Chapter Fourteen: The Enchanting Night

Half an hour passed in waiting, and once again, Zheng Daqiu was summoned by Ma Yunjiu.

Upon meeting, Ma Yunjiu spoke bluntly: "The half-hour is up. The men you sent are likely dead by now. Now, you will lead the charge yourself, and I will bring the cavalry behind to provide support."

"This..." Zheng Daqiu hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth and said, "Fine, I will arrange for the assault."

Ma Yunjiu raised his horse whip to block Zheng Daqiu, who was about to leave, and said, "Did you not understand me? When you charge, you must be at the very front to boost morale."

"I..." Zheng Daqiu froze, his face flushing red. "Leader Ma, what do you mean? Those two hundred men were entrusted to me by Master Shi. As the commander of this unit, I should remain in the rear to direct the battle, not rush into the fray like a common bandit."

Zheng Daqiu argued loudly. He knew his own limitations. Ma Yunjiu, Liu Heng, and their ilk were all battle-hardened; charging into the fray was second nature to them. His position as a minor commander of the rear camp had been secured through sycophancy toward his predecessor. He knew he lacked the skill and courage to fight on the front lines.

Ma Yunjiu said coldly, "I am not negotiating with you. If you are unwilling to lead the charge, I can replace you with someone else. As for you, if you are of no use, there is no reason to keep you."

"You want to kill me!" Zheng Daqiu’s face turned pale.

Ma Yunjiu snorted, "Whether you live or die depends entirely on you. Take down Liu Heng and those archers, and the position of rear camp commander is yours. If you fail, you know the consequences."

Zheng Daqiu opened his mouth, his expression darkening. "I understand. I will lead the men to attack their wagon formation now."

"Go. I will be here to back you up," Ma Yunjiu said flatly.

Zheng Daqiu’s heart sank. He knew that Ma Yunjiu’s talk of "backing him up" was merely a pretense to monitor him and prevent his escape. He realized he had no choice; the only path left was to kill Liu Heng and his men.

Soon, apart from those who had already been killed or wounded, the remaining hundred-plus bandits were gathered together. Zheng Daqiu stood before them, his face unreadable. After a long silence, he said, "Brothers, I, Zheng Daqiu, have been ordered by Master Shi to purge the rebels who colluded with Blind Wu and his lot. Today, as long as we kill Liu Heng and Li Shuheng, there will be plenty of wine and meat for everyone when we return. I will even find ways to get you women if you want them. But if you fail to kill those rebels, don’t blame me for being ruthless. Nobody think about sneaking away; you cannot outrun Leader Ma’s cavalry unless you think your two legs are faster than their four."

"We want wine! We want meat! We want women!" several bandits, pre-arranged by Zheng Daqiu, shouted loudly.

"Wine! Meat! Women!" Zheng Daqiu raised a hand and shouted.

"Wine! Meat! Women!" Nearly two hundred bandits began to chant, the sound echoing far into the silent night.

A man riding beside Ma Yunjiu remarked, "Leader, this Zheng Daqiu has some tricks up his sleeve. He actually knows how to boost morale before a charge. It seems Li Shuheng and his men are in for a rough time."

Ma Yunjiu replied coolly, "Li Shuheng is not that easy to deal with."

Seeing his subordinate’s confusion, he continued, "You saw the arrows fired earlier. How many archers do you think were involved?"

The man thought for a moment and said, "Judging by the sound, the archers in the wagon fort fired two volleys. There couldn't have been more than thirty, maybe twenty-something."

Ma Yunjiu said, "Li Shuheng has nearly a hundred archers. Even if thirty were in the wagon fort, where are the other seventy? In this darkness, if those archers fired a single volley, more than half of our cavalry would be dead or wounded."

The man suddenly realized, "I understand now. Leader, you forced Zheng Daqiu to lead the charge just to flush out those hidden archers."

Ma Yunjiu did not respond, his gaze fixed on the wagon fort beyond the flickering campfires.

...

The commotion Zheng Daqiu caused was heard clearly by Liu Heng and his men, who were hiding behind the wagons. They immediately guessed that an attack was imminent.

Liu Heng ordered, "Pass the word down: keep hidden. When the enemy nears the fire, the archers will fire first. The new recruits should stay behind the wagons. Once the enemy reaches the supply carts, use the wooden spears to thrust outward. Do not let them cross the wagons."

Chen Xunping and Yang Yuan acknowledged the orders. Twenty archers hid in the gaps between the supply carts, bows drawn, arrows aimed at the firelight.

"Charge! Kill them and drink wine, eat meat, and have women!"

The sound of chaotic footsteps rose, and shadows flickered and merged on the other side of the fire.

Liu Heng peered through the gap between two carts and saw masses of dark figures rushing toward them. As the figures neared the campfires, about thirty paces away, their faces became visible in the flickering light.

"Fire!" Chen Xunping shouted from a distance.

*Swish! Swish! Swish!*

At thirty paces, the archers rarely missed. Screams tore through the night. Most of those in the front rank fell in the first volley; the lucky ones were only hit in the limbs and lay on the ground wailing. Many others were struck in the head, throat, or chest, dying almost instantly.

At twenty or thirty paces, it was a slaughter. The arrows were fired with maximum power and precision; at such close range, the archers could hit their marks with their eyes closed.

Liu Heng watched as a bandit opened his mouth to shout, only to be struck by an arrow fired from behind the wagons, which entered his mouth and exited through the back of his head, killing him instantly before he could make a sound.

Liu Heng counted roughly; after the volley, at least fifteen or sixteen of the enemy were dead or wounded. The front line of the bandit charge had been noticeably thinned.

The enemy scrambled over their fallen comrades and charged forward another ten paces before a second volley of arrows rained down, cutting down another group.

After two volleys, fear began to take hold. Some bandits faltered, while those behind, unaware of the carnage, continued to push forward, forcing the front ranks to keep advancing.

"Second Brother, give them another round," Liu Heng said, seeing the panic take root.

"Fire!"

With Chen Xunping's command, the sound of arrows slicing through the air filled the night. More screams erupted as the front ranks collapsed, and the momentum of the following bandits stalled.

Finally, some could no longer bear the pressure and turned to flee, shoving their comrades aside in their desperation.

"Extinguish the fires! Put out all the fires!" someone behind the bandit lines shouted.