Chapter 35

The southern side of the Arrow Quiver Pass is also a long valley, but the valley is wider, spanning a hundred paces. A hundred paces away is a bend, turning at a seventy-degree angle, the valley then turns southwest, and after a few miles, it turns southeast again, forming an 'S' shaped route.

At this moment, over a thousand Song soldiers were standing against the cliff walls at the valley bend. Chen Qing stood behind a large rock, watching the negotiations at the city gate.

Yang Yuanqing’s heart was in his mouth. "Why has their commander come? This is not good."

Chen Qing waved his hand. "Stay calm, it’s not that bad yet. Get the archers ready!"

Yang Yuanqing turned and whispered, "Archers, get ready!"

Three hundred crossbowmen, holding their military crossbows, were ready, awaiting the final order.

At the city gate, the commander, Wang Lian, pointed at the large rock and angrily said, "What is this thing?"

The head of the guards hurriedly came forward and reported, "General, this is a unique rock. It was brought from Bianliang by Master Jiang’s old man. It was something the emperor used to play with."

Wang Lian, of course, knew that the old man was a stone enthusiast, calling himself a stone fanatic, but he was not as ignorant as the head of the guards. He angrily said, "The emperor played with Taihu stones. This is not a Taihu stone. Do you think I don’t know?"

The fat and dark steward was actually the head of the guards, Zheng Ping, whose father and grandfather were merchants. He had been influenced by them since childhood, and his portrayal of a steward or merchant was almost perfect.

Zheng Ping hurriedly came forward and said, "General, this is not a Taihu stone. This is a Lingbi stone. It resembles Fan Kuan’s 'Travelers by Streams and Mountains,' hence it is called the 'Travelers by Streams and Mountains Stone.' It caused a sensation in Bianliang in the second year of the Xuanhe era and was a treasure of the emperor at the time. We spent two thousand guan to buy it, and its value is at least tens of thousands of guan. Next month is the old man’s seventieth birthday, and this is his birthday gift."

This was also taking advantage of the fact that the soldiers were uneducated and ignorant. How could a square, massive rock be related to 'Travelers by Streams and Mountains'?

Wang Lian had also received an invitation to the old man’s birthday next month. In principle, he could give him a face and let the stone pass, but as the commander, he was under immense pressure. He needed to find a way to pay the three hundred soldiers.

Other Han armies could plunder county towns to get rich, but his army had no such opportunities. They were just guarding this barren pass, with thirty Jurchen soldiers monitoring them.

There was no way to sell the supplies in the warehouse.

Without a way to enrich the soldiers and without pay, the soldiers would desert. If too many soldiers deserted, his head would be on the line.

So any opportunity to make money, Wang Lian would not let go, even if it was the familiar old man Jiang.

Wang Lian glared at the head of the guards and coldly said, "A famous stone worth tens of thousands of guan, and you only pay two thousand guan in taxes. Do you think that’s appropriate?"

Sweat dripped down the head of the guards' forehead. He cursed Wang Lian in his heart for having a nose like a dog. He hurriedly said, "I am a rough man and don’t understand the value of such stones. To me, it’s worthless!"

"Stop giving me that. How much did you benefit? Do you think I don’t know? I tell you, this stone must be taxed at the highest rate. If you don’t tax it, you’ll have to make up the difference yourself!"

"I understand, sir!"

The head of the guards, drenched in sweat, ran over to Zheng Ping and said, "Mr. Wang, I’m truly sorry, but the general says we must pay fifty guan in taxes, or we can’t enter the pass!"

Wanting money was not hard to say; he was afraid they wouldn’t take it.

Zheng Ping pretended to be extremely unwilling, hesitantly adding thirty guan in taxes, and it had to be copper coins, not iron coins.

Wang Lian finally let them go, shouting, "Enter the pass slowly, be careful not to damage the gate!"

The workers drove the donkeys in front, and Zheng Ping also ran to the front to lead the way, shouting, "Go down the middle, be careful, don’t hit the gate!"

The wooden cart pulled the massive stone, inching forward, slowly entering the gate. But at that moment, there was a loud boom, and the two axles broke almost simultaneously, the stone landing heavily on the ground.

Immediately, five workers pulled out daggers and stabbed the donkeys’ heads fiercely, killing over a dozen donkeys at once. The five workers then ran into the pass.

This series of events happened so suddenly, almost simultaneously, that everyone was stunned. At this moment, several hundred Song soldiers appeared at the bend, all raising their crossbows and firing.

Dense crossbow bolts shot toward the gate, and the soldiers, unable to dodge, fell one after another. Wang Lian was hit in the shoulder by an arrow and stumbled, falling to the ground.

Wang Lian, lying on the ground, shouted in pain, "Close the gate quickly!"

"General, the gate is blocked, we can’t close it!"

Wang Lian finally understood. This was not some fancy stone; it was just an ordinary rock used to block the gate. These bastards!

He punched the ground in anger and struggled to his feet, fleeing into the city.

The Song cavalry appeared, three hundred cavalrymen charging like the wind, stirring up a cloud of yellow dust. Chen Qing, wielding a large iron spear, led the charge. The hundred-pace distance was nothing to a warhorse.

Chen Qing shouted and used his iron spear to pry open the gate, leading the charge into the city. The three hundred cavalrymen also rushed into the pass from both sides of the rock.

Behind them, seven hundred infantrymen, holding long spears, ran swiftly. Though few in number, they were terrifying, and they were not far behind the cavalry, quickly entering the pass.

As the Song cavalry entered the pass, dozens of arrows shot toward them, and several cavalrymen, unable to dodge, were hit and fell off their horses.

Chen Qing deflected several arrows aimed at him and saw that thirty Jurchen cavalrymen were charging toward him.

Chen Qing roared and charged forward, his iron spear striking like a storm, knocking four or five Jurchen cavalrymen off their horses.

Chen Qing did not find Zheng Ping and his men. He scanned the area and saw an enemy commander leading dozens of soldiers trying to rush up the city wall passage. Zheng Ping and five men were holding them back with long spears from above the passage.

They were dressed in civilian clothes, without armor, and two of their companions had already been hit by arrows, their fates unknown. The situation was extremely dire.

"Hold them off!"

Chen Qing ordered his cavalry to hold back the Jin soldiers, then took out his bow, drew an arrow, and shot it. The arrow, like a bolt of lightning, shot toward the enemy commander.

The enemy commander, Wang Lian, heard the wind behind him but it was too late. The arrow was too fast.

*Thud!*

The arrow pierced his helmet, the tip protruding from his forehead. Wang Lian died instantly, falling backward.

The soldiers on the passage realized that a large number of Song soldiers had entered the city and turned to flee down the wall.

All one thousand Song soldiers rushed into the pass. The thirty Jurchen cavalrymen were all killed, and the remaining Han soldiers, discarding their armor, fled north.

But they were soon caught by the cavalry. Kneeling and begging for mercy did no good; they were all killed. None of the three hundred defenders escaped.

Two of Zheng Ping’s men were killed. They were dressed in workers' clothes and could not withstand the enemy’s arrows. Zheng Ping was also hit by an arrow, but it did not hit a vital spot. He bandaged himself and headed to the warehouse.

......

Yang Yuanqing was responsible for clearing the enemy corpses, while Chen Qing led a dozen men to the warehouse.

The warehouse was built of blue stone, consisting of about twenty rooms, arranged in two rows. The front row was for grain and fodder, and the back row was for supplies.

A ten-foot-high wall of logs and bricks surrounded the area, showing the importance of the warehouse, which even the barracks did not have.

The soldiers opened the first row of grain and fodder stores and pulled out a man from the straw.

"Spare my life... ah!"

The man, who appeared to be a clerk, was kneeling on the ground, desperately begging for mercy, his voice trembling with fear. The Song soldiers, who had killed all the defenders, had truly frightened him.

Chen Qing looked him over. He was about thirty years old, thin, with a long face, clearly a scholar, his eyes filled with terror.

"Who are you?"

"I am a warehouse clerk, managing these stores, keeping records, and taking inventory."

"What’s your name? Where are you from?"

"My name is Du Min, from Qianyang County. I am not a Han soldier, nor have I surrendered to the Jin. The original clerk was killed by the Jin, and I was captured by them."

The man was trembling with fear, on the verge of tears.

Chen Qing pointed at him with his spear and said coldly, "You’d better tell the truth. I can easily find out by questioning a few people."

"I am not lying. I was captured by them ten days ago. I have a wife and children at home, I had no choice but to comply!"

"Stand up! I have questions for you."

The man, trembling, stood up. Chen Qing pointed at the warehouse and asked, "How much grain and fodder is there?"

"Reporting to the general, there are 1,200 shi of wheat, 300 shi of rice, 100,000 dan of fodder, 3,000 jin of salted meat, and several hundred dan of pickled vegetables."

One shi of grain is enough to feed a soldier for two months. 1,500 shi of grain would last them three months, and the fodder was sufficient.

"Shouldn’t there be more grain in the cellar?" the head of the guards, Zheng Ping, couldn’t help but say.

He had done his homework and was familiar with the city’s situation.

"There is frozen mutton and wine in the cellar. The Jurchens don’t eat salted meat; they prefer fresh mutton. The wine is also theirs; the Han soldiers have no right to enjoy it."

Chen Qing felt he had overlooked something extremely important, but his mind was stuck, and he couldn’t remember what it was.