Like he was just waking up from a deep sleep, Guo Jing said to Huang Rong, "You heard that? Guo'er has gathered so many valiant people to render this great service. If not for these highly skilled heroes, how could two thousand soldiers be decimated in such a short period of time?"
Fan Yiweng explained further, "Our spies reported that the Mongolians planned to attack Xiangyang with fire power; they have approximately ten thousand 'jin's [a 'jin' is approximately 0.5kg or 1lb] of gunpowder in store in Nanyang. We just followed their lead. We made thorough preparations. As soon as the team saw our fireworks signal, we moved together. According to our plan, first we destroy the explosives, and then set the supply of food and hay on fire. Let the Mongolian army and their horses die of hunger!"
Guo Jing and Huang Rong looked at each other. They were very impressed and alarmed at the same time. They both had followed Genghis Khan's invasion to the west [for those of you who have not read the novel, it happened toward the last chapters of LOCH See note 1], where the Mongolians destroyed city walls with cannon and explosives. It was like a volcano's eruption. The reason the Mongolians had not used explosives at Xiangyang before was because of the scarcity of the explosives. But now that the Mongolian Khan, Mengke himself led the attack, they brought the cannons along. Good thing Yang Guo had made this pre-emptive attack; otherwise Xiangyang's city walls would be destroyed very easily.
Both Guo Jing and Huang Rong were having the same thought, "The decimation of two thousand troops with their left ears missing could crush the enemy's spirit, but the smashed Nanyang storage base could cause the enemy to retreat." Therefore, the Guo couple heartily thanked the Shi Brothers and the Xishan Ghosts.
Shi Bowei and Fan Yiweng both said, "The Xiao ren [little/ lowly people] are only following the Eagle Hero's instructions; our contribution is so minuscule, how can it be worth mentioning?"
During this time they could still hear the sporadic explosions from the north. But since Nanyang was quite a distance away, the noise was muffled. Then, a big and loud explosion was heard. The earth shook.
"There! That must be the main explosives warehouse!" said Fan Yiweng delightedly.
Guo Jing immediately summoned the two Wu Brothers. "Take two thousand men with you, and attack Nanyang," he gave his command. "But don't be reckless. If they are still intact, hold off, but if they are disorganized, attack with arrows!" The two brothers complied and immediately executed his command.
These two victories had followed one after another and the people on the field cheered and applauded, offering toasts to each other; everybody praised the Eagle Hero's unmatched accomplishments. Everyone that is, except Guo Fu …
She thought her husband was to be the focus of the festivities since he had defeated countless opponents and was elected Chief of the Beggar Clan. Who knew that Yang Guo – without even showing up, had stolen his and her thunder? Of course she was happy with the decimation of two thousand Mongolian front line companies and the annihilation of Nanyang's provision and explosive storage facilities, but she didn't get to be the center of attention. Didn't the Shi Brothers and Fan Yiweng say that the victories were birthday presents for her little sister, Guo Xiang?
"I understand now!" she was fuming, "I chopped off his arm so he bears a grudge against me. So he purposely made me lose face!" From feeling discontent, she became enraged.
Elder Liang shared the same bamboo mat with Yelu Qi and Guo Fu. He saw everybody's countenance was bright, except Guo Fu's. After pondering a while, he figured out the reason. Then he laughed and said, "Ah, this old man is so absent-minded. Because of these joyful victories I have neglected the important business right in front of my eyes!" He jumped on stage and said with a loud voice, "Valiant people! Twice tonight the Mongolian troops have been beaten. We are all very happy; but right here, right now, we have another thing that should double our happiness. Master Yelu had shown his exquisite skills and we all admire him. Master Yelu had been elected our Chief. Now I want to confirm this: is there any of you who still wants to challenge our decision? Is there any Beggar Clan disciple who is having a second thought?"
His question was repeated three times. Nobody said anything. Therefore, he continued, "Master Yelu, please come on stage!"
Yelu Qi accepted his bidding. He clasped his hands together in respect, and bowed to everybody. He was just going to open his mouth to make a 'lack of character, lack of ability' modest acceptance speech when suddenly a voice was heard from underneath the stage, "Wait a moment! Xiao Ren [lowly people] want to ask a thing or two of Master Yelu!"
Yelu Qi looked up in surprise. He heard the voice came from the Beggar group. He said, "I don't dare, Please! Speak up!"
That man stood up, and with a loud voice said, "Master Yelu, your respected father was the Prime Minister of Mongolia, your own brother was a high official in the Mongolian administration. It is true that they both have passed away, but we – the Beggar Clan, have always had enmities with the Mongolians. With your obscure background, I wonder if it would be proper for you to be our Chief?"
Hearing this, Yelu Qi was irritated. He said, "My benevolent father, the late Yelu Chucai was poisoned by the Queen Mother of Mongolia. My brother, the late Yelu Qin, was executed by the Mongolian Khan! Wouldn't that make me the sworn enemy of the Mongolians?"
"Even so," said the Beggar Clan disciple, "Your father's death is still a mystery. Nobody knows for sure whether he was poisoned. Your brother committed a crime against the monarch, he deserved the capital punishment. You can place your vengeance on hold, that's fine with me; but how about our own resentment …?"
Listening to someone offending her husband, Guo Fu was enraged. "Who are you?" she asked harshly, "You dare to speak nonsense here! If you have any guts, come up here on stage!"
That beggar laughed mockingly. "Good! Good!" he repeatedly said, "The new Chief hasn't been inaugurated yet, and the Mrs. Chief has shown her fearsomeness!"
As soon as he finished, he leaped to the stage. His movement was so swift that many missed seeing it. They were astonished and wondered in their hearts, "Who is this man? He is highly skilled."
Several thousand pairs of eyes turned their gaze toward this beggar. He was wearing an oversized black raggedy robe. His right hand held an iron stick with a diameter as big as a wine cup. His hair was unkempt, his countenance yellow and dry. He had pockmarks all over his face. He bore five bags on his back; hence he was a fifth grade disciple of the Beggar Clan. There were not many good-looking men among the Beggar Clan disciples, but this man was very, very ugly. As soon as he appeared, people recognized him as He Shiwo. He was known as a quiet man, who did not like to socialize with his peers and used to follow the crowd without question. He had worked hard, was very loyal to the clan and in ten years he managed to attain the fifth grade. His martial skills were low and he did not demonstrate any other knowledge so that nobody had paid any special attention to him. Everybody thought that fifth grade was too good for him and he would not be able to advance any higher. Who would have thought this ordinary beggar would dare to open his mouth, or even jump on stage to challenge Yelu Qi. "Where did he steal his skill from?" some people thought.
He Shiwo was nobody special, but because of his ugliness, whoever saw him would have a hard time forgetting that face. Thus Yelu Qi also recognized him. He bowed to the beggar and said, "I wonder what instruction Brother He would give to me?"