Gou was a member of the imperial family in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 715: Mountain Collapse

After arriving, Zu Kuan did not rest, but immediately led his cavalry into battle.

When Zu Kuan's elite cavalry appeared on the battlefield, the balance of victory suddenly tipped towards the Ming army. Zu Kuan, wearing armor, rode his horse and led his cavalry to break through Huang Long's formation in one fell swoop, defeating Huang Long's troops and sending them into disarray.

Not only that, Zu Kuan also led the cavalry to continue charging forward, intending to rush to Gao Yingxiang in one breath and kill him directly. If it weren't for the desperate protection of Gao Yingxiang's old battalion, and if his armored cavalry was not quite capable of fighting, Gao Yingxiang might have fallen into Zu Kuan's hands.

After a charge, Zu Kuan defeated Gao Yingxiang's armored cavalry, but when he saw Gao Yingxiang being protected by a group of people and slowly retreating, he withdrew his troops.

In this battle, Gao Yingxiang suffered another disastrous defeat. His armored cavalry was destroyed, and his trusted general Huang Long was also seriously injured in the battle. Although his life was not in danger, he could no longer fight. Liu Zhe was also slightly injured in order to cover Gao Yingxiang's retreat. Even Gao Yingxiang himself was in a miserable state and was almost beheaded by Zu Kuan.

The defeated Gao Yingxiang had basically lost the ability to continue the attack and could only retreat into Heishui Valley. That night, Gao Yingxiang developed a high fever and was shaking all over.

During the days in Ziwu Valley, Gao Yingxiang had caught a cold due to the continuous heavy rain in the valley. He had been holding on with great perseverance in the past few days, but today's disastrous defeat, especially the appearance of Zu Kuan, made Gao Yingxiang completely desperate. His body collapsed at once due to his shaken mood. Under the attack of the disease, Gao Yingxiang was feverish and confused. Although Liu Zhe and others found herbs to feed Gao Yingxiang, his condition did not improve.

After a night, Gao Yingxiang regained some consciousness the next day. Although his forehead was still burning, he could speak normally.

Opening his eyes and looking at the familiar and anxious faces around him, Gao Yingxiang felt bitter in his heart. He didn't expect that after being a hero all his life, he would now be at a point of desperation. It was impossible to break out of Heishui Valley and defeat was imminent. Gao Yingxiang was prepared for the worst, but he still felt unwilling.

"Where is Huang...Huang Long?" Gao Yingxiang asked after looking around and not seeing Huang Long.

"General Huang is seriously injured and cannot be here, but don't worry, King Chuang, General Huang's life is safe." Liu Zhe said.

"What is the current situation in the army?" Gao Yingxiang asked.

Liu Zhe shook his head secretly, and the other generals also looked unhappy. Gao Yingxiang smiled bitterly and said, "It is all my fault that my army has reached this point. If I hadn't been so smart and insisted on leaving Ziwu Valley, I wouldn't have dragged my brothers into such a situation..."

"King Chuang! How can this be blamed on you? If it weren't for Sun Chuanting's cunning and Hong Chengchou's insidiousness, my army would have captured Xi'an city long ago!" said a general on the side.

Waving his hands, Gao Yingxiang said, "No need to comfort me. Victory is victory, defeat is defeat. I have traveled all over the world and galloped across the Central Plains. This life has not been lived in vain. Now the government army is strong, especially with Zu Kuan here, our army can no longer win."

"Instead of continuing to fight here, it is better to make plans early." Gao Yingxiang's eyes swept across the crowd and sighed: "The government army's surrender may be a way to survive. You can surrender directly to save your lives..."

"King Chuang! I will never surrender! I want to follow King Chuang!" a general shouted.

"Follow me? Why follow me?" Gao Yingxiang said with a wry smile, "Sun Chuanting and Hong Chengchou want my head. You can still survive if you surrender, but it's different for me. Right now there is still a chance. If you fall into the hands of the government troops with me, this way of survival may be gone. You have followed me for so many years, and originally planned to find a future for the brothers, but unfortunately you failed at the last moment. Not only did you fail to do it, but you also implicated everyone. I feel guilty."

"The King of Rebellion!" Everyone burst into tears. How could Gao Yingxiang have said such a thing in the past? In everyone's mind, Gao Yingxiang has always been a man who is not afraid of fame or disgrace. The name of the King of Rebellion is even more powerful in China. But today, Gao Yingxiang is as sentimental as an ordinary person and said such a thing.

Without waiting for everyone to persuade them, Gao Yingxiang waved his hand and asked them to retreat, telling them that if they wanted to save their lives, they should surrender to the Ming army as soon as possible, otherwise it would be too late.

Everyone opened their mouths and could only retreat helplessly. After they got outside, several generals exchanged glances with each other, and they all understood each other, and hurriedly gathered their subordinates to make arrangements.

"King Chuang, why do you let them do this? These people already have the intention to surrender. If you let them go, they will definitely turn around and surrender!" After everyone left, Liu Zhe, who was left behind, couldn't help but ask Gao Yingxiang.

Gao Yingxiang said calmly, "It is human nature to seek benefits and avoid harm. It is often said that when a couple is in trouble, they will each run away, let alone them? If you stop them, will they not go? By that time, the little bit of kindness left will be gone. This is a life-and-death decision!"

"But..." Liu Zhe didn't know what to say for a moment, but he admitted in his heart that Gao Yingxiang was right.

Gao Yingxiang said, "It is impossible to leave the valley now. Sun Chuanting and others want me. The imperial court will not be at peace if I am not dead. But you are different. You should take some people back to the valley as soon as possible and find a place to hide carefully. As long as you avoid the search of the government troops, you may be able to escape after the government troops retreat."

"Prince Chuang, how can I abandon you? This is absolutely impossible!" Liu Zhe was shocked. He didn't expect Gao Yingxiang to leave on his own. "It has to be done!" Gao Yingxiang said solemnly, "If you can hide, find a way to find Li Zicheng and tell him that it is my last will, and let Li Zicheng take over my position as the Prince of Chuang. My nephew is not an ordinary person. He has great ambitions and lofty aspirations. If he is the Prince of Chuang, he may be able to complete my unfinished work!"

"Time is running out, go quickly! Go quickly! Don't bring too many people, just bring a few trusted people with you. Also, remember to bring more dry food and stay far away. Remember! Remember!"

"King Chuang!" Liu Zhe's tears could not stop flowing down. Seeing that Gao Yingxiang had made up his mind, he could only accept the order reluctantly. He kowtowed three times in front of Gao Yingxiang, and finally said to him, "Take care!" Then he stood up and left.

After Liu Zhe left, Gao Yingxiang sighed, his face full of loneliness. He had been a hero all his life, but now he had ended up like this. He was definitely unwilling and at the same time extremely indignant.

The weather today is not very good. Although it is daybreak, the sun has not come out yet. In addition, there is heavy fog in Heishui Valley due to the rain last night. The fog was very small at first, but in less than half an hour it became a continuous area and its range became larger and larger.

Sun Chuanting, Hong Chengchou and others were overjoyed when they saw this situation, and immediately decided to change tactics. They took advantage of the fog to turn defense into offense and defeated Gao Yingxiang's troops in one fell swoop.

Soon, Gao Jie, Zu Kuan, Bai Guangen and Zuo Guangxian led their troops out and launched an attack on Gao Yingxiang's troops in the valley. Gao Yingxiang's troops, which had already lost their fighting spirit, were suddenly attacked by the Ming army and were instantly defeated. The valley was full of fleeing rebel soldiers, and several of Gao Yingxiang's subordinates simply laid down their weapons and surrendered on the spot.

At this time, Gao Yingxiang, who was sick, was unable to command the troops. Even if he was in good health, he could not command the troops. All his troops were in chaos. The soldiers could not find their generals, and the generals could not find their soldiers. They were running around everywhere, and the shouts of the Ming army could be heard all around.

Holding the sword, Gao Yingxiang was unwilling to sit and wait for death. Even though he had already realized that he would be defeated and captured, he still had to struggle when the time came.

He went to look for his warhorse, intending to ride away first, but who would have thought that when he looked at the place where the warhorse was tied, he found that his horse was gone. He didn't know that the damn man had ridden Gao Yingxiang's horse away. The stable was empty, and there was not even a single horse hair.

Gao Yingxiang was stunned and cursed subconsciously. At this time, he did not care to find out who had ridden his horse and where it had gone. The sound of fighting was getting closer and closer. Gao Yingxiang could only run on his own two legs. Because of the high fever, Gao Yingxiang could not run fast. He stumbled in the fog and could not tell the direction. He could only rely on his sense to find a way to escape.

Gao Yingxiang was lucky. He did not encounter the Ming army in the fog and even managed to escape. After he escaped from the fog and looked around carefully, he found that he had come to a mountain near the entrance of the valley. Looking back, he could vaguely see the Ming army still charging. Gao Yingxiang did not dare to stay here for long. He walked into the mountain with heavy legs. After walking for a while, he really couldn't walk anymore and was about to faint.

Gao Yingxiang was breathing heavily, looking around, and suddenly his eyes lit up and he saw what seemed to be a cave behind a rock. He quickly used his hands and feet to crawl towards the rock, and when he got closer and took a closer look, he realized that this was not a cave at all, but just a concave place behind the rock.

But at this time Gao Yingxiang had no other choice. He just went in and tried his best to curl up and hide inside. As he was not fully recovered from his illness, Gao Yingxiang's body trembled uncontrollably and he swayed constantly while hiding inside.

He didn't know how long he had been hiding, but the sounds of fighting in the distance gradually subsided. Gao Yingxiang judged that the war should be over. If there were no accidents, his entire army would be wiped out and the Ming army would have won the victory.

Gao Yingxiang didn't dare to go out to check the situation and could only continue to hide here, because he knew very well that if the Ming army did not catch and find his body on the battlefield, they would definitely search on the spot. Now Gao Yingxiang knew that the place where he was hiding was too close to the battlefield and it was really unsafe, but he had no other choice but to pray that God could help him at this time and let him escape the disaster.

It was a pity that God did not favor Gao Yingxiang today, or maybe Gao Yingxiang had used up all his luck over the years. More than an hour later, the Ming army appeared near where Gao Yingxiang was hiding. These Ming soldiers were holding weapons, standing a few steps apart, and gradually approached him in a carpet-style search.

"Hey, there seems to be a cave here?" Suddenly, a voice sounded not far away.

Gao Yingxiang was startled. Could it be that the other party was referring to his hiding place? Gao Yingxiang tried to calm himself down, but he couldn't stop shaking because he was sick. While shaking, his teeth touched each other, making a slight noise.

"There's movement! There's someone! Who! Who's hiding over there? Come out! If you don't come out, I'll set fire to the place!" The searching Ming army noticed it keenly and shouted loudly.

Gao Yingxiang sighed, knowing that he could not hide anymore. Moreover, as the King of Chuang, he would not be willing to be burned to death by the Ming army if he continued to hide like this! Gao Yingxiang had no choice but to crawl out, shouting as he crawled: "Don't set the fire! I'll be out right away!"

"Who are you? Why are you hiding here?"

"Who am I? Hahaha, I'm Gao Yingxiang, the rebel king you're looking for!"

"Gao Yingxiang! Ah! It's really Gao Yingxiang! Someone come! Gao Yingxiang has been caught!" For a moment, several Ming soldiers shouted excitedly and danced with joy.

(End of this chapter)