Chapter Fifty-Two: Defeat Like a Collapsing Mountain

Li Zhengu still held his troops in check. Each day he continued to send out patrols and scouts to probe for news.

The response from the Kingdom of Wuyue was muted. Qian Wenfeng remained remarkably calm, believing that as long as Suzhou was held and the spring planting could proceed without interruption, that would already count as a great achievement. Once he received definite news, he still sent men to the Tang camp, hoping to buy back Fan Mengling. The price he offered was generous indeed: twenty pearls from the Eastern Sea, each as large as a thumb, along with a considerable amount of gold and silver, enough to support an ordinary family for a lifetime.

By rights, after Qian Wenfeng had gone to such lengths, Fan Mengling, as his adviser, ought to have been deeply grateful. Yet Fan Mengling refused and remained in the Tang camp.

Yang Lian had tried to persuade him, but Fan Mengling said that by revealing Suzhou’s defenses to Great Tang, he had already been disloyal. He no longer dared return to Suzhou and could only disappoint Qian Wenfeng’s kind intentions.

Since neither side moved against the other for the time being, the Suzhou-Changzhou front was indeed far quieter than the one at Fuzhou.

Time passed swiftly. Yang Lian’s injuries gradually improved, and when the Prince of Qi received word of it, he sent excellent medicinal herbs for Yang Lian’s recovery. It was said that Princess Huairou, on hearing this, showed nothing but disdain. Yet a few days later, Yang Lian secretly received a gift from Princess Huairou as well, including fine medicines and two small bottles of yellow wine.

After half a month of rest and recuperation, Yang Lian had no further serious problems and began training more intensely. During this time, the two armies still relied on scouts and skirmishes; there was no large-scale battle.

Yang Lian was somewhat disappointed. Although he had long understood the true meaning behind the emperor’s order for Li Zhengu to campaign, he still dreamed of earning greater military merit.

April arrived, the weather grew steadily warmer, and the Southern Tang army had already been encamped for some time, consuming vast amounts of grain and coin.

One morning, after rising and exercising for a while, Yang Lian was about to return to rest when Chen Tie hurried over and said, “Senior Guard Yang, Commander Zhou is ordering all soldiers to assemble.”

Yang Lian could not help but feel a jolt of excitement. Assemble the troops—could it be that Li Zhengu truly intended to fight?

After all, with Fan Mengling’s defense map in hand, even if the number of troops in the fortresses had changed somewhat, Qian Wenfeng could not possibly build more forts in the short term to patch every gap. If the plan were thorough enough, there was still a chance to achieve results.

At that thought, Yang Lian was filled with fighting spirit. With his body steadily recovering and some experience against the enemy now under his belt, he was confident he could win greater victories.

By then, the various drill grounds in the camp were already packed with men. Yang Lian found the area assigned to the Third Command.

As usual, each squad counted its men, reported them to the senior guard, who then reported to the platoon leader, who gathered the numbers and submitted them to the commander.

Zhou Hongzu stood on a high platform, looking coldly down at the brothers beneath him. “By order of our superiors, all of you are to return and pack your belongings. At dawn tomorrow, we set out and head back to Jinling.”

“What? Back to Jinling?” A platoon leader immediately asked. What was going on? They had not yet had a proper fight with Wuyue, and now they were to retreat to Jinling?

“There is no need to question this commander’s order. I know exactly what I am saying.” Zhou Hongzu’s voice was icy.

At once, a clamor rose below the platform. Yang Lian and Lin Renzhao exchanged a glance and gave slight nods. It seemed the fighting at Fuzhou had already reached its conclusion, and had ended in defeat. The news had reached Jinling, and the emperor, alarmed, had summoned Li Zhengu back.

Yang Lian did not know whether his guess was correct. After all, it was only a guess, and one that could not be spoken aloud. All he could do was pack his belongings and return to Jinling with the army.

That night, the Tang camp was exceptionally quiet. The soldiers had long since packed their gear and gone to sleep early, preparing to rise at the fourth watch and withdraw before Qian Wenfeng noticed. At the third watch, Yang Lian awoke, roused his men, washed hastily, and then the whole force gathered its things and, under cover of darkness and moonlight, marched north toward Changzhou.

The night was dim, and most of the soldiers carried torches. Even so, there were still men who could not make out the road; night blindness was still very common. Even among the imperial troops, whose food was usually decent, many suffered from it. In such darkness, those with poor sight stayed to the rear, while those with normal vision opened the way in front, slowly retreating toward Changzhou.

Yang Lian had normal sight and, together with Lin Renzhao and the others, led the advance. In the darkness, everything seemed unnaturally still. With his eyesight, Yang Lian could even make out leaves swaying in the night wind. All around was black as ink; farther off, shrubs stirred faintly, and no one knew what might be hiding within them.

They moved cautiously all the way, covering about five li. The sky was still pitch-black. Judging by the hour, it could not yet have been the fifth watch. Yang Lian quickened his pace, when suddenly the entire column began to stir. Then someone shouted, “The enemy has launched a surprise attack!”

With that cry, the whole formation fell into chaos. Most of the soldiers could not see the road and only heard the shouting. Panic was inevitable. Some immediately dashed forward and disrupted the ranks; others even drew their weapons and, unable to see clearly, began slashing at random.

In the blink of an eye, the army was in utter disorder. Yang Lian, Lin Renzhao, Chen Tie, and several others stayed together, riding along the official road. Anyone who showed hostile intent along the way was cut down by the three of them. Before they had traveled even half a li, the cries behind them grew louder and louder. It was clear the Wuyue army had come after them.

At such a moment, no one knew where Li Zhengu was, and the army had no command. Yang Lian said in a low voice, “Do not linger in battle. Move!” Somehow Qian Wenfeng had gotten wind of their withdrawal and had set an ambush to cut the Tang army down midway.

Lin Renzhao answered, and the three of them continued at a mad gallop. Ahead of them, many Tang soldiers were also fleeing in panic; some were still locked in combat with the enemy. Corpses lay scattered along the road, and the thick stench of blood surged relentlessly into the nostrils, sickening to bear.

As Yang Lian ran, he kept watch on every side. Suddenly, from the darkness, an arrow flew toward him. He quickly lifted the long blade in his hand and knocked it aside from the horse.

“Where do you think you’re going?” A Wuyue soldier on horseback charged over. Seeing that Yang Lian and the others were all mounted, he guessed they must be high-ranking officers. Since the ambush had failed, he had no choice but to fight them himself.

Yang Lian gave a cold laugh and struck fiercely with his long blade. The two horses crossed paths; their weapons met with a sharp clang. Yang Lian’s arm went numb, and he thought grimly that this man had tremendous strength. He dared not be careless.

Failing in his first strike, the other man gave a startled cry and turned his mount, charging again to entangle Yang Lian in a death grip.

Yang Lian was furious. His body had only recently recovered, and though he was not seriously hindered, he was still affected somewhat. If this were an ordinary day, he was certain he could kill the enemy. But this was a surprise attack on Great Tang’s forces, and without knowing how many enemies there were, Yang Lian would never linger in battle.

He quickly drew the spear from behind him and, taking advantage of the man’s pursuit, hurled it with all his strength. The man was caught off guard. When he finally reacted, he hurried to lie flat over the horse’s back, but there was a crisp impact as the spear struck his helmet and sent it flying.

Startled, the man looked back just as Chen Tie came charging up, brandishing his horse-spike spear. The man raised his blade to meet him. Their weapons clashed sharply, and the man felt his arm go numb, astonished at Chen Tie’s extraordinary strength. Before he could recover, Lin Renzhao also swung his blade and joined the attack.

The three men surrounded the Wuyue soldier. Unable to hold out, he feinted with a slash and then withdrew. Yang Lian drew his arrows and loosed two shots wildly into the darkness. Whether they had struck anything he did not know, and he simply spurred his horse onward in flight.

They fled more than a hundred li that night. No one knew how many battles they fought along the way, and their arms had long gone numb and sore. By the time dawn was beginning to gray the sky, Yang Lian, Lin Renzhao, Chen Tie, and more than fifty soldiers were hiding on a hill.

The hill was not high, only about thirty zhang, and perhaps a hundred paces across. Thick forest ringed it on both sides, and there was only one way in or out. With only a small force, it could be held securely.

The sun rose and shone on the mountaintop, bringing a measure of comfort. Many soldiers crouched on the ground with sorrowful faces, looking as though their parents had died. They had been ambushed in the dead of night, and who knew how many comrades had fallen? Now they were trapped here, exhausted and spent, horses as weary as men. If the Wuyue troops learned of their position and surrounded the place, all of them would be finished.

Yang Lian coughed, stood up, and swept his gaze over the crowd. “Get up. Stop looking like someone has died in your family. Are grown men to be choked to death by their own urine?”

A soldier who looked to be a platoon leader glared at Yang Lian, then stood and barked, “What rank do you hold, and how dare you shout like that here?”

Yang Lian cast him a glance, his eyes fierce. “Senior Guard.”

The man wore armor of the Heaven’s Might Army and naturally was unwilling to submit to someone from the Divine Martial Army.

“Haha!” The man laughed aloud and pointed at Yang Lian in mockery. “I thought you were some great official, but you’re only a senior guard! There are platoon leaders among us, yet what right do you, a mere senior guard, have to point fingers here?”

Yang Lian gave a cold smile. “You are indeed a platoon leader. If you can lead everyone back to Changzhou, then I have no objection to placing command in your hands.”

The man fell silent, pressing his lips together. Though he was a platoon leader, he had no solution either. Yet he was unwilling to be trampled by some minor senior guard. After thinking it over, he said, “So you mean you have a plan?”

“A plan is always something people come up with.” Yang Lian’s tone was cool.

“Hmph, useless fool. I thought you had some good metho—”

Before he could finish, he suddenly heard hurried footsteps. Turning back, he saw Yang Lian’s fist already driving toward him. He had no choice but to swallow the rest of his words. He tried to dodge, but Yang Lian was faster; a moment later the blow landed on his chin, and several teeth flew from his mouth.

“This is what happens when you show me disrespect!” Yang Lian said coldly.

The man flew into a rage, spat blood, and shouted, “How dare you strike me!”

“And what if I did? Back then, even Chen Decheng was beaten by me!” Yang Lian fixed him with a cold stare.

The man was stunned. Chen Decheng’s beating had been the subject of rampant gossip throughout the Heaven’s Might Army; how could he not have heard of it? He had heard that Yang Lian was formidable, but never imagined he would meet him here.

“Why should anyone from the Divine Martial Army be in charge of the men of the Heaven’s Might Army?” the man retorted.

“The army has already been defeated. No one knows where the great commander is, and the two army commanders are also missing. Our task now is simply to find a way back to Changzhou. Yet you still stand here clinging to the old grievance between the Divine Martial Army and the Heaven’s Might Army. How laughable!” Yang Lian looked at him, and a trace of killing intent entered his eyes. For a rat-dropping like this, one that could spoil the whole pot, Yang Lian felt it necessary to get rid of him.