The Great Rebel at the End of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 060 Disastrous Defeat While Crossing the River

Zhou Lun ultimately failed to learn from Wang Tieniu who had originally spread these words.

Wang Tieniu was not a meticulous person to begin with. He had long forgotten what he had heard, and since many people were spreading it in private, he himself couldn't remember it very clearly.

After Wang Tieniu left, Zhou Lun pondered for a long time, but he couldn't determine who had spread the news or who would do such a thing. He couldn't figure it out after thinking about it for a long time, but the news was spreading in such a detailed and convincing way that he had to be on guard.

After resting for a night, we continued our journey the next day.

Not long after the troops set off, the scouts who had gone ahead reported that they had made contact with Wang Jiayin's rebel army and that the enemy was not far away.

After confirming the location, Zhou Lun sent someone to inform Zhao Sheng and other troops behind him, and also sent the message to Gao Yingxiang, the central commander, who was further behind. He himself continued to lead the vanguard and speed up their journey toward the enemy's location.

That afternoon, Zhou Lun's troops finally encountered a part of Wang Jiayin's rebel army.

Since they had already learned of Zhou Lun and his group's arrival, there was no unpleasantness between the two sides. Moreover, due to the defection of the southern rebels to the north, Wang Jiayin's side had already made arrangements, and his leader, Zhang Cunmeng, known as "the mud-free," personally came to welcome them with exceptional enthusiasm.

After the two sides made contact, Zhou Lun exchanged a few pleasantries with them and informed them that this army was the rebel army of Gao Yingxiang, the King of Chuang, and that the main force of the King of Chuang was behind them and would arrive in about a day at most.

Gao Yingxiang's reputation as the "Chuang King" was already quite high, and Wang Jiayin had long since learned of this from news coming from the south. Now that this army had come north to join them, Wang Jiayin was very happy. He not only personally received Zhou Lun, who had just arrived, as the leader of the rebel army, but also specially arranged a camp for them to stay in.

After resting for one night, Zhao Sheng's troops arrived first the next day, followed by Gao Yingxiang's central army in the evening.

Li Wanqing's rear guard moved more slowly, arriving at the camp on the morning of the third day. With Li Wanqing's arrival, the rebel army had finally completed its northward journey, joining forces in an area fifty li east of Shenmu, creating a formidable force.

Wang Jiayin, along with the leaders of his troops, personally welcomed Gao Yingxiang and his group. The atmosphere was warm and both sides were happy to see each other.

Wang Jiayin looks much like an ordinary farmer from Northwest China, but he is tall, has bright eyes, and exudes an indescribable air of heroism.

Among the various uprisings in Shaanxi, Wang Jiayin can be considered the first, and his fame is also the greatest. In the past six months, after the uprising in Fugu, he quickly gathered several thousand people. In addition, other troops have joined him one after another, and his rebel army now exceeds 20,000, making it the strongest force.

Now that Gao Yingxiang's troops have arrived here, the two armies have combined to more than 30,000 men, and their momentum has reached a new level. How could Wang Jiayin not be overjoyed?

Wang Jiayin hosted a banquet in his tent to welcome Gao Yingxiang and his subordinate leaders, and also to celebrate the merger of the two righteous armies.

The atmosphere was lively and extraordinary. Many people had heard of the place before, but it was the first time they had met it. However, everyone's enthusiasm was genuine.

All the rebel armies under heaven are one family. Since we are all risking our lives and our lives to rebel, we are all brothers. Moreover, Wang Jiayin has the demeanor of an elder brother. He is sincere and fair in his dealings with others. In addition, with his reputation, he was already the well-deserved leader of the rebel army before Zhou Lun and the others arrived.

"I'm delighted that my brothers have come. With your help, how can we not succeed in this great undertaking?" Wang Jiayin said with a smile, raising his wine cup to Gao Yingxiang and everyone else present. He gestured, "Come, come, brothers, let's drink to this together!"

"Let's drink together!"

Everyone shouted in unison, picked up their wine glasses, and drank with Wang Jiayin. The wine warmed them even more.

Setting down his wine glass, Gao Yingxiang spoke to Wang Jiayin with a broad smile. After a few words, he asked Wang Jiayin why he was in Shenmu. Hadn't they been in Fugu the previous reports?

Wang Jiayin's expression darkened slightly, and he sighed softly.

"Brother Gao is right. Our unit was originally based in Fugu, and we only recently moved south from there. To be honest, it was a matter of necessity..."

He shook his head and, without hiding anything from Gao Yingxiang, explained the situation of his unit in detail.

He told Gao Yingxiang that things had gone very smoothly since his uprising in Fugu. He had not only seized grain from local powerful and wealthy households, but had also gathered a force of over a thousand men.

Afterwards, Wang Jiayin took Fugu County in one fell swoop, and his troops swelled to more than 3,000. With the addition of several other rebel armies that came to join him, his power was unparalleled for a time, and the local area was shaken.

However, Fugu is just a small county, and it cannot support so many people. Moreover, the grain and fodder seized by the rebel army are not enough to allow the entire army to safely get through the winter.

In his struggle for survival, Wang Jiayin led his troops on numerous campaigns, successively capturing areas surrounding Fugu. Although they achieved some successes, the numbers were still insufficient. Moreover, the number of rebels joining them grew rapidly, from a few thousand initially to tens of thousands, and eventually exceeding twenty thousand.

With more people, their strength naturally increased. Wang Jiayin felt that staying in Fugu was not a long-term solution, so he planned to leave Fugu, enter Shanxi from Shaanxi, and develop elsewhere.

Wang Jiayin's ideas were similar to those of Gao Yingxiang and Zhou Lun.

As a local from Shaanxi, he knew all too well that the land was barren, and the drought of the past year had destroyed most of the harvest. If he stayed in Shaanxi, even if he survived the winter, what would he do when there was no food left in the spring?

The best way out right now is to go from Shaanxi to Shanxi. The drought in Shanxi is much less severe than in Shaanxi, and the area is also much more prosperous than the impoverished Shaanxi.

Even if they couldn't capture any cities after entering Shanxi, they could still support the rebel army by plundering the local areas. Moreover, once they entered Shanxi, the rebel army would have much greater flexibility and room to maneuver. Whether heading east or south, entering Beizhili or Henan from Shanxi would be a good option.

The latter, in particular, held a greater attraction for Wang Jiayin. Although he was merely a rebel leader of humble origins, he understood the principle that "whoever controls the Central Plains controls the world." If he could lead his rebel army into Henan, the sky's the limit!

However, to enter Shanxi, Wang Jiayin had to face two problems: one was crossing the Yellow River to the east, and the other was Hequ County on the east bank of the Yellow River.

There are only a few roads leading east from Shaanxi, and Wang Jiayin, given his location, only had this one option. Having made the decision to enter Shanxi, he began preparations for his eastward journey.

Wang Jiayin's original plan was quite good, and he had even planned out the subsequent route after entering Shanxi, intending to further expand the size of his rebel army. However, he never expected that plans are one thing, reality is another. Despite Wang Jiayin's large and powerful force, which seemed unstoppable, a rebel army is ultimately just a rebel army. Relying on this rabble, they were far from capable of fighting a real hard battle.

When they crossed the Yellow River, the government troops on the opposite bank had already received news of Wang Jiayin's eastward advance. Compared to Shaanxi, Shanxi reacted extremely quickly.

General Wang Guoliang of Shanxi arrived with his troops and personally led the armies of Hequ and Baode to set up a defensive line. When Wang Jiayin's rebel army began to cross the river, Wang Guoliang set up cannons on the east bank and bombarded the crossing boats.

Although the rebels fought bravely, jumping into the river and swimming ashore after their boats were destroyed, they engaged in fierce fighting with the government troops. However, Wang Guoliang was exceptionally brave, and as the commander-in-chief, he led his troops to hold the line, even wielding his sword to kill several rebels. The morale of the government troops was instantly boosted, and they fought bravely, pushing the rebels who had just landed back.

In this battle, Wang Jiayin's side suffered heavy losses.

Not only did he suffer casualties among more than 300 elite rebel soldiers, but more importantly, his fellow townsman and old brother Wu Tinggui, who had followed him in the uprising, was gone.

Wu Tinggui was an extremely important figure in Wang Jiayin's army. He followed Wang Jiayin when he decided to start the uprising.

Wu Tinggui played a crucial role in Wang Jiayin's eventual success and the formation of such a powerful army. Within Wang Jiayin's forces, Wu Tinggui was the second-in-command; though not blood brothers, their bond was stronger than that of blood brothers. When deciding to advance eastward into Shanxi, Wang Jiayin even considered declaring himself king after capturing Hequ, bestowing upon Wu Tinggui the title of "One-Character King with Parallel Titles," sharing wealth and honor with him.

Unfortunately, despite having the character "Gui" (meaning noble) in his name, Wu Tinggui was not blessed with good fortune. During the battle against Wang Guoliang's troops while crossing the Yellow River, Wu Tinggui, who personally commanded the front lines, was killed by a stray arrow. In the end, he couldn't even retrieve his body, which fell into the hands of Wang Guoliang.

After the war, Wang Guoliang even beheaded Wu Tinggui and hung his head high on the city wall of Hequ to intimidate the locals. When Wang Jiayin learned of this, he was heartbroken.