Lord: Start with a book of Water Margin

Chapter 602: Village Robbery
Wu Yong said, "Sir, when Gao Lian used his magic today, I asked Mr. Gongsun. If we talk about Taoism, even if Gao Lian's Taoism is better than that of Mr. Wu Jiao, he would not be able to defeat him. So you are naturally no match for him."

After saying that, Wu Yong looked at Gongsun Sheng.

Seeing Gongsun Sheng nod, Liu Hui Niang said, "Since my husband is no match for me, why do we still want to challenge each other to a duel?"

Wu Yong said: "Although my Taoism cannot defeat him, it does not mean I have no means to defeat him. Mr. Gongsun joked with me today before the battle that although Gao Lian has been practicing Taoism for a long time, the magic he has practiced is the same as his brother Gao Feng, which is also the art of the Three Mountains and Nine Lords. Most of them are illusions. My Taoism has many magic weapons that can break illusions. If you use the magic weapons, it will not be difficult to break his magic."

Gongsun Sheng, who came with the army, nodded and said, "That's true. The magic he used today is the same as the animal skin booklet I got from Gao Feng. You, Junior Brother, have also practiced it. You can tell what magic he is going to use by looking at his gestures, and you can naturally deal with it."

"It's not easy for Hunhai Tianluo to cultivate. He needs to find Yin Demons and Yin Souls to sacrifice and refine. Junior brother has the Li Guang Treasure Mirror, and he can also defeat him. But unless he uses three hundred [Flying Divine Soldiers] to fight."

Zhao Zhen was hesitant after hearing this. He was just hesitating whether to use this method when Wu Yong continued, "This is not difficult. [Blue Dragon God] Yan Guang, [White Tiger God] Tian Ba, [Suzaku God] Dong Kai, [Black Tortoise God] Yu Zhiwang are mixed in with the [Flying Divine Soldiers]. If the four of them work together, they will have a better chance of winning."

Zhao Zhen saw that Wu Yong was thoughtful and said, "I'm afraid Gao Lian doesn't dare to fight."

Wu Yong said, "Sir, there is no rush. After today's great victory, Gao Lian will not dare to be so tyrannical again. It will not be difficult to force him to hand over Yin Tianxi. Killing Gao Lian is just to get rid of this corrupt official and vent the anger of Mr. Chai, Instructor Lin and others."

As soon as she finished speaking, Liu Huiniang said, "Sir, Gao Lian was defeated today. I'm afraid he will come to raid our camp. We need to be careful."

Zhao Zhen nodded and said, "This guy has some skills, he is not a loser like Gao Rang. He also knows Taoism, we must be on guard against him raiding our camp at night."

Wu Yong clapped his hands with his feather fan and said, "I was just worried that this guy wouldn't come. If he does, my plan will have a better chance of success. We can gather the troops together tonight, celebrate with loud music and drinking, so that this guy will think we are slacking off and lure him to come. At night, we will ambush in all directions. When the generals hear the cannon fire in the camp and see the fire in the camp, they will advance together. If this guy comes in person, it would be best if we can kill him. If he comes to raid the camp, even General Gao cannot retaliate openly."

At that moment, everyone discussed it and then went their separate ways.

Pretending to drink until night, the generals and their soldiers secretly dispersed and ambushed on all sides, waiting for the soldiers from Gaotang Prefecture in the city to come out and raid the camp.

In Liaocheng, Gao Lian had lost several battles in a row today and looked unhappy. The commanders and militiamen under him also looked as if they dared not breathe.

Gao Lian scolded: "You are all used to fighting, why don't you have any ideas today?"

A general inside heard this and stepped out to report, "Sir, please calm down. After a day of running around yesterday, my men were exhausted and lost. Liangshan is just a group of country folk after all. I saw the Liangshan camp outside the city celebrating their victory and was completely unprepared. I am willing to go out of the city to rob the camp and take revenge."

After hearing this, Gao Lian couldn't help but hesitate.

A person's reputation is like the shadow of a tree. Liangshan is so prosperous, so it should not be so frivolous.

Before he could think clearly, he heard the man continue, "Sir, I only have 1,000 cavalrymen with me. They must hold their guns in their mouths and their horses must wrap their hooves. We will charge out in the middle of the night. If we succeed, you can send troops to expand the victory. If we fail, we can also use the convenience of the cavalrymen to quickly return to the city."

Gao Lian looked at the man at the steps, and he recognized him. His surname was Huang and his given name was Ba. He was now the military commander in the army. This man had an elder brother named Huang Kui, who was the military commander under Gao Feng. When Yizhou City was broken, he escaped alone and came to Gaotang Prefecture to apply for military service. He could use a 70-jin axe to split mountains, and because he was brave and was under the command of Gao Feng of Yizhou, he was recruited into the army. After hearing what Huang Ba said, Gao Lian said, "Since you are so brave, I will help you again. Tonight I will cast a spell to summon fog to cover my body, and then order 300 magic soldiers to accompany you to help you succeed. Regardless of success or failure, after the Liangshan Army is defeated, I will promote you to be a militia commander."

Huang Ba was overjoyed when he heard this, and he thanked him. The others were also encouraged when they heard this.

That night, Huang Ba led a thousand cavalrymen out of the city first, followed by three hundred divine soldiers, each carrying an iron gourd on their backs, which contained sulfur, saltpeter, and fireworks, and each holding a hook blade and an iron broom, following closely behind.

Around the second watch, the north gate of Liaocheng was opened, the drawbridge was lowered, and Huang Ba led the troops to Liangshan stronghold. When the time came, Gao Lian performed magic on the top of the city wall, and a black fog rose into the sky with Gao Lian's magic sword, covering the moon in the sky.

Huang Ba, who was lying in ambush outside Liangshan Stronghold, heard the drums of Liangshan Stronghold and sneered, saying to his attendants: "Today I deserve to be rewarded for my meritorious service. Liangshan is rampant, yet we are so careless."

When the fog raised by Gao Lian blew over and covered the big camp, Huang Ba saw it, gave a low shout, led his troops on horseback, and headed straight for the big camp.

The three hundred divine soldiers at the back also took a fire and lit it on the mouth of the gourd. In the midst of the black air, with flames covering their bodies, they rushed into the village with swords and axes.

They entered the camp together and arrived at the center of the army, but did not see any generals. Instead, they saw several sheep tied to wooden stakes, with drumsticks tied to the sheep's hooves for beating drums.

Huang Ba was panicking when he saw that the empty village was being robbed. He shouted in haste, "We've been tricked!"

He turned his horse around and left. There was a sound of a cannon and rockets flew in all directions. A fire broke out in the empty camp and flames flew everywhere, making it red all over. Ambush troops came out from all directions, surrounded Gaotangzhou and killed the soldiers who had tried to rob the camp.

When the robbers saw this, they rushed back desperately. Huang Ba ran into Chen Liqing in the chaos. Huang Ba took advantage of her because she was a woman and rushed over. After a fight, he found that Chen Liqing was not as strong as himself. He rode his horse to leave, but Tu Qiao, who was standing beside him, stabbed him off his horse with a sword from behind.

At dawn, they counted the spoils. A thousand cavalrymen and three hundred divine soldiers killed or captured more than a thousand people, and only more than two hundred people fled back to the city.

In the camp, all the troops came to report their victory. Zhao Zhen ordered Liu Hui Niang to mark their achievements and reward them after they returned.

At the Liaocheng County Government Office, Gao Lian was furious when he saw the soldiers returning in defeat.

Not only did he lose a thousand cavalrymen, but less than fifty of the three hundred special soldiers returned, which really made Gao Lian heartbroken.

The generals in the city were even more terrified. The morale that had been boosted yesterday was instantly wiped out.

Gao Lian saw this and suppressed his heartache. He said to the people, "When I came here, I wrote a letter asking the general to send troops to rescue us. Within three to five days, an angel will come. You all should be careful to go up to the city and guard it. Magistrate Wang, today I will recruit all the men in the city to help defend the city. You all should be careful and hold out for a few days. When the Liangshan army retreats, you will be rewarded. If the city is captured, we will all die."

After hearing this, everyone did not dare to delay and went about their business.

(End of this chapter)