Chapter 48: Spoils of War

  "Name and position!" Xu Wei asked in a deep voice.

  "The little man's surname is Fang, without a big name, because his family follows the Five Elements, he is called Fang Wu, and has no official position." The leader of the thieves was trembling all over on the ground.

  "You lead the army to attack, how can you not have a position? Dare to utter one false word..."

  Fang Wu knocked his head again and begged: "Good fellow, spare my life! What I said is all true! We are under Wang Shan's command. Since we fell into the grass, it has been up to him to decide who leads how many subordinates with just one word, without any title or name."

  "Do you know who I am?" Xu Wei asked again.

  The leader of the bandits then slightly raised his head, took a glance, and quickly lowered it again, saying repeatedly: "I know, I know! The hero is a man from Daming Prefecture, surnamed Xu, named Weixingjiu, also known as the Tiger of Xiajin. In my humble opinion, he should be called the Tiger of Daming, and the Tiger of Hebei is also fitting."

  Xu Wei was speechless for a moment, he had been active in Xiajin all along, how did the bandits know about it? Moreover, the Jingwei battalion had just entered Shandong province when they were ambushed, it seemed like it was premeditated. How did Wang Shan know that the Jingwei battalion was going to Shandong to assist in the war? And coincidentally set up an ambush, waiting for them to tire themselves out? When asked, the bandit leader only said that he had received orders from above and led 2,000 men and horses to attack. He thought it would be easy to capture them, but didn't expect to end up in such a situation. When asking others, they couldn't get any clear answers either, which made him even more suspicious.

  "What should we do with these people?" Zhang Qing came over and asked in a low voice.

  Xu Wei thought for a moment, then said: "Take care of him temporarily and bring that person over." He was referring to the thief who refused to kneel. Before long, two soldiers brought the thief over, who was in his early twenties, not very tall or sturdy, with a square face, thick eyebrows, and a look of arrogance on his face. When he saw Xu Wei, he still raised his head high and stood there with a sloppy attitude.

  "Why don't you kneel?" Zhang Qing looked at the thief and asked.

  The thief glared at Zhang Qing and coldly said: "Why should I kneel?"

  "You are a rebel, disregarding the law and harming the people. We have been ordered to eliminate you, now that your army has been defeated and surrendered, yet you still refuse to kneel down, aren't you afraid of death?" Zhang Qing asked loudly with his spear at the ready.

  That bandit sneered, saying: "We take up knives to rob and plunder in order to survive, you take up knives to suppress bandits just for the sake of eating. We're all on the same road, how could I kneel to you? As for death, even if my head is chopped off and a big scar remains, so be it. What's detestable is that Wang Shan has rounded up over ten thousand people, but they're all just useless trash, two thousand cavalry were defeated by your few hundred men, fleeing in disarray. Even if half of them dared to fight, it wouldn't have been like this!"

  Zhang Qing heard him equate himself with bandits, his heart shook with anger, and he raised his spear to stab him to death. Xu Wei intercepted him and stared at the bandit, asking: "Do you want to live or die?"

  The bandit looked at Xu Wei with a slightly softer tone: "Even ants struggle to survive, let alone humans? Whether I live or die now depends on your one word. But if you think of using this to humiliate me, I advise you to abandon that thought early!"

  Xu Wei nodded and said: "Alright, you're a good man, you can go."

  That bandit was taken aback, and just let me go like that? Is this some kind of good fortune? But seeing Xu Wei's expression, he didn't seem to be joking, nor did he seem to be hiding any deceit. His heart filled with suspicion and uncertainty, he walked away to the side. After walking five or six zhang, he didn't see anyone coming after him from behind, nor did he see any arrows being shot at him. He stopped in his tracks, turned his head back to look for a while, then suddenly took large strides to rush back.

  "I'll follow you! As long as there's food to eat, I'll die for you!" The bandit rushed to Xu Wei's front and stood still, saying loudly.

  Xu Wei didn't respond: "That depends on whether you have the ability. I, Xu Jiu, don't raise idle people and won't take in useless trash."

  "The adults want to eliminate Wang Shan, I am very familiar with the situation in his army, and may be able to help the adults with one arm." The bandit said seriously. "However, there are more than a dozen of my brothers among the surrendered bandits, please adults..."

  Xu Wei bluntly interrupted him; "Talk conditions with me?"

  The thief was speechless for a moment, and after a while, he knelt down on one knee, clasped his hands together and said: "Please, sir, spare our lives! We are willing to be the vanguard and help you capture the bandit!"

  Xu Wei then promised, asked his name, was a man of Qingzhou, surname Du, named Fei Hu, generations were farmers, because the land was occupied by others, angrily killed the opponent's whole family, the county magistrate sent officials to arrest him, and led the crowd to kill more than ten government officials, thus fleeing to Jianghu. Wang Shang rose up, he led his troops to surrender, but was not reused, only as a cavalryman.

  Here is the translation:

  He asked again about the situation with Wang Shan's forces, and was told that Wang Shan indeed had a large army of over 10,000 men, all stationed in a big open area twenty miles away. However, his soldiers were all displaced peasants, ruffians, and even those who had been coerced into joining, none of whom knew anything about military affairs or tactics. Every time they encountered government troops, Wang Shan would send his brother-in-law Deng Cheng and General Hou Meng to resist the enemy, while the rest of the mob gathered behind them, shouting loudly and pretending to charge. This was how they had defeated the government troops several times, and their reputation had been greatly enhanced. However, recently, the prefect of Jinan, Zhang Shuye, had led his army to attack, and Wang Shan had used the same old tricks again, but unexpectedly, Zhang's troops were quite capable, and after a fierce battle, both sides had suffered casualties. Wang Shan was afraid, and so he retreated to this place. Yesterday, he suddenly issued an order, instructing Deng Cheng and Hou Meng to lead 2,000 infantry and cavalry, all elite soldiers, to intercept the enemy from Daming. He also said that the enemy from Daming were just a bunch of militiamen with bows and arrows, and would not be able to withstand a single blow, and that the 2,000 men would certainly annihilate them. The result was plain to see. The man who had knelt down in front of Xu Wei earlier was none other than Wang Shan's brother-in-law Deng Cheng, and there was also the brave General Hou Meng, who had been killed by Xu Wei himself. Xu Wei immediately ordered someone to bring over the corpse of the bandit he had beheaded, and asked Du Feihu to identify it, and indeed it was Hou Meng!

  Xu Wei listened to Du Fei Hu's words, and a crazy idea suddenly popped up in his mind! Although Wang Shan has tens of thousands of people, they are just a mob. Why not... But this is just what Du Fei Hu said, whether it's true or false, he can't know. From the battle just now, Wang Shan's combat effectiveness is indeed not high. Once blocked, the whole line retreated, and there was almost no decent counterattack. Moreover, according to Du Fei Hu, these are his elite troops. However, one must be cautious, in military operations, one relies on brains, two relies on courage, and cannot let others lead by the nose.

  At this point, he praised Du Feihu for a few words and let him lead his brothers out of the rebel army to temporarily join Ma Tai's team. He also ordered to count the spoils of war. In this battle, more than 500 people were beheaded, over 130 people were captured, and more than 700 pieces of weapons such as wooden swords and long guns were seized. Most importantly, they obtained more than 160 horses that could be used for riding! If what Du Feihu said was true, then these should be the entire cavalry of Wang Shan's family!

  On the side of Jingweiying, more than 40 people were killed, over 70 injured, and 9 people went missing, probably scattered when the enemy cavalry came to attack. Xu Wei ordered a temporary burial of the fallen soldiers on the spot, treated the wounded, and had the whole camp stationed there. At the same time, he ordered someone to find Li Guan, that short and small man who wielded dual swords and had defected from Gaotang a few days ago.

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