Chapter 922: Is Gao Jie That Important?
Zuo Liangyu, hailing from Linqing, Shandong, was thirty-six years old and illiterate.
It would hardly be an exaggeration to call him the Ming court's most notorious villain in its twilight years. Killing innocents for merit, amassing personal power, disobeying imperial orders—he rarely did anything honorable, and his actions knew no bounds.
The utterly wicked and shameless feudal warlords criticized in later literary and cinematic works might very well have been modeled after Zuo Liangyu.
At this moment, he was leading a large army east toward Huashi Town.
His army was a motley crew. It comprised three thousand legitimate imperial soldiers, and another seven thousand rehabilitated rebel troops, a chaotic mix of various factions.
However, he had never reported these rehabilitated rebels to the court. Instead, he kept them all as his personal retainers.
Zuo Liangyu surveyed the surrounding terrain, then beckoned a messenger. “Go quickly and inform Supreme Commander Lu that our army is in position...”
No sooner had he spoken than a scout galloped back from the distance. “Report, General! Your subordinate has just learned that the Dashing General has offered one hundred pounds of gold for Gao Jie’s head!”
“What?!” Zuo Liangyu’s voice rose eight octaves. “How much did you say?”
Zuo Liangyu pressed, “Are you sure it’s one hundred *pounds*, not one hundred *taels*?”
The scout affirmed, “Confirmed!”
Zuo Liangyu was ecstatic. “Damn it all, I’d be no hero to miss out on this fortune!”
His trusted personal retainer poked his head out from nearby. “General, Gao Jie has already been pacified and is now under He Renlong’s command. Surely, we can’t earn that hundred pounds of gold, can we?”
Zuo Liangyu sneered, “Be more flexible! So what if Gao Jie has been pacified? We just won’t use imperial soldiers to fight him, right? We still have seven thousand pacified rebels under our command.”
His retainer instantly understood. “Understood! I will lead the seven thousand pacified rebels to kill Gao Jie. You, General, will lead the three thousand imperial soldiers to deal with Lu Xiangheng.”
Zuo Liangyu chuckled. “That’s the spirit! Stick with me, and you’ll learn to be flexible, not so rigid. Don’t draw such clear lines between imperial soldiers and rebels. Whoever helps us make a fortune, they’re our friends.”
His trusted retainer quickly took his leave.
Zuo Liangyu waved a hand at the messenger. “Go on, take your sweet time informing Lu Xiangheng. Just tell him I’m in position, all three thousand of my men have arrived. I’m a man who truly strives to fulfill the Supreme Commander’s orders, hahahaha.” —
The four contingents of imperial troops were “all” in position.
Lu Xiangheng was overjoyed. Although Zuo Liangyu had arrived a little late, the encirclement was finally complete. This was the perfect opportunity to capture Zhang Xianzhong’s West Camp forces in one fell swoop.
“Attack!”
At Lu Xiangheng’s command, his personally led southern army charged towards Huashi Town.
Simultaneously, Cao Wenzhao and Cao Bianjiao from the west, He Renlong and Gao Jie from the north, and Zuo Liangyu from the east all surged towards Huashi Town.
Inside the town, Zhang Xianzhong of the West Camp was startled. “Damn it all, we’re finished!”
However, at that very moment, a comedic twist emerged.
From the northeast, a rebel force suddenly appeared, numbering around seven thousand. Far from fearing the imperial troops, they charged directly at He Renlong and Gao Jie’s contingents.
As they rushed forward, they roared, “Traitor Fan Shan Yao! How dare you betray us? Your grandfathers are here to take your dog’s life!”
Gao Jie was leading his troops, following He Renlong’s charge, when he heard the shouts. He turned to look northeast, a flicker of panic in his eyes. “Who’s coming?”
A subordinate reported, “We don’t know!”
“They aren’t flying any banners.”
“No idea which faction.”
“Definitely not the Dashing General or the Roaming King.”
Gao Jie was utterly bewildered...
Meanwhile, the “rebel soldiers,” seeing He Renlong’s and Gao Jie’s banners from afar, completely ignored He Renlong and charged savagely at Gao Jie.
“Gao Jie is here!”
“Fan Shan Yao is here!”
“Seize Gao Jie!”
“Capture him alive!”
Each rebel soldier’s eyes seemed to turn into the shape of coins. They charged at him recklessly, uncaring of life or death, fighting as if certain they would instantly revive on the spot if killed, utterly fearless.
Gao Jie exclaimed, “What in the blazes is going on?!”
Gao Jie’s troops hastily turned to engage.
He Renlong’s contingent was also implicated, and had no choice but to turn and fight as well.
The imperial army’s northern defense line immediately crumbled.
Zhang Xianzhong, trapped in Huashi Town, saw this and cried out, “Heaven helps me! Charge north!”
As the rebels surged north, He Renlong’s and Gao Jie’s forces in the north found themselves attacked from front and rear. Chaos erupted instantly, and the official encirclement was utterly broken.
Lu Xiangheng was frantic. “How could this happen? Quick, pursue them, surround them, don’t let them escape!”
Cao Wenzhao and his nephew Cao Bianjiao were also greatly alarmed. They galloped out of formation, charging towards Zhang Xianzhong’s West Camp forces...
But by then, it was too late to catch them.
The rebels, running, turned back to unleash a furious volley of arrows.
Cao Wenzhao and Cao Bianjiao had pursued too fiercely. Their warhorses were struck by several arrows, letting out a pained neigh. They collapsed! The uncle and nephew fell with their mounts, gravely wounded and unable to move for a long moment. Their subordinates frantically rushed to rescue them.
Lu Xiangheng pursued north, intending to relentlessly chase Zhang Xianzhong’s West Camp, but he was blocked by the rebel army attacking Gao Jie. He couldn’t just stand by while He Renlong and Gao Jie were being overwhelmed, could he? So he had no choice but to intervene.
The scene was utter chaos!
Not long after, shouts erupted from the north once more. The Dashing General and the Roaming King had arrived.
The moment they appeared, they predictably let out a roar, “Fan Shan Yao, hand over your dog’s head!”
The two then led their armies charging into the fray...
The chaos escalated further! —
The enormous melee raged, its duration unknown.
Lu Xiangheng looked left, then right, and suddenly realized, to his dismay, that the imperial forces were at a disadvantage. The rebel ranks seemed to swell with every clash, while on the imperial side, the Cao uncle and nephew were gravely wounded, a crucial fighting force lost.
He Renlong was no strategist. He only knew how to charge recklessly on his own. His moniker, “Mad He,” was well-earned. In a large-scale battle, his wild charges were utterly useless.
Gao Jie was now fighting solely for survival. Rebel forces were swarming him from all directions. Simply staying alive was a struggle, let alone hoping for him to turn the tide.
Zuo Liangyu also appeared to be fighting fiercely, but his efforts felt utterly ineffectual.
The battlefield now hinged entirely on the desperate struggle of Lu Xiangheng’s Tianxiong Army.
Just as the situation became utterly dire, a thunderous rumble of hooves erupted from the north. A vast force of tribal border cavalry charged in from the north.
“Lao Huihui!” The moment Lu Xiangheng saw this cavalry unit, he knew the battle was lost for today. The Tianxiong Army was already struggling immensely, and adding another unit of border cavalry meant they absolutely couldn’t hold on.
“Retreat!” Lu Xiangheng had no choice but to order a temporary withdrawal.
The four imperial contingents withdrew in four different directions.
Large groups of rebels, chasing right behind Gao Jie, slashed their way northwest...
Lu Xiangheng witnessed this scene and was utterly dumbfounded. “The rebels aren’t pursuing *me*, the Supreme Commander of Five Provinces, but are instead relentlessly attacking Gao Jie? Why? Is Gao Jie truly such an important figure?”
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