Chapter 596: I Don't Submit
In Hedong City, at the south gate windlass, a fierce battle immediately erupted.
Hundreds of garrison soldiers rushed out of their barracks, grabbing their weapons and charging towards the city gate. Some didn't even have time to don their cotton armor, wearing only cloth garments, and some were even bare-chested.
Meanwhile, the two hundred men led by Chen Baihu formed a tight defensive cluster, guarding the windlass. The space here was not spacious, just a small platform above the side of the city gate, where few men could actually stand. Therefore, Chen Baihu's subordinates mostly guarded the staircases and passages leading to this small platform.
This relatively confined space was ideal for a smaller group.
The Guyuan border army soldiers formed a spear phalanx on the stairs, dozens of long spears pointing down the staircase, making it impossible for those below to charge up.
The bravery of the garrison soldiers was certainly not enough to directly assault a spear phalanx.
An archer climbed onto the adjacent watchtower, intending to loose arrows at the border troops on the stairs, but Chen Baihu raised his right hand, and with a low hum from his hand crossbow, the archer on the watchtower fell backward.
"Quick, take them down!" the Salt Inspector shrieked hoarsely. "They're holding the windlass to prevent us from closing the gate; more people will be coming from outside."
He was right!
As long as Chen Baihu could hold the windlass and prevent the city residents from closing the gate, those four hundred-plus men could easily pour into the city.
The total number of government soldiers garrisoned in Hedong Circuit was nominally one thousand. Of course, as everyone knew, they claimed a thousand, but in reality, there were only six hundred; the Salt Inspector was skimming the pay for four hundred phantom soldiers.
An ordinary military official, after skimming pay for four hundred men, would usually maintain two hundred household guards, using their formidable fighting strength to compensate for the missing forces.
But the Salt Inspector hadn't bothered to raise that many household guards. Hedong Circuit typically only managed salt transport and caught salt smugglers, never fighting tough battles. Why would the Salt Inspector, with nothing to do, raise so many guards? He was far too stingy to spend that money.
The true elite fighters by his side numbered fewer than fifty.
However, all six hundred-plus men under Chen Baihu's command were capable fighters.
The cowardly, disheartened garrison soldiers, who were usually fine taking kickbacks from salt smugglers or bullying salt artisans, now faced the border troops with absolutely no fighting power and simply couldn't get up that small staircase.
Archers should have ascended the watchtowers on both sides, but a few who showed their heads were immediately shot down by the border troops. The other archers, fearing death, dared not go up.
The windlass position instantly became a seesaw battle.
Outside the city, shouts of killing shook the heavens. The other four hundred-plus men were rushing towards them. The Salt Inspector glanced outside the city and saw a multitude of torches drawing near; half his soul was scared out of him.
He roared loudly: "Where are Tian Shenglan and Zhai Tang? Their guard detachments are formidable, quickly go get them to help."
He needn't have shouted; the two Jin merchants had already been roused by the battle cries.
The two, leading their guard detachments, emerged from the Salt Inspector's official residence and immediately ran towards the city gate.
Still some distance away, they could clearly see, illuminated by the city wall's lights, a group dressed in official Ming Dynasty military uniforms was holding the windlass, while the Salt Inspector's men were besieging them, trying to reclaim the windlass.
The fighting between the two sides wasn't particularly fierce, because the Salt Inspector's men simply dared not charge.
Zhai Tang sneered. "Brother Tian, given this situation, should we get involved?"
The other Jin merchant, Tian Shenglan, shook his head with a smile. "Of course not! Look at the troops guarding the windlass; they're clearly a strong army, well-coordinated and courageous in battle. If my estimation is correct, these must be border troops who have defected to the bandits. They're holding the city gate, and soon tens of thousands of bandit soldiers will pour in from outside. This little Hedong City is already a dead end."
Zhai Tang: "Brother Tian's words are wise. Then let's retreat quickly. If we're too slow, we might get trapped in this dilapidated city by the vast bandit army.”
The two Jin merchants immediately led their guard detachments and ran towards Hedong City's north gate.
By then, the north gate was already tightly shut, and the gatekeepers would ordinarily not open it, but the two Jin merchants tossed silver ingots at the guards, and the guards cranked open the city gate. The two Jin merchants immediately rode off without a backward glance.
The Salt Inspector anxiously awaited the two Jin merchants and their guards to come to his aid, but instead received a report from a subordinate: "My lord, this is bad! The two Jin merchants have fled with their men."
The Salt Inspector: "Damn them! Those sons of bitches."
The Salt Inspector also wanted to flee, but he couldn't. Desperately resisting the bandits might offer a sliver of hope, but if he ran, the imperial court would investigate later, and his head would be chopped off with a single stroke, leaving no hope at all.
The Salt Inspector could only roar at his subordinates again: "Where are the nearest government soldiers who can come to our rescue?"
A subordinate replied: "Puzhou City, the Puzhou Garrison Commander Xing Honglang."
The Salt Inspector: "Damn it, she's a salt smuggler. But never mind, who cares who she is; anyone who can save this official is a good person. Quickly, go call her to reinforce Hedong City.”
The subordinate thought to himself: *Puzhou City is over 150 li round trip from here. By the time I get Xing Honglang here, it'll be far too late. But never mind, it's a good chance for me to escape, better than accompanying the Salt Inspector in death.*
The subordinate happily mounted a horse, opened the west city gate, and rode away.
The fighting at the city gate continued...
Chen Baihu's two hundred men stubbornly held the windlass, and the Salt Inspector's subordinates couldn't breach their defense, no matter how they attacked. Then, the additional four hundred-plus men arrived. Amidst fierce battle cries, the four hundred-plus valiant border troops charged through the wide-open city gate.
The Salt Inspector had also dispatched a hundred men to resist at the city gate, but it was useless. The weak garrison soldiers, with their abysmal fighting power, simply couldn't withstand the border troops who feared no death.
One charge!
After just one charge, the subsequent four hundred-plus men had already stormed into the city.
"Kill!"
"Kill the corrupt officials, seize the salt!"
"Give us back our hard-earned military pay!"
"Let this salt compensate us for the military pay the court owes us!"
The Guyuan border troops had originally rebelled years ago precisely because the imperial court had withheld their military pay. Now, shouting these slogans, they were truly passionate and invested. They didn't need to act, for they *were* the drama.
As they chanted, old grievances surged to the surface.
Chen Baihu pointed his command saber at the Salt Inspector and roared: "Brothers, how much hardship have we endured all these years? It's all because of these damn corrupt officials! We shivered in the cold winds on the frontier, while this Salt Inspector enjoyed a life of ease in the central plains' decadent world. Damn it, I don't submit.”
The border troops roared: "Don't submit!"
"Chop him up!"
"Chop him up!"
"Hack him into mincemeat!"
The six hundred-plus border troops converged, their fighting spirit fully ignited, and charged towards the Salt Inspector.
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