Chapter 62: We Must Demand an Explanation

After being captured, Qin Ming initially assumed he would surely die. To his surprise, he was thrown into a firewood shed and left unattended for half a day.

It was not until the following day that Li Gui remembered him and ordered him to be brought out and led into the assembly hall.

Li Gui stepped down from the dais, walked up to Qin Ming, untied his bonds, and said with a smile, "Commander Qin, I have long admired your great name."

"Now that you have come up the mountain, why not simply join us and become a bandit here? From now on, we can live upright and honorable lives, and no longer have to endure the condescending glances of those corrupt officials."

Upon hearing this, Qin Ming stamped his feet and cursed furiously, "You scoundrel!"

"Since I, your grandfather, have fallen into your hands, kill me if you wish, but do not humiliate me!"

Li Gui burst into laughter and gestured for him to take a seat for wine and food.

"Why would I want to kill you?"

"During the battle yesterday, you did not take advantage of others' precarious situations, and from that I knew you were a true hero and man of honor. I already said back then that if I captured you, I would not kill you."

"The hundred men present on the field all heard it. My word is my bond, and I will never go back on it."

Qin Ming stood in place, refusing to sit, and only shouted, "If that is the case, why don't you quickly release me down the mountain so we can fight again tomorrow!"

Li Gui sat back down in his chair, crossed his legs, and taunted him, "What foolish talk!"

"If I release you, will you withdraw your troops and leave?"

Qin Ming immediately shook his head and replied, "How could that be?"

"I was ordered to suppress the bandits, and the outcome between us remains undecided. How can I withdraw the army?"

Li Gui glared at him and shouted, "You have already been captured by me, how is the outcome undecided?"

Qin Ming stiffened his neck and retorted stubbornly, "If you kill me, then the outcome is decided."

"But if you do not kill me, I still have nearly ten thousand soldiers down the mountain. How can the outcome be decided?"

Upon hearing this, Li Gui immediately sneered.

"Hah, since that is the case, why should I let you leave right now?"

"Wait until I wipe out your soldiers down the mountain, and I will let you leave then."

Now it was Qin Ming's turn to sneer.

"Stop blowing hot air there!"

"I have carefully investigated, and the number of people in your stronghold is at most two thousand."

"If you attack our camp, our forces need only hold their ground and rain down arrows."

"Before your rebel army even reaches the main gate, two hundred will die; when you take the gate, another two hundred will die. Before we even engage in hand-to-hand combat, your army will collapse. What is there to fight then?"

Li Gui sucked on his teeth and was left speechless.

The biggest disadvantage of the stronghold was that they simply had too few people—they could not afford to lose men!

This was precisely why every army needed to have some cannon fodder infantry.

Qin Ming tried to persuade him to surrender again, saying, "The imperial army is powerful. What good does it do you to win ten or a hundred times?"

"You might as well surrender early and secure a good outcome for yourself."

"Since I have been defeated, Qingzhou will surely send Huang Xin, the Military Inspector, here."

"His martial arts are no inferior to mine, and having learned from my experience, he will certainly not take risks lightly. Once he surrounds us on all sides and advances camp by camp, this stronghold will have no hope of survival."

Li Gui waved his hand, cutting him off, and said with absolute finality, "Do not speak of surrender ever again!"

"There is only Li Gui who dies in battle, there are no doomed stars who surrender!"

"Since Commander Qin is unwilling to join us on the mountain, I will not force you. However, I must ask Commander Qin to stay here for a few days. Once I figure out a way to break your army down the mountain, I will let you return."

Things having reached this point, Qin Ming knew Li Gui would not let him go. He simply sat down, ate meat in large mouthfuls, drained his cups of wine, and made sure not to mistreat his stomach.

After three rounds of wine and five courses of food, seeing that the alcohol had gone to Qin Ming's head and he was slightly tipsy, Zhu Fu stepped forward to pour him a drink and subtly fish for information.

"Commander Qin, what kind of man is this Military Inspector Huang Xin?"

Qin Ming cast a sideways glance at Zhu Fu, eyed him with disdain, and said, "If you want to know something, just ask directly. Why bother beating around the bush?"

Seeing Zhu Fu's awkward and embarrassed expression, Qin Ming let out a cold snort and began to boast wildly, "That Huang Xin is the Military Inspector of Qingzhou. His martial arts are formidable, ten times superior to mine, and furthermore, he is well-versed in military strategy. His soldiers are utterly devoted to him, and in all his campaigns, he has never tasted defeat."

"There are three major groups of bandits within Qingzhou's borders, and each one is no less formidable than your Yushan Mountain. They are called Qingfeng Mountain, Erlong Mountain, and Taohua Mountain."

"Huang Xin's nickname is the 'Suppressor of Three Mountains.' With his single pair of hands, he suppresses all three mountains so completely that they dare not cause any trouble."

"If Huang Xin arrives here, this Yushan Mountain will be breached within three days, and all of you will die without a burial place."

"Instead of that, why not surrender early and still..."

Li Gui watched coldly from the side. Seeing Li Yun and Zhu Fu turn pale and anxious upon hearing Qin Ming's tall tales, he grew irritated, interrupted, and said, "I had only heard that the '霹雳火' (Fiery Thunderbolt) Qin Ming possessed a temper as fierce as fire, but I did not know he was actually a coward who only used empty threats to intimidate people."

"Two brothers, do not be bluffed by him."

"That Huang Xin is merely his disciple. If we are talking about bureaucratic skills, I might believe he is ten times better, but when it comes to martial arts, he is far inferior to Qin Ming and not worth mentioning."

"As for this so-called 'Suppressor of Three Mountains,' it is merely because people fear his official authority, and has nothing to do with his martial prowess or ability."

Caught in the act while boasting, Qin Ming's face instantly turned as red as a monkey's backside. He almost buried his head in his crotch, using his wine bowl to shield his face.

After this incident, Zhu Fu no longer attempted to fish for information, as who could tell how much of what Qin Ming said was true or false.

Over the next few days, apart from not being allowed down the mountain, Qin Ming ate and drank well every day without a single care in the world—until one day, the imperial troops suddenly came to attack the stronghold.

Although Qin Ming was trapped in the stronghold and unable to move, he only needed to look at the final outcome to know who had won.

The battle was very short. Without Qin Ming to hold the line, the imperial troops simply could not withstand Li Gui's charge and quickly collapsed.

After a fierce charge resulting in brilliant achievements, Li Gui returned with a beaming smile to show off before Qin Ming, making Qin Ming so furious that he cursed Magistrate Ding incessantly.

Although he was stuck on the mountain, he could easily figure out why his subordinates had been sent to dash their heads against the stronghold.

He had thought that was the end of it—surely his subordinates could not be so foolish as to come banging their heads against a wall again.

To his surprise, this was only the beginning. Two days later, imperial soldiers from down the mountain actually came up in succession to surrender.

This stunned everyone on the mountain.

At first, Li Gui thought the people below were playing a trick with a fake surrender, but after calling them in for detailed questioning, he learned it was another masterpiece brought to them by their 'helpful teammate,' Magistrate Ding!

Unable to believe it, Li Gui personally went down the mountain to take a turn around the military camp outside, only to find that discipline had completely collapsed and the main camp was half empty, with men having deserted almost everywhere.

To ensure safety, Li Gui sent Li Yun and Zhu Fu to lead scouts to thoroughly investigate the surrounding area, finally confirming that within a radius of a hundred miles, there were indeed no ambush troops.

Only then did Li Gui believe it. He first incorporated all the surrendered soldiers, then led his army down the mountain to smash the camp, conveniently taking over more elite troops and supplies.

By this time, keeping Qin Ming was of no further use, so he set him free.

Having descended the mountain and looking upon the scattered ruins of the camp, Qin Ming was so furious that his divine spirits practically leaped with rage. He demanded a horse from Li Gui and angrily galloped off in the direction of Yishui County.

He had already made up his mind: even if he had to take this lawsuit all the way before the emperor, he would demand an explanation.