Chapter 128: Drawing the Bowstring, Waiting for the Arrow to Fly

Qin Qiong's words struck right at the heart of General Lai Hu'er's dilemma. If he stubbornly insisted on beheading Dou Jiande and the other man to appease the public, the local garrison soldiers recruited from Qi Commandery would all feel chilled and endangered, leading to unimaginable consequences.

Lai Hu'er's fatal weakness had been precisely targeted by Qin Qiong. He was both startled and delighted: startled that what Qin Qiong said was indeed true, and delighted that a mere blacksmith possessed such far-reaching insight. Such vision and breadth of mind meant he could not be easily let go; he had to be kept by his side and used for his own purposes. In this way, Li Dong's influence could also be weakened. Hmph!

Slowly turning around to conceal his inner surprise and delight, Lai Hu'er shouted coldly, "Very well, for the sake of Qin Qiong, their death penalty is remitted, but the lesser punishment remains. Give them a hundred military strokes each as a disciplinary measure."

A military cudgel was five feet long and as thick as a goose egg. Fei Qingnu had only received ten strokes and was already beaten until his flesh was torn open. Wouldn't a hundred military strokes cost a person their life? Lai Hu'er was still harboring resentment; it seemed imperative to play his trump card.

Thinking of this, Qin Qiong pleaded once more, "General! A hundred military strokes are enough to leave them on the verge of death. In my humble opinion, it would be better to spare their lowly lives and send them to the Emperor in their guilty state, leaving His Majesty to adjudicate their crimes. If they are beaten to within an inch of their lives and something unfortunate happens, it will go very badly if the Emperor blames us later!"

Earlier, Qin Qiong had adopted a conservative stance, trying his best to untie the knot in Lai Hu'er's mind. Now, this latest speech shifted from defense to offense—a soft knife thrust straight into the heart.

If Dou Jiande was beaten to death, who would take the blame for you? Instead of caring about their petty lives, shouldn't you consider your own position?

Lai Hu'er staggered slightly as his heart clenched with anxiety. He hurriedly turned around to hide his expression, waved his hand behind him, and said, "In that case, let them keep their dog lives for now."

After a pause, he added, "The army sets off tomorrow, making a detour around the Liao River to await His Majesty's grand forces."

The executioners on the bank also let out a collective sigh of relief—that was too close! They had almost swung the blades. They hurriedly put away their axes, dragged the two men onto a ship, and threw them into confinement.

Qin Qiong silently called himself lucky, wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, and watched helplessly as they were locked away.

As Dou Jiande was led onto the boat, he cast a grateful look toward Qin Qiong. Although he did not say a word, his gaze conveyed everything. It meant that the sworn brothers had cast aside all past grievances and reconciled completely.

Li Dong was standing on the blacksmith ship in the armory. Because night had fallen, he could not see anything, but he had heard Lai Hu'er's words granting them a reprieve, and the worry in his heart finally lifted.

The next day, hundreds of vessels lined up in sequence, forming a grand and mighty fleet as they headed toward Liaodong. The fleet first retraced half of its route, then turned northwest along the Bohai Gulf.

The Liao River in Liaodong would usually freeze into thick layers of ice during winter, which were difficult to melt even in spring. But this year was quite unusual; the ice melted early, and the rushing river waters were just deep enough to allow the fleet to cross. It seemed like the will of Heaven, destined to let Li Dong show off his prowess and change history.

Emperor Yang of Sui was leading an army of over one million, which, together with the laborers, totaled a claimed two million troops. They would first assemble in Zhuojun and then march to the city of Liaodong—the border area adjoining Goguryeo—to rendezvous with Lai Hu'er's forces and jointly discuss strategies to subdue the enemy.

This million-strong army departed in twelve separate columns of left and right routes: General of the Left翊 Guard Yuwen Shu set out via the Fuyu Route; General of the Left Patrol Guard Wen Zhen set out via the Nansu Route; General of the Left Garrison Guard Mai Tiezhang set out via the Choson Route; General of the Right翊 Guard Yu Zhongwen set out via the Lelang Route; Generals of the Left and Right Xiaowei Guards Jing Yuanheng set out via the Liaodong Route; General of the Right翊 Guard Xue Shixiong set out via the Wo-ju Route; General of the Right Garrison Guard Xin Shixiong set out via the Xuantu Route; General of the Right Imperial Guard Zhang Jin set out via the Xiangping Route; General of the Right Martial Guard Zhao Xiaocai set out via the Jieshi Route; Magistrate of Zhuojun and Acting General of the Left Martial Guard Cui Hongsheng set out via the Suicheng Route; Acting Tiger-贲 Commander of the Right Imperial Guard Wei Wensheng set out via the Zengdi Route...

One army was dispatched each day. After the vanguard had marched forty li, the rear camp would set out. Connected in sequence, it took more than forty days continuously before the entire force, along with laborers, baggage, and logistical supplies, finished departing.

The armies marched in continuous succession, with military drums and horns sounding in unison. Banners trailed across the ground and reached the skies, stretching for over nine hundred and sixty li!

Combined with the Emperor's camp of the eleven Qianniu guards, three terraces, five ministries, and nine courts—subdivided into inner, outer, vanguard, rear, left, and right armies—which set out subsequently, the entire military formation spanned a staggering one thousand and forty li in total!

Since the dawn of military history until Emperor Yang's expedition to Liaodong, such a massive spectacle had never been seen before!

On this day, Lai Hu'er's fleet approached the Liao River. The troops disembarked, set up camp, and lit fires to cook their meals. People came and went in a bustling, noisy, and exceptionally lively scene.

Dou Jiande and the other two men were hauled out from the ship. Amidst the chaos, seeing that no one was paying attention, Li Dong tugged at Qin Qiong and quietly approached Dou Jiande and his companion. Soon after, Zhang Jinchend also drifted over.

The five sworn brothers, having survived a catastrophe, stared at each other face to face, eyes meeting eyes, shedding thousands of silent tears!

Dou Jiande dropped to his knees abruptly, his voice choked with sobs: "Shubao, younger brothers, I was utterly foolish and wronged you both! I beg you to forgive the mistakes I made!"

Li Dong's current alias was Dang Yuqian. With the garrison guards watching, it was inconvenient for Dou Jiande to address him directly, so he omitted his name and only mentioned Qin Qiong's.

Li Dong and Qin Qiong hurriedly helped him up.

Li Dong said in a low voice, "We are all family brothers, Brother Dou needn't be so overly modest. You have suffered these past few days. But please rest assured, it won't be long before I rescue you from this dire situation and restore your innocence and freedom."

"Do we still have hope?" Liu Heita asked doubtfully, refusing to believe it. "Won't that Fei Qingnu let us off easily? If he releases us, won't he face severe punishment himself?"

"Our only strategy now is to get close to the Emperor and win His Majesty's trust. Explain your actual situation, and I believe the Sage will make his own judgment. He will not punish you unjustly without cause. As for that good-for-nothing parasite, he certainly won't come to a good end."

"Then our petty lives completely depend on younger brother's arrangements. As long as I, Dou, survive, from now on I shall follow your lead and remain fiercely loyal to you for the rest of my days!" Dou Jiande hurriedly pledged his loyalty, swearing an oath to Li Dong that he would follow him forever, supporting him through thick and thin.

Liu Heita was already Dou Jiande's sworn follower; since Dou Jiande was submitting to Li Dong, he naturally became the follower's follower.

From their meeting at the Drunken Fragrance Pavilion, to creating a ruckus at the Feast Spring Pavilion, through the military camp martial arts tournament, and right up to the defeat at the Salsu River—from the very beginning, Li Dong had been secretly influencing and altering Dou Jiande's destiny and life trajectory.

After expending immense effort, he had finally completed the process of subduing Dou Jiande. The hardships involved were undoubtedly full of twists, turns, and peril.

Li Dong felt a surge of secret joy and said with certainty, "Elder brother, please rest assured..."

The second half of his sentence was abruptly swallowed back into his stomach.

Because he saw his arch-nemesis, mortal enemy, and sworn foe—Fei Qingnu—walking directly toward them.

Li Dong exchanged a glance with Dou Jiande, hurriedly lowered his head to evade Fei Qingnu's line of sight, grabbed Qin Qiong, and turned to leave.

"Hey, the soldier in front, stop right there!" Fei Qingnu roared from a distance.

Li Dong uttered not a word, keeping his head down and continuing on his path.

"If you don't stop, you will be punished as a deserter!" Fei Qingnu shouted angrily, striding rapidly toward Dou Jiande and the others.

Everyone present was shocked. If Fei Qingnu recognized Li Dong, given the grudge between the two of them, nothing good would come of it.

If anything untoward happened to Li Dong, saving Dou Jiande and Liu Heita from their dire predicament would remain pure talk on paper.

This Fei Qingnu was truly a damned busybody. Li Dong cursed inwardly, having no choice but to stop his feet, slowly turn around to face Fei Qingnu, and raise his head.

Fei Qingnu knew that Li Dong was hiding within the massive army; the garrison soldiers had searched for him during the martial arena fights without success.

Now, all five men from the Feast Spring Pavilion were present without exception. He recognized all the other four, so the one keeping his head down must be Li Dong. He must be plotting how to rescue Dou Jiande. Talk about finding what you're looking for without even searching! Let's see where you can run this time!

Seeing Li Dong stop in his tracks, Fei Qingnu was overjoyed, covering the distance to Li Dong in two or three strides.

Taking a close look at his face—it was not Li Dong at all!

Instantly, he froze like a wooden chicken, dumbfounded.