Chapter 15: Trap

This person has been following Ying Tuzi ever since he launched his uprising, which is why he enjoys Ying Tuzi's trust to such a degree.

Ying Tuzi would never have imagined that his most trusted subordinate would now betray him just to save his own life.

He sized up this military officer from head to toe, seeing only that the officer's body was covered in wounds, looking miserable; obviously he had endured great hardship to escape here.

While patting dust off the officer's body, he said: "Brother, how did you get separated from us before? What have you endured on this journey?"

"Also, that bastard Jiang Xiaomu—where is he now? I haven't personally killed him yet!"

Upon hearing Ying Tuzi mention Jiang Xiaomu, the military officer immediately burst into even more pitiful tears: "I, Jiang Xiaomu, and Tianyi were just captured by the bandits on Positive Yang Mountain."

"The Big Boss on Positive Yang Mountain is ruthless—he had Jiang Xiaomu and Tianyi chopped up and fed to the dogs. I escaped from the stronghold while they were holding their victory feast; if I'd been a step slower, I might not have seen you, big brother..."

Ying Tuzi has dealt with the bandits on Positive Yang Mountain for many years, so he naturally had long heard of the bandit leader's liking to feed people to dogs.

The person captured together with this military officer earlier is also one of Ying Tuzi's trusted aides; the two could be called his left and right hands, having followed him for years and earned him meritorious service.

Ying Tuzi never expected that this expedition to suppress the bandits would end in such a miserable fate for him.

Not only have his long-time followers been chopped up and fed to the dogs by the bandits,

even this remaining one now thinks of betraying him, trading his own life for a chance to survive!

Upon hearing of his subordinate's grim fate, Ying Tuzi's face turned ashen.

"One day I will surely lead troops to level Positive Yang Mountain—since that Big Boss likes feeding people to dogs, I'll slice his flesh piece by piece and feed it to the dogs, making him experience a death without a whole corpse!"

Seeing Ying Tuzi's emotions roused, the military officer hurriedly said: "Big Brother, now is the perfect time to attack Positive Yang Mountain!"

Hearing this, Ying Tuzi eyed him skeptically: "You couldn't have been scared stupid, could you? We just suffered a defeat, and now we have only twenty or thirty brothers left—what would I use to fight them?"

"Big Brother, you don't know, but after repelling our attack, the bandits are gleefully holding a victory feast on the mountain."

"They think that by killing many of our brothers they've crippled us, shattered our morale; if we seize this moment to strike back, we could not only achieve extraordinary merit but also capture the bandit chief alive!"

"Don't forget the offer the city made earlier: whoever brings the head of the Positive Yang Mountain bandit chief back to the city will be rewarded with a hundred gold and enfeoffed with a thousand households!"

In order to lure Ying Tuzi up the mountain, this military officer has left no stone unturned.

Seeing Ying Tuzi still hesitating, he gave him another strong dose: "Big Brother, do you think Xie Sandao keeps organizing our expeditions against the bandits over and over just for nothing? All he's feeding us is this chance to earn merit and establish ourselves!"

"Since he took charge of the Military Household Battalion, have we brothers ever had a single day of peace? Even that punk Jiang Xiaomu now dares to climb onto your head and defecate—Big Brother, can you swallow this insult?"

Faced with this provocation, Ying Tuzi fell into a moment of silence.

"This time we're bringing only our own brothers into the mountain—what right does Jiang Xiaomu have to barge in and interfere? Isn't he just spying on you for Xie Sandao? I even suspect today's crushing defeat was a collusion between Xie Sandao and the mountain bandits, meant to eliminate rivals so he could formally take over the Military Guard Battalion."

As the saying goes, "One mountain cannot accommodate two tigers."

Ying Tuzi and Xie Sandao are facing exactly this situation.

Ying Tuzi too can be counted as a brave general on the battlefield.

But in private he's an outright soldier‑ruffian, which is why Xie Sandao has never entrusted him with important duties.

And precisely for that reason, he has accumulated resentment in his heart.

Previously, the Military Guard Battalion had been managed in perfect order.

Even with his own strength alone, it would be hard to shake Xie Sandao's position.

Now he just happened to suffer a defeat.

Add to that this ulterior‑motived military officer whispering in his ear.

For a moment he couldn't help but sink into contemplation!

As the saying goes, "The speaker means no harm, but the listener takes it to heart"—especially since the other party is deliberately trying to drive a wedge between them, stirring Ying Tuzi's suspicion of Xie Sandao.

Seeing Ying Tuzi gradually stepping into his own trap.

The military officer then seized the moment to press on: "Big Brother, in my view, now is the perfect opportunity to launch a counter‑attack up the mountain—though we have only twenty or thirty brothers, the bandits up there aren't many either, and moreover they're all drunk as limp shrimp; if we strike now, we can catch them off guard and wipe them out in one fell swoop!"

The military officer spoke before Ying Tuzi with flying spittle.

All to persuade him to make a decision quickly.

At this moment a seed of doubt had been deeply planted and taken root in Ying Tuzi's heart.

He guessed that Xie Sandao wanted to rely on him to wear down the strength of Positive Yang Mountain, so that Xie Sandao could later sit back and reap the fisherman's gain.

Faced with this subterfuge from his subordinate, Ying Tuzi finally made up his mind.

He suddenly rose and said: "In this world, capable of driving a man to become a ghost, brothers who follow me seek nothing more than wealth and honor!"

"Brothers, those with courage, follow me Ying Tuzi up the mountain to suppress the bandits—then you'll receive a hundred gold, be enfeoffed with a thousand households, and as long as I have a bite to eat, you'll never lack a bowl of porridge!"

"Those lacking courage, just keep shrinking back here—but don't blame me for not warning you: once disloyal, never trusted again; if we part ways today, you'll have no need to follow me thereafter..."

Ying Tuzi let out a heroic, impassioned tiger's roar, then grasped his big sword whose edge had been chipped, and led the way out of the cave.

Seeing this, the military officer felt secret delight and hurriedly chased after him.

The only remaining twenty‑odd elderly and weak soldiers in the cave all followed Ying Tuzi in a dark, surging mass.

Only the military guard who had just been kicked for no reason now trailed behind with a bow in hand, the distance between them growing ever wider.

"Ying Tuzi, well, I've followed you through thick and thin, risking life and limb, yet you don't even regard me as a human being."

"Now you expect me to lay down my life for you based on just a few words—you're out of your mind!"

Having said that, the military guard simply threw down his bow, plopped onto the ground, and said: "Go ahead and follow Ying Tuzi to your deaths—I'm not serving you this time!"