Chapter Sixty-Six: Li Gui's Flight to the West

The garrison commander and his more than a thousand soldiers were all keenly aware that, if caught by the authorities, what they had done would cost them their heads. Thus, they donned their armor, prepared to fight to the bitter end like cornered beasts. At this moment, Li Fu was trembling in terror, stripping off his fine clothes and hastily changing into the garb of a craftsman, blending into the crowd of artisans, not daring to lift his head.

A Sui general rode forward and called out, “The Chief Commander has decreed that you craftsmen are innocent. You were deceived and coerced into forging weapons for the rebels. Now you are given a chance to redeem yourselves. Return to your homes immediately and no crime will be counted against you. If, within a minute, you are still found among the rebels, you will be regarded as their accomplices and executed on the spot.”

Hearing this, the craftsmen hurriedly left the group, returning to their homes or workshops, bolting their doors tight. In an instant, the once-dense gathering of artisans dwindled to just a handful of overseers and Li Fu, disguised among them.

Seeing the effect of his words, the Sui general then addressed the rebel soldiers: “Though you serve among the rebel ranks, should you lay down your arms and surrender, you need only serve five years in the army to regain your freedom. After that, those who wish to return home will be provided with travel expenses by the government.”

These words shook the once-united rebel formation, and soon a dozen soldiers threw down their weapons and ran toward the Sui lines. The rebel commander, seeing morale falter, and a few of his closest men, drew their bows and shot down the deserters, declaring, “We were only driven to banditry by the government’s oppression, and it was General Li who took us in and gave us a way to survive. Now, to abandon our benefactor and trust the empty promises of the authorities—would that not be utter foolishness?”

It was early autumn, and in the desert the sun still burned fiercely. The blood of the dozen deserters was quickly soaked up by the sand, so the ground was not awash in gore. Yet their corpses were enough to strike fear into the hearts of any others considering surrender.

The Sui general, seeing that his appeal had failed to yield the desired result, wasted no more words and ordered his heralds to give the signal to attack. Three thousand cavalry formed up and charged the just over a thousand rebel infantry like waves crashing upon the shore. Under the commander's orders, the infantry managed to form a crude line of defense, but untrained foot soldiers could not withstand the assault of cavalry three times their number.

The commander had pictured the cavalry breaking upon their ranks like waves against a rock, but instead, the Sui horsemen shattered their formation as if sweeping away dry twigs. The rebel soldiers, seeing the situation hopeless, threw down their weapons and scattered in all directions. The rebel commander fell in the thick of the fighting, and the few remaining loyalists and overseers flung away their arms and leaped into Moon Lake, hoping to swim away, but were shot down by Sui archers from horseback as they floundered in the water.

It was a slaughter; countless enemies were killed, over two hundred rebel soldiers were taken prisoner and set to work cleaning the battlefield, burying the dead, and caring for the wounded. The Sui general stopped one of his men from aiming his bow at the distant figure of Li Fu, saying, “The Chief Commander wishes to leave one alive to report back to Li Gui what has happened here.” He then ordered his men to take inventory of the armory’s equipment and tally up the craftsmen, as these artisans were specifically named by Li Wenyuan to be protected.

By a stroke of luck, Li Fu escaped the battlefield, relying on his horse’s exceptional speed to finally make his way back to Li Gui’s camp.

When Li Gui saw him covered in blood, he frowned and asked, “Li Fu, what’s happened to you?”

“My lord, disaster has struck. Li Wenyuan has sent troops to surround our armory. The garrison was slaughtered, and all the craftsmen and supplies were seized. I only escaped thanks to my horse’s speed, barely shaking off the pursuers to return here,” Li Fu replied, his voice faint from exhaustion.

“Brother, what’s happened? Why have we abandoned our property in the city so easily?” At that moment, Li Mao, having been forcibly brought to the camp by Li Gui’s men, spoke with some displeasure. But as he entered and saw Li Fu soaked in blood, he gasped, “Li Fu, what happened to you?” Then he recalled the warning given by his brother’s messenger: “Li Wenyuan is making his move—if you don’t leave now, it’ll be too late.”

Just then, a scout reported that all four gates of Wuwei Commandery were closed and the city was under martial law. Li Gui and Li Mao exchanged a long breath of relief. Fortunately, they had fled in time; otherwise, Li Mao would have been trapped in the city and captured by Li Wenyuan once again.

“Are all of Li Gui’s people gathered at the western military camp?” Li Wenyuan asked Gai Suzhen, tilting his head.

Gai Suzhen, like Aili, had joined Night Owl, the group founded by Qiuniang. This time, Qiuniang had sent Gai Suzhen to Li Wenyuan as a liaison, since some encrypted messages were indecipherable even to Li Wenyuan unless one was a member of Night Owl.

“Yes, our people inside Li Gui’s army have sent word confirming it,” Gai Suzhen nodded.

“Very well. Notify Zhang Juntao to attack the rebels, but only to press them and drive them westward—do not break their formation. If we scatter them and they flee into the mountains and forests to become bandits, it will cost us dearly to root them out in the future. Let them retreat slowly toward Yiwu Commandery, and there we will destroy them in one decisive strike,” Li Wenyuan instructed the officer beside him.

Receiving the order, Zhang Juntao led his men to attack the western camp of Wuwei Commandery. This was also a test for Zhang Juntao, who had been drilling his troops for so long; after all, coordinating large forces in this era was no simple task. Better to use Li Gui’s army as a whetstone now than to suffer heavy losses later due to poor coordination against the Turks.

“General, Li Wenyuan’s forces are advancing toward us,” a returning scout reported to Li Gui.

“How many has he brought?” Li Gui asked gravely.

“I cannot say for certain, but just on the north side of the city, there are nearly twenty thousand troops,” the scout replied.

“And how quickly are they moving?”

“Their advance is not swift. They move cautiously, securing every position, and their coordination is extremely tight. I have found no weakness,” the scout replied.

“Send word: recall all scouts outside the camp. The army will break camp and retreat to Yiwu Commandery at once,” Li Gui ordered in a low voice.