Chapter Twenty-Five: The Main Camp Advances Westward

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After Chen Daqing was brought in, Liu Heng asked, “Chen Daqing, you came to see me in such a hurry. Has something happened in the rear camp?”

“Reporting to the Chief, Head Yang received important news from the central camp and ordered me to come overnight and report it to you.” Chen Daqing stood ramrod straight at attention.

“Your training is coming along well. After only one day, you already look the part.” Liu Heng offered a word of praise before asking, “What news?”

Chen Daqing replied, “They say all the camps are preparing to march west. It will happen within the next few days.”

“Are you certain?” Liu Heng’s brows drew together. The sudden news that Shi Yunhu intended to break camp and march west had caught him completely off guard.

By his own estimate, the newly recruited refugees would need at least fifteen days of training before they could be considered ready. Any less, and they would not even remember the most basic movements, let alone undergo formation training.

Now that word of the westward march had come from the central camp, it meant Shi Yunhu would not give him time to train the refugees. Once the main camp set out, the constant traveling would reduce those who had only just begun training to their former state.

A trace of hesitation crossed Chen Daqing’s face. “This news came from Chen Wu, the man the Chief drove out of the rear camp.”

“Chen Wu?” Liu Heng could not remember who he was, though he was certainly one of the minor officers he had thrown out of the rear camp.

Chen Daqing continued, “Chen Wu and I belong to the same extended clan, though we are not closely related. After nightfall, he came to recruit me, saying that he had already gone over to Boss Shi. To make me believe him, he told me that the entire camp would be setting out within the next few days.”

Liu Heng believed eighty or ninety percent of what Chen Daqing had said.

For wandering bandits, everything depended on the word “wandering.” If they remained in one place for too long, the authorities would soon find an opportunity to wipe them out.

What was more, Zhao Yutu had come to the archer camp that afternoon to demand grain. Although every camp was short of food, they could have held out for several days. Yet Zhao Yutu had been so eager to carry the grain away. In retrospect, he must have been making preparations for the main camp’s departure.

Chen Xunping, standing nearby, said in a low voice, “If the main camp is about to move, I’m afraid our three hundred newly recruited refugees won’t have time to continue training. Shi Yunhu’s move has effectively cut off our path to expanding our strength.”

Liu Heng pondered for a while, then said to Chen Daqing, “Go back and tell Yang Yuan to proceed as usual, but tighten the training schedule. Also tell him this: anyone who betrays the rear camp is to be treated as a deserter. Show no mercy.”

When he heard the final eight words, Chen Daqing shuddered involuntarily. Everyone knew how deserters were dealt with: they were beheaded on the spot. At the same time, he felt fortunate that he had not accepted Chen Wu’s offer.

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“Yes, sir. I’ll return to the rear camp at once and convey your orders to Head Yang.” At Liu Heng’s signal, Chen Daqing left the archer camp.

Once he was gone, Chen Xunping said, “What should we do with the newly recruited refugees? Should we send them back to the refugee camp? Otherwise, once the main camp sets out, no one knows how far we’ll have to travel, and feeding them will be a tremendous expense.”

“No. Keep them all,” Liu Heng replied. “It is easy enough to send them away this time, but recruiting them again later will not be so easy. Take them with us. Not only that—find a way to bring everyone remaining in the refugee camp to the rear camp and have them travel with the rear-camp troops.”

Chen Xunping looked puzzled. “Keeping the three hundred newly recruited refugees is understandable, but the refugee camp also contains several hundred mouths. We have some grain at present, but between the refugee recruits and the newly recruited refugees, there are already six hundred people. Add the archer camp and the more than one hundred men in the rear camp, and then the several hundred mouths in the refugee camp—that makes more than a thousand people in all. The grain we have may look plentiful, but it still won’t be enough to feed so many.”

Liu Heng smiled. “As long as we have people, there will always be a way to obtain grain. If all these thousand-plus people belong to us, then not only Shi Yunhu—even the authorities will have to give us a measure of respect.”

“That may be true, but just thinking of more than a thousand mouths waiting to be fed is frightening.” Chen Xunping’s face clouded with worry. “We should discuss this with Brother Shuheng. He has always managed the grain, and no one knows better than he does how much remains after the two camps are combined.”

“I’ll speak with Brother Shuheng,” Liu Heng said. “After dinner, arrange the night patrols. We must have one archer squad and two refugee-recruit squads patrolling at the same time.”

Chen Xunping bit into a piece of flatbread and mumbled through it, “Don’t worry, I’ve already arranged everything. Eat quickly. The soup is getting cold.”

After dinner, Liu Heng went to discuss the matter of taking in the refugee camp with Li Shuheng. The two men deliberated for most of the night before finally returning to their respective quarters.

At daybreak the next morning, Li Shuheng had already arranged for breakfast to be prepared. After eating, the refugees and refugee recruits led their units to an open stretch of ground not far outside the archer camp to train.

The morning temperature was mild and pleasant, ideal for training. The refugees began practicing the movements taught the previous day, while the refugee recruits continued familiarizing themselves with battlefield formations.

As noon approached, the central camp sent a messenger to convey Shi Yunhu’s orders: all camps were to march west with the main camp the following day. The left and right camps would serve as the army’s advance guard and scout the road ahead; the central camp would travel in the middle; while the rear camp and archer camp, together with the refugee camp, would follow as the rear guard.

As the saying went, even a ruined household had a thousand things in it. Although Shi Yunhu had ordered the march to begin the next day, each camp had countless odds and ends to pack, and putting everything in order was no simple task. The camps themselves could travel light, taking only their grain; everything else left behind would be gathered by the rear camp.

Taking advantage of this, Liu Heng tightened the refugees’ training while assigning some of the refugee recruits to lead people from the refugee camp in collecting the various odds and ends abandoned by the other camps.

After all the commotion, three full days passed before they finally set out.

Carts, wheelbarrows, and refugees carrying all manner of miscellaneous goods stretched for several miles.

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The rear camp had already fallen nearly twenty miles behind the central camp, and it was even farther from the left and right camps marching at the front.

To facilitate communication among the camps, Zhao Yutu was assigned to the rear camp, bringing several mounted riders with him.

His presence served not only to maintain contact between the camps but also to keep watch over the rear camp and the archer camp.

Liu Heng neither acknowledged nor objected to this. He had brought along the belongings of several camps, and with the endless train dragging behind them, it was impossible to travel quickly. At most, they covered ten or so miles in a day before having to make camp again.

After three days of travel, Liu Heng finally led the rear camp and archer camp out of their former county. They marched for nearly half a month more before entering the territory of Datong.

* * *

Within the residence of the Deputy Commander of the Tiancheng Guard, Huang, once a Thousand-household Commander and now a Deputy Commander, sat in his own grand armchair with one leg crossed over the other, a lidded bowl of tea in his hand.

“Steward She, it isn’t that I refuse to help. The bandits you mentioned are not within the jurisdiction of the Tiancheng Guard. Leading troops beyond our borders to suppress bandits requires official documents. The man you should be seeking is the Grand Commander of Taiyuan, not me, a mere Deputy Commander of the Tiancheng Guard.”

“Son-in-law, you must take charge of this matter. Most of the family’s movable wealth was seized by those bandits. The old master has been so enraged that he can no longer rise from his bed. Every day he clutches his chest and cries out in pain.” Steward She pleaded through his tears.

Deputy Commander Huang frowned and said impatiently, “Didn’t I already explain? This matter falls under the jurisdiction of the Grand Commander of Taiyuan. A minor officer like me has no authority over your territory.”

Just then, one of his personal guards rushed in from outside and said urgently, “Sir, Madam has forced her way in from the inner quarters.”

“What?” Deputy Commander Huang, who had still been sitting with his legs crossed, abruptly straightened. The lidded bowl in his hand nearly slipped to the floor. “What does that old woman want?”