Volume 1, Chapter 32: Commending the Two Scholars and Recording Their Merits

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It was not until the army withdrew at dusk that the fear, exhilaration, and other emotions Li Shandao had experienced when he entered battle at noon finally began to settle.

After rescuing Wei Yaksha, Nie Black Otter, and the others and returning to the formation, Shan Xiongxin—brave as a tiger and mounted on an excellent horse—could not be held back by Chen Daogong and the others, and he too returned to the lines. The two armies faced one another for some time. The Wagang Army did not dare to sortie again, but under Xu Shiji’s steady command its formation remained intact. The Luo army, for its part, made no attempt to break through. Thus, as evening fell, both sides sounded the gongs for retreat and returned separately to their camps.

Once it was certain that the day’s fighting was over and there would be no further battle, Li Shandao had Gao Chounu help him remove the bright-light armor he was wearing.

The moment the armor left his body, he felt light all over. The evening breeze, heavy with moisture from the nearby marshes, blew against his face as the sweat gradually dried. The sensation was indescribably refreshing.

Li Shandao had lost his spear on the battlefield. Holding only his saber, he turned and gazed westward.

Beyond the reed beds that rippled like drifting snow, a crimson sun hung upon the horizon. Never before had he thought a spring sunset could be so beautiful, so magnificent.

Unit after unit of soldiers withdrew from the lines in orderly succession, heading south.

Some passed along the edge of Li Shandao’s company. Whether commanders or ordinary troops, all who looked toward him wore unmistakable admiration.

In the battle at noon, Li Shandao had led from the front. Then Gao Chounu had wounded Liang Husheng with his mace, after which they had driven back the Luo troops on the left. On the way back to the formation, Chen Jing’er had cleverly struck the Red Dragon Pearl. Their courage had been so evident that no one could help admiring them.

As for Chen Jing’er’s clever blow against the Red Dragon Pearl: when Luo Shixin pursued them, the horse had suddenly twisted its neck and let out a long, shrill neigh, bringing the chase to a halt. Xu Shiji later learned that Chen Jing’er had drawn his slingshot at the critical moment and struck the horse squarely on the head.

Looking back, the scene in which Luo Shixin pursued Li Shandao and the others had been exceedingly dangerous. They had only escaped disaster because Luo Shixin, unwilling to take advantage of Shan Xiongxin, had not armored the Red Dragon Pearl. Otherwise, even though Chen Jing’er was an excellent shot with a slingshot, he would have had no chance to use it. The Wagang Army’s formation might well have been shattered in a single charge, and a crushing defeat would have been unavoidable.

Confronted by those admiring gazes, Li Shandao did his best to suppress his weariness and the soreness throughout his body. He straightened and smiled, nodding to each man in return.

Before long, it was his company’s turn to leave the lines. At Li Shandao’s command, more than a hundred men followed the departing troops ahead of them, leaving the battlefield and winding along the narrow path by which they had come toward their separate camp several miles away.

Zhai Yuanshun had already led a group of commanders outside the camp to welcome them.

To guard against a sudden counterattack by Luo Shixin, Shan Xiongxin and Xu Shiji had stayed at the rear, bringing up the very end of the withdrawing troops.

At last, the two men arrived.

Zhai Yuanshun hurried forward to greet them, repeatedly thanking them for their exertions and inviting them to ride into the camp in sedan chairs.

Neither Shan Xiongxin nor Xu Shiji would agree.

They halted at the camp gate.

Wei Yaksha, Nie Black Otter, Li Shandao, and the other commanders who had arrived earlier all came forward to pay their respects.

Shan Xiongxin said, “In today’s battle, we killed and wounded a great many of the Luo dogs’ men. Chen Daogong was wounded by me, and Liang Husheng by Gao Chounu. We have raised the prestige of Wagang. All of you fought well. I have recorded your achievements, and once this campaign is over, your rewards will be distributed together.”

The commanders acknowledged his words.

Xu Shiji frowned slightly. He glanced at Wei Yaksha, then at Shan Xiongxin, as though he wished to say something but restrained himself. Turning to Li Shandao, he said, “Second Brother, your company rendered outstanding service today. Chen Jing’er in particular deserves the greatest credit. At the critical moment, he drove back Luo Shixin and prevented him from breaking our formation. Your achievements have been recorded; the rewards will be granted after the war.”

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Different people considered matters differently. In Xu Shiji’s eyes, Chen Jing’er’s contribution was actually greater than the combined achievements of Shan Xiongxin and Gao Chounu in wounding Chen Daogong and Liang Husheng.

Everyone turned toward Li Shandao.

Li Shandao bowed and said, “I merely obeyed orders and fought to the death. I dare not speak of merit.”

Shan Xiongxin laughed. “Yaksha, hurry and thank Second Brother. If he had not saved you, would you be standing here unharmed?”

To bring Wei Yaksha back, three separate groups of troops had been sent out, and many had been killed or wounded. Wei Yaksha himself, however, had escaped without so much as a scratch. He turned to Li Shandao and said, “Thank you for saving my life, Second Brother.”

Li Shandao replied modestly, “I merely relied on the valor of Brother Cai, Brother Nie, and the others. I cannot accept your thanks, my lord.”

Wei Yaksha then turned to Nie Black Otter and Cai Jiande and bowed to them as well.

Cai Jiande’s wounds were not serious, and he was still among the men. He and Nie Black Otter returned Wei Yaksha’s salute.

Xu Shiji had matters to discuss with Shan Xiongxin and was eager to leave, unwilling to linger there. Once Wei Yaksha, Nie Black Otter, Cai Jiande, and the others had finished exchanging courtesies, he said, “Each of you should first settle your men and let them rest. Send the wounded to the camp infirmary for treatment, and bury the dead outside the camp for now. After we have eaten, come to the Hall of Brotherhood and report the casualties. Then we will discuss tomorrow’s battle.”

The commanders acknowledged the order.

Led by Zhai Yuanshun, Xu Shiji and Shan Xiongxin proceeded into the camp toward the Hall of Brotherhood.

Some commanders’ troops were stationed outside the camp, while others were within it. Li Shandao’s company was quartered inside, as were the companies of Wei Yaksha and Nie Black Otter. The three groups entered the camp together. When they reached the quarters, they saluted one another and went to their respective encampments.

Food had already been prepared: buckets of gruel, baskets of flatbread, platters of vegetables and meat, and bowls of meat sauce.

Wang Xuda, however, had not begun eating. He had been waiting for Li Shandao.

When Li Shandao returned, Wang Xuda, Chen Jing’er, Luo Zhong, Qin Jingsi, and the others hurried forward to greet him.

In the fading light, it was impossible to tell whether Wang Xuda’s expression showed shame or admiration.

With great respect, he said, “Before today, I had only heard that when you accompanied First Brother Xu and Lord Shan in seizing the ships, you offered the strategy and led from the front, earning great merit. Today, however, I saw it with my own eyes. You are not only outstanding in intelligence and strategy, but surpassingly brave as well. In today’s battle, if you had not deployed us so skillfully and charged ahead of everyone else to scatter the enemy’s armored troops, we could never have won. I truly admire you!”

“Enough with the idle talk, damn it!”

Wang Xuda jumped. He did not know why Li Shandao had suddenly cursed. Thinking he was being rebuked for his “cowardice” during the battle, his face flushed crimson. He feared that Li Shandao would reprimand him in front of everyone, but then heard him continue:

“I’m starving to death! Third Brother, everyone, let’s fill our bellies first!”

With that, Li Shandao strode to the basket of flatbread, seized a piece, and began devouring it. At the same time, he called for everyone else to eat.

Wang Xuda’s heart finally settled. He hurried over with Chen Jing’er and the others, laughing as they took flatbread and meat and began to eat.

After finishing half a piece of bread, Li Shandao searched among the men until he found two of them. He walked over, looked them up and down, and asked between mouthfuls, “Are your wounds serious?”

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Because Li Shandao had led from the front, Gao Chounu had been invincible, and the pincer attack had worked extremely well—and because the enemy commander, Liang Husheng, had been wounded at the very beginning—the casualties suffered by Li Shandao’s company that day had been remarkably light. Not a single man had died. Only the two men standing before Li Shandao had been wounded, and both injuries were minor.

One was Zheng Zhiguo, a member of Chen Jing’er’s group. He was the former government soldier among Chen Jing’er’s men.

The other was Luo Longju, one of Luo Zhong’s men and his nephew.

At the beginning of the battle, Li Shandao had charged at the head of the troops and had had no attention to spare for anything else. Later, once they had gained the upper hand, he no longer needed to remain at the very front and had been able to observe more of the field. He could not claim to have seen everything done by Chen Jing’er’s and Wang Xuda’s troops, but he had noticed a great deal. Zheng Zhiguo and Luo Longju had been two of the bravest men among them.

The two men hurriedly set down their meat and bread, stood with their hands clasped, and replied, “To answer you, my lord, they are only slight wounds. Nothing serious.”

“Let me see.”

Zheng Zhiguo had been wounded in the left arm. Blood stained his sleeve. He pulled open his garment and exposed the limb for Li Shandao’s inspection. It was a saber cut, neither long nor deep, and clearly not serious.

Luo Longju had been wounded in the chest by a spear. That wound, too, was shallow.

Li Shandao nodded and patted them both on the shoulder. He said no more than, “You are both fine fellows!”

Then he called for Wang Xuande, the second of the Wang brothers, and asked, “Have their achievements been recorded?”

Wang Xuande was drinking gruel, so much of it coating his beard that it looked as though he wore a paste of porridge. He answered, “Not yet.”

Li Shandao made as if to kick him and cursed, “Damn it! The battle has been over for half a day, and you still haven’t recorded the achievements of Zheng and his companion? Is this how you carry out the work I assigned you?”

Why did Second Brother Li seem to have grown such a temper after the battle? Wang Xuande could not understand why Li Shandao was cursing him or pretending to kick him. He only gave an embarrassed smile and apologized.

“Yes, yes. I’ll record them at once.”

Li Shandao said, “And record the achievements of Fifth Brother Chen, Chounu, and the others as well. Do it quickly! I’ll be reporting their merits to First Brother Xu and Lord Shan later.”

Wang Xuande no longer had time to eat. He turned a basket upside down, spread paper over it, squatted beside it, and began recording everyone’s achievements.

Wang Xuda stood nearby, listening intently to Li Shandao’s words. When he heard this, disappointment spread across his face. But then Li Shandao ordered Wang Xuande, “And record the achievements of Third Brother Wang and Fourth Brother Luo for personally leading their troops into the thick of battle.”

Wang Xuande immediately acknowledged the order.

Only then did Wang Xuda’s disappointment lift. Yet he could hardly stand up and offer his thanks, so he pretended not to have heard anything.

After eating his fill and resting for a short while, Li Shandao’s entire body was sore and exhausted. Once he had lain down, he found that he truly did not wish to move even an inch.

He considered asking Gao Chounu to massage him, but fearing that the man’s powerful hands would do more harm than good, he could only abandon the thought for the moment. Instead, he found himself missing Kang Sanzang and his little servant. That fellow Kang Sanzang had wonderfully skilled hands, both for kneading meat and for massage.

After resting for a short while, Li Shandao estimated that Xu Shiji and Shan Xiongxin had probably finished eating. He rose, took Gao Chounu and Chen Jing’er with him, and went through the night toward the Hall of Brotherhood.

When they reached the hall, raised voices and arguing could be heard from within.

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