Jinting Han people

Chapter 150: Meet the Sharpshooter Again (4k)

When Li Ju was entrusted by Xi'an, he initially wanted to refuse. After all, Li Ju was on this trip to escort County Lord Zhang Yu to Chang'an to report on his duties. What did the unrest in Xiayang have to do with him? If Zhang Yu hadn't been ill, they probably wouldn't have stayed in Xiayang.

Now that Zhang Yu is seriously ill, Li Ju, as a subordinate, has the primary responsibility of staying by Zhang Yu's side. If anything unexpected happens to him, it will undoubtedly be a disgrace to Li Ju's career.

Therefore, Li Ju tactfully told Xi An his thoughts, saying, "Li is currently in a low position and I am afraid I cannot leave my post without permission. I hope Xi County Magistrate will forgive me."

Xi An smiled and tried to persuade him again, "Didn't Lord Li just say that he wanted to become a famous general? Our county lord once said that to become a famous general, one must not only have the ambition but also the heart to shoulder the responsibility of the world. Don't you have that desire?"

"County Master Zhang, I'll take care of you here, so you'll be fine. On the contrary, we're in a tight spot suppressing bandits, so one more person means more strength. Mr. Li is such a skilled archer, wouldn't it be a shame if he couldn't use his skills on the battlefield to rid the people of this evil?"

Li Ju thought about it and realized that this was indeed the case. He really wanted to see what this County Lord Liu looked like, so after considering it for a moment, he agreed.

Therefore, on the sixth day of Liu Xian's confrontation with Liangshan Stronghold, he came to the front line with the team transporting food, fodder and arrows.

Upon his arrival, Li Ju immediately recognized Liu Xian's predicament. After all, the county soldiers' armor rate was alarmingly low. Three hundred men could only muster ten complete sets of armor, and the quality was questionable. Many were armed with little more than simple longbows, ring-handled swords, and around fifty spears. The widespread availability of ring-handled swords was thanks to Hu Yanchang, who captured two hundred and thirty of them, effectively ensuring that everyone had a weapon.

The county soldiers' discipline was also mediocre. It was clear that they had not received long periods of formal training. Whether patrolling or guarding the gates, they were unable to concentrate and obey orders. From time to time, some would whisper to each other and desert. Under such conditions, it was almost impossible to use such people to capture a stronghold on a high terrain.

Yet, there was something else that caught his eye. This newly trained unit, while still needing time to develop discipline, was in excellent spirits. Generally speaking, soldiers feared prolonged battles because, over time, they inevitably grew lazy and weary of fighting, leading to resentment, especially among a forcibly cohesive group. However, the soldiers of Xiayang County were remarkably harmonious, with no resentment at all.

The military camp's location and layout were meticulously planned. Though there were only a few hundred men and only one blocked intersection, the fortifications, wells, stoves, latrines, fences, and other military structures were meticulously planned with precise lines and rulers, ensuring a harmonious balance between interior and exterior. Clearly, the leader was a meticulous individual.

Then he saw Liu Xian in the clearing behind the camp. This area had originally been a dense forest, but over the past few days, hundreds of trees had been felled and piled like a small mountain behind the camp, naturally forming a clearing. Liu Xian stood in the middle, wrapped in a deerskin robe and a white cloth wrapped around his head. Frowning, he supervised the county soldiers as they crafted ladders, wooden shields, and other items, while continuing to urge them to cut down the forest.

When he heard the arrows were delivered, he turned around and saw Li Ju. His frown immediately relaxed. He then walked over with a smile and said as he walked, "Huh? When did a new face appear in our county government?"

Although Liu Xian looked a bit disheveled, covered in sawdust and with an arrow wound on his forehead, his smile was confident and contagious, as if to say that he remembered the names and identities of everyone in the county government.

Li Ju quickly handed over Xi An's letter of introduction and introduced himself, saying, "You are Lord Liu, right? I am Li Ju, Li Shihui, the innkeeper of Pingyang. I have been entrusted by Xi An to do my best to help you."

"Pingyang?" Liu Xian was a little surprised when he heard this. He immediately opened Xi An's letter and read it for a moment. His eyes lit up and he couldn't help but look up and smile at Li Ju. "Zhi Nu thinks very highly of you. She said that you are not only an excellent archer, but also have a heroic spirit that can swallow the sun and the moon."

"How dare I? I'm just a minor official."

"A hero's origins are not judged by their merits. Wasn't Chen Shi, the Duke of Taiqiu, also a county official? Especially someone as young as you, you will surely achieve great things in the future." Liu Xian said this and then asked, "Does Shihui understand the art of war?"

Seeing Li Ju nod, Liu Xian was overjoyed. He personally took Li Ju's hand and returned to the camp, pretending to have a long talk with him.

"Did you see the bandit camp on your way here?"

Li Ju had certainly seen it, and he replied, "It is high up and difficult to navigate. It is a place of siege and a place of death."

"Do you think I can successfully defeat the horse thieves in my current condition?"

Li Ju answered truthfully, "Although the county lord's men can't be called a mob, they are not far off. I have observed that there may be many who are brave and combative, but not many who can understand military orders."

"Of course, all the bandits are like this. If the battle were on flat ground, the county lord would have the advantage of numbers and would have won. But now we are attacking a dangerous area head-on. The enemy only needs to shoot arrows. I don't think the county lord's men can withstand these casualties."

In just a few words, Li Ju pointed out the dilemma Liu Xian was facing. Liu Xian was quite impressed and nodded. He then asked, "In your opinion, do I still have a chance of winning?"

Li Ju said: "The art of war is ever-changing. There is no guaranteed victory or defeat. The important thing is to take advantage of the situation and use your strengths to attack the enemy's weaknesses."

"Oh?" Liu Xian heard this and poured Li Ju a cup of hot water. He asked with a smile, "In your opinion, what are the strengths and weaknesses of our side and the enemy?"

Li Ju took the water cup, took a sip, and smiled back, saying, "The enemy's strength is naturally the terrain, but their weakness is too fatal."

"What is it?"

"The enemy leader is foolish. He only sees the immediate advantages of the terrain, but not the long-term impact. He may be able to avoid defeat temporarily, but in the long run, he will not be able to win if he puts himself in a desperate situation without external support."

"The county lord's weakness is naturally his lack of geographical advantage, but by surrounding him here and cutting off his external support, he's already invincible. A way to win will be figured out sooner or later."

"So, in your opinion, where is our victory?"

"Why are you pretending to be ignorant, Lord? Haven't you already thought of a plan and are you implementing it?"

Hearing Li Ju say this, Liu Xian's eyebrows jumped. He glanced at Li Ju and asked, "What is Shi Hui talking about?"

Li Ju dipped his finger in water and wrote a word on the table, which was the word "fire".

He looked up at Liu Xian's expression and saw that he looked serious. He knew that he had guessed correctly and could not help but laugh. He said, "The county lord is cutting down a lot of trees in the forest, pretending to make equipment and props for attacking the stronghold. But in reality, how can so much wood be needed? The county lord must be using the pretext of making equipment to secretly clear a piece of land. When the time is right and the weather is dry, he will set fire to the mountain." "By then, the fire will only burn the bandits, but not the county lord. The bandits will have no choice but to flee from the mountain in panic."

"And the county lord is occupying the only escape route for the bandits. When the time comes, the county lord will be the only one standing against the enemy. The enemy will have no way to survive except to jump off the mountain."

"The county lord is really calculating!"

Liu Xian looked at this young man, several years younger than himself, with a touch of surprise. For days, neither his county clerks nor his followers, Zhang Gu and Sun Xi, had noticed his intentions. Even less so, the Liangshan bandits. Yet, this young man, recently come of age, had seen through his plans after just one stroll. He was truly remarkable.

Liu Xian thought about it and said to Li Ju, "That's indeed my plan, but I can't make up my mind yet."

Li Ju didn't quite understand and asked, "Why?"

Liu Xian sighed and replied, "Xiayang is truly impoverished. The county government is completely empty, and the people's wealth has been largely plundered by these bandits. Now that I am the mayor of Xiayang, I need a large amount of money to subsidize its reconstruction."

"Du Gan has been accumulating wealth and food in Liangshan for several years. If I burn the mountain, I can wipe out these bandits. But firstly, it will harm the harmony of nature, and secondly, these wealth will also be burned, and there will be no more loot from now on."

"For Xia Yang's long-term consideration, I still don't want to burn the mountain unless it's absolutely necessary."

"So that's it..." Li Ju had not considered it from this angle. He observed Liu Xian's clothes again and found that except for a cloak, the clothes of this Xiayang chief were no different from those of ordinary soldiers. Liu Xian still got a set of winter clothes for each of these county soldiers. From this point of view, this Xiayang chief can indeed be described as approachable and loves the people like his own children.

This made Li Ju respect him for a moment, but also curious. He asked, "If the county lord doesn't plan to burn the mountain, what else is his plan?"

Liu Xian said, "Originally I didn't have any good ideas, but now that you're here, I have some."

"Oh?"

"Xie County Magistrate said you are a sharpshooter. How far can you shoot?"

"..."

At noon the next day, the weather was half sunny and half cloudy, with many clouds still wandering in the sky, but sunlight seeped through from time to time, illuminating the loess and arrows on the ground.

The county soldiers hadn't attacked for several days, and the Liangshan bandits were getting a little tired of it. But with nowhere else to go, they were just relaxing on the mountain, watching the scenery below. Unexpectedly, one day, two men suddenly emerged from the county soldiers' camp on horseback.

The two men walked up the narrow mountain path, one in front and one behind. The one in front was a young man in white cloth, covered by a black cloak, while the one behind was a young man in dark brown cloth. They were Liu Xian and Li Ju.

Liu Xian stopped three steps away from the bandits' arrows, looked around, and then shouted towards the mountain: "Is Chief Du here? I am Liu Xian, the new mayor of Xiayang, and I want to speak with you!"

The bandits on the mountain were in an uproar, having apparently not expected Xia Yang to be so young. But after a while, as the commotion subsided, a figure emerged on the hillside. His features were vague, but his tone was familiar, the same rough, unflinching voice he had when he first arrived. He said,
"What's up, County Master Liu? Have you figured it out? Are you ready to return to the county?"

Du Gan's voice was even more optimistic than a few days ago. Apparently, seeing that the county soldiers had made no progress these days, he had already determined that he would win, so he could not hide his sarcastic tone.

When the county soldiers behind heard this, they immediately burst into shouts and curses. Liu Xian turned around and asked them to be quiet, and nodded silently to Li Ju.

Liu Xian then replied, "Chief Du, as an official appointed by the imperial court, I certainly cannot sit idly by and watch the horse bandits go to war! But I think Chief Du is also a hero. Why does he insist on being a bandit in the mountains? If Chief Du is willing to surrender, I am willing to recommend Chief Du to the Western Expedition Army Headquarters. It would be no problem for him to serve as a military officer."

However, Du Gan was furious when he heard this. He cursed loudly on the mountain: "Who wants to be a dog to you Han people? The Zhengxi Army is the most untrustworthy. When the great leader Tufa surrendered for the first time, so many people were killed by the Zhengxi Army that not even a bone was left! We Xianbei people have been fooled once, and we will never be fooled again!"

From what Du Gan said, it seemed that he had followed Tufa Shuji and had been active in the Liangzhou Rebellion. Liu Xian couldn't help but feel a little surprised. He continued, "Chief Du, this happened many years ago. Why bother? We must always look forward!"

However, these words of comfort only aroused Du Gan's rage. He raised his hand and took out a bow and said, "You idiot! If you say any more nonsense, Nai Gong will shoot you to death immediately! Don't even think about it! You can't win! Even if Nai Gong loses, he has already prepared to die! Nai Gong is a Xianbei hero, and he will definitely kill you Han dogs!"

He shouted and cursed so loudly and passionately that he attracted the attention of everyone on both sides. They couldn't help but listen and pay attention to his actions and words, so much so that they forgot to pay attention to what was happening elsewhere.

The sun shone through the clouds, shining right on the top of the mountain, making Du Gan's face, which had been a little blurry, clearer. At this moment, Du Gan took out his longbow and arrow, pointed it at the sky, and made a crazy gesture as if he was about to draw the bow.

No one noticed that Li Ju, who was standing on the right side of Liu Xian's back row, quietly pulled the horse towards the mountain wall twice, then reached into the horse's belly with his right hand and pulled out a bow and an arrow that had been pressed under the saddle in advance.

Li Ju grabbed the bow and arrow with his right arm, quietly lifted them along the horse's mane, and hid them on the right side of the horse's neck.

Then, he reached out with his right hand to grasp the bowstring, and with a twist of his left wrist, the arrow rested on it. Li Ju leaned back slightly and gently drew the bow. To draw the bow, he pressed one foot firmly into the stirrup and gripped the horse's belly with the other. The warhorse moved its hooves slightly, raising a cloud of dust as it bore the downward weight.

Suddenly, he raised the bow, let it emerge from the horse's head, aimed at Du Gan on the mountain, released the string with a snap, and the sharp arrow flew out swiftly, heading straight for the mountain a hundred feet away.

This was an armor-piercing arrow that was sharpened to an extremely sharp point. The sharp arrowhead flew up to the top of the mountain silently, without even a sound of breaking through the air, and went straight into Du Gan's left eye.

With a muffled groan, Du Gan fell backwards with the arrow shaft in his hand, and then there was no sound.

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(End of this chapter)