Tang Dynasty Bandits

Chapter 292 The Startled Deer
The night was like ink spilled on rice paper, so thick that it couldn't be spread.

In the mountains and forests, even the insects fell silent, listening to the breath of the darkness.

On nights without starlight, the only light comes from the lanterns in the army camp. The shadows of the banners are stretched long by these swaying lanterns, telling the stories they carry.

Suddenly, a rustling sound emerged from the silence, and the mountain grass and shrubs rustled and trembled.

The soldiers on night watch were terrified when they heard the clattering sounds.

This direction leads to extremely steep mountain streams on both sides, and the road is very narrow. How could the enemy cavalry possibly break through?
In the darkness, the sound of drums could already be heard. Accompanied by the drumbeats, firelight illuminated the mountain path, turning the night sky a crimson hue.

"Enemy attack, enemy attack!"

The night sentry quickly sounded the alarm by banging on the watchdog and blowing the horn.

At this moment, the sound of horses' hooves was already getting closer.

The sentry looked closely and realized that it wasn't a horse at all, but a large herd of deer.

The sound of deer hooves resembles that of horses, so the soldiers on night watch misheard them. Compared to the large horses, they are much more agile in narrow, wooded terrain.

They screeched in panic and charged toward the camp, quickly smashing through a large section of the fence.

The soldiers were awakened and walked out of their tents in a daze, only to see the camp full of deer running and colliding.

"In the past, when Cao Cao, the Emperor Wu of Wei, attacked Yangping Pass, a frightened deer stormed Zhang Lu's camp, helping him to victory. Now that history is repeating itself, has the enemy received divine intervention?"

Among the crowd, some people were talking about it.

Among the rebel generals, some of the more astute and sensible ones knew something was amiss as soon as they heard the words "divine mandate."

Playing tricks and manipulating fate were Lei Shuai Gao Pian's specialties.

The one stirring up trouble must be a spy sent by Gao Pian to infiltrate the rebel army.

The morale of the rebel army was low due to the impact of the epidemic, and their management was chaotic, making it even more difficult to detect spies.

They've been lying low for so long, only to suddenly emerge and mislead people, taking advantage of the chaos.

Where can you find so much destiny?

Something unusual must be going on. This herd of deer was undoubtedly Gao Pian's army; I wonder how they drove it here!

Soon, the rebel soldiers realized what methods the enemy was using.

The firelight on the mountain path followed the approaching deer herd. Enemy soldiers rushed into the camp through the gap created by the deer herd, with the vanguard soldiers leading two striped tigers.

After entering the camp, the tiger tamer unlocked the chains, and the tiger chased the deer herd, charging into the ranks of the grass army.

The attacking enemy soldiers, many of them holding pumps, sprayed liquid onto people's faces, causing an intense burning sensation, and instantly making them run with tears and snot, unable to even open their eyes.

Deer have a natural fear of tigers, and spicy pepper water can effectively drive away deer. Lei Shuaijun discovered that there were deer inhabiting this valley and immediately devised a plan to use the deer to attack the bandit camp. Once the deer-driving men followed and stormed the palisade, they could then use the tigers and pepper water pumps to launch an attack on the bandit army.

The spies shouted and made a ruckus, creating chaos in the military camp, which was immediately thrown into disarray.

This was only a small part of Lei Shuaijun's night raid.

In other directions from the Caojun camp, firelight gradually appeared on the mountain path, like winding fire dragons.

Accompanied by the rousing sound of drums, the enemy soldiers launched a noisy attack on the various camps of the rebel army.

The rugged mountain paths were unsuitable for cavalry; driving deer was intended to create the illusion of a large enemy cavalry attack. However, infantry skilled in traversing mountains and valleys, attacking from all directions simultaneously, were also quite formidable.

Gao Pian's Wudang Flying Army was selected from warriors of foreign tribes who grew up in mountainous areas and were adept at traversing rocky terrain. Launching surprise attacks in mountainous regions was their forte.

In Zhu Wen's Luoyandu camp.

Huo Cun roared and charged back at the surging enemy soldiers, cutting down the tall barbarian leader with a single stroke. Zhu Wen's personal guards followed Huo Cun's charge, cutting a gap in the enemy formation.

The enemy soldiers made strange noises and retreated.

"The enemy's tactics are very methodical," Zhu Wen commented later. "They divide their troops into groups, attack in shifts, and retreat when things go wrong, giving us the illusion that the attacking forces are endless."

"They also seized the initiative on the battlefield by exploiting the fact that the soldiers in each battalion were hesitant to support each other at night."

Huo Cun asked doubtfully, "Such methods... could it be that the old scoundrel Gao Pian came in person?"

“Gao Pian is still dealing with bandits in Huainan. Our only opponent is Zhang Lin,” Zhu Wen said without hesitation.

Huo Cun gasped.

Zhang Lin, one of the three heroes under Gao Pian, was as famous as the deceased Gao Yan and Liang Zuan.

Last year, in the Battle of Xuanzhou and Nanling, the Cao army suffered greatly at Zhang Lin's hands. This time, Zhang Lin was also in full charge of leading Gao Pian's elite troops across the river to pursue the Cao army.

Spreading the plague and undermining morale must have been Gao Pian's scheme.

This night raid could only be carried out expediently based on the situation. If Gao Pian hadn't come in person, he wouldn't have been able to remotely command the operation from hundreds of miles away as if he had some kind of supernatural insight.

If Zhang Lin is already so difficult to deal with, is it really possible to defeat Gao Pian, this monster?

Not only Huo Cun, but many people present also had this question in their minds.

"Boss, do you mean we should allocate some of our forces to rescue the other camps?" Huo Cun asked tentatively.

Zhu Wen smiled knowingly: "Little Huo, do you think it's hard to imagine that the enemy would raid our camp in the coming days?"

Recently, due to the epidemic, the army has been at a disadvantage in battle and has been forced to retreat south under the pursuit of Zhang Lin, retreating from Xuan and She counties into Jiangxi Province.

Huang Chao's decision to rely on the mountainous terrain of eastern Jiangxi to build fortified villages for defense suggests that he could not have been unaware of the enemy's raid on his camp.

Huo Cun was even more confused: "Since Commander Huang had anticipated this, why didn't he order the soldiers to be on high alert?"

"Knowing that the enemy is likely to raid the camp is different from knowing exactly when and when the enemy will arrive."

"Our soldiers are weak and exhausted due to the epidemic, and they also need rest after the hard work of building the camp. If we require everyone to be on guard every day, it will only make them more exhausted, and there might even be a disturbance or a nighttime raid in the camp under the pressure." Zhu Wen analyzed calmly, "We have the necessary precautions. This night raid by the enemy will not cause fatal damage."

Hearing Zhu Wen's words, Huo Cun finally felt relieved.

"So we don't need to do anything?"

Zhu Wen shook his head: "Xiao Huo, you and Zhu Zhen take most of the men and guard the camp. I will personally lead two hundred men to check on the main camp."

Huo Cun looked at Zhu Wen blankly, only to see Zhu Wen casually utter the following words: "Perhaps we can cut off Zhang Lin's head."

In the main camp of the rebel army, Zhang Lin, dressed in a white robe, charged into battle on horseback, galloping freely as if entering an empty field.

Huang Chao camped in the mountains, and due to the narrow and rugged mountain paths, a cavalry raid would have been extremely difficult. Zhang Lin's night raid consisted mostly of infantry.

However, the commander-in-chief leading the soldiers on horseback is conspicuous and can boost morale.

Ahead lies Huang Chao's central command tent.

Zhang Lin pierced the large banner in front of the tent with his spear and charged in on horseback.

With swift spear and horse, the figure reading military texts at the desk was overturned in an instant.

Zhang Lin stood there stunned.

The "Huang Chao" he stabbed was a scarecrow.

(End of this chapter)