Chapter 245: 243 The Xiangtan Zhou Clan (For White Silver Alliance Sponsor

Xiangtan, the Zhou clan — a great lineage.

Though they had not yet grown into "Zhou Half the County," still less reached the late Qing state of "marriage ties across half of Hunan," from the Jiajing to the Wanli years Zhou Zhiping, Zhou Zhiji, Zhou Zhilong, Zhou Yu, and Zhou Xu passed the jinshi examination one after another, and a great heap of juren emerged besides — the Zhou family swallowed up land in Xiangtan at a mad pace!

Unlike the Tao clan over in Changsha, the Xiangtan Zhou line flourished with abundant progeny.

During the Wanli years, through repeated peasant uprisings, the Zhou clan every time took the initiative to recruit local braves. Once the peasant armies were beaten back, they immediately seized the chance to annex land, and now they hold over a hundred thousand mu.

Learning that the Jiangxi rebel Zhao was marching troops into Huguang, juren Zhou Xing, who was studying at Yuelu Academy, at once rushed back to Xiangtan to raise troops.

Historically, in two more years, he too would pass the jinshi examination.

At the foot of Hidden Mountain, Liao Jing, the younger brother of Liao Sheng, came secretly to make contact with Zhou Xing.

Both sides came from great lineages; there was no possibility of compromise — they had to fight Zhao Han to the death.

"Brother Jingyu, how stands the situation in Xiangtan?" Liao Jing asked.

Zhou Xing replied: "Several thousand rebels have besieged the city for half a month. Word just arrived that the rebel Zhao has already taken Liuyang and is certain to advance on Changsha. If Xiangtan falls, Changsha is in peril! What of Hengyang's side?"

"Apart from Hengyang, Hengshan, and Leiyang, all the counties to the east and south have been seized by the rebel Zhao," Liao Jing answered.

Through protracted campaigning, Liao Sheng now had over ten thousand militia under his command, and had successively recovered Hengyang, Hengshan, and Leiyang.

The bandits in You County and Anren had it the worst — Zhao Han's army to the east, Liao Sheng's militia to the west.

The place had become uninhabitable!

And so, as soon as Liu Zhu marched out of Chaling, the You County bandits abandoned the city and fled. Passing through Anren, the Anren bandits fled with them; the two bands merged there and ran to Yongxing County to throw in their lot with the Little Overlord.

The Little Overlord, hearing the situation to the north, also felt he could not hold out, so he abandoned the city and headed further south to Chenzhou.

They failed to take Chenzhou by storm and could only skirt the city, pillaging villages and towns along the way, preparing to flee from Yizhang into Guangdong territory.

If one ignores the south-fleeing bandits and the risen Yao folk, southern Hunan now has two major battlefronts.

In the north, Huang Yao besieges Xiangtan, Li Zheng besieges Changsha — the strategic objective is to capture Changsha. The government forces' commander is Wang Zhiliang, Governor of Southern Hunan.

In the south, Liu Zhu deploys troops at Leijiabu (where the Mi River meets the Xiang), and Zhang Tieniu deploys troops at Yongxing County. While sending propaganda officers and peasant associations to distribute land, they face off from a distance against Liao Sheng's militia — the strategic objective is to capture Hengyang.

Liao Jing said: "My elder brother plans a surprise attack on Lukou (Lukou District, Zhuzhou City), to kill the rebel troops there and sever the rebel Zhao's supply line!"

Zhou Xing, having heard the southern situation, said in alarm: "If your brother marches his troops north, does he not fear that Leiyang and Hengshan will fall to the rebel Zhao?"

"Leaving three thousand men to hold each city is enough," Liao Jing said. "We must drive the rebel troops from Xiangtan, so that Changsha, Xiangtan, Hengshan, Hengyang, and Leiyang can be linked into a single line."

Zhou Xing asked: "How should I coordinate?"

Liao Jing answered: "My brother suggests that the Zhou family militia go to Xiangtan to pin down the main rebel force, delaying the time it takes the rebels to turn back and relieve Lukou. Once my brother takes Lukou, he can join with the Zhou family militia and the garrison inside Xiangtan city to attack the rebels from three sides. The rebels, completely surrounded and cut off from provisions, will surely lose heart — one battle and victory is ours!"

"A fine stratagem!" Zhou Xing exclaimed in admiration.

A fine stratagem indeed — provided they could win the fight.

Liao Sheng, fighting those bandit bands that had fled from Jiangxi, had won battle after battle; his prestige now soared, and his confidence verged on excess. He felt the Jiangxi rebels were nothing much, so he left a few thousand men to hold the cities, blocking Zhang Tieniu and Liu Zhu, and actually led his elite troops north to strike Huang Yao.

He meant to fight three at once!

From a purely strategic standpoint, this move was quite clever and sound. If the two sides' fighting strength were roughly equal, Liao Sheng would certainly succeed, with an extremely high chance of annihilating Huang Yao's main force.

It must be said, Huang Yao had grown overconfident and rash in his advance, utterly disregarding the enemy at Hengshan, and thus left his own supply line exposed to the edge of Liao Sheng's blade.

This was Huang Yao's style of command — troops dispatched swiftly, marching at startling speed.

Li Zheng was exactly the opposite: cautious by nature, thorough in his thinking, and fond of consulting his subordinate officers. If he and Huang Yao had swapped places, Huang Yao would probably have taken Changsha already, giving Wang Zhiliang no time to reinforce.

Three days later, Zhou Xing, leading his militia, cautiously approached the Xiangtan county seat.

He dared not get too close, for fear his whole force would collapse; he sought only to draw Huang Yao's attention and buy time for Liao Sheng to cut the enemy's supply line.

"They've come at last!" Huang Yao laughed.

Huang Yao had besieged the city for half a month without ever intending to storm it; he had been waiting specifically for government reinforcements. Once the relief force was defeated, the garrison's morale would surely plummet, and then there would be all sorts of ways to take the city.

Reinforcements were certain to come — Huang Yao had long since inquired.

Here was entrenched a Zhou clan that had produced five jinshi in a few decades, and every time there was civil unrest the Zhou family recruited local braves and put it down.

If another half-month passed and the Zhou family still had not brought troops to reinforce, Huang Yao would have gone to them himself.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Three cannon reports — the Frankish culverins fired.

Perfectly good artillery pieces, used by Huang Yao as signal guns.

Zhou Xing was in the midst of choosing good terrain to pitch camp — the kind from which he could flee, at any rate; he had no intention of fighting Huang Yao head-on.

Suddenly three cannon reports rang out. The distance was so great that Zhou Xing thought the enemy was storming the city.

Should he go help or not?

Zhou Xing decided to hold his troops in place. Watching from afar would suffice — the rebels certainly could not breach the city walls. Besides, with the Xiang River between them, he could not cross to relieve them for the moment anyway. The moment the rebels tried to cross the river, Zhou Xing would immediately slip away; he had to preserve his own militia first.

At this distance, and with a river between them, Zhou Xing considered himself quite safe.

Tu-tu-dah tu-tu-tu-dah-tu-dah~~~~~

Moments later, charge horns sounded from both banks of the Juan River. Zhou Xing broke out in a cold sweat down his back: "Form up, quick — an ambush!"

Zhou Xing had come along the Juan River. At this very moment, from White Crane Mountain and Hualonggong Mountain on either bank, five hundred Great Unity soldiers each burst forth. Only when they reached the foot of the hills did they sound the charge, closing in from east and west upon Zhou Xing's militia.

This move came far too suddenly. The Zhou family militia had just finished unloading grain from the boats and had not even had time to pitch camp.

Zhou Xing led his troops on the east bank of the Juan River. The five hundred ambushers charging down from Hualonggong Mountain advanced at a measured jog. The five hundred ambushers from White Crane Mountain shed their armor and leaped into the river to seize the small boats from which the grain had already been unloaded.

With the Juan River dividing them, the Zhou family's several thousand militia had only to face five hundred ambushers; the other five hundred could not cross for the moment.

But could they hold them off?

"Raise pikes!"

Zhou Xing bellowed, ordering his household slaves to hoist the signal flags.

Ding Jiasheng raised his long spear and charged alongside Yan Jiu.

Yan Jiu was one of the old bandits who had followed Fei Yinggong; after being scattered, he had been reorganized into the army and could now command five hundred men.

And Ding Jiasheng, that leader of the Duchang righteous army, had been reassigned as an army propaganda officer. Though he had joined halfway, his grasp of Great Unity theory was exceedingly solid.

Wolf-tooth spears opened the way, long spears thrust forward.

Five hundred Great Unity soldiers charged into the formation of nearly five thousand enemies. Like a knife slicing through bean curd, they tore open a huge gap, and the Zhou family militia collapsed the instant battle was joined.

"Young master, run!"

A trusted household slave grabbed Zhou Xing and dragged him away.

Attacked from three sides?

Not a problem.

Though Huang Yao liked to advance aggressively, he was not truly careless — he was using himself as bait to lure the enemy in the rear into the trap.

Zhou Xing's mind went completely blank. He had no idea how he had lost.

He had five thousand militia — how could five hundred rebels rout them?

And the rout was clean and swift, with absolutely no ability to resist.

The trusted household slave kept glancing back, then suddenly shoved Zhou Xing away: "Young master, dodge!"

Zhou Xing fell in a sorry heap. Looking up, he saw his page boy had already been killed by the rebels.

He had no time for grief. Scrambling up on hands and feet, he ran for the river and hurled himself in.

As he swam, he suddenly heard sounds behind him.

The five hundred ambushers on the opposite bank had already jumped into the river and seized small boats. Now, stripped to the waist, they rowed and used long spears to stab the militia fleeing into the water.

"Don't kill me, I'm a juren, I'm a jur—"

Zhou Xing screamed in terror. Suddenly a long spear thrust forward, striking him squarely in the forehead with perfect accuracy.

In another timeline, the Zhou family, which flourished all the way into the Republican era, would this time certainly be harshly suppressed. How many of their clansmen survived would depend entirely on fortune.

Lukou.

Liao Sheng led five thousand elite troops, rushing there swiftly by boat. This was Huang Yao's grain and fodder transfer station — once taken, Huang Yao's supply line would be severed.

He planned a night raid, but who could have known that while still over twenty li away, they would encounter patrol boats sent out by the rebels.

The rebel scouts had been sent over twenty li out?

Liao Sheng felt deeply uneasy. His surprise attack plan had fallen through; now he could only launch a frontal assault.

Fei Yinggong was sunbathing at Lukou. Huang Yao had assigned him to guard the supply line, so he guarded it with full attention. Reclining on a bamboo rocking chair, he basked in the sun and sipped tea — stealing a half-day of leisure from a life adrift.

"Father, the scouts report the enemy is coming," Fei Ruhui said, walking over.

The bandits under Fei Yinggong's command had all been broken up and integrated into the army. Only his daughter Fei Ruhui had always remained at his side.

Fei Ruhui had insisted on joining the army to fight, and had obtained Zhao Han's permission.

"How many have come?" Fei Yinggong asked.

Fei Ruhui said, "Several thousand. The grain and fodder are moving by water, the soldiers along the riverbank. Judging by their march, they seem to be elite troops."

"Elite troops are exactly what I like to beat!"

Fei Yinggong slowly rose, stretched, and said with a yawn, "If I go any longer without a fight, my bones are going to turn soft."

Fei Yinggong had only five hundred regulars and five hundred peasant soldiers under his command; everyone else belonged to the grain transport teams.

After his position was exposed, Liao Sheng did not return to Hengshan. Instead, he slowed his march so his soldiers would not be too exhausted.

He had over ten thousand militia, not well trained, but they had been fighting for more than a year.

The five thousand militia he had brought this time to sever the supply line were all battle-hardened "elite" veterans. At least, he himself considered them elite, capable of sending the rebels from Jiangxi fleeing in disarray.

So what if he was Heavenly King Zhao?

It wasn't as if he had never fought Jiangxi rebels before!

Liao Sheng had long since given up hope in the examinations. In these chaotic times, he intended to win titles for his wife and children through military merit, while also preserving his family's landholdings.

The next morning, Liao Sheng led his five thousand elite troops to Lukou, ready to attack Fei Yinggong.

He had even trained three hundred archers under his command!

(End of Chapter)