weaving

"Not reconciled?" Li Yan's tone carried a hint of mockery.

Upon hearing this, Song Xianze looked around nervously. Seeing that there was no one else around except the two of them, he felt slightly relieved.

"Lin Quan, you must never say such things or speak in such a tone again."

Seeing Song Xianze so nervous, Li Yan was puzzled: "Brother Ce, why are you so nervous?"

"Alas." Song Xianze sighed before saying, "Lin Quan, do you know why the Grand Marshal revoked your order to remain stationed in eastern Henan?"

"No... I'm afraid I'll be unable to hold the line alone and sacrifice myself in vain. I'll also focus all my efforts on attacking the government troops to relieve the old camp in Zhuxian Town. The Grand Marshal's forces are insufficient, isn't it all to concentrate our forces for a full-scale attack?"

Song Xianze shook his head. He hesitated for a moment, but finally couldn't help himself. He leaned closer to Li Yan and whispered in a lower voice, "Someone suggested that your 'voluntary request to stay in eastern Henan is actually an attempt to break away from the rebel leader and develop independently.'"

"How...how could the rebel leader believe that?"

"Have you forgotten? There are many rumors circulating among the people that 'the eighteen sons are Young Master Li, and Young Master Li is Li Zicheng, the rebel leader'?"

"what!"

Li Yan was taken aback, and a cold sweat broke out all over his body, soaking his clothes. He wanted to explain to Song Xianze, but he heard him say, "Lin Quan, I can't be too explicit. This is all I can say today, and I will never mention it again. I just hope you will take care of yourself."

After Song Xianze finished speaking, he whipped his horse and hurriedly chased after the main force of the rebel king's army, leaving Li Yan alone, still standing there in a daze.

…………

At 9:00 AM, the vanguard of Xu Jinyong's cavalry had arrived near Xiangong Temple and made contact with Wei Zhice's troops.

Meanwhile, Wei Zhice's main force had arrived south of Xiangong Temple and was cooperating with Zhang Guodong's forces to launch a pincer attack on Gu Ying's rebel army.

Besides the 3,000 horse bandits and more than 10,000 infantry bandits, Gu Ying also had 2,000 to 3,000 servants, who were mainly responsible for transporting the cannons of Zhang Nai's artillery battalion.

Because several large groups of government troops had been spotted around Xiangong Temple, and these were all brave and skilled soldiers, Gu Ying did not dare to be careless. He divided his three thousand cavalry into thirty small teams and scattered them around the main force.

Gu Ying's mission for these cavalry squads was merely to scout ahead. If they discovered or encountered government troops, whether infantry or cavalry, they were not to engage in battle and had to immediately retreat to the main force to report the news.

Therefore, although they encountered an ambush by Zhang Guodong's troops, Gu Ying still gained the upper hand due to his absolute numerical superiority.

He fought with great composure and steadiness. On the one hand, he ordered his bandit troops to form a defensive formation and not to attack. On the other hand, he continued to send out cavalry squads to scout ahead, intending to find out the government army's defensive line and then bypass it.

Before they could even probe the edge of Zhang Guodong's army's defensive line, they received a report that several thousand more government troops were rushing in from the north.

Gu Ying immediately guessed that this must be the government troops that had killed Xie Junyou in battle.

According to Zhang Hong's report at the time, this government army numbered over 10,000 men, all of whom were elite troops. Among them, there were over 4,000 cavalrymen. Judging from the color of their flags, they should be government troops from Xuanda.

Moreover, the information about the government troops reported by Zhang Hong was further confirmed by Liu Zongmin, the chief sentry.

Upon hearing this news, Gu Ying lost all will to fight and immediately ordered all the cannons of Zhang Nai's artillery battalion to be destroyed. The entire army then retreated southwest while fighting, in order to avoid being surrounded by government troops and unable to break out, thus being unable to support Zhuxian Town.

Zhang Nai watched as his newly rebuilt artillery battalion lost once again the more than one hundred cannons of various sizes that he had painstakingly assembled, and he felt extremely distressed.

But the current situation is unfavorable. Even if Zhang Nai is unwilling a thousand times, what can he do?
Compared to the safety of the old camp in Zhuxian Town, what are the more than one hundred cannons of our own artillery battalion?

If the cannons are lost, we can still find other government troops to seize them, or we can recast them ourselves after returning to Funiu Mountain. But if the old camp in Zhuxian Town is breached by government troops, then even retreating back to Funiu Mountain will become a problem!
After leaving behind 3,000 servants and over 2,000 infantrymen, Gu Ying led the 3,000 horsemen and over 7,000 elite infantrymen to break free from the pincer attack of Zhang Guodong and Wei Zhice. Although government cavalry were still pursuing them, their numbers were limited and they were unable to launch an effective devastating attack on the rebel army. At most, they could only harass them and slow down Gu Ying's advance.

…………

Wei Zhice had just met Zhang Guodong and exchanged a few pleasantries when he received a military order from the Earl of Yongning delivered by Xu Jinyong's subordinates.

"The Imperial Guards and the troops of General Wang of Datong and General Li of Shanxi are coming."

Zhang Guodong asked curiously, "Who's leading the team?"

"Hehe, naturally only the generals of our Brave and Resolute Army are qualified."

"The Imperial Guards are here. Is it Lin Fangping leading the team?"

"It's Xu Jinyong!"

"Oh. The commander of the thousand households at Dripping Cliff back then."

“Yes.” Wei Zhice turned his head to look at Xinchengji to the north and said with emotion, “In just three years, a commander of a thousand has been promoted to the rank of adjutant.”

"This Xu Hanzi is alright, he's quite a fighter."

"Guodong, tell me, among all these men under our commander, is there even one good-for-nothing?"

"Brother Ce, if you talk like that, then there really isn't a single good-for-nothing among you."

Zhang Guodong continued with a laugh, "Whether he's good at fighting or good at writing, I haven't seen a single coward. They even used that sycophant. Commander-in-Chief, you're really something!"

"Guodong, don't look down on people like Lü Dachun. Some things can only be done well with people like him."

"Hehe..." Zhang Guodong chuckled and asked, "What else did Xu Jinyong say in his letter?"

"The commander-in-chief has ordered us to wait for Xu Jinyong and the two generals' troops to join forces before launching a full-scale attack on Zhuxian Town."

"With so many reinforcements, the commander-in-chief is determined to take Zhuxian Town!"

"Yes. That must be the case, and Chen Zheng will be in charge of commanding the attack on Zhuxian Town."

"Oh." A hint of disappointment appeared in Zhang Guodong's eyes, but he said, "The Commander-in-Chief really spoils Chen Zheng. Knowing that he was pent up at Xiangong Temple, he gave him a chance to vent his anger on Zhuxian Town."

Wei Zhice chuckled and said in a calm tone, "Chen Zheng is one of the oldest veterans who followed the commander-in-chief. Currently, he and Lao Wu are the only ones left in our army. Naturally, he is the first choice to command an attack operation of this scale."

He turned to Zhang Guodong with a smile and said, "Guodong, don't worry, there's no need to be jealous of Chen Zheng. Next time there's a battle like this, it will be your turn to command."

Zhang Guodong laughed to cover his embarrassment, and said in a half-joking, half-serious tone, "I really am jealous of Chen Zheng. I don't believe you, Lao Wei, aren't feeling a little sour inside..."

Wei Zhice remained silent, which was clearly an admission of his consent.

Zhang Guodong then said leisurely, "People like us are born to serve our commanders. Killing the enemy on the battlefield is nothing to write home about, but who wouldn't be tempted to lead more than 20,000 elite troops in a major battle like today!"

"Yes, I hope to command a real battle someday; that would be truly exhilarating." (End of Chapter)