167 Moving on

The Reparations Division packed their new belongs. They'd burned their military connections for good, and now, shouldering their bundles, they moved as a new unit, with a different focus.

They were never soldiers, they had been forced at the point of a sword to sign up. Mu numbers were low and they needed cannon fodder to face the Chen Army. Well, die with them.

The Mu generals had been surprised at how well Chen fought and Commander Zhang wasn't remotely interested in committing his troops to any further bloodshed.  He had called on his old ally to support his effort and they had suggested using the Chen as bait. A satisfactory way to rid the world of their evil, or so they thought. 

This was, to all intense and purposes a phoney war. Yes, there had been a large influx through the mountain pass into Zhang territory. Yes, the Mu were closely related to the Zhangs and had, therefore, been called upon to support their in-laws in this matter. It had been at the suggestion of the Head of the Mu family that they get their old adversary involved and perhaps exterminated at the same time. Zhang had been willing, his resentment growing with every passing year.

It also left Chen land open to invasion with its rich pickings just waiting to be plucked. 

Old man Mu had always been jealous of the wealth, Old man Chen had amassed. He was determined to take it, and by removing the protective arm of their army, allowed his greed, his desire, to be fulfilled.

But things hadn't gone according to plan and the Chen army ,up and left one morning, without a word. After the altercation the previous week, it was clear an enormous chasm existed between the Zhang and the Chen and Chen had voted with their feet. They had not been seen after that, even by the second wave of Mu soldiers advancing through the Zhang Pass. 

They began hearing, however, and as the Mu attempted to return home, the ambushes were already in place. The Chen army had grown and was now called the Twin Hammers. The Mu collapsed and the prisoners were taken. The rest was history and now a group of those soldiers, who were farmers, fishermen and merchants by trade, were walking with members of the Hammers with the brand on their chest officially linking them to their new life. Some walked along with their chests bare, revealing the branding with pride. Others still had bandage pads over them as they healed more slowly, but all agreed, they had made the best choice.

They reached Border town.

It was quiet here. Life seemed to be carrying on as normal. There were less men than one would expect, but it was clear troops had been through and much of the work had been completed.

The towns folk were still pleased to see them an gave them food, lodgings and information. They were warned that further south toward Chenxi, the hamlets were in a very grim state and they should prepare themselves for the worst.

They told them Orchid Market had already been cleared of the dead by a group of Blades and forty soldiers. They had gone to take advantage of the colonel's family home but what greeted them was death, everywhere.

"Who was the soldier in charge?" one of the Hammers inquired.

"I think his name was Captain Zŭmò. His family owned a villa there where they grew blooms for perfumes. Yes, that's right, I can't remember anything else except he buried his family and tidied the place as best he could. They stayed there for a while and planned what they would do next. I think they headed for Chenxi."

There was a pause. The Hammer bowed gently, "Thank you and thank you for your hospitality. It is the first real stop the men have had in some time, and the prospect of a meal and a place to sleep is the best present you could bestow upon us. He bowed once more and reported back to the other Hammers.

The following day, they set out. Thanking their hosts, they began their journey along the waters edge with a spring in their step and food in their bellies.

After a short period of walking, they past the fork in the river. One way lead you to Mudon lake, the other Shàng Yóu lake, [Back Lake]. Past that, the small hamlets began, following the edge of the water. It was still only a river at this point, but fish came here to spawn and it was easy fishing for the adults fish who had one thought in mind, spawn and return to deeper waters. 

Bears and wild cats would compete for fish, but even they couldn't eat all of them. A co-existence had developed over the years, the men, the bears and the cats, giving each other space.

As they rounded a turn in the road they glimpsed their first sight of black clouds of birds rising and falling in the distance.

"Crows!" one man called out. "A sure sign of a dead something."

"More than one, by the look of that cloud. I bet there's another predator there, too. That's why they keep taking to the sky. Sir, I think we should proceed with a degree of caution."

"Agreed. Are a couple willing to scout further ahead? Give us an idea of what to expect?"

One man stepped forward, "I worked in a slaughterhouse, Sir, I'll go." He looked around, "anyone else in my line of work?"

Half a dozen stepped forward. 

"I did the butchering."

"I was the slaughter man."

"Me too."

Two others were butchers and the final one was a carcass cleaner.

The Hammer looked at them, "May I suggest the butcher," he pointed to one of them, " and a slaughter man?"

Two were selected and they took off at a healthy jog. The rest carried on walking, but there was a sense of unease growing in their bellies.

Xin looked at the maps and together with Băo, they planned their foray into the streets of Tangun. Neither had been there before but the layout was similar to Chenxi, with narrow back alleys, dark streets and warfs. They were approximately ten kilometres away from the outskirts, so their first decision was, which direction to enter from.

Looking at it logically, they could aim for the south west edge, but that took them very close to the Mu border and opened them up to the possibilities of being seen. It would also be the most likely area of a Mu concentration of soldiers.

They could move round to the north east and enter from upstream, giving them the advantage of the water and what was left of the civilians. Aim number one, cause disruption and fear among the population so much so, they abandon Tangun. Aim number two, remove patrols from the streets and hide the bodies. Later on they could be dismembered and left as 'surprises'.

"Do we have any spikes?" Băo looked at Xin with a worried look on his face.

"Why?"

"Oh, I thought they might be useful."

He shook his head. She still managed to surprise him.

" I'm not going to ask."

"Mm? Sorry, what did you say?"

Băo shook his head and she carried on studying the map.

"Look, we are here." She pointed to the map. "We need to find somewhere to lay low and do our work. I think we should cross these two roads and circle round, attacking from the north east." She looked up, "What do you think?" He nodded.

"Alright then. Let's gather everything we need and head out, the sooner we begin our little foray, the better."

"Foray!" he retorted quietly, "she's off to cause mayhem, death and horror and she calls it a foray." He grinned and allowed himself a small chuckle. "Come on then sweetness, let's go on our little foray."

Niao and Hao had made good time. They had stopped for a night and set up camp. The fires ahead were producing copious amounts of black smoke and you could smell wet wood and pork fat in the air. It was clear they had set fire to some of the buildings and from the way they were concentrated, it appeared the main one was close to the water's edge.

"I'd say they took over the old Chen Manor as their barracks and now it's on fire. Warfs too. Smells like some men were still inside when it was torched."

Hao looked toward the fire. "Most likely, and I can't see them building anything, when comfortable beds and food stores are already in place. Its on the lake, so perfect. Plunder, gather, put on ships and take up river to Tangun for sale, or follow the river to the left and straight down to Mudon."

Niao put her arm through his and rested her head on his shoulder. "Think we'll stop here for the night, get a good night's sleep and then get going in the morning. I've not had a river wash in ages and I would love to wash my hair with Chenxi mud."
Hao laughed. "We do have a nice pool of water here. Why not. I'll join you. It'd be nice to be clean."

They drank their tea and pulled out the buns Madam Min had thrust into their bundles before they left. 

Green Tea and Red Bean.

Perfect.