Chapter 646: We Meet Again
The flintlock rifles barked incessantly, "Boom, boom, boom!"
Though there were only a little over a hundred riflemen, the effect they produced was as if a thousand soldiers were firing—a dense, continuous volley without any discernible gaps.
Dongshan Hu's forces couldn't muster the courage to charge forward.
On the other flank, Hong Tatian's troops were pinned down by Zao Ying's cavalry, arrows raining down on them relentlessly. The cavalry repeatedly loosed volleys, refusing to engage in close combat.
This endless barrage of arrows kept Hong Tatian's troops from even stirring. Everyone huddled together, cowering in a mass, holding up shields and even pot lids to cover their bodies.
They were just out to rob a caravan; no need to be *that* desperate, right?
Watching from the rear, where he was holding the line but hadn't yet charged, Cao Cao saw the scene unfold. He paused, slightly bewildered, glanced at Dongshan Hu, then at Hong Tatian, and made an instant decision. He bellowed, "The wind's up, pull back!"
The rebels promptly began their retreat.
However, the enemy's long-range firepower was too fierce; they couldn't simply turn and run as they usually did. Hong Tatian's men had to maintain their shield-up posture, slowly falling back. Dongshan Hu's situation was even worse: his men had to crawl on the ground to escape, terrified that if they stood to run, a rifle shot would find their vital spots.
Fortunately, the Gao Family Village forces had no intention of continuing the fight either.
Bullets cost money, and arrows cost money. Killing enemies might be exhilarating in the moment, but resupplying bullets felt like a funeral pyre.
The caravan was on a long expedition to northwestern Shanxi, and logistical supplies were too distant. Bullets could not be wasted.
Tie Niaofei waved a hand. "Stop!"
At the same time, Zao Ying's cavalry troop had emptied a quiver of arrows. Feeling they had done enough, they also withdrew their troops and fell back.
The arrows ceased, and the flintlock rifles fell silent.
The Gao Family Village forces returned to the perimeter of their wagon train. Only then did Dongshan Hu's and Hong Tatian's men finally breathe a sigh of relief. No longer forced to cower and retreat, they could at last stand up and run for their lives.
With a thunderous rush, the rebels fled several hundred meters, as if even a slight delay would invite another barrage of rifle fire.
Tie Niaofei chuckled. "Excellent. That ought to have scared them straight. From now on, when they see my Tie Niaofei caravan, they shouldn't dare try to rob it again."
Zao Ying also smiled. "My arrows, after being shot, can be retrieved later. But your bullets can't be picked back up. How many paper cartridges do you have left?"
Tie Niaofei pointed to the vehicle in the middle of the convoy and grinned. "That wagon is entirely loaded with bullets. We could fight at least four more battles like this one."
Zao Ying nodded. "That's good then."
As expected, Cao Cao's forces didn't dare approach again, fleeing far away in short order. Zao Ying's people quickly tidied up the battlefield, picking up some of the arrows they had just fired and returning them to their quivers.
Only then did everyone continue north.
They hadn't traveled much further when they saw a Jin merchant caravan strewn dead along the roadside, their wagons overturned, goods vanished without a trace.
Tie Niaofei murmured, "If we hadn't won that fight, we'd be in the same state now."
Zao Ying nodded, her expression grim. "While there are a few bad apples among the Jin merchants, most of them are decent. They've supplied the border army for hundreds of years; even if they haven't earned accolades, they've certainly put in the effort. Now, with the rebels stirring up trouble in northwestern Shanxi, those Jin merchants without sufficient strength can no longer reach Datong. I'm afraid the Datong border army's supplies..."—
The Datong Border Command oversaw 13 garrisons, 823 fortified villages, and 307 signal towers.
It was the "guardian angel" of the Ming Dynasty's central heartland.
But the border army stationed in Datong suffered greatly!
Year after year, they lived in the harsh, frigid north, their living environment little more than crumbling mud forts and dilapidated stockades, surrounded by a ring of barren, broken fields.
Their lives were miserable, yet they had to face the ferociously formidable Mongolian cavalry.
Perhaps they were alive and well yesterday, only to suddenly find a horde of enemies rushing at them today, wiping out everyone in their fort in the blink of an eye.
They lived in constant dread, often going hungry and cold.
And now, they were facing another grain shortage!
Zhang Zongheng listened to his subordinates' reports, his face grim.
"Commander-in-Chief, we have enough grain to last only three more days."
His subordinate said, somewhat awkwardly, "The smaller Jin merchants can't get grain through. Most of their convoys are intercepted by rebels on the way, and many are now too afraid to travel north."
Zhang Zongheng's face darkened, and he remained silent.
Sun Chuanting, who was visiting as a guest, was fuming, practically leaping with anger. "Allow me to take my household guards and make a few rounds! I'll hunt down those rebels and beat them to death!"
Zhang Zongheng shook his head. "It's useless! What good are your few household guards? Even with Governor Xu Dingchen and I working together, setting up an inescapable net, we haven't been able to eradicate these rebels."
Sun Chuanting fell silent.
Zhang Zongheng sighed. "Eliminating these rebels won't happen overnight, but our soldiers need to eat every single day. What on earth are we to do?"
As he spoke, something suddenly occurred to him. "Right, what's the situation with those influential Jin merchants?"
His deputy general whispered, "Half a month ago, Tian Shenglan delivered fifty shi of grain and five shi of salt to us. Afterward, he pretended to return home, but in reality, he circled south and headed northeast."
"Our scouts carefully shadowed Tian Shenglan for several days, finally witnessing him trade with the Mongols firsthand at a border fort outside Hongshaba Town. The soldiers in that fort had all been bought off by Tian Shenglan; they were his men. They brazenly traded with the Mongols right there in the fort, delivering a hundred shi of grain, ten shi of salt, one shi of tea, and dozens of large iron pots."
Sun Chuanting immediately erupted in fury. "Only fifty shi of grain for our own people, but he sold a hundred shi to the Mongols? This is outrageous!"
Zhang Zongheng said, "It seems the Mongols simply offered a higher price."
Sun Chuanting sighed. "Alas! We are already short on grain, and finally, some capable Jin merchants manage to traverse the rebel-infested areas to head north—only for them to sell even more grain to the Mongols! It truly infuriates me. This man deserves to die, and should be executed immediately."
Zhang Zongheng's deputy general leaned closer and whispered, "If we let him live, he can at least still transport fifty shi of grain to us. If we kill him, even that fifty shi will be gone."
Silence fell among them all.
The atmosphere grew tense.
Just then, a soldier rushed in from outside, exclaiming loudly, "Commander-in-Chief, good news, good news! A major Jin merchant has arrived, bringing with him a huge convoy, delivering fifty wagons of grain to us!"
"Fifty wagons?" Zhang Zongheng exclaimed, overjoyed.
Sun Chuanting was equally delighted.
All the surrounding deputy generals and others were ecstatic beyond measure.
The group immediately set off, rushing towards the South Gate of the city.
Upon reaching the South Gate, they saw a long convoy entering the city.
The convoy consisted of fifty wagons, each loaded to the brim.
In those days, a fully loaded horse-drawn wagon could transport over a thousand jin of grain. Fifty such wagons were simply astounding.
Tie Niaofei, astride a tall, imposing horse, led the convoy. Seeing the Commander-in-Chief and Master Sun Chuanting arrive, he dismounted, clasped his hands in greeting, and said, "Commander-in-Chief, Master Sun, we meet again!"
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