Futile Devices Scans

Night had already deepened.

Li Si slung his bow onto his back. Both men drew their sabers and lay in wait behind the large rock.

The two cavalrymen noticed nothing. They galloped swiftly along the Fen River, occasionally glancing east toward Kuiyuan City and paying no attention to the rock by the riverbank.

The hoofbeats drew closer.

Just as the horses reached the rock, two figures burst from behind it, planted their feet on the stone, and leapt together.

Zhang San threw himself at the nearer rider like a tiger, knocking him from his horse. The two rolled across the ground in a tangle.

Li Si stepped onto that rider’s horse, launched himself through the air toward the second cavalryman, and landed directly behind him. He pressed the back of his saber hard against the man’s throat, forcing him to rein in.

One on the ground and one on horseback, Zhang San and Li Si subdued both men in the blink of an eye. They dragged them down, pulled off their waist sashes, and tied their hands.

After more than ten days playing bandit, Zhang San had acquired a convincing air of one. He planted his hands on his hips before the captives.

“What outfit are you with?”

The two cavalrymen glared at him.

One, speaking in a northern accent not far from Zhang San’s own, shot back, “What outfit are you with? How dare you seize government troops!”

Zhang San pointed toward Kuiyuan. “What government troops? All the government troops are surrounded in there!”

“We’re garrison troops from Shuoning Prefecture, here to reinforce Kuiyuan! Untie us! If Kuiyuan falls, you won’t even get to keep being a bandit. You’ll end up a slave to the Xiao bandits!”

Zhang San knew the geography of northern Great Xuan well.

Shuoning Prefecture’s seat was Shuozhou, one of the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun. More than a century earlier, the Sixteen Prefectures had been ceded to the Northern Lang Kingdom. Only a few months ago, after Northern Lang was destroyed, had Yanyun returned to Great Xuan. The court then reestablished prefectural administration around Shuozhou, designated it the seat of Shuoning Prefecture, and stationed more than ten thousand troops there.

Zhang San frowned. “Isn’t Shuozhou north of here? Why did you come from the west?”

The cavalryman studied his bearing and decided he did not look much like a real bandit. Then he noticed the tattoo on Zhang San’s face and relaxed considerably. “You’re government troops?”

Zhang San showed him the tattoo on the back of his hand as well. “Shengjie Army. We’re here to reinforce Kuiyuan too.”

The cavalryman let out a relieved breath. “So we’re comrades. Untie us first, and we’ll talk properly.”

Zhang San remained cautious. “Talk first. I’ll untie you when you’re done.”

The cavalryman glared at him, then looked the two men over again. Li Si’s clear, upright face certainly did not resemble that of a wicked outlaw either.

Finally, he said, “The Xiao bandits never attacked Shuozhou. They bypassed the city, marched south, and captured Yanmen Pass. With them holding Yanmen, we couldn’t march south to Kuiyuan, so we had no choice but to make a ten-day detour west and come through Tianmen Pass instead.”

The explanation made sense to Zhang San.

He believed them.

He untied both riders, returned their weapons, and politely invited them back onto their horses.

One cavalryman had only just mounted when Zhang San sprang lightly up behind him.

The man turned and glared.

Zhang San answered with a brilliant smile. “We’ll have to trouble you, Brother, to take us to meet your superior. Perfect timing—we can join you on the way into Kuiyuan. Sisi, hurry up and mount. Aren’t you going to thank these two brothers?”

Li Si sprang onto the other horse and obediently said, “Thank you, Brothers.”

The two brothers stared at them in silence.

“…”

——

Four men rode two horses westward along the Fen River.

It turned out that this relief force numbered roughly two thousand men, all cavalry—the elite mounted troops of Shuoning Prefecture.

Before Kuiyuan was surrounded, His Majesty had issued an edict calling on the various regions to send reinforcements. Shuozhou lay north of Kuiyuan; if Kuiyuan fell, Shuozhou itself would be in grave danger. The general defending Shuozhou understood Kuiyuan’s importance well. He left his son and part of the army behind to hold the city and personally led his elite cavalry south.

Because the Xiao army had cut off Yanmen Pass, the relief force had instead gone west to Tianmen Pass. After passing through it, they followed the Fen River downstream.

Now that Kuiyuan was near, the commanding general had sent several groups of scouts ahead.

Unexpectedly, one of those patrols returned almost immediately.

The commanding general wore golden iron armor, and even his horse was covered in golden leather armor. When he saw the scouts returning, he made a gesture. One of the personal guards beside him signaled the ranks behind with flags, and the entire cavalry force halted.

Zhang San looked at the army from a distance.

Their formation was orderly, their response to command immediate. A Great Xuan fire-dragon design adorned the command pennant snapping above them, together with the character “Sun.”

Zhang San had heard of this General Sun of Shuoning Prefecture, a famously valiant commander.

Before they even reached the main force, he called to Li Si. The two dismounted and gave a military salute from a distance to show their respect.

The two scouts rode directly to the front, dismounted, and reported loudly, “General! We encountered these two men on the road. They claim to be government troops and request an audience!”

“Bring them forward,” General Sun said.

Zhang San and Li Si approached.

The personal guards moved to confiscate their weapons, but General Sun raised a hand and stopped them.

General Sun was in his forties. Days of forced marching had left his face drawn with exhaustion, but nothing diminished his authority.

He asked in a clear voice, “You two young heroes—where have you come from?”

Zhang San nudged Li Si.

Li Si took out the Imperial City Directorate token once again.

A personal guard received it and presented it to General Sun.

Zhang San quietly pressed a hand against Li Si, signaling him not to speak, then gave an account that was half truth and half lie.

“General Sun, this subordinate is surnamed Zhang, a Unit Commander in the Shengjie Army’s personal guard. I was ordered to escort Envoy Li of the Imperial City Directorate to Kuiyuan. Hearing that you have come to reinforce the city, we hope to enter together with your army.”

General Sun turned the token over several times. It was intricately made, richly decorated, and plated in pure gold—not something an ordinary craftsman could counterfeit.

He therefore knew that Zhang San and Li Si were no common bandits.

Still, he said, “Since you are envoys from the capital, naturally I should do everything possible to help you enter the city. But the Xiao bandits have Kuiyuan surrounded. My army will have to force a breakthrough, and the fighting is likely to be fierce. Following us may actually put you in greater danger.”

Zhang San said, “General, please don’t worry. Chief Commander Wang, who is defending Kuiyuan, was once my superior. I followed him on campaigns throughout Hedong and know the terrain around Kuiyuan well. You have come to reinforce the city, and I am deeply grateful. I’m willing to do whatever small service I can.”

General Sun brightened. “You served under Chief Commander Wang? Good! Very good! Men, give these two Envoys a horse.”

——

The two were given a fine horse and rode double as they joined the column.

While they marched, General Sun called Zhang San over to discuss the terrain.

Several tens of thousands of Xiao troops were currently taking part in the siege, but most were stationed north, south, and east of Kuiyuan. On the western side, a large lake called Lotus Lake lay directly against the city wall, bordering roughly two-thirds of that side. Only one small gate stood near the lake’s southern shore, making both entry and attack difficult.

The Xiao army had therefore stationed only several thousand men by the lake. They rarely launched attacks from there; their purpose was simply to maintain the encirclement and prevent anyone inside from escaping.

General Sun ultimately decided to divide his two thousand men into two groups. They would secretly infiltrate two abandoned villages roughly ten li west of the city in separate batches and remain hidden until nightfall. Then they would launch a night raid against the Xiao camp by the lake and, amid the resulting chaos, rush the western gate.

It was a sound plan for breaking through the encirclement.

General Sun had already intended to look for an opportunity to enter from the west. Now, with Zhang San’s help, he was delighted.

The entire army increased its pace, and before sunset the whole force had slipped into the abandoned villages as planned.

——

Before the siege began, Kuiyuan’s defenders had strengthened the city and cleared the surrounding countryside. They harvested all the wheat outside the walls, moved the villagers and livestock into the city, then burned the villages, leaving neither grain nor shelter for the Xiao army.

As a result, the abandoned village was nothing but broken walls and ruins. It was difficult to find even a single intact house.

The sky was dimming when Zhang San and Li Si squeezed into a ruined earthen house with no roof. On the other side of one wall, several soldiers were taking the chance to sleep and snore.

The horse they had acquired was crowded into the room with them.

The horse had no interest in resting and kept nudging Li Si for food.

Zhang San got up, went to General Sun’s personal guards, begged a small pouch of beans for the horse, and brought it back.

Li Si held the pouch and fed the animal one small handful at a time.

Zhang San sat cross-legged beside him, arms folded, one hand propping up his cheek, and watched the little colt feed the little horse.

Once the beans were gone, Li Si’s hands were covered in horse saliva.

He wiped them against the scorched bedding beneath him.

Unfortunately, the bedding was covered in black ash.

The more he wiped, the dirtier his hands became.

Li Si frowned at them.

He had almost never frowned before. Whatever happened, he normally wore the same wooden expression. He himself did not realize that his face had been growing more and more expressive.

Suddenly, water poured into his palm.

Zhang San was tipping his own water gourd over Li Si’s hands.

Li Si frowned. “You’re wasting water.”

Zhang San laughed. “Now you’re complaining? Isn’t it because this shabby little military-household brat of mine insists on being so clean?”

Li Si carefully worked his fingers together, using the tiny amount of water to clean them.

Then, feeling hungry, he took out a piece of dry ration.

The dry rations were roasted flatbreads they had brought from the earthen fortress two days earlier. They kept well and traveled easily, but they were small, cold, dry, and hard to chew.

As Li Si gnawed at one, he found himself thinking about Madam Zhang’s steamed buns and wondering how delicious they must have been while still hot from the pot.

Then his scalp suddenly itched.

Zhang San was fiddling with his hair knot.

Li Si dodged away, only for Zhang San to catch him and pull him back.

“Don’t move,” Zhang San whispered. “I forgot to return your wax pellet. I’m putting it back.”

He tucked the pellet away and tidied Li Si’s loose hair.

Then he glanced toward the soldiers moving around them and continued, “Tonight I’ll go with them to raid the camp. You stay here. Whether we break through successfully or not, the Xiao army will fall into chaos, and there’ll be corpses beneath the walls. Wait until after the fighting, then go before dawn. Mix in with the bodies to approach the wall, tie your token to an arrow, and shoot it inside. Once the defenders see it, they’ll naturally lower a basket and pull you into the city.”

Li Si stared at him.

After a moment, he shook his head.

Zhang San laughed. “Little Fool, you don’t even understand something this simple?”

Li Si shook his head again. “I’m not staying here.”

“What?”

“I’m going with you.”

Zhang San smiled and wiped a crumb of roasted flatbread from the corner of his mouth. “Why would you run blindly into battle? You’re an Imperial City Directorate Envoy, not one of the reinforcements. Delivering the letter matters more.”

Li Si stubbornly shook his head. “I’m going with you.”

Zhang San tried to frighten him. “Little Fool, have you ever fought in a real battle? You think it’s as simple as killing a demon Daoist? The Xiao heavy cavalry are called Iron Pagodas. One set of their armor is heavy enough to crush you. Sabers can’t cut through it, arrows can’t pierce it. One of them charges with a long spear and—stab!—you’ll be skewered straight through. That little life of yours will be gone.”

Li Si still shook his head.

He had seen life and death now.

He did not fear them.

Besides, with Zhang San beside him, death somehow felt very far away.

Zhang San knew how to fight, how to kill, how to talk, how to deceive, how to deal with county magistrates, how to ally with constables, and how to make connections with generals. He was even more capable than Second Uncle.

He was the most capable person Li Si had ever met.

If Li Si followed Zhang San, he would not die.

And even if he truly did, there would still be compensation and reward money to leave Grandma.

As for the wax-pellet secret letter, to Li Si it represented nothing more than a promotion of three ranks and a reward of 3,000 guan. It was not worth even the smallest part of Second Uncle’s life, yet Second Uncle had died because of it.

Such an unlucky thing could be delivered if possible.

If not, then so be it.

Li Si simply wanted to follow Zhang San.

He did not know why.

He just did.

He looked at Zhang San without blinking. “I’m going with you.”

Something tightened in Zhang San’s chest beneath that gaze.

He sighed. “Fine. General Sun runs a strict army and is a fierce commander. Breaking through shouldn’t be a problem. And you’re such a fool that I don’t feel comfortable leaving you here alone anyway. Come with me.”

——

Night settled completely.

Sparse lights glimmered from the direction of the Xiao camp.

General Sun issued his flag signals, and the army prepared for action. The men bit down on gags to keep silent, the horses’ hooves were wrapped to muffle their steps, and the force split into two groups approaching the Xiao camp from the northwest and southwest.

Before surrounding Kuiyuan, the Xiao army had already defeated several Great Xuan relief forces. More than twenty days had now passed since the siege began, with no further reinforcements appearing.

There had been little fighting along the western wall, so the Xiao camp there had grown extremely lax.

The soldiers on night watch even sat around their fires drinking and laughing. Once sufficiently drunk, some pulled half their robes off and danced bare-armed beside the flames.

The night was deep and still.

No scout sounded any warning.

Only laughter and singing floated across the plain.

Then a horse suddenly let out a piercing neigh!

A magnificent warhorse clad in golden armor burst from the vast darkness and plunged straight into the camp.

General Sun charged toward the nearest fire and raised his long spear.

With one thrust through the chest, he skewered a half-naked Xiao soldier who had been dancing beside the flames.

Then he lifted the spear and hurled the corpse more than a zhang away.

The other Xiao soldiers around the fire cried out in alarm and shouted warnings.

Several Xuan cavalrymen followed directly behind the general, sweeping their long sabers horizontally.

Their cries ended almost instantly.

Several severed heads fell into the fire amid sprays of blood.

Great Xuan cavalry smashed through the camp entrance and poured in from both north and south.

Caught completely unprepared by the night attack, the Xiao troops shouted and scrambled from their tents half-armored, poorly armed, and with no time to mount their horses. They ran chaotically through the camp and were cut down by the charging cavalry with almost no ability to fight back.

But the Xiao commander stationed there was no ordinary man.

He immediately shouted orders to stabilize the camp and commanded his messengers to sound the horns and call for reinforcements.

Torches flared throughout the camp.

The horn signal announcing an attack pierced the quiet night.

Xiao scouts roaming the northern plain heard it and began sounding their own horns. The warning passed across the plain in wave after wave, all the way to the Xiao main camp north of Kuiyuan.

Hearing the horns, General Sun roared, “Burn the camp! Break through amid the chaos!”

His personal guards sounded whistle signals.

Great Xuan cavalrymen cut enemies down while snatching torches and hurling them onto the Xiao tents.

In moments, flames sprang up throughout the camp.

——

Zhang San and Li Si were mixed in among the troops.

Because they were sharing one horse, they were slower than the others and had fallen toward the rear. By the time they charged into the camp, the Xuan and Xiao forces were already tangled in a fierce melee and fires were burning everywhere.

A single saber was too short to use effectively from horseback.

Zhang San simply jumped down, happily returned to his infantry roots, plunged into the crowd, and began hacking.

Li Si remained mounted.

He raised his bow, sighted a Xiao soldier fleeing in panic, and released.

The arrow struck directly through the throat.

Without pausing, Li Si drew another arrow.

The shaft tore across the night and punched straight through the wrist of a Xiao soldier several meters away who had raised a curved saber.

The man had crept up behind Zhang San and was about to strike.

He screamed as the arrow pierced his wrist, and the saber fell from his hand.

Zhang San spun around, drove his blade into the man’s abdomen, and kicked him away.

Realizing Li Si had saved him, Zhang San flashed him a smile across the melee.

Before the smile had faded, he had already twisted back into the fight and plunged into the melee once more.

Li Si rode swiftly among the fighting and loosed more than ten arrows in quick succession, killing Xiao soldiers and saving Xuan troops alike.

Suddenly, a long spear thrust toward him from the side, meant to knock him from the saddle.

Li Si leaned backward until he was nearly flat against the horse’s back and narrowly avoided the strike.

His right hand caught the wooden spear shaft.

As he rose, he yanked it viciously to the left.

The Xiao soldier failed to let go in time and was dragged alongside the horse.

Li Si immediately let go of the spear.

The sleeve dagger hidden at his right wrist dropped into his palm.

He drove it into the Xiao soldier’s neck.

Blood sprayed across Li Si’s face, blurring his vision.

He shoved the corpse aside and was about to wipe his eyes when, through the haze, he saw another arm grab the horse’s back.

Startled, Li Si raised the sleeve dagger to stab again.

“It’s me!”

Zhang San caught his wrist.

Li Si let out a relieved breath and freed a stirrup for him.

Zhang San stepped into it and swung onto the horse behind him.

“Enough killing! Xiao reinforcements will be here soon. Hurry—we need to get through the camp and into the city!”

Around them, the Xuan cavalry were already withdrawing at General Sun’s whistle signals, leaving the camp ablaze and the Xiao force cut nearly in half.

The cavalry retreated in good order, streamed through the camp, and raced along Lotus Lake toward Kuiyuan’s western gate.