gnovel Chapter 71 Killing the Good
Chapter 71 Killing the Good
The monk Wang's eyes were bulging with tears. He immediately swung his stick at a government soldier who was holding a knife and trying to break down the door.
The government soldiers, wielding goose-feather sabers and wearing dark blue cotton armor, hurriedly raised their sabers to block the fierce-looking monk's attack.
But the monk Wang was incredibly strong. With a single blow, he knocked away the opponent's long sword. The iron rod continued its momentum and struck the opponent's shoulder and chest heavily.
The government soldier was spitting out blood; he was clearly dead.
Seeing that a formidable opponent had arrived, the soldiers nearby quickly surrounded them with their weapons.
The group of people who rushed out of the villagers' homes with Monk Wang saw the situation and grabbed sticks, hoes, stones and other items to help Monk Wang fight against the government troops.
Only the village head, staring blankly at the scene before him, shouted:
"Sir, we are law-abiding citizens, not thieves!"
A minor officer in the government troops scoffed upon hearing this: "What good citizen? Surviving years of drought, and in such a sorry state, they must have stolen grain from others to stay alive!"
The village head opened his mouth, but had no answer.
In this year of severe drought, simply surviving had become a sin, and he truly didn't know how to argue against it.
Monk Wang was powerful and strong, and one or two soldiers could not subdue him, so the government troops gathered more men to surround him.
Although the villagers who assisted in the resistance were courageous, they had no experience in battle, and soon some of them were injured.
Hearing the commotion, other villagers came out and, seeing the scene, grabbed their weapons and came to help. However, they were ultimately no match for the government troops, and after a few rounds, they suffered heavy casualties.
Some people were afraid and tried to escape, but they were surrounded by government troops.
Wang the Monk knocked down three government soldiers in succession with his iron rod. Upon seeing this, the man who appeared to be their leader hurriedly ordered his soldiers to form a long spear formation and approach Wang the Monk.
The spear was longer than the iron rod. After Wang Heshang swung the rod, spear tips came stabbing from his flank. He was about to be surrounded and killed.
One of his fellow disciples tried to help, but was also assassinated by government troops.
This village at the foot of Guling Mountain originally had only about a hundred households. In recent years, it has suffered from drought and famine, and now there are only fifty or sixty households left. The total number of people in the village, young and old, is only two or three hundred.
The government troops who came this time numbered fifty or sixty, almost the same as the number of able-bodied men in the village. Moreover, the government troops were all wearing cotton armor and carrying well-made weapons, which was far beyond the capabilities of the villagers who were carrying hoes and rakes.
By this time, more than half of the villagers had fallen, and after a few more rounds, it was likely that the entire village, young and old, would be doomed. Those who tried to escape were shot dead by the archers of the surrounding government troops.
Just as the entire village was about to be wiped out, a loud shout suddenly came from the south of the village:
"Master, don't panic, I'm here to help you!"
The newcomer was none other than Wang Pingyue, who led about a hundred of his men from the village entrance.
Overjoyed, Monk Wang seized the opportunity and swung his iron rod, sweeping a distracted soldier who couldn't dodge in time, knocking down two or three others in the process.
Seeing this imposing force, the government troops on the sidelines were intimidated and dared not step forward.
At this moment, government troops were surrounding the villagers, and Wang Pingyue's men happened to appear behind them.
Although Wang Pingyue's troops were not as well-trained as the government troops, they were all strong and capable men, and they carried proper weapons.
The government troops, caught in a pincer attack, were inevitably thrown into disarray.
Wang Pingyue led his men to fiercely attack the government troops south of the village, while the villagers fought back fiercely in the middle, killing more than ten government soldiers.
The government troops clearly felt that this battle would be difficult, and the leader, seeing this, blew his personal trumpet.
The officers and soldiers, as if granted a pardon, fled in disarray from the village entrance.
The monk Wang, still enraged, chased after another, throwing his iron rod and knocking down yet another person, shouting angrily:
"Damn these soldiers!"
After seeing that the government troops had all fled far away, he went forward, picked up the iron rod, and walked towards Wang Pingyue.
"I am truly grateful for your help, Daoist Master."
The village head, seemingly struck by a thought, questioned Wang Pingyue:
"Could it be that you, you traitor, led the government troops into the village, thus inviting this massacre?"
The monk Wang cried out in his heart, "Oh no!"
In fact, Monk Wang had thought of this as well, but given the current situation, firstly, Wang Pingyue had indeed come to help, and secondly, if they really pushed Wang Pingyue too far, they would be powerless to resist any further changes. So he kept quiet and simply thanked him.
This person, who usually seems quite shrewd and calculating, now appears to have lost his mind and blurted out these words.
Before Wang Pingyue could refute, the villager who had brought the news at the banquet stood up and said:
"They didn't bring them here! Those government troops entered the village without saying a word, and started killing everyone they saw. What legitimate government army would act like that?"
The village head remained silent upon hearing this.
Suddenly, a villager began to wail, saying that her husband's head had been cut off by government troops.
Upon hearing this, a phrase flashed through Wang Heshang's mind: killing innocent people and claiming credit for it.
He had heard of how government troops in border regions would take the heads of civilians and pass them off as Tartar heads to claim rewards.
However, such incidents were rare in the past because the three important border towns dealt with the Mongol Tartars. The Mongol hairstyles were very different from those of the Han people and were easy to distinguish. Even if they changed their hairstyle temporarily, the color of their scalp would also change due to wind and sun exposure.
However, since the rebels were all Han Chinese, the government troops no longer had this concern. When verifying merits, they did not need to distinguish hairstyles and simply killed innocent civilians to take their heads as military achievements.
Wang Heshang wasn't the only one who understood this; the village head muttered to himself, "How could these government troops do this?"
Wang Pingyue retorted, "When have the government troops ever stopped doing this?"
These words silenced everyone present.
He then joined Monk Wang in helping the villagers of Guling Village bury the dead.
The so-called burial was just digging a pit in the wasteland north of the village, wrapping the body in a tattered straw mat, and burying it.
Wang Pingyue had excellent handwriting. He had his men find wood, split it into wooden plaques, and inquire about the names of the deceased from each family. He then wrote on the plaques the names of the deceased, such as "Mother of so-and-so" and "Father of so-and-so".
Meanwhile, Monk Wang was reciting the Rebirth Sutra.
One of his junior fellow disciples was stabbed in the abdomen by government troops while trying to save him in a previous battle and died from his injuries.
After reciting the sutra to his junior brother, Monk Wang recited a passage of the Rebirth Sutra to each of the deceased villagers.
He knew all these villagers well and often saw them when he went down the mountain, but now they were all turned into graves. At this moment, he felt depressed but helpless.
After the matter was concluded, Wang Pingyue stepped forward and asked, "Master, what are your plans for the future?"
Wang Heshang was seething with anger. He knew that the government troops would not let the matter rest: the matter of killing innocent people and claiming credit for them must not be exposed, otherwise it would be a capital offense.
Therefore, they will inevitably regroup their forces and come to eliminate them completely.
But is running away the only option?
The monk Wang was burning with rage. In this year of severe drought, it was already difficult enough to survive, and the government troops were even taking the heads of ordinary people to claim credit. This was simply too much for him to bear!
"I'm going to fight the government troops to the death!"
Upon hearing this, Wang Pingyue was quite surprised.
"Master, please reconsider. The government troops that have come this time are only a detachment, while the government troops in Yanchang County number a battalion, which is several thousand men. Not to mention, if another detachment comes, we will not be able to resist."
"But I can't swallow this insult!" Monk Wang said resolutely.
"If you are determined to take revenge, I have a plan," Wang Pingyue said after thinking for a while.
"What method?"
"Go find someone."
"Who?" Monk Wang pressed.
"Li Chengye".
-----------------
On the other side, Li Chengye looked at the person bound and kneeling in front of him and said with some curiosity:
"Commander Li, what brings us together again?"
The bound man was Li Hongjian, his head hanging low. He hadn't expected to see Li Chengye here again.
Li Hongjian and Yu Shideng were previously released from prison in Yanchang County.
He was originally a centurion of the Yan'an Guard and came from the Yan'an Guard post. Because he was familiar with the roads, Wang Lian sent him to lead a group of people to Yan'an Prefecture to investigate and see what the actual situation in Yan'an Prefecture was.
Unexpectedly, he had just passed the ruins of Jinming Post Station and had not gone ten miles when he encountered an ambush.
He had only seven men with him, including himself, while the enemy had a hundred riders, and their horsemanship was superb; they were not the kind of half-baked cavalrymen who had only had horses for a couple of days.
What surprised him even more was that these people were extremely knowledgeable about the geography. When he and his seven companions realized they couldn't defeat them, they scattered and fled in different directions, but they were still caught up by the enemy from behind.
He himself fled for a while, but encountered a narrow road and had to dismount to resist. He was eventually captured and brought before Li Chengye.
Seeing that Li Hongjian remained silent, Li Chengye waved his hand, signaling Sun Kewang beside him to take the remaining prisoners away, and then said to him:
"If Li Baihu doesn't speak up, I'll release your companions."
Tell them that during the last attack on Yanchang City, it was your voluntary assistance that made the city fall so easily. This time, it was also you who deliberately exposed your whereabouts, allowing us to discover you.
Li Hongjian was shocked to hear this.
He knew that Li Chengye's words were untenable and clearly a lie.
But if these words reach the ears of someone with ulterior motives, such as Yu Shideng, that person will surely shift all the blame onto themselves to exonerate themselves.
Then it'll be like mud falling onto your crotch—even if it's not shit, it'll still look like shit.
Left with no other choice, Li Hongjian had to confess the truth:
"It was Commander Wang of the Shaanxi Provincial Governor's Battalion who sent me to investigate the situation. You had previously burned down all the post stations, and he suspected that Yan'an Prefecture might have fallen. He dared not act rashly, so he sent us to gather information first."
Subsequently, Li Chengye inquired about the details of the Shaanxi Provincial Governor's Battalion, learning about its approximate composition and number of troops.
When he heard that Wang Lian had ordered his men to collect grain in Yanchang, his eyes lit up. He immediately ordered Li Hongjian to be taken away and then summoned the generals in the camp to discuss the matter.
Since leaving Yanchang County, Li Chengye has never stopped. In addition to continuing to burn down post stations, crack down on local bullies, and distribute grain, he also reorganized and deployed his troops.
Although he has always adhered to the principle of elite troops and did not easily expand his forces, his troops have been increasing day by day, and the total number is now close to 1,800.
The main force is still divided into three parts: the vanguard, the central force, and the rearguard, but the changes in each unit are quite significant.
The vanguard was led by Liu Ye, with about 500 men under his command, divided into two squads: one squad was mainly composed of couriers led by Cao Xianchong, all of whom were skilled horsemen and scouts, about 200 men. It was this squad that had captured Li Hongjian and others earlier.
The other detachment consisted mainly of Liu Ye's fellow townsmen from Yan'an, numbering about three hundred. They were led by Gao Jinze, an old soldier from Yan'an, a man in his thirties with a full beard, skilled in wielding a large sword, which he wielded flawlessly.
His face was ruddy, like Guan Yu in a temple, and he was also very loyal. Previously, he often helped the families of his comrades in the camp, while he himself often went hungry. When he heard that Liu Ye was coming, he immediately drew his sword and joined the army.
The rear army currently numbers about four hundred men, divided into two detachments: the leader of the first detachment is named Wei Tong, a Mongol, skilled in horsemanship, capable of traveling four hundred li a day, comparable to Cao Xianchong, and fluent in Mandarin. If he hadn't claimed to be Mongol, no one could tell from his clothing and hairstyle that he wasn't Han Chinese; he was brought to join Li Chengye with about twenty bandits when Li Chengye passed through Anse.
The second detachment leader was named Deng Xian, an old subordinate of Luo Dai. He had followed Luo Dai since he started his rebellion. After Yijun's great defeat, he followed Luo Dai to the mountains to become an outlaw, and never abandoned him even when they were robbing. This detachment's men were centered around Luo Dai's old subordinates.
As for Li Chengye's central army, it was more complex than the front and rear armies, with the logistics corps, artillery corps, and training corps all under its command.
The grain corps is under the command of Xu Youlu; the artillery corps is currently under the temporary leadership of Zhang Yuanwu, who has more experience in firing cannons and is willing to study, due to a lack of suitable gunners; the training corps is led by Han Sanhu, who has more than fifty veteran soldiers and is also the sergeant of the first platoon of the central army; there is also a youth team led by Sun Kewang and Cheng En, which has more than a hundred boys of similar age. Li Chengye arranges for them to study with him and the training corps on a daily basis, as his reserve officers.
The original commander of the Second Outpost of the Central Army was Zhu Yao, but he returned to Huanglong Mountain with supplies a few days ago. The current acting commander of the Second Outpost is Shao Shude, who is also a veteran of the border army. He doesn't talk much, but he is quite reliable. He was originally a key member of Wang Erlao's camp and was an old acquaintance of Xu Youlu. However, during the Battle of Yijun City, he fled in panic and ended up with Li Chengye, so he started working for him.
According to Li Chengye's plan, all officers above the rank of squad leader should attend such military meetings to brainstorm ideas, since three mediocre people are better than one Zhuge Liang.
However, after hearing the introduction of Wang Lian's battalion, everyone fell silent.