Chapter Seven: Venturing Out to Forage

The place where Liu Heng trained the refugees was barely a mile away from the rear camp. By the first day of training, every bandit in the rear camp knew that Liu Heng was drilling a group of refugees.

Old Lame Ma, stationed at the rear camp, was filled with resentment upon hearing the news. He knew that the meager grain he had painstakingly hoarded had been seized by Liu Heng to feed those refugees. Having been humiliated in front of everyone and then robbed of his supplies, Old Lame Ma dared not show his anger, but in his heart, he wished Liu Heng were dead.

Upon learning that Liu Heng had recruited several hundred refugees, he immediately relayed the news to Zheng Daqiu, who held a grudge against Liu Heng, hoping to use Zheng’s hand to deal with him.

Zheng Daqiu was initially startled by the news. He knew that Liu Heng and Li Shuheng’s archer battalion were both from military backgrounds and were fully capable of training refugee recruits. If these refugees were successfully trained, they would become hundreds of combat-ready bandits—more infantry than even the central battalion possessed.

Not daring to delay, Zheng Daqiu hurried to the main tent of the central battalion to report the intelligence to the chief commander, Shi Yunhu.

Hearing this, Shi Yunhu laughed heartily and said dismissively, "Yunjiu, you have a military background. Explain it to him."

Ma Yunjiu, standing below, stepped forward and said, "To train soldiers, one must first fill their stomachs. Three hundred men require at least one picul of grain a day. Even with strict rationing, they need seven or eight pecks. Nowadays, every battalion is severely short of grain. Even with the archer battalion’s support, Liu Heng can hold out for at most half a month. After that, without food, a force trained for less than two weeks will be a disaster; they might even mutiny."

"Do you understand now?" Shi Yunhu, his chest bare, looked at Zheng Daqiu.

"I understand," Zheng Daqiu replied cautiously, though he added worriedly, "I am concerned that they might not wait for half a month and instead send the refugees to raid for grain beforehand."

"Ha! That is even more impossible," Shi Yunhu laughed. "Even if General Qi or General Li were reborn, a bunch of peasants couldn't be trained into an army in ten or fifteen days."

Zheng Daqiu said humbly, "I’m just worried that Liu Heng might stir up trouble and seize the rear camp leadership. He isn't loyal to you, Chief; he’s on good terms with the left and right battalions—otherwise, Blind Wu and the others wouldn't speak up for him."

Shi Yunhu’s face darkened. "Tomorrow, I will have Yunjiu take the cavalry with you to secure grain. No one will take the position of rear camp commander from you."

With that, he drained the wine bowl on the low table in one gulp.

"Thank you, Chief." Zheng Daqiu knelt down immediately, his worries completely vanished. With Ma Yunjiu’s cavalry, he believed no one could seize his command of the rear camp.

***

No longer worried, Zheng Daqiu stopped returning to the rear camp altogether, fearing that if he went back now that Liu Heng had hundreds of refugees under his command, he might fall into Liu Heng’s hands. For the next few days, he went out raiding with Ma Yunjiu and slept in the central battalion’s camp at night.

Zheng Daqiu’s absence from the rear camp left Old Lame Ma, who remained behind to gather intelligence for him, in a state of panic.

As the days passed, the three hundred refugees recruited by Liu Heng took shape. In just nine days, they had transformed from a disorganized rabble into a disciplined military unit. They were even more orderly and imposing than typical regular troops, and the rhythmic chants shouted by the refugee columns carried the air of a formidable force. Had people not seen the growth of this unit with their own eyes, no one would have believed these men were nothing but clueless refugees a few days prior.

Old Lame Ma, who had been secretly observing the unit, was increasingly horrified by its transformation. He was deeply impressed by Liu Heng’s training methods, but this only fueled his hatred and his anxiety that Zheng Daqiu would be unable to stop him. He wanted to inform Zheng Daqiu about the refugees, but he never had the chance. During the day, Zheng Daqiu was gone, and at night, Old Lame Ma dared not leave the camp for fear of being discovered by Liu Heng’s men. As for the other leaders in the central battalion, a mere cook from the rear camp had no standing to meet them, nor would they see him.

Finally, on the tenth day, he found his chance.

That day, Liu Heng and his refugee unit left the camp before dawn. Furthermore, the archer battalion, led by Li Shuheng, also departed. Old Lame Ma seized the opportunity and crept through the dark to the gates of the central battalion.

As the eastern horizon turned a pale, fish-belly white, Old Lame Ma waited outside until he finally saw Zheng Daqiu.

"Leader Zheng, something has happened!" Old Lame Ma said urgently upon meeting him. "Liu the Wood-head left the camp with those refugees before dawn. Not only them, but the archer battalion left as well."

Zheng Daqiu frowned. "Do you know where they went?"

Old Lame Ma shook his head. "I’m not sure of the exact destination, but they headed in the direction of Zheng Manor. Could they be planning to attack it?"

At this, Ma Yunjiu, standing nearby, laughed. "Don't worry. Zheng Manor isn't that easy to take; it's a famous, well-fortified estate for a dozen miles around."

Hearing this, Zheng Daqiu turned back to Old Lame Ma. "Did you hear that? It's a major estate; they have plenty of guards. Liu Heng thinks he can take Zheng Manor with a few hundred refugees and a hundred archers? It’s a daydream."

"But those hundreds of refugees aren't the same as before. Now—"

Before he could finish, Zheng Daqiu impatiently interrupted, "You think training soldiers is that easy? Even if General Qi were reborn, those peasants wouldn't be anything special in ten or fifteen days. Enough, get out of the way. Leader Ma and I have to raid villages further out today. Move!"

With that, he led his men past Old Lame Ma. Old Lame Ma wanted to say more, but Zheng Daqiu gave him no chance and had his bandits drive him away.

Once Zheng Daqiu and Ma Yunjiu’s troop had moved off, Old Lame Ma returned to the rear camp, helpless.

After the sun had fully risen, the left and right battalions received reports that the entire archer battalion had vacated the camp. Upon hearing the news, Blind Wu jumped out of bed, excited. "After waiting so long, the archer battalion has finally left."

He immediately called a bandit from outside the tent and ordered, "Go notify the commander of the right battalion, Black-faced Zhou, and tell him to bring his men to me immediately."

The bandit from the left battalion set off for the right. Blind Wu sneered to himself, "Shi Yunhu, let's see who can save you this time!"

About an hour later, Blind Wu and Black-faced Zhou led the combined forces of their two battalions out of the camp, marching straight toward Shi Yunhu’s central headquarters.