Chapter 28: Revenge and Resentment

  In March, Dangyang was like a Shura hell, with corpses all over the county town. Naked female corpses were seen everywhere. The blood that had flowed all over the ground had already stopped flowing and had seeped into the earth, turning dark black. Packages were scattered all over the place, obviously, the valuable things inside had been taken away. The people who escaped with their lives hid in the dark corners of their homes, not daring to show their heads or light a fire to cook food. Except for the bandits who were everywhere collecting women and valuables, Dangyang was completely silent.

  Chen Aishan woke up from his coma three days later, and when he came to, all he saw was his young son Chen Sijin. Chen Sijin had a white cloth wrapped around his head, with faint bloodstains visible, and one arm was also bandaged and slung over his shoulder.

  "Big Brother and Second Brother are dead, Big Sister-in-law and Third Sister-in-law hanged themselves, and my mother too!" Chen Sijin recounted the past in a hollow tone, as if this voice wasn't coming from his own mouth.

  Chen Aishan heard this, his blood rushed up, and he fainted again. Chen Sijin was well-versed in the art of Qigong, and with a strong pinch on Chen Aishan's Renzhong (a point between the eyebrows), Chen Aishan immediately came to, looking at Chen Sijin with two streams of clear tears flowing from his eyes.

  "Alas, Father is sorry for you all! The sins I committed alone have been repaid on your heads." Chen Aishan's collusion with the bandits was also known to Chen Sijin, who had even advised him against it at the time. However, Chen Aishan disliked Erniang and consequently did not like this son either, looking down on him for devoting all his energy to studying Qihuang techniques. He didn't listen to him, and now look what's happened - the family is ruined and everything is a result of his own doing.

  Chen Sijin remained silent, merely using a towel to wipe away Chen Aishan's tears from the corners of his eyes.

  "Think about it, don't think about revenge anymore, now there's only you left, you have to live a safe and peaceful life!" Chen Aishan struggled to sit up, Chen Sijin helped his father.

  "Listen, dad, live a good life, did you hear me?" Chen Aishan suddenly raised his voice, scaring Chen Sijin, who nodded.

  Chen Aishan let out a sigh of relief, as if he had just put down a heavy burden, and said: "You go get some water, I'm thirsty!" Chen Sijin turned around and went to get water. Not far away, he heard a loud crash. Chen Aishan had crashed into the pillar and died.

  Chen Sijin rushed up and supported Chen Aishan, wailing uncontrollably...

  Lin Chunhong received the news of Wu Gan's capture of Dangyang County, his blood surged, his eyes widened in anger, and he slammed his fist on the table: "If I don't bring back Wu Gan's head to sacrifice to my father this time, I'm not a worthy son!"

  "General Dian Shi, please calm down. Sunzi said that a general cannot start a war because of anger, and an army cannot be sent to battle because of irritation. I've heard from below that Wu Gan has brought more than 2,000 people with him, and it's likely that we won't be able to avenge ourselves this time...". Li Chongde thought about the fact that there were only a few hundred guards on Baili Island and couldn't help but feel anxious, so he spoke out to advise.

  Lin Chunhong sneered a few times: "Just relying on Wu's miscellaneous troops, it's not enough for me to fill my teeth! Bachelor, don't persuade anymore, this time we must go to war!"

  After finishing, he no longer paid attention to Li Chongde and directly ordered: "Zhou Shu, immediately return to Baili Zhou, send fine soldiers to Dangyang to gather information, and also order the guard team to prepare for departure!"

  "Little Dai, immediately go to the river rock, order Baiya Cave to dispatch 300 strong men, Sichuan to dispatch 500 strong men, and arrive at Baili Island within three days!" Little Dai was clever and had won Lin Chunhong's favor, and had been brought up by his side for cultivation.

  "As for the money and grain," Lin Chunhong stared at Li Chongde, making Li Chongde's heart feel a bit hairy, "just trouble Li Xiucan with it, prepare according to the share of 1,500 people fighting for two months!"

  "Everyone should prepare separately and must not be perfunctory. I will go to Jingzhou for three days to see if I can get an official order from the government."

  Li Chongde saw that Lin Chunhong was thorough in everything, and the troops had also reached over a thousand, so he finally put his mind at ease and focused on preparing food and supplies.

  Jingzhou City.

  "Mr. Yan, how are you?" Lin Chunhong asked as soon as Zhang Daohan entered the room.

  Under Lin Chunhong's eager gaze, Zhang Daohan nodded and said, "It's done, look!" Zhang Daohan pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket, which was a handwritten document. On it were the words "Xiaoye Branch County Crowds Patrol Archers to Suppress" and so on.

  Yan Jie and Na were guarding Jingzhou, after receiving the news that Dangyang was attacked by Wu Gan, they planned to send troops to destroy Wu Gan. However, due to the siege of the capital by Jian Nu, Jingzhou also sent out a relief army, leaving Jingzhou's military strength empty. At this critical moment, Zhang Daohan timely proposed the suggestion of ordering local soldiers to cooperate in battle, and Yan Jie and Na agreed without hesitation.

  "Hurry back to Baili Province and wait for the order to deploy troops, it's expected to arrive tomorrow. Be careful, don't reveal your identity, or you'll be doomed if someone with ill intentions reports you. Don't underestimate Wu Dang, this bandit came from the border army!" Zhang Daohuan warned.

  Lin Chunhong didn't delay, and immediately set off to return to Baili Zhou. As soon as he arrived at Baili Zhou, the order was issued, instructing Lin Chunhong to lead the Zhijiang archers to join forces with the government troops in Banyue Town to jointly suppress Wu Gan. More than 500 guards, along with local militiamen, had already made thorough preparations. Lin Chunhong immediately gave the order to cross the river and head towards Dangyang.

  On the eleventh of March, Lin Chunhong and others met Duan Shiwen and Zhou Shiliang and six others at midnight. Duan Shiwen was the son of Duan Chong, only eighteen years old, with a heart to avenge his father, so he joined the guard team. This time, they went ahead of schedule with Zhou Shiliang and others to inquire about news in Dayang County. Duan Shiwen had not yet caught his breath when he said: "Wu Gan is still in Dayang, bandits are scattered throughout the city killing people and setting fires, the number of people is unclear."

  Lin Chunhong asked: "Is there someone guarding the city gate? Are there many people?"

  Dong Shi Wen replied: "The South Gate has over 200 people, the other gates are unmanned."

  "Has anyone found out where Wu Gan is?"

  At this point, Dòu Shí Wēn turned his head to glance at a newcomer beside him. This person still had scars on their head, with their left arm wrapped in white cloth and suspended from their neck, and the arm wrapped in white cloth was sandwiched between wooden boards. Zhōu Shì Liàng hastily pulled this person over and introduced them: "This is Chén Sī Jìn. His whole family was harmed by bandits and ruffians. We hadn't yet entered the city when we happened to see him sneaking around and peeking out at the edge of the city, so we asked him about some things. He's relatively familiar with the situation inside the city."

  Chen Sijin bowed slightly and said: "Your humble servant has seen Governor Dian Shi."

  Lin Chunhong stared at his arm clamped by the wooden board and asked: "Who helped you clamp this on?"

  "Myself." Chen Sijin looked at Lin Chunhong's attention to his arm with some incomprehension and couldn't help but continue asking, "Excuse me, Lord Dianshi, are you planning to go to Dangyang to suppress the bandits?"

  Lin Chunhong nodded, and Chen Sijin hastily said: "Wu Gang is in the Song family's courtyard in the west of the city. Please, Governor, avenge my entire family!" As he spoke, Chen Sijin's face turned an abnormal crimson, his lips were bitten with tooth marks, and the anger and grief that had been suppressed for many days could no longer be contained. Tears rolled out of his eyes.

  Lin Chunhong saw the situation and stopped asking, instructing him to proceed with the team. After Chen Sijin left far away, he called Zhou Shiliang again and asked: "Have you entered the city? Is Wu Gan really in that place?"

  Zhou Shiliang replied, "I and Dou brothers sneaked into the city at night to take a look. Wu Gan was still in Song's courtyard last night. The heads of Magistrate Shen Wenrui and County Historian Song Haitao are hanging on the gate of the county government."

  Lin Chunhong heard this and discussed it with Zhou Wang and others. Zhou Wang thought that as long as Wu Gan and Zhang Ren were killed, the other bandits could be eliminated if possible, and even if they escaped, without their leaders, they would not be able to stir up much trouble. Finally, Zhou Wang reminded them: "Shouldn't we wait for Yan Jie and others? After all, we only have a thousand or so men."

  "Wait for him? It's already not bad if he can arrive in ten days, by then the chrysanthemum flowers will have withered. If a thousand or more people, including Wu Gan's shrimp soldiers and crab generals, can't even defeat him, I think I might as well find a mud pit to knock myself dead!"

  Then Lin Chunhong ordered a rapid advance, without any slackness.

  From the fifth of March, Wu Dang's sons had spent six unforgettable days in Yangdu. These six days allowed them to fully express their most primitive animal nature, and the blood they shed made them feel the bravery of being a man. The naked women made them experience the superiority of men. Even when Zhang Ren suggested withdrawing from Yangdu immediately, they were reluctant to leave, not wanting to part with the beautiful memories of Yangdu County. Wu Dang didn't want to leave either; he hadn't had enough of Song Tian's large courtyard, and there were still many charming women he hadn't enjoyed yet. He explained to Zhang Ren that it would take at least a day or two for the news to reach Jingzhou, another three days to discuss sending troops, at least two days to prepare thoroughly, and another two days to march to Yangdu. In total, it would be impossible for the government troops to arrive in ten days, so let the brothers enjoy themselves for a few more days before leaving immediately after that.

  Zhang Ren was unable to do anything, so he had no choice but to lead his men to guard the south gate, which was most likely to be attacked. This move was strongly dissatisfied by his men, but under Zhang Ren's threat of guns and sticks, they reluctantly complied. At the same time, several groups of bandits were dispatched to the necessary paths from Jingzhou to Dangyang to serve as scouts, with the agreement that they would release smoke during the day and set fires at night in case of an alarm. The dispatched bandits were also among Zhang Ren's trusted followers, and under heavy rewards, they carried out Zhang Ren's orders thoroughly.

  Lin Chunhong led his troops to Xujiachong and ordered them to set up camp for the night. The villagers of Xujiachong had already fled in advance after hearing that Yangcheng was broken, hiding in the nearby mountains. Occasionally, they encountered a few refugees who escaped from Yangcheng and were taken into Lin's army. In the early spring, Dangyang looked gloomy, and the soldiers gathered around the bonfire to warm themselves up. Although loud noises were strictly prohibited, they could chat quietly among themselves.

  "Boss Lin's father and two brothers were killed by Wu Gan, this time we can also avenge the boss!" A strong young man said in a low voice.

  "Yes, Boss Lin treats us well. This time it's considered that we brothers are doing something for Boss Lin." Another strong man stamped his foot and stretched out his hand to a place closer to the fire.

  "Why are you crying so many days when your elder sister from White Cliff Cave gets married? Is it really that sad?"

  "The more you cry, the happier you'll be later."

  ……

  The crowd was chatting happily when Li Zuguang suddenly lifted the rain cloth, and behind him followed a timid man. The man's eyes were red, and as soon as he saw Zhuang Ding, he knelt down with his head bowed to the ground, crying: "Wu Gan is not a good thing! My whole family was killed by bandits, even my newlywed wife was raped by them. You must help me take revenge!"

  The strong men stared at him in shock, unable to imagine the tragic scene of a family broken and people dead.

  A sturdy young man involuntarily stepped forward to help the man up, comforting him by saying: "Brother, take your time, we came here just to fight Wu Dang, this vendetta we'll avenge for you!"

  "That day, several bandits were frantically knocking on the door, and we didn't dare open it. They broke in and came straight at me with knives, chopping my arm in one swift motion. I fainted from the pain right then and there." As he finished speaking, the man opened his cotton-padded jacket to reveal a white cloth soaked through with blood that had already congealed into clots, a sight that made one's heart skip a beat.

  Later I woke up,……” The man kept talking about the miserable situation of Dayang, listening to these men furious, and some people picked up their knives and inserted them into the ground, scolding: "If we don't destroy this villain, we will be pretending to be human!"

  When the fellow spoke of bandits seeing a pregnant woman, arguing inside about whether the child was male or female, they cut open the pregnant woman's belly to check, which made these sturdy men furious and hateful, wishing to rush into the city immediately and kill this group of inhumane bandits.

  The same scene was reenacted in different camps, as Lin Chunhong saw that all the strong and brave men thought this attack on Wu Gan was to avenge him, so he found a group of refugees who had escaped from Dangyang and arranged for them to tell their personal experiences among the strong and brave men, hoping to arouse their fighting spirit and instill in them the idea of justice for the people.

  The next morning, Lin Chunhong gathered his troops and rode on horseback, shouting loudly: "I won't say anything else, this group of bandits should be cut into a thousand pieces, whoever is afraid, just think about whether you are a man with two eggs!"

  The sturdy men raised their knives and guns, shouting: "Kill all bandits! Kill all bandits!"

  "Charge!" Lin Chunhong swung his big knife and led the way out. The strong men followed closely behind him.

  Li Dangyang was still five miles away, and he saw several fires rising into the air in the distance. Lin Chunhong thought it was not good and immediately ordered Zhou Wang to lead over 300 men to detour to the north gate to try to intercept them.

  Zhang Ren saw smoke and fire rising in the south, and immediately sent someone to inform Wu Xiang that there were people coming to attack. Wu Xiang was greatly shocked and thought: "It's come so quickly, it must not be the troops of Jingzhou, I reckon it's just a group of blind archers."

  He immediately assembled a group of bandits and ordered them to occupy the city walls.

  Wu Dang climbed up the city wall, and before he had even caught his breath, he saw several hundred people coming from the east, advancing to a place more than three hundred steps away from the city wall, where they halted and formed their battle array.

  Wu Gan had spent a few years in Liaodong and was considered to have some experience. Seeing the armored men below the city wall, there were actually over three hundred, he secretly felt shocked. He tried his best to make himself appear as if nothing was wrong, knowing that once he showed any sign of wavering, those mobs would run away without a trace.

  "Who comes here? Report your name!" Wu Gang's voice was loud and clear, the northwest wind carried his roar far away.

  Lin Chunhong held a knife in one hand, whipped the horse and galloped out of the crowd, pulled the reins, and roared: "You're just a beast, you're worthy to know who I am?"

  Lin Chunhong finished speaking, and the strong men beat their shields and shouted: "Beast! Beast!"

  Such provocative actions enraged the bandits, and they also shouted insults, but the words of abuse were different, without the sound of a strong male voice.

  At this time, Zhang Ren also rushed from the south gate and saw that Lin Chunhong looked a bit like Lin Dewen. He told Wu Gan his guess. Wu Gan burst out laughing and shouted: "Lin Dewen actually left a wild seed, and today he's come to die too!"

  Lin Chunhong listened, furious, and turned back to shout at the strong men: "Brothers, the beasts on the city wall are the ringleaders who harm our fellow villagers. Whoever gets their heads will be rewarded with 500 taels of silver!"

  Then, with a wave of his sword, he commanded: "Lin Chunyi leads the archery team to cover, Li Guangzu leads the team to attack the city!"

  As soon as the words fell, Lin Chunyi roared: "Archery team, up!" After finishing, he led the archery team to line up slowly and move forward. They stopped eighty steps away from the city wall. Closely following behind were two carts, each with a huge log tightly tied on top, which was a simple battering ram. Lin Chunhong ordered the production of two last night for use in attacking the city. Given the urgency of time, since the Yang City wall was not high and strong, only this simple thing was made. Each battering ram was equipped with twenty-four people, twelve pushing the log, and the other twelve holding shields to provide necessary protection. Under Li Guangzu's command, they stopped behind the archery team.

  As Lin Chunyi ordered, the archers shot arrows onto the city wall, and the city wall was suddenly in a state of panic. Some cats were on the edge of the city wall, some rushed to the city building, and several bandits were hit by arrows, falling on the city wall struggling and screaming, making the bandits even more tense.

  Wu Gan's personal soldiers were extremely tense and immediately held up their shields to protect Wu Gan as they retreated into the city tower.

  There were also brave men among the bandits, and those with bows and arrows shot down at the city, but unfortunately there were too few bows, the force was too weak, and the range was not enough to cause much harm to Lin Chunhong's people.

  The strong men saw the bandits fleeing in disarray under the impact of bows and arrows, and let out a thunderous cheer. Li Guangzu saw that the time had come, and roared: "Number one cart, up!" After finishing speaking, he personally pushed the battering ram towards the city gate with the strong men.

  When the city was small and there was no moat, the chariots approached the gate closer and closer. There were still more than 20 steps left, Li Guangzu ordered: "Speed up!"

  The strong porters let out a shout and used all their strength to push the cart, which went faster and faster! There were still ten paces, five paces, one pace...

  "Boom!" The iron plate in front of the wooden log heavily crashed onto the city gate, and the dust on the gate hole fell down with a puff. The city gate also cracked open a gap.

  A loud voice awakened Wu Gang, he jumped out of the city building and shouted desperately: "Brothers use stones to smash!"

  Song Haitao originally led the bowmen to guard the city gate, and had prepared some rolling stones, which were now put to use. Several brave bandits rushed forward, looking at the battering ram retreating from the city gate, and threw them down. From below came out a few mournful cries, someone was hit.

  Lin Chun-yi looked up and suddenly became furious, unable to hold back his curses: "Brothers, give me a good shot, shoot these dog-fucking bastards to death!"

  The arrows came thicker and faster, and several bandits fell to the ground. The other bandits also wanted to use stones to attack, but seeing their companions being shot, they shouted and ran away. Wu Gan was furious, rushed forward, cut down a bandit with his knife, wiped off the blood that splattered on his face, and said fiercely: "Who dares to run again, I'll kill who! Zhang Ren, take my personal soldiers to supervise the battle!"

  The bandits were unable to withstand, so they retreated under the rain of arrows and stones. Suddenly, wave after wave of bandits were shot by bows and arrows, and the city tower was instantly filled with corpses, blood flowing everywhere, and some bandits even let out dying cries, making other bandits even more fearful.

  "Boom!" Another loud crash sounded, and under the continuous impact, the city gate shook violently. "Boom!" Another massive crash came, the city gate creaked and groaned, slowly falling inward with a thud, kicking up a huge cloud of dust.

  The city gate had just fallen, and dozens of bandits rushed out from the city gate. The leader of the bandits was tall and strong, wielding an iron rod, shouting loudly as he charged towards Zhuang Ding.

  "Chu Wen Shan, lead the team into the city!" Lin Chun Hong ordered urgently as he saw the city gate collapse. Over 300 people let out a strange "ya ya ya" cry and followed Lin Chun Hong like wild horses rushing out. Lin Chun Yi also commanded the archers to follow the swordsmen forward, advancing while shooting arrows at their targets. The bandit wielding an iron club was very brave, but his bravery attracted many arrows, and in the blink of an eye, he was shot until he looked like a porcupine, his eyes wide open as he fell to the ground. The other bandits were frightened out of their wits and fled in all directions.

  Wu Gan took a look and immediately ordered the other bandits to gather at the city gate, blocking the entrance. The bandits who escaped back into the city were blocked by those behind them, and they couldn't help but wave their knives and guns at their comrades, Wu Gan shouted urgently: "Don't retreat, whoever retreats will be killed!"

  The fleeing bandits were unable to escape and had no choice but to turn back and fight. They happened to meet Lin Chunhong and others who were rushing forward, and before they could react, they died unjustly.

  A swarm of bandits couldn't stop the morale-boosted guards, who retreated in disorder. Zhang Ren led Wu Gang's personal soldiers to supervise the battle but couldn't stop the bandits' retreat. Some bandits even attacked Zhang Ren with their knives and guns, while more ran away to the side. Wu Gang saw that things were going wrong and took off running towards the north gate. Zhang Ren saw Wu Gang run and followed him.

  The bandits were like a burst dam, rushing out in a swarm, following Wu Gan's escape. The shouting and killing sounds behind them still closely pursued. Lin Chunhong saw where Wu Gan was heading and commanded the guard team to charge there. The guard team used knife-wielding soldiers as the vanguard, with archers covering from behind, sharp and unstoppable. Even if the bandits were at full strength, they would have difficulty coping, let alone being like a dog that has lost its master, frightened and unable to survive for long.

  The smarter bandits, seeing the guards' guns pointing at Wu Gan, deserted his group and left with their spoils of the past few days, either hiding or fleeing through other gates. Zhang Ren saw that something was amiss and hastily said: "Big brother, this won't do! We have to leave someone behind to hold off the enemy, otherwise we'll all be done for!"

  "Who's left? Everyone has run away!" Wu Gan gazed at the scattered fleeing bandits and said in despair.

  Zhang Ren gritted his teeth and said, "I'll go! Big brother, take care of yourself. Once we reach the deep mountains and old forests, the government soldiers won't be able to catch us!" After finishing speaking, he no longer headed towards the north gate, but instead stood with his spear at the ready, shouting, "Whoever is brave, follow me in a fierce counterattack!" He then charged forward with his spear, stabbing one of the fleeing bandits, who let out a blood-curdling scream and fell to the ground. The other bandits saw this and were terrified, shouting as they fled to the side. However, there were still several brave bandits standing beside Zhang Ren, which greatly increased his courage. He shouted, "Rather die in battle than flee!" The bandits standing beside him also shouted, "Rather die in battle than flee!"

  Wu Gan turned his head and saw that the shouts of seven or eight people had drowned out the cries of killing, and he couldn't help but tightly grip the long gun in his hand, with a strong urge to turn back and fight. Regret, anger, and unwillingness intertwined together, filling the eyes of this bandit leader with tears, as he led more than ten loyal soldiers to support Zhang Ren, then took the other bandits and headed towards the north gate.

  Lin Chunhong saw that there were more than 20 bandits blocking the way, and he felt very surprised. He only saw the leader with a face full of blood, and after wiping it with his hand, he looked even more eerie, like a ghost standing in the middle of the street. The more than 20 bandits beside him did not retreat or advance, staring at the pursuing government soldiers with hatred in their eyes.

  Lin Chunhong apparently did not recognize Zhang Ren, but rather wanted to take the leaderless Zhang Ren under his command. He ordered his men not to shoot arrows, hoping to capture him alive. This gave Zhang Ren a chance to escape, and more than 20 people were unable to withstand Lin Chunhong's charge. In an instant, Zhang Ren and his men were killed, leaving only five people, and Zhang Ren himself was stabbed in the arm, bleeding profusely. Unable to resist, Zhang Ren led the remaining five men towards the west gate.