Tag Archives: For a Prosperous World

Chapter 89: Ambition

Sorry that there is only one chapter after weeks of wait. I am really busy lately with work and school.

On the second day, Gu Nan leading the camp crushers departs from the An Yang city under the king of Qin’s order.

The emissary does not know either why she was summoned back to Xian Yang city other than the order itself.

Ying Yiren’s convoy is escorted by Wang He. After all, the Zhao cannot send pursuers into Qin’s territory anymore, especially given the drastic disparity in the two states’ power.

It is worth mentioning that on the day when Gu Nan leads the army to leave, Ying Yiren and Lu Buwei comes to see her off until she gets far.

As for what is on their mind, Gu Nan does not know or bother to care.

Across from the bustling streets of Xian Yang, the crowd is sparse.

Gu Nan wears a clean armor set, yet her cape is still dyed with blood stain that cannot be wiped off.

She walks along the road in the palace which is as spacious as it was when she was accompanied by her master.

After the guard tells her that the king of Qin is waiting in the side hall, Gu Nan unwillingly hands over Blackie and proceeds into the palace by herself.

Maybe it is because the king has dismissed everyone that the palace is empty of people.

Even the eunuchs who should always stand on guard at the entrance are nowhere to be seen.

The side hall is quite big, but Gu Nan cannot see any person along her way.

And when she finally stops at the entrance of the hall, the king’s voice comes from it.

“Are you there?”

His sounds hoary and old compared to his older self from a year ago.

“Hehe, come on in.”

“Yes.” Gu Nan carries the Guardless at her waist into the hall, and nobody is even there to take over her weapon.

The king of Qin sits by himself at the center of the hall.

However, he is only wearing an ordinally cloth robe that does not have any embroidery or decoration worthy of a king.

“Gu Nan meets your highness.” Saying so, she steps forward and salutes.

Ying Ji smiles, which deepens the wrinkles carved on his face.

“Spare the courtesy. I have already waved everyone off in the palace. This time, I summoned you here as your elder, not a king.”

Then he points at himself and then at Gu Nan, frowning: “Treat Gua in the same way you treat your master. Do not forget that it is I who taught you the theory of internal breathings, and hence I can also count as half your master.”

“I dare not.” Gu Nan gently lowers her head.

Ying Ji falls silent for a moment, and then nods his head as if seeing it coming. A sense of sadness can be heard in his tone: “True, Gua is the king of Qin. You indeed dare not.”

Gu Nan stands on her feet, while the king of Qin sits in the seat.

Sudden, the king breaks the silence.

“Gua have read the military report. The Camp Crushers are indeed excellent, worthy to be recognized as top elites in the world.”

“Gua only intended to test your military prowess, and were not expecting you to be so outstanding.”

“I suppose that you must have acquired all the skills from that geezer Bai Qi.” 

“I dare not bear your compliment.” Gu Nan starts again. “I am only one tenth of my master’s capability.”

She is confessing the truth, since the knowledge she inherited from Bai Qi may take her whole lifetime to digest.

“Emmm.”

The king retracts his smile, as his gaze turns fierce on Gu Nan, like a pair of sharp swords pointing at her throat.

Maybe the king of Qin as a martial artist is no better than Gu Nan, yet his bearing far exceeds hers.

He speaks. “Gua has a question for you. Last year, when you were training the three hundred forbidden guards by my order, what was on your mind?”

“Do not tell me that you did it for wealth. You and I both know that it is not the case.”

The candlelight flickers in the palace, distinguishing the bloodstain from Gu Nan’s white cape dragged on the floor.

The king of Qin does not trust Gu Nan. She is capable, but her true intention is not yet known by him.

“I indeed did it for the sake of wealth. Your highness knows it; my house almost ran out of food.” Gu Nan utters.

The king of Qin half shuts his eyes.

But Gu Nan is not done speaking yet. Her head remains low and voice sounds dull.

“However, do you highness know the last wish that my master entrusted to me?”

“Oh? Tell me about it.”

Gu Nan raises his head to meet the gaze of the king, as the two just stares at each other.

Then, she opens her mouth.

“My master told me to take a look at the prosperous world to come.”

The stare of Gu Nan at the king is void of the usual sloth that can be seen in the past. Instead, it is replaced by a spirit of sharpness that can make the king compromise.

“This is what my master wishes for in his entire life. What he wants to see but could not, I will take his place and see it clearly!”

The king of Qin looks at Gu Nan deeply. In her eyes, he sees a fixation which can inspire awe in his mind.

Years ago, he saw the same kind of fixation from another person named Bai Qi.

The apprentice now feels exactly the same as the master.

He still remembers the time when Bai Qi confessed that he could be discarded as a useless pawn, a storming killing intent erupted from outside the room.

He firmly believed that if Bai Qi did not stop her, she will kill her way in.

“A prosperous world, that is a bold wish.”

The king rises from the seat and steps to the threshold with his hands clasped behind his back.

He stares at the horizon as if seeing his towering palaces spread to the end of the world.

“Hahahaha!”

All of a sudden, he laughs, unlike an old man anymore, but full of pride and ambition.

“Good!”

“Gua promises you that you will see a prosperous world!”

Saying so he reaches out his hand and toward the sky clenches it into a grip and speaks, word by word, sonorous and powerful: “My prosperous world!”

He wants to perish all other powers of the Warring States, and become the first and only emperor!

He wants to dominate both the earth and heaven!

Gu Nan turns around to look at old man who reaches out toward the sky as if racing against heaven and time to accomplish his ambition to conquer all.

“Gua will attack Zhou.”

“You and the camp crushers will come along.”

He smiles when saying so as if deciding a trivial matter.

Zhou is the royal house. Even though dilapidated, it is still a royal house that once ruled all.

To attack Zhou means that Qin will end the Zhou dynasty.

“And move the Nine Tripod Cauldrons to Xian Yang!”

Gu Nan looks at the king of Qin with a complicated look.

In the turbulent period of the Spring and the Autumn, heroes and many prominent figures have lost their lives.

Maybe the king of Qin knows that he has few times left and will soon join them. However, he still wants to fight against the heaven’s will.

Chapter 88: Everything Is a Merchandise

The convoy eventually settles at the small courtyard as arranged.

In the middle of the night, Lu Buwei, dressed in a broad cloth robe, walks toward Ying Yiren’s room.

His brows furrowed, after a moment of hesitation, he finally knocks on the door.

“Knock, knock, knock.”

Ying Yiren sits in the room and hears the door knock.

Who could it be at this hour of the night?

Confused, he gets to the door and opens it to see Lu Buwei waiting outside.

“Mister.” Ying Yiren says with an intentional tone of “respect”.

If not for Lu Buwei, he cannot get back to Qin. In fact, he could already be dead as ordered by the king of Zhao.

Although his appearance is ordinary, his capability is not.

“Noble prince.” Lu Buwei smiles: “Can we talk about certain things?”

Ying Yiren does not know Lu Buwei’s intention, but still nods anyway: “We go to the wing room.”

Saying so, he leads Lu Buwei there.

The two enter the room, Lu Buwei first. After making sure that no one is nearby, Ying Yiren follows him into the room and shuts the door.

Only after they have both taken seat does Ying Yiren ask: “For what matter does mister come over?”

Lu Buwei thinks about it and then says: “Is general Gu an old acquaintance of yours?”

“Uh.”

Ying Yiren lowers his head and stares at the table.

“Yes, a few years ago, I met her at Dong Zhan Pavilion.” As if caught by old memories, he smiles: “Back then, she was a gifted scholar. I must admit that it was my embarrassment to call her brother.”

“Ha, you don’t know her. She wrote a ci at Dong Zhan Pavilion. It was nothing like a poem or fu, and yet it was still a brilliant piece of literature which earned her fame back then in the Xian Yang city.”

*Ci: A type of literature created akin to lyrics for musical accompaniment as the meter varies in the way that the words match the rhythm of the music. First created in Tang Dynasty, and then become popular in Song dynasty (960-1279).

Fu: Created to describe a view or an object, akin to prose. Emerged in the Warring States Period (403BC-221BC), and became popular in Han and Tang dynasty.

“Good.” Lu Buwei’s eyes slightly moves.

He does not listen to the latter half of his explanation.

“As long as she is an old acquaintance of yours, it is good.”

…

After a moment of thought, Ying Yiren looks toward Lu Buwei.

“Mister, do you want to win over brother Gu?”

“Yes.”

Lu Buwei does not hide anything. He opens up his mind: “General Gu is a fierce and brave general rare to see in the world. Her three hundred subordinates are also elites.”

“If she can be used by us, then it would be much more convenient for us to build our foothold in the Xian Yang city for future plans.”

Saying so, he strokes his beard: “If nothing goes wrong after your return, you can recognize Lady Hua Yang as your mother. However, even so, the position of crown prince is not guaranteed. We still need some extra measures.”

“If General Gu is on our side,” a sense of ferocity flashes across Lu Buwei’s eyes, as he raises one hand and puts it on his neck, “at critical moments, we can get rid of unwanted personnel.”

Hearing it, Ying Yiren falls silent.

Lu Buwei, you really treat everything as merchandise.

Everything is in your calculation; everything is about gain or loss.

However, he does not laugh it out. Instead, he slightly dips his head: “Understood. If I can, I will talk to brother Gu.”

“Alright.” Lu Buwei sighs a breath of relief, seemingly relaxed. However, as both of them know, until everything is settled, he can never truly rest assured.

“Noble prince.” After another thoughts, he speaks in a serious tone.

“If possible, the most secure way is to marry her.”

Saying so, he smiles: “General Gu is a rare beauty as well.”

Ying Yiren blushes momentarily on the thought as he feels like his heart skips a beat.

However, after thinking over the melody of Butterfly Chasing Flowers, he smiles with a bitter feeling, shaking his head.

A filthy person like me does not deserve her.

“Please do not say it anymore; do not embarrass me anymore.”

“How embarrassing.”

“Mister!” Ying Yiren furrows his brows.

“Haaa.” Lu Buwei waves his hand after witnessing Ying Yiren’s insistence. “Whatever, it is fine as long as she can be on our side.”

“Then, please excuse me.”

“Mm.”

Lu Buwei walks out, leaving Ying Yiren alone in the room, who looks up at the direction Lu Buwei leaves, and then closes his eyes.

Mister, I am afraid that I, Yiren, is also but a merchandise to you.

Ha ha.

City of Han Dan, the capital of Zhao.

The king of Zhao looks with a gloomy expression at the captain who is in a total mess.

“Tell me what of Ying Yiren.”

“Report to your highness. Ying Yiren has escaped.”

Blood fades off the captain’s lips as he speaks. Over two thousand men were sent on pursuit, yet only less than half returns, the commandant also killed.

If the king of Zhao gets furious, he could very likely lose his life.

“He has escaped.” The king of Zhao collapses on the couch, blankly staring at the front.

The hostage that he wants to vent his frustration on has escaped.

His kingdom lost four hundred thousand men in the Chang Ping battle. Should he not have asked for assistance from other kingdoms, the Zhao kingdom would have been eliminated already.

However, given the current circumstances, what is the difference from elimination?

Years ago, the Zhao kingdom was just as powerful as Qin.

Yet now, it only has an army less than one hundred thousand left.

What is the difference between this and subjugation?

“He he he.” The king of Zhao laughs.

“Tell me everything, from start to finish. Gua needs to know it.” His voice is feeble as if he is too weak to utter a word.

“Yes.” The captain swallows hard, and tells the whole story —-

Including that battalion of camp crushers, including that white robed general.

“Three hundred men can rival thousands with few lost in battle.”

“One rider can charge at the whole army, breaking all resistance.”

The king of Zhao squeezes out the words through his gritted teeth.

“The camp crushers, the white robed general.”

“They had the likes of Bai Qi, and now they get another. The kingdom of Qin is really crowed with fierce armies and generals.”

And finally, no longer able to quell his anger, he roars.

“Why don’t we have that kind of brave generals!”

“Why don’t we have that kind of armies!”

Angered at extreme, the king of Zhao draws his sword and points at the dome.

“Why is the heaven so partial to Qin! Why do you let into existence such a fierce country! Argh!”

The captain waiting downstairs do not dare raise his head, as servants on the sides shiver listening to the thundering roar of the king.  

Chapter 87: I Need to Save Face Too

Inside the An Yang City, soldiers in the barracks voluntarily move away to open a path for the convoy entering the city.

The killing intent clouding those black armored soldiers and the blood scent lingering on their blades make horses uneasy. Regular soldiers do not dare have eye contact with them and thus only move aside hanging their head.

The two carriages have already departed from the convoy. One carries Ying Yiren and his wife, another by hearsay Lu Buwei’s father.

Gu Nan has never seen his father as nothing ever happened to that carriage despite the chaos during the battle.

The An Yang city, previously named Fen city has changed to its current name since Wang He seized it with the Qin reinforcement after the defeat.

The king of Qin let him stay here also for the intention to invade north and recapture Chang Ping once they have the opportunity.

After the convoy enters the barrack, Wang He in person comes out to welcome them.

Lu Buwei hurries forward and bows: “General Wang.”

“It was a rough trip you had, mister.”

Ying Yiren and the woman holding their child also step out of the carriage. But for some reason, the woman keeps peeking at Gu Nan.

Seeing Wang He, Ying Yiren salutes: “General.”

“Um, noble prince.” Wang He returns the greeting. To be allowed by the king of Qin to come back as well as receiving military escort dispatched by his highness suggest that Ying Yiren must be an important figure.

Perhaps, there soon will be a significant transformation of his identity after his return.

However, Wang He does not bother to get closer to Ying Yiren, since he does not like the twists and turns that often happen on the court anyway.

“By the script of his highness, I will personally escort you to the capital. Please rest assured, noble prince.”

“Then,” realizing that he has finally come back after a year of time, Ying Yiren feels his eyes wet and bows deeply, “thank you, general.


I, Ying Yiren has returned to the great kingdom of Qin!

“Well, it is only my duty.”

Casually waving his hand, Wang he looks at the person behind Ying Yiren and shows a bright grin.

“Long time no see, my niece Gu. Why didn’t you say hello to your uncle Wang here?”

Wang He very much likes this disciple of his old friend’s, especially given her character and capability.

His Niece!?

The other three are shocked hearing this, and turns their sights toward the general in grayish white robe, full of disbelief in their eyes.

This general is a woman?

Afterall, it is difficult for anybody to accept the fact that a sharp and fierce general wearing a mask of vicious beast could be a woman.

In front of the cheerful Wang He, Gu Nan helplessly removes the helmet and shows her face.

Black hair cascades down her back out of the helmet. Behind the mask reveals a delicate but also handsome woman’s face.

Wearing a general robe, she possesses a bearing distinct from other women.

“Uncle Wang, I am also a general; please save my face.”

“Ah? Ha ha.”

Stroking his beard, Wang He notices that he addressed her improperly.

“My bad; my bad.”

The other three people stares at her, stupefied.

Lu Buwei swallows hard but still manages his expression to not leak out anything inappropriate.

Ying Yiren, however, is completely stunned and, after a while, only raises his trembling hand pointing at Gu Nan.

The melody! The melody of Butterfly Chasing Flowers! Yes, that one!

He stutters: “Gu, Brother Gu!”

Gu Nan returns a gentle smile and bows to Ying Yiren: “Brother Yiren, it has been a long time since we last met.”

“Well, well.” Ying Yiren laughs out, and shows the expression of joy for the first time since they took off on an escape.

“My brother Gu, you should have told me that it was you this whole time by my side as my guard. What a surprise. What a surprise that brother Gu is adept at pen as well as blades.”

Saying so he raises his fist jokingly about to punch on Gu Nan’s shoulder.

But then, he remembers that Gu Nan is a woman, and his hand freezes midair.

“It is not a proper place to reminisce in the army. Noble prince, please forgive me.”

Gu Nan speaks in a tone of light indifference, and Ying Yiren catches that.

He opens mouth trying to say something but only closes it in silence. Then he lowers his head, his hand dropped to his sides fidgeting.

“Ah, you are right. It is not good of me to reminisce here.”

Remembering what he did in the past few days, he has a bitter feeling in his mind.

He knows that it was his stinginess and selfishness that made Gu Nan changes her attitude toward her. But what else could he do?

Even though their time together was little, Gu Nan has become one of his few friends.

Ying Yiren recalls the time when he was little and asked his father why he always called himself Gua.

His father looked at him and said: “A king is both lofty and relieved from emotions, hence called Gua. (From author: This was only his father’s feelings. In fact, Gua or Gua’ren is a modest way for a king to address himself, meaning “still lacking in morality”) *Gua has the literal meaning of “lacking.”*

Then looking at Gu Nan, he forces up a smile: “Brother Gu, you never told me that you are a woman, which really surprises me.”

“I, I am tired as well. Please show us the place to rest, general Wang. Brother Gu, we will chat next time.”

Wang He nods. Two soldiers step forward to lead the carriages elsewhere, leaving only Gu Nan and her camp crushers in place.

Gu Nan turns around to face the camp crushers and waves: “Whole army, at ease.”

“Clang.” After a burst of noise of armor pieces colliding against each other, all soldiers sit down at once.  

Some starts to wipe their gears clean, while others take out cloth strips to bandage their wounds.

Due to the rapid march for the whole night, they never had any time to attend to their wounds.

They are absolute elites. Seeing these, Wang He nods to himself.

Then he looks at Gu Nan: “Uncle Wang knows what you like. Come, I still have some stored.”

Saying so, he pats Gu Nan with a smile and leads her to a quarter in the barrack.

Wang He was stationed here in an emergency and hence, as a general, he does not have a residence yet and can only live in a quarter.

Wang He brings two jars of wine and sits across from Gu Nan.

“Here, my treat.”

During the battle of Chang Ping, Gu Nan was scolded by Bai Qi multiple times for complaining that she did not get any liquor to drink. As a result, Wang He already knows this hobby of hers.

However, Gu Nan waves her hand unexpectedly: “I don’t drink anymore.”

“You don’t?” Wang He was distracted momentarily.

“Um.” Gu Nan takes a shallow breath and speaks casually: “My master, that old man used to say that alcohol does nothing good.  I did not listen, but now am ready to quit.”

Ah, Bai Qi.

Pursing his lips, Wang he pats the wine jar and then takes it aside. “True, alcohol does nothing good.”

Then, he sees the mourning dress under Gu Nan’s armor, and signs with a smile.

But you are one who treasures the memory of those close you.

My old friend, you did not take a disciple in vain.

Chapter 86: Be A Good Emperor, Will You?

Gu Nan lifts up the spear while holding tight the rein to Blackie.

“Blackie, run faster. We need to get it done quickly; do not slack off anymore.”

“How about I get you some mares afterward?”

She does not know if Blackies understands her, but he sure runs much faster after hearing that.

Leaning against the horse back, Gu Nan can feel the wind howling past her ears, fluttering her long black hair.

“Hya!”

A shout pierces the floating cloud, as the one rider dashes across the field leaving all the stirred-up dust behind.

It is but one rider, and yet it charges foroward as if accompanied by the bearing of thousands of troops.

One thousand riders make a troop, ten thousand an army, and of all the riders, only she moves with the bearing that rivals a thousand armies.

Holding the child in his arms, the commandant hears the roar blasting his eardrum like a thunderbolt, and almost turns around to flee. But he soon presses down his fear and starts to give his orders.

“Stop him! Stop that white robed general!”

Saying so, he passes the child to a personal guard at his side: “Take care of the child!”

With a spear in his hand, he says: “Everyone! Line up!”

“Clop. Clop. Clop.”

Following the sound, more than one thousand cavalrymen swiftly group into a formation.

It is just one person.

The commandant grips the spear so tight that his knuckles pale.

“Three rounds of arrows!”

“Swoosh! Swoosh!”

Bending the bow and nocking the arrow take but an instant, and then volleys of arrows are already in the air.

“Hoo, Hoo Hoo.” Gu Nan swings her spear, and following the turbulent current, arrows are swept away.

Arrows cannot hinder her at all as she is almost one inch away from the Zhao army’s formation.

“In formation!”

More than a thousand spearheads shining of a chilly glimmer are lowered pointing at her.

“Kill!”

Gu Nan glances across the Zhao army, and then fixes her sight at the commandant’s side.

There, she sees a guard holding a child.

“Poof!”

Trailing her sight, her spear of an extraordinary weight is swung out.

Blown at full force, it brushes aside countless blades targeting her, and among astonished and frightened looks, drives through one soldier’s chest.

Dark and scarlet blood is spilled across Gu Nan’s chilly stare.

The old man’s wish cannot be ruined here!

The spear is retracted as blood on it scatters and disappears.

“Blackie!”

“Hum!”

Blackie neighs loudly, a hot steam exhaled from his nose tip.

“Hoo.”

Accompanied by a fierce wind, the general in white robe has thrusted deep into the formation, trailed by shrieks of pain and horror.

Seeing their general killing her way through, the camp crushers stationed far back can feel their hot blood pumping across their chest, wishing that they could have been there by their general’s side.

Lü Buwei can barely take his eyes off the general. He no longer holds any doubt as he now firmly believes that this truly is a valiant one that none is on par with.

To establish myself in Qin, I should win him over. He can definitely make a difference at critical times.

The spear thrusts out mid-air, and following a heavy swing, several men are thrown into air.

Until Gu Nan has rushed to the front of the commandant, he is still full of disbelief. How can a fierce general show up here leading only three hundred soldiers?

Giving little time to react, the spear drives toward his face.

The commandant does not dodge. Instead, his expression turns hideous as he raises his spear to confront her.

Death to the army of Qin!

He understands that he is no match against this general. However, his siblings were all murdered by the Qin army, and hence how can he cower away at the moment!

Feeling a sting at his neck, he feels something sticky flowing out of his throat. The commandant shakes uncontrollably on the horse back, his neck upturned, and finally falls unconscious and drops to the ground.

Gu Nan swiftly twists her spear and finds the child nearby.

Before the guard can react, the spear has already driven through the swaddling cloth around the child and delivers him back to Gu Nan’s arms.

The commandant is dead, and the cavalry of Zhao crowding Gu Nan are stunned.

Parrying several blows coming in her way, Gu Nan tears open a breach in the encirclement.

Her grayish white robe is completely drenched by dark blood.

“Do you continue?” Gu Nan pulls the rein to stop Blackie, the child in one hand, spear in another, and coldly stares down the Zhao army coming closer.

“You are no match against me. Since your commander is dead, go back to keep your own lives.

The approaching soldiers hangs back upon hearing it, and Gu Nan swiftly turns around riding Blackie without saying anything excessive.

It is almost daybreak.

Gu Nan’s general robe of mourning white is dyed half red, and blood is still dripping off her armors onto the child’s face.

Leaning against the cold armor, the child has stopped crying and starts to giggle.

Looking at the child in her arms, Gu Nan smiles gently and lightly scratches his nose: “Such a carefree child.”

“Hehe.”

Gu Nan rolls her eyes: “How heartless of you.”

“You are quite luck to stay intact.”

Anything happening on a battlefield can instantly wipes out a two-year-old child.

Yet, this one can still laugh like that without a scar on him.

Suddenly, Gu Nan has an inexplicable idea that the child’s survival is probably decided by the heaven’s will.

But she soon shakes the idea off. Heaven’s will? It is only imaginary.

After a while, as if remembering something, she cuddles the child and speaks in a serious tone: “Into the future, you should not go back onto the old track. This time, be a good emperor, will you?”

But the child does not understand what she is saying. He only giggles.

The camp crushers open a path to welcome their general.

Carrying a blood-stained spear, Gu Nan dismounts from the horse, and approaches the carriage holding the child.

“My lord, Ma’am, the child has been brought back.”

Saying so, she sends the child into the carriage.

“Thank you.” With eyes full of tears, the woman besides Ying Yiren takes the child and holds him tightly to never lose him ever again.

“It is my duty.”

Then she looks at Ying Yiren. Similar to every politician with a stone-cold heart, he has a pair of frustrated and emotionless eyes.

With a bitter smile, Gu Nan puts down the curtain.

The Ying Yiren back then was a young man who yearned for romance and was deeply fascinated by the Melodies of Butterflies Chasing Flowers.

But now, he is man with lifeless spirit.

“General Gu.” Lü Buwei walks to her with a smile: “General’s valor is unmatched. We should drink together some time.”

Gu Nan returns a light smile and waves her hand: “I do not drink. My apology.”

“No problem, no problem.”

“We should go.”

“Yes.”


As the light of dawn shines through the horizon, a convoy surrounded by black armored soldiers gradually approaches the An Yang city.

Chapter 85: For the Bigger Picture

“Yi ge’er, the child is missing. Can you order the army to stop and pick up the child? Please?”

The woman pulls at Ying Yiren’s shoulder as if grasping her last straw, begging.

Upon hearing it, blood fades off Ying Yiren’s lips. He has been staying in the carriage the whole time and has no idea how the battle went.

Just by imagination, he can picture the cruelty of the battle, and understand that it is already fortunate of them to just escape unscathed. But the child, the child…

he does not know how much risk they will have to bear to stop the army and look for the child.

If they are really eliminated by the pursuers because of it, then what is even the point of finding the child…

Seeing the look on Ying Yiren’s face, the woman drops to the ground in desperation.

Pursing her lips, she suddenly rushes outside and yells.

“Stop! All of you stop! I beg you, please save my child!!”

She yells with a crying tone.

The cavalry with one thousand remaining does not dare pursue them. The commandant stays alive due the pieces of martial arts he learned. Even so, his face pales.

“Sir.” Sudden, a soldier approaches him, holding a crying infant in his arms.

“We picked it up where the Qin army left, could it be…”

A child from battlefield?

The commandant dumbfoundedly stares at the kid, and then suddenly understands something.

Wasn’t Ying Yiren carrying a child with him?

“This is Ying Yiren’s child!” The commandant takes over the child excitedly.

“Hahaha, good! This is one great accomplishment on you! We having this child is just the same as capturing Ying Yiren.”

“Thank you, general!”

“Please…I beg of you…please save my child.”

As the convoy proceeds, a woman’s cry can be heard. Gu Nan furrows her brows. Even Lü Buwei is impatient at hearing it. Everyone is fighting for their live, and even if something happens to your kid, you should not be yelling at the moment.

A child… how can there be a child in an army?

Suddenly, Gu Nan remembers something, feeling a heavy thump on her heart.

She looks at Lü Buwei at her side: “Is the noble prince and his wife in that carriage?”

“Yes.” Lü Buwei nods his head, confused at Gu Nan acting so flustered all of a sudden.

Then, he wakes up to it, his eyes popping open…

Not waiting for him, Gu Nan pats Blackie and moves toward the carriage.

She does not know what happened to the child, but she knows that this child must stay safe.

It is only because that his name is Ying Zheng.

In your master’s place, take a look at that prosperous world…

Bai Qi’s last words ring at Gu Nan’s ears once again.

Maybe Ying Zheng is a tyrant in history, but he was also the emperor who unified all kingdoms and ended the warring states period.

Whatever the problem is, nothing must ever happen to him.

This is a about the promise she made.

This is about the wish that the old man has been pursuing for his whole life.

Biting her lip, Gu Nan approaches and carriage. Disregarding the etiquette, she flips the curtain open.

“My lord, ma’am, is it that something happened to the young lord?”

In the carriage, Ying Yi’ren is grabbing her shoulder, his hand reaching out as if trying to stop her from yelling.

Gu Nan showing up stops both of them.

Despite a set of grayish white armors and a bronze mask of vicious beast covering the face, it is still obvious that this general is young but sharp.

“General, it is nothing. Please continue our journey.”

With great difficulty, Ying Yiren squeezes out these words.

For the bigger picture.

He can no longer tolerate the live as a hostage in Zhao. He wants to return to Qin, to be the son of Lay Hua Yang, to be that crown prince, and lastly to be the king of Qin.

But the child…

Ying Yiren clenches his fists. His older self would go back and rescue his son with no hesitation.

However, before he knows it, he has become the kind of person he hated the most.

The kind of person who can do anything necessary to seek power, at any cost.

Gu Nan looks at Ying Yiren. The once young and graceful gentleman who she drank with back then at the Dong Zhan Pavilion now looks like a total stranger to her.

“Wait.”

The woman escapes from Ying Yiren and grabs Gu Nan.

“My child fell off the carriage in the rush. I heard his cry, so he must still be alive.”

“General.” The woman cries, crying her heart out, her throat too coarse to yell anymore: “General, please save him. I beg of you.”

Ying Yiren no longer speaks or stops the woman. Instead, he lowers his head.

The child is left on the battlefield…

Gu Nan tightens the spear in her hand. “Understood.”

Then, she releases the woman’s hand, lowers the curtain, and turns Blackie around.

They have not gone far, and the Zhao army from far away is still within her sight.

However, the distance is still not safe enough for the carriage,

Several camp crushers nearby who caught the conversation also looks at her.

“General, it is only one more battle to fight. Just give the order.”

Others do not speak, but their expressions look just as determined.

Lü Buwei’s brows are furrowed altogether, as he is carefully pondering over the loss and gain in rescuing the child.

After some thoughts, seeing Gu Nan’s look, he reaches out his hand: “General Gu…”

He wants to persuade Gu Nan to focus on the bigger picture. In a life and death situation, such as this one, it is always better to get out of danger first.

The cavalry does not seem to rival her elite subordinates, but what if the Zhao army sends in reinforcements?

“There is no need.” Gu Nan slightly shakes her head, facing one of the camp crushers: “At this distance, if you all are too far away from the convoy, the lord and the ma’am will be vulnerable to the enemy.”

“All of you wait here.”

Her sight sweeping across Lü Buwei who is hesitant to say something, Gu Nan turns around.

“It is but a mere thousand enemies.” Squinting her eyes at the cavalry. “I by myself alone am enough.”

In the carriage, Ying Yiren hangs his head, and looks at the woman with a bitter smile: “You should not have said that.”

The woman knows what he is talking about, her eye sockets swollen red with tears: “That is our child. Do you really have the guts to leave him there?”

Looking at Ying Yiren in front of him, she has a chilly feeling in her heart.

Ying Yiren has really changed.

It is but a mere thousand enemies…

Speechless, Lü Buwei gazes at the white robed young general leaving on a black horse.

What does she take of a thousand people?

The commandant of the Zhao army is about to give the order to retreat. Yet, from far away, he can see one rider charging toward them by itself from the Qin army’s formation.

It is but one rider on a black horse and in grayish white armors that appears to be a mourning dress.

Just one rider? Am I seeing things?

The commandant doubts what he sees. One rider charging our formation, are you kidding me?

Chapter 84: The Will to Conquer

“Stop!”

Gu Nan retracts her hand, and the terrifying rain of arrows stops at her command.

Yet, the hundreds of soldiers are still glaring at the cavalry at far away, bloodthirst in their eyes beaming like a horde of vicious beasts eyeing their preys.

They are no longer convicts on death rows anymore. They are already here on the battlefield, so they are determined to fight their hardest to earn whatever they can for not just themselves, but also their families that have been struggling ever since they were locked up in the prison.

They must return home with glory and wealth!

The sound of battle has stopped as the chaos gradually quiets down. The two armies stand off against each other across the field.

In great astonishment, Lü Buwei strokes his beard with trembling hand, trying his best to look indifferent while giving Gu Nan a gentle smile.

“General’s soldiers are truly valorous.”

“Mm.” Gu Nan only nods her head calmly: “They are not pulling out completely. They were only caught off guard and thus suffered heavy losses. We are short on arrows, so if they decide to flank us, it will come down to the point where we have to cross blades. When it happens, you need to watch out for yourself.

“I understand. I understand.”

In the carriage, Ying Yiren and the woman in his arms both heave a long sigh of relief after the sound finally quiets down. Yet, it all has ended so quickly that they have no idea what happened.

Panting lightly, Ying Yiren wipes sweat off his face and pats the woman’s hand: “I figure that it should be over. Let’s go outside to thank the general who protected us.”

“Yes.” The woman nods repeatedly, knowing that her life is now in the hands of the general.

So, she comes out of the carriage following Ying Yiren with the baby in her arms.

Outside lines the black armored soldiers and stands the white robed general alone side with Lü Buwei not far away.

However, for some reason, the general looks familiar to Ying Yiren.

“General.” Just as Ying Yiren is about to move forward and greet the general, Lü Buwei hurriedly waves him off. “Noble prince, you should not come outside. The battle is not over yet, so please return to the carriage in case you might get hurt.”

“Eh.” Ying Yiren hesitates for one bit. Then, after seeing the army formation stand ready for the coming battle, he realizes that he can only add to the problems on the field and hence returns to the carriage holding the hand of his mistress Zhao. (surnamed Zhao, nothing do the with the Zhao kingdom)

The commandant of the Zhao army stares at the convoy coldly.

Those are excellent crossbowmen, and should be the elites among the Qin army.

The Qin army!

Gritting out the word, he clenches his fists.

He had three brothers, all fallen in the battle of Chang Ping.

The elites of the Qin army…very good.

You will all die here!

“Hear my orders!”

One soldier hurriedly steps forward.

“Split the cavalry into two troops, each with one thousand people, and flank them from both sides. Do not engage them but only roam at a distance until they run out of arrows. No limit to arrows anymore, shoot those soldiers in black armors at will!”

“Yes.” The solider steps back.

Soon, the Zhao cavalry of two thousand horsemen form into two groups, led by the commandant and another commander respectively.

“Whole army!” The commandant raises his spear. “Forward!”

“Hoo.” The cavalry charges, driving up wind whistling by their side.

This time, they are not charging at the convoy headlong. Instead, the two troops move from its left and right toward the back of the convoy.

At the same time, many cavalrymen start shooting on horsebacks at the convoy.

Each crossbowman is equipped with no more than thirty to forty arrows. You cannot hold it long.

The commandant stares at the black armored soldiers coldly, as his cavalry speeds up.

After the split, it becomes difficult for the camp crushers of no more than three hundred to shoot at them. Moreover, their intention to deplete the army before breaking through is obvious, making the current formation useless.

Gu Nan waves her hand and gestures: “Circle formation!”

With no hesitation, the heavily armed soldiers who were in rows quickly change their formation into three layers of circles with the carriages protected at the center.

“Raise your shields!”

At the command, heavy shields from their backs stand on the ground altogether, dust stirred up into the air.

Arrows shot at the shield wall after a crispy clang falls to the ground powerlessly.

Meanwhile, soldiers in the back rows raise their shields above their heads and lays them on top of the first line of shield wall, covering the top.

In a mere moment, the seemingly fragile convoy turns into a fortress cladded in black shields.

As a result, neither a flat shot nor a lob shot can penetrate it.

You must be kidding me!

Urging his horse forward, the commandant attempts a shot. This is like a freakin turtle shell!

Whatever, turtle shell or not, let’s see if you can stop our charge.

Thinking so he waves at those behind him: “Ready your spears!”

The cavalrymen in unison put down their bows and draw out their spears.

“Charge!”

“Clop. Clop. Clop.”

The approaching sound of thousands of galloping horses’ thunders at the ears of the mere hundred, exciting these brave souls.

Spear in her hand, Gu Nan looks around her.

“Brothers, after this battle, the fame of the Camp Crushers will resound in the world!”

“The will to conquer!”

The thundering sound of the cavalry is getting closer and closer, as the three hundred soldiers drive their chi to adjust their voices at the highest level, their faces and necks all swollen and red, and roars:


“Only stops at death!”

They were on death rows, and once released, they are then thrown into deadly battles. On the day that the battalion was established, Gu Nan stood in front of them, pointing at the military camp, and demanded them to memorize the one principle.

To conquer they fight; among death they live.

The roar shakes the Zhao army up. Even the nearby Lü Buwei shivers at it.   

Suddenly, the armies collide against each other, shaking the earth.

The thousands of riders feel like they just run into a city wall.

The black iron shields remain still under impact, while some horses even break their necks as they collide.  

The broken spears are stuck in the unmovable shield walls which they can do nothing about.

Without anytime to react, many cavalrymen fall off their horses only to be trampled to death by those after them.

The charge of the cavalry has lost its momentum.

“Argh!!”

The three hundred camp crushers roar madly, draw out their swords, holding their shields, and slaughter.

Every one of them has cultivated internal energies, and also acquired complete sets of martial arts. As a result, they can burst out a total strength of almost six hundred jin (three hundred kg) combing their physical and internal energies.

The rear teams supporting the front ones, even ordinary soldiers can block a cavalry charge when formed into such shield walls, let alone them.

They are three hundred elites, each of which capable of leading a hundred-men platoon. The Zhao army is only of two thousand in number; how can they not stop them?

“In formation!” Gu Nan does not let them seize the victory and pursue the defeated enemies. Instead, she pulls them back to regroup.

Afterall, their enemies are two thousand cavalrymen, and in contrast, the camp crushers are merely three hundred in number, too few to lose any.

Eyes bloodshot, the cramp crushers glare at their enemies. All those who encounter their glares feel chills down their spines and are grateful that they have already broken contact with them. 

The cavalry of thousands does not pursue them. The commandant stays alive since the pieces of martial arts he learned saved his live, yet his face also pales after the battle.

The Camp Crushers…

Chapter 83: A Woman? I Must Be Wrong

“Ya, Ya!”

Like a wind blowing by, thousands of cavalrymen gallop down the road, trailing a pair of ruts made by carriages.

They all wear armors, carrying blades and bows and arrows.

Every time they hasten their horses, galloping hooves stir up cloud of dust around the cavalry which, in only a breath of time, has already gone far.

Maybe it is because there are two people in the carriage, the ruts are deep in the soft soil, dragging far behind the convoy.

A dozen guards with nervous looks stay by the side of the carriage.

At the perimeter, hundreds of soldiers in black armors surround the two carriages. Their steps are in unison, with each ringing the sound of armor pieces rubbing against each other, dull and solemn.

The young general in white robe rides beside Lü Buwei who nervously wipes off the sweat on his forehead.

The two has gone all the way without saying a word.

“Well.” Lü Buwei laughs drily: “May I know general’s name?”

The young white robed general turns her head and looks at him.

Lü Buwei is a famous historical figure who leaves behind a bad reputation.

In history, as the prime minister of Qin, he had unimaginable power, and even committed adultery with Ying Yi’ren’s wife, Zhao. (Surnamed Zhao)

He took the rare opportunity to sponsor Ying Yi’ren, and won a lifetime of wealth and glory for himself, thus becoming a model of businessmen and a representative of miscellaneous learnings.

It must be admitted that his talent and vision are both excellent, since he lobbied both Qin and Zhao to earn Ying Yi’ren a position as a crown prince.

To regard a crown prince as a merchandise like he did requires not only means and vision, but also extraordinary courage that ordinary people cannot possibly possess.

“Gu Nan.” Gu Nan lightly responds, nodding her head to show him respect.

Although the escort is heavily armored infantry, those soldiers in black armors do not delay the speed of the convoy at all. On the contrary, due to their quick movements, the convoy proceeds faster than before.

Gu Nan, Lü Buwei ponders over the name for a while. This is a name he has never heard of previously.

The voice is so strange that it sounds like a young woman’s voice.

I must have overthought it. Shaking his head, Lü Buwei looks at the general wearing a bronze mask.

But her soldiers are absolute elites.

The glare he received earlier still makes him palpitate out of fear.

“General Gu, how are you subordinates in the kingdom of Qin.” Lü Buwei asks tentatively in attempt to have a comprehensive understanding of Qin’s strength.

Not hiding anything from him, Gu Nan answers truthfully: “They are a newly established army.”

A new army!

In astonishment, Lü Buwei asks in disbelief: “Such an elite force is a new army?”

“You have flattered me. They are indeed recently recruited and organized.”

The tight and whistling wind in the open field bristles and flutters the black flag.

Lü Buwei purses his dry mouth: “We should better hurry. If Zhao sends pursuers after us, it will be bad.”

“You are right, mister.” Gu Nan raises her hand and gestures forward.

Seeing her gesture, the black armored soldiers speed up their paces.

In the night, the convoy crosses the open field alone.

After the time of half an incense, Gu Nan looks at the dim light from the horizon, as dawn is approaching.

“Almost there. It will take one more hour at most.”

“Good.” Lü Buwei’s tense expression finally has a trance of relaxation.

However, the relaxing atmosphere does not last long, as the sounds of galloping horse hooves come across the plain field.

The sound is intense and growing.

Looking back, it can already be seen that a cloud of dust is sprinting toward the convoy.

Gu Nan clenches her fist holding her spear tight and pulls her horse to a halt.

She has already seen the Zhao army clouded in the dust.

Everyone else has also caught the noise. Lü Buwei’s face instantly pales. In contrast, the three hundred soldiers remain indifferent as usual.

Based on their formation, the Zhao army are no more than two thousand in number.

The guards standing by the carriages panics, as their hands holding the blades tremble.

“Yi ge’er.” The woman in the carriage grabs Ying Yi’ren’s hand, apparently nervous to the extreme.

Ying Yi’ren gently pats her back and takes a deep breath: “It is not a big deal…not a big deal…”

“Charge! Capture Ying Yi’ren alive! No arrows!”

The Zhao army’s cavalry commandant yells, and places the spear at the horse side. They have accelerated to the maximum speed, as the cavalry dashes toward the convoy like a flying arrow penetrating the cloud of dust.

A convoy guarded by a few hundred soldiers looks so feeble against such a daunting cavalry.

Gu Nan raises one hand: “Whole army line up! Crossbow formation!”

Driven by her internal energy, Gu Nan’s voice reaches everyone’s ears.

In response, the black armored soldiers act swiftly and, in a blink of an eye, the hundreds of men surrounding the convoy changes formation as if they have practiced it millions of times.

They line up into three rows separating the cavalry and the convoy.

“Ready your crossbows!”

The three hundred soldiers react in unison, and simultaneously withdraw arrows from their backs and nock them on their crossbows.

Lü Buwei is startled by their reaction. Ready crossbows…

Are you kidding me? Those crossbows can shoot no further than two hundred yards, and yet a cavalry can cover two hundred yards in a breath of time! During this period of time, crossbowmen can only launch one round of arrows and then they will be overwhelmed by the cavalry.

Is this her first time on battlefield? Even an outsider like him knows that they should ready shields and raise spears.

Is this my demise decided by the heaven? Lü Buwei helplessly grabs the rein. He can already imagine the slaughter once the cavalry breaks through.

We were so close to getting away! We were so close!

However, he can hardly believe what he sees next.

“Release!” That young general named Gu Nan lowers her hand.

Arrows are fired, not in one round but in multiple one after another.

Soldiers are split into three rows with one hundred in each. When the order to release is given, the first row launches and then retreats to reload. Then, the second row steps forward and shoots, retreats, and reloads. Then comes the third row. After the rotation, the first row of soldiers are ready to shoot again.

In repetition, the arrows are fired continuously, whistling and flying across the field to the other side.

It is a rare sight in this world. The soldiers do not shoot people but shoot horses, as horses neigh following each rounds arrows.

The horses on the first line of the cavalry fall to the ground one after another. Making it worse, the cavalrymen following up are tripped and falls off their horses only to be stampeded to death by those after him.

The commandant of the Zhao army is better than ordinary people, since he received some inheritance from his family, learned some martial arts and cultivated internal energies, not outstanding but enough to allow him to acquire the position as a commandant.

After wielding his spear to block some arrows, he realizes that things are not going in his way. There are only a few hundred soldiers on the opposite side, and yet they are firing arrows in a momentum that can best a thousand-men army. Looking around, he finds out that his army is already in chaos.

Damn it!

Seeing his subordinates suffer casualties of nearly one hundred in only a moment, he gnashes his teeth, driving his chi at full, and roars: “Fall back! Fall back two hundred yards!”

Countless cavalrymen swiftly turn their horses around, their excellent horsemanship at display, sort out their disorderly formation, and withdraw from the range of the crossbows.

Due to the chaos at the front, the formation at the back remained rather intact and are pulled out quickly.

Soon, they stop far behind the convoy, leaving on the field remnant soldiers and stray horses without riders

Chapter 82: Bribery Is a Tradition Since Ancient Time

“Ya, Ya!”

A convoy of two carriages and several carts surrounded by a dozen guards slowly passes through dark streets.

A middle-aged man in early thirties on an old horse takes the lead.

He wears a cloth robe and seems to be in haste.

“Hurry, hurry!” The convoy speeds up a little as the man looks back and urges it to go faster.

The middle-aged man is wearing a hard look. He has spent countless money on lobbying the Zhao and Qin, and finally got the Lady Hua Yang to recognize Ying Yi’ren as her adopted son, and persuaded the king of Zhao to release him.

Lord An’guo (Ying Zhu) is the current crown prince of Qin, and Lady Hua Yang is his first wife. Therefore, since he already recognized Lady Hua Yang as her mother, Ying Yi’ren will become a successor once he returns to Qin.

All of that takes money and effort!

This time, right after Qin has regained vitality, it is preparing to attack other kingdoms once again. Feeling his kingdom in danger, the king of Zhao has grown the intention to kill Ying Yi’ren.

So, they must leave now; otherwise, all their previous efforts will be wasted.

He is a merchant and he understands that he is investing in a lord as well as a future king. Should he achieve success in this investment, there will be rewards far beyond the amount of money he put in.

But, at the moment, he dares not imagine any future gains.

Sitting inside a carriage among the convoy, Ying Yi’ren wears a pale look, beads of sweat all over his forehead.

“Yi ge’er.” A beautiful woman at his side places her hand on his, her skin pristine and ivory, eyes bright and crystal clear.

Within her arms lies a toddler of but 2 years in age, prattling: “Daddy.”

With a light smile, Ying Yi’ren gently pats the woman’s hand, and then caresses the child’s face.

“It will be fine. Don’t worry. It has to be fine.”

As long as they can cross the border and reach the place where general Wang He and his army of Qin station, they will be safe.

That place is not far from here and they can get there before daybreak. However, before they get here, it will be a journey full of danger.

“Stop!”

From the city gate ahead of them, soldiers on guard yell at them.

“Woah…”

The place is instantly filled with the noise of horses and carts pulling into halt, yet no sound can be heard from the two carriages.

“It is already late at night. Why are you still on the road?”

The captain of the squad guarding the gate frowns at the middle-aged man at the front of the convoy.

“Sir, this little one has an emergency at home and must return as soon as possible.” The middle-aged man jumps off the horse, bows to the captain, and waves at the people behind him.

Then, several guards soon carry a crate forward, and puts it in between of the two.

The captain lifts his eyebrows in suspicion, as the middle-aged man gently laughs: “This is but some insignificant gift, please accept it, sir.”

Saying so, he flips the crate open.

The sparkling gleam shining from the crate makes the captain squint his eyes: “It cannot be helped that you have an emergency at home. Brothers, we should not be concerned about them.”

Then, he calls out: “Someone, open the gate!”

“Woo—”

The gate slow opens.

The middle-aged man pays a hasty salute to the guards: “Thank you, brothers.”

Then, he hops onto the horse: “Let’s go!”

The convoy moves out of the city and into the darkness.

The captain orders the soldiers to carry the crate to the foot of the city wall. This is such an unexpected wealth that is worth years of his wages.

However, he is yet to realize that unexpected wealth usually comes with unexpected disaster.

Soon, after a while it takes an incense stick to burn, a troop of cavalry arrives.

Numerous soldiers holding blades and horses neighing turns the night lively, but frightens the guards at the gate, as they watch a commandant approach them.

A commandant is the position that can command at most five thousand men, and thus the captain does not even dare to raise his head to face him.

“Sir…” The captain is nervous as he wonders why so many people are crossing the gate tonight. When he relates it to the convoy that just left, he suddenly feels a thump in his mind.

He steps forward and asks: “For what matters do you sir come here?”

Seeing the captain’s pale expression, the commandant furrows his brows. “When you were guarding the gate, did you see someone leave the city?”

……

The captain shivers. It really is about that group of people. Damn it! They screw me up bad!

“Report to you sir; ye…yes, there were people that left the city.” The captain shuts his eyes, his legs trembling, since this is a matter that can get him killed.

“Why do you let them go!” Dangerous gleam shines of the commandant’s eyes.

“Do you even know their identities!?”

He wants to kill this person right here. But on second thought, there is a more important matter at hand. If he cannot properly handle it, his career as an official will be doomed. Yet, should he successfully get it done, he will receive a return more than a mere promotion or reward of wealth.

“Huh, open the gate quickly! I will come back to you later!”

“Yes, yes.” The captain hurriedly orders the guards to open the gate.

The calvary of thousands of people storms out of the city.

On the other side, the convoy led by the middle-aged man has arrived at a plain field of the outskirt. This is the designated location where, by the Lady Hua Yang’s message, they will rendezvous with a division of guards who will escort them to general Wang He’s place.

Where are they…

The middle-aged man looks around, and sees a young general in white robe not far away.

The young general on a black horse for some reason wears a robe of mourning white color. The face is covered by a mask inscribed with the expression of a vicious beast.

The spear in hand startles the middle-aged man as it looks so heavy that it can only be wielded by one with extraordinary strength.

After he orders the convoy to move forward, he has a clear sight of the army stationed there.

They are but a few hundred in number, all cladded in black armors, each at their back carrying a great shield that must weigh a lot just by the look. Also, each of them is equipped with a long spear, a sharp sword, and a compact crossbow.

Hundreds of men just stand there motionlessly, like an array of stone statues with great solemnity.

The white robed general looks at him.

The middle-aged man swallows hard, as he steps forward: “I am Lü Buwei. Is your division the one dispatched by the king of Qin to escort us?

The gaze from the young general sends chill to Lü Buwei’s limbs, as she finally nods.

“Yes, we should leave.”

“But…” Lü Buwei hesitates, “the pursuit from Zhao must be cavalries.”

Saying so, he looks at the hundreds of men, all infantries, small in number.

It does not matter even if they are elites. They cannot outrun cavalries.

Upon Lü Buwei’s comment, hundreds of glares fall onto him. Like blades at his throat, the mere contempt looks from the soldiers send shivering feeling all over his body as if he is submerged in an ice cave.

The white robed young general curls up her lips: “That does not concern you gentleman. Just get on the way, and leave the pursuers to us.”

Then, glares from the hundreds of men shift away, returning the lively feeling back to Lü Buwei’s body, as he roughly gasps for air and turns to look at the soldiers with lingering fear.

The kingdom of Qin is known to be ruthless and brutal. This army is a true incarnation of such spirit.

No wonder it can rival all other kingdoms by itself.

Chapter 81: Exodus of Yi’ren

Breakfast hour lasts from seven to nine in the morning, and to arrive within these hours is a pass.

In two hours, three hundred people have rallied under the flag, all tottering on their feet as a result of their both mental and physical exhaustion after the night-long journey.

Their robes are completely wet soaked with sweat as if they can squeeze out a bucket of water with a twist.

They no longer have the strength to utter a word, and yet each one of them after arriving at the flag silently giggles, as they hope that all three hundred of them would make it, with none left behind.

This breakfast hour lasts abnormally long, as the last few have rushed to the flag.

However, there is one missing.

Maybe he has fled; or maybe he just could not make it.

Everyone is quiet, their head hung low. They have all become brothers who lived in the same barracks and survived the same hellish drills.

That is no more than two hundred miles. How can he not make it! (Miles as in Chinese miles: 1 mile = 0.5km)

How can he not make it!

Suddenly, one man falls out of the woods. It is a soldier in black armors.

And also, the last one to arrive.

Everyone watches him get up from the ground and stumble across the hundred-meter distance toward the camp flag.

Yet, the distance appears to be too much to cover for him.

He can barely move his legs as if they are filled with lead.

In dizziness, he still realizes that he is almost there, but he no longer has any strength left.

“Yan Kuan, you coward! Did you not tell us that your wife is still waiting for you! Did you not promise to see her again!”

“Is this how you fulfill your promise!”

One soldier rises from the ground and yell toward him, his eyes red.

Another one roars: “You still owe me four ring money! Don’t you remember what you bought with the money? I do! You bought a pendent and told me that you will gift it to your wife!”

“Ha, ha.”

Like a fire is burning in his chest, blood veins bulge around Yan Kuan’s neck.

“Argh!” Letting out a hysteric roar, he sprints toward the flag.

However, after a few steps, he collapses on the ground, no longer able to get up.

In silence, he tries to push himself up, but after squeezing his body dry of any strength left, he cannot get up anymore.

Blood veins visible in his eyes, he powerlessly holds a handful of soil in his hands, staring at the land in front of him.

“…”

Tears drop to the ground, as the man with an iron will sobs, under the realization of his failure.

“A man does not easily shed his tears.”

A voice comes from above head. Yan Kuan raises his head and sees Gu Nan standing in front of him.

Her hand grabs his arms tight, lifts him up and puts him on her shoulder.

“It is only a dozen more steps left.”

Yan Kuan looks at Gu Nan dumbfoundedly, his hands and face covered in dust.

“Shame on you.” Cursing, Gu Nan carries him back to where the flag is.

Yan Kuan smiles, his eyes half shut, head hung low, and utters a few words with a coarse voice.

“Thank you, General.”

Under the sun, supported by two fellow soldiers, Yan Kuan stands in the formation.

Beneath the fluttering camp flag, Gu Nan stares at the three hundred soldiers.

“Do you know what time it is now?”

The delight looks on their faces instantly vanish, replaced by a series of rigid looks, as they all realize that it has way past breakfast time.

In that case, nearly half of the men here cannot pass the examination.

“Puff.”

A smile cracks the stern expression on Gu Nan’s face, and she waves her hands: “I do not know either. Anyway, all of you have passed.”

“Hehehe…”

The three hundred men break into increasing laughters as they all realize that all those who come back will pass the examination. 

On the second day after the battalion of forbidden army was established, an edict from the king of Qin arrives, announcing the amnesty of the three hundred convicts, restoring their freemen status, and allowing them to receive salaries and military merit.

By Gu Nan’s proposition, they are granted the name: the Camp Crushers.

Meanwhile, Gu Nan is not celebrating with the soldiers in barracks. Instead, she bows her head and half kneels at the center of the palace hall.

In front of her sits the king of Qin, reading documents.

“Gua has heard of your battalion of camp crushers multiple times. That day when they set out from the palace, it must have flaunted our strength. Not bad.”        Sitting on the throne, the king smiles toward Gu Nan.

“Your highness just bestowed undeserved praise on me.”

“But, Gua is yet to see the that army for myself…”

“If your highness wants to, we can arrange an inspection.”

“Not needed.” The king closes his eyes, seemingly thinking over something and making a final decision.

“The army’s strength can only be tested by battles. There is no place in the army for your three hundred men yet, but Gua has a mission for you.”

Upon saying so, the king of Qin smiles momentarily.

“My son who was sent to Zhao as a hostage, Yi’ren, do you remember him?”

Ying Yi’ren.

Like something just occurs to her, Gu Nan nods: “I do. I was one of the guards who escorted him to the border.”

“Good.” The king of Qin picks up a report.

“This brat had quite an affair in the Zhao kingdom…”

“Now, he needs to escape from Zhao, and I order you to bring him back.”

Ying Yi’ren is about to return. During his stay in Zhao, he married a wife who gave birth to his son named Ying Zheng.

“Afterall, it is not appropriate for us to welcome him officially since he is but a hostage.”

The king heaves out a sigh, his tone somewhat casual and helpless: “Three hundred men to pick him up should be a good fit.”

“Zhao will send pursuers after him. Kill everyone who follows.”

“Gu Nan accepts your order.”

“Heheh, good.”

Chapter 80: A Screw Loose in General’s Head

The army led by Gu Nan set out at daybreak and did not stop until sunset.

At night, in the dark and quiet mountain woods flicker vague shadows of human figures. At a closer look, they are hundreds of soldiers in black amors standing in front of a mountain wall.

The mountain wall is neither too high nor too low. The height of more than ten meters makes it seem like a city wall.

Gu Nan did not bring Blackie into the woods and only leaves it at the foot of the mountain.

By estimation, it has already past midnight, and it took them almost fourteen hours to get there.

From the regular march at initial departure to the rapid march since noon, they have gone almost two hundred miles from the Xian Yang city, and everyone is exhausted.

None of them knows the purpose for which they come here or the form of their final examination, and neither will they ask.

They are waiting for Gu Nan’s order, and whatever she orders them to do, they will make it happen.

Gu Nan looks up at the moon hung above her head, and then lowers her sights back to three hundred soldiers.

“It is midnight right now.”

“Before breakfast (seven to nine am), I will see you with every piece of your gears at the east gate of Xian Yang city.”

“You do not have any money on you, and you cannot rob passersby or commit any evil. If you can find someone willing to give you a free ride at this hour of the night, you are lucky. I just need to see you in person next morning, then it will be a pass for you.”

“At last, this is an examination, and no one can help each other; otherwise, should I see it happen, I will give you a fail.”

“If you cannot make it or be on time, it is also a fail.”

After that, Gu Nan glances over the three hundred men, turns around and leaves.

They are about two hundred miles away from the Xian Yang city, and they have less than eight hours until designated time.

This means that they have to carry the full set of heavy armors and gears, march at a speed of more than two miles every five minutes, and maintain such speed without getting lost. Only then can they make it back to Xian Yang city.

To those soldiers who have been exhausted along the way, this is a mission almost impossible.

Until Gu Nan leaves, the three hundred soldiers remain motionless as well as silent.

Only after Gu Nan is completely out of sight does one of them lightly asks.

“Does the general not afraid that we may just escape by leaving us to ourselves here? Last time I check, we were still death row inmates, were we not?”

“Why do you even ask.” Another one gives him a stare. “You should already know that our general always has a screw loose in her head, unless it concerns some important matters.”

“Well, you are right.”

Should Gu Nan hear the conversation, she would definitely make them run a couple more miles.

However, at the same time, some people already start to hesitate.

On one hand, it is an impossible mission, but on the other, it is freedom.

Facing such choices, those who are the most determined will waver.

“Or, could it be that the general does not worry at all that we may escape?” Suddenly, one of them speaks.

But those around him falls silent.

“We underwent such hellish tortures and almost did what we were supposed to. Now, can you accept leaving everything behind in the last minute?”

Saying so he starts packing up his stuff: “I cannot, ever.”

“Don’t forget what we promised each other every time we survived a drill.”

“To be that forbidden guards in embroidered clothes, and accomplish the extraordinary that no one else can.”

He lowers his head, rubbing the jade pendent with only half remaining.

I have failed her for almost twenty years; I cannot do that anymore.

I will come back to see you after I make a name for myself!

Putting the jade pendent back to chest, he stands up and then disappears in the woods.

“The general taught us of martial arts and internal energies so that we can fight but not flee.”

Another one clasps his hand to the crowd after packing up his things.

“Brothers, I wish to see you all again in Xian Yang city.”

Saying so, he leaves.

“Ah, it cannot be helped that the general is so absentminded. It is better for me to remind her of that after I return to the army.” One languidly strolls away.

But he soon proceeds firmly toward the Xian Yang city.

“My family is down and out, so I must earn a name in the army before I return home. Excuse me, brothers.”

“How best to put it? Haha, the fire basins in the barracks are warm and hard to find anywhere else.”

“It is easier said than done to run hundreds of miles at midnight. Hey, I say we make a carriage out of the woods. Do you think we can make it?”

“If you are the one to pull the carriage, then I will accompany you. Otherwise, I am on my way since we are all on the clocks.”

“Go screw yourself!”

“Hahaha!”

Three hundred men, one after another, quickly marches toward the Xian Yang city, none attempting escape.

In the next morning when the sun emerges from the horizon, Gu Nan is standing in an open field one mile away from the east gate of Xian Yang city.

Next to her stands a flag painted black fluttering in the wind.

She has been standing for hours glaring at the woods from far away.

Until in distance a figure in black armor rushes out of the woods and stumbles toward the flag, Gu Nan’s stern expression cracks with a smile.

When the soldier gets close, she quickly retrieves her smile.

“Soldier, Li Yi, report!” This is a rule under Gu Nan’s commend that the soldiers have gotten accustomed to.

After the report, Li Yi is about to sit down.

“Stand up. I never told you to sit.” Gu Nan says, frowning.

Li Yi gasps and scratches his hair. He smiles momentarily with his throat too dry to make a sound, and remains standing.

He is aware that he will probably faint if he sits down right now. but he is just so tired that he naturally wants to rest once he reaches the destination.