The settlement at Qikou was bustling with activity early the next morning.
Tribal leaders had gathered their troops, awaiting Jieli's command to march.
Before long, Jieli emerged from his large tent, clad in armor and mounted on his warhorse. He rode to the muster platform in the center of the camp and bellowed to his soldiers.
"Sons! Follow your Khan into battle!"
With those simple words, he lightly flicked his whip at his horse and headed south.
Dada, dada, dada!
The marching of over two hundred thousand men created an earthquake-like effect, causing ripples on the distant surface of the Nuozhen River.
Auxiliary troops, pulling supplies like grain, gunpowder, and arrows, followed behind, stretching into a long dragon across the grassland.
Liu Meng had just finished clearing out a small tribe. His soldiers were rounding up cattle, sheep, mules, and horses, preparing to move on to the next sweep, when they felt the ground tremble.
He quickly knelt, pressed his ear to the ground, and listened intently for a moment before rising abruptly.
"Gather the supplies and livestock, and retreat!"
Meanwhile, Ma Chao and Zhang Tian also sensed something amiss and hastily withdrew their men.
By the time both contingents had retreated to Iron Mountain, darkness had fallen.
Zhu Zi, Liu Meng, Ma Chao, and Zhang Tian all converged on Fang Er's tent.
"Marquis."
"You're back? Encountered the enemy?"
Fang Er, lying on his campaign bed, engrossed in his book "The Justice of the Song Dynasty," replied without looking up.
"Your lordship is wise; we did indeed encounter the enemy, though we didn't directly engage. We sensed something was wrong and returned quickly."
Zhu Zi answered, his gaze drawn to the book in Fang Er's hands.
"What kind of book is that, Marquis? You're so engrossed you're ignoring the enemy situation. Could it be one of those books?"
"Heh, I'll have to find a chance to sneak a peek. I heard the women in those books are very beautiful."
*Slap!*
Fang Er's peripheral vision caught Zhu Zi staring intently at his book. He closed it and tucked it under his pillow.
"All in simplified Chinese, clearly not for public consumption."
His action only strengthened Zhu Zi's suspicion. "Heh, it must be one of those books with illustrations!"
"What are you looking at! Notify everyone, get all the hot air balloons airborne, twenty-four hours a day, rotating surveillance!
"Full alert! Prepare everything needed, don't drop the ball when the time comes!
"Also, send out scouts to find out exactly how many men Jieli brought!"
"Yes!"
The four men cupped their hands in acknowledgment, received the orders, and turned to leave the tent.
"Sigh, what do you think the Marquis was reading?"
After leaving the tent, Ma Chao asked curiously.
"What else could it be? Our Marquis just got married, he's enjoying the fruits of his labor, heh."
Liu Meng's face was full of a mischievous grin.
The four thought their voices were low enough, but Fang Er, who had just emerged and was heading to report to Li Shimin, overheard them clearly.
With a vein throbbing in his temple, Fang Er quickened his pace and kicked Liu Meng squarely in the backside.
"I'm enjoying my *you know what*, get lost and prepare for battle! If you yap anymore, you'll be doing a fifty-kilometer weighted cross-country run!"
Liu Meng, caught off guard by the kick, stumbled face-first. Hearing Fang Er's voice, he was startled.
He scrambled up and said sheepishly, "Right away, right away, heh heh heh."
Saying that, he ran off, clutching his backside.
Seeing Fang Er raise his right foot again, the other three shivered, flashed forced smiles, and followed Liu Meng.
Fang Er, feeling extremely vexed, returned to his tent and put "The Justice of the Song Dynasty" back into the system space. He needed to keep an eye on these fellows, lest they actually steal it thinking it was a pornographic book.
Speaking of which, did that brat Yue Fu manage to save Yue Fei in the end? I'm so looking forward to it!
I'll have to read it properly after this war!
When he reached Li Shimin's tent, it was unusually quiet inside.
"His Majesty isn't in there?"
Fang Er asked the Xuanjia Army guards standing outside.
"Replying to the Marquis, His Majesty and several dukes have been playing for three days and three nights and have just gone to sleep. Perhaps you could come back tomorrow?"
Fang Er: .......
Could these fellows become the first emperor and dukes in history to die from playing Mahjong?
He shook his head and walked back.
Forget it, this battle will be fought the same whether they're involved or not!
Jieli led his twenty-three thousand strong army for two days. They were less than five li from Iron Mountain when night fell.
Nyctalopia was common among the people of the grasslands, as was constipation.
The specific reasons were self-evident: lack of vegetables and tea!
Since it was too dark to travel, they set up camp, lit fires, and prepared food, waiting for daylight.
However, just as he was taking a couple of bites from a roasted sheep leg, a soldier rushed into Jieli's tent.
"Great Khan, there's something in the sky!"
Jieli blinked, then, carrying the sheep leg, stepped out of the tent. He looked up and indeed saw several glowing objects circling above the camp.
"Fetch my bow!"
He took a hearty bite of the sheep leg, then handed it to a soldier behind him.
Soon after, a guard brought a massive bow.
The bow was taller than Jieli. Its frame was crafted from refined steel, and its string was made from the sinews of a giant python from the Yin Mountains.
It required at least two dan of arm strength to draw this bow!
A wolf-tooth arrow was nocked onto the bow. Jieli let out a great roar, and the massive bow was slowly drawn. When he reached about seventy percent of its draw, Jieli could pull no further.
He aimed at the glowing object in the sky and released his right hand holding the arrow shaft.
*Whoosh!*
The wolf-tooth arrow flew from the bowstring, shooting straight towards the glowing object in the sky.
Zhang Tian was floating above the Turkic camp, requesting permission from Fang Er via radio to send Jieli a little gift.
Suddenly, he felt something strike the bamboo basket beneath him.
Then, a piercing pain shot through his backside!
"Ah~~!"
With a scream, he quickly reached to feel his rear.
A long, hard object was lodged in his backside. As he touched it, the arrow shaft shifted, and sweat beaded on his forehead from the pain.
"Damn it! I'll fuck your ancestor! How dare you shoot my backside!"
"Flying Ace One calling all players! Throw everything you have down!"
Yes, players, a shorthand for hot air balloon operators, no less!
"Roger!" "Haha!"
"Received! Revenge for Commander Zhang's backside!"
"Yes sir! Right, revenge for Commander Zhang's backside!"
Zhang Tian heard the voices from the radio, his head buzzing.
He suddenly came to his senses. Damn it, when he was hit, his reflex was to grip what he was holding. The radio's transmit button had been pressed down.
Now, everyone knew he'd been shot.
Thinking of this, he felt a chill run down his spine. Dammit, he'd lost all face!
ps: Fourth update