Chapter 49: Quick Guide to the Soldier King (Part 7)
Before daybreak, Bi Yuntao and I got up and continued to flee. Along the way, we slept in the open and were exhausted, but we never gave up hope. We believed that as long as we were alive, there would be hope.
That evening, we came to a ruined temple to take shelter from the rain. There was no one in the temple, only a few broken statues, which looked even more desolate in the wind and rain. We built a fire and roasted the dry food we brought with us, but we felt heavy in our hearts.
"Zi'ang, how long do you think we can hold on?" Bi Yuntao suddenly asked, his tone filled with fatigue and confusion.
I never thought that this usually strong man was confused at the moment. I held his hand and said firmly: "As long as we don't give up, we will definitely wait until the day when the clouds clear and the fog dissipates!"
"But, what should we do now? Where can we stay?" Bi Yuntao's eyes were full of pain.
I was speechless for a moment. Yes, we are now like two pieces of duckweed, helpless and can only let fate take its course.
At this moment, we heard the sound of horse hooves outside the temple. We stood up alertly and held our weapons tightly.
The sound of horse hooves was getting closer and closer, and soon, a tall figure appeared at the temple gate. The man was wearing a green robe and a hat on his head. Raindrops dripped down the edge of the hat, so his face could not be seen clearly.
"Are you two the righteous people being hunted by the Qing soldiers?" the man asked in a deep and rich voice.
Bi Yuntao and I looked at each other, our hearts filled with confusion. Who was this person? Why did he ask us this question?
"You don't have to be afraid. My name is Liu Xing, a commoner. I heard about your deeds and was deeply impressed, so I came here to help." The man said, taking off his martial arts hat.
I could see his face clearly. He had sharp eyebrows and bright eyes, and he looked very imposing. It was the famous Jiangnan native Liu Xing! Bi Yuntao and I were stunned. We had heard of Liu Xing's name before. He was not only a famous poet, but also a righteous man with a heart for the world. We didn't expect that we would meet him in this ruined temple in the wilderness!
"Mr. Liu, I've long heard of your great name!" Bi Yuntao saluted with his fists clasped.
"You two don't need to be so polite. Now that the Qing army is rampant, we have no choice but to join hands to fight the enemy!" Liu Xing said with a firm and powerful look.
"We are willing to follow you, sir!" I said without hesitation, and Bi Yuntao nodded firmly.
In this way, we joined Liu Xing's team. Liu Xing not only taught us military tactics, but also taught us martial arts. Under Chen Zilong's careful guidance, Bi Yuntao and I made rapid progress in martial arts, and we were no longer the poor scholars we were before.
I will always remember what Liu Xing said to us: "The swords in our hands are not only to protect ourselves, but also to protect our homes and our people!" These words are deeply engraved in my heart and have strengthened our determination to resist the Qing Dynasty.
By chance, I found out that Zhang Hanjian would go to a temple outside the city to burn incense and worship Buddha on the first day of every month. It is said that Zhang Hanjian's family fell into poverty in his early years and he relied on the old monk in this temple to survive, so he had a special feeling for this temple and the old monk. On the first day of every month, he would go to the temple alone, without any soldiers.
I immediately realized that this was a golden opportunity! If I could use this opportunity to get rid of Zhang Han, I could not only avenge myself, but also deal a great blow to the arrogance of the Qing army.
I told Chen Zilong and Bi Yuntao about my idea, and they both thought it was a great opportunity. After careful planning, we developed a thorough plan.
"This time, we're going to make Zhang Han pay for his crime with blood!" I clenched my fists, the flame of revenge flashing in my eyes.
On the first day of the month, we lay in ambush in the woods outside the temple, waiting for the traitor Zhang Han to arrive.
Time passed by, and my heart beat faster and faster. Finally, a familiar figure appeared in my sight. It was Zhang Hanjian!
He entered the temple stealthily with only two followers. I winked at Bi Yuntao, and he understood and took a few people to flank and block the back door of the temple.
I took a deep breath, drew the soft sword from my waist, and rushed into the temple with the rest of the people.
"Who is it?!" Before the two followers of Zhang Han could react, we quickly dealt with them.
Zhang Hanjian raised his head in horror, and when he saw it was me, he was immediately frightened out of his wits.
"Feng Ziang? What...what do you want to do?" He stuttered, his voice trembling.
"Zhang Han, you traitor, you aided and abetted the tyrant and harmed your compatriots. Today is the day you die!" I roared and stabbed him with my sword.
Zhang Hanjian dodged in panic, but my swordsmanship was no longer what it used to be, and he was completely powerless to defend himself.
"Please... please spare my life! I... I am also forced into this situation!" Zhang Hanjian knelt on the ground and begged for mercy, tears streaming down his face.
"Humph, you're begging for mercy now? It's too late!" There was no mercy in my eyes and I pierced his throat with a sword.
Zhang Hanjian's eyes widened, a hoarse sound came from his throat, and his body fell down weakly.
We dealt with the traitor Zhang Han and his remnants, burned down the temple, and left.
This victory greatly boosted the morale of our anti-Qing forces and also frightened the Qing army. However, before we had time to celebrate our victory, we received some bad news.
When Hong Chengchu heard the news of Zhang Han's death, he was furious. He thought it was a provocation to him and a contempt for his authority.
"Pass the order down. No matter what the cost, Feng Ziang and Bi Yuntao's gang must be wiped out!" Hong Chengyan said with gritted teeth, his eyes filled with murderous intent.
A bigger storm is coming...
Hong Chengyan really did what he said, and mobilized tens of thousands of troops to launch a frenzied encirclement and suppression campaign against us. He was well versed in the art of war, and had many tricks. He was always able to anticipate the enemy's moves, leaving us defenseless. Several times, we almost fell into his trap. But every time at a critical moment, I was always able to think of a clever trick and turn danger into safety.
Once, Hong Chengchu sent troops to surround us in a valley, intending to capture us all in one fell swoop. I calmly observed the terrain and found that there were cliffs on both sides of the valley, with only one path leading out of the valley, and this path was also heavily guarded by the Qing army. Just as I was thinking hard about how to defeat the enemy, a gust of wind blew and a few leaves fell.
A brilliant idea suddenly occurred to me. I ordered people to cut down trees overnight and make a large number of simple hang gliders. The next morning, we took advantage of the thick fog to fly over the cliffs and successfully escaped the encirclement of the Qing army.
Another time, Hong Chengchuen used our sympathy to set a trap. He sent people to pretend to be refugees and ask for help from us, saying that the Qing soldiers were chasing them. I was soft-hearted at the time and opened the city gate without a careful investigation, and ended up falling into Hong Chengchuen's trap.
The Qing soldiers poured into the city like a tide. We were outnumbered and defeated. Just when I thought the situation was hopeless, Bi Yuntao led a cavalry and attacked the Qing army from behind, catching them off guard. It turned out that Bi Yuntao had already seen through Hong Chengyan's trick and ambushed outside the city in advance.
In this way, we fought with Hong Chengchuen with wisdom and courage and won countless battles. Our names also spread throughout Jiangnan with the news of victory, and we became heroes in people's hearts.
However, I know that this is only a temporary victory, and greater challenges are still to come. Hong Chengchu is just a general of the Qing court, and the real enemy is the Manchu Emperor Taiji entrenched in Beijing. If we want to completely drive out the Tartars and restore China, we still have a long way to go...
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