Volume One, Chapter Twenty-Nine: Chen Daogong Reins in His Horse and Berates Wei

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Wei Yaksha led his followers—roughly one or two hundred men—and pursued Chen Daogong relentlessly.

Of Fei Junzhong’s followers, a small portion carried Fei Junzhong back toward the lines, while the rest turned around and followed Wei Yaksha in pursuit of Chen Daogong.

Wei Yaksha’s men, together with the followers of Fei Junzhong, numbered more than three hundred. Opposing them were only Chen Daogong on horseback and some fifty foot soldiers retreating with him. Their own numbers far exceeded the enemy’s, and the enemy was “fleeing.” Thus, amid the Wagang ranks, where the cheering had only just died down, the shouts of those supporting the battle once more rose to shake the heavens.

Within Li Shandao’s contingent, however, Wang Xuda’s expression changed just as Xu Shiji’s had, and he blurted out, “This is bad! We have fallen into a trap!”

“What do you mean?” Luo Zhong asked.

“Chen Daogong is pretending to retreat. This is a ploy to lure the enemy in. I studied this tactic when I was in the military headquarters. If my guess is right, once Wei the Commander draws near, Luo Shixin will first order the infantry to loose their arrows, then send out his crack troops to strike from behind.”

He had guessed correctly again.

Just as Wei Yaksha’s men were about to enter the shooting range of the opposing government army, the archers and crossbowmen among the five or six hundred foot soldiers drew their bows and loosed a volley.

Few of Wei Yaksha’s and Fei Junzhong’s followers wore armor. Within moments, several men had been struck by arrows and bolts.

Wei Yaksha himself was armored. Relying on the protection of his armor, he felt no fear and did not slow his charge.

Li Shandao saw him rushing forward on foot with his spear tucked beneath his arm, batting aside the incoming shafts as he bounded through the rain of arrows. Though worried for his safety, he could not help praising him: “What a reckless little devil, utterly unafraid of death!”

From Luo Shixin’s formation, a company of infantry advanced from the right. Immediately after two volleys of arrows had been loosed, they charged Wei Yaksha and his men in a wedge formation.

The fifty-odd foot soldiers who had been “fleeing” now halted their “retreat,” turned around, and resumed the fight. Yet they did not meet Wei Yaksha’s men head-on. Instead, they swung around to their left.

Even without Wang Xuda explaining it, Luo Zhong could see that these fifty or so foot soldiers were clearly coordinating with the hundred infantrymen who had just advanced, preparing to pinch Wei Yaksha’s force from both sides.

“Oh no!” Luo Zhong cried. “They’re about to be attacked from both sides! Why doesn’t Commander Wei withdraw?”

By then, there was no chance to retreat. If they withdrew at that moment, the hundred and fifty enemy soldiers advancing from the front and circling around the flank would certainly pursue them, and Wei Yaksha’s force, together with Fei Junzhong’s followers, would suffer heavy casualties.

Wei Yaksha may have realized this. Or perhaps his blood was simply up and the word “retreat” never entered his mind. Whatever the reason, the good Wei Yaksha did not fall back. Instead, he fought. Sweeping his long spear outward, he knocked aside the spears thrust at him by several government soldiers who had charged ahead of the others and were already close at hand. Then he shouted, “Luo, you little cur! I am Wei Yaksha, the trusted man of Shan Erlang! Don’t hide behind your shell—come and fight me!”

A curse rang out: “What kind of thieving mongrel are you, that you think you worthy of being slain by Lord Luo? You’d only sully his great spear!”

Chen Daogong had turned his horse around and come back. Not only had he returned, but another dozen or so light cavalry had ridden out from Luo Shixin’s formation to join him. Following closely behind Chen Daogong, they did not close for hand-to-hand combat. Instead, they wheeled around the two or three hundred men surrounding Wei Yaksha, now to the rear, now to the right, raising clouds of dust as they circled and shot arrows at them from a distance.

Wei Yaksha was beside himself with rage and wanted to kill Chen Daogong, but he was on foot—how could he catch a mounted man? Besides, most of the hundred government soldiers who had charged from the formation had already reached him. Spear after sharp spear thrust forward. Before his eyes was nothing but a forest of enemy points, leaving him no leisure to concern himself with Chen Daogong.

The two forces met in a clash of blades. Shouts and battle cries filled the air as blood sprayed in every direction and the fierce struggle raged on.

…

Before the Wagang formation, Shan Xiongxin, Xu Shiji, and the others watched the battle intently.

It was plain that Wei Yaksha and his men had fallen into an encirclement. A hundred of Luo’s infantry blocked them in front, while the fifty infantrymen who had circled around pressed in from the left. The two groups attacked from the front and flank, while a dozen or so light horsemen harassed them with arrows from the right and rear.

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Although the enemy force was far smaller than Wei Yaksha’s—only about half as large—the situation in the battle was nevertheless highly unfavorable to Wei Yaksha. Before long, more than a dozen of his men and Fei Junzhong’s followers had already been killed or wounded.

Shan Xiongxin called for his great spear, seized it, and was about to mount his horse.

Quick-eyed and quick-handed, Xu Shiji caught hold of him. “Brother, do not be hasty!”

“How can I not be? Erlang, Yaksha is surrounded by the enemy and already in grave danger!”

“You are the commander in chief. Luo Shixin has not yet entered the fray. How can you move before he does? Let us wait a little longer. Once Luo Shixin shows himself, it will not be too late for you to ride out and fight.”

“I cannot simply sit here and watch Yaksha die!”

A man stepped out from nearby. Seven feet tall, with a body like an iron tower, round glaring eyes, and a bristling beard, it was Cai Jiande.

“What need is there for the Young Lord to trouble himself over a hundred or so bandits?” he said. “I am willing to go and bring Lord Wei back.”

Xu Shiji was delighted. “Excellent! With you going to his rescue, Yaksha will surely be safe.” He asked, “How many men do you wish to take?”

“I need no soldiers assigned to me. My own retainers will be enough.”

Cai Jiande had brought thirty or forty retainers with him. Some were followers of Li Mi, but most were men from Wang Bodang’s stronghold.

“Very well,” Xu Shiji said. “Take your retainers into battle first. I will immediately arrange additional troops to support you.”

Cai Jiande gave his assent, summoned the several dozen retainers he had brought, took up his spear, mounted his horse, and rode out to rescue Wei Yaksha.

Meanwhile, Xu Shiji waved his command banner and summoned the various leaders scattered throughout the formation.

On the road to Weicheng, Xu Shiji had thoughtfully agreed with the leaders on a system of signals. Different directions and numbers of waves of the command banner corresponded to different orders. From before Li Shandao’s contingent, Li Shandao saw Xu Shiji wave the banner three times from side to side. He knew that Xu Shiji was summoning the commanders to him, so he quickly leapt down from his horse and went toward the banner.

Wang Xuda caught up with him and seized his arm.

“Elder Brother Xu has summoned us,” Li Shandao said. “Third Brother, why are you holding me back?”

“There is something I dare to report to the Young Lord.”

“What is it?”

Wang Xuda glanced toward the nearby followers in the formation, lowered his voice, and advised him, “Commander Wei was lightly armed and has fallen into an ambush. Elder Brother Xu has summoned us almost certainly to choose a commander to ride out and bring him back. Young Lord, Luo Shixin’s reputation is well deserved—he truly knows how to fight. Before he has even taken the field, Chen Daogong alone has wounded Commander Fei and trapped Commander Wei. He is formidable indeed. And look at Luo’s troops and equipment: most of the infantry wear armor, and there are more than a hundred armored cavalrymen. We are simply no match for them. In my humble opinion, when Elder Brother Xu chooses a commander, you must not volunteer for the battle.”

Li Shandao glanced at him, pulled free the sleeve of his armor from Wang Xuda’s grasp, and said, “You need say no more. I have made up my mind.”

Passing along the front of the formation, he soon reached the command banner of Shan Xiongxin and Xu Shiji.

Most of the leaders had already answered the summons. After greeting them with clasped hands, Li Shandao took his place among the crowd.

Once all the leaders had arrived, Xu Shiji watched the state of the battlefield and said, “We originally planned to lure Luo Shixin into a trap and capture him. Unexpectedly, before our plan could even be carried out, we fell into Luo Shixin’s trap instead. Third Brother Fei is grievously wounded and unconscious, while Yaksha is now surrounded. Brother Cai has gone to rescue him, but most of Luo Shixin’s forces have yet to move. We cannot fail to send further reinforcements. Which of you is willing to lead men out and support Brother Cai and Yaksha?”

Fei Junzhong and Wei Yaksha were Shan Xiongxin’s right- and left-hand men, famed as fierce warriors. Yet one had been thrown from his horse and gravely wounded at the very first clash, while the other had been surrounded as soon as he entered battle. The remaining commanders were all shaken. They looked at one another, but no one dared answer.

At that moment, Li Shandao felt as though two forces were warring within his mind. One urged him to volunteer and win great merit. But Wang Xuda’s warning was not without reason: Luo Shixin’s men were regular government troops, nothing like the rabble led by Zhang Iron-Fork. If he took his own company into battle, he feared he would be no more than a meat bun thrown to a dog—gone forever, with no return.

Again and again the impulse to volunteer rose within him, and again and again the heavy hand of reason forced it down.

He ground his teeth and cursed under his breath.

“People say that wealth and honor are found amid danger. How can I hope to rise above the rest while lacking the courage to shoulder responsibility? It is only a rescue mission. Once we bring them out, we retreat at once. A mile or two is hardly any distance, and I am armored. Surely I can make it back. Besides, my friendship with Elder Brother Xu is not ordinary. He would never sit by and watch me fall into desperate danger without coming to my aid. Damn it—precisely because the others are afraid, this is my chance to show my valor!”

He threw caution to the winds, stepped forward, and was about to volunteer.

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Someone else beat him to it.

That man spoke in a deep voice: “Elder Brother, I will take some followers and go bring Yaksha back.”

His name was Nie Black Otter. He belonged to Xu Shiji’s household and was the servant called Black Otter—the same man who had escorted Xu Gai and the others into the mountains.

Xu Shiji said, “Good. I will assign you a hundred crack soldiers. Set out at once. Remember: do not become entangled in a prolonged fight. Reach Yaksha, take him in hand, and return immediately.”

Nie Black Otter agreed, selected a hundred crack soldiers, and rode out of the formation.

Watching him lead his men away, Li Shandao felt a weight lift from his heart. Sweat dripped to the corner of his mouth. He did not know whether it came from the heat or from the tension he had just endured. He wiped it away absently, his eyes following Nie Black Otter and the others as he wondered inwardly:

“Can Cai Jiande bring Yaksha back? Can Nie Black Otter take over from them both? If not, then damn it, I will volunteer after all!”

Cai Jiande had already led his retainers to the battle between Wei Yaksha’s men and Luo’s troops.

His height and massive build made him impossible to overlook. Chen Daogong had noticed him the moment he rode out. When he saw Cai Jiande approaching, he said nothing, merely took up the fresh spear he had changed to and, using the dust raised by the dozen or so circling horsemen as cover, sent his mount flashing like lightning straight toward Cai Jiande’s horse from the side.

When he drew near, he gave a violent shout of “Take this!” and thrust his eighteen-foot spear with all his strength at Cai Jiande’s neck, hoping to repeat his sudden strike and cut down another commander.

But Cai Jiande had been watching for him. He bent low and avoided the thrust, then reversed his grip and stabbed at Chen Daogong’s chest and belly.

Chen Daogong’s spear had already completed its momentum. If he tried to draw it back, Cai Jiande’s spear would certainly strike him. In that instant, he adapted to the situation, released his weapon, and flung his body backward, narrowly avoiding the thrust.

“What a vicious bastard!” he cursed, wheeling his horse away.

Cai Jiande did not pursue him. Taking advantage of the momentum with which he had driven Chen Daogong off, he spurred his horse forward and swung his spear. First he beat back the fifty-odd government soldiers attacking Wei Yaksha from the left, then he drove back the hundred men assaulting them from the front as well. Finally he rode up beside Wei Yaksha and shouted, “Elder Brother Xu orders you to return to the formation!”

With his spear at the ready, he escorted Wei Yaksha and his men back toward their own lines.

Seeing them withdraw, Chen Daogong galloped after them. He halted at a distance, pointed at them, and cursed, “You condemned thieves! Spineless rats! You outnumber us and still dare not fight. Yet you call yourselves heroes of Wagang? You’re a laughingstock! Your father, Chen Daogong, is here. Call me Father, and I may let you go!”

Wei Yaksha was about the same age as Luo Shixin, only sixteen or seventeen. Young and hot-blooded, he was the sort of man who flared at the slightest spark. Hearing the insult, he flew into a rage. How could he continue retreating? He turned and charged back toward Chen Daogong.

Some of his followers stopped where they were, at a loss. The bolder ones, however, followed him back into the fight.

Cai Jiande stared in astonishment, utterly unsure what to do.

From Luo Shixin’s formation came the sound of drums.

Several dozen more light horsemen rode out and joined Chen Daogong. Splitting into two groups, they surrounded Wei Yaksha, Cai Jiande, and the others from both sides.

A foot officer led a hundred armored soldiers out of the formation. Joining with the troops Cai Jiande had scattered, they advanced from the front.

The drums shook the earth. Two or three hundred of Luo Shixin’s infantry and cavalry surrounded the returning fighters, their shouts of slaughter unceasing.

Not far away, the remaining infantry and cavalry in Luo Shixin’s formation raised their spears and cried out in unison, their voices like thunder:

“Kill! Kill! Kill!”

It was nearing noon, and the brilliant sun hung high overhead.

From the reed beds behind the Wagang army, flocks of birds burst into flight in alarm.

Across the open ground on either side of the opposing armies, foxes and rabbits fled in terror through the wild fields.

Shan Xiongxin took up his spear, mounted his horse, and shouted, “Elder Brother Xu, watch me bring Yaksha back and capture that cur Luo!”

He spurred his horse straight ahead.

Xu Shiji could not stop him. Shan Xiongxin, alone with his spear, had already galloped out of the formation.