Chapter 267: I Slaughtered My Way Here
Seeing the rebels from Guyuan, Liang Shixian felt a surge of panic. He bellowed urgently at his personal guard beside him: “Where is our Ghost Centurion? Hasn't he arrived yet?
The guard whispered: “We are dozens of miles from Bai Family Fortress. It will take some time to contact the Ghost Centurion, and more time for the Ghost Centurion to lead his troops here. It won't be that quick.”
Liang Shixian pressed: “What are we to do then?”
Fang Wushang, however, was not as anxious: “Magistrate Liang, we at least have a city wall, and tens of thousands of common folk helping us defend. This rebel force before us numbers at most eight hundred. With so few, they won't easily take a county town defended by so many. The Ghost Centurion will surely arrive in time with reinforcements.”
Only then did Liang Shixian feel a slight ease.
By then, the rebels had reached the city walls. Leading them, a general in military attire rode his horse forward from the ranks. It was none other than North Water Wolf, the rebel leader. He had not only adopted a formidable alias but also covered his face with a cloth, secured by his helmet, revealing only a pair of piercing, glinting eyes.
This heavily concealed appearance bore a striking resemblance to Cheng Xu's style.
The man, riding alone, stopped his warhorse a short distance from the county town gates. Then, he laughed loudly and proclaimed: “I'm from Guyuan, my name is North Water Wolf. You can call me Wolf Centurion. Who is the magistrate of Chengcheng County? Tell him to come out and speak.”
Liang Shixian's spirits lifted. He ascended the city wall: “I am the magistrate of Chengcheng County, Liang Shixian.”
Liang Shixian, surprisingly, remained calm. He thought to himself: 'This Wolf Centurion, perhaps like the Ghost Centurion before him, is also benevolent at heart. If I can persuade him to surrender with my eloquent tongue, that would be a fine achievement indeed.'
He cleared his throat: “Wolf Centurion, this official deeply sympathizes with your plight of overdue military pay. However, to rebel and cause unrest is a capital offense. Why not lay down your arms and let us discuss this properly? This official has some friends in the Donglin Academy who might be able to advocate for your cause....”
Before he could finish his sentence, the Wolf Centurion exploded in rage: “Silence! You civil officials know nothing but how to deceive! You talk utter nonsense! For three years, our pay hasn't come. How many officials like you have told me similar lies? Not a single ounce of silver ever reached my brothers' hands. I no longer trust any of you pen-pushing bureaucrats. The imperial court owes us our military pay, and we will take it all back with our own hands!”
Liang Shixian was speechless.
The Wolf Centurion declared, “I don't want to talk to anyone right now. I just want to plunder, damn it!”
With that, he turned and pointed to the bound general, Li Ying, tied spreadeagle on a horse behind him: “Do you recognize that fellow?”
Liang Shixian replied: “Of course. That's General Li Ying.”
The Wolf Centurion snarled: “When I was demanding pay in Baishui County, this scoundrel led his troops out to attack me. Now, this is what he's become.”
Li Ying cried out: “A grave injustice, General Wolf! This subordinate had no intention of stopping your plunder. This subordinate was truly being pursued by the Ghost Centurion and merely passed by your location... just passing by... Plunder wherever you wish, General; this subordinate would never dream of spoiling your mood.”
For a respectable third-rank general to refer to himself as a "subordinate" before a fifth-rank centurion – it was a pitiful sight, all for the sake of his life.
The Wolf Centurion roared: “Nonsense! There's no such thing as a Ghost Centurion in the Guyuan border army. You were simply lying in ambush there. You charged out to ambush me, overestimating your strength, and I captured you. Now you're trying to concoct some lies to beg for your life.”
Li Ying said, his face a mask of misery: “That man must also protect his family, so he dares not use his real name, which is why he uses the alias Ghost Centurion, just like you call yourself Wolf Centurion. I was truly hounded mercilessly by him, fleeing desperately, from Chengcheng County into Baishui County, right into your path. I absolutely was not trying to ambush you! Give this subordinate a hundred times more courage, and I still wouldn't dare ambush a general! I beg the General to investigate thoroughly.”
The Wolf Centurion grunted: “Shut your mouth! Utter one more word, and I'll chop you into pieces and feed you to the dogs.”
Li Ying startled, then quickly clamped his mouth shut. But in his heart, he cried out in indignation! 'I spoke the truth, yet you refuse to believe me. Do I have to lie to you for you to be happy?'
The Wolf Centurion then turned back to Liang Shixian on the city wall: “Don't dream of appeasing me with lies. I've carved my way here from Guyuan. The souls slain by my blade number no less than eight hundred, perhaps a thousand. Anger me, and I'll slaughter every last man, woman, and child in this Chengcheng County.”
Before he spoke those words, Li Daoxuan, from his vantage point in the heavens, had still felt sympathy for him. 'Three years without pay, a certain amount of anger is understandable.'
'In a modern age, if a company didn't pay you for three years, and you stabbed your unscrupulous boss, Li Daoxuan would certainly applaud your actions.'
But hearing him boast about carving a path of slaughter and countless dead by his blade, Li Daoxuan's face darkened.
'Traveling from Guyuan all the way to Xi'an, how many regions would he have passed through? How many villages would he have ransacked? Burning, killing, and plundering along the way... The dead and wounded couldn't possibly be unscrupulous bosses; they would all be innocent, ordinary folk.'
Indeed, Li Daoxuan wasn't the only one to realize this; Liang Shixian on the city wall also shifted from a look of sympathy to one of furious indignation:
“What did you just say? You... you... the imperial court owes you military pay, and you... you've been slaughtering common folk all along the way?”
The Wolf Centurion sneered, a chilling glint in his eyes: “The Great Ming owes me silver, so what's wrong with me plundering as I please within Great Ming territory?”
Liang Shixian was utterly speechless.
Li Daoxuan let out a long sigh.
Liang Shixian cried out: “Unreasonable! Utterly unreasonable! You fellow, you're simply...”
Before he could finish his sentence, the Wolf Centurion suddenly drew a Kaiyuan bow from his back. He notched an arrow and drew the bowstring, his movements seamless. From the moment he moved until the arrow flew, it took only the blink of an eye. The arrow had already left the string, flying directly towards Liang Shixian's face.
Liang Shixian had no time to react in the slightest; the arrow was already upon him.
Fortunately, Fang Wushang was right beside him. He snatched a shield from a nearby guard and thrust it in front of Liang Shixian.
“Thwack!”
The arrow embedded itself in the shield. Its fletching still trembled faintly.
“Tch! Blocked, eh?” The Wolf Centurion lowered his bow, turned his horse, and retreated.
As he retreated, Fang Wushang had already drawn his large-tipped bow. He aimed at the Wolf Centurion and unleashed an arrow with a *swish*.
Yet the Wolf Centurion seemed to have eyes in the back of his head. With a move that concealed him behind his stirrups, he vanished in an instant. The arrow cut through empty air. The next moment, he *swished* back onto his horse. Without a backward glance, he galloped back among his men.
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