Chapter 8

Inside the cave warehouse, there were a large number of supplies: food, salt, medicine, spears, battle knives, leather armor, bows, and arrows—everything they needed.

Perhaps the Song army had retreated from here in a hurry, so most of the stored supplies were not taken away.

Chen Qing asked Yang Hua in puzzlement, "How did you know there would definitely be military supplies?"

Yang Hua explained, "When I was stationed at Shengping Military City in Fangzhou, we received orders that all supplies were not to be destroyed but sealed and left for the militia. The same happened when our Eight-Character Army withdrew from Shangdang; we left a large amount of military supplies for the local militia."

Chen Qing understood.

He stepped forward and picked up a tall infantry bow. To be precise, it wasn't an infantry bow but a city defense bow, which looked very similar to the English longbow of later times, about the height of a person, and used three-foot-long military arrows.

However, this longbow could only deal with ordinary infantry in leather armor and could not penetrate the black lacquered iron armor of the Jurchen scouts.

To deal with the Jurchen scouts, they needed more powerful crossbows.

Chen Qing put down the infantry bow, and another thing caught his attention.

Neatly placed against the far wall were ten wooden carts. Chen Qing considered them carts because they had four wooden wheels.

"What are those?" Chen Qing asked, pointing to the ten wooden carts.

"Ah!" Several soldiers exclaimed in surprise, "They are bed crossbows!"

A bed crossbow, also known as a bed bow, has been around since the Han Dynasty. Zhuge Liang's repeating crossbow was based on the bed bow, capable of firing ten bolts at once.

During the Song Dynasty, military technology reached its peak, and the bed crossbows were even more advanced, capable of firing five iron bolts at once. They could penetrate enemy iron armor from 500 paces away, and were easy to operate, requiring only five soldiers to operate one.

Finding sealed bed crossbows and a large amount of weapons and supplies in the military camp gave the Song soldiers, who were in despair, renewed hope.

...

"Brothers, we have fought our way out of the enemy's encirclement. The hardest times are behind us. Although the enemy's numbers are three times ours, the Jurchens' strength lies in archery and cavalry, not in sieges.

We have the high ground, defensive fortifications, bed crossbows, and food. This is the path to survival left for us by heaven. Brothers, we will not let heaven down, and we will surely win in the end!"

Chen Qing raised his spear and shouted loudly, "Heaven has decreed, we will surely win!"

"Victory! Victory!"

The ninety-eight soldiers raised their arms in unison, their morale soaring.

Chen Qing divided the ninety-eight soldiers into five teams, appointing experienced squad leaders as commanders.

The soldiers quickly sprang into action, carrying out bundles of spears and arrows, and moving dozens of crossbows and ten bed crossbows.

"Headman, they are coming!" a sentry shouted from the lookout platform.

Chen Qing strode to the camp gate and peered down the mountain. He saw a dense group of Jurchen soldiers on the mountain path, about a hundred paces away from the military camp. They held shields and spears, with about six to seven men in a row, advancing step by step toward the camp.

But from Chen Qing's perspective, he couldn't see the exact number of the enemy.

"How many are there, and how are they deployed?"

The sentry on the platform replied, "About fifty men in front, holding shields and spears, the main force is behind, about fifty paces away!"

Chen Qing thought for a moment. The enemy was also a scout, and the most important characteristic of scouts was caution; they wouldn't take risks lightly. Chen Qing decided to take a gamble and catch the enemy off guard.

He ordered resolutely, "Open the camp gate!"

...

Wanyan Alu led three hundred Jurchen soldiers cautiously toward the military camp. As a scout commander, he was very cunning and would not charge recklessly. Instead, he sent fifty men to probe the enemy, while he led the main force of over two hundred men to follow behind.

"Commander, the camp gate is open, and there's no sign of the enemy. Could they have all fled?"

"Impossible. They had so many wounded, and they didn't abandon them in the forest or on the riverbank. They must be in the camp, and they might have found weapons."

With that, Wanyan Alu ordered, "Tell the men in front to raise their shields higher!"

Wanyan Alu wasn't worried about the enemy's bows; their iron armor could withstand ordinary arrows. Only crossbows could penetrate, but with shields, even crossbows couldn't harm them.

In the end, the enemy would have to fight with spears, which was exactly what he wanted.

If three hundred of his elite scouts couldn't defeat a hundred wounded Song soldiers, he might as well kill himself.

The fifty Jurchen soldiers approached the camp gate, fifty paces... thirty paces... twenty paces.

Just then, five bed crossbows suddenly appeared at the camp gate. Chen Qing shouted, "Fire!"

The five bed crossbows fired simultaneously, launching twenty-five powerful iron bolts. These iron bolts, also called crow arrows, were actually small iron spears with feathers, three feet long, and could penetrate anything within three hundred paces.

The Jurchen soldiers' shields shattered, and the crow arrows pierced through their bodies, then through the shields and bodies of the men behind them.

The five bed crossbows were reloaded, and another five were brought forward to fire, launching another twenty-five crow iron bolts.

The Jurchen soldiers screamed in agony, falling to the ground, blood mist filling the air. Over twenty were killed instantly by the crow iron bolts.

"They are bed crossbows!"

The Jurchen soldiers were terrified and turned to run. At that moment, Song soldiers on the lookout platforms revealed themselves and fired their crossbows, the powerful bolts piercing the enemy's iron armor at close range, causing many to fall and not get up again.

Wanyan Alu never imagined the enemy would have such powerful bed crossbows.

He reacted quickly and ordered, "Into the forest!"

The mountain path was flanked by forests, and the Jurchen soldiers rushed into the trees, hiding behind large trees and quickly retreating.

"Follow me, let's charge out!"

Chen Qing led thirty men with spears and charged out. Eight wounded Jurchen soldiers screamed and raised their spears to meet them, but they were no match for the Song soldiers.

In moments, all eight Jurchen soldiers were killed.

The first battle was a great victory. Thirty-seven Jurchen soldiers lay dead at the camp gate, while the Song soldiers were unharmed. The hundred Song soldiers cheered, their morale soaring, and they gained confidence in their future.

However, a hint of worry flashed in Chen Qing's eyes. He realized the greatest weakness of the military camp: the pine forests on both sides of the mountain path.

What if the enemy hid in the pine forests?

When the military camp was built, the risk of the forests was considered, so all trees within ten zhang (about thirty paces) of the camp were cut down.

But ten zhang was only thirty paces, and beyond that was the forest. The Jurchens could hide behind the trees, reducing the effectiveness of the bed crossbows.

They could even set the mountain on fire, and the smoke and heat would make it impossible to stay in the camp.

Or they could flank the mountain, cut off the water supply, or attack from above while coordinating with the forces below.

If he could think of these ways to attack the camp, could the enemy not think of them too?

Chen Qing realized that the only way to survive was to kill the enemy commander, leaving them leaderless and forcing them to retreat.

...

Night fell, the sky was overcast, and the area around the camp was pitch black, very favorable for a surprise attack but not for defense.

At that moment, a small, thin figure jumped down from the northwest corner of the camp and was immediately spotted by a sentry.

"Who is it?"

"It's me, Zhao Xiaoyi!"

Chen Qing was delighted to hear that Zhao Xiaoyi was alive and hurried over.

"Xiaoyi, did they discover it was you who released the wild bees?"

Zhao Xiaoyi scratched his head and smiled, "They did, but they couldn't do anything about it. They were in a hurry to pursue, so they let me go!"

"How did you get in?"

Zhao Xiaoyi pointed to the northwest corner, "There's a gap there, and a large rock below. I climbed up along the rock. I saw the Jurchen cavalry, but they didn't see me."

"Where are they?"

"They are hiding in the forest!"

Zhao Xiaoyi's discovery made Chen Qing realize the enemy's intentions.

The Jurchens must be planning a night attack on the camp.

"How many crow iron bolts do we have left?"

"Sixty-eight!"

Although the crow iron bolts were powerful, they were not numerous. Each bed crossbow was equipped with ten crow iron bolts, enough for two rounds of firing. They had recovered eighteen bolts, allowing for one more half-round.

Chen Qing sighed and ordered the squad leader Zheng Ping, "Save the crow iron bolts for the most critical moment!"

"Understood, sir!"