Di Ming

Chapter 448 The Consequences of Bullying Honest People…

One of his generals cautioned, "Your Majesty, we will not surrender, but what about Song Wanhua? What if…?"

An Bangyan smiled faintly, "Don't worry, we have people in the Shuidong Army. If Song Wanhua wants to surrender, I'll know immediately. Then, under the pretext of a military council, we'll summon the Song Wanhua brothers for a meeting, then capture them and take control of the Shuidong Army!"

...

At the same time that An Bangyan received the letter urging him to surrender, Song Wanhua, the deputy commander of the rebel army, also received a letter urging him to surrender from Zhu Yin.

Inside the large tent, only the Song brothers were present.

Under the dim light of the tent, Song Wanhua looked at Zhu Yin's handwritten letter. His square face, which could be described as honest and simple, was ashen.

“She Chongming deceived An Bangyan!” Song Wanhua’s brow twitched, and the indescribable sense of foreboding he had felt earlier suddenly became clear.

No wonder I felt uneasy before, this is the problem!

"She Chongming's entire army has been wiped out. He's at his wit's end, yet he talks about rallying his defeated troops! What defeated troops does he have to use? It's all just bluffing!"

Song Wanhua handed the letter to his younger brother, Song Wanchun, saying, "Hmph, he's fallen to this state, yet he's still pretending to be a big shot, trying to make us fight Zhu Yin to the death."

He had an honest and kind appearance, and even though he was angry at the moment, he still looked like a good-natured person.

When Song Wanchun took it and looked at it, his expression changed drastically.

"She Chongming's entire army was wiped out, but the Ming army really suffered only minor losses? Brother, could this be a trick by Zhu Yin?"

Song Wanhua slowly shook his head, half his face hidden in shadow, and said in a deep, resonant voice:
“What kind of person is Zhu Yin? Why would he need to lie like this? On the contrary, She Chongming is the least trustworthy! No wonder She Chongming was so strange. It turns out that his 40,000 to 50,000 troops were all wiped out in Chengdu. The She family is finished.”

"As for the Ming army, they certainly did not lack gunpowder. How could a man like Zhu Yin make such a mistake? Since his firearms were so advanced, how could he easily lack gunpowder? It was naturally a lie by She Chongming, simply because he was afraid that we would surrender to the court."

Song Wanchun frowned. "So that's why he used a toad as a stepping stone, saying he still has strength and the Ming army has suffered heavy losses, just so we can continue to rebel and become his weapons?"

Song Wanhua snorted coldly, "It must be so. That scoundrel She Chongming has always been treacherous and cunning. If he hadn't been desperate, why would he have given Sichuan to us? With She Chongming's entire army wiped out, we have no chance to turn the tide and there will be no more opportunities. With Zhu Yin in charge, the Southern Dynasty's rule will probably become more and more stable. If we want to rebel against the Ming again, it will most likely end in utter ruin."

He stood up, paced back and forth in the tent with his hands behind his back, his expression shifting between uncertainty and murderous intent.

Only then did he begin to act unlike a kind and honest person.

Song Wanchun understood. "Brother means, why not just agree to Zhu Yin's surrender to the court and atone for his crimes with merit?"

Song Wanhua stopped in his tracks. "The rebellion against the Ming Dynasty was originally led by She Chongming and supported by An Bangyan. We in Shuidong are weak and were coerced by the two families to join the rebellion. We had no intention of rebelling against the Ming Dynasty. Now that She Chongming himself is a toothless tiger, we don't need to worry about him."

"The most urgent task right now is to present Zhu Yin with a grand gift as a pledge of loyalty!"

Song Wanchun said, "Brother, are you going to respond to Zhu Yin and launch a night attack on An Bangyan? Isn't that against morality? After all, we are allied forces."

"What nonsense are you spouting!" Song Wanhua roared, his honest face now filled with a chilling expression. "What kind of morality is this! The east and west banks of the river have been locked in a bitter struggle since ancient times, and we've made countless enemies in the past. They are the Cuan people, and we are the Han people; we're fundamentally different people, and we can't possibly get along. Although our two families have intermarried several times, An Bangyan and I have never really had any real relationship. We're just pretending to be friends, not even friends, so what's the point of talking about morality?"

"Hmph, She Chongming's entire army has been wiped out, and An Bangyan still wants to defeat Zhu Yin? Such arrogance is truly deserving of death!"

Song Wanchun knew that the reason why his elder brother and An Bangyan were not on good terms was because An Bangyan always looked down on his elder brother, thinking that his elder brother was honest, loyal, weak and easy to bully.

Song Wanchun didn't expose the truth, but said, "Brother, what if An Bangyan also received Zhu Yin's letter and wanted to surrender to the court?"

Song Wanhua sneered: "He won't. An Bangyan is arrogant and conceited, he thinks too highly of himself, he doesn't even respect She Chongming, and his desire to rebel is burning fiercely. As far as I know him, he won't turn back until he hits a brick wall, he won't shed tears until he sees the coffin, he won't surrender easily unless he suffers a defeat and is awakened."

"However, he was worried that we would surrender to Zhu Yin. We had no choice but to put on an act."

At this point, Song Wanhua suddenly burst into loud laughter: "Hahaha! How dare Zhu Yin be so arrogant! The allied forces of over 50,000 elite troops surrendered just because of one sentence from him? This is a rebellion, not child's play! He persuaded us to surrender with just a letter and empty promises?"

"We've already raised an army in rebellion, a capital offense, and what's done is done! He says he'll let bygones be bygones? What if he settles scores later? Hmph, even if he really does let bygones be bygones, what about the emperor, what about the ministers in the court? Do they really think they'll be so magnanimous? I don't believe it!"

"Throughout history, how many surrendered generals have met a good end!"

Song Wanchun chimed in loudly, "Don't trust the imperial court! They're completely unreliable! What happened when they recruited the notorious pirate Wang Zhi? He was still killed without hesitation!"

"Brother is right. Even if we believe in prostitutes, we won't believe in the imperial court!"

Song Wanhua shouted, "Let's feast the soldiers tonight! Tomorrow morning, prepare for the decisive battle! Zhu Yin told us to surrender, but we must fight first and see what they're capable of!"

At a single command, the 18,000-strong Shuidong army immediately began preparations.

However, on the other hand, Song Wanhua also ordered his younger brother and trusted generals to make another secret arrangement.

"Brother," Song Wanchun said, a little worried, "Won't An Bangyan become suspicious? Will he believe it?"

A simple, honest smile appeared on Song Wanhua's square face. "He will believe me. Because he has always looked down on me. He's been like this since he was a child, thinking he's great and bullying honest people. Even when we go hunting together, he always shoots the big tiger and makes me shoot the small one."

"He would never have imagined that I would dare to betray him and She Chongming, and betray Shuixi. Tonight I will teach him a lesson: don't bully honest people."

Song Wanchun said, "If we really respond to Zhu Yin's defection, then we will have no way out and can only follow Zhu Yin to the end."

"What's there to be afraid of?" Song Wanhua narrowed his eyes. "Do you think anyone would dare to rebel after She Chongming and An Bangyan are defeated? After Zhu Yin's great victory this time, he will surely shake the world and his prestige will be unshakable. Which of the southwestern warlords would dare to rebel?"

"Not only would they not dare to rebel, but they would also fear the imperial court and be forced to cooperate with it by appointing officials from outside the court."

At this point, Song Wanhua's expression turned somewhat somber. "Yang Yinglong pledged allegiance to the court, She Chongming's entire army was wiped out, and Shizhu, Youyang, and Yongshun all pledged allegiance to the court. Shuixi suffered another major defeat. Who among the southwestern tribes would dare to rebel against the court? The Cen family or the Mu family?"

"She Chongming's defeat was too swift and too devastating. The good days of the southwestern lords acting as local emperors are probably coming to an end. The southwest may be about to undergo a major change."

"Right now, preserving the Song family's wealth and status is the most important thing."

"Tonight is the Song family's only way out! If they give up, the Song family may be doomed!"

...

The news quickly reached An Kunihiko's tent, which was not far away.

An Bangyan looked at a note and said to his trusted generals, "As expected, the Song Wanhua brothers have no intention of surrendering. They said that even if they surrender, they want to fight first and see what the Ming army is really made of."

"Hehe, that's Song Wanhua for you. He knows what's good for him."

An Yishan said, "What if it's a trap? Would Song Wanhua really not be colluding with the Ming army?"

“He wouldn’t dare!” An Bangyan sneered, his expression disdainful. “To put it nicely, he’s honest and kind. To put it bluntly, he’s weak and incompetent! When we were kids, he was no match for me in fights, and he was often bullied by me without daring to fight back. I know him very well; he wouldn’t dare betray us! Hmph, Shuidong is right next to Shuixi. If he dared to turn against us, what would the consequences be? He doesn’t have the guts!”

"Tell him! Tomorrow, I'll take command of the Shuidong Army! He's no good at fighting, don't let him ruin things."

Immediately, his trusted aides went to see Song Wanhua.

"General Song!" The Shuixi general saluted, "My lord says that the two armies should not fight independently tomorrow. Please also place the Shuidong troops under my lord's unified command to avoid them fighting separately and having inconsistent movements, which would give the Ming army an opportunity to exploit. What do you think, General Song?"

Song Wanhua sneered inwardly, but put on a simple and embarrassed smile, rubbing his hands and saying, "Isn't this a bit inappropriate? After all, Commander An isn't very familiar with my Shuidong soldiers."

The Shuixi general chuckled, "However, my lord believes this is the most appropriate course of action. It's all for the sake of defeating the Ming army! What do you say, Commander Song? Please give your instructions on how to decide, so that I may return and report back."

Song Wanhua looked somewhat dissatisfied. "Why didn't Commander An come and talk to me about this personally? The two commanders' tents are only two miles apart."

The Shuixi general's smile faded. "My lord is currently studying the Ming army camp and has no time to see Commander Song."

Song Wanhua hesitated for a moment, then smiled wryly and said, "Alright. Tomorrow the army will join forces, and the troops from Shuidong will be temporarily placed under the command of Commander An. Commander An is skilled in military tactics, and I am no match for him."

"Thank you, Commander Song!" The Shuixi general bowed and swaggered out of the command tent.

As Song Wanhua watched the man's retreating figure, his honest smile slowly froze, as if he might fall and shatter into pieces like an ice block at any moment.

"An Kunihiko, you really think highly of me."

...

The Shuixi general reported back to An Bangyan, who then laughed and said to everyone, "What did I tell you? He wouldn't dare refuse me!"

"Tomorrow, I will command the armies of both sides to fight Zhu Yin to the death!"

"Send orders to reinforce the camp overnight, and launch a preemptive strike at dawn! Also, be on high alert against Ming artillery bombardment of the camp!"

The generals all answered in unison, "Yes, sir!"

An Bangyan laughed and said, "People say that Zhu Yin is cunning in his military tactics, a 'ghost tiger.' Hmph, let's see just how cunning and how tigerish this 'ghost tiger' praised by the Han people really is!"

...

Soon, Zhu Yin received letters from An Bangyan and Song Wanhua.

"To be enfeoffed as the King of Qian, granted the title of Grand Protector, and to be the hereditary governor of Guizhou?" Zhu Yin almost laughed in anger when he saw An Bangyan's arrogant letter. "What a grand ambition this man has!"

He showed the letter to his generals, saying, "Look at the arrogance of the An family! It's no less than that of She Chongming! To be granted the title of Prince of Qian? In the more than two hundred years of our Great Ming Dynasty, when has there ever been a prince of a different surname!"

"Back then, when Altan Khan besieged Beijing with hundreds of thousands of Mongol cavalry, he only managed to be granted the title of Prince of Shunyi! What is An Bangyan anyway, to be so audacious!"

Zhu Yin threw the letter away angrily, "I, the commander, do not want the people to suffer, and I kindly tried to persuade him to surrender, but he actually took advantage of my kindness. Does this scoundrel think I can be bullied?"

"I will surely kill this scoundrel!"

"The Xi'an clan of Shuixi is extinct!"

Upon hearing the words "the entire clan will perish" and seeing the murderous Zhu Yin, Yang Yinglong finally understood the consequences of truly offending this Regent Grand Tutor.

Zhu Yin opened Song Wanhua's letter again and laughed, "Song Wanhua is a smart man after all, and he has escaped a disaster. Since he knows what's good for him, I will give him a chance."

Yang Yinglong smiled ingratiatingly, "Grand Tutor, you are a master strategist, with wisdom and skill, manipulating the rebel army as if it were your own hand. From now on, Grand Tutor's prestige will shake the world, and all the lords of the southwest will surely submit to the court."

Zhu Yin smiled politely and said, "If everyone were as righteous and loyal to the country as you, why would the court need to send troops to the southwest?"

Upon hearing this, all the generals laughed.

Forced to defect at the last minute, Song Wanhua offered to launch a night attack on An Bangyan as a pledge of allegiance, which would result in an even more crushing defeat for An Bangyan and less loss for the royal army.

This battle is completely a foregone conclusion.

Sure enough, some people said that the Grand Tutor was the best at fighting cleverly, and his enemies had already called him "Ghost Tiger".

After receiving Song Wanhua's letter, Zhu Yin asked Mao Wenlong, "Have enough boats been requisitioned for the river?"

Mao Wenlong reported: "My lord, we have already requisitioned more than a hundred fishing boats, each three zhang long, which is entirely feasible."

Zhu Yin nodded, "Then let's begin."

He looked at the oil lamp in the tent and said, "When the lamp goes out and dawn breaks, that will be the end of this battle!"

……

An Kunihiko slept fully clothed until midnight, instructing his personal guards to wake him up in two hours, making sure he didn't oversleep.

However, at midnight, An Kunihiko suddenly dreamed of thunder, with thunder rumbling and shaking the earth.

He was suddenly awakened.

"Boom boom boom!" The thunderous roar continued, accompanied by screams and the neighing of horses outside.

It wasn't thunder!

"Your Majesty!" A general rushed in, "The Ming army bombarded our camp in the middle of the night! They fired from Sancha Lake in the dead of night! The artillery is incredibly powerful; our camp has suffered heavy losses!" "What!" An Bangyan exclaimed in shock, "Fire from Sancha Lake?! How is that possible!"

For the safety of his camp, he set up camp with his back to the lake, because he did not discover that the Ming army had boats in the lake, and he did not expect that the Ming army could fire cannons in the lake and directly bombard his camp.

An Bangyan rushed out of the command tent and saw a sea of ​​fire to the south. Many military tents had been bombarded to pieces, and countless Shuixi soldiers had died in the night attack by artillery.

An Bangyan never expected that the Ming army would be able to launch a night attack on the camp using cannons from the lake.

He knew at a glance that this sudden night artillery attack had inflicted heavy losses on his troops, as they were completely unprepared. Thousands were likely dead or wounded!
"I understand!" An Bangyan gritted his teeth. "Zhu Yin's cannons came from the Tuojiang River! He requisitioned boats on the river overnight, and took advantage of the rising tide to enter the lake from the river, and then bombarded it with gunboats in the lake!"

"Zhu Yin!" An Bangyan roared, drawing his ornate battle sword from his waist. "All you know are these underhanded schemes! You despicable villain! Ghost Tiger!"

"Send word: the rattan armor soldiers must swim into the lake and seize the Ming army's gunboats! Quickly!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than the more than one hundred Ming Dynasty gunboats on the lake roared once more.

"Boom boom boom!"

The rebel camp was once again engulfed in blood and gore.

The lake was an unexpected attack point for the rebels and a weak point in their defenses. Bombarding the rebel camp from the lake would be extremely damaging to them.

Several miles away in the Ming army camp, Zhu Yin, atop a siege tower, watched the flames of the rebel camp and heard the screams of agony from the rebels. He chuckled:

“An Bangyan thought that our army would fight a decisive battle at dawn. He didn’t know that our Jinghai Army was good at night fighting.”

"This artillery attack on the lake is the first generous gift given to An Kunihiko."

"This second generous gift depends on Song Wanhua."

...

At this moment, Song Wanhua learned that An Bangyan's camp had been bombarded by Ming army cannons from the lake, and he was filled with lingering fear.

so close!

If they refused to surrender, the Ming army would be bombarding not only the Shuixi army at this point.

Zhu Yin's use of troops was truly unpredictable and treacherous.

"Send the order!" Song Wanhua, fully armed, shouted. "By order of the Grand Tutor! Diligently attend to royal duties and quell the rebellion!"

"Ordered to quell the rebellion! Attack Ōyasu Kunihiko's camp! Kill!"

Song Wanhua drew his battle sword and slashed fiercely!
The 18,000-strong Shuidong army, which had been prepared long ago, originally thought they were going to attack the Ming army, but the military order was to attack An Bangyan. Many soldiers were confused.

However, the military orders were absolute, and they soon realized that their emperor had submitted to the court and was now joining forces to attack their former allies.

At a command, the Shuidong army charged straight at the Shuixi army, attacking An Bangyan's main tent.

"kill!"

"It's terrible! The Shuidong Army is attacking us! They've defected to the imperial court!"

"kill!"

The Ming army, which had been preparing to attack from several miles away, launched a full-scale offensive upon seeing the rebels in disarray!
Tens of thousands of Ming soldiers attacked together, like a tidal wave crashing down!
At this point, the Shuixi army was in complete disarray, unable to attend to both ends.

The camp roared!
The army of over 30,000 men lost control under the attack from three sides, and the entire camp was in chaos.

An Bangyan was completely dumbfounded.

He never expected that the honest and kind Song Wanhua would betray him and stab him in the back!

The battle was lost before it even began.

Finished!

Seeing the Shuixi army that had already broken camp, and seeing the Shuidong soldiers and tens of thousands of Ming troops coming to kill, An Bangyan's eyes were bloodshot and his heart was breaking!
These are 90% of the An family's elite troops!
Thirty-five thousand armored soldiers!

What will be the fate of the An family?

An Bangyan suddenly thought of She Chongming and then snapped back to reality.

She Chongming's entire army was definitely wiped out!
"Your Majesty! Run!" a subordinate rushed over. "Otherwise it will be too late!"

An Kunihiko was helped onto his horse by his subordinates, looking utterly dejected, and the group rushed towards the eastern foothills without looking back.

Anbangyan fled on horseback, watching the Shuixi army scatter like headless flies, and closed his eyes in anguish.

How could this happen? The final battle hasn't even begun. The day hasn't even dawned for the decisive battle, how could it have turned out like this?

My tens of thousands of troops!

An Bangyan felt a tightness in his chest, as if he wanted to vomit blood!

At this moment, his hundreds of personal guards couldn't care less about anything else; they could only desperately surround their lord and help him escape, which was tantamount to abandoning the army.

Only by decisively abandoning the large army that has already been established can a precious opportunity for escape be gained.

...

At daybreak, An Bangyan and several hundred others traveled eighty li in one go and arrived at the foot of a familiar mountain.

Wawu Mountain!
Two or three days ago, the army passed through Wawu Mountain, and it was at the foot of this mountain that they met She Chongming.

An Bangyan, recalling She Chongming's words, couldn't help but shout angrily, "She Chongming! You liar! You even lied to your brother-in-law! You're not human! You've ruined me, ruined the An family!"

Just as they were cursing, a knight at the rear shouted, "My lord! The Ming army's cavalry is catching up! Our horses can't run anymore, quickly abandon them and go into the mountains to hide!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than he heard the sound of hooves from a large cavalry force behind him.

"Quick! Dismount and go up the mountain!" An Bangyan made a decisive move, abandoning his exhausted warhorse and rushing up Wawu Mountain.

Anyone with a brain would know that the only way to shake off the Ming cavalry was to enter Wawu Mountain!

Not long after An Bangyan and his group entered the mountains, Cao Wenzhao and Ding Hongying arrived with three thousand cavalry.

"They've abandoned their horses and gone into the mountains!" Cao Wenzhao shouted. "Leave five hundred men to watch the horses, the rest of you dismount and go into the mountains! Search the mountains! Don't let the bandit leader An Bangyan escape!"

Then, Cao Wenzhao and Ding Hongying led 2,500 Ming soldiers into the mountains to pursue An Bangyan!
...

In the Wawu Mountains, She Chongming, who was waiting for news, did not receive good news, but instead received a heart-stopping message.

In the middle of the night, An Kunihiko's army erupted in a mutiny and was completely wiped out.

The cause of the mutiny was that the Ming army suddenly launched a cannon attack from the lake, and then Song Wanhua defected to the enemy and attacked An Bangyan's Shuixi army.

An Kunihiko fled south with only a few hundred personal guards.

The Ming army's main force of cavalry had already caught up to the foot of the mountain.

"Useless!" She Chongming roared. "An Bangyan is such a useless piece of trash! And Song Wanhua, that traitor, is he ever honest?! Quickly! Return to Yongning immediately!"

He hid in Wawu Mountain, waiting for news of a major battle between the two armies. He originally thought that since he had already told An Kunihiko about the Ming army's intelligence, An Kunihiko shouldn't suffer a major loss.

Who knew we'd lose so easily?

The Ming army likely suffered very few casualties!
He was utterly despondent, his mind and body weary.

The She and An clans were not only both from the Cuan family, but also among the most powerful families in the southwestern vassal states.

Now that both companies have suffered a complete defeat, how can they protect themselves?

When the nest is overturned, how can any egg remain intact?
"Hurry up!" She Chongming stood up and rushed out of the deserted temple.

"Go into the mountains! No more horseback riding!"

She Chongming led three hundred men and plunged into Wawu Mountain. Once the Cuan family entered the mountains, it would be very difficult for the Ming army to catch them.

If you're on horseback, you'll be caught sooner or later.

Half a day later, She Chongming unexpectedly found an acquaintance in the mountains.

It's Kunihiko Yasuhiko!

Three days ago, the two met at the foot of the mountain. At that time, An Kunihiko was still leading tens of thousands of elite soldiers, full of vigor and prestige.

But now, he was in an even more sorry state than She Chongming, with only a few hundred people left by his side.

Three days have passed, yet it feels like a lifetime has gone by.

"It was you!" An Bangyan was furious. "She Chongming! Why did you betray me! And your brother-in-law too! The Ming army's artillery is powerful and their bombardment is extremely fierce. They have no shortage of gunpowder! The Ming soldiers are like tigers, and they have suffered heavy losses everywhere!"

"You betrayed me! You're the one who ruined Shuixi and the Cuan family!"

An Bangyan finally found a target to vent his anger, drew his sword and charged at She Chongming, shouting, "Kill you! Then I can atone to the Ming army! Brother-in-law! I'll borrow your head!"

He was confident that he had dozens more guards and wanted to start a fight.

"You're insane!" She Chongming roared. "That's because you're incompetent! Why did you trust Song Wanhua! You idiot!"

"I don't believe him!" An Bangyan shouted hoarsely, as if he were insane. "I just looked down on him! I thought he was an honest man! Who knew he wasn't! You son of a bitch!"

"My tens of thousands of troops were destroyed by you and Song Wanhua without even a proper battle!"

"Kill! Kill She Chongming, and we'll still have a chance to survive!"

An's guards immediately brandished their swords and charged forward, but were blocked by She's personal guards.

Seeing An Bangyan on the verge of madness, She Chongming shouted, "Brother-in-law, calm down! Don't be a sore loser! Do you think you can save the An family by killing me and using my head?"

"Zhu Yin will take my head and still destroy the An family!"

"Your Majesty!" a trusted aide said to She Chongming, "Kill your brother-in-law and offer his head to Zhu Yin; perhaps you can truly save your life!"

"Your Majesty, with so many chieftains in the southwest, Zhu Yin wouldn't dare to go too far. He also needs the loyalty of all the lords to the court. If we kill An Bangyan and surrender, Zhu Yin will have a way out and should be more lenient. There's still a chance for things to turn around."

She Chongming's eyes flickered as he looked at An Bangyan, who was charging towards him. Finally, he gritted his teeth and said, "You attacked first! Don't blame me for being ruthless! Fine! Then I'll kill you too! I'll borrow your head for my own use! Brother-in-law! I'm sorry!"

"kill!"

The guards of both sides immediately engaged in a fierce battle.

As long as the other party is killed, there will be an opportunity to plead guilty and surrender.

kill!

...

P.S.: I'm so disappointed with the lack of monthly votes.
(End of this chapter)