Chapter 542: They're Civilians, Forget It
Cheng Xu left behind two thousand militia members in Gao Family Village and summoned the oldest group of labor reform prisoners from the camp, namely, Chen Baihu, the leader of over six hundred former Guyuan rebels, for a heartfelt conversation. He promised him that if they performed well this time, they would be granted early release upon their return.
Chen Baihu was naturally overjoyed. He had long yearned for early release, eager to rejoin Lao Nanfeng and conquer the world once more. He swiftly vowed to perform exceptionally well this time.
Cheng Xu provided a batch of melee weapons to Chen Baihu and the Guyuan rebels, tasking them with assisting the prison guards in maintaining order within the Prison Valley.
After making these arrangements, Cheng Xu then took the other two thousand militia members and set out to reinforce Wang Xiaohua.
First, they traveled by train from Gao Family Village to Heyang County. From Heyang County, they began their march on foot, heading north to Han City. After passing Han City, they continued north along the western bank of the Yellow River, making their way to the Dragon Gate Yellow River Bridge.
The Dragon Gate Yellow River Bridge was far from peaceful at this moment.
Shi Jian, leading four hundred men, had been stationed at the eastern end of the Dragon Gate Yellow River Bridge, on the Shanxi side of the Dragon Gate Ferry.
A small fortified ferry crossing had also been built here.
Initially, the stockade had sheltered ten thousand refugees, all of whom had fled from Hejin County. Later, after Wang Jiayin led his forces near Jinyang, Hejin became temporarily safe, and those ten thousand people gradually returned to Hejin County.
Unexpectedly, a few months later, the bandits had circled back.
Hejin County, lacking city walls, offered no defenses whatsoever. The civilians had hastily abandoned the county seat once more, bringing their children and elders with them, fleeing to the Dragon Gate Ferry.
At that moment, Shi Jian stood at the eastern end of the Yellow River Bridge, anxious, urging the civilians, "Hurry! Cross the bridge, take refuge in Shaanxi!"
The civilians, with their children and elders, were queuing up, hurrying towards the western side of the bridge.
Meanwhile, Shi Jian's four hundred soldiers were piling up sandbags and stacking stones in the middle of the bridge, erecting a makeshift defensive fortification.
He chose not to make a desperate stand at the stockade with the civilians!
The small wooden walls of the stockade offered very limited defensive capabilities, and with only two hundred musketeers and two hundred garrison soldiers at his disposal, it was highly improbable he could hold out against an attack by two hundred thousand bandit troops. Therefore, he made an immediate decision to abandon the stockade, directing the civilians to cross the Dragon Gate Yellow River Bridge and take refuge in Shaanxi.
Instead, he set up a simple defensive fortification at the midpoint of the bridge, piling up sandbags, and positioned his musketeers behind them to form a defensive line. He felt this approach would be more defensible.
"They're here, they're here! The bandits are here!"
The scout, who had been keeping watch, raced back, shouting, "The bandit cavalry will be here any moment!"
"Cavalry?" Shi Jian was stunned. He cursed, "Damn it, the bandits even have cavalry?"
The scout replied, "It's Lao Huihui's (Ma Shouying) forces. The core of this bandit group consists of Hui cavalry from the border army, all of whom are skilled in horsemanship and archery."
Shi Jian couldn't help but curse, "Damn it! If it were infantry, they'd be slower, and we'd still have time to evacuate. But with cavalry, they're too fast. I don't know if all the civilians will make it across the bridge in time."
He roared at the top of his lungs, "Faster! Everyone crossing the bridge, hurry! The bandit cavalry is coming!"
At his shout, the civilians panicked even more. Tens of thousands of people squeezed together on the bridge, which only slowed their crossing.
Sweat streamed down Shi Jian's forehead. He bellowed, "Don't panic! Don't panic!"
Hoofbeats thundered. A large contingent of cavalry appeared from the northeast. These riders truly looked like Hui people. They were heavily armored cavalry (as historical records describe), armed with bows on their backs and scimitars at their waists, their faces framed by full, bushy beards.
The cavalry advanced with astonishing speed. No sooner had they appeared than they were upon them.
Shi Jian gripped his flintlock rifle tighter, and roared, "Musketeers, prepare for battle! Don't let the cavalry get close! We must protect every civilian crossing this bridge!"
The moment he saw Lao Huihui's cavalry contingent, he knew they would be difficult to withstand. Not only were their horsemanship skills superb, but their equipment was also remarkably uniform. This wasn't typical bandit fare. These were, damn it, border army iron cavalry...
He instinctively glanced toward the Heavenly Lord standing at the bridgehead.
Though he didn't want to rely on the Heavenly Lord for every predicament, the civilians were facing heavy casualties now. Surely, under these circumstances, the Heavenly Lord would intervene and help?
But the Heavenly Lord was not present at that moment!
Li Daoxuan's attention was currently focused on Bai Mao and Wang Er, who were currently engaged in battle with the dashing general, Gao Jie.
However, just then, something curious happened. Lao Huihui suddenly reined in his warhorse, and astonishingly, he didn't charge directly forward.
The hundreds of iron cavalry behind him simultaneously brought their horses to a halt.
Lao Huihui declared loudly, "Those are just ordinary civilians. It's not worth our time."
The cavalry behind him responded in unison, "Understood!"
Shi Jian gasped, "Huh?"
Lao Huihui reined his warhorse around, "Let's go."
They all wheeled their horses around. Amidst the thunder of hooves, the large cavalry contingent was swiftly gone from sight.
Shi Jian was dumbfounded.
A garrison soldier stepped forward from behind him, whispering, "It seems the rumors are true. Lao Huihui's cavalry unit is different from ordinary bandits."
Shi Jian asked, "What rumors?"
The garrison soldier explained, "They aren't bandits in the usual sense. They are border army iron cavalry, formed from surrendered non-Han and Han soldiers. They rebelled only because the imperial court failed to pay them for years. It's said that Lao Huihui's heavily armored cavalry are disciplined; they won't easily attack civilians, preferring to target fortified cities. These men are not only superb horsemen but also fierce fighters dismounted, and they're skilled strategists."
Shi Jian couldn't help but inwardly marvel, "So that's how it is. To think such a figure exists among the bandits."
He had just let out a sigh of relief when he suddenly heard the sentry shouting again, "The bandits are here again! They're here again!"
Shi Jian's heart jolted. Hadn't Lao Huihui just let the civilians go?
He scrambled to a higher vantage point and looked northeast. This time, it wasn't cavalry, but a vast throng of infantry. They were a chaotic, noisy mob, clearly not Lao Huihui's "heavily armored, disciplined cavalry" force. This was a band of true scoundrels.
Among the bandit forces, a large banner fluttered, bearing the words "Eight Great Kings."
The sentry shouted, "Oh? Is the Southern Camp's Eight Great Kings here again?"
Shi Jian scrutinized the banner. "No, not the Southern Camp's Eight Great Kings. This time, it's the Western Camp's Eight Great Kings."
The Western Camp's Eight Great Kings was none other than the infamous butcher, Zhang Xianzhong.
At this point, Zhang Xianzhong had not yet revealed his true name, still operating under the moniker "Western Camp's Eight Great Kings" in the underworld. Unlike Lao Huihui, he held no pity for civilians. Furthermore, his troops were utterly devoid of military discipline. Even if he himself wished to show mercy to the populace, his subordinates were unlikely to obey.
The bandit forces immediately spotted a magnificent bridge spanning the Yellow River ahead, with tens of thousands of civilians attempting to cross it.
"Charge! Plunder everything you can!"
The bandits cackled three times and surged forward, intent on slaughtering the civilians.
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