Chapter 116: Mad Demon

"Although cannibalism isn't rare, he is the only one who takes pride in it and is complacent about it. Half of the evil reputation borne by the rebel army was committed by him." Zhao Qinghe continued after He Yue: "Hong Xiangqian was defeated and died, and Lu Yao gathered the remnants and fled south. They came to County Magistrate Village, not because they were passing through as they claimed, but to meet with two other rebel generals by County Magistrate Lake."

"These two are Right Tent General Wu Shaoyi and Hunshui General Pei Xinyong."

He Yue was shocked: "When is the meeting, and how many people in total?"

"About tomorrow afternoon, at Shuangyue Bay. The three armies combined have at least four or five thousand people."

He Lingchuan felt that he and his father were truly unlucky; they had clearly checked the almanac before going out!

Was that almanac fake, a product of some black-hearted workshop? Whether it was government troops or thieves, fleeing armies often had weapons but no discipline, burning, killing, and looting along the way, even more terrifying than robbers.

Within the next few days, County Magistrate Village would be crowded with rebel troops.

Originally hearing that the villagers here were faked by mountain bandits, the He father and son still held them in contempt. After all, since ancient times, thieves didn't fight officials, not to mention their side had many people and strong soldiers.

He Lingchuan was even more ambitious because of several life-and-death adventures, thinking he had passed through big storms and waves, so what was this small trouble? But now he knew, the opponent was a high-ranking rebel official, the notorious cannibal general! The opponent had one thousand four hundred subordinates, and three times that number of rebels would arrive tomorrow.

This was like a fisherman wanting to catch an eel in the river, jumping into the water and pulling and dragging, even stabbing it a few times with a fishing fork, only to find that the thing wasn't an eel at all, but the tip of a giant anaconda's tail!

Was it too late to shrink back now?

He Lingchuan also saw the expressions of the advisors around his father, which were pale as paper.

If they fled overnight, what was the success rate?

He Lingchuan believed that his father's fighting spirit had also been extinguished, and it was time to start thinking of a way to escape.

The advisor immediately said: "If we go down the mountain now, perhaps we can arrive before the reinforcements of the Desheng Town thieves."

Zhao Qinghe shook his head: "The fat man confessed that the thieves from Desheng Town have already arrived, about seven hundred people, and are currently resting at Suozi Rock, only five miles away from here!"

Everyone was shocked.

Two hundred thieves plus seven hundred reinforcements, the number was already twice that of the government troops.

The personal guard group had more than four hundred people, but only a little over three hundred were true fighting soldiers, and the rest were women, children, and logistics, basically having no combat power. If they really fought the rebels, the government troops would have to be distracted to protect them, which could be said to be at a great disadvantage.

Lady Ying and Zhu Xiuer also knew it was bad, their faces as white as paper.

If the government troops were defeated, the fate of these women... it would be better to commit suicide.

Hearing these numbers, He Chunhua instead calmed down: "If Lu Yao has the absolute advantage, why hasn't he started the war? He encountered Deputy General Zeng's sneak attack by the lake but wasn't angry, instead seeking peace with me."

He pointed this out, and He Yue immediately said: "He also wants to preserve his strength!"

"Since they are meeting tomorrow, these fleeing army leaders, even if they want to sit down and drink tea and discuss the Dao happily, probably still have to decide the ranking based on strength. In this situation, Lu Yao's clash with our army will surely have losses, which might affect tomorrow's plan, so he has to compromise."

That is to say, He Chunhua's government army and Lu Yao's rebel army now had very subtle mentalities.

Both sides wanted to avoid losses.

He Lingchuan looked at his younger brother. This second son's mind was still very clever.

"Then there is still room for maneuver, it's not a dead end." Advisor Mo Zhejingxuan said, "But Lu Yao's so-called peaceful coexistence probably only has a few hours left."

"Negotiating peace with him is no different from seeking skin from a tiger." He Chunhua pondered, "He doesn't want to make a move tonight because he doesn't want his own strength to be damaged; but tomorrow when the three armies gather, I'm afraid they will unite to hunt us down!"

What could be more exciting for the thieves than annihilating a government army?

These fleeing troops might even think they needed a great victory to lay the foundation for the meeting to be successful.

He Lingchuan's heart was heavy, feeling as if he had returned to the battlefield in his dream. Was that despair of being surrounded by enemies and having no future going to be repeated in reality?

In this small mountain valley with no support, fighting four or five thousand people with three hundred warriors and still winning, even novels wouldn't dare write that.

When that time came, these three hundred people of He Chunhua would be the sacrifices for the rebels to offer to heaven.

Lady Ying couldn't help but interject: "Leaving now won't work, leaving tomorrow won't work either, then what should we do?" Could they just sit and wait for death? The dining room was silent for a while.

Not leaving is death, leaving is also death; these three or four hundred people had unknowingly fallen into a desperate situation.

If it is said that heaven does not cut off all paths, where is that glimmer of hope? He Lingchuan remembered the battlefield in his dream; when the last line of defense formed by carriages was about to be broken, what he felt wasn't despair, but glory even in death!

They persisted to the end and finally waited for that inspiring horn.

It was the same now; admitting defeat was too early, there were still a few hours until dawn.

Time is money, they still had a chance to turn the tables.

Seeing everyone sitting blankly in the hall, He Lingchuan coughed lightly and said to He Chunhua: "The strength comparison is disparate, it probably won't work to make a fuss about ourselves. Has father considered borrowing external force?"

"The nearest Desheng Town has already been controlled by the rebels. If we want to borrow troops, we have to go further out, to Qianteng Town. I remember there is a Zhechong Prefecture of Hebei there, but after the Woling Pass battle, I don't know how many prefecture soldiers are left inside." He Chunhua took a deep breath. "I will write a distress letter and send someone down the mountain. If we can persist until tomorrow afternoon, perhaps... there is still hope."

"No... father, I mean, the rebel army isn't a monolith either; are the two generals surnamed Wu and Pei really convinced by Lu Yao? Instead of counting on the unreliable prefecture soldiers down the mountain, why don't we try to borrow strength to fight strength?" Seeing everyone staring at him, He Lingchuan laughed dryly, "I only thought of this much, to be supplemented."

"Chuan'er, what you said..." He Chunhua's heart had a flash of inspiration, and after thinking carefully, his eyes became brighter and brighter, "Makes sense! Hmm, makes a lot of sense!"

He was also confused for a moment, frightened by the number of rebels, but forgot that two-thirds of them weren't Lu Yao's subordinates! Although they were all rebels, the difference was huge.

He Lingchuan pointed out this truth, like poking a hole in a window paper; it wasn't worth much to say, but it was very useful. Mo Zhejingxuan followed the train of thought and figured out the key: "Lu Yao gathered an army of one thousand four hundred, but only brought two hundred to County Magistrate Village, leaving the rest in the town. Why? Because this village can't afford to feed so many people!"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 117 =====