xymnovel Chapter 49: The Art of Mahjong and the "Surprise" Buried in the Sand
Chapter 49: The Art of Mahjong and the "Surprise" Buried in the Sand
In the afternoon in Loulan City, the sun was so scorching it felt like it would bake one's skin. This desert pearl built on an oasis, despite being nourished by Lop Nur, still had a pervasive smell of dry dust and the sour odor of fermenting camel dung in the air.
The Loulan Royal Palace—which is actually just a courtyard surrounded by several relatively tall adobe houses—was filled with the sounds of string and wind instruments and the aroma of incense.
King Angui of Loulan sat in the main seat, which was covered with a Persian carpet, holding a tall glass goblet made by the Qin Dynasty, the wine inside swaying gracefully. Although his face was full of smiles, his not-so-large eyes kept glancing unconsciously towards the entrance of the hall, and a fine layer of sweat appeared on his forehead.
On his left, Liu Bang, the Qin Dynasty's Pacification Commissioner of Baiyue and the current "Head of the Qin Dynasty's Western Regions Expedition," was sitting cross-legged without any regard for appearances, holding a greasy roasted lamb leg and eating it with relish.
"Good meat! It's so chewy!" Liu Bang tore off a piece of meat and exclaimed indistinctly, "Your Majesty, this sheep must have grown up running marathons, right? The muscle definition is amazing."
An Gui smiled ingratiatingly: "Angel, you jest. These are salt lake sheep, a specialty of Loulan, with firm meat. If you like them, take a hundred with you when you leave."
"Oh, that's too kind of you." Liu Bang said politely, but his hand pointed to Fan Kuai behind him, "Old Fan, write this down. One hundred, don't take less, that would be disrespecting the King."
Fan Kuai responded in a muffled voice, took out a small notebook, and carefully drew a hundred circles with a charcoal pencil.
Sitting opposite Liu Bang was Xiang Yu, the "security chief" of this inspection team.
Unlike Liu Bang's relaxed demeanor, Xiang Yu was like a black iron tower, his back ramrod straight, his beast-head chainmail gleaming with a chilling light in the dimly lit hall. He didn't touch the wine and meat in front of him, his terrifying double pupils fixed on the King of Loulan, as if trying to see what secrets were hidden beneath his gold-trimmed fur robe.
An Gui felt uneasy under Xiang Yu's gaze, and could barely hold his wine cup.
"Um... this brave warrior, is the food and wine not to your liking?" An Gui asked tentatively.
Xiang Yu snorted coldly, said nothing, but simply stretched out his finger and gently pressed it on the hard red willow wooden table in front of him.
"Click."
A clear fingerprint instantly appeared on the thick wooden board, and wood chips flew everywhere.
An Gui swallowed hard, feeling as if the fingerprint was pressed against the top of his head.
"Ahem." Liu Bang tossed aside the lamb bone, wiped his hands, and smiled as he tried to smooth things over. "Your Majesty, please don't mind. I'm just a straightforward guy and don't like beating around the bush. He's practicing... practicing 'One-Finger Zen,' yes, a health-preserving skill."
"Health is good, health is good," An Guiqian echoed with a smile.
Liu Bang took out an exquisite wooden box from his pocket and gently pushed it to the center of the table.
"Your Majesty, we've had a satisfying meal. Shall we engage in some refined activities to aid digestion?"
"What is this?" An Gui asked curiously, leaning over.
Liu Bang opened the box, inside were more than a hundred exquisitely carved mahjong tiles with bamboo strips inlaid on the back.
This is an entertainment device that Prince Huhai had the Shaofu (the imperial household department) develop to enrich the leisure life of the people of Qin (mainly for the purpose of making money).
"This is the 'Great Qin Game Theory,' commonly known as Mahjong," Liu Bang said mysteriously. "This is the deductive tool Your Majesty uses when contemplating important military and national affairs. Within its small space, one can discern the grand scheme of things."
"Oh? It's so effective?" An Gui became interested.
"Come, come, let me teach you," Liu Bang called out. "Old Fan, stop keeping accounts and come lend a hand. Brother Xiang, you come too."
Xiang Yu frowned: "I don't play these childish games."
"This is called a 'scheme'!" Liu Bang lowered his voice and said in a tone that only Xiang Yu could hear, "Do you want to know what this old bastard is hiding? Once you're at the card table, even a god can't hide anything."
Xiang Yu thought for a moment, then sat down with a cold face.
The four sat around a table. Liu Bang began to skillfully shuffle the cards, the clattering sound echoing crisply in the hall.
"bump!"
"Damn it!"
"I won! A pure suit!"
After several rounds, King Angui of Loulan was sweating profusely from losing. He not only lost the jade pendant and thumb ring he was wearing, but even the jewel-encrusted dagger was won by Fan Kuai.
Strangely, Liu Bang didn't seem to care about winning money; instead, he chatted casually while playing cards.
"Your Majesty, I heard that Maodun came by a few days ago?" Liu Bang discarded a two of dots.
An Gui's hand trembled, and he almost knocked over the cards.
"No...nothing like that! Where did the angel hear such rumors?" An Gui's eyes flickered. "That Maodun is a Xiongnu traitor, and I am also a victim. How could I let him into the city?"
"Is that so?" Liu Bang looked at him with a half-smile. "Then how come I heard that when he left, he took Your Majesty's thousand camels and three hundred craftsmen with him?"
"This..." An Gui was speechless, and the beads of sweat on his forehead grew even larger.
"Thirty thousand." Xiang Yu suddenly threw down a card coldly, his double pupils locking onto An Gui at the same time. "To be honest. I don't like hearing lies. Too many lies make my blade itch."
An Gui looked at the long sword that Xiang Yu had placed on the table, and a corner of his psychological defenses finally crumbled.
"Heavens...angels, please witness!" An Gui cried, his face contorted with grief. "It wasn't that I wanted to give it to him; he stole it! He surrounded the city with several thousand cavalry, threatening to massacre the entire city if I didn't give it to him. I...I was only doing this for the sake of the people of this city!"
"Robbed him?" Liu Bang picked up a card and rubbed it in his hand. "Did he leave any message before he left? Or... anyone else with him?"
An Gui's eyes instantly turned to terror, and he subconsciously glanced at a screen behind the main hall.
Although the movements were subtle, how could they possibly escape the eyes of Xiang Yu and Liu Bang?
"Looks like I have a friend eavesdropping behind my back." Liu Bang slammed the cards in his hand onto the table.
"A perfect hand."
"Brother Xiang, our business is done. Next up is the 'security company' business."
Before he finished speaking, Xiang Yu had already moved.
He didn't get up, but instead grabbed the heavy red willow wooden table in front of him, along with the mahjong tiles on it, and threw it at the screen like a stone.
"boom--!"
The screen shattered into pieces in an instant.
Sure enough, there were several people hiding behind the screen.
These were not ordinary guards, but several Xiongnu assassins dressed in black robes and carrying short crossbows. They clearly hadn't expected to be exposed so quickly, and even less expected that the burly Qin man would use a table as a concealed weapon.
"Fire!" the lead assassin shouted.
"Bang bang bang!"
Several crossbow bolts were fired.
But Xiang Yu was faster than an arrow. The instant he threw the table, he had already darted away like a cheetah. His long sword was drawn, flashing with a chilling light.
"Clang! Clang!"
He knocked the two crossbow bolts away with the back of his knife.
The next second, he had already charged into the group of assassins.
There are no fancy moves, only pure, overwhelming power.
"die!"
Xiang Yu punched the lead assassin in the chest. The assassin didn't even have time to scream before his sternum shattered, and he flew out like a rag doll, crashing into the wall and dying instantly.
The remaining assassins were terrified when they saw this and turned to run away.
"Where do you think you're going!" Fan Kuai rushed up, carrying two pig-slaughtering knives, and instantly took down the two as easily as chopping melons and vegetables.
The battle ended in the blink of an eye.
The main hall was in a mess, with only mahjong tiles scattered on the floor and several corpses.
King Angui of Loulan was so frightened that he slumped in his chair, trembling all over.
Xiang Yu sheathed his sword, walked up to An Gui, and used the blood-stained tip of his blade to lift An Gui's chin.
"Is this your way of treating guests?"
"Your Majesty, please explain. Are these people hiding behind the screen also here to play mahjong?"
An Gui wept bitterly and knelt down with a thud: "Spare me! Brave warrior, spare me! It was Modu! He left spies in the city, forcing me to kill you all! He said if I didn't do it, he would come back and slaughter our entire clan!"
Liu Bang strolled over slowly, picked up a "get rich" card from the ground, and blew off the dust.
"Your Majesty, that's not very interesting. If you want to bet on both sides, you have to see if you have the ability."
"Now, you only have two paths in front of you."
Liu Bang held up two fingers.
"First, continue following Maodun. I'll head out now and have General Xiang tear down this Loulan palace. You can give up being a king and go to the desert to become a dried corpse."
"Second, completely side with the Qin Dynasty. Hand over all the spies, supplies, and the route map he took to Dayuan left behind by Modu."
"In return..." Liu Bang pointed at Xiang Yu, "our Qin Security Company will reinforce your city walls for free, and also teach your guards how to use crossbows."
An Gui looked at the long sword that was still dripping blood, and then at Liu Bang's face, which was smiling but exuded a chill.
He knew he had no choice.
"I choose option two! I choose option two! I'll hand it in right now! I'll hand it in both!"
……
The turmoil in Loulan was quelled without major incident thanks to Liu Bang's mahjong game and Xiang Yu's violent demolition.
The banner of Qin was finally rightfully planted on the city walls of Loulan.
But the real crisis has only just begun.
According to the route map handed over by Angui, Maodun's main force had already crossed the Tarim Basin and headed straight for Dayuan. However, he had laid a deadly trap along the only route he could take, in the famous "Devil City"—the Yardang landform area.
"The things Mr. Zhao left behind were called 'minefields'," An Gui confessed, trembling. "They buried them in the sand, and they would explode as soon as anyone stepped on them. And... and Mr. Zhao said he added iron nails and poison to the mines."
"Mr. Zhao?" Liu Bang keenly caught the address. "Which Mr. Zhao?"
"A... fair-skinned, clean-shaven man with a high-pitched voice. I heard he escaped from the Qin Dynasty."
Liu Bang and Xiang Yu exchanged a glance.
"Zhao Cheng," the two said in unison.
That younger brother of Zhao Gao was a traitor who stole the gunpowder formula.
"This is troublesome." Liu Bang frowned. "If it really is that kid, the gunpowder he has must have been modified. Clearing mines in the desert is no easy task."
Xiang Yu sneered, "What's there to be afraid of? I don't believe his thunder can blow up the ground."
"Brother Xiang, don't be impulsive," Liu Bang said, holding him back. "I've heard His Majesty mention these 'landmines' before. They're really insidious; they're designed to blow up horses' legs. If your Iron Pagoda falls on one of these, His Majesty will skin me alive."
"What should we do then?"
Liu Bang paced around the hall a few times, then suddenly stopped, his eyes lighting up.
"Find the sheep."
"sheep?"
"Right! Since it only explodes when stepped on, let the sheep go first!"
"We'll buy several thousand sheep in Loulan and drive them ahead of the procession. That's called... 'biological minesweeping'!"
……
Several days later, at Devil City.
The terrain here is bizarre, and the wind howls like ghosts and wolves.
A large procession was advancing cautiously. Leading the way were not scouts or cavalry, but... three thousand bleating sheep.
The sheep were tied together with ropes and wandered aimlessly ahead, driven by the Qin army.
Sudden.
"boom!"
A loud bang.
An unlucky sheep was blown into the air, its flesh and blood flying everywhere.
Immediately afterwards, explosions rang out one after another.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
The homemade landmines hidden beneath the sand were triggered one after another by sheep hooves. Black smoke rose, mixed with the smell of wool and roasted meat.
The Qin soldiers following behind were terrified.
"My goodness...it's so dense?" Fan Kuai wiped away his cold sweat. "If our people had gone up there, they would have been dumpling filling by now."
Xiang Yu looked at the cratered ground, his face turning pale. He was fearless in face-to-face combat, but the underground forces made him feel a sense of frustration, as if he had no power to use.
"Zhao Cheng... Maodun... that's all you've got." Xiang Yu gritted his teeth.
Just then, on a distant cliff, a man in black robes was coldly watching this scene with a telescope he had snatched from the Qin merchant.
It was Zhao Cheng.
He watched in anger as a flock of sheep breached his carefully laid minefield, and he slammed his binoculars to the ground.
"Liu Bang! You scoundrel!" Zhao Cheng roared, "How dare you resort to such despicable means!"
"Mr. Zhao, please don't be angry."
A cold voice came from behind him. Maodun rode out slowly on his horse.
"The minefield is just an appetizer."
"Now that they're in, they won't be leaving easily."
Maodun pointed to the steep cliffs on both sides.
"Doesn't the terrain here resemble a pocket?"
"I have positioned five thousand archers in ambush on both sides. As soon as their main force enters the valley..."
Maodun made a gesture of closing his hands.
"We'll just close the door and beat the dog."
"This time, they have no city walls to defend, no food to scatter. Let's see what kind of magic tricks Liu Bang can pull off."
……
Xianyang, Qilin Hall.
Ying Zheng is listening to Li Si's report on "price control".
"Your Majesty, with the opening of the trade routes to the Western Regions, large quantities of gold and spices have flooded into Xianyang. Prices of goods in the market have begun to rise. The people are complaining that the price of rice has now reached eighty coins per shi (a unit of dry measure)."
This is called "imported inflation".
Ying Zheng took a sip of chrysanthemum tea, his expression calm.
"Prices have gone up because there's more money and less goods."
"Little G, how do we treat it?"
[Your Majesty, this is a sign of an overheated economy.]
You need to "repatriate currency" and increase "supply of goods".
[Additionally, we could consider launching a type of... "futures trading."]
[Encourage people to invest their money in future harvests, rather than panic-buying food now.]
"Futures?" Ying Zheng became interested.
"Li Si, go and set up a 'Great Qin Grain Exchange'."
"Tell those merchants who have money to burn that they can buy grain next autumn. The imperial court guarantees that the price will be 20% cheaper than it is now."
"Collect their money first and use it to repair water conservancy projects and expand military equipment. Give them grain when the harvest comes next year."
"This is called... an upgraded version of 'living beyond one's means,' called 'trading time for space.'"
Li Si was completely bewildered by what he heard, but was deeply shocked.
"Your Majesty is wise! This plan has not only stabilized prices but also replenished the national treasury; it is truly a divine strategy!"
Just then, Zhao Gao stumbled in.
"Your Majesty! Something terrible has happened! An urgent report has come from the signal tower!"
"Liu Bang and Xiang Yu's forces were ambushed in the Devil City!"
"Although they used the sheep to break through the minefield, they... are trapped in the canyon!"
"Modu cut off the water supply and then set the mountain on fire!"
Ying Zheng's teacup suddenly stopped.
"Burning the mountain?"
Although the Devil City is located in the Gobi Desert, the canyon is filled with withered poplar trees. If a fire breaks out, it will be a deadly place.
Ying Zheng stood up, walked to the map, and stared intently at the red dot.
"Distant water cannot quench a fire nearby."
"Even if I send reinforcements now, it will be too late."
"They can only rely on themselves to overcome this calamity."
Ying Zheng closed his eyes, and the images of the rogue Liu Bang and the brute Xiang Yu appeared in his mind.
"Liu Ji, Xiang Ji."
"One of you is slippery, and the other is stubborn."
"Don't disappoint me."
"Tell that Maodun, if he dares to touch my people..."
Ying Zheng opened his eyes, his gaze filled with murderous intent.
"I will personally lead the expedition, and even if we chase him to the ends of the earth, I will skin him alive to make carpets!"
And in the remote Devil City Canyon.
Thick smoke has already risen.
Looking at the raging fires all around him, Liu Bang coughed, but then laughed.
"Old Xiang, it seems we've really fallen into a wolf's den this time."
Xiang Yu gripped his Overlord Blade tightly, his eyes hardening.
"Then let's fight our way out."
"Let's turn this wolf's den upside down!"