by Jeremy Han
“The first thing, take us on a walk about the town. Show us where are the ingress and egress routes, any high points that give a commanding view, any corners that can provide an ambush site, and all roads that lead to this building. If this building is the most secure place where you will hide your women and children, then the roads to this building must be where we site our ambush. If they have a superior force, and we must assume they do, we must channel them to a place where their numerical strength becomes a disadvantage. A nice narrow corridor where they bunched up is ideal. Then once they are weary or confused, we must be able to counter-attack to drive them out. An attack in the dark by an organised force against a confused one is most devastating on the fighting spirit. This would be the way to break them.” He paused to swallow before he gave his orders,
“Yula, you know what you must do.”
She nodded her head and called to the feisty old lady who brought them here, “Take me to all the high points that allow me to see all the roads that lead here.”
“Farmer, go with the Acrobat and see where we can mount an ambush as well as the best place to counter-attack.” Fu Zhen got up and together with his best friend Li Jing, the Acrobat, went off with the pitch fork warrior.
“Li Po, stay here with the women and children. You will be the last defence with your darts and knives.”
“Yes commander”, she replied with gusto, pleased to be part of the action; she felt she was a part of her father’s team. She took out a set of throwing daggers and other assortment of throwing weapons that she had been practicing with since young and laid them out.
“Majesty, please stay here where it is safe.” Then Zhao turned to the Butcher, “Now tell me as much as you can about the One-eyed Dragon and how the previous raids were conducted. We will walk and talk at the same time.”
About half an hour later, they gathered again. The atmosphere before a battle was always tensed. Soldiers manning a fortress stood in anxiety when they watch an enemy march toward their stronghold, their minds running back and forth over every preparation they had done, wondering if it would be enough. They gathered around a fire that gave light to the darkening room. Some light food was being prepared by the lady folk for the men to eat. Zhao held court.
“Well?”
“Commander,” Yula was the first to speak, “to get here, the enemy would have to pass through a series of narrow pathways. If we could have shooters line the corridor, it would not be difficult to cut them down.”
“Unless we know their numbers.” Zhao replied.
“Yes. Unless we do.” Yula replied. “Still, it would whittle down their numbers and even the odds.”
Long added, “There seems to be only one way into the town; across the bridge and through the hill. Once they come through that way, they can’t escape. If we can lure them in, Yula’s plan will work.”
“Agreed.” The Acrobat spoke. “When hunting tigers, there will be the beaters who drive the beast toward the hunter. Once they crossed into the town, some of us will attack from the back and push them forward into the ambush laid by Yula.”
A mental picture of the battle ahead formed in Zhao’s mind. He could see how the whole thing fitted together. “Fu Zhen, your thoughts.” Zhao asked the silent observer.
“Everything hinges on two things: The first, the numbers of the enemy. Secondly, surprise. If the attacking force is too big, they can break out of the attack by sheer weight of numbers. Secondly, if they find out we are here, they would not fall for the trap. What we should do now depends, commander, on what your objectives are.” Fu Zhen had brought the issue back where it should have started at – the outcome of the battle that they sought.
To their surprise, Jian Wen spoke, “The outcome of the battle is to eliminate every bandit except one or two to be sent back to the One-eyed Dragon.”
“Majesty?” Zhao blurted out. He was surprised that the monk would suggest such a bloody outcome. He was also perplexed why he would need to send a couple of them back.
“We must think two steps ahead. What next after this? We can’t fight the Dragon’s gang with our numbers, so we need to make use of a bigger evil to swallow them. Let them think that Hong He had muscled into his turf and had reneged on their deal. This way, we will force Hong’s army to destroy the One-eyed Dragon and vice-versa. Only when these two fight will they leave the people alone.”
“So the first blow we strike will be so frightening that they will run into the trap we set for them. Then we will put on a show after that.” The Acrobat replied coolly. He was already in the mood.
“Brilliant, your Majesty.” The Farmer whispered.
But Yula asked, “But how do we ensure that they will kill each other?”
“Greed has a way of turning even the best of friends into enemies. All we need to do is to sow the seeds of doubt and then it will grow faster than weeds. Greed and a hunger for power will fertilize the doubts and turn them into viciousness.” Jian Wen replied. Then he added, “Of course, we will have to improvise along the way to make it happen. Let us deal with the immediate first.”
Zhao said, “Then the Miao people must not appear in the open so that it would seemed that Han soldiers were involved.” He turned to the butcher who had remained silent for so long. “Do your people hunt? You will back us up.”
“Some of them are good with the slingshot. They shoot ducks, pigeons etc.”
“Can you?”
“Yes. I can too.”
“Right, who are those that can shoot?” Zhao asked the Miao people gathered there. A few men, a couple of older teens and a few women put their hands up. Zhao indicated for them to come out. “You all will follow Yula.” He pointed to the Mongolian woman warrior who had already stood up with one hand on her curved bow. The butcher added a touch of his authority to the scene; he shouted at them,
“Hurry.”
“You too. You follow them. You will assist Yula to set up the ambush.” Zhao commanded the butcher.
“Me? I thought I will be coming with you?” The butcher replied with astonishment. His answer was tinged with the sourness of being relegated to something inferior to his status; he thought he would be Zhao’s second in command. Zhao had decided he did not want the fat, loud man in the beaters team. He might be big, but he was a bully more than anything; and bullies were not brave. He had observed the quiet resolve of the younger man with the pitchfork. From his seasoned eye, he could tell who would run when faced with danger and who would not. The butcher could direct the action where it was safe, but not from the front. Zhao insisted,
“Yes you. You will guide Yula and assist her. Then you will take orders from her.” Then Zhao pointed at the young man behind the butcher,
“He will follow me.”
The butcher’s face puffed red in indignation. “Listen to a woman?” Yula answered even before any of the men could,
“Yes. You got a problem?”
She took a step forward toward the big man. Zhao wanted to intervene but decided not to. If she was to lead him, she must subdue him. And he knew that she would. Nobody from their team said anything too. This was no time to be fighting among themselves but some things just needed to be sorted out before the main event came.
“A man of our tribe would never follow a woman into combat.” He raised his wobbly chin as he said that. His ego and pride rising. She stepped forward, like a tigress accepting a challenge to her territory,
“Well, I am not from your tribe. So that settles it. If you cannot accept the fact that I am qualified to lead you in combat, then let us settle it now quickly. Or else we have work to do.”
At her challenge, the butcher’s face turned even redder. A woman had challenged him! “You people come in here and usurp my place!” He shouted.
The old lady interjected, “Before they came, none of you even dared to stand up against the bandits. I am the only one who was prepared to fight them to the end tonight.” The implied insult did its work. He raised his voice
and charged at Yula. The meat cleaver missed her as she nimbly dodged the blow by going under his raised arm, then she deftly shifted her centre of gravity so that she became unmovable. From that solid base, she pushed with all her might, knocking him to the ground. The fat man got up and charged again. This time, she grabbed his lapel and flipped him to the ground. She sat on top of him and slapped him once hard.
“Listen to me. This is not the time to be proud. There is only one goal and that is to win and survive. There is no place here to jostle for. We all do what we can. Your role is not any lesser than mine. I may be a woman but I have defended my tribe before with the bow and sabre, I have killed before. Have you? We all do what we must. You can be the leader all you like after tonight but first you must survive and defeat the enemy. Do you understand that?”
She shouted at him. The hall was silent except for the panting of the fat man and the crackling of the fire. Time passed, time was running out. If the fat man did not submit, Zhao would have to tie him up and that would wreck the morale of the people. The man’s head thudded against the cold floor as he gave in; “Yes, I will listen to you.” He said in a subdued voice.
She got up and lent him a hand. Then she said to him gently, “Get your sling and stones and let’s go set up our ambush.”
After they had left with five others, Zhao assigned the men who will be the beaters. Fu Zhen and Li Jing will sweep in from the east, Long will come from the west so that the bandits could only retreat toward the kill zone where Zhao was. Once they had crossed the bridge into the town, the ragtag team of ex-imperial bodyguards would strike. The young man with the pitch fork will be their guide. Once the plan had been agreed upon, the Acrobat took out a mask. It was the red-faced god of war Guan Yun Chang of the Three Kingdoms. Li had always admired the general from antiquity. His choice of weapon, the guan dao was Guan’s weapon. The Acrobat’s weapon was a shortened version for ease of carrying. The legendary general’s Guan Dao was named the ‘Black Dragon Sword’ and was rumoured to weigh more than a man. General Guan who served the Han emperor Liu Bei during the Three Kingdoms period was admired for his prowess and integrity. Tonight, Li, the Acrobat, would perform the role of the fearsome general. He would be the first of the beaters to attack. He put the masked on for the show.
Tonight.
Showtime.
FIFTY FOUR
Hua Chen grunted a reply to his subordinate when asked if the attack would start. The young man, selected by the One-eyed Dragon to lead the raid, was in a foul mood. The rest of the bandits were at camp enjoying a feast; their first payment from the sale of slaves had come. But he was asked to finish this left-over business while the others enjoyed. So he was given twenty men to complete the task of emptying this town of the last of its inhabitants. More slaves to sell...but he was not in the mood for it. All work and no play made Hua a dull boy. He was too young to see that responsibilities were a way of development for leadership. Yes, he knew the One-eyed Dragon was pleased with him and wanted to promote him in their growing enterprise, but the boy dreamt of big battles and large raids, not cleaning up actions. He buckled his leather cuirass and waved a hand like a king; the bandits followed. He was the only one who rode a horse so he galloped ahead of the men, so confident was he that this operation posed no danger. What could a bunch of quivering tribal folk do to him? He enjoyed the moment as pride puffed him like a balloon. He tightened his face into a scowl like what he thought a warrior would look like before an impending battle.
Hua Chen was barely eighteen. He, like all boys of his age, dreamt of glory. He did not want to be a farmer like his migrant parents who wanted him to follow the straight and narrow path to nothing. So when he heard about the One-eyed Dragon, he ran away from home to join the bandit. His parents were among the wave of Han migrants from the other provinces who came to populate this vast area. Often they had conflicts with the Miao natives so the boy had no love for them. The fact that he could get rich getting rid of them made him excited. He could not wait for the day that he could return to his parents with wealth and power, and look them in the eye and dare them to call him a good-for-nothing dreamer again. “Peasants!” He spat, as he thought of them. If only they could see him now on a horse with a sword in his hand and commands coming from his mouth, they would eat their words. He was no weakling. He was strong and brave. That was why he was chosen to lead. Unlike his parents who had nothing, and would die with nothing to give to him, he knew he was destined for greater things. Suddenly, he felt better. He was no longer grouchy for being selected for this task, but instead he felt a sense of elation and purpose, the kind of feeling one got when one’s career path was shining. He was too young to realise that those who lived by the sword usually died by it as well.
They crossed the Wind and Rain Bridge, their footsteps clattering loudly, not even bothering to conceal their approach. Nineteen pairs of legs and a horse thumped across. The men did not keep any noise discipline; they joked, they laughed and boasted about their exploits and their soon to be achieved record of rape tonight. Some openly argued with their friends that they should ‘go first.’ After the bridge, they climbed the stairs up the little hill and then descended and entered the town. The mass of people surged forward in a motley crew with no regard to ensuring security on all flanks. Their minds were clouded by blood lust. They came to the town square and debated for a while which way they should head. One of them who participated in the previous raid pointed in a certain direction and off the mob went. They passed by abandoned houses with doors hanging opened, the whole place having an eerie feel. The wind blew and slowly the clouds concealed the moon as though a black cloth had been thrown over it.
A masked man grabbed the last bandit and pulled him behind a wall. He did it so quietly that no one noticed. Before he could scream or resist, his neck was broken. Just as he died, another of his comrade got snatched by another man. A hand clamped over his mouth as his throat was sliced opened. The two masked attackers signalled to each other and then with a loud and savage scream, they attacked the bandits from the back.
Zhu, one of those assigned under Hua turned in surprised when he heard the scream. The rank-and-file bandit looked in horror as the black-clad demon came at him with a guan dao and decapitated him where he stood. As his head rolled off his shoulders he thought the masked demon was the spirit of the General Guan Yun Chang, more commonly known as Guan Yu. Served you right to have your head chopped off by the righteous general for being a bandit! Whatever remained of his conscience said!
One of the bandits recovered from his shock and tried to attack the other man dressed in black. But he was too skilful; his sabre parried and attacked at the same time. With one fluid motion he deflected the bandit’s blade and then plunged his own deep into the bandit’s gut. Then a third man appeared with a staff. He slid forward in a liquid motion and bashed one of the bandits across the head and the man fell immediately. All three were masked demons and attacked with blood curling screams and aggressiveness.
The commotion reached Hua Chen and his men began to look to him for leadership. The men at the rear started to collide with the bandits closer to him, forcing the group forward against its will. The ill-disciplined nature of the marauders would be their downfall. It was so much easier to run amok amidst people who could not fight back.
“Shit!” He thought. “It was not supposed to be like this! It was supposed to be easy and I am supposed to come out of it looking good.” His horse reared and whinnied. He gripped the sword tightly, eager to use it if he could. When his horse was jolted by the crowd, he almost fell off. “This way!” he shouted and pointed to the front. He was not a trained soldier and he could only react the way his gut told him to – run from the source of attack and see what they could do next. A trained commander could have seen that their attackers were few and would have ordered a counter charge, but this was a peasant masquerading as an officer. Before he turned, he saw one of his men attacking the demon with the guan dao ineffec
tively, his blows easily warded off, and then he was hacked almost into two by a blow that came downward with great force. The dying man was clumsy even when he died. The ‘demon’ that killed him seemed to dance like a monkey as he went on to his next victim. He was glad he was in front and on a horse. He kicked the horse into a gallop down the dark alleyway as his men frantically fought a rear guard action against the three spirits that for some reason had decided to avenge the Miao.
The Acrobat was enjoying himself. He hated injustice and felt great pleasure as he kicked one man to the ground and sliced open his gut. He turned to look at his friend Long Wu chasing after one bandit who was screaming in fear for his mother, thinking that somehow she could save him from hell. Long delivered a flying kick that took him down and then he drove the blade into his chest. Even in the dark, Hua Chen could feel the blood spurting from the wound. Immediately after killing the man on the ground, the killer straightened and dodged a slash. Then he skilfully dispatched the attacking bandit with a double handed hacking blow that cut through the leather cuirass of the bandit and spilled his guts, the entrails looping out like sausages.
