Chapter 15: The Oath (Part 1)

  The Prince of Langya, Xiao Ang of the Liao State, sat in the tent of Wuguhun Tuo Leigang, drinking fine wine and listening to flattery, having completely forgotten the defeat of the previous days.

  He was accompanied by Mouli, who had escorted him here and was discussing with Suli the plan to ambush the Han people.

  Mu Rongdao said, "It's been so long and those Song people still haven't arrived! That guy Di Yu is very cunning, most likely he has already seen through our plan! The Jurchen woman was called back by him to spread the news! If only I had known, I absolutely shouldn't have let that Jurchen woman go!"

  Xiao Ang said disdainfully, "What are you worried about? That group of Song people has at most only over a hundred people left, just dispatch one or two thousand men and they'll be annihilated."

  "Your Highness, these Song people are quite different from those in the south. They're as fierce as tigers and wolves! And they're cunning too, or else we wouldn't have lost to them."

  Xiao Ang's face sank upon hearing this, and he angrily said: "Isn't it you who disrupted the formation of our army! Hmph, if not for your later meritorious rescue efforts, I would have had you punished by military law!"

  Muriya hung her head low, and Puli came up in a hurry to persuade her to drink and ease the tension. "That group of Song people are actually just a bunch of thieves," she said. "It's not worth you, young master, getting so angry! As long as you give the order, who among the Wugou tribe, the Di Lie tribe, or the Zu Bo tribe would dare disobey? Those little thieves will immediately become small fish in the desert!"

  Muriya said: "For more than a hundred small thieves, will it be a bit of an exaggeration to command all the departments?" In fact, Muriya knew that Xiao Ang's official position was not enough to command all the departments, but this young master was favored after all, and it was still possible for him to take advantage of his father's power.

  Xiao Ang angrily said: "What a fuss! Pa Liang, you immediately transmit my order, whoever can capture those Song people, one person and one horse, will be rewarded with ten taels of silver and five horses!"

  Temujin was overjoyed, when suddenly someone came from outside to report: "The Khan..."

  " What's with the big sweat!"

  That man was taken aback and immediately said: "Your... Your Excellency, the Mongolian cavalry suddenly rushed into our horse herd, injured our people, and took away our horses."

  "Is this true?" Kui Ragan angrily asked, then ordered his younger brother Bali: "Take people to check!"

  The tribes of Muli and other places in the south and north often plundered and attacked each other, which was a common occurrence. When Mulias heard about it, he didn't think much of it either.

  "Those Mongols are hateful! They know that General Xiao is here and still dare to come and cause trouble! General, why not order the Wu Gu Di Lie army to send troops to attack them!"

  Xiao Ang had not yet replied when Mu Rongdao said: "To send troops to the north of the desert is a major affair, and it must have the order of the Central Capital."

  Kurleigh actually said this out of frustration. He knew that the Wugu tribe was not as powerful as the Mongolian tribe, and the influence of the Great Liao was hard to reach the Wulun River. If it were up to the Wugu tribe alone, they might not be able to retrieve the child either. So he said: "I hope it's just a group of Mongolians causing trouble! Otherwise... Hmph!"

  Then came the urging of wine, and after a while, someone came to report: "It's bad! The horsemen who chased our troops were ambushed, and even General Barri was shot and injured."

  Wei Lai Kan was greatly shocked and thought to himself, "Could it be that the Mongols are launching a large-scale invasion! The Liao State envoy is here, I must not lose face in front of them!" He said to Xiao Ang, "This group of Mongols really doesn't know how to live or die! Xiao Shizi, you go ahead and drink first, I'll personally go and wipe them out!"

  After Temur left the tent, Moliang said: "This group of Mongols seems to have come with ulterior motives."

  Xiao Ang said: "What's the point of caring about them? If the Mongols defeat the Wokou, we can just grant them a slightly higher official position. Anyway, it won't affect us!" He then ordered a servant: "Go take a look at those Song Dynasty prisoners and see if there are any decent-looking women among them. Bring one over for me."

  The servant smiled and said: "I've seen them all before, not a single one is good-looking! Those Song Dynasty women are all rough-handed and big-footed, not a single one of them looks good."

  Xiao Ang shook his head and said, "It's often said that Song people look as delicate as lambs, I've seen many good ones in Zhongjing and Nanjing, how come these people are all so rough!"

  Mu Li said: "These people I interrogated a few, are all our slaves on the Nanjing Road! So it's very different from the Song people in Bianjing and Jiangnan."

  Xiao Ang said to the servant again: "Then go and catch a few men for me, I'll whip them for fun."

  It was already night, and the attendant went to the prisoner-of-war camp. Just as he was about to enter, a group of people quietly approached, and before the attendant could make a sound, he was shot dead by an arrow.

  Xiao Ang waited impatiently in the big tent, saying: "Why hasn't he come yet?"

  Muriya had drunk some wine, but was still on his guard and said: "It seems like something is off!"

  Just as they were about to go out, a sudden killing shout shook the sky, and someone rushed in shouting: "It's bad! The Song people - and the Mongols! A night raid!"

  Xiao Ang and Mu Rong were shocked, their intoxication completely gone. The killing sounds drew closer and closer, Xiao Ang was so frightened that he couldn't move! Mu Rong rushed out of the tent, only to see fires burning everywhere in the distance, and the direction where the prisoners were being held was a sea of flames! He thought to himself: "These Song people are really fierce!" He ordered his attendants to quickly take Xiao Ang away, fleeing towards the enemy's camp. In his heart, he was extremely puzzled: "Is this a case of 'luring the tiger out of the mountain'? They only had over a hundred men, how could they possibly create such a big commotion?"

  He did not know that Zhao Yan had already formed an alliance with Hebu Nuo, and the two groups of cavalry merged together, totaling over 600 people. Hebu Nuo led his men to plunder the Uighur tribe's livestock, provoking Dalai Khan to send his younger brother to pursue them, but was lured into a trap by Hebu Nuo and defeated in an ambush. After this great victory, Yang Yingqi ordered Bandi Chal to lead dozens of people as decoys to lure away Dalai Khan's main force, but they circled around and charged straight towards the Uighur tribe's headquarters, rescuing Di Yu and others under the guidance of several captives.

  At this time, there were only over 200 people left in the prisoner-of-war camp, and they were all injured. Di Yu's expression was disheartened, and when he saw Zhe Yan Chong, he said: "You've come... Alas, I owe everyone an apology."

  "Mind your own business, Master! It's those shameless Ugo people who are faithless and treacherous!"

  Aru Mang saw Di Yu's appearance and his heart was on fire with anger, saying: "I'll take people to kill them all right now!"

  Yang Yingqi said: "No way! This time we are making a surprise attack, and our momentum cannot last. Now there are too many wounded, let's rescue them first and talk about this later!"

  Zhe Yan charged forward: "If we just leave like this, I won't be able to swallow my breath! Ying Qi, you and Kaiyuan lead the escort, I'll take some men to launch a surprise attack!" With his large knife in hand, he led Cao Guangbi, Ouyang Shi, and Alu Man with over 50 people to charge out. He Nale led his troops to assist in the battle. Xiao Tienu also followed them forward.

  Yang Yingqi and Yang Kaiyuan conferred for a moment, then Yang Kaiyuan said: "Where should we retreat to?"

  Yang Yingqi hesitated and said, "The west is now a battlefield, we can't go! The south and north are all flat plains, there's no good terrain for us to hide in! Let's head east! Into the Da Xianbei Mountains!"