A fierce wife enters the house: She helps up a house full of spineless people.

"It's our people! The imperial army has arrived!" Zhang Kui exclaimed excitedly, slapping his thigh.

The surrounding soldiers also looked up, their faces showing joy.

The army moved quickly and soon reached the outer perimeter of the rebel camp.

At the forefront were cavalrymen, clad in black armor and carrying long spears. Behind them were infantrymen, densely packed, arranged in neat square formations.

The rebels also discovered the imperial army's large force, and their siege slowed down. The rebels in the rear camp began to assemble in a panic, preparing to fight.

"Waaah—"

A long horn blast sounded.

The imperial cavalry began their charge.

The deafening roar of hooves kicked up clouds of dust. The cavalry, like a sharp dagger, plunged directly into the rebel camp.

The rebels were nothing but a rabble, only daring to besiege the city because of their sheer numbers. Now, facing a regular imperial army, especially elite cavalry, they were utterly helpless.

The cavalry charged forward, and the rebels fell to the ground one after another.

The infantry followed, thrusting their spears wildly, completely disrupting the rebels' formation.

Looking down below, Wang Tianfang felt a surge of satisfaction.

Zhang Kui stood up, drew his sword, and shouted, "Brothers! The army has arrived! Let's not stand idly by, let's go down and kill these sons of bitches!"

"Kill!" Hundreds of soldiers followed Zhang Kui and rushed down the mountain.

Wang Tianfang showed no fear. He charged into a group of fleeing rebels, thrusting his spear and piercing the throat of one of them. Pulling it out, he swept it across, breaking the leg of another rebel.

With the imperial army charging in, the rebels completely lost their will to fight.

They threw away their weapons and took off their armor, wishing they had two more legs, and ran wildly all over the mountains and fields.

Wang Tianfang followed Zhang Kui to intercept and kill them at the edge.

The battle continued until evening.

Most of the rebels died, and the rest scattered and fled into the surrounding mountains and villages.

The city gates of Yongning County were finally opened. The soldiers guarding the city came out and joined the imperial army.

Zhang Kui led Wang Tianfang and the others to the army's camp.

Corpses and blood were everywhere, and the air was thick with the smell of blood.

Wang Tianfang found an open space to sit down and wiped the blood off his gun. He had killed more than a dozen people today, and his arm was so sore he could barely lift it.

Those fleeing rebels will surely plunder the surrounding villages for food. I wonder how Chenjia Village is doing now.

However, in this world, who can control whom?

The back mountain of Chenjia Village at this time.

Village chief Chen Defu sat in a secluded cave, looking worried.

The cave was crowded with villagers; adults sighed, and children cried.

"Village chief, when can we get down the mountain? We've run out of rations. If we don't go down soon, we'll either be killed by the rebels or starve to death on the mountain," villager Chen Ergou complained, squatting on the ground.

Chen Defu glared at him: "You won't die from missing a meal! If you go down the mountain now and run into the rebels, you'll be dead!"

"Where are the rebels?" Chen Ergou retorted. "Besides, our village is burned to the ground, there's no way anyone will come."

"That's right, village chief. It's getting colder and colder up here at night. Let's go back and tidy up, maybe rebuild our houses!" another villager chimed in.

Chen Defu slapped his thigh in anger: "What do you know! Wars don't end that quickly. Even if the army wins, those defeated rebels will be scattered everywhere. If they run into our village, you'll be easy prey! All of you stay put, and no one is allowed to leave!"

Chen Ergou pursed his lips and didn't say anything more, but his eyes kept darting around.

His stomach was growling with hunger, and he was thinking about the half-jar of cured meat he had buried under a tree in the yard before he left. He hadn't even been able to eat it during the New Year.

By midnight, everyone in the cave was asleep, with only the soft sound of snoring.

Chen Ergou quietly got up and kicked the two cousins ​​next to him.

"Let's go down the mountain and get some food," Chen Ergou said in a low voice.

The two men were also too hungry to sleep, and upon hearing this, they immediately got up.

The three of them crouched down and sneaked out of the cave.

It was pitch black outside, and the mountain path was difficult to traverse. They trudged down the mountain, one step at a time.

"Brother Er Gou, are you really alright? The village chief's words were pretty scary," one of the brothers asked in a low voice.

"Just kidding! That old codger is a coward. Let's hurry back, grab some food, and come right back up. Who knows?" Chen Ergou said nonchalantly.

After walking for more than an hour, they finally arrived at the village entrance.

The village was quiet, without a single ray of light.

When Chen Ergou looked at it by the moonlight, his heart sank.

He ran into his yard and headed straight for the old locust tree.

He dug through the soil with his hands and touched the jar.

"It's still here! It's still here!" Chen Ergou was overjoyed and hugged the jar to his chest.

The other two brothers also went to their own house and searched it, finding some tattered dry food.

"Let's go, let's hurry back up the mountain." Chen Ergou carried the jar and walked out.

Just as Chen Ergou reached the dirt road in the middle of the village, he suddenly stopped.

There's some noise ahead.

A series of chaotic footsteps came from the other end of the village, accompanied by cursing.

"Damn it, what bad luck! I've come all this way and haven't even had a sip of water."

"This dilapidated village has probably been looted long ago; there's not a soul left."

Chen Ergou was so frightened that his legs went weak and he almost dropped the jar.

They're rebels!

They really did run into the fleeing rebels.

"Quick, hide!" Chen Ergou shouted in a low voice, pulling his two brothers into a dilapidated courtyard nearby.

They had just crawled into the dilapidated courtyard and crouched down against the wall when a group of rebels approached.

There were about a dozen people, carrying knives and guns, their clothes were tattered and covered in blood.

The leader of the rebels stopped at the entrance of the dilapidated courtyard.

"This yard looks pretty big. Let's go in and search it to see if there's any food hidden there," the leader said.

Chen Ergou heard everything clearly from under the wall and was terrified. He covered his mouth tightly, afraid to make a sound. His two brothers next to him were also trembling like leaves.

Several rebel soldiers pushed open the wooden door of the dilapidated courtyard and came in.

They were kicking and rummaging through things in the yard.

A rebel soldier walked to the base of the wall and suddenly stopped.

He smelled a meaty aroma.

Although the jar in Chen Ergou's arms was covered, the smell of cured meat still wafted out a little.

The rebels followed the scent and, looking down, saw three people crouching in the shadows.

"Boss! There are people here!" the rebel shouted, raising his knife.

Knowing he couldn't escape, Chen Ergou suddenly stood up, clutching the jar, and ran outside.

"Trying to run!" The rebel kicked Chen Ergou in the back.

Chen Ergou fell face-first into the mud, shattering the jar in his arms and scattering the cured meat all over the ground.

A dozen or so rebels immediately surrounded them.

"Sir, spare me! Sir, spare me!" Chen Ergou knelt on the ground, kowtowing desperately. "We're just farmers from the village, we have nothing!"

The other two brothers also knelt on the ground, crying and shouting.

The leader of the rebels walked over, glanced at the cured meat on the ground, and his eyes lit up.

He bent down, picked up a piece of meat, wiped off the dirt, and stuffed it into his mouth to chew.

"Damn, there really is meat." After finishing his meal, the leader stared at Chen Ergou. "Tell me, are there any other people in the village? Is there any more food?"

Chen Ergou was terrified. In a moment of panic, he blurted out, "It's all gone! Everyone in the village has run to the back mountain to hide, and all the grain is up there!"