Chapter 87: The First City of the Rakshasa Kingdom

The burden on his comrades was instantly reduced by several dozen pounds, and it became much easier for them to haul him up. With a few men straining together, they soon pulled him ashore.

Two men carried him, and the rest of the force continued across the river.

Once they had crossed, Chen Mu ordered that a tent be pitched at once so the soldiers who had fallen into the water could go in and warm themselves. The other men put away their gear and sent scouts out to reconnoiter the surrounding area.

Chen Mu summoned a soldier who carried medicinal herbs, took out a prescription for dispelling cold, set a small pot over the fire, and brewed the medicine himself, standing by to watch.

Just after the soldier who had fallen into the river changed into dry clothes, he saw Chen Mu come in. He tried to rise and salute, but Chen Mu stopped him.

“Lie down and rest. That is an order.”

“Yes!”

The soldier was moved beyond words and immediately lay back down.

Chen Mu then had ginger brought over and set up another pot beside it to boil ginger water.

“Later, drink the herbal medicine first to drive out the cold, then drink the ginger water. Once you’ve recovered a bit, warm yourself by the fire.”

As Chen Mu did all this, Uriya followed at his side and saw everything with his own eyes.

He could not quite understand why Chen Mu, as the crown prince, would personally brew medicine. All for an ordinary soldier, a reserve trooper burdened with supplies, he hurried back and forth, inside and out.

He voiced his confusion, and Chen Mu answered, “The other soldiers have never studied medicine. I alone studied it in the capital, so of course I should oversee the brewing.”

Uriya said, “But... he...”

He found it awkward to say it aloud, but Chen Mu understood.

“You mean he’s only an ordinary soldier, don’t you?”

Uriya nodded, embarrassed.

Chen Mu smiled. “You’re wrong. He is my brother. Now that a brother is in trouble, of course we should help him.”

Uriya stared wide-eyed. He had never imagined that Chen Mu, as the mighty crown prince of Great Xia, would call a soldier of such low standing his brother.

He had never seen such a thing among the Xiongnu or the Donghu, nor had he ever heard of anyone in Great Xia doing so.

“Br... brother?”

Chen Mu nodded. “My life is protected by them, and their path is guided by me. If that is not brotherhood, then what is?”

Uriya fell silent.

And the soldier lying on the bed quietly shed tears.

...

Before long, under Chen Mu and the others’ careful care, the soldier had recovered enough to move on his own.

The scouts also returned and reported that they had found no sign of any people in the surrounding area.

Chen Mu ordered the army to advance along the riverbank, and after another half day they made camp again.

Thus they marched for two days, and at last Chen Mu saw the first signs of human habitation since entering the ice plain.

Far ahead by the river, several people had set up a fire and were roasting something over it. When they drew nearer, they saw that it was fish.

Chen Mu led his men forward and had Uriya go over to question them.

The fishermen answered calmly, pointing to the ice not far away and saying something. Chen Mu noticed a hole in the ice about the size of a water jar.

Uriya returned after asking only a few questions.

“Your Highness, they are fishermen who live nearby. They came to cut through the ice and catch fish.”

Chen Mu nodded. “Tell them we are the army of Great Xia, here to negotiate with the Empire of Frost. We hope they will become a tributary state of Great Xia, bringing tribute year after year and submitting in loyalty from generation to generation.”

Uriya’s eyes nearly popped out of his head. The Empire of Frost still did not know that the Great Xia army had arrived, so why not launch a surprise attack? Telling them now would only give them time to prepare.

Seeing his expression, Chen Mu said again, “You heard me correctly. Go on.”

With a forced heart, Uriya went to relay the message. As expected, the fishermen flew into a rage, shouting that they would rush back to report this and have the warriors of the Empire of Frost slaughter them all.

Uriya came back to repeat the exchange, but Chen Mu remained calm.

“All right. Move out and continue forward.”

Chen Mu understood perfectly well that what he needed was not a sneak attack. What he needed was to beat the Empire of Frost into submission. Only then would the Empire of Frost willingly accept the status of a tributary state.

Uriya could also be considered a talent. He spoke the language of Great Xia, as well as Xiongnu, and could communicate with the Donghu and the people of Frost.

This was because the language of Frost and that of the Xiongnu shared the same root and could be understood in simple exchange. The Donghu tongue was much the same. They had all spread from one region and gradually evolved into different nations and alliances.

Uriya had once lived on the border between the Xiongnu and the Donghu. He knew a small Donghu tribe, and he also knew the location of the nearest city in the Empire of Frost to the Xiongnu lands.

But that place was too far away. Chen Mu judged that there should be another town near the river.

That town was now the army’s objective. Chen Mu named it River East Town, while the one nearest the Xiongnu would be River West Town.

On the morning of the second day, Chen Mu’s army arrived at River East Town.

Chen Mu ordered the entire army to camp twenty li away, then climbed to high ground to survey the town.

River East Town had fortifications. The material might have been adobe, but in this frigid region the surface of the walls was coated with a layer of clear, glittering ice crystals.

It must have been a wall made of frozen earth.

Such walls were extremely sturdy. If this material had also been piled behind the gates, Chen Mu truly would not have been able to break them open.

Fortunately, he could still defeat the enemy upon the battlements.

After taking stock, Chen Mu ordered siege engines to be built. There was no need for battering rams; trebuchets and assault towers would be enough.

While Chen Mu was observing River East Town, the people of Frost atop the walls were also watching him.

A general of the Empire of Frost wearing a very tall fur hat pointed at Chen Mu’s army and jabbered excitedly. The officers beside him, wearing smaller hats, nodded repeatedly.

That first day, Chen Mu’s men finished only cutting the timber. Before they could begin building the siege engines, night had fallen. The army rested, leaving part of the force on night watch while the rest returned to their cotton tents to sleep.

Around the camp perimeter were chevaux-de-frise and other defensive works, so there should have been no problem.

In the blink of an eye, the third watch came. A sentry spotted signs of enemy troops in the distance and immediately beat the drum beside him.

Chen Mu woke at once.

“So they really do dare to raid the camp? Do they think we’re afraid of the cold?”

As he spoke, Chen Mu put on his down jacket and down trousers, then layered on his armor, took up his weapon, and stepped out of the tent.

“How is the situation?”

The captain of the guard replied, “The night watch has already engaged the enemy. At the moment, there are only enemies to the west.”

Chen Mu nodded. “Issue the order: concentrate our strength at the western camp. The rest of the army is to contract its defenses in the other directions and leave the outer perimeter of the camp open. If enemies appear elsewhere, hold position and do not leave the camp.”

“Yes!”

The captain of the guard went to pass on the orders, and Chen Mu led his men toward the western camp.

The western side was already ablaze with firelight; it seemed that quite a few of the Frost troops had broken in. But Chen Mu was not worried, because he trusted his invincible Flying Army and Unmatched Flying Army.

They were elite among all under heaven.

Moreover, the night-watch troops were fully equipped. This was no case of being caught unprepared; they were ready and waiting.

Sure enough, when Chen Mu reached the western camp, what he saw was a battle evenly matched on both sides.