Chapter 2: Captain, please give it some more careful thought...

Morale among the men was low; clearly, this stretch of days had been nothing short of torment.

Su Wu glanced from side to side. In his memory, these fellows were all decent men, none of them cowards, all of them loyal, and they respected him as their captain.

He still had to find a way. Otherwise, if they kept taking beating after beating, the men’s hearts would scatter.

Since he had come to the late Northern Song, the path to survival was plain enough: with manpower came the guarantee of survival. His post as captain was no great office, but if he truly lost it, Su Wu honestly had no idea what he would do.

He could not keep waiting for Wu Song. In fact, he could no longer wait for Wu Song. If Wu Song really came, then Su Wu might as well step aside and find somewhere cool to sit.

This had to be done.

“Brothers, tonight, whatever it takes, we must catch that great beast!” Su Wu declared, his words lifting the spirit.

Dong Jian was the first to speak. “Captain, just say the word. How do we do it? This time, we brothers are staking our lives on it!”

“Right. We’re staking our lives on it!”

“Captain, think of a plan!”

At once, blades were raised, spears brandished, and the men seemed to regain some of their vigor. Yet all those expectant, hopeful eyes were fixed on Su Wu alone.

It was understandable enough. Who among them did not have a wife and children, parents and elders at home?

They did not know that not long from now, a brute named Wu Song would burst forth from nowhere and accomplish this deed. A salary of one string of cash and five dou a month was the livelihood of an entire family. If this job was lost, then so was the means to survive.

Think of a plan. Set out first, and think on the way to the city gates. Beneath Jingyang Ridge, there were still several dozen hunters waiting to rendezvous. Only when night fell would they once again enter the dense forest on Jingyang Ridge.

He had to find a way. Could such a small matter really choke a man to death?

An ambush? The tiger lived in the forest and was far more alert than any human, its sense of smell far beyond that of man. And this tiger was no ordinary tiger either; it was a beast famous across the world and through the ages, clearly of no small intelligence. They had laid ambushes many times, and not once had it worked.

A surround-hunt? Even if they did it now, with officials and hunters combined they barely had seventy or eighty men. Against that vast ridge, how could they possibly encircle it? They would need several thousand men at least, and that meant an army.

How could Yanggu County possibly muster an army of such scale?

There seemed to be only one method left: like Wu Song, fight it one on one?

The thought startled Su Wu himself. If only he had a gun...

Unconsciously, he reached for his waist. It was empty. He had been thinking too much.

Without modern firearms, to fight it alone would be nothing short of courting death. Even Wu Song, had he not been drunk out of his mind and then by sheer luck seized the tiger at the vulnerable nape of its neck, might not truly have been able to beat that great tiger.

Oh, headache.

They would have to get to the place first...

They walked for two hours, through the whole morning, before finally arriving. The mountains were not especially tall, but they stretched on without end, and the woods were so dense that beyond a dozen paces, the branches and leaves concealed everything completely.

Jingyang Ridge was merely one low hill among this continuous stretch of lush mountains. In truth, it was not hard to cross, which was why this place had become a vital thoroughfare.

At the foot of the ridge, forty or fifty hunters gathered from the surrounding counties and villages had already arrived early and were resting.

All of them looked exhausted and full of worry.

There were blades, spears, staves, axes, hooks, and forks of every sort. Some even wore false tiger pelts made of cloth and cotton dyed to resemble fur. It was plain these men had wracked their brains over this affair.

When Su Wu arrived, the many hunters all rose weakly and bowed to him.

“There’s no need for ceremony. For more than a month now, day and night have been turned upside down. You all must be worn to the bone. Rest and eat something while you can...”

After speaking, Su Wu also went to one side and sat down on the ground. He had not eaten in the morning, and noon had already arrived. Fortunately, the officers had brought some baked flat cakes and dry rations.

Eat and drink, as one should. Dong Jian handed him a cake and said, “In all of Yanggu County, it’s Wu Da’s flat cakes that are the best. Big ones, plenty of filling. Eat a few more. If we’re going to die, at least die with a full belly.”

“Don’t talk nonsense. We’ll settle this tonight for sure.” Su Wu took the cake, feeling the pressure mount even more. Looking at these dozens of hunters and a dozen officers, he realized that being the leader was not so easy after all.

Wu Da, Old Lady Wang, Master Ximen, Pan Jinlian, Wu Song...

Yanggu County was full of stories.

Su Wu began eating the flat cake. Truth be told, Wu Da had real skill; the cake was indeed quite good.

Mm... perhaps it was also Pan Jinlian’s fine handiwork.

He looked again at the dozens of listless, spiritless men. If they went into the mountains tonight in this state, they would surely come back empty-handed again.

Then Su Wu lowered his head and looked at himself. In fact, he had a fine build too, a tall and powerful man of about six feet three. Standing among these people, he was like a crane among chickens. His arms were corded with muscle, his chest broad and proud...

Clearly, this was why he could serve as captain.

Or else... should he really try going one on one?

The thought was a little frightening, a case of scaring himself, yet Su Wu could not stop thinking it.

Even if he truly had to fight alone, he clearly could not do it the way that reckless brute Wu Song had...

Ambush. Still an ambush.

He had to change his way of thinking. Could one man set an ambush?

His mind opened up at once. Su Wu stood abruptly and looked around. The hunters had brought plenty of bows, and the officers had brought three heavy crossbows.

Good. Crossbows were good. Song Dynasty crossbows were even better, the pinnacle of the age of cold steel.

Su Wu immediately asked, “Does the county armory still have a few sets of broken iron armor stored away?”

Dong Jian nodded. “Yes. They say it’s official military equipment from the court, but it’s long since been in tatters. Captain, you’re not thinking of wearing armor into the mountains, are you? Even broken armor weighs dozens of pounds. If you ran into the tiger, how could you possibly keep up with it?”

That made sense.

But once his mind shifted, Su Wu immediately said, “Quick, have a few of you go back and borrow an ox cart. Before nightfall, bring those broken sets of armor here.”

“Captain, are you serious?” Dong Jian looked puzzled.

“Serious. And don’t waste time on the road. Go to the blacksmith’s shop and borrow some tools. Piece those armor sets together and see whether you can make one decent enough to use...”

Su Wu spoke in haste, afraid that if he slowed down, he would change his mind about the whole single-combat idea.

“Oh, oh, right away, right away...” Dong Jian gathered up the flat cake against his chest and hurried off to summon the men.

The hunters’ leader was named Lin Mao, a burly man in his thirties, not tall but extremely sturdy. He came forward and asked, “Captain Su, what do you need iron armor for?”

“Tonight, I plan to go alone into the mountains,” Su Wu said it aloud, yet he was still afraid that if he did not say it now, he would regret it later. Once spoken, there would be no turning back.

“What?” Lin Mao was stunned. He knew this Captain Su was not the type to fear death, but he never would have imagined he could have such a thought.

Dong Jian, who had just called for men to prepare to return to the city, also turned back at once and said, “Captain, absolutely not! One man in the mountains—is he any match for that five-hundred-jin tiger? It would be certain death!”

Yet Su Wu’s expression remained resolute. His eyes grew slightly red as he looked around at the crowd, and they looked back at him.

Then Su Wu said, “It has been a month. Many of my men have been injured, and the hunters have already lost seven or eight lives. If this goes on, who knows how many more will die? Rather than that, I might as well go up the mountain alone and fight it to the end.”

Su Wu was not being reckless. He had arrived at this judgment after weighing the risks and benefits of a fairly good plan.

The title of Tiger-Slaying Hero, he wanted it. That title meant a great deal. Forget whether it could preserve his post as captain—just look at the seventy or eighty men here. Once tonight passed, they would surely all follow his lead.

In the chaos of the Water Margin, in the late Northern Song, with the nation and families soon to be shattered and the world in utter disorder...

Even if he was not thinking of building a grand enterprise in the future, even if he merely wanted a foothold in this world, he still needed capital to stand on.

That was the real reason Su Wu had made up his mind. Since he had come, he would make his peace with it. Whatever happened, he had to control his own fate.

At once, whether officers or hunters, all gathered around him.

“Captain, think it over again. We should all stand together—how can we let you go alone to your death?”

“Yes, Captain, you can’t do this!”

“Captain, let us make another few attempts tonight. If we meet that tiger, none of us are afraid of death. We’ll rush it together and fight it to the end! I’m not afraid to die. I must avenge my elder brother, who was swallowed by the tiger’s jaws.”

The speaker was a boy of sixteen or seventeen named Li Cheng. His elder brother had plainly died in the tiger’s mouth, and he himself was not even a hunter, yet had insisted on coming.

One after another, the crowd stepped forward to persuade him, their eyes full of worry and urgency.

These people truly did carry a simple, honest warmth in their hearts. That was precisely what Su Wu valued. This risk was worth taking.

Su Wu then assumed a solemn, righteous air. “No more words. Just follow my orders. My mind is made up. Whoever refuses will be thrown into the dungeon first!”

“Ah...” Dong Jian had no choice but to sigh, stamping his foot and beating his chest.

“What are you still standing here for? Go and come back quickly. I’m waiting for your iron armor! Move!”

Su Wu glared at him like a tiger.

Dong Jian had no answer. He could only turn away, not daring to say more. It was proof enough that in ordinary times, Su Wu’s authority already carried weight.