The Ming Dynasty: Starting with the border troops, it was overthrown and the Qing Dynasty was destro

Chapter 117 The Rash Wang Jiayin
Wang Jiayin has been having a really tough time lately.

Ever since his defeat at Hequ, he had been constantly chased by You Shilu and Cao Wenzhao.

He ran all the way from Hequ to Shaquan, where he was soundly beaten by two groups of people and suffered a major defeat.

The government troops and generals of each prefecture and county along the way guarded the city gates tightly and the drawbridges were suspended high, giving him no chance to catch his breath.

Left with no other option, Wang Jiayin had to split his forces and flee in an attempt to divert the pursuing government troops.

Wang Jiayin ordered his trusted subordinate Wu Sanjing to lead a group of men northeastward toward Wutai Mountain in Xinzhou, in order to draw Cao Wenzhao's attention.

He himself led his 4,000 soldiers and more than 10,000 starving people, fighting a bloody battle all the way, and finally broke through the encirclement and arrived near Wuzhai County.

Wuzhai County was the most crucial meeting point in Wang Jiayin's breakout route.

If the various rebel kings who had been granted fiefdoms were to receive news of him, they would surely meet with him here.

From here, one can head north to attack Shenchi and Shuozhou, or head south to directly seize Kelan and Jingle.

As expected, when Wang Jiayin led his troops to Wuzhai, Li Zicheng, Zhang Tianlin and others had already been waiting there for a long time.

Even Gao Yingxiang from Xing County brought his men over.

Before Wang Jiayin could even catch his breath, Li Zicheng quickly recounted Jiang Han's plan to him.

Wang Jiayin's eyes lit up immediately after hearing this.

An inside-outside coordinated attack? A brilliant plan!

He originally planned to launch a surprise attack, head north to capture Shenchi and Ningwu Pass, and then head south into the Lüliang Mountains.

But now, after hearing the news brought by Li Zicheng, he realized that this was an excellent opportunity.

He didn't have time to rest and decisively led his troops south, traveling day and night towards Kelan County.

Meanwhile, in Kelan County, Jiang Han was busy settling his men.

Although Kelan County is not small, hiding more than 400 people would not be an easy task.

Jiang Han had no choice but to break the group into smaller groups and settle them in several different inns.

He even went so far as to rent several large houses from a brokerage firm to hide the weapons and soldiers that had been brought in.

After everything was arranged, Jiang Han calculated the time. Three whole days had passed since he entered the city.

Based on the distance, Wang Jiayin should be arriving soon.

In order to gather intelligence, he disguised himself as a laborer, dressed in coarse cloth and short clothes, and waited for work at the city gate.

Meanwhile, Li Laowai and his men disguised themselves as woodcutters and hunters, using the excuse of leaving the city every day to go outside the city to gather information and contact the troops.

But after waiting for two days, there was still no movement outside the city.

"Damn it, could it be that Wang Jiayin was killed by Cao Wenzhao and You Shilu on the way?"

"Why haven't they arrived yet after waiting so long?"

Jiang Han had no choice but to suppress his temper and continue to lie low and wait.

Even if Wang Jiayin hadn't come, he still had a backup plan. Once Shao Yong's reinforcements arrived, he could still coordinate an attack from within and without to take over Kelan County.

On the morning of the third day, Jiang Han, as usual, squatted in the tea stall near the city gate, observing the surroundings.

"Pah! It's all broken tea leaves! You think I'd sell this stuff for three coins?"

He spat out some tea leaves and was about to curse again when a commotion suddenly broke out at the city gate.

Suddenly, a group of panicked civilians rushed into the city gate, followed by two scouts on horseback.

The scout, panicked, stammered:
"Thieves, thieves, the soldiers are coming!"

"So many bandits, they're everywhere on the mountainside!"

"Quickly! Go and inform the county magistrate!"

Upon hearing this, the guard at the city gate's expression changed drastically. He immediately ordered the city gate to be closed and the drawbridge to be raised.

He then sent several soldiers to disperse the crowd of bystanders near the city gate.

"Get out of here! The bandits are coming!" "This is a restricted area around the city gates. No unauthorized personnel are allowed to approach!"

"Or I'll chop you all up!"

Intimidated by the soldiers, the group of laborers who had been waiting at the city gate to work and watch the excitement scattered like birds and beasts.

Jiang Han also retreated to a distant street corner with the flow of people.

In the crowd, Li Laowai, disguised as a woodcutter, quickly found Jiang Han, leaned close to him, and whispered:
“It’s Wang Jiayin’s men. The banners match up.”

But Jiang Han frowned upon hearing this:

"What's wrong with Wang Jiayin? Why is he attacking the city in broad daylight?"

He was somewhat annoyed.
"He's a former border soldier who's fought in so many wars, how could he be so careless?"

"Could it be that Li Zicheng didn't explain things clearly to him?"

Jiang Han's original plan for Li Zicheng was to have Wang Jiayin sneak up on Kelan City at night and then attack the city under cover of darkness.

In this way, Jiang Han could set fires all over the city, create chaos, and attract the attention of the defending troops.

Furthermore, Jiang Han specifically left a squad of soldiers outside key departments such as the county government office and the treasury.

They planned to take advantage of the chaos to intercept and kill the key officials in Kelan County, leaving the garrison leaderless.

But now, things have gotten even worse; Wang Jiayin has actually come to attack the city in broad daylight.

This ruined all the night raid plans and assassination schemes!

He could only watch helplessly as the officials of Kelan County climbed the city walls and directed the defense of the city.

But actually, this matter cannot be entirely blamed on Wang Jiayin. Li Zicheng clearly told Wang Jiayin about the entire plan.

However, Wang Jiayin had too many men with him. Tens of thousands of soldiers marching made too much noise and were difficult to conceal.

The army was discovered by scouts sent out by Xie Xiangwen as soon as it reached the vicinity of Kelan County.

Wang Jiayin, however, did not seem to care much about this.

In his view, since there were insiders in the city, attacking the city during the day would not be a big problem.

Because Wang Jiayin himself was a master of espionage. When he conquered Hequ, he personally disguised himself as a woodcutter and infiltrated the city as an inside agent.

So even though the garrison discovered him, Wang Jiayin didn't take it seriously and just went ahead and attacked the city.

Jiang Han was naturally unaware of this.

Although he was annoyed that Wang Jiayin had disrupted his plans, there was no point in complaining now that things had come to this.

Now that Wang Jiayin has already set up his attack formation, all we can do is try our best to cooperate.

Jiang Han immediately instructed Li Laowai:
"Old Wai, go and tell all the brothers who are lying in ambush near the county government office and the treasury to come back."

"Upon returning, immediately change into your armor and prepare for action."

"Use the sound of the ox horn as a signal. As soon as the horn sounds, assemble outside my yard immediately!"

Li Laowai nodded and asked in return:
"So when do we start?"

Jiang Han squinted and looked at the city wall not far away:
"Once the war starts, we'll fight our way out!"

"Kelan County has a barbican and two city gates, one inside and one outside, so it's not a good idea to attack the city gates."

"We need to take control of the city wall first. Then you and I will each lead a sentry to attack the city wall from the left and right."

"As long as they occupy a section of the city wall, they won't be able to hold it!"

Jiang Han has been busy these past few days, pretending to be a laborer. He has already figured out the garrison and troop deployment near the West Gate.

The regular garrison numbered only a little over a thousand, and they were usually scattered in the twelve towers on the city wall, responsible for patrolling and guarding.

The highest-ranking official among them should be a garrison commander, with two captains below him.

Including the militia temporarily conscripted, the number of people who could fight on the city walls was at most a little over two thousand.

(End of this chapter)