Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
The Restoration Army stopped after reaching the halfway point of their rapid march. During their midday break, Gu Shenwei sat among a group of swordsmen of the Big Snow Mountain, drinking water and eating dried meat with them. Everyone was very quiet. From time to time, someone would look up and nod to the Dragon King when they met his eyes.
Gu Shenwei ate very quickly. After he finished, he immediately stood up, signaled Long Fanyun and the others to not follow him, and then brought only Chu Nanping with him to stroll around.
Most of the Restoration Army’s recruits were from the Shule Kingdom, and although they had all heard much of the Dragon King, they had seen very little of him. Full of curiosity, their eyes followed the Dragon King all throughout his walk. When they realized that he was walking towards them, they all quickly bowed their heads and returned to eating and drinking their fill.
Gu Shenwei had noticed the soldiers of the Shule Kingdom’s reaction a long time ago. So, he walked up to a small group of soldiers and said to one of them, “What’s your name?”
This soldier was very young and still had a puerile quality to his face. Upon hearing the Dragon King’s question, he was badly startled. He anxiously put down his food and wiped his mouth, but then didn’t know where to put his hands and ultimately turned to his companions for help. After being encouraged, he loudly stated, “My name is Xie Dezhi. The character ‘zhī’ is chosen from the literary jargon, not the character ‘zhì’ for ambition.”
He had probably often explained his name to others, so he had also blurted it out just like usual in front of the Dragon King, which caused him to blush.
“Nice name.” Gu Shenwei suddenly found that he no longer knew how to interact with a simple man. What could he ask an ordinary soldier? Due to the lack of a conversation topic, he was just as bewildered as the other side. “Why did you join the Restoration Army?”
This was the advantage of the polite formulas of small talk. Gu Shenwei had once hated these standardized verbal exchanges, but now he realized how useful it was to be able to open a strange door without needing a key. Of course, it seemed superfluous to those who had already opened the door of communication or were determined to keep the windows and doors closed.
“I… I don’t know.” Xie Dezhi was obviously unprepared for this question. His mind had gone blank, and he almost forgot to open the ‘door.’ After the waves of laughter drowning out his voice died down a bit, he finally pointed at his companions and said, “I came here with my friends.”
A bolder soldier interjected, “As soon as the Norland people and the Golden Roc Army came, we couldn’t farm anymore. It was better to join the army and drive them away so that everything can go back to normal.”
That was a good reason. But Xie Dezhi took the Dragon King’s question as a task. He thought carefully for a while and decided to speak the truth. “Everyone says that the Dragon King is blessed by God and will be the final victor. Besides, the Dragon King shares in the joys and sorrows with his men, and will also reward them handsomely.”
“Who said that?”
Simultaneously, the soldiers all turned to look at the swordsmen of Big Snow Mountain who were eating with their head lowered not far away. This group of reticent men had never hesitated to praise the Dragon King in front of outsiders.
“I will win,” Gu Shenwei said resolutely. “Tell me, what kind of reward do you want in specific?”
Phrases like “gold and silver,” “a high official position,” and “women” all popped out one after another.
“Farmland,” several soldiers said in unison, and soon, this became the most accepted answer. They had been farmers before joining the army, and the most valuable thing in their mind was still farmland.
“I still prefer farming,” Xie Dezhi sheepishly admitted in a low voice.
“All of you will receive farmland,” Gu Shenwei replied in a rare sincere tone.
People were cheering everywhere. The Dragon King’s promise quickly circulated among the soldiers, causing more and more people to gather around until officers were forced to come forward to maintain order.
Gu Shenwei simply raised his voice and asked, “Which of you have been to war?”
Few people responded. But since Xie Dezhi had realized that the Dragon King wasn’t as unapproachable as he had imagined, he was more willing to voice his thoughts. “We all received our first sabers and spears two months ago.”
“Do you know what the most important aspect a soldier can have in war is?”
“To advance bravely,” Xie Dezhi answered right away.
“Sharp eyes and agile hands.”
“Fighting shoulder to shoulder.”
“Being tough.”
…
Gu Shenwei nodded as more and more answers emerged. When the voices died down, he said, “These are all important, but there’s one thing that you all should never forget.”
The crowd’s eyes focused on the Dragon King. Gu Shenwei hadn’t planned on saying these words, but it felt quite necessary now. Unlike the horsemen of the Norland, this army hadn’t been fully trained or tested its mettle on the battlefield. It couldn’t even compare to the tens of thousands of Dragon Army soldiers that he had left at Xiaoyao Lake.
The Restoration Army of the Shule Kingdom had more than twenty thousand men, eight thousand of whom had participated in the battle at Xiaoyao Lake. As the main force, most of the veterans had been left behind to defend the camp. The ten thousand people he was now leading were mostly new recruits, and only a small number of them were experienced swordsmen of the Big Snow Mountain.
Gu Shenwei knew little about commanding troops, but even he knew from his limited experience that new recruits were easily flustered. They couldn’t even display twenty percent of their usual combat power, and sometimes couldn’t even carry out the simplest tactics.
“Follow me,” Gu Shenwei said as he pointed at the nearby Red Crow Flag nearby which symbolized his army. “And follow that flag. It’s more important than anything else.”
The Dragon King’s voice wasn’t loud, but his words were clearly heard by the crowd; his appearance wasn’t dignified enough, but his calmness was without question.
The soldiers suddenly understood the words that the swordsmen always said: “The Dragon King is blessed by God.”
All the people present gripped their weapons. Although most of them didn’t believe in God, they suddenly felt more courageous and even began to yearn for a real battle.
The army continued to advance, and at a noticeably faster pace at that.
Han Fen had heard what the Dragon King had said and had been following him ever since. If the Dragon King was not next to the Red Raven Flag, she would become a bit confused and then choose to either follow the Dragon King or the flag after a vague evluation that only she understood.
Shangguan Yun, who was also there, was full of praise for the Dragon King’s impromptu performance. However, he thought that there was only a small imperfection in the speech. “Well said, Dragon King. The morale has visibly improved, but isn’t it a bit too early to do so? After all, there aren’t any enemies in front of us right now.”
“No one knows when the enemy will appear.”
Shangguan Yun just smiled. He had already called himself an idler and was unwilling to talk too much.
Two hours later, the Restoration Army was already not far from the appointed meeting place. Gu Shenwei was just about to give the order to slow down when two scouts brought back surprising news: A group of Norland horsemen was approaching from the west.
“Thousands of people,” gasped the scout. “All armed with bows and arrows.” This was an immature soldier who had not yet learned how to estimate numbers quickly and accurately.
Gu Shenwei could feel the fear of the people around him. It was not surprising. The Norland Cavalry had just conquered the Shule Kingdom with great momentum. The regular army of the Shule Kingdom had been smashed apart with one stroke and hadn’t even seriously resisted the enemy. How could this group of farmers who had just picked up sabers and spears not that long ago not be afraid?”
Miraculously, the whole team suddenly converged at the front. The Dragon King’s warning was working, and everyone was moving closer to the Red Crow Flag.
Gu Shenwei nodded to Long Fanyun and ordered, “Prepare for battle.”
Long Fanyun immediately passed the order down and arranged various battle formations for each section of the army.
Gu Shenwei adjusted his direction and jogged ahead first. Then he picked up his running speed after the rest of the army caught up with him.
This wasn’t an ideal attack. If Dugu Xian, the General of the Left were here, he would have pointed out many errors, such as their crude knowledge of the enemy, and their lack of preparation before the war. If it were the counselor, Fang Wenshi, he would have pointed out the fact that the Dragon King was fighting in person, and that running in the front was a risky move that was incompatible with his identity.
But Gu Shenwei thought that it was a necessary risk. His journey to the Norland had revealed to him the truth that it wasn’t enough to just only take over the military leadership. He had to gain the support of his soldiers’ hearts because obeying orders didn’t mean loyalty. The Khan had seen through this, but Duodun was still completely in the dark about this theory. Thus, Gu Shenwei decided to act opposite to the “ideal plan.”
No matter how many the enemy troops there were, he would not retreat easily even if they were several times his own troops. He had learned from Dugu Xian that the horsemen of the Norland were good at pursuing fleeing enemy troops. There was no tactic safer and more lethal than shooting arrows at enemies whose backs were turned. And an inexperienced army would always turn a normal retreat into a chaotic flight.
Climbing on a gentle slope, Gu Shenwei saw the enemy ahead of them, which numbered about three thousand strong. The other side was apparently aware of the Restoration Army through their own scouts and was galloping forward at a great speed. With the usual whistling of the Norland people, their tactics, like that of the Dragon King, focused on taking a quick battle.
‘One of our soldiers can fight ten of theirs’ was a mantra the Norland people had repeated the most in the Western Regions, and they had never met a worthy opponent in the Shule Kingdom. Thus, they were not afraid of this motley group of ten thousand people at all.
Gu Shenwei blew the horn and the swordsmen of the Big Snow Mountain also blew their horns to echo him. The deep sound of the horns immediately overwhelmed the whistling sound of the other side.
Gu Shenwei sped up again to take the lead. Behind him, the strongest swordsman was dressed in heavy armor, and he lifted the Red Crow Flag while the other swordsmen carried shields and guarded the flag-bearer.
The soldiers also took out their shields, but didn’t wave their sabers or spears. This was a strategy that had been devised by Shang Liao. He believed that it was pointless to wave their weapon before they swarmed into the enemy. Rather, the most important thing was to avoid being struck by arrows.
Gu Shenwei had been able to use a few words to cheer the soldiers up, but he could not teach them how to fight. That was the generals’ duties.
Without asking about each other’s identity, the two armies had charged straight at each other in the wilderness with one side feeling that they were sure to win while the other side resolute to never back down.
The first round of arrows arrived, and the whistling of the horsemen and horn sound of the swordsmen had mixed and clashed in advance.
Gu Shenwei hadn’t bring a shield with him, so he drew his saber to block the arrow. But he noticed then that someone close to him was actually protecting his flanks. It was Han Fen, who was currently making a cooing sound like a little hen.
The first round of arrows didn’t fall onto the enemy as it was a warning shot to scare off the enemy so that the Norland army could then chase after their enemies, their favorite tactic.
But this time their warning shots were in vain. The people of Shule who used to be timid had surprisingly became fearless. Not only did they not retreat, but they instead charged forward even faster.
The Norland Calvary was also equipped with sabers and spears, but they didn’t like participating in melee combat unless they had to. After the second round of arrows was fired, the distance between the two sides was uncomfortably close for the horsemen of the Norland.
The Norland Cavalry changed tactics. They turned their horses’ heads to the right and galloped along a wide curved path even as they drew the bows from the side.
This move usually worked very well, but they had neglected one thing. They only had three thousand people while the enemy had ten thousand men. Like a fast-moving fish, it could avoid a small net, but it couldn’t escape a huge one.
Gu Shenwei stormed into the enemy first, and then the giant mouth formed by the 10,000 soldiers closed in. The hard shields carried by the soldiers were like molars which ground the food trapped in the mouth to pieces.
It was not until the end of the battle that many soldiers realized that they had forgotten to use their weapons. They only remembered one thing: Follow the Dragon King closely.
The reputation of the Restoration Army’s valor was established on this day.
