Instead of fleeing, the officials of Zhuozhou organized people to burn down the pontoon bridge built by the bandits.
After three days of fighting, Zhuozhou was not captured. Yang Hu's troops prepared to retreat, but the Liu brothers came to support them. They used the wooden pillars under carts and doors as ladders to cover the city moat and launched a four-sided attack.
If they cannot occupy a city, they are like sheep being driven by wolves, and they will eventually die from exhaustion.
However, this time they were unlucky.
Officials from Zhejiang and Guangdong who were escorting weapons to the capital happened to be in Zhuozhou City, so they decided to join the defensive battle.
The crossbows and heavy firearms transported to the capital were used in the battle.
They fought for another five days, but not only did they fail to capture the city, the Liu brothers were also wounded by arrows.
There is no hope of breaching the city.
With a powerful enemy approaching, the bandits had no choice but to retreat.
Yang Hu, Liu Hui, Zhao Sui, and Xing Laohu led a force westward, fighting in places such as Xinhe and Weixian.
Liu Liu, Liu Qi, Qi Yanming, Zhu Liang, and others formed another group that first went west and then south.
...
Li Dongqian's face was ashen.
Failing to keep the young prince under control was a major strategic blunder.
It's all Yang Zhen's fault for messing things up!
Otherwise, when the emperor is seriously injured, he can establish a young crown prince, and when the emperor dies, the young emperor will ascend the throne, and he, as the chief minister, will have the final say on all important matters of state!
Even so, Li Dongqian still submitted a memorial to discuss the succession to the throne again.
...
Su Wanwan applied medicine to Lu Xingjian's face, her tone wistful.
"Didn't you already send people to find the method to make the medicine? Why did you have to take that arrow from Liu Qi?"
Lu Xingjian's armor was of excellent quality.
Even though Liu Qi used armor-piercing arrows, he still couldn't penetrate the second layer of chainmail.
The immense impact still left Lu Xingjian with bruises on his chest and some internal injuries.
"Liu Qi is indeed skilled; he's using a gravity bow!"
Lu Xingjian did admire Liu Qi's martial prowess.
Ordinary arrows couldn't penetrate his armor at all, but Liu Qi's arrows could, demonstrating his astonishing arm strength.
Su Wanwan deliberately pressed her fingers down on the bruises on his chest.
"Hiss~ You're murdering your husband!" Lu Xingjian's face turned pale instantly.
Su Wanwan sneered, "You still feel pain?!"
"I've never seen anyone as stupid as you!"
Lu Xingjian gently patted her buttocks. "Who told you not to offer him amnesty?"
Lu Xingjian had always wanted to recruit Liu Qi.
Su Wanwan's greatest hope for medicine still rests on Liu Qi.
He would rather take an arrow himself than let Liu Qi see his sincerity.
Su Wanwan pursed her lips and remained silent for a few moments. "Yes, there are many benefits to recruiting them."
"The crisis in the capital region has been temporarily resolved."
"But have you thought about the consequences?"
"If the practice of colluding with bandits to settle accounts were promoted nationwide, the bandits could even be recruited by the imperial court. Those who do bad things would not be punished at all."
"The only ones who suffered were ordinary people and the various government offices and treasuries that were looted by the imperial court."
"If everyone across the country follows suit, will the imperial court still be able to collect taxes?"
"Those villains will only become more unscrupulous. If even a massacre of a city can be forgiven, what else cannot be forgiven?"
Lu Xingjian frowned, his slender fingers gently stroking her cheek.
"Wanwan, these things can be dealt with later. Your health is the most important thing, understand?"
Su Wanwan let out a long sigh, "Everyone has to die eventually. If Heaven is determined to end my life, then it is my fate, and I accept it."
She originally supported the offer of amnesty.
After all, Liu Qi was her man, and she still hoped he would have a good ending.
It wasn't until the massacre in Zaoqiang County came to light that she was truly enraged.
The common people are not two-legged sheep to be slaughtered at will.
If the court cannot eliminate evil and maintain order, where will its prestige be?
Those officials who collude with bandits will only become more unscrupulous.
And those government troops who condoned the bandits' looting and dared not fight back, how could they not be severely punished?
Lu Xingjian's expression grew increasingly serious.
He pinched her chin with his fingers, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.
"I don't acknowledge it."
"In my eyes, you are number one, and everyone else has to come after you."
He was very strong, and his grip on her chin made it hurt a little.
Su Wanwan angrily tried to remove his hand.
"What nonsense are you talking about?"
"The day I die..."
Lu Xingjian tightened his grip, his eyes filled with suppressed anger:
"Take back what you said."
Su Wanwan cried out in pain, "What are you doing?!"
Lu Xingjian then realized that he had pinched her too hard, so he quickly let go and gently rubbed the finger marks on her chin.
Su Wanwan pushed his hand away in disgust, "You're hurting me!"
Lu Xingjian held her close, gently blowing on her chin. His expression softened, but his eyes still held a coldness.
"You're not allowed to talk about death or life anymore."
Su Wanwan glanced at him and changed the subject: "It's time to bring the child back."
Lu Xingjian buried his head in her arms and hugged her waist tightly: "Wanwan, we're going to be together for life, you have to remember that."
Su Wanwan gently touched his thick, straight, and shiny black hair.
"You're just like a child."
It's very domineering, and a bit childish at the same time.
Lu Xingjian gently nuzzled her neck with the tip of his nose, inhaling her fragrance.
"Wanwan, we will definitely find a cure."
Su Wanwan didn't respond to him. "Grand Secretary Yang's daughter-in-law and eldest grandson were seriously injured this time, so we need to comfort them properly."
Both children, Yan Ge'er and Yang Ge'er, are doing well so far.
Lu Xingjian felt a little heavy-hearted.
No matter how careful you are, oversights are inevitable.
The injured were members of the Yang family.
"In this way, the Yang family and Li Dongqian's household can be completely separated."
Su Wanwan hesitated for a moment, "This time, we can't bring down Li Dongqian in the same way we did with Liu Jin, lest we cause endless trouble in the future."
"We must proceed gradually."
The consequence of a one-size-fits-all approach was that bandits rose up in various places, and signs of unrest began to emerge.
"I'll listen to you." Lu Xingjian readily accepted the advice.
...
Good news kept coming from the battles in the capital region.
The Yansui border troops captured and killed 864 bandits at Songmenkou in Fucheng County.
The Xuanfu border troops captured and killed 130 people in Liyi Town, Zaoqiang County, and more than 270 people in Banbidian, Dongguang.
The Weizhou border guards captured and killed more than 400 people at Canlaoji and Xueguantun.
In Tianjin, more than 30 people were beheaded and more than 80 were captured.
The bandits were mainly peasants, and this was the first time they had encountered such a fierce and terrifying opponent in the more than half a year since the uprising began. Half of them fled in fear, while the other half fled to Shandong.
Liu Liu and others led more than 5,000 cavalrymen, broke through the two counties of Jing and Hai, and carried out large-scale burning and looting. They then fled to Qing County and Xingji.
Yang Hu and others captured several cities in Beizhili, while Liu Liu and others captured ten cities in Shandong, including Rizhao, Haifeng, Qufu, and Yishui.
Compared to the fruitless efforts of tens of thousands of Beijing troops, the repeated victories of the border troops were far more inspiring.
The bandits have now roughly split into six groups, roaming and plundering, killing and burning across the vast plains of Hebei and even Shandong.
The imperial court then ordered the reinforcement of 1,000 elite troops from Xuanfu, 2,000 troops from Liaodong, 500-600 troops from Piantou Pass in Shanxi, and 1,000 troops from Maohulu in Henan, to guard strategic passes and prevent bandits from breaking through them.
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