Chapter 19: Hero

The sunlight was bright, the sky cloudless for ten thousand li.

It was a good day suited for war.

The initial quarter of the Si hour, the hour for the daily main meal.

The military households inside the weichang gradually gathered, lining up to eat from the large pots.

This main meal was still the pork stewed with glass noodles and potatoes stewed with beef that had continued for several days.

No one felt they had eaten too much of it; they only felt this was the supreme delicacy in the human world.

In the military households' words: "We eat the same as the Emperor."

This was not boasting.

The Rites of Zhou records it clearly: the Son of Heaven eats beef, the feudal lords eat mutton.

Being able to eat beef openly and aboveboard, in terms of eating they were indeed on the same level as the Son of Heaven.

Compared to the laughter and joy of the past few days, the atmosphere at the large-pot meal today was obviously much more solemn.

The clamor quieted, and smiles on faces grew fewer.

Everyone knew that after finishing this meal, they would have to go to the battlefield.

"Brother Zi Hou need not worry."

Qin Lang, holding his ceramic bowl and eating, squatted on the ground with a smiling face: "We've eaten your food, drunk your wine, taken your things — we should sell our lives for you!"

As he spoke these words, he glanced at Lin Dao without showing it.

His words were not merely their literal meaning.

After all, with Lin Dao's generous manner, how was this buying people's hearts? This was clearly raising dead soldiers!

In the modern world, three to five thousand yuan a month with room and board included — that's a wage slave.

Only a capitalist would think this kind of treatment counts as raising dead soldiers.

Here in the Qi Huo Army, the things Lin Dao gave out were things they couldn't get even with their lives.

Now that they've enjoyed them, dying for the Lin Jia Master is only right and proper.

At this moment, Lin Dao's heart only wanted to exterminate the Qianghu.

His mindset had always been to regard himself as a sojourner in Yonghe Spacetime; even when sleeping at night he returned to the Modern World.

The world of Yonghe Spacetime was, to him, just a place for a business trip.

Precisely because of this, Lin Dao did not understand the deeper implication in Qin Lang's words.

Because his true heart had never thought in that direction.

"In this world, the most precious thing is life."

Lin Dao frowned: "They are willing to fight desperately because of my personal wish, then I should pay the corresponding reward."

"This is a matter of course."

These words made Qin Lang's expression change instantly.

In his gaze toward Lin Dao was full of incredulity.

The various Hu ran rampant, the world was in great chaos.

A thousand li without a rooster crowing, white bones exposed in the wilds.

In this damn era, the least valuable thing is life.

Brother Zi Hou, just what are you thinking?

He shook his head, expressing that he could not understand Lin Dao's thinking.

The supplies Lin Dao took out were more precious than the lives of the Qi Huo Army.

After all, it is a clash of concepts separated by over a thousand years; being unable to understand is only natural.

After everyone had eaten and drunk their fill and rested a while.

Qin Lang gave a slight nod toward Lin Dao as a signal.

"Everyone."

Lin Dao stood up, standing on the modified three-wheeled cart.

One foot planted on the steel plate, he raised the trumpet in his hand and shouted at the top of his voice: "You are all Invincible fierce warriors, willing to leave the city and meet the cruel Qianghu in battle."

"The people under heaven have suffered the various Hu for long; you are willing to strike at the Hu captives — that makes you the heroes of the people under heaven!"

"You are all heroes, heroes of the era!"

From the gathered military households, a vague noise rose.

No one had ever praised them as fierce warriors, as heroes.

Speaking from the heart, it was merely to seek survival.

Lin Dao's words made their dry, dead hearts have a different throb.

He—roes?

"Going out to fight the Qianghu was proposed by me, Lin Dao."

"Since it was my proposal, I have the responsibility to solve your worries about the rear!"

"For this sortie."

Lin Dao's loud voice, carrying an electronic tone, continued to transmit through the trumpet.

"Whoever takes one Qianghu head will be gifted ten dan of grain! Five bolts of cloth! Twenty jin of pork! One barrel of oil!"

As these words fell, the previous noise instantly turned into a roaring clamor.

If anyone else said this, the military households would treat it as farting — no one would believe it.

In this era where people starve to death every day, no one can produce so many things.

Even more impossible to take them out and give them to these Qi Huo Army men to fight for their lives.

Only Lin Dao, who had proven his strength and actually brought out supplies for the Qihuo Army to enjoy, could speak such words — and everyone believed him!

"Those who die in battle, those maimed — their families will each be granted one hundred dan of grain! Fifty bolts of cloth!"

A clamor rose up, turning into incredulous cries, into roars of surging hot blood.

In these times of war, to die and have a reed mat to wrap your body for burial — that is already good fortune.

Under normal circumstances, you are simply left to rot in the wilderness, unclaimed by anyone.

Even more terrifying is being dragged away as food ingredients.

Pensions? Burial money?

Go dream on!

"If a craftsman wishes to do his work well, he must first sharpen his tools."

Lin Dao reached out and pointed at the armor, weapons, and other supplies piled like mountains not far away.

He shouted in a loud voice, "If you are willing to heed my call to go to war, then I have the responsibility to provide you with combat supplies."

"Those with superb martial skills, strong and sturdy bodies — step forward, don armor!"

The armor Lin Dao brought numbered over two thousand sets.

It wasn't that the factory's productivity couldn't keep up, nor that he lacked the money to buy them.

The factory could produce however many were needed; assembly-line production fears large orders the least.

As for payment, only a deposit needed to be paid — even ten thousand sets would be enough.

The sole reason was that among the military households inside the weichang, only three to four thousand people could wear armor weighing dozens of jin and still continue fighting.

Excluding the personal armored soldiers Feng Dun kept behind in the name of defending the city, the remainder was just over two thousand people.

Long stuck in a semi-starved state, most of the Qihuo Army were emaciated, with barely a few jin of flesh on their bodies.

Even many old, weak, women, and children were so withered their ribs protruded.

That over two thousand people could now don armor and fight was thanks to the grain Lin Dao had transported over these days, which had fed them strength.

Qin Lang, already promoted to Yamen General for his merits, led his men in loudly shouting orders.

Arranging manpower to don armor in an orderly fashion.

The armor Lin Dao brought — its quality was beyond reproach.

Thickness reached two to three millimeters, and it was a product of modern metallurgical industry.

Even the heavy arrows of Shi Hu's Flying Cavalry Imperial Guards could hardly penetrate it, unless at close range a strong crossbow was fired point-blank.

Besides that, Lin Dao also prepared weapons for them.

In film and TV dramas, battlefields are all swords and sabers clashing — very lively to watch.

But in reality, that is pure nonsense.

Even a Sword Saint, once on the battlefield, would use long weapons — and the longer the better.

Lin Dao didn't buy those flashy, gorgeously colored sabers and swords from the internet.

He bought three-edged ice picks.

Sharpened, ground, and polished by the factory's edging machines, then a long iron pipe welded onto the rear end of each ice pick.

This thing's penetration ability is extremely strong; used against the Qianghu's armored soldiers, the effect is superb.

Besides that, the military households also received hammers.

Flat-headed hammers, ram's horn hammers — both kinds, hung at the waist as close-combat weapons.

In addition, every military household received a lightweight shield.

This is a formation-style riot shield, made of engineering plastic.

It has very strong impact resistance; most importantly, it is lightweight.

Lin Dao on the tricycle roared again.

"I will only say this once!"

"In this battle, take no prisoners!"

"I want only Qianghu heads!!"

"Kill the Hu~~~"

"Kill! Kill!! Kill!!!"

On the Qianghu camp side, the Qianghu dragging women before the camp, flaunting and cursing at the weichang.

Seeing the weichang's city gate wide open, masses of armored soldiers pouring out, they immediately slew the women, turned, and fled.

Masses of armored soldiers surged out like a tide.

Forming ranks, advancing then sitting down to rest, waiting for subsequent troops to form the battle array.

Behind them came even greater numbers of light infantry.

Behind the light infantry, Qin Lang leading over a hundred cavalry.

Last to exit the city was Lin Dao driving the modified tricycle.

It wasn't that Lin Dao was unwilling to drive the welded-steel-plate heavy truck — one, he had no license; two, the heavy truck couldn't get out the city gate.

The weichang is a military fort after all; the city gate is very narrow.

"Rest assured, Langzhu."

Sun Dalang, standing beside Lin Dao, holding a shield, his bearing resolute: "This slave will surely guard Langzhu's safety with my life!"

Lin Dao paused, then thought a bit more.

A moment later a faint smile appeared; he nodded. "Then I entrust it to you."

Steel plates were welded all around the tricycle.

Lin Dao himself was also wearing three layers of armor.

On the carriage behind, several of his guards stood, holding strong crossbows with vigilant eyes.

Lin Dao looked back, glancing at the city tower of the wubao behind him.

Wubao Commander Feng Dun, along with his staff, all stood there watching.

Withdrawing his gaze, Lin Dao did not speak further.

He could also sense the hostility from Feng Dun's side.

After all, his own actions had already amounted to a near usurpation of power.

At this time within the wubao, apart from Feng Dun's clan disciples and trusted retainers, the remaining able-bodied men had almost all followed Lin Dao out.

If Lin Dao were in Feng Dun's position, he would probably already be considering how to eliminate the usurper.

The men and horses exceeded ten thousand, boundless and endless.

Merely marching the troops out, forming ranks, and setting off took a very long time.

By the time they truly began pressing forward, it was already past noon.

The Jie Hu side also had ample time to prepare.

The troops besieging the other wubao could not be redeployed.

Once redeployed, the Gluttonous Army soldiers inside the other wubao would sally forth, and disaster would strike immediately.

The ones truly responding were Li Nong's Camp besieging Feng Dun's Wubao.

Li Nong on the Observation Platform, watching the Gluttonous Army gradually advancing step by step, his eyelids twitching incessantly.

The armor on those vanguard soldiers, under the afternoon sunlight, resembled a Silver Great Wall!

Gleaming bright, extremely dazzling.

The steel torrent surged forward, and the Jie Hu side's morale was obviously suppressed.

Li Nong instructed a couple of sentences, and the Jun Simma beside him immediately went to the flag bearers.

Before long, as flags waved, several hundred Shi Hu Imperial Guards rode out surging on horseback.

They formed squads of ten riders, connected head to tail.

Maneuvering horizontally and vertically, they hurled heavy arrows toward the Gluttonous Army side.

These Flying Cavalry all used strong bows, and shot Armor-piercing Heavy Arrows.

When fighting the Former Yan Murong Clan, they had once displayed Divine Might, routing Murong Chui in utter disarray.

Ordinary leather armor, unless it is rhinoceros armor, simply cannot withstand them.

Even iron armor can be pierced through at close range.

Amidst continuous 'thwack-thwack' sounds, the shields held by the front-rank Gluttonous Army soldiers were already bristling with arrows.

Even many soldiers' bodies were hit by the Flying Cavalry's superb archery.

Yet the result was that the Gluttonous Army soldiers almost no one fell.

The Imperial Guard Flying Cavalry were clearly unwilling to accept this.

They circled on horseback and charged again.

This time they closed the distance, heavy arrows in hand shooting fiercely.

At the same time, from the rear of the Gluttonous Army soldiers' formation, bowstrings twanged loudly.

The bow and crossbow men loosed arrows simultaneously, like a dark cloud sweeping across, enveloping a patch of Flying Cavalry.

Men shouted, horses neighed, wails resounded through the Four Wildernesses!

(End of Chapter)