Chapter 8

"Pretty good, to think of such a way to hide people. Why didn't I think of it before?" Jiang Wei praised, while Tang Chun sneered inwardly. This was just child's play to us smart modern people. You ancient people were just foolish.

Everything was prepared, and a hundred people quietly hid in the sand dunes of Luozi Beach. Because the terrain here was relatively open, Zhao Tong was confident there would be no ambush. Zhao Qianzong also focused on the Tongqiao Pass.

At dawn, Zhao Qianzong led two hundred men over. The supplies formed a long line stretching for hundreds of meters.

Tang Chun's calculations were accurate; Zhao Qianzong's troops indeed entered the ambush. On his command, over a hundred short arrows with flint were shot at the supplies and the men. The flint ignited on impact, and soon thick smoke billowed into the sky.

Tang Chun and a few decurions shot short arrows with their tips wrapped in chili water, contained in thin rabbit skin. When they hit Zhao Qianzong, they burst open, splashing him with chili water.

Tang Chun and his men then surrounded him, and the second wave sent lime powder flying. Despite his agility, Zhao Qianzong couldn't avoid the lime powder, and the chili water further blinded him.

He swung his large saber wildly in all directions, and with a hiss, Jiang Wei's arm spurted blood and flew away.

However, at that moment, Zhao Qianzong's feet were caught by the lasso thrown by Tang Chun and another man. They pulled hard, and Zhao Qianzong fell to the ground.

Arrows immediately rained down, and with his feet entangled, Zhao Qianzong couldn't dodge. His eyes were blurry, and several arrows pierced his body.

Blood gushed out, and Zhao Qianzong, undaunted by death, leaped into the air, dragging Tang Chun up to a height of seven or eight meters with the rope.

"Damn it, let's fight!" Tang Chun's saber spun, and with a hiss, a piece of flesh was cut from Zhao Qianzong's foot.

However, Tang Chun was kicked by Zhao Qianzong and flew ten meters away, crashing into a supply cart.

He was dazed for a moment, feeling as if black coal-like objects were scattered around him.

Wiping his eyes, he saw that a box had been hit, and inside were wooden and stone objects, at least ten of them, each as big as a fist.

Looking around, he found that only this box in the supply cart contained wooden and stone objects. The other carts had none. It was probably Zhao Qianzong's private stash.

He quickly dug a hole in the sand, hid the wooden and stone objects, and covered them with sand.

Looking up, he saw Jiang Wei and Meng He grappling with the bloodied Zhao Qianzong, rolling in the sand. All three were covered in blood.

"Kill!" Wei Liang shouted, swinging his saber to strike Zhao Qianzong's head. A jet of blood spurted out, and Zhao Qianzong convulsed a few times before dying.

Jiang Wei and Meng He were both severely injured, their limbs broken and hands torn to shreds, making Tang Chun's scalp tingle.

He quickly called out, killed a regular soldier, and then ran over, grabbing Zhao Qianzong's head and throwing it into the air, shouting, "Zhao Qianzong is dead, brothers, kill, finish them all!"

At Tang Chun's shout, the remaining dozens of Dachuan soldiers looked up and saw Zhao Qianzong's bloody head. Their morale crumbled, and they all fled in a panic.

Tang Chun led his troops in pursuit for a kilometer, and by the time they stopped, only thirty or forty of Zhao Qianzong's men remained.

However, on their side, only about thirty men were left. Compared to Zhao Qianzong's side, they had a slight advantage in casualties.

"Collect the supplies, take the good ones back," Tang Chun ordered.

He secretly dug out the wooden and stone objects and hid them, then took away over a dozen carts of supplies and returned triumphantly to camp.

Tang Chun's triumphant return and the successful elimination of Zhao Qianzong, a formidable opponent, greatly boosted the morale of General Huyan's camp.

Upon receiving the scout's report, General Huyan personally led the four camp commanders to welcome Tang Chun back.

"Great job!" General Huyan personally lifted Tang Chun, who was kneeling, and with a wave of his hand, the war drums stopped. The general, looking fierce, surveyed everyone and announced, "I hereby announce that from today, Tang Chun is promoted to a ninth-rank decurion, leading a hundred elite Black Flag soldiers. I will report this to the Northern Capital's governor and the vice-commander of the Northern Capital's military."

Immediately, applause erupted. The Northern Capital's governor, Jiang Chengzhong, and the vice-commander of the Northern Capital's military, Yang Zhi, were both second-rank officials. If Tang Chun's name was reported, he could gain some familiarity with these two important figures.

Of course, a ninth-rank decurion didn't usually require such attention, but General Huyan was doing this to boost morale, seemingly for show.

"Stop, as an additional reward, Tang Chun will receive five low-grade spirit stones and three twenty-year-old ginseng roots." General Huyan was in a good mood today, and Tang Chun was secretly delighted, as he wouldn't refuse such a reward.

This time, Tang Chun would have to move again because he was promoted to decurion. As a decurion, he could move into a decurion's tent, which housed eight people, compared to the forty people in a regular soldier's tent. Naturally, fewer people meant a more comfortable sleep.

This was the welfare benefit of ancient times. Tang Chun was almost at the level of a company commander. However, he was still far from the level of a fifth-rank general, a deputy military commander.

"Brother, do you know why the general is so happy?" Tang Chun was called into the tent by Tian Gang, and they sat down with a bottle of white wine.

"Is it because of the head of Zhao Qianzong?" Tang Chun asked.

"You're smart, that's right. Zhao Qianzong and General Huyan had a grudge," Tian Gang said.

"Did they meet on the battlefield?" Tang Chun was surprised and asked.

"Exactly. In a major battle, General Huyan was shot by Zhao Qianzong in the thigh, though not in the heart. The general has always remembered this grudge. See, Zhao Qianzong's head is hung on a pole for a hundred days for the eagles to peck at," Tian Gang laughed, "And even I have benefited from your success."

"I can't take all the credit; I'm just a regular decurion under you," Tang Chun said humbly.

"Hehe, I like your straightforwardness. The promotion should be approved in two days," Tian Gang said with a broad smile, his eyes almost squinting.

"Congratulations on your promotion, Brother Tian." Tang Chun clasped his hands in a salute.

"It's just a deputy decurion, a ninth-rank position," Tian Gang said lightly, but he was secretly delighted, "I'll lend you my tent for a while."

A deputy decurion was a formal position, while Tian Gang was originally an external decurion, a ninth-rank position. Now, without the "external" designation, he was a deputy decurion.

"Why, Brother Tian?" Tang Chun asked, feeling curious.