The Sui Dynasty's chess game

Chapter 776 Thor's Curse
Five days later, 100,000 Sui troops crossed the Tao River and entered Fuhan County. At the same time, Xue Rengao's army was also in Fuhan County. About 40 miles away from the Sui army, Xue Rengao deployed 120,000 troops.

The 100,000 Sui troops included 50,000 troops under Li Jing and 50,000 troops under Luo Shixin. Another 50,000 troops were stationed in Jincheng County as a logistical base for the Sui army. Longxi County and Tianshui County were completely unguarded by Sui troops, and the Sui army did not even set foot in these two counties.

Scout General Wang Jinming led three hundred scouts on horseback near Jinniu Mountain to carry out a secret mission assigned to him by Li Jing.

Three hundred scouts came up the mountain from the south. Led by a guide, they climbed the mountain and, after a difficult day and night, reached the north side of the mountain. Right below them, the camps of the 120,000-strong Western Qin army were densely packed. Although they appeared to be right below them, they were actually a mile away.

The scouts installed catapults made of ox sinew and assembled large fire kites. These fire kites were a new type of firearm, woven from straw, 15 feet long and 8 feet wide. They took off using catapults and were propelled by gunpowder, and could fly up to 3 miles away.

It could carry gunpowder or oil, making it an excellent weapon for fire attacks. Imagine the spectacular scene of releasing five hundred fire kites from three miles away to attack the enemy camp.

But today they do not intend to launch a fire attack on the main camp. Instead, they plan to implement psychological warfare, which was also Wei Xing's suggestion. The people of Longyou are influenced by the Qiang people and are extremely superstitious about the gods. They are especially afraid of thunder and fire from the sky. If they use thunder and fire to intimidate the Western Qin army, it will cause the morale of countless Western Qin soldiers to collapse and produce unexpected results.

The Sui army was ready. The soldiers pulled the first fire kite, lit the fuse, and released the catapult. The fire kite immediately flew out and headed towards the enemy camp. Soon the fire kite caught fire and dropped hundreds of leaflets, which fluttered and scattered across the camp.

The final fate of a fire hawk is to quickly burn to ashes, leaving nothing but black ash falling from the sky—this is the effect of gunpowder.

The Western Qin soldiers emerged from their tents and looked up at the sky, where they saw a large bird ablaze and countless pieces of paper falling down.

Countless soldiers knelt and worshipped the sky, for it was a fire phoenix!

The note read that Xue Rengao had angered the heavens and that a thunder god was about to descend, warning the soldiers to return home immediately after the thunder god's arrival, or they would be cursed by the heavens and bring misfortune upon their entire families.

The slip of paper clearly states the time: the sun sets, and Thor descends.

Although Xue Rengao eventually ordered the confiscation of these scraps of paper, the news spread throughout the entire camp, and everyone was waiting for the moment when the Thunder God would descend.

The Sui soldiers were ready. They hung a fifty-pound iron fire bomb under the belly of a large fire hawk. This iron fire bomb was specially made with a high sulfur content. Its biggest feature was its loud sound, like a firecracker. However, this fifty-pound bomb was much louder than a normal two-hundred-pound iron fire bomb. But the louder the sound, the weaker the power. So its purpose was to deter, and it was called a deterrent bomb.

Just as the sun was setting, two fire kites took off one after the other. Because they were carrying fifty kilograms of weight, the fire kites could only fly for a maximum of two miles. Once they took off, the fire kites started to burn, just like two fire phoenixes soaring in the sky.

Nearly 120,000 soldiers were looking up, including Xue Rengao. When the fire phoenixes reappeared in the sky, all the soldiers shouted with joy. Sure enough, they appeared just as the sun set.

Just then, two black balls fell from the sky. About twenty feet above the camp, the two iron-fire bombs exploded violently. The sound of the explosion was so loud that it shook the heavens and the earth. All the soldiers were so frightened that they knelt on the ground, shouting and crying, and kowtowing desperately.

The sheer power of the thunderclap caused thousands to faint on the spot, and nearly three hundred never woke up again, terrified to death. No one could conceive of any other reason besides the power of the Thunder God; it was completely beyond the comprehension of the Western Qin soldiers.

Even Xue Rengao was terrified. There were no Sui soldiers around, and suddenly it exploded in the sky. Had he really angered the heavens?
As night fell, the curse of Thor began to manifest, and a massive exodus of soldiers broke out, which could not be stopped. In reality, apart from Xue Rengao's confidants who were trying to stop them, the other generals were just pretending, and no one dared to actually intercept them. What if they angered Thor?
Overnight, 90,000 of the 120,000-strong army fled, leaving only 30,000 men directly under Xue Rengao. This battle made Li Jing famous, as he wiped out most of the 120,000 enemy troops without losing a single soldier, leaving only 30,000.

Xue Rengao was terrified. Before dawn, he led his 30,000 troops in a hasty retreat south towards Lintao County. He only took half of the 20,000 shi of grain, abandoning the other half along with the camps, handing it all over to the Sui army.

The following morning, senior generals such as Li Jing and Luo Shixin arrived at the enemy camp, which was completely empty. Sui soldiers began dismantling the tents and collecting items.

This time, unlike the disastrous escape, it was a spontaneous escape. Almost all the fleeing soldiers took their belongings with them, so the tents were completely empty after being dismantled.

They even took the weapons with them. The weapons were made of iron, and iron could be exchanged for sheep from the Qiang people.

Luo Shixin sighed deeply, "I came all this way, thinking I could have a good fight, but alas!"

Li Jing smiled slightly, "A skilled warrior achieves victory without illustrious feats!"

Luo Shixin shook his head. "We can think of it that way, but what about the subordinate generals? Everyone is eagerly waiting to fight and make merits, but the opportunities are getting fewer and fewer, and there is basically not much hope left."

“There will definitely be opportunities. After the civil war ends, the next step will be to expand our territory, and we will all have a chance.”

"Li Gong is right, expanding territory is indeed a great opportunity."

At this moment, a scout reported, "The enemy has retreated 30,000 troops towards Lintao County, and Xiping County has been abandoned."

Li Jing nodded and said to Luo Shixin, "I'm going to Xiping County to handle the aftermath. I'll leave Lintao County to you, General. I estimate that Xue Rengao wants to flee to Hanzhong, but Qiu Xinggong has already taken Lintao County and blocked the enemy's only way to Hanzhong. You can annihilate Xue Rengao's army on the north bank of Lintao."

Luo Shixin was overjoyed. Li Jing had finally conceded the final battle to him. He bid farewell to Li Jing and led his 50,000-strong army to march towards Lintao County.

Li Jing continued to lead his army westward into Xiping County. For him, the domestic war was over, and how to soothe the wounds of Longyou became his task. Li Jing had been appointed by the emperor as the Pacification Commissioner of Longyou.

Of course, they left a fishhook behind, but it remains to be seen whether Longxi County and Tianshui County can catch the big fish that is the Tang King's army.

(End of this chapter)