Chinese Generals Summoning System

Chapter 7: A Bountiful Haul

The two bandit cavalrymen charging toward Liu Pi and his men closed the distance in the blink of an eye. The fleeing bandit foot soldiers, seeing their two leaders charging on horseback, halted their retreat and turned around, hoping the two leaders would avenge their fallen comrades—after all, cavalry held a massive advantage over infantry. However, the outcome came as a huge surprise to the bandits who had gathered to watch the spectacle. As one horseman closed in on Liu Pi, he used his horse’s momentum to swing his broadsword down at Liu Pi’s head. Liu Pi parried the blow with his long sword, violently knocking the bandit off his horse. Immediately, Liu Pi bellowed, “Charge!” Seizing the momentum, he struck down the bandit with a single decisive blow, killing him instantly. Another bandit cavalryman went head-to-head with Liu Tie but didn’t gain the upper hand either. Liu Tie didn’t try to clash with him head-on; as the bandit charged, he darted to the side to avoid a direct hit and, in the same motion, slashed the bandit’s leg. Upon seeing the gruesome fate of his comrade, the bandit’s face turned pale. Without hesitation, he turned his horse away from Liu Tie, as well as Liu Hao and Liu Pi standing nearby, and fled in panic back the way he had come. The bandit foot soldiers who had been watching the spectacle, seeing that one of their leaders was dead and the other had fled, immediately turned and began running frantically once more. This time, they didn’t even dare to look back. A wise man knows when to cut his losses—this group of disaster-stricken refugees was too ferocious for their vanguard to handle. But their main force was right behind them; it wouldn’t be too late to come back and settle the score later! “Don’t chase a desperate enemy! Phew—Brother Liu Pi, you’re incredibly fierce! Phew—with martial skills like that, you’d at least be a Deputy General in the army!” Liu Hao said, panting as he looked at Liu Pi, though his face was lit up with wild joy. By then, Liu Pi had already reined in the warhorse that had lost its rider. With a smile on his face, he said, “Master Liu, you flatter me. Your martial skills and those of Manager Liu aren’t half bad either! We’ve even had an unexpected windfall this time—this warhorse is quite a fine one.” Standing nearby, Liu Tie said in a somber tone, “Master, Zhang Erga and the others are all gone.” Earlier, during the skirmish with the bandits on the hillside, Liu Bi, Liu Hao, and Liu Tie had fought with extraordinary bravery, forcing the bandits—who outnumbered them several times over—to flee in disarray. However, the other three able-bodied men among the disaster refugees lacked the martial skills of Liu Bi and his companions and were all hacked to death by the overwhelming number of bandits. The three men managed to take down only one bandit, while another had already been killed earlier by an arrow fired by a bandit archer. Liu Hao gave a bitter smile and said, “In times like these, when will it ever end?” Heart-wrenching wails were already echoing up from the hillside. The wives and children of the four men, upon seeing their husbands’ corpses, were overcome with grief and began to wail uncontrollably. Meanwhile, Liu Ji, holding his younger sister Liu Niuniu in his arms, walked down the hillside with a sorrowful expression. He kept his hand over her eyes so she wouldn’t see the corpses strewn across the ground. Before descending the hillside, Liu Ji had kicked each corpse in turn—friend or foe—collecting 20 Soul Points. Yet there was no trace of joy on his face; after all, all four people he knew had died in an instant. On the hillside, Liu Pi had shot and killed five bandits; during the ensuing battle, another 11 bandits were slain. On Liu Ji’s side, four able-bodied men had also died—exactly enough for Liu Ji to collect 20 Soul Points. Liu Ji didn’t know if people could be reincarnated or if collecting Soul Points would affect that, but even if it did, he wouldn’t hesitate to collect them—unless the person was someone close to him. In that case, he might forgo collecting Soul Points. But as for this one lifeline for survival in such chaotic times, Liu Ji was determined to cling to it at all costs! After all, the system had made it clear that Soul Points were not a person’s actual soul, so he felt no guilt about collecting them. Liu Ji carried his younger sister down the mountain. First, he walked over to the corpse of the headless knight, kicked the body with his foot, and added another point of Soul Value to his total, bringing his current total to 26 points. “Dad, Uncle Tie, Liu Pi—are you all okay?” Liu Ji asked with concern. Liu Hao and the other two shook their heads. Liu Hao patted Liu Ji on the shoulder and said with admiration, “You really are the son of Liu Hao—you’ve got guts! Not bad, not bad at all!” Liu Ji rubbed his nose and said somewhat sheepishly, “Father, it looks like I’ll have to learn some martial arts from now on. Otherwise, I’ll just be stuck in the back cheering you on—that’s really pretty pathetic.” Liu Hao nodded. “You really do need to learn some martial arts—these are such turbulent times! Brother Liu Pi’s skills are better than both your father’s and Uncle Tie’s. Once we get to Qi County, have Brother Liu Pi teach you a few moves. Also, you’re a bit frail, so you need to work on your strength.” Liu Hao continued, “Everyone, pack up and let’s get out of here as soon as possible. I’m worried this group—whether they’re bandits or marauders—might have reinforcements. Old Tie, have the women help clean up the battlefield.” Soon the spoils of war were accounted for. Aside from a very valuable warhorse, they had seized 15 inferior iron swords and one decent-quality steel sword, which even came with a scabbard. Additionally, five of the inferior iron swords had been cleaved in half by Liu Pi’s long sword. The steel sword belonged to that bandit cavalryman; when it clashed with Liu Pi’s long sword, it was forced to chip off a notch the size of a peanut, but it was still far superior to those inferior iron swords. Liu Hao tossed the long sword and its scabbard directly to Liu Ji; the waist swords held by Liu Hao and Liu Tie were of no lesser quality than this steel sword. Liu Ji took the steel sword and immediately strapped the scabbard to his hip. Gripping the blade with both hands, he swung it back and forth. For Liu Ji at this stage, the sword was still a bit too heavy; he had to hold it with both hands to wield it effectively. Liu Hao, Liu Tie, and Liu Pi were all skilled horsemen, but the warhorse wasn’t assigned to any one of them. Liu Hao simply instructed Liu Pi to ride ahead and scout the path. They had also stripped a set of double-layered cowhide armor and an iron helmet from one of the bandit cavalrymen; the other dead bandits were not wearing any armor at all, only tattered cotton garments. After Liu Tie graciously offered them to him, Liu Hao donned the cowhide armor and iron helmet. Together, the leather armor and helmet weighed over ten jin. Given Liu Ji’s small frame, he would likely be unable to walk after wearing them for even a short while; otherwise, Liu Hao would certainly have given this set to his beloved son. They captured four bows, all “wudou” bows with a range barely reaching sixty bu—a far cry from Liu Bi’s “yishi” bow, which had a range exceeding one hundred bu. One shi equals 120 jin of draw weight, while a wudou bow has only 60 jin; here, “range” refers to the distance within which the arrow remains lethal. When Liu Hao and Liu Tie were in the army, they had both learned archery, though their skills could only be considered average. After seizing the four five-dou bows, Liu Hao and Liu Tie each selected one that was in relatively good condition and slung them over their shoulders. Liu Hao also picked one out for Liu Ji, intending for him to learn archery from Liu Pi in the future. Liu Hao had come to realize that in such turbulent times, the books his son had been reading were of no use whatsoever; it was far more practical to wield a sword or a bow. Liu Ji took the wudou bow assigned to him and pulled it back with all his might, but he could only barely draw it a little over halfway. He could only shake his head with a wry smile—his physique was simply too weak. Liu Hao and his men also found over a dozen liang of silver and a large pile of copper coins; the copper coins alone were worth two or three liang of silver. Liu Hao immediately distributed the copper coins among the 11 women—the family members of the four men who had just fallen in battle—and gave each family an extra liang of silver. With about 10 liang of silver remaining, Liu Hao didn’t hesitate and had Liu Tie put it away right away. In fact, although Liu Hao’s family was fleeing as refugees, they still possessed the resources typical of a small landowning family. In Liu Ji’s cotton coat alone, there were 10 gold nuggets sewn into the lining, weighing a total of 2 liang. Based on the Great Jin Dynasty’s exchange rate of 20 times the value of silver, this was equivalent to 40 liang of silver—enough to purchase two mu of prime paddy fields in Wanzhou during times of peace. Liu Hao and Liu Tie were carrying even more gold nuggets. Each woman was also given a poor-quality iron knife. In such turbulent times, if women wanted to protect themselves and their children—especially when their husbands were already dead—they had no choice but to grit their teeth, take up the knife, and fight for their lives. The four bandits wounded by Liu Pi ultimately met their end at the hands of the women, who vented all the grief over their family members’ deaths upon the four injured bandits. After the four wounded bandits died, Liu Ji, filled with righteous indignation, ran over and kicked each corpse once, adding another 4 Soul Points to his total, bringing it to 30. Liu Tie looked at the group of women and children, walked over to Liu Hao, and said in a low voice, “Master, these women and children are now a burden. For the sake of the young master and the young lady, shouldn’t we take the initiative to leave?” Liu Hao hesitated for a moment, then shook his head and said, “After all, they’re our fellow villagers. If we just abandon them like this, I’ll never have peace of mind for the rest of my life! We’re less than two days’ journey from Yongzhou now, and I’ve heard the situation there is much better than here in Wan Zhou. Once we’ve escorted these women and children into Yongzhou, we’ll wash our hands of them—that will be the height of our duty and compassion.” After gathering the spoils of war, Liu Hao was just about to have his men dig a few shallow graves to bury the able-bodied men who had died during the flight when Liu Pi, who had ridden ahead to scout the area, galloped back at full speed. After reining in his horse before Liu Hao and the others, Liu Pi said anxiously, “Trouble! A group of cavalry has suddenly appeared ahead—at least a hundred riders. Judging by their attire, they’re likely part of the same band of bandits we encountered earlier. We’re absolutely no match for them; we must leave immediately!” No sooner had Liu Pi finished speaking than Liu Hao, Liu Ji, and Liu Tie felt the ground tremble slightly, and their faces instantly turned pale.