Chapter Seventeen: Departure

“Master Qingyangzi, with three counties now fallen, I intend to conscript the Daoists of Qingwei Dao Palace to aid our county garrison in suppressing the rebels!” Xue Yintu spoke.

Qingyangzi, his hair already silver, wore a grave expression. “Captain Xue, Daoists do not pay taxes and are not required to serve. Are you not being rather forceful? Besides, all we know is how to chant scriptures; as for warfare, we are utterly unskilled.”

“Qingyangzi, the court is in peril. As subjects of Dayong, we must contribute what we can. I am here by direct order of the prefect. If you refuse, don’t blame me for showing no mercy!” As he spoke, Xue Yintu rested his hand on his sword hilt.

Tension immediately filled the great hall.

“Qingyangzi, you should consider carefully. At the foot of the mountain, I have over a hundred cavalry and nine hundred elite soldiers.”

Qingyangzi’s face shifted between shades of green and red before he finally let out a sigh. “Qingwei Dao Palace has only four hundred disciples officially registered. At most, I am willing to send one hundred.”

“No, I want three hundred! Of those, at least forty must be second tier and above, at least twenty must be third tier and above, and at least eight must be fourth tier and above!” Xue Yintu’s voice was cold.

“You—” Qingyangzi’s wrinkled face flushed with anger. Never mind those below third tier; of fourth tier and above, the entire palace only had sixteen! To send away over half their strongest to the battlefield at once…

Truth be told, there were a thousand reasons in Qingyangzi’s heart to refuse. But standing before him was Xue Yintu, a seventh-tier master, while the strongest in Qingwei Dao Palace was only sixth tier. Moreover, the soldiers below were numerous and well-armed. If he refused, he could not guarantee the other side would not resort to force!

If they truly pressed the attack, even ignoring duels or group combat, a few volleys of arrows alone would cause devastating losses.

...

Half an hour later.

At the foot of the mountain.

“My lord, these Daoists may be formidable one-on-one, but in pitched battle, their effect will be limited. One round of arrows and they too will fall,” Guo Lin said, perplexed.

“You’re not wrong. They know nothing of tactics and can serve only as vanguards at best. But what if I equip those of second tier with leather armor, those of third tier with scale, and those of fourth tier with heavy armor? Then, in the enemy’s ranks, they may not break through seven times, but they’ll make excellent shock troops!” Xue Yintu replied with a sly smile.

“Just as well, the prefect granted me fifty suits of heavy armor. These are precious and wasted on ordinary soldiers. Only in the hands of fourth-tier experts will they show their true worth!”

“My lord, your strategy is brilliant!” Guo Lin exclaimed in awe.

The court’s armor was generally divided into three types: leather, scale, and heavy.

Leather armor offered little protection, made from cowhide with only an iron heart-guard over the chest. Scale armor, mostly iron, protected the upper body, head, and knees, but left many vulnerabilities—easy to breach in the chaos of battle. Heavy armor, however, left only the eyes exposed, sealing the wearer almost entirely—a veritable human weapon, each suit exorbitantly expensive.

“Then why, my lord, did you not conscript all the Daoists from Qingwei Dao Palace?”

“We can’t push them too far,” Xue Yintu replied, waving a hand. “They need some room to breathe. Otherwise, if they turn against us, things could get ugly.”

Originally, the county garrison had five thousand men, but last year, two thousand were pulled north, leaving only three thousand. Now, with uprisings in three counties, one thousand had to remain to guard the prefectural city. Xue Yintu and another captain each commanded a thousand to suppress the rebels from different directions.

If he had more than a thousand troops at his disposal, would he need to go around conscripting these local forces?

...

In the dormitory.

Wang Qingxuan looked at his disciples before him, his expression dark and complicated.

“The county is conscripting three hundred of us from Qingwei Dao Palace. Most of you will be drafted!”

At these words, everyone’s faces changed drastically. In truth, seeing the county soldiers at their gates, most had already sensed no good would come of it. And sure enough, what had to come had come.

Qin Yi’s heart sank. He had become a Daoist to escape conscription, never expecting it would catch up to him here. Such are the times…

“First and second, you two stay behind. The rest, follow me down the mountain!” Wang Qingxuan said gravely.

“Master, let me lead the team! You mustn’t go!” Wang Hongbo, the eldest disciple, knelt to plead. He was the first senior brother, the most talented among them, already at fourth tier.

“Yes, Master, let me and eldest brother lead the way. You should remain behind!” the second brother, Chen Xinrong, also knelt.

“The road ahead is uncertain. You two must uphold our lineage in the future! If you dare argue, do not call me Master again!”

With those words, any further protest was cut off.

“Master, can’t we keep a few more behind? The new junior brothers have barely begun training—sending them is as good as sending them to die!” Zhao Shaojie hesitated, but voiced his concern.

All eyes turned to Wang Qingxuan.

“It cannot be helped. Even I cannot refuse. All I can do is apologize to you,” Wang Qingxuan said helplessly.

“Pack your things. Prepare to descend the mountain.”

“Yes, Master!” None of them were fools. With three hundred to be drafted out of only four hundred official disciples, few would escape.

Refuse? If Qingwei Dao Palace could refuse, they would have done so already.

A quarter of an hour later, they followed Wang Qingxuan down the mountain, passing other disciples from different branches doing the same.

At the foot of the mountain, Xue Yintu watched the three hundred Daoists descend, very satisfied.

“Gentlemen, since you are all here, follow me to the camp!” After verifying everyone’s documents, Xue Yintu led them away.

...

Over an hour later.

In the temporary barracks outside Jinyuan County.

Qin Yi realized it wasn’t just them from Qingwei Dao Palace. Over two hundred monks were also present—according to Senior Brother Zhao, they must be from the north, from the Temple of Buddhist Light, also forcibly conscripted.

Besides the monks, there were several hundred others whose backgrounds were unclear, but judging by their demeanor, they seemed like members of various local factions and gangs in Jinyuan County.