Chapter 31: Lingao's Counterattack (Part 1)
The “distinction,” Guo Yi reasoned, was between him, a Chinese national, and the two Americans from the ATF. Their future treatment and opportunities would diverge. But whether this was to his advantage or disadvantage was unclear.
On the one hand, as a fellow Chinese, he was a “target that can be united with.” But he also knew that some of his countrymen had a tendency to give preferential treatment to foreigners. It was possible that the two rootless Americans would be valued more highly, while he, who had tried to thwart their plans, would be seen as a liability, his use “controlled.”
The thought troubled him. The minds of leaders were often inscrutable, their logic different from that of ordinary men. The leaders of this time-traveling enterprise, he suspected, would be no exception.
Since being assigned to the basic labor group, he had kept his head down, working diligently, waiting for an opportunity to prove himself a true revolutionary comrade. He did not expect that opportunity to come so soon.
The transmigrators, engrossed in the construction of their new city, had grown complacent. The local population had fled at their approach, and their victories in a few minor skirmishes, coupled with the shipload of arms from their North American branch, had bred a dangerous sense of security. They believed their trenches, abatis, barbed wire, SKS rifles, and searchlights made them invincible.
The spies from the county town watched from a distance each day, their courage bolstered by the capture of their companions. They could see the pirates at work, and the city was well-informed of their every move, but they were helpless. The gentry, secure in their villages, were not inclined to get involved. “In a small chaos, avoid the city; in a great chaos, avoid the countryside,” was an age-old adage. But the county magistrate had no such luxury. If the city fell, he would have to die with it, a fate he was not eager to embrace.
The city itself was a powder keg. Over two thousand refugees had flooded in, and there was not enough housing. The farmers who had not fled to the city were afraid to bring their produce to market, fearing the pirates. Food was scarce, and the refugees subsisted on the charity of the porridge sheds. Malnutrition and exposure had already claimed the lives of the elderly and the young. The streets were filled with the sound of weeping, and Magistrate Wu feared a civil unrest. He patrolled the streets daily, trying to appease the people.
As a precaution, he had secretly sent his family and his savings to the prefectural city, with instructions to send them across the sea to their hometown if the situation worsened. He was now a “naked official.”
For ten days, the city waited in fear. But the pirates did not attack. The spies reported that they had stopped at Bairen Tan and were now engaged in large-scale construction, with no apparent intention of attacking the city. Wu Mingjin was baffled. He had never heard of any ancient tombs or treasures at Bairen Tan.
“This is a real headache,” he said, rubbing his temples. His hair, he thought, had turned a lot grayer in the past ten days.
“My lord, Inspector Fu requests an audience,” his attendant announced.
“Let him in,” Wu Mingjin said irritably. He still held a grudge against Fu Baiwen for fleeing at the first sight of the enemy, but he was the only military officer in the county, and he had to be relied upon. Fu Baiwen, for his part, had been diligent in preparing the city’s defenses, trying to redeem himself.
“Your Honor, the cut-hair bandits are building a city on Bairen Tan!”
Wu Mingjin’s hand trembled, spilling his tea. “How do you know?”
“I went to investigate myself yesterday. They have already built many houses on Bairen Tan!”
The teacup nearly fell from Wu Mingjin’s hand. This was his greatest fear. If the pirates stayed, what would he do? He had hoped they would leave after a few days. But now they were building a road, and a stockade less than ten li from the county town.
Once the stockade was complete, the pirates would be entrenched. And with the autumn harvest approaching, the farmers would not dare to go to the fields. If the autumn grain could not be collected, his official career would be over.
“Quickly, invite Mr. Liu,” he ordered. “And all the gentry in the city. And Old Master Huang from Huang Family Village.”
At the meeting, the officials and gentry listened to the spies’ reports. Some, who had read military books, noted that the pirates’ long, thin line of construction was a tactical weakness, a “long snake formation” that could not support its head and tail. They had not built a proper stockade, and each work point was guarded by only a few men with matchlocks.
Their courage grew. Fu Baiwen, eager to redeem himself, was the most vocal advocate for an attack. The magistrate pointed out that the autumn harvest was at stake. With their livelihoods threatened, the gentry’s minds became active. They pledged men and money for the war.
On the eleventh day of the ninth month, the militia leaders were summoned to the city. The magistrate’s tone was severe. With the support of the powerful gentry, even the smaller stockades had to agree to participate. By the thirteenth, nearly three hundred local braves had assembled. The magistrate, still feeling it was not enough, recruited thirty Li native soldiers, crossbowmen with poisoned arrows.
Jinshi Liu suggested a night attack, but Fu Baiwen and Huang Shoutong, both with practical combat experience, objected. A night attack was difficult to control even for a well-trained army, let alone a motley crew like theirs. Their only advantage was numbers. They would have to concentrate their forces and attack a single point, overwhelming the pirates with sheer force.
Fu Baiwen ordered the preparation of kindling and gunpowder for setting fires. He had hoped to bring the Franc-gun from the garrison, but Centurion Sun refused, claiming his duty was to defend the city, not to fight outside it. The magistrate’s personal appeal was also rejected. The messenger sent to Tang Yunwen in Baisha returned with the news that the general was busy suppressing the rebellion of Liu Laoxiang and could not be bothered with a “small group of sea pirates.”
Tang Yunwen’s response was expected. The official army would not intervene unless Lingao City was breached. They were on their own.
The county armory was emptied to equip the poorly clothed local braves. Blacksmiths were put to work forging new spearheads, and scrap metal was collected to make cannonballs. The city was a hive of activity.
All of this was reported to the Executive Committee by the observation post. Whether Lingao was strengthening its defenses or preparing for an attack was unclear. The order to strengthen the alert was issued, but the military group was stretched thin.
They had a total of only seventy men. After deducting those on surveillance and escort duty, the remaining men were responsible for the security of the entire area from the Bopu camp to the Bairen Tan construction site. They had already switched to a two-shift system to maintain a semblance of security.
Whether their defenses, full of holes, would be effective against the Ming Dynasty’s militia could only be answered by battle. This was not a game. There was no “load” button. Every loss would be irretrievable.
The news from the observation post pointed to an imminent, full-scale offensive. This was unexpected. The Executive Committee had assumed the county would not attack without reinforcements. But on the thirteenth, the observation post reported that the Tiger Respect Cannon on the city tower was being dismantled. This confirmed their fears. The military group warned that their security was not optimistic. The Executive Committee held an emergency meeting and ordered a full mobilization. All but the most essential projects were suspended. SKS rifles were distributed to all males, revolvers to all females. The military group was tasked with conducting live-fire training.
He Ming knew that most of the transmigrators had limited training. A rookie with an SKS was little more than a man with a fire stick. They could not be expected to fight effectively.
The military group decided to stick with their mobile defense plan. If attacked, the mobilized soldiers would retreat to key strongholds, while the military group would use their vehicles to maneuver and attack the enemy’s flank and rear. He Ming believed their superior communication and mobility would compensate for their lack of numbers.