Chapter 55: Nostalgia for the Homeland

Zhang Baiqi entered the city, while Jiuchi, Zhangba, and the others closed the city gates once more.

"All of you, squat down and don't move!"

Zhang Baiqi shouted loudly, directing the troops to take over the defenses within the city.

Auxiliary troops were, by nature, devoid of any real will to fight. Once deprived of the cover of city walls, they were nothing more than a ragged crowd of old and weak laborers. Most of them simply clutched their heads and squatted down.

Only about twenty men reacted after Yan Gang was struck down; they were likely Yan Gang's personal retainers. Some raised their weapons in an attempt to resist, some retreated deeper into various parts of the city, and others tried to flee.

Yet, being sealed within the small town with no leadership, any reaction was utterly futile. Anyone who dared to move rashly would find themselves dead at the hands of Zhang Baiqi and the underworld soldiers.

The commotion within Beixin City subsided after a short while, plunging back into silence.

The city's storehouses contained dry rations, weapons, and numerous slightly yellowed strips of plain hemp cloth.

Those elderly and weak auxiliary troops had originally been cutting up plain hemp, and every one of them still had a strip of it tied around their arm.

The hemp cloth was the identifying mark of Gongsun Zan's loyal retainers. The retainers each possessed different equipment, and half of them were Hu nomads. To distinguish friend from foe, a unified identifier was naturally necessary.

Most elite cavalrymen tied cloth strips around their arms to wipe away sweat and secure their hook-shields.

The hook-shield was a common defensive weapon used by the Han army at the time—a small arm-shield strapped to the arm, featuring an iron hook extending from the center that could be used to lock an enemy's weapon, grasp ropes, or aid in climbing.

It had many uses, though it was relatively expensive to forge, being made of iron, after all.

Horses in this era only possessed single-sided stirrups used solely for mounting and dismounting; double stirrups and high-arched saddles did not yet exist. It was difficult for cavalrymen to free both hands, making it highly inconvenient to carry a shield. Therefore, riders with the means would use hook-shields to enhance their defense, while those without would simply strap a block of wood to their arms for parrying.

The scene inside the city made the situation abundantly clear: a group of auxiliary troops, lacking even basic arm guards, were all bound with plain hemp cloth, which was obviously meant to allow the Taihang bandits to recognize them.

Jiuchi and the others naturally tied the plain hemp strips around their arms as well, transforming themselves overnight into the garrison of Beixin City.

Compared to Yan Gang, Jiuchi undoubtedly seemed much more like "one of their own" to the Taihang leaders.

At this time, the Taihang bandits were a loose alliance composed of various small factions, roughly akin to village chiefs from different hills leading a band of brothers to carve out territory and make a living in the mountains. There was no overarching command structure among them, nor any formal ranking system; they merely differed in the strength of their respective hills.

So-called bandits were mostly not professional mountain lords; lay down their weapons and they were commoners, pick up swords and spears and they were bandits.

It was simply difficult to find arable land in the mountains, leading to a scarcity of clothing and food. Thus, every autumn harvest, they had to descend from the mountains to fight for survival—the very same reason the Xianbei raided the borders every winter.

Merely in terms of familiarity with faces, the Taihang leaders who knew Jiuchi probably outnumbered those who knew Yan Gang. After all, Zuowei had led Jiuchi carousing through the Taihang Mountains for more than two months, visiting all the friendly mountain strongholds.

Furthermore, there were many fellow townsmen from Shanggu in the mountains, and most of the leaders in the northern Taihang region knew that Jiuchi was a subordinate of the "Big-Eared" man from Zhuojun.

Jiuchi did not know the specific agreement between Yan Gang and the Taihang leaders, but it hardly mattered. At the very least, he knew that Yan Gang had undoubtedly promised to provide the Taihang bandits with certain resources.

Right now, all those resources were gathered right here inside Beixin City—which effectively meant they were now supplies provided by the "Big-Eared" man.

"The young master guessed correctly. With so much grain and weaponry left in this city, yet guarded by such a paltry number of men, this must have been prepared by Gongsun Zan for the Taihang bandits."

Zhang Baiqi instructed Jiuchi: "I will remain here to set an ambush. You must hurry out and find the Taihang bandits. Kill a few of the ones who arrive first, and that will be enough to drive a wedge of distrust between the Taihang bandits and Gongsun Zan."

"Don't order me around. I am no longer a soldier, and you are no longer a Qu-commander. I only take orders from the young master himself; it is not your place to command me."

Jiuchi gave Zhang Baiqi a cold look. "I know the Taihang bandits well. Take your men and report back to the young master; I will handle things here."

Indeed, Jiuchi was not a regular soldier; he was merely a registered household subordinate under Liu Bei. When troops were previously recruited, he and several bandit chiefs had been up in the Taihang Mountains, so Zhang Baiqi genuinely had no authority to command him.

In truth, Zhang Baiqi wasn't a standard soldier either—he currently belonged among the living dead.

Zhang Baiqi and Jiuchi had known each other before, and their relationship was far from cordial.

Zhang Sheng had once been Jiuchi's military Sima. After assassinating Administrator Hou Yan, in order to weed out any future trouble, he had mobilized the commandery troops under the guise of executing rivals and claiming military merit, slaughtering several settlements where the Administrator's retainers and guests resided. Jiuchi's hometown happened to be among them.

Unwilling to bring disaster upon his neighbors, Jiuchi had deserted and grown to detest Zhang Sheng, extending that hatred to Zhang Sheng's personal unit of a hundred elite riders.

Zhang Baiqi did not harbor any hatred toward Jiuchi, but being a native of Liangzhou, he felt no emotional attachment to Youzhou.

This was a common occurrence in this era, and the two men could not find common ground. Fortunately, neither was a rash hothead, and both relied on Liu Bei, so they refrained from a direct falling out.

However, whether they might stab each other in the back was another matter entirely.

After all, the underworld soldiers also bore grievances against the other troopers, who desperately wished for the underworld soldiers to drop dead because of how brutally ruthless the underworld soldiers were during training.

Achieving even this level of cooperation was already stretching harmony to its absolute limit.

In truth, Liu Bei had also worried that the two of them wouldn't cooperate well, but they were the only ones available at the moment. Had he not been conscripted to follow the army, Liu Bei would have come himself.

This was the disadvantage of lacking official rank; even holding a minor post worth a mere hundred piculs of grain would have prevented him from being subjected to such passive manipulation through conscription.

According to Liu Bei's plan, Zhang Baiqi ought to have remained in Beixin City alongside Jiuchi. Jiuchi was familiar with the Taihang bandits, while Zhang Baiqi possessed rich combat experience; only by combining their strengths could the mission's success be guaranteed.

Liu Bei needed them to disrupt Gongsun Zan's plans within Beixin City, painting Gongsun Zan as a fraud in the eyes of the Taihang bandits.

Jiuchi could use his identity as a Taihang bandit to lure them into Beixin City, while Zhang Baiqi would act as the executioner. If they could deceive the bandits, fine; if not, they would eliminate the vanguard of the Taihang bandits in Yan Gang's name, and then burn Beixin City to the ground.

Even if they failed to lure the bandits into the city, it mattered little. Launching a direct assault on Beixin City would shatter any trust the Taihang bandits had in Yan Gang, achieving the desired effect all the same.

The task was not overly difficult, nor did it require massive bloodshed; as long as the Taihang bandits lost faith in Yan Gang and Gongsun Zan, it would suffice.

—If Gongsun Zan intended to fake a bandit suppression campaign, Liu Bei would force him to conduct a genuine one, and then they would see whom the Taihang bandits chose to kill...

Zhang Baiqi naturally intended to use a simpler and more reliable method. Since they had already successfully seized the city, they only needed to wait inside Beixin City to set an ambush, lure and assassinate a few Taihang bandits in Yan Gang's name, and then burn Beixin City down once the deed was done. The mission would naturally be considered a complete success.

Yet clearly, Jiuchi was somewhat displeased with this approach.

Zhang Baiqi was ruthless and cold-blooded, bound to kill every single bandit that arrived. But for Jiuchi, there were far too many fellow townsmen from Shanggu among the Taihang bandits—what if the first ones to arrive turned out to be old acquaintances?

"If I leave, can you handle what the young master entrusted to us?"

Zhang Baiqi looked at the surrounding penal convicts with deep misgiving.

"Our bonds of hometown fellowship... people like you wouldn't understand. It's not strictly necessary to kill everyone; Zhangba and I can talk them round."

Jiuchi pointed at Zhangba beside him: "Big Brother Zuozhi is Zhangba's paternal cousin, a close first cousin."

Zhangba evidently held no fondness for Zhang Baiqi either; he brandished his wolf-tooth club and glared fiercely.

"The young master's command is to slaughter the bandits and burn Beixin City to the ground! Do you intend to disobey orders?!"

Zhang Baiqi asked with a frown.

"The young master has always been benevolent. If we can forge a bond of goodwill with Taihang without spilling blood, that is naturally better... Furthermore, the young master did not explicitly state that everyone must die, only that we must drive a wedge between the good men of Taihang and Gongsun Zan. I am well-acquainted with the men of Taihang; you may take your leave and stop looming here with that murderous look to frighten people!"

Jiuchi made it clear he had no intention of disobeying orders, merely preferring a different approach.

"In that case, this place is yours... If you bungle the young master's affairs, I will surely kill you!"

Zhang Baiqi was not particularly eloquent. Knowing that most of the soldiers refused to submit to his command, he had no choice but to back down, taking the underworld cavalrymen with him to report back to Liu Bei.

"Spit... Zhangba, head over to the western mountain path and find Big Brother Zuozhi. Tell him the Big-Eared man has prepared grain and weapons for him, and he must come quickly to claim them."

Jiuchi spat at Zhang Baiqi's retreating back, then turned to instruct Zhangba: "Urge him to be swift; this city must be burned to ashes in two days."