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

Chapter 164 Ai Wannian's Ambush
Seeing this sudden scene, the minor leaders inside the tent were all silent, their expressions constantly shifting.

Li Zicheng drew his sword, took two steps forward, grabbed Xu Kebian's head, and demanded in a stern voice:
"Tell me! What exactly happened?"

The guard was already terrified, and now, with the cold blade pressing in, he dared not hide anything.
He immediately confessed, trembling:

"Yes, Commander, seeing the overwhelming strength of the government troops, and with our brothers suffering heavy casualties and a bleak future."

"So...so I was thinking of finding a way out for my brothers."

Upon hearing this, Li Zicheng flew into a rage.

He shoved the guard aside, then turned and glared angrily at Xu Kebian, who was sprawled on the ground:
"Planning a way out?! You turn around and sell out all ten thousand brothers?"

"Which of us didn't struggle to survive in that cannibalistic world?"

"Now that we're all gathered together, sharing the same pot and the same bowl, we're brothers who would risk our lives for each other!"

"You've allowed yourself to gain wealth and status, and you're willing to betray your comrades without batting an eye?"

"Have you lost your conscience?!"

Faced with Li Zicheng's barrage of questions, Xu Kebian remained unmoved.

He simply raised his head and stared intently at the tiger climbing the mountain ahead with eyes full of resentment.

"Conscience? You might as well ask him, where is Shanhu's conscience?"

Xu Kebian's voice was hoarse and distorted, like two broken tiles rubbing against each other.

"Now the government troops are blocking our way in front and pursuing us from behind, and you, Shangshanhu, as their leader, are only sending us, the leaders who have come to join them, to our deaths!"

"All you ever think about is preserving the strength of your own loyal followers, making us little chieftains the vanguard for your king!"

Upon hearing Xu Kebian's scathing remarks, many leaders in the tent changed their expressions slightly, and a hint of doubt arose in their hearts.

You can know a person's face but not their heart; who knows if it's true?

However, at this moment, "Tiger on the Mountain," who had been silent all along, snorted coldly and then slowly removed the helmet and mask from his head.

Beneath the mask, however, was Dong Erzhu's slightly honest and dark-skinned face.

Everyone in the tent, including Li Zicheng, was stunned by what they saw.

What happened? Where is the tiger-man who went up the mountain?

Dong Erzhu handed the face mask to a guard beside him, then looked at Xu Kebian, who was lying on the ground with a bewildered expression.

"Fuck your shit!"

"What's that saying again? You're judging the prime minister by your own petty standards?"

Seeing this, Zhao Sheng stepped forward and added:
"To judge a gentleman by the standards of a petty person."

Dong Erzhu nodded repeatedly:
"Yes, yes, that's exactly what Secretary Zhao meant."

"Do you think my commander would just let you all die for nothing?"

"Just as the army was breaking camp, my commander-in-chief had already personally led an elite force upstream to secretly cross the Yellow River, and their fate is still unknown."

Dong Erzhu pointed at Xu Kebian's nose and shouted angrily in a fierce voice:
"You yourself are a coward who fears death and betrays your promise, yet you still have the nerve to slander my commander here?!"

Xu Kebian was struck dumb upon hearing this. He never imagined that Shangshanhu, as the commander of an army, would personally do such a life-threatening thing!

His mouth was agape, his eyes filled with disbelief.

Dong Erzhu ignored him and instead looked at the other leaders inside the tent, who were equally shocked, and explained loudly:
"Gentlemen, my commander-in-chief has long since discovered that Xu Kebian has ulterior motives."

"So they decided to use this as a pretext and sent us to lead a large force to pretend to cross the river, thus creating a diversionary tactic."

"He himself led his elite troops upstream to Modi Ferry."

Upon hearing this, Li Zicheng suddenly realized what was happening and asked urgently:
"Then what should we do now?"
"Did the commander give any instructions before he left?"

Dong Erzhu nodded heavily, a murderous glint flashing in his eyes.
"First kill that scoundrel Xu Kebian, then turn back north and rejoin the commander!"

"Before he left, the commander-in-chief instructed that if he succeeded on the south bank, he should either sail to fetch the army or let us go back to find him."

"He will build a pontoon bridge in advance so that we can cross the river."

But Dong Erzhu was also very worried, wondering if Jiang Han had already built the pontoon bridge.

After all, not far upstream from Maojindu is Shanzhou City, where a Hongnong Guard is stationed.

Although the garrison troops were easily defeated, Jiang Han had only brought eight hundred men, and they were deep in enemy territory, so no one knew what unexpected things might happen.

By the time Li Zicheng finished dealing with Xu Kebian and his loyal followers, it was almost dark.

But Dong Erzhu dared not delay any longer. Instead, he immediately ordered the camp to be broken up and prepared to lead the army to turn back to Maojindu overnight.

something unexpected may happen any time.

Just as the rebel army was dismantling their camps and packing their belongings, a government force had already silently reached the outskirts of the valley where the main army was stationed.

This government army was the 3,000-strong battalion led by Ai Wannian, the military commander of Shenmu.

Originally, Ai Wannian and Zuo Guangxian, under Cao Wenzhao's orders, traveled day and night to reach Bailang Ferry downstream ahead of time to set up an ambush, waiting for the enemy soldiers to walk into their trap.

But they waited and waited in the cold river wind for two days, but still saw no sign of the bandits.

The scouts sent out ran for more than ten miles, but they didn't even see a single bandit soldier.

At this point, Ai Wannian and Zuo Guangxian began to have some doubts.

After some discussion, the two decided to split up and act separately.

Zuo Guangxian was to lead 3,000 troops to continue to hold the area near Bailang Ferry as a precaution.

Meanwhile, Ai Wannian led another three thousand soldiers back upstream to search for the main force of the bandits.

Ai Wannian led his troops, stopping and starting along the way, and coincidentally, he also took a liking to the small valley of Songjialing.

As dusk approached and the army's march became increasingly difficult, he prepared to have his troops enter the valley, set up camp, and rest for the night.

As a result, he had barely sent out the scouts when the group returned in a panic:
"Report! General! A large band of rebels has been spotted in the valley ahead. Their camps stretch endlessly, and banners flutter in the air. Judging from their size, they number around ten thousand!"

"Preliminary assessment indicates that this is the main force of the bandits!"

Upon hearing the news, Ai Wannian was overjoyed!

He immediately ordered the entire army to fall silent and quietly retreat several miles to conceal their movements.

He then personally led several trusted officers and, under the cover of night, secretly sneaked to the vicinity of the valley to scout the terrain.

Not far from the valley exit ahead, the terrain was treacherous, with high ground on both sides, making it an excellent ambush location.

Ai Wannian made a quick decision and immediately sent someone to report to Zuo Guangxian, asking him to lead his troops to reinforce him.

Meanwhile, he led his three thousand soldiers to lie in ambush on the high ground on both sides of the valley, waiting for reinforcements to arrive.

In his view, it was already dark today, and if the bandits rested in the valley for one night, Zuo Guangxian would be able to lead his troops to arrive the next day.

The plan can't keep up with the changes.

Ai Wannian had just taken cover on the high ground and hadn't even had a chance to catch his breath when he heard a commotion coming from the passage below.

Immediately afterwards, the two groups of bandits, carrying torches, began to file out of the narrow valley entrance, seemingly intending to break camp and move away overnight!

Ai Wannian was stunned by what he saw. What was wrong with these bandits? Were they still marching so late?

Just as Ai Wannian was lost in thought, a young soldier beside him came running up quietly and whispered:
"Brother, the bandits are out. Should we make a move?"

This man was Ai Hui, Ai Wannian's cousin, who was looking at Ai Wannian with great anxiety. Ai Wannian shook his head and said in a deep voice:

"No rush. I estimate that the bandits are planning to cross the Bailang Ferry downstream."

"We can let them pass first, and then we can attack them from both sides with Zuo Youji and wipe out the bandits in one fell swoop."

He suppressed his excitement and gave a low order to his soldiers to calm down and not to act rashly.

However, things didn't go as Ai Wannian had imagined.

The bandits, carrying a fire dragon, headed upstream without looking back, seemingly intending to return to Maojin Ferry.

"Brother, something's not right. Have the bandits realized they're being tricked and are trying to escape?"

Ai Wannian frowned, staring intently at the bandits below, constantly weighing the pros and cons in his mind.

Maojindu was poorly defended at the time. If the enemy soldiers were to escape back, wouldn't everything be over?
We must find a way to hold off the enemy soldiers!
However, the bandits are currently very powerful, numbering over ten thousand. Although his three thousand-plus men are all elites, the main force of the Mountain Tiger is in no way inferior to his.

The only way to defeat the bandits in one fell swoop is to locate the headquarters of the Mountain Tiger and use the terrain advantage to crush the elite bandits in one fell swoop.

Once Shangshanhu's elite troops are defeated, his three thousand battalions will be invincible.

With this in mind, Ai Wannian immediately ordered that the vanguard of the bandits be let go. These people were nothing more than cannon fodder and bandits, and killing them would not be of much use.

His target was the main force of the Mountain Tigers; he wanted to capture the leader first!

Sure enough, after the vanguard had all passed through, the enemy's central command flag came into Ai Wannian's view.

Under the large tiger-shaped banner fluttering in the wind, a group of elite guards stood out. Among them, one man, clad in the iconic gold-lacquered mountain-patterned armor, was particularly conspicuous in the firelight.

That's him! There's no mistake!
A glint flashed in Ai Wannian's eyes, and without further hesitation, he immediately ordered an attack.

"Fire! Aim at that commander's flag and fire!"

At his command, several tiger-squatting cannons, which were lying in ambush all around, roared almost simultaneously.

The cannonball, trailing a crimson flame, whistled as it hurtled toward the enemy's central command flag!

Caught off guard, many of the central army's personal guards were knocked down by the cannonballs falling from the sky.

Many people were walking along when a cannonball blew their heads off.

Many more people were smashed to pieces by rocks blasted down by artillery shells.

"Enemy attack!"

"Full speed ahead, break through the valley!"

After a series of panics, Dong Erzhu from the central command finally came to his senses and immediately ordered the entire team to speed up and get out of the narrow valley as soon as possible.

However, the government troops' cannons continued to roar, determined to block them at the mouth of the valley.

Upon seeing this, Dong Erzhu ignored his personal guards' attempts to stop him, spurred his horse forward and galloped a hundred paces, staring intently at the deep sky ahead.

He had to find the positions of the government troops' artillery first, otherwise even the most elite troops couldn't withstand the constant bombardment.

Dong Erzhu was an expert in artillery. With just a glance at the cannonballs flying overhead, he immediately determined the location of the enemy's artillery formation.

"Shao Yong! The cannonball is coming from the high ground two miles to the left front!"

"Quickly, take two detachments of men to destroy the government troops' artillery positions!"

Upon hearing this, Shao Yong immediately appointed his subordinates, Hong Ming and Liu Ning, and led a cavalry unit and an infantry unit in the direction Dong Erzhu had indicated.

"Fire! Fire arrows!"

Seeing that the artillery barrage was ineffective, the enemy soldiers tried to rush forward to seize the artillery position, so Ai Wannian immediately ordered a change in the attack method.

In an instant, gunfire erupted from both sides of the mountain wall, and arrows rained down.

A dense barrage of lead bullets and arrows formed a tight net of fire, raining down on the crowded marching column below!
"Shield up, shield up and charge forward!"

Faced with this sudden attack, Shao Yong's two sentry captains reacted quickly.

Two sharp bone whistles rang out from the ranks, and the soldiers in the front row immediately understood, raising their leather shields high to form a makeshift shield wall, blocking most of the arrows and lead bullets for the brothers who followed.

Meanwhile, Shao Yong personally led his elite vanguard, ignoring the whistling rain of arrows overhead, and charged back up the mountainside!

Shao Yong's move was extremely dangerous. Because they were rushing to meet the enemy, his elite troops didn't have time to put on armor. They could only wear a thin layer of cotton armor and charge forward into the face of the government troops' firepower.

There was no other way; he couldn't allow the government troops on the mountain to calmly launch a second round of long-range fire.

Meanwhile, Li Zicheng, who had already left the valley entrance and was at the front of the column, and Liu Guoneng and others who were still inside the valley, immediately realized that they had been ambushed by government troops after hearing the cannon fire coming from the valley entrance.

The two men made a quick decision and immediately ordered their troops to turn around and advance, one to turn back and the other to accelerate forward, attempting to surround the government troops at the valley entrance from two different directions.

Upon seeing this, Ai Wannian was startled:
"How could these bandits react so quickly?"

He knew that once he was entangled by the bandits' front and rear forces, his three thousand ambush troops might be surrounded by a number of bandits.

We can't wait any longer! We must finish this quickly!

"Brothers, follow me!"

"Whoever captures or kills the bandit leader will be rewarded with a thousand taels of silver and promoted three ranks!"

Ai Wannian roared, drew his spear, and led a hundred elite retainers and thousands of soldiers behind him straight towards the enemy's central army.

He stared intently at the tiger climbing the mountain at the valley entrance, determined to capture the king in one battle!
If we can kill the bandit leader in one fell swoop, we can surely completely break the bandit army's will to resist.

Ai Wannian lived up to his reputation as a seasoned and valiant general of the border army. He suddenly spurred his horse forward, using the momentum of the horse to break through the shield soldiers below. Then, with a sweep of his spear, he deflected all the spears thrusting from all directions.

Seeing this, Hong Ming tried to step forward to stop them, but Ai Wannian's hundreds of servants followed closely behind, looking down from a high position, and forcefully broke through the cavalry led by Hong Ming.

Ai Wannian wielded his spear with sweeping, powerful strokes, charging into the central army formation and slaying several bandits, carving a bloody path straight towards the golden-armored mountain tiger.

But Li Laowai from the central command had been waiting for a long time. Seeing Ai Wannian charging closer, Li Laowai neither dodged nor yielded, but suddenly picked up his horse-slaying sword and slashed at him head-on.

The powerful blow made Ai Wannian's hand go numb, and he involuntarily took two steps back.

Upon seeing this, Ai Hui, the captain of his personal guards, quickly led Wu Yongze, a commander of a thousand men, to meet the attack and help Ai Wannian block Li Laowai's attack.

Ai Wannian shook off Li Laowai's entanglement, turned around and led his personal guards to continue searching for Shangshanhu's shadow on the battlefield.

With a casual glance, he easily spotted the conspicuous golden armor and spurred his horse to charge towards the bandit leader.

Ai Wannian kept charging forward, his personal guards constantly clearing obstacles, protecting their commander as they carved their way through the battlefield and blocked the path of the mountain tiger.

And so, the two commanders-in-chief, one in silver armor and the other in gold armor, stood facing each other at the mouth of the valley.

Dong Erzhu, a cannon user, was no match for Ai Wannian in close combat.

Ai Wannian rushed forward and, after exchanging only three blows with Dong Erzhu, he could tell that the latter's martial arts skills were mediocre.

With a sweep of his spear, he knocked the lance from Dong Erzhu's hand.

"With such martial arts skills, is he qualified to be the commander of an army?"

Ai Wannian chuckled, spurred his warhorse, and with a powerful flick of his spear, knocked the helmet off the "Mountain Tiger's" head.

However, the moment the helmet flew into the air, Ai Wannian's smile froze instantly.

　I'm working overtime every day, I'm practically living in Bengbu now.

　　A 10,000-word update tomorrow!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)