Moma Liangshan

Chapter 105 Pierced by a Thousand Arrows, Encounter by the Spring

Wang Hao frowned, watching the impending human tragedy unfold before him. He thought, "The Jurchens leaving hundreds of naked women bathing here couldn't have been unintentional. While their intentions are unclear, stopping the Liao army's atrocities should thwart their plans." Turning to his entourage, he ordered, "Everyone aim at the Liao leader and prepare to shoot!" The men were stunned, but their hands moved without hesitation, drawing their bows and nocking arrows. Wang Hao's eyes were piercing as he coldly commanded, "Release the arrows!" In an instant, sixteen arrows flew from their bows, heading towards the Liao leader. The sound of the arrows piercing the air finally alerted the Liao army, but it was too late. The immense force of the arrows propelled the Liao leader into the hot spring. When the Liao soldiers regained their senses, they only saw the spring water stained crimson. At that moment, all the Liao soldiers panicked, abandoning their armor and weapons as they fled this deadly place. Wang Hao gave another order: "Move to a new position and continue to hide!" Taking advantage of the Liao soldiers' escape, Wang Hao and his men quickly moved to another grove of trees a hundred paces away.

About half an incense stick's time later, the Shu princess's large entourage arrived and quickly surrounded the hot spring area. The Shu princess rode to the water's edge and the first thing she saw was a centurion with arrows piercing his back. She ordered, "Pull him out!" Two soldiers immediately jumped into the water and pulled him out. Looking at the centurion's gruesome death, the Shu princess was filled with mixed emotions. She said, "The Jurchens have already been defeated. Who is so bold as to slaughter my Liao soldiers?" However, looking at the hundreds of women being rescued, she couldn't help but think of the battle outside Liaoyang: "The Jurchens, relying on their cavalry, openly massacred Liaodong civilians outside Liaoyang. Their seemingly barbaric actions successfully sowed discord between the palace army and the Jianzu Battalion. If it weren't for my quick thinking and strategic maneuvering, leading the army out in the name of revenge, the Jianzu Battalion would probably already be disloyal. The Jianzu Battalion is out of control..." The palace army would be overwhelmed, and with Wanyan Wulu's army at the city gates, the entire Dongjing Road would surely fall. As hundreds of distressed women, covered in grass and trees, retreated through the army to the rear, the soldiers' undisguised lust aroused the Shu princess's suspicion. She instantly understood the Jurchen's scheme, thinking, "If the palace army defiles these hundreds of naked women, the rift with the Jianzu Battalion will not only be irreparable, but may even escalate into war! Thankfully, someone shot and killed this centurion who was driven mad by lust, preventing the Liaoyang army from suffering a devastating loss!"

Gao Que successfully met with the princess of Shu and stepped forward, asking, "What should be done with these women in distress?" The princess replied, "They must be treated well!" Gao Que answered, "Understood!" The princess then asked, "Where are the Song envoys who came with you?" Gao Que looked at the sixteen arrows embedded in the centurion's corpse and whispered, "If I'm not mistaken, this centurion was shot and killed by Wang Hao!" The princess frowned and asked, "How do you know?" Gao Que replied, "Wang Hao's chief bodyguard was a Song general, and he used Song army bows and arrows; then I ordered my brother Gao Chang to present two hundred bolts of Mongolian silk in the princess's name." "Gu Ma, Wang Hao, having no one under his command capable of raising horses, also took a Mongol family from my brother. Eight of them accompanied Wang Hao to meet the princess. On their way to Liaoyang Prefecture, Wang Hao rescued several children from a ruined village. One of the children, searching for his relatives, tricked Wang Hao into going to Hongquan Mountain. The child's relatives were hunters who had come to Hongquan Mountain to hunt. The princess then examined the arrows; only one belonged to the Song army, the others were of two types: Mongol arrows and arrows from Liaodong hunters. Therefore, I am almost certain that this centurion was killed by Wang Hao!"

Yang Zhi, observing the Liao army's movements, quickly recognized Gao Que and exclaimed, "Gao Que has appeared!" Wang Hao, seeing that it was indeed Gao Que, said, "Raise our banners and announce to him that Wang Hao pays his respects." A moment later, a large banner embroidered with the character "Song" was raised, and Yang Zhi shouted again, "Gao Changshi, how have you been? My young master pays his respects!" At this moment, the Liao army inevitably stirred. The Shu princess exchanged a glance with Gao Que and rode over. Wang Hao no longer concealed himself and emerged from the woods.

The princess of Shu, seated on horseback, sized up the Song envoy before her: "Fifteen or sixteen years old, with gleaming eyes, and an incongruous yet highly practical outfit." She spoke, "Envoy, you have come from afar. What brings you here?" Wang Hao chuckled inwardly, thinking, "You sent your trusted ministers to greet me, and now you turn around and ask me this question?" However, regardless, cooperation with the princess of Shu would be a crucial moment for Wang Hao's formal entry onto the Liao stage. Wang Hao secretly observed the woman before him: a chestnut warhorse beneath her, a crimson cloak behind her, a phoenix-winged helmet, and gilded fish-scale armor. The most distinctive feature of Liao armor compared to Song armor was the large, round breastplate. Perhaps because she was a woman, the princess of Shu's breastplate was not like a man's, but rather two smaller, oval ones. In response to the princess's question, Wang Hao replied, "I have come for the sake of friendly relations between our two nations, for the eternal stability of our kingdoms!" The princess of Shu frowned slightly, dismounted, and stood two steps in front of Wang Hao. Two steps, less than six feet, is already far less than the usual distance for official meetings.

The two men stared at each other in silence. Whether it was Yang Zhi, Cao Hong, Xiong Pi, and the others behind Wang Hao, or Xiao Shanbie, Gao Que, Li Cangbai, and the others behind the Shu princess, all remained silent. The Shu princess was tall and slender, exceeding Wang Hao's height by three fingers, and given her age of eighteen or nineteen, she momentarily made Wang Hao appear less imposing. The princess of Shu spoke, saying, "Your Excellency has come to promote friendship between our two countries, so why did you kill one of my soldiers before we even met?" Wang Hao was unaware of the source and factions of the Liaoyang army, nor was he aware of the conflict between the princess of Shu and Wanyan Zhamu. He couldn't give a reasonable explanation for a moment, but the hatred between Jin and Liao made Wang Hao certain that the "beauty bathing in the hot spring" was a trick by the Jurchens. After thinking it over, he pretended to be calm and replied, "Because he deserved to die!" The princess of Shu's face turned cold and stern. She said, "My palace guards have bid farewell to their parents, wives, and children, and traveled thousands of miles to guard Liaoyang, the capital of the Liao Dynasty. Every one of them is a veteran of countless battles and has made outstanding contributions. Your Excellency, as a Song official, killed my beloved general without any reason. Now you are even making unreasonable arguments and not taking me, a princess of the Liao Dynasty, seriously. Isn't that too arrogant?"

At this point, tensions rose between the two sides. Wang Hao remained calm, saying, "Whether he deserves to die or not, Your Highness can investigate and find out. The hundreds of naked women in the hot spring are a trap set by the Jurchens. Although I don't know their intentions, it's not hard to imagine what would happen to those women if soldiers rushed in without any restraint. If Your Highness's palace troops raped hundreds of women, what consequences would that have? Your Highness should know best!" He paused for a moment, then deliberately added, "It's just that I don't know yet!" Gao Que, knowing Wang Hao was difficult to deal with, said, "The Jurchens have already withdrawn from behind the mountain. Should we pursue them?" The Shu princess ordered, "Scouts, pinpoint the enemy's location. The army will rest for an hour, then immediately pursue!" The Liao soldiers rose and replied, "Yes, sir!"

Wang Hao suddenly spoke up, "The Jurchens feigned defeat! Your Highness, you should immediately withdraw your troops back to camp!" Before the Shu princess could speak, Xiao Shanbie shouted, "Our soldiers fought with one heart and one mind, and won the battle. Why do you, a Song person, claim it was merely a Jurchen trap?" Wang Hao, not wanting to argue, said, "The battlefield is almost cleared. Please, General, take stock of your army's casualties and the Jurchens' casualties!" The Shu princess's face turned grave, and she ordered, "Gao Que, go and tally the casualties immediately!" In less than a quarter of an hour, Gao Que returned and whispered, "Our army suffered seventy-seven dead, one of whom was killed by Prince Wang. One hundred and eighty-two were wounded." Seeing Gao Que hesitate, the Shu princess urged, "What about the Jurchens' casualties?" Gao Que gritted his teeth and said, "Five Jurchens were killed in battle, and no prisoners were captured!" The stark reality before her eyes terrified the Shu princess, who ordered, "Withdraw immediately!" Half an hour later, the army set off, and all of Wang Hao's men assembled. Xiong Yu produced a tiger skin from who-knows-where and presented it to Wang Hao, saying, "This is a fine tiger skin I found. I present it to you, young master, to repay your life-saving grace!" Wang Hao stroked the tiger skin but inadvertently touched bloodstains that hadn't yet dried. He said, "Was this tiger skin just skinned?" Xiong Yu stepped forward to examine it and replied, "Reporting to you, young master, it was indeed just skinned recently, and it hasn't undergone any preservation treatment yet." Wang Hao asked, "Where did you obtain this tiger skin?" Xiong Yu said, "Behind a large rock by the hot spring, there's a large tiger that was killed there. The pelt is still there; we hid it in the grass!"

Xiong Pi returned to Hongquan Mountain specifically for hunting, but was forced to retreat to the outskirts after the Jurchen cavalry invaded. He said, "The tigers in Hongquan Mountain are extremely ferocious; only a top-tier warrior can kill them with a single blow!" Wang Hao asked, "Could you do it?" Xiong Pi shook his head and said, "No!" Wang Hao said with slight regret, "In that case, there must be a top-tier warrior among the Jurchen cavalry!" Xiong Pi nodded. Wang Hao then looked at Cao Hong and asked, "Do any of you have such skill?" Cao Hong replied, "Mongol warriors excel at mounted archery; foot combat is not their forte, so no one can do it!" Wang Hao then looked at Yang Zhi. Yang Zhi also shook his head and said, "The Yang family spear technique was created for charging into battle; it's unsuitable for hunting and skinning." Wang Hao didn't pursue the matter further and said, "Rest here; we'll return to the city with the Liao army later!"