When Emperor Yongchang was hosting a banquet for his officials in the palace on the Dragon Boat Festival, Prince Qing had just arrived at the main camp of the Jingzhou army.
He had set out early on the twenty-first of the fourth month. Aside from a two-day delay caused by heavy rain, over a short span of twelve or thirteen days, Prince Qing had to endure being jolted in a carriage for over a hundred miles every single day. The bumpy ride made him feel sick to his stomach, and the meals at the relay stations where he stayed did not suit his palate either.
Accustomed to a life of luxury, His Highness Prince Qing had momentarily considered resting in a bustling city for a couple of days out of frustration. However, at the thought of his imperial father waiting for his victory report and realizing this was the opportunity to earn merit that he had long yearned for, Prince Qing no longer minded the hardship.
Fu Xing, the Chief Commander of the Jingzhou army, led his subordinate military officers to welcome the travel-worn Prince Qing.
Jingzhou had a total garrison of one hundred and fifty thousand troops. The main camp here contained five guard posts with nearly thirty thousand soldiers. The unit Emperor Yongchang had assigned to Prince Qing for the bandit suppression was the Wuling Guard, one of the five guards, which included two thousand naval troops and three thousand infantrymen. The Guard Commander was named Peng Daji, a military officer in his forties who had earned military merit over a dozen times and held great prestige within the Jingzhou army.
The more prestige Peng Daji held, the more Prince Qing could feel his imperial father's lack of confidence in him. Nevertheless, since his father had personally appointed Peng Daji to assist him in suppressing the bandits, Prince Qing could only accept it.
Prince Qing first inquired with these military officers about the bandit scourge in Tanzhou.
Fu Xing, Peng Daji, and the others shared everything they knew without reservation. They had long been eager to lead troops to wipe out the bandits themselves, but dispatching troops from the guard posts required orders from the Ministry of War; local civil officials had no authority to directly request their assistance in bandit suppression.
After gaining a general understanding of the situation, Prince Qing took Peng Daji with him the next day and headed toward Tanzhou, which was over three hundred miles away. Fearing they might alert the enemy, he ordered Peng Daji's five thousand soldiers to remain in Wuling for the time being, on standby at all times.
Fu Xing and the other four guard commanders stood outside the main camp to respectfully see off Prince Qing.
Once Prince Qing's figure had retreated into the distance, one commander muttered, It is just a thousand mountain bandits. We could easily crush them by deploying any single guard unit. Why did the Emperor have to send Prince Qing here, wasting a dozen days for nothing?
Another laughed, Isn't it obvious? The Emperor wants to build up momentum for Prince Qing. With military merit, when it comes to appointing the Crown Prince in the future...
Fu Xing coughed, swept his gaze over the four men, and said, Watch your words.
As military officers who led troops, they only needed to do as the Emperor commanded. As for who would become the next emperor, that was not something they should worry about or discuss.
.
On the morning of the ninth day, Prince Qing and his entourage, disguised as traveling merchants, entered Tanzhou City through the city gates. The guards who had arrived ahead of time had already arranged a residence for Prince Qing. Prince Qing moved in with Peng Daji. While he was bathing and changing his clothes, Prefect Feng at the prefectural office learned of Prince Qing's arrival, dropped his official duties, and hurried over to pay his respects.
Prince Qing sat in the seat of honor, looked at the nearly forty-year-old Prefect Feng kneeling on the ground, and asked him for specific details about the three bandit leaders.
Prefect Feng began to recount the situation with a face full of sorrow.
The bandit leader Chen Wei was the son of a local wealthy merchant. He had practiced martial arts since childhood and possessed excellent skills, but he had been tyrannical and domineering from a young age. Although he left no criminal evidence that could land him in prison, his reputation had long been ruined, completely cutting off his chances of participating in the military examinations. Last year, while his father was away on business, Chen Wei engaged in an illicit affair with one of his father's concubines. Upon returning and discovering the truth, Father Chen banished Chen Wei from the family in a fit of rage. No one knew where Chen Wei went.
During the Lantern Festival this year, Chen Wei suddenly returned, leading over a dozen burly men to bloodily massacre the Chen family and loot all their gold, silver, and valuables.
At that time, Chen Wei and his gang were merely murderous fugitives. But by the second month, Chen Wei reappeared, leading nearly a hundred men to rob a group of traveling merchants.
By the third month, Chen Wei had already gathered about a thousand men under his command. Prefect Feng attempted to suppress the bandits but failed; however, he managed to capture a few prisoners, which was how he learned about the other two bandit leaders, Wang Sheng and Liu Siyi.
Wang Sheng, like Chen Wei, was a murderous fugitive. Liu Siyi was a scholar in his early thirties who had repeatedly failed the imperial examinations. According to the neighbors of the Liu family, Liu Siyi had been neglected by his father and stepmother for years and only knew how to lock himself in his room to study. In late February, he suddenly ran away from home, and when he returned, he brought Chen Wei and his gang of mountain bandits to massacre his own household, not even sparing his six-year-old half-brother.
With the three bandit leaders gathered together, Liu Siyi was responsible for plotting, while Chen Wei and Wang Sheng were in charge of leading men to burn, kill, and pillage.
The Shifeng Ridge mountains, where the bandits hid, were located right along the Xiang River, and there were four or five tributaries connecting to the river. This made it convenient for them to launch stealthy attacks on passing merchant ships. After the merchants began taking detours, this gang turned to robbing wealthy local households and commoners, causing widespread panic among the people. Those with money found ways to move away, while those with relatives rushed to seek refuge with them.
Prefect Feng trembled as he spoke. If the imperial court did not send troops soon, he feared that Chen Wei and the others might dare to slaughter their way straight into Tanzhou City.
Peng Daji's expression was also grave. Two of the bandit leaders were ruthless men who could even lay hands on their own flesh and blood; the mountain bandits they recruited were absolutely not to be trifled with either.
Prince Qing remained silent for a moment before asking, Have they come out to commit any crimes recently?
Prefect Feng shook his head. Right before this subordinate submitted the memorial, they had just raided a town, taking away a large amount of gold, silver, and provisions. Since notices about the rampant mountain bandits in the Tanzhou area have been posted all over Jingzhou, merchants from both the north and south have taken detours. They will probably wait until their provisions are nearly depleted before coming down the mountain to cause trouble again.
Prince Qing then asked him if there was a way to enter the mountains.
Prefect Feng shook his head again. There are rivers and lakes in the mountains, and the bandits live on boats. Sometimes they might change their resting place every single night, and other times they might find a hilltop to set up camp. Aside from the three bandit leaders, none of the underlings know where they will stop on any given day or night.
It was precisely because the whereabouts of this bandit group were so unpredictable that the official troops and local militia led by Prefect Feng had made several futile attempts.
Peng Daji looked at Prince Qing.
Prince Qing said with quiet confidence, Since it is difficult to enter the mountains and catch the snakes, we can only lure the snakes out of their holes.
Back in the capital, Prince Qing had already devised a stratagem to act as bait to lure the bandit group. He had repeatedly considered and perfected it along the journey. Now, learning that the bandit lair was hard to find, Prince Qing naturally intended to put his plan to use.
He said to Peng Daji, When passing through Jiangling, I arranged four merchant ships in advance, pretending to be traveling merchants from the Shu region heading to Jingnan for the silk trade. Today, I will send someone to notify them to depart. You should also return to Wuling and wait. Once the merchant ships arrive in Wuling, hide four hundred naval troops on the four merchant ships, and then dispatch four warships to escort them.
Chen Wei and his two cohorts act with ruthlessness and arrogance. While ordinary mountain bandits would be frightened off by the imperial navy, they would take pleasure in defeating the imperial naval forces.
On the surface, your side will appear to have four hundred naval troops, but in reality, you will have a force of eight hundred. Once you start fighting, Prefect Feng and I will lead a thousand official troops to reinforce you. By attacking from both sides, we will definitely be able to eradicate the main force of the bandit group in one fell swoop.
With eight hundred Jingzhou naval troops, one thousand infantry archers, plus himself and the twenty-four guards by his side, Prince Qing was full of confidence in this plan.
Peng Daji replied, Your Highness's plan is brilliant, but it is too risky. According to what Prefect Feng said, Liu Siyi is cautious and skilled in plotting. I fear he might see through this as the government's attempt to lure the snakes out of their holes, and he might either avoid coming out altogether or split off some bandits to guard against government reinforcements. It would be better to have the three thousand infantrymen under this subordinate's command come...
Prince Qing sneered, "Three thousand infantrymen is a massive formation. Do you think the spies planted in the city by the bandits are blind? You know how cautious Liu Siyi is. I want him to believe that Tanzhou only has a thousand soldiers available and that only four hundred naval troops are escorting the merchant ships. If we deploy any more troops, we will scare them into hiding, and how are we supposed to eradicate the bandits then?"
Peng Daji thought for a moment and said, "Your Highness makes a valid point. However, Your Highness is of noble birth and should not take such risks. On the night of the bandit suppression, it would be best for Your Highness to remain within the city and let Prefect Feng lead troops to provide reinforcements. Otherwise, if anything were to happen..."
Prince Qing raised a hand to interrupt him. "Prefect Feng is a scholar. Leave this fighting and killing to me. I appreciate Commander Peng's good intentions, but I have practiced martial arts since childhood not to hide in the back when a battle breaks out. All right, go rest in the guest room for the night, and return to Wuling tomorrow morning to make arrangements. Oh, and make sure only you and your eight hundred naval troops know about this. Say nothing to anyone else, lest the news leak and all our efforts go to waste."
Peng Daji: "...Yes."
The two of them finalized the plan through their back-and-forth discussion. Upon learning that he would not have to make an appearance, Prefect Feng secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He was indeed a scholar and could not handle such violent affairs.
After returning to the government office, Prefect Feng handled his official duties absentmindedly and went to the back quarters to rest at dusk.
Prefect Feng's wife had stayed in their hometown to take care of his elderly parents and children, leaving only three concubines in the inner courtyard of his office. Currently, Prefect Feng most favored a young woman surnamed Xia. He had rescued her in February from a town pillaged by bandits; she had survived by hiding well. She was only sixteen or seventeen years old. Although her beauty was only above average, her skin was fair and clean, and her watery apricot eyes were very captivating.
"How did it go? Did Master meet His Highness Prince Qing?" Lady Xia asked with concern as she gently and attentively served Prefect Feng.
Prefect Feng smiled. "Yes, he is indeed a prince from the capital. He has already planned everything out. I just hope everything goes smoothly so I can finally relieve myself of this worry."
Lady Xia asked curiously, "Those bandits kill without blinking an eye. What kind of good plan could Prince Qing possibly have?"
Prefect Feng leaned close to her ear and whispered the details.
After listening, Lady Xia said excitedly, "That's wonderful! My aunt's family, who died so unjustly, can finally rest in peace!"
.
Prince Qing's message was sent back to the passenger ships in Jiangling. The ships then traveled along the waterway through Wuling to Tanzhou, taking a total of nine days.
When the four passenger ships and four warships passed through the river section near Shifeng Ridge, where the bandits were hiding, it was the night of the nineteenth of May. A slightly waning, bright moon hung high in the sky, shedding sparkling, fragmented light across the river's surface.
Under the cover of darkness, Prince Qing led a thousand archers assigned to him by Prefect Feng and quietly arrived at the northern bank of the Xiang River, hiding behind the trees along the mountain paths.
The eight ships drew closer. Suddenly, the bow of a ship emerged on the tributary flowing toward the Shifeng Ridge mountains on the opposite bank.
The corners of Prince Qing's lips curled up.
After the eight large ships sailed past this tributary and moved a bit further ahead, over a dozen small boats suddenly rowed swiftly toward them from the water ahead. They launched a pincer attack with another dozen small boats rushing out from the tributary, trapping the eight large ships in the middle.
Prince Qing did a rough count. There were twenty to thirty men on each of the bandits' small boats, totaling seven or eight hundred!
Prince Qing immediately prepared to charge out with his archers. Without any canopies to shield them, the exposed bandits on the small boats were sitting ducks.
However, just as he moved, a whistle suddenly rang out from the hillside on the left. Prince Qing looked up and saw dark figures standing up, bows and arrows in hand!
Prince Qing was greatly alarmed. The twenty-four guards stationed beside him immediately pushed him toward the shore to run.
Chen Wei wanted to capture Prince Qing alive, so his underlings aimed their arrows entirely at the guards and the thousand soldiers around Prince Qing. Waiting until these men were either dead or crippled, he led a hundred of his brothers charging down. They chased after the fleeing and miserable Prince Qing and his few men along the familiar banks of the Xiang River.
On the river, the bandits on the thirty or so small boats already knew there were imperial naval troops on the large ships. Seeing that their leader's plan was going smoothly and that Prince Qing was about to be captured, they quickly rowed their small boats away, merely exchanging arrow fire with the naval troops on the large ships to buy time for their leader.
Peng Daji stood on the warship, calmly controlling the battle.
On the shore, Chen Wei and his men finally caught up with Prince Qing. Wielding broadswords, they engaged in a fierce fight with Prince Qing and his remaining six men.
At this moment, Prince Qing could not afford to dwell on how he had been ambushed. Guessing that Chen Wei was the bandit leader, he fought him directly.
Chen Wei was indeed a ruthless man. Seeing that Prince Qing had some skills, he was quite pleased. "Not bad, I like someone like you. It's no fun catching a weakling!"
Prince Qing was enraged by the lecherous glint in Chen Wei's eyes, and every strike of his blade aimed straight for Chen Wei's vital points.
Just as Prince Qing had only two guards left beside him, the rapid sound of galloping hooves suddenly came from behind. Chen Wei looked back in horror, only to see magnificent steeds charging out like a gale from the very mountain path where he had just played the oriole to Prince Qing's mantis stalking the cicada. Turning a corner, they rushed straight toward them!
Under the bright moonlight, the steeds were ridden by armored imperial cavalrymen!
Chen Wei's eyes widened to the point of splitting. At the same time, Prince Qing's broadsword seized the opening and thrust from behind, completely skewering the bandit leader who had tarnished his good name.
