The Marshes of Mount Liang, Part 05 - The Scattered Flock by Shi Nai'an & Luo Guanzhong

Author:Shi Nai'an & Luo Guanzhong [Nai'an, Shi & Guanzhong, Luo]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Chinese Literature
Publisher: The Chinese University of Hong Kong Press
Published: 2020-06-08T04:00:00+00:00

Mr. Chai said: “That General Mi is a true soldier. You won’t beat him just by strength. Besides we haven’t enough troops. Let me try a little plan of mine first. We’ll need five or six gun carts with explosives and a hundred or so carts of firewood. We’ll avenge Tang Bin and company and annihilate the treacherous swine.” He had his men bring the supplies, ammunition and carts and ordered Skyhawk to guard the stores with three thousand troops equipped with fire arrows. At dusk they all left the narrows and headed south, leaving behind hundreds of carts loaded with firewood, lined up on the lower ground southwest of the village. Among the hundred or so empty carts, drawn up in a number of different places, they deliberately placed some supplies so that they were visible. Explosives were hidden everywhere underneath together with firewood primed with gunpowder. He told the Young Master and three others to take two thousand men and set up an ambush along the East Peak road and Water General to do likewise along the road south from the village, in preparation for the enemy attack. All was done thus and thus and thus, according to plan. Mr. Chai himself with the Fire General and three hundred infantrymen equipped with incendiary materials, concealed themselves among the trees and scrub on the mountainside.

At nine o’clock General Mi with his two lieutenants and more than ten thousand troops in light armour, the horses with muffled hooves and harness bells, with banners furled and drums silent, approached the southern pass. The Water General ordered his men to light their torches and attack. After four or five bouts with Mi, he slapped his horse and led his troops in retreat. General Mi, who was a brave and unsuspecting soul, raced after them. The Young Master and the Pill Monger seeing fire on the south road left a thousand troops to their two companions and galloped toward the village to close off the road. By now the rebels were streaming into the village. They attacked the higher ground on the northeast and found nothing but empty houses, no supplies anywhere. They searched about and found that on the lower ground there were several hundred carts of supplies with only five or six hundred soldiers to guard them. The latter saw them coming and with shouts of alarm scattered and ran for it. General Mi said: “They can’t have much in the way of supplies!” He ordered his men to light torches so they could see. At intervals among the supply carts there would be a couple loaded with silk brocade. When the rebels saw this they fell to plundering them. General Mi was trying to put a stop to this when from above them on the mountainside fire arrows and firebrands began raining down, setting the carts with firewood ablaze. A shout rose from the rebels as they tried to take cover but the fuses were already lit to fire the charges and with a roar like thunder they went off.

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