Li Ying was greatly startled. He kicked the chicken leg that had fallen to the ground, sending it flying. "Why? How could the Guyuan rebels appear directly in Chengcheng County? Damn it! By any calculation, they shouldn't come directly here. They should at least go to Jingyang and Fuping first."
The scout whispered, "It seems they emerged from Huanglong Mountain."
Li Ying's face darkened. "Huanglong Mountain? That damnable place."
Huanglong Mountain was located at the junction of three counties, with high peaks and dense forests. It had always been a haven for roving bandits and rebels. For the Guyuan rebels to enter Huanglong Mountain from the direction of Yan'an Prefecture and then emerge heading towards Fengyuan Town in Chengcheng County was not impossible.
"Are you sure they're Guyuan rebels? Couldn't they just be bandits pretending to be rebels, coming out to show off?"
The scout whispered, "This lowly one saw clearly. About five hundred rebels, all armored, their armor the same as ours. Their leader wears mountain-pattern armor… They all have crossbows, waist swords, and spears. Well-equipped."
Li Ying: "Shit! Five hundred border troops?"
He turned to look. The deputy generals and company commanders behind him also wore expressions of fear.
The gentry who had been providing him with food and drink interjected, "We have Fengyuan Town's walls to defend. We can also notify the Magistrate and Patrol Officer Fang to come to our aid."
Li Ying snorted inwardly. Fengyuan Town's low town walls are useless. The border troops wouldn't even need siege weapons; a simple human ladder and they'd be over in an instant.
Those are border troops!
Not to mention five hundred, even two hundred could send my thousand Wei-Suo troops fleeing with their tails between their legs. What use would those two Donglin mad dogs be even if they came? The Donglin faction can't fight worth a damn.
Li Ying pushed the gentry, sending him stumbling back onto his rear. He then announced loudly, "We march out to meet the Guyuan rebels!"
This was shouted for the benefit of the surrounding Fengyuan Town gentry and militia.
After shouting loudly, he whispered to his deputy, "Once we're out of Fengyuan Town's sight and the townspeople can't see us, we run immediately."
---
Cheng Xu led his troops towards Fengyuan Town.
As they marched, a militia scout returned to report. "Drillmaster—"
"Drillmaster your head!" Cheng Xu immediately cut him off. "Call me Ghost Battalion Commander, or Old Ghost of Guyuan."
The scout was embarrassed for a second, still unaccustomed. He quickly corrected himself. "Ghost Battalion Commander, Guerrilla General Li Ying has led his troops out of Fengyuan Town and is advancing towards us."
"Oh?" Hearing this, Cheng Xu felt a twinge of nervousness.
Although the militia had been training hard, eating well, equipped well, in excellent physical condition and high spirits, they were still a militia. They hadn't yet been tested against a truly formidable enemy.
Dealing with bandits was one thing, but with five hundred men against Li Ying's thousand official troops… Cheng Xu mentally calculated the odds: less than 30% chance of victory, 70% chance of meeting his ancestors.
He needed something to bolster his confidence!
He looked up at the sky. Hey, a low-hanging cloud at about seventy zhang (over 200 meters) high. Good, Tianzun is watching me! Then no fear. Victory chance instantly returns to 100%.
"Don't be afraid!" Cheng Xu laughed loudly. "Just a mere Li Ying. We're not afraid at all."
He continued leading the troops forward. After a while, Li Ying's troops became visible in the distance. The two armies were still at least a li apart, only able to see each other from afar, not yet able to engage.
Cheng Xu was just about to say a few more words to boost morale when he suddenly felt something was off.
Li Ying's troops ahead suddenly began looking left and right. To the east, a valley blocked the way. So, Li Ying's troops turned and ran west…
Cheng Xu: "???"
The militia behind him: "???"
Gao Chuwu: "Wow, they ran before the fight even started?"
Flat Rabbit: "Haha, scared off by this Great Lord's might!"
Cheng Xu was stunned for a brief moment, then suddenly understood. "Damn it, I was afraid of them, but they're afraid of us too! We're border troops now. Hahaha, chase! Chase! Chase them down!"
The militia let out a battle cry and charged after Li Ying's troops.
---
Li Ying was cursing up a storm. After leaving Fengyuan Town, his original plan was to run as soon as they were out of the townspeople's sight—he couldn't run in front of the whole town, after all. If the gentry reported him to the magistrate, and the magistrate impeached him, it would be tough to handle. So, he had to find a deserted place to run.
Unexpectedly, the Fengyuan Town militia drillmaster had no sense of propriety, insisting on bringing the militia out to "assist," tagging along like a little tail.
This made things difficult!
Wanting to run but finding it inconvenient, he gritted his teeth and marched north for a stretch. Then, he ran head-on into the "Guyuan border troops."
Li Ying needed only one look to confirm: the troops ahead were definitely regular Ming soldiers. Their uniform equipment was impossible for bandits. They even raised two banners: one with the character "Ghost"—a nickname taken to avoid implicating family—and another reading "Return Our Hard-Earned Wages." Classic mutineers demanding pay.
Can't win!
Wei-Suo troops absolutely cannot defeat border troops!
Li Ying made an immediate decision. "Run!"
Now he couldn't care less if the militia was watching. Let them see him run, let the civil officials impeach him. He had to escape first, at least to live a few more days.
Looking east: valley, can't run. So, run west.
One thousand Ming soldiers turned and fled.
Their flight bewildered the following militia. "It's a thousand against five hundred, and we're behind them too. Why are the official troops running?"
The militia drillmaster sucked in a sharp breath and scrambled backward in haste.
Then, they saw the "Guyuan rebels" charging menacingly after them. The leader in mountain-pattern armor, his face masked, roared, "Guerrilla Li Ying, where do you think you're escaping? Return the wages you owe us!"
Li Ying was scared out of his wits. Fleeing, he shouted back, "If you want your pay, go to Xi'an! Why chase me?"
Cheng Xu yelled, "I'm demanding it from whoever I see!"
Li Ying: "Don't come over here!"
Cheng Xu: "Leave behind everything valuable on you!"
Li Ying actually did. He threw his heavy helmet to the ground, tossed away the silver he'd extorted from the gentry in Fengyuan Town, and fled for his life.
Cheng Xu really chased. After all, Tianzun was still overhead. When Cheng Xu fought a guaranteed victory, he was as brave as a tiger. He didn't even care about "don't pursue a desperate foe." With Tianzun overhead, how could he fall into an ambush? Chase!
Chasing, he noticed Li Ying's helmet lying on the ground. It was decent. He picked it up and hung it from his waist, continuing the pursuit.
Official troops in front, "Guyuan rebels" behind. In the blink of an eye, everyone had run west.
Only the Fengyuan Town militia drillmaster and his several hundred militiamen were left standing there like statues. "What exactly did we come here for?"