At this point the crossbowmen had become useless. If the formation dared to advance further, what awaited them was a baptism of burning kerosene.
Several hundred metres away, Zhang Liang gave a cold smile and nodded to the women soldiers beside the trebuchets.
The women were long ready. A few seconds later, all three trebuchets fired at once. Jars ablaze with fire arced through the air and landed precisely among the bandits in front of the formation.
Kerosene splashed everywhere. Many bandits were drenched in it.
In an instant, screams rose one after another.
The ground ahead of the formation turned into a sea of flames.
All the bandits were fixated on the advancing array. No one noticed that Captain Xiao, leading several hundred men and guided by the hunter Da Qiang, was threading through the woods on the eastern side of Wulang Mountain.
There was a hidden trail in those woods. Without Da Qiang leading the way, Captain Xiao’s troops would never have found it.
Wulang Mountain had three relatively easy descent routes: one on the south side, one on the east, and one on the north.
The triangular formation was currently attacking the southern route, while Captain Xiao’s objective was to seize and hold the eastern one.
Bandits had little discipline. Hearing the fierce fighting to the south, more than half of those guarding the eastern route had slipped away to watch the spectacle.
The ones who remained paid no attention to defence.
Captain Xiao’s force crept all the way to the foot of the mountain without being detected.
These government troops, who normally only knew how to bully commoners and merchants, were now filled with fighting spirit.
Before setting out, Zhang Liang had promised them one bar of scented soap, any fragrance they liked, for every bandit captured or killed.
The first man to seize the mid-mountain checkpoint would also receive a black blade of the kind issued to escort veterans.
Profit has always been the quickest and most effective way to unite men.
The soap market had been completely opened up by the female shopkeepers, especially in the capital where demand was enormous. Iron Can Mountain had not only expanded its workshops but was now running two shifts, producing day and night without pause.
Yet supply still fell far short of demand.
Because of large-scale fat purchases, the price of various oils had recently soared in several counties around Jinchuan as well as in Guangyuan prefectural city.
Had Miss Qing Munan not suddenly run into trouble, Jin Feng would have visited Iron Can Mountain these past few days to see whether the production process could be improved and efficiency raised.
Now, even brothels and wealthy households in the prefectural city had to pay in advance and book soap, and even then they might not receive it on time.
The rarer fragrances were being scalped on the black market for fifteen taels a bar.
Fifteen taels of silver was by no means a small sum for an ordinary soldier.
And then there was the black blade.
Few men throughout history have been immune to the lure of fine weapons. Though the black blade’s reputation in Guangyuan was not yet as great as in the capital, word had spread thanks to the escorts.
Many young gentlemen from rich families coveted one.
However, after black blades began selling for huge prices in the capital, Zhang Liang realised how valuable they were. He collected all the blades carried by the escorts and reissued ordinary war knives.
Black blades were now distributed only for certain missions.
This was not stinginess. Escorts constantly travelled the roads guarding cargo. A single black blade could fetch over a thousand taels. Letting escorts carry them was tantamount to putting them in danger.
These days people would kill for a hot cake, let alone blades whose combined value in one small escort team, or even a single blade, was enough to make bandits risk everything.
Zhang Liang’s decision made black blades even scarcer.
Anyone who obtained one would be set for life.
Besides soap and black blades, Zhang Liang had personally promised that all government troops taking part in this campaign would receive the same injury and death benefits as Zhenyuan escorts.
In truth, these soldiers were all young men in their prime. It was not that they could not fight; they simply lacked systematic training and proper morale.
Training was something Zhang Liang could not provide for now, but these two incentives instantly ignited their fighting spirit.
At Captain Xiao’s command, the government troops charged eagerly up the mountain.
The bandits at the mid-mountain post were still enjoying the show when they suddenly saw swarms of soldiers pouring from the trees at the foot of the hill. Caught completely off guard, some fought back in panic while others turned and fled.
Qing Munan, watching from the summit, reacted quickly and immediately led the Changxin Army in a breakout.
Driven by the instinct to survive, the Changxin troops dared not slack off or shirk. They fought far more fiercely than usual.
By the time the bandit chiefs received word and realised they had fallen for Zhang Liang’s diversion, it was too late.
The bandits defending the eastern side were caught between the government troops below and Qing Munan’s forces above, and were utterly crushed.
Corpses littered the mountainside.
The descent route had been secured by the government troops.
“Miss Munan, the gentleman sent me to fetch you. Come with me.”
One of Jin Feng’s personal guards stepped forward to greet Qing Munan.
“But my men…”
Qing Munan glanced hesitantly at the Changxin Army behind her.
Though she had been bitterly disappointed by their performance this time, they were still an army the Qing family had spent considerable resources to train. She could not simply abandon them.
Moreover, to do so would feel like deserting her own troops, and Qing Munan despised people who did that.
“Do not worry, Miss Munan. When the gentleman sent me, he had me bring water and flatbread. I will take care of the suppression force.”
Captain Xiao stepped forward. “Hurry along. The gentleman has been worried about you.”
He pointed down the mountain.
The Changxin Army had already reached the foot of the hill. A squad of government troops emerged from the trees carrying buckets of water and stacks of flatbread.
The Changxin soldiers, who had gone hungry and thirsty for days, immediately crowded round.
Only after seeing this did Qing Munan relax. She nodded, then left with A-Mei and the others in the company of Jin Feng’s guards.
Ten minutes later, in the government army’s main camp, Qing Munan saw Jin Feng standing with his hands clasped behind his back.
“Sir…”
The normally bold and outspoken Qing Munan now approached like a new bride meeting her husband for the first time. She shuffled forward, fidgeted for a long while, then lowered her head and said with deep guilt, “Sir, I’m sorry. A-Qin and the others…”
Jin Feng had assigned twenty veteran escorts and forty women soldiers to each suppression team, giving them control of the heavy crossbows and trebuchets to provide long-range fire support.
This both prevented the weapons from falling into outsider hands and served as training.
After this campaign, those women soldiers would all have large-scale combat experience. If war ever came, they could be sent straight into battle.
But because of Qing Munan’s command error, the veterans and women soldiers had barely finished setting up the heavy crossbows and trebuchets when hundreds of bandits launched a surprise attack.
Caught unprepared, all the veterans and women soldiers were killed.
Jin Feng was extremely disappointed in Qing Munan.
Yet seeing her return safely, he let out a long breath of relief.
“We’ll talk about your matter when we get back.”
Jin Feng glanced at her, then turned to Da Liu. “Go tell Brother Liang that Munan has been rescued.”
