Tang Dynasty Bandits

Chapter 77 Xuanwu Mu Renyu

The death of alliance leader Wang Xianzhi was extremely tragic.

But Zhu Wen felt no sadness in his heart.

When a man dies, his best companion is not the tears of his relatives and friends, but the blood of his enemies.

For a peerless hero like Wang Xianzhi, why should he act like a child and shed tears to bid farewell?
The vastness of the Jianghu is but a tiny corner of the imperial court. For example, the Zhenyi League, the world's greatest sect, is but a remnant of the former kingdom of the King of Wei in Wagang, a remnant that lasted for two hundred years.

But Wang Xianzhi has proved with his blood that ants can shake trees and moles can devour the sky, and the heroism of the people of the world is enough to make heaven and earth tremble.

So in the days when countless heroic souls were floating in the wind above the earth, Zhu Wen did not feel fear, nor did he feel despair at all.

The water of the Yangtze River has been completely dyed the color of blood.

Hundreds of members of the Zhenyi League, who served as Wang Xianzhi's personal guards, were captured and lined up in a bow. Yan Marshal Zhen Ranyu personally tried to persuade them to surrender, but received the same response.

"I will not regret dying for the King!"

During the execution, they lined up in a row. Every time a head was chopped off, one person surrendered, but no one surrendered.

Their courage and will completely made General Yan lose his patience, and he ordered that the more than 10,000 captured rebel soldiers and their families, regardless of whether they were afraid of death or not, be beheaded on the spot or drowned in the river, and all their bodies be thrown into the Yangtze River to feed the fish.

For the next three months, fishermen along the river often found undigested fingernails and human hair when they cut open the stomachs of fish.

But for some reason, even the Jiangling soldiers whose relatives and friends may have died at the hands of the Cao army could not feel the pleasure of revenge at all.

When they faced the brutal scene of killing, their eyes were filled with fear.

At this time, the mountains and rivers were all blood-red, and the air was filled with a sticky smell of blood, making people want to cover their noses. However, the mountains further north were still filled with clean mountain mist and flowing clouds.

In the dense mist, the remnants of the Cao army turned to the northwest. In order to save energy, they used carts to carry weapons and armor.

This is what is called "rolling up armor and marching." Wang Xianzhi's grass army fought on the move for a long time. Although they had few horses, they had sufficient livestock such as cattle and donkeys, which greatly improved the team's mobility.

In fact, it was not physically possible for infantry to march in armor for a long time. During the march, only a small number of soldiers took turns wearing armor to cooperate with the cavalry and serve as a guard.

But this means that if the marching troops are mainly composed of infantry, they will be less able to resist surprise attacks and ambushes.

The army marched close to the edge of the Dabie Mountains, sending out scouts and night watchmen. The soldiers on night watch were carried on carts during the day.

The enemy eventually discovered that a large force had evaded their detection and was sneaking west across Huangmei Mountain, so they sent light troops in pursuit. Although General Yan's troops were not well-equipped, the thousands of elite soldiers who came in pursuit included not only a cavalry unit led by 500 Shatuo warriors, but also a large number of mounted infantry.

In the Battle of Qizhou, the government troops annihilated and captured over 30,000 people, but their own forces also suffered thousands of casualties. The core Heluo Division and the Huaixi Mule Army, both of which were key to the fighting, were severely damaged and exhausted. Furthermore, Wang Xianzhi's fleet was captured, and the government troops obtained the vast amount of gold and supplies looted by the Cao army from Jiangling City. They were enriched and their fighting spirit was increasingly weakened.

However, the Xuanwu Army and Xiangyang Army on the two wings suffered little loss and received less spoils. Xuanwu Jiedushi Mu Renyu and Shannan East Jiedushi Li Fu, with their two armies holding their breath, were responsible for the pursuit.

If we can wipe out the more than 10,000 remnants of the Cao army who escaped, we can also seize a lot of things.

As for looting... Although the government army has always had poor military discipline, there are no large cities of the level of Jiangling in the surrounding area that can be robbed. Moreover, if the government army robbed a city of the level of Jiangling, I think the court would have a hard time dealing with it.

Of course, this was only the current opinion of the two Jiedushis, Li Fu and Mu Renyu. Ironclad facts would prove in the future that even if the government troops seized Jiangling themselves, and their attack was far more brutal than that of Wang Xianzhi's army, there would still be ways to deal with it, and those who seized the throne could even be promoted.

Mu Renyu, the governor of the Xuanwu Army, rode a crimson horse with a gold-studded saddle at the forefront. He had a broad face, high cheekbones, and a light complexion. The yellow hair peeking through the slit of his helmet made him stand out.

Jiedushi Mu was a member of the imperial examination system and had great martial arts skills. He always led the troops in every battle.

He has no prestige in Xuanwu Town.

As everyone knows, the Mu family has held official positions for generations. Their original surname was Qiumuling, and they were Xianbei nobles of the Guanlong Group. At the beginning of the Republic, they were also included in the "Clan Records" compiled by Emperor Taizong. However, this so-called "aristocratic family" of Xianbei origin had no respectable Confucian classics heritage.

It was certainly not shameful for the gentry to be able to fight, but being the only one who could do so was deeply humiliating. They would be called "jungzhong," which seemed like a compliment, but actually meant "soldiers." So, when General Xue Rengui, a general in the early years of the Republic of China, was called a "jungzhong," he drew on the accumulated Confucian classics of the Hedong Xue family and wrote a book, "New Notes on the Original Meaning of the Book of Changes," to slap the caller in the face.

It is obvious that the Mu family does not have this family foundation, nor does any generation have this level.

As for the imperial examination achievements of the Mu Jiedu family throughout the generations - they all passed the Mingjing examination.

What does it mean to be a Mingjing (literally "Mingjing")? The exam required students to copy scriptures, which were limited to the Five Classics. They were asked to memorize the following sentence, or the previous sentence, given a sentence. As long as they knew the text well, they would pass. A famous saying about the Sui and Tang Dynasty imperial examinations: "Thirty is a Mingjing, fifty is a Jinshi."

It is too late to pass the Mingjing exam at thirty, but it is not too late to pass the Jinshi exam at fifty.

The Tang Dynasty's imperial examinations were not anonymous; examiners could clearly see the names of candidates. Anyone with even a little bit of insight could tell who the Mingjing exam was primarily for.

Jiedushi Mu Renyu had a good relationship with the eunuchs in the court and served in many prefectures. However, the soldiers in the prefectures did not take him seriously.

As the governor of Yingzhou, Zang Zimian was supposedly a subordinate of Mu Renyu. However, during the Battle of Songzhou, Zang Zimian led the Yingzhou troops to relieve the siege of Songzhou City under the orders of Cui Anqian, the Jiedushi of the Zhongwu Army, who was also the commander-in-chief of all the military camps. This time, he led the troops of Yingzhou and Caizhou under the command of General Yan, forming a separate army.

During the reign of Emperor Xianzong, the Yuanhe Reforms emphasized that subordinate prefectures and garrisons were subordinate to the Inspector General. "Counties under the jurisdiction of the various military governors, the military commanders, the defense commissioners, and the military commissioners, in addition to their own military prefectures, and those who set up garrisons, defense units, and military cavalry, were all subordinate to the Inspector General." Therefore, Zang Zimian's actions were perfectly legal. However, how could Mu Renyu not be furious that his own Inspector General had completely abandoned him and acted independently?

This time, Zang Zimian got a large share of the spoils, but Mu Renyu's own soldiers only got a little bit of water, which made Mu Renyu very angry - even if his performance was mediocre in strangling Wang Xianzhi, he still worked hard without any credit.

"Zhen Ranyu, you bitch, how could you treat me, a descendant of the Guanlong nobles, this way! My ancestors shed blood with Yuwen Heita and followed Emperor Gaozu Li Yuan into the pass!"
However, General Yan sent Mu Renyu and Shannan East Circuit Jiedushi Li Fu to pursue them, causing Mu Renyu to direct all his anger towards the remnants of the bandit army.

These people seemed to have quite a few donkeys and horses, as well as armor and weapons. If they were eaten, it would satisfy the brothers under his command and enhance his own prestige.

Thinking of this, Jiedushi Mu Renyu's spirits rose again. He raised his sword to the sky and shouted, "Brothers, follow me and charge forward. We will kill all the fleeing bandits without a single one left!"

Just as he said this, a tall woman in the enemy camp met the eyes of one of Mu Renyu's cavalrymen.

"Gao Siji, why are you here?" Tian Jun looked at the stern-faced young man in the match and asked loudly.

The opponent was naturally the "Xuanwu" among Kou Qianzhi's "Twenty-eight Riders of the Nebula".

Gao Siji was also confused for a moment, and then showed the look of a mouse seeing a cat.

"Big... Big Sister..." Gao Siji stuttered a little, "Why are you... with the Cao army?"

"General Zhu Wen gave me a lot of money, that's all." Tian Jun said bluntly, "Xuanwu Army General Mu Renyu is a useless guy. You will definitely have no future if you follow him. It's better to return to Youzhou. If there is another mutiny, you might even be able to get a job as a governor."

Gao Siji was still hesitating when he heard Tian Jun roar like thunder: "Little bastard, why don't you get out of here?"

It turned out that Gao Siji was forced to join forces with Tian Jun in the Taining Army and was bullied for four years. He had already suffered a psychological trauma and the fear was deep in his bones.

In addition, although Tian Jun is not a smart person, what he said does make sense.

Tian Jun was born in Weizhou Town, near the Yellow River, while Gao Siji was born in Lulong Town, in the Youyan region. Both were part of the renowned Three Towns of Heshuo, where people were not known to be loyal to the imperial court. However, Tian Jun and Gao Siji, both from Hebei, felt a sense of fellowship.

While the Youzhou Gao family was far inferior to the Bohai Gao clan, a similarly named aristocratic clan, they were still a powerful local power in Youzhou, wielding considerable influence within the military. Youzhou was also a place where mutinies and the killing of military governors were commonplace, and where soldiers were more capable than the Wei Bo soldiers. Gao Siji's return to his homeland would likely offer him further opportunities for advancement.

So, in full view of everyone, Gao Siji suddenly rode away from Jiedushi Mu Renyu and fled to the mountains on both sides.

Thanks to the fact that Jiedushi Mu Renyu liked to stay in front of the battle like the generals, Gao Siji relied on his fast horse and escaped without anyone being able to stop him.

"It seems that by following a wise man like me, not only has that little girl Zhizhen made rapid progress, but even a fool like you can become a little smarter."

Zhu Wen leaned his head over and whispered into Tian Jun's ear.

Tian Jun couldn't help but frown, and gritted his teeth to resist the urge to punch Zhu Wen on the spot.

But this awful incident had completely humiliated Jiedushi Mu Renyu. Not only did the Cao army's soldiers burst into laughter, the gloom of defeat seemed to have been swept away, but even many soldiers in the government army tried hard not to laugh.

"Gao Siji, I, the governor, have treated you with sincerity, admired your talent, promoted you to be a personal soldier, and granted you a generous salary..."

As he said this, Jiedu Mu Renyu spurred his horse and drew his sword, rushing straight up the mountain to chase Gao Siji. He took off the carved magpie bow at his waist and shot an arrow at Gao Siji's back.

Although Mu Jiedu used a cavalry bow, the bow was very powerful and the armor-piercing arrows it fired could penetrate heavy armor. If Gao Siji had been hit hard, he would have been killed.

But Gao Siji, a native of Youzhou and a former member of the Twenty-Eight Riders of Xingyun, knew how to avoid arrows. He dodged them by hiding in one of the stirrups, muttering quietly, "Jiedu Mu paid quite a bit, but he's already owed us three months' wages, and you still have the nerve to say that."

Hearing this, the Xuanwu Army soldiers all nodded in agreement. It seemed that unpaid wages had become a major problem for the Xuanwu Army.

(End of this chapter)