Chapter 829: Scrambling for Glory
Soon, the Manchu soldiers who had scrambled up the hill were utterly routed.
The infantry following behind hesitated, wondering whether to charge and fight a decisive battle against the "Ming Divine Firearms Battalion." But then, battle cries erupted from their flank—Lao Nanfeng wasn't about to put all his eggs in one basket.
Most of the ambushers he'd positioned on the hillside were new musketeers. However, his most trusted Guyuan veterans were all hidden on the flanks. These men fought with fierce determination and ruthless efficiency, and every one of them loved to compete for recognition.
Although they had been taught, since joining Gao Family Village, that "spoils of war belonged to the collective" and "military achievements were collective honors," the conditioning from their decades as imperial soldiers remained. Charging to the front in battle brought glory for being the "first to breach enemy lines" or the "first to seize control"—it was ingrained muscle memory. They knew that even if the glory was collective, performing exceptionally well would still earn them the favor of the Heavenly Lord and Lao Nanfeng.
To be favored by the Heavenly Lord meant being noted by the divine, bringing them various special rewards, with even a single rare and unusual snack promising a fortune. To be favored by Lao Nanfeng meant not only promotion within the army but also advancement within the Flower World Star Agency, perhaps even landing significant supporting roles in movies. Just look at Chen Qianhu; how dashing and formidable he looked now.
With a ferocious roar, the Guyuan veterans burst from their ambush on the flank.
Their fighting style was utterly different from the musketeers trained by Gao Family Village. Gao Family Village militiamen played it safe with their firearms, prioritizing defense and seeing self-preservation as more important than glory. But the Guyuan veterans thought the opposite: what was saving one's life compared to earning glory? Playing it safe with muskets meant no one would know who killed which enemy; how could they compete for recognition then? They had to charge out to truly catch the Heavenly Lord's eye.
A group of them, muskets in hand, surged towards the Manchus.
As they sprinted forward, they fired their weapons.
White smoke billowed. After a single shot, they didn't bother reloading, simply slinging their muskets onto their backs and, with a swift flick, drawing their sabres from their waists.
"Charge!"
"Charge fiercely in your youth, and wealth will follow your path!"
"Every scar a badge of honor, every victory a step to promotion and prestige!"
"Charge!"
The Manchus spun around, their eyes widening. "Damn it all, Han border army!"
These were undoubtedly the border troops, no mistake! Only the Han border army could contend with the Manchus; all others were spineless weaklings.
With a resounding crash, the two forces collided.
The moment they engaged, the Manchus sensed something was terribly wrong. What had this border army been eating? Damn it, every one of them was incredibly strong, brimming with vitality—nothing like the pale and sickly border soldiers who usually starved. And their gear? Damnably superior.
Sabres clashed with a sharp *clang*, and the Manchu's blade chipped instantly.
The Manchu soldier gasped, eyes wide with disbelief.
The Guyuan veteran let out a booming laugh, then cleaved the Manchu's head clean off, sending it flying.
The quality of Gao Family Village's molten iron was so exceptional that it could be used to cast muskets; could blades forged from such iron be anything but superior? Chipping was the *best* outcome; some Manchu blades, being more brittle, snapped clean in two the moment they met the village's steel.
The Manchu soldiers, already demoralized and depleted in numbers from the musket fire, were now completely outmatched in weaponry, equipment, and physical prowess. They were no match for the Guyuan veterans.
After a swift and brutal engagement, a veritable slaughter, the battle was swiftly concluded.
Nearly half of the Manchus lay dead on the grassy slopes.
The remaining half fled in disarray, retreating northwest.
A group of glory-hungry Guyuan border soldiers still gave chase, but Lao Nanfeng sounded the gongs for retreat. Never chase a desperate enemy; pursuing too deeply only leads to trouble.
The militia returned.
Lao Nanfeng stood before the bewildered people of Wangjiayao Village. "You're Squire Wang, aren't you?"
The patriarch of the Wang family quickly stepped forward and bowed respectfully.
Lao Nanfeng said, "I don't care for competing for glory."
Squire Wang blinked. "Huh?"
Lao Nanfeng laughed heartily. "I'm a humble man at heart, with no taste for grandstanding. So, if the imperial court asks later, just tell them that you, with your household retainers and village militiamen, killed these Manchus. Understood?"
Squire Wang gasped in disbelief. "What?" He had never before encountered imperial soldiers who refused to claim credit.
He had no idea that Lao Nanfeng had no need for imperial rewards or recognition; the Heavenly Lord's blessings were enough. Reports of achievement were made to the Gao Family Village leadership, not to the imperial court, so as far as the imperial authorities were concerned, it was better to avoid trouble than to invite it.
Lao Nanfeng continued, "Gather everyone from the surrounding villages and tell them to flee south, deep into the mountains."
Squire Wang asked, "Didn't you just help us repel the Manchus?"
Lao Nanfeng shook his head. "That was merely a small detachment. Four major Manchu armies are converging on Yingzhou."
Squire Wang was dumbfounded upon hearing this. He now realized that Wangjiayao Village was only a mere twelve miles from Yingzhou, across completely flat plains. Manchu cavalry could arrive in moments. This was truly a distance that necessitated flight.
Squire Wang obediently sent messengers to summon people from the surrounding villages to flee south into the mountains—
Even as the battle raged fiercely in Datong Prefecture...
In the southern part of Shanxi, Yuanqu County, within Zhima Ditch.
There was a peculiar mountain village nestled in the ravine. The village was vast, with numerous wooden houses stacked in layers, making it more than twice the size of an ordinary village, almost qualifying as a small town.
It turned out that this place housed three pacified rebel leaders named He Zonghan, Liu Haoran, and Gao Jiaji. These three had been notorious Shanxi bandits. A few years prior, when Shaanxi rebels crossed the river into Shanxi, the trio seized the opportunity to rise up and rebel. Exploiting the chaos wrought by the massive Shaanxi rebel armies, they plundered, burned, and committed every conceivable atrocity.
Later, the main Shaanxi rebel forces split into two: one returned to Shaanxi, the other crossed the river into Henan. The three bandit leaders suddenly found themselves isolated and unable to continue their rampage.
So, they petitioned the authorities for surrender.
It happened that Dai Jun'en had just arrived in Shanxi to take up his post as governor. Dai Jun'en was a kind-hearted man, lacking the ruthlessness to order his troops to slaughter surrendered rebels as Hong Chengchou had done with He Renlong. He accepted their surrender and arranged for the three, with their former subordinates, to clear land, farm, and settle down in Zhima Ditch.
At this moment, He Zonghan was sipping a thin bowl of gruel, his brow furrowed. "Damn it all," he grumbled, "eating this watery gruel every day brings no joy. Life was far more pleasant when we were free to plunder and burn."
Liu Haoran sighed, "Big Brother speaks the truth, alas."
Gao Jiaji spoke up, "Big Brothers, I also miss the good old days. I say, let's just rise up again."
He Zonghan frowned. "Rise up again now? Is that feasible? Chuǎng Wang and his forces have already moved to Henan. We're isolated and outnumbered here in Shanxi."
Gao Jiaji chuckled. "Heh heh, my two elder brothers. Your third brother went out for a stroll yesterday and gathered some information. I heard that the Manchus are attacking Xuanfu and Datong Prefecture, making quite a commotion in the north. All the imperial troops in Shanxi have gone north. Xing Honglang's forces in Hedong Circuit originally had three thousand men, which kept us in check, but now only five hundred remain. This is a prime opportunity for us to plunder Hedong Circuit."
I have gone through each paragraph and sentence, applying the style principles and glossary terms.
- **Vivid and Clear Language:** Used stronger verbs ("scrambled," "routed," "erupted," "ruthless efficiency," "ferocious roar," "surged," "billowed," "cleaved," "slaughter," "disarray," "dumbfounded," "plundered"). Rephrased certain expressions for a more modern novelistic tone.
- **Readability and Clarity:** Maintained paragraph breaks and narrative flow. Sentences are varied.
- **Rhythm and Pacing:** I tried to make the action parts feel more immediate and the exposition/dialogue flow smoothly.
- **Adaptation, not Duplication:**
* "Build slaves"-> "Manchu soldiers," "Manchus," "Manchu cavalry. "
* "Ming Army Divine Machine Battalion"-> "Ming Divine Firearms Battlion" (based on analysis, "Firearms" seems most apt for the context of muskets).
* Idioms like "put all his eggs in one basket," "never chase a desperate enemy," "better to avoid trouble than to invite it" were adapted directly as they have clear English equivalents.
* Slogans were rephrased to sound more like battle cries or boasts in English.
* "Jane in the immortal heart"-> "noted by the divine," "catch the Heavenly Lord's eye. "
* "Take a sip of cold skin"-> "gasped in disgelief. "
* "More than forty miles"-> "a mere twelve miles" (conversion for better readability in English context).
* "Damn it"-> "Damn it," "Damn it all. "
* "Wang Yuanwai"-> "Squire Wang. "
* "You must also report to the Gao Family Village Committee for your achievements"-> "Reports of achievement were made to the Gao Family Village leadership. " (Committee not in glossary, so "leadership" is a good adaptive fit).
- **Technical Requirements:**
* Paragraphs are preserved.
* Glossary terms are strictly followed (e.g., Lao Nanfeng, Gao Family Village, Heavenly Lord, Flower World Star Agency, Chen Qianhu, Dai Jun'en, Hong Chengchou, He Renlong, Xuanfu, Datong Prefecture, Yuanqu County, Zhima Ditch, Hedong Circuit, Xing Honglang, Chuǎng Wang).
* No Chinese characters.
* "Free reading" (source mention) was removed.
* Chapter title converted to "Chapter 829."
* HTML structure is untouched.
* Quotation marks are standard double quotes.
The names He Zonghan, Liu Haoran, and Gao Jiaji were listed in the RAW-ONLY glossary, but since the prompt also mentions "Strictly follow the terms in the glossary," and they are listed, I've used them as proper names. "Wangjiayao Village" was not in the glossary, so I kept the literal transliteration and used "Wangjiao Village" as a placeholder, then corrected to Wangjiayao. "Yingzhou" was also not in the glossary, so I kept the pinyin.
One minor detail: "Old Nanfeng" vs "Lao Nanfeng". The glossary consistently uses "Lao Nanfeng", so I've stuck with that.
The output should be ready.
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