Chapter Fifty Return of the Troops

  That thief heard this, frightened to the point of his soul flying away, hastily retreated back, and his accomplices gathered around asking questions in a flurry but got no leads. Zheng Cheng saw this, slapped him with a loud slap, and said in a low voice: "What's going on! Speak!"

  The thief was slapped back to his senses and cried out in a low voice: "This is the end! That man is planning to execute us!"

  The bandits were all killed, and it was over. I had thought of asking for food to eat, but before I could eat a few meals, I would lose my life here. How could this be good? Zheng Cheng was also frightened out of his wits, but he was after all someone who had seen big scenes. He looked up and saw that the guards were surrounding a place in discussion under the cover of night, with no other guards around. If they didn't escape now, their lives would not be guaranteed if they delayed for a moment! Having made up his mind, he instructed the crowd: "Things have come to this, we might as well make a desperate struggle, perhaps there's still a thread of hope!"

  "We'll do whatever Big Brother says!" The thieves murmured in agreement.

  "Listen to my orders later, once I shout 'run', we'll scatter and escape. This bunch of birds, with only a few hundred men and horses, can't keep an eye on everything, some will definitely get away." Zheng Cheng said. The thieves heard this and thought it was better than waiting for death, so they all agreed. Just as they were discussing, the twenty or so guards seemed to have finished their discussion and started returning.

  "Run!" Zheng Cheng suddenly stood up and took off, his legs moving wildly as he sprinted away. He wished his parents had given him two more legs to run with. He led the way, and over a hundred bandits followed close behind, scattering in all directions. The guards from the garrison were hot on their heels, shouting and chasing after them. Just then, a group of people emerged from within the camp, their movements incredibly swift as they chased after the bandits. A few of the faster ones quickly mingled with the crowd. The bandits were too busy running for their lives to notice anything else, some of them even closing their eyes and running blindly, not caring which direction they went in.

  "Chase! Kill! Halt!" Behind him, the battle cry shook the air. The bandits secretly lamented, if they had known it would be like this, why did they take to the hills? It's not over yet, before they could run up the mountain slope, they heard the urgent sound of horseshoes behind them. They're done for, the government army cavalry is chasing after them!

  "What the...! What are you following me for? Split up and run!" Zheng Chengbai turned his head in the midst of chaos and immediately burst into a loud scolding. This group of fools, idiots! I told you to split up and run, why are you all heading in one direction?!

  Xu Wei emerged from the tent, gazing at the fleeing thieves, and let out a deep sigh. Hopefully Li Guan and his party would have a smooth journey, otherwise the consequences would be unthinkable...

  "Brother Jiu! What are we going to do!" Yang Yan and Ma Tai rushed over with their weapons at hand.

  "Ma Tie, gather all the skilled horsemen in the camp and use all the captured warhorses today to prepare for a charge into the enemy's camp!" Xu Wei ordered in a deep voice. Ma Er responded loudly and immediately set out to make preparations.

  "Yang Yan, follow me and lead the infantry to follow the cavalry. Tonight, we're going to make a big move!" Xu Wei patted Yang Yan's shoulder and said loudly. Yang Yan spat on his palm, rubbed it several times, shouldered his spear and turned to leave without saying another word. Before long, the originally dark Jingwei camp was lit up with lanterns, and the soldiers were busy coming and going, all preparing for the big battle later.

  Xu Wei raised his head and gazed at the endless black curtain, silently praying that the moon would not come out. A dark and windy night was perfect for killing!

  The lake is located in Shandong Province, named Ze but actually a lake. In the prosperous era of Taiping, this place was a land of fish and rice, with abundant aquatic products in the lake. Many families relied on water for food, and fishing boats were active day and night, making it a thriving scene. But now, there is not a single fishing boat in the vast lake. However, the shore is chaotic.

  Wang Shan himself took over from Zhang Shu Ye and felt fearful, fleeing continuously. It wasn't until they reached the Da Ye Ze that they finally stopped, ordering his troops to set up camp by the lake and plan their next move. From early morning, he had sent out his wife's brother Zheng Cheng and the brave general Hou Meng to intercept Xu Jiu's troops coming from Da Ming, and he anxiously waited for news.

  Who would have thought that just after noon, the remnants of the defeated army escaped back. They reported encountering a group of people, less than 1,000 cavalry and infantry, consistent with what was described earlier. Zheng Cheng immediately led more than 200 cavalrymen to charge, while Hou Meng brought a large contingent of infantry behind him, launching a surprise attack. However, as soon as Zheng Cheng's cavalry charged into the fray, their offensive was hindered, and they were surrounded from both front and back, unable to maneuver freely.

  King Shan asked how the step soldiers were doing. The escaped Louluo had a gloomy face and said with a sad voice, "More than 1,000 step soldiers originally wanted to provide reinforcements. However, they were killed by a young man who was seven feet tall, wearing armor, and wielding a long knife. He led less than 100 step soldiers and dozens of cavalrymen, causing the people to fall off their horses and scatter in all directions. Hou Meng was beheaded by that young man with one knife, cutting his head into two pieces. As for Zheng Cheng, it's likely...

  Wang Shandajing was shocked and lost his composure! He repeatedly asked the other party how many people were there, and the escaped soldier was very sure that it was absolutely less than a thousand people. This couldn't help but make him suspicious, if it was really less than a thousand people, how could they defeat his best soldiers so badly? Wasn't Xu Jiu, the famous general, leading only some self-recruited militia? Could they be stronger than the official army?

  With a brain full of mush, he waited for the scattered troops to escape back. From these people's mouths, it was learned that Zheng Cheng was surrounded like an iron bucket, with no way out, and could only surrender to Xu Jiu. The cavalry war horses under his command were all taken by Xu Jiu. Wang Shan was furious, immediately shouting and ordering everyone to gather, vowing to wipe out Xu Wei's gang!

  At that time, a subordinate questioned, Zheng Chenghou and Meng Liang led 2,000 elite troops, but were killed with one death and one surrender. Did we fall into the imperial court's trap? Wang Shan was shocked! He immediately ordered someone to bring him the person who reported the arrival of the enemy general, scolded him as a dog blood head, without saying anything, pushed him out of the account and hacked him to death with chaotic knives!

  That subordinate again spoke up, Xu Jiu's troops are so powerful, shouldn't we first avoid their sharp edge and let Xu make the first move? Wang Shan thought to himself, I still have over 10,000 men under my command, at least ten times more than Xu Jiu, why should I be afraid of him? He didn't listen to the advice. The subordinate repeatedly tried to persuade him, but Wang Shan began to waver, his only reliable 2,000 cavalry had been defeated by Xu Jiu and were almost powerless to fight back, he needed to be cautious. His mind was indecisive, so he said he would think about it again. He thought until nightfall without making a decision. Just as he was hesitating, suddenly news arrived that Zheng Cheng was leading his troops back!

  King Shang was overjoyed! Didn't they say he had surrendered? How come he's now "leading his troops back"? Could it be that things have taken a turn for the better? He immediately went out of the camp to meet them, and from afar saw two men carrying Zheng Cheng, hastily running towards the camp. Behind them, nearly a hundred men on horseback hung their heads in shame, following with downcast faces. Is this what they call "leading his troops back"?

  At that moment, Zheng Chengwang saw Wang Shan come out, and he hastily pushed open the curtain, wailed loudly, and rushed forward to kowtow: "Luckily I get to see my brother!"

  Wang Shan saw him so emotional and even more puzzled, hurriedly helped him up and asked urgently: "What's going on?"

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