Chapter 5: Out of the Valley (Part 2)

  Hearing Zhang Lao Yu and others, another twenty or so people surrounded them, saying: "We are too! No need to wait until tomorrow, let's decide to follow Zhao Gongzi now!" The crowd of people surrounding them grew larger and larger.

  Di Yu said: "What's going on? Zhang Gongzi has already spoken, let's make a decision tomorrow. Everyone go back and think carefully!" Just as the crowd was about to disperse, Yang Yingqi suddenly said: "Zhang Lao Yu, take some people to collect the things that can be taken away from the kiln, and prepare to distribute weapons to those who need to leave tomorrow."

  Zhang Lao Yu was overjoyed and led the order away. In recent months, Yang Ying Qi often "acted on behalf of Zhe Yan Chong" to issue orders, so at this time Zhang Lao Yu and others listened to his instructions, thinking it was just Zhe Yan Chong's arrangement.

  Yang Yingqi then said to Zhou Sheng: "You few follow Kaiyuan brother to build some fake tombs!"

  Then, Ou Yang had a few people go to guard the valley entrance and Di Yu led some people to sweep away the snow on that platform. Not much was left to do, those who should be busy were all resting by the third watch.

  On the second day, at the fifth watch, the crowd lined up and left, with only seven people staying in the shed. One hundred and four squad leaders were present, not a single one was missing. Zhe Yan Chong was moved in his heart, and distributed rations and weapons to each person. Some particularly strong men also carried some essential items. These five hundred people could be considered a lightly equipped army.

  Chen Ahou had already added several ropes, and these hundreds of people were originally good in innate quality, and after several months of training, their movements were quite agile. However, it took half a day for the 500 people to climb up, fortunately, the arrow ladder was very sturdy, and nothing unexpected happened.

  Zhe Yan Chong, Di Yu, Ouyang Shi, Yang Kaiyuan and Alu Man each led ten small teams. Di Yu's team was in the front, followed by Alu Man's team, Zhe Yan Chong's team was in the middle, and Ouyang Shi's team was at the back.

  Zhe Yan rushed forward, suddenly Yang Yingqi ran over and whispered: "Big brother, Ouyang didn't burn the arrow ladder rope, he let the troops go first, and took Liu Qi back with him."

  Zhe Yan was moved in his heart, and ordered the troops to follow Alu's team to continue advancing. He himself hurried back, just as Ouyang Shi was about to climb down into the valley. When he saw Zhe Yan, he was stunned for a moment, then climbed back up, with Liu Qi standing beside him.

  "Where are you going?" Zhang Yan asked hastily.

  Ouyang Yizhi said: "I forgot something, I'll go back and get it."

  "Really? I see a killing intent on your faces."

  Liu Qi lowered his head, and Ouyang Shi let out a soft hum, saying: "That's right, I'm going to go back and slaughter those seven guys!"

  "What is this!" Zhang Yan angrily exclaimed.

  "What's the big deal? Just to cut off future troubles." Ouyang Shi said: "Although you left them a way out, I dare say that those guys will definitely go and inform on us! In that case, our troops won't be able to get far, and we'll soon have pursuers catching up with us! For the sake of these 500 people, I must slaughter those seven!"

  "Absolutely not!" Zhang Yan shouted back.

  Ouyang Shidao said: "Not going? You've also become so soft-hearted like a woman?"

  Zhe Yan Chong said, "I'm not showing mercy to women, but I want to keep our promise! We promised not to harm them, so we can't go back on our word! The road ahead is still long, and we can't betray our trust just as we take the first step. If we do that, how can people trust us in the future?"

  At this time, Yang Yingqi had already caught up, but he just stood by and watched, without saying a word.

  Ouyang Shi glanced at Yang Yingqi and continued to say to Zhe Yan Chong, "Do you know that if these people go to inform on us, all 500 of them will be killed because of you!"

  Zhe Yan Chong said, "They abandoned their companions who had shared the joys and sorrows with them for so long. Their conscience must be somewhat guilty, and coupled with their awe of us, they should stay in the shed for a while and not dare to come out. As long as we burn this arrow ladder, even if they really go to inform on us, here the mountains are blocking, and it will take some time for the Khitan people to determine our position. By then, we will have left early! We are taking the mountain road, and the Khitan cavalry cannot pursue us urgently."

  Yang Yingqi knew that if Zhe Yan would persuade Ouyang Shi with "great righteousness", Ouyang Shi would definitely sneer at him. But after Zhe's analysis, Ouyang nodded and said: "Although your approach is not foolproof, it still makes some sense. Alright, this time I'll listen to you! Liu Qi, light the fire!"

  After everyone had climbed up, Chen Ahou had stuffed the hemp rope with a fireball and wrapped it around the dry rope as a fuse. The task of igniting the fuse was originally Liu Qi's responsibility, who was Ouyang Shuo's deputy. At this time, Liu Qi used a torch to ignite the dry rope, the ice block melted and gradually fell down.

  Zhe Yan Chong said: "No matter what, I'm still the leader. Don't take matters into your own hands like this in the future! Unless you're going to overthrow me first."

  Ouyang Yi smiled and said: "Alright, Zhe Gongzi!"

  Upon seeing this, Yang Yingqi finally let out a sigh of relief. He knew that Ouyang Yi was not entirely convinced by Zhe Yan's leadership, and today's events might have some impact on solidifying Zhe Yan's authority.

  Just then, Yang Kaiyuan rushed over and said: "What are you doing?"

  "Nothing. Let's go."

  Five hundred men marched along the mountain path, this area was quite desolate, and they hadn't encountered a single household all along the way. They only met a few grass cutters, but when they saw the military-like procession, they ran away in fright from afar.

  After walking for three days, suddenly the sound of horseshoes was heard in front. Yang Yingqi, who was walking at the very front with Di Yu, was startled. Di Yu said: "Don't worry, it's just two riders."

  Before long, two riders were seen approaching. Di Yu said: "It's probably a Song Dynasty scout." He ordered the troops to halt. Zhe Yan-chong also rushed forward upon hearing the news.

  Those two riders gradually approached, seemingly finding this group quite strange: they were called an army, but the clothes of these people were too tattered; they were said to be refugees and bandits, yet the formation of these people was even more orderly than that of the regular Song Dynasty army!

  Those two knights seemed to confer for a moment, one of them fell back and the other rode forward.

  Di Yu said to Yang Yingqi, "The one who came forward is here to gather information, the one who retreated is to prevent any unexpected events. If we let the one who came forward go, the other person will escape and report back."

  As they spoke, the knight had already walked in, pulling his horse and asking: "What kind of people are you? Are you the Liao State's army or bandits from somewhere?"

  Yang Yingqi took a closer look at the knight and saw that he was only about ten years old, with a blue birthmark on his neck, thick waist and round hips, riding a mediocre horse, exuding spirit all over.

  Di Yu clasped his fists and said: "I am Di Yu. The ones behind me are all good people of the Han family."

  The knight was taken aback and said: "Di Yu? The Di Dashao who set fire to the Khitan granary a few years ago?"

  Di Yu snorted and said: "I didn't think anyone else knew about this matter."

  The knight said, "Border warriors have heard a lot about your legend, but it's hard to know how much of it is true. However, everyone also knows that although you are not in the military and are looked down upon by the top generals, your actions still seem to be loyal to the Song Dynasty."

  Di Yu said: "It's not good to talk about the heart of the Song Dynasty, but I have no shame in being a Han Chinese man, and I dare to say it! This young general, what should I call you?"

  The knight said, "I dare not be a general. I am just a small attendant. My surname is Cao, and my name is Guangyi. Alas! Until now, I have not achieved anything, but I have disgraced this surname. Let's not talk nonsense, what kind of people are you?"

  Yang Yingqi did not know that a Gentleman of the Imperial Secretariat was an official of high rank. As he was just "a little kid", it was also not suitable for him to interrupt in this situation.

  Di Yu said: "We have just said that this is a good citizen of the Han family. We cannot bear the oppression of the Khitan people and do not want to be slaves of other ethnic groups, so we decided to go south and hope that the imperial court can accommodate us."

  "If it were ordinary civilians, how could they have such neat and tidy formations?"

  Di Yu said, "This matter is indeed a long story." He ordered the rear to pass on the order and let the 500 people sit down and wait quietly. Then he told them about the events of the past few months one by one. His words were concise and to the point, but at critical junctures, he grasped the key points accurately.

  Cao Guangyi spoke while staring at Di Yu's eyes, thinking: "This person's pupils don't shift when speaking, most of what he says is true." He glanced at Yang Yingqi and thought: "If they were spies or troops coming to launch a surprise attack, they wouldn't bring women and children along."

  He asked a few more details, and Di Yu answered them honestly. Cao Guangyi carefully considered each one, and his confidence grew even more. As the two men spoke, the over 500 people sitting on the ground didn't make a single sound, and Cao Guangyi couldn't help but secretly admire: "Even the Imperial Guard doesn't have this kind of discipline! The faces of these people don't seem to be those of Khitan soldiers either - in fact, even the Khitan army probably doesn't have this level of discipline! This Di Yu is indeed a talented individual."

  He may not know that this is not just the credit of Di Yu alone, people like Zhe Yan Chong and Yang Ying Qi also played a significant role. More importantly, these five hundred men grew up under the threat of death, each having gone through the baptism of death, so their mental outlook far surpasses that of the long-abandoned Liao Song soldiers.

  Cao Guangyi was about to speak when a commotion suddenly broke out from the rear, but the people sitting in front had not received any orders and remained seated. Before long, Liu Qi ran over and said: "The...the Khitan cavalry!"