novelSusiti Chapter 249 Scouting
Chapter 249 Scouting
Chapter 249 Scouting
As the saying goes, speed is of the essence in war, and early the next morning, Shao Shuyi led several core members to scout the location.
He was wearing a worn-out blue cotton robe and walked south along the narrow alley where pedestrians were gradually thinning out.
Tie Niu followed half a step behind, with a short knife at his waist and a coarse cloth coat over his clothes, looking like a laborer.
Liang Tai and the other six kept a little distance apart to avoid drawing too much attention when they walked together.
They didn't take the main road.
After passing through the alley where the grocery store is located, head west through Qianniu Lane, then turn south, and after passing an open space littered with rotten vegetable leaves and broken tiles, you will reach "Mie Street"—named for the many bamboo workshops on both sides of the street.
Before dawn, the bamboo craftsmen were still busy, chopping bamboo piece by piece. The crackling sound of splitting bamboo, carried by the cold wind, echoed through the streets. The ground was covered with bamboo shavings and pieces, crunching underfoot.
Shao Shuyi stopped at the street corner. After Liang Tai and the others had passed, he observed for a while to make sure there were no tails behind him before continuing forward. Soon he arrived near Phoenix Terrace.
This place was a somewhat famous "tourist attraction" during the Yuan Dynasty, but only the foundation remains. Most of the buildings are destroyed, but that doesn't stop literati from coming here to compose poems.
Sure enough, just as dawn broke, a scholar, accompanied by two servants, was reciting poetry amidst the wild grass. It sounded like the Nanjing poems that had been all the rage for the past twenty years.
Shao Shuyi and his companions didn't care about poetry; they simply found a slightly elevated spot to gaze at the Qinhuai River from afar, or more accurately, to look at the Zhu family's painted boats on the river.
There were two pleasure boats, one large and one small, moored in a river bend to the southwest, where the current was gentler and the boats were better positioned to anchor.
The larger pleasure boats were about five or six zhang long, their hulls painted vermilion, looking like a patch of congealed blood on the gray river surface.
The bow of the ship is carved with an animal head, it is not clear whether it is a dragon or a chi, and a copper bell is held in its mouth. It is gently swaying in the wind, but it does not make a sound.
The cabin was a two-story structure, with carved windows on all four sides of the upper level covered with green gauze. At this time, the windows were tightly closed, and the inside could not be seen.
A thick rudder stick extended from the boat, with a gangplank attached to it, one end resting on the gunwale and the other on the stone steps along the shore. The steps were covered with a layer of straw, presumably for slip prevention.
The small boat was moored diagonally behind the large boat. The boat was narrow and long, without any decorations. It was supported by a bamboo pole, from which hung a lantern. The lantern's paper was torn and was flapping loudly in the wind.
Shao Shuyi counted the number of people.
A man stood on the large ship, wrapped in a black cotton-padded coat, holding a bronze rod in his arms, pacing back and forth.
There was also a man at the stern, crouching against the rudder, seemingly dozing off.
There were people on the shore as well.
A makeshift shack stood beside the stone steps, with a fire burning at the entrance. A pot sat on the fire, bubbling and steaming inside. A middle-aged man squatted by the fire, holding a rough bowl and drinking porridge.
There were two other people sitting next to him, one eating a flatbread and the other dozing off against a pillar of the shack.
If nothing unexpected happens, this is the daytime guard duty. The number should increase at night.
Shao Shuyi noted down the locations and activity patterns of these people.
In addition, he felt that the small boat was a bit strange and wondered what its purpose was, so he asked Liang Tai and the others about it.
In the end, it was Gao Daqiang, the most experienced in the martial arts world, who gave the most reliable answer: "There are no planks connecting the small boat and the large boat, but they are connected by ropes. If something happens, people can escape from the small boat. Conversely, reinforcements can also quickly board the large boat from the small boat. There shouldn't be many people on the small boat now, but once night falls, many people will surely come aboard. If Zhu Chen arrives, there will only be more people."
So that's how it is! Shao Shuyi understood immediately, thinking to himself that Zhu Chen had thought things through quite thoroughly. The small boat could hold at least a dozen thugs, and if they were elite and well-equipped, they would not be easy to deal with.
He patiently continued his observation, this time focusing on the surrounding terrain.
The river bend where the pleasure boat is located is an irregular semi-circle. On the north bank is the high wall of Waguan Temple, which is now only half remaining, just like the temple itself, long since disappeared into the weeds.
The south bank is a gentle slope covered with withered grass and miscellaneous trees. Walking south from the slope, less than half a mile away is the Silk Market, a place with many alleys and complicated roads, a good place to escape, but you need to cross the river.
In addition, he noticed something else.
About seventy or eighty paces to the northwest of the pleasure boat, there is an abandoned pavilion. The railings on all four sides of the pavilion have collapsed, leaving only a few stone pillars and a bare roof. Half of the roof tiles are missing, making it look desolate and deserted. It seems that not many people usually go there.
If you set up a crossbow there, the angle would be perfect—of course, that's just a joke. Shao doesn't have a crossbow yet, so he can only arrange for an archer, but the distance is a bit far, so it has to be someone with superb skills.
Shao Shuyi watched quietly for a while, memorizing the distance and direction, then slowly retreated from the withered grass and called the others to leave together.
Instead of returning the way they came, they took a detour, passing under the west wall of Waguan Temple, through the back gate of Jin Su Nunnery, and turning towards Xinqiao (Yinhong Bridge).
The new bridge is narrower than the Zhenhuai Bridge. The bridge surface is paved with stone slabs, with withered grass growing in the cracks between the slabs, and icicles hanging from the bridge railings.
Looking east from the new bridge, you can see the masts of the two painted boats peeking out from behind the gable wall of Waguan Temple, bare like two bamboo sticks used for burning incense.
This was the route Zhu Chen might take, and he couldn't help but glance at it a few more times.
Scouting the location is only the first step.
Now he had to put himself in Zhu Chen's shoes, simulate the other party's reaction, and most importantly, determine where to attack Zhu Chen—on the shore or on the pleasure boat?
This is a problem.
But there's no rush. We can have a meeting when we get back, and everyone can brainstorm together. That's better than him just thinking about it on his own.
On the night of the eleventh day of the twelfth lunar month, the Taiyi ship slowly left its berth and sailed to a certain place downstream. The next day, after unloading the goods at the merchant designated by the Shen family, it picked up the receipt and sailed downstream into the Yangtze River, heading towards Ma Tuo Sha. It arrived that night.
******
On the thirteenth day of the twelfth lunar month, a horse carried sand in the morning; it was raining and snowing.
The gates of Chong Sheng Temple are closed, and worshippers are temporarily not allowed to offer incense or pray.
Inside the main hall, Shao Shuyi gathered almost all his trusted key personnel to brainstorm and formulate a battle plan.
"Ten days left!" he said first. "How many people can we gather? And how many should we gather?"
As he spoke, his gaze swept over Liang Tai, Li Fu, Gao Daqiang, Bian Yuanheng, Wu Shangyuan, Jiang Sanbao, Hui Yong, and others.
That's really all the people there are.
Yu Yuan, a primary school student, was detained at his elder brother and sister's home in Taicang and was only allowed to come over after the New Year, so he did not attend.
Wang Huadu was in Sanlinli, Pudong, and there was no time to notify him.
Kong Tie transported the goods to Suzhou, but he never came back.
Wu Heizi is in Taicang, probably busy with some woman's belly right now. Besides, these days people don't usually ask him to do these kinds of things.
The attendees were all ruthless, and there wasn't even a strategist among them, which was rather pathetic. Strictly speaking, it wasn't that there weren't any; for example, Yang Jin, Jiang Cheng, and Lu Chaoen from Huangtian Trading Company were all scholars with many tricks up their sleeves, but they couldn't be completely trusted in such an important matter.
After Shao Shuyi finished asking his question, Gao Daqiang cleared his throat and preemptively said, "I'm afraid there won't be enough time to ask Mo Tianyou and Wang Bai to send people. We might as well do it ourselves. Gou Nu has trained a team of people in Sanlin, but we haven't seen them yet and don't know how capable they are. It's better not to call on them for such an important matter, and besides, they might not be able to make it in time."
Shao Shuyi looked at Liang Tai.
Liang Tai said in a deep voice, "Too many people will talk too much. The more people shout, the easier it is for the news to leak out, and it will delay things. However, it would be best to invite Cheng Ji. He is good at archery and will be of great use."
Shao, the top archer of Taicang, nodded in agreement and said, "We must invite Master Cheng here; that pavilion is extremely important."
Shao Shuyi then looked at Li Fu and Bian Yuanheng.
Li Fu pondered for a moment and said, "I'll listen to you. The men can be brought out anytime. I'll let them rest and recuperate for the next two days before we take action."
As soon as Li Fu finished speaking, Bian Yuanheng said, "Actually, we have enough men. How many people can stand on the painted boat? It's better to have quality than quantity in an army. We don't need a lot of people to do great things. A dozen or so brave soldiers can rush up, and the rest can stay at the bridgehead to block reinforcements."
Even so, we might not even need them. If we go up there quickly, Zhu Chen's men might not be able to arrive in time to rescue us.
In his words, Bian Yuanheng had already unequivocally positioned himself as a frontline fighter.
Shao Shuyi remained noncommittal, as he had not yet explained how to fight, and continued to look at Jiang Sanbao and Wu Shangyuan.
Jiang Sanbao lowered his head and said, "Brother Shao, you can make the arrangements."
Wu Shangyuan replied, "We now have two complete squads of armored soldiers. The brothers have been training diligently, and their combat strength is considerable; that should be enough."
Shao Shuyi finally looked at the monk Huiyong.
Hui Yong was both surprised and excited to be able to attend today's meeting. Seeing Shao Shuyi looking over, he immediately said, "Brother Cao—Brother Shao is highly respected. With all the brothers working hard, we will surely achieve great success!"
"Say something useful," Shao Shuyi said, glaring at him.
Hui Yong was alarmed, realizing that his flattery had backfired. He quickly tried to salvage the situation, saying, "This kind of face-to-face battle could be very brutal. Bringing in people who have never seen blood will only cause trouble. If things go wrong, they might even be captured, and then everything will be over. Shao She must be careful."
After everyone had expressed their opinions, Shao Shuyi nodded in satisfaction.
In fact, regarding the ambush of Zhu Chen, he also favored quality over quantity. The three teams of Li, Gao, and Bian, with more than forty men, were more than enough. Whether or not to include Bian's relatively weaker team was still up in the air, depending entirely on the final strategy discussed.
Fighting on a painted boat would definitely not require three teams; it wouldn't be enough.
If the ambush is to be carried out on the shore, three teams would be better and safer.
"Now let's discuss how to bring people and equipment over without alerting the enemy—" Shao Shuyi quickly ended the discussion among the participants and began the second topic.