Chapter 356: Nowhere Left to Retreat

The reason he had not mentioned it to Magistrate Tian in his previous letter was because the disaster victims were still stranded here. As long as they were not officially registered in Crouching Tiger and entered on the rolls, unexpected changes could occur at any time.

He disliked speaking too soon. He preferred to wait until the matter was accomplished before explaining.

On duty tonight was Constable Li. Hearing movement, he peered in the direction of the sound and saw a figure running toward him.

As the person drew closer and he could clearly make out who it was, he let out a surprised grunt. It turned out to be a lad from Xiao’an Village.

Coming at this hour, Constable Li could not help muttering inwardly, feeling that this could not be anything good.

…

Er Tie found the Scholar and repeated every word Xiao Er had told him to say, without adding or omitting a single syllable.

After listening, Yan Huaiwen quickly grasped several key points.

There had been no news from the border defenses or from Crouching Tiger, yet someone had come from Xiao’an Village to deliver a message. This time the Northern Rong had sent many men, and they were ambushing messengers on the main roads, which was why information between the cities was so disrupted.

Since Tianyou had been going all over the mountains to collect grain in the countryside, Xiao’an Village had undoubtedly been marked by the Northern Rong.

As for how the Northern Rong had found out, there must have been hidden spies passing messages in secret. The fall of the border defenses was very likely related to this as well. Otherwise, how could Magistrate Tian’s three years of work on the city fortifications be lost in a single day? Without inside cooperation, outside invaders would not have taken the place so easily.

The reasons behind it all could be carefully investigated later.

The urgent matter now was to send troops as quickly as possible!

Having made up his mind, Yan Huaiwen put on a fresh mask and strode quickly toward the city gate.

“Go report to the Magistrate at once: the Northern Rong have crossed the border, Crouching Tiger has fallen. Ask the Magistrate to dispatch troops to its aid without delay!”

The yamen runner guarding the gate instantly lost all trace of drowsiness.

He hurried into the city to report.

The Magistrate of Gufeng arrived fairly quickly.

With him came the city-guard troops, already assembled.

Yan Huaiwen swept his gaze over them and gauged their numbers. Gufeng had over a thousand permanent city-guard soldiers. Subtracting cooks and miscellaneous noncombatants, there were fewer than a thousand regular troops. There were about five hundred men in front of him, roughly half of the total, which was fairly generous.

“May I trouble the Magistrate to lend us a few warhorses so we can rush to Crouching Tiger’s aid?” Yan Huaiwen requested solemnly.

The Magistrate of Gufeng had taken quite a liking to Yan Huaiwen. Scholars all had this weakness: they favored those who were learned, wrote well, worked efficiently, and knew how to read the room. Yan Huaiwen also possessed something most others did not: he was handsome, with an excellent bearing…

If this Household Registrar Yan did not already have a grown son and daughter, he would not have minded that he was a widower and would have considered marrying his own illegitimate daughter to him.

Though she was born of a concubine, she was still the apple of his eye.

He had three sons and only this one daughter, so of course he constantly thought about finding her a son-in-law he could be proud of.

As for Yan Huaiwen, his future prospects looked very good. Once he entered officialdom, he would be like a fish in the vast sea, a bird soaring into the blue sky!

“That is easily arranged. I have already sent men to Yongning with the news. Registrar Yan, remember not to act rashly out of impatience. Wait for the reinforcements from the Prefectural City, then discuss together the best plan to save the city.”

Yan Huaiwen cupped his hands and bowed, accepting the Magistrate’s goodwill.

Seeing that Yan Huaiwen understood, the Magistrate of Gufeng sighed.

The clerk by his side tried to comfort him. “Magistrate, you need not worry. Once the reinforcements arrive, the Northern Rong will know they are outmatched and will retreat.”

The Magistrate cast the clerk a disdainful glance and did not feel like speaking.

Look at that, how can the difference be this great!

First, he was hinting that Gufeng’s city-defense troops would treat Yan Huaiwen’s opinion as paramount.

That way, he would be qualified to negotiate with the reinforcements sent from the Prefectural City.

Registrar Yan was, after all, a man of Crouching Tiger. He would think more from Crouching Tiger’s perspective, so that others could not suppress him in the name of the greater good and disregard Crouching Tiger’s losses.

He could treat this as repaying the favor Magistrate Tian had shown by sending people to Gufeng to aid the disaster victims.

Second, the messenger who had come seeking aid was from Registrar Yan’s village.

From what he knew, Xiao’an Village lay just about halfway between Yongning and Crouching Tiger. With his five hundred city-guard soldiers, rescuing a single small village… would probably be all they could accomplish in the gap before the Prefectural troops arrived.

It would neither delay the military situation nor fail the common people. With both taken into account, why not do it?

Yan Huaiwen understood all that he meant, which was why he had saluted him.

He said nothing aloud, but kept it firmly in mind.

The fool in front of me, however, actually thought I was worried the Northern Rong would not retreat…

The Northern Rong are the craftiest pack of wolves. Once their goal is achieved, would they really fight to the death?

…

The warhorses of Gufeng City were tall and powerful, obviously raised with great care.

Since they were riding to Crouching Tiger’s aid, their speed was extremely fast.

Constable Li and the other yamen runners could barely keep up. In contrast, Yan Huaiwen was neck and neck with the young officer at the head of the column, not falling behind in the slightest.

The two rode close together, talking on horseback the whole way.

Er Tie was being led by one of the guards, not far from them, and saw clearly as the young officer tossed the Scholar a bow and a quiver. The Scholar caught them both in the saddle.

Very soon, the bow and arrows were put to use.

When the unit discovered Northern Rong lying in ambush along the road, it was the Scholar who drew the bow and loosed the first arrow!

Fast, accurate, ruthless!

A kill with a single shot!

That arrow astonished this detachment of Gufeng’s guards.

They all shouted their praise.

Out of the several dozen enemies wiped out, Yan Huaiwen alone had shot down six.

The Gufeng guards were all the more convinced of him.

Er Tie felt that something seemed different somehow, but he could not say exactly what.

Behind them, Constable Li was muttering to his men, “This Registrar Yan really is both learned and skilled in martial arts. We’ll have to be even more polite to the Yan Family in the future. Our own Magistrate admires him, and now in another place, the Magistrate of Gufeng admires him too…”

“I don’t know how things are in Crouching Tiger. They say it’s under siege. There are even Northern Rong bandits lying in ambush on the road to Gufeng… My heart’s pounding like crazy!”

“Brothers, if it really comes to it, we can’t count on these reinforcements. It’ll still come down to us staking our own lives. Hurry up and fill your bellies. Don’t end up with no strength, unable to lift your blades or chop off any heads. Who knows, maybe that private stash I lost will finally earn itself back this time, so my wife will stop watching me like I’m a criminal and I’ll at least get to have a proper drink again…”

…

The defensive line of Xiao’an Village kept falling back.

Without Yan Yu’s order, not a single arrow had been loosed from the Arrow Tower or anywhere in the village.

All that held the Northern Rong back were the people below, holding up doors, wooden staves, and knives as they fought.

The Northern Rong saw them as lambs to the slaughter. All their present struggles were futile. Like toying with them, each charge came harder than the last, watching them scramble in panic, flailing left and right.

With sheer grit, they managed to kill a few more Northern Rong.

The trouble was, a few of the doors could not withstand the combined assault of arrows and blades. They suddenly shattered, and the Northern Rong seized the opening to wound several people.

If not for the quick rescue from those beside them, and the swift reaction of the blades and staves behind the doors, it would not have been just injuries, but lives lost.

The wounded were carried to the Arrow Tower.

“Fall back!” Yan Yu’s voice was no longer clear and bright, but had grown hoarse.

The remaining doors quickly withdrew, widening the distance from the Northern Rong.

With their backs against the Arrow Tower, they had already reached a point where there was nowhere left to retreat.

The Northern Rong had long since noticed the tall cylindrical tower standing in the middle of the village, with several children up top constantly craning their necks to look down.

There was only a single entrance at the bottom, so the villagers inside must be hiding there.

Gufeng and Crouching Tiger were in different situations. The former commanded the city-guard troops, while Crouching Tiger, being a Border Town, was under military administration, so Magistrate Tian had no soldiers under his control.

Author Note:

You can think of it this way: a Border Town ranks about half a grade lower than an inland city.

Isn’t the Magistrate of Gufeng especially good at scheming? I really did rack my brains writing a supporting character who does not have many scenes, all just so the officials would not come across as complete idiots.

The two magistrates who have appeared so far are completely different types of officials. One is always scheming, the other actually gets things done. Of course we all prefer Magistrate Tian. Magistrate Tian actually has a given name, which will appear later. You know my naming style; just look at the brothers Tu Tuobu and Tu Tuoba… (^▽^)(▽)…

(End of this chapter)