Great Tang Idyll - Volume 4 Chapter 234

Bows and crossbows hid their sharp edges, horses bore their saddles, hooves ran through torrents, angrily trampling Jinchuan beneath them.

Lives hung upon blade-edges, souls beneath them, arrows like wild rain, wind flaring suddenly. A distant question—had the enemy ever known fear? Bodies facing the yellow sands, blood-soaked, famed as demonic slaughter.

From afar they honored the Thousand-Bone Tower of Wangjiang, a faint smile, lightly brushing their hair.

Kemu Kehu did not know whether it was because of the continuous rain, but his mood had been terrible these past two days. Looking at the sky after the rain, still not completely clear, he always felt a chill blowing, even inside the tent it was the same.

He actually knew what he was worried about—he feared following in Tata Neitu’s footsteps. Twenty thousand men reduced to seven thousand. Though it did not seem like much, the enemy had only a little more than ten thousand. And at that time during pursuit, the Tang troops were still suffering from low morale and had not rested much.

At this moment, the Tang troops’ morale was extremely high, far beyond his own army, and they had hidden to rest for so long. “The courage of the soldiers comes from the general”—indeed, correct. The same soldiers, with a different general, became different.

His own troops also numbered twenty thousand. Even though the six thousand men he had sent for logistics had been ambushed, they had not suffered too much loss. But why did he not dare fully act according to the command above and spread out his formation to attack?

Was he afraid? Afraid of a nine-year-old little girl?

Kemu Kehu was not surprised that the other side had killed so many of his men with so few troops. In history there had been commanders even more powerful than this. What he could not understand was how a nine-year-old child could be comparable to those famous generals. If she had been on his own side, he would have felt the little girl’s battles pleasing to behold—but she was not on his side.

“Report, General. The First and Second Squads of the Wind Rider Battalion encountered the enemy and fled back in defeat. Of three hundred men, only twenty-one returned.” Just as Kemu Kehu was thinking how to use troops while obeying orders yet minimizing losses, a messenger rushed into the tent and reported.

Kemu Kehu did not react much upon hearing this. His eyes simply stared outside the tent, unmoving. The messenger did not dare disturb him and waited silently.

After a while, Kemu Kehu finally said, “No wonder I kept feeling a chill at my side. It turns out I have been targeted. It seems the Tang troops are preparing to strike my forces. Very well. Speak. What kind of enemy did the brothers of the First and Second Squads of the Wind Rider Battalion encounter?”

“Report, the brothers who returned said they encountered around three thousand Tang cavalry, lightly equipped and lightly armored. Their arrows were like locusts. With one exchange, a large area of the brothers around them fell. They only escaped thanks to the muddy road.”

The messenger also felt uneasy. He feared encountering the Tang main force. He feared encountering that little girl.

Kemu Kehu began to ponder and murmured, “Three thousand light cavalry—so they must be the ones who ambushed the logistics. The Tang main force is still on the mountain. Muddy roads… muddy roads are good.”

The messenger tilted his ear, not understanding what was good about muddy roads. He could only wait for the general’s orders.

“Transmit orders: recall the Eight Battalions sent to reinforce Tata Neitu—six thousand men to return quickly. Divide the six battalions into six parts, spread out at intervals, searching as they return. Concentrate all cavalry of my forces; light equipment, light armor, equipped with bows and crossbows, and stand by. Bring Sangqiqi here.”

Kemu Kehu had originally not wanted his own force to step forward, but now that the enemy had targeted him, he could not avoid it, even knowing that whoever stepped forward would suffer loss.

After the messenger left, Kemu Kehu let out a cold laugh and muttered, “Little girl, this time I will let you know—not everyone allows you to come and go so freely.”

After killing nearly three hundred Tubo, Wang Juan led the troops away, ran to a forest, and began working inside.

Shuiyun flew down to report the mountain’s situation to Zhang Ying, then flew off again to continue observing the mountain’s movements and deliver an order.

Zhang Xiaobao took out the small pot he carried, lit a fire, and busied himself cooking something for Wang Juan—just for her. Fighting consumed a great deal of mental energy, so she needed nourishment. 

He poured in oil and slowly melted the sugar. After a while, the sugar changed color, and the aroma drifted out.

The soldiers nearby sniffed hungrily, but none approached, and none wanted to take any—they knew this meal was for the Great General, helping her lead them to victory.

Zhang Xiaobao added Sichuan peppercorns, star anise, and several other seasonings to the pot to fry. He glanced at the chopped meat nearby and sighed. “Ai~! Getting pork here is not easy. Wild boar meat will have to do. I have already marinated it with white pepper, starch, and wine. For fragrant braised pork, it must be done slowly. Wait one hour for the flavor to be good.”

Wang Juan leaned against a tree, resting while thinking about how the enemy would react. She occasionally glanced at Xiaobao making braised pork for her and revealed a happy smile. 

These days, Xiaobao took every spare moment to cook good things for her. Whatever she asked him to do, he did. He never felt that being a man meant he should not listen to a woman.

The soldiers nearby were also envious of General Wang. Although few men cooked, the young master’s cooking was truly delicious. Just the smell made them hungry. According to the people of the logistics camp, the young master’s status at home seemed even higher. They never expected him to compete with General Wang for authority—whatever she asked, he would do.

Such a man was hard to find. Well, a woman like General Wang was also hard to find. Would the young master be bullied at home by the commanding General Wang?

As everyone thought about this, one man unknowingly said it aloud. 

Zhang Xiaobao, watching the fire, heard him. He turned his head and asked, “You aren’t married yet?”

The man was shocked and cursed himself inwardly. Why had he not controlled his mouth? He hurriedly shook his head and replied, “No. The family is poor. Can’t get a wife.”

“Oh~! Poverty is nothing to fear. A poor man cannot lack ambition. You are fighting to the death against the Tubo. When you return, you will not be poor. For all who fight beside my little wife—those who die, their families receive double compensation; those who live receive great reward. When the time comes, I will arrange a wife for you. You must survive.” Zhang Xiaobao spoke gently to him.

“Good—good!” When the man imagined having a wife in the future, he instantly became bashful, lowered his head, and blushed. But he also felt something was wrong. He had clearly offended the young master—why was the young master still kindly helping him find a wife?

Zhang Xiaobao did not point it out. He observed the man carefully and remembered him. If he truly survived to return, he would find him a wife—a fierce one—and then see if he still dared speak badly about him.

Another man joined in and said to Zhang Xiaobao, “Young Master, I already have a wife at home. When I return, can I take a concubine? My wife’s cooking is really not tasty.”

“Taking a concubine is not my concern. If you have the ability, do it yourself. I’ll teach you a song, how about that?” Zhang Xiaobao said, looking at him.

“Good—good!”

“I’ll sing and you memorize. ‘Perhaps my departure~~ will never come back~~ would you~~ understand would you understand perhaps if I fall~~ I will not rise~~ again~~ would you still~~ forever~~ wait~~’”  Zhang Xiaobao lightly sang the slightly altered song to the man, and those around listened.

“Young Master, after thinking about it, I won’t take a concubine. My wife makes perfectly fitting clothes. The villagers all praise her and say I have good fortune. I won’t marry another.”

“If you won’t marry another, then rest. We still have to kill the enemy. Dignity must be earned with hot blood.” After speaking, Zhang Xiaobao added more firewood to the pot and went over to Wang Juan, squatting down to massage her head.

Wang Juan had finished thinking and, enjoying the massage, said to Zhang Xiaobao, “Xiaobao, what you sang just now was really good. I should modify the military songs I learned before and teach them to the troops to raise morale.”

“Sure, but only if we earn more money, so we can give enough compensation and support to the army and families. Later in the Tang, it was because they couldn’t afford soldiers that trouble came. Troops listen to whoever pays them. We give the money to Little Li and let him distribute it. Then all troops will listen to him. I quite admire him. He is tough toward outsiders. Following him, we can fight more battles. Later your family will have to stand on its own. It cannot always follow my family. You will need your own household. Your younger brother will have to support your family later. Your reputation being larger will protect him until he can establish himself.”

Zhang Xiaobao thought about how most of the original lyrics did not fit now. For example—loving the motherland. For people now, they followed whoever fed them, especially the armies of the provincial governors. That would not do. Centralization was needed. Money—all of it required money to accomplish, and done under Li Longji’s name. Otherwise, they could start a rebellion.

Wang Juan also fully agreed with Zhang Xiaobao’s idea. Whoever disobeyed would be beaten. A weak country had no diplomacy. They must seize more territory and obtain resources first.

“You decide matters of earning and spending money. This time I intend to cripple the Tubo. I want them unable to recover for ten years.”

“The six thousand men of Kemu Kehu’s force have retreated, and they retreated in scattered battalions. What does he plan to do?” Zhang Xiaobao asked after hearing the latest intelligence.

“What else? Shuiyun has not come back. When it returns, have it go check on Kemu Kehu. He must be concentrating his cavalry. He wants to use six thousand men as bait to exhaust our horses and arrows. His actions are too obvious. He is smarter than Tata Neitu, knowing to lay bait. He probably also understands that only light cavalry can counter light cavalry.”

Wang Juan was extremely familiar with this kind of thing. There were many examples—like tank battles in the Second War. One could have one’s own tanks remain still while forcing the enemy to constantly move to find attack positions, thus consuming the enemy’s fuel. Without fuel, was a tank still a tank?

Hearing that Wang Juan had a plan, Zhang Xiaobao relaxed. 

Compared to Wang Juan, Kemu Kehu was still a bit young.

When Zhang Xiaobao finished the braised pork, everyone had rested enough. Wang Juan enjoyed a good meal and then ordered the three cavalry battalions: “First Battalion, First Squad and Second Squad—harass the First Battalion of Kemu Kehu’s retreat. Take the upwind position, harass from a distance, do not linger in battle, prioritize self-protection. First Battalion, Third Squad and Fourth Squad—harass the Second Battalion of Kemu Kehu’s retreat, same as above. First Battalion, Fifth Squad with Second Battalion, First Squad—harass the Third Battalion of Kemu Kehu’s retreat, same as above. Second Battalion, Second Squad…”

The Tang battalions were reinforced battalions, five squads per battalion, each squad two hundred men. Unlike the Tubo, who had one hundred fifty men per squad. Wang Juan split the three battalions into fifteen squads. Fourteen squads, in pairs, would harass one enemy battalion each. The remaining one squad would stay with Wang Juan and Zhang Xiaobao, responsible for protection.