Zhang Xing returned to Sikou Pass. As the ferry carrying him crossed the shimmering Great River beneath the winter moonlight, he had already realized something.
Everything he and Xiong Bonan had encountered and learned on this journey had been anything but coincidence.
Put plainly, it was precisely because the Exorcising the Dragon Gang intended to advance north and had begun its preparations. Its movements in Henan could not be concealed, and that had set everything in motion-Gao Shitong feared its northward advance, so he had gone farther north first, seeking somewhere to establish himself and a new foundation. Qian Tang also feared its advance, so he would inevitably push the government army's military operations forward with all his strength.
It had been inevitable that this battle in Hebei would begin before the Great River froze, when the Exorcising the Dragon Gang could advance north at leisure.
Zhang Xing even had reason to suspect that, since everyone knew what Zhuge Dewei was like, someone who fancied himself clever might have deliberately sent him, believing this amounted to some veiled communication with the Exorcising the Dragon Gang. Or perhaps someone had dimly realized that the Hebei Righteous Army was no match for the Hejian Grand Camp's troops, yet still clung to luck, and, carried along past the point of turning back, had sought help this way.
There was simply no need to pursue that last possibility too closely, because human hearts could not bear such scrutiny.
What he needed to do now was complete the preparations at all costs and as quickly as possible, catch the various Hebei powers unprepared, and smash this already-deployed column of the Hejian Grand Camp's troops to pieces with a single punch.
After crossing the river and returning to Sikou Pass, Zhang Xing summoned the leaders there