The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 170 Battle of Wendeng

On September 9, the main force of the Kaiyuan Cavalry Battalion, consisting of 2,000 cavalrymen, headed westward from Wendeng County, crossed the Dagu River and the Xinan River, and pursued and killed the Wenxiang Sect rebels.

The cavalry battalion killed more than 10,000 Wenxiang believers between Huangxian and Zhaoyuan. Five thousand believers fled to Laishan and Wenshan in Dengzhou, and the rest fled to Laizhou Prefecture.

The cavalry chased to the border of Dengzhou and Laizhou, but their horses were exhausted. They cleared the battlefield along the way and returned to Wendeng County.

The three thousand headquarters dispatched three thousand combat troops, and under the supervision of the flag captains, they began to clear the battlefield. The pacification troops, civil officials, and the central army guards were on hand to register.

Surrounded by the central army guards, Liu Zhaosun rode his horse towards Wendeng County.

The main force of the 1,000th headquarters, 4,000 people, marched to Wendeng County with the central army flag.

The four thousand combat soldiers were divided into two groups, two thousand were responsible for guarding the four gates of the county town, and the other two thousand, under the supervision of the captains of each camp, civil officials and the central army guards, entered the city to confiscate the supplies left by the Wenxiang Sect.

After what he saw in Tieling last time, Liu Zhaosun was particularly concerned about the corruption among the soldiers. Although he was quite confident in this group of direct soldiers, human nature could never stand the test.

Before entering the city, the commanders of each camp repeatedly warned their soldiers that anyone who hid spoils of war or plundered civilians would be executed immediately.

Half an hour after the combat soldiers, civil officials and pacification troops entered the city, Ping Liaohou led a group of civil and military officials and entered the city through the north gate of Wendeng.

Across the moat, one could see from afar that the area from the city gate to the north and south streets was covered with dense piles of civilian corpses.

The warhorse under his crotch snorted repeatedly and dared not move forward. Liu Zhaosun frowned, got off the horse, stood in front of the moat, and remained silent for a long time.

There was a layer of dead bodies floating in the moat, and the clothes of many corpses had been stripped off by the followers of the Scent-Smelling Sect.

Kang Yingqian and others also dismounted.

Several civil servants were shocked by the scene before them. The Wendeng County city in front of them was burning with flames, and the bodies of civilians were scattered inside and outside the city.

Yuan Chonghuan's face was full of murderous intent, and veins bulged on his dark face.

Sun Chuanting's eyes were slightly red and he kept sighing.

Shao Jiechun looked at the burning north gate without saying a word.

Supervisor Qiao cursed loudly, "God damn the Wenxiang Sect! They're even more brutal than the Jiannu! When we catch Xu Hongru, we'll cut him into pieces!"

Kang Yingqian's expression was the most indifferent. He rolled his eyes and said to Liu Zhaosun:
"General Liu, the Wenxiang sect under Xu Hongru is the most brutal of the White Lotus sect. In the 33rd year of the Wanli reign, when I was serving as a magistrate in Henan, the Red Yang sect staged an uprising in Xinye, but I never saw them killing people like this."

Liu Zhaosun clenched his fists, his breathing became rapid, and he tried hard to control the anger in his heart. After a while, he said:
"Governor Yuan has set out from Weihaiwei and will arrive tonight. Let's go into the city first!"

Everyone agreed and followed Ping Liaohou, carefully avoiding the dead bodies on the ground, and entered Wendeng County.

The bodies of Wendeng residents were lying densely on the north and south streets, and blood was still flowing slowly along the ditches.

Broken silver and cloth were scattered all over the ground, and dilapidated furniture was piled in front of the shops, burning along with the shops along the street.

It took only two days for the Wenxiang Sect thugs to completely destroy the prosperous and wealthy Dengzhou town, turning Wendeng City into a hell on earth.

The pacification soldiers patrolled the streets in groups of five, supervising the fire soldiers as they carried the bodies and collected jewelry and small change.

The soldiers carried the gold, silver, jewelry and cloth stained with human blood to the north gate city wall in baskets.

The civil affairs officer stood by and registered the silver, jewelry and cloth, and the soldiers of the central army guard were also supervising.

Four tents were temporarily set up in the center of the city. Gold, silver and jade artifacts were piled up like mountains in the tents, and the cloth could soon no longer fit in.

Xie Yang, the Chief of the Quartermaster Department, and his four deputies were busy working non-stop, shouting loudly to the busy artillery soldiers around them:

"What are you all standing there for? Put up a few more tents!"

As Liu Zhaosun walked through the busy crowd, a group of civil affairs officials immediately saluted him. Liu Zhaosun hurriedly returned the salute and walked quickly towards the Wendeng County Government Office.

From a distance, I saw Pei Dahu and his men walking towards this side.

Before landing in Weihaiwei, Lao Pei brought people to reinforce the Intelligence Bureau and lurked near Wendeng early on.

Seeing that Lao Pei was not injured, Liu Zhaosun felt relieved.

Being able to lurk and operate under the noses of tens of thousands of Wenxiang Sect members is indeed extraordinary.

Pei Dahu stepped forward and saluted the superiors hastily. Then he leaned close to Liu Zhaosun's ear and whispered:

"Sir, we've captured Wang Haoxian alive, along with the three bandit leaders."

Liu Zhaosun smiled and stepped forward to pat Pei Dahu on the shoulder:

"Good! Good catch! Who caught it?"

Pei Dahu looked behind him and pointed at Lin Yu and Wu Xiao who were standing behind him.

"These two guys intercepted the Three Cabinets in Yangtai Town, killed several of the Wenxiang Sect's guardians, and finally captured Wang Haoxian alive!"

Liu Zhaosun looked at Wu Xiao, who was covered in blood, and asked with concern:
"Are you injured?"

Wu Xiao looked righteous and said with a fist:
"My Lord, there is no one injured. This is all the blood of the Wenxiang Sect!"

The two had just arrived from Yangtai Town and had walked more than ten miles. Before they could rest, Liu Zhaosun personally handed his coconut ladle to Wu Xiao and said with a smile:
"How many people did you kill?" Wu Xiao took a sip of water and turned to glance at Lin Yu.

"Your Excellency, I killed four, and Sergeant Lin killed six. If Deputy Captain Pei hadn't stopped them, Wang Haoxian would have been killed as well."

Liu Zhaosun laughed dumbly, patted Wu Xiao on the shoulder, and encouraged him:

"Great! We'll give you two a great credit for capturing the bandit leader alive!"

After saying that, he looked up at the tall Lin Yu. He knew that this man didn't talk much, so he nodded to the tall man and led everyone towards the county government office, where the captured thief was detained.

~~~~~
Wendeng County Government Office.

Under a large plaque with golden characters reading "Wendeng County Main Hall", Ping Liao Hou sat upright on a throne chair, with his back leaning against a screen facing the sea.

The four treasures of the study and the command quiver on the three-foot-long ruling table were swept away by the Wenxiang Sect thugs. Liu Zhaosun looked at the empty ruling table with a confused look on his face.

Kang Yingqian, Yuan Chonghuan and others sat at the bottom, while Pei Dahu, Jin Yuji and four guards stood on both sides of the hall with sharp blades in their hands for protection.

Everyone looked at the scent-smelling thief lying on the ground.

Wang Haoxian, the third in command of the Wenxiang Sect, and three bandit leaders were tied up and sat cross-legged on the bluestone slabs in the lobby, facing Ping Liaohou, looking unruly.

There were bloodstains on the floor, said to have been left by the clerk of the Wendeng County Magistrate.

"Wang Haoxian, you also come from a poor family. I heard that your father, Wang Sen, was a leatherworker. Why did you kill so many people?"

Wang Haoxian struggled to raise his head and glared at Liu Zhaosun.

In order to facilitate his escape, Sangui changed into tattered clothes when he was caught and blended in with the believers. The white beard sticking to his chin also disappeared, and he completely lost the style of Zhuge Kongming with a feather fan and a robe.

"Fuck you, you idiot! Your father is a leatherworker, and mine is a master of the Wenxiang Sect! These unruly people have money but don't respect the Mother of Mount Li. If I don't kill them, then God will! You dog official! Aren't you going to rebel too? Why are you helping the court to fight us, you dog of the court..."

Liu Zhaosun was too lazy to listen to the scallion-smelling curse, so he lowered his head and looked around for the gavel, only to find that the gavel had also been stolen.

With a bang, Ping Liaohou swung his fist at the execution table, and everyone was startled.

Wang Haoxian, who was talking sweetly, stopped and was shocked by the momentum.

"If you want to rebel, go kill the government troops and the corrupt officials! Killing the people is nothing. County Magistrate Zheng is a good official, honest and upright, and loves the people like his own children. Are you going to kill him too?"

Wang Haoxian was about to continue cursing when Liu Zhaosun interrupted him:

"You tore Magistrate Zheng into pieces and killed his entire family... You know I've always been fair!"

"If you tear him apart by five horses, I will execute you by slow slicing."

When Liu Zhaosun said this, he looked up at Pei Dahu who was standing next to him, and Pei Dahu hurried forward.

"Find a few living county officials and have them arrange for the execution at the busy street corner of Wendeng. Do not damage his face. After the lingchi is complete, chop off his head and send it to the capital."

Liu Zhaosun's tone was calm and unperturbed.

Wang Haoxian's face changed drastically and he collapsed to the ground.

Wang Haoxian originally thought that this senior official would escort him alive to the capital and report his achievement to the emperor.

In this way, the believers under the Three Cabinets could rescue him on their way to Beijing.

Even if he were to go to the capital, the Wenxiang Sect would have a way to get him out of jail thanks to their connections in the capital.

In the 42nd year of the Wanli reign, Wang Haoxian's father, Wang Sen, was taken to the capital after his failed rebellion. He soon died of illness in the capital's prison, and his body was never found. It is said that he escaped from prison after being replaced by members of the Wenxiang sect in the capital.

Unexpectedly, Liu Zhaosun wanted to execute him on the spot, and by slow slicing.

Wang Haoxian immediately lost his composure and knelt down to beg for mercy:

"Sir, please spare my life. I have some silver hidden away, I'll give it all to you."

Liu Zhaosun waved his hand:
"You've killed tens of thousands of people, not even sparing babies. This is unforgivable! I don't want your money, I want your death."

Two guards stepped forward, picked up Wang Haoxian, and dragged him out of the lobby like a dead person.

Wang Haoxian let out a shrill scream, and the sound gradually faded away.

Liu Zhaosun looked at the remaining three bandit leaders calmly. The three of them were already scared pale, and one of them even wet his pants on the spot.

"The three of you are no less sinful than Wang Haoxian! Someone, come here!"

Lin Yu stepped forward, dragged one of the thieves and was about to walk out.

Liu Zhaosun smiled awkwardly.

"Wait!"

"Whoever of you three reveals the location of the hidden silver in the three chests first will be allowed to end his life on his own, without suffering the pain of being cut into pieces."

(End of this chapter)