Chapter 2160 - From Passive to Active
Zhu Si led his column into Xugang more than an hour later. Though they had missed the initial welcome ceremony, the village still received them warmly. The moment they entered, there were attendants ready with tea and snacks laid out by the roadside. The soldiers, hungry and exhausted, eagerly helped themselves.
"Easy there, gentlemen—don't rush. Once we reach the threshing ground, there'll be more refreshments. No need to hurry..." The steward in charge saw that before the column had even passed, several large bamboo trays of snacks had been swept clean, the soldiers wolfing it down like starving ghosts reincarnated. He was secretly disdainful—but soldiers had always been people you didn't want to offend, so he kept a smile on his face.
"Eat, drink, and keep moving—don't block the road." The sergeants kept urging the men forward, but the soldiers ate and ate, some even stuffing food into their uniforms.
"Hey, hey—eating is allowed, but no taking!" Li Dong called out loudly. "We'll cook a meal once we reach camp. If you grab everything, there'll be nothing left for the brothers behind!"
Having just fought a battle, the soldiers were parched and famished. Now with food and drink, their tension eased. They looked around curiously.
"What a fine village!" Luo Mao surveyed the scene. "No worse than Lingao!"
"So many of these houses are brick and tile! Even in Wuzhou Prefecture you won't see anything this grand!"
"There's even stone paving on the road."
"This village is huge—bigger than the market town back home."
...
Comments like these ran through the ranks as the soldiers gawked at the village they had just helped save.
Though nominally a village, Xugang was more like a small township. Prosperous southern townships were all much alike: centered on a river or large pond, with houses spreading out in all directions from the water.
Such villages were usually quite wealthy. Buildings were mostly orderly, roads were paved. The network of waterways provided ample water supply as well as ready-made drainage, and the binding force of clan-governed "village compacts" was strong—making the environment better in many respects than county or even prefectural seats. In some ways it was even better than some "model villages" in Lingao.
Because of the fighting, the streets were almost empty; only the National Army troops from Fengchuan County and local militia patrolled.
The attendant steward led the Composite Company to rest beside the threshing ground at the front of the village. Since they wouldn't be staying overnight, there was no need to requisition quarters or prepare bedding. They simply posted sentries, stacked their spears and rifles on the threshing ground, and rested in place.
As soon as the Wuzhou Composite Company settled in, local villagers brought over pots and large buckets to "reward the troops." The fare wasn't lavish—not much meat—but there was unlimited white rice, and big pots of soup. The hot meal went down very well.
Zhu Si ate while calling Li Dong over to discuss their next move.
He had harbored reservations about Li Dong, thinking him reckless—liable to bungle things and drag him down. But Mi Longtao's praise for his "decisive action" had pleased him greatly. Whatever the case, Li Dong's risk-taking had won him face, and Mi Longtao's battle report would give him credit as well. The Australians didn't hand out commendations lightly—in the Imperial forces, a single enemy head was worth a citation, but in the Beiwei Army, killing a few enemies counted for nothing. Promotion and advancement depended on "routine performance." And how was that judged? By concrete "results."
Li Dong might be impetuous, but he was useful for building a record. After all, Zhu Si was the commander—any credit was naturally "thanks to his excellent leadership," and any problems would at least give him room to deflect.
The battle at Xugang had cost them several hours; their original plan to rendezvous with the upriver convoy before sunset was clearly impossible now.
"If we pushed hard, we might still make it. But there's no guarantee we won't run into another incident on the way. I say we take it easy and travel more cautiously." Zhu Si spoke.
Before leaving Fengchuan County, they had radioed the counties along the river and the shipping command center to report that their arrival would be delayed due to combat.
"I was thinking the same. The enemy probably hasn't gone far," Li Dong agreed. "The moment we leave Xugang, we might well have another fight."
This was something Zhu Si hadn't considered. In his view, the bandits had taken heavy casualties in this engagement—the bodies buried on the hillside alone numbered over thirty, and Xugang's defenders said dozens more had been left behind. With losses like that and nothing to show for it, would the rank-and-file still be willing to fight?
"After a beating like that, would the bandits still want to fight us? Aren't they afraid their own men will mutiny?"
"Battalion Commander, this gang isn't simple—definitely not ordinary robbers." Li Dong had sensed this while cleaning up the battlefield. "Look at the firearms they brought..."
"A few wooden cannons. What's remarkable about that?"
"Wooden cannons aren't remarkable. But why bring so many to attack a village, then throw them away without a second thought? That's not how bandits operate."
"You mean... they're Imperial troops—Ming army?"
Li Dong nodded. "We've got plenty of former Ming soldiers in our unit. Luo Mao said earlier that these bandits were at least at the level of regular Ming combat troops. Their fighting was well-organized—the commander certainly isn't an ordinary bandit chief."
"So you think they haven't gone far—they're waiting for us to come out so they can hit us again?"
"Yes." The more Li Dong thought about it, the more likely it seemed. "They could have taken Xugang—it was bait. They were waiting for us to come to the rescue so they could ambush us. Look at that position on the hillside—it was clearly set up for us..."
Zhu Si drew a sharp breath. He hadn't thought of that; hearing Li Dong's analysis, it made sense.
"I never imagined..."
"Never imagined what?" Mi Longtao's voice suddenly interjected.
Zhu Si started, and he and Li Dong quickly rose and saluted. Li Dong said:
"We were discussing the enemy's movements."
Zhu Si shot him a slightly annoyed look, then snapped to attention and reported: "Based on the enemy's actions..."
"All right, let's sit and talk. Relax." Mi Longtao took a seat on a stone bench by the threshing ground. "You too—sit!"
Zhu Si immediately relayed Li Dong's reasoning.
"I agree with Lieutenant Li's assessment: the enemy probably hasn't gone far and is still lurking nearby, ready to strike. They didn't stage this elaborate setup just to withdraw now."
"Your analysis is quite sound." Mi Longtao looked at them approvingly. "The enemy's siege of Xugang was, plainly speaking, 'besieging a point to ambush the relieving force.' Given their numbers and firepower, Xugang would have fallen long ago—they were deliberately waiting for us. In a way, their plan partially succeeded..." His tone grew somber.
"The enemy was indeed cunning. If we didn't send relief, they'd storm Xugang, plunder freely, and spread terror. If we did come, we'd inevitably take casualties..." Li Dong said.
"Exactly. When I was at the Military-Political School, our instructors told us: a good commander chooses the battlefield where he engages the enemy. Today's battle was fought on a battlefield the enemy chose—we were very passive..." Seeing their expressions suggested they didn't fully grasp the point, Mi Longtao didn't elaborate. "...Though we were tactically passive, to do our security work properly we must respond to every emergency. Otherwise, if the enemy had broken Xugang, the locals' trust in us would have diminished. Over time, we'd be 'squeezed out'..."
Seeing they still looked incredulous, Mi Longtao took from his canvas satchel a transcript of a radio message and handed it to Zhu Si:
"This was just sent this morning—you probably haven't seen it. It's the latest intelligence summary on enemy activity. Read the fourth item..."
Zhu Si and Li Dong leaned close together. Item four stated that, according to available intelligence, some bandit groups were extorting grain, cloth, and money from villages along both banks of the West River. Villages that refused saw harassment, kidnappings, and other coercion. Those that firmly resisted had been stormed by massed forces, then massacred to intimidate their neighbors.
Zhu Si didn't quite understand why Mi Longtao wanted him to read this. To his mind, bandits did this sort of thing all the time—nothing unusual. After all, once you've created terror through "killing one to warn a hundred," extorting supplies from villages was much easier than risking your neck in battle.
Seeing their expressions, Mi Longtao knew their "political awareness" fell short. He prompted:
"Since we've come to Guangzhou, overthrown the Ming government, and established a new regime, the bare minimum is 'securing the border and protecting the people.' Common folk don't care what you say—they look first at whether the world is peaceful after you arrive, whether you can keep one corner of it safe! If we can't protect the people's lives and property, can't let them work the fields in peace by day and sleep soundly at night, we won't be able to stand firm here!"
Zhu Si and Li Dong both nodded involuntarily.
"If we don't get security work sorted out quickly and let the bandits run rampant, in time the common people will be forced to 'cooperate' with the bandits just to survive—becoming 'double-dealers.' Once that happens, we won't be able to move an inch on either bank of the West River!"
"I understand. We have to take the initiative!" Li Dong burst out eagerly.
Mi Longtao nodded approvingly. Zhu Si, annoyed at having been upstaged, blurted: "How do we pursue? Do you know where they've run off to?"
"Look here," Mi Longtao spread out the map. "According to our intelligence and prisoner interrogations, this enemy force is about five hundred strong—meaning they still have around four hundred men. The enemy can't fly or burrow into the ground; a force that size can't run far or hide quickly."
(Chapter End)