133 Landings

"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.

 

 Hao looked downstream. He was both gladdened and saddened. Gladdened he was on home territory once again but saddened, because he knew the land was all but destroyed for the furtherance of another tribe's greed. He worried too. How were the advanced party, or should he think, parties? He was with a group of fifty men from Shipao, Liú and Chen. They were all good fighters, but not invested as the Chen men who would see their beloved country destroyed.

Staring out, he realised they had a strength of detachment. This was not their land so they could go about the business of clearing with a ruthless objectivity, something which would be lost to the Chen soldiers. They would see their fight through a haze of emotional investment and perhaps lose their sharpness of focus. 'Need to think on this. Use the objectivity and emotional involvement to its best advantage.'

Hao was just about to turn away from the river when he heard the sound he had been unconsciously waiting for, come across the water.

"P-e-e-e-w w-i-t,  P-e-e-e-w w-i-t" (We're here, we're here). 

He recognised it as Băo.

"P-e-e-e-w, P-e-e-e-w," (here, here) 

Hao replied without thinking, a smile widening on his face. 

Then another, "P-e-e-e-w, P-e-e-e-w", both groups had landed. 

Băo and Zŭmò had made it in good time.

Wolfie raised his head and listened. In the distance he heard something which was out of place. He cocked his head and listened closely, yes, it was man but who? Checking, Wolfie looked toward Xin. She was busy and appeared unaffected by the noise. He looked at the others. None seemed perturbed. He lowered his head and continued to dose, one eye open and ears fully alert.

I'd reached overload; too many people. I was okay with a unit of eight, I was fine in the garrison because I had a room I could escape to, but here..... the women cowered to varying degrees. Some had gained enough spirit to begin working for the group, but many just sat and wallowed in their pitiful state, whilst others sat silently rocking backwards and forwards. None of this would get them through the ordeals they had been through. They needed action. 

I breathed deeply. "Xin, I'm going to the river. I need space to think."

She nodded and continued working with the women, cajoling them into doing things, getting involved, baking breads, collecting wood, hunting for various roots, cleaning skins; household stuff which married in with their lives before the attacks. She was good at this. 

I wasn't.

She nodded, "See you in a while," smiling, she said in a quiet voice, "take your time, you need to find the centre of the stream, don't you?" She knew.

I nodded, and collecting my casting net, wash gear and comb, I walked with a lightening heart toward the water.

 Sitting at the water's edge, I looked out over the top end of the lake. It was quiet. The marsh grasses were at their fullest and gave one the false impression of solid ground. Small clusters of lotus plants grew in the more open areas where the mud was thick and the waters, shallow. 

'Beautiful mud. Perfect for my hair.' I removed my outer garments and boots and piled them to one side of the small beach. Removing the bindings from my chest I swilled them in the water and hung them over the shrubbery to dry. Only then did I drop myself into the stinging waters and feel the soft, velvety mud between my toes. 

I was home.

My first action? Mud, and plenty of it. Scrub my skin and condition my hair. I looked around and found the nearest lotus patch and reaching down, scooped up the fine silt from around the tubers; a perfect hair tonic. Slowly, my head relaxed and all thoughts of past events left me. I was free once more to live in the present. The Past was complete and the Future was still preparing. All I had was Now and that was my present to me, from the universe around.

Combing the silt into my hair, I watched the fish as they swam near my feet. I had disturbed the surface and small scraps were surfacing. This was a perfect opportunity for the fish to feed. It took me to a time when Xin and I had been doing exactly this, it must have been well over two years ago. I remember saying, "we gather the silt to cleanse ourselves and freshen our hair. As we comb, the lice and the eggs drop off into the water feeding the fish around. Everything is balanced and as long as we take part in a balanced way, then all will be well."

I smiled to myself, things were very much out of balance at the moment and what was, will never be again. I carried on combing, feeding the fish who swam round me.

Two was thinking. He'd vague recollections of this area, but didn't know it too well. He had sat round the camp fire with Băo and listened to some of his stories about growing up on the marshes. A small remembrance seeped into Two's consciousness, there were small hamlets around and from what he could remember, there was one further north from here.

'If there's a hamlet, then there are buildings. We could use these.' He carried on ruminating, poking the fire with a stick.

Standing up, he called over Three and Five. "I want to go up the edge of the bank here, heading north. If I remember right, from something Băo said one evening, there is a hamlet or at least a collection of buildings up there. If that's the case, it could solve a problem." He looked at the women then continued. "I would like it if you two would come with me. We could hunt at the same time as see whether we can find this hamlet? What do you think?"

Both nodded and letting everyone in on their plans, they collected hunting gear and took off. 

Unusually, Wolfie got up and quietly followed them.

Xin watched him. 'He's picked something up,' but before she could formulate her ideas, she was distracted by the little boy who had managed to fall over and cut his head.

Băo and his small band, set up their campsite and prepared everything, ready for sleep. He knew exactly where he was; about four kilometres from the hamlet of Yú Zuǐ (Fish Mouth). Zŭmò and his group were about two kilometres further south on the other side of the river. They had to contend with the main thoroughfare which ran along the river as well as being closer to the sight line of the hamlet. 'I trust him. He will do well over there,' Băo mused to himself, 'let's hope he can make a push toward Lanhua Shichang (Orchid Market) and stop any movement north.'

Turning back to the group, " time to do some checking. I want one unit to go out and hunt. Whilst out there, check and see if there are any vermin about. Exterminate them on sight."

"Sir," and with that they silently departed.

"Next unit, stay with the camp and check the surrounding river bank. I don't want any surprises during the night."

"Sir."

"Last group, with me." With that he turned south and headed towards the hamlet.

 

I swam out into the lake, vaguely heading north but at an angle, taking me further out and well away from the bank. I wanted to see if I could spot the cluster of buildings. I really wasn't sure how close they'd be to the river, but if there were any people, I might spot a smoke rise or something.

Nothing. Maybe it was too early but not to see anything.....

Deserted?

A movement caught my eye. It was in the distance but there was certainly activity. 

Staying low, I watched. 

Men, in two groups, both heading towards the hamlet. 

They disappeared into the undergrowth.

I lost sight of them. 

Swimming back, I knew we had to be careful around our camp. 

Friend or foe? My mind raced and the hackles on the back of my neck stood on end. 'This is all too close, too close.'

Holding my ears wide open I listened to the sounds off the surface of the water.

Nothing. It was too far away.

My curiosity was too great. I had to take a look for myself, so kicking back out, I began slowly making my way up the river's edge.

 

 

Four looked at Xin as she continued to cajole the women into action. His admiration for her just grew and grew. He knew she was Băo's woman but, even so, he could feel his heart fill with a deep love for her. She was two women; kind, sweet, loving, funny and caring on the one hand, but could turn into a fighting hell-cat when needed. Her strikes were always deadly and she did it with such a smile. They called it the smile of the mountain cat. She was that indeed.

He smiled. "Anything I can do Xin?"

"Go down to the river and see if Niao has finished. I want to let her know about the three who've taken off up north. She needs to know."

Four got up and started making his way toward the river.

On arriving he saw her clothing, her bindings, but no Niao. He was just about to go back and tell Xin when he spotted her. She was swimming steadily up north holding her gaze on a particular spot.