“Sir, can we start now?”
Seeing that Jin Feng did not answer, Qing Mulan asked again.
The Ninth Princess also turned to look at Jin Feng.
“Not yet,” Jin Feng shook his head. “Dazhuang hasn’t taken position yet, and the Zhong Ming team hasn’t sent any message back. If we act rashly now, we have almost no chance of winning.”
“Are we just going to watch the plateau people drive the Dakang civilians to their deaths?”
Qing Mulan said, “After the war, people in the court will definitely attack my brother and Wuyang. Wouldn’t this give them a perfect excuse?”
“Then what do you suggest?” Jin Feng asked coldly. “Why don’t you take your personal guards and fight the plateau people to the death?”
Knowing that the plateau people were forcing Dakang civilians to act as cannon fodder, Jin Feng felt extremely uneasy inside.
This was not Danzhu’s invention. Jin Feng had encountered the same tactic when fighting the Dangxiang people in the northwest.
By now he had grown used to it.
Moreover, since Dazhuang was not in position, he had no other choice but to watch.
“I…”
Qing Mulan was rendered speechless.
“Sister, sir is right. We must stay calm in war and keep our composure.”
The Ninth Princess stepped forward, took Qing Mulan’s hand, and said helplessly, “Let’s wait a little longer.”
…
In the plateau cavalry camp, Zhou Youda lay on the ground like a walking corpse, completely numb.
During today’s assault on the city, he had been lucky. He was neither shot dead by heavy crossbows nor crushed by trebuchets.
But his mother and two concubines had been smashed to death.
His remaining concubine had been scattered in the chaos and had not returned. She was probably dead too.
Now only his first wife remained at his side.
After the battle, he and the other survivors had been herded back by the plateau people.
Perhaps fearing that pushing too hard would cause a mutiny, the plateau people promised the survivors that for the next three days other people would be sent to fight, and they could rest for three days.
During those three days, the plateau people would no longer mistreat them.
That very night, each person was even given a piece of coarse grain cake.
“My lord, eat something…”
His wife held the coarse grain cake out to Zhou Youda and said tearfully, “Even if you don’t think of yourself, think of Mother.”
Hearing his wife’s words, a faint ripple stirred in Zhou Youda’s almost completely numb heart.
His mother had been struck by a flying piece of stone. She had not died instantly but had clung to him, given her final instructions, and then passed away.
There was not much to instruct, only a plea that Zhou Youda must survive and not let the Zhou family line die out.
It was this thought that had kept Zhou Youda alive until now.
He took the coarse grain cake from his wife’s hands and bit into it fiercely.
“I’ll go fetch some water for you, my lord.”
Seeing Zhou Youda start to eat, his wife happily turned and left.
They had no tools. Drinking water meant cupping it in their hands.
Zhou Youda had grown up in luxury. Normally he could not stomach such coarse grain cakes at all.
Yet now he swallowed the whole thing in a few bites.
He had to survive.
If not for himself, then for the family line, for his mother, for the wife who had never abandoned him. He had to survive.
“Mr Zhou, have you eaten enough?”
A man crouched beside Zhou Youda and offered another coarse grain cake. “If you’re still hungry, here’s one more.”
Zhou Youda did not take it. Instead he stared at the man in puzzlement. “Brother, do we know each other?”
“You may not know me, sir, but I know you,” the man said in a low voice. “My name is Han Feng. I’m one of Mr Jin’s men from the Zhenyuan Escort Agency.”
“Mr Jin from the Zhenyuan Escort Agency?” Zhou Youda was even more confused.
“The Mr Jin who wrote ‘Golden spears and iron horses three thousand li, one blade chills sixteen prefectures with its light’,” Han Feng explained again.
“Oh, Mr Jin from Guangyuan!” Zhou Youda suddenly understood.
Some time ago, soap had appeared in Xichuan Prefecture too. As a renowned scholar of Xichuan, Zhou Youda naturally knew the poems engraved on the soap boxes.
He had spent a lot of money buying piles of soap just to collect those verses.
“Brother, you’re from Guangyuan. Why were you captured too?” Zhou Youda asked. “Were you caught on the road while selling soap?”
“No, I let myself be captured on purpose,” Han Feng replied.
After Tang Xiaobei discovered problems with the Zhong Ming team in Jiangnan, Jin Feng had recalled Han Feng to reorganise the group.
But Han Feng had only been back a couple of days when the Ninth Princess arrived.
Jin Feng then sent Han Feng ahead with men to Xichuan Prefecture to mingle among the civilians.
“Let yourself be captured? Why?” Zhou Youda looked at Han Feng as though he were a monster.
Han Feng did not answer directly but asked instead, “Since Mr Zhou has heard of my master, you should know he is a military commander who defeated the Dangxiang people at Weizhou City, right?”
“I know. He can wield the brush to write poetry and take up arms to kill enemies. That is what I admire most about Mr Jin,” Zhou Youda sighed. “If I had even a fraction of his ability, how would I have ended up with my family destroyed?”
“Mr Zhou is a scholar and understands reason, so I’ll speak plainly.”
Han Feng continued, “My master is well-versed in military affairs. He predicted the plateau people would use Dakang civilians as shields, so he sent me and some brothers to mix in and persuade everyone not to die for the plateau people any longer.
The plateau people have ruined our families and treat us like animals, using us as shields. Even if we must die, we cannot do something that gladdens our enemies and grieves our kin by helping them attack Xichuan City. Don’t you agree, sir?”
“You speak sense, brother, but… but we have nothing. What can we do?” Zhou Youda said bitterly.
“Who says we can do nothing? If we really must die, banging our heads against the ground right here and now is still better than helping the enemy attack Xichuan City.”
Han Feng went on, “Besides, the plateau people have captured far more civilians than they have soldiers. We’re all going to die anyway. One on one we can’t beat them, but three against one, five against one, ten against one, we can still bite them to death, can’t we?”
Zhou Youda lowered his head in shame.
As a scholar, he still had a basic sense of integrity.
If the Zhou family were not down to its very last male heir, he might have already killed himself by now.
“Please don’t misunderstand, sir. I know you must have reasons to stay alive. I’m not blaming you.”
Han Feng added, “Even if we die, we can’t die so pathetically. We can’t lose a scholar’s dignity or disgrace our ancestors!”
“Enough, brother. I understand what you mean.”
Zhou Youda cut Han Feng off and asked, “Just tell me straight what you need me to do.”
“Very well, I’ll be direct.” Han Feng leaned close to Zhou Youda’s ear. “To tell the truth, my master and the Ninth Princess have already reached Xichuan and are planning a counter-attack against the plateau people. They need our help from the inside.
The Zhou family has long been known for its kindness. I hope sir can help me rally the civilians…”
That was precisely why Han Feng had sought out Zhou Youda.
In feudal times, many people were superstitious.
Zhou Youda’s grandfather and father believed the Zhou family line was weak because they had offended some deity, so for years they rarely exploited their tenants and often paid to repair bridges and roads.
When tenants could no longer survive, the Zhou family would lend money or grain to tide them over.
Whatever the reason, these were good deeds.
As a result, the Zhou family enjoyed an excellent reputation in the area. If Zhou Youda was willing to help mobilise the civilians, the effect would be far greater than anything Han Feng could achieve alone.
