Chapter 96: The Battle Is at Hand

On a small hill inside Tan Jiang's Territory, a silhouette flickered among the trees; Rui Tong heard a burst of footsteps from afar, brushed aside the branches shading her view, and gazed down at the village below. A lord‑clad figure was leading a group of officers toward the dock.

Li Bucai, to probe the Tan family brothers' strength, after returning to his Territory, began ordering small boats to be built overnight. To save time, he did not have the carpenters make fishing boats, but instead produced two light canoes modeled after those of a northeastern minority, made from white birch bark. Li Bucai's Territory lies in the northeastern mainland, where sturdy white birch and oak trees grow everywhere, and the bark of both can be used to make vessels. The vegetation here is primitive, and the harvested bark is huge. The resulting boats are over eight meters long, with hulls more than half a meter high and a very shallow draft. They are not only lighter and faster than fishing boats, but also, thanks to the carpenters' superb skill, can carry three people to roam freely on the wide Shalanjiang without being capsized or broken by the waves.

Once the boats were finished, Li Bucai immediately sent several scouts to familiarize themselves with the vessels at the riverbank; after they could handle them skillfully, he ordered Rui Tong to lead three scouts, pairing two per canoe, to sail to the Tan family brothers' Territory to investigate the military situation.

Rui Tong and another scout were responsible for Tan Jiang's Territory; the two were not far apart, one watching the movements in the main village, the other keeping an eye on the fishing boats at the dock. Twenty fishing boats were covered with blue cloth, hiding their interiors from view.

Tan Jiang led a group of civil and military officials to the dock. The black‑clad man who had earlier come down from the flagship guided everyone to the boat, said something unknown, and lifted the blue cloth on the boat slightly. From too far away, Rui Tong could not see what lay beneath the cloth, and it was promptly covered again. Immediately after, Tan Jiang's sharp, long laugh rang out.

"Ha ha ha… what a whirlwind death soldier, truly a striking appearance. With them, not even a simple reprimand is enough; once the whirlwind death soldiers appear, even before that weak female troop can act, they'll be scared into crying for their parents, ha ha ha… Unfortunately, if it weren't for the elder brother's grand plan, given my temperament, this battle would have to sweep them out of this world."

There are eight Territories each in the southern and northern river regions. Tan Ping, in order to contend with Wei Zidan, tries hard to keep Li Bucai. On one hand, this would make his numbers in the north equal; on the other, it would turn Li Bucai into his own colony, providing resources for his bid to become the King of Ten Thousand Nations. If he were eliminated, Li Bucai's own Territory would be too hard to manage, lacking enough manpower to tend to other peoples' Territories, and the plan would backfire.

The man in black asked, "May I ask, Second Village Chief, when shall we deploy troops?"

"It is four hundred kilometers of waterway from his Territory; he is downstream. This stretch of current is swift. If we go downstream eastward, it will take less than a day and a night. Therefore, we will set out immediately, rest a while on the way, aim to arrive by tomorrow night, and launch a night raid to catch him off guard."

Li Bucai's Territory spans 300 kilometers in width; together with an adjoining stretch, the total waterway reaches 400 kilometers. The Shalanjiang has abundant flow and a slightly rapid current. A single scout paddling with the current can reach the destination in under twenty hours.

Rui Tong saw Tan Jiang already beginning to muster troops; many people were at the dock preparing vessels, seemingly ready to set out at any moment. She immediately summoned the other scout back, slipped quietly to the water's edge, pushed the canoe into the Shalanjiang, leapt aboard, and the two paddled together. The canoe hugged the shore, flowing downstream eastward, covering a dozen miles in a flash without being spotted.

……

Li Bucai's Territory. Seven days had passed; the dock at San Shui Kou was now more fortified. Twelve arrow towers, half standing on the riverbank and half buried deep in the riverbed, linked by wooden walls both on land and on the water. On the northern water side, two floating gates opened, which could be pulled aside by a boat. On the southern land side, another carriage gate allowed wagons to enter freely. The entire fort wall enclosed the dock in the middle, forming a large water fortress.

Beyond the carriage gate on the shore lay a spacious open area leading straight to the dock. On both sides of the clearing were barracks and fishermen's dwellings. Near the dock stood a shipyard for building fishing boats; at this moment, four newly built fishing boats were moored at the dock.

Besides the dock, Li Bucai also erected a garrison near the pass of Wolong Mountain. Villagers had already cleared a large plot of land near the garrison; once the tree roots are removed, it can be turned into farmland. Moreover, on the slope near Bai Ma Crossing, a large amount of fine soil suitable for pottery was discovered. A portion of people were assigned to build houses at the foot of the mountain, adjacent to the main village, to make pottery. The bowls and plates produced were first given free to the villagers for basic use, with the surplus placed in shops for free trade.

In the San Shui Kou water fortress, the gate opened and a fishing boat sailed in, docking at the shore. Xianghong and two fishermen disembarked and headed straight for the barracks. Ten barracks had been built here. The school‑uniformed girls on the southern side were his allies and posed no threat, so over the past few days Li Bucai has been staying in the water fortress, awaiting news from Rui Tong and the others.

"Lord," Xianghong said, "as you instructed, we have delivered five thousand units of food to Master Qian; Master Qian is very pleased and asked me to bring back one ton of fine salt for you. He said they have been hastening the sun‑drying of salt these days, and will send the remaining portion in a few days."

The lord's package could just accommodate five thousand units of food. Sky City no longer sells packages; in the future, if one wishes to transport more goods, one must find a way oneself, such as building larger vessels for cargo.

The Territory was awaiting salt. Li Bucai took the package, looked inside, saw it filled with fine salt, nodded with satisfaction, and handed it to Yan Qiu.

"Very well, did you encounter any danger on the way?"

"Only a few dozen miles of waterway; the downstream surface is wide and the current steady, the whole journey was fine. Master Qian said he will personally visit the lord in a few days, saying he wishes to seek counsel from the lord."

"Oh? Seek counsel?" He thought it concerned civil administration; suddenly many more commoners appeared, and the settlement now roughly resembled a small nation. No one here was trained in politics, and the place is so primitive that everything must start from scratch, inevitably leading to headaches; he too is feeling his way across a river of stones. Li Bucai laughed, "How are things over there? The civilian houses are all built, right?"

"Yes, they're built, but their style differs greatly from ours; they're all round‑domed thatched houses built along the sea, quite beautiful, though it's uncertain whether they can withstand the sea wind."

After some idle chat, a servant reported that a small boat had appeared on the river. Li Bucai hurried up to the watchtower, and, using the setting sun, gazed out at the distant boat; the skirts on board fluttered, revealing Rui Tong and the other person. He promptly ordered the water fortress gates opened to welcome Rui Tong inside.

"How is it? Any news?"

From Rui Tong's gaunt, exhausted face, one could tell she hadn't slept in a long time; the military situation must be urgent.

Rui Tong, having raced back through the night without rest, was now exhausted but forced herself to rally. She replied, "Lord, they are preparing to deploy troops; when we returned, they were mustering the soldiers."

"How many people?"

"Tan Jiang has seventeen boats, and has borrowed twenty more from his brother. Those twenty are all covered with blue cloth, seeming to be a special reinforcement. As for the troop type, we only heard they are whirlwind death soldiers. As for their appearance, they're too far away, and they are extremely cautious, so Rui Tong couldn't see them. Including those twenty boats, there are probably over two hundred people. If they set out after us, they should reach here by tonight. Please, Lord, stay on guard."

Over two hundred people, most of whom are whirlwind death soldiers. What kind of troops are whirlwind death soldiers? They are unheard of in Sky City's labor market; I can recruit the undead, so could Tan Ping also have foreign troops?

Li Bucai nodded, thoughtful, and said, "Understood. I will bring your wolf riders here. You've worked hard these past days; I will send someone to escort you back. Return first to Bai Ma Crossing to recuperate; you need not worry about this matter any longer."

Rui Tong responded and left.

The first scout team returned; Rui Tong's reconnaissance was of Tan Jiang's Territory. The second scout team must have gone to the slightly farther Tan Ping's Territory. If Tan Jiang's forces follow Rui Tong's departure, the second team might encounter them on their return. Those two girls are very alert, so no accident should occur. Since they haven't returned yet, there is no need to worry about them for now.

Within the water fortress are sixty archers of Yin Ji, and sixty infantry of Meng Ji, with another sixty men at the nearby beacon tower. The enemy numbers over two hundred, requiring a concentration of superior forces; the first round must eliminate half of the enemy troops.

Li Bucai said, "Relay my orders: go to Bai Ma Crossing and summon Zhuoyue, bring all the archers to San Shui Kou to receive commands."