Dandere General and his Lord

27. Risky Tactics

Li Wenguang gathered a few of his trusted subordinates together.

“What do you all think of Marquis Jin Yue?”

His advisor, Chen Wenxian replied, “He’s just the same as Han Quanlin, a man of debauchery and no morals. Both of them are lords who dominate over their lands, but they are contending over a cheap slave and can even abandon a city so wilfully. I simply don’t know what to say about them.”

General Feng Su cupped his fists and said, “That Mo Qiao Sheng isn’t an ordinary slave.
From what Chen1 saw on the battlefield, this person has excellent martial arts and is both brave and battle-wise. He gives his all on the battlefield and he has a very keen sense of combat awareness. If he’s given a chance, he will certainly become a great treasure in the future, maybe he will even become an even match against me.”

Li Wenguang nodded. “General’s words are correct. I had intended to bring this man under my wing just now. It’s a pity that Marquis Jin Yue acted so firmly today and attracted his loyalty so skilfully. It’s very likely that Mo Qiao Sheng must have pledged his undying devotion to him. It’s truly lamentable.”

Fan Yan, who was nearly 50 years old and Li Wenguang’s number one adviser, twisted his grizzled beard and said, “Jin Nation is a small country which has advanced a lot in the hands of the old Marquis Jin Wei. After the death of Marquis Jin Wei, there were many rumours that the newly appointed Marquis Jin Yue is a superficial and incompetent man. Now we know that these rumours are unreliable.”

Looking at the heroes under the heavens today, the majority consists of mediocre and incompetent people such as Hua Yuzhi. Although his troops are excellent and numerous in number, he has limited potential due to fear. I had personally thought that only Marquis Lu Song from the Northern Palace in Taiyuan and Yao Hong; the State of Wei’s Duke Wei Heng, are the only ones who can be compared with My Lord. Now, it seems that this young Marquis Jin Yue may possibly become a formidable adversary for My Lord in due time. We must not be caught by surprise.”

Chen Wenxian added, “We used to have some spies planted in the Jin Army, but who would have thought that Hua Yuzhi, that imbecile would have beat the grass and startled the snake.2 In the end, the Jin Army was cleansed thoroughly, inadvertently hurting our people as well. Currently, we don’t have anyone we can use.”

“Marquis Jin Yue is still young and doesn’t have a steady foothold, let’s not mention him for now.” Li Wenguang picked up a letter. “However, we need to be on guard against Yao Hong; the Duke Wei Heng. He sent me a letter today saying that he intends to send out 10,000 naval soldiers from Dayeze, along the Ji River. They will arrive in Zhengzhou within the next few days and support us to fight against the Quanrong.”

Fan Yan acknowledged, “Yao Hong has always had lofty aspirations. Doing such a generous act and sending his navy to us so late in the game, I don’t know what his intention might be. My Lord must not take him lightly.”

~

One day later, the three armies were well-prepared and set off for Zhengzhou in succession.

The battles along their journey went surprisingly smoothly, with a constant stream of triumphant reports coming in.

First, Li Wenguang captured Xinzheng in one fell swoop, then, Cheng Qianye and her troops seized Kuaixian.

The three armies advanced victoriously, with a great boost to their morale.

The Jin Army was currently marching along the banks of the Gue He River.

The river flow was very rapid and their path was narrow with a mountain wall on their left, making their trek a difficult one.

The troops were spread out, forming a long procession.

Mo Qiao Sheng and A’Feng were riding forward together.

Every once in a while, Mo Qiao Sheng’s line of sight fell on the figure not far ahead of them.

Surrounded by imperial guards, the Lord was wearing light armour and a golden crown on his head as he rode the date-red horse with white hooves that Mo Qiao Sheng had captured.

“It’s been spread throughout the whole army these days.” A’Feng said softly. “Han Quanlin offered a city in exchange for you and My Lord did not agree?”

Mo Qiao Sheng bowed his head slightly, his eyes shining brightly.

A’Feng looked at him for a moment. “So it’s true.”

Looking at that figure ahead of them, A’Feng thought to himself, so it turns out that there are actually people in this world whom you can believe in.

That figure suddenly turned around and waved Mo Qiao Sheng over.

Mo Qiao Sheng’s eyes lit up as he hastily urged his horse forwards to Cheng Qianye’s side.

“Qiao Sheng.” Cheng Qianye said, “This horse you gave me is especially great. He has a good temper and he moves very steadily. I’m not tired at all even though I’ve been riding for so long. He’s much better compared to that brown horse with the white markings.”

Mo Qiao Sheng laughed shallowly.

“Qiao Sheng, you laughed. You don’t laugh very often. You should laugh more in the future.”

At that moment, Zhang Fu caught up to them, his expression grave. “My Lord, General Yu has sent us a letter. They ran into scattered soldiers up ahead. It seems as though they are defeated remnants from Li Wenguang’s troops.”

“What’s the situation?” Cheng Qianye furrowed her eyebrows.

“From our tentative inquiries, Li Wenguang seems to have been ambushed near Zhengzhou by General Wei Mingshan and suffered heavy casualties. Even General Feng Su was seriously injured.”

“That Wei Mingshan didn’t defend Zhengzhou and took the initiative to launch a sudden attack against us and ambush us on the road?”

“Wei Mingshan has a ruthless character. He is full of cunning and loves using risky tactics.” Zhang Fu frowned. “Like this, it seems that his plan is to crush us, one at a time.”

“My Lord, the terrain here is very unfavourable for our army. Please issue an order to march ahead at full speed and get past this terrain as quickly as possible.”

He had barely finished speaking when a surge of rallying cries reverberated from the left side of the mountain summit. They saw multiple army flags bearing the character “Wei” rise into the air simultaneously. The ferocious figures of the Quanrong warriors appeared at the top of the mountain. 

For a moment, rocks and fire arrows poured down towards them like rain.

The Jin Army was obstructed and separated into several sections, the scene instantly delving into pandemonium.

Cheng Qianye heard Zhang Fu’s voice shouting in the midst of the chaos, “Protect the Lord!”

A strong pair of arms hauled her off the horse, pulling her into a solid embrace as they rolled down the river embankment. 

The heavens and Earth flipped upside down during their whirling descent.

Cheng Qianye found that she had fallen into a field of bushes and grass with the ice-cold river water beneath their feet and the sounds of battle echoing above them.

She saw a figure dressed in black standing slightly ahead of her, protecting her and concealing them tightly under the cover of a slightly hollow tree root beneath the river bank.

The person who protected her was Mo Qiao Sheng.

Mo Qiao Sheng looked up and stared fixedly at the situation of the ongoing battle above them.

A while later, he turned around and lowered his head, removing the golden crown on Cheng Qianye’s head and stripping off his outer robe to cover her light armour.

Then, he bent his body, carrying Cheng Qianye on his back as he waded through the cold river water, rushing against the current to the river bank on the other side.

“Qiao Sheng, are you hurt? Let me down.”

Mo Qiao Sheng did not respond to her and continued running wildly.

Occasionally, stray arrows and rocks hurtled down, scraping their bodies.

A soldier dressed in the Jin Army’s uniform tumbled down into the current, right in front of them, his body embedded with numerous arrows.

Mo Qiao Sheng did not pause for a moment as he leaped over the corpse, running persistently even as the water was stained with blood.

Cheng Qianye leaned on top of his sturdy shoulder. The scenery before her eyes passed by in a blur, a disorderly jumble of cries ringing in her ears. A sharp arrow even brushed against her cheek, leaving a shallow scar in its wake.

The fear of death pressed close to her heart.

Cheng Qianye closed her eyes, listening to the sounds of her and Mo Qiao Sheng’s thunderous heartbeats.

They ran for an indefinite amount of time. The sounds gradually faded away and their surroundings quietened.

They reached a mountain stream.

Bit by bit, Mo Qiao Sheng stepped on the pebbles on the riverbank and climbed ashore.

“Qiao Sheng, put me down.” Cheng Qianye urged.

His body suddenly softened, dislodging Cheng Qianye from her position on his back and hurtling her to the ground. 

Mo Qiao Sheng stretched out his hands, propping his body up against the ground. He turned his head and glanced at Cheng Qianye before gritting his teeth and springing up to his feet. He managed to take two steps before collapsing to the ground again.

“Qiao Sheng!” 

Cheng Qianye ran over to him, supporting his body.

She saw that his eyes were closed and his face was white as a sheet of paper. He had two arrows buried into his body and did not respond in the slightest.

“Qiao Sheng, Qiao Sheng, wake up.” Cheng Qianye reached out to shake him and found that her hands were stained red. 

She raised her head and surveyed their surroundings. The area was completely deserted, with no sign of human habitation.

Cheng Qianye clenched her teeth and turned her back to Mo Qiao Sheng. Mo Qiao Sheng was much taller than her and had lost his consciousness. It was extremely difficult for her to carry him.

She walked step by step on the slippery pebbles on the riverbank. Mo Qiao Sheng’s hand slipped down from her shoulder. Blood meandered down his arm and dripped onto the ground.

With great difficulty, she managed to drag them to a sheltered area. She helped Mo Qiao Sheng settle down on the ground and untied his clothes.

There were two crude, iron arrows that had torn through his flesh, buried deeply in his body.

Cheng Qianye had no idea where to start, feeling a sense of helplessness wash over her.

“What do I do, Qiao Sheng? What do I do?” She closed her eyes and reached out a trembling hand, gripping onto the arrow’s shaft.

An icy-cold hand covered the back of her hand.

“Master, I…. I’ll do it myself.”

Mo Qiao Sheng was awake.

He clenched his teeth and the blue veins on his forehead bulged out as he pulled out both of the arrows in one breath.

~

1. (臣 – Chen) I, Your Servant; This Official/Minister.
2. (打草惊蛇 – dǎ cǎo jīng shé) – Idiom: Beat the grass and startle the snake; acting rashly and alerting the enemy.