Tang Dynasty Bandits

Chapter 76 Reunion
The galloping cavalry crossed the plains of Jinghan like a spear, raising clouds of dust on the ground and leaving the mountains of northern Jing far behind.

The three passes of Yiyang between Dabie Mountains and Tongbai Mountains have changed hands several times in just one or two months.

The first was when Wang Xianzhi used Shang Rang's strategy to launch a surprise attack in the snow and break through the three passes of Yiyang. The second was when Yan Shuai Zhen Ranyu sent troops to defeat Wang Xianzhi's remaining troops stationed at the three passes and recaptured the three passes.

The third time is now.

Zhu Wen rejected Huo Cun's suggestion to cross the Dabie Mountains and decided to attack the three passes head-on.

"Mules are more stable and have better endurance than horses. That's why the Huaixi mule army that buried the governor can traverse the snow and numerous steep and rocky paths. If we lead the horses across, not only will it waste time, but if the horses get frightened, it will cause a large number of our brothers to fall off the cliff."

Fortunately, for a cavalry of more than a thousand people, it was not necessary to capture all three passes; only one of them was needed to pass through. Coincidentally, Wang Xianzhi's troops had set fire to the remaining baggage and wooden fortifications such as arrow towers in the pass before withdrawing, making the three passes difficult to defend.

The Grass Army knights dismounted and fought on foot, shouting a roar that shook the night air as they rushed across the trenches and reached the base of the Yesan Pass walls. They used their spears as ladders, the first to climb, grasping the spear's point, while those behind them, holding the end, rushed toward the wall, pushing them up. Like a surging wave, each wave carried dozens of men atop the walls.

Although some people lost their footing or were stabbed by the defenders' spears and fell down from the city wall covered with dust, there were always people who successfully stood on the city wall.

Moreover, when Meng Kai, who was the bravest of the three armies, also landed on the top of the city wall, the outcome of the battle was no longer in suspense.

When Meng Kai went up to the city, he was wearing a light half-leather armor, without a helmet or an axe. He only carried a broadsword. The blade was as straight as an arrow, shining brightly, but it could spread death with a casual swing.

Although many government soldiers used their armor to block Meng Kai's attacks, they were thrown off the city walls by the huge force, with their heads broken and bleeding, and were either dead or injured.

As more and more people climbed up, the defenders were distracted and exhausted. Soon, they all fled to the other side of the pass, shouting loudly.

Suddenly, there was a resounding crash, and a cloud of dust billowed into the air, filling the air with smoke. It turned out that the Grass Army soldiers, charging into the city, had cut the iron chains from the inside, causing the drawbridge at the city gate to fall. The Grass Army soldiers below rushed in through the gate like wolves and tigers, rushing into the city in a hazy cloud of dust.

After capturing the city, Zhu Wen and his companions did not delay and immediately rode southeast to the eastern part of the Dabie Mountains where the terrain became thicker at the north and south poles, and then followed the winding bird path into the towering mountains.

After defeating a patrol unit under General Yan, they quickly seized the commanding heights and witnessed the entire process of Wang Xianzhi's execution. They watched as the government troops cut off Wang Xianzhi's head, prepared to treat it with lime and musk, and then send it to Chang'an.

As for Wang Xianzhi's body, some attempted to mutilate it, but were stopped by Commander Yan. Zhen Ranyu ordered that Wang Xianzhi's remains be doused in oil and set on fire, then placed among a bush and burned. Once reduced to ashes, they were scattered into the river.

The remains of the peerless master were devoured by the raging flames and turned into ashes, which then drifted eastward with the rolling Yangtze River, eventually disappearing without a trace.

As a later poem put it: The Yangtze River rolls eastward, its waves washing away all heroes. Right and wrong, success and failure are all in vain. The green mountains remain, the sunsets turn red again.

In the mountains, the cavalry led by Zhu Wen finally met the defeated soldiers gathered by Shang Rang.

Zhu Wen looked at Shang Rang and the generals around him, including Cao Shixiong, Chai Cun, Qin Yan, Liu Hanhong, Wang Zhongyin, Li Zhongba, Bi Shiduo, Xu Tangju, Xu Xing, Chang Hong, Cai Wenqiu, Chu Yanwei, and Wang Zhongba, with a playful look.

The fact that he was able to save so many generals from the devastating defeat was due not only to the desperate fight of alliance leader Wang Xianzhi who risked his life, but also to the great progress Shang Rang had made.

Of course, Zhu Wen was also very unhappy that Liu Hanhong, the nagging lawyer who had repeatedly found fault with him, was still alive. Zhu Wen knew very well that this guy must have been involved in the conspiracy against him at Mount Tai.

"Lord Shang, are you planning to lead the troops north?" Zhu Wen asked.

Shang Rang nodded.

"That's terrible." After saying that, Zhu Wen rode his horse over to Shang Rang, and then slapped him directly in the face, causing Shang Rang's cheek to swell and bulge, with five bright red fingerprints clearly imprinted on it.

Zhu Wen sighed and said, "You seem to have tried hard, but for some reason, I still want to beat you up."

Maybe it was because Zhu Wen got annoyed when he saw stupid people.

Shang Rang was certainly not stupid and was quite clever. However, he had overestimated his own wisdom. After gaining Chao Ying's help, he actually encouraged Alliance Leader Wang to challenge Marshal Yan, which led to the current predicament of the 50,000-man army.

It is much more terrifying for a smart person who overestimates his own abilities to be placed in a position where he can decide the life and death of tens of thousands of people than for a purely stupid person to be placed at the bottom.

This was the case with Ma Su who lost Jieting and Geshu Han who suffered a crushing defeat at Tongguan during the Anshi Rebellion.

The same is true for Shang Rang today.

Shang Rang was completely stunned by Zhu Wen's attack. It took him a while to react. Then he met Zhu Wen's eyes and said, "Well done. It was my arrogance and ignorance that led to the tragic deaths of my master, my brother, the deputy leader, and tens of thousands of brothers. If you kill me today, I have no complaints."

Zhu Wen cast his gaze towards the shadow beside him. "No, it should have been your fiancée's job to beat you up, but she's obviously very gentle and forgave your mistakes with a good temper. So I, who has a bad temper, have to do it for you."

"Besides, since you've made such a blunder, you should make a calmer judgment. You've gathered at least ten thousand remaining soldiers, and from south to north, the Dabie Mountains span over three hundred miles in this direction."

"You might think the government troops can't search for us in such a vast mountainous area. If more than 10,000 people disperse, most of them will surely escape. But I must tell you, if you do that, you'll either not find enough food and die of starvation in the mountains, or if you disperse, the mountain inhabitants will rob you of your weapons, armor, and all your belongings, and either kill you or take them to the government troops for a reward."

Shang Rang's expression suddenly changed.

He was more aware of Zhu Wen's implied meaning.

Of course, among the remnants of the army he gathered, there were also newly recruited people from the Dabie Mountains. These people were not old brothers who had fought with the army for more than a year.

Moreover, the vast Dabie Mountains, covering hundreds of miles in radius, were home to a large number of mountain dwellers who spoke similar dialects. Once a large force dispersed for the sake of convenience, great internal disturbances would arise.

"Let the newly recruited mountain dwellers and pirates in the army disperse where they are. The armor and weapons are their reward for their service to the Grass Army these days. They will surely not dare to surrender to the government troops now, fearing that they will be killed and their heads exchanged for military merit."

Zhu Wen gave the order.

Executing these people was unnecessary and would only lead to rebellion and internal friction. The best solution was to simply dismiss them.

From the first moment they met, Zhu Wen showed his wisdom and courage, which was obviously superior to Shang Rang.

Having experienced the entire Taishan incident, Chaoying understood this point very well. If Zhu Wen had not shown no interest in her at all, she would probably have been attracted to him.

Some of the villagers were reluctant to leave, clamoring for more money before they would leave. Zhu Wen sneered and charged into the crowd with his sword, chopping off several heads before they dispersed.

"Now that we've eliminated the unstable elements within our ranks, we can turn northwest and break out along the edge of the mountain range," Zhu Wen said calmly. "We can't go east. The numerous waterways make it difficult for infantry and cavalry to maneuver. Cao Xiu was nearly annihilated by Lu Xun along this very route. We don't have Jia Kui and his army waiting to support us."

It was clear that the cavalry of Huang Chao that came to the rescue had only more than a thousand people, and the remnants of Wang Xianzhi's army gathered by Shang Rang and others still had more than ten thousand people after clearing out the mountain people and river bandits. However, Zhu Wen gave them orders calmly. Although he was young, he already had the demeanor of a mighty general.

(End of this chapter)