But did I have a choice? No!
So I kept following the naked woman! When I got to the 10th row of traps, it was so comfortable. This row of traps used the thinnest wooden planks and the finest supports. When you stepped on it with your left foot, you didn't even have to step on it with your right foot. The ingenious structure would bounce you high into the air. Running on it felt like walking in space. My heart sank – this trap was definitely going to eat me up!
Xu Delong, who had been following behind me, suddenly leaped past to prevent the pit from collapsing. Miraculously, the horse pressed itself against my back, and I could feel its hot, breathing nose pressing against my collar. I tried to turn around in alarm, but Xu Delong shouted, "Run! Don't look back!"
With a start, I finally leaped out of the pit. The moment my feet touched solid ground, I twisted and collapsed onto the ground with a thud. Whether I lived or died was no longer up to me, and continuing to run was obviously pointless.
At that moment, a ferocious, victorious smile appeared on the lieutenant's face. He jerked the reins, the horse reared up, and the man raised his saber high, bringing it down fiercely on my forehead. Just as the blade was about half a finger's width from my head—
"Thump!" "Oops!" The wooden plank in front of me flipped over. Lady Luck abandoned him at the last second and went after the naked woman. The poor guy just watched helplessly as he disappeared into thin air above the horizon...
Chapter 159 "Accidental Killing"
To summarize my escape, I succeeded for two reasons: first, the few tents provided cover; second, the Jin soldiers wanted me alive, otherwise they could have easily pulled my horse back and shot arrows at me. But most importantly—it was because I ran fast!
According to Xu Delong's later recollection, he firmly stated that I definitely did not exceed one and a half minutes. This might not be considered a particularly outstanding achievement globally, but it is certainly not something an ordinary person could achieve. Another eyewitness, Li Jingshui, recalled that more than half of the 300 soldiers were left behind by my speed. This is no joke; they were a group of young people in the prime of their youth, and the elite of the elite special forces.
What does it mean to run 500 meters in under a minute and a half? Take Usain Bolt for example; his personal best time in the 400 meters is 45.28 seconds. I only took a little over half a minute longer than him in the 500 meters. When we were in school, we all ran the 50 meters, and getting under 7 seconds was already incredibly fast (which gives you an idea of how fast the 110-meter hurdles record of 12.88 seconds is). In other words, even considering the wear and tear, the world's fastest man needs about a minute to run 500 meters. I took less than 30 seconds longer than him! Haha, no wonder Erpang couldn't outrun me when we were kids…
This has led me to deep reflection: where exactly are the limits of humanity? Or rather, do humans even have limits? Take the 100-meter dash, for example. The current world record is 9.69 seconds. If it improves by a fraction of a second each year, by the early 2000s, the record could very well be broken to 1 second or even less. When the starting gun fires, everyone will be almost simultaneously at the finish line, and the winner will only be decided by slowing down the video many times over. Because of the line-touching issue, all athletes will be prohibited from wearing thicker tops; they will have to be provided by the organizers. However, at that time, breast size might become a crucial factor in victory. Female athletes will far outperform male athletes, and European female athletes will far outperform Asian female athletes…
Uh... where did this come from?
I tripped and fell, turning to look back, only to see large numbers of Jin soldiers disappearing onto the flat ground behind me. At that moment, the first row of pits was also trampled down. If even one corner collapsed, everything within a 10-meter radius would crumble, accompanied by deafening roars as squads of cavalry were swallowed up. The pits, only about one and a half meters high, weren't deep, but with the speed of the horses, those who fell in were inevitably crushed, their noses and mouths twisted. Those in the front ranks fell in, and those behind couldn't rein in their horses in time to catch up. Many pits were filled in only to be trampled over by those behind, and many more even became stepping stones for those behind while still in mid-air. The Jin soldiers at the very front suffered heavy casualties, crying out in despair, while those at the very back remained oblivious and continued advancing. In the blink of an eye, the ten rows of giant pits had swallowed countless men and horses; only the last group survived, but seven or eight out of ten were gone.
When these 10,000 men charged into these pits, it was like shoving a handful of fine sand onto a table full of pits and hollows; the pits and hollows were filled, and little sand remained.
It must be said that Xu Delong and his men had accumulated a wealth of experience in their numerous battles with Jin Wuzhu. They seemed to have accurately calculated the number of Jin soldiers, and the 10 rows of pits could just accommodate 10,000 men—those with the means can try it out with 10,000 men.
I sat on the ground, hugging my knees, staring blankly at the scene before me. To be honest, causing such heavy casualties was not my intention, but as Xiang Yu once said, "In war, how can there be no deaths?"
In the pit closest to me, a Jin soldier had fallen in and was groaning as he tried to climb out. At that moment, I was filled with pity—so I kicked him back in. Dead men are dead men; at this moment, wouldn't it be better if I just stopped being human?
All 300 Yue Family Army soldiers had escaped the trap zone, and their main task now was to push the remaining Jin soldiers into the pit. During our escape, the Liangshan army had already stealthily infiltrated and arrived in full force, using their spears to help the 300 soldiers push the men into the pit. The last remaining Jin soldiers, numbering less than two thousand, seeing that all was lost, turned their horses and fled in disarray.
The vast majority of the eight thousand people in the pit were still alive; only some at the bottom had been crushed to death. Those in the middle had suffered broken bones from being trampled by horses, and most were wounded by longswords drawn by their own men. The people on the top layer were surrounded by us, unable to break free by standing on their comrades, their ankles constantly being pulled and pulled, a truly awkward situation.
Seeing the dire situation, I decided not to go too far and ordered, "We will not kill those who are alive as long as they surrender their weapons."
Upon hearing this, the Jin soldiers hurriedly threw their weapons out of the pit. The Liangshan soldiers collected their weapons and then ordered those who could still move to come out and squat down in a row with their heads covered. Wu Yong said worriedly, "More and more Jin soldiers are being pulled out. If they resist, we will inevitably suffer casualties."
I waved my hand and said, "Take off their belts!"
As a result, the remaining Jin soldiers could only stand to one side, holding up their trousers with one hand. The Jin people were fierce, and many of them were brave and aggressive, but asking them to fight naked was something they would never dare to do. It's similar to confiscating your belt when you're detained for committing a crime.
The further they pulled, the heavier the casualties became. Not to mention the dead, almost half of them suffered lifelong disabilities. The wounded soldiers and horses at the bottom of the pit could only be pulled out with long hooks. After the general retrieval work was completed, looking at these people lying or sprawled out, with huge holes in their heads, it was truly a gruesome sight. The kid who had chased after me at one point was crushed like a rat on the railway tracks by a dozen or so horses.
Several thousand wounded soldiers, supporting each other, hung their heads dejectedly under the guard of Liangshan soldiers, seemingly having given up all hope. Wu Yong asked me in a low voice, "What should we do with these people?"
I asked loudly, "Who holds the highest position here?"
The Jin soldiers looked around and finally elected a general whose arms were dangling at his feet. I looked at him and said, "I won't kill you. Go back and tell your marshal that this was just a small lesson, to pay off some of the blood debts he owed in the past. Also, I'll say it again, I'm not interested in your affairs. Tell him to quickly agree to my terms."
The Jin general, sensing a glimmer of hope in my tone, shook his two severed arms as a sign of politeness and prepared to leave with his men. I shouted, "Halt!" The Jin soldiers' expressions changed, and they all turned back. I said, "You think you can just come and go as you please?"
The Jin general, with a mournful face, asked, "What else do you want?"
I pointed to the huge pits all over the ground and said, "Look what this camp has become for you guys! How am I supposed to live here? Fill these pits in before you leave."
The Jin general shook his arm again and said, "But I can't work anymore."
"If you can't do it, there are others, aren't there?" I said. "Just accept it. You just haven't run into Bai Qi yet. We haven't hit you or scolded you, what more do you want?"
The golden general was about to say something more when I changed my expression and said, "Do you want to fill the hole for me, or do you want me to fill the hole for you?"
Upon hearing this, the Jin soldiers immediately got to work, piling the excavated soil into the nearby tents. Fortunately, filling the pits was less strenuous than digging them; a few used shovels, while most, missing limbs, used their bodies to push and shovel, eventually filling the dozens of large pits to a roughly flattened level. Watching the wounded soldiers working for me, I sighed, "Ah, this is how war destroys humanity—I'm finding myself becoming increasingly unkind." Everyone: "..."
After finishing the work, I waved my hand and said, "Get out of here."
Several thousand defeated soldiers dragged the corpses of their comrades, pulling up their trousers, and staggered back to the Jin camp like ghosts.
Actually, I was right. Although the Jin soldiers who attacked our main camp suffered heavy losses, at least we didn't lay a finger on them (except for my kick). The two teams that attacked the Tang army camp and the Mongol territory weren't so lucky.
The Jin army attacking from the west was surrounded by 100,000 Tang soldiers. In the blink of an eye, they were decimated by the Axe Gang and Javelin Gang on both sides. The leader of the Jin army, however, displayed great generalship, even in this critical moment trying to assess the situation and determine which side was weaker and easier to break out of. But as soon as he moved west, a breach immediately appeared on the east; when he ordered his men to attack east again, chaos seemed to break out on the west. In the short time it took for his men to shift between the two sides, his troops were stripped away layer by layer by the Tang army, until he realized he had only a thousand men left. The Tang army temporarily halted their attack. The Jin leader, his face filled with grief and indignation, held his sword to his nose, the thoughts of becoming a tragic hero or surrendering swirling in his mind.
Just as he was hesitating, Qin Qiong spurred his horse into battle and laughed, "Surrender, brother! What kind of heroism are you playing at, you invader?"
The Jin army leader, insulted, held his sword to his neck, intending to commit suicide. His men, seeing this, all followed suit. Jin Wuzhu was extremely strict in his military discipline; if the commander surrendered, the responsibility naturally fell on him; but if the commander was killed in battle and the soldiers surrendered without permission, they would have no chance of survival. The Jin general held his sword for a long time, initially hesitant to strike, finally letting out a long sigh. Several soldiers behind him, moved by his sigh, thought their beloved captain was determined to die for his country. But after the sword had cut back a few inches, they realized their misunderstanding—their captain had sighed, thrown down his sword, dismounted, and surrendered…
Luo Cheng was both amused and exasperated, and said disdainfully, "If you're going to surrender, then surrender. What are you gesturing for?"
Qin Qiong came before the surrendered soldiers and shouted, "Our Marshal Xiao is a benevolent ruler. After you return, tell Wanyan Wushu to release Li Shishi and the Marshal's wife immediately, or our 8 million-strong allied army will arrive in a day and wipe you out!"
A group of Jin soldiers abandoned their horses and weapons and fled in panic, while several others remained mounted and motionless—they had just "accidentally" killed themselves.
In the Mongol army camp, after a skirmish, the 5,000 Jin soldiers were reduced to almost nothing. Surrounding them were countless Mongol troops; the remaining Jin soldiers were those who had narrowly escaped direct combat. The rest lay battered and bruised, as if struck by a grinding wheel. The surviving Jin soldiers looked at each other in utter astonishment; this was the first time they had suffered such a heavy loss on horseback.
Mu Huali smiled as he sheathed his sword, then crossed his arms on horseback and said, "Put down your weapons and take off your armor. You may leave, but your horse must remain."
Terrified by the Mongols, the Jin soldiers silently threw down their weapons and removed their armor, running out of the encirclement on foot. Muqali called after them, "Remember, we spared your lives to obtain a few complete suits of armor as souvenirs for our Great Khan. Next time, you won't be so lucky!"
The battle didn't end until after 4 a.m., ending in a complete victory for the allied forces. Of Jin Wuzhu's 20,000 elite troops, less than 10,000 returned, leaving fewer than 4,000 with combat strength. In addition to suppressing his arrogance, we also gave him 10,000 disarmed and horseless cavalry and more than 5,000 old soldiers who needed to be taken care of.
As dawn broke, the Jin camp remained calm, but the fearful looks in the eyes of the guards at the gate showed that our intended deterrent effect had been achieved. Jin Wuzhu would probably never again regard us as a group of peasants; he should be able to see that his defeat was the work of a group of skilled professional soldiers. The losses he suffered against the Tang and Mongol armies only made him understand the enemy's strength, but the failed surprise attack was what truly shocked him; he probably realized he had encountered an unprecedentedly powerful opponent.
I don't know if the Jin soldiers who escaped back conveyed my message. My request was actually very simple: just two women. One of them was ugly and pregnant, and the other, according to Liu Bang, was "somewhat attractive." Was it worth getting millions of people involved?
However, at breakfast, Jin Wuzhu not only showed no intention of making peace, but also sent a large number of soldiers to reinforce the camp's defenses.