Eighty-eight

He nearly exploded. “How much did you sell it for?”

Huang Yi raised two fingers.

“Exactly how much?” Li Miao roared.

Huang Yi lifted one more finger. “Three thousand sets of armor, five thousand battle sabers.”

“I asked how much money!” Li Miao repeated.

“Two thousand gold!” Huang Yi confessed at last.

The moment he finished, Li Miao launched a flying kick at him.

“Your Majesty, it was all my fault. I never should have sold them to those bandits and thieves!” Huang Yi knew he had blundered badly. Quite a few people had come to buy armor from him back then, and he had not been choosy at all. Those Song Mountain outlaws had bought weapons from him with covetous eyes, but they had also offered him a benefit: whenever Huang Yi wanted to deal with certain people, those same outlaws could serve as enforcers. That was why he had sold the weapons and armor to them.

“You idiot! Can’t you do the math? Two thousand gold, two thousand gold, and you sold three thousand sets of armor and five thousand battle sabers? Why don’t you just go and die?” Li Miao kicked him again and again.

“Aaah!” Huang Yi clearly had not caught the meaning of Li Miao’s words.

“Those weapons and armor were worth at least five thousand gold. Fine, you sold them to thieves and bandits, but you only got two thousand gold for them! I told you to sell them for two thousand gold? I told you to sell them for two thousand gold? And didn’t you say it was fifteen hundred gold? Where is the remaining five hundred gold? Where is it?” With that, Li Miao lashed out with two more kicks.

“Your Majesty, Your Majesty!” Yang Hong, standing nearby, grew embarrassed. Everyone had assumed Li Miao was beating Huang Yi because Huang Yi had sold the weapons and armor to bandits. But now it was clear that was not the reason at all. Their emperor was furious because Huang Yi had sold the armor and weapons too cheaply, too cheaply, too cheaply.

Yang Hong hurried to remind him.

Only then did Li Miao react. Ahem, he coughed twice, straightening up the conscience that had already lost all sense of humanity.

“Where were we just now?” Li Miao asked the people below.

“Your Majesty, these Song Mountain thieves are advancing aggressively. Their intentions are sinister,” Yang Hong said.

“Hmm.” Li Miao nodded. Seated upright in the chief position, he wanted to imitate those great commanders from the western stories, sitting high above and declaring, “What plans do you all have?”

At once, all the ministers and generals below would leap out, offering their best, middling, and worst strategies, leaving the commander to choose. If the answer were poor, they would be beaten out with clubs.

Of course, that was only the scene in his imagination. In reality, the civil and military officials below were few and far between, pitiful little numbers indeed, all looking up at Li Miao with pleading eyes, hoping their lord would come up with an answer.

Li Miao sighed. Their foundation was shallow, their numbers small. They truly had no capable strategist to rely on. The one second-rate adviser they did have had been sent to transport grain.

Since there was no top-class counselor like the famed strategists of legend to work for him, he would have to rely on himself.

“One word: wait,” Li Miao said solemnly to the crowd below.

There were no regular troops in the city right now. The only men who could truly be called soldiers were the eight hundred child troops under Chen Dao. The elite feather-guard forces had all been taken away by Zhang Xun.

What Li Miao needed now was time. He had to wait for Zhang Xun to return safely with the three hundred feather guards under his command. Only then would there be hope.

Otherwise, they would have to live and die with Jiangting City, because these were real bandits, and Li Miao had no rear guard unit. If they tried to flee, they would not even be able to run.

A horse whinnied outside Jiangting City. Several riders were visible, and at a glance one could tell they were the bandit leaders.

Mei Qian pulled up his horse and looked toward the distant city.

“Big brother, this is Jiangting City!” said the little chief beside him, his tone full of disdain. In name it was Jiangting City, but to put it plainly, it was just Jiangting Village. It was not even as large as Chen Family Fort or Xu Family Stronghold, and after the chaos of war it looked even more shattered.

“Mm.” Mei Qian nodded. This Jiangting City was small. Though it had been repaired, it was only patched together with sand and mud. It did not amount to much at all. Even the city walls were low; a half-length ladder would be enough to get someone over.

Mei Qian was not a reckless man who would march out just because Chen Lan sent an envoy to say a few words. He was cautious and would only move after he had thoroughly investigated the situation.

He had observed Jiangting City for a long time before deciding to attack. A ruined county seat like this was beneath his notice.

The thousands of soldiers under him could break even some smaller commandery cities, let alone a tiny place like Jiangting.

“Go, shout to them!” Mei Qian ordered the bandits under him.

“Yes!”

Soon a cavalryman rode forward toward the base of the city walls.

“People on the walls, listen well! We are under the command of King Mei Qian of Song Mountain. We have come to Jiangting today. If you are wise, open the gates at once. Perhaps we will only eat our fill within your city and then leave. If not, the city will fall and all will perish!”

The rider shouted threats from below the walls.

As expected, they were Mei Qian’s men. It was now confirmed that these troops all belonged to Mei Qian.

Li Miao looked once, and there were indeed several thousand of them rolling in like a tide. Though only two thousand wore armor, that was still several thousand men.

“Brother-in-law, you go,” Li Miao said to Huang Yi beside him.

“Ah, Miao’er...” Huang Yi was somewhat guilty.

“Two thousand gold,” Li Miao repeated.

“All right, I’ll go.”

Huang Yi gave up resisting, climbed up onto the wall, and hid behind the battlements, fearing that some stray arrow from below might pierce his noble head.

“Lord Mei Qian, do you still recognize me?” Huang Yi called down from the wall.

From below, Mei Qian could only hear the voice and could not see the figure. How was he supposed to know who it was?

“Stand over there and shout properly!” Li Miao noticed the flaw at once and kicked Huang Yi again.

Only then did Huang Yi’s shy face appear. “King Mei Qian, do you still recognize me?” he repeated.

Although Mei Qian could see a figure on the wall now, he still could not make out the face. Besides, this was not the modern world where people could video chat whenever they pleased. Sometimes years passed between meetings, and who remembered whom after such time? Grow a beard, tie up your hair, and you might as well be a different person.

“King Mei Qian, I am Huang Yi. The armor and weapons you use were sold to you by me!” Huang Yi shouted from above.

At that, Mei Qian did recall that he had once bought a batch of weapons and armor from Li Shu’s army. Back then he had gone everywhere begging for help, since as a bandit no one was willing to sell to him. Yet when he went to Shouchun in hopes of luck, he had run into Huang Yi. Two thousand gold—it had been a bargain beyond belief. Three thousand sets of armor and five thousand battle sabers, sold for a song. Mei Qian had even thought at the time that he had met a benefactor. He truly ought to thank Huang Yi.

Unconsciously, he had even placed Huang Yi among those he would not kill.

But by the time the words left Mei Qian’s mouth, they had become: “You’re still alive?”

“You’re the one who’s dead! Your whole family is dead!” Huang Yi exploded with annoyance. What did he mean, still alive? Was that a curse wishing him an early death?

That was not Mei Qian’s intention. He had merely been surprised that Huang Yi was still alive. After all, within Li Shu’s faction, the civil and military officials had died in droves. The closer one had been to Li Shu, the more miserable the death. Even Li Shu himself had nearly died without a burial place.

It had been meant as a greeting, but it came out sounding like surprise. Before he could explain, Huang Yi had already fired back with those biting words.

Mei Qian’s face darkened immediately. His earlier intention not to kill Huang Yi had vanished, and Huang Yi was now firmly on his list of those who must die.

“Huang Yi, since you recognize me, Mei Qian, then I shall speak plainly. Open the city gates. We will take what we came for and spare your life. If not, the city falls and all perish!” Mei Qian no longer had the leisure to waste words with him.

“Take what you came for?” Huang Yi blinked.

“Ask them what they want,” Li Miao said. He was absolutely the sort of person who disliked thinking and found trouble annoying.

“The imperial seal!” Mei Qian replied toward Huang Yi.

“The imperial seal!” Li Miao’s eyes widened.

If it were grain or military supplies, he could still negotiate with Mei Qian and split things half and half. Five thousand piculs of grain would be enough for him to eat for more than half a year. But the thing Mei Qian had demanded, he truly could not hand over, even if he had wanted to.

Because the so-called imperial seal had already merged into his body. He was essentially that thing from Henan-made Nokia folklore. Was he supposed to have it removed with surgery? Setting aside the fact that such medical skill did not exist in this age, even if it did, Li Miao would not let anyone cut him open.

He looked at the thousands of Song Mountain bandits below. Bandits were bandits; they had no orderly formations, only loose clusters. Yet even so, they were several thousand armored men, and from their bearing, as well as Mei Qian’s attitude just now, they plainly did not take Jiangting seriously at all.

Li Miao glanced at the sky. It was still early. This might well become a siege battle.

There was no excess manpower in Li Miao’s hands. If anything, the only fighters were those eight hundred child troops, and he did not truly trust them. Jiangting City was even worse, easy to attack and hard to defend. The poor little walls were only a few zhang high; break half a ladder and you could still climb over.

Some of the earlier breaches had only just been patched up, and those patches were made of mud and sand, not solid stone. If enough force were used, one could probably push them open by hand.

A defensive battle here was impossible.

“Grand Minister Yang, has the envoy asking for reinforcements already been sent?” Li Miao asked Yang Hong beside him.

“Reporting to Your Majesty, it has already been sent!” Yang Hong had dispatched the messenger from another city gate long ago, riding hard to find Zhang Xun’s feather guards and urging them to hurry. Jiangting was in danger.

“Your Majesty, why not just give them the imperial seal?” one of the sycophants immediately chose survival first, urging Li Miao to hand it over so everyone could be safe.

“No!” Li Miao and Yang Hong said in unison.

Li Miao’s reason was simple: the imperial seal had already damned well gone into his body. If he could take it out, he would already have taken it and gone to attach himself to some regional lord, living as a shameless rich second son, taking ten or more wives, flirting with maids, bullying honest commoners. Why would he still be sweating blood in this tiny Jiangting?

Yang Hong’s refusal came for another reason: the imperial seal was a relic left behind by the late lord Li Shu. Before his death, the old master had told him to protect both the young lord and the imperial seal. Rather die himself than surrender it.

“General Huang, the imperial seal is Heaven’s grant to the throne, the proof of the emperor’s authority. Do you intend to betray His Majesty?” Yang Hong did not even need Li Miao to explain; he immediately opened fire on Huang Yi.

Huang Yi might be clever in petty schemes, but in verbal sparring he was no match for Yang Hong. Moreover, Yang Hong had once been a trusted elder minister of Li Shu and now was Li Miao’s number one lackey, even one rank above him as the number two lackey. Huang Yi could only swallow bitterness in silence.

“If you won’t give it, then you won’t give it,” he muttered resentfully.

“Brother-in-law, are you acquainted with this Mei Qian?” Li Miao suddenly asked Huang Yi.

“This, this... I have long admired him. We have exchanged letters, and my thoughts have been tied to him for ages,” Huang Yi said in an affected, scholarly tone.

“Speak like a human being,” Li Miao said impatiently. He had discovered a truth: with certain people, such as Huang Yi, words were useless. Fists and feet were far more effective. He kicked Huang Yi without hesitation, and Huang Yi cried out at once.

“Acquainted, acquainted!”

Clutching his pain, Huang Yi admitted it quickly. Of course he knew him. The two were cut from the same rotten cloth: one a bandit chief, the other a profligate wastrel. Whenever Huang Yi took a fancy to some young maiden from a respectable family, if direct methods were inconvenient, he would secretly have those Song Mountain bandits act. They would snatch the girl and send her to Huang Yi, and Huang Yi would in turn give them some benefit. In truth, Huang Yi was the one keeping the Song Mountain bandits alive.

“Scum,” Li Miao said in contempt.

“Brother-in-law, I’m telling you now: if there is a next time, I will not spare you!” Li Miao declared with righteous indignation.

Chen Dao and the others nearby were even made to feel that their lord clearly distinguished right from wrong.

Only Huang Yi understood the other meaning in Li Miao’s eyes: when you kidnap young ladies next time, why didn’t you take me along? If there is a next time and you still don’t take me, I’ll cut you down.

“Yes, yes, yes!” Huang Yi hurriedly nodded.

“Does this Mei Qian understand military strategy?” Li Miao asked Huang Yi again.

“That vile bandit? How could he possibly understand military strategy?” Yang Hong said disdainfully.

Li Miao frowned. If Huang Yi did not understand strategy, then this would be troublesome.

“Hmm... I think I’ve seen him read a few books,” Huang Yi said uncertainly.

“Read books? What books?” Li Miao hurriedly pressed.

“Those, those things called something spring and...” said the idle young master Huang Yi.

“Something spring? Three characters?” Li Miao asked in confusion.

“Cut it out, Miao’er. I know exactly what you mean by those spring pictures. Didn’t you get a few of them from me?” Huang Yi blurted out.

A couple of people beside them, including Chen Dao, wanted to laugh but did not dare.

Li Miao wanted nothing more than to kick this idiot to death.

“How many characters?” he asked again. This time the words were practically ground out between his teeth. If Huang Yi dared babble nonsense again, Li Miao swore he would make him learn why the flower was so red.