Chapter 116: 狂魔

Zhao Qinghe continued, picking up from He Yue's words: "Hong Xiangqian was defeated and died in battle, and Lu Yao gathered his remaining forces, fleeing south. They didn't just pass through Xianling Village as they claimed; they were meant to rendezvous with two other rebel generals by Xianling Lake."

"These two were Wu Shaoyi, the Right Tent General, and Pei Xinyong, the Hunshui General."

He Yue gasped, "When will they rendezvous, and how many people will there be in total?"

"Around tomorrow afternoon, at Twin Moon Bay. Combined, the three armies will total at least four to five thousand people."

He Lingchuan felt that his father and he were truly unlucky; they had clearly checked the almanac before setting out!

Was that almanac fake, a product of some unscrupulous workshop?

Regardless of whether they were government troops or rebels, routed forces often had weapons but no discipline, burning, killing, looting, and plundering along the way, making them more terrifying than mere bandits.

Within the next few days, Xianling Village would be teeming with rebel forces.

Originally, upon hearing that the villagers here were impostor mountain bandits, the He father and son still held them in contempt. After all, since ancient times, bandits never truly contended with officials, especially when their own side had superior numbers, elite soldiers, and fierce generals.

He Lingchuan, emboldened by several previous life-or-death encounters, believed he had weathered all major storms. What was this minor trouble compared to that?

But now they realized the other party was a high-ranking rebel official, the infamous cannibal general!

The enemy commanded fourteen hundred men, and three times that number of rebels would arrive tomorrow.

It was like a fisherman trying to catch eels in a river. He jumped into the water himself, thrashing and pulling wildly, even stabbing a few times with his fish spear, only to discover that what he thought was an eel was actually just the tip of a giant anaconda's tail!

Was it too late to retreat now?

He Lingchuan also saw the expression on his father's advisor's face, which was utterly ashen.

If they fled overnight, what were their chances of success?

He Lingchuan believed that his father's fighting spirit had also been extinguished. It was time to start devising an escape plan.

The advisor immediately said, "If we descend the mountain now, we might be able to leave before the rebel reinforcements from Desheng Town arrive."

Zhao Qinghe shook his head. "That fat man confessed that the rebels from Desheng Town have already arrived, about seven hundred of them. They are currently resting at Shaozi Rock, only five *li* from here!"

Everyone was aghast.

Two hundred rebels, plus seven hundred reinforcements, already outnumbered the government troops by three to one.

The personal guard unit numbered over four hundred, but only just over three hundred were actual combat soldiers. The rest were women, children, and logistics personnel who essentially had no combat capability. If they actually fought the rebels, the government troops would also be distracted protecting them, making their disadvantage absolute.

Madam Ying and Zhu Xiuer also knew the situation was dire, their faces as white as paper.

If the government troops were defeated, the fate of these women... it would be better to commit suicide.

Hearing these numbers, He Chunhua, on the contrary, became calm. "If Lu Yao held all the advantages, why hadn't he initiated battle? He was ambushed by Deputy General Zeng by the lake but wasn't angered; instead, he sought peace with me."

At his hint, He Yue immediately said, "He also wants to preserve his forces!"

"Since they are to rendezvous tomorrow, even if these routed army leaders wanted to sit down peacefully, drink tea, and discuss strategy, they would likely still have to determine their hierarchy based on strength. In this situation, Lu Yao would surely suffer losses if he engaged our army, which might affect his plans for tomorrow. Therefore, he had no choice but to compromise."

In other words, both He Chunhua's government troops and Lu Yao's rebels were now in a delicate psychological state.

Both sides wished to avoid losses.

He Lingchuan glanced at his younger brother. This second son, his mind was still quite sharp.

"Then there's still room for maneuver; this isn't a death trap," Mo Zhexuan, the advisor, said. "But Lu Yao's so-called peaceful coexistence will probably only last a few more hours."

"Negotiating peace with him is like asking a tiger for its hide," He Chunhua mused. "He doesn't want to act tonight because he's unwilling to suffer losses to his strength. But once the three armies converge tomorrow, they'll likely unite to hunt us down!"

What could be more morale-boosting for the rebels than annihilating a unit of government troops?

These routed forces might even believe that they needed a major victory to lay the foundation for the rendezvous to proceed successfully.

He Lingchuan's heart felt heavy. He felt as if he had returned to the battlefield from his dream. That despair of being surrounded by enemies with no light at the end of the tunnel, was it going to be replayed in reality this time?

In this isolated, defenceless small mountain gully, to defeat four to five thousand with three hundred brave men and still emerge victorious – even novels wouldn't dare to write such a scenario.

If it came to that, He Chunhua's three hundred men would be sacrificial offerings to the rebels' ritual.

Madam Ying couldn't help but interject, "We can't leave now, and we can't leave tomorrow either, so what should we do?" Were they just going to sit there and wait for death?

Silence fell over the dining hall.

Staying meant death, leaving also meant death. Their three to four hundred people had unwittingly fallen into a desperate situation.

If there was indeed a way out when all seemed lost, where was that glimmer of hope?

He Lingchuan recalled the battlefield in his dream. When the last defensive line formed by wagons was about to be breached, he didn't feel utter despair, but rather glory even in death!

They held on until the very end, and finally, the inspiring sound of a horn reached them.

It was the same now. It was too early to back down. There were still several hours until dawn.

Time was of the essence, and they still had a chance to turn the tables.

Seeing everyone sitting motionless in the hall, He Lingchuan lightly coughed and said to He Chunhua, "The disparity in strength is too great; trying to find a solution by relying on our own forces might not work. Father, have you considered seeking external help?"

"The nearest town, Desheng, is already controlled by rebels," He Chunhua said. "If we want to borrow troops, we'd have to go further, to Qianteng Town. I recall there's a Hebei's Zhezong Garrison there. However, after the Battle of Woling Pass, I don't know how many garrison soldiers are left there." He Chunhua took a deep breath. "I'll write a distress letter and send someone down the mountain. If we can hold out until tomorrow afternoon, perhaps... there's still hope."

"No... Father," He Lingchuan said. "My point is, the rebels aren't a monolithic entity. Are those two generals, Wu and Pei, truly subservient to Lu Yao? Instead of relying on unreliable garrison troops down the mountain, why don't we try to use their own strength against them?" Seeing everyone staring intently at him, He Lingchuan gave a dry laugh. "That's all I've thought of for now; it needs more development."

"Chuan'er, what you said..." He Chunhua's mind suddenly lit up. As he pondered it further, his eyes grew brighter and brighter. "It makes sense! Yes, it makes a lot of sense!"

He had been confused for a moment, intimidated by the overwhelming number of rebels, but had forgotten that two-thirds of them were not Lu Yao's direct subordinates! Although they were all rebels, the differences were significant.

He Lingchuan's insight on this point was like piercing a paper window – trivial once exposed, but highly useful. Mo Zhexuan extended the line of thought and also grasped the key point: "Lu Yao assembled fourteen hundred soldiers, yet only brought just over two hundred to Xianling Village. Why did he leave the rest in town? Because this village cannot support so many people!"