Chapter Sixteen: North Latitude (Six)

  Li Chengzhong and others leaned against the window sill to look down, and saw Wang Dalang's figure coming out of the backyard door, arriving at the middle courtyard, squatting for a while behind the wall root, and then simply stepped on a railing and climbed over the courtyard wall, poking his head in to take a look. Seeing this kid being so bold, Li Chengzhong's heart suddenly tightened up.

  Wang Dalang had been lying on the wall for a long time without any movement, and Li Chengzhong was constantly shouting in his heart to let him come down quickly. After waiting for a while, he saw Wang Dalang quietly fall to the ground and then quickly ran back, and the hanging heart finally put down.

  Wang Dalang returned and said with a smile: "Good news, brothers! These soldiers are from the Chengde Army. They were defeated in Hejian and are fleeing south!"

  "Did we win?"

  "Really?"

  "That's great! I said it, Cheng Dejun's dog thief can't be our opponent if they fight head-on!"

  "Which army won the battle at Hejian?"

  ……

  As soon as they heard the news, everyone immediately gathered around, chattering and discussing it in a lively manner, and the atmosphere suddenly became much more lively.

  Wang Dalang took a sip of water and told the news he had overheard. It turned out that the Chengde army had pursued and killed the Ludong army to Hejian, and then launched a fierce attack on the city for three days, but was defeated by the Ludong garrison, and the army collapsed on the spot. This group of Chengde army fled south in a hurry, planning to rest for a while before leaving immediately. It is said that there are still Ludong army chasing behind, as for how far the Ludong army chased, it is unknown, only seeing the defeated soldiers of Chengde army fleeing in a hurry, estimating that they are not far from here. As for which army defeated the Chengde army under Hejian City, Wang Dalang only heard the defeated soldiers occasionally mention a "Liu" and something about the "Yi'er Army".

  Upon hearing these two words, Zhang Xing thought for a moment and said: "I heard that before the expedition, a new battalion was established under the commander's account, called 'Yi Er Jun', and the commander-in-chief was the commander's second son. Could it be him?"

  Zhang Xingzhong was a well-known insider of the Lulong Army, and before knowing the inside story, his speculation had already been recognized as true. Everyone praised him, some saying "a tiger father has no dog son", others saying "young heroes emerge".

  No matter who Lu Longjun was, the victory at this time was a great encouragement to the Lu Long Army, which was filled with sorrow and despair. Even the small troops of You Du, who were fleeing, immediately became excited.

  Zhang Xing let out a sigh of relief: "Since they're deserters, we can relax a bit. Once they leave, we can head back to Hejian."

  Jiang Miao finally revealed a smile that had been unseen for many days: "Yes, we can have a good sleep now, it's great..."

  The days of fleeing had kept the brothers of Youdu on high alert, and everyone's spirit was always in a state of tension. At this moment, they all showed joyful expressions. The unpleasantness that Wang Dalang and Zhou Kandao had produced on the way due to the "Shen State People Incident" seemed to have dissipated. Wang Dalang even said to Zhou Kandao: "When I go back, I'll hunt some game and let Zhou Dage treat everyone to a feast!" Although Zhao Dage was the partner of Youdu, Zhou Kandao's roasted meat skills were unmatched. He heard this and smiled with satisfaction: "Of course, we have to show off our skills for everyone!" Everyone who heard this began to look forward to their life after returning.

  Only Li Chengzhong did not participate in this heated discussion, but seemed to be thinking about something and was a bit distracted. He is now the mainstay of Youdu, although his official rank is on par with Zhang Xingchong, Zhou Kan Dao and Jiang Miao, but his performance along the way has made everyone accustomed to listening to him, and his silence at this moment naturally also attracted everyone's attention.

  Wang Dalang joked, "Which family's daughter is the boss thinking of? So entranced..." This caused everyone to burst into a low laugh. Although they were on the second floor at this moment, they were not far from Cheng Dejun in the front yard, so everyone was still holding back and didn't make too much noise.

  Seeing everyone staring at him, Li Chengzhong thought for a moment before finally speaking up: "Uh, if we say... we charge down there, what will happen? Let's discuss it." As soon as these words came out, they immediately caused an awkward silence upstairs.

  "Brother, you're not really thinking of rushing down and fighting to the death, are you?"

  Li Chengzhong smiled and said slowly: "Who says we have to fight to the death?"

  Wang Dalar was somewhat puzzled: "Then why are we rushing down there?"

  Li Chengzhong shouted: "Let's go down and capture the prisoners!"

  Wang Dalang became even more confused: "Brother, there are two or three hundred people down there, a full ten times more than us! And we only have twenty or so people..."

  Seeing everyone looking confused, Li Chengzhong said: "Has anyone heard of the word 'fengshenghezhi'?" Seeing everyone shaking their heads, he couldn't help but laugh secretly and scold himself for trying to talk literature with these rough people. His high school education before crossing over was already considered ancient among these people. He changed his tone and explained: "About 500 years ago, a nomadic nation in the north established a country called Qin. To distinguish it from the Qin Dynasty 1,000 years ago, this country was called Former Qin. The Former Qin sent an army of 800,000 to attack the Jin State in the south - that's our Han people's country. The Jin State only had 80,000 soldiers, and the two sides were at a ratio of 1:10. The two armies clashed at the Fei River, and the Jin army won. However, most of the casualties among the Qin soldiers occurred while they were fleeing. As soon as they heard the sound of wind or birds chirping, they thought the Jin army was chasing them, so they didn't even dare to turn back and fight, and continued running instead. In the end, the result of their flight was the downfall of their country."

  Most of the defeated soldiers who fled the battlefield had lost their military courage, and it was rare to see a defeated army like You Dou's that could maintain its integrity and resist. Most were so scared by the sound of pursuing troops that they lost their souls. The Battle of Qin and Jin at the Fen River was just one famous example. In Li Chengzhong's impression, there was another more classic episode, which was a story that took place during the Volunteer Army's aid to North Korea: A volunteer soldier captured an entire black American regiment.

  Li Chengzhong finished telling the story of the Qin and Jin armies' battle at Wen River, and there was no need to say more. Everyone's eyes lit up. Wang Dalang suddenly realized: "You mean those troops below are the remnants of the Qin army? And we're the Jin army?"

  Zhang Xingzhong and Jiang Miao had both read some books, especially Zhang Xingzhong, who was born into a military family and had also studied the art of war, nodded in unison.

  Zhou Duan Knife suddenly stood up, excitedly rubbing his hands and said: "Li Lang, give the order, how to fight, everyone will listen to you!"

  Li Chengzhong said in a low voice: "After we go down, first clean up the enemies in the front yard. Old Zhang and Xiao Jiang each lead a group of people, open fire and charge, Zhou Da's gang is divided into two groups, Zhou Xiaolang leads one group to guard the main gate, don't let anyone run out, Zhou Da leads one group to capture the leading military officers. After capturing the officers, let them surrender, do not kill indiscriminately, after all, there are too many people, if we rush them, our few people can't handle it, of course, if we encounter resistance, immediately kill."

  Everyone lowered their voices and obeyed, Li Chengzhong continued: "After solving these people, the scattered soldiers outside the village will have no command. When we rush out, don't kill people indiscriminately, let them drop their knives and guns and kneel down to surrender! In addition, everyone shouted loudly while fighting, shouting whatever they wanted, just to tell those defeated soldiers that we are the vanguard of the pursuit."

  The dispatch was finished, and they immediately took action. The gang was both excited and nervous, pouring down from upstairs to the front yard. Zhong Silang, who was fighting for the first time, had his hands shaking while holding the knife, and his lips were also trembling. Li Chengzhong comforted him not to panic, but Zhong Silang said: "Don't worry, boss, I'm just excited... excited..."

  Yu Dou quietly arrived at the gate connecting the middle and front yards, Li Chengzhong took a look around at the excited brothers, nodded, lifted his foot and kicked open the gate, shouting: "Where is the traitor of Chengde? The pursuers have arrived!" He rushed in first. The Yu Dou brothers behind him also shouted loudly, rushing into the front yard.

  Dozens of soldiers in worn-out armor were scattered on the ground in the front yard, some holding flatbread and dried meat to eat, others leaning against each other dozing off, while a few were huddled together whispering about something. They were all stunned by Li Chengzhong's sudden shout, staring blankly at the rushing crowd of brothers from the Youdu, even forgetting the swords and guns beside them.

  The guards controlled the front gate and surroundings, Zhang Xingchong and Jiang Miao each led a row of guns to force their way up. The Chengde army only let out a ghostly cry, and the knives and guns were abandoned, fleeing in all directions. However, the main gate had already been sealed off by Zhou Xiaolang's men, and there was no escape. Those who knew better immediately knelt down, crying "Grandpa Grandma" for mercy without stopping. A few brave ones wanted to resist, but in an instant they were stabbed with several wooden guns on their bodies, creating several blood holes.

  Zhou Kan led a few people to rush into the main house, but they were confronted by several Chengde soldiers who came out of the house. Those Chengde soldiers were officers, one of whom was wearing bright armor, clearly a high-ranking general. These people were very skilled with their hands, and Zhang Xing had some trouble dealing with them. Several knives cut through the armor, only leaving white marks, but unable to harm anyone.

  Zhou chopped the knife urgently, and the military general wearing the bright armor vest desperately rushed forward. The general didn't defend himself, and his back hit the three-inch-high threshold, causing him to fall to the ground with a thud. Zhou chopped the knife pressed his whole body onto the general's body, and simply dropped the big knife in his hand, using both hands to choke the general's neck. The two rolled around on the ground, and Jiang Miao led a row of guns to rush up and assist, pointing their long guns at the remaining few generals, who could only helplessly surrender.

  The general who was entangled with Zhou was still struggling, Li Chengzhong gave a wink, and Wang Dalang, who had been guarding him all along, rushed over to help, finally pinning the general down.

  This battle was quick and decisive, with the entire courtyard of Chengde soldiers surrendering. Except for five or six die-hard elements who died on the spot, the remaining 50-60 officers and men knelt down at the foot of the steps, bowing their heads in submission. The military commander who had been entangled with Zhou was also held back by Wang Dalang's horizontal knife, but he glared fiercely at Li Chengzhong and others standing on the steps, his eyes seeming to spit out fire.

  Li Chengzhong didn't care about him, and loudly asked who the commander was. The surrendered soldiers all lowered their heads and dared not make a sound, only a few people secretly glanced at that disobedient general. In fact, there was no need to ask more questions, the armor on the general's body had already explained everything. Li Chengzhong came to the front of the general and said: "Go out and let your people outside put down their swords and guns, and spare your life."

  The general snorted: "Whether you want to kill or surrender is up to you, let Liang certain help you persuade to surrender, go dream!"

  Li Chengzhong furrowed his brow, about to take some measures. There were still over a hundred soldiers from the Chengde Army outside, and with such a commotion in the courtyard, there was no time to slowly engage in a war of words with this person.

  Just then, Zhong Si Lang came out of the main room, dragging a military officer in shining armor, and exclaimed excitedly: "Huatou, there's another one under the bed!"