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Chapter 644 What Now?

Datong!

Zhang Zongheng, the Supreme Commander of Xuanfu and Datong, stared blankly at the imperial gazette.

The situation in Laizhou was indeed unfolding exactly as the Heavenly Lord had revealed. Kong Youde had truly been ambushed and routed by the imperial court, and he was even planning to surrender to the Manchus.

Sun Chuanting, who had specifically traveled from Daizhou to discuss border affairs, was sitting before him, a strange expression on his face. He, too, had come to see Zhang Zongheng after hearing the news about Kong Youde.

Sun Chuanting said, "Governor-General, regarding this matter... the heavenly secret revealed by the Heavenly Lord was indeed accurate."

Zhang Zongheng nodded heavily, his face grave. "At this point, there's no need to question whether the Heavenly Lord's words were truly heavenly secrets. In other words, his revelation that the eight great Jin merchants were traitors should be accurate."

Sun Chuanting asked, "Governor-General, how do you plan to handle this?"

Zhang Zongheng snorted. "Send men to watch them and gather evidence of their dealings with the Northern barbarians. As soon as we catch them red-handed, I can have them all executed."

Sun Chuanting nodded. "Excellent."

No sooner had he spoken than a general rushed in from outside, reporting swiftly, "Report! The Jin merchant Zhang Fugui, who was scheduled to deliver fifty measures of grain and ten measures of salt three days ago, failed to arrive on time. My subordinates went to search for him, but they only found Zhang Fugui's corpse. He... he and his entire merchant convoy were taken by the rebels..."

Sun Chuanting gasped.

Zhang Zongheng roared, "What?!"

After his outburst, Zhang Zongheng sighed softly. "This is bad. The rebels are causing chaos everywhere in Northwest Shanxi, appearing constantly. The smaller Jin merchants no longer have the strength to deliver supplies to our border armies, and the larger Jin merchants... those powerful big Jin merchants—Fan Yongdou, Wang Dengku, Jin Liangyu, Wang Dayu, Liang Jiabin, Tian Shenglan, and Zhai Tang—they are all traitors! What are we to do?"

Hearing this, Sun Chuanting felt a jolt of alarm.

The small Jin merchants who weren't traitors lacked the power to supply the border armies, while the powerful Jin merchants were traitors. If they moved against the big Jin merchants now, wouldn't the border armies be left without any supplies at all?

How could they break out of this predicament?

Zhang Zongheng clenched his fists, momentarily at a loss for what to do—

Tie Niaofei and his group left Pingyang Prefecture and headed further north.

Indeed, the situation along the road immediately changed.

The roads were no longer bustling with merchants traveling north and south; instead, a desolate air hung heavy.

Bones lay scattered by the roadside, a constant sight.

Occasionally, they would pass a village, only to find that more than half of its houses had been burned to the ground. The few that remained unburnt stood askew, their walls bearing the marks of axe and blade.

For the past year or so, rebels had been rampaging throughout the vast region north of Pingyang Prefecture, until the imperial court dispatched Zhang Zongheng and Xu Dingchen with a large army to encircle them, finally suppressing the rebels' arrogance somewhat.

Major rebel leaders such as Zijing Liang (Wang Ziyong), Chuǎng Wang (Gao Yingxiang), the Dashing General (Li Zicheng), the West Camp Eight Great Kings (Zhang Xianzhong), and Lao Huihui had now been forced into the Taihang Mountains.

Now, only smaller rebel factions, with slightly less influence, remained active in Northwest Shanxi. For instance: Cao Cao!

Cao Cao, whose real name was Luo Rucai, hailed from Yan'an Prefecture in Shaanxi.

He dared to adopt the nickname Cao Cao because he was supremely confident in his own cunning, believing himself as shrewd and resourceful as the legendary Cao Cao.

Recently, he had executed a rather clever scheme: specializing in robbing Jin merchants.

Northwest Shanxi had been plagued by various rebel groups for a long time. Aside from a few strongholds like Taiyuan and Daizhou, most cities had been breached by the rebels. The common people inside had either died or been conscripted, and productivity had been largely destroyed.

Therefore, there was little profit left in robbing ordinary folk.

Thus, Cao Cao set his sights on the Jin merchants!

Jin merchants were specifically tasked with delivering supplies to the border armies. Every time they appeared, they would be carrying large quantities of grain, weapons, cloth...

A single raid could net a fortune, far more comfortable than robbing impoverished commoners.

At this moment, Cao Cao was encamped with his forces in a small village near Lingshi County.

A winding official road passed by the village, and Cao Cao had just ambushed a small Jin merchant convoy in this very village, seizing vast amounts of grain and weapons. He was utterly delighted.

As he was counting the spoils, a subordinate rushed over. "Boss, another convoy is approaching."

Cao Cao was overjoyed. "Oh, another fat lamb for the slaughter?"

The subordinate's expression was strange. "This lamb seems... a bit *too* fat."

Cao Cao frowned in confusion.

The subordinate explained, "It's a huge convoy, with a tremendous amount of grain, salt, cloth, and other goods, piled high on fifty large carts, and it's escorted by three hundred cavalry."

Cao Cao's eyes narrowed. He had slender eyes that almost disappeared when he squinted. "Oh, a very powerful Jin merchant, indeed."

The subordinate confirmed, "Yes!"

Cao Cao sneered. "However, this level of strength can only intimidate weaker rebel forces; for us, this small escort is hardly worth mentioning. Give the order, it's time to get to work."

While Cao Cao hadn't risen to become one of the major rebel chiefs over the years, he still commanded above-average strength among the various bandits, boasting over five thousand followers. Excluding the elderly, weak, women, and children, he still had more than two thousand able-bodied fighters.

These two thousand-plus young, able-bodied men immediately sprang into action. First, several hundred ambushed within the village, hiding in dilapidated dwellings. Then, outside the village, men were hidden everywhere: in earthen ditches, forests, and behind small hillocks.

Suddenly, the nameless small village fell silent.

Tie Niaofei and his group slowly approached, traveling from south to north.

More than fifty large carts stretched out along the official road, long and winding like a dragon.

"Look, a village ahead," Zheng Daniu grinned. "Wonder if they have any local specialties here."

Zao Ying replied, "No, there's no one left in this village."

"Huh?" Zheng Daniu's mouth drooped in disappointment. "In Northwest Shanxi, you can walk for dozens of li and not see a soul. These folks are so pitiful."

However, just at that moment.

Zao Ying suddenly changed her tone. "You'll be seeing people very soon."

Zheng Daniu blinked. "Huh? What? Really?"

Zao Ying continued to ride at a slow pace, seemingly oblivious to anything amiss, but she spoke in a low voice. "There are ambushing troops in the village, in every house. Outside the village, in the earthen ditches, the woods, behind the small hillocks... ambushing troops are everywhere. The enemy isn't just common rebels; they must be cunning individuals, skilled in strategy and formations."

Zheng Daniu exclaimed, "Wow? How did you figure that out?"

Zao Ying grinned. "Don't underestimate horse bandits! Every creature finds its way, and when it comes to hiding and ambushing merchants, we horse bandits are the experts."

Tie Niaofei asked, "Boss Zao, how should we fight this?"

Zao Ying whispered, "First, we need to gather the convoy together without alerting the enemy."