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

Chapter 238 Water Attack
He Mingsheng returned empty-handed, and the cries from Shangling Village did not gradually subside until after noon.

The villagers looked at the devastation of their village and were filled with despair.

If I had known, I would have gone into the mountains with that group of rebels!
No one expected that these officers and soldiers, whom they regarded as their saviors, would be even more ruthless and vicious than the rebels.

But there's no going back in this world.

The government troops' camp was in Xialing Village, not far away, so the villagers couldn't escape even if they wanted to.

The man who was kicked by Baihu Zhongyao ultimately did not survive.

His wife held her husband's body and cried until she fainted three or four times in the messy yard.

Finally, a few elderly men couldn't bear to see it anymore, so they wrapped the person in a tattered straw mat and hastily buried him in the cemetery behind the village.

The government troops looted the entire village, and before leaving, they even deliberately filled the old well at the village entrance with several baskets of stones to vent their anger.

He Mingsheng squatted in his own house, which had been ransacked, staring blankly at the broken porcelain shards scattered on the floor.

The redness and swelling on his left cheek had not yet subsided.

The faint pain constantly reminded him of the humiliation he had suffered at the hands of the government troops a few days ago.

The threshold of the main room was soon crowded with people, all of whom were villagers who had lost their livestock and food and had nowhere else to turn.

Someone wiped away tears and couldn't help but mutter:

“Mr. Hehe, back when that group of rebels was around, although they had to pay rent and grain and conscript manpower, they always followed the rules.”

"They even lent us oxen to plow our land before."

"Didn't you say that they were bewitching people, and that the imperial court was the one that the people truly wanted?"

"But how come our village was destroyed the moment the government troops came?"

The constant complaints were like invisible slaps to He Mingsheng's face, making him feel extremely upset.

He Mingsheng abruptly raised his head and rebuked:

"Shut up, everyone!"

"You don't know anything! The government troops were forced into this situation. We...we..."

But under the villagers' resentful and disappointed gazes, his voice gradually faded, his words filled with guilt.

He didn't know how to cover up the lie.

Back then, the bandits killed local gentry and distributed land everywhere in Shiquan County; He Mingsheng could still use the excuse that this was a bandit act that was inciting people's hearts.

But now the government troops are looting grain, killing people, and filling wells, making them several times more ruthless than the "bandits" he spoke of.

Anyone with eyes can see who the true king's army is.

But now He Mingsheng is in a bind and has no choice but to go down this path to the bitter end.

Back then, he led the villagers to welcome the government troops with gongs and drums; now, even if he knelt before Li Zicheng, the government might not accept him.

Seeing that He Mingsheng remained obstinate, the men in the village exchanged glances and quietly withdrew from the crowd.

The three of them arrived at a secluded courtyard, intending to discuss in private their plans to join the rebel army in the Pingtong River Valley to the north.

The problem is, they don't have any connections right now.

The various entrances and exits to the valley have probably already been blocked by government troops.

Just when the group was at their wits' end, a boy of about seven or eight years old suddenly stumbled in, clutching half a pancake tightly in his hand.

"father"

The adults were puzzled. It wasn't even time to cook yet. Where did this kid get the flatbread?

The leading man beckoned to his son:
"Tell me, where did you get these pancakes?"

The child, engrossed in his meal, mumbled incoherently:

“It was given to me by an old man in a red coat in the pine forest behind the mountain.”

"He also said that if we wanted to live, we should go to the bottom of Eagle Head Cliff at the second watch tonight, carrying intelligence from the government troops."

Eagle Head Cliff?!

The three were greatly shocked. There was a narrow mountain path leading to Pingtong River Valley near Eagle Head Cliff, which they had traversed several times when they were collecting herbs in their younger days.

Red coats? That seems to be the attire of the rebel army.

The group looked at each other, feeling like they'd just fallen asleep when this unexpected turn of events occurred. Could it be a trap?
But right now, they seem to have no other way to contact the rebels, so they can only try anything as a last resort.

That evening, the three arrived at the foot of Eagle Head Cliff as agreed.

The group wrapped their tattered cotton-padded coats tighter around themselves and rubbed their hands together as they stared at the dimly lit cliff top.

Suddenly, a rustling sound came from the cold wind, and more than a dozen dark figures emerged from behind the cliff. The leader was Yu Chengye.

"Are they from Shangling Village?"

Yu Chengye lowered his voice, the steel knife in his hand gleaming coldly in the moonlight.

The three quickly stepped forward, bowing and scraping in response:
"It's us, it's us!"

"We wish to join the righteous army; please, sir, show us the way."

Yu Chengye didn't waste any words, and immediately made a hand gesture:
"Follow me, watch your step."

The group clung to the cliff face, slowly inching their way deeper into the valley.

After rounding several mountain ridges, campfires suddenly lit up in front of us, and the camp was hidden in the mountain valley ahead.

Yu Chengye blew three short whistles towards the sky to identify himself to the sentry post on the rock wall.

After several long whistles were heard, Yu Chengye calmly led the group into the valley.

Although it was late at night, the camp was still bustling with activity, as many people wearing patched cotton-padded coats were twisting straw ropes around the campfire.

Seeing that Yu Chengye had brought strangers, they all looked over curiously.

By the light of the fire, I saw that they were from Shangling Village.
How did you end up here?
The three burly men hunched their shoulders, watching the militiamen hand hot soup to Yu Chengye and the others, their throats tightening.

Life in the mountains is so much better than in their village.

Yu Chengye led the three men to the front of the central command tent. After searching them, he lifted the curtain and went straight inside.
The tent was very simple, with only a fire pit, a few stools, and some knives and spears.

By the hearth, Li Zicheng was wiping his waist knife.

Upon seeing the person in question, the three men's legs went weak and they knelt down with a thud, beginning to wail and cry uncontrollably.
"General, please save us!"

"The government troops are simply inhuman!"

Li Zicheng leaned his knife against the fire, sending sparks flying high into the air.

"What are you crying for! Get up and answer!"

"What's your name?"

The group quickly wiped away their tears and gave their names:
"Little Zheng Yu, little Wu San, little Zhou Hui."

Li Zicheng nodded and continued to ask:

"Tell me, what's the situation where you are right now?"

"I heard from my scouts today that the government troops suddenly raided Shangling Village?"

"Weren't things fine just a few days ago? Could it be that you suffered a defeat and are taking it out on us?"

The three men nodded angrily, and then poured out their grievances about the government troops seizing livestock, filling in wells, and killing villagers.

The cries attracted many people to stop outside the tent. As they listened, their eyes reddened, and curses rose and fell.

"These bastards are even more ruthless than bandits!"

"When the rebel army was in our village, they didn't even take a single extra ear of corn from the fields."

Hearing the curses coming from outside the tent, Zheng Yu and the other two cried even harder.

Li Zicheng was used to this; he had seen it many times and was already accustomed to it.

All crows are black, whether they are government troops from the southwest or the northwest, they are all the same.

More and more people gathered outside the tent, but Li Zicheng did not send anyone to disperse them.

The enemy's knife is more effective than any slogan.

Even if the commanders in the army talked themselves hoarse, it wouldn't be as convincing to the people as a living example right before their eyes.

After a long silence, Li Zicheng tapped the stone beside the hearth with his sword, signaling for quiet. He looked at Zheng Yu and the other two, and slowly said:

"You can come and join us, but you openly disobeyed orders before you went to Shangling Village, which is a serious offense."

"To atone for one's sins, one must first perform good deeds."

"Tell me, do you have any intelligence you can provide?"

"If you can help our army, I can spare you this time."

After the three pondered for a long time, Zheng Yu, who was in the lead, raised his head and whispered:
"General, I... I vaguely overheard those soldiers talking, and they seemed to be saying that the stolen livestock were for clearing mines."

"Mine clearance?"

Li Zicheng's eyes lit up, and he suddenly stood up.
"But really?"

Zheng Yu wiped his face and nodded repeatedly:
"That's right, the soldiers even said that after all the livestock were blown up, they'd have an extra meal that night."

Li Zicheng nodded:

"Hmm, this information is actually quite useful."

"Guards, bring the reward!"

But then he changed the subject,
"However, it's far from enough to join based on just this little bit of information."

"You all go back to the village and stay there, awaiting my orders. If you do well, I might let you return to camp; but if you botch it..."

Before he could finish speaking, Zheng Yu and the other two quickly replied:

"No, no! We will certainly comply!"

That evening, the three of them secretly returned to Shangling Village with money and food, awaiting Li Zicheng's next orders.

But Li Zicheng has no intention of using them now.

He planned to set up an ambush, then have Zheng Yu and his two companions spread false information to lure the government troops in and annihilate them completely!

Now, the most important thing is to focus on stopping the government troops' attack.

Using livestock to clear mines, though it sounds extravagant, is indeed an effective method.

Li Zicheng pondered for a moment, then shouted to his personal guards outside the tent:

"Inform all generals that we are to hold a meeting in the tent!"

Three days later, just as dawn broke, the government army camp in Xialing Village was in an uproar.

After looting Shangling Village, the government troops regrouped and, full of confidence, led their livestock back to Sanhedao.

Centurion Zhong Yao, along with his soldiers, drove the dozen or so plundered livestock to the front of the column.

The procession was chaotic, with oxen, mules, donkeys, and even a few domestic pigs.

Various livestock were tied together in groups of three or five with ropes, and behind them were several empty carts.

"Get your act together, all of you!"

Lieutenant General Ding Yunxiang, mounted on his horse, looked at the chaotic and noisy "beast formation" ahead with a furrowed brow.

"Divide the livestock into three teams; once one team is wiped out, the other team will continue!"

"Song Hong, you take three hundred men and follow behind. Once the minefield is broken, the vanguard should immediately move in and take up advantageous terrain!"

At the commander's order, the soldiers behind him lashed out with their whips, striking the livestock hard.

In pain, the livestock revved their engines and charged headlong into the minefield ahead.

The hooves pounded on the official road, making a muffled thunderous sound.

Boom——Boom——Boom——

The continuous explosions echoed through the valley as one stone mine after another was triggered.

Smoke, along with flying gravel and dirt, instantly enveloped the entire valley entrance.

The first few domestic pigs that charged forward were instantly blown to pieces, their mangled limbs scattered all over the ground.

Although the animals behind had their eyes covered with white cloths, the smell of gunpowder in the air and the explosions in their ears still startled them, causing them to retreat repeatedly.

Animals' instincts drive them to retreat continuously, trying to find a safe place to hide.

But the soldiers had already blocked the retreat route, holding long guns and urging the livestock to continue forward.

Forced by the spears, they could only stubbornly trample the warm corpses beneath their feet and continue charging forward.
Half an hour later, the sound of explosions coming from the valley gradually disappeared.

Ding Yunxiang squinted at the depths of the valley and waved his hand:
"Forward, go in!"

Song Hong nodded and immediately led his three hundred forwards, charging into the blood-soaked path beneath their feet.

But just as the vanguard of the officers and soldiers reached the middle of the official road, a sudden burst of panicked neighing came from ahead.

Song Hong was shocked and quickly led his men forward to check the situation.

But what I found was shocking: a muddy swamp had appeared on the official road ahead.

The mules and horses at the very front, along with the cart, got stuck in the mud.

Where did the swamp come from?

Song Hong was both shocked and furious at the sight before him.

How could a mudflat suddenly appear out of nowhere when there hasn't been a drop of water in northern Sichuan for so long?

No matter how hard he racked his brains, he couldn't understand why this dark, muddy pit was actually a man-made trap filled with mud.

After Li Zicheng learned of the movement of the government troops, he immediately ordered his men to dig a large pit, three or four zhang deep, on the official road overnight.

Then the militiamen carried silt from nearby ponds and river sections, creating a huge artificial swamp on the official road.

The livestock used by the government troops to clear the way sank into the soft mud, their lower legs sinking up to halfway down.

In a panic, they instinctively began to struggle, but they sank deeper and deeper, and soon, half of their bodies were swallowed by the mud.

Ding Yunxiang gritted his teeth in anger. He drew his long sword from his waist and made a decisive move:
"Quickly, kill all the struggling animals and drag them all out!"

"After we pull it out, we'll lay more planks on top, several layers, and we can still get across!"

The officers and soldiers reacted quickly, some drawing their swords, others chopping down trees, and everyone got busy.

But at that moment, a faint rumbling sound suddenly came from the upper reaches of the valley.

If you listen carefully, it sounds like the sound of water.

The officers and soldiers stopped what they were doing, craned their necks, and looked around, trying to find the source of the sound.

A soldier looked up and saw a white wall of water surging along the river from behind the mountain ridge not far away, moving at an alarming speed!

"water!"

"There's a flood!"

Someone shouted, and the soldiers at the front instantly erupted in chaos.

River valleys are naturally formed by river erosion; how could Li Zicheng not use water attacks?

Although it is currently the dry season, he had already ordered the construction of a dam, just waiting for the government troops to walk right into his trap.

The river water, which had been accumulating for several days, carried pebbles and rushed down the riverbed like a wild horse.

"Run!"

Song Hong's face turned pale, and he turned around to rush out of the valley.

But the flood was faster than he had imagined; the waves, carrying away dead wood, instantly covered his ankles.

The soldiers at the front had no time to retreat and were swept into the river by a gentle wave; their screams were instantly swallowed by the sound of the water.

The wooden planks laid on the swamp were washed away and shattered, dragging the soldiers pulling the livestock into the icy river, where they disappeared in the blink of an eye.

Song Hong and his personal guards desperately tried to escape the valley, but in their panic, he lost his footing and fell into the ravine.
Several days later, the floodwaters gradually receded, and Ding Yunxiang, who had survived the disaster, led the remaining soldiers back to Xialing Village without looking back.

He lay paralyzed in his tent, unable to speak for a long time.

Although they managed to break through the minefield, they lost a thousand commanders and hundreds of elite soldiers, suffering heavy losses.

The team of three thousand people dwindled to just over two thousand in less than a month.

(End of this chapter)