The task of escorting the bandits to Black Water Ditch naturally fell to the prefectural troops.
They had only just over two thousand men to begin with. Now five hundred more were detached to guard the prisoners, so even adding the Zhenyuan Escort Agency masters, the total force barely exceeded two thousand. Yet they faced more than four thousand bandits. Captain Xiao genuinely had no confidence.
The prefect himself did not need to fight, so the moment he learned that Qing Muluan was the younger sister of the Xichuan Governor, he unhesitatingly ordered the prefectural troops to exterminate the bandits.
But Captain Xiao could not help worrying. These soldiers were the foundation of his career and livelihood. Let alone wiping them out, even losing a third would ruin him.
If the court later investigated, the prefect would certainly shift all blame onto him.
After Iron Hammer was wounded in the prefectural city, Big Liu had taken over as captain of the personal guard and built some rapport with Captain Xiao.
While Jin Feng was assigning tasks, Captain Xiao pulled Big Liu aside and asked quietly, “Brother Big Liu, be straight with me. Does Master Jin still have some trick up his sleeve?”
“Captain Xiao, to be honest, I don’t know if the young master has any more plans. But I do know this: he never fights a battle he isn’t sure of winning, and he would never joke with the lives of the brothers.”
Big Liu clapped Captain Xiao on the shoulder. “So just relax. Everything will be fine.”
Although Captain Xiao did not get the answer he wanted, hearing Big Liu’s words and seeing Jin Feng’s calm expression still settled his heart considerably.
After passing Tiger Roar Ridge, the scouts reported no further dangers. Following another day and more of marching, on the morning of the third day, the hunter Da Qiang pointed into the distance. “Young master, that mountain is Wulang Mountain.”
Jin Feng looked where Da Qiang was pointing. At the edge of his vision stood a reddish-brown peak.
The moment he saw it, Jin Feng was reminded of a place he had visited on a company team-building trip in his previous life, Suoxi Mountain.
Suoxi Mountain lies in southern Henan. It is a granite landscape covered with all kinds of huge boulders, very distinctive. The 1986 version of Journey to the West had even filmed scenes there.
Jin Feng had grown up in the mountains and was long used to big peaks, but Suoxi Mountain’s unique geological structure had still captivated him. Since he had not visited many scenic spots in his previous life, the memory was especially vivid.
The Wulang Mountain before him belonged to the same type of terrain as Suoxi Mountain, yet differed in some ways.
Suoxi Mountain covers a large area with several gentler slopes. Over countless years, wind-blown sand and dust had accumulated there, producing lush vegetation. There were even lakes halfway up and at the summit, famous sights of Suoxi Mountain.
Wulang Mountain, however, was only a small peak. It was not tall, but its slopes were extraordinarily steep.
On terrain like this, whenever rain fell, the water ran straight down the rocks, carrying soil and sand with it. Consequently the whole mountain looked bare, with only a few scattered patches of green.
Finding food on such a mountain was indeed extremely difficult.
As the saying goes, “watching a mountain will run a horse to death”. Although they could already see Wulang Mountain, it was still several li away in a straight line. With the winding mountain path, it would take at least another hour to reach the foot of the mountain.
An army on the march could never conceal its movements or launch a surprise attack. Jin Feng simply sent word to Captain Xiao to prepare for battle.
Soon the steady beat of war drums echoed through the ranks, and signal flags were waved to issue combat orders.
“Wulang Mountain is right ahead. This time it’s the real thing. Every single one of you bastards better stay sharp and be ready to fight at any moment!”
The various centurions ran up and down the column, kicking anyone they saw slacking.
Jin Feng’s side was equally busy. All the scouts under Tang Fei were sent out to search the forests on both flanks carefully and guard against ambushes.
Several ox-carts were pushed to the very front. The coarse cloth covering them was pulled back, revealing the heavy crossbows beneath.
More than a dozen veterans unloaded components from the wagons and rapidly assembled trebuchets.
Atop Wulang Mountain, Qing Muluan stood with her personal guards at the edge of a cliff, looking down at the bandits and soldiers below.
The usual high-spirited air of Qing Muluan was gone. Thick weariness covered her face.
The thousand men she led belonged to the First Bandit-Suppression Detachment of the Changxin Army.
Before she took command of the Changxin Army, Qing Huai had specially written to warn her that it was a spent force of “old masters” and that she must use them with great caution.
That was why Qing Muluan had personally led the First Detachment.
In earlier battles, relying on heavy crossbows and trebuchets, the detachment had held every advantage. The soldiers had seemed braver than the next.
Apart from some disorder when seizing the bandit stronghold, their performance elsewhere had been acceptable.
This had delighted Qing Muluan. For a time she even suspected the rumours were false and that the Changxin Army was not as hopeless as people claimed.
But being trapped on Wulang Mountain had utterly shattered her illusions.
The Changxin Army truly was a spent force. They could fight with the wind at their backs when everything was in their favour, but after only a few days of encirclement, they had all wilted.
Wulang Mountain was nothing but huge boulders; not even a wild rabbit could be found. The soldiers of the suppression detachment had not had a proper meal in days. Morale was already shaky, and Mr Feng had the bandits feasting loudly at the foot of the mountain, destroying whatever spirit remained.
Many soldiers had begun grumbling behind her back, calling her a hen crowing at dawn and blaming every mistake on her.
If A-Mei had not swiftly executed several troublemakers, the detachment might already have collapsed into chaos.
“A-Mei…”
Qing Muluan was about to speak when she suddenly heard the sound of drums in the distance.
“Where is that drumming coming from?”
She cocked her ear, listened for a moment, then quickly scrambled up a large boulder behind her and looked east.
On the mountain path far away, a column of troops had appeared at some point, winding along the road for hundreds of metres.
“Miss, our reinforcements have arrived!”
A-Lan cried out excitedly. “I can see the banners of the Guangyuan prefectural army, and our escort agency’s black flag… oh, and the young master’s cloud-pattern banner! Miss, Master Jin has come in person!”
“The young master is here?”
These past days had been hard on Qing Muluan too. Her heart was filled with guilt, remorse, unwillingness, and fear. She had only held herself together for the sake of maintaining army morale.
The moment she heard Jin Feng had come, all those negative emotions vanished. For some reason an immense feeling of safety welled up inside her.
It was as if, now that Jin Feng was here, there was nothing left to worry about.
But the next instant, Qing Muluan suddenly thought of something and turned around. “How did Master Jin know we were trapped? Who sent word?”
Qing Muluan knew the situation in Xihe Bay very well. She also knew perfectly well that Jin Feng could not possibly gather many veteran soldiers in such a short time.
When she realised that several thousand bandits were besieging Wulang Mountain, the thought of asking Jin Feng for help had never even crossed her mind.
Because under these circumstances, requesting his aid would be no different from asking him to throw his life away.
Yet Jin Feng had still come.
