79 A long night

Xin and I walked back to the border fort. We'd stopped off by a small herd of reasonably sized deer and taken two out of the group.

"Good eating." Xin was as tired as I was and we were reduced to minimal chatter. 

"Agreed," I shifted my load, " am hungry."

"Me too."

For the rest of the walk we travelled in silence.

We weren't the last back, groups were still staggering in, each unit as exhausted as the next.

The images of us must have been gruesome, each of us with varying layers of congealed blood. 

One unit arrived and it dripped on the floor as they walked. They'd been busy.

"All of you, wash house. Clean up, eat and return for a debriefing." 

The officer turned to the two of us, " a large tub has been prepared for you in the side room here. I hope you're happy to share the same tub? It's a large one." He gestured the direction and we silently sloughed our way in.

"Do we have cleaner clothes?" Xin was almost asleep.

"I hope so." I looked across. Next to the tub was a pile of men's garments. Yes, they'll do fine. We stripped off in silence and climbed into the tub.

Oh, the relief!

Amazing how a bathe in hot water and clean clothes can revive the weary soul. We assembled and the chatter began each unit swapping stories and funny moments.

The smell of roasting meat pervaded the room and many a stomach began rumbling. 

The officers walked in, followed by soldiers carrying trays of fresh, sweet buns stuffed with red bean or vegetables. There was hot tea being poured. We devoured it all as we reported back.

"So," one of the more senior officers took charge, " what you're telling us is they are coming through the gullies in the rock face and camping locally overnight?"

"Yes," one of the unit replied, "and they seem to be waiting for others to reach them before moving on. The only thing I can suggest is if some go out killing them off, others watch, wait and then follow?"

He looked to the others in his unit. One agreed but the other wasn't so sure. "How do we tackle these men in daylight? They're very well armed for a start and what if they all meet up somewhere as a bigger group? If they do then, the three of us won't be able to deal with them?" He looked around and many were nodding. There was a great deal of uncertainty in the room.

"We would need to relay back to here."

"If we did, wouldn't they have moved on by the time troops arrived?"

"We still need to relay back to base." Yes, that was agreed.

"How about utilizing animal calling? Officer Chen, Xin Yi, Officer Bǎo and I would use calls to let each other know our whereabouts and whether there was a kill." I looked at the officers, "avoid the wild dog, someone is using that already."

Hao Yang looked at me. "Any idea who?"

"No," I replied, " but the night I heard it, there were three separate individuals. I didn't get a chance to investigate because the town gates were due to close and I needed to get back." I paused, " oh, yes, now I come to think about it, I did see two men looking for the track which took them to the paddy fields, where the rest of their unit was." I giggled, "frightened one of them out of his wits. They're not much cop in the wooded areas."

"Sounds to me as though we are dealing with two things here."  Hao Yang looked at me quizzically as he spoke. "My gut feeling is they're sending troops through to accomplish two things; to knock us out as a defending force and infiltrate the town so they can take out the garrison."

"Assistant!" Another of the officers shouted, making us all jump out of our concentration.

"Sir!"

"Get me one of the best runner's, no bring two out runners, this message must get through today." With that he began writing a succinct missive to Second Master informing him of our fears.

 

Second Master had just returned from a long meeting with his counterparts in the Zhang garrison. He had placed the Chen seal in front of him so they were aware he was now the controlling officer and they would no longer be dealing with his truculent father.

There had been a meeting of minds and Second Master left with more optimism than he had felt in weeks. He'd not long returned to his quarters, when a runner was ushered straight in. He glanced up as two more runners arrived with duplicate letters.

"Sir!" the first runner passed the document over.

Hong Yi read it slowly and took it all in.

"When does this officer think the town will be infiltrated by the opposing army to such an extent it will become a threat?"

"Any day sir.  A special unit went out last night and killed, probably between thirty and forty soldiers. They have evaluated the route in and have a strong belief they will attack not only the force at the front but the garrison here. There is also a concern they will use panic among the civilians to make their job all the easier. They are very heavily armed, Sir."

He stopped and dropped his head. As a runner he had already spoken more than his position allowed.

"Take this letter to the officer in the Zhang garrison and pass on an invitation for him to come to my quarters as soon as he is able. Its time to mobilise here and defend this town robustly."

"Sir, permit me for speaking but the front does need fresh men. Those at the fort are close to exhaustion and are fighting to survive not win. If we want to win on both fronts, they will need extra support."
"Comments taken. How many are still fit to fight?"

"Less than half, Sir, there have been heavy losses and many are wounded. They are short on medical supplies too, and there is only one medical doctor left."

The situation had grown desperate under the control of his father, and he was horrified by his lack of interest in keeping his men alive. Hong Yi shook his head in total disbelief and utter disgust. It was only now that he could fully appreciate why Hao Yang was always so angry and exasperated when he spoke of their father.