All day long, being exposed to Frank Thompson's sharp tongue, he was unconsciously greatly influenced. The words he spoke left the other party with no room for dignity at all. Arthur King was questioned to the point that his face turned red and his forehead broke out in sweat. He gritted his teeth and took several deep breaths before, determined not to stoop to the level of a foolish boy, slowly explaining, “The King of Han has been preparing for this day for a long time, so of course he is confident of victory. You know as well as I do how many Khitan heads have been taken just in the past few months. That Khitan barbarian king, Yelü Deguang, has at most a hundred thousand soldiers under his command. Even if the King of Han can’t defeat him right away, as long as he keeps spending money to hire heroes to take heads, sooner or later all those hundred thousand Khitan dogs will be turned into headless ghosts!”

“You mean, the one paying for the heads is— is that King of Han from your family?” Only now did Eric Scott suddenly realize, his eyes wide as he spoke.

His silly look made it impossible to stay angry. Arthur King stomped his foot and, helplessly, added, “Of course it’s the King of Han’s money! Otherwise, what rich family would be willing to spend so much?! Hey, did you even listen to what Uncle Brooks said earlier? Didn’t he already explain it to all of you?!”

“I was just too happy that you came, so I didn’t listen carefully!” Eric Scott scratched the back of his head awkwardly, then quickly furrowed his brow. “Then why doesn’t the King of Han keep paying for Khitan dog heads? Why is he in such a hurry to recruit us? I get it—the King of Han is out of money, so he’s using this recruitment to fool us!”

“Don’t talk nonsense! The King of Han isn’t like what you think at all!” Arthur King was startled, quickly gave him a shove, and reminded him in a lower but very urgent voice, “Are you really stupid or just pretending? This kind of opportunity is something others can only dream of. If it weren’t for my father having fought side by side with Uncle Brooks in the Crane Commanders back in the day, how would such a good thing fall to your Wagon Fort?! As long as the Khitans are driven out, the King of Han— the King of Han can soar to the skies. Uncle Brooks and a few of your leaders here will be credited as founding heroes. Even if you can’t be made marquis or general, at least returning home in glory won’t be a problem.”

“Oh!” Eric Scott half-understood, half-didn’t, but instinctively felt there was no such thing as a free lunch in this world. However, before he could retort, a wave of excited shouts rose up around him: “Willing to die for the King of Han! Through fire and water, never turning back!”

The chief, Thomas Brooks, had done an excellent job with his pre-battle speech. The second-in-command, Brian Scott, the third-in-command, Richard Foster, and several other leaders, along with all the heads of the bandit stronghold, were all in high spirits, ready at any moment to charge out and win fame and fortune.

“But—but for such a good thing, the King of Han’s own men aren’t coming to take it!” Eric Scott muttered as he looked at his uncles and elders. His voice was too low and was quickly drowned out by the thunderous cheers.

“Willing to die for the King of Han!”

“Willing to die for the King of Han!”

...

The entire Wagon Fort was immersed in the beautiful dream of washing away their outlaw status and changing allegiances, wishing only to sleep and never wake.

Note 1: Jiangnan Great Tang refers to Southern Tang, founded by Xu Zhigao. In 938 AD, Xu Zhigao changed his name to Li Bian and changed the state’s name to Tang. For two generations, father and son focused on developing the south, and at its peak, the territory included Hunan and parts of the two Guang provinces. But these areas were soon lost, and the state never recovered.

Note 2: The “Three Hundred Poems” refers to the Book of Songs (Shijing), the first of the Five Classics, a must-read for scholars in ancient times.

Note 3: The “Commander of the Six Armies” was equivalent to the commander of the imperial guards. In the Five Dynasties period, only the most trusted confidants, not military governors, would be given this post. Chang Si and the Later Han emperor Liu Zhiyuan both served as low-ranking soldiers under Li Siyuan in their early years, so they were comrades who had survived life and death together. That’s why Liu Zhiyuan always trusted him, and even knowing his abilities were mediocre, still gave him important positions.

Chapter One: Sharpening the Sword (Part Five)

Many, many years later, when recalling those days, Eric Scott finally understood why chief Thomas Brooks and all the uncles and elders were so excited at the mention of being recruited.

No one is born wanting to be a bandit, and no one is born wanting to live by the sword.

They had lived with uncertainty for far, far too long, and deep down, they constantly yearned for a return to peace.

They desperately wanted to become normal people, to let themselves and their wives and children live normal lives. For this, they were willing to give up everything, even their lives!

Yet, many things are clear only in hindsight; when you’re in the midst of them, all you see is confusion and bewilderment.

So, the chubby young boy, full of confusion, joined everyone in preparing for battle; carrying countless questions, he shouldered his three hand axes and a wooden-shafted spear and descended from Wagon Mountain. With a belly full of uncertainty, he arrived at a strange place called Wuzhang Ridge, where he joined up with several other bands of outlaws who had come from afar. They were preparing to face the great army under Zhao Yanshou in a decisive battle!

Those other outlaw bands were all larger than Wagon Fort, with even the smallest numbering over five hundred. In comparison, the mere one hundred and eighty or ninety men of Wagon Fort seemed hardly worth mentioning.