The cool wind blew gusts, and the light rain washed away the dust and bloodstains on the city walls.
On the walls of Jiangxia, the soldiers leaned their bodies askew against the battlements as they sat. Among them, some shorter-statured ones had their helmets directly covering their eyes and had to lift their foreheads with difficulty when they spoke, just to barely see who was across from them.
“This damned weather, it was getting colder.”
“…Hey, under which general were you, and why do you look like a stranger?”
The person who was asked bowed his head, appearing somewhat evasive.
“I ran away from Hua County.”
“What Hua County? I thought you were just a spineless coward from Nanping County!”
“You!”
That person’s face showed humiliation, and he grabbed the other person’s arm that was grabbing him, then raised his fist and swung.
The muddy water on the ground was kicked up; pounding blows rang out, accompanied by the heavy thud of bodies falling and the surrounding soldiers’ jeering cheers, instantly drawing a crowd’s attention. Life in the army was dull and tedious, especially when defending a city: without permission, they could not move about freely; until the shift change, they could not leave the walls, so many of them had bottled-up anger to vent.
“Beat him, beat the entire worthless coward to death!”
“You disgraced the Jingzhou army!”
Mud splashed around, mingling with a dozen arms reaching over in this direction.
Just as the fight was about to turn into a humiliating gang beating, a sudden crack of a whip resounded in everyone’s ears.
“What’s going on? Stop!”
The supervising military guard rushed over at the sound, not caring who was right or wrong, and lashed out at the crowd with several furious strokes of the whip.
All the soldiers wore armor, so as long as they were not whipped on the head, face, neck, or arms, it did not hurt much. However, military law was strict, so they quickly shrank back and continued to huddle under the battlements for shelter from the rain, pretending it had nothing to do with them.
The two who started the fight, however, could not avoid punishment; their leather armor was stripped off, and they were forcibly pinned down and given ten lashes.
Qiu Jing observed all of this, furrowing her brow slightly. She turned her head to her trusted subordinate and said, “Recently, those Jingzhou soldiers who sought refuge from Nanping County were repeatedly ostracized by the Jiangxia soldiers.”
“Master, this subordinate indeed believed that Old General Nie intentionally sent these people in.”
It was “The Tiger Descending the Mountain,” Yuan Ting, who spoke. He lowered his head slightly, wearing a cautious and humble expression.
There were not many people in Fengxing Pavilion who truly understood military strategy. Those who were taught by Old Master Bao Guanyong were indeed outstanding in Fengxing Pavilion. After Meng Qi had defeated Yuan Ting, and then a traitor emerged among their fellow disciples, plus the trouble stirred up before and after Qiu Si’s death, Yuan Ting, while nursing his grievances, decided to join Cheng Jingchuan’s ranks, preparing to follow the army to meet the Tianshou King’s forces at the border between Yangzhou and Jingzhou.
Unexpectedly, he was sent back to Qiu Jing again by Cheng Jingchuan, and after such repeated upheavals, Yuan Ting’s temperament changed quite a bit.
Of course, this was also related to the fact that the defender of Jiangxia was an old acquaintance of his master, Bao Guanyong; at least in Yuan Ting’s heart, he felt respect for that old general.
“When the soldiers rotated to defend the city, every time trouble occurred, it always happened during unimportant moments of rest. Those outsider soldiers were assigned to positions at a disadvantage, with almost no one they knew around them, and the supervising guard always arrived very quickly.”
Yuan Ting lowered his eyes and spoke hurriedly, “Ever since the Tianshou King’s army was defeated at Nanping County’s prefectural city ten days ago, Jiangxia already encountered three waves of attacks in succession. Although they were called a routed army, their combat strength was not weak. Thanks to the old general’s effective command, plus the rebel numbers being fewer than we had imagined, we ultimately defended successfully. However, for many of the city’s defenders, the rebels’ frenzy still surpassed their expectations.”
Soldiers were also human. If anything was more difficult than expected, people would instinctively shrink back.
Especially when they saw the corpses of their comrades and endured the pain of their wounds, morale was bound to drop.
At such times, some special stimulus was needed.
They also needed to “warn” everyone that if they ran away without fighting, they would not be tolerated anywhere.
“Using this method?” Qiu Jing’s expression showed disapproval. She shook her head and said, “Those deserters were already a hidden danger in themselves. Having run once, they could very well run a second time. If there were a change in the battle situation, they would become the first force to break the bow or crossbow.”
Yuan Ting was about to say that just a few deserters could be fully controlled by the supervising guard. Then he heard Qiu Jing continue, “Moreover, that man just now was not newly rotated to the city walls for defence. An hour earlier, he was also here, preventing the rebels from storming the city. He…”
He was no different from the other Jiangxia soldiers.
He fought just as bloodily, striving with all his might without retreat.
But when asked about his background, he lowered his head and dared not speak.
Desertion in the face of battle was punishable by death in the army and was a serious crime. Yet after a defeat, being led by one’s general in a “retreat” did not incur military punishment. But what was the truth? Those who experienced the fall of a city knew in their hearts.
“The outer city of Nanping County’s prefecture truly fell because someone committed a grave mistake, but the real fault absolutely did not lie with an ordinary soldier.” Qiu Jing’s look of pity gradually faded. She turned her head to look outside the city; the continuous autumn rain seemed like a gray curtain shrouding the entire world, making it almost impossible to see the distant river.
Corpses were still piled up outside the city, and a dozen men descended by basket from the city walls were hard at work digging pits outside.
They needed to push the bodies into the pits, pour oil on them, burn them, and then fill the pits with earth.
The Jiangnan region had many epidemics, especially when there was a lot of rain, so corpses could not be left too long, nor could they be hastily buried.
Doing such work was certainly risky. If the rebels suddenly attacked, and the basket could only carry one person at a time, it meant that most of them would die. Typically, soldiers who had committed offences and been punished did the job.
After receiving their whipping, the two who had fought earlier were also forced over to the baskets. Each grabbed a shovel and went down, dejected.
Working in the rain in this weather was no easy task; if one was not careful, one might fall ill.
The world was difficult, and whether a person was innocent or not, even his life or death, was often so insignificant.
Speaking of misfortune, it was probably when an ordinary person showed up at a bad time, in a disadvantageous position, unable to display any remarkable ability, and was ultimately caught up in the wave of misfortune.
Qiu Jing pressed her right hand against the rough city wall, and the slight pain cleared her head.
“Has there been any news from Wu?”
Yuan Ting was momentarily stunned. He had thought Qiu Jing would ask about Jingzhou’s battle situation, given that the Qi army had already engaged the Tianshou King’s rebel forces.
“Not yet, but General Cheng already broke camp yesterday and proceeded eastward.”
This meant abandoning Jingzhou to prepare for the King of Wu’s troops. Apparently, the King of Wu did not plan to continue sitting back to watch tigers fight, wanting to enter the fray for some gain. Yet between Qiantang County and Jingzhou lay the territory of King Ning, who had already passed away, and in anyone’s eyes, it looked like a juicy piece of meat.
Qiu Jing let out a self-deprecating laugh. At the moment, she and her people were helping the Jingzhou army defend Jiangxia, while Cheng Jingchuan faced the King of Wu’s army. On the surface, it appeared that her situation was more difficult: people of the jianghu were unruly and not easily commanded, and Jingzhou had nearly fallen. But in reality, Cheng Jingchuan’s circumstances were even harder. If he could not thwart the King of Wu’s ambitions, the situation in Jiangnan would change again.
“We had to put an end to the chaos in Jiangnan before winter truly arrived. Otherwise…”
The common people would be displaced, and the hunger and cold would cause them to die in large numbers.
Once the population was lost, Jiangnan’s vitality was harder to restore. Whether it was Qiu Jing’s efforts to reactivate the intelligence network through Fengxing Pavilion and various merchant associations, or Cheng Jingchuan’s ambition to change this world, all would come to naught.
Because any reform had to be built upon a foundation of plentiful granaries and adequate food and clothing.
Yuan Ting hesitated for a moment, then finally asked in a low voice, “I wondered where Grandmaster Meng was. Could we invite him to join General Cheng’s side?”
“The King of Wu had no decent masters of the martial arts under his command, and the people Mr. Qiu left behind were enough. Besides, in a clash between two armies, the main general’s prestige was very important. Grandmaster Meng could help for a while, but not forever. Even if the King of Wu retreated, the mess in Ning territory still awaited Cheng Jingchuan, and he had no choice but to rely on himself.”
Qiu Jing had just finished speaking when she saw a group of over a dozen riders approaching from afar.
The lookout soldier on the city wall gave a whistle, and everyone grabbed their weapons and stood.
“Wait, they’re our own people.”
***
“Doctor Mo, please have some tea.”
Mo Li reached up and rubbed his tired brow, giving a slight smile to the Fengxing Pavilion members.
Daoist Priest Ning was also seated, his face haggard and travel-worn, looking nothing like a master fighter.
On the right sat several elders of the Hengshan Sect, considered prominent figures in Jingzhou’s martial world.
“The rebel forces were divided into five groups, plundering across Jingzhou. Although those who escaped from Nanping County’s prefectural city had been intercepted as much as possible by the Qi army and us, there had already been tens of thousands of the Tianshou King’s troops scattered throughout Jingzhou before…”
Qiu Jing listened to her subordinates reporting in a torrent of words. She waved her hand to stop them, then stood and gave the assembled group a respectful bow.
“I appreciate your hard work, seniors.”
“It was nothing. This old man did nothing more than rid the martial world of a few villains.”
“Indeed. Without Daoist Priest Ning and Doctor Mo, Cult Leader Luo would not have been put down so easily.”
“Who would have thought that the Tianshou King turned out to be Zheng Tu! Alas!”
Listening to the crowd, Ning Changyuan wore a strange expression. He wanted to say that Cult Leader Luo’s death really had nothing to do with him, but Mo Li shook his head at him, so Daoist Priest Ning had to swallow his words again.
——These past few days, Meng Qi appeared on the Qi army’s side disguised as an old man, and he did not come with them this time. If Ning Changyuan explained anything, stories of Grandmaster Meng vanishing and reappearing, alternating old and young, would spread even more widely.
Though there were already all kinds of rumours within Fengxing Pavilion, it was better to avoid adding more. Whoever killed whom hardly mattered, as there was no bounty to collect.
The sand rat yawned in Mo Li’s arms.
Stretching out its paws, it found the hidden pocket of this garment to be rather spacious, even allowing it to lie back with its legs propped up.
The sword was gone, and Yunming Academy no longer needed him. With the Qi army having everything well in hand in their campaign against the rebels, he might as well be lazy.
Sensing something amiss, Ning Changyuan turned his head, so Mo Li shifted slightly to the side with his teacup, covering the slight bulge at his chest without a trace.
Seeing that Qiu Jing was busy exchanging pleasantries with various sects from the martial world and further coordinating the Jingzhou situation, Mo Li worried that the sand rat had eaten little today. He used the excuse of being tired from travelling and was the first to get up and excuse himself.
Qiu Jing did not want to discuss business with Mo Li in front of so many people, so she went along with it, ordering someone to take him to the prepared guest room to rest.
Ning Changyuan seized the opportunity to follow him out.
“When things end here, I wonder if this humble Daoist might visit Old Master Qin?”
“My master had lived in seclusion for many years…”
Mo Li had not finished speaking when he felt a ticklish scratching at his chest.
The sand rat was unhappy.
Who would want to bring Daoist Priest Ning along when going back to see the “true face” on the peak of Mount Xinshang?
Meng Qi had thought everything through carefully. Qin Lu was Ning Changyuan’s saviour. If Old Master Qin did not like him and became angry that he stole away his disciple, roaring for him to get out, who would Ning Changyuan help?
That would not do at all!
Mo Li could never have guessed that the sand rat was thinking so far ahead. Just as he was about to speak, he suddenly heard commotion in the courtyard ahead.
This was the auxiliary residence of Jiangxia’s defensive force. It was built in a good location with many houses and was given to Fengxing Pavilion to stay.
Unexpectedly, there was someone causing trouble here as well.
“That old fool Nie must have been senile, actually reusing a bunch of unknown vagabonds from the martial world. Did he not fear they were spies from the Holy Lotus Sect?”
“Come out! I, this general, wanted to see what kind of amazing figure you are—do you have three heads and six arms?”
Mo Li looked up and saw a figure clad in armour, with a full face of beard and bloodshot eyes, stride in.
“General Han, calm down…”
The speaker sounded polite, yet he wore a contemptuous look on his face.
“Out of my way! You Jiangxia soldiers dared to bully my men…”
Before he finished, the people of Fengxing Pavilion dragged him out. No matter his imposing stature, how could he withstand someone pinpointing his acupoint?
“Who was that?” Ning Changyuan asked curiously.
“General Han from Nanping County. I heard that once the outer city fell, he led his men in fleeing. He ended up coming to Jiangxia, trying to persuade Old General Nie, claiming to avenge King Jing.” A Fengxing Pavilion member curled his lip disdainfully. “The outer city of the county seat was so fortified that it was about the same as Jiangxia, yet it fell in just a few hours. He still had the face to shout everywhere.”
Neither Mo Li nor the sand rat paid any mind to this farce.
Once inside the house, Mo Li found some clean clothes. After seeing the delivered food, he sighed silently.
Fengxing Pavilion offered very thorough hospitality, providing hot food and hot water, enabling him to enjoy a full meal, wash away the dust, and lie down to rest. However, there were no pastries.
At this juncture, it was likely that no one in the city would be making pastries anyway, since grain had to be conserved.
Mo Li turned around, only to see that Meng Qi was already reclining on the couch, gazing at him.
——He was covered by just an outer robe, Mo Li’s own.
