Chapter 85: The Yellow Chuangzi Has Arrived

"Hahaha, this little wench can't stand the sight of blood, fainted right away! Good, saves me the trouble!"

Gao Bao paid no heed to the blood on the ground or the screams of the officials around him. Carrying the prefect's daughter in his arms, he strode toward the room inside—as for what he intended to do, that needed no explanation.

But he had only taken a few steps when someone reached out and blocked his path. Gao Bao was about to fly into a rage when he looked up and saw it was Liu Fangliang. Suppressing his temper, he said with a dark face:

"Liu Fangliang, what's the meaning of this?"

"Heh heh." Liu Fangliang lowered his head and ran his hand along the blade of his saber, asking with a half-smile:

"What did the Dashing King say back in Xi'an? Gao the Barbarian, have you forgotten it all in just a few short months?"

Liu Fangliang was one of Li Zicheng's most trusted confidants, while Gao Bao had once been a subordinate of Cao Cao. Although Li Zicheng had used his overwhelming strength to swallow up the various peasant armies, men like Gao Bao had long remained resentful and unsubmissive, and thus he was extremely wary of this great general of the Dashing King's camp.

In times past, when seizing women by force, Gao Bao would have heeded Liu Fangliang out of fear. But now, squeezing the soft flesh of the woman in his arms, he found himself reluctant to let her go. He could only force a smile uglier than tears and say:

"The Dashing King said the brothers must not harm the common people in the slightest—I, Gao Bao, naturally remember that!"

"But does this woman count as a commoner? She's one of the officials' people! We brothers all suffered persecution at the hands of officials in the past, which is why we threw in with the Dashing King—to seek a way to live and to avenge our families who died at the hands of the government's men! Isn't your meddling a bit too much, Liu Fangliang?"

In truth, Liu Fangliang understood that Gao Bao had a point—this woman was indeed one of the officials' people. But he simply could not bear to see such a frail, defenseless woman suffer such a fate. Though he said nothing more, he showed no sign of backing down either.

"Out of my way!"

Gao Bao roared, clutching the woman, and tried to force his way past Liu Fangliang's side. But Liu Fangliang stood rooted to the spot, and though Gao Bao shoved against him several times, he could not budge him an inch—clearly, Liu Fangliang had no intention of yielding.

Looking at Gao Bao's expression of shock and fury, Liu Fangliang's face was filled with murderous intent. He laughed a few times, his eyes brimming with contempt, then suddenly drove his horse saber into Gao Bao's abdomen and twisted it around inside.

"Pfft..." Gao Bao spat out a mouthful of blood.

Liu Fangliang's sudden attack left Gao Bao, who was holding the beauty in his arms, utterly defenseless. Now he could no longer spare a thought for his lecherous designs—he immediately clutched his stomach and screamed and begged for mercy without cease.

Clearly, Liu Fangliang had no intention of letting him go. He stepped forward and added several more cuts, then tossed the corpse aside in disgust and turned around to say:

"Anyone who disobeys the Dashing King's orders or lays hands on women again—this shall be their fate!"

Glancing at the woman who was slowly coming to, a trace of helplessness flickered across Liu Fangliang's face. He turned and said coldly:

"You go. Get far away from Bazhou!"

The chieftains who had been leering just like Gao Bao were all startled into retreating several steps. They exchanged glances, then hastily clasped their fists and knelt on the ground, declaring their obedience to the Dashing King's commands.

That very night, in a civilian dwelling within Bazhou city, four commoners—a man and a woman, an old one and a young one—lay covered in blood inside, while around them sat several Shun army chieftains.

These men were all Gao Bao's confidants, and naturally had all once been Luo Rucai's subordinate officers. During the day they had kept silent out of fear of Liu Fangliang, but now, under cover of night, they had found a secluded dwelling to vent their pent-up fury.

On the table in the middle sat wine and meat of unknown origin, and Gao Bao's confidants all wore faces full of indignation.

"This Liu Fangliang goes too far! Relying on the Dashing King as his backing, he dared to kill Lord Bao in public—how are we supposed to swallow this anger!" One of Gao Bao's confidants took a drink of wine before speaking in fury.

"Exactly! Even King Luo held Lord Bao in high regard—what right does Liu Fangliang have to kill him!"

Hearing this, another man shook his head and said:

"Don't think about it. There's no chance. Liu Fangliang's men are everywhere—we're too few and too weak. Nobody wants to be the next one to die at Liu Fangliang's hands!"

"Even King Luo died at Li Zicheng's hands—what can we brothers possibly do?"

At this mention, the men all sighed and drank their wine in gloomy silence. Indeed, although many in the army were veterans of the various rebel forces, ever since Plucking-Eye He Yilong and Cao Cao Luo Rucai had been killed, the rebel forces were no longer what they once had been. Hearts were divided, and there was simply no possibility of accomplishing anything.

Suddenly, the man who had spoken first remembered something. A flash of inspiration struck him, and he said:

"What about defecting to the court? We all heard the imperial edict a few days ago—they say some government troops have already started getting paid and re-equipped. It should be true!"

None of them had ever entertained such a thought before. One confidant, his face tense, went out to shut the courtyard gate tightly, then came back and said in a low voice:

"Huzi, have you lost your mind!"

"The Dashing King commands a million troops—the court is about to collapse! Throwing ourselves over now would be walking straight into death!"

But the confidant called Huzi disagreed. He slammed his wine bowl onto the ground and said:

"Don't you forget—the Little Yuan Camp back then, Plucking-Eye, King Luo... and today's Lord Bao—how did they all die?"

"Li Zicheng is faithless! These men of the Dashing King's camp have long been on their guard—they can chop off our heads on any excuse they like. Dead either way, so why not try our luck with the court!"

Having said this, Huzi crouched down and continued:

"And I reckon the Great Ming has lasted this long—it doesn't seem likely to just end like this!"

"Where have all the government troops around here gone? Scattered, they don't seem like much, but gathered together they'd number no small force—at least a hundred-some thousand men! You say the Dashing King commands a million troops, but look at him now—he can't even get past the little Ningwu Pass! With just this side force of ours, can we really take the capital?"

Hearing this, the men all drained their wine bowls with grave expressions. They had been flustered a moment ago, but now, thinking it over calmly, it did seem to make sense.

Their Great Shun army boasted a million troops. Li Zicheng had originally set the date to converge on Beijing as the tenth day of the third month, but damn it all—it was already the beginning of the fifth month now. The northern route was still blocked outside Ningwu Pass, and their southern route had only just reached the capital region, caught between advancing and retreating.

Clearly, the Ming dynasty was not yet destined to fall.

Besides, following Li Zicheng brought them nothing but humiliation and no good days to speak of—and they had to bear the name of rebels, treated like rats in the street, cursed and spat upon by all. If the imperial edict from a few days ago was true, then defecting to the court might actually earn them important positions—that would count as a righteous return!

Even if they died in the future, their families would not lose face. And if they could obtain the blessings mentioned in the imperial edict, and their sons could set aside the sword for the brush—that would be perfect beyond measure.

The men discussed it for half the night and finally decided to stake everything on one gamble. In the end, Huzi slipped out of Bazhou city under cover of darkness, heading toward the capital to pass along the information, intending to bargain with the court.

One morning in early May of the seventeenth year of Chongzhen, a government army of roughly ten thousand or more arrived at Huangcun camp. The troops marched in neat formation, every man bursting with vigor, flying a great banner bearing the character 'Huang'.

The soldiers patrolling back and forth atop the stockade walls saw the banner of the arrivals and immediately began shouting and hollering with excitement.

"Huang the Bruiser has arrived!"

At that time, the Chongzhen Emperor was still resting inside his tent. Hearing the sudden commotion outside, he was somewhat puzzled. Before long, Zhang Shize and Tang Tong strode in quickly, both speaking with excited faces:

"Your Majesty, Huang the Bruiser has come to defend the capital!"

The words had barely left their mouths when, accompanied by heavy footsteps, a burly general with a face full of bushy whiskers, clad in worn iron armor and a standard-issue iron helmet, strode through the entrance with several Mobile Corps Commander generals in tow. He knelt and kowtowed at once:

"Your subordinate Huang Degong pays respects to Your Majesty—ten thousand years, ten thousand years, ten thousand times ten thousand years!"

Seeing the Chongzhen Emperor safe and sound, a great boulder finally lifted from Huang Degong's heart. He let out a few hearty laughs and said:

"I heard Liu Fangliang had already reached the capital region, so I traveled day and night, bringing only ten-some thousand soldiers. Fortunately, Heaven protects the Great Ming—I have not arrived too late! I am willing to lead my men as the vanguard and cut off that bastard's dog head to present to Your Majesty!"