At a quarter past noon, in the east of Huaiyang Village, the Village Head was jolted awake from his nap by the clang of a gong. Still groggy and irritable, he was about to curse when the cheers coming from outside drowned him out.
"Zhang Yu, come out quick! That Little Iron Man of yours has been granted a title. They want you to claim it for him at the County Court!"
"What!?"
Zhang Yu leaped straight to his feet in shock.
He'd been granted a title already?
Was the boy still alive?
He hadn't even got his shoes on properly before he hurried outside.
His aunt followed close behind, her face tight with worry. She kept furrowing her brow and crying, "Oh!" over and over, though no one could tell what she was crying about.
When the clerk who had come to summon him saw Zhang Yu, his face brimmed with envy and respect. "Village Head Zhang, this is wonderful news! Your nephew's title is no small one. Hurry to the County Court—the magistrate is waiting for you!"
Zhang Yu raced all the way to the County Court, too hurried even to straighten his clothes and hat.
The villagers of Huaiyang had never seen anyone granted a title, let alone someone they knew. At once, a surging crowd followed Zhang Yu to the County Court.
"I told you that boy was going places!"
"That Little Iron Man of ours is famous for ten li in every direction around Huaiyang Village. Once he hit the battlefield, he must've sent the Han Army running with their tails between their legs!"
"Judging by all this commotion, that's no small title. Could it be Grandee?"
"Grandee is already the fourth rank. You have to lead men and kill more than ten enemies to earn land at that rank. Little Iron Man only enlisted recently, so he's probably fought just one battle. Even Bugeng would be an impressive title for him!"
"Exactly, exactly! Bugeng takes four kills, and Zanniao takes three. That boy's fierce—he hasn't brought shame on Huaiyang Village!"
The square in front of the County Court was packed with people eager to watch. The villagers of Huaiyang chattered excitedly among themselves.
The magistrate stood before a bronze cauldron, where burning mugwort filled the air with its insect-repelling fragrance.
He unrolled a silk document, his voice ringing across the square.
"Zhao Cheng, a villager of Huaiyang in the south of Sanchuan Commandery, was first over the wall and broke the enemy line. He beheaded two hundred and twenty-seven men, led his forces in slaying five hundred and forty, cut down a deputy general, captured one commander, and seized one banner. His military accomplishments were recorded before the army... He is hereby granted the title of Fifth Rank Grandee."
The crowd erupted. The villagers of Huaiyang were especially stunned, staring at one another in disbelief.
"What in the world!?"
"He killed two hundred and twenty-seven? Wait, isn't there some mistake?"
"The decree has already reached the magistrate. It's been checked and verified at several levels. How could there be a mistake?"
"But Zhao Cheng from our village only just enlisted..."
"That boy can really kill! Two hundred and twenty-seven—more than the men from West Mountain Village!"
"Good heavens! And you still call him 'boy'? Call him Fifth Rank Grandee!"
"First over the wall, captured a commander, seized a banner, killed two hundred and twenty-seven..." Zhang Yu's face was dazed as he muttered to himself, still unable to believe it.
As the magistrate finished speaking, the Field Overseer stepped forward with a Household Register Bamboo Slip and a Land Grant Map.
The register clearly recorded: Zhao Cheng, Fifth Rank Grandee; granted twenty-five qing of farmland, a twenty-five-mu residence, and twenty-five bondsmen.
On the sheepskin Land Grant Map, twenty-five square plots had been circled in vermilion. They were fertile irrigated fields in the eastern part of Huaiyang Village!
"Zhao Cheng has no other relatives. His maternal uncle has raised him in place of his mother until now. Under Qin Law, his title shall be claimed on his behalf by his uncle, Zhang Yu."
The magistrate tied a Bronze Peerage Talisman to the silk document and handed them, along with the bamboo slip, to Zhang Yu. "You may take this talisman to the Field Overseer to complete the land transfer. The household register must be amended within three days."
Zhang Yu knelt and accepted them. His rough, cracked hands, covered in wrinkles, held the silk document and talisman along with the bamboo slip. Only when he felt the solid, weighty bronze beneath his fingers did it finally begin to seem real.
The Bronze Peerage Talisman had been carefully polished. Its credential was inlaid with gold, and fine silver threads lined its edges. It was shaped like a jade tablet, simple and dignified.
The inscription "Zhao Cheng, Fifth Rank Grandee" was stamped onto the talisman in forceful seal script.
The talisman was split in two. One half was to be given to Zhao Cheng, while the other would be kept in the County Court archives. When Zhao Cheng returned home, the halves would have to be matched to confirm his identity.
The talisman was not merely a symbol of status, either. It also served as a credential for signing contracts and passing through checkpoints.
Holding all these things, Zhang Yu felt his heart shudder.
After taking a moment to collect himself, he looked up and cautiously asked the magistrate, "Is my nephew still alive?"
The magistrate smiled. "Of course he is."
Meng Wei stepped forward and helped Zhang Yu up, speaking kindly as well. "Don't worry. That boy is doing just fine. With such a great achievement, the general is sure to make good use of him. He's probably a Captain by now."
"Good, good."
Zhang Yu felt as though he were dreaming. He walked unevenly back toward the village, clutching the talisman and household register, with two county soldiers following behind him.
By the time he reached the eastern end of the village, the Field Overseer was already waiting beside the fields. With a bronze measuring tool in hand, he measured the land, rod by rod. After who knew how long, all twenty-five qing of farmland had been surveyed.
The county soldiers set boundary stones around the plots and carved the words "Land of Zhao Cheng, Fifth Rank Grandee" into them. On the reverse, they carved a warning: "Those who steal land shall be beheaded."
And so, all twenty-five qing became the property of the newly ennobled Zhao Cheng. Anyone who dared encroach on them would face severe punishment under Qin Law.
After that, the Field Overseer marked out the twenty-five mu allotted for the residence. He established an altar to the God of the Soil and buried a pottery jar in the center of the plot, filled with the five grains and coins. He then offered chicken's blood to the God of the Soil, symbolizing that "the land belongs to its rightful owner."
In the distance, wooden wheels squeaked.
Three ox carts loaded with pine logs stopped by the fields. The county clerk escorting them lifted the matting, revealing neatly stacked rafters. "These are the building materials provided by the County Court under the law: one hundred and twenty rafters, five hundred tiles, and thirty cubic units of clay. Please inspect them."
Behind the ox carts were twenty-five bondsmen, each with a coarse rope around his neck, shuffling along in their wake.
After Zhang Yu had inspected the goods, the clerk hauled the twenty-five bondsmen forward.
"These men are all registered as government slaves. Most are relatives implicated in the crimes of their family members and punished through collective liability, or conscripts who fled their labor service. Some are officials who failed in their duties or committed offenses."
"No enemy prisoners or serious criminals have been assigned to you, sir. You can put them to work without concern."
The clerk smiled amiably.
Zhang Yu thanked him repeatedly. He knew the county had made things easier for Zhao Cheng.
After the clerk left, Zhang Yu ordered the bondsmen to start building a wall and watched them bustle about.
Squatting off to one side, Zhang Yu smacked his lips. Then he suddenly grinned, his dark face blooming like a flower.
At the County Court, the magistrate was busy organizing the records of the title grants, preparing to send them to the Sanchuan Commandery office.
After that, the Lord's Office would forward the documents to the Metropolitan Secretariat for filing. Zhao Cheng's title would be recorded in duplicate, in both the central and local archives, along with his battle achievements, changes in rank, and the locations of his lands and residence.
Meng Wei sat nearby, looking over the military report, still unable to tear himself away from Zhao Cheng's exploits.
"How do you think that boy managed to kill more than two hundred enemies by himself?"
"How would I know? Didn't you say his archery had reached the Spirit Communion Realm? He probably killed most of them with arrows and a few more when he charged the city."
"Not so. The boy was born with great strength. I think most of his kills came from charging into the enemy ranks."
"You've been on a battlefield yourself. How hard is it to charge into the enemy ranks and kill? Even with his natural strength, storming the walls and capturing the commander would already be his limit. How could he have had enough strength left to kill so many more?"
"Then how about we make a bet?"
"Fine. What are we betting?"
"One month's worth of venison!"
"Bah!" The magistrate thought it over. Feeling that the odds were in his favor, he said, "You're on!"
Meng Wei laughed and set the military report on the table before heading back to the Drill Ground.
Within Han territory.
After several days on the march, the Qin army had reached Ye County.
Riding at the head of the vanguard, Zhao Cheng climbed to high ground ten li ahead of the main force and surveyed the land.
As far as the eye could see, the Zhi River flowed in broad, rushing currents, while the Kunyang Mountain Range wound like a coiling azure dragon.
Below the range stood the walls of Ye County. The city faced the Zhi River to the north, leaned against the Kunyang Mountains to the west, rested on the Li River to the south, and bordered the Shaoche River to the east. Where the two rivers met, they formed a triangular tract that supplied the city with water while creating a defensive buffer to the southeast.
The city was truly built against the mountains, with water for its shield. Its defenses were tightly interlocked with the natural terrain.
Looking at the walls, Zhao Cheng felt his idea of punching through the enemy's defenses with a single blow begin to waver.
Ye County's walls were built of rammed earth, with stone facing on the outside.
They were narrower at the top than the bottom, with a sturdy base seven or eight zhang—sixteen or seventeen meters—thick. The top was still five or six zhang wide, and the walls stood roughly three zhang high. They were nothing like the low, square fortifications at the Mountain Pass.
The four corners of the walls were equipped with two-story Corner Towers, stocked with large Crossbow Mechanisms and rolling logs and rocks. There was also a beacon tower every li.
From where Zhao Cheng stood, he could also see the two towering gates of Ye City. They were reinforced with iron plates. Breaking through those gates seemed much more realistic than punching through the walls.
"If Ye County is already this heavily fortified, what must Wan City, the famous city, be like?"
Since arriving in Qin, this was the first town Zhao Cheng had seen with defenses so thick and tightly arranged.
But after observing it for a while longer, he understood the situation.
Ye County occupied advantageous terrain and was easy to defend, difficult to attack.
And a vast plain lay to its northeast, providing a direct route to Wan City.
Besides that, it was a strategic point on the road to Nanxiang and the Central Plains. Even an outsider like Zhao Cheng could easily see its military value.
No wonder Han had gone to such lengths to build its formidable defenses.
"With a tortoiseshell this thick, no wonder we haven't seen a single enemy scout along the way. They can just shut the gates and hold out as soon as they see the Qin army."
Zhao Cheng turned his horse and galloped back to the main force. He rode up to Meng Wu's position and reported what he had seen.
Meng Wu nodded with a smile, then tested him. "Now that you've seen Ye County's defenses, what do you think?"
Zhao Cheng thought it over. "It won't be easy to take the city, but if you let me lead the charge, it should be a little easier."
Why had he even bothered to ask?
Meng Wu laughed helplessly and turned to Meng Tian. "What about you? What do you think?"
Meng Tian considered it, then said, "Ye County is guarded by mountains and rivers. Except for the northern side, which is backed by steep peaks, the other three sides all have natural moats that form a buffer."
"A frontal assault would make breaking through extremely difficult. But we could first build a dam where the upstream current runs gently, diverting the flow until the moat dries up and putting pressure on them."
"We could secretly dig beneath the wall's foundations and burn the pine supports, bringing the walls down."
"Then we could cut off the supply road to Wan City and surround them without attacking, forcing the defenders to surrender."
Meng Wu nodded in approval. "Not bad, but you've missed something."
"With a siege like that, we might take Ye County, but it would take far too long."
"Don't forget, we have a fierce general who can take on ten thousand men alone."
Meng Tian looked a little stunned. "Are you... really going to send A-Cheng in first? Ye City isn't like the Mountain Pass. An assault would cost us dearly, and we might not even take it."
Meng Wu shook his head. "You're being thickheaded."
"We really are going to send Zhao Cheng in first, but not to attack the city. He'll disguise himself as a woodcutter, enter as a Death Spy, and wait for a chance to gather intelligence and work from within to open the gates!"
"A Death Spy?" Meng Tian's brows furrowed deeply.
A Death Spy's mission was perilous indeed: disguise oneself, infiltrate an enemy city, and wait for an opportunity.
If discovered, he would be like a turtle in a jar, surrounded by tens of thousands of defenders. Even an immortal wouldn't be able to fly out.
Meng Wu nodded. "For anyone else, it would be a death mission. But for Zhao Cheng, it would be a mission he could survive."
"Look. Ye County is backed by the Kunyang Mountains to the north. The slopes are steep, but a few narrow paths still lead through them. Knowing our army can't attack from there, the enemy will surely have left the north lightly guarded."
"Our army will openly build a dam and cut off their supply routes. The defenders will inevitably grow anxious."
"When water is scarce and supplies are lacking, they'll be even less able to stop the commoners from entering the northern forests. They may even have to rely on those paths to bring in supplies."
"Otherwise, the people are already frightened. If they block the entrances and exits for supplies as well, everyone will panic even more. With troubles within and enemies without, how long could Ye County hold?"
Meng Tian understood at once. "That's true, but..."
He glanced at Zhao Cheng. The boy looked far too heroic, and his frame was strong and tall. After that battle, he was now wreathed in a palpable aura of killing intent.
Would the enemy really believe he was a woodcutter?
Before you continue