133 Its time....

"It's dark, let's get going. We've some distance to cover and I'm concerned this will be too much for the women let alone the two children."

Niao looked at the women. None seemed that strong, but then, after the ordeal they had gone through it wasn't surprising. She looked at Xin who returned the worried look. 

"What if we come across trouble? What then ?"

She could always read my mind.

"Two, stop a moment." I grabbed him arm, "We can do these distances but I'm convinced they wont be able to." I paused and thought. I remembered back to when Hao and I had to evade the Mu men who were hell bent on kidnapping him.

"I've got an idea, let me run this past you. Sit down everyone please, we have something I want to discuss and it will require us going by boat." I paused, then continued, "both boats I suspect, anyway, this is my idea." 

 

"Ready?"

Hao had forty men, five groups of eight. He knew they could all work in this way, so he had given them time to sort out amongst themselves how they wanted to break their number down into their respective units. Hao was in overall charge so he floated to whichever unit needed him. Never far away he worked independently, scouting out in the way Niao had taught him. 'Thanks Niao, my lifesaver. Now let us be your life savers. We're coming and we will find you, but first I have work to do. See you soon, my wife, see you soon.' He clutched the small pouch he wore around his neck. It contained two trinkets she had given him; a carved bone comb, and an amulet, made of antler, in the shape of a wolf head. He treasured them, keeping them on him at all times.

The small band of men pushed off on their even smaller craft. Most lay down whilst three stood, steering the boat and stroking so as to gain as much speed and distance as they could. They were the first group to go, the second would be a standard crossing using the ferry. Hao prayed all his planning for this group would work and his number two would be able to put all this into practice. He looked back once more and watched as carts, mules and drivers began their rapid crossing on the ferry, then facing forward, quietly urged the men to stay down and pray.

 

"Two groups across the river Commander and General Hao and his team have left." Second Master nodded and turned to Băo, "Okay, heaven's speed to you and your men. I ask one favour of you and that is, as soon as you can, please find out if my wife is alive? There are three women out there and they are all important. Please, I am entrusting you to keep them safe and find them as soon as you can."

 Băo looked at him and saw the glistening of tears in his eyes. How worried he must have been for so long. We have had the two women safe with us for most of the time, but he has faced the heart ache of not knowing whether his wife lives or dies for over a year. Băo shook his head, 'could I do that and still command in the way he has? To cope with the tribulations of his father, Commander Zhang and all that nonsense?' Looking at my eldest sworn brother in a new light, I realised I couldn't. This man was indeed one in a million.

Taking his arms I swore an oath, "I promise with my last breath to do my very best to find her and bring her to safety. We all want to reunite with our beloved. I promise, brother, I promise." 

Hugging him one last time, Băo turned to the men on the quayside, "Time."

He mounted the back of one of the boats and called out, "untie and push off."

With that two more boats travelled down the river. Their urgency could be seen in the speed with which they both travelled. If they kept this up, they could complete the journey in a day and a half, but they had to be careful, Băo knew that. They had two more dark nights after this one.

'Make good speed brother, we need to get this cleared and our ladies found as soon as possible'

"So what do you propose? Not go west?" Five looked at me, wondering what it was I had remembered.

I looked at the crude map in the mud and added something everyone seemed to have forgotten; the roadway. "If we head west we open ourselves up to trouble. This road is the main one which runs from Chenxi up to the border, so it's likely to be busy and I wouldn't imagine its friendly either." Nods from some of the women made me realise I had hit on something. 

One of them spoke, "That's the road we were being take along and it did seem to have a lot of these prison wagons. Some had women, but most carried men. Tortured I'm afraid. The stench was awful, its not something I could forget in a hurry."

I shook my head. I didn't want to imagine, but my mind wandered, 'keep busy, push it away.'

"So," I continued, "let's go east towards the marshes. Take the boat across the lake and land on the other side. I know exactly where to go, its where I hid Hao when he was still young." I grinned as I remembered that useless, posh boy who couldn't even wash. "The Mu wont venture in there, its far too dangerous, but I know an area which would work for us. Its dry, got plenty of fishing, vegetation and most importantly, cover. We have one maybe two nights of dark, why not use them and get across without arousing suspicion."

 

"General, how much further do we have to go?"

"About the same distance again. We should be able to do that tonight and get beached as the sun comes up. There are some good landing sites just before the river forks, so we can use one of those. I thought long and hard.Where was it Niao always pulled in? There's a beach somewhere in that region, but we have to be careful of the roadway. Its a reasonable distance away from the river at that point so we should be okay as long as we remain quiet and don't attract attention with fires.

"Men, when we land we won't be too far from a roadway so there won't be fires. Lets get as much cooked ready for tomorrow and we can eat it cold when we beach up."

The men nodded and set about preparing rice, congee and small buns cooked in the embers. Fish was wrapped in leaves and cooked so they too could go for the next day. Everyone ate well and settled down for sleep. They knew this wold likely be the final day of decent sleep they'd be having for some time.

Băo looked out across the river. They had beached not far from Hao and his party, he could smell the food and the fires. 'Hope they realise we won't be doing this for a while.'

"Okay gentlemen, time to split into you two groups. I'll go with the group who enter the marsh lands as I know them very well." He grinned. Many a happy day was spent playing in them when he was a kid. Now that playtime was going to be very handy.

"How many know this area? Maybe grew up there, like me?" Băo looked around and a goodly few raised a hand. "Then you will definitely be on this boat. That's nineteen, I need another, let me see, three times eight, twenty four, so I will need four more. Volunteers?" 

Another six hands went up. "Who has messed around in swamps before?" Three hands went down. "Okay, I'll take you three and one unit will be a seven. Safer to take idiots who know how to play in this stuff." He laughed. "Okay, get food cooked for tomorrow, neither group will have the opportunity for fires when we land, it attracts too much attention. Get cooking everyone and keep your flat breads safe."

Băo walked over to Zŭmò. "Well, you'll be on home territory soon and will be able to find out if your wife is alive or dead. I am hoping for the former. I'm hoping she is safe." Băo clutched his arm in a friendly gesture. "We will find her. We have your wife and General Hao and mine too, not forgetting the Commander's."

Zŭmò nodded, but said nothing. His thoughts were also on home and his wife. When he left, she was pregnant. If everything went well, he would be a father to a three month old child. One he hadn't seen or heard cry. Sometimes he would be woken in the night by the sound of a baby crying, only to find it was a dog, or a cat or just nothing but his imagination.

He shook his head, "Its alright, there are many like me, wondering if they still have a family to go home to. We know what we have to do and we won't leave any alive. I promise you, we will do a very good job, but I won't lie to you, I'll be glad when its all over." He grinned with his mouth, his eyes showing worry and sadness.

"Commander?" Second Master turned round.

"Mm?"

"Sorry, Commander, I just wanted to let you know, all troop movements for tonight have been completed. The prisoners have been moved once more and are now in their travelling groups. Your father will no doubt stay on in Shipao for the foreseeable future? I have no information on his departure if that's not the case?" The attendant looked concerned had they overlooked something?

"No, that's correct. He will stay here until the final push and this war is concluded. He's an old and vulnerable man, he is safe here and more to the point, is very contented." Second Master paused for a moment, then continued, "The next movement? Is that all organised ready to begin and dusk this evening?"

They had worked all night and everyone was tired. Time for rest, then the next departure, then, for some, time to move out.

"All ready, Sir. The prisoners have been kept awake all night and moved about so as to disorientate them. They are now in different places from where they had been. We will guard them in rota, allowing our men to get some rest. Tomorrow is the main movement of the sick, injured and shackled. The remainder will move on the third night, unaware of where the remainder of the numbers have gone."

"Good. Good. As you were."

"Sir." The attendant bowed and left Second Master as he once more faced out across the water. He thought of his two brothers, the women and the brave band of men who had gone ahead. Taking out his prayer beads, he silently prayed they remained safe.