mi Longtao asked when Zhu Si didn't respond.
"No," Zhu Si said, knowing he couldn't look like a coward now. If Mi Longtao wrote in his after-action report "Zhu Si refused to coordinate," his career was finished. He snapped to attention and said loudly: "Report! No problems, sir!" Then he hastily added: "It's just that our firepower is rather weak..."
"Another standard-spear company?" Mi Longtao sounded somewhat displeased.
"Yes, sir. Only thirty Nanyang rifles. The rest are captured Ming heavy matchlocks and light swivel guns."
"That's fine. Just coordinate with us." Mi Longtao said, "During the engagement, follow my signal commands—you do have signalmen, right?"
"Yes, of course."
"Good. Your boats follow in the rear." Mi Longtao called out, "Map!"
His orderly immediately spread out the field map before them.
"Just now, a wireless report came in from Yunan County: about five hundred unidentified enemy combatants suddenly appeared at Xugang Village on the Fengchuan-Yunan county border. They attempted to take the village by surprise attack but were repulsed by the local militia. They're now besieging the village. The village has few able-bodied men, and the situation is extremely dangerous..."
Zhu Si studied the map. From what he could see, Xugang Village wasn't in Fengchuan County at all, but in Yunan County—and the county seat of Yunan was actually much closer to Xugang than their current position.
By both distance and jurisdiction, the Yunan County National Army company should be the ones sending relief.
"...Though this place is closer to the Yunan county seat, it's upstream of the town. Sailing from the county seat means fighting the current, so timing would be tight—and the enemy numbers aren't small—so this time we'll be the main force."
By "main force," Mi Longtao didn't mean the Wuzhou Battalion's composite company under Zhu Si's command. He meant the platoon of Beiwei Army troops massing at the dock—well-equipped and well-trained. There was also a National Army mountain warfare company—Black Li soldiers recruited from the Hainan highlands, composed of Li and Miao tribesmen, each armed with a double-barreled shotgun and a specialized mountain-warfare machete. Though not as tall and robust as regular army soldiers, they exuded a fierce, ruthless aura.
With such a force taking the lead, Zhu Si secretly relaxed; his mood actually lifted. When he thought about it, his luck wasn't half bad: if he had been patrolling solo to Xugang and run into this battle, he would have been fighting alone... Now with Mi Longtao at the front, victory meant he'd share the credit, and defeat meant the blame wouldn't fall on him. He drew himself up, morale surging: "Report! Rest assured, sir—though our company is poorly equipped and undertrained, every man is ready to fight to the death for the Council of Elders. We will absolutely not falter or cower in battle!"
"Good! Then go prepare—we move out with me!"
Mi Longtao finished his orders and hurried aboard a Daihatsu. This time, ten boats departed from Fengchuan, two of them River Squadron gunboats leading the way. The six under Zhu Si's command fell in behind the main body, and together they headed downstream.
Downstream from Fengchuan County, not far past the county boundary, there was a village nestled on a hillside overlooking the West River.
Like many villages in Guangdong, it was a clan settlement. The resident clan was surnamed Xu—one of the great surnames of Lingnan. They had been here for over a century, and the village was called Xugang.
The location was near the West River, with green hills and clear water, rich and fertile land. The Xu clan had flourished here and quickly become the local gentry and strongmen. Xugang had grown into a large village of nearly a thousand souls.
Now, however, the village was wreathed in thick smoke and flames. Among the black tiles and white walls, shouts of combat could faintly be heard.
At the heart of the village stood a three-courtyard compound of red stone and blue brick with glazed roof tiles—this was the Xu ancestral hall. In the hall's council chamber, several elders sat stiffly upright. Though they were trying to appear calm, the battle cries growing ever fiercer outside made every face show worry.
"Master! The bandits have fallen back!" A middle-aged servant in a dark gown and close cap—his face smeared with soot, his clothes torn and bloodstained—came running in, panting.
"Good!" The man addressed as "Master" nodded, and those around him immediately showed relief.
"Go back and tell everyone: the bandits are nearly spent. I've already sent someone to the county seat for help. The Australians' army will be here any moment! Hold out through this battle, and everyone will be handsomely rewarded!"
"Master! The situation is dire—our militia and village men have taken heavy casualties, and morale is shaky. I'm afraid..." The messenger showed no joy, his face anxious.
The messenger was a steward of the village patriarch, Old Master Xu. His name was Xu Yong. Unremarkable in appearance, he was Old Master Xu's most capable enforcer, normally in charge of the household retainers and militia.
Usually he was bold and fierce, unafraid of death—seldom showing such anxious expressions. This immediately put Old Master Xu on his guard.
"You're saying they can't hold much longer?"
"Yes! Yes!" Xu Yong nodded rapidly. "The bandits have a lot of firearms—they're pouring it on. We don't even have crude blunderbusses. The brothers are pinned down, can't raise their heads. A lot of the crenellations and parapets have been shot away. And the bandits are shouting that they're bringing up cannon—if they really do, the boys say it'll be over..."
This made not only Old Master Xu blanch, but his page-boys, maids, and senior kinsmen all turned pale as well.
Xugang had always been a peaceful place. First, it wasn't far from the county seat; second, it sat by the West River, a densely populated corridor. Though small bands of river pirates and land brigands might occasionally cause trouble, there had never been a gang of a hundred or more. The Xu clan had lived here for three generations, farming and studying. Though they hadn't produced great scholars, the clan had raised a few xiucai, and with hundreds of tenant and hereditary servant households, they commanded three or four hundred able-bodied men. In Yunan County, they were counted among the powerful—petty criminals wouldn't dare touch them. No one had imagined that such a large gang of bandits would come to storm and slaughter the village!
(Chapter End)