Tang Dynasty Bandits

Chapter 34 Wang Jian retreats

Meng Kai snorted and wiped the blood from his face. "I bravely charged forward and took that old thief Song Wei. Although I couldn't kill him, he took a bullet in the stomach. The old thief is old, I'm afraid he won't live more than a year or two!"

He added bitterly, "What a pity that several of my brothers were killed!"

Both sides were shocked. If what Meng Kai said was true, not only had the government troops lost two high-ranking officers, Song Jue and Kou Qianzhi, but the commander-in-chief, Song Wei, had also been severely injured and was unlikely to survive.

Meng Kai, however, impatiently put on his heavy armor and leaped up as if it were nothing. He even slipped and stepped on a soldier of his own who was unable to dodge, and he was just in a hurry to rescue Zhu Wen.

Before the man arrived, the Bagua Xuanhua Axe had already brought the power to split Mount Hua, and took advantage of Meng Kai's falling momentum to smash down, directly taking the black Liuhe stick in Wang Jian's hand.

Wang Jian was shocked. He raised his stick and held it upright. His waist collapsed and his feet released the force. With a loud bang, he was still knocked back several steps, gasping for breath.

"Wang Jian, huh?" Meng Kai sneered, "You're quite capable, you're truly a character. No wonder even Master takes a liking to you."

Wang Jian chuckled twice, "Huang Jutian's disciple, 'Divine Axe Opens the Sky' Meng Juehai, seems to be worthy of his reputation!"

A clever man like him naturally knew that it was useless to continue fighting, so he waved his hand and said, "You are lucky today, brothers, retreat!"

He clasped his fists towards Meng Kai and Zhu Wen and said, "The mountains remain unchanged, the rivers flow forever. We will fight again someday!"

The lightly armed and swift warriors of the Zhongwu Army jumped into the pit one by one as if they were walking on flat ground. In an instant, they retreated like a tide, as agile as monkeys, disappearing into the night. It was obvious that they could not be caught up.

Only Qin Yan, who led the cavalry rangers to raid the enemy camp, was unwilling to give up. He led a small team of light cavalry to intercept him in the waist, but was stabbed by Wang Jian with a stick from the side. The stick was clean and sharp, hitting him directly in the groin. Qin Yan let out a pig-killing howl and fell off his horse. A knight beside him stopped his horse in a hurry to rescue him, but it seemed that one of his testicles was broken.

"You filthy bastard, you're such a filthy bastard! You're going to die a miserable death. Sooner or later, you'll be made into a tortoise soup... ah..."

Qin Yan's shrill cries and fierce curses echoed in the night sky, and Wang Jian, the culprit, had long disappeared from the plain.

Zhu Wen watched from afar as the figures of Wang Jian and others disappeared into the darkness.

This small battle at Dingfeng Hill marked the first clash between two future heroes of troubled times. The future Liang Zu and the Shu Emperor both sought to kill each other, but they could never have imagined that their destinies would be so intertwined for so long.

Zhu Wen covered his wound with one hand and looked at Meng Kai with gratitude in his eyes: "Thank you for saving me again, Senior Brother. I am so ashamed..."

Meng Kai patted Zhu Wen on the shoulder and said, "You are not as good at fighting as I am, so take good care of yourself. If anything happens to you, it will make Hongyan feel distressed."

After a pause, he continued, "Don't be fooled by Junior Sister's heroic and bold personality. She can be very soft-hearted sometimes."

"Are you serious, Senior Brother? Did you really injure that old villain Song Wei?"

"How could it be false? When have I ever told a lie?" Meng Kai said firmly.

Upon hearing this, all the generals were overjoyed and came up to praise him, saying that killing Song Wei in this battle would really shock the world and that the bright future of the rebel army was about to come.

Only Zhu Wen looked slightly solemn.

Meng Kai understood what he meant: "Junior brother, I know what you are thinking."

"Song Wei is old and cowardly. If he hadn't been the commander-in-chief, the rebel army might not have reached its current state. You're worried about the old villain being killed. If a stronger one came up, it would be even harder to deal with."

This was true. The four generals of the Tang Dynasty were not as experienced as Song Wei, but each of them was a man of thunderbolt-like decisiveness and masterful military tactics. If one of them had been the commander-in-chief from the beginning, the rebel army might have been completely annihilated long ago.

"But the old villain is a renowned Tang general after all. Killing him would have a huge impact. Furthermore, our disciplined combat capabilities are far superior to what they were two years ago. If we can defeat Snow Marshal Qi Kerang today, why can't we defeat the other four Tang Marshals tomorrow?"

"Junior brother, you are too thoughtful and often think too far ahead. But there is always a way out, so why not enjoy the wine today!"

Senior Brother Meng Kai's sharp eyes melted the doubts in Zhu Wen's eyes: "Senior Brother, what you said makes sense. I was worrying too much."

"We won't go home until we're drunk tonight!" Meng Kai took Zhu Wen's arm. "Tomorrow morning, I must travel to Haizhou to fulfill General Kou's last wish. If we delay and word leaks out, allowing that mad thief to escape, wouldn't we be ashamed of ourselves in the afterlife?"

Meng Kai's deputy general, Peng Baihu, immediately advised, "General, this is not the case. You risked your life to attack the old thief Song Wei, and now you're injured. Moreover, the battle of Songzhou still has some finishing touches to be resolved. How can you abandon your army and put yourself in danger?" "Hahahahaha..." Meng Kai laughed heartily. "Baihu, you've followed me for all these years, but you still can't say you know me. Although I act with rage, have I ever made a mistake? A man's actions should be based on his original intention. General Kou is an enemy, but he's also a hero. If we promise to complete his unfinished business for him but break our promise, how can we truly achieve our goals?"

"I have made up my mind. You don't need to say anything more."

Zhu Wen knew that this senior brother acted impulsively and was extremely righteous, yet also meticulous and thorough. He had inherited the true teachings of his master Huang Chao and was definitely not a man of courage but no strategy.

Meng Kai's unbridled passion also greatly infected him, and he patted his chest and laughed: "That's right, we won't go home until we're drunk!"

Everyone drank and sang all night, toasting each other to celebrate the victory and got drunk.

"I order you to go out with me tomorrow night. I have something to ask."

Duan Hongyan dragged Zhu Wen from the banquet to a corner, put her hands on her hips, and stared at him fiercely.

"What's the matter?"

"Don't ask."

"Then why should I go?"

"Stop talking nonsense and answer me quickly, are you going or not?"

"You're so angry, are you having sex?"

Before he could finish his words, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his stomach, forcing Zhu Wen to squat down with his arms around his waist.

He was punched for no apparent reason, and saw stars, but he saw his junior sister looking at him with a smile, a hint of cunning and complacency in her eyes.

"Ouch, does it hurt? Did I hit you too hard? I'll rub it for you."

She also squatted down and placed her left hand very gently on Zhu Wen's belly, sliding circles with her slender jade fingers. The just right strength made his pain disappear instantly, and the place she touched was even softer.

In her right hand, she took out a crimson headband—Zhu Wen had lost it on the battlefield when Qinglong knocked off his helmet, and she had cleaned it now—and tied it around Zhu Wen's forehead, tucking his messy hair. "Your headband was lost, and I found it for you. Now I'm returning the favor."

Zhu Wen's mind flashed, and he understood in an instant: "Did you do it on purpose at that time?"

"Hehe..." Duan Hongyan smiled and said, "Junior brother, do you really think I think you're a meddlesome, petty-minded woman just because you saved me on the battlefield?"

"It's just that, unlike others, you've always been lukewarm towards me. I want to know how your fair face would react if I were to turn you down once."

"Come to think of it, I've been wanting to give you a punch like this for a long time—because if our relationship is good enough that I could punch you in the stomach and you wouldn't get angry, then why wouldn't you go if I asked you out?"

As she spoke later, her words became more subtle, the aroma of wine emanated from her open red lips, and her eyes were hazy, intoxicating.

……

Early the next morning, Meng Kai was completely sober. Without hesitation, he rode out of the camp and headed towards Haizhou.

After the battle, the Cao army swept the battlefield, seizing countless baggage, provisions, and weapons. A count of the enemy corpses revealed over 8,000 killed, with fewer than 2,000 casualties. This was truly an unprecedented victory. The might of the righteous army will surely resonate even more throughout the world.

Song Wei and Qi Kerang were defeated, but several generals, including the Zhaoyi Military Supervisor, Lei Yinfu, and their 5,000-man army were slow to retreat and were forced to retreat into Songzhou. Huang Chao and Wang Xianzhi also divided their forces and set up camp, completely encircling the vast city.

Thinking that Songzhou was also his hometown, Zhu Wen couldn't help feeling a little melancholy.

There was once someone in the city who was very important to him - at least, a very close friend.

Of course, that person was no longer in this city, and no one knew where he was. This city was no longer of any concern to him.

(End of this chapter)