The Splendor of the Five Dynasties

Chapter 74 Scouting the Enemy (Thanks to the Silver Alliance member "The Cat Yawned on the Roof")
November 16th, 3:45 AM.

Xiao Yi went to bed early last night and woke up when he heard the commotion of the cooks. He planned to take some time to practice his horsemanship and archery.

His body was still very sore, so he had to stretch himself and use his fingers to push away the lactic acid buildup in his muscles.

Guo Xin, who was sleeping next to him, also woke up, rubbing his eyes and asking, "What are you doing?"

"It aches and hurts."

"Oh, actually it's sore too. I'll massage it for you, you massage it for me."

After a while, Guo Xin's pig-like screams rang out from the dormitory, waking everyone up.

The curtain was suddenly flung open, and Liu Tingrang strode in.

"Commander Xiao, I heard you were once the deputy commander of the Crane Control Guard?"

"Yes."

Xiao Yi asked curiously, "How did you know, Brother Liu?"

"I told him that in a chat last night," Guo Xin said, grinning.

Liu Tingrang asked, "Are the insignia and military robe still there?"

"exist."

"The general summons you; please come with me."

Xiao Yi then followed him to the central command tent.

Guo Chongwei was already fully armored and having breakfast. When he saw him coming, he pointed directly to the flatbread and mutton on the table.

"Sit down and eat."

"Here."

"What day did you leave Beijing?"

"The sixth day of the month."

"Ten days later, the Imperial Guards found out you'd switched sides to the Commander-in-Chief?"

“My official rank is low and my tenure is short, so I may not have attracted their attention. But Li Hongwei did not kill Wang Yin, and Li Ye and Nie Wenjin must know that I have abandoned the darkness and turned to the light since I am still alive.”

"It's alright, you don't need to see them. Just take my men into the enemy camp for a quick look, gather information, and deliver a letter."

"it is good."

"You shall depart at 1:15 AM and wait at Liuzibei. I will lead my troops to drive away the Southern Army scouts, and then follow them into the enemy camp. You must return to camp before 5:00 PM."

"Here!"

"Let's eat."

After saying this, Guo Chongwei got up and walked out.

Xiao Yi had a large appetite. While looking at the map marked with the strategic deployment of the Southern Army, he chewed all the food on the table.

He went back and changed into a military robe, put on his armor again, and then asked Lü You, Fan Si, and Wei Liang to bring out the camp's military tokens. He instructed Lao Pan and Hua Nong to train the troops well today.

"Where are you going? Why are you wearing the Imperial Guard robes again?" Guo Xin replied directly, "I'm coming with you."

"Will you come to take stock of the supplies and copy the documents?"

"Fine, go ahead... You little wench from the 20th Battalion, I'm here to give you a good workout today!"

"Don't cause trouble."

Xiao Yi arrived at the training ground a quarter before dawn.

Liu Tingrang had already brought two men with them, prepared horses, and changed into the robes of the Imperial Guards.

"Commander Xiao is here. These two are the best in my team, Cui Yanjin and Hai Jin. Their horsemanship and archery are among the best in the army."

"Greetings, Commander Xiao!"

"No need to be polite, we'll live and die together this time."

"Here."

Xiao Yi took a look. Cui Yanjin was older, nearly thirty years old, with a burly build and a fierce look; Hai Jin was twenty-four or twenty-five years old, with a foreign appearance, a lean and agile build, and a menacing demeanor.

People at that time often named their children with characters like "Jin" (进), "Wei" (威), and "Rong" (荣), which was probably related to the veneration of military achievements.

"Set off."

As dawn broke, four riders emerged from the camp.

The horse's hooves crushed the frost and snow that had accumulated overnight, and instead of taking the official road, it turned into the continuous forest.

This is the scout's stealth path.

After about an hour, the four of them stopped, dismounted, and led the reins to the edge of the woods to look south.

"That's Liuzibei over there."

Liu Tingrang tied up his horse, leaned forward, and said, "See that mound? It's Qilidian. Murong Yanchao's main camp is on top of the mound. This area is mostly patrolled by Southern Army scouts. Don't show yourselves yet."

Looking around, Xiao Yi saw that the earthen mound of Qilidian stretched out in front of him like a yellowish-brown ribbon. On the mound, dark shadows could be vaguely seen, which must be the Southern Army's lookout post.

He recalled comparing the map in his mind and knew that Murong Yanchao was stationed here, forming a pincer movement with the main force of Chigang, bordering the Jinshui River, which gave him both a commanding position and a secure water source.

"Haijin, go and sprinkle some."

Liu Tingrang dragged over the horse saddlebag, took out a leather pouch from it, tossed it to Hai Jin, and turned to Xiao Yi to explain, "Mugwort powder, to mask the smell of horse sweat, so that the Southern army's dogs won't smell it."

"You mean a real dog?"

"Yes, there are greyhounds around the camp. We can't be careless; Murong Yanchao's troops are vicious with their arrows. I lost two brothers yesterday."

As they were talking, Liu Tingrang took out a stack of flags from his satchel and gave one to each person.

"We'll hold up the captured enemy flag in a bit."

Xiao Yi took it, unfolded it, and saw that it was the yellow military flag he had captured the day before, with the words "Left Vanguard Scout of Taining Army" embroidered on the corner.

Liu Tingrang pointed to the enemy camp and said, "See? The Southern Army changes guards every half hour. At 9:00 AM, several patrols will pass by Liu Zibei. Their troops are mixed up and they can't recognize each other. General Guo will make his move at that time."

Xiao Yi said, "There's still a quarter or two left."

"Yes, wait for the general to arrive."

Liu Tingrang took out two white wool felt blankets, wrapped one with Xiao Yi, and had Cui Yanjin and Hai Jin wrap the other together. The four of them then lay down in the snow and waited.

"Commander Xiao, do you know why the general sent you here to take this risk?"

"Why?"

"General Wang saw you training the troops yesterday and praised you to General Guo last night for your methodical approach. The general sees that you are young and inexperienced and wants you to learn in all aspects. A good seed needs to be tempered with real fire. He has ordered me to guide you personally. If there is any offense or rudeness, please forgive me."

"Thank you for your guidance, Generals, and for your kindness, Brother Liu. I will always remember it."

"Brothers, no need for formalities."

Liu Tingrang grinned and said, "I'm not bragging, but although this trip was dangerous, with our horsemanship and archery skills, few Southern soldiers could stop us."

After a while, the shadows on the treetops gradually shortened, and suddenly the sound of horses' hooves and shouts of battle came from the north.

"coming!"

Xiao Yi looked towards the official road to the north and saw dozens of Southern Army scouts being driven out of the woods and galloping wildly toward Liu Zibei.

He had been hiding for so long, yet he had no idea there were so many people in the woods.

Then came the sound of dense and orderly hooves.

"Walk."

The four men quickly mounted their horses. Xiao Yi, clutching the yellow flag, spurred his horse toward the Southern Army scouts.

Behind him, a few arrows fell sparsely, two of them hitting his back armor.

"puff."

Not far away, a Southern army scout was shot off his horse.

Xiao Yi glanced back and saw that it was Guo Chongwei who had personally shot an arrow from a hundred paces away. He wondered how much the bow was drawn, but his accuracy was truly remarkable.

"Those traitorous dogs are getting vicious, let's head back to camp!"

"go!"

A Southern scout shouted, his voice filled with panic.

Xiao Yi and his four men rode swiftly to the front of the column, only to hear Guo Chongwei leading more than two hundred cavalrymen closely following behind, constantly firing arrows to kill the scouts.

Finally, the horses galloped up the earthen mound and approached the Qili camp.

The Northern army continued to run until the Southern archers on the watchtowers fired their arrows, finally halting their pursuit.

Xiao Yi truly felt like he had escaped death.

He lowered his head and panted, glancing out of the corner of his eye. In front of him was a moat two zhang wide, where laborers were driving pointed stakes into it.

Inside the trench, there was a wooden palisade ten feet high, with guards every ten steps, heavily fortified. Inside the camp, a large banner reading "Taining Military Governor" hung on a tall pole, fluttering in the wind.

At the camp gate, armored soldiers with halberds demanded that each scout entering the camp have their wooden badge checked, and then examine their appearance.

Liu Tingrang tugged at Xiao Yi's reins and shook his head.

This was a signal to give up on entering Murong Yanchao's camp; the checks were too strict.

"Go to the Imperial Guard camp."

Murong Yanchao was the vanguard of the Southern Army, followed by the central army.

The four men swaggered past the camp fence through Qilidian and headed straight for Chigang.

After crossing the mountaintop, a densely packed campsite stretched out before us, just as the prisoner had described.

Across a gentle hill, to the south lies Chigang, with the Jinshui River flowing slowly beside it.

On the summit of Chigang, a large camp was still being expanded. That was the main force of Hou Yi, the commander-in-chief of the Southern Army. There were also many other camps surrounding Chigang, with Yuan Yi, Liu Chongjin, Wu Qianyu, Zhang Yanchao, and others arranged in the same way as on Guo Chongwei's map.

"The camp is very well constructed, but the generals are too mixed. Commander Xiao, which camp should we go to?"

Xiao Yi had already thought about it and said, "Yuan Yi."

"Why?"

“He is a general under Shi Hongzhao, serving as the Left Wing Commander of the Divine Martial Army, commanding one-third of the most elite troops of the Imperial Guard. His status is comparable to that of Nie Wenjin. Therefore, he has a bad relationship with Nie Wenjin and does not understand me.”

"Commander Xiao knows the Southern Army generals so well?"

"I've seen some resumes in the Shi family's study, but I've never heard of Hou Yi."

"Haha, Hou Yi retired long ago, so you don't recognize him. He was a veteran general of four dynasties: Tang, Jin, Shu, and Han, and had the highest seniority in the army."

As he spoke, a look of contempt appeared on Liu Tingrang's face. He said, "The general happens to have a letter for him. Watch me shoot into his camp."

As they spoke, they spurred their horses down the hillside and headed straight for Yuan Yi's barracks.

"Stop! Verify the talisman!"

The soldiers at the camp gate shouted, and swung their long spears horizontally.

Xiao Yi proudly proclaimed, "Xiao Yi, the Left Wing Commander of the Crane Control Guard, is here to deliver this message!"

He didn't dismount, but simply threw the token and official document over.

"So it's Commander Xiao. May I ask why you came from the Taining military camp?"

"Is it any of your business?! Find me an empty tent to rest my horse."

A harsh rebuke is more effective than any explanation.

The four men rode their horses into the camp.

Liu Tingrang said in a low voice, "Let's find out the camp's defenses and the direction of the supplies first, and then we'll send the letter when the opportunity arises."

Xiao Yi observed discreetly. The camp had just been completed, and the Imperial Guards were driving laborers to build various defensive fortifications.

The tents were arranged according to regulations, with ten tents forming a "fang" (a unit of area). A three-foot-wide passageway was left between the "fang," and shallow ditches were dug along the passageways, with water drawn from the Jinshui River and firebreaks installed.

It is evident that Yuan Yi's encampment was quite well-organized.

The four men crawled into the tent, with Cui Yanjin and Hai Jin guarding the tent entrance.

Liu Tingrang took out a charcoal pencil and paper and quickly drew a map.

Xiao Yi added in a low voice what he had seen and heard.

"The stables are on the east side, piled with hay; the armory is on the west side; and the mess hall is on the north side. I can see smoke rising from the chimneys..."

Suddenly, a commotion broke out outside. The two lifted the tent flap and looked out. In the distance, they saw a general leading cavalry towards the top of Chigang Mountain.

Xiao Yi stared intently at the banner and said, "It's Yuan Yi. He must be going to see Hou Yi."

"Let's go and deliver a letter to his tent."

"I'll give it to you."

Liu Tingrang pulled a stack of letters from his boots, looked at them, selected the one Guo Chongwei had written to Yuan Yi, and handed it to Xiao Yi.

The letter reeked of foot odor.

Xiao Yi took it and led the three of them out, swaggering straight towards Yuan Yi's central command tent.

"Halt! Who dares to trespass?!"

Armored soldiers blocked their way, their attitude fierce.

Xiao Yi's attitude became even more arrogant, and he shouted: "The Deputy Commander of the Left Wing of the Crane Control Guard, on the orders of the Imperial Brother-in-law, has come to deliver confidential military intelligence. Please have Yuan Yi, the Commander of the Left Wing of the Divine Martial Army, come to receive me in person!"

"The general is not here; give me the letter."

"This is classified military intelligence."

"I'll let it in. The central command tent is off-limits to outsiders."

Xiao Yi frowned, showing his displeasure, but still handed over the letter.

He looked over and saw a soldier lift the curtain and enter, placing the letter on the table.

In an instant, he glanced at the map hanging behind the desk.

"What are you looking at?!"

"Keep an eye on you and make sure the letter from the Imperial Brother-in-law is properly placed."

Xiao Yi led Liu Ting and the other two away.

Once no one was around, Xiao Yi whispered, "I saw the marching route map. The route is to Chanzhou. I suppose they had to stop and garrison at Chigang because they encountered General Guo."

"Huh? I thought they were prepared to block us here."

"No, it was an accident for them."

"General Guo only brought five commanders, and the Southern Army couldn't even get through?"

“They may not be sure about the situation in Chanzhou yet. Looking at the map, their strategic intention was to set up defenses at the Yellow River crossing.”

"It's done!" Liu Tingrang exclaimed with delight, "This is crucial intelligence!"

(End of this chapter)