Chapter 1343: Wait!

"The Tartars are gone?" Zhao Song asked back. The others all crowded around urgently — the Tartars had actually left?

"Absolutely true. The main Tartar force has all gone to the mainland. When I went over there, I saw them making camp on land. Their rafts and boats are all on the shore. There's nothing left on the island!" The scout was brimming with excitement.

The sky was cold, the water was cold. He had swum along the coast, with little to replenish himself. Now his face was blue-tinged and his lips were purple, yet he was still excited and overjoyed. The flush of excitement mixed with the blue of cold made him look bizarre.

After seeing the situation on the mainland and the island, this scouting soldier did not rush to judgment. Through these days of fighting, the cunning of the Jianzhou Jurchen troops had taught the fortress garrison bitter lessons, so there would be no trace of optimism or carelessness. Under cover of night, he climbed onto Pi Island to investigate.

Originally, the Jianzhou Jurchen had sealed off every part of the island very tightly, giving the fortress garrison no chance to slip through. Most of the scouts the Zhao family army had sent out before had been lost to this blockade. But last night was different. This soldier had almost reached the highest point of Pi Island before he faintly heard movement in the distance — it seemed like hidden sentries were patrolling. Once he realized, he hurriedly fled back to the shore.

But judging by this, those hidden sentries were only guarding the encampment facing off against the fortress. That meant the Jianzhou Jurchen on the entire island were now likely reduced to just this one position. The main force really had all gone to the mainland.

They really left. They really left. Every face showed an expression of disbelief — first shock, then it turned to wild joy, and next they were about to shout and cheer.

"Settle down, all of you! There are still over three thousand Tartars across from us. In a straight fight, we still can't beat them. What's there to be happy about!" Zhao Song poured a bucket of cold water on everyone. His own complexion was quite good. Last night, Zhao Song had forced himself to stay up waiting for news, but had inexplicably fallen asleep — the first time in all these days.

The Jianzhou Jurchen camp across the way was also moving cautiously. There were troops maneuvering within the camp, but none came forward to provoke. This was clearly an intention to hold and watch each other — no plans for a major fight. With just over three thousand troops against nearly two thousand defenders, swallowing them whole would truly be difficult.

Zhao Song suppressed everyone's excitement, glanced at the situation across the way, then shouted out again: "Everyone move! Build that outer wall back up!"

The order was quickly assigned. Each company had its task — some maintained alert, others began working busily. The young womenfolk inside the fortress were mobilized as well.

Though this outer wall was not high, once rebuilt it would preserve a complete terrain advantage. The entire fortress position's defenses could then take shape facing outward. The reason the Jianzhou Jurchen had been able to launch a decisive battle was precisely because they had destroyed this wall, extending the battlefield into the position itself.

If the Jianzhou Jurchen main force were still here, the moment this side started building the wall, the other side would surely attack fiercely. But this time as they built, the camp over there only had men come out to look around and stay on guard. No one came out to attack. It remained quiet.

"Things really have taken a turn!" Seeing this, Zhao Song finally truly relaxed. He spoke to Luo Chen beside him. Luo Chen's face was also full of exhaustion. The tension accumulated over these days had all surfaced in the last two days — it was truly unbearable.

"Don't let your guard down, everyone. The main Tartar force has left, but there are still over three thousand across from us. We can't beat them. We can only hold to the death. As long as we hold, we can have our revenge!" Zhao Song shouted at the top of his hoarse voice. The fortress position quieted slightly, and then at last a tremendous cheer burst forth.

The erupting sound wave made the Jurchen camp across the way quite nervous. Some men rushed out and cursed loudly.

Luo Chen, who had slept for about six double-hours, was full of high spirits, his face all smiles. While urging everyone to repair the outer wall, he went looking for Zhao Song. In the end, he found him atop the fortress wall. Zhao Song was curled up in a corner, sleeping very soundly. Seeing this, Luo Chen wiped his hand across his face, turned, and walked down from the fortress wall. He had someone bring a blanket up.

Before falling asleep, Zhao Song had not known he was this exhausted. But once asleep, he had no idea how long he slept. As he hovered between sleep and waking, he only felt gusts of cool wind blowing in from the sea, and seemed to hear a strange sound of plucked strings.

Music? Zhao Song jolted awake. He looked at the busy crowd below the fortress, then looked out to sea. Besides the sounds of voices, wind, and waves, there was no string music at all. Zhao Song scratched his head, thinking he must have been dreaming. The north was sparsely populated, and strange things happened all the time. It could also be that after many days of bloody battle, suddenly resting made his body unaccustomed.

Zhao Song picked up the long halberd propped to one side and looked at the smashed fire lances, nest-of-bees rockets, and cannon carriages inside the fortress. He thought to himself that this time they had truly ruined a great deal of their family assets. If not for the armor protecting them, the Zhao family army would even have smashed the armor to pieces. These instruments of war were things others could not easily mass-produce, but they could still be made. If the enemy learned from them, that would be a huge problem.

Seeing the womenfolk and children below all looking gaunt and undernourished, with a child crying that he was hungry, Zhao Song shouted out: "Take out those few sacks of rice and flour stored in the warehouse and use them all! Cook some gruel for everyone to eat!"

The sheltered womenfolk below gave profuse thanks, but the soldiers and able-bodied young men were quite puzzled. They thought to themselves: this was the sustenance saved for the very end, to build strength for a desperate fight. How dare they eat it now? Was this throwing all caution to the wind?

Through these days of battle, the young Zhao Song's authority had grown towering. Even if people had doubts in their hearts, they would not question or refute him. Soon the aroma of rice and flour gruel began to spread. Everyone's stomachs rumbled noisily. Zhao Song walked through the position with a rather relaxed air.

Although many still dared not conclude the fighting was over, this easing atmosphere could be felt truly and vividly. This scene made Zhao Song feel even better. He walked toward the front, but couldn't help walking faster and faster, drawing surprised and curious looks from the people in the fortress position, who wondered what was happening. Two companies even followed him, puzzled, thinking there was about to be some action.

Zhao Song reached the outer wall, leaped up onto it in one bound, and roared at the Jianzhou Jurchen camp across the way: "I'm going to slaughter every last one of you! I'm going to have my revenge!"

The Jianzhou Jurchen camp could indeed hear this roar, but no one there paid it much mind. The fortress position, however, first went silent, and then the atmosphere exploded. Everyone joined in shouting and yelling wildly. Some laughed unrestrainedly, some wailed aloud. At this moment, they could indeed confirm they were safe. Thinking of the unbearable hardship of these days, they truly needed to weep and laugh and scream to vent it all.

"... Are these Xuzhou people all reckless fools? Even at a time like this, they're still thinking about killing all the Tartars. They barely made it to now, and yet they're still thinking so far ahead..."

Those who had survived until now were either fierce and brutal, or calm and self-possessed. Among the able-bodied young men of Pi Island, there were quite a few with cool-headed minds. Hearing these words, they naturally had their own judgments.

By this point, the Jianzhou Jurchen camp showed no reaction at all. Such behavior made everyone realize even more that they were truly safe. The atmosphere in the position grew even more heated and lively.

Wild with joy, but nothing that needed doing was neglected. Zhao Song and Luo Chen still cautiously sent out scouting parties. This time, some continued swimming along the coast, while others went ashore not far after swimming out and began searching Pi Island. Pi Island was not large, but it was still big enough to hide tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians. If the Jianzhou Jurchen had some scheme, it would be a great disaster.

Very quickly, reports came back from all directions. The Jianzhou Jurchen had only the camp facing off against the fortress. Everywhere else was empty of people. They had indeed, truly, all gone to the mainland.

This news was brought back that very night. The entire fortress, from top to bottom, once again plunged into a celebratory mood. The sheltered Pi Island able-bodied youths felt they had survived a calamity and were all discussing whether they could make rafts to go to the mainland — even throwing themselves on the mercy of the Goryeo people would be better than staying on this lonely island. Some even talked about whether rafts could reach Shandong. The men from Xuzhou, on the other hand, were pondering what kind of force would come, and how they would annihilate the Jianzhou Jurchen across the way.

When they discussed these things, they did not avoid the sheltered able-bodied youths. Hearing this, the Pi Island men were all dumbfounded. They thought to themselves: these Xuzhou people really are wildly imaginative. After fighting so bitterly, finally getting this chance, instead of thinking about leaving, they're still thinking about how to wipe out the Tartars. Although these few hundred men had indeed fought well, they had relied on firearms and the fortress after all, and used the lives of Pi Island's able-bodied men to fill the gaps — that was the only reason they had held out until now. If they wanted to deal with the remaining three thousand, it would probably be extremely, extremely difficult.

The situation had greatly improved, but the enemy was still strong and they were still weak. It was far from the time to be completely at ease and relaxed. Even after nightfall, the fortress garrison did not slacken in the slightest. Everything was the same as the day before — ready at any moment for all personnel to take their positions.

However, everyone urged Zhao Song and Luo Chen to rest. The same went for Zheng Xiao'er, who led a company. They had worked far too hard these past days. Now that everyone was rotating rest, they were the ones who most needed it. In the past, Zhao Song would certainly not have agreed, but now there was nothing to say. After sleeping once, far from relieving his fatigue, he felt even more desperately sleepy. In the current situation, resting a bit would not affect the overall picture. But Zhao Song insisted on sleeping atop the fortress wall, so he could react at any moment.

The next morning, in his drowsy haze, Zhao Song heard that plucked-string music again. He jolted awake by instinct. Only after waking did he hear the clamor and shouting around him. Everyone seemed emotionally stirred. Zhao Song's whole body tensed. He thought: could the Tartars be launching a surprise attack? Had he slept so deeply he hadn't noticed? Why hadn't the high sentry post given a warning? Had it been taken out? The more he thought, the more alarmed he became.

Holding his long halberd in one hand, he rubbed his eyes with the other and looked toward the high sentry post — only to find the soldier there was still present, waving his arms toward the sea, his mouth open wide as if shouting, as though he was so overwhelmed he could no longer make a sound.

That plucked-string music was still in his ears. The sea! Zhao Song suddenly realized. He had not looked toward the sea in a long time. After all, there was nothing on the sea but corpses and wreckage — no reinforcements, no hope. Zhao Song turned his head, and his entire body froze rigid.

There were ships on the sea! There were great ships on the sea! There was a fleet on the sea!

Thank you, everyone. Have a great weekend.