In the Battle of Zhubi Mountain, one person could be said to have stolen all the glory—this person was Xue Rengui, now standing before Yun Ye.
Gao Yanshou, the Northern Naesa of Goguryeo, led an army of one hundred forty thousand Goguryeo and Mohe troops to rescue Anshi. Li Shiji, the Grand Commander of the Twenty-three Marching Armies, led Zhang Shigui, Duke of Huguo, and other commanders of fourteen cavalry and infantry divisions with fifteen thousand cavalry and infantry soldiers to establish battle formations on the western ridge of the city to meet the enemy. Zhangsun Wuji, Duke of Zhao, led Niu Jinda and other commanders of twenty-six cavalry and infantry divisions with eleven thousand elite troops as a surprise force, ambushing north of the mountain. Li Er personally led four thousand cavalry and secretly approached the northern mountain of the enemy camp.
When Gao Yanshou was facing off against Li Shiji, Zhangsun Wuji, Niu Jinda, and others led their troops charging out from a narrow valley, striking the rear of the Goguryeo army. Li Shiji attacked with ten thousand infantrymen wielding long spears, while Li Er led troops charging down from the mountain. Under this three-sided assault, the one hundred forty thousand Goguryeo army collapsed, with over twenty thousand beheaded.
Li Er had long wanted to relive his past great victory over Dou Jiande. Taking four thousand men charging down a mountain into an army of one hundred forty thousand—among emperors, only he could pull off such a thing.
In military formations, blades and spears show no mercy. Yun Ye stubbornly believed that Li Er entering the battle was purely causing trouble for his subordinates and guards. The people protecting him were probably more numerous than the soldiers attacking the enemy.
Fortunately, there was Xue Rengui, who liked wearing white armor, and drew many stray arrows meant for the Emperor. Even after being stuck full of arrows from the Goguryeo people like a porcupine, Xue Rengui could still charge continuously, maneuvering freely through the great army. No general could withstand three exchanges with him. After continuously slaying for half an hour, he escorted Li Er through the enemy formation. By this time, the allied Goguryeo-Mohe army had already been routed, and the Emperor had contentedly completed his battlefield tour. It was said he had killed three Goguryeo deputy generals, and several white marks had been scratched on his own armor. After the battle, the Emperor pointed at the white marks on his armor, describing how critical the battle situation had been and how valiant he himself had been.
When he saw all his officials sweating profusely and unanimously advising the Emperor not to personally enter battle formations again, only then did he contentedly bestow rewards on everyone. Xue Rengui received generous rewards—one hundred oxen, one thousand sheep, and was enfeoffed as Captain of Zhaowu. For a small centurion to leap to become Captain of Zhaowu was already a rare reward for the current Great Tang.
“Xue Rengui? He should be Captain of Zhaowu now, right? The Captain’s archery is divine—truly the finest I’ve ever seen. Not counting Heichi Chang, that foreign war captive, I think only Duke Yueguo, Lord Feng, can match your archery.”
“When in Lingnan, Lord Feng found the monkeys on the cliff chattering so annoyingly that with one arrow he shot through two monkeys a hundred paces away. The arrow’s force still didn’t diminish as the iron arrow embedded itself in the blue stone with an unceasing hum. If the Captain goes to Changqing Valley in Lingnan now, you can still see that iron arrow embedded in the blue stone. This shot, in my opinion, is not inferior to the Han General Li Guang.”
“I originally thought Lord Feng’s archery was the crown of our age, but unexpectedly today I see another divine archer of our Great Tang. It’s truly inspiring. May I ask what draw weight the Captain’s bow is?”
Xue Rengui was overwhelmed with favor. That Yun Ye would compare him with a Duke of the Great Tang with distinguished military achievements was a tremendous honor. He quickly bowed low and said, “Your Lordship praises me too much. Lord Feng’s archery is unparalleled—three arrows determined Lingnan. How could a junior hope to match him? Being able to glean even a little from our predecessors’ wisdom is enough to benefit Xue Li endlessly. The bow in this humble general’s hands is an iron-backed bow with approximately five stones of draw weight.”
“Excellent, excellent. Years ago when I fought in Liaodong, Heichi Chang could draw a five-stone bow, but that fellow lacked stamina and could only shoot five arrows consecutively. I wonder how many arrows Captain Xue can shoot?”
Seeing Xue Rengui answer courteously and calmly, neither arrogant nor impatient, Yun Ye asked with a smile. He liked collecting people with deep martial skills. Forget Heichi Chang—the fallacy that “those not of our race must have different hearts” had always dominated Yun Ye’s psychology. He very much disliked foreign masters.
These past few days, Zhishisili, Qibi Heli, and Ashina Mishe—three former Turkic surrendered generals—had been trying to get close to Yun Ye, this Turkic son-in-law. Although Yun Ye chatted and laughed with them, he couldn’t feel close to them in his heart. That barrier of racial divide made Yun Ye unconsciously maintain a certain distance from them.
Xue Rengui was different. It was said he came from humble origins, a standard grassroots class, relying on his own strength to reach his current position—truly not easy. Yun Ye had grown up listening to storytelling like “Xue Rengui’s Western Expedition” since childhood, so how could he not be full of curiosity about this famous Great Tang general?
Xue Rengui said awkwardly, “If this humble general eats his fill, he can shoot fifteen arrows consecutively. But this humble general has a large stomach. The fixed military rations always leave me hungry, so normally my peak is eight arrows.”
Yun Ye immediately became angry and said hatefully, “Someone is actually embezzling military rations! This is an appalling matter in our Great Tang military. How can brave warriors take the field and kill enemies if they don’t get full meals? Let’s go back right now and see who has such gall. A dignified Captain can’t even eat his fill—how strange!”
Xue Rengui said awkwardly in a low voice, “It’s not others’ fault—this humble general just eats too much. Now that our Great Tang is in Goguryeo territory, grain and provisions are insufficient. Even His Majesty is reducing rations—how can this humble general be an exception? This humble general eating half full already equals three men’s full rations. This is already special consideration that Lord Zhang specifically gave out of sympathy for this humble position.”
“Hahaha, Duke Huguo is really stingy. How much can mere food amount to? I specifically brought plenty of provisions this time. You helped me today, so let me help you once. How about I invite you to eat your fill with an open belly?”
Yun Ye found it very amusing. How large could a person’s stomach be? No matter how much he could eat, how much could it really be? Liu Jinbao had a large appetite, eating two bamboo-hat-sized flatbreads per meal. After eating at the Yun household for ten years, he hadn’t eaten them poor.
Xue Rengui shyly nodded in agreement. Apparently, being able to eat one full meal was very tempting to him. The group left Anshi City and returned to the encampment. Yun Ye had established a small separate camp with his subordinates, not far from the central command tent.
Great generals establishing camps was very particular. The closer to the central command, the higher one’s position in the Emperor’s heart. Civil officials like Xu Jingzong didn’t count. Among military officials, originally the one closest to the Emperor’s military tent was Zhangsun Wuji. His tent was just outside the Emperor’s tent circle, making him the person closest to the Emperor. Li Daozong was next, followed by Li Shiji, Cheng Yaojin, and Niu Jinda. Zhang Shigui and several foreign generals were on the outermost ring.
After Yun Ye arrived, the troops he led were directly settled by the Emperor inside his military tent circle. Being arranged here actually didn’t count as special favor, because everyone living in this circle were the Emperor’s personal troops. Yun Ye’s Lingnan Navy was directly under imperial command anyway, so everyone regarded Yun Ye as the Emperor’s personal troops. What else could personal troops do but guard the Emperor?
The camp with the most abundant supplies in the entire military encampment was Yun Ye’s. He was someone who wouldn’t budge without preparing good food. He left only a little food from the ships for Liu Renyuan and sent them off to be self-sufficient and achieve prosperity on their own. If the navy couldn’t find food, that would be a huge joke. Not only could they plunder Goguryeo, but also Silla, Baekje, and the Mohe people. Frankly speaking, the navy wasn’t much different from pirates.
A whole sheep and a basket of steamed buns were quickly devoured by Xue Rengui. Yun Ye rubbed his eyes several times, thinking he had seen wrong. This fellow’s speed of two bites per bun didn’t look very fast, but he just kept eating constantly. Left hand holding a lamb leg, right hand holding buns, and occasionally drinking some water.
After seeing him eat the sheep’s neck clean, Yun Ye couldn’t help but hand over the half lamb leg in his own hand to Xue Rengui to see if he could continue eating. Xue Rengui smiled honestly, didn’t mind, and continued tearing and biting at that half lamb leg.
Liu Jinbao and Gou Zi had started with the mindset of competing, but later were so stuffed their eyes rolled back. Seeing Xue Rengui continue eating unhurriedly, they could only admit defeat.
Unofficial histories recorded that Xue Rengui ate a whole ox in one meal. Yun Ye didn’t believe it—even tigers couldn’t eat that much. Although Goguryeo sheep were thin, they still weighed thirty pounds with bones, plus a basket of steamed buns. If Yun Ye ate it himself, it would definitely last ten days. For Xue Rengui, it was just one meal.
Yun Ye curiously felt Xue Rengui’s belly. His belly hadn’t changed much. Where had all the food he just ate gone? This didn’t conform to the law of conservation of mass!
Could it be that besides a huge stomach, this fellow’s abdominal cavity had no heart, liver, spleen, lungs, or kidneys? Growing such a robust body just to eat more food?
Xue Rengui finally ate his fill. Burping, he bowed to thank Yun Ye, saying, “Today, thanks to Your Lordship’s hospitality, this humble general finally ate a full meal. With this meal as a foundation, this humble general can go three days without food.”
Humans aren’t camels with humps that can store energy, nor are they oxen with four stomachs that can regurgitate food to chew cud. This fellow simply combined the advantages of both oxen and camels. Such an extraordinary person needed to be sent to Sun Simiao for thorough study. If this ability could be popularized, it would be so convenient during war.
After eating his fill, the man patted his behind and went back to report to Zhang Shigui, leaving only Yun Ye staring in bewilderment at the sheep bones on the ground that had been picked completely clean. Damn it, this was a true glutton.
“Eating one sheep and a basket of steamed buns is nothing. When I was young, my appetite wasn’t much less than his. Now that I’m older, I can’t gorge myself like that anymore, so I can only eat soft, easily digestible things.”
When Yun Ye saw Li Er, Li Er was eating canned fish—yellow croakers fried until crispy, then steamed with fermented black beans. There was a small basin of golden thread flower rolls made exquisitely—this was made from a secret recipe the imperial kitchen had stolen from the Yun household. Wheat flour mixed with a little cornmeal, rolled together and steamed, sweet and delicious. Li Er loved this most.
Beside it was a large bowl of thick corn porridge. Yun Ye had brought green spinach that had also been blanched in plain boiling water, two stalks with nothing added. Li Er took a bite of fish, then a bite of spinach, then drank a mouthful of porridge, looking very comfortable.
No matter how Yun Ye looked, he couldn’t see where Li Er had actually reduced his food.