Chapter 1117: Mountain Search
Two days later...
Wang Er stood before tens of thousands of troops, his voice thundering as he declared, "Everyone, do you know why we're mobilizing so many of our militia members this time?"
Tens of thousands responded in unison, "We know! This is Shaanxi!"
Wang Er boomed, "That's right, this is Shaanxi. This is where the rebel uprising first began, and its people have already endured too much suffering. We cannot let them go through it a second time."
Tens of thousands roared back, "We cannot! We cannot!"
Wang Er continued, "Furthermore, this is the most important Heavenly Lord's liberated zone, our crucial rear stronghold. We absolutely forbid any rebels from entering Shaanxi territory!"
The crowd chanted, "Forbidden! Forbidden!"
Wang Er smiled. "Good. Since everyone is so invigorated, let's depart immediately."
The massive army began to move, marching towards the mountains in the south.
All three of them wore peculiar expressions.
Initially, Wang Er had brought only five hundred men, and they hadn't felt much. But when two thousand five hundred arrived, they were already frightened. Now, seeing the dense, countless ranks of Wang Er's forces stretching before them, they were terrified beyond measure, yet paradoxically, they no longer felt fear. Instead, they felt a touch of excitement!
If Sun Chuanting could mobilize such a massive militia at any moment, what bandit could possibly breach Shaanxi's defenses?——
Meanwhile, deep within the Micang Mountains.
Fengdongyan.
Here lay a colossal cave. Whenever the wind swept through the mountains, it would swirl within the cavern, whistling through the rocks and producing strange, wailing sounds. Hence, the place was named Fengdongyan, or Wind Cave Rock.
At this moment, Fengdongyan concealed a formidable rebel army, numbering over ten thousand strong.
The bandit chief leading them was named Mi Chuang Jiang, a historical figure.
Mi Chuang Jiang's original name was Mi Jiang. After the previous Chuǎng Wang died, the title "Chuǎng Jiang" was upgraded to "Chuǎng Wang," leaving the old alias vacant. So, Mi Jiang elevated himself by a rank, becoming the second generation Chuǎng Jiang.
It is called: "Passing on the Flame."
To distinguish himself from the former Chuǎng Jiang, he retained his "Mi" surname, thus becoming "Mi Chuang Jiang."
Mi Chuang Jiang was also a rebel born in the Yan'an region. He had risen in revolt early in the Chongzhen era, fighting north and south with Wang Jiayin, enduring many hardships, and was considered a veteran bandit.
Not long ago, he had followed the new Chuǎng Wang into Sichuan, causing chaos for a while before...
He got lost!
The mountains of Shu were no joke; it was easy to enter but hard to leave.
After being lost in the mountains for several days, Mi Chuang Jiang made a decisive choice: "Regardless of everything, head north."
"I don't care how rugged, winding, or treacherous these mountains are," he thought. "I will simply follow the sun and march north. If a mountain blocks my path, I'll cross it. If a river stands in my way, I'll swim it. As long as I go straight north, I won't get lost."
Surprisingly, this strategy worked. After a series of fortunate mishaps, he emerged from the mountains of Shu, then crossed the Micang Mountains, entering Hanzhong territory.
Upon seeing Hanzhong City, Mi Chuang Jiang was ecstatic: "I'm back! I'm back in Shaanxi, hahaha! I've returned home, brothers! Seize Hanzhong! Charge!"
And then...
He was beaten back. At the Hanzhong Train North Station, Wang Er's flintlock riflemen gave him a thorough beating. Then, Zhao Guangyuan led his army in pursuit, driving him all the way back into the Micang Mountains.
Now, he was holed up in Fengdongyan in the Micang Mountains, filled with a sense of unease.
A subordinate approached him. "Boss, what should we do now?"
Mi Chuang Jiang pondered, "Let me think, let me think carefully. Hmm... perhaps we should bypass Hanzhong Prefecture and enter the Guanzhong Plain. We should be able to plunder a good amount of grain there."
Just as he spoke, a disheveled scout burst in, shouting, "Boss, bad news! The Hanzhong army is moving towards the Micang Mountains, clearly planning a mountain search to capture us!"
Mi Chuang Jiang scoffed, "What? A mountain search? What a joke! I've been rampaging across the land for ten years since the start of the Chongzhen era, and I've never seen the government conduct a proper mountain search."
The scout insisted, "It's true! They really are searching the mountains!"
Mi Chuang Jiang burst into laughter. "What kind of place is the Micang Mountains? Do they think a few thousand soldiers can just waltz in and search it? A few thousand men scattered in here wouldn't even make a ripple."
The scout's face turned pale. "It's not a few thousand, it's tens of thousands! I can't tell you the exact number, but as far as the eye could see, there were only people... legions of them!"
"What?" Mi Chuang Jiang was startled. "How is that possible? How could they conjure tens of thousands of government troops in the blink of an eye?"
The scout stammered, "I don't understand it either, Boss. So many people, countless people!"
Mi Chuang Jiang quickly followed the scout, scrambling towards the northern slope of the Micang Mountains. From the summit, he looked north, and indeed, at the foot of the mountain, a colossal army had already gathered, arrayed as if to begin a mountain search.
The sheer number was terrifying, dense and countless, nothing but heads.
Mi Chuang Jiang was stunned for a moment. "Are you serious? Before, we always outnumbered the government forces many times over. How is it that now *they* outnumber *us* several times? How can we fight like this?"
His subordinates trembled with fear. "What can we do?"
Mi Chuang Jiang rallied them, "Don't panic! Hold steady! There's no need to panic at all! What good is their large number? The Micang Mountains are so treacherous; there are places to hide everywhere. If we hadn't marched straight north, even *we* would have gotten lost. Won't they get lost just the same when they enter? They won't know north from south, east from west. Don't be afraid."
No sooner had he spoken than he saw a colossal spherical object slowly ascend from the "government army" formation at the foot of the mountain. Beneath the sphere, a gondola hung.
There were people in the gondola, and a brazier burned brightly.
It resembled a giant Reconnaissance Hot Air Balloon.
The gondola climbed higher and higher... Before long, it was level with Mi Chuang Jiang's position.
Mi Chuang Jiang stared with wide eyes at the people in the gondola.
The people in the gondola clearly spotted Mi Chuang Jiang as well.
Both sides stared and stared, separated by hundreds of meters...
Suddenly, one of the people in the gondola pulled out a megaphone and shouted at Mi Chuang Jiang, "Bandit leader! I see you! You are surrounded! I advise you to lay down your weapons and surrender immediately. Doing so might reduce your sentence and shorten your years of Labor Reform. But if you resist to the bitter end, don't blame us when swords and spears show no mercy on the battlefield!"
Mi Chuang Jiang cursed, "Damn it! Loose arrows! Shoot that son of a bitch!"
His subordinates replied, "It's too far! We can't possibly hit it!"
The hot air balloon continued to ascend, and soon it soared even higher than the northern slope. The Gao Family Village scout in the gondola pulled out paper and a brush, quickly sketching a topographical map that wasn't much better than a child's scribble, and drew a red circle around the spot where he had discovered Mi Chuang Jiang.
Then, he placed the paper into a bamboo tube, tied it to a rope, and lowered it.
Soon, the Gao Family Village Militia began their ascent into the mountains.
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