Chapter 69

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Tiger Head Pass is located seventy miles northeast of the county, with the most perilous terrain. Two thousand-foot-high mountains flank a deep ravine, and to the west, it connects to the five passes of Moudou, Dacheng, Huangtu, Muling, and Yinshan, forming a continuous wall for ninety miles, serving as the right arm of Macheng.

Relying on the Dabie Mountains, it extends two hundred miles north to Guangshan County in Henan and to the east, it borders Luzhou Prefecture and Anqing Prefecture in Nan Zhili. This place is situated at the intersection of the provinces of Yu, Chu, and Wan.

From the words of the postman, Liu Jun finally learned what had happened at Tiger Head Pass. It turns out that the re-emergence of the rebel forces led by Zhang Xianzhong and Luo Rucai was the cause. In early May, Zhang Xianzhong rebelled again in Guocheng, and the bandit Luo Rucai in Junzhou responded by raising an army. They attacked Junzhou.

After the two bandit forces joined, Zhang Xianzhong sent messengers to various places to contact other bandit forces, particularly to the east of the Dabie Mountains, which is the area of Huoshan and Yingshan in Luzhou Prefecture of Nan Zhili.

In this mountainous region, there was a very famous bandit force that had established itself, known as the Five Camps of the Revolution and the Left.

The Five Camps of the Revolution and the Left refer to five bandit forces, led by Ma Shouying (Old Huihui), He Yilong (Geliyan), He Jin (Zuo Jinwang), Liu Xiyao (Gaishi Wang), and Lin Yangcheng (Luan Shi Wang). Therefore, they were also called the Five Camps of Hui and Zuo.

These five camp leaders were all veteran figures among the bandits. Ma Shouying, known as Old Huihui, was once a border soldier who later became a deserter. In the first year of Chongzhen, he led a rebellion, initially under the command of King of the Bandits Gao Yingxiang, raiding eastern Gansu with a force of tens of thousands. By the fourth year of Chongzhen, he had moved into Shanxi and joined Wang Ziyong's Thirty-Six Camps, becoming one of the most important leaders after Wang Ziyong and Gao Yingxiang.

In the eighth year of Chongzhen, he led his troops to participate in the Xingyang Conference, becoming one of the thirteen leaders. Later, he joined forces with He Yilong, nicknamed Geliyan, and He Jin, Liu Xiyao, and Lin Yangcheng, forming the "Five Camps of Hui and Geliyan."

After the capture and execution of King of the Bandits Gao Yingxiang by Sun Chuanting in the ninth year of Chongzhen, the five camps led by Old Huihui were the strongest. Especially when the new generation of bandit leaders, Zhang Xianzhong and Li Zicheng, suffered consecutive defeats, and the bandit rebellion entered a low point, the five camps still maintained strong power, and even Zhang Xianzhong had twice joined Old Huihui's forces.

The five camps established their base in the Yingshan and Huoshan areas of the eastern Dabie Mountains, becoming a very influential force, continuously threatening the Ming capital Fengyang and Nanjing.

When Zhang Xianzhong, Luo Rucai, and other major bandits were defeated and accepted amnesty from the court, the Five Camps of Hui and Zuo remained strong, and the government forces were powerless against them.

In summary, after the capture and execution of Gao Yingxiang, the various peasant armies active in Central China went through a process of division and recombination, eventually forming two major bandit groups: one led by Zhang Xianzhong and Luo Rucai in the area around Yunxian and Xiangyang in Hubei, and the other, the Five Camps of Hui and Zuo, active in the border regions of Nan Zhili, Henan, and Hubei.

As for the later famous Li Zicheng, at this time, his strength and reputation were far inferior to those of Zhang Xianzhong, Luo Rucai, Old Huihui, and He Yilong.

Therefore, when Zhang Xianzhong rebelled again in Guocheng, he immediately joined forces with Luo Rucai, who was nearby in Junzhou, and then sent a letter to the Five Camps of Hui and Zuo in the eastern Dabie Mountains, inviting them to advance west and join forces.

Zhang Xianzhong and others understood that after eleven years of decline, the strength of the peasant armies in various places had greatly diminished. Although they had to rise again, their strength was too weak, and if they did not unite, they would not be able to resist the large-scale encirclement and suppression by the government forces.

When Old Huihui received the personal letter from Zhang Xianzhong's messenger, he decided to respond. However, he did not immediately abandon his base in Yingshan and Huoshan and lead his troops to Xiangyang. Instead, he first sent several small detachments to cross the Dabie Mountains and advance to the Qihuang area on the western side of the Dabie Mountains.

The Tiger Head Pass inspection office was guarding an important pass on the Dabie Mountains. When one of Old Huihui's detachments approached, Inspector Zhao thought it was just a small group of bandits. Out of duty, he led the archers of the inspection office to pursue and capture them. However, he did not realize that what they initially discovered was just the vanguard of the enemy. When they pursued, they were met by a large force of bandits.

Inspector Zhao and his men fought while retreating, but were eventually surrounded. Before being surrounded, he successfully sent one of his subordinates to report the news.

"Inspector Zhao said that the Nine-Headed Bird, Captain Liu, who recently defeated the bandits, is currently in Taiping Township. He instructed the breakout to immediately seek out Captain Liu for assistance."

Inspector Zhao was very clear-headed. Knowing that he could not hold out for long when surrounded by hundreds of bandits, he ordered his subordinates to break through and find Liu Jun, the recently famous bandit suppressor, to come to the rescue.

"Please, Captain Liu, you must help. I still need to go to the county to report and request reinforcements," the postman said. The archer who broke through was severely injured and managed to reach the Taiping Post Station to deliver the message and ask for help.

Liu Jun had been recruiting soldiers in Taiping Township for several days, and his reputation was well-known. The postman finally found Liu Jun.

However, when Liu Jun heard the news, he couldn't help but frown. "The Nine-Headed Bird's bandit suppression has made him famous, but here, there are only fifteen members of the Nine-Headed Bird team. The remaining 120 are newly recruited soldiers who haven't even completed basic training, don't understand commands, can't recognize flags, and haven't been issued weapons or armor. Is Liu Jun supposed to lead these new recruits to the rescue?"

"How many bandits are surrounding Inspector Zhao?"

"At least three hundred!" The postman himself was not clear about the detailed situation and could only relay the words of the archer who brought the message.

"How many men does Inspector Zhao have?"

"Inspector Zhao led twenty archers."

Liu Jun couldn't help but slap his forehead. Twenty men surrounded by three hundred bandits wouldn't last long. He knew that the so-called inspection archers were actually ordinary young men from the countryside. Archers, like postmen and station guards, were originally a form of conscription, but after the implementation of the Single Whip Law, they received a small salary, though it was still a form of compulsory service. The selected archers were usually young men from farming families with at least several dozen acres of land.

In reality, these people were more like part-time security guards or militia, far less professional than Liu Jun's local militia.

However, the bandits were even less professional, often relying on numbers to win. If Inspector Zhao could hold out a bit longer, he might be able to last a bit longer.

But the time he could hold out was definitely limited. By the time reinforcements arrived from the county, which was seventy miles away, it would be too late. Liu Jun and his men were in Taiping Township, less than twenty miles from where Inspector Zhao was surrounded.

Going to the rescue, but with so few men, would it be like sending lambs to the slaughter? But if they didn't go, Inspector Zhao and his men would definitely die. Could they just stand by and watch?

To rescue or not to rescue, this was a serious question.

Liu Jun pondered.

Dong Gouzi couldn't help but say, "Captain, Inspector Zhao is a good man, you must save him."

Liu Jun was somewhat surprised. Listening to Dong Gouzi's explanation, he learned that although Inspector Zhao was only a ninth-rank official, his inspection office was in Taiping Township at Tiger Head Pass and also managed the Taiping Post Station. In fact, he was the top official in the entire Taiping Township. Inspector Zhao was a good man, suppressing bandits and protecting the people, and even resolving disputes among the people, earning the respect of the locals, who saw him as a fair and just official.

Seeing the hopeful look on Dong Gouzi's face, Liu Jun knew that the other new recruits felt the same way. If he didn't help, it would be hard to lead these soldiers in the future.

"Prepare, we will go to rescue Inspector Zhao." Liu Jun finally made up his mind.

The soldiers from Taiping Township were excited. Inspector Zhao had been in Tiger Head Pass for many years and was one of the few officials willing to speak up for the poor people of Taiping Township. During famines, he often spoke up for them to get some relief. The people in the mountains were simple and knew how to repay kindness. If Liu Jun refused to send troops today, these new recruits might never recognize him as their leader.

Rescuing people is like putting out a fire; speed is essential. There was no time for much preparation.

Liu Jun and his fifteen men were on leave but were all mounted and armed, ready to depart at any time. The 120 new recruits, though new, could still be brought along to create some momentum, but they had no weapons.

"I have a hunting bow."

"I have an axe for chopping wood."

"My family has a red-tasseled spear."

"I can bring a pitchfork."

...

Liu Jun felt a headache. "All these miscellaneous things won't be much use. Let's do this: cut some bamboo and make bamboo spears. Also, get some wooden boards and make simple wooden shields. Bring all the axes and hatchets from the village."

These new recruits, if armed with a variety of farm tools, wouldn't be very useful. Since they were new, it was best to keep things simple and make use of formations. Liu Jun's final idea was to give each man a long bamboo spear. There was a bamboo forest nearby, so making bamboo spears would be easy.

With 120 men each armed with a long bamboo spear, if they could form a bamboo spear formation, it might be useful against a group of bandits.

Bamboo spears alone wouldn't be enough. They also needed wooden shields to protect against the bandits' arrows. Then, they could equip the new recruits with axes and hatchets for close combat and have the hunters bring their bows for long-range support.

In less than half an hour, the bamboo spears and wooden shields were ready, and the new recruits were equipped with axes, hatchets, and sickles.

Liu Jun scanned the formation. The long spears stood like a forest, giving it a bit of a military look.

"Dong Gou, bring the red cloth and make some flags," Liu Jun called out.

The red cloth was brought, and simple flags were cut and made. Liu Jun wrote the names "Nine-Headed Bird," "Liu," "Zhang," "Cai," etc., on them and attached them to long bamboo poles.

The flags were raised, and the formation looked more like a real army. Liu Jun nodded; this was the best they could do.

"Let's go!"

Liu Jun and his fifteen men rode ahead, and the 120 local militia followed closely, holding long bamboo spears with axes, hatchets, and sickles hanging from their belts.

On their first military mission, these new recruits were not particularly afraid but rather excited.

"Twenty taels of silver for each bandit killed. I'll kill four or five and earn a hundred taels," the tall and strong Second Dog, holding a red flag, thought to himself.

To Second Dog, killing a bandit seemed no different from killing a rabbit. The only difference was that a bandit's head was worth more.

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