Di Ming

Chapter 449 The End of a Hero: The Setting Sun on a Lonely Hill.

A fierce, close-quarters battle suddenly erupted in the valley!
An Bangyan and She Chongming, having fallen to this state and still killing each other, did not actually do anything wrong.

If they had actually killed the other party and brought his head to Zhu Yin to plead guilty and surrender, Zhu Yin, for the sake of the overall situation in the southwest, would at least spare their lives and not exterminate their families.

At least he's safe and sound. Zhu Yin is a magnanimous man.

The enemy's head is the opportunity! In this desperate situation, killing the enemy is the only way to save myself and my family. As for in-laws, they are no longer important.

They were both right about that.

However, the two encountered a major problem when they were fighting each other: they were evenly matched!
Both men had similar numbers of guards and were roughly equal in combat strength. When they started fighting, neither could defeat the other, and both suffered heavy casualties, with their guards dwindling in number!
But having fought to this point, who can stop? There's no way to stop. Whoever stops will become prey.

Both sides' guards were all suicide soldiers, fighting each other to the death, and in the blink of an eye, most of them were killed or wounded.

She Chongming's side was down by several dozen men, but An Bangyan and his men had been fleeing for their lives and were even more exhausted. The two sides were surprisingly evenly matched, resulting in a terrifying war of attrition!

"Kill!" In the end, both She Chongming and An Bangyan, the two leaders, fought each other with bloodshot eyes.

Now that things have come to this, both sides are caught in a dilemma, unable to advance or retreat, and it all depends on who can cut off the other's head and surrender before the Ming army catches up!
"Ah—" The screams of the guards on both sides echoed throughout the valley, sending chills down one's spine.

"Hurry!" An Bangyan shouted sharply, "The Ming army is almost here! Kill him! Offer up She Chongming's head, and the An family will be saved!"

She Chongming laughed bitterly, "Fine! Brother-in-law! My head is right here! Come and take it if you dare! Kill! Kill An Bangyan! The She family can live too!"

The guards on both sides were bloodthirsty, each one covered in blood, wielding the unique Yi knives of the Cuan people like madmen, locked in a fierce, close-quarters fight.

On a hillside not far away, Cao Wenzhao and Ding Hongying stood side by side, watching through binoculars as the She and An people slaughtered each other, both feeling somewhat surprised.

"How come She Chongming is also at Wawu Mountain? And he even fell out with An Bangyan?"

Cao Wenzhao was drawn here by the shouts of battle, but he never expected to discover not only An Bangyan, but also She Chongming.

What an unexpected bonus!

"When dogs fight, they all end up with nothing but a mouthful of fur." ​​Cao Wenzhao's expression was stern. "They thought that offering up each other's heads would save their lives, which is why they killed each other. These barbarians are indeed devoid of any morality."

Ding Hongying said, "Your Majesty, shouldn't we take action? We can't let either side have the chance to surrender. If one side cuts off the other's head to plead guilty, will Uncle accept the surrender or not? If he accepts, Uncle will definitely be unwilling. If he doesn't accept, all the chieftains in the southwest are watching. He's in a dilemma either way."

Cao Wenzhao nodded, "My wife is right, we can't put my uncle in a difficult position."

"Their guards were almost all killed or wounded. Unfortunately, none of them had the chance to plead guilty and surrender."

Having said that, he raised his right hand and swung it fiercely, "Attack! Leave no one alive except the two ringleaders!"

No sooner had the words left his mouth than a large group of Ming soldiers suddenly stood up from the bushes, drawing their bows and arrows with murderous intent!

At the same time, She Chongming, who was fighting fiercely, suddenly shouted:

"Brother-in-law! Stop fighting! Our people are almost all dead! I have an idea. Let's take our people to Yunnan and seek refuge with the King of Burma! With the King of Burma's help, we'll have plenty of opportunities to turn our lives around!"

Upon hearing this, An Bangyan's expression shifted slightly. "What did you say? You're going to lead your people to surrender to the Burmese king?"

No sooner had he finished speaking than a series of arrows whistled through the air as they rained down from above!
"It's the Ming army!" She Chongming's expression changed drastically, and without thinking, he ran towards the mountains and forests to the south.

"Ah—" Dozens of Cuan family guards were shot dead on the spot.

Immediately afterwards, a large contingent of Ming soldiers rushed down the valley from the surrounding area. The next female general was the fastest, and in the blink of an eye, she killed two of the Guoluo guards.

However, She Chongming and An Bangyan were both very quick-witted and adept at escaping. Without hesitation, they abandoned their last guards and plunged into the forest, moving as fast as wild rabbits.

"Damn it! Chase them!" Ding Hongying slit the throat of one of the An family guards with a single stroke and then led her troops in hot pursuit.

Cao Wenzhao and his men quickly killed all the remaining Cuan guards and then followed Ding Hongying and the others in pursuit.

We can't let She Chongming and An Bangyan escape. My uncle said that if the two are desperate, they might head south to Yunnan to seek refuge with the King of Burma. That would be a considerable problem.

……

She Chongming and An Bangyan are the leaders of the two major Cuan tribes. Their ability to escape into the forest is like that of wild boars. They truly deserve to be called chieftains of the Cuan tribe.

The two fled desperately through the forest, their magnificent robes torn to shreds by thorns, their hair disheveled, looking utterly wretched. The Ming army pursued them relentlessly, holding their ground.

The two were being chased so hard they were scared out of their wits. To lighten their load, they even threw away their swords and used both hands and feet to traverse the mountains and valleys.

A full hour later, the sounds of the Ming soldiers behind them grew fainter and fainter, and only then did the two men feel extremely exhausted.

Thanks to the Cuan people's skill in traversing mountains and valleys, the two managed to shake off the Ming army.

But I'm so hungry, so very hungry!
The two men were exhausted and dizzy with hunger, feeling utterly weak. Fortunately, they had shaken off the Ming army, making it difficult for them to find their trail again.

The two staggered along, one after the other, having long since lost the will to fight each other.

"Brother-in-law..." An Bangyan called out, "Where can we find food?"

She Chongming turned around and looked coldly at An Bangyan, "How should I know? Didn't you say you were going to surrender to the Ming army with my head? Why aren't you doing it now?"

After saying that, he squatted down and picked up a branch from the ground.

"What do you want to do?" An Bangyan quickly picked up a stone, his expression wary. "Are you going to fight again?"

With one hand on a cane and the other on a large tree, She Chongming gritted his teeth, his face ashen, and said:
"How could I have married my sister to you! You idiot, betrayed by Song Wanhua, you lost tens of thousands of soldiers without even fighting a single battle! You're my brother-in-law, and you still want to kill me! Do you have any conscience?!"

An Kunihiko, leaning against the tree trunk and gripping a stone tightly in his hand, said breathlessly:

"I'm a fool? Aren't you? You were annihilated by Zhu Yin, with only three hundred men returning. What right do you have to talk about me? You even tricked me into going north to fight Zhu Yin! If you hadn't suffered such a crushing defeat, there wouldn't have been such a disastrous defeat for Shuixi! There wouldn't have been such a defection for Song Wanhua!"

"You're forcing me to kill you! I'm doing this to protect myself! Why won't you let me kill you? Saving one family is better than having both families wiped out, isn't it?"

She Chongming almost laughed in anger, "Why should I let you kill him? Why won't you let me kill him? Does the She family deserve to die? Why must you protect your An family, or can't you protect my She family?"

An Bangyan angrily retorted, "So what! Do you know Fan Yuqi? In order to get Jing Ke to assassinate the King of Qin, he committed suicide without hesitation and sent his head to Jing Ke to gain the King's trust!"

"You always boast about being a hero of the Cuan people, a tiger of the southwest, but you're not even as good as Fan Yuqi! You insist on rebelling!"

"Now look what's happened! Both our families are going to be wiped out! No one will survive! Are you happy now?! If the An family is saved, your sister will live! If the An family is lost, your sister will die too! Why can't you be a little more generous and protect the An family? It's just a head!"

She Chongming stared at An Bangyan in astonishment, opening his mouth but finding himself speechless, his hooked nose practically contorted with rage.

What you said makes a lot of sense.

I initially thought An Kunihiko was a remarkable person, and quite handsome, which is why I married my younger sister to him. Who knew this brother-in-law would not only have such treacherous thoughts, but also speak so confidently about them!

"Forget it, consider it my fault for being too stingy." She Chongming shook his head. "We're related by marriage, we're family, let's not let this create distance. Let's make up, okay? Let's stop fighting, alright?"

"Now that our two armies have been wiped out, we can no longer stay in our territories. We have no choice but to seek refuge with the King of Burma."

"This is our last resort. I have already sent people back to prepare for the migration. You members of the An family can go together. Not only can you look after each other, but it will also make the King of Burma pay more attention to us."

An Bangyan slumped down, clutching his rumbling stomach. "But once we leave the territory, we'll have to abandon our thousand-year-old legacy."

She Chongming sat down as well, and said weakly, "There's nothing we can do about it. Without the army, we definitely can't keep our territory. But we must protect our people! If we can save their lives, with the help of the Burmese king, we'll still have a chance to fight back in the future."

An Bangyan leaned against the tree trunk, swallowing hard. "If only we had food. If this continues, even if the Ming army can't find us, we'll starve to death."

She Chongming suddenly stood up, and An Bangyan grabbed a stone, his body tensing. "What are you going to do!"

She Chongming smiled wryly, "What can I do? A deer!"

He pointed with his finger.

An Kunihiko took a look and, sure enough, it was a deer that had escaped.

But what could they do? Without bows and arrows, they couldn't hunt anything. The thought of having no guards and no weapons left filled them with despair.

The two stood up and continued walking, struggling until they reached a mountain hollow. They saw a simple mill by a stream, and not far away was a small village, but it was not a Han Chinese village; it seemed to be a Bo people's village.

An Bangyan wanted to go into the village to beg for food, but She Chongming stopped him, saying, "We can't rush into the village. What if the Bo people capture us and hand us over to the Ming army? The Bo people can't be trusted!"

"Let's lie low in this mill for now. If any Bo people come to grind flour, we'll have something to eat."

An Kunihiko nodded and said, "Alright."

The two men first looked around suspiciously like thieves, then entered the mill one after the other, sat down to rest with a distance of about ten feet between them, and their fright had just subsided.

She Chongming casually picked up a rake, and An Bangyan quickly grabbed a carrying pole as well.

After waiting for a while, seeing that the sun was about to set, the two of them were so hungry that their eyes were practically glowing green. Suddenly, they heard a woman's singing voice coming from the sky. Judging from the song, it was a Bo woman.

coming!

For the first time, the two men became extremely wary of each other because of a woman.

Immediately afterwards, the mill door creaked open, and a stout, pockmarked Bo woman, about thirty years old, entered the mill.

"Huh? Men?" The Bo people's eyes lit up when they saw two unfamiliar men who were not in their village.

Although these two men looked quite disheveled, they were much more imposing and dignified than the men in the village, and they were clearly not ordinary people.

This man seemed even more imposing than the village chief; it was the first time she had ever seen one like him.

"Big sister, don't make a fuss." She Chongming pulled a gold ring off his ear. "This is for you. We want some food. We'll leave after we've eaten."

"It would be even better if you could pack some dry food and dried meat for us."

The Bo woman snatched the gold ring, her ambitious eyes scanning the two men. She grinned, revealing a large set of teeth, and said:
"We don't have any dried meat, but we do have a few pounds of deep-fried insects. They taste really good, do you want some?"

She Chongming hesitated for a moment, then frowned and said, "Insects it is. Please send us some other dry rations as well, we will repay you in the future."

The Bo woman laughed and said, "You've never eaten fried insects before, have you? They're delicious, crunchy and crunchy. And after eating them... men become even more vigorous."

Hearing the ugly woman's words, She Chongming felt extremely disgusted and wished he could kick her, but he still patiently said, "Then I'll trouble you to make the preparations, elder sister. We'll wait here."

The Bo woman weighed the gold ring in her hand, looking at it and pinching it with a broad smile. Suddenly, she pointed at An Bangyan and said, "Where are your things? Why didn't you give me anything?"

An Bangyan patted himself down and said with a forced smile, "Big sister, I've lost all my things, I have nothing left. But don't worry, I will repay you in the future."

He thought to himself, "You've already got a gold ring, aren't you satisfied!"

To everyone's surprise, the Bo woman shook her head and said, "That won't do. He gave me a gold ring, but you're not giving me anything. That's not right. I don't know where you're from, but you're no ordinary people. Since you've fallen on hard times, you must have powerful enemies. Helping you is a risk for me, isn't it?"

She Chongming and An Bangyan exchanged glances, both wanting to kill her. But if they killed this Bo woman, how would they get food?

Just as She Chongming was about to speak, the Bo woman suddenly said to An Bangyan, "You are quite handsome. I have never seen such a handsome man before. Sleep with me once, and I will be satisfied."

"What did you say?" An Bangyan stared at the Bo woman in disbelief, his face filled with astonishment. She Chongming was also stunned.

The Bo woman showed no shame, as if it were commonplace. "After eating my food, shouldn't you work? That's the rule among us Bo people. You let me sleep with you once, and I'll give you three days' worth of food."

Looking at the face of the mountain girl in front of him, An Bangyan suppressed his anger and said, "I'm too hungry, I really don't have the strength right now."

The Bo woman was furious. "What use is a man if he can't even do this!"

She Chongming smiled wryly and said, "Brother-in-law, just agree to her request. Consider it a hunting trip."

An Bangyan's face turned green. "Right here?"

The Bo woman said impatiently, "If not here, where else? Maybe in the bushes outside?"

She Chongming quickly stood up, leaning on his rake. "You all stay here, I'll go out."

After he went outside, he soon heard the rustling sound of clothes being taken off, followed by the woman's unrestrained and rude laughter, and then An Bangyan's weak and feeble moans.

"What a tragedy!" Upon hearing this voice, She Chongming was both amused and exasperated. Suddenly thinking of his younger sister, he couldn't help but close his eyes in anguish.

How did things come to this? To rebel, he poisoned his father who tried to stop him, and became the ruler of Yongning ahead of schedule. But in just a few years, things have turned out like this?

Not long after, the Bo woman in the mill suddenly laughed and cursed, "Looks decent enough, but so useless! Have you not eaten? You're like a corpse, ptooey!"

Then there was the rustling sound of clothes being put on, and the Bo woman walked out of the mill with a blush on her face, saying, "Wait here, I'll be right there!"

She Chongming entered the mill and didn't dare to look at An Bangyan.

An Bangyan stood with his chest exposed, not even glancing at She Chongming. The atmosphere in the mill was extremely heavy and eerie.

Unable to bear the atmosphere any longer, She Chongming could only leave the mill again and watch the sun set behind the mountains.

Alas, the sun sets on a lonely hill!

Not long after, the Bo woman indeed brought food: multigrain pancakes, fried insects, and glutinous rice balls.

"Eat up." She put the food down and then winked at An Bangyan. "You eat your fill first, and I'll come back when I've regained my strength."

An Bangyan shuddered, quickly grabbed a glutinous rice ball, and stuffed it into his mouth like a starving ghost.

I was really starving.

"Eat slowly," the Bo woman said gently, standing up and swaying her thick waist as she left the mill.

"Eat quickly!" An Bangyan said, "Let's leave right away!"

She Chongming said, "Don't worry, it will be difficult for the Ming army to find us in the mountains."

"Not in a hurry?" An Bangyan glared at him with murderous eyes. "You try it! She's coming again soon! She's a madwoman! Uh—"

He choked on his food as he said this, because he ate too fast.

She Chongming shook his head. "Look, he's in a hurry again."

Right now, he wasn't in a hurry. Once the Ming army entered the mountains, they would be helpless; finding him and An Bangyan would be virtually impossible. Unless they hadn't been shaken off beforehand. But the Ming army had already been shaken off; how would they know his escape route?

"Why don't you try it! She stinks worse than a fox!" An Bangyan suddenly exploded, "It's all your fault! You started the rebellion! You've ruined me! You ruined Yongning, and you ruined Shuixi! What are you laughing at?"

She Chongming touched his face. "Where did I laugh? Why would I laugh at you? Are you crazy? What does this have to do with me!"

As he was speaking, a sudden barking sound came from outside.

The dog's bark was loud, even majestic. At first glance, it sounded a bit like a Tibetan mastiff.

As the two were still in surprise, they saw a large black dog, and it was even wearing a dog armor, standing majestically in front of the mill, its dog eyes looking at them with a half-smile!

Behind the big black dog was a beautiful female general dressed in red armor!

Behind the female general was another group of Ming soldiers.

Finished!

Upon witnessing this scene, the two felt as if they had fallen into an ice cellar!

...

P.S.: Some might not like this chapter, finding it too quirky. But I actually wanted to express the psychological reflection of the extreme contrast experienced by powerful figures after their downfall. It's not just filler; it's a kind of satirical writing. She and An were both negative figures who influenced Ming Dynasty history, and their failures should be used as a sacrifice. Their endings shouldn't be too hasty or too swift. Thank you for your understanding, and please vote! I have work to do tonight, so I'll stop here.

(End of this chapter)