On the sea surface, green water flowed leisurely, white sails dotted the view, seagulls wheeled and gathered overhead, fish surged beneath, and the sun shone warmly on the sea. Yun Ye struggled painfully in the water.
Throwing a dripping fish into an oil pot would probably look just like this. This morning he had still been mocking those landlubbers for splashing water too high, yet now Yun Ye discovered he could actually create even higher splashes.
His entire body was painfully stung by the icy seawater. Only by thrashing hard could he prevent his body from becoming stiff. Dongyu also jumped down and stayed by Yun Ye’s side, shouting “Wula wula,” as if he had something to say.
At this moment, his life wasn’t even his own—who had the energy to pay attention to him? He continued thrashing. After a full tea-time had passed, Yun Ye finally successfully mastered control of his body, and the seawater no longer felt as icy as when he first entered.
Wiping the seawater from his face, he shouted loudly at that large mass of heads on the ship: “Hurry down! The water’s very comfortable!” After saying this, Yun Ye kicked off the ship’s hull with his feet, suddenly shooting forward, beginning a beautiful breaststroke.
“The marquis really looks like a toad right now.” A clever, well-traveled man stroked his chin, passing judgment on Yun Ye’s elegant swimming posture. But just as he finished speaking, a large foot kicked his bottom and he spun into the sea.
Perhaps it was humanity’s base nature at work—not suffering from scarcity but from inequality. Now that the Commander was soaking in the sea, these common soldiers felt much more comfortable soaking in the water too, and began paddling according to what the sailors taught them. Of course, drinking a bellyful of seawater daily was unavoidable.
The water was warmer than outside the water? This was the conclusion Yun Ye reached. Swimming with the head-down frog style was most comfortable. Seeing that Yun Ye could actually swim, Dongyu felt much more relieved. Though he didn’t know where the marquis had learned this strange style, he seemed to swim quite fast. Dongyu tried mimicking it with a couple strokes, shook his head—still not used to it—and continued swimming on his side, paddling along beside Yun Ye.
He couldn’t remember when he had last swum. Yun Ye circled the mulan boat twice and truly couldn’t swim anymore. Flipping over in the water, leaving only his face above the surface, he floated on his back to recover his strength.
This feeling was wonderful. With his ears submerged in water, he seemed able to hear the great sea’s endless sighing. Water ripples undulated before his eyes. A small wave came splashing over. Yun Ye closed his eyes and held his breath. After the wave passed and he opened his eyes again, he immediately felt the joy of still being alive.
No wonder that ice melted so quickly—this must be a warm current. Swimming past the ship’s side once again, he saw Liu Jinbao’s worried face, waved at him, and continued swimming.
While looking after Yun Ye, Dongyu incidentally caught three fish. One in his mouth, one in each hand, relying on just his two legs, he exposed more than half his body above the sea surface.
His body began to go numb again—this was not a good sign. This was a signal of declining stamina. Yun Ye swam to the ship’s side, grabbed the accommodation ladder, and climbed onto the deck. The cold wind pierced to the bone.
This training continued for a full half month—time that Yun Ye had squeezed out from his journey from Chang’an to Dengzhou. Though those men were still unfamiliar with swimming, now with two pieces of cork tied around their waists, they couldn’t be drowned in the sea for short periods.
Liu Fang, Liu Renyuan, and Lai Chuanfeng were unseen for entire days at a time. When Yun Ye saw them, the Mount Dahei model was already covered with densely packed flags.
“Marquis Yun, we cannot wait any longer. These past days, the wind blowing from the sea surface has already carried moisture. This old man is very worried it will bring abundant precipitation to this area. If so, our plan will be void. In three more days it will be month’s end. The moon won’t come out until the yin hour. The first half of the night will be pitch black—precisely when we should pour oil and set fires. Ren Xiong and his men have thoroughly familiarized themselves with Mount Dahei’s forest. The forest depths can be entrusted to him. Give him three hundred elite soldiers—each carrying fifty jin, fifteen thousand-some jin of fierce fire oil should be enough to burn this forest thoroughly. Hopefully Marquis Yun’s theory is correct—that the great fire will exhaust the air and the people in Beisha City will suffocate to death.”
Liu Fang only spoke these words after inviting Yun Ye into the operations room. Yun Ye looked at the plan, closed the plan document, and said: “I’ll go to Mount Dahei. Liu Renyuan goes to Sanshanpu. Give me fifty ships—that’s enough. Take all the rest. You’ll need them when attacking the harbor.”
“This old man thinks the same. The Sanshanpu attack force must reach attack position by the yin hour. When Mount Dahei’s fire rises, that’s the attack signal. Remember—once the attack succeeds, withdraw quickly. Shore cleanup personnel must all withdraw, not one less. Even corpses must be brought back. We’re not attacking cities and seizing territory—we’re buying ourselves time. Cancel all Great Tang insignia and clothing. We are pirates. Remember—it must be made clear to all soldiers going ashore: shut your mouths, no making sounds. Violators will be beheaded.”
The navy encampment entered a state of martial law, strictly forbidding anyone to enter or exit. Even Yuan Dake, wanting to see Yun Ye to report Chang’an intelligence, was refused entry. Seeing the heavily guarded military camp, Yuan Dake said nothing and hurriedly departed. He could smell the war atmosphere pervading the camp. Though Yun Ye hadn’t told him, Yuan Dake raised Dengzhou’s alert to the highest level. All bailiffs, soldiers, and militia scattered throughout the countryside received notifications for united self-defense. All foreigners in the city were absolutely forbidden to leave the city. Violators would be beheaded.
Tense atmosphere shrouded all of Hebei. Local officials didn’t know what had happened and hurriedly went to the Lingnan Navy encampment to inquire. When envoys reached the seaside, they discovered the fleet that had covered the entire bay had disappeared…
“The Commander took the fleet back to Lingnan.” This was the answer given by the old soldiers guarding the camp. Yuan Dake knew the fleet had gone to the Liao River but didn’t expose it. He returned to Dengzhou with several colleagues, all smiles. But he once again issued new martial law orders, strictly enforcing the city prohibition of working at sunrise and resting at sunset. Previously, Dengzhou had no curfew at all.
As the sun was about to sink below the horizon, Yun Ye disembarked and came to Sanshan Island. Seeing the beacon fire that had already been piled up, he couldn’t help but feel secretly fortunate. Fortunate that he had Wu She, Dan Ying, and Gou Zi board the island first, otherwise once the beacon fire rose, all would be lost.
“Commander, previously this island had no human habitation and has always been a hideout for pirates. These people coming to the island is also a recent matter. Otherwise, this subordinate would have no reason not to know.”
Large beads of sweat like soybeans dripped down from Old Bear’s forehead. He truly hadn’t anticipated such an oversight.
“Don’t blame yourself, Old Bear. No one can know everything. Look at this wood for building houses—all fresh cuts. That is to say, their time on the island was after the thaw. Go question those two survivors about what exactly happened.”
Ren Xiong hurriedly ran off to interrogate the survivors. Yun Ye looked at the messy corpses on the ground, stunned. These were Goguryeo soldiers? Were there soldiers without even shoes? Those inferior weapons clearly had some age—some even bore the Daye era name. They showed no great difference from Tang people, except for being bone-thin with only oversized hands and feet remaining. These people should all be farmers—why weren’t they farming but all becoming soldiers instead?
Dan Ying’s blade was fast, Wu She’s hands were vicious, and Gou Zi’s hammer was extremely fierce. Those severed limbs must be Dan Ying’s handiwork. Those with heads twisted to one side showing no wounds must be Wu She’s doing. As for those whose heads were smashed like rotten watermelons—needless to say, they were harmed by the hammer.
“My lord, the count matches. Seventy-five people, not one less. This is one Goguryeo squad’s manpower. From their stored grain, each squad’s guard period is three months. More than half the grain remains—our time is ample.” Lai Chuanfeng and Gou Feng followed Yun Ye, while the Yang brothers went under Liu Renyuan’s command. They also needed land combat experts.
“My lord, you should command from Sanshan Island. Let this humble general lead the soldiers forward. All preparations are complete. Each person carries fifty jin—thirty thousand jin of black oil and one thousand incendiary bottles, enough to burn Mount Dahei to ash.”
“Be careful. I’m having Xiao Ying and Gou Zi go with you. I won’t go—going would be no help and might even hold you back. Take great care in all matters. Don’t economize on crossbow bolts for blocking exits and such. If it can be resolved with weapons, don’t use men. Understood?”
Yun Ye was actually very worried. His manpower was insufficient after all—only three thousand men. Some needed to carry black oil and gasoline, some needed to carry crossbow bolts, plus carry their own weapons and shoulder the disassembled eight-ox crossbows. The load had almost reached the limit. Yun Ye drew out another eight hundred sailors from his forces to barely help them share some burden.
The defending general in Beisha City was no fool either. Seeing Mount Dahei catch fire, he would certainly bring people running out. All fleeing for their lives—he didn’t know if Lai Chuanfeng and Gou Feng could hold the line.
The soldiers boarded ships again, leaving only two warships moored in the bay. Taking advantage of the last glimmer of light at the horizon’s edge, they calibrated their direction and sailed toward Beisha City.
Yun Ye forcibly resisted watching them, placing his thoughts on Sanshan Island. On the island’s peak, a bit of light remained. Sea mist rose like a mirage—truly a mortal immortal realm. Yun Ye suddenly remembered this place was originally called “Peerless Immortal Land, First Cave-Dwelling Household.” When there was time, he’d bring Li Er to visit—that would count as helping him find an immortal residence. He couldn’t demand anything more.
Wu She handed the wine flask to Yun Ye, saying: “Once all matters are planned and determined, success or failure depends on heaven. Isn’t there an old saying: ‘Planning depends on man, success depends on heaven’? Worrying is useless. Relaxing your nature and living well through each hour is most important. This old man is advanced in years—others live day by day, this old man lives hour by hour. Every hour of happiness earned is an hour gained. You’re young with a bright future—don’t look so worried.”
“Do you know? When you came, His Majesty never expected you to succeed. He only hoped you’d lead troops and see some blood. He even had Duan Hong bring this old man a message, hoping to help you out. Did you think this old man would leave pleasant Yushan and enjoy coming here to blow in sea winds?”