Xie Ming

Alas, it is said that a military general died on the battlefield.

Upon hearing the news, Xiao Jingchuan was overcome with grief and nearly collapsed from exhaustion.

I mustered my strength and held on for a while.

Xiao Lang, supporting himself on his feet and swaying slightly, moved step by step toward the body of Chuanwu.

This journey has been long and arduous.
They finally arrived, only to find Chuanwu in a terrible state; his body had been hacked and mutilated by the traitors, his bones exposed and white.

In an instant, Xiao roared to the sky, stepped forward, and pounced on Chuanwu.

At the same time, Changting, Sangmenxing, and others, along with soldiers from various places, surrounded Chuanwu's corpse, making it impossible for anyone to pass through.

What a pity! What a lament!
They all expressed regret and resentment.
Just then, as everyone was gathered around the martial arts hall, a disheveled old man with messy hair staggered past, and the generals had no time to pay him any attention.

This person is none other than the insane Old Huang.

Of all the soldiers and officers present, only he remained silent, his face ashen, as if he had wept his heart out and was no longer heard from.

The man moved step by step toward a large stone beside the crowd.

No one noticed him, and he no longer needed anyone's attention.

Old Huang, struggling with his aging legs, climbed the half-person-high stone top with great difficulty and pain. Under his feet was a steep slope of about three meters on the side of the riverbank connecting to the mountain road.

The reason why a single battalion was able to hold out for so long when the enemy was just deployed to the front line of Chuanwu was because of the advantage of the terrain.

The area along the riverbank with its gentle slope is only a few dozen steps wide.

With mountains on both sides, it can connect to the north and south by taking advantage of the terrain. The roads leading to Anqing are all winding mountain roads.

The side facing the river is all steep slopes and sharp rocks; falling there would be fatal.

Right now, Lao Huang is standing on a rock in front of the ambush site, right next to a steep slope.

He didn't utter a sound the whole time, nor did he say anything more.

Once the rock climbing platform reached the top of the steep slope, it looked down.
The damp river breeze swept over his old face, causing his lips and teeth to twitch.

Without further ado, Old Huang leaned forward without the slightest hesitation.

He simply jumped down.

"Old Huang—"

"Hey, Lao Huang!"

When the thief Changting caught a glimpse of this scene out of the corner of his eye, he was too late to come to the rescue as he watched the man silently throw himself into the river.

With a loud shout, Chuanwu, surrounded by his generals Ding Yong, finally turned his head to look at the situation.

But all of this was too late.

Old Huang made a resolute leap, throwing himself downwards, his head hitting a sharp rock, and he died on the slope below, before the tide.

Having just learned of Chuanwu's death and injuries, Xiao Jingchuan was also filled with anger and indignation upon hearing of this act.

He pushed through the crowd from his original spot, took a few quick steps, and rushed to where Old Huang had fallen rocks.

wow——

wow——

The river tide, oblivious to the sorrow, crashes against the shore with ceaseless, uninterrupted flow, never pausing for a moment.

The river water crashed against the rocks, creating white foam that was now mixed with blood, some of which was indistinguishable from the blood of Old Huang or someone else, swirling and undulating there.

"what--"

"Traitor!"

"Give me back my soldiers!"

Witnessing everything before him, Xiao Jingchuan was overcome with anger and grief, and finally could not control himself any longer.

Suddenly, he swung his sword to the side with all his might!
The steel blade is powerful and heavy.

With a single stroke, he raised his knife and cleaved it deeply into the large rock where Old Huang had just been using it as a stepping stone.

However, the stubborn rock is tough and cannot be resisted by a blade.

Suddenly, Xiao Lang's long-time personal sword broke off at three inches, with only the rear half cut open and embedded inside.

The most powerful point at the front then made a loud clanging sound, rushing down the bank and swirling away with the river tide.

It plunged into the river and never reappeared.
Seeing this, the jinx quickly followed from the side, fearing that Xiao might be angry and cause another mishap in front of the cliff.

He then quickly moved behind him, trying to grab the arm of the warlord.

But I didn't expect this idea to backfire.

At this moment, Xiao's muscles were tense, and he was burning with rage. Suddenly, someone grabbed his arm from behind, and he instinctively resisted, utterly terrified.

With a flick of his elbow, he shook himself off, acting strangely, and retreated backward.

You should know that where he was standing was right next to the big rock. If he took a step back, he could easily lose his footing and fall off the shore.

Seeing the situation, it was fortunate that Changting was quick-witted.

He rushed forward and snatched Xiao Lang back from the brink of death.

Startled, Xiao Lang stumbled and fell onto a stepping stone, panting heavily.

It's hard to know whether right or wrong. Just as he was about to face danger, a sudden jolt of consciousness sent his soul back to its place.

Anyway, after this commotion, it's true that the head coach's mind has calmed down.

He fell silent for a moment.
The surrounding soldiers, now completely surrounded, dared not utter a word of dissent.

And so they remained there, motionless for quite some time.

Finally, Xiao Jingchuan, on the verge of collapse, pulled his mind out of his body.

Suddenly, the man seemed to have regained his temper. He sprang up from the rock with swift and decisive movements, took a step close to the jinx, snatched the man's knife, and flicked it to clean off the bloodstains.

"All generals, heed my command!" he suddenly shouted.

Upon hearing this, the other officials, realizing that the situation was on the right track, clasped their hands in a gesture of respect, their eyes gleaming.

"Second Master Liu, go to Anqing City immediately and tell Li Hongsheng that most of the rebel army's central forces have been defeated and retreated."

"According to my military order, immediately dispatch half of his two thousand soldiers to follow along this route, directly to Jiujiang to intercept the rebel army's rear guard as they flee through the waterways!" Xiao Yi ordered.

"Yes, I accept the order!" After saying this, Master Liu rushed north to take up his post.

"Changting, send a team of officers to search for fast boats on the shore and cross the river. Notify Zhao Yingyuan's troops to search for usable ships on the river. The entire army will head west by water to pursue the fleeing rebel ships!" Xiao ordered the second.

“Yes, I’ll get on it right away,” Chang Tingye replied quickly.

"You jinx, stay here, clean up the battlefield, and heal the wounded."

"Quickly set up beacon fires in the forest."

"Notify Yuan Ping and Qi Gang, who are hiding in the Jiujiang area, that the great undertaking is accomplished. Quickly seize Jiujiang and block any fleeing rebels."

"Light three fireworks."

"I have already informed them. Release the enemy in the front and leave the rest behind. We must not provoke the rear to fight to the death." This was Xiao's third order.

"Yes! Understood!" The jinx didn't hesitate and turned to leave.

Seeing that everything was ready, Xiao Jingchuan pointed his sword westward, and then gave Lai his last life.

"The rest of you, those of you here, can still fight!"

"The defeat of the rebels is inevitable and cannot be reversed."

"These thieves here have slaughtered my limbs and killed my brothers! This is intolerable!"

"If we don't avenge this grudge, we will be unworthy of being called comrades."

"All soldiers, listen to my command! Now is the time to kill the enemy and achieve merit!"

"All troops, charge with me!"

"Push forward and annihilate the rebels!"

"kill--"

"kill!"

"Kill!"

The victorious army was already in high spirits, and the death of Chuanwu had further fueled the pent-up anger among the soldiers.

Once provoked by the commander-in-chief, shouts of killing immediately filled the air.

At the head of the charge, Xiao Lang, disregarding the knife wound on his shoulder, roared and charged ahead, leading the charge against the front of the remaining soldiers.

Such an example inspires unwavering loyalty among its followers.

So it is, and so it is.
On the fourth day of the fourth month of the second year of the Hongguang reign.

Xiao Jun led a force of 30,000 soldiers to block the entrance to Anqing.

Thanks to the strategic advantage of the terrain, the three armies fought bravely and won a great victory, decisively defeating Zuo Liangyu's "million" rebel army.

Such a great victory quelled the rebellion in Hubei in one fell swoop, and Zuo Liangyu's urgent eastward advance was immediately halted and quelled.

(End of this chapter)