Chapter 10: Desperate Situation (Part 1)

  Xiao Tienu left, and Zhe Yan Chong asked about his origin.

  Di Yu said, "This man is a notorious horse thief! He's very famous in the northern border of Xijing Road. I heard that his mother was a Han Chinese slave who escaped from Mongolia and was raped by a brave warrior, then took advantage of the opportunity to escape back to the Song Dynasty, where she gave birth to this child in the Yan'an Prefecture."

  Yang Yingqi sighed: "The Song people are most strict in their etiquette, I'm afraid this mother and son will have a hard time in Yan'an Prefecture."

  "He nodded and said, 'His mother must have died when he was young, but somehow he found out his father's identity. A ten-year-old boy actually sneaked out of the border and went to Mongolia to find his father. It is said that he looked very much like his father, and without any evidence, everyone believed him to be the son of that Mongolian warrior. He grew up in that tribe for two or three years, defeating several older brothers, but his father still refused to acknowledge him. In a fit of rage, he killed both his father and his father's wife..."

  Zhe Yan Chong and others heard this and all let out a cry of surprise, only to hear Di Yu continue: "Then he escaped from the tribe, his several older brothers chased after him, but instead they all died at his hands."

  Zhe Yan Chong and others were shocked, Yang Yingqi said: "What happened later? He became a horse thief in this area?"

  "Hmm." Di Yu said: "At that time, he was only fourteen years old. He gathered a group of people and robbed along the Xijing Road and Shangjing Road border. In just two years, he made a big name for himself. He didn't want to follow his father's surname, nor did he want to follow his mother's surname, so he took a surname for himself, surnamed Xiao. This guy is young, but absolutely not easy to deal with. Those fierce thieves under him, one of them can take on two of our people!"

  "Zhou Yan rushed to say: 'How many people are under his command?'"

  Di Yu said, "There were probably just over a hundred people. That day they came with less than fifty, I reckon the others went to lure away the guards at the ranch, thinking he was about to make his move on that ranch, but we preempted him."

  Ouyang Shidao said, "That's right. Mr. Di's plan to confuse the enemy last night should have had some effect, otherwise they would have come even faster. If we hadn't rested this morning, our people wouldn't even be able to stand still and would have been scattered by them."

  Zhe Yan Chong murmured: "Next time they come, they'll probably be pouring out in droves. According to Mr. Di's estimate, their hundred men are a match for our two hundred!"

  "But we have five hundred people."

  Zhe Yan Chong said, "Among the 500 people, there are still dozens who can't fight much, like those women. At most, in critical moments, they can help with a dagger. Moreover, although we have obtained horses, the majority of us are essentially infantry, and our mobility is not as strong as theirs. Since we've just arrived at the desert, it's not necessary to make a big enemy out of them. If we can avoid them, let's avoid them."

  They did not dare to stay, and after a brief reorganization, they set off again. Di Yu led the way in front, bypassing several strongholds of the Liao State. Along the way, those who were not good at riding horses grew rapidly under the threat of life and death, and Cao Guangyi's men gradually transformed from infantry scouts to cavalry scouts. Gu Daxi and a few other clever women could even manipulate needles on horseback, using animal hides and other materials seized from pastures to constantly add clothing to the 500-strong crowd. Fortunately, the weather was getting warmer and spring was approaching, making it much more comfortable for the 500-strong crowd.

  On the way, Zhe Yan Chong, Di Yu and Cao Guang Bi intensified their training of the 500-strong crowd. Although everyone's progress was very rapid, they were ultimately limited by time. In private discussions, Di Yu and others felt that these people under their command were not as good as those under Xiao Tie Nu - because they lacked experience in licking blood on horseback. However, more than half of the dozens of team leaders and deputy team leaders had a very good foundation and could be called elite.

  "This day, Di Yu pointed to a ruined earth castle in front of him and said: "After passing this earth castle, there is a vast desert. The desert is not long from north to south, the terrain is not treacherous, we can pass through it. After crossing the desert, go north for 600 miles, you can see the herders of Wugu Department. However, here is not far from the Upper Capital of Liao State, eight hundred miles east and passing through Yikun Prefecture will arrive, so be careful of the Khitan cavalry. Let's camp in this earth castle tonight and set off tomorrow."

  This earthen castle was once a transit point for trade, and it was very prosperous more than 100 years ago. However, it has now declined. Di Yu speculated that the reason for its decline might be that the original water source of this earthen castle had been exhausted.

  The earth wall is not big, but it's enough to station this group of people and horses. The city wall is low and short, made of sand and dry grass, with two gates in the front and back, the front gate facing west and the back gate facing east, but there are also five or six broken places on the city wall.

  Cao Guangyi shook his head secretly: "This earth city can't be used for defense at all. If it's attacked with fire, a single torch will burn it clean."

  Di Yu smiled and said: "This was not originally a military stronghold. I reckon it was built by herdsmen or merchants for trading purposes. It's just a place to shelter from the wind and rain."

  There is no water in the city. Di Yu said, "Our water can only last for two days, there is a source of water to the northwest, I will take twenty people and fifty horses to fetch it."

  Yang Yingqi was searching everywhere inside the earthen city. Yang Kaiyuan said: "What are you looking for? Are you hoping to find a treasure or something?"

  Yang Yingqi said: "That's also possible. Mr. Di said that this place was originally a commercial point, maybe something has been left behind for hundreds of years."

  "Alright, alright. Look at these marks, after this earthen castle was ruined, there were still many people who came here, if there really is treasure, would it be yours?"

  Yang Yingqi did not give up and carefully observed, but here the beam was short and the wall was thin, and it was really impossible to see if there was a hidden compartment.

  Ouyang Yi smiled and said, "You'd better search underground. In a place like this, the possibility of digging an underground room is quite high."

  Yang Yingqi happily said, "That's right." After tapping inch by inch for a long time, he finally found something unusual in a very secluded corner and exclaimed, "It's here!" He pried open the floorboard and indeed found a hidden pit inside.

  Yang Kaiyuan smiled and said, "You really found it."

  Yang Yingqi was about to step down when he suddenly stopped and pulled his foot back. Ouyang Yi said, "What's wrong? Are you afraid?"

  Yang Yingqi said, "No, this place hasn't been entered for too long, I'm afraid there will be... that miasma inside, we should wait until it disperses." Cao Guangyi nodded and said, "You're so young, but you understand more than the adults!"

  "He's got more tricks up his sleeve than just these, you'll find out slowly."

  After waiting for half a time, Yang Yingqi finally went down. After going down, he found that it was not very dark inside. It turned out that the underground room had openings in some places, and the outside light could shine in. The people inside could also see some of the outside situation.

  This basement is quite spacious, with enough empty space to squeeze in over a hundred people. On one side, there were dozens of barrels stacked up. Yang Yongqi walked over and shook one, feeling that it was heavy, and exclaimed: "There's really something inside! It seems like... could it be wine?" He used his knife to scrape away the mud seal on top of one barrel and took a sniff, and a pungent smell wafted up. He thought to himself: "Could it be that thing?" He inserted his knife into the barrel, pulled it out, and covered the opening again. Walking outside into the sunlight, he thought to himself: "It really is petroleum!"