Chapter 161: Mao Wenlong's Decision

Mao Wenlong looked at the secret report in his hands, let out two cold sneers, and said to Geng Zhongming beside him, "These dog-fucking Jianzhou barbarians finally couldn't hold back. I've been waiting for them to come."

Geng Zhongming, still shaken, touched the hair that had just started growing back and said to Mao Wenlong, "Anyway, your grandson here is never going undercover among the Jianzhou barbarians again."

Mao Wenlong gave another sly laugh and deliberately teased, "If you won't dress up as a Jianzhou barbarian anymore, why not just shave it all off again, disguise yourself as a monk, and find a way to poison the Jianzhou barbarians?"

Geng Zhongming, whose heart had been trampled by tens of thousands of divine beasts, had no knowledge of that later-era phrase "motherfucker," otherwise he would certainly have asked Mao Wenlong — he had ten thousand "motherfuckers" to say, and wondered if he might be permitted to speak them?

Utterly helpless, Geng Zhongming forced a smile and said, "Grandfather jests. With the army on the march, where would your grandson find an opportunity to poison them?"

Mao Wenlong, a man who had never possessed a single upright character in his eight characters and was utterly deficient in virtue among the five elements, was about to continue speaking when Shang Kexi suddenly burst in and cut him off: "Grand General, scouts report that about thirty-some li to the northwest, over thirty people of our Great Ming are being pursued by roughly one niru of Jianzhou barbarians.

These thirty-odd people have a Jianzhou barbarian with them — they may have captured someone important to the barbarians."

Mao Wenlong said nothing more. He grabbed the riding crop from the table and said, "Let's go. We'll see together what this is all about. If they really are people of our Great Ming, we must give them support and keep those dog-fucking Jianzhou barbarians here for good."

Shang Kexi laughed and said, "Indeed. That's over fifteen hundred taels of walking silver — who'd have thought it would deliver itself to our doorstep today!"

Mao Wenlong and Geng Zhongming both let out wicked laughs, and the group set out with their personal guards.

Crossing the border at Uiju, the land ahead was territory under actual Jianzhou barbarian control — though Grand General Mao had never seen it that way. That stretch of land was nothing more than the Great Ming's back garden; he could go for a jaunt whenever he pleased.

The so-called Southern Four Garrisons had basically been abandoned by the Jianzhou barbarians anyway, so if he didn't take a stroll, it was a stroll wasted.

Mao Wenlong raised his treasured telescope and looked toward the two groups, one chasing the other, heading in his direction. At the sight, he clicked his tongue in wonder and said, "Incredible, incredible.

What the hell did these fellows do? The dog-fucking Jianzhou barbarians chasing them are genuine Plain Red Banner troops."

Suffering from the lack of such a rare and precious object as a telescope, Shang Kexi scratched his ears and cheeks and said to Mao Wenlong, "Grand General, lend this treasure to your humble subordinate for a moment, would you? I guarantee I'll return it."

Mao Wenlong answered while still looking through it, "Bullshit! Do you think I don't know your pixiu nature? The moment this thing lands in your hands, you'd be willing to give it back to me? As if!"

Still cursing, Mao Wenlong's expression suddenly turned strange and he said, "Now this is interesting. These fellows couldn't have captured that slave dog Hong Taiji himself, could they?

Why else would the Jianzhou barbarians behind them not even dare to shoot arrows? Everyone's on two legs — hell, by the time the Jianzhou barbarians catch up, they'll already be in my Dongjiang!"

Shang Kexi, denied the telescope and feeling thoroughly disgruntled, sneered upon hearing this and said, "Grand General's heart is certainly big. How do you know, old sir, that this isn't some bitter-meat ruse by the Jianzhou barbarians to lure you out?"

Mao Wenlong laughed and cursed, "I said you had no brains, and you really don't. Think about it — one niru of Jianzhou barbarians coming to lure me out? Isn't that just delivering battle merits to me? Hong Taiji may not have the sharpest head, but he's not stupid enough to go that far."

Shang Kexi curled his lip and had nothing more to say, when Mao Wenlong suddenly let out an "Aiyo!" and shouted, "Quick! Zhongming, go personally and give them support — the fellows running in front are about to collapse!"

Geng Zhongming cupped his fists, answered in the affirmative, and wasted no words. The force they had brought with them was a full Chiliarch's garrison. Geng Zhongming immediately mustered three Centurion garrisons and charged out.

By this time, the towering, robust man and his group fleeing all this way were gradually running out of strength and on the verge of being overtaken by the Jianzhou barbarians. The man leading them happened to see a trail of dust rising from the hillside opposite, and a plan formed in his mind.

The big man immediately halted his forward flight and declared in a ringing voice, "Brothers, on the hill across the way must be Grand General Mao's relief force coming to support us. We'll wait right here and kill Jianzhou barbarians!"

After everyone shouted their assent, the big man suddenly walked over to Šoto's side, raised the long saber in his hand, and brought it down — blade, scabbard, and all — smashing it against Šoto's right knee.

Crack! The completely unprepared Šoto took the blow squarely. His right leg was instantly smashed out of shape. In unbearable pain, but with his mouth stuffed full of a hemp-wrapped walnut, Šoto could only let out a muffled grunt before collapsing to the ground and rolling back and forth.

The big man spat on the ground and cursed, "Motherfucker. I'd originally planned to capture him in one piece and present him up the chain, and now I've gone and crippled him!"

With that, the strangely featured big man paid no more attention to Šoto, who kept emitting muffled grunts, and instead glared hatefully at the hundred-odd Jianzhou barbarians in pursuit. He declared loudly to the thirty-some men beside him, "Brothers, our relief has arrived.

Rest a moment, and when these dog-fucking Jianzhou barbarians get here, we'll hit them with a parting strike!"

A boy of about ten beside him laughed upon hearing this and said, "Before we came, Father told me that one head of these dog-fucking Jianzhou barbarians is worth five taels of silver. Doesn't this mean it's our turn to get rich?"

The others were just breaking into loud laughter when, unexpectedly, the six- or seven-year-old child beside the lead big man spoke up: "Big Brother really has no ambition!"

The youth, teased by a little child, did not get angry. He just smiled and said, "Second Brother, tell me — how does Big Brother have no ambition again?"

The child laughed and said, "Big Brother only sees that one Jianzhou barbarian head is worth five taels of silver. How can you not see the court's rewards in the future, once Liaodong is recovered?

Never mind being enfeoffed with land, even if you were just made a marquis or an earl, how could a mere thousand-odd taels of silver compare?"

The youth, who had always been extremely close with this second brother of his, burst into loud laughter upon hearing this and said, "Look at you, you little brat, so clever!

Then Big Brother will wait for you to grow up, pacify Liaodong, and get enfeoffed as a marquis — and when that happens, Big Brother will bask in your glory too!"

The whole group around them burst into laughter as well. This band of thirty-odd people had not taken the three-hundred-odd pursuers opposite them seriously in the slightest.

The lead big man also laughed heartily and said, "It's my fate to rise! With two fine sons like you, if I, Zhang Xianzhong, still can't make a name for myself, I might as well find a woman's chamber pot and drown myself in it!"

While these thirty-some people, relying on Mao Wenlong's relief force behind them, stood around chatting and laughing, the Jianzhou barbarians in pursuit were now only a few hundred paces away. How could they not see the dust cloud raised by the reinforcements Mao Wenlong had sent?

The Company Commander leading the pursuit, Ajianjueluo Yunzhen, wanted to withdraw his troops, but was cowed by military law — or rather, he did not know how to face the enraged Daishan.

By now, he was somewhat resigned to his fate, feeling he might as well simply die in battle here and be done with it.

Geng Zhongming, however, was wild with joy inside. He had brought the strength of three Centurion garrisons down from the hill, and their stamina was far superior to that of the Jianzhou barbarians who had been chasing all this way.

Plus, those thirty-odd men could contribute something too, couldn't they? In Geng Zhongming's eyes, the Jianzhou barbarians opposite were no longer Jianzhou barbarians — they were silver, silver that had grown two legs, silver that could move and walk!

Five taels each!

This is the first update. Expect four or five updates total. I still have things to do during the day. A friend's family had a son, so I have to go visit.

(End of chapter)