Water Margin: The Tale of Li Erlang of Guankou

Chapter 159 The Golden Retriever's Ambush Succeeds; Han Shizhong Advances with Light Cavalry

The morning mist, carrying a soaring murderous aura, lingered in the valley. A day had passed, and Li Hanxiao had set up no fewer than seven temporary defensive lines on Shaohua Mountain, ready for battle.

Due to the limited time, Li Hanxiao couldn't make too many preparations, but this was enough.

When Wang Shunchen saw from the foot of the mountain that the time had come and not a single bandit from Shaohua Mountain had come down, he understood the bandits' choice: they wanted a battle.

"All troops, move up the mountain! Attack Shaohua Mountain Stronghold!"

Since that was the case, Wang Shunchen didn't stand on ceremony and led his army towards Shaohua Mountain.

When Wang Shunchen's crimson banner was planted into the frozen soil three feet deep beneath the Broken Soul Cliff, it startled the last crow on a withered branch. It was still early, and the sun's rays had not yet fully risen.

The silence should have been profound at this hour, but the clanging of armor and the impatient trotting of warhorses on the gravel path by three thousand vanguard soldiers shattered the tranquility of the early morning.

Wang Shunchen made a brief stop on the mountain, then divided his troops, leading the central army to hold the line while ordering his subordinates to advance.

Leading the way was their vanguard officer, He Qin, a burly man from northern Shanxi. In terms of physique, he was probably no less imposing than "Flowery Monk" Lu Zhishen or Bian Xiang. He carried a 26-pound iron whip upside down, the copper ring at the tip of the whip striking his armor with a soft, tinkling sound.

Even the double whips of Huyan Zhuo, known as "Double Whip," only weigh a dozen kilograms each. One can imagine that He Qin's strength is not simple.

The burly general, his face contorted with grime, licked his cracked lips, gazing at the fortified walls faintly visible through the mist. Suddenly, he lashed out with his whip, shattering the bluestone at his feet: "My men! Flatten this mountain hollow before noon! I intend to use that damned Nine-Dragon's head as a chamber pot!"

He Qin, a veteran of the Western Army, was a fierce general and had always been a skilled and experienced warrior.

However, he had a flaw: he was extremely cruel. Whenever there was a battle, he would kill surrendered soldiers and never take prisoners.

Generally speaking, war is cruel and bloody, and soldiers are the first to suffer. If they are lucky enough to survive on the battlefield but are captured by the enemy, they will face an unknown fate. Generally speaking, it is rare to massacre soldiers who have laid down their arms and surrendered, because people in ancient times believed that killing surrendered soldiers was inauspicious, as it was against the natural order, damaged the image of one's own side, and could even bring a lot of trouble.

Historical figures like Bai Qi and Xiang Yu, who were famous for killing surrendered soldiers, did so out of necessity because their troops were short of food. Even Chang Yuchun, a famous general who helped found the Ming Dynasty in its early years, was fond of killing surrendered soldiers. After defeating Chen Youliang in the Battle of Chizhou with Xu Da, he captured 3,000 enemy soldiers alive.

But that was because Chang Yuchun believed: "This is a formidable force; if we don't kill them, it will cause future trouble."

So, disregarding Xu Da's objection to reporting to Zhu Yuanzhang, he killed most of the surrendered soldiers under cover of night, "first burying more than half of them alive at night."

But this guy is different; he's purely brutal by nature, and his army has the worst discipline. Not to mention their treatment of the enemy, they also frequently burn, kill, and plunder their own country's people.

He was originally a general in Yao's army. However, his actions, such as killing prisoners of war in one battle, which went too far and not even spared a three-year-old child, led to his impeachment. Yao Pingzhong then sent him to Guanzhong to temporarily avoid trouble.

Because of this, he was extremely unpopular in the Western Army, and his reputation had almost no chance of declining. If it weren't for his former superior, Yao Pingzhong, protecting him, countless people would have come looking for revenge long ago...

Before He Qin could finish speaking, a thunderous laugh, like that of "Flowery Monk" Lu Zhishen, suddenly rang out from the top of the cliff.

The portly monk was shouting and yelling beside a gnarled pine tree, his robes fluttering in the mountain wind. He slammed his iron staff heavily against the cliff face: "Hey, you scoundrel! This 'final drink' from Broken Soul Cliff is too much for your dog belly to handle!"

Lu Zhishen, the "Flowery Monk," also knew this man back then, but Lu Zhishen had no good feelings towards this cruel and heartless bastard.

At this moment, Lu Zhishen recognized He Qin, but He Qin did not recognize who Lu Zhishen was. After all, Lu Zhishen was now dressed as a bald, shiny-faced monk, which was completely different from the image of Lu Da, the military officer under General Zhong of Yan'an Prefecture, in his memory.

Before He Qin could ask a question, Lu Zhishen waved his staff, and as the rubble that had been prepared on the mountain fell down, twelve improved ballistae roared simultaneously from the top of Broken Soul Cliff.

This was thanks to the past efforts of "Divine Strategist" Zhu Wu. For a period of time, the Western Army was targeted by treacherous officials in the court, and their military pay was embezzled, causing serious problems. As a result, some of the bolder soldiers in the Western Army secretly sold some military equipment to supplement their income.

Although these twelve crossbows were old equipment discarded by the Song army, they could still be repaired and used. Zhu Wu bought them for use in guarding the mountain.

Who cares if it's new or old? As long as it can draw out pus, it's a good ointment. Anything is better than nothing!

The iron chain arrows, as thick as bowls, pierced the opposite mountain with a piercing whistle, and flying rock fragments rained down on the government troops' shields, accompanied by a series of pig-like screams.

Twenty iron chains suddenly appeared, and each chain was actually tied to a horizontal log at the bottom—this was the swing hammer!

The iron chains gleamed with a cold, eerie blue light under the rising sun, like a giant spider weaving a deadly web over the heads of the government troops.

This huge horizontal beam, swinging with the iron chains, was like a deadly pendulum, sweeping away a large number of people with a single blow. The densely packed Song soldiers were dodging in fear while trying to find the movement pattern of these wooden pendulums, but unfortunately, the movement trajectory of each of these wooden pendulums was different!

The sight before him made He Qin's pupils shrink and his heart race.

When we attacked Shaohua Mountain before, they didn't have such strong defenses. How come?

Could it be that they've been working hard to improve their defenses during this time?

Or did they really build all of this in just one day?

"Hold your nerves! Everyone hold your nerve! Players forward, archers on both sides—"

Just as He Qinhun was about to raise his iron whip, he saw countless black dots falling down between the iron chains.

On the cliff, Yang Chun, known as the "White Flower Snake," led his men to remove their pine branch camouflage, and three hundred cans of makeshift fireballs made of wild boar oil mixed with sulfur and kerosene poured down from their hands.

Shaanxi has produced petroleum since ancient times, and it has been used as a dye since ancient times, as recorded in Ban Gu's "Book of Han" in the Han Dynasty.

Therefore, some of this crude oil was also stockpiled on Shaohua Mountain, and it is now being used to make weapons.

Sparks from the friction between some of the cans and the iron chains instantly ignited the prelude to death. Liquid from some broken and ignited ceramic cans adhered to the wooden pendulums and caught fire, turning them into burning, swinging torches that instantly increased in power several times over.

That wasn't the most important thing. A torrent of fire rained down, and at the same time, hundreds of large stone projectiles rolled down from the cliff top, carving bloody alleys through the army formation. They were unstoppable, killing anyone who stood in their way. These were all things that Wang Yin and his men had worked hard to develop overnight. Although they were a bit rudimentary, they were still extremely powerful when they rolled.

A young soldier, his head doused with kerosene, screamed and lunged toward the pool by the ravine. But then "Golden Retriever" Duan Jingzhu sprang up from under the duckweed, a flash of steel blade, and a charred head rolled into the deep ravine.

He and a few men were ordered to lie in ambush here, intending to launch a surprise attack.

"Come on, let me show you what it means for the sky to collapse and the earth to split open!"

As Lu Zhishen, the "Flowery Monk," swung his staff and cut the fuse, He Qin was using an iron whip to strangle the necks of two deserters.

This guy is a complete bastard, whether he's dealing with his own people or his enemies. He's consistent inside and out!

The earth suddenly trembled violently, and the gunpowder packs buried in the mountain path exploded in a series of explosions, making the entire cliff face tremble like a giant dragon shaking its scales.

Thousands of pounds of rubble, engulfed in flames, collapsed with a deafening roar. A military officer wielding a weapon had half his body sliced ​​off by a flying rock, yet his remaining half still managed to stand on one leg, and even his command flag remained firmly embedded in the crevice of the rock.

"Damn!"

He Qin, who was sitting upright on his warhorse, was pierced in the left leg by a piece of wood and fell off the horse.

Now it's a time when everyone is looking out for themselves after their fathers have died and their mothers have remarried. When he fell off his horse, his men thought he was dead and all fled.

He Qin staggered, using his iron whip to support himself as he moved toward the pool, intending to clean his wounds and pull out the splinter.

Just as he bent down to fetch water, he suddenly felt a chill in his throat—"Golden Retriever" Duan Jingzhu appeared like a ghost from the pool of blood, his steel blade slicing a crescent-shaped arc across the enemy general's throat.

In fact, even if Duan Jing, the "Golden Retriever," had fought He Qin head-on when he was injured, he would have been killed. But this time it was a sneak attack, and he succeeded by luck.

The reason he was made to lie in wait underwater is quite simple: in the original story, during the campaign against Fang La, "Golden Retriever" Duan Jingzhu fought alongside the navy, planning to attack Hangzhou by sea. However, when they entered the Qiantang River, their ship was destroyed by a strong wind. Because he couldn't swim, he fell into the sea and drowned.

Wouldn't it be too pathetic to say he couldn't swim and drown? That's why Li Hanxiao intentionally let him practice his swimming skills first.

"He Po Cai's head is here!"

Duan Jingzhu, the golden-haired man, beheaded him with a single stroke, then grabbed the gilded tiger helmet, picked up He Qin's head, and shouted loudly down the mountain.

The bloodied head rolled down the mountain stream, crashing into the government troops' ranks and creating a poignant splash of blood.

The rear guard's warhorses reared up in fright, knocking over several Song soldiers. From the thick smoke came the deep, resonant chanting of the Diamond Sutra by the "Flowery Monk" Lu Zhishen, which sounded as if swords were clanging: "Like dew, like lightning, thus should you contemplate it!"

Although He Qin had serious character and personality problems, he was indeed brave in battle. That was why Wang Shunchen appointed him as the vanguard. Unexpectedly, before they even officially engaged in battle, he was ambushed and killed!

Wang Shunchen crushed the command arrow in front of the central command tent. The pain of the splintered wood piercing his palm brought him to his senses. The divine archer general gazed at the thick smoke billowing from the cliff top, then suddenly unfastened the gilded quiver from his waist and handed it to his personal guard: "Summon Han Wu to receive my orders."

This Han Wu also had another name, Han Shizhong, also known as Han Liangchen.

When eighteen-year-old Han Shizhong knelt on one knee in front of the tent, Wang Shunchen noticed that the boy's hand holding the gun was trembling slightly—not out of fear, but out of the excitement of a hungry wolf smelling blood.

That's right, this is Han Shizhong in his youth, a great general of the Southern Song Dynasty who was known as one of the "Four Generals of the Restoration" along with Yue Fei, Zhang Jun, and Liu Guangshi.

This man was no ordinary person. Han Shizhong came from a poor family and joined the army at the age of eighteen. He was a rough and forthright man who could draw a strong bow and was the bravest in the army. He made many meritorious contributions in the war against the Western Xia and later followed Wang Bing to suppress the Fang La Rebellion.

After the outbreak of the Song-Jin War, he led his troops in battles across many places, defeating larger forces with smaller ones, and was considered a formidable army. After Emperor Gaozong of Song ascended the throne, he was appointed commander of the Left Army of the Imperial Guard and participated in suppressing the Miao-Liu Rebellion.

When Wanyan Zongbi of the Jin Dynasty led his army to invade the south, Han Shizhong retreated from Zhenjiang to the Yangtze River estuary. When the Jin army returned north, Han Shizhong led 8,000 naval troops to force the Jin army into Huangtiandang and pursued them to Jiankang. After fighting for dozens of days, Han Shizhong achieved certain results and won the great victory at Huangtiandang, which demonstrated the prestige of the Southern Song Dynasty's navy.

When Han Shizhong first entered the military, he was already in the Western Army. In the fourth year of Chongning, Han Shizhong, who had not yet come of age, responded to the recruitment of the township and prefecture with his "courage and bravery" and was enlisted in the army of Yan'an Prefecture to resist the Western Xia. He performed outstandingly in the battle of wielding strong spears and was the bravest in the army.

Han Shizhong was stationed in the Northwest with the army. He joined the battle soon after enlisting and was promoted from soldier to squad leader for his bravery in battle, commanding only a dozen or so men. Although his rank was low, Han Shizhong was still proactive and responsible. The soldiers he led were all older than him, but Han Shizhong was brave in battle, fair and upright in his dealings, and spoke honestly and reasonably, so everyone listened to him.

Not long ago, during a battle with the Western Xia, the Song army attacked Yinzhou but failed to capture it after a long siege. Han Shizhong fought bravely and broke through the city, killing the enemy general who was defending the city and throwing his head out of the city. Encouraged by this, the Song army rushed forward and captured the city.

The Western Xia then stationed a large force at Haoping Ridge. Han Shizhong led his elite troops in a fierce battle and repelled them. Soon after, the Western Xia attacked again from another route. Han Shizhong deployed his suicide squad to fight to the death. The Xia army retreated slightly. Among the Xia soldiers, a knight fought bravely. Han Shizhong questioned the captured Xia soldiers and learned that this knight was the Western Xia's military supervisor and son-in-law. So he spurred his horse and charged into the enemy lines, beheading him.

Subsequently, the Western Xia army was thrown into chaos and fled in panic. After the battle, the military commissioner reported Han Shizhong's merits to the court and requested that he be promoted exceptionally.

However, Tong Guan, who was in charge of border affairs at the time, doubted the authenticity of the report and only agreed to promote Han Shizhong by one rank, which made all the generals and soldiers feel deeply indignant.

When one door closes, another opens. Although the young Han Shizhong did not receive the praise he deserved from the imperial court, within the Western Army, Liu Fa, Zhong Shidao, and Wang Shunchen all had high hopes for this rising star.

"He Qin is dead. Tell me, how should we fight now?"

"This humble general is willing to lead light cavalry to bypass Eagle's Sorrow Gorge and launch a surprise attack on the enemy!"

When Han Shizhong looked up, the glint in his eyes reminded Wang Shunchen of himself twenty years ago, when he was just starting out.

Wang Shunchen slammed the command arrow heavily on the table: "Order Qi Tai to lead my personal guard in a full-scale attack on Tianmen Mountain! Han Shizhong launches a surprise attack on Yingchou Gorge!"

The tent flap was lifted and then lowered, and the afterglow of the setting sun cast bloodstains on Wang Shunchen's fish-scale armor. He stroked the iron bow that had been with him for many years, and a dent in the bow was a knife mark left by the iron hawk of the Western Xia.