Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
His face livid, Duodun regretted bringing so little troops. He had never expected the Dragon King to assemble 10,000 people in just a few days, not to mention that the cowardly Shule people had actually roused up their courage to oppose the Norland Cavalry.
“Is the Dragon King very good at fighting?” Duodun asked Liman who was standing beside him.
Liman had been pardoned, but he was the only one of the prince’s companions who was dressed without armor or helmet, as if he were a commoner. He was not even allowed to carry a dagger with him, which was openly humiliating for a Norland man, especially when that man was the son of a general.
But Liman still thanked the prince for his magnanimity and believed that he should speak the truth. “As far as I know, the Dragon King is not good at fighting in a large-scale battle. I’d say the 3,000 vanguards have lost to themselves, not the enemies.”
Duodun grunted, but he still somewhat agreed with Liman’s opinion.
The 3,000 Norland cavalrymen had suffered few casualties as most of them had fled before being completely surrounded. However, their actions had left them utterly demoralized as they were the exact opposite of what valiant men of Norland would have done.
The first group of escapees described the battle as very thrilling. According to their description, the Dragon King seemed to have led fifty or sixty thousand people at once, suddenly surrounding the unprepared Norland Army with an overwhelming advantage, and it was really not easy for them to escape.
Soon, the second group of hundreds of soldiers returned with completely different news. They had been released by the Dragon King after briefly being taken prisoner, and they had seen with their eyes that the Restoration Army consisted of only 10,000 people, most of whom were armed with sabers and spears, with very few bowmen among them. And they acknowledged that the two sides had charged towards each other at the same time, and that there was no question of who had provoked whom first.
Liman reached his conclusion based on the second statement. “Distance is the key to horseback archery. Our army made a big mistake by charging the enemy and engaging in melee combat. It was even more of a mistake to fight against 10,000 people with only 3,000 people.”
Duodun, of course, understood this, but he could not admit it because it was precisely he who had ordered it. He had ordered the army to first defeat the enemy before asking about their origins no matter who the other side was. According to his estimate, the Dragon King would bring at most 5,000 people, or even less, and would certainly be no match for the Norland cavalry.
He had no intention of killing the Dragon King, and had just wanted to show off his strength. But the situation had turned out to have the opposite effect, instead giving the Dragon King a chance to train his soldiers.
Duodun’s other close friends knew the root cause of the incident and also knew that His Highness needed their help to save him from embarrassment at this moment. So, one of them said, “Victory and defeat are both common in war. It doesn’t mean anything if our vanguard lost to the enemy’s main forces. With the same amount of soldiers, our army will win the next battle for sure.”
The generals and officers were all asking for a battle assignment. But Duodun was still looking at Liman, and he asked, “What do you think?”
“The Dragon King is an ally. We should not fight him.”
“What ally?” exclaimed one of the confidants angrily. “Didn’t the Dragon King also recognize the Norland Cavalry? He was just trying to stir up trouble.”
“Neither did we recognize the Red Crow Flag,” Liman calmly pointed out. “Since the whole battle was born from a temptation, it’s hard to say who’s in the right and who’s in the wrong. We can still gloss it over. But if we start another battle, the relationship will become irreparable.”
“So what? Sooner or later there will be a fight. Let’s take this opportunity to wipe out the hidden danger,” another friend said. Since Duodun didn’t want to speak, his men would speak for him. “His Highness will enter the prairie to pacify the Norland next year, and as a rear base, the Shule Kingdom must not be left open to the Dragon King.”
“There’s nothing wrong with taking the Norland and giving up Shule. Although the Dragon King is proud, he’s also a man of his word. It will be more reliable for him to conquer the southern area of Heavenly Mountain than Golden Roc Castle.”
“Ha, have you been enchanted by the Dragon King? Everyone in the world knows that the Dragon King is just as unscrupulous and untrustworthy as Golden Roc Castle. You are the only one saying that he’s trustworthy.”
“I think that the Dragon King can be trusted too.” Azheba, who had been silent, now interrupted to say, “More importantly, he can act as a barrier against the Central Plains and keep the Western Regions safe.”
Just as the two sides were arguing in front of Duodun, a horseman approached from the opposite hillside. Soon, someone from the frontline came to report that the Dragon King’s messenger was asking for a meeting.
This messenger was Long Fanyun. After dismounting from his horse, he just nodded without kneeling down to salute. “The Dragon King said that it was all a misunderstanding. We thought that it was the Golden Roc Army and that Your Highness’s army must have also thought the same thing. To resolve the confusion, the Dragon King suggested a ceasefire. The Dragon King also said that it was better to meet by chance rather than by invitation and that His Highness was welcome to inspect the Dragon Army.”
The Dragon King hadn’t apologized at all. The generals and officers became angrier and began to criticize Long Fanyun.
Duodun waited for a while before he raised his whip and motioned his men to be silent. “Go back and tell the Dragon King that since it was a misunderstanding, there’s no such thing as a ceasefire. The autumn air is so fresh, and I merely came out to hunt. It seems that the Dragon King has the same hobby. So perhaps we share the same prey. Let’s forget about inspecting the army and begin discussing how to best divide the prey.”
Long Fanyun brought back Duodun’s message. With that, Gu Shenwei had finally confirmed that the Norland man not only knew that the Dragon King had led the army northward, but also about the great fortune of the Meng family.
The meeting was held on top of a hillock between the two armies. Both sides only brought a dozen or so people with them. Duodun’s friends reminded him that the Dragon King used to be a killer, but he didn’t care at all. His stance was firm, and he said, “He who holds the Sword of a King will never play with a killer’s narrow saber. Also… He wouldn’t dare kill me.”
Duodun showed his courage in front of his subordinates and displayed unprecedented enthusiasm towards the Dragon King. He even embraced the other side with open arms and said, “There seems to be a lot of misunderstandings between us these days.”
“When moving from from strangers to allies, misunderstandings are inevitable. But you and I are still allies, which shows that our relationship is unbreakable.”
The two talked in a roundabout way for a long while. When night was approaching, Duodun moved the conversation to the main topic first. “I’ve received some news. The Meng family, rich men of Jade City, want to ship a batch of scarce goods to Shule, and I want to commandeer them all. The Norland is at war and the Western Regions can’t just stay out of it; they should offer some goods and money towards our war effort.”
“What a coincidence. I received the same information and I have my men on the lookout for it. They are with the goods of the Meng family right now.”
“Haha, that couldn’t be more of a coincidence. I’ve sent a thousand horsemen to intercept the convoy, and they are escorting the goods to us as we speak.”
“It seems that we’ve both worked hard, but neither of us wants to let go.”
Duodun put his smile away. He and the Dragon King would not bare their hearts, so conventional verbal exchanges were completely unnecessary. “I need the goods, but I’m not greedy. Since we are still allies, each of us should take a step back. I’ll take 70%, and you’ll get 30%. You know that I have a much heavier burden than you do.”
Gu Shenwei thought for a moment before replying. He had devised the whole plan to ship all of the goods out of Jade City, but Duodun was just swooping in now to steal the victory from under him. “Your Highness does have many soldiers, but also has a large territory. Our army is still in the developing stages and is in urgent need of supplies. How about I take 60%…”
The two haggled over the matter like businessmen and finally decided to split it 50-50, each taking half of it.
Gu Shenwei did not want to act too recklessly. He could exert more pressure to gain more benefits, but breaking the alliance for no reason would cause him to lose the hard-won support he had gained in the Norland.
As a descendant of the Khan, Duodun did not need to worry about the loyalty of the Norland people, but he had no intention of challenging the other side when his soldiers were outnumbered.
Towards noon the next day, the two armies politely kept a distance and intercepted the ill-fated convoy of the Meng family.
Shangguan Fei, who had been eagerly looking forward to the arrival of the Dragon Army, was taken aback when he noticed that there were two armies on the way. He asked Old Man Mu, who was catching up with him, “What’s going on? Have you seen the Dragon King?”
Old Man Mu gave him a cold glare. “Smelly kid, are you making fun of my short stature?”
“I wouldn’t dare,” Shangguan Fei smilingly said before looking up, finally relieved. “Look, it’s the Dragon King’s flag. Hoo, the rest of the matter has nothing to do with us then.”
Duodun’s army was stationed on the northern side while the Restoration Army was gathered on the southern side. The convoy was surrounded on all sides, and everyone understood what was going on, putting down their weapons and submissively squatting on their heels. The leaders of the small camel team felt really unlucky; who would have thought that the most dangerous thing wasn’t being waylaid by bandits but rather by an army.
As he looked at the long caravan, Duodun felt very satisfied. Getting half of the fortune here meant that in the future, he would no longer need to worry about the Dragon King’s strategy of stockpiling grain and fodder, which was a small victory to him.
The Dragon King led the caravan guards to join him. Duodun looked on from the other side carefully, but couldn’t find any fluctuation of emotion in that icy face. “Rumor has it that the Meng family of Jade City has more gold and silver than even the Khan and the Emperor of the Central Plains. Now I really believe those words after seeing this convoy.”
“Those’re just rumors and can’t be taken seriously.”
“Hehe, the Dragon King has been to the tomb of the Khan. Is the treasure inside comparable to that of the Meng family?”
“I only accidentally entered a corner of the Khan’s tomb, so I’m not qualified to judge his wealth. But how can the firefly shine like the sun and moon? The Khan is the sun and his palace itself is already far more extravagant than the fortune of the Meng family.”
The Dragon King had replied perfunctorily but it only made Duodun more interested. He was just about to ask more questions when several soldiers pushed a man forward. “Your Highness, this man is the leader and wants to speak to you.”
Duan Zihua respectfully knelt down and kotowed. “Please show some mercy to the Meng family, Your Highness. We have been law-abiding citizens and paid our taxes without delay. Now that our old master has just passed away, why is Your Highness suddenly seizing all of our goods? Your Highness, please have mercy.”
“Paying taxes?” Duodun displayed his pride here. ” Jade City hasn’t been controlled by the wise Lord for too long. What you call tax-paying is nothing more than lining the private pockets of the few governors. Today, I will collect all of the royal taxes that you owe. Now, people of the Western Regions, cherish your life and retreat.”
Duan Zihua remained kotowing and begged for mercy. The soldiers had to forcefully drag him away and throw him far away on the side of the road.
Duodun then turned to the Dragon King and asked, “How should we divide it? Does the Dragon King have an idea? You know, we Norland people don’t know much about arithmetic.”
“Let’s divide it into two, half and half. Your Highness can choose one, and I’ll take the remaining one.”
Duodun was immediately put on high alert. The Dragon King seemed to have no fear, so a conspiracy was definitely brewing. “This is no good. Let’s each choose a cartload in turn, it will be more fair and reasonable that way.”
The ‘division of spoils’ then started. Duodun gave the first cartload to the Dragon King and like that, they distributed the carts one after another. The ones that belonged to the Dragon King were moved to the southern side of the road while those belonged to Duodun were moved to the northern side. The small caravans attached to the rear of the Meng family’s convoy were spared. That was the two kings way of ‘showing mercy’ to them.
Liman watched quietly nearby. Although he and Azheba supported an alliance with the Dragon King, they had not talked to the Dragon King in front of the crowd. He whispered to a friend who glanced at Duodun and pretended to check the stability of the last cart while actually cutting the rope and shoving a box to the ground.
The box broke apart, and out spilled black ingots, not one of which was gold or silver.
