Chapter 432 - Intelligence

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On the 23rd of November in the 11th year of the Chongzhen era, in the city of Zhengding, Zhending Prefecture. Lu Xiangsheng arrived in Zhengding on the 20th. By this time, the Qing army had already left, and the Xuan Army had taken their place. The two sides were still in a state of disengagement. A small cavalry squad arrived at the camp gate. The soldiers guarding the gate were listless and did not bother to check or register their identification. The leader took a glance and recognized them, waved his hand to let them pass, while the other sentries remained huddled inside their tents, not even bothering to lift their heads. Translated content: "
On the 23rd of November in the 11th year of the Chongzhen era, in the city of Zhengding, Zhending Prefecture. Lu Xiangsheng arrived in Zhengding on the 20th. By this time, the Qing army had already left, and the Xuan Army had taken their place. The two sides were still in a state of disengagement. A small cavalry squad arrived at the camp gate. The soldiers guarding the gate were listless and did not bother to check or register their identification. The leader took a glance and recognized them, waved his hand to let them pass, while the other sentries remained huddled inside their tents, not even bothering to lift their heads."
Qin Jiuzhe walked at the back and looked up as he passed the camp gate. Two severed heads were hanging on the beam, covered in frost. Nobody in the group bothered to look and they went straight out of the gate onto the southern official road. There were still other cavalry on the road, all looking listless. Most of the cavalry didn't speak to each other when they saw one another, keeping their heads down and walking. Some of the horses...

Stopped in place, the rider cursed and kicked.
Qin Jiuze looked around and saw discarded belongings scattered throughout the fields on both sides of the official road. Corpses were everywhere, and flocks of crows swooped down, feasting on the bodies. Wild dogs that were gnawing on the corpses barked and ran off, causing the flock of crows to scatter with a loud bang.
Everyone got off their horses and walked south for about five or six miles. The leader, Hundred General, then pulled the horse's reins and left the main road, crossing a dilapidated market town, and continued walking for another two or three miles away from the highway.
Qin Jiuzhe looked up and saw the movement of horseback riders nearby. Judging from their attire, they appeared to be official soldiers. None of the outpost horses sent out by various departments had gone to where they were supposed to be.
There was a walled mansion ahead, with a grand entrance, giving the impression of being a wealthy family. The walls were intact except for the broken gate, and the courtyard was filled with white smoke.
Baizong pointed to the house, and two riders leaped onto their horses, circling around the courtyard before returning to the gate and nodding at Baizong. Baizong led the way towards the courtyard gate.
Qin Jiuzhe placed his hand on the hilt of his knife to prevent it from swinging back and forth, while his left hand led the horse and followed them into the gate.
As soon as they entered the premises, several official soldiers were seen chopping a door. They paid no attention to Qin Jiuze and the others. The leader, Baizong, walked around inside for a while, then proceeded to the second entrance. From a room on the west side, a woman's painful cries could be heard, but Baizong didn't go to see, he simply walked straight to the door of the third entrance. Baizong peeked inside, waved his hand, and led everyone in. Translated content: As soon as they entered the premises, several official soldiers were seen chopping a door. They paid no attention to Qin Jiuze and the others. The leader, Baizong, walked around inside for a while, then proceeded to the second entrance. From a room on the west side, a woman's painful cries could be heard, but Baizong didn't go to see, he simply walked straight to the door of the third entrance. Baizong peeked inside, waved his hand, and led everyone in.
Walked in. Inside the third entrance, there were other soldiers. Horses were tied to the pillars on the west side corridor. Most of them were wearing padded armor. It was unclear which camp they belonged to. They looked at Qin Jiuze and the others with vigilance, but seeing that they showed no intention of provocation, Please note that the translation might not be accurate as it is done by an AI model.
Without paying any attention to each other, they didn't even inquire which camp they were from.
A fire was burning on the empty ground, billowing white smoke towards the sky, while the official troops continued smashing a bed frame. The fallen wooden pieces were thrown into the bonfire, creating sparks that scattered in all directions.
There is an iron pot directly placed on the firewood, with water boiling inside. There are still some ice cubes on the surface of the water.
Several house servants are squatting next to the iron pot, with three severed heads arranged on the ground. The heads have a full head of hair, clearly not belonging to the Tartars. One soldier is holding a razor and shaving the hair off one of the heads. Qin Jiuzhe takes a walk around the courtyard, which is filled with bloodstains and animal dung. It is evident that Qing soldiers cavalry had a brief stay here. There are still several bodies piled up at the corner outside the main house, with all their clothes stripped off and covered in wounds.
Bing Frost, it is impossible to tell whether the person is male or female.
Bai Zong stopped in the eastern wing of the third entrance, and everyone tied their horses to the porch pillars. Qin Jiuzhe didn't even look at the officers and soldiers, and he searched the courtyard for a while, confirming that it was impossible to find any forage. Then he returned to the captain and said, "This smoke is too conspicuous, the side door is small, taking the horses out would be slow, and someone needs to be on the roof."
Looking at it."
The captain said to a subordinate, "Go to the roof and keep an eye on it."
The person tilted his head and said, "It's cold when the wind blows up there." The captain stared at him fiercely, and the cavalryman retreated a couple of steps in fear. Eventually, reluctantly, he climbed up the wall and onto the roof. The captain threw a dirty blanket up from below, and the cavalryman caught it and wrapped himself up.
,just lying on the roof.
The three rooms in the east wing were quiet. Qin Jiuzhe pushed open one door and saw two pairs of suspended feet inside, their skin already blackened. Baizong waved his hand twice and then walked into the adjacent room.
A team of people set out to each find wood and build a fire in the shed. After a while, the temperature in the room began to rise.
Qin Jiuzhe leaned against the door frame and took out his bow, propping it against the wall. The arrows were placed directly on the ground, with their tips within easy reach.
Some of the soldiers across were sizing up the horses tied to the pillars, then covertly glancing towards the warehouse. Qin Jiuzhe's expression remained calm, yet his eyes would always meet those malicious stares.
After a while, both sides judged that the other party did not want to conflict, gradually becoming accustomed to each other's presence, and no longer used eye contact to test each other. Qin Jiuzhe also relaxed slightly, and a voice came from the room behind him. Bai Zong, in a deep voice, said, "Today, we were sent to gather information at Luqiao Pass. There's no way the spy could have gone too far. Rest here until nightfall and then return to camp."
"
It will become weak and fragile quickly.
The mount is the fundamental means of survival for cavalry. Without supplies, nobody is willing to drain the horse's stamina. The sound of clapping resonates from the courtyard as Qin Jiuzhang slowly turns his gaze to the soldier by the iron pot. He is holding a dripping cloth shoe in one hand and a severed head in the other. The head's remaining hair is spread out on the ground. Family...
Ding vigorously patted his hair with a cloth shoe, causing the hair to become wet with tiny and dense water droplets swirling around. Qin Jiuzhe's face, filled with wrinkles, remained calm. These officials and soldiers aimed to eliminate the marks of hair being tied up because the Jians slaves did not tie their hair, and there were no horizontal lines on their hair. To imitate the appearance of a Jians slave, they had to pat and eliminate any traces on their hair. This was the first step.
In one step. One of the servants roughly finished the slaughtering process. He made a frame with a few branches and tied the scalp of the severed head onto it. Then he threw it into the pot with a loud thud. This was to boil the head until it swelled, preventing the officials from dismissing the head's achievements.
Based on.
Qin Jiuzhe crouched along the door frame and sat on the threshold of the chamber, with his crossbow placed horizontally on his knees, listening to the conversation inside.
"Master Xu, I heard that the Tartars who received military command have gone to Shanxi. Should we follow them back to Shanxi?"
The captain's voice asked, "Whose report is it?"
"They said it was reported by General Wang's side." Someone snorted, "The army has passed through, leaving behind obvious traces. Even though the snow covers it, if you sweep it away and take a closer look, you'll know. The horse dung on the official road is all heading south. The people captured by the Tartars die along the way. Just follow those corpses and you'll know they are going south."
Only going west, does he think everyone is blind?
The captain's voice was cold, "Those running outside don't say anything, but you say the Tartars went south. Shangguan sends you to find out the truth, and once you find out, you'll go fight and kill the Tartars yourself." Note: '
That person stopped talking, and the captain continued, "Remember, tell anyone who asks that you haven't seen anything."
There was a moment of silence, and Qin Jiuzhe frowned, the furrow between his eyebrows deepening, as he lowered his head.
After a while, General Xubai's voice came, "Go find some firewood again. If the neighbor's come over later, we won't have any firewood. How can we live through the day?" At that moment, a cry from outside caught Qin Jiuze's attention, and the crying sound entered the courtyard through the side door.
这时外边一阵哭喊，秦九泽抬头起来，那哭喊声从侧门进了院中。
Qin Jiuze got up and went outside the corridor, only to see two peasants being escorted by several guards. As soon as they entered the courtyard, they immediately fell to their knees and kowtowed desperately.
"Caught two more."
Just now, the soldier who had just shaved his head shouted with joy, got up, and walked over to one of the civilians. He grabbed the person's hair and carefully examined their head, trying to determine if they were a fake. The civilian, upon seeing the boiling human heads in a pot, was already terrified. They trembled uncontrollably, their whole body shaking like chaff, and stuttered, "M-m-mister soldier, please spare me. I fled into the mountains to hide from the bandits and shouldn't have returned to disturb your tranquility. I beg you to spare my life."
The little man will immediately go back to the mountains, General, ooh..." In the courtyard ahead, the burning firewood crackled and snapped, thick smoke billowed up. The servants were still desperately beating the fire with the soles of their shoes, water droplets flying everywhere. The two captured people were screaming and howling, begging for mercy.
Soldiers spared their lives, while their teammates on the roof huddled together but couldn't resist peeking down to see what was happening.
Snowflakes fell onto their eyebrows, forming a thin layer. Qin Jiuzhe looked at the scene in front of him with lifeless eyes and exhaled a puff of visible breath. "It's not easy to stay alive, huh?"
……
On November 25th, in Luqiao Town of Jining Prefecture, all the merchants' doors are tightly closed.
At the entrance of the town, a row of six cannons have uncovered their cannon covers, pointing their barrels towards the official road. The gunners hold cotton-packed powder bags in their arms, while the ramrods lie by their feet, ready to start loading.
More than a hundred armored infantry soldiers stood ready behind the artillery, all of them looking towards the official road. Pang Yu also held a telescopic lens to observe. A steady stream of people flowed on the road ahead, with a group of soldiers marching without any flags. However, they were not heading north, but towards Xuzhou, hurriedly carrying quite a few things,
On the back of the cavalry's horse, a woman lay sideways.
Chen Rulie said from the side, "General Ning Chong's troops from Shandong are withdrawing to Xuzhou."
Zhuang Chaozheng calmly said, "Jiannu is in the north, why are they heading south?"
“He said that the Ministry of War did not assign them to support the loyalists and it would be inappropriate for them to violate military orders. He also asked which military unit we belonged to.”
Tusi Li of Zanhuafang turned to Chen Rulie and asked, "How did General Chen respond to him?"
"I told them that we are hired soldiers sent by the Phoenix Governor to eliminate bandits, not to support any particular king. It was the Purple Microcosm Gang who raided Xuzhou, and we accidentally crossed the border while pursuing them."
Wu Dacai was by Pang Yu's side, squinting his eyes while looking ahead for a moment, and then said to Pang Yu, "General, Nei Chong must have received confirmation before turning south. Jian Nu might have already reached Linqing." Please let me know if I can assist you with anything else.
Several artillerymen around heard it and turned their heads to steal a glance.
In the past few days, the atmosphere near Jining has also become tense. The shops in the towns along the way have all closed, and the population has fled to the city or countryside. If Jiannu's target is Linqing, they may not stop at Linqing. It only takes a few days for Pang Yu to reach Linqing. Now he can neither go to Dezhou nor Linqing, and he dare not take a step forward. It doesn't seem appropriate to retreat either. The soldiers and generals will have doubts in their hearts. Currently, they can only linger in Luqiao.
But today, Ni Chong caused another scene and fled, which will definitely affect the morale of Anqing Camp.
Pang Yu asked Chen Rulie, "Is there any news on the way? Have the scouts found any trace of Jian Nu in Linqing?" "The scouts haven't replied yet. It's still the same as what Ni Chong, whom I encountered, said. They said the Tartars were besieging Xian County and heading towards Linqing. But others said that Jian Nu went to Shandong, and there's also a Tangma heading south. He is on the road.
I heard a rumor that Jiannu is planning to leave Shanxi after attacking Linqing."
"Shanxi? Leaving from Shanxi after attacking Linqing..."
Pang Yu squatted on the ground, while several people gathered around that rough map. Their intelligence was very vague, and they had no idea where Jiannu was or what the target was. If the Qing army attacks Linqing first, sweeping from east to west, and then exits through Shanxi, it would indeed be a route that Pang Yu had never considered before. Because once they enter Shanxi, it is a continuous mountain range, with closed roads and difficult passage, like a long snake.
In the event of being blocked, it will be difficult for the Qing army to exert its full combat power. The Qing army itself consists of several thousand people, along with a large number of carriages. On the return journey, they will also be carrying the plundered population, so the procession will be very large. Normal people would not choose such a route, but soldiers are adept at taking unconventional paths to catch their opponents off guard. As for Pang Yu, he is currently...
I dare not say that the Qing army will not act in that way. Pang Ding turned his head and looked at a few people before saying to Pang Yu, "Sir, in my opinion, Jian Nu has just started looting, and there are too many places they can target. Maybe even Jian Nu themselves don't know where they will raid. They will go wherever they find an unprepared location."
They are guessing randomly, if one is not good, they will clash with them. It's better to wait here until Jian Nu retreats. If they have to withdraw, they will definitely go north, only one direction, then it will be easy to guess."
Pang Yu nodded approvingly, "This is the most reliable solution." After discussing for a while, they still couldn't grasp the key points. They could only decide to wait another day at Lu Bridge. Chen Rulie and others returned to their respective camps, and Pang Yu and others dispersed. He covered his face with his hands and cursed in a low voice, "Where the hell did Jian Nu go? Who can give me accurate information?"