Chapter 294: Quid Pro Quo
Chapter 290 of "The Great Ming in the Box" begins with suspenseful moments: Feishan Huâs forces arrived.Yet another mass of bandit army of chaotic equipment surged forward, their... Donât miss it!
Feishan Huâs forces arrived.Yet another mass of bandit army of chaotic equipment surged forward, their numbers indistinguishable in the pitch-black duskâjust a dark, swarming mass.
Cheng Xu remained fearless and laughed heartily, âKeep throwing bombs! Where are the firearms? Is the second round ready? Fire! Fire!â
The two simpletons Gao Chuwu and Zheng Daniu swung their arms once more, sending two more grenades hurtling forward. Simultaneously, the flintlock pistols, firearms, Three-Eyed Divine Firearms, and other chaotic equipment discharged again.
A chaotic barrage of bangs and booms erupted, the noise of firearms echoing through forests and mountains.
Feishan Huâs troops immediately suffered humiliation upon arrival. Like Big Honglangâs forces, their morale dissolved almost instantly.
The collective morale of one bandit horde plus another doesnât multiply by twoâit merely compounds weakness. One bandit group collapsing or two collapsing happens just as fast.
Feishan Huâs troops shrieked in panic, scrambling backward and scattering to the flanks.
Feishan Huâs face darkened. âWhat in blazes is this?â
Big Honglang cried, âI have no idea either! Their firearms are deadlyâstrange weapons Iâve never seen before!â
âDamned idiots! We canât hold! Retreat now!â
Feishan Hu and Big Honglang had no choice but to pull back together.
Their retreat exposed the main force of Wang Zuogua and the battalion commanded by Second Leader Miao Mei.
These two units were still battling Wu Zimianâs remnants.
Wu Zimian had already fled under the protection of his household guards, but his Yansui garrison troops continued fighting. Their morale had been low from the start, teetering near defeat⌠until Cheng Xuâs forces suddenly unleashed a relentless bombardment of booms and crashes.
To the bandit army, those sounds were terrifying. To the officials, they were deeply comforting.
A Commander roared amidst the ranks, âOur reinforcements are here! Fear nothing! Reinforcements with firearmsâelite troops! Must be Provincial Governor Liu Guangshengâs men from Shaanxi!â
âReinforcements are here! We can win now! Stand firm!â
Hearing this, the officialsâ morale soared.
The officials had always been stronger than bandit troops. Though Wang Zuoguaâs forces included many border army soldiers and former officials, they still fell short compared to proper imperial troops. The bandits only held the upper hand after chasing off Wu Zimian and suppressing his garrison troopsâ spirit.
Now, with the officialsâ morale revitalized, the bandit troops stood no chance.
The officialsâ Spear Formation regained its fearsome might, pressing forward and driving Wang Zuogua and Miao Meiâs forces steadily backward.
Wang Zuogua glanced back and saw Feishan Hu and Big Honglang retreating too. He knew disaster loomed.
âQuickly!â he bellowed. âSeize those captured warhorses! We pull out now!â
Big Honglang happened to be a skilled rider and vaulted swiftly onto a warhorse. Her fiercest bandits scrambled onto mounts as well.
A large herd of horses doesnât need every animal riddenâjust a few lead steeds spurred forward can draw the herd behind them. Thus these few riders sufficed.
Big Honglang and her trusted henchmen dug their heels into the horsesâ flanks. âHyah! Gallop!â
Their dash sent five hundred warhorses charging northeast in their wake.
Cheng Xu and Xing Honglang stared. âDamn it!â
Panic seized them both.
This was outrageous! The militia couldnât outrun horses. If the bandits escaped, how could they fulfill the Deityâs command?
Damn it, the greatest crisis since the founding of the civilian corps had arrived.
Li Daoxuan clicked on the Infinity Gloves, turned on the switch, and the Infinity Gems began flashing colorful lights; he was ready to show off.
But just as he was about to act, he suddenly saw an amusing scene.
Zao Ying, who had just climbed the nearby small mountain to watch the show, suddenly swung her sabre, pointed in the direction where Big Honglang was fleeing, and shouted loudly, âBrothers, letâs go intercept those warhorses.â
A subordinate asked, âHuh? Why?â
Zao Ying replied, âThe rebel band in Guyuan saved our lives, so we must return the kindness.â
The subordinates exclaimed, âUnderstood!â
Zao Ying charged ahead, leading the attack.
Behind her, one hundred and twenty bandits shouted together, brandishing their sabres, and chased after Big Honglang.
Now was the time to test their riding skills!
Big Honglang only knew how to ride a horseâshe couldnât be called skilled in ridingâbut the bandits had all grown up on horseback, with superb riding abilities; though not as good as northern minoritiesâ, within the barrier, each was a top riding master.
Their charge was nothing like Big Honglangâs pace.
Big Honglang only heard the urgent sound of hooves from the side; turning to look, she saw Zao Ying fiercely attacking.
Big Honglang yelled, âFuck this!â
She quickly raised her spear, thrusting directly at Zao Ying.
But Zao Ying had prepared; she leaned to one side on the saddle, easily dodging the spear. In an instant, as the horses drew close, Zao Ying flicked her wrist, swinging her sabre in a silver arc, sweeping toward Big Honglangâs waist.
Big Honglang was scared out of her wits; stuck on the horse, she didnât know how to dodge. In the chaos, she thought of abandoning the horse, gave a strange cry, tumbled down the other side, landed heavily with a thud, rolling over several times.
Zao Ying didnât bother with Big Honglangâs fate; she grabbed the reins, taking the horse Big Honglang had just ridden, and led it away. Her troops charged up too, hacking down Big Honglangâs few subordinates and dismounting them, seizing their reins to lead the horses aside.
Their actions had a leading effect; the hundreds of warhorses behind all followed them.
Li Daoxuan watched her with interest, thinking to himself, âIf youâre taking these horses to flee the battle and profit from the chaos, Iâll have to intervene.â
But human nature seemed less evil than that.
Zao Ying didnât lead the horses away; instead, she circled around with them and charged toward Cheng Xu and his group.
The civilian corps members tensed up, hesitating whether to attack the oncoming cavalry, but Cheng Xu and Xing Honglang both shouted at once, âStop! Donât strike!â
They could see that Zao Ying bore no hostile intent.
The large group of warhorses was brought before Cheng Xu and Xing Honglang and halted; she tossed the lead horseâs reins to Cheng Xu, saying, âThanks for saving our lives. Here are five hundred horses back, now weâre even.â
Xing Honglang laughed heartily, âYichuan Zao Ying is truly as reputed.â
Zao Ying stared at Xing Honglang for several seconds before suddenly saying, âYongji Xing Honglang?â
Xing Honglang laughed, âThatâs me.â
Zao Ying laughed, âNo wonder, no wonder, hahaha.â
She pointed at the still-warring officials and Wang Zuogua, asking, âWhat about those over there?â
Xing Honglang replied, âNow that we have the warhorses, letâs ignore them and run away. Howâs that?â
Cheng Xu said, âA fine plan! Letâs withdraw then.â
Zao Ying said, âHmm, fighting more wonât help either; Iâll pull out too.â
She clasped her fists toward Cheng Xu and Xing Honglang, saying, âMountains stand unchanged, rivers flow constantâweâll meet again someday.â
As soon as she finished speaking, the sound of arrows slicing through the air cameâa forceful arrow flew toward her from behindâŚ