The Legend of the Condor Heroes Chapter 3 – Part 4

Guo Jing, hiding in a thicket, watched from afar. In his young heart he felt great admiration for that black-robed general.

In this battle Temüjin won a sweeping victory. He had wiped out the greater part of the main force of the Tayichiud,¹ his hereditary enemies, and reckoned they would trouble him no more. He remembered how, years before, the Tayichiud had taken him captive, beaten and humiliated him and put a wooden cangue² on his neck, so that he had staggered feebly across the grasslands, close to death. Today that great wrong was avenged at last. The wound in his neck was still bleeding, but his heart was full of joy, and he could not help throwing back his head and laughing aloud. His officers and men cheered until the ground shook, and crowded round the Great Khan³ as they withdrew in triumph.

Guo Jing waited until the host had ridden far away and the men detailed to clear the battlefield had gone home in the dark. Only then did he slip out from the thicket. By the time he reached home it was the middle of the night. His mother had been as frantic as an ant on a hot pan, not knowing what to do, and when she saw her son come back she was overjoyed. Guo Jing told her what he had seen, and though he stammered and stumbled over his words, he managed to give her the gist of it. Li Ping saw how his face lit up as he spoke, and that he showed no fear at all when he described the two armies fighting. She thought, The boy is young and slow-witted, but he comes of a line of fighting men after all, and he has a good deal of his father in him. She felt glad and sad at once.

On the morning of the third day, Li Ping took two felts she had woven herself to the market thirty li⁴ away to trade for grain. Guo Jing stayed outside to herd the sheep. He thought of the fierce battle he had watched from the earthen hill two days before, and it seemed to him the greatest fun in the world. He raised his sheep-whip and laid about him with it from horseback, shouting loudly as he drove the flock, for all the world like a great general leading his army into battle.

He was enjoying himself hugely when he heard the sound of hooves from the east. A single horse was plodding towards him, its rider slumped forward over the saddle. When the horse drew close it stopped, and the man on its back raised his head. Guo Jing started in fright and could not help crying out.

The man’s face was smeared all over with mud, sand and blood. It was the black-robed general he had seen two days before. In his left hand he held half a cavalry dao with its tip snapped off, crusted with dark red blood. The bow and arrows that had felled his pursuers were gone, and he must have met more enemies after his escape. There was a great gash on his right cheek that was still bleeding, and his horse was hurt in the leg too. He swayed in the saddle, his eyes shot with red, and croaked, “Water, water… give me water!”

Guo Jing hurried into the hut, ladled a bowl of clear water from the jar and carried it to the door. The man snatched it out of his hands and gulped it all down. “Bring another!” Guo Jing went and poured a second bowl. The man had drunk half of it when blood from his face dripped into the bowl, and the water left in it turned red. He gave a loud laugh, then all at once his face twisted, and he pitched head first off his horse and lay senseless.

Guo Jing cried out in alarm, not knowing what to do. After a while the man slowly came round and called, “Give the horse water. Have you got anything to eat?” Guo Jing fetched several pieces of cooked mutton for him and drew water for the horse to drink.

The man wolfed it down and was full of vigour at once. He sprang up off the ground and cried, “Good brother, I thank you!” He pulled a thick gold bracelet from his wrist and held it out to Guo Jing. “Here, for you!” Guo Jing shook his head. “Mama says I should welcome guests, not take things from them.” The man roared with laughter. “Good boy, good boy!” He slipped the bracelet back on to his wrist, tore off half the front of his robe and bound up the wounds on his face and his horse’s leg.

Suddenly, from the east, came the faint sound of galloping hooves. The man’s face darkened with fury. “Hmph. They still won’t let me be!” The two of them went out and looked east. In the distance a cloud of dust was rising, and countless horsemen were bearing down on them.

The man said, “Good boy, do you have a bow and arrows at home?” Guo Jing said, “Yes!” He turned to go inside. The man’s face brightened with hope, but then Guo Jing came out with the little toy bow and little arrows he had been playing with. The man laughed, then frowned. “I need to fight men. I need a big one!” Guo Jing shook his head.

By now the pursuers were drawing closer, and banners could be seen waving in the distance. The man thought that with his horse wounded he could not run far across the desert. Hiding here was dangerous, but there was no other way left. So he said, “I can’t fight them alone. I’ll have to hide.” He saw there was truly nowhere to hide inside the hut or out, and with time running short he pointed to a big haystack beside the hut. “I’ll hide in here. Drive my horse as far away as you can. And you stay well clear too. Don’t let them see you.” With that he burrowed into the hay.

Once the hot summer was over, the Mongols cut grass and stacked it, for all winter they depended on hay to feed their livestock and to burn for warmth, and so a haystack was often bigger than the yurt the family lived in. Now that the general had burrowed into it, he would not easily be found without a careful search.

Guo Jing gave the black horse two stinging cuts across the rump with his whip. It galloped off wildly and did not stop to graze until it was far away. Then Guo Jing got on his pony and rode off to the west.

The pursuers saw someone and sent two riders galloping after him. Guo Jing’s pony was no fast runner and was soon overtaken. The two soldiers demanded, “Boy, have you seen a man on a black horse?” Guo Jing did not know how to lie. He just gaped at them and said nothing. The soldiers asked a few more questions, and when he only looked foolish and never answered, they said, “Take him before the Eldest Prince!” They seized the pony’s reins and led him back to the hut.

Guo Jing had made up his mind. He thought, I just won’t tell.

He saw a great crowd of Mongol warriors around a tall, lean young man in a red cloak. Guo Jing remembered his face. This was the man who had led his troops into the great battle two days before, the one the soldiers obeyed, and Guo Jing knew he was the black-robed general’s enemy. The Eldest Prince shouted, “What does the boy say?” The two soldiers said, “The child’s frightened out of his wits. He can’t even talk.” The Eldest Prince looked hard all about him and spotted the black horse grazing in the distance. In a low voice he said, “Is that his horse? Bring it here and let me see.” Ten Mongol soldiers split into five parties and approached the black horse from five directions. By the time it sensed danger and raised its head to flee, there was no way out.

When the black horse was led up, the Eldest Prince gave a grunt. “Isn’t that Jebe’s⁵ horse?” The soldiers cried together, “It is!” The Eldest Prince raised his riding-whip and, with a swish, flicked it lightly across Guo Jing’s little head. “Where is he hiding?” he shouted. “Out with it, and don’t think you can fool me!”

Jebe, crouched inside the haystack, gripped his long dao tightly. He saw Guo Jing take a whip-blow, and a streak of crimson rise on his forehead. His heart pounded. He knew this man was Jochi,⁶ Temüjin’s eldest son, notorious throughout the desert for his cruelty and ruthlessness. He thought the child would not bear the terror and would speak, and that he would have no choice but to leap out and fight to the death.

Guo Jing was in such pain he wanted to cry, but he fought back his tears, raised his head and said, “Why are you hitting me? I haven’t done anything wrong!” He knew that only those who did wrong deserved to be beaten.

Jochi said angrily, “Still defiant, are you!” Swish, came another lash. Guo Jing burst into loud sobs.

By now the soldiers had searched every corner of Guo Jing’s home. Two of them thrust long spears into the haystack again and again, but the stack was so large that they did not reach where Jebe lay hidden.

Jochi said, “The mount is here. He cannot have gone far. Boy, will you speak or not?” Swish, swish, swish, three more lashes in a row, and harder this time. Guo Jing reached up to grab the whip, but how could he catch it?

Suddenly, from far away, came the sound of a horn. The soldiers said, “The Great Khan is here!” Jochi stopped striking and spurred his horse forward to greet him. A crowd of soldiers came galloping up around Temüjin. Jochi rode to meet him and called out, “Father!”

Two days before, Jebe’s arrow had wounded Temüjin very badly. He had forced himself to bear it through the thick of the battle, but once his troops withdrew he had fainted from the pain several times. His general Jelme⁷ and his third son Ögedei⁸ had taken turns sucking the dark blood from his wound, swallowing or spitting it out. His officers and his four sons had kept watch at his bedside all night, and only at dawn the next day had he passed out of danger.

Mongol scouts had ridden out in every direction, and every man had sworn to catch Jebe, tear him apart between four horses and hack his body to pieces, to avenge that arrow for the Great Khan. The next evening a small band of Mongol soldiers had come upon Jebe at last, but he had killed or wounded several of them and escaped, though he too was wounded. When Temüjin received the news, he had first sent his eldest son in pursuit, then followed himself with his second son Chagatai,⁹ third son Ögedei, and youngest son Tolui.¹⁰

Jochi pointed at the black horse. “Father, we’ve found the bandit’s horse!” Temüjin said, “I don’t want the horse. I want the man.”

Jochi said, “Yes. We’ll find him, never fear.” He ran back to Guo Jing, drew his waist-dao and slashed it twice through the air. “Will you tell or not?” The whipping had left Guo Jing’s face covered in blood, but it had only made him more stubborn. He kept crying, “I won’t tell, I won’t tell!” Temüjin heard the child say, not “I don’t know,” but “I won’t tell,” and knew at once he must know where Jebe was. He said in a low voice to his third son Ögedei, “Go and trick the boy into speaking.”

Ögedei came up to Guo Jing all smiles, plucked two glittering peacock feathers from his own helmet and held them out. “Tell me and I’ll give you these.” Guo Jing still said, “I won’t tell.”

Temüjin’s second son Chagatai said, “Loose the dogs!” His attendant soldiers at once led six great mastiffs forward from the rear.

The Mongols loved hunting, and every chief and nobleman kept hunting dogs and hawks. Chagatai was especially fond of dogs, and since hounds were just what was needed to track Jebe down, he had brought six mastiffs along. Now he let them loose. First he had the six dogs sniff all round the black horse, then set them to find where Jebe was hiding. The six great mastiffs barked and dashed in and out of the hut.

Guo Jing had never known Jebe before, but two days earlier he had seen how bravely the man fought and could not help admiring him. Now the lashes from Jochi had made him furious and roused the stubborn streak in his nature. He gave a whistle and called out his own sheepdog. Chagatai’s six dogs had nearly sniffed their way to the haystack, but at Guo Jing’s command the sheepdog stood guard in front of it and would not let them by. Chagatai shouted at his dogs, and all six great hounds sprang at it together. At once there was a tremendous din of barking as the seven dogs fought, snarling and biting. The sheepdog was small and fighting six at once, and in no time it was bitten all over, but it was very brave and would not give ground, fighting to the death with its back to the haystack. Guo Jing wept as he shouted to his dog to fight on. Seeing this, Temüjin, Ögedei and the others had long since realised that Jebe must be hiding in the haystack. The ring was closed around it and they were sure their enemy could not escape, so they were in no hurry, and they watched the seven dogs fight with smiles on their faces.

Jochi flew into a rage. He raised his whip and lashed Guo Jing again and again until the pain went right through him. Guo Jing rolled about on the ground until he had rolled right up to Jochi, then suddenly sprang up, threw his arms round Jochi’s right leg and hung on for dear life. Jochi shook his leg hard, but the boy clung so tightly that he could not shake him off. Seeing their elder brother in such a sorry plight, Chagatai, Ögedei and Tolui roared with laughter, and even Temüjin could not help smiling. Jochi turned crimson, drew the long dao at his waist and brought it hacking down at Guo Jing’s head.

The boy was about to lose his head when a broken cavalry dao shot out of the haystack. There was a clang as the two blades met, and Jochi’s fingers jarred so violently that he nearly lost his grip. The soldiers all cried out as Jebe leapt from the haystack.

He pulled Guo Jing behind him with his left hand and sneered, “Bullying a child, aren’t you ashamed?” The soldiers raised their blades and spears and closed in around him. Seeing that he could not hold them off, Jebe threw down his dao. Jochi stepped up and punched him in the chest, and Jebe did not strike back. “Kill me and be quick about it!” he shouted. Then, lowering his voice, “It is a pity I cannot die at the hands of heroes and brave men!”

Temüjin said, “What did you say?” Jebe said, “If I had fallen on the battlefield, killed by a brave man better than myself, I would have died content. But now a great eagle has fallen to the ground, to be bitten to death by ants!” His eyes opened wide and glaring, and he gave a sudden mighty shout.

By now Chagatai’s six dogs had the sheepdog pinned to the ground and were savaging it. At that sudden, tremendous shout they leapt up in fright and slunk away, tails between their legs.

A man darted out from Temüjin’s side. “Great Khan, don’t let this fellow brag. I’ll fight him.” Seeing that it was his general Bo’orchu,¹¹ Temüjin was delighted. “Good. Try your strength against him. Whatever else we lack, we have heroes and brave men aplenty.”

Footnotes

1. 泰亦赤兀部 — Tàiyìchìwù Bù. The Tayichiud, a Mongol tribe of the steppe. ↩

2. 木枷 — mù jiā. Literally wooden cangue. A heavy wooden board locked about the neck as a punishment, pinning the head and arms. ↩

3. 大汗 — dàhán. Literally great khan. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

4. 里 — lǐ. A traditional unit of distance, about 500 metres or one-third of a mile. ↩

5. 哲别 — Zhébié. Literally spear and divine archer, in Mongolian. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

6. 朮赤 — Shùchì. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

7. 者勒米 — Zhělèmǐ. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

8. 窝阔台 — Wōkuòtái. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

9. 察合台 — Cháhétái. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

10. 拖雷 — Tuōléi. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

11. 博尔朮 — Bó’ěrshù. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩