Wei Yuan did not notice any strange expression on Li Zhi's face. With a shift of his divine intent, ten Dao Foundation warriors manifested within the army.
The moment these Dao Foundation warriors appeared, they took over the military banners of their respective units. Every contingent immediately moved according to their signals. As the charge horn sounded, the great army began its advance!
As the two armies closed in, Wei Yuan summoned the Jade Mountain once more, hurling it toward the Mountain Folk's center army. By now, the Jade Mountain manifested at a full thirty zhang in size, sending the five enemy dharma idols scrambling in panic!
Immediately afterward, Wei Yuan blessed the Dragon Wing cavalry with Outlaw of Heaven and Earth. Braving the Mountain Folk's rain of arrows, five thousand heavy riders crashed into their ranks. Amid the deafening roar of gunfire, billowing gunsmoke unfurled across the field as Mountain Folk fell in droves. Their battle formation was sliced open like bean curd, pierced straight through by Wei Yuan in the blink of an eye!
Without pausing for a moment, Wei Yuan wheeled his mount around and led the cavalry charging back through the enemy ranks. This time, before plunging into the formation, the cavalrymen fired in volleys, sending the Mountain Folk tumbling into chaos. Wei Yuan continuously unleashed the Flowing Fire Technique; wherever the streams of fire fell, utter turmoil ensued.
The Mountain Folk dharma idols had barely dodged the Jade Mountain when a scholar appeared on the battlefield. The multi-barrel flying-sword autocannon in his hands roared incessantly, sweeping streams of flying swords that sent the dharma idols leaping and ducking in panic. One of them was pinned down by Feng Tingyu, another was pursued across heaven and earth by the cat, and the remaining two had to cope with Wei Yuan's Flowing Fire Technique while constantly watching out for other pursuers, leaving them all in dire peril.
In the blink of an eye, Wei Yuan pierced through the Mountain Folk battle formation once more and wheeled around to strike again.
By then, the infantry had caught up. Wei Yuan led his cavalry around for a third pass, piercing through the enemy lines once more! The infantry advanced steadily while firing, waves of bullet barrages mowing down the Mountain Folk like grass. When the Dragon Gallop troops joined the melee within the enemy lines, the Mountain Folk finally collapsed completely, fleeing in all directions over the hills and ridges.
In the end, only one of the five dharma idols managed to escape. All of them had intended to flee, but Wei Yuan's strike of Embers of the Former Dynasty immobilized three of them. Feng Tingyu and Wei Yuan each swiftly dispatched one dharma idol, while the cat pursued alone and slaughtered another.
Then Li Zhi watched as Wei Yuan drew circle after circle with his sword, holding the final dharma idol completely pinned down while a line of Dao Foundation cultivators queued up to strike in turn and harvest heavenly merits. The Mountain Folk dharma idol struggled for a long time before dying with bitter resentment—leaving it anyone's guess whether it had been slain by their attacks or choked to death on sheer indignity.
While Wei Yuan was busy distributing heavenly merits, the infantry and cavalry followed their respective banners to hunt down and eliminate the fleeing remnants on their own, completely without needing Wei Yuan's commands.
Li Zhi and the generals under his command were dumbfounded. How could a battle fought in Wei Yuan's hands look so much like child's play?
Tens of thousands of Mountain Folk were annihilated in this battle, though more than half still managed to flee. Since Wei Yuan lacked sufficient troops, he could only turn it into a rout rather than a total encirclement.
When Wei Yuan led his troops back, Li Zhi stared at the fire guns held by the Dragon Gallop soldiers and asked, "What is this weapon? May I see it?"
Wei Yuan took a fire gun from one of the soldiers, retrieved several cartridges, and handed them to Li Zhi. Li Zhi had already learned about fire guns during the previous battle at Qingming, but at the time he considered them clumsy with limited range, slow firing speed, and unremarkable power, so he had paid them little mind.
Li Zhi had always advocated an elite-soldier doctrine, and fire guns were clearly suited only to commoners and low-tier cultivators. For that reason, Li Zhi had shown little interest, thinking it was merely a stopgap measure Wei Yuan devised due to a shortage of elite troops. On an actual battlefield, elites capable of loosing thirty rapid-fire shots in a row were obviously far more useful.
This time, however, Wei Yuan commanded in person, backed by the manifested blessing of Ten Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains and enlightened Dao Foundation warriors relaying orders in real time. The twenty-thousand-strong host advanced as a single body, laying down a relentless creeping barrage that shattered the Mountain Folk by sheer firepower—only then revealing the true terror of fire guns.
Li Zhi had seen with his own eyes that an ordinary soldier could fire dozens of rounds in a row and remain unfazed, whereas an elite archer would have been thoroughly exhausted long ago.
At this moment, for the very first time, Li Zhi viewed fire guns as a formidable weapon in their own right.
Wei Yuan retrieved another flying-sword gun fed by a sword casket and handed it to Li Zhi. Li Zhi fired several rounds with both weapons, gaining a far more direct understanding. He immediately turned to Wei Yuan and said, "Do you have any spare flying-sword guns? If you do, I would like to purchase a batch."
Wei Yuan was slightly surprised and said, "This gun is rather troublesome to use. Anyone below the Dao Foundation cannot handle it at all, and the flying sword ammunition is consumed at an enormous rate. In terms of forming whole regiments, its combat effectiveness is far inferior to the fire gun. I think you would be better off with fire guns."
"Fire guns are only for ordinary soldiers and offer no real advantage over powerful bows and heavy crossbows. The flying-sword gun suits me better."
"Well, all right. How many do you want?"
Li Zhi calculated for a moment and said, "Three hundred to start."
"How many flying swords per gun?" Wei Yuan asked.
It took Li Zhi a moment to realize this was just like deciding how many bolts to buy with a crossbow. "One hundred," he said.
Wei Yuan noted it down and said, "I will have them delivered to you in ten days."
"And the price?"
Wei Yuan said, "This batch is a gift to you, consider it a token of gratitude for the battle against the Xu family last time."
Li Zhi immediately shook his head. "How could that do? I already accepted your breastplates last time. For the long run, let us name a price."
Pricing the flying-sword gun was indeed tricky. Wei Yuan pondered for a moment before saying, "How about this: I will still give you this batch as a gift. In the future, the guns will be five hundred taels each, and the flying swords five taels apiece."
"A very fair price."
Once the two finalized the matter, the battlefield had been mostly cleaned up. The Mountain Folk had left behind a vast amount of baggage and supplies. Wei Yuan left them all untouched for Li Zhi. Once Li Zhi returned to his domain, he could send people to collect them.
Wei Yuan gave Li Zhi a final embrace. Just as he prepared to lead his army back, clouds of dust rose in the distance, and two military contingents appeared, marching forward at an unhurried pace. Judging by their armor and banners, they belonged to Zhao's border troops.
The two border forces numbered barely over ten thousand combined, causing Li Zhi's expression to darken. Not only had they arrived after the fighting was already over, but even had they arrived in time, what good would ten thousand men do? The Mountain Folk had numbered over a hundred thousand—this small force would not even be enough to survive an enemy counterattack.
Wei Yuan also observed the Zhao border troops, secretly assessing their fighting strength.
The commanders were two Brigade Generals. Seeing Li Zhi and Wei Yuan from afar, they warily ordered their army to halt and deploy into formation, while they rode forward accompanied by a handful of personal guards.
"Generals Chen Jian and Wang Quan greet the Military Commissioner!" Both generals were exceedingly respectful in their salutes, which once again stirred a twinge of envy in Wei Yuan.
Though Wei Yuan was also a Military Commissioner, most officials he encountered were sarcastic, openly provocative, and quick to stab him in the back. Even later on, people like Yuan Qingyan and Niu Jinbao only feigned compliance because they had been backed into a corner. None were like Li Zhi, whom people everywhere treated with spontaneous, heartfelt deference wherever he went. Compared to Li Zhi, Wei Yuan felt like nothing more than an upstart.
The two Brigade Generals glanced suspiciously at Wei Yuan, and as they saw the columns of soldiers heading north, a flicker of vigilance flashed across their eyes.
After exchanging greetings, the two Brigade Generals stated that the moment they received Li Zhi's distress message, they had mustered their troops and set out from their camps, marching day and night without rest. However, their authority was limited, so they could mobilize only this many soldiers.
Li Zhi chuckled and said, "The two generals rushed ten thousand li to my aid. I shall keep this in mind and reward you handsomely in the days ahead!"
"Then allow us to escort General Li back to your post."
Li Zhi nodded and said, "Wait a moment, Generals. I need to speak a few words with my brother."
The two Brigade Generals tactfully retreated to their troops to wait.
Once they were out of earshot, Wei Yuan said, "Those two know how to handle troops. Their timing is impeccable—arriving just when you would have been forced to break out."
Li Zhi chuckled softly. "Their military careers have both spanned over fifty years, spent mostly in the border armies. How could they not know how to fight?"
"Indeed. And looking at the composition of their troops, they don't seem meant for Mountain Folk—they look tailored to counter your Southern Qi elite cavalry. Had I not come, you wouldn't have had many troops left after breaking out. The force they brought would have been more than enough to deal with your battered remnants."
A flash of murderous intent flickered in Li Zhi's eyes as he replied calmly, "I am well aware of this. Once I return, I will plan accordingly at my own pace."
Wei Yuan asked, "Do you want some horse bandits to pay a visit to this territory of yours?"
Li Zhi pondered for a moment before saying, "That would be improper. I cannot act without reservations the way you do, worthy brother. Using bandits can easily give people leverage against me, which would work against us instead. Don't worry—since they want me dead, I won't go easy on them. Did they think Empress Dowager Xiao's money would be so easy to pocket? Hmph. Before long, I'll see to it that the King of Zhao has their heads!"
Chapter 389