Chapter 465 Wang Xiaohua, Your Humble Subordinate
The Battle for Hequ County had begun.
Cannons roared, and immense fortunes were spent.
Imperial forces, having brought numerous cannons from across Shanxi, began indiscriminately bombarding Hequ County.
Wang Jiayin's rebels within Hequ County, however, possessed only two Western cannons, their shells and gunpowder plundered from Shanxi's regional commander, Wang Guoliang, and their supplies were dwindling.
The outcome of such an artillery duel was painfully obvious!
Wang Jiayin was utterly overwhelmed, almost incapable of managing his own affairs.
The rebels' morale plummeted.
A pervasive sense of doom, an "Oh no, we're finished!" air, spread throughout Hequ County.
With such a desperate atmosphere, the imperial forces found it easy to sow discord among the rebel leaders.
Wang Guozhong, true to the imperial forces' expectations, secretly opened the East Gate during the next day's battle...
The court's fierce general, Cao Wenzhao, immediately led a furious charge, pouring through the East Gate into the city.
Inside the city, the rebels instantly fell into utter chaos!
Zijing Liang (Wang Ziyong), Bai Yuzhu, Chuǎng Wang (Gao Yingxiang), the West Camp Eight Great Kings (Zhang Xianzhong), Bu Zhan Ni, and others each led their respective forces, breaking out in all directions.
Their chaotic breakout, however, also threw the imperial forces into disarray.
After all, with just over twenty thousand men attempting to encircle a hundred thousand rebels, how could they possibly prevent a breakthrough? The thinly stretched encirclement was riddled with gaps, and when the fierce bandits charged, the imperial troops were scattered like a panicked flock.
Wang Jiayin, capitalizing on the widespread chaos and protected by his trusted confidant, Black Fiend, broke south and escaped the encirclement...——
Bai Mao had been waiting quietly in the woods for an entire day, gnawing on dry rations when hunger struck. He waited and waited. From the north, the rumble of cannons and the battle cries of a thousand armies reached him. He yearned to see the commotion, but the thought that this mission had been "enlightened" by the Heavenly Lord kept him rooted. He remained steadfast at his post.
He didn't know how long he waited.
Suddenly, a retreating army appeared in the valley.
They bore no banners, moving chaotically through the pass.
Bai Mao had arrived early and concealed himself well. The panicked army was in such disarray that they completely failed to notice a lone figure hiding among the boulders by the valley wall.
A silent joy filled his heart: "My chance! The Heavenly Lord said south, and south they go!"
Softly, he loaded his rifled musket, then just as carefully, he extended its barrel from the rocky cover, aiming down into the valley floor...
The routed soldiers streamed through the valley below, many of whom Bai Mao even recognized by name.
Finally, a familiar face came into his sight.
It was Wang Jiayin!
Bai Mao's musket barrel centered on his head.
He muttered to himself: "Spirits of Heaven! Spirits of Earth! May the Heavenly Lord protect me!"
With a resolute squeeze, his finger pulled the trigger.
In the very instant the trigger was pulled, Wang Jiayin's trusted aide, Black Fiend, suddenly took a hurried step, coincidently blocking Wang Jiayin's path.
"Bang!"
A gaping bloodied hole appeared in Black Fiend's head, and he crumpled to the ground.
Wang Jiayin, already a startled bird, roared, "Imperial ambush here! Flee quickly!"
His lieutenants immediately surrounded him, shielding him as the panicked rebels desperately surged south, rushing out of the valley and vanishing into the distance.
Bai Mao: "Damn it!"
He watched the retreating rebels disappear, then slowly emerged from his hiding spot, descended into the valley, hoisted Black Fiend's corpse onto his shoulder, and began walking towards Wang Cheng'en's camp.
General Du Wenhuan sat upright in the Hequ County yamen.
This small, dilapidated county office had been transformed by Wang Jiayin into a "royal palace."
The county magistrate's usual worn chair was now replaced by an imposing tiger-skin throne. The plaque that once hung above, emblazoned with the four characters "Justice Shines Bright," had been swapped for "The Single King Who Spans the Heavens." The room was draped with plundered silks and satins, every detail reeking of nouveau riche vulgarity.
Seeing this crude display, Du Wenhuan bristled. "A mere bandit chieftain, calling himself king? Look at this so-called palace – it's no different from a parvenu's mansion. Guards! Has Wang Jiayin not been captured yet?"
Cao Wenzhao clasped his fists. "Wang Jiayin escaped, we couldn't stop him."
Du Wenhuan, fuming: "What about Zijing Liang?"
"He escaped!"
Du Wenhuan, thoroughly enraged: "And Bai Yuzhu?"
"He escaped!"
Du Wenhuan, beyond furious: "Even Chuǎng Wang?"
"He also escaped!"
"Aargh!" Du Wenhuan seized a cup from the table and hurled it with force. "Why did *all* of them escape? Not a single important figure captured? How am I to explain this to my superiors?"
Cao Wenzhao could only spread his hands. "Our army numbered just over twenty thousand, while the rebels totaled more than a hundred thousand. The encirclement was already tenuous; we simply couldn't prevent their breakout."
Du Wenhuan: "It's infuriating, utterly infuriating..."
"Report!"
A soldier clasped his fists. "Shaanxi Regional Commander Wang Cheng'en has arrived with good news."
Du Wenhuan, still seething: "What good news could there possibly be? All I hear are disasters."
The soldier continued, "Wang Cheng'en has taken down a major rebel general."
At this, Du Wenhuan's mood brightened considerably, shifting from utter fury to merely slight irritation. "Let him in."
Soon, Wang Cheng'en strode in, followed by Bai Mao, who carried a corpse slung over his shoulder.
Those present didn't even need a report; they recognized the body at a glance. "Why, it's Black Fiend! Wang Jiayin's brutal confidant!"
Du Wenhuan's anger subsided further. "Capturing Black Fiend gives me something to report to the court. Excellent, Wang Cheng'en, you've achieved a great merit this time."
Wang Cheng'en clasped his fists. "Black Fiend was taken down by this young officer under my command."
With that, everyone's attention shifted to Bai Mao.
A lean, capable man, clad in proper armor, had a cloth doll perched on his shoulder. Only the doll's face was decently embroidered; its body was crudely made, and its hands were mere cloth balls... *ahem*...
Du Wenhuan: "Who are you? State your name."
Bai Mao detested stating his name, but at this moment, he had no choice, and his bandit alias was certainly out of the question. He grudgingly replied, "Your humble subordinate, Wang Xiaohua, from Chengcheng County, Shaanxi, serving as a centurion under General Wang."
"Wang Xiaohua?"
The name left everyone momentarily stunned. *What were your parents thinking when they named you?* they wondered. *No wonder he likes to play with cloth dolls. Ah, truly, the name reflects the man, the name reflects the man.*
Despite being a character everyone wanted to poke fun at, he had, after all, achieved a great merit, and such a deed could not go unrewarded.
Du Wenhuan declared, "Wang Xiaohua, you have captured a significant rebel chieftain and earned a great merit. This general will report your achievement to the imperial court and promote you to battalion commander. From this day forward, you must continue to strive diligently and serve the court well. Do you understand?"
Bai Mao inwardly mused: *A battalion commander... that means I'll oversee four hundred and forty soldiers.*
*Hahaha, I can bring four hundred and forty men from the Gao Family Village Militia!*
Bai Mao quickly saluted. "Your humble subordinate obeys!"
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