Another restless night made of planning and sharpening strategies is in act... The acrid scent of the oil lamps is starting to annoy me the moment I catch a sniff of it and the maps and scrolls on my table were piling up by each day.
Our spy has all the eyes on him, even if completely covered to avoid revealing his identity as he came and went from our area of the camp.
-Their goal is to weaken us before we clash, they know that they can't make it without restoring to such low methods- he says, voice low and steady as always -I personally retrieved the drug, it was made with minerals, herbs and wild berries found in these mountains... Each night Han sent some men in a cave to refine it-
Zhou clicks his tongue -Why is it always some stupid drug?- he ask without actually needing an answer, yet general Tian gives him one -Since humanity existed, it was always about drugs... It's the most efficient way to get things done without acting in the open, you want an emperor or a concubine dead? Use poison, you want your enemies wiped out? Drugs again-
Zhou rises an eyebrow and then shakes his head -Cowards-
-How does the drug work?- I ask him -It's not deadly per se since we had nothing strong enough at our disposal... But if taken in considerate amount over a few days it can kill the weaker men and slow down the stronger ones-
-By slow down what do you mean?- he presses his lips before talking -High fever, internal lacerations in some cases, clouded mind...-
Qin Luo covers his mouth with an hand and rubs the corners of it -That's definitely worse than a simple "slowdown"... We're as good as dead if our men take that substance-
-Even with my healing abilities I can't do much against it- I murmur -We need a countermeasure, anyway... What was that other thing you said?-
-Right, they plan on messing up our weapons on the last day before moving their tents away to prepare for war. Loosening some bow strings, enough to compromise the attack but not for some to notice immediately, spears hollowed near the base, enough to break upon receiving a few hits... They'll probably mess up with the gun powder if we have some left-
Xu Lei jumps up furious, slamming his fists against the table as he comes forward -Such tricks! Let me take my men tonight and go...-
-No- I stop him, not granting his audience -Han thinks that he's cleaver but arrogance will eventually blind him, we must not make the same mistakes as him. If we move too early, he will know that we've been warned beforehand. We must let him believe that his plan is working and react when they last expect us to, after their guard is down-
I stand up and lean over the table, looking at the maps of the area -Winter hasn't come yet, I can go out each night to hunt in secret with the help of just a couple of men... The water is safe, we all drink from the same river and they aren't stupid enough to poison it and risk their own lives. We won't eat much but we will survive this way, let's cook the poisoned supplies as regular and discard them quietly after.
Whenever some men will go for patrol these days, drop all regular activities and instead gather fruits or anything edible out there... The enemy won't make a move for a while anyway, they have been decimated in the last battle. As for the weapons...-
I look at the other men in the tent -Well we can't do much about them untill we're together so we'll just fix the damages as best as possible after they move away in three days... Tell our trusted blacksmiths to teach more men how to fix the weapons as their apprentices, we need as many available hands as possible to fix everything before the war.
Each blacksmith shall have 3 groups of apprentices learning from them during the day, while one is learning the others need to go in the wild and gather wood... We can't use the stock we've gathered for the winter-
Shen breathes in -Sending the men out in the wild so much is a risk, especially if you suspend the patrol shifts-
-Do we have any alternatives?- everyone falls silent -Then it's decided. I want our men to know about this, all of them, they need to act accordingly and feign sickness. On the day they move we will hide some away so if he's got some men staying behind, they will think our soldiers began to die... As soon as someone leaves the camp to report to Han, kill him-
Eveyone nods, not really having any better idea in mind at this point -Well now let's talk about the actual war... Where do you think he will... Wait- I stop and press my hands further onto the piled maps -Somone is approaching-
Qin Luo turns to face the tent wall, not hearing anything -How is that possible, nobody but us resides in the nearby tents and no patrol is coming this way at this hour-
-Then it means it's not one of ours- I already have my hand on my sword as I turn around and leave the tent.
I move quickly, whoever is walking around here has very soft steps and managed to get closer than I wanted them to... I catch a glimpse of a cloak hidden behind some boxes and approach it, rising my still sheathed sword and rise it up, ready to struck the trembling unknown figure but decide instead to hit the stacked of boxes.
The pile comes crushing down and reveals the man hiding between them, upon looking at me he starts trembling -G g general Ying?!-
-The one and only... Now tell me, what were you doing sneaking around my quarters at this hour of the night?-
He falls on his knee and bends on the ground in front of my feet -Please don't kill me, I swear I wasn't doing anything bad, I was just taking a stroll... Spare me, spare me- he starts begging and I tilt my head looking at him with a confused expression -What?-
-I mean it, if you spear my life I can prove that I just came in this direction for not bad reason-
I crouch down and grab the collar of his clothes, dragging him back up on his two feets -Why the heck would I kill you to begin with? I'm just here to scare you a bit for trying to eavesdrop us-
-Well... You sure are good at doing it...- he murmurs -But I wasn't trying to hear you guys-
-Whats did you hear?- i shake him and the guy closes his eyes shut -Nothing nothing!-
-You're lying-
-Don't kill me! Please! I will keep my mouth shut- He squirms -You really confess this quickly? I'm almost sorry for whoever is your superior, anyway you're coming with me for an interrogation-
He tears up -I promise... I don't even know what's real and what's not, I won't say a word to anyone-
-Just what kind of monster they made you think I am? Let me tell you one thing boy, whoever's behind it is a real manipulator-
He opens his mouth wide but eventually turns limp, not being able to reply to it -Interrogate me as you wish...- he eventually whispers with sad eyes.