Taiheiki

Chapter 78 Confrontation
There were countless jobs available in the market town: innkeeper, straw sandal maker, pack animal hoof repairer, butcher, knife sharpener, carpenter, blacksmith. Even ordinary people without any skills could work as stevedores at the docks, where they could always earn a living. Soon, a market town of over a thousand households grew up on the lakeshore—larger than many southern county towns.

By the standards of the time, most residents of the market town could be said to have lived quite comfortably. Even the laborers who carried goods could enjoy two meals of corn and rice topped with fish soup each day, and even a few drinks on the third and fifth days of the year, something most families with a hundred acres of land could only dream of. The town's artisans and shopkeepers far surpassed them in wealth; most could even afford to dress their wives and daughters in silk. The wealthiest merchants in the market town could even build mansions with high walls and archways to protect their property and families. Commerce generated far more wealth than agriculture, and even the scraps that slipped through were enough to keep ordinary people well fed, and even well fed.

Therefore, when the barbarian bandits appeared, most of the town's residents didn't flee to the General's City on the mountain—they couldn't bear to leave their homes and property, and they knew the small city atop the mountain was too small to accommodate them and their families. More importantly, the town's residents were confident they could defend their homes. The landward side of the town was protected by a vast lake, too shallow for boats to navigate, yet too deep for wading. They dug up the only cobblestone road and built barricades and ramparts. The wealthiest merchants took out their hidden armor and weapons, armed the able-bodied residents, and took shifts to guard the area.

To prevent the bandits from attacking from the water, the residents drove three-meter-long sharp wooden stakes and bamboo into the lakebed. This stranded any enemy boats approaching the docks, making them easy targets for rockets. Thanks to their efforts, after several failed attempts, the bandits, convinced that the town's residents would defend themselves and not attack, simply allocated a portion of their forces to surround them, concentrating their main efforts on the General's Castle on the hilltop.

While temporarily safe, the town's residents faced a new problem: food. The vast majority of residents were non-farmers, relying on purchases for their food. Due to convenient transportation and easy access to food, they didn't tend to hoard large quantities of food at home. With the exception of a few extremely wealthy individuals, the vast majority of residents exhausted their food stores within a month of the siege. To prevent the starving population from resorting to desperate measures, the wealthiest merchants were forced to provide relief, but this came with conditions: young and strong men assigned to guard duty received two liters of rice per day, while the rest of the population struggled for a bowl of thin porridge each morning and evening.

The shortage of food gave rise to the black market. A beautiful copper lamp could only be exchanged for half a liter of peas, and a silk dress could only be exchanged for a piece of Hu cake. Most people lost their fortunes and fought each other for a bite of food, while a few made a fortune, and Lu Ping was one of them.

Lu Ping stepped over a rotting corpse, an arrow piercing its neck. Crows tore the flesh from his face, and wild dogs devoured his entrails. Further ahead, another body, deeply sunk in the mud—or rather, its remains, with only finger bones exposed. He carefully moved his feet, avoiding sinking into the mire. As he drew closer to the agreed location, Lu Ping grew increasingly wary. Although this wasn't their first transaction, no one knew whether the other party would keep their promises.

"Hey!" someone shouted, "If you move any further I'll shoot you!"

Lu Ping stopped and took off the black cloth covering his face, revealing his face: "It's me, your old friend!"

Two men emerged from the bushes ahead. The man behind them held a short bow, fully drawn, ready to shoot. They eyed Lu Ping warily, their gazes relaxed only after confirming his identity. "Don't blame me!" The man in front gestured, signaling his companion to ease the bowstring. "These days, we have to be careful!"

"It's okay!" Lu Ping wrapped himself in the towel again and said with a smile, "Did you bring any food?"

"Of course, as many as you want!" The man said with a smile, "What about you?"

Lu Ping dropped the bag on his shoulder to the ground with a metallic clang. "It's all in here!"

The pocket was opened, revealing various copper utensils, silk, and various household items. The man opposite squatted down and looked through them greedily, complaining, "Why do you only have copper items here? No gold or silver!"

"Because the rich families have their granaries filled to the brim with gold and silver, there's no need to exchange them for food on the black market!" Reuben replied unhappily, "Be content! Copper and silk are good enough, but where's my food?"

"Wait a moment!" The man stood up and gestured. The man behind him with the shortbow whistled. A moment later, more than a dozen armed men emerged from the woods behind and rushed forward. Lu Ping realized that he had fallen into a trap and looked at the man angrily: "You didn't keep your promise!"

"Sorry, someone else offered a higher price!" The man took a step back, picked up his bag, and said to the leader of the group of men behind him, "Sir, this guy is from the market town. He knows a path through the swamp!"

"Very good!" The leading man stared at Lu Ping intently, like a snake staring at a frog, and said, "Tell us the way through the swamp, and I can guarantee the safety of you and your family. In addition, I will reward you with 100 pieces of silk!"

"Bah!" Lu Ping spat fiercely. "You little bastard, I won't sell out this town!"

The man's pupils shrank slightly, and he sneered, "Very good, you've saved me a hundred pieces of silk. Capture him! Beat him mercilessly until he tells the truth!"

The men rushed over, grabbed Lupin's arms, twisted them, pressed their knees against the insides of his knees, forced him to the ground, and began to beat him mercilessly. After a moment, they let go, letting Lupin collapse to the ground like a torn bag.

"Now you know how to answer me, right?" The man grabbed Lu Ping's hair and forced him to raise his head. Lu Ping's swollen cheeks squirmed, and finally he just spat out a mouthful of saliva.

"Very good!" A fierce gleam flashed in the man's eyes. "You are a tough guy. Now I want to see if you can still be so tough after your fingers are cut off. Come on, cut off his fingers one by one, starting with the little one!"

Just as Lu Ping was struggling with all his might, he suddenly heard a few soft noises, followed by rapid screams and the dull thud of a body falling. When he was pulled up from the ground again, he saw a group of men in crimson clothes groping over the body on the ground.

"My name is Diwu Deng. I serve under the captain of the imperial court, and I have been ordered to come and lift the siege of Ba Qiu! Good man, can you hold on?" Diwu Deng looked at the bruised and swollen man in front of him with admiration. He heard the torture just now. He would rather have his fingers cut off than betray the town. There are not many people like him.

"Captain of the Rebellion Suppression? The imperial court has sent reinforcements?" Lu Ping opened his mouth in a daze, almost unable to believe his ears. This couldn't be an illusion, right?

"Hmm? It's still half a day's journey from here!" Diwu Deng smiled and said, "After the spring, the General of Chariots and Cavalry will lead an army of 100,000 to cross the river and wipe out the bandits in one fell swoop!" After hearing Diwu Deng's words, Lu Ping's eyes suddenly flashed with those skinny and yellow faces, the parents who sold the last piece of clothing and even their children in the black market for a bite to eat, and himself who risked the bandits' arrows and traps again and again in exchange for food. He couldn't help but feel sad and suddenly fell to the ground and cried bitterly.

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Han army camp.

"The bandits' camp is here, with a total of about two thousand people. Their main force is used to besiege the fortress on the top of the mountain. There are about five hundred people who surrounded the town by the lake, but they did not attack. Why? Because there is a large swamp next to the town, which is difficult to pass through! The two enemy forces are about seven or eight miles apart, and the road is very poor, with trees and bushes on both sides!" Diwu Deng answered Wei Cong's questions while gesturing on the sand table.

"The situation is better than we thought!" Wei Cong laughed. "I didn't expect the residents of the market town to retreat to the mountains. This will force the bandits to disperse their forces!"

"Yes!" Zhao Yannian said with a smile, "We can attack one place first, and then attack another! My dear, where do you plan to attack first?"

"Of course it's the enemy troops near the market town! Most of the soldiers are new recruits, and this is their first battle. We must win, so we naturally have to attack the weak. As long as we lift the siege of the market town, the defenders of the mountain city are on the high ground. When they see the reinforcements arrive, they will also take action. This way, our chances of victory will be much greater!"

Wei Cong's words were met with a chorus of approval. The veterans in the tent immediately saw the merit of this plan. The rebels certainly had a significant numerical advantage, but if they could defeat their detachments and break the siege of the town, Wei Cong would have secured a virtually impenetrable base, effectively placing him in an invincible position. He could use beacons or flags to communicate with the defenders of the mountain fortress at the top of Baqiu, attacking the rebels from both inside and outside simultaneously. The best outcome for the rebels would then be a safe retreat.

"Our biggest advantage is that the rebels probably don't know of our existence yet!" Wei Cong said, "But this advantage could be lost at any time, so we should act quickly! Temperature rise!"

"Here!" Wen Sheng stood up.

"At dawn tomorrow, you will lead 200 people from Youqu and set out, hiding on both sides of the road!" Wei Cong pointed his finger at a spot on the sand table, which was the road connecting the two rebel camps. "If the rebels have reinforcements, you can give them a surprise!"

"Yes!" Wen Sheng replied.

"I'll command the rest of the troops. We'll set out an hour later than Wen Sheng, advancing both by land and sea!" Having said this, Wei Cong waved his arms violently: "We'll wipe out the rebels in one fell swoop!"

The next day, just after 1:00 PM, Wei Cong heard the sound of trumpets in the distance. He knew he had been spotted by enemy scouts. He raised his right arm and said, "Order all soldiers to put on their armor, form a horizontal formation, and advance with drums beating!"

To the rhythmic beat of drums, under the banner "Suppressing the Rebellion Captain Wei," Wei Cong's troops deployed in two curves on either side of the road and began advancing. The left curve, wearing crimson armor, had twice as many soldiers as the right curve, wearing plain armor. While the width of the left and right lines was the same, the depth of the formation was also twice that of the right curve. Wei Cong planned to concentrate his forces to crush the enemy's right flank, then circle around to the rear of the left and drive it into the swamp.

"The government troops are coming, the government troops are coming, quickly line up, quickly line up!"

The rebel scouts' cries shattered the stillness of the camp. Although it was daytime, the rebel leader was startled awake from his sleep. He broke free from the woman's arms, climbed from the blanket he had snatched, and stumbled out of the tent. He grabbed his sword and tightened his belt as he ran. In the open space in the center of the camp, the officers beat their men's heads and ribs with their fists and scabbards, driving them back into the ranks. He kicked the sleepy guard hard: "Bring me my armor, and hurry!"

His lieutenant ran out from behind the tent, fully dressed. "What happened?" the leader asked loudly.

"The government reinforcements have arrived!" the deputy general said. "They've gotten there first, less than a mile to the north of us, and have already formed their battle array!"

Woooooooo!
The shrill sound of the trumpet hovered over the rebel camp, as if shouting urging.

"Lead the prepared men to hold the front! Also, send for reinforcements from the old camp!" The rebel leader barked orders as he accepted the shoes delivered by his personal guard. Though somewhat surprised, he remained unfazed. Barbarian life was filled with danger and battle. A water source, a hunting ground, a fertile valley, a trade route, even a few women, dozens of rolls of silk—in the barren mountains and forests, any valuable item could become the catalyst for war. He knew well that an army was like a flock of sheep; if the leader stayed still, the flock would quickly settle down. He even deliberately slowed down while donning his armor, so his men could see that their leader was not in the least afraid of the approaching enemy.

The blasts of the horns grew more urgent, and the barbarians took up their spears and formed into small phalanxes according to their clans. Due to the rush of time, many of the phalanxes blocked and collided with each other, causing waves of curses. However, the clan leaders' scolding prevented the quarrels and curses from turning into fights. The rebel leader finally put on his armor, picked up his weapon—a two-handed axe, and stepped forward.

Before the rebels, Wei Cong's army was like a slowly opening red and white camellia, its steel petals gleaming sharp in the sunlight. Nie Sheng proudly held high the banner that read "Suppress the Rebellion Captain Wei" and stood close to Wei Cong.

(End of this chapter)