The night passed without incident, with only the cold wind rustling the trees and tents.
In the morning, as Zhu Ping’an had predicted, a radiant sun rose slowly from the east, its morning light piercing through thin clouds, casting countless golden rays across the land like giant dragons spewing golden torrents.
Clear weather!
Perfect for a major battle.
The Zhejiang army began cooking and eating breakfast early, while the pirate camp nearby did the same.
As the Zhejiang troops were having breakfast, the gates of the pirate camp opened, and a mounted pirate, with several flags attached to his back, galloped toward the Zhejiang camp’s gate.
“What’s one pirate coming for? To die?” The Zhejiang soldiers guarding the gate heightened their alertness.
When the mounted pirate reached within an arrow’s range of the Zhejiang camp, he suddenly veered sideways, drew a longbow from his back, and fired an arrow toward the camp’s gate.
“Raise shields!” The Zhejiang guards quickly raised their shields to protect against the arrow.
But the arrow wasn’t aimed at them—it struck the gate’s frame with a *thud*, embedding itself deep into the wood, its fletching quivering rapidly.
“Pathetic pirate archery! I could shoot better with my feet. Thought he was aiming at me, but it went way off!” a guard scoffed.
“Look, there’s a letter tied to the arrow,” another sharp-eyed guard noticed.
“It’s an arrow-delivered message! Quick, take it down and report to the commander. Let’s see what trick these pirates are playing,” the squad leader ordered. A soldier retrieved the letter and ran to the camp.
The mounted pirate, seeing the Zhejiang guards take the letter, turned his horse and rode back to the pirate camp.
Soon, the letter was presented to Zhu Ping’an in his tent.
“My lord, who knows what mischief the pirates are up to. What if they’ve poisoned the letter? Let me open it,” Liu Dadao said, concerned about Zhu Ping’an handling it himself. He took the letter, opened it, and showed it to Zhu Ping’an.
“I’d just use a cloth,” Zhu Ping’an said with a wry smile, but since Liu Dadao had already opened it, he stepped forward to read.
“I am Mao Haifeng, a general under King Hui. I’ve long heard of Lord Zhu and the Zhejiang army’s fame, and I presume you’ve heard of ours. Do you dare lead your army to face mine in a decisive battle? The mountain path before us is too narrow for large armies, but the pass behind your army is wide enough for both to clash. I will retreat three li to show my sincerity. Do you dare retreat three li, so our armies can fight to the death at the pass?” The bold, flamboyant characters leaped off the page.
“Pah, this guy’s got some nerve,” Liu Dadao spat after hearing the letter’s contents.
“I was just thinking how to fight him fair and square, and here he sends a challenge letter. It’s like delivering a pillow when I’m sleepy—perfect timing,” Zhu Ping’an said with a smile.
“My lord, are we really retreating three li to fight them at the pass?” Liu Dadao asked.
“Of course. Today’s weather is perfect for our firearms. Let’s show them their power! Only by crushing them will they listen to us properly,” Zhu Ping’an said seriously.
“I understand, my lord,” Liu Dadao nodded firmly.
“Today will be a tough fight. When forming ranks, place the experienced, battle-hardened veterans at the front and the new recruits at the rear. During the battle, load all tiger crouching cannons with grapeshot to maximise damage. Don’t fire the cannons first—wait until after three volleys of muskets, when the pirate army is gathered at the front, then fire all cannons in a single volley. We must inflict massive casualties, so they’ll tremble at the sight of our Zhejiang banner!” Zhu Ping’an ordered.
“Got it, my lord. We’ll prepare a proper ‘last meal’ for them,” Liu Dadao nodded excitedly.
“I’ll reply to Mao Haifeng,” Zhu Ping’an said, taking up brush, ink, paper, and inkstone. He ground the ink and wrote a brief reply on a sheet of fine paper:
“You want to fight? Then fight! To save time, you need not retreat. My army will withdraw three li to form ranks. Bring your army to the pass for a decisive battle!”
Zhu Ping’an’s short reply was tied to an arrow and sent back to the pirates.
“Let me show these pirates some real skill,” Liu Daqiang volunteered, taking on the task of delivering the reply.
“Open the gate! By the commander’s order, I’m delivering a reply to the pirates,” Liu Daqiang called, holding a token, mounting a horse, and taking a bow. The gate guards saw the token and quickly opened the gate, letting him ride out.
Liu Daqiang galloped toward the pirate camp. The pirates at their gate saw him coming alone and jeered, “Hey, Zhejiang kid, can you even draw a bow? Why not ride over and hand us the letter directly?”
Liu Daqiang sneered, and at an arrow’s range from the pirate gate, he turned his horse, swiftly drew his bow, and fired.
The arrow, with the reply tied to it, shot toward the pirate camp.
Liu Daqiang wielded a two-stone iron bow, powerful and long-ranged. The arrow soared over the gate, heading straight for the tall banner in the pirate camp.
*Thud!*
With a dull sound, the arrow pierced the top of the flagpole, embedding itself through it.
The pirates stared, dumbfounded, at the quivering arrow high on the flagpole. *Bloody hell, who can reach that? Even if a dwarf rode on a giant’s shoulders, they couldn’t get it!*
“Shorties, I’ve delivered the letter! Can you even reach it, or do you need my help?” Liu Daqiang taunted, laughing loudly.
The pirates at the gate were furious.
“Bastard!”
“Damn Zhejiang dog! So arrogant! If we weren’t sparing messengers, you’d be shot dead already!”
They tried climbing the pole to retrieve the arrow but gave up halfway—the pole was too thin to support them. They then tried using a sling to knock it down, but it was too high. In the end, they had to lower the flag to get the arrow.
“Damn it, who told you to lower the flag? That’s bad luck!” a pirate leader roared, spotting them. “What are you standing around for? Hurry and raise it before the boss sees!”
“Pretty clever, haha!” Liu Daqiang laughed, watching them lower the flag, then turned his horse and galloped back to camp.
“General Liu, what did our commander say in the reply?” Zhejiang soldiers asked eagerly when Liu Daqiang returned.
“The commander said, ‘You want to fight? Then fight!’” Liu Daqiang replied.
“You want to fight? Then fight!”
The Zhejiang soldiers, inspired, began shouting the phrase, from a few to dozens to the entire army, their morale soaring and their fighting spirit ablaze!
