Taiheiki

Chapter 109 Mountain Beast
Wei Cong knew very well that his 300 elite soldiers, dressed in iron armor, holding spears, swords, bows and crossbows, and armed to the teeth, could easily defeat the mountain beasts that were ten times their number. However, joint military action was the best opportunity to establish a common consciousness. These auxiliary soldiers would witness the powerful fighting power of the "Jiang Yi Clan" with their own eyes, and they would spread their reputation further, which was their greatest wealth.

But as the march deepened into the mountains, Wei Cong's confidence began to waver. He increasingly realized that this wild mountainous area was so vast, like a boundless ocean. Compared to it, his thousand or so men were just a small boat, which could be swallowed up at any time, leaving no trace.

"If we can't find any trace of the mountain beast tomorrow, we will retreat!" Wei Cong was silent for a while and said in a low voice.

"Yes!" Diwu Deng could feel the bitterness in his master's words, but he still bowed his head and said yes.

That night, Wei Cong lay on his cowhide mattress, his ears ringing with snoring, yet he couldn't fall asleep. Regret was like countless poisonous insects gnawing at his heart. On this expedition, he hadn't fired a single arrow, and nearly a hundred men had already fallen from heatstroke, poisonous snakes, mosquitoes, and lack of food. He didn't know how many more would fall on the way back. These deaths were all caused by his own recklessness and stupidity. The thought of this made Wei Cong's heart ache.

Fortunately, fate finally favored Wei Cong on the morning of the sixth day after the expedition. While Wei Cong was getting ready, Qian Wen, the scout, captured a native, tied him up with a leather rope, and dragged him back.

"Who is this?" Wei Cong asked.

Qian Wen said, "I have captured a mountain fang, and I can send a guide who understands the fang language."

Wei Cong saw that the man he had captured must be quite old. He was wearing a knee-length brown linen shirt tied with straw ropes and kneeling barefoot on the ground. The guide, who understood the Liao language, gestured and asked him questions. He was very excited and chattered loudly, but no one knew what he was saying.

Halfway through the meal, the guide finally found out the location of the mountain beastmen's lair from the captive. It turned out that they had taken the wrong path in the mountains and were several miles to the east. Fortunately, the old man was collecting wild honey in the mountains and was captured by Qian Wen, who then figured out the location of the enemy's lair.

"Give orders immediately to distribute all the food so that the soldiers can have a good meal!" Wei Cong said sternly. He was like a gambler who had lost all his money and put his last chip on the table: "If we can win, there will be enough food in the Shan Liao people's warehouse. Even if there is no food, the soldiers can eat their meat. If we lose, no matter how much food we have, it will be useless!" He said to Diwu Deng.

After noon, when the weather cooled slightly, Wei Cong ordered the troops to set out. To conserve their energy, he ordered the spears, bows, arrows, armor, and other items to be bundled together with cowhide. The auxiliary soldiers then carried them up the crevices created by the mountain streams, tumbling and crawling forward.

At dusk, the moon rose from behind the mountains, illuminating the hundreds of soldiers crouching in a thicket. Qian Wen touched his armor, the hard, cold touch giving him a sense of security. He took a deep breath and rechecked the leather straps to ensure they were secure. If they came loose during battle, it could be fatal.

"As soon as you see the fire ahead, attack! Pass it down!" a deep voice boomed from behind him. Qian Wen hurriedly passed it on. Over time, the mosquitoes above him grew in number. Even though Qian Wen used his armor to cover his exposed skin as much as possible, the bites were still excruciating. Just when he thought he was going to be killed by the mosquitoes, the pungent smell of burning straw wafted over. Someone shouted, "There's a fire ahead! Charge in!" Everyone forced themselves to their feet, panickedly grabbed spears and swords, and rushed forward.

Ahead, a blazing fire mingled with shouts of killing and the sounds of men charging headlong. Shouts echoed from the front: "The Liao are coming! Shoot! Shoot!" Behind him, the soft sound of arrows piercing the air echoed. Qian Wen saw figures swaying in the distance, and men falling continuously. He gripped his spear shaft tightly, pressing the spike at its base firmly against the ground to prevent the enemy from disrupting their position. Suddenly, he felt a sharp blow against his helmet, and with a bang, something fell to the ground. He looked down and saw it was a stone thrown by the mountain Liao. The Liao lived in the isolated mountains, lacking iron for arrows and the tendons, horns, and lacquer needed for horn bows. Therefore, they mostly relied on slings and spears. These stones and spears were practically ineffective against the soldiers in iron armor. Qian Wen's crossbows, however, were far more powerful, mowing down the charging Liao men row by row like grass.

Soon, the two sides rushed together and clashed. The mountain Yao people had no armor and few iron weapons, making them particularly vulnerable in close combat. Sharp spears pierced the enemy in rows, screams echoed, and bodies quickly fell. Qian Wen, spear in hand, thrust with all his might at a Yao person. The man, panicked and unable to dodge, instinctively reached for the spear's tip. However, the long, narrow-bladed spear Qian Wen wielded was also sharpened on both sides. The blade slashed through his palm, drawing blood.

The man screamed, let go of the spear tip, and jumped to the side, but was suddenly stabbed to death by a spear coming from the side. The one who stabbed the獠人 to death was Yuan Tian. He was still wearing the military uniform whose color could no longer be distinguished in the darkness, and an unpainted iron armor over his coat. In the moonlight, a large wet patch could be seen on the sleeve of his robe, and it was unclear whether it was sweat or blood. Yuan Tian stabbed the獠人 down and shouted to Qian Wen. It was too noisy all around, with shouts and groans mixed together, and it was impossible to hear what he wanted to say. The pungent smell of blood surrounded Qian Wen, penetrated his skin, and made his blood boil.

Qian Wen stabbed a Yao man through the chest, but because the stab was too deep, the spear got stuck in his ribs and he couldn't pull it out for a while. At this time, an old man rushed towards him from the left, shouting something incoherently. Qian Wen hurriedly threw away his spear and drew his sword, but due to nervousness and panic, the horizontal sword got stuck in the sheath and couldn't be pulled out for a while. The old man slashed with the sword, and it hit Qian Wen's left shoulder, which was immediately painful. Fortunately, the iron armor was strong and padded with a layer of cowhide, so it was not cut, but it was too painful. Qian Wen endured the pain and pushed the old man away, pushed the scabbard back, and pulled out the horizontal sword. He grasped the handle with both hands and chopped the old man down in a pool of blood in two or three strokes. He walked forward and stabbed the old man's left chest with a knife. The old man twitched a few times and his eyes lost their light.

Due to their overwhelming superiority in weaponry, the battle quickly devolved into a one-sided massacre. The front began to gradually shift towards the stone wall outside the village. The Shan Liao people fled into the village, scaling the stone wall to hurl stones and spears at the attackers. Qian Wen and his men, however, lowered their heads, propped their shields above their heads, and rushed to the foot of the stone wall, fiercely stabbing the enemies on the wall with their spears. The crossbowmen behind them fired arrows at the wall. For a moment, the two sides were at a stalemate.

At that moment, Qian Wen suddenly heard a roar. He saw Yuan Tian, clad in double iron armor and armed with a spear, charging up the stone wall first. The mountain wind howled, blowing in the direction of the mountain beasts, blinding the viewer. Yuan Tian seized the opportunity and stabbed several men in succession. Blood flowed down the shaft of his spear, slick and greasy. He thrust too hard, piercing the man. The spear shaft was too slippery for him to pull out, so he simply dropped his spear and chopped away with his sword. Confident in his thick armor, he charged into the mountain beasts' thicket, hacking away. He felled more than ten men in a row. More and more warriors continued to climb the stone wall, and the mountain beasts, unable to resist, fled in all directions. Only then did Yuan Tian realize that his military uniform was soaked with blood, a bloody red. He couldn't tell whether it was his or the mountain beasts'. He felt his hands and feet go limp and powerless, exhausted. He then supported himself against the stone wall and slowly sat down.

Qian Wen and his men finally broke into the village, extending the massacre to the village behind the stone wall. Blood flowed down from the cracks in the stones, and clusters of flames and thick smoke rose from the village. The pungent smell of burning and the strong smell of blood filled the air.

He didn't know when he stopped killing. Qian Wen simply felt exhausted, like his whole body was falling apart, without a single ounce of strength. His mind was blank, his ears were buzzing, his mouth was dry and bitter, his hands were shaking violently, unable to grasp anything. His left shoulder ached so much that he couldn't even lift his arm, probably because it was swollen. He took off his helmet, untied the leather straps of his breastplate, loosened it, and took a few deep breaths before feeling better. Sweat poured down his sleeves and onto the ground.

He walked through the village, surrounded by small, thatched huts. In the center stood a stone platform, seemingly a place for public meetings. Standing on it were women and children, a staggered group of about forty or fifty. Several topless auxiliary soldiers sat nearby, drinking something and laughing loudly. One of them stood up, randomly selected a woman, pushed her to the ground, and began to pull off her underwear. The others erupted in laughter. The standing women and children lowered their heads, as if terrified, afraid to look or run.

The woman, clearly hurt, burst into tears and was then slapped several times. Qian Wen stepped forward and grabbed the man to his feet. Seeing someone trying to stop him, the man turned and grabbed Qian Wen's shoulders, ready to fight him. Only then did he notice Qian Wen's armor and uniform, recognizing him as a soldier under Wei Cong. Terrified, he quickly withdrew his hand and stepped aside. "These are spoils of war. The general will distribute them later. You must not touch them, or I'll punish you according to military law!" Qian Wen's gaze swept over the crowd. The auxiliary soldiers all smiled ingratiatingly. He watched for a few minutes, confirming that they would not continue to assault the women, before leaving.

Qian Wen walked for a while before finding a rock to sit on under a tree. It was then that he realized daybreak had arrived. The sky above him was a translucent azure blue, as if he could reach out and touch it. In the distance, emerald green mountaintops shone like jade in the sunlight. White-winged birds flew through the mountains, chirping in clear, clear voices. It all felt so beautiful, as if the massacre that had just ended had never happened.

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"What a bunch of poor bastards!" Wei Cong dejectedly tossed a small piece of gold into a chest. Several chests lay before him, each filled with a jumble of junk—the spoils of his bitter battle. Well, the main spoils were actually captives and livestock. Like most peoples at this stage of society, the Shan Liao used cattle as their primary means of wealth. Wei Cong found nearly four hundred buffaloes in the cattle pen. While they were certainly useful as draft animals or as draught power, they couldn't compensate for the losses along the way.

"How many prisoners are there?" Wei Cong asked the fifth Deng who came in.

"There are probably over 700 people!" Diwu Deng's face was not looking good. "There are over 200 women, over 300 children, and over 200 young and strong men. However, most of them are injured. I estimate that less than half of them can survive!"

"Where are the rescued people?" Wei Cong asked.

"There are about two hundred people, all gathered at the village entrance, waiting for people from various villages to claim them!"

"We can't just let them take him away like this!" Wei Cong said, "Bring him back first, then have each village send people and agree on a time. We should hold a grand ceremony. We've gone through so much trouble and shed so much blood to rescue him. We should use this opportunity to establish some rules."

"Yes!" Diwu Deng responded. He hesitated for a moment and asked, "My dear, I remember you once sent people to look for a green gem. I found this in the residence of the elder of this Shan Liao village. Please take a look!" Having said that, he took out a bag and handed it to Wei Cong.

"A green gem?" Wei Cong's heart immediately began to beat violently. He carefully took the pocket and took out a walnut-sized buffalo pendant from it. The pendant was a bright green in color, and its translucent surface had a silky luster.

It's malachite, definitely malachite! Wei Cong took a deep breath and suppressed the excitement in his heart: "Find that elder!"

"He's outside!" Diwudeng was prepared.

A moment later, an old man with gray hair and a deerskin coat walked in, his eyes gleaming with undisguised hatred. Wei Cong didn't bother to talk nonsense. He picked up the pendant and waved it in front of the old man: "Tell me where this stone came from, and you and your family will be free!"

"All my family members died last night!" The old man's Chinese accent was a little strange, but completely understandable.

"Okay!" Wei Cong said a little embarrassedly: "Then if you have any other requests, you can ask for them!"

"Then release everyone in my village!"

Wei Cong laughed. "That's impossible! My soldiers have fought hard, and I can't deprive them of their spoils. And your people in your village brought this upon themselves. If they hadn't attacked my allies, I wouldn't have retaliated against them. Let me offer you a compromise. I'll order the best possible treatment for the captives, giving them food, water, and even medical attention, so that most of them can survive. How about this? After you've witnessed with your own eyes that most of them have safely arrived in my village, you can tell me the origins of the stone! How about this? How's that for me?"

"No, you are treating them as slaves!" The old man shook his head.

"That's right! But they also captured my people as slaves!" Wei Cong laughed, "If you win, you enslave others, and if you lose, you're enslaved. Isn't that fair?"

The old man was speechless for a moment. After a moment, he nodded and said, "Okay, I'll follow your terms, but you must swear an oath!"

(End of this chapter)