The army melted into the dark night, silent and swift. Situ Yan called out to Song Ming, "Let's go, time to change clothes."
He shed his usual armor and donned a common vanguard's battle attire.
Song Ming cupped some ash and offered it to him, "Here, boss, cover your face a bit more."
"Why cover my face?"
"Didn't you say yourself we wouldn't fight head-on? With your face, what's the point of just changing clothes?"
Situ Yan wished he could smash the back of Song Ming's head with the hilt of his saber, "Idiot, without this face, how else do you expect to lure Tuo Hele out?"
Tuo Hele was a formidable general of the Northern Frontier, renowned for his immense strength. He wielded a pair of iron hammers, each said to weigh a thousand jun. In the camp, besides Situ Yan, the only one who dared to face him was Da Mao. Though that fellow was a bit dim-witted, his martial arts skills were exceptional.
He was a prime example of someone with a simple mind and developed limbs.
At this moment, Song Ming felt as though he had been possessed by Da Mao. He rubbed his nose. Situ Yan had already mounted his horse, "Let's go, Changdong has made his arrangements, don't keep them waiting too long. While we have this opportunity, I intend to have a good meeting with this immensely strong General Tuo Hele of the Northern Frontier."
That fellow was slippery, never willing to face him head-on on the battlefield. Today, he absolutely would not let him escape.
Song Ming weighed his long spear in his hand and suddenly spoke, "I wonder who's stronger, him or Qing Ya, in terms of brute force."
"If it's just about brute strength, Qing Ya is still a bit short. But in a real fight, Tuo Hele would definitely not be Qing Ya's match."
She was truly a martial arts prodigy. If her master hadn't been his daughter-in-law, he would have found a way to bring her onto the battlefield. Others with martial arts skills could fight ten men at once, she could fight thirty.
"Alas, why did she get married so early? With her martial arts, on the battlefield, she could easily become a female general. She could have as many young handsome men as she wanted!" Song Ming felt genuine pity for her. What was so great about that Wang Shoucheng fellow that he could so easily trick away his good brother?
Situ Yan cast him a glance, "Everyone has their own aspirations. Although Qing Ya possesses great natural strength, she is, after all, a woman. Do you think any young lady would enjoy fighting on the battlefield?"
"That's true. Besides, with the Princess consort protecting her, no one would dare bully her. With money and leisure, she'd be foolish to live a life of constant danger on the battlefield. Ah, it's good to be a woman."
"If you're so envious, when we return to the capital, I can ask the eunuch with the most experience in the Directorate of Ceremonial to help you."
Song Ming's nether regions suddenly felt icy cold, and he exclaimed in a mix of grief and indignation, "Boss, my wife is still waiting for me to return and get married. How could you say such a thing?"
That night, Situ Yan led two thousand troops in a surprise attack on the Northern Frontier's encampment, burning nearly half of their granaries before making a swift retreat. Tuo Hele, recognizing his face amidst the chaos, led his troops in pursuit. He had suffered too many losses at Situ Yan's hands. Seeing him with only two thousand men, Tuo Hele was exhilarated, brandishing his twin hammers, vowing to crush Situ Yan into a meat paste.
He led more than half his men in pursuit of Situ Yan, but was unknowingly led into a narrow mountain pass. Da Yin soldiers, who had been lying in wait, began pelting them with stones from the mountaintops, inflicting heavy casualties on the Northern Frontier forces.
At this very moment, Situ Yan led his troops in a swift counter-attack. Soldiers from the mountainsides charged down, and with an attack from three sides, Tuo Hele was forced to resist desperately. The two sides clashed for an entire night. When Tuo Hele finally managed to lead his remaining small contingent of scattered soldiers to break through the encirclement and return to their encampment, he found the Da Yin army's flag flying there.
He roared to the sky, "The Da Yin people are indeed cunning! Where is Situ Yan? Have him come out and fight me to the death!"
"Why use a butcher's knife to kill a chicken? It's more than enough for this vanguard to face you." It was Mao Pengyi who stepped forward.
Tuo Hele was enraged, "What are you? You think you're worthy of fighting me?"
"You can't even defeat me, and you want to fight my boss? Your Northern Frontier is poor and cold, but you can't afford mirrors, surely you can afford to pee? Why don't you take a piss and look at yourself to see if you're worthy?"
These were words Meng Changdong had prepared for him in advance, with little harm but extreme insult.
The hot-tempered Tuo Hele, brandishing his iron hammers, charged at him.
This time, Mao Pengyi did not toy with him, and they engaged in a one-on-one duel.
Then, he severed Tuo Hele's head with his saber.
Da Mao became famous in a single battle.
After the joy of victory came endless sorrow. The two battlefields were littered with corpses, and rivers of blood flowed. There were soldiers from the Northern Frontier, and also from their own Da Yin.
Comrades they had been drinking and boasting with the day before were now lying in eternal sleep.
Severed limbs and broken arms were hidden within the dark bloodstains, as piercing to the eye as ever, no matter how many times one had seen them.