Chapter 57: Magistrate Ding's Grand Gift

Li Gui rolled across the ground, jumped to his feet, and prepared to resume the infantry combat, but unexpectedly, Qin Ming did not seize the moment to press the attack. Instead, he sighed and said:

"You are also a man of honor. I will not take advantage of you. Wait until tomorrow after you have changed your horse, and we shall fight again."

With these words, Qin Ming wheeled his horse around and led his troops back to the military encampment, his booming laughter echoing from afar as Li Gui called out from behind.

"Haha..."

"So be it!"

"You are indeed a valiant hero!"

"In consideration of the fact that you did not take advantage of my perilous plight, when I capture you in the future, I shall spare your life!"

To Li Gui's wild declaration, Qin Ming merely responded with a cold snort, paying it no heed.

The battle had ended in a draw, and both sides recalled their forces to their respective camps. On the surface, the match was evenly balanced, but in reality, the morale of the Yushan stronghold suffered a sharp decline.

The morale at Yushan was largely built upon their past victories against government forces and the personal conviction that their supreme chieftain, Li Gui, was invincible.

Especially Li Gui, the master of the mountain stronghold, who could be likened to the reincarnation of the Overlord of Chu, possessing peerless might. No enemy had ever been able to withstand Li Gui's onslaught; even the celestial being who wielded the divine palm lightning on that fateful day had only managed to gain a slight upper hand before Li Gui cleaved him in two with a single swing of his axe.

Thus, Li Gui's image as the Star of Destruction was firmly established, appearing to all the brethren in the stronghold like a deity descended from the heavens.

Yet now, that invincible image had been shattered.

Although Li Gui had not been defeated, he had not won either, and even his warhorse's leg had been broken. Strictly speaking, he had come off slightly inferior to the imperial general.

They did not know that Li Gui possessed a miraculous system that made him grow stronger with every battle; they only knew that the enemy general had returned alive to his encampment.

Yet Yushan had only one Li Gui, while the Song army boasted dozens of generals. When calculated truly, the situation looked grim indeed!

Before long, rumors began to circulate throughout the stronghold, spreading wider and wider until they were known to everyone, concealed only from the various chieftains.

Meanwhile, Qin Ming returned to camp with his troops, issuing orders to set up cauldrons for cooking and allowing the soldiers to rest well in preparation for assaulting the stronghold on the morrow.

Just as he was delegating tasks such as the night patrols, a sentry rushed in to report that Magistrate Ding Enlu of Yishui County had arrived at the front of the camp, transporting grain, forage, and other supplies.

Startled, Qin Ming hurriedly halted the military council and led his officers out to welcome him.

Although their commands were independent of one another, a military commander had to treat any civil official with utmost care; otherwise, one might find oneself quietly undermined and ruined at any moment.

Back in Qingzhou, Qin Ming had suppressed bandits on numerous occasions, knowing well that the vast majority of these outlaws were driven into rebellion by corrupt local officials, and he had encountered eccentric scholar-officials more than once.

The very reason he bypassed Yishui County and brought his troops straight to the foot of Yushan was precisely out of fear that these civil bureaucrats would stir up some troublesome complications.

Originally, he had resolved to make this a swift campaign—to rapidly annihilate the bandits and immediately withdraw.

Against ordinary outlaws, a single charge would have routed them entirely, concluding the affair long before any local magistrate ever needed to make an appearance.

Who could have foreseen encountering such an anomaly as Li Gui, who fought him to a complete standstill and ruined his well-laid plans?

Arriving at the camp gates, Qin Ming saw a middle-aged scholar standing atop a carriage. The man had a thin, refined face, a fair complexion without a beard, wore a black gauze hat, official robes, and boots, and was flanked by a retinue of attendants. Qin Ming knew at once that this was Magistrate Ding.

Qin Ming hurried forward a few steps to greet him, clasping his fists from afar and bowing deeply at the waist.

"This humble general, Qin Ming, unaware of your lordship's honorable arrival and failing to welcome you from afar, begs your lordship's forgiveness!"

"Haha... General Qin is too polite. It was this county magistrate who arrived abruptly without prior notice. As long as it does not disrupt General Qin's grand strategy for suppressing the bandits, all is well."

Magistrate Ding was all smiles, showing none of the haughtiness typical of civil officials.

Under normal circumstances, he would not have been so easy to converse with, but he was counting on Qin Ming to pacify Yushan and recover the birthday gifts, hoping to secure some personal merit from the endeavor. Thus, his attitude was exceedingly cordial.

Whenever his official career was concerned, Magistrate Ding was always accommodating; he could swallow humiliation without complaint, let alone show humble courtesy to worthy men.

Qin Ming hurriedly offered a flattering smile, saying, "What is your lordship saying!"

"This time, as I led my forces hither, I dared not disturb the locality, and therefore gave no advance notice. How could this be any fault of your lordship's?"

"Your lordship has personally come to comfort the troops, bringing countless provisions and armaments, providing immense convenience for tomorrow's assault on the stronghold. We are all deeply grateful. How could there be any talk of disturbance?"

Magistrate Ding had been waiting precisely for these words. As long as Qin Ming was willing to acknowledge this contribution, he could subsequently seize the opportunity to muscle in and claim a share of the credit—and perhaps a very large share at that.

"Haha..." He waved his hand with a smile, his eyes narrowing into slits. "General Qin is far too courteous. As an external force coming here to fight, providing logistical support and heavy equipment for the army is naturally the duty of this county magistrate—merely a matter within my function, not worth mentioning."

Although Qin Ming had spent years drifting through official circles, he remained a rough soldier at heart. How could he possibly match the political maneuvering and statecraft of a scholar-official like Magistrate Ding? Still oblivious to the magistrate's true intentions, he could only foolishly stand by and smile.

After exchanging polite formalities, Qin Ming ordered the main gates of the camp to be thrown open to welcome Magistrate Ding and his entourage.

Qin Ming led the way personally, cautiously escorting Magistrate Ding toward the rear encampment's grand tent, while his deputy generals attended to the tallying of the grain and supplies.

Upon reaching the main tent, Qin Ming invited Magistrate Ding to be seated, expressed his gratitude once more, and exchanged conventional bureaucratic pleasantries before Magistrate Ding offered a suggestion:

"I wonder how General Qin plans to storm the stronghold tomorrow?"

Unaware of Magistrate Ding's underlying motive, yet harboring no suspicion toward him, Qin Ming answered honestly since the question was posed:

"To let your lordship know, this humble general has carefully inspected the stronghold. Although solidly built, it is not particularly tall; scaling ladders are unnecessary, as ordinary ladders will suffice for climbing."

"I have already given orders to have long ladders constructed; within a night, over a hundred can be made ready."

"Tomorrow, I shall personally supervise the battle, launching an encirclement from all four sides of the stronghold. Once we capture any single section of the wall, we can open the gates from within. At that time, the cavalry can charge into the open space in formation, creating a crushing momentum that nothing can block."

"In three days at most, the stronghold will be breached."

Upon hearing this, Magistrate Ding laughed heartily and said, "General Qin need not go to such trouble. Allow this magistrate to present General Qin with a generous gift."

Startled, Qin Ming asked with lingering trepidation, "Might I ask what kind of gift?"

Magistrate Ding said smugly, "This magistrate knows that the rogue soldiers of Yushan are well-supplied and formidable, making the stronghold difficult to breach. Therefore, I secretly planted agents within their ranks."

"Tonight, fires will surely break out on Yushan, and someone will secretly open the main gates of the stronghold for the imperial army. General Qin need only lead the troops in a fierce charge."

Hearing this, Qin Ming felt a sense of foreboding sink into his heart. Hesitantly, he asked:

"Your lordship, what kind of people are these agents? Can they be trusted?"

"What if this is a trap? What should we do then?"

Magistrate Ding raised an eyebrow and replied, "General Qin may rest easy. The families of those agents are all in my hands; how would they dare betray the imperial court again?"

Qin Ming shook his head and earnestly advised:

"But what if their plot is compromised, the news leaks out, and they are interrogated by the bandits for intelligence? What then?"

"At present, our army holds a decisive advantage; there is no need to take such a reckless risk!"

Magistrate Ding's sole objective was to amass greater merit, so how could he easily abandon the plan? His expression instantly hardened, and he rebuked:

"General Qin's words are utterly mistaken!"

"Historically, the besieging force always suffers the greater disadvantage, and casualties have never been small."

"Let me ask you: if we attack the stronghold according to General Qin's method, how many soldiers will perish?"

Qin Ming recalled the formidable might of Li Gui and the neat ranks of soldiers he had seen behind him earlier. After making a rough calculation, he replied:

"At the very least three to five hundred, and at most upwards of a thousand."

Seizing upon the crux of the matter, Magistrate Ding proclaimed righteously:

"What crime have the soldiers committed that they should be sent with flesh and blood to clash against swords and spears simply to capture a single gate?"

"If there were no alternative, so be it; but now, a magnificent opportunity lies right before us. With merely two or three agents, the gates can be easily opened, saving the lives of a thousand soldiers."

"What is General Qin still hesitating for?"

Magistrate Ding abandoned his cordial tone, becoming overbearing and arrogant. This instantly ignited a fire of rage in Qin Ming's heart, making him want to leap up and punch the armchair strategist to death.

Yet, upon catching sight of the black gauze hat resting on Magistrate Ding's head, the anger in Qin Ming's heart was instantly doused as if by cold water, bringing him back to his senses.

Taking a deep breath, he forcibly suppressed his impulse and tried his best to explain:

"Your lordship does not understand. Capturing a city from the front, though suffering heavier casualties, leaves no hidden worries and eliminates the fear of falling into an ambush."

"If we employ this kind of stealthy infiltration, speed is of the essence, requiring a rapid advance. Once ambushed, the soldiers will instantly panic and their morale will plummet. If not handled properly, they are extremely likely to trample one another to death, resulting in the annihilation of the entire army."

Magistrate Ding flew into a rage, glaring fiercely as he berated:

"If ambushed, you need only have the commanders direct the troops to meet the enemy! Talk not of soldiers panicking—that clearly shows a lack of daily training!"

"As for low morale, scatter handfuls of gold and silver among them; do you fear the soldiers will refuse to risk their lives?"

"Or is it that the rewards meant for the soldiers have been embezzled by you?"

"A platoon has its platoon leader, a squad has its squad leader, and below them are corporals and file leaders. If everyone pulls together and you still cannot command the troops in your hands, what use are you military officers?"

The harsher Magistrate Ding's scrimmage became, the more venomous his insinuations grew, startling Qin Ming into a cold sweat that broke out all over his body. Daring not talk back any further, he obediently submitted and consented to the order.