Chapter Thirty-Four: Great Victory at Mount Qier
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Liu Wu and the others were in a bad way. The Mengla people were resisting with astonishing tenacity, and several wounds had already opened across Liu Wu’s body, all inflicted during the enemy’s desperate counterattacks before death.
The two soldiers beside Big Tiger had already fallen. Facing the enemy alone, Big Tiger had barely managed to withstand their assault after taking two blows head-on.
When Big Tiger was surrounded by four Mengla warriors and found himself in grave danger, Dog-Egg fortunately led a squad in to reinforce him.
Chen Xin’s men had finally prepared their bows and arrows once more, and another rain of arrows came plunging down.
At the same time, Chaoketu was already wounded, and under Lin Shize’s onslaught he was struggling desperately just to stay alive.
Confronted by Lin Shize’s surging attacks, he let out a roar and raised his saber to meet him. Yet he could not withstand Lin Shize’s blade. In an instant, he suffered several cuts and collapsed to the ground.
Seeing this, the Mengla warriors fought like madmen to rush over and rescue Chaoketu, but the Daqi soldiers held them firmly at the front.
No matter how fiercely the Mengla people attacked, they could not break through the line.
Lin Shize planted one foot on Chaoketu’s chest. His saber flashed repeatedly, severing the tendons in Chaoketu’s hands and feet.
“Chaoketu has been captured alive! Those who surrender will not be killed!”
“Surrender and live! Surrender and live!”
The Daqi soldiers roared in unison. The Mengla warriors’ psychological defenses collapsed, and one after another they laid down their weapons and surrendered.
The battle had officially come to an end.
The stone weighing on Lin Shize’s heart finally fell. He quietly exchanged a glance with Zhao Dahu, then turned to Liu Wu and said,
“Old Liu, clear the battlefield!”
Limping over, Liu Wu trembled with excitement.
“Chief! We’ve accomplished a feat the likes of which has never been seen! This is Qier Mountain! We’ve breached a major Mengla stronghold!”
He was not alone. Every Daqi soldier raised his arm and shouted, their cheers echoing into the heavens. One could easily imagine how great a shock the news of their conquest of Qier Mountain would cause along the frontier and in the imperial court.
They had made history, and they would become famous throughout the realm because of it.
Lin Shize looked down at Chaoketu and said, “You truly deserve to be called the greatest warrior of Mengla. But victory on the battlefield does not depend on personal valor alone.”
Chaoketu regarded Lin Shize with disdain.
“You know nothing but schemes and tricks. In a direct confrontation, you could never defeat me.”
Lin Shize threw back his head and laughed.
“War is built on deception. On the battlefield, the victor becomes king and the defeated become outcasts. A loss is a loss.”
“As my opponent, I greatly admire your courage. The Third Prince should still be alive, shouldn’t he? Can you help me find him?”
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“Otherwise, wouldn’t it be a terrible injustice if I mistook him for an ordinary soldier and cut him down?”
Chaoketu snorted. “The Third Prince has already died in battle.”
Lin Shize nodded.
“Since you refuse to speak of the Third Prince, then surely you can tell me about the supplies in your storehouse. Those provisions were sent to you by the people of Daqi, after all.”
Chaoketu bared his teeth in a grin.
“You Daqi people are truly interesting. Not only do you have cowards who betray their own country, but you also have sly scoundrels like you.”
“Whenever Daqi is on the verge of destruction, someone like you always appears to turn the tide and prolong its life. Otherwise, Mengla would have conquered the capital of Daqi long ago.”
“There is more than a thousand taels of gold in the storehouse alone, and over twenty thousand taels of silver. As for the jewels and copper coins, there are more than anyone could count.”
“I wonder whether that will satisfy you.”
Satisfied? He was more than satisfied.
After hearing this, Lin Shize had no desire to continue speaking with Chaoketu. He turned away and asked Liu Wu about the casualties among the brothers.
When Liu Wu reported that more than a hundred men had died in battle, Lin Shize felt as though his heart had been torn apart. His surprise attack had possessed every possible advantage of timing, terrain, and popular support. They had even had such weapons as armor-piercing awls and three-edged arrows.
Yet their losses had still been so heavy.
“If only I had been more cautious,” Lin Shize said. “More than half of the brothers were killed by the heavily armored troops.”
Wang Li did not agree. He walked over and said,
“Chief, this is the greatest victory the entire frontier has ever seen. From the moment we left camp, you were the one leading from the front.”
“The brothers saw that. Even when blades struck their bodies, they never cried out in pain. There’s no war without casualties. Men died all the time back at the old camp, too.”
“All we ask is that you give each fallen brother’s family ten taels of silver.”
“Ten taels?” Lin Shize said. “Each fallen brother’s family will receive at least fifty taels. And that is only the compensation for their deaths. Rewards for their achievements will be distributed afterward.”
“The assistant general has sent a military inspector here. Find some way to keep him occupied. I’ve already sent Big Tiger to the storehouse. Before the inspector sees anything, we must take as much silver as possible for the brothers.”
“Once he sees it and records it, we’ll have no choice but to ask the assistant general for the reward.”
“And there is one more important matter: gather all the prisoners together. There is a very big fish among them.”
Under Lin Shize’s orders, all the prisoners began running in endless circles. Before long, a Mengla warrior in ordinary armor fell far behind the main group.
Lin Shize approached with a brilliant smile.
“Third Prince, what brings you out in that outfit?”
The Mengla man gasped for breath.
“I’m not the Third Prince. My name is Tuku. I’m just a soldier from Qier Mountain.”
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Lin Shize seized his hand and twisted it.
“A soldier? Your palms are smooth and your skin is fair. Did you come here to enjoy your retirement?”
“All right, Hesor. You are an imperial prince of Mengla, after all. At least preserve a little dignity.”
Hesor straightened his chest, doing his utmost to maintain the dignity of royalty.
“Men,” Lin Shize ordered, “take the Third Prince back and treat him well.”
Wang Li waved his hand, and two soldiers came over and escorted Hesor away.
Zhao Dahu appeared silently at Lin Shize’s side.
“Chief, we found their storehouse.”
Lin Shize nodded.
“Take seventy percent of the gold. As for the silver and copper coins, take as much as we can carry. Move quickly!”
“Li Gui! Li Gui! Take Big Tiger and report to the assistant general. Tell him we have won a great victory at Qier Mountain!”
Lin Shize had no intention of taking the jewels. Their value was unstable, and they would still have to be sold. If he took them for himself, he would certainly be discovered. Gold, silver, and copper coins were far safer.
The fighting at Mount Bate was loud and imposing, but not especially fierce. Zhang Jiawen watched the distant battlefield with growing boredom.
He was waiting for news from Lin Shize. He had brought the army here this time merely to launch a feint. Once Lin Shize succeeded, he planned to lead his men to Qier Mountain.
It was already noon, yet no news had come from Lin Shize. Zhang Jiawen let out a long sigh.
He felt that he would never live to hear of Lin Shize’s victory.
There were only several hundred Mengla warriors at Qier Mountain, but the survivors were likely all elite troops. Moreover, Chaoketu had yet to appear. He should be at Qier Mountain as well.
Nearby, Wu Tian was nearly consumed by hatred for Lin Shize.
All the men currently pressing the attack at the front belonged to him. Although the assault was only a feint, there were still casualties.
All because of one wild scheme dreamed up by Lin Shize, he had to bring his men here to fight the Mengla people to the death.
If they won, he would gain nothing. If they lost, he would have sacrificed all these soldiers for nothing.
It was nearly noon, yet the assistant general still had not ordered a retreat. Wu Tian gritted his teeth and prepared to request permission to withdraw. Lin Shize might already have been killed at Qier Mountain, and Wu Tian had no intention of being buried alongside him.
Just then, Li Gui arrived before Zhang Jiawen with Zhao Dahu...
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