Chapter 76: A Donkey

Wu Jie simply waved his hand nonchalantly and said, “No need. If any of you wish to take my head to exchange for some reward money, then by all means, go ahead. I, Wu Jie, would never oppose it.”

This statement fully revealed Wu Jie’s personal charisma. The many officers, who had long followed him, couldn’t help but burst out laughing. With such a general leading them, how could they possibly betray him for a mere thousand taels of gold?

“General, these Western Xia people are so cunning. As the saying goes, it’s only polite to return the favor. I say we issue an announcement of our own—they’re not the only ones capable of such tricks!” one officer proposed.

Everyone agreed this made sense.

Wu Jie considered it for a moment, then said, “Very well, let’s issue a proclamation too. Hmm…” He paused, then instructed his subordinates, “Write this: ‘Anyone who brings the head of Li Changqi will be rewarded—with a little donkey!’”

At first, the officers didn’t react, but soon the room erupted in laughter.

“Hahaha! General, that’s the best notice yet. If Li Changqi sees this, he’ll be so furious his nose will twist! Hahaha…”

“That’s right, General! Let’s write it exactly as you say. That’s precisely what Li Changqi is worth!”

The officers all jested and laughed, and thus, the very next day, such a notice was delivered to the Western Xia army camp.

As expected, when Li Changqi saw Wu Jie’s proclamation, he was so enraged that his nostrils flared. He turned to Feng Renqi Mairi beside him and fumed, “This is infuriating! The Song army dares to insult me so. When the city falls, I’ll make Wu Jie suffer a fate worse than death to vent my anger!”

When Feng Renqi Mairi saw the notice, he was secretly amused, and actually agreed with the price Wu Jie had set. In Feng Renqi Mairi’s eyes, that was about what Li Changqi was worth.

He struggled to suppress his laughter—after all, the idea had originally been his. He quickly advised Li Changqi, “General, there’s no need to be angry. This is a typical Song army tactic, simply meant to provoke us. You must not fall for their ploy.”

“Hmph, I won’t,” Li Changqi retorted. In fact, he had come to consult Feng Renqi Mairi about when to launch the next assault. On the battlefield yesterday, Li Changqi had been rather muddled by Feng Renqi Mairi’s persuasion, but now, after seeing the Song’s proclamation, he realized that plan wouldn’t work.

“Feng Renqi Mairi, we can’t just keep waiting like this. If Wu Jie stays holed up in his camp and refuses to come out, even if someone wants to assassinate him, it would be impossible. Are we supposed to just wait here forever?” Li Changqi pressed.

Feng Renqi Mairi nodded, thinking to himself that Li Changqi was quick to catch on—he’d expected the man to take a couple more days to figure it out, but it seemed the Song army’s notice had sped things up.

“Your concern is not unfounded, General. But at this moment, besieging without attacking is our best strategy,” Feng Renqi Mairi explained.

Li Changqi frowned and eyed him. “You’re not worried that if I take the city, I’ll steal your credit, are you?”

Feng Renqi Mairi cried out at the accusation and protested, “General, you’re mistaken—I would never do such a thing. It’s simply that there’s no better plan for taking the city right now. As I’ve told you, General, Fuping is situated in rugged terrain and is easy to defend but hard to attack. Now the Song army has powerful defenses in place. To storm the city by force would cost all fifty thousand of our soldiers, and still we might not breach the gates. Our best course is to wait for the main army to arrive and then act.”

“Hmph!” Li Changqi grunted, clearly displeased.

Feng Renqi Mairi could read his expression and hurried to explain, “General, Fuping is now completely surrounded. There are more than four hundred thousand soldiers and civilians inside, all of whom must eat. If my calculations are correct, in just five days, they’ll be running short of food. After seven days, the city will be in chaos. By ten days, even if we don’t attack, the city will fall on its own.”

Li Changqi’s eyes lit up at this. “Are you sure about this? You’re not tricking me again?”

Feng Renqi Mairi swore earnestly, “General, the timing might be off by a day or two, but not by much. When people go hungry, they’re capable of anything.”

Li Changqi saw the seriousness on his face and said, “Very well, I’ll trust you one more time. But if you’re lying, you’ll bear all the consequences alone!”

Having inherited his father’s expertise, Feng Renqi Mairi had no objection to this; in fact, he was quite confident. “If I’m wrong, General, you may deal with me as you see fit.”

With things at this point, Li Changqi said no more. Feng Renqi Mairi’s confident promise indicated he was sure of himself.

Feng Renqi Mairi, aware of Li Changqi’s expression as he departed, knew this would not be an easy situation. He quickly ordered the soldiers besieging the city to keep their eyes sharp and ensure that no supplies made it into Fuping.

Five days passed in a flash, and inside Fuping, all was calm.

“Feng Renqi Mairi, our spies report there’s no unrest in the city. So what do you propose now?” Li Changqi confronted him.

“General, all we can do is wait. My estimation of their grain stores could be off by a day or two, which is reasonable,” Feng Renqi Mairi explained.

Li Changqi shot him a sidelong glance, a mocking smile curling his lips. “So you’re saying we should wait two more days?”

Feng Renqi Mairi pretended not to notice Li Changqi’s displeasure. “Yes, just two more days—then there should be no problem.”

“Five days ago, you told me it would be fine. Five days later, the city would be in chaos. But now, five days have passed and it’s peaceful as ever. And now you say two more days? Are you taking me for a fool?” Li Changqi stared at Feng Renqi Mairi, obviously dissatisfied. “This time, I want a definitive answer: how many days will it really take?”