Chapter 166: The Ferocious Fang Wushang
The fastest runner was about to dive into the fields when, with a sudden *THUD*, he felt his head strike something incredibly hard. It was no different than smashing into a brick wall.
The impact was so abrupt, and the bandit hadn't held back his momentum. His skull, utterly unprepared for such a blow, immediately split open, gushing blood as he toppled backward.
*THUD! THUD! THUD!*
Three more wild bandits, unable to stop themselves, crashed into the invisible barrier.
Three men crumpled to the ground.
"Stop quickly! Don't charge into the wheat fields!"
The other bandits finally realized something was amiss.
A colossal, transparent wall stood between them and the wheat fields.
"What in the world is happening?
The rebel soldiers were momentarily bewildered.
Fields they could see, but not touch.
Just then, a furious roar echoed from the mountain path to the south: "You bandits! How dare you trespass upon my Chengcheng County!"
Amidst the thundering hooves, Military Inspector Fang Wushang arrived.
This man was impetuous. Upon spotting the bandits, he couldn't wait for his subordinates to advance on foot, so he slapped his horse's rump and charged forward alone.
His horse galloped far faster than any man could run, leaving his subordinates trailing far behind. He burst onto the battlefield by himself, a true one-man army.
One man against two hundred vicious bandits.
Yet, he showed no fear. With a shout of "Hup!", he tugged the reins with his left hand, gripped a long spear in his right, and charged directly at the bandits.
Cheng Xu gasped, "Can such a valiant military inspector truly exist in this world?"
Xing Honglang, standing beside him, rolled her eyes. "Do you think everyone is a pushover like the former military inspector, Cheng Xu? Officers who flee from bandits are the real anomaly."
Cheng Xu coughed, "Ahem... I think Cheng Xu is quite a good man, actually. He knows when to advance and retreat, understands himself and his enemy... He successively defeated Wang Er, Bu Zhan Ni, and Zuo Guazi. Who else in Chengcheng County is more capable than him?"
Xing Honglang scoffed, "You're exaggerating! Before the Heavenly Lord's intervention, I too thought Cheng Xu was responsible. But now, it's clear the Heavenly Lord defeated those three with divine power. That Cheng Xu, he's definitely just a pushover, just as the rumors say."
Cheng Xu fell silent.
Fine, he decided, time to change the subject.
Cheng Xu pointed ahead. "Look at that Fang Wushang fellow."
Fang Wushang, spear held horizontally, spurred his horse and charged into the bandits.
The bandits, like street thugs spotting the police, didn't dare engage. They spun around and scrambled towards the hillside, as if to avoid a direct report to King Yama.
Fang Wushang did not enter Zhengjia Village. He reined his horse and charged towards the hill east of the village. His spear swung up, and with a *thunk*, he ran a bandit through. By the time he yanked his spear back, his warhorse had already galloped another ten feet, catching up to another bandit. His hand rose, his spear fell, and *thunk*, another man was pierced clean through.
Even Xing Honglang couldn't help but be startled. "He's merely a military inspector, yet so incredibly powerful? This man is fiercer than any outlaw I've ever encountered."
Cheng Xu scoffed, "Nothing special. Give me a horse and a spear, and I'd be no weaker than him, hmph! Those who rise without status or connections, every single one of them has some true skill, wouldn't you agree?"
Xing Honglang looked at him curiously. "You can do that too?"
Cheng Xu realized he'd spoken out of turn and quickly shut up.
In truth, most Ming Dynasty military officers inherited their positions. From centurion upwards, it was a hereditary system; you didn't need to be exceptionally skilled, merely to have a good father.
Such inherited officers often valued their lives too much to personally engage in battle, and their martial arts skills were usually mediocre.
Conversely, those who rose through their own efforts often earned their ranks by cutting down enemies and taking their heads on the battlefield, becoming skilled archers, horsemen, and formidable fighters.
Simply put, if Yuan were to challenge Cheng Xu to a duel, Yuan would, in all likelihood, lose.
However, if the two were to command a large army in battle, Cheng would, in all likelihood, be outmatched by Yuan.
By this point, Fang Wushang was already slaughtering. With a single man, a horse, and a spear, he circled the rebel soldiers. Not one of the two hundred bandits could withstand a single thrust of his spear; in the blink of an eye, seven or eight had been impaled.
If the bandits had possessed long spears, they might have stood a chance against cavalry. But as the "climbing vanguard," they carried only knives for agility.
To imagine confronting a spearmen cavalry commander with mere knives was truly wishful thinking.
They couldn't even form a coherent line, spun into a dizzying mess by Fang Wushang's relentless circling charges.
Soon, Fang Wushang's subordinates arrived. The deputy military inspector led a hundred regular soldiers charging in. The two hundred bandits turned their heads and cried, "Imperial troops are here!"
A single general had already routed them so miserably; what hope did they have against an entire detachment of imperial soldiers?
Their morale instantly crumbled.
With a casual charge from the imperial soldiers, the two hundred bandits were left dead or wounded, the rest terrified into tumbling back down the slope they had just ascended.
Fang Wushang quickly reached the edge of the slope and looked down. A large contingent of the Heyang bandits' main force was still climbing the mountain. He let out a hearty laugh. "Men, quickly find some rolling logs and boulders! Smash them to bits!"
The deputy military inspector pointed to the large pile of logs resembling chopsticks nearby. "General Fang, there are many wooden stakes here, someone has already prepared them for us."
Fang Wushang turned his head and looked. "Oh?"
But he immediately understood. "The Gao Family Village militia were originally here to resist the enemy. They prepared rolling logs and boulders to hurl at the bandit army. However, those militiamen are cowards; as soon as they saw the bandits nearing the hilltop, they got scared and ran, leaving this mess for us."
His subordinates suddenly understood. "So that's how it is."
Li Daoxuan couldn't help but applaud him. "What brilliant deduction, young hero! You're so clever, even Sherlock Holmes would kneel before you."
Fang Wushang beamed. "Heaven truly helps me! I'll gladly accept the rolling logs and boulders left by the militia. Men, start smashing them down!"
The soldiers immediately began to haul the logs and rocks, raining them down indiscriminately onto the slope below.
This was a colossal stroke of bad luck for Fan Shan Yao. He was just about to assault the mountain, only to find the militia on the summit had suddenly been replaced by imperial soldiers. With logs crashing down once more, his main force couldn't simply dodge and hide behind rocks; there was nowhere to go.
As the logs came, the mountain path once again became a scene of overturned men and horses, a truly horrific sight.
Fan Shan Yao looked up, his gaze meeting Fang Wushang's, who stood at the edge of the slope, looking down. Their eyes locked across the air.
Fang Wushang bellowed, "You damn bandits! Remember your grandpa's name, Fang Wushang, Military Inspector of Chengcheng County! As long as I draw breath in this county, you won't dare set foot on its soil!"
Fan Shan Yao shot back, "Damn it, you're not Cheng Xu! Why would I be afraid of you?"
Fang Wushang frowned. "What?"
Fang Wushang was enraged. Was this wretch implying he was even worse than that pushover Cheng Xu, who falsified military achievements? That idiot had fabricated reports of Wang Er's death, exaggerated the scale of the bandit forces, and deceived both his superiors and subordinates—his memorials were crammed with lies, not a single truth to be found!
All of Cheng Xu's military exploits were fabricated.
Such a worthless wretch, did he deserve to have his name uttered in the same breath as his?
Fang Wushang let out a furious roar, hoisting his spear as he prepared to charge down the slope.
The deputy military inspector desperately clung to his waist, yelling, "General, calm down! General, calm down, please!
"Don't stoop to the level of these bandits!"
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