Chapter 1494 – Sabotaging Nie Liang and Attacking Yang Tao, A Sword Aimed at the World (33)
They say it’s a night raid, but really it’s just a bit of harmless annoyance.
Making all that fuss to appear intimidating, only for the soldiers to sneak away quietly when the enemy gets riled up and sends for reinforcements.
What can I compare it to?
It’s like a long foreplay that gets you all passionate, only to fizzle out.
The disturbances weren’t just a one-off; they went on five or six times throughout the night until the sky hinted at dawn, prompting the enemy to retreat.
That night, hardly anyone in Nie’s camp managed to sleep well.
It wasn’t that the enemy had overwhelming numbers; it was more that they were just so hard to pin down. Each time they showed up, it was sudden and explosive, like a volley of rockets raining down. Unfortunately, the troops couldn’t afford to relax—who knew if this annoying trick would turn into a genuine threat next time?
By the next day, as the sun rose high, rumors spread among the lower-ranked soldiers.
“You slept like a log last night, didn’t you? The Liu Xi army just appears out of thin air, and by the time we try to catch up, they’re gone! Not long after, they pop up in a different spot… are they heavenly troops or something? So creepy!”
The soldiers gathered together to whisper as they ate, too afraid to speak loudly.
Discipline in Nie’s camp was strict; any talk that might shake the soldiers’ morale was prohibited. If caught, offenders would face light punishment at best and severe military law at worst. No one wanted to tempt fate and live a long life under such conditions. Nevertheless, the events of the previous night were just too strange, and while the soldiers were uneasy, they desperately sought reassurance from their fellow comrades, leading to whispered discussions everywhere.
“Maybe they really are heavenly soldiers. I heard someone say they saw them fly down from the sky!”
“No way, they clearly popped up from the ground! I heard that Liu Xi’s subordinates are ghost soldiers!”
Rumors always grow weirder as they spread—more mouths mean more distortions.
At first, they just discussed the mysterious appearance of the enemy, but as the gossip went on, the tale twisted into the enemy flying from the skies, emerging from the ground, and that the night raiders were all ghostly warriors. Even more ludicrous, some claimed they had “seen” it with their own eyes.
Not only were there those who claimed to have witnessed it, but some even found supposed evidence to back it up.
“If Liu Xi isn’t the King of Hell, how can you explain her thirst for blood? I heard she comes back from every victory with thousands of ears strung at her waist, heads piled on her horse! She drinks blood and eats flesh wherever she goes—sounds like a living Yama!”
“N-no, she’s not Yama; she’s probably a star general from Paradise! Remember when the Lord set fire to Zhanjiang Pass? That fire was so huge it couldn’t be extinguished, yet it miraculously rained! Must’ve been a star general going to consult the Dragon King for rain!”
Some claimed that Jiang Pengji had a mighty celestial background, while others insisted she was a terrifying demon from hell.
Otherwise, how could the enemy appear and disappear so quietly last night?
Who in this world could pull that off?
It’s either a god or a ghost!
By midday, these absurd rumors reached Nie Liang’s ears, and Wei Ying and the others hurried to apologize. They dealt with the few most vocal spreaders of the gossip, barely managing to quell the situation. But the harder they pressed down, the more uneasy the soldiers became. Nie Liang understood clearly—no matter how Jiang Pengji managed to approach silently, her purpose for the night raid was simply to goad him into battle.
“Send someone to keep watch; she’ll come again tonight. Tell the soldiers not to let their guard down.”
The enemy was clearly intent on harassment and wouldn’t back down until they achieved their goal.
Wei Ying and the others agreed, though a sense of worry lingered within them.
Despite how the lower-ranked soldiers spread rumors, it indirectly proved that the enemy truly was hard to track.
If they didn’t figure out a way to expose the enemy’s tricks, the rumors would only escalate and turn against them.
As it turns out, all those heavenly soldiers and ghost generals were nothing but a ruse; the real reason for their stealth was disguise.
During last night’s ambush, the moon was just a slim crescent, hidden behind clouds.
The soldiers wore ancient-style camouflage cloaks, their exposed skin smeared with soot, blending in seamlessly with the night.
Due to the poor nutrition, ancient soldiers often suffered from night blindness; even those without it had their share of ailments.
Soldiers stationed in the watchtowers found it hard to detect even the slightest movements from afar, let alone give advance warnings.
That was the true reason for Jiang Pengji’s soldiers’ “ghostly appearances.”
In the dead of night, Jiang Pengji sent people to “sneak attack” again. This time, they made an even bigger commotion than the last, eager for all enemies in the camp to hear. One of the generals under Nie Liang, known for his bad temper, immediately volunteered to mobilize. Yet, after chasing for a mile, he didn’t even catch a glimpse of the enemy. At that moment, the sound of firecrackers lit up from another location, booming loudly enough to be heard from far away.
Jiang Pengji squatted at a distance, watching the commotion.
She asked Bai Ning, “General Bai, did your ancestors run a firecracker business?”
Bai Ning didn’t feel embarrassed, “It’s an old family trade. Unfortunately, in these troubled times, common folks can hardly feed themselves, let alone play with such things.”
Having to abandon the family business, Bai Ning had to seek other means to provide for his family.
Girls need to marry; he had to climb higher to find a better husband for his daughter.
Jiang Pengji replied, “Do you have any ideas, General Bai?”
Bai Ning looked utterly baffled. What ideas could he possibly have?
Did the Lord really want to know about his job prospects post-retirement?
“Once these chaotic times are over and I can’t wield a sword anymore, I might pick up the old trade again.”
Jiang Pengji chuckled, “That’s not what I’m asking. I mean, since General Bai has this skill, why haven’t you considered diving deeper into it?”
Bai Ning was confused, “What use is there in studying firecrackers? The common folk can’t afford them.”
Jiang Pengji sighed in exasperation.
She guided him, “Can one firecracker blow up a clay pot?”
Bai Ning nodded affirmatively, “Of course!”
She continued, “What if a hundred firecrackers were gathered together? Wouldn’t the power be even greater? They might even be able to blow open a city gate!”
Bai Ning: “…”
The festive things meant to scare off the ‘Nian’ weren’t much suited for military affairs, right?
“Hmm… there’s a possibility. But on the battlefield, if the enemy ignites the firecrackers first, wouldn’t we be blowing up our own people?”
Setting off a hundred firecrackers in one place would make a huge target; the feasibility was very low.
Jiang Pengji laughed, “Let’s think another way. If we could develop something so that one firecracker has the power of a hundred, how about that?”
After thinking for a moment, Bai Ning felt like his Lord was a bit far-fetched.
How could one firecracker ever compare to a hundred?
Wouldn’t that involve compressing hundreds of sulfur, saltpeter, and charcoal into one?
Over two hundred years ago, firecrackers were simply burning bamboo; later on, people realized the fantastic uses of sulfur, saltpeter, and charcoal and began filling these things into bamboo tubes at certain ratios for combustion, also known as firecrackers. Bai Ning’s family’s craftsmanship was simply about the proportioning formula.
When made according to this formula, firecrackers would pop loudly without significant risk during production.
“The Lord’s idea is indeed interesting.”
Unfortunately, it seemed a bit unrealistic to Bai Ning that a little plaything meant for scaring off the “Nian” would be of any real use.
