Chapter 301: Cannot Be Made an Enemy

Wu Rui and the Yue people of Yugan City traveled by water. The Yue live by the rivers, using boats as their carts and oars as their horses. The difficult mountain forests were no obstacle—they had no need to cut paths through the woods, for the rivers were nature's own smooth emerald roads.

The boats were brand new, giving off the scent of resin. On the Yugan River, carried by the current, their speed was no less than that of horse and carriage. Though there was some rocking, Wu Rui could stand steady as a rock at the prow, the splashing waves lapping against his bare feet.

He was the captain of this boat and the leader of the several dozen boats behind him. He had brought Yugan's finest warriors and sharpest swords. His father had told him to meet with the Qin people, to try and befriend them, but he intended to first see for himself whether they were worthy of his respect.

Wu Rui turned his head and saw the Chu scholar huddled in the small boat, too afraid to straighten up. His hands gripped the gunwales tightly, not daring to let go. His long robe and wide sleeves were already soaked through, making him look rather bedraggled.

Wu Rui gave a contemptuous smile, walked over, and looked down at him from above. He asked, "Master Xu, how many men will the Qin army send?"

Xu Shu raised his head, wiped the water from his face, and smiled. "No fewer than the Yue of Yugan."

"What does the Master think—how do my warriors compare to the soldiers of Qin?"

Wu Rui looked at the Yue men with dragon and serpent tattoos embroidered on their bodies, paddling on both sides of the boat with their oars. Their equipment was crude, and few wore armor, but every one of them was brawny and fierce, with Gan-Yue short swords hanging at their waists.

He pointed at a man with a fish-shaped facial tattoo. "He is called Gou Yu. He can dive into the water and wrestle a giant alligator, cutting out its tongue to present to my father."

He then pointed to another, a broad-waisted, huge-framed man. "He is called Gou Qu. He can climb the mountain and fight a wild boar with his bare hands, carrying the great boar back to the city alone."

There was also the lean man steering at the stern of the boat. "He is called Lu Ma. With a single blowpipe, he never misses his mark!"

"I have heard that the Qin army swept through Chu. Among the Qin soldiers, are there many such warriors?" Wu Rui said smugly.

Xu Shu smiled. "The Qin are mostly farmers who till the fields. I imagine such mighty men are few."

When the various Gan-Yue tribes fought each other, it was always a chaotic brawl. Wu Rui did not understand formations or military discipline. Hearing this, he assumed the Qin army had no true warriors, and a sense of contempt grew in his heart…

But unexpectedly, Xu Shu continued, "Yet I believe the Qin army's victories are not the result of individual valor, but of superior weapons and armor, formations and military discipline. If you made a Qin man and a Yue man fight bare-handed, the Qin might not be the Yue's match. But if you give them armor and dagger-axes, and put powerful crossbows in their hands, then one Qin can match two Yue. And if you have them fight in formation, three hundred Qin can match over a thousand Yue."

Wu Rui was somewhat unconvinced, but at that moment, a great shout came from the boats ahead: "The Gan River is in sight!"

Wu Rui turned around and saw the water surface suddenly open wide before him. The Yugan River merged into the Gan River here.

Ten li further down, the Fan River also joined in. Thirty li ahead, the Xiu River converged from the west. Only from this point did the Gan River truly become a mighty stream, so vast that one could not tell a cow from a horse standing on the opposite banks and islets…

This place was already two hundred li from Yugan. When Wu Rui was young, he had once drifted downstream with others, continuing onward into Pengli Marsh to trade with the Chu people at Xunyi and Pengze, so he had some impression of the scenery along the way:

Two thousand years later, the seas would change and the land would shift, and this area would be submerged by the waters of Poyang Lake. But now, it was a vast plain, full of dark, glistening marshes, the land low-lying and damp. Looking out, no roads could be seen at all, only reeds and thickets, where herds of elk could often be spotted running through. Some Yue people who lived by the water dwelt in stilt houses built of mud and thatch among the wild grass, surviving by catching fish and clams in the rivers and lakes.

But today, things were somewhat different. On the eastern shore of Pengli Marsh, over ten ships were moored. Compared to the Yue people's small boats and skiffs, those war junks and Great Wing ships were veritable giants, to say nothing of that tower ship. Even as it sat quietly anchored by the lake, one could fully feel its immensity and fearsomeness: a sleek brown hull several dozen paces long, a single great mast, fifty long oars, a deck large enough for a hundred men to stand on…

The rowing Yue men stopped their oars as one, all sighing in amazement.

"It's truly huge…"

"Like a mountain."

Wu Rui could no longer smile either. He secretly calculated: if they were to fight it on the lake, not to mention that a collision would likely capsize them directly and throw everyone into the water, even at a hundred paces' distance, the waves it stirred up would make their boats rock unsteadily. And that giant tower ship was full of soldiers armed with bows and crossbows; even if they kept far away, they would be shot down from above.

As they drew closer, they discovered a group of people continuously carrying large sacks of grain ashore from the ship in an endless stream. Traveling south from Pengze, the roads along the way were narrow, making grain transport unsustainable, so they had the tower-ship marines carry the grain back to the lake mouth, enter the southern part of Pengli Marsh, and rendezvous with the land army here on the eastern shore.

After spotting the Yue boats coming straight down the Gan River, several war junks and Great Wing ships immediately turned their prows to face them. Under the direction of a dark, lean Qin officer, the Qin men on shore also raised their bows and arrows.

The Yue were equally vigilant, their hands moving toward the short swords at their waists. Fortunately, Xu Shu had someone raise the Qin banner he carried, clarifying their intentions.

"Master Xu is truly punctual."

The dark, lean Qin officer extended a hand to help Xu Shu ashore, then looked at Wu Rui, who was on the same boat.

"Is this the Yue chieftain?"

He looked at Wu Rui and smiled. "He is rather young."

Xu Shu introduced the two to each other. "This is Zhao Tuo, Commander of Five Hundred of the Qin army's tower-ship marines."

"This is Wu Rui, son of the Lord of Yugan City."

Zhao Tuo saluted Wu Rui, and Wu Rui returned the Yue salute. The first meeting of these two, who would later become enemies in history, was utterly ordinary and amicable.

Zhao Tuo said that he himself had only arrived that morning, while the land army led by Hei Fu had reached this place the day before and had already finished building a fortified camp.

"The lakeside is low and damp, making it hard to pitch camp, so the fortifications are set on a small hill one li away. Lord Wu, Master Xu, let us go there now!"

Wu Rui knew he could not bring a thousand men to see that Qin army Sima, so he had his followers take the boats to moor on the western bank of the Gan River. This would prevent conflicts between the soldiers of both sides, and if any sudden situation arose, they could also leave at leisure, without being caught in one net.

He put away the contempt for the Qin people born of ignorance, replacing it with deep distrust.

Wu Rui brought his three bravest subordinates and followed Zhao Tuo and Xu Shu for several hundred paces. When they climbed the small hill, he was stunned to find that in this desolate, uninhabited place, as if mushrooms had sprouted overnight during the rainy season, a patch of fortified tents had appeared.

And an army the likes of which Wu Rui had never seen in his twenty years of life was arrayed in perfect order before the camp: uniform black clothing, covered with the Qin army's leather armor and helmets. Ten men to a file, a hundred to a rank, a full thousand Qin soldiers. Compared to the chaotic mess of Gan-Yue gatherings, it was far more pleasing to the eye.

And the glittering dagger-axes, spears, swords, and halberds in their hands were no less than the hundred-odd short swords of the Gan-Yue. Wu Rui immediately recalled what Xu Shu had told him: "One Qin can match two Yue; three hundred Qin can match over a thousand Yue."

At that moment, a fierce drumbeat began to pound. In time with the drums, the thousand Qin soldiers split into two parts with uniform precision, leaving a path several paces wide in the center, leading straight to the main gate of the Qin camp.

Although Wu Rui was a minor chieftain of Yugan, he had never traveled far. To put it bluntly, he was just a country bumpkin who had participated in a few tribal brawls. He had thought Yugan was a very powerful city within a thousand li, and that his own warriors had no rivals.

But now, seeing the regular army from Qin, his earlier contempt vanished in an instant, leaving only admiration and envy.

As he passed through the center of the Qin soldiers, he thought to himself, "If Yugan had this many armored soldiers and weapons, Poyang could be taken with ease…"

When he reached the camp gate, the display inside was no less impressive. Along the hundred-pace path leading to the Qin army's main tent, a hundred brawny close-guards had all been stationed. They wore heavy helmets, thick armor, and black battle robes, holding long halberds over a zhang in length and wearing short swords in black scabbards. They stood in two columns, stretching from the camp entrance all the way to the main tent.

A young military officer, about the same age as Wu Rui and Zhao Tuo, wearing a board crown and resting a hand on his long sword, strode out. It was Gong Ao.

"By order of the Detached Division Sima, I am here to welcome Lord Wu of Yugan."

He waved a hand and said, "Lord Wu, please proceed!"

The weapons in the hands of those close-guards were all real. At this moment, the sunlight broke through the layered clouds, shining upon them with a glittering reflection that lit the path ahead. And the hundred warriors all turned their faces in unison to look at Wu Rui, their wide-rounded eyes full of intimidation!

The three warriors behind Wu Rui grew somewhat wary, but Wu Rui was utterly unafraid. Holding his short sword, he strode forward. Zhao Tuo and Gong Ao behind him could not help but exchange a glance and nod secretly, thinking this young Yue chieftain had some nerve.

When they reached the front of the camp gate, Dongmen Bao stood before the curtain with a murderous look, pointing at the short sword on Wu Rui's waist. "How can you not remove your sword when meeting the Sima? Hand over your weapon to me!"

Wu Rui did not understand what Dongmen Bao said, but he guessed what he wanted. He frowned and said, "A sword is like a wife to the Gan-Yue. How can it be handed to another? If you insist on taking my sword, I shall take my leave!"

Xu Shu hurried forward to mediate. Dongmen Bao was about to lose his temper when a voice from inside the tent stopped him.

"Enough. Since it is the Yue custom, there is no need to force him. Let him enter!"

Only then did Dongmen Bao reluctantly step aside. Zhao Tuo and Gong Ao entered one after the other, lifting the tent flaps from left and right in a gesture of invitation.

Wu Rui, somewhat impatient, stepped inside. After seeing so much along the way, he was very curious: what kind of man was the Qin army Sima inside?

A dark-faced Qin officer wearing a brown-feathered cap rose from his mat and sized up Wu Rui impassively. His features were utterly ordinary, not the heroic figure Wu Rui had imagined. Those eyes seemed to hide many thoughts.

"Your subordinate pays respects to the Sima!"

Zhao Tuo and Gong Ao to his left and right bowed in turn, while Wu Rui, after a moment's hesitation, followed their example and cupped his hands slightly toward Heifu.

Wu Rui was proud, but not foolish. From what he had observed along the way, he already understood that this Qin army was indeed extremely powerful. And according to his father, to the State of Qin, these several thousand Qin soldiers were but a single drop in a river — if Qin so wished, it could mobilize an army tenfold or even a hundredfold larger!

"Even if we cannot be friends, at the very least we must not provoke this man and make Qin an enemy of the Gan Yue."

And so, at this moment, the historical King of Nanyue, King of Linjiang, and King of Changsha — three kings — all bowed before Heifu...

PS: The second chapter will be very late tonight.

(End of chapter)