Chapter 49: Attacking the Mountain Fortress, Fish Escaping the Net

  Thank you for the blind vote and reward from this friend. I personally thank you sincerely. It's the first time I've received a reward and a vote of appreciation.

  Guan Hai said that although this time was a complete victory, Zhu Jia's fourth elder, Zhu Bao, was also killed, but Zhu Jia's fifth elder, Zhu Lang, let him escape.

  Ma Chao understood as soon as he heard it, originally there was a fish that had escaped the net, who would have thought that after all the planning and scheming one of the five tigers of the Zhu family had still managed to get away, cutting down the weeds without removing their roots will ultimately lead to trouble.

  However, it's been a long time since then. Even if Ma Chao and Cui An have BMWs, they can't catch up with others. Moreover, you don't know where Zhu Lang has gone, and previously, Guan Yu had already sent someone to chase after him, but there was no sign of him at all. It can only be said that Zhu Lang has run far away, so where can he be found?

  Guan Yu was sweeping the battlefield while Ma Chao had a private conversation with Guan Yu.

  "Lao Guan, Zhu Jia's eldest, second and third have all been killed by us!" He said, pointing to the three wrapped heads on the ground beside him.

  "Great, my lord! The five evil Zhu brothers have been doing evil for a long time and should have died early!" Although Ma Chao's arrival made Guan Yu feel that there shouldn't be any problems on that side, hearing from Ma Chao that the three Zhu brothers, Zhu Long, Zhu Hu, and Zhu Xiong had died still excited Guan Yu.

  The lord's side killed all three people, while this side had only two people left and one of them ran away. Guan Yu felt a bit embarrassed to see Ma Chao.

  What's feared comes true. Ma Chao only heard Guan Yu ask Zhang Fei, "Old Zhang, I didn't ask you carefully earlier, how did Zhu Ling escape under your nose?"

  Guan Hai's face turned red upon hearing this, "Your Excellency, this is all due to the subordinate's dereliction of duty, being too careless!"

  "Huh? What's going on?" Ma Chao asked, seemingly puzzled. It seemed that under Gan Ning's inattention, Zhu Lang had taken the opportunity to escape.

  Guan Hai then told Ma Chao about the surprise attack on Zhu Jia's five heroes' stronghold.

  At that time, Ma Chao sent Zhou Yi to the mountain stronghold to inform Guan Yu of the news. After he returned to the mountain stronghold, Guan Yu understood that it was time to take the initiative to attack, which was what they had planned with Ma Chao from the beginning.

  Then Guan Hai let Zhou Yi go and bring Wang Fa, Wang Fa didn't know what Guan Hai wanted to do with him, and he followed Zhou Yi in a daze. As soon as they entered the house, they were knocked down by Guan Hai's subordinates who had been hiding in ambush and tied up.

  "What's going on at home?" Wang Fa asked with an innocent face.

  Guan Hai then coldly laughed a few times, "Wang Fa you little brat, just how long do you want to pretend! Looking at you like that, those who don't know the situation really think you're very wronged!"

  "It's really unfair for me! Since I came to the mountain village, I have never committed any crime!" Wang Fa shouted that it was unjust.

  "Are you still pretending to be innocent? Wang Fa, to tell the truth, I already know that you are a spy sent by Zhu Jia Wuyong!" Guan Hai stared straight at Wang Fa with his eyes.

  As expected, Wang Fa heard this sentence and was shocked. He was still thinking about what had gone wrong, his heart was shaken but he didn't dare to show it on his face, he pretended to be calm, "Master, how could I be a spy? It must be a mistake, a mistake."

  Wang Fa still refused to admit it until now. Guan Hai saw the situation and made a "I knew you couldn't admit it" face.

  "Wang Fa, it seems you're still not shedding tears until you see the coffin. Alright, since that's the case, this time I'll let you die with a peaceful heart!" With that, Guan Hai clapped his hands and a young man in his early twenties walked in from outside.

  As soon as Wang Fa saw this person, he was suddenly shocked and couldn't close his mouth. His eyes widened and he said: "Wang, Haiwang, you are Haiwang!"

  "King Hai, do you know this person?" asked Guan Hei.

  The young man who had just entered the house replied: "When I returned home, I recognized him as a fellow villager from my hometown. His name is Wang Fa!"

  Guan Hai nodded, "Wang Hai, tell me everything you know!"

  "Hey! This man's name is Wang Fa, and he's a fellow townsman of yours, but he joined Zhu Jia's mountain stronghold many years ago!"

  "Alright, alright, you can go now." Guan Hai waved his hand.

  "No! My subordinate is leaving!" Wang Hai said and then walked out.

  After Wang Hai left, Guan Hai looked at Wang Fa and said, "Wang Fa, what else do you have to say this time?"

  Wang Fa was completely out of temper this time, and Wang Hai was indeed his fellow countryman and one of the few people who knew his secrets. However, rumors said that Wang Hai had died many years ago, and it was unknown how he appeared in Guan Hai's mountain stronghold, and this time he was thoroughly defeated.

  Wang Hai went out to find work with fellow villagers a few years ago, but unfortunately contracted a serious illness on the way. As a result, the people who went out with him saw that he was almost hopeless and abandoned him, leaving him alone, while the others left.

  It's really not worth mentioning that these fellow villagers of Wang Hai are not very kind. They didn't just ignore him, they even looted all the valuable things from his body. In their words, these things are useless on a dead person, so it's better to leave them for the living.

  Wang Hai initially thought he was done for, but his life was spared when he coincidentally met Guan Hai, who was on an errand down the mountain. Guan Hai turned out to be a decent person and, seeing that Wang Hai still had some breath left in him, rescued him to the mountain stronghold and arranged for medical treatment. Fortunately, they were able to save him in time, and after drinking medicine for nearly a month, Wang Hai's life was finally saved.

  After knowing that Guan Hai saved him, Wang Hai was extremely grateful to Guan Hai. Moved by Guan Hai's lifesaving kindness and feeling that people in this world are unpredictable, even fellow villagers can be treacherous at critical moments, Wang Hai joined Guan Hai's mountain stronghold and became a bandit. Although he had become a bandit, he felt it was much better than before. The brothers could treat him with sincerity, unlike the previous fellow villagers.

  Later, Zhu Jia's five heroes sent Wang Fa to investigate the situation at Guan Hai Mountain stronghold. Wang Fa had been there for only a few days when he was spotted by Wang Hai, but Wang Fa did not see Wang Hai.

  Wang Hai quickly reported Wang Fa's matter to Guan Hai. After listening, Guan Hai felt that this matter must be taken seriously. He let Wang Hai leave the mountain stronghold to do the work of a scout, gathering information outside and rarely returning to the mountain stronghold, also fearing being discovered by Wang Fa. He also had Lü Er secretly monitor Wang Fa, seeing what actions this kid would take.

  It can be said that with all the previous events, Wang Fa's fate today was sealed.

  "Cheng Wang defeated the bandits, I have nothing to say! Guan Hai, give Grandpa a satisfying blow, our family will avenge me sooner or later!" Wang Fa also had nothing else to say, and could only leave a ruthless remark for Guan Hai.

  Wang Fa, you're really laughable. You still don't know the current situation! I reckon your family's head has already taken a step ahead of you!

  "How is it possible? Just because of you?" Wang Fa's face was full of disbelief.

  "Of course it wasn't me, but Master Ma!"

  "What?" Wang Fa was shocked and thought to himself, "Could it be that Ma Chao hasn't left yet? Is he going to join forces with Guan Hai to attack the mountain stronghold?" He could only think of these possibilities, but couldn't think of anything else.

  "Hum! Take Wang Fa away! Zhou Yi, gather all brothers!" Guan Hai ordered his subordinate Zhou Yi.

  After a while, everyone in the stronghold had arrived. Guan Hai shouted to nearly seven hundred people: "Brothers, Zhu Jia's Five Tigers have sent spies to our stronghold, what do you say we should do?"

  The people in the village shouted in unison: "Kill him, kill him!"

  "Alright, have someone take Wang Fa away and behead him!"

  As soon as the order was given, someone came to drag Wang Fa away. Before long, Wang Fa's head was presented and Gan Hui had it hung up for all to see.

  "Brothers, this is the fate of our enemies! Tonight we will set out overnight to launch a surprise attack on Zhu Jia Wuyong's stronghold. This battle must bring out the prestige of our stronghold! We must let the enemy know our ferocity!"

  "Let our enemies know we're tough, and beat them until they're defeated!" The crowd shouted in unison.

  Guan Hai saw that the morale of the crowd had greatly increased, he looked very satisfied, and then nodded to five small teams to set off with him.

  They formed a total of seven small teams, with nearly 100 people in each team. Five teams were almost five hundred people. Although the two teams that were not selected were somewhat regretful, they had to obey the orders of their superiors and did not say anything else.

  It just so happened that the sky had just darkened, and Guan Hai led the five teams to set off overnight. The mountain stronghold of Zhu Jia Wuyong was nearly a hundred miles away from Guan Hai's mountain stronghold. They set off at 9 pm and arrived at Zhu Jia Wuyong's mountain stronghold by 3 am. Along the way, everyone was extremely cautious, fearing that they would be discovered by the people in Zhu Jia Wuyong's mountain stronghold. Fortunately, nothing happened along the way.

  It's actually understandable, who would have thought that someone would dare to launch a night raid on the mountain stronghold. In recent years, the five heroes of the Zhu family have been living too comfortably and have long lost their sense of crisis awareness. Only Zhu Bao, the fourth brother, is relatively cautious, but he alone cannot make a big difference. So, from top to bottom, the leaders all think it's no big deal, and the subordinates will be even less careful.

  Now the stronghold of the five Zhu brothers can be said to be very lax, so don't look at the stronghold with only fifty people and three heads of households, but there are nearly a thousand people and two heads of households. However, almost everyone is seeing Lord Zhou now, so Guan Hai's surprise attack on the stronghold really has an unexpected effect.

  Guan Hai ordered everyone to hide at the foot of the mountain stronghold first, rest in place, and attack together when the time comes.

  After resting for half a watch, it was now dawn. Guan Hai led nearly five hundred people to climb up the mountain stronghold, silently taking out many of the Ming dynasty's scouts along the way.

  Guan Hai and his men split into three directions to ascend the mountain stronghold. He personally led a small team, while Zhou Yi and Lü Er each led two small teams. After everyone climbed up the mountain stronghold, they no longer needed to be cautious, as the enemy had already discovered them. Guan Hai took his men to find Zhu Jia Wuyong's residence, while Zhou Yi and Lü Er led their men in a massacre through the stronghold, killing anyone they saw without mercy. This was what Guan Hai said, because this mountain stronghold really didn't have many good people, so there was no need to hold back.

  When Guan Hai found Zhu Bao's room, Zhu Bao had just been awakened by the sound of killing. He hastily picked up his weapon, and as soon as he did, Guan Hai rushed in through the door.

  It was quite bright outside, but the house was still very dark. Zhu Bao saw someone breaking in and knew it must be an enemy, so he didn't waste any words and chopped with his knife. However, he was no match for Guan Hai after all, and was eventually killed by him.

  However, Zhu Bao seemed to have realized something just before his death, "You, are, are......" Before he could finish speaking, he fell to the ground and died.

  When Guan Yu arrived at Zhu Ling's room again, he was informed by his subordinates that Zhu Ling had escaped south. Upon hearing this, Guan Yu hastily pursued him, although he had arranged for people to guard each mountain pass, but encountering a fierce person like Zhu Ling, his subordinates were simply unable to hold their ground.

  Guan Hai chased south for a while, and indeed saw someone desperately fleeing in the distance. Based on his subordinate's description earlier, he knew this person was Zhu Lang, so he also accelerated his pursuit.

  Before long, Guan Yu caught up with him and shouted in great joy: "Zhu Huan has met his death!"

  As he spoke, the big knife chopped towards the back of this person. The person in front was blocked and couldn't rush over, so he had to turn around and use his knife to resist Guan Hai. When this person turned around, Guan Hai saw his face, "You, you're not Zhu Lang! Who are you?"

  This man didn't say a word, just fought with Guan Hai in one place. However, this man's martial arts were no match for Guan Hai's, and soon he was beheaded. Guan Hai knew he had been tricked, and this time he had underestimated things. He suspected that Zhu Lang, that little brat, had already escaped long ago.

  The fake dead Zhu Lang was actually one of Zhu Lang's subordinates, named Qin Tao. Qin Tao can be said to be extremely loyal to Zhu Lang. Tonight, he happened to be on patrol duty and when he discovered that the enemy had climbed up to the mountain stronghold, his first reaction was not to engage in battle or sound the alarm for everyone, but rather to immediately go inform Zhu Lang.

  When he found Zhu Lang, the mountain stronghold was already in chaos. Qin Tao said to Zhu Lang: "Master, run quickly! It seems that the situation has already gone out of control!"

  "No! I'll kill them all, every last one of them!" Zhu Lang said fiercely.

  "It's impossible to stay at home! As long as the green hills are still there, we don't have to worry about not having firewood to burn!" After finishing speaking, Qin Tao took off his own clothes and gave them to Zhu Lang, while he put on Zhu Lang's clothes.

  Zhu Lang saw this scene and knew that he himself was fundamentally unable to contend with hundreds of people. Since nothing could be changed, he had no choice but to listen to Qin Tao's words, put on his clothes, and then gritted his teeth and escaped down the mountain. Before leaving, he said to Qin Tao: "Brother, I will definitely avenge you and the brothers in the mountain stronghold!"

  Qin Tao saw that Zhu Lang had already run far away, and his heart finally put down a lot. At this time, just as the subordinate of Guan Hai also arrived at Zhu Lang's room, Qin Tao shouted loudly: "Zhu Lang is here, you are not worthy to kill me!" As he spoke, he turned around and ran, but the direction he ran was opposite to Zhu Lang's direction.

  Guan Hai's subordinates didn't recognize Zhu Lang either, they saw Qin Tao coming out of the room and thought he was Zhu Lang because of his clothes and self-proclaimed identity, which led to the previous scene.

  When they arrived at the foot of the mountain, indeed not even half a shadow of Zhu Lang was seen. Moreover, there were several roads at the foot of the mountain, who knew which way Zhu Lang had run, and could only send people to chase in every direction to see if they could catch up.

  No choice, Guan Hai killed his way up the mountain stronghold. In the end, this battle was a great victory for Guan Hai's mountain stronghold, but Zhu Lang's escape made him still unable to feel happy.

  Ma Chao listened to Guan Hai's words and roughly understood the situation. He advised Guan Hai, "Old Guan, don't blame yourself either. Zhu Lang ran away, it's not your fault, it's heaven's will. Tonight he was not destined to die, heaven let him live a few more days. But those who do evil will eventually perish, sooner or later he will surrender!"

  Although Ma Chao advised him, Guan Yu still had some resentment towards himself. Previously, he had guaranteed in front of his lord that as long as no more than two of the five heroes left by Zhu Jia's stronghold remained, he would definitely be able to eliminate them all, but the result, alas.

  It shouldn't have been said so full of itself from the beginning, and most importantly, this Zhu Lang won't die, cutting grass without removing the roots, after all, it will be a great disaster, who knows what kind of thing this kid will do.

  "Alright, Old General, don't think too much about it. If Zhu Huan wants to take revenge on us, we'll probably meet him again sooner or later." Ma Chao said that's all he could say for now.

  But Zhu Lang has already become a heart disease for Guan Yu, if he sees him again in the future, it's best to leave the task of killing Zhu Lang to Guan Yu.

  "Old General, don't worry about Zhu Lang's revenge, he can't stir up too much trouble anyway!" Ma Chao smiled slightly, and indeed didn't take the little Zhu Lang very seriously.

  "Alright, Old Guan, for the next few years you'll still have to continue being the head of your mountain stronghold, and I'll introduce someone under you to help with things." Ma Chao didn't have any other intentions, he just wanted to raise the overall strength of Guan Hai's mountain stronghold.

  "That's great, Master! You also know that our mountain stronghold is in dire need of talented people!" Guan Hai said with a smile. Ma Chao only spoke up after hearing this sentence, and indeed he had been feeling quite depressed before.

  Ma Chao nodded and had someone call in Wu Anguo, telling him the decision they had just made. To his surprise, Wu Anguo agreed without hesitation.

  He had actually told Ma Chao earlier that he didn't plan to be a blacksmith anymore, and wanted to do something by Ma Chao's side, but for the time being, it was not possible for Ma Chao to bring him along.

  However, now that the lord has finally assigned a task, Wu An Guo is naturally delighted. Although he is a mountain bandit, Wu An Guo also knows that this is only temporary, and since the lord has said so, there will be plans for the future, so he doesn't think it's bad at all. Especially since Guan Hai is also under the lord, it's just right to have more contact with him during this period, perhaps the two can become good friends.