Before he could finish, He Lingchuan cut in, "The war in the north is pressing, and capable men are urgently needed! The royal court is completely overwhelmed right now. For every extra bit of troop strength that can take the field, they would be more than grateful. Why would they sever their own arm at a time like this? Once the war ends and you all hold military merits while garrisoning Xiazhou, even if the royal court wanted to squeeze you, they would first have to get past the Governor-General!"
A provincial Governor-General was a high-ranking regional official, overseeing both economic livelihoods and military-administrative affairs; even the royal court treated them with great deference.
Throughout history and across dynasties, amnesties were commonplace. Among rebel armies that accepted amnesty, some met peaceful ends while others met grim fates; there was truly no universal rule. Wu Shaoyi said to He Lingchuan, "This is a matter of great gravity. I must discuss it with the brothers."
***
Ahead lay Zhumapo, meaning Pei Xinyong's pursuit could finally draw to a temporary close.
The seven hundred men Lu Yao had stationed as an ambush at Shaozi Crag had already been chased past Zhumapo by him after losing more than a hundred of their number.
This spot was a natural bridge, easy to defend and difficult to attack. Having pursued them here, Pei Xinyong could leave a hundred or two to guard the bridge while leading his main force back to Xianling Village to rendezvous with Wu Shaoyi.
Yet Pei Xinyong was currently wavering.
The scouts he sent to Xianling Village had sent back reports three separate times. The first reported that Wu Shaoyi had successfully ambushed Xianling Village; Lu Yao's men had been caught unprepared and suffered heavy casualties, while Lu Yao himself was driven to the lakeshore, intending to flee by boat.
Pei Xinyong himself disliked Lu Yao. In truth, an ogre like him was inherently unpopular, especially after the Holy Master's demise, when every merit Lu Yao possessed turned into a flaw.
However, Pei Xinyong had always believed their factions needed to band together to avoid being wiped out one by one by the government troops, which was why he had proposed the three-way rendezvous to discuss their next steps.
Who could have expected Lu Yao harbored ill intentions and had double-crossed them?
Since things had come to this, he would help Wu Shaoyi eliminate this chief culprit and leave no future troubles.
The second piece of intelligence he received was that the government troops had abandoned Xianling Village and also entered West Mountain Road.
When Pei Xinyong read those words, his gaze sharpened. He thought the government troops had seen through his and Wu Shaoyi's plan and were rushing to relieve the siege at Shaozi Crag. Yet the scout immediately followed up by writing that the government troops had set out with more than a dozen carriages, accompanied by over a hundred villagers from Xianling Village.
This felt completely off. Who dragged along whole families when suppressing bandits?
Rather than pursuing an enemy, these government troops looked more like they were retreating. Had they realized they were no match for Wu Shaoyi and greased their soles to make a run for it?
Pei Xinyong had not yet decided how to deal with this detachment of government soldiers.
In truth, the very appearance of these government troops here was suspicious enough.
However, the third message from the scout took an unexpected turn.
The Crocodile God had ambushed Wu Shaoyi, and Lu Yao staged a desperate turnaround—not only resolving his immediate peril, but taking the opportunity to absorb Wu Shaoyi's men into his own forces!
This was disastrous.
Even a seasoned veteran like Pei Xinyong, accustomed to weathering storms, could not immediately decide what to do next.
Leave just like that?
As he stood there wavering, a flutter of wings came from the sky. Pei Xinyong's personal guard raised an arm, and a mechanical bird landed upon it.
The guard extracted a slip of paper from its hidden compartment and handed it to Pei Xinyong. The latter took it, cast a couple of glances at it, and his expression changed drastically!
There were only a few brief words, yet a pungent stench of blood met his nose—written clearly in fresh blood:
"You fell for a scheme to sow discord! Head east at once to slaughter the government soldiers and rendezvous with me. All past grievances are forgiven!"
The signature was a single character:
Lu!
Clearly, the scout he had stationed in Xianling Village had been discovered and killed by Lu Yao, who had then seized the mechanical bird to write this ultimatum to Pei Xinyong himself.
Was this a trap?
As he hesitated in contemplation, a trusted lieutenant leaned in and said, "General, if Lu Yao wanted to hunt us down, he would have just pursued us. There would be no need to send this note."
That made sense.
Seeing that he was listening, the lieutenant added, "If what Lu Yao says is true, and that detachment of government troops isn't eliminated, news of our rebel army moving south will leak sooner or later, leaving endless trouble."
Following their defeat at Woling Pass, the scattered rebel forces had taken great care to conceal their movements.
Why had these three rebel forces sneakily come to Xianling Lake to rendezvous? Was it not for the seclusion there so they could confer in peace? If their whereabouts were exposed and regional authorities repeatedly dispatched troops to suppress them, the trouble would be immense.
If Lu Yao spoke the truth, they could join forces to crush the government troops;
if Lu Yao was trying to trick him into returning, the government soldiers numbered only two or three hundred, and together with Lu Yao's four or five hundred men, that was at most seven or eight hundred. Pei Xinyong himself commanded more than sixteen hundred men; in both numbers and quality, he had nothing to fear.
Even if he could not win, he could still pull back. Besides, he recalled the second report he had received: the government troops were moving west dragging along the elderly and the young, not at all like they were going to war, but rather like they were fleeing for their lives!
Having thought this through, he looked up and ordered, "Vanguard and rearguard swap places! We head back and slaughter those dog officials!"
***
With the bandits holding a council, He Lingchuan had to steer clear.
In truth, he was exceedingly anxious, not knowing how the government troops were faring or whether they had clashed with the enemy. But right now, a peculiar spectacle had unfolded along West Mountain Road:
700 bandits under Lu ← Pei Xinyong's army ← government troops ← Lu Yao's 400 men.
So many factions were stretched along West Mountain Road, each chasing after the next. Even if He Lingchuan's horse was fast enough, catching up now would at best bring him face-to-face with Lu Yao's forces. A fierce battle would be unavoidable, and he still wouldn't be able to establish contact with his father.
What should he do? He had gone to such lengths to persuade Wu Shaoyi and turn these bandits to his side; it would be a terrible waste not to bring them along to break the siege on the government troops.
Troubled as he was, He Lingchuan's stomach began to rumble again.
After a night of fierce combat without a drop of water or a grain of rice crossing his lips, it was high time to replenish his strength. He slipped into the villagers' cottages to search them one by one, quickly turning up several flatbreads from someone's kitchen.
The newly harvested wheat from the storehouses had allowed the villains to feast without restraint. Last night, they had coerced the village women into preparing plenty of food, but later in the night they had suddenly enjoyed a grand feast of fresh fish, leaving an abundance of staple food behind in the kitchens.
Once fish turned cold, it tasted fishy and unpleasant, but flatbreads would do just fine.
He Lingchuan took several golden-brown rolled pancakes, munching as he walked. The subtle sweetness of the grain and the aroma of scallions brought deep comfort to his stomach. When it came to food, he was never particularly picky.
He was then reminded of the giant crocodiles, so he returned to the village to look for a pen.
He intended to catch a few chickens or ducks, but to his surprise, the pen was strewn with feathers, with only two chicks trembling behind the wooden railing.
It seemed this place had already been ransacked by the bandits last night. Just as he turned to leave, however, he noticed spattered blood on the ground, several severed chicken heads tossed aside, and a few hollowed-out carcasses.
He Lingchuan lifted one to inspect it; this did not look like the work of humans. Whether bandits or commoners, after killing a chicken, wouldn't they take it to the kitchen to dress it?
Shrugging his shoulders, he moved on to another household's coop. This time, he found several plump chickens, carried them to the lakeside, and tossed them over.
Generous at someone else's expense, in any case.
The feathered birds clucked in panic, full of vigor. The Crocodile God couldn't be bothered to move, keeping its eyes half-shut to bask in the sun, but the smaller crocodile demons chased down the chickens, and before long, their snouts were covered in feathers.
Chapter 137