Tang Dynasty Bandits

Chapter 152 Reunion with Yang Xingmi

Zhu Wen never imagined that he would meet Yang Xingmi again so soon after leaving Mount Tai.

The tall, dark-clad figure, his face veiled by a thick cloth, held a long sword that gleamed like snow in his hand, yet when he killed, he was like a capricious reaper harvesting souls.

Wherever the sword pointed, the Changwu cavalry under Lei Shuai's command were annihilated.

Zhu Wen noticed that Yang Xingmi no longer needed to recite the poem as a sword incantation when drawing his sword.

Yang Xingmi's use of poetry to provoke the sword was not a deliberate act, but rather a manifestation of his swordsmanship not yet reaching a state of complete mastery.

After his battle with Zhu Wen, he had clearly made further progress, and his swordsmanship had reached a new level. Even though he was not using his usual Ink Soul Sword, he wielded it with the same ease as if it were part of his own body.

As for why Yang Xingmi was on the battlefield fighting alongside Zhu Wen,

The story naturally begins with Huang Chao leading his army across the Yangtze River at Guabu.

Bao Zhao of the Southern Dynasties wrote in his "Inscription on Guabu Mountain": Guabu Mountain is also a small mountain in the middle of the river. It is only because of its remoteness that it is considered high and majestic, and because of its towering height and distant view, it is unique and beautiful. This is also due to its location.

As silt accumulated, Guabu Mountain became connected to the riverbank. The mountain faces the Yangtze River to the south, the Yangtze River estuary to the east, and the Chu River estuary to the west. The river is thirty miles wide.

The government troops had already set up strict defenses on the opposite bank. The river was raging with waves, and warships patrolled the shore. With such a formation, it was impossible for even ghosts and gods to cross.

But such a display of power was no big deal for Huang Chao—Lei Shuai himself wasn't present, which made things much easier.

Many of the enemy's warships came from Jiangling. After Wang Xianzhi's defeat and death at Qizhou, the fleet that had been built in Jiangling returned to the imperial court.

The fleet was originally intended to deal with the rebel forces of Yuan Chang and Wang Ying operating in Jiangdong. However, during the Battle of Qizhou, Commander Lei Gao Pian had already swiftly eliminated the rebel forces of Yuan Chang and Wang Ying. The fleet that Commander Yan Zhen Ranyu had recaptured in Qizhou became useless and was thus dispersed and distributed among the various armies along the river.

Many of the sailors were captured by Wang Xianzhi and forced to serve in his army.

They were certainly not doing it voluntarily, but what difference does it make who they work for?

Having had this experience, it became easier for Huang Chao to send people to make contact with them.

Everyone knows that Huang Yanshuai is incredibly wealthy and has no shortage of gold and silver. His extensive trading network, controlled in the underworld, allows him to continuously transfer profits to the rebel army to fund its military operations.

To enforce military discipline and minimize harm to civilians by the army, the first priority is to ensure that soldiers are well-fed and receive gold and silver.

In this area, Huang Chao had a sophisticated management system and a spoils distribution mechanism, rarely letting those who followed him suffer losses.

Coupled with the rampant arrears in pay among government troops, it was considered perfectly normal for them to embezzle sailors' clothing and rations. Huang Chao easily instigated a mutiny, and dozens of warships were instantly turned into the ships of a bandit army.

After Meng Kai, Dong Hou, Wang Chongba, and other fierce generals boarded the ships, they directly used the side ramps to storm the enemy vessels. The mutinous fleet, which suddenly launched an attack, used grappling hooks to snag their former allies, rendering them immobile. One enemy ship after another was thus captured.

After gaining control of the river, Huang Chao ordered his warships to be chained together with iron chains.

The soldiers were puzzled. Not to mention that the iron-chained boats were easily attacked with fire, there were no enemies to deal with on the river for the time being.

But when Huang Chao ordered planks to be laid between the ships, the situation suddenly became clear.

The ships lined up one after another, like a giant dragon traversing the waves, remaining steadfast despite wind and rain, a truly magnificent sight.

The linked fleet of ships stretched for dozens of miles across the river, forming a pontoon bridge. Tens of thousands of soldiers crossed the river via the bridge as if on flat ground, without the need for repeated transfers.

"The regional military governors are not independent and are not enough to control me." Huang Chao stood on the opposite bank of the Yangtze River, on the city wall of Shangyuan City, stroking his white beard, and laughed loudly: "If the river defenses were also under the control of Commander Lei and Gao Pian, how could our army have reached this place?"

Shangyuan County, formerly Jiankang and Jinling, was the ancient capital of six dynasties. However, after Emperor Wen of Sui, Yang Jian, destroyed the Chen dynasty, in order to suppress the imperial aura of Jinling, he ordered the destruction of its city walls and the relocation of its citizens to Yangzhou and other places north of the Yangtze River. In an instant, the magnificent palaces and towers were all turned into farmland, and the former imperial capital of Jinling was transformed into a small county east of the Yangtze River.

Yang Jian's suppression of the imperial aura in Jiangdong three hundred years ago ironically led to Huang Chao's unimpeded advance after successfully crossing the river. The righteous army quickly moved inland, and only in Xuanzhou, under the jurisdiction of the Xuanzhou-Shezhou military governor, did they truly encounter the menacing army of General Lei, who had come to intercept them.

Huang Chao conducted numerous simulations before the battle and concluded that he had no chance of winning, so all he could do was retreat quickly.

The ferocity of this battle still exceeds almost everyone's imagination.

Lei Shuai Gao Pian was widely recognized as a cruel, ruthless, and cold-blooded man. He didn't care much about the lives of soldiers or civilians.

But he was also exceptionally loyal and sentimental.

Some say that after his teacher, Shi Xiong, the last war god of the Tang Dynasty, was persecuted by Emperor Xuanzong and died vomiting blood, Gao Pian even considered starting a rebellion.

Gao Pian himself would, of course, vehemently deny such rumors. However, one fact is obvious—Gao Pian was furious after his junior sister Zhen Ranyu died at the hands of the rebel army.

Military strategy states, "A general should not wage war out of anger, nor should a ruler raise an army out of rage."

But for a top strategist like Gao Pian, anger only made his attacks more calm and meticulous.

Just as Huang Chao used the anger of the heroes of the martial arts world caused by Wang Xianzhi's death to intercept Zhen Ranyu, the "Great Tang Female Warrior Goddess," at Muling Pass, and ultimately completed the feat of killing a god.

Gao Pian's anger will also transform into a cataclysmic force.

However, Gao Pian's subordinates had no affection for Yan Shuai Zhen Ranyu.

Gao Pian had no choice but to choose other ways to boost morale.

So the soldiers of the grass army saw a large group of Taoist priests in front of the two armies, walking in the steps of Yu, holding money swords, holding talismans, and shouting loudly.

They chanted incantations and performed rituals, and then rolling lightning or a fierce wind appeared in the sky.

Gao Pian then claimed that the government troops had been protected by the gods and spirits of the ten directions, and that the soldiers would bravely advance and surely win a victory. He also claimed that the brave warriors who charged forward despite arrows and stones would be protected by Li Weigong, the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King, and would turn misfortune into good fortune and danger into auspiciousness.

Zhu Wen, who had put on a bunch of tricks at the Five Peaks Incense Festival on Mount Tai, knew perfectly well that these were just superstitions. If they were truly effective, those lightning bolts would have struck the heads of the peasant soldiers long ago, turning them into charred corpses.

But considering Gao Pian's undefeated record throughout his life, this trick was extremely effective.

When attacking Nanzhao and recovering Jiaozhou, Gao Pian used gunpowder to carve out the "Tianwei Path" mountain canal, claiming that the Thunder God was helping him. As a result, the soldiers were all inspired and became as brave as heavenly soldiers descending to earth.

The art of war, based on the principles of Yin and Yang, involves acting in accordance with the seasons, applying the principles of punishment and virtue, following the course of battle, utilizing the five elements of victory, and relying on the assistance of spirits and deities.

Gao Pian undoubtedly belongs to the Yin-Yang school of military strategy among the four schools of military strategists.

Faced with Lei Shuaijun's seemingly thunderous and furious offensive, Huang Chao's meticulously prepared retreat turned into a chaotic collapse, with corpses piled up across the hills and broken flags scattered for dozens of miles.

The rebel generals Qin Yan, Bi Shiduo, Xu Qing, and Chang Hong were all forced to surrender to the government army after their valiant efforts were futile.

Qin Yan's surrender surprised Zhu Wen. Although this blue-faced fellow had a bad temper, after spending more time with him, he found him to be a frank and trustworthy man.

Unexpectedly, Qin Yan was terrified and cowered in the face of Lei Shuai's imposing presence.

This put even more pressure on Zhu Wen, who was in charge of covering the rear.

When the Long-Wu Cavalry under Commander Lei charged forward with the thunderous sound of their hooves, the soldiers fell one after another under the charge of their ten-foot-long lances.

Zhu Wen's troops fought and retreated, suffering heavy casualties and were now in dire straits.

"Boss..." Huo Cun tugged at Zhu Wen's sleeve and whispered, "Will Commander Yan plan to use us as pawns?"

“Master is not that kind of person,” Zhu Wen said firmly.

Zhu Cun nodded, indicating his agreement with his third brother's opinion.

Huo Cundao said, "General Huang always leaves a way out for those loyal to him. But our army has never suffered such a crushing defeat before..."

The troops personally commanded by Huang Chao had never suffered such a crushing defeat before.

Zhu Wen thought for a moment and suddenly remembered Huang Chao saying that after crossing the river, he would meet an old friend.

I haven't seen it yet.

The master would never lie to him.

"Hold on a little longer," Zhu Wen resolutely ordered.

The soldiers fought bravely, spears in hand and banners raised. Dong Hou and Ge Congzhou led their cavalry in a fierce charge, desperately trying to halt the advance of the Changwu cavalry.

Just when they were on the verge of collapse, a group of swordsmen in black armor charged into the battlefield like meteors.

“My grandmaster died at the hands of the Demon Lord Qiao Beiming. Alliance Leader Wang killed the Demon Lord back then to avenge our sect’s great grudge.” Yang Xingmi calmly explained his purpose to Zhu Wen: “My master ordered me to come and repay this favor, and this will not be repeated.”

(End of this chapter)