Sweep Yuan

Chapter 82 Why be so distant when we fight a powerful enemy together?

Zhang Yangui was cautious by nature. Before setting out, he repeatedly studied the enemy's situation and came up with several points of doubt.

The government army camp was about two miles northeast of Wudu Village, and Qingyang Station was about thirty miles northwest of the camp. It would be difficult for the rebel army to avoid the government army's eyes and ears when they traveled from Qingyang Station to Wudu Village.

If the rebels had been lying in ambush in Wudu Village, how could they have escaped the daytime reconnaissance of the government troops? If they only arrived at night, why risk bypassing the camp? Wouldn't it have been better to just attack the camp directly when the government troops made a commotion?

Furthermore, if Wudu Village had colluded with the bandits earlier, there would have been no need to join forces; attacking the government troops from both sides would have been the best option. If they hadn't colluded, how could the bandits have sneaked into the village unnoticed?

Zhang Yangui knew there were no bandits in the village, and Zhao Kang was trapped there because he was useless. However, Zhao Kang was the elder brother of the concubine of the Tongzhi of Sizhou. If he died here, he would become a scapegoat when he returned.

Moreover, the troops had already gathered, and the camp was quiet at the beginning of the fourth watch. Before the fifth watch, another alarm was issued, and the soldiers' eyes were bloodshot, almost overflowing their eyes. There was a great deal of resentment among the soldiers.

No matter what Zhao Kang encountered, there must be bandits in the village, and the credit for rescuing Zhao Kang must belong to Commander Zhang!
Zhang Yangui immediately mustered 800 men and left more than 300 to guard the camp.

His officers and soldiers were unaware of the details, only knowing that they had been attacked by the enemy at midnight and many people had died. Now, the enemy army had surrounded several hundred officers and soldiers. How could they not be terrified?
After leaving the camp, the soldiers nervously watched the direction of Wudu Village, fearing that they might step into a trap set by the enemy.

A faint rumble of thunder could be heard in the north wind. Someone's nose twitched as they caught a faint smell of horse odor. Turning their head, they saw a tall figure moving rapidly toward them in the darkness.

"Thieves! Thieves! The thieves are coming!"

"Kill--"

The sound of horses' hooves mingled with the wind, torches flickered in the north wind, and the enemy troops roared in like fierce ghosts, heading straight for the weakest flank of the government army's marching formation.

The darkness and exhaustion amplified the fear in the hearts of the government troops. In the critical moment, some people dropped their weapons and ran away.

"Hold your ground! Quickly form ranks, the enemy only has a few—"

Zhang Yangui tried to stabilize the team, but to no avail.

There was no expected collision, only the wailing and howling of government soldiers who could not escape. Spears pointed and guts were torn apart, horses' hooves trampled and bones were broken. The enemy cavalry, in a wedge formation, cut the government army's column in two with a single blow, making it impossible for the front and rear to coordinate.

As soon as Li Wu turned his horse around, the infantry battalion that followed closely behind had already arrived.

Even without the torch, Zhang Yangui's position was still extremely conspicuous—this fellow was wearing bright armor and riding a tall horse, and was protected by more than ten armored soldiers in the middle, so he couldn't hide at all.

However, the enemy had already formed a battle formation. Fu Youde's task was to attack the stronghold and break through the enemy's defenses, while Li Wu's task was to break up the government troops that were trying to form a tight formation and cut off their retreat route back to camp.

"Second team, seize the camp gate. The rest of you, follow me and keep charging!"

In Wudu Village.

Hu Dahai was covered in blood, and the shovel in his hand was nowhere to be found. In its place was a long spear that he had snatched from the government troops.

He first tried to lure and capture the enemy general, but Zhao Kang did not fall for it at all. Hu Dahai could only fight and retreat, taking advantage of his familiarity with the terrain of the village, setting up ambushes layer by layer, and successively luring and killing more than a hundred government soldiers.

Unfortunately, the government troops were well-equipped and their long and short weapons were well coordinated. After overcoming the initial chaos, they gradually stabilized their formation.

However, for Wudu Village, relying solely on courage and geographical advantage is ultimately not enough.

After half an hour of fighting, nearly 300 of the 500 men were killed, and most of the remaining men were wounded.

After his fourth and fifth brothers died in battle, Hu Dahai had the idea of ​​retreating. He secretly ordered his third and sixth brothers to lead some of the clansmen to retreat first. However, the two brothers were so engrossed in the battle that they refused to abandon Hu Dahai and flee.

In the tense standoff, the faint sound of drums could be heard from the northeastern camp, signaling the imminent arrival of government reinforcements. No one was willing to fight to the death anymore, but neither were they willing to let the treacherous villagers who had inflicted so much damage on them escape. Hu Dahai led his clansmen and villagers in a slow retreat. The government troops, having exhausted their arrows, formed ranks and pressed forward relentlessly.

Seeing that the reinforcements had come into view and would soon be able to wreak havoc, many officers and soldiers couldn't help but show bloodthirsty sneers. But suddenly a large group of bandits appeared on the slope, instantly stunning the reinforcements.

The situation reversed again. Zhao Kang realized something was wrong and turned to flee, but Hu Dahai was inspired and wanted to kill all the government troops stained with the blood of his clansmen.

"Come and kill them all!"

Li Wu and Fu Youde worked closely together, repeatedly disrupting the coordination of the government troops and constantly reaping lives.

As it turns out, the so-called elite government troops were nothing special. In the event of a chaotic battle, their casualty rate was far lower than that of villagers who had nowhere else to retreat but were protecting their families.

The battle outside the village lasted less than a quarter of an hour. The formations of the government troops that came to reinforce the village were broken up. Taking advantage of Zhang Yangui turning around and revealing an opening, Fu Youde seized the opportunity and shot an arrow that hit his warhorse.

hiss--

The warhorse, in pain, reared up, throwing Zhang Yangui to the ground. The nearly fifty-pound armor, like an iron coffin, pressed down on him, causing blood to spill from his mouth and nose. He struggled for a long time before he could get up.

Two guards risked their lives to dismount and help Zhang Yangui up, but Li Wu had already arrived. The guards quickly let go, and Zhang Yangui fell again, only to be trampled by a galloping horse. His chest caved in, and he died instantly.

With the officers and soldiers losing command, they were no longer able to effectively organize the defense, and the collapse was irreversible.

Seeing that the time was right, Fu Youde shouted, "Kneel down and surrender to avoid death!"

Some government troops dropped their weapons and knelt down to surrender, while many others tried to disappear into the darkness, where they would be mercilessly hunted down by the cavalry.

As the morning light pierced the blood mist, the wailing in Wudu Village gradually subsided, leaving only the crows cawing hoarsely on the charred wood.

The entire village has fewer than two hundred people left (not counting the elderly, women, and children who were evacuated overnight). In times of peace, every family would be in mourning and every household would hold a funeral, but now that there is war, even grief is a luxury.

The battle was so fierce that during the overnight evacuation, most of the wounded would die on the way.

After killing Zhao Kang, Hu Dahai moved the wounded into the house for simple first aid, while the rest stripped the government soldiers of their armor and weapons and stood guard outside, fearing that the rebels would go berserk and slaughter them as well.

Fu Youde did not want to clash with Wudu Village, so he sent someone to deliver some medicine for wounds, making it clear that the righteous army would not enter the village. However, Hu Dahai did not dare to let his guard down.

Finally, dawn broke, and the rebel army did not enter the village, but five more seriously wounded soldiers died in the village.

Knowing he could no longer hesitate, Hu Dahai led his men to cut off the heads of the soldiers' corpses in the village, and drove four pigs and eight sheep to the rebel camp.

Fu Youde and Li Wu were taking stock of their spoils when they learned of Hu Dahai's purpose, and Fu immediately put on a stern face.

"If I, Fu, wish to seize this, I can simply seek it out from the government troops with my sword and spear! Last night's great victory over the government troops was largely due to Brother Hu's efforts. Speak frankly, why test me with this?"

Hu Dahai, however, insisted on presenting his spoils, explaining:

"The elderly and weak in the clan were evacuated last night. I need to take some men to follow, but there are too many wounded in the village and we can't afford to delay. Could you ask the righteous army to take care of them?"

Li Wu, recalling the station occupants who had initially refused to move south, interjected:
"Does handing over your spoils mean you can continue being a law-abiding citizen?"

(End of this chapter)