Chinese Generals Summoning System

Chapter 38: The Bandits of Weihu Fortress

After traveling for a little over a day within Gong County, Liu Ji’s party entered the mountainous region bordering Yongzhou and Wan Zhou. Liu Ji immediately dispatched You Tong and Gong Dui to scout ahead; after all, this mountainous area was teeming with bandits, and since they were carrying more than twenty cartloads of grain, they were likely to become targets for the bandits. As long as they weren’t facing a large band of bandits, Liu Ji wasn’t overly concerned given the forces at his disposal. In fact, he could use this opportunity to train his troops in real combat against smaller bands of bandits. However, Liu Ji had no intention of blindly walking into a bandit ambush; if that happened, even if he managed to wipe out all the bandits with the help of his eight military commanders, his own losses would undoubtedly be staggering. At present, Liu Ji had only 150 soldiers who had undergone a few days of training; he could not afford to suffer significant losses. You Tong and Gong Du, each riding a warhorse, led the column from the front, maintaining a distance of less than 200 paces. The mountain path was flanked on both sides by rugged, barren peaks. Suddenly, You Tong furrowed his brow. He urged his horse closer to Gong Du and whispered a few words to him. Gong Du glanced at the barren mountains in the distance on both sides, then immediately turned his horse and rode back toward the rear of the column, while You Tong reined in his horse, coming to a halt in the middle of the mountain path and raising his double-edged sword. “Third-in-Command, have those two horsemen up ahead caught on? Why did they stop?” On a mountainside about a hundred paces away from You Tong, a bandit leader whispered to Zhang Xiong, the Third-in-Command of Weihu Fortress. Beside Zhang Xiong and this bandit leader, at least 200 bandits from Weihu Fortress lay in ambush. Zhang Xiong, the Third-in-Command of Weihu Fortress, saw that Gong Du had ridden his warhorse back to the convoy at the rear. The convoy immediately came to a halt, and the soldiers escorting the wagons began to regroup at the front. He immediately stood up and shouted to the bandits around him, “Men, follow me down the mountain! Don’t let this fat sheep get away!” No sooner had Zhang Xiong finished speaking than nearly 200 bandits sprang up from the tall grass with a roar, following the Third-in-Command as they charged down the mountain, shouting in unison. Meanwhile, on the barren mountain opposite, nearly 200 more bandits suddenly emerged and, led by a bandit chieftain, charged down the slope. The bandits from both barren mountains converged on the mountain path and, led by the two bandit leaders, charged rapidly toward the convoy. You Tong, who had been scouting ahead, suddenly noticed a glint on the barren mountain ahead—likely sunlight reflecting off weapons—and immediately realized they might have encountered bandits. He promptly ordered Gong Du to return and report to Liu Ji. Once the bandits had fully revealed themselves, You Tong turned his horse around and retreated to the convoy at the rear. The 150 soldiers were divided into three squads, all temporarily under the command of Yue Yi. Upon learning of a possible bandit ambush ahead, Yue Yi immediately ordered two squads to move to the front of the convoy and form a square formation. The formation consisted of five ranks, each with 20 men—composed of two smaller squads combined. If separated, each smaller squad would still consist of five ranks, though with only 10 men per rank. The soldiers in the front row were clad in leather armor, wore iron helmets, and carried steel swords and round wooden shields covered in cowhide. The soldiers in the second row had only steel swords and cowhide-covered wooden shields, while the three rows behind them were armed with nothing more than a wooden-shafted spear. This armament was entirely due to the fact that Liu Ji had only this limited supply at his disposal—all of it pooled from various families in Qi County—which was barely enough to arm all 150 combatants. The remaining auxiliary troops had to go unarmed; had the majority of Qi County’s soldiers not voluntarily left, the situation would have been even worse. Yue Yi had another squad of soldiers spread out on either side of the convoy to guard against bandits launching surprise attacks from the flanks. The five generals who had warhorses—Hua Xiong, Yue Yi, You Tong, Liu Pi, and Gong Du—lined up in a single file on horseback at the front of the square formation, while Liu Ji, accompanied by Chen Hao and Cheng Yi, stood behind the formation. Han Tao was left within the convoy to lead the other squad of combat troops and several dozen auxiliary soldiers. When the two bandit leaders saw the convoy’s escorts suddenly form a square formation, they both looked taken aback. Immediately, the two bandit leaders slowed their pace in unison, and then the Third-in-Command, Zhang Xiong, signaled the nearly 400 bandits behind him to halt. “Fourth Brother, looks like we’ve run into some tough opponents!” “Third Brother, we’re running low on grain back at the stronghold, and we’ve already raided every village in the vicinity. We’ve finally found a fat sheep—we can’t let this one get away!” Hearing Fourth-in-Command Li Qing’s words, Third-in-Command Zhang Xiong hesitated for a moment, then turned to one of the bandit leaders and said, “Send a few men to bring out my horse and Fourth-in-Command Li Qing’s. It looks like we’re in for a tough battle today!” Then Zhang Xiong turned to Fourth-in-Command Li Qing and said, “Fourth Brother, have the men fall into formation. In a moment, we brothers will go up first to test the waters—are these guys all talk and no action? We can’t let them intimidate our Weihu Fortress!” A moment later, several bandit henchmen led the two warhorses over. Third-in-Command Zhang Xiong and Fourth-in-Command Li Qing both mounted their horses and, leading a relatively well-organized force of nearly 400 bandits, slowly advanced toward Hua Xiong and his men. “Listen up, you people up ahead! I am Zhang Xiong, the Third Chief of Weihu Fort, known as the Red Cloud Tiger. The man beside me is Li Qing, the Fourth Chief of Weihu Fort, known as the Flying Sky Tiger. If you know what’s good for you, leave the wagons and provisions behind—otherwise, we’ll kill you and leave your bodies to rot!” Zhang Xiong roared from atop his warhorse. In fact, it wasn’t until he got closer that Zhang Xiong could clearly see that the five generals—Hua Xiong, Yue Yi, You Tong, Liu Pi, and Gong Du—were clad head to toe in exquisitely crafted iron armor. He couldn’t help but feel a twinge of hesitation; armor of such fine workmanship was certainly not something just anyone could possess, and the iron armor Zhang Xiong wore himself paled in comparison. However, at this point, Zhang Xiong found himself in a stalemate. He couldn’t very well retreat in disgrace—that would severely tarnish the reputation of Weihu Fort. Furthermore, Zhang Xiong still had some confidence in his own martial arts skills and those of the Fourth Leader, Li Qing, and his side held the advantage in numbers. Yue Yi urged his horse forward a few paces and bellowed, “We are troops from Qi County, Changping Commandery, Yongzhou, heading to Qianzhou to garrison the border. We implore you, Chief, to show some leniency and clear the way!” At that moment, Fourth-in-Command Li Qing shouted, “‘Going to guard the border in Qianzhou at a time like this is no different from courting death. In my opinion, you’d be better off joining our Weihu Fortress. You must know that within a hundred-li radius of these mountains, our Weihu Fortress is considered one of the top mountain strongholds. Once you’re up here, we’ll all drink from big bowls and eat meat by the chunk—wouldn’t that be a joy? Why risk your lives at the border in Qianzhou?’ Yue Yi shook his head and said loudly, “We appreciate the chief’s kind offer, but we have compelling reasons to go to Qianzhou to guard the border. To avoid a military confrontation, we ask the two chiefs to be accommodating.” Third-in-Command Zhang Xiong shouted, “No matter who you are, as long as you leave your wagons and provisions behind, you’re free to go wherever you wish to guard the border—Weihu Fort will never stand in your way!” Yue Yi snorted coldly and shouted, “In that case, further words are pointless. Let’s settle this on the battlefield!” No sooner had Yue Yi finished speaking than Gong Du spurred his horse forward to the front lines of both sides. Brandishing his double-edged broadsword, he declared, “I am Gong Du, military commander under Liu Ji of Qi County! Who dares to fight me!”