After saying goodbye to Huayang, Chen Jingzong quietly returned to his tent.
Fugui was lying in the outer tent. He woke up with a start when he heard the noise.
Chen Jingzong asked him to hold the lamp.
Fugui knew that his master would have to set out as soon as daybreak, so he did not dare to delay and lit a lamp as quickly as possible.
Chen Jingzong asked him to wait outside, and he sat in front of the small desk, tore a narrow piece of paper, and wrote ten small words.
After finishing his writing and turning off the lights, he lay down on the wooden bed with his clothes on and took a nap for half an hour.
When he woke up, the ink on the note had already dried. Chen Jingzong folded it into a ball the size of a fingernail and put it into his sleeve.
As the sky was just getting light, Chen Jingzong and eight other commanders had already assembled their troops.
Ling Rucheng spoke to each commander individually. When it was Chen Jingzong's turn, Ling Rucheng smiled and patted his shoulder: "You have to take the longest detour, but you must not underestimate the enemy. Be careful on the road."
Chen Jingzong was both the son-in-law of Empress Dowager Qi and the biological son of Prime Minister Chen Tingjian. Ling Rucheng had taken some care of Chen Jingzong, for example, he had sent the vanguard army to Heilongtan to intercept the rebels. The closer to the center of Wuduo Mountain among the eight mountain roads, the easier it was to encounter the main force of the rebels hiding there. The periphery was much safer, but it would take more effort to go around a longer mountain road.
When Ling Rucheng was about to withdraw his hand, Chen Jingzong suddenly held his hand tightly, and his handsome face showed the frivolous arrogance common to young military officers: "This is considered as an experience. Next time I have the opportunity to follow you to the battle, please treat me the same as you treat other commanders."
Ling Rucheng pressed the small ball of paper with his thumb and nodded nonchalantly.
After the eight commanders each led 5,000 soldiers to set off, Ling Rucheng went to inspect the progress of other teams and then returned to the central military tent.
After dismissing his attendants, Ling Rucheng unfolded the piece of paper that Chen Jingzong had stuffed in his mouth, and saw ten words written on it - eight scouts, to prevent any collusion with the enemy tonight.
Ling Rucheng frowned. The rebels had reached the end of their rope. At this time, the imperial army only needed to wait for rewards according to merit. Which fool would risk the execution of his entire clan to collaborate with the enemy
It was simply impossible. Ling Rucheng felt that Chen Jingzong was too cautious.
But to give face to Chen Jingzong, he secretly dispatched eight scouts to quietly follow the eight vanguard armies, and especially to monitor whether the vanguard armies had any unusual movements tonight.
.
The mountain road was rugged. Chen Jingzong, Ma Hong and Lu Chengliang led 5,000 soldiers of Daxing Zuowei and traveled silently and quickly.
Ma Hong held a map of Wuduo Mountain that he had drawn last night. After a short rest at noon, he walked for a while. Ma Hong looked at the commander who was far ahead, then looked at the map in his hand, and ran over to ask, "Sir, did we go the wrong way?"
Chen Jingzong snatched the topographic map and said, "This road is short, you all should hurry up."
Ma Hong: …
He guessed that the Lord was anxious to make a contribution!
After walking for an hour, Daxing Zuowei met Jiyangwei on the next route.
The soldiers of Jiyangwei were very happy to see their brothers from Daxingzuowei.
In last year's 26-guards martial arts competition, Jiyang Guard was supposed to be ranked fifth from the bottom. No, because Daxing Left Guard, which used to be always ranked last, got high scores in the first two rounds, Jiyang Guard was temporarily ranked fourth from the bottom. Unexpectedly, in the last round, the prince consort led the four last guards to win together, and Jiyang Guard even won the third place for the first time.
This time, Jiyang Guard participated in the war as one of the previous five guards!
The soldiers of the two garrisons were on good terms with each other, and Di Su, the commander of the Jiyang Garrison, also regarded Chen Jingzong as a good brother, even though he was only 34 years older than Chen Jingzong.
"Why did the prince consort come here?"
Walking side by side in front, Di Su asked with a smile.
Chen Jingzong said, "To be honest with you, Brother Di, my right eyelid has been twitching since this morning."
Di Su: "I saw you always fighting at the forefront in every battle before. Why do you still mind this?"
Chen Jingzong: "My old lady used to be a big believer in Buddhism, so I'd rather believe it. After all, this is the last battle. If something really happens at this critical moment, it would be too frustrating."
Di Su nodded: "That's right, let's go together."
Chen Jingzong: "It will be safer if you lead the troops and follow us to the periphery."
Di Su shook his head and laughed, thinking that Chen Jingzong was too young.
.
It is now the seventh day of October. The sun has set early, dusk has fallen, and the wind has become chilly.
The half moon emitted moonlight as bright as water, but it was blocked by the dense forests everywhere in the mountains, and the mountain road became blurry.
Chen Jingzong and others insisted on walking until the first watch, and then they found a sheltered place to rest.
They were heading northeast of Wuduo Mountain.
The Jinwu Vanguard where Qi Jin was located was encircling Heilongtan from the southwest of Wuduo Mountain. Although Qi Jin was young, he had experience in several expeditions, so Ling Rucheng arranged the Jinwu Vanguard to be the second team on the left vanguard near the middle of the mountain. At this position, it was possible to encounter the main force of the rebels.
When they were traveling during the day, Qi Jin also walked in the front. At dusk, he deliberately led the soldiers a little further away. The soldiers thought he was looking for a place to rest for the night and did not question anything.
After nightfall, Qi Jin climbed up a tree, which was quite a distance away from the valley where the soldiers were staying. His reason was to be on guard.
He had led five thousand soldiers for several years, and they had formed a comradeship through several battles, so naturally no one suspected that he had ulterior motives. Instead, no one admired the commander's perseverance in keeping watch.
It was almost midnight when Qi Jin climbed down the tree silently. He left his heavy armor on the tree and only wore a dark robe with a black cloth covering his face.
He headed toward the rebel camp he had spied at dusk.
The evening breeze blew the tree trunks, and the rustling sound masked the sound of his footsteps.
His hurried figure sometimes appeared on the mountain road, and sometimes was blocked by the shadows of trees.
There was a slight sound of branches breaking behind me, short and abrupt.
Qi Jin walked forward without stopping for a moment, unaware of anything.
After going around a mountain wall, Qi Jin suddenly stepped back and stood close to the mountain.
Not long after, a dark figure came over stealthily. Just as he tentatively stuck his head out, he suddenly bumped into Qi Jin's approaching figure.
The moment the scout was stunned, Qi Jin made a move and grabbed the man out with incredible swiftness. He held the man's left hand with one hand and put the other arm around his neck, strangling him from behind.
This was a deadly and ruthless move. The scout said in time while he could still make a sound: "Lord Qi, please show mercy! I am a scout sent by General Ling!"
Qi Jin had a blank expression on his face: "Really? Why didn't the scouts go looking for the rebels, but followed me instead?"
The scout's mind was racing, but before he could find a reasonable excuse, Qi Jin suddenly broke the other's neck.
Qi Jin carried the dead man on his back and continued forward.
The rebel camp was heavily guarded. Qi Jin kept his distance, first let the scout bleed, wrote a line of words on his inner shirt, then took the bow and arrow on his back and shot at the nearest rebel patrol!
The moment he startled the other party, Qi Jin left like a ghost just as he came.
The patrolling rebels quickly delivered the found arrows and the dead scout to King Jing's tent.
King Jing sent someone to call Guo Jixian over. As for King Yu, he was treated like a prisoner in the army.
"Here, tie it to the arrow." King Jing handed a thin bamboo tube to Guo Jixian.
This kind of paper is often used by carrier pigeons. Guo Jixian took out the note and saw that it was written crookedly: "Tomorrow at 9:00 pm, Chen Si will pass Baihe Ridge and can be taken hostage."
Judging from the handwriting, it should have been written with the left hand to prevent the note from getting lost and revealing the owner's identity.
King Jing then lifted up the scout's outer coat, revealing his inner coat with bloody words on it: "This man is a scout of the imperial court, and I am his hidden chess piece. We may be able to join forces in the future."
Guo Jixian looked thoughtful.
King Jing's eyes flashed with a wolfish light: "Chen Jingzong has two identities. If we capture him alive and use him as a hostage to force Ling Rucheng to withdraw his troops, even if Huayang, Empress Dowager Qi, and the young emperor can be cruel enough to ignore it, can Chen Tingjian bear to lose another son?"
Guo Jixian: "I'm afraid this is a trap set by the imperial court to lure our army to Baiheling."
King Jing: "So what if it's a trap? Do we have any other way to survive now? We will die anyway. Capturing Chen Jingzong is the only way to survive."
Guo Jixian thought for a moment and said, "That can't be completely believed. So, I will send 10,000 people to Baiheling overnight. It would be best if we can capture Chen Jingzong. If we are ambushed, the prince still has 30,000 elite soldiers under his command."
King Jing nodded repeatedly: "This plan is very sound!"
Guo Jixian looked at the note in his hand and asked in confusion, "I wonder who sent the letter."
King Jing sneered: "There are so many officials in the capital, some flatter Chen Tingjian, and some want to replace him. What's so strange about that? Well, you should mobilize the troops and tell them to move faster. Everyone will be rewarded when the task is completed."
Guo Jixian nodded and left in a hurry.
King Jing then ordered his confidants to spread the news of the capture of the imperial scout, completely obscuring the source of the news. As for the blood-stained clothes on the scout and the note, King Jing burned them all after Guo Jixian read them.
The enemy of my enemy is my friend. Regardless of whether this friend will help him or not, he is happy to keep such a villain who can betray the court for personal gain.
.
Chen Jingzong and others took a nap, ate some dry food at dawn, and then set off again.
The weather is gloomy today, the red sun hides behind the clouds, and the wind is even colder.
Arriving at a hilltop, Chen Jingzong stopped, looked at the topographic map in his hand, and said to Di Su, "Go down from here, the mountain ahead is Baiheling. Go ten miles from Baiheling and you will reach Jiulongtan."
Di Su rubbed his hands excitedly: "Then let's go quickly. This time we will block the rebels' retreat route and see where they can escape to."
Chen Jingzong: "But I feel like there seems to be murderous intent over at Baiheling."
Di Su smiled: "Okay, at such a young age, you can already see the murderous intent."
Chen Jingzong: "Look at the terrain, it's very suitable for an ambush."
Di Su: "But can the 40,000 rebels really get here faster than us? They would have already fled to the Funiushan Mountains. How dare they ambush us?"
No matter how powerful Guo Jixian was, he did not dare to use 40,000 soldiers to fight against the imperial army of over 100,000. The most urgent task at this time was to escape.
In short, Di Su did not believe that there would be an ambush at Baiheling.
Chen Jingzong said with a smile: "Being careful is a good thing. Even if you and I work in vain, it will only delay our efforts a little, and there will be no loss."
Di Su: "Okay, what's your plan?"
Di Su was willing to cooperate with Chen Jingzong not simply because of his status as the son-in-law of the emperor and the son of a cabinet minister, but because although Chen Jingzong was young and sometimes spoke in an immodest manner, from the initial martial arts competition to this battle to quell the rebellion, Chen Jingzong had demonstrated his courage and strategy many times. Just because of him, Di Su was convinced regardless of his age.
Chen Jingzong looked at Baiheling again.
He also didn't know whether her prediction would really happen.
But Chen Jingzong would rather believe it. He made so many preparations so that if he encountered an ambush, he could go back to see her alive and well, so that she would not cry so hard again. At the same time, Chen Jingzong was also responsible for the 5,000 soldiers of Daxing Zuowei. He would rather be laughed at by Ling Rucheng and Di Su for being timid and worried, but he would try his best to ensure the survival of everyone in Daxing Zuowei.
If the plan goes well, not only can they lead the Jiyang Guard to achieve merit in advance, but they can also catch the person who deliberately leaked his whereabouts.
The cliffs on both sides of this mountain range are only about 50 feet high, and children can easily climb up. The canyon in the middle is also relatively wide, with a stream flowing through it.
The mountains are covered with lush trees.
When they were near the entrance to the mountain, Lu Chengliang persuaded Chen Jingzong, "Sir, should we send two men to check the mountain to see if there are ambushes?"
Chen Jingzong sneered: "Only a few people can hide in this small broken mountain, and the rebels are in a hurry to escape, how could they dare to ambush us? Stop talking nonsense and set off quickly, don't let other guards laugh at us for being the last to arrive."
His voice was loud and clear, as if he was speaking to the entire Wei.
The rebels lying in ambush in the mountains showed their delight. As long as they could capture that conceited prince consort, they wouldn't have to worry about the imperial army anymore!
When the Daxing Left Guard stepped into the canyon between the cliffs on both sides, the 3,000 archers ambushed on the top of the middle cliff held their breath and prepared, while the 3,500 infantrymen ambushed in the front of the mountain quietly crawled out from the weeds and valleys, and quickly sneaked towards the entrance of the canyon. As soon as the archers finished shooting their arrows, they rushed in together with the infantry on the exit side, attacking from the front and back.
This scene was seen clearly by the Jiyang Guards who were keeping a distance near Baiheling.
The rebels guarding both sides of the canyon entrance were like two groups of black hornets.
Di Su got goose bumps on his arms. If Chen Jingzong hadn't come looking for him, if Daxing Zuowei had really been surrounded by the rebels...
Without time to be afraid, Di Su divided his troops into two groups and went around the mountain where this wave of rebels had just been lurking. They also lay on the top of the cliff with bows and arrows ready.
Four hundred archers were arranged on each side, and the rest continued to outflank the rebel archers.
Now that we know that the mantis is catching the cicada, let them be the oriole!
Inside the canyon, Daxing Zuowei has reached the middle section.
Suddenly, a loud whistle was heard from above the left cliff. The whistle was still echoing in the empty valley, and archers appeared one after another.
Chen Jingzong: "Form a battle array!"
The Daxing Left Guard, which had been prepared in advance, quickly gathered in the middle of the canyon. The soldiers erected unbreakable shields above their heads and around them to block the rain of arrows from both sides.
There were sounds of fighting coming from both ends of the canyon, and there were also sounds of fighting on the top of the cliff.
The brothers of Jiyangwei had already taken action. When there were no more flying arrows from above, Chen Jingzong looked at the rebels rushing in from the exit of the canyon, smiled, pointed to the entrance and said: "Retreat!"
The soldiers of Daxing Zuowei waved their swords and turned back to kill.
The rebels at the exit thought they were really trying to escape, so they chased them faster, but they didn't know that the 3,500 rebels at the entrance had just been hit by a hail of arrows from the Jiyang Guards, some dead and some wounded, and then the 5,000 elite soldiers of the Daxing Left Guards came to kill them.
On the top of the cliff, Di Su led the brothers of Jiyangwei to kill all the rebel archers, and then sent a wave of arrows to the rebels who had just run to the middle section below. After shooting the arrows, they ran to the exit of the canyon and followed the footsteps of the rebel ambush and rushed in, and together with the Daxing Zuowei who had dealt with another wave of ambushes, they also came to kill the rebels from both ends!
When a ray of sunlight broke through the clouds, the battle in the canyon ended.
The bodies of the rebels lay everywhere, some had fallen into the stream, and the originally clear water was now dyed red with blood.
In fighting on the battlefield, even the victorious side will suffer casualties.
Daxing Zuowei and Jiyangwei both lost some brothers.
Gao Dazhuang was stabbed on the arm and sat against the cliff, letting his comrades bandage him while he tilted his head to chat with the wounded soldiers next to him. He was still smiling, as if this injury was nothing at all.
Chen Jingzong retracted his gaze and looked at the rebel general who was kneeling on the ground with his hands tied: "Who sent you?"
The rebel gritted his teeth.
Chen Jingzong suddenly had a dagger in his hand. He went around behind the rebel and tried to pull the rebel's fingers.
The rebel's wrists were tied, but his fingers could still move. Sensing Chen Jingzong's intention, he clenched his fists tightly.
But Chen Jingzong still pulled out the little finger of his right hand, held it tightly with one hand, and used the other hand to slowly apply force towards the middle like cutting vegetables with a knife.
Sweat broke out on the rebel's forehead. When the blade sank into his little finger 30%, the rebel suddenly yelled, struggling hard to avoid Chen Jingzong's hand, and said in a sweat: "It was General Guo! General Guo sent me to arrest you!"
Chen Jingzong played with the dagger, stared at him and asked, "How did General Guo know that I would pass by here?"
Di Su, who had been standing by and watching, had a stern look on his face, with anger burning in his eyes. The soldiers were not afraid of death, but they were afraid of being stabbed in the back, and they hated traitors the most.
Rebel General: "General Guo captured one of your scouts, and we got all this from him during the interrogation!"
Chen Jingzong: "Where did you meet the scout?"
He unfolded the simple topographic map and asked the rebel general to identify it.
The rebel general's face was covered in blood and sweat. He blinked hard several times before he could finally see clearly.
Chen Jingzong let go of one of his hands.
The rebel general pointed to the place where they had camped last night.
Chen Jingzong tied him up again and walked aside with the topographic map.
Di Su followed, frowning, and whispered, "That's where the Kaizhou Guards and Jinwu Vanguards of Daming Prefecture might have passed by. Could it be that the scouts they sent were captured?"
Rather than believing that there was a traitor on the court side, Di Su would rather believe that the captured scout was spineless and leaked the route of the vanguard army.
Chen Jingzong glanced at him, lowered his eyes and said, "It's possible. When we meet at Black Dragon Pond, we can ask which side is missing a scout and we'll know."
After resting, the two guards took the wounded and continued on their journey, waiting for the war to be over before returning to collect the bodies of their dead brothers.
Unexpectedly, just as they walked out of Baiheling, smoke suddenly rose in the distance!
The smoke is rising in the area near Heilongtan in Wuduo Mountain. The main force of the rebels should be there!
Chen Jingzong and Di Su immediately led their troops there.
When they arrived, several other vanguard troops were fighting with 30,000 rebels.
The rebels who were able to escape all the way here were all elite troops, but the imperial court's guards were also full of elite soldiers. Except for the two guards that encountered the rebels at the beginning and suffered heavy casualties, the rebels gradually fell into a disadvantage when the remaining six guards arrived.
Killing the enemy is the top priority, and Chen Jingzong headed in the direction of King Jing and Guo Jixian.
Guo Jixian was a fierce general, and King Jing was also quite skilled.
After recognizing Chen Jingzong, Guo Jixian left behind several court generals around him and headed towards Chen Jingzong with a gun.
Chen Jingzong: "I heard you captured a scout?"
Guo Jixian: "Yes, it's a pity that we sent 10,000 elite soldiers but still failed to capture the prince consort alive."
The two men talked without stopping their guns.
Guo Jixian was in his early forties and had the advantage of being experienced in fighting against enemies. Chen Jingzong was not as experienced as him, but he was young enough.
When two equally strong and muscular generals are evenly matched in their marksmanship, what they are competing for is physical strength and mentality.
Chen Jingzong was calm enough. He ignored all the flaws that Guo Jixian deliberately revealed, but he would never miss any opportunity to defeat the enemy.
"Your Majesty!"
Suddenly a scream was heard not far away.
Guo Jixian suddenly took a few steps back and looked distractedly.
The gun in King Jing's hand broke and he was surrounded by Di Su and others.
Di Su and his men all wanted to capture King Jing alive, so when King Jing took out a dagger and put it against his neck, Di Su and his men backed off and tried to persuade him with words.
King Jing laughed out loud: "Success makes you a king, failure makes you a bandit. Why should I fear death? It is impossible for me to go to the capital and kneel before a child who is still wet behind the ears!"
After saying this, King Jing looked at Guo Jixian from a distance and swung his dagger fiercely.
Blood spurted out.
Guo Jixian closed his eyes subconsciously.
At this moment, Chen Jingzong's gun arrived, and he knocked Guo Jixian's gun away and then pressed it against the other's chest.
Guo Jixian smiled bitterly and knelt down.
The prince can die in battle, but he must stay alive. Only by insisting that Prince Yu is the mastermind of the rebellion will his sister and nephews have a chance of survival.
.
Prince Jing committed suicide, Prince Yu was captured alive, Guo Jixian surrendered, and the remaining rebels naturally laid down their weapons.
It was not until this time that Chen Jingzong had time to look for a figure.
The Jinwu Vanguard was the first to encounter the rebels. Although they released smoke signals at the first opportunity, by the time reinforcements arrived, only more than a thousand of the five thousand Jinwu Vanguard were left.
Qi Jin had been injured before and struggled to hold on until reinforcements arrived. After he was hit by an arrow in the shoulder, he fainted from exhaustion.
Chen Jingzong came to the place where the Jinwu vanguard was resting.
By this time, there were only 300 Jinwu vanguards left, and all of them were injured.
Qi Jin had woken up, covered in blood, leaning against a blood-stained tree trunk, with a broken arrow stuck in his left shoulder.
Pulling out the arrow was dangerous, so he had to wait until he returned to the camp for treatment.
He looked at the three hundred subordinates around him with a heavy gaze, and it was not until Chen Jingzong squatted in front of him that Qi Jin seemed to have just noticed his arrival.
"General Ling said that we should not engage the main force of the rebels when we encounter them. Why didn't Lord Qi obey the order?"
Chen Jingzong wiped the blood off Qi Jin's shoulder and asked in a low voice.
Qi Jin smiled bitterly and lowered his eyes, saying, "It's not that we don't obey military orders, it's that the rebels have already ambushed us, and we can only fight our way out."
Chen Jingzong: "With 5,000 against 30,000, you are really lucky."
Qi Jin: "It's all thanks to the timely arrival of reinforcements."
But in my heart I said, same to you.
(End of this chapter)