Chapter 688: Turbulence in Hebei (Part 2)

As night fell, a bitter north wind blew, bringing freezing cold. The elderly and children took shelter in empty houses in the town, while the refugees lit piles of fires. Wrapped in blankets, they huddled around the flames for warmth. From afar, the desolate land was dotted with flickering lights, stretching as far as the eye could see.

In front of several bonfires, Ji Sheng and his over a hundred subordinates sat silently, lost in thought. Having moved from Mozhou to Cangzhou, the refugees’ journey had been difficult but relatively smooth, with no enemy forces interfering. Ji Sheng knew this was due to the ongoing war between An Lushan and the Tang dynasty, which left them no time to focus on this area. Yet now that the war between An Lushan and the Tang had ended, Shi Siming still hadn’t taken any action, which seemed unreasonable.

With over sixty thousand refugees fleeing, the scale of the task was enormous—Shi Siming surely must have been aware of it. Ji Sheng had an intuition that Shi Siming couldn’t remain indifferent. Although he had sent scouts to gather intelligence, his strong instincts made him restless. He stood up and walked toward the fire where Zhang Xun was.

Zhang Xun was discussing the next day’s route with a dozen elders from various families. There were still nearly two hundred li to the sea, and at their current pace, it would take at least seven more days. Food supplies were becoming a concern—there was already little food, and the long journey strained the group, with the elderly, weak, and sick slowing down progress. Their daily advance was only a little over thirty li, which was far too slow.

“If we could increase our daily distance to fifty li, we might make it to the sea,” Zhang Xun said, looking at everyone pleadingly. “Please think of a way to speed things up.”

“County Magistrate Zhang, what if we reach the sea but the ships haven’t arrived?” asked an elder worriedly.

“The ships should be here by now. According to the agreement, they were supposed to arrive yesterday. It’s just that we’re moving too slowly.”

“But how can we speed up? Everyone has been traveling for so long and is exhausted. It’s already good enough that we can maintain this pace. We can’t expect the young people to abandon the elderly, women, and children and go ahead by themselves—they wouldn’t agree to that.”

“What should we do then? Think of another solution,” Zhang Xun urged again.

“Lord, perhaps I have an idea!” Ji Sheng said with a smile as he walked over.

Zhang Xun perked up immediately. “General Ji, please tell us—what’s your idea?”

Ji Sheng sat down beside Zhang Xun and said to everyone, “How about this? I’ll send two of my men to the sea first to send a message. I assume the ships carry food. We can have the large ships float over here, so we can board them directly without having to go all the way to the sea.”

“That’s a good idea!”
Zhang Xun slapped his thigh heavily. “How come I didn’t think of that?”
But then his brows furrowed again in concern. “Can sea ships enter the floating water?”
“They should be able to. The floating water ahead is quite wide—about a li in length and six or seven zhang deep. I think it should work. Even if not, they must have small boats; they can use those to bring some food over. What do you think, sir?”
Zhang Xun nodded. “Both of these methods are good. Let’s go with that! Please ask General Ji to send people to the seaside right away.”
“Actually, I already sent people this afternoon. I came to see you for another matter to discuss.”
Ji Sheng glanced at the elders and smiled. “Sir, please come over here.”
Zhang Xun understood and said to the others, “Everyone, go back. We’ll set off again tomorrow. There’s no need to rush. We can walk slowly along the floating water and wait for the food to arrive.”
The people relaxed and began to leave. After they all went, Ji Sheng lowered his voice and said, “Sir, what I’m really worried about is Shi Siming’s army.”
Zhang Xun was shocked. “Has Shi Siming’s army arrived?”
Ji Sheng shook his head. “There’s no news yet, but I have a feeling that Shi Siming must have discovered us. I suspect they’re on their way here.”
As he spoke, they heard the sound of hurried horse hooves, clearly audible in the darkness. Ji Sheng’s expression changed. He stood up abruptly. “They’re here. There’s news.”
The horse hooves grew louder. A scout shouted, “Where is General Ji?”
“Over there!”
The warhorse rushed forward, and a scout jumped off it, kneeling in front of Ji Sheng. “Reporting to the general, we’ve spotted Shi Siming’s army—about twenty thousand cavalry. Their vanguard has already passed Changlu County.”
Ji Sheng and Zhang Xun both paled. Changlu County was only seventy li away, and since it was cavalry, they could reach them by midnight.
Sweat beaded on Zhang Xun’s forehead. He realized he had made a grave mistake. Their progress had been too slow, and they had missed the best opportunity. His heart tightened—the memory of Shi Siming massacring refugees in Hengzhou was still fresh in their minds.
“General Ji, what should we do now?”
Ji Sheng bit his lip tightly and said solemnly, “There’s nothing we can do. I’ll take my men to intercept them. Now, our only hope is this floating water. Sir, tell the refugees to set off immediately. We can only rely on fate.”
Zhang Xun knew this was the only option. He nodded and bowed. “Everything depends on you, general!”

Ji Sheng strode over to the campfire and ordered his scouts to mount their horses and take all their weapons. In the darkness, over a hundred scout cavalry quickly formed up and spurred their horses westward at full speed.
The refugee group also began to prepare to set off. The refugees silently packed their belongings, with children’s cries echoing everywhere. Their desire to survive forced them to muster strength and head east overnight, accelerating their pace significantly.
…
Over a hundred Tang army scouts raced along the floating waters. Ji Sheng wasn’t worried about this route—the waters were wide and deep, with no boats available. Shi Siming’s cavalry couldn’t cross here. The only crossing point was Qingchi County, where there were several bridges to the west. If they could reach there in time to destroy the bridges, Shi Siming’s cavalry wouldn’t be able to cross, forcing them to head west further to Nanpi to cross the river. This way, they could buy at least two or three days, perhaps long enough for relief ships to arrive. It was their only hope.
This scout cavalry unit came from the First Falcon Camp of Anxi—the best of the best among scouts. Sent by Li Qing’an, they were tasked with protecting the last batch of refugees from fleeing Hebei, a plan devised months earlier.
The scouts knew escaping under Shi Siming’s watchful eye wouldn’t be easy; they might face a fierce battle. They were well-prepared, each carrying the latest Tang army crossbows. For portability, they only brought small arrows—four boxes totaling 200 arrows each. They also carried two sabers, long lances, round shields, military blankets, as well as twenty small thunder bombs and plenty of gunpowder.
If Shi Siming sent only a few thousand troops, their hundred scouts could handle them. But he sent 20,000 cavalrymen, leaving them with little chance. Their only option was to use ambushes or surprise attacks to delay Shi Siming’s army as much as possible.
The scout team rode nonstop. An hour later, they reached Qingchi County, which had become an empty city, with only a few hundred elders unwilling to leave their homeland. The scouts didn’t enter the city nor let anyone know of their presence. They headed straight to the large wooden bridge north of the city—the biggest bridge across the floating waters. Here, the waters narrowed to just over ten zhang wide, but the current was still strong, making it impossible to cross on foot.
The dark wooden bridge spanned the floating waters like a giant structure, standing firm through a century of wind and rain. Built from massive logs, it had become somewhat dilapidated due to a century of wear and tear.

Ji Sheng gazed at the large wooden bridge for a long time. He wasn’t reflecting on its history—he had no interest in that at the moment. Instead, he was thinking about how to delay the enemy as much as possible. He knew that for two hundred li to the west from here, it was impossible to cross the river directly; bridges and ferries were necessary. There were certainly no ferries left—repeated massacres and sweeps had wiped them out along with the fishermen. They could only rely on bridges. Within 150 li to the west, there were four bridges: two small ones and two large ones. The largest one was this very wooden bridge. The enemy cavalry would surely choose to cross here. If they discovered too early that the bridge had been destroyed, they would definitely change course westward.

Ji Sheng waved his hand and called over two soldiers, saying, “You two take five Thunder Bombs and head west. Blow up the other three bridges. Even the one in Nanpi must be destroyed.”

“But… won’t the Thunder Bombs alert the enemy?” one soldier asked anxiously.

Ji Sheng looked up at the sky. It was unusually dark, with not a trace of starlight or moonlight. He shook his head. “No. They’ll think it’s just thunder. Go ahead, don’t worry!”

The two soldiers nodded, took the five Thunder Bombs, and rushed westward. Ji Sheng quickly did some calculations. Including himself, he had 122 men under his command. After deducting the ten who were on missions elsewhere, there were still 112 men. The pressure was considerable. He also had to leave two men hidden under the bridge, one at each pylon.

With a command, Ji Sheng said, “Retreat!”

The soldiers immediately ran toward a forest near Qingchi County. This forest was only two li away from the large wooden bridge, and the main road passed by it—perfect for an ambush.

…

Time passed. Around the third watch of the night, the sound of horse hooves came from across the river. A vanguard of 2,000 cavalrymen led by Shi Siming rushed forward at full speed. They leaped onto the large bridge and quickly crossed it, heading straight for Qingchi County.

The momentum of those 2,000 cavalrymen was awe-inspiring. Dust billowed, and the dark sky turned yellow. They got closer and closer to the forest. Clearly, these cavalrymen were unaware that Tang troops still existed in Hebei. They were eager to catch up with the refugees and select the best “fat sheep”—for them, the best “fat sheep” were young women.

It was a group of Uyghur cavalrymen, clad in leather armor and wielding battle knives, each skilled in horsemanship. The 20,000 cavalrymen pursuing them were all from the Pugu tribe of the Uyghurs. For them, chasing Han refugees was not a difficult task but an opportunity to make money and capture people—an opportunity they would never miss.

The Uyghur cavalry raced along the main road, which was only a hundred steps away from the forest. Inside the forest, over a hundred scouts had already nocked arrows on their crossbows, aiming the arrows at the approaching enemies. Though there were only a hundred of them, they were not afraid to face the 2,000 Uyghur cavalrymen.

There were difficulties and risks, but the Tang army’s scouts desperately needed the Uyghur cavalry’s horses, which could greatly assist the refugees in retreating.

When about 30% of the Uyghur cavalry had passed by, Ji Sheng gave the order to shoot. “Fire!”

“Whoosh!” More than a hundred arrows were released, flying powerfully at the advancing enemy. Cries of pain filled the air as seventy or eighty enemies were hit and fell from their horses.

The sudden attack took the Uyghur cavalry by surprise. They quickly reined in their horses. At that moment, a second wave of arrows arrived. This time, the Uyghur cavalry became like stationary targets—nearly a hundred of them fell from their horses instantly. Their leather armor could not withstand the Tang army’s powerful crossbow arrows.

This was the strength of the Falcon Camp—they could quickly adjust their shooting range after the first round of attacks, unlike before when many people shot at the same target at once.

The Uyghur cavalry began to scream in panic. They realized there weren’t many Tang soldiers in the forest. With 2,000 men, they could easily wipe out their opponents. The cavalry surged down the main road toward the forest. In the darkness, no one noticed anything unusual on the ground—everywhere was mud-like substance, and the air was filled with a pungent smell.

By then, the Tang cavalry had already retreated to the other side of the forest, leaving only two soldiers. Using their bows, they suddenly lit two flames, which then shot upward in a parabolic path and plunged into the Uyghur cavalry, hitting the ground with a “boom!” A massive flame belt, twenty zhang long and two zhang wide, quickly ignited and burned fiercely.

Despite the towering flames, the Uyghurs stabilized their formation after a brief moment of panic. Twenty zhang wasn’t wide enough to prevent their horses from leaping over it. But then, a series of thunderous explosions erupted within the flame belt. Mud and flames shot into the air—eight thunder bombs had exploded at once. The shockwaves and shrapnel instantly knocked hundreds of cavalrymen off their horses.

But what the explosion brought was even greater fear. The 2,000 Uyghur cavalry became utterly chaotic; the soldiers were terrified, and their warhorses, frightened, rushed around blindly. Suddenly, Tang army scouts came from the east, firing arrows at the enemy forces, knocking them off their horses one after another. After just four or five rounds of shooting, they charged into the still-disordered enemy ranks with their long spears. After six or seven rounds of shooting and explosions, more than half of the Uyghur cavalry had been lost. A group of highly trained Tang army scout cavalry, acting as a cohesive force, charged into the Uyghur ranks like an iron fist, crushing any enemy who dared to stand in their way. The Tang soldiers fought bravely with swords and spears, their iron hooves trampling the ground, slaughtering the Uyghurs until blood flowed like rivers and corpses littered the field. Although the Uyghur cavalry commanders tried several times to rally their troops, they were shattered by the Tang cavalry each time. The Uyghur cavalry showed signs of collapse—their morale was low, and the fear of the violent explosions had utterly destroyed their courage. Ji Sheng commanded the battle from among the troops, searching for the Uyghur cavalry commander. Soon, he found him. The commander was shouting under the flag, trying to stabilize the troops. As Ji Sheng ran swiftly, he raised his crossbow and aimed. With a “click,” an arrow was shot out at lightning speed, hitting the Uyghur commander in the chest. The commander screamed and collapsed to the ground. At that moment, two thunderous booms came from the large wooden bridge. Both ends of the bridge’s foundation were blown apart simultaneously. The massive bridge swayed, and its central piers could no longer support its weight. The bridge broke into two and crashed into the water below. The commander’s death and the destruction of the bridge were like the last two heavy stones crushing the Uyghur forces. They collapsed and began to flee westward. The Tang army immediately changed formation, splitting from a single unit of a hundred men into groups of five, chasing after the fleeing enemy. Instead of using swords and spears, they fired arrows at the retreating enemy. Hundreds of Uyghur cavalrymen, terrified by the pursuit of over a hundred Tang soldiers, fled in panic. In the end, only about a hundred cavalrymen managed to escape. The Tang army stopped pursuing them and began collecting the warhorses and killing the wounded enemy captives. An hour later, dawn began to break in the east. The Tang soldiers who had collected the warhorses returned one after another. Deputy general Qi Yan rode forward and bowed to Ji Sheng, saying, “General Ji, seven of our men died and 21 were injured.” Ji Sheng nodded. “Bury the fallen men right here!”

After a pause, he asked again, “How many warhorses have been gathered?”
“Reporting to the general, 1,200 warhorses have been gathered. The rest are either injured or dead and unusable. Moreover, the forage the Uyghurs have can only last for three days.”
1,200 warhorses could greatly help the refugees, and there was no need to worry about forage—there were vast grasslands dozens of miles to the east.
Ji Sheng pondered for a moment before saying, “Tell the men to work quickly and cut as much horse meat as possible to take with them! Also, take everyone back. I’ll stay here with thirty men.”
“General, aren’t you coming?”
Ji Sheng shook his head. “I’m not entirely at ease. I just suddenly thought of a question—how did the Uyghurs cross the river on the grassland? I feel I might have overlooked something. You must take the men away right away.”
Soon, the cavalry cut down plenty of horse meat and drove over 1,000 warhorses eastward. Only Ji Sheng and thirty Tang scouts remained at the ruined wooden bridge.
Although they had wiped out 2,000 Uyghur cavalrymen, Ji Sheng wasn’t happy at all. He had a bad feeling—that the two soldiers he sent to blow up the bridge should have reached the first small bridge, which was only thirty miles away. Yet there was no sign of an explosion. Had something gone wrong with his men?
At that moment, the ground began to tremble slightly. Ji Sheng and his men stepped back, looking across the river. As experienced scouts, they knew such tremors only occurred when a large cavalry force was approaching.
Sure enough, a dark line appeared on the dim horizon, accompanied by rising dust. Ji Sheng’s expression changed—this was the main force of 18,000 cavalrymen arriving. He glanced at the remnants of the wooden bridge and grew extremely worried.
Shi Siming’s cavalry grew closer, slowing down. The ground stopped trembling, but the cavalry spread out as far as the eye could see. Such a massive force made even the makeshift floating bridge seem insignificant.
Ji Sheng suddenly saw a yellow silk canopy, with a large golden flag behind it bearing a huge character “Shi”—it was Shi Siming leading his troops in person.
But soon, Ji Sheng saw something else that filled him with despair. After realizing the wooden bridge had been destroyed, nearly a thousand of their men immediately started cutting down trees. Soon, they felled dozens of large trees and tied them together to form a thick raft. Ji Sheng suddenly understood—they were building a floating bridge by connecting rafts and covering them with planks.
Ji Sheng slapped his own forehead in frustration. How could he have missed that?

Sweat rolled down his forehead, soaking his back completely. All his efforts from yesterday to now had been in vain. The enemy didn’t need to take a detour; they could simply cross the river using a floating bridge. Ji Sheng felt desperate—sixty thousand refugees were about to become victims of the Uyghurs. The Uyghurs were extremely fast; they had already assembled ten rafts and were starting to connect them with chains. Shi Siming smiled triumphantly under his flag—these Tang cavalry soldiers were too naive, thinking that destroying the bridge would block their path. For such a small river, they could build a floating bridge in just an hour. But at that moment, an Uyghur officer pointed westward and shouted, “Commander, look!” Shi Siming raised the curtain to look west, and his expression instantly changed… Ji Sheng also noticed something unusual—a massive army appeared in the west, endless in number, rapidly approaching. It was as if he had fallen from an ice cave into a fire pit. He guessed it must be Tian Chengsi’s army. A bitter smile appeared on his lips—so not only would Shi Siming not spare them, but Tian Chengsi also didn’t want to let them go. They had indeed been too simplistic. How could sixty thousand refugees escape so easily? Suddenly, a group of cavalry rushed over, and among them were the two scouts he had sent. Ji Sheng was stunned—what was going on? The cavalry arrived before them, and an old general wearing a golden helmet stepped forward. He stroked his beard and smiled slightly, “You must be General Ji!” “Who are you?” “I am Tian Chengsi!” Tian Chengsi’s sudden appearance shocked Ji Sheng’s men, who immediately raised their crossbows. “Don’t attack!” Ji Sheng stopped them and said with a bow, “General Tian, what brings you here?” Tian Chengsi laughed and said, “General Ji, don’t worry. I’ve been sent by Prince Zhao to rescue you.” … Tian Chengsi’s army turned the desperate situation around. Shi Siming finally dared not cross the river. After half a day of stalemate, his army retreated to Youzhou. Ji Sheng declined Tian Chengsi’s invitation to go to Weizhou. Tian Chengsi didn’t insist and sent troops to escort the refugees eastward. Two days later, four hundred ships arrived to rescue the refugees, successfully bringing them to safety, before returning to Yangzhou. But Ji Sheng and his men didn’t board the ships. They crossed the water and continued northeastward, joining another massive battle.