Chapter 131: Resurrection in a Borrowed Corpse!

Li Yun spent two or three hours preparing, only to realize that he had once again overestimated the "army" of Linshui, or rather, that they had not yet had the time to grow into a qualified military force.

He discovered that the Linshui troops had only traveled forty miles by sunset and had begun to set up camp for the night just ten miles away from Mount Tianmu.

It was not until the following morning that Commandant He led them to continue toward Mount Tianmu, by which time Li Yun had already been waiting for them for an entire night.

Fortunately, someone had kept an eye on their encampment and reported it to Li Yun in time; otherwise, he would have spent the night in vain. Had he not been prepared, he might have suffered a minor setback by facing a rested enemy while his own men were weary.

As for Commandant He and his party, upon arriving at the foot of Mount Tianmu, he looked up at the mountain, which was not particularly tall, and asked the messenger, "Is this Mount Tianmu?"

"Yes, General."

"The Mount Tianmu stronghold is up on the mountain."

Commandant He pondered for a moment, and just as he was about to give the order for his men to head up, a captain beside him felt a sense of foreboding. He hesitated and said, "Commandant He, the more I think about this, the more suspicious it feels. Previously, the Yuezhou faction sent people to check, and we ourselves have sent men up to the Mount Tianmu stronghold. It was empty; not a single person was seen. How could these bandits have suddenly returned, and why would they bring General He back with them?"

"General, do you think it might be an ambush by the imperial government's dogs?"

Commandant He chuckled and said, "The imperial government's troops are all still in Ningguo; they haven't reached the territory of Qiantang Commandery. There are tens of thousands of them in Ningguo, and the Great King has had people watching them the whole time."

"If there were any movement, would we be completely unaware of it here on the front lines?"

"Don't scare yourself."

Commandant He said in a deep voice, "On the mountain, at most, there is just a group of bold bandits. Don't overthink it—just follow me up!"

The reason Commandant He made this judgment was, first, due to an information asymmetry. To put it bluntly, the Qiu Dian group was currently very rough, with military units that had not yet fully formed, and intelligence units that were even more lacking. They barely possessed a complete intelligence agency, having only a few scattered personnel. It was already a feat that they knew Su Jing’s main army was stationed outside Ningguo County; for them to grasp more detailed information, the current intelligence capability of the Yuezhou faction would need to expand at least tenfold.

The second reason was even simpler. His fellow townsman, Qiu Dian, had become the King of Yue and might one day unify the world. As a fellow villager and even a childhood friend of Qiu Dian, Commandant He... he wanted to advance his career too badly. Rescuing the King’s brother-in-law would undoubtedly be a great merit.

Following Commandant He’s order, the three or four hundred men he brought began to move up the mountain path toward Mount Tianmu.

At that moment, Li Zheng, who had been hiding nearby, waved his hand sharply. A youth beside him immediately sprang into action, rushing off to report to Li Yun.

Li Yun, fearing he might attract the attention of the Linshui troops, had not gotten too close, staying a mile or two away from the mountain path. Upon receiving the news, Li Yun gripped his spear, waved his hand, and led his two hundred men toward Mount Tianmu.

He did not bring everyone; the majority of the men he led were the former bandit-suppression team members he had personally trained. It was not a matter of favoritism, but rather that the new recruits, especially those transferred from Shidai, had never seen a battlefield or drawn blood. No one knew if they would falter at a critical moment. In such a situation, the tamed bandits were more reliable, and their combat effectiveness was effectively the entirety of Li Yun’s force. The new recruits were merely an added bonus.

With over two hundred men following him, Li Yun reached the foot of Mount Tianmu in the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.

Li Yun looked up at Mount Tianmu, then turned to Zhou Liang and said slowly, "Third Uncle, I will lead them in the first wave. After the first wave, you lead the new recruits to fill the gap."

Zhou Liang was stunned. "Chieftain, didn't you say those new recruits weren't up to the task?"

"That’s why they need to be trained." Li Yun tightened his grip on the spear shaft, his voice calm. "After a few battles and seeing a little blood, they will be useful."

With that, he waved his hand and said in a deep voice, "To the mountain!"

The hundred or so men shouted in unison, "Yes!" Following Li Yun, they surged up the mountain path like tigers returning to their den.

Not long after they began their ascent, they encountered the men Commandant He had left to guard the path. Seeing Li Yun’s large group approaching, they panicked. "Who... who are you? What are you doing here?"

Li Yun remained expressionless and waved his hand. Over a dozen crossbowmen stepped forward, pulled the triggers without a word, and a dozen bolts pierced the five or six men. Li Yun glanced at the corpses and said calmly, "Continue up the mountain!" The crossbowmen stepped forward to retrieve their bolts.

Li Yun summoned two men and ordered in a low voice, "Strip them of their uniforms!" The two men immediately began to peel the clothing off the bodies.

Li Yun continued upward. Along the path, they encountered more of Commandant He’s men, all of whom were shot down by the crossbowmen and stripped of their uniforms.

Commandant He and his men were not fools. Hearing the screams and shouts behind them, they realized something was wrong. Commandant He decisively abandoned the ascent and ordered his subordinates to turn around. The dozen archers he had brought with him shifted their focus to face downhill.

Finally, the two sides met face-to-face, less than a hundred paces apart.

Commandant He, clad in armor, looked at the one or two hundred men before him and breathed a sigh of relief. At least in terms of numbers, he had the advantage; he still had over three hundred men with him!

He looked up at Li Yun and shouted, "Whose men are you, daring to kill the soldiers of the King of Yue!"

Li Yun did not even glance at him. Instead, he turned to his own soldiers—or more accurately, his "bandits"—and said expressionlessly, "Crossbowmen forward! One volley from the crossbows, two volleys from the archers!"

"After that, we charge just once. Once we’re done, strip them of whatever uniforms you can and get down the mountain immediately! Do you understand?"

These men had been with Li Yun for months, and those like the Black Tiger Mountain group had been with him for half a year, having experienced many small-scale skirmishes. They were well-accustomed to his commands and replied in deep voices, "Understood!"

Li Yun waved his hand and shouted, "Move!"

Soon, his dozen crossbowmen and twenty archers stepped forward. After the three volleys, Li Yun let out a roar and charged forward, taking the lead!

"Follow me and charge!"

The "fierce bandits" behind him let out boisterous laughter and surged forward in his wake.

Even more absurdly, the archers and crossbowmen slung their weapons over their backs, drew their melee blades, and charged forward while howling! Li Yun rewarded merit clearly—each head taken was a share of credit and a bounty. Their combat motivation was naturally at its peak!

Commandant He’s men were already somewhat dazed. After the volleys of arrows, seeing Li Yun and his men charging, Commandant He drew his long saber and shouted, "Get them!"

Three hundred men charged downhill toward the fewer than two hundred men led by Li Yun.

The result was self-evident. After a single collision, the Yuezhou troops stationed in Linshui were shattered! Most absurdly, Li Yun, charging at the very front with his bandits, acted like the tip of a spear, tearing through the already fragile formation of the Yuezhou rebel army.

Li Yun killed his way through dozens of yards and then turned back to strike again! In just one back-and-forth, at least a hundred Yuezhou soldiers were left on the ground.

Li Yun said expressionlessly, "Form up and strip their uniforms!"

After the initial collision, Commandant He’s side had suffered a heavy loss and dared not press the attack. Seeing that Li Yun’s men had ceased their assault and were instead stripping the dead and wounded of their clothes, Commandant He and his men were confused.

However, Commandant He quickly realized what was happening. His face turned pale, and he cried out, "No, this is bad!"

Two captains asked, "General He, what is it?"

"These people are imperial troops! They are imperial troops!"

"Their target isn't us—it's Linshui! It's Linshui!"

"Someone, come here!" He summoned a man and said in a deep voice, "Find a small path down the mountain and return to Linshui immediately to report this!"

But by now, no matter how much he shouted, it was already too late.

Li Yun had already secured over a hundred sets of uniforms. He looked at Commandant He, a smile appearing on his face, and waved his hand. "Leave the rest of the work here to the others—we are going down the mountain!"

Li Yun led his "fierce bandits" in a grand procession down the mountain. Once they reached the foot, Zhou Liang quickly led the new recruits to take over their positions. Li Yun looked at his subordinates and grinned.

"Brothers, change into your uniforms!"

"Before Linshui receives word, we shall arrive there first!"