Chapter 75: The Bounty

For the sake of convenience, the soldiers of Western Xia carried wooden shields. These shields were more than sufficient to ward off ordinary arrows, but when faced with these massive bolts, as thick as a baby's arm, they might as well have been made of paper.

With a sharp “pop!” the enormous arrow pierced the shield effortlessly, its momentum undiminished as it drove straight through the soldier holding it, and continued into the man behind. It was as if a giant skewer had threaded them together, reminiscent of the beloved lamb kebabs enjoyed on summer evenings in later times.

The power of the Jingkang crossbow was truly formidable. The tremendous force quickly tore apart the defensive line of Western Xia's shields. The scene before their eyes was terrifying in the extreme—blood and flesh flying everywhere. Among the Western Xia soldiers, there were many new recruits, but even the veterans had never witnessed such carnage. Especially those near the victims of the Jingkang crossbow—none could remain unmoved by the devastation it wrought.

“The Song army is using witchcraft!” someone shouted in desperation. Without a second thought, he discarded his shield and began to flee. Panic is contagious; had everyone stood firm and pressed on, they might have reached the base of the city wall. But once the first man ran, others quickly followed, and soon entire swathes of soldiers were in full retreat.

This was not an orderly withdrawal but a rout. In their mad flight, they abandoned all discipline, discarding their helmets and armor; their wooden shields were flung away who knew where.

“Loose!” Wu Jie, a general second only to Yue Fei in the Song dynasty, was not one to let such an opportunity slip by. He immediately gave the order to fire.

At once, a torrential rain of arrows filled the sky. Earlier, when advancing, the Western Xia soldiers could at least face the incoming arrows and perhaps knock a few aside with their weapons. Now, however, the arrows came from behind, and a man has no eyes in his back.

A relentless volley sounded as the arrows struck home.

The retreating Western Xia army left the ground littered with corpses. Of those within the range of arrows, less than one in ten escaped with their lives.

“Damn it! Who gave you the order to retreat? Get back up there!” Li Changqi, upon seeing his men falling back, flew into a rage. He raised his whip and lashed it hard across the back of a retreating soldier.

“Spare me, General! The Song army’s arrows are too powerful! We can’t break through; if we don’t fall back, we’ll all die out there!” The soldier, clutching his bloodied face, fell to his knees, pleading for mercy.

“Fool! How do you know you can’t break through if you haven’t even tried? Get back up there! If you die, your family will be doubly compensated, but if you dare retreat, I’ll kill you myself!” Li Changqi exclaimed, and raised his whip again. As a pampered son of privilege from Xingqing Prefecture, he regarded these soldiers as little better than slaves. Their deaths meant nothing to him; as long as the city fell, their sacrifice was of no concern.

But this time, his whip did not come down.

Feng Renqi Maili blocked his arm. “General, you must not. Our army has already lost more than ten thousand men. At this rate, a few more attacks and we’ll have no soldiers left to continue the assault.”

“I don’t care how many die! I just want those city gates broken open!” Li Changqi replied indifferently.

“But General, at this rate, even if we throw in every man we have, the gates will still not yield!” Feng Renqi Maili insisted. Seeing the impatience on Li Changqi’s face, he hurriedly added, “You may not care about these men’s lives, but if they all perish, who will be left to storm the walls? And how will the Prince’s great vengeance ever be fulfilled?”

That last argument finally had an effect. Li Changqi grunted in anger, flinging his whip to the ground. “Then what do you suggest? Are we to let this paltry city of Fuping hold us back?”

“General, Fuping is a stronghold, easy to defend and hard to attack. In such circumstances, without siege equipment, there is but one way: cunning, not force,” Feng Renqi Maili advised.

“Cunning?” Li Changqi frowned, looking suspicious. “And what plan do you propose?”

Feng Renqi Maili replied, “General, why not surround Fuping completely and spread word that whoever delivers Wu Jie’s head will be rewarded with a thousand taels of gold and an official rank? With such rich incentives, someone within the city is bound to waver. Once chaos erupts inside, Fuping will fall without a fight.”

Li Changqi furrowed his brow. “Are you serious?”

Feng Renqi Maili answered with conviction, “The Song people are never united. Lure them with riches, and someone will surely respond.”

Li Changqi hesitated, then said, “Very well. I’ll follow your counsel. Tomorrow, have notices posted: anyone within Fuping—soldier or civilian—who brings me Wu Jie’s head will be spared when the city falls and will receive a thousand taels of gold, a thousand bolts of silk, and ten beautiful women!” If the city could be taken without a fight, that would be ideal, for the rewards he’d receive would far exceed what he promised others.

Seeing Li Changqi finally accept his proposal, Feng Renqi Maili let out a long sigh of relief. He had feared Li Changqi would ignore his advice and insist on a headlong assault, in which case the fifty thousand strong vanguard might well be lost here. In truth, this plan was merely a stalling tactic to buy time until the main Western Xia army arrived. Wu Jie, as commander-in-chief, was hardly likely to be so easily killed, but such schemes could easily placate someone like Li Changqi.

So the Western Xia army began to encircle Fuping, refraining from further attacks. Li Changqi sent spies into the city to post proclamations: whoever delivered Wu Jie’s head would receive a thousand taels of gold, a thousand bolts of silk, and ten beauties. He waited, hoping Wu Jie would be betrayed from within and brought to him for the reward.

Naturally, this notice soon reached Wu Jie himself.

“I never would have imagined my head was worth so much!” Wu Jie remarked with a smile, waving the proclamation at his subordinates.

“General, the Western Xia are truly devious. Seeing they cannot break through, they resort to such vile schemes. You must be extra cautious whenever you go out,” his lieutenant advised gravely.