Chapter 21: Capturing Xu Chu Alive

  The melodious sound of the cow's horn suddenly rang out, shattering the clear blue sky.

  The original thousands of Western cool cavalry suddenly became solemn and murderous, with an inexplicable killing intent brewing, like a group of wolves about to launch a group attack. The soldiers urged their war horses to start running, accelerating continuously.

  Golden stones pierce the sky, ten thousand hooves overturn and surge.

  Iron hooves pounded on the ground, like a series of muffled thunderclaps, directly striking the heart of Xujiashan Village.

  "Brothers, follow me to kill the enemy."

  Xu Chu was initially startled, then let out a loud and long howl.

  However, in his heart, he also understood that once the Western Cool Army attacked Zhuang, the Xu family's Zhuang was likely to be doomed.

  Even the bravest and most powerful general cannot truly ignore thousands of soldiers and horses.

  Even if the king of tyranny were to be reborn, he would still have to meet his demise under the iron hooves of the Western Xia's iron cavalry.

  Xu Chu was not afraid of death, his only regret was that he could not protect his family and clan completely.

  The earth-shaking killing sound rose into the sky, and the Western Liang cavalry had already raised their sabers high, with the entire army pressing forward.

  The earth shook at this moment, as if it could not bear the weight. The low walls of the Xu family village seemed weak under the iron hooves of the Western Cool Iron Riders, as if only one charge would be enough to trample the entire village flat.

  "Follow him!"

  Xu Chu steeled himself and with a loud shout, led the charge down from the wall.

  Over a hundred strong men, each with an air of ferocity, showed no signs of fear. At one shout, they followed close behind, knives in hand.

  However, at this moment, the Xiliang cavalry who rushed to the front of the village suddenly split into two teams and surrounded the village, turning around it in a circle, but did not launch a real attack.

  "What's going on?"

  Xu Chu was shocked and uncertain, and hastily climbed up onto the wall to observe.

  Right in front of the manor's main gate, the Western Liang Iron Cavalry parted ways, and one rider rode out on horseback, rushing straight to the foot of the manor.

  Lu Xun pulled on the reins, halting his warhorse, and smiled slyly: "Xu Chu, I have a proposal. Let's make a wager. If I win, you'll acknowledge me as your superior. But if I lose, I'll turn around and leave without another word. What do you say?"

  Xu Chu said loudly: "If you want to fight, then fight, why bother with idle talk."

  "General Luo said loudly: 'I admire your martial arts skills, I really don't want to flatten this village. Let's make a bet to determine the outcome, if you agree to make a bet with me, I will withdraw my troops now, if not...' "

  He paused here, then shouted: "General Ben will immediately order the army to attack the village, and no one will be spared."

  Xu Zhu, although hot-tempered, knew that Luo Zhen was just boasting. This troop of Western Liang Iron Cavalry could absolutely flatten the Xu family village and kill every last person and animal. After a moment's thought, he agreed to the bet. As long as they won the wager, this cursed troop of Western Liang bandits would never again come to harass them without end. He shouted: "What are we betting on?"

  Of course, Xu Chu would never have thought that Luo Zheng would absolutely not let him off.

  Even if he won the bet, the Western Liang army would not leave just like that.

  Luo Zheng's eyes gleamed with cunning as he said loudly: "It's very simple, General is right there setting up camp..."

  "Pointing to a vacant lot north of the Xu family village, 'Two hours later, you come alone to General's military account. If you can capture General, it counts as your win. If you are captured by General, then it counts as your loss, how about that?'"

  "You hide in the midst of several thousand soldiers and call for me to capture you. This is truly an insult."

  Luo Zhen Dao said: "Don't worry, I will only leave twenty personal soldiers in the general's tent, and the rest of the army will withdraw one mile back. How is that?"

  Xu Chu calculated that with his own martial arts skills, as long as he was careful to avoid traps, taking down twenty Xiliang soldiers would not be a problem. He then put his mind at ease and said loudly: "Alright, you may retreat. I will go there myself two hours later."

  "Alright, it's settled then."

  Luo Zheng was overjoyed and thought to himself that this tiger had finally fallen into his trap. He immediately ordered the withdrawal of troops.

  Soon, more than 7,000 Western Liang iron cavalry retreated like a tide, and the Xu family village regained its tranquility.

  Zhuang Ding stepped forward, his face full of worry, and said: "Master Zhuang, why would the Xiliang bandits be so kind? This must be a sinister plot by that Xiliang bandit general. It's unlikely they'll really withdraw their troops one mile as promised. I'm afraid once you arrive, Master Zhuang, you'll be surrounded by the Xiliang bandits."

  Xu Zhu said: "Never mind, I'll be careful. If the Xiliang bandits haven't retreated, I'll retreat immediately."

  Zhuang Ding finally breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that this was for the best.

  The four watches passed quickly and the sun was already setting in the west.

  On the wall of Xu's village, the villagers were looking out at something a mile away.

  "Zhuang Ding, the Western Liang bandits have retreated."

  Zhuang Ding suddenly pointed to a place one mile away and shouted loudly with excitement.

  Xu Zhu had just rushed to the top of the wall, and hastily stopped to look around, only to see that a mile away, the Western Liang army was indeed retreating, and had actually retreated to a distance of one mile, leaving behind a solitary tent standing on a large patch of flattened ground.

  "Alright, then he went and captured the bandit general, killing him with one stroke of his sword."

  Xu Chu's face lit up with joy, and he immediately rushed down from the wall, mounted a mediocre horse, and charged out of the village.

  "Master, shall we go together?"

  There was a villager shouting behind him, wanting to follow together.

  "No way, how can I lose the trust of others."

  Xu Chu shouted a rebuke without turning his head and struck the horse's buttocks with a loud crack of his whip.

  The inferior horse ate pain, raised its head and let out a long neigh, then suddenly spread its four hooves and ran wildly.

  A mile's journey is over in an instant, and near the camp, it is quiet enough to hear a pin drop.

  Twenty Western Liang soldiers stood guard in front of the camp, each holding a horse knife, exuding an aura of murder, staring at Xu Chu who rode his horse to the front of the camp, waiting for a single order before they would pounce forward and chop Xu Chu into minced meat with their chaotic knives.

  Xu Chu did not put the twenty Western Liang soldiers in his eyes, but instead took a glance at the camp.

  The canvas of the tent was rolled up and set aside, allowing a clear view inside.

  In the tent, facing the middle of the entrance, Luo Zhen was holding a bamboo book and flipping through it, seemingly unaware that Xu Chu had arrived.

  "You little thief, wait until I capture you, and I'll kill you with one knife."

  Xu Chu let out a loud roar and immediately flipped off his horse's back, grasping his sword as he charged straight into the tent.

  Twenty men with knives stood up and locked eyes with their comrades, then one by one revealed sly smiles.

  Xu Chu had originally not taken the twenty Xiliang soldiers seriously, but seeing this scene, his heart suddenly skipped a beat for no reason. However, before he could figure out what kind of trickery the Xiliang army was using, he felt his right foot suddenly stepping into empty air.

  "Not good, there's a trap."

  Xu Chu was greatly shocked and instinctively wanted to retreat, but it was already too late.

  Because he rushed too fast, by the time this guy realized something was wrong, his right foot had already stepped into empty air. His robust body, due to inertia, leaned forward and directly fell into a large pit that had been dug out long ago amidst flying dust.

  "Despicable."

  Xu Chu barely had time to let out a single roar before he could no longer shout.

  This large pit is nearly two zhang deep, and it's been filled with water and mud, forming a thick muddy sludge that reaches almost to one's shoulders. It's already quite difficult for someone who falls in to stand upright, let alone have the energy to scold others.

  "Hahaha!"

  Above rose the loud laughter of the Western Liang soldiers in triumph, but Xu Chu had already lost interest.

  What it's like to fall into a swamp is indescribable because no one has ever tried it, and the feeling of being powerless to struggle free is impossible to describe.

  Xu Chu's whiskers were all standing on end, his lungs were about to burst from rage, and the mud around him was soft and slippery, offering no traction at all. He wanted to use his strength to leap out of the big pit, but there was simply nowhere to get a foothold, and although he had the strength to bind a tiger, he couldn't exert it in the slightest.

  "Sly scoundrel!"

  Xu Chu furiously roared, "I would rather die than be in league with a petty person like you."

  Lu Zheng had already come out of the military account, came to the edge of the big pit, squatted down, smiled and looked at Xu Chu who was struggling in the mud pit but couldn't climb up, laughed loudly: "The Art of War says that the best strategy is to attack by strategy, the second is to attack by diplomacy, and the worst is to fight with brute force. As a general, as long as I can win, I will naturally use all means necessary. It's a pity that you have also read books, but you are an unwise and reckless man."

  "It's suffocating me too!"

  Xu Chu let out a mighty roar towards the sky, his hair standing on end in agitation.

  Lu Xun shouted: "Xu Zhu, now that you have been captured by this general, are you willing to admit defeat and surrender?"

  "I refuse!"

  Xu Chu let out a loud roar, with ten thousand unwilling hearts.

  At this moment, Luo Zheng's eyes revealed a fierce glint, and he said: "What, are you willing to gamble and lose, but still want to be dishonest?"

  "I refuse!"

  Xu Chu let out a loud roar, still this sentence.

  Luo Zhen furrowed his brow, then immediately relaxed and said loudly: "Alright, General will give you another chance. Come back in two hours, if next time you are captured by General again, are you willing to admit defeat and surrender, and acknowledge General as your master?"

  "Alright, I'll do as you say."

  Xu Chu hastily assented, and his heart felt slightly relieved.

  Luo Zheng immediately waved his hand, and his personal soldiers swung the command flag, passing down the military order.

  Soon, the Western Liang army retreated a mile away and quickly arrived, surrounding the four sides.

  Soldiers took a rope and lowered it down, pulling Xu Chu up.

  The fierce man glanced around, grunted, and rushed out of the Western Liang army, leaving with a flourish.

  Li Meng rushed over on horseback, stopped beside Luo Zheng's side and said: "General, how can you let this guy go? If he loses his trust and doesn't dare to come again, wouldn't that be a missed opportunity. When our army attacks the village later, I'm afraid we'll lose many brothers at the hands of this guy."

  Lu Zheng said, "This Xu Chu has the bravery of a thousand men, and no matter what, we must recruit him. Moreover, people with strong personalities always value their promises more than their lives, so Xu Chu should not refuse to come. If he really doesn't come, then it would be that this general has misjudged him."

  Li Meng nodded and didn't say anything else.

  Luo Zheng cleared his throat and shouted: "Li Meng, listen to orders!"

  Li Meng hurriedly straightened his back and said loudly: "Your subordinate is here."

  "Order the troops to dig a trench two feet deep and three feet wide around the entire rear half of our camp, then fill it with water and mud. Also prepare a wooden board, two feet wide and three feet long."

  Li Meng was shocked and said: "Why dig a pit behind the military account?"

  Luo Zheng said in a deep voice: "Don't ask any more questions, go quickly."

  Li Meng's expression changed, and he hastily cupped his hands together, saying: "This subordinate will obey orders."

  Xu Zhu returned to the Xu family village, ignoring the servants who came running over to ask him questions. He rushed back to his own room, and downed three large bowls of wine in one gulp. The annoyance in his heart was slightly alleviated, but he still felt a bit stifled.

  Not yet in the account, was captured by the Western Liang army, this is indeed a great shame.

  Xu Chu felt more and more stifled, and the annoyance in his heart surged up again.

  "You despicable scoundrel, this time you will certainly be captured and executed."

  Xu Chu gritted his teeth and downed a large bowl of strong liquor in one gulp, unknowingly getting drunk.

  Several servants rushed in and carried the master onto the kang.