Tang Dynasty Bandits

Chapter 32 Trapped and Killed Heroes
At the critical moment, Zhu Wen heard Liu Hanhong's sarcastic remarks again, and he couldn't help but feel furious. He wanted to pile this chatterbox into cement and throw him under the Zhaozhou Bridge to serve as a human pillar.

But he still had to pretend to be calm and composed: "Victory and defeat are common in the military, and in this battle, we may not be at a disadvantage."

As he was speaking, the sound of horse hooves was heard. A group of soldiers and horses came over the mountains and hills from the north of Dingfeng Hill, and arrived suddenly like lightning.

From a high vantage point, their momentum was like splitting bamboo. This fleet of cavalry scaled the summit of Dingfeng Hill and swooped down from its summit, crashing into the ranks of the Zhongwu Army's elite soldiers, who were stringing their bows and crossbows. They caught their enemies completely off guard. Spears and sabers flew like a hail of flowers, instantly sending blood and flesh flying everywhere, and severed limbs danced through the air.

The leader was a man of burly build, with a blue face, a ferocious look, and a majestic aura. He rode a green horse. He was none other than Qin Yan, the young master of the Bamboo Flower Gang under Wang Xianzhi.

Qin Yan let out a long roar, and his spear came out like a dragon. The spear could change in thousands of ways, just like Nezha making trouble in the sea or Erlang carrying the mountain. He immediately cut a bloody lane in the ranks of the Zhongwu army and had no enemy who could match him.

"Brother Qin, you're just in time!" Zhu Wen raised his lips and shouted, "The enemy and ours have different terrains. I was worried about our army suffering heavy casualties, so I asked Brother Qin to take a detour and attack from the flank. This has foiled Wang Jian's treacherous scheme!"

Qin Yan looked at Zhu Wen with a very friendly and enthusiastic look.

During the meeting of heroes, Qin Yan once found fault with Zhu Wen and was scolded by Zhu Wen.

But compared to those petty kids in the village, Qin Yan is undoubtedly a true hero - when both parties have common interests, he will not bear grudges at all, and will not make things difficult for you when cooperating.

Seeing Wang Jian's troops being dispersed in an instant, the morale of the rebel army was greatly boosted, and they cheered in unison. Qin Yan also showed a smug look on his face: "Wang Jian, that little brat, is nothing to worry about! Watch me kill him seven times and wipe out this group of imperial lackeys!"

But Zhu Wen's eyes had already fallen on his second brother Zhu Cun behind Qin Yan.

Zhu Cun still had a silly smile on his face, as if it had nothing to do with him.

If Zhu Cun was not also from Songzhou and familiar with the terrain, how could Qin Yan alone launch a surprise attack on Wang Jian's troops from the flank without making any noise?
But since they had fought alongside several cavalry units under Wang Xianzhi, Zhu Wen could only give the credit to Qin Yan as a gesture of goodwill towards Wang Xianzhi's army. However, only someone as understanding and indifferent as his second brother, who did not seek credit, would have no complaints about his arrangements.

Liu Hanhong, who had been sneering just now, was stunned for a moment. He then realized that Zhu Wen was indeed resourceful. Even though he was attacked suddenly, he had already made a backup plan!

Although the Zhongwu Rui soldiers were skilled in martial arts and well-equipped with weapons and armor, they were caught off guard by the cavalry's attack from a high position. They were in a panic and finally managed to form a formation to resist the enemy and drive back the cavalry squad of dozens of people led by Qin Yan and Zhu Cun.

Taking advantage of this precious gap, Zhu Wen arranged for men to pull the war horses out of the mud, while he himself led the team forward with difficulty and arrived at the bottom of the slope which was still dry.

Every soldier of the Cao Army was filled with indignation, with the desire for revenge burning in their eyes like a raging fire, and they vowed to tear Wang Jian and the others into pieces!

"You bastards, where are you going to run to?" one of Zhu Wen's lieutenants yelled angrily, "Let's all attack together and chop these bastards into minced meat and feed them to the pigs and dogs!"

Wang Jian rubbed his hands and said to the Zhongwu Army, "Oh no! This is bad! We've also fallen into the thieves' trap today. What should we do?"

The officer with a purple-black face beside him had lost all his fearlessness in facing death. Instead, he said awkwardly, "Captain Wang, we are about to face a disaster. It would be better to surrender. We can still have a chance to survive..."

Wang Jian shrugged, his expression nonchalant. "If we can fight, we fight. If we can't, we surrender. That's the way it is. If we surrender, what will your commander-in-chief do with us?"

Before Zhu Wen could reply, Huo Cun, already filled with rage, began to curse: "You just killed and injured so many of my brothers. Now that you are weak and afraid of death, you are vainly trying to surrender to save your life. How can there be such a shameless person in the world?"

It was no wonder Huo Cun was furious. Zhu Wen's battalion had never suffered such a loss since joining Huang Chao! Moreover, many of them had been thieves with Huo Cun in Tongshan before, and had known him for several years.

The generals and soldiers also said to Zhu Wen, "General Zhu, you must not surrender. The enemy must have a trick up their sleeve. Once we advance, we will kill them all without a single soldier left!" Wang Jian heard this and sighed, "Brothers, the enemy won't let us surrender to save our lives. What can we do? As the saying goes, of the thirty-six strategies, retreat is the best. It's best for us to save our lives and abandon our weapons and flee."

The soldiers under his command responded one after another, and one by one they tore off their armor and threw it on the ground.

Seeing that Wang Jian and others were so arrogant before but now so cowardly, Zhu Wen's men were all angry. Without waiting for Zhu Wen to speak, they rushed up the slope and pounced on the enemy.

Huo Cun shouted, "Everyone, you must not pick up the enemy's armor. The enemy discards their armor and armor to hinder our pursuit. Don't fall for their trick!"

The sharp soldiers of the Zhongwu Army also turned around and made preparations to leave.

Only Zhu Wen felt vaguely that something was wrong.

But just as he was about to speak up to stop them, he heard curses floating in the wind.

"The apprentice taught by the salt thief Huang Chao is only this capable. A thief is still a thief after all, just like a rat cannot be seen on the stage!"

A gentleman can be killed but not humiliated, let alone humiliating Zhu Wen’s respected master!
Even a clay figure has some fiery temperament, let alone Zhu Wen, who is now young and has the most bloodiness.

A surge of rage surged from his mind, his eyes nearly spitting fire. The words of dissuasion he was about to say suddenly turned into: "Brothers, bring us the heads of those talkative villains. There will be a generous reward."

At this moment, as Wang Jian pulled a rope hidden in the twilight and the grass, there was a crackling sound. The front team running up the hillside screamed and fell from the slope into a huge deep pit. The sharp knives and spears that had been laid out in advance immediately pierced the rebel soldiers one after another, and blood gushed out!
Obviously, Wang Jian laid wooden boards on the pit and set up a mechanism, so the Zhongwu Army was completely safe when they went up the hill before. When the rebel army was pursuing them, Wang Jian activated the mechanism, causing all the heroes of the Cao Army who were charging in the front to fall into the pit. Except for Huo Cun who was quick-eyed and quick-handed, he jumped out of the pit with his injuries and escaped back to the formation. The rest were either dead or injured, and were impaled on the swords and spears at the bottom of the pit. Those who were not dead were still groaning in pain, looking extremely miserable.

Wang Jian turned around and laughed wildly, "You've fallen into my trap!"

He leaped forward and used a soldier from the Grass Army at the bottom of the pit as a stepping stone. He exerted force with his feet, and the soldier, who was still screaming in pain, was instantly pierced by the spear tip. Wang Jian, who had taken off his armor, was as light as a swallow and jumped over the pit directly, heading straight for Zhu Wen.

He was still counting on his fingers—

"If it's a kitten or puppy, it can be caught in one go, but if it's a big fish, it will take three steps."

"The first step is that if you are attacked by water, you must dismount and fight on foot, and the place where you can land is easy to determine."

"The second step is to feign surrender, inciting your underestimation of the enemy and anger, thereby luring your front line into a trap."

"Step three: Once your vanguard is trapped, our commander will be exposed. With our troops unarmored and each one nimble, we can step over the corpses of your vanguard, cross the pit, and capture your commander. Zhu Wen, it truly is heaven's blessing that I, Wang Jian, have caught a fish as big as you!"

At this moment, even someone as resourceful as Zhu Wen couldn't help but look dejected.

He had never imagined that a mere hill could be calculated by Wang Jian to such an extent, which was almost beyond Qi Kerang's three-fold strategy of attacking the camp.

In this vast world of mortals, who is being hunted?

And Wang Jian’s prey today is Zhu Wen’s head!
(End of this chapter)