Chapter 416: Pujiu Temple
Xing Honglang and Zao Ying, leading fifty cavalry, galloped furiously eastward.
To recruit workers for the dockyard, returning to her hometown was naturally the most sensible choice. She commanded strong local support there, capable of rallying a hundred responses with a single call. Finding people to help build the dock and its fortress would be no difficult feat.
Her hometown wasn't far, merely ten *li* east of the Gudu Ferry. On horseback, they arrived in but a few moments.
“Past the Sushui River ahead, that's Sunji Town,” Xing Honglang said with a smile. “My surname is Xing, but I grew up in Sunji Town. I have no living relatives left in the village, only a few old neighbors.”
Zao Ying, greatly surprised, asked, “Why is that?”
Xing Honglang replied, “Because I am the daughter of a salt smuggler. My father was just a salt smuggler who roamed far and wide, North and South, encountering my mother in Sunji Town. But he didn't stay for her; he continued his wanderings until I grew up and my mother fell ill and died. Only then did he take me in and carry on selling illicit salt with me.”
Zao Ying laughed. “So that's how it is. We're quite similar, aren't we? Hahaha, I, too, come from a long line of horse bandits.”
They both shared a laugh.
Ahead, Sunji Town was now visible. However, a single glance made Xing Honglang's face fall. Sunji Town had clearly suffered a calamity: its fences were toppled, several thatched huts burned to the ground, and blade marks marred the walls.
Several corpses lay sprawled in the village, their blood not yet dry. It seemed the perpetrators had only recently departed.
Sensing Xing Honglang's unease, Zao Ying quickly lowered her voice. “Leader Xing, restrain— ” “Don't worry,” Xing Honglang interrupted, her expression grim but her emotions remarkably stable. “While this sight is disheartening, it won't break me.” After years of wandering the martial world, witnessing countless deaths and injuries, and losing many of her own salt smugglers, she wasn't one to lose control over a few fallen neighbors.
In such moments, her mind grew even sharper. She swiftly circled the village, observing. “There were over a hundred people in this village, yet fewer than ten bodies. This indicates most of our fellow villagers managed to escape...”
Hearing this, Zao Ying immediately waved her hand to her subordinates. “Spread out. Look for clues.”
The horse bandits were all skilled trackers. Before long, one subordinate reported back, “The villagers went North, and the bandits pursued them North.”
Xing Honglang frowned slightly. “North? I know! Pujiu Temple! They've fled to Pujiu Temple!”
Zao Ying beckoned a subordinate over and ordered, “Ride back to the dock at full speed. Bring our main force and meet us directly at Pujiu Temple.”
The subordinate cupped his fist in a salute, then spurred his horse and galloped towards the dock.
Xing Honglang and Zao Ying, meanwhile, led the remaining forty-nine cavalry and charged towards Pujiu Temple...
Pujiu Temple, located not far west of Yongji, was first built during the Tang Dynasty. With its red walls and black tiles, it exuded a solemn majesty.
Its elevated position offered a broad vista. Facing south from its northern perch, it commanded a view from above.
It was indeed an excellent defensive position, difficult to attack.
At that moment, Pujiu Temple was crammed with common folk—villagers who had fled from the surrounding villages for miles around.
The elderly, weak, women, and children huddled, trembling, in the corners, while the able-bodied men grabbed weapons, guarding the various walls of the temple. The monks within the temple were not to be trifled with either; they had armed themselves with quarterstaffs, defending alongside the commoners.
Outside the temple, a bandit army numbering over a thousand was climbing the slope leading up to its walls. The villagers inside immediately fired their hunting bows downwards, their arrows thudding against the bandits' raised pot lids and shield-boards.
But it was clear that the villagers' hunting bows would struggle to hold back the bandits.
By this point, the bandits had absorbed former border troops, garrison soldiers, and courier postmen, significantly enhancing their combat effectiveness. While still no match for the Ming army, dealing with ordinary villagers was now effortless.
They paid no mind to the villagers' sparse rain of arrows, effortlessly scrambling up the slope to the temple walls.
Bamboo spears thrust down from the wall tops, while the bandits below thrust their own bamboo spears back up with equal ferocity. The villagers gained no advantage and, instead, several were wounded by the bandits' thrusts, falling back into the temple courtyard.
A fierce bandit easily scaled the temple's red wall, but before he could even steady himself, a monk charged at him, wielding a quarterstaff. The bandit swung his saber, but the monk spun his staff, displaying remarkable mastery of staff-fighting. A flurry of blows, *pong-pong-pong*, landed squarely on the bandit's body.
The bandit screamed a few times and collapsed.
Nearby villagers surged forward, one striking the bandit's skull with a hoe, splitting his brains open.
The staff-wielding monk shook his head. “Amitābha! Benevolent deeds, benevolent deeds! This humble monk uses a staff, not a blade or spear, precisely to avoid taking life. But you, helping this humble monk take a life without even batting an eye... surely this doesn't count as breaking my vows, does it?”
Though formidable, the staff-wielding monk alone couldn't do much. The temple walls were under siege from all sides, with bandits on the verge of spilling over everywhere.
It seemed they couldn't hold out much longer...
The monk couldn't help but let out a long sigh. “Amitābha! Benevolent deeds, benevolent deeds! This calamity, I fear, we won't overcome.”
Just then, a hunter shooting arrows from the temple roof suddenly cried out, “Cavalry! They've come for us! They're cutting down the bandits! Hold on, everyone, the cavalry is here to save us!”
Others inside the temple, who had been watching the distance, quickly peered outwards...
And indeed!
From behind the bandits, a cavalry troop charged forth. Their numbers were small, only about fifty riders, but these fifty were exceptionally fierce, daring to assault a bandit force numbering over a thousand. Their momentum was ferocious, their presence formidable.
The common folk in the temple immediately cheered, their morale soaring. “Hold on, everyone!”
Xing Honglang and Zao Ying had arrived!
Upon arrival, without a word, they immediately plunged into the bandit ranks.
This was no haphazard charge.
The bandits were currently attacking Pujiu Temple, with all their elite fighters already at the temple walls. Lagging behind was the bandit chieftain's main position, comprising only the chieftain and a small group of trusted toughs. This was the perfect opportunity to strike the chieftain.
So Zao Ying, without a moment's hesitation, led her troops with a resounding cry: “Cavalry, charge!”
Her charge completely bewildered the bandit chieftain.
This chieftain was named “Little Zhang Bao,” the adopted son of Old Zhang Fei, leader of the fifth squad under Bu Zhan Ni. After being shelled by Xing Honglang at Gudu Ferry during their last retreat with his adoptive father, he had been pillaging in the vicinity ever since.
The fellow had been enjoying watching his subordinates attack the temple from the rear of his formation, never expecting a cavalry troop to burst out from behind them.
In haste, Little Zhang Bao grabbed his long spear and, with a few dozen subordinates, turned to face the enemy.
The warhorses were incredibly fast, arriving as soon as the word was spoken. In an instant, they were before Little Zhang Bao. Zao Ying raised her spear and, with a *thunk*, impaled a fierce bandit straight through. Her spear, remarkably agile, recoiled instantly, then twirled into a flourish, darting towards Little Zhang Bao's forehead.
Little Zhang Bao was startled. Facing the warhorse, he felt a moment of bewilderment, unsure how to fight. He flipped his body, rolling sideways, narrowly dodging Zao Ying's spear thrust.
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