Chapter 183: So Many Familiar Faces (For Alliance Leader

"He just left like that?" Cai Bangjun asked.

Zhang Yinggao sighed and said, "That man was burning with rage. If he had stayed, I fear he really would have started a fight."

Cai Bangjun said angrily, "Am I not burning with rage? We came out in this freezing weather on a forced march, all for some 'besiege Wei to rescue Zhao'? What if the main rebel force isn't at Fengcheng? What if the main rebel force is right at Jishui? And now Yongfeng County won't let us into the city — if the battle goes badly, we won't even have a walled city to fall back to!"

"If it truly comes to that, so long as we withdraw in time, the Yongfeng County Magistrate will certainly open the gates," Zhang Yinggao said, a helpless smile appearing on his face. "First, he is after all an appointed official of the court, and I observed that his troops were disciplined and well-ordered — he is truly a capable man. Such a person could not possibly go over to the rebels. Second, if we retreat all the way back to Yongfeng County and the rebel army closes in, if the Yongfeng County Magistrate doesn't let us into the city, what would he rely on to resist the rebel assault? After all, we have five thousand troops."

Zhang Yinggao had not guessed wrong. An official like Liu Mianzuo could never surrender to the rebels. If the man were still alive, he would certainly have let friendly troops into the city.

But what if Liu Mianzuo was dead?

Of course, whether Liu Mianzuo was dead or alive was actually irrelevant. Because on the fourth day after Zhang Yinggao marched out, Zhao Han received a secret report from Wang Tingshi and learned that someone was coming from the rear to launch a sneak attack on Jishui County.

Jishui County had five hundred soldiers garrisoned there, primarily to guard against enemies coming from the east.

The city was very close to the Ji'an prefectural seat. They only needed to hold out for half a day, and reinforcements from the Regional Commander's headquarters could arrive by boat.

Whether the secret report was received or not, Jishui County would not fall — but the common people of Jishui would certainly suffer.

Zhang Yinggao also knew the danger, so he would not attack the city, nor would he even approach the Jishui county seat.

Zhang Yinggao personally boarded a small boat, took a guide, and drifted downstream to scout the terrain, while his army of over five thousand men encamped within the borders of Yongfeng County.

"Sir, ahead is Bojiao Town (Bajiang Township)," the guide explained in detail. "On the way from Yongfeng County to Jishui County, Bojiao Town is the most prosperous and bustling place. Many merchant boats anchor there every day."

The Wu River and the En River are the same river. Within Yongfeng County it is called the En River; within Jishui County it is called the Wu River.

Bojiao Town lies at the confluence of the Wu River and the Bateng River, forty li from the Jishui county seat. That is only the straight-line distance. The river course twists and turns, so the actual distance traveled is sixty or seventy li, and both banks are mountainous — one must travel along the river valley.

Zhang Yinggao carefully observed the terrain and discovered that this place was a perfect spot for an ambush.

Because of a very sharp bend, silt had built up in the river, forming sandbars large and small. At this spot, any vessel over 200 liao could forget about passing through — the slightest carelessness and it would run aground. Even vessels over 100 liao risked grounding.

This way, even if the rebels had a naval force, there was nothing to fear. Large warships simply could not pursue; the rebel soldiers would have to disembark and chase on foot.

The western bank had many ridges where ambush troops could be placed. Plant plenty of banners, and the rebels would surely see enemies in every bush and shadow!

In the villages on the eastern bank, the common folk could be dispersed, and then Bojiao Town could be looted in passing. The villagers and townspeople would inevitably flee to the Jishui county seat to report the news. Then they could feign defeat — or even suffer a real defeat, it wouldn't matter. Once the rebels gave chase, the ambush troops on both banks would spring forth, and the rebels' large naval vessels would be unable to get through. Perhaps a great victory could be won.

Even a small victory or a small defeat would be acceptable. Their purpose was merely to harass the rear and force the main rebel force to withdraw from Fengcheng.

Even if they were routed, since the routed soldiers would be unfamiliar with the terrain, they would inevitably flee along the riverbank. They could simply return to Yongfeng County afterward and reassemble the scattered troops.

Zhang Yinggao immediately took the small boat back to Yongfeng County territory and arranged with Cai Bangjun to march the next day.

Speed is the essence of war. This time they did not plunder along the way, nor did they even send out mountain-search parties or scout boats to check the situation. Following the riverbank, they reached the ambush point in half a day.

Cai Bangjun led the weaker Fuzhou troops, taking all the army's banners, and went to set up an ambush in the ridges of the western bank.

At the same time, Zhang Yinggao personally led the elite Guangxin troops to sweep through the villages on the eastern bank, preparing to fight all the way to Bojiao Town. The greater the commotion they caused, the better. As soon as the main rebel force dared to come, the ambush troops on both banks would spring forth and certainly catch them off guard!

It was just — why did something feel off?

There wasn't even a ghost of a person in the village!

At this very moment, Fei Ruhe was yawning inside a gentry mansion. He had brought his troops here and been waiting for a full five days!

Even at the Yongfeng county seat, Fei Ruhe had scouts posted. Zhang Yinggao's every move was being watched.

Zhang Yinggao could never have dreamed that the moment he marched out, the rebels would receive intelligence right on his heels.

Otherwise, relying on the advantageous terrain, Zhang Yinggao truly could have come and gone as he pleased.

"Something's wrong. Withdraw at once!"

Zhang Yinggao discovered that the riverside villages were completely deserted — not even a single domestic fowl or livestock animal could be seen. He immediately shouted in terror to retreat, while ordering his men to signal the ambush troops on the opposite bank.

They withdrew along the riverbank the way they had come, while Fei Ruhe led his troops straight for their line of retreat.

If Zhang Yinggao refused to believe his luck had turned and continued on to Bojiao Town, a thousand soldiers were waiting for him there. The commander was Li Xiangui, a man from Lijia Village in Wuxing Township, Zhao Han's very first military judge, now transferred to serve as a Company Commander leading troops.

If Zhang Yinggao was highly alert and ordered the entire army to retreat at once, then he would run headlong into Fei Ruhe.

Zhao Han's main force was indeed at Fengcheng. Fei Ruhe had only brought five hundred regulars and a thousand peasant soldiers, while Li Xiangui had five hundred regulars and five hundred peasant soldiers.

All the small merchant boats at the Bojiao Town docks had been temporarily commandeered. Hidden inside them were several hundred naval troops from Ancient Sword Mountain.

"Kill!"

When the scouts brought back word that the government troops were retreating, Li Xiangui, who had been concealed in the town, immediately led his thousand soldiers in pursuit.

At the same time, Ancient Sword Mountain also steered his small boats through the dense maze of sandbars.

"Don't panic! Withdraw slowly along the riverbank!"

Zhang Yinggao was frantic, drenched in sweat. He had already guessed the truth — military intelligence must have leaked from the Nanchang side. Although he had plundered along the way, that had been northeast of the Yongfeng county seat. After that, they had marched rapidly, and he had always sent boats ahead to scout the route, forbidding any vessels from heading toward Jishui County.

Even if common folk had run to Jishui County to report, the rebels could not possibly have set an ambush this quickly.

It could only have been Li Maofang's side — somehow, the news had leaked.

Li Maofang has ruined me!

At this moment, Zhang Yinggao could only look up to heaven and sigh.

The government troops ran swiftly along both banks. The Guangxin troops on the eastern bank, as they ran, grew terrified — they discovered that ahead of them (to the north), the rebels had already formed ranks. Though it was only five hundred peasant soldiers, it scared the more than four thousand government troops out of their wits, and they all fled eastward in a mob.

"Form ranks! Form ranks!"

Zhang Yinggao signaled with his banners and sounded his bugle horn, but only a few hundred government troops could still keep calm and form ranks. All the rest fled toward the east.

They had not run far when they saw rebels to the east as well — Fei Ruhe personally leading a thousand regulars in formation.

They tried to flee south, but Li Xiangui had already brought his troops in pursuit.

North, east, and south — surrounded on three sides. To the west was the river.

As for Cai Bangjun on the western bank of the Wu River, Ancient Sword Mountain was rowing small boats in pursuit. A few hundred naval troops disembarking would be more than enough to deal with the thousand-odd government soldiers, already scared out of their wits.

At this moment, Fei Ruhe cut an imposing figure. He wore a suit of chain mail underneath and a cotton armor coat with sewn-in metal plates on the outside — at last, he had the proper appearance befitting a general.

For a moment, the soldiers from Yanshan did not even recognize Young Master Fei.

Zhang Yinggao frantically ordered the bugle horn sounded, while shouting, "The rebels are few — quickly, form ranks!"

Form ranks, his foot. Surrounded on three sides, the government troops simply scattered and fled in all directions, making it difficult even for Fei Ruhe to pursue them.

"Li Maofang, you have ruined me!"

Seeing the officers and soldiers under his command utterly collapse, Zhang Yinggao said to the few hundred troops who could still hold formation: "After I am dead, you may surrender. I brought you out from Guangxin Prefecture, yet I cannot lead you back — I have failed you all."

These few hundred soldiers were the first batch of troops Zhang Yinggao had organized and trained at Goose Lake Town. At that time, the secret sect leader Zhang Puwei was entrenched in Shanglu Town, right next door to Goose Lake Town.

Moreover, before Zhang Yinggao began drilling troops, the eunuch Wang Heng had also trained these same Goose Lake soldiers.

Though they were only local militia, they had been drilling for a full two years and more, and had repeatedly defeated bandit forces at Shanglu Town, the Yanshan County seat, and Nanfeng County.

The rest of the government troops had plundered all along the march. Only these few hundred Goose Lake soldiers could Zhang Yinggao still barely restrain; they had not committed too many outrages against the common people along the way.

They watched as Zhang Yinggao drew his sword and cut his own throat. The Goose Lake soldiers were all stunned.

They looked at one another, then one after another laid down their weapons and surrendered.

This was truly delivering vegetables from a thousand li away — marching out from Yanshan to suppress bandits in Fuzhou, then racing from Fuzhou all the way here, crossing more than half of Jiangxi horizontally, only to collapse the moment battle was joined.

Zhao Han had always feared being attacked from three sides by government forces, but the situation shifted so fast he did not even know what expression to wear.

The enemy to the north: Yang Jiamo had taken a few hundred household retainers out looting, and in a muddle-headed blunder had thrown away the government's finest troops.

The enemy to the east: they had crossed mountains and forded rivers to get here, and every last one of them had walked straight into the net.

The officials' god-tier maneuvering left Zhao Han completely baffled; he felt as if he were facing a pack of lunatics.

At the end of a dynasty, such god-tier maneuvers are common.

The most famous is surely the Battle of Kunyang, when several hundred thousand government troops surrounded the tiny walled town of Kunyang, ring upon ring, over ten layers deep. The defenders inside were terrified out of their wits and begged bitterly to surrender, yet the government commander stubbornly refused to accept, insisting on storming the town by force, which drove the defenders to fight to the death.

Then, Liu Xiu, the heaven-chosen son, arrived with a few thousand reinforcements. Out of four hundred twenty thousand government troops, only a few thousand were sent into battle each time, and every time Liu Xiu defeated them.

When Liu Xiu led three thousand shock troops in a direct charge against the government army's central command, the four hundred twenty thousand government troops collapsed along the entire line…

It reads more like a fantastical tale.

Seeing routed soldiers fleeing in chaos everywhere, Fei Ruhe also had his troops spread out, with squad leaders taking charge of rounding them up.

Fei Ruhe personally led five hundred regular troops to the riverbank to receive the surrendering soldiers who still held their formations.

Meanwhile, over at Ancient Sword Mountain, they too had abandoned their boats and come ashore, pursuing and cutting down Cai Bangjun's Fuzhou troops. The flight was grueling, and the pursuit was grueling too, for it was all snow-covered mountain terrain.

"Was the one who just killed himself the commander?" Fei Ruhe stepped forward and asked.

A Goose Lake soldier clasped his fist and said: "The man who took his own life was the Guangxin Prefect, Zhang… Ruhe?"

"Rucong?" Fei Ruhe was dumbstruck.

The man before him was, by clan reckoning, Fei Ruhe's cousin, and a close cousin at that. He was the great-grandson of Fei Ruhe's great-grandfather's cousin — a small landlord who had never passed the xiucai examination and was now serving as an officer in the local militia.

Fei Rucong was even more shocked, stammering incoherently as he pointed at Fei Ruhe: "You… you, you, you — how did you become a high official of the rebels?"

Fei Ruhe gave a rueful smile. "Elder cousin, it seems I cannot let you go back."

"Young Master Fei, I'm Lu Yuan!"

"Young Master Fei, I'm Chen Yongshun."

"Young Master Fei…"

Fei Ruhe's expression was extraordinarily colorful. "So many familiar faces."

(End of chapter)