Chapter 2176 - Ambush (Part 1)

After dispatching the envoy, Yang Jinghui consulted with his nephew, advisor, and others. With their strength, attacking the county seat would probably pose no problem, but they recognized it as a tough nut to crack. Though substantial profit awaited there, asking village braves to swarm the walls might prove difficult. After repeated consideration, he decided to visit various county market towns to extort them again.

"If the town merchants and people refuse to comply, we simply break in and loot thoroughly. Raise the banner of 'Oppose the Kun, Support the Ming'! Gather heroes from all directions!" Yang Jinghui declared smugly.

Master Bi hurried to interject: "Master, do not rush. Regarding raising the banner—in this student's humble opinion, it would be better to delay somewhat."

"Why?" Provincial Graduate Yang was immersed in fantasies of "rectifying the country" and "bringing glory to his ancestors," disapproving of Master Bi's "remonstrance." "Once this banner is raised, we'll be the Righteous Army serving the King. The whole county will inevitably follow—dare they disobey Commander Xiong's royal orders and flags?"

"What Master says is true," Master Bi said quickly. "However, this student merely worries that once Master raises this banner, the Kun will inevitably mobilize heavy troops. Yang Family Village is weak alone; even if heroes and righteous men from the whole county join, they may prove no match for the Kun. Commander Xiong is far away in Guangxi—distant water cannot quench nearby thirst..."

Currently, this amounted to at most local tyrant troublemaking or armed conflict, counting as banditry at worst—all within local control scope, the matter treatable as large or small. But once the banner of "Opposing the Kun and Supporting the Ming" was raised, it became so-called "firing cannons to rebel." Kun Rebel local officials would have to report it, inevitably attracting massive suppression campaigns.

Though Master Bi had never formally studied to be a Private Secretary, he'd dealt extensively with local officials' Private Secretaries. He understood thoroughly the routine of glossing over faults. Official routines simply hadn't changed since ancient times; presumably this Kun Dynasty wouldn't differ from the Great Ming.

His bucket of cold water brought Magistrate Yang, whose fires of "promotion and wealth" and "defending the Dao and eliminating demons" burned fiercely, to some understanding.

Granted, Commander Xiong's envoys bragged extravagantly, but currently government troops were distant in Guangxi. If he truly raised the banner and the Kun decided to "kill the chicken to scare the monkey," that would truly mean calling to heaven with no answer, to earth with no response. At that moment, there'd be no share in "bringing glory to ancestors," but "cutting off sons and grandsons" would happen swiftly!

After deep consideration, he decided the banner couldn't be raised, but he couldn't leave matters unclear either. Anyway, with Commander Xiong's official proclamation in hand, he considered himself possessing the title of righteousness, leaving merchants and people no choice but compliance.

Immediately, he rallied troops and went everywhere to "inform" various villages and market towns. Intimidated by his might, many villages and towns handed over grain and paid levies successively. Currently, the Australian-appointed County Director was weak and couldn't address him for the time being. Yang Juren's arrogance grew even more rampant, acting as though there existed "two mandates in one county."

Only Shijian, hosting a Hair Rebel garrison, had merchants refusing to pay grain and money. Yang Juren heard there were only thirty National Army soldiers in town, plus a militia unit of over a hundred local commoners. Viewing it as a soft persimmon, he planned to conquer the place—firstly to kill the chicken and scare the monkey, secondly to demonstrate his "Anti-Hair Rebel" achievements.

A ragtag mob exceeding five hundred men was organized. Because they had to confront the Kun directly, not only did all two hundred-plus "elites" brought by Yang Erhu deploy, but many "Greenwood Heroes" who'd come to join were included. Along the route, many commoners preparing to go to Shijian to "drink soup" (claim a share of loot) joined in—even many from Hakka and Yao villages who were usually at odds with each other came. The force suddenly swelled past a thousand, marching majestically toward Shijian to "get rich."

However, Shijian proved difficult to chew. The town originally possessed earthen walls for protection, and after Australian arrival, they'd added fortifications, specifically transporting in several cannons. Yang Erhu commanded his men to charge, but a volley of cannon shots from the earthen wall battery sent the entire army routing. Obviously, "taking it in one drum beat" was impossible.

Erhu then proposed establishing an old camp in the abandoned stronghold north of Shijian's mountain, planning for protracted siege. To gather grain, he dispatched people to loot everywhere for several days. He also sent people to Shijian to "persuade surrender," offering conditions: as long as the National Army departed the town, he'd immediately gift five hundred taels of silver as "reward," and would absolutely not obstruct wherever the National Army went—naturally, this was rejected.

Unexpectedly, before the siege could even commence, news arrived that the Kun had dispatched troops from Sihui to reinforce. Yang Erhu was a man who'd served as officer and gone into battle; upon arriving at Shijian, he'd immediately sent Ye Bu Shou (scouts) to reconnoiter in all directions, avoiding surprise by Hair Rebel reinforcements.

So shortly after the 2nd Company landed, the Yang Jinghui uncle and nephew received news. Hearing that incoming troops were orderly and well-equipped, Yang Erhu knew it must be the Kun' elite Fubo Army deploying, so he hurried to discuss with Master Yang and subordinates.

Everyone knew the Kun were formidable, but few had personally experienced how formidable. However, even Yang Erhu himself and his Zhaoqing brothers only knew that Australian cannons were powerful—they hadn't truly fought face-to-face with Australian soldiers using real swords and guns. Since they'd heard the incoming team carried no cannons, everyone remained relatively calm—as long as there were no cannons, they could always manage a fight.

After discussion, they decided to exploit the opportunity while the Hair Rebel fleet was delayed and cannons hadn't arrived yet—to devour this adventurous Hair Rebel force entirely. Shijian probably couldn't be taken timely, but devouring a Hair Rebel unit would suffice to "shake the whole county with awe." It might even force the Hair Rebel County Director to "abandon the city and flee," permitting them to "recover the county seat."

With this plan, Yang Jinghui and Yang Erhu immediately led over three hundred "elites" and two Tiger Crouch cannons from the old camp, rushing to set a roadside ambush, preparing to annihilate this troop entirely.

"They're coming! The Kun are coming!" A village brave lying in wait ran into the woods breathlessly, pointing pantingly at the mountain road's eastern side and shouting.

"How many men and horses? Are there cannons?" Yang Erhu asked.

"Reporting to Second Master, the Kun are still two li distant. Not many people. Two scouts clearing the way ahead, and behind them only thirty-odd men. Neither cannons nor horses, but everyone carries that repeating firelock of theirs."

"Understood, you may withdraw."

Hearing only thirty-odd men approached, Yang Erhu hesitated briefly. Obviously, the Kun were advancing in echelons—vanguard, main body, and rearguard—to avoid being devoured completely on the mountain road.

If they attacked now, fighting with superior numbers, they could certainly devour this group, but the enemies behind would be alerted, making them difficult to engage.

Everyone looked at him, awaiting Yang Erhu's decision.

Yang Erhu considered momentarily, then turned to Yang Juren: "Uncle, your nephew believes it's time to act. We have ten times their number, and we're in darkness while they're in light. This mountain road is steep—even if Hair Rebel firearms are sharp, they cannot deploy effectively. We'll concentrate fire with muskets and Tiger Crouch cannons, then charge out. The Kun will certainly panic, and we can break them in one drum beat. As for troops behind, we'll assess the situation. If enemy formation collapses and retreats, we chase and kill them; if their formation holds and they still advance this way, we'll simply concentrate the entire team and set an ambush outside Shijian."

"Excellent, we'll do as Nephew says! Pass the order: later, one tael of silver for every Hair Rebel head! For the wounded—if they're my family's tenants, this year's rent is fully exempted; if not tenants, reward ten taels of silver! If anyone unfortunately dies in battle, my Yang family will support his wife and children for life! Everyone attack!"

Once the order was given, the regiment braves immediately grew excited, rubbing fists and wiping palms, ready to execute a major operation.

Yang Erhu called out—

"Third Brother! You were a Ye Bu Shou (scout). Take a few brothers and sneak over quietly. Capture their scouts and interrogate them for information. Don't alert the troops behind."

The man Yang Erhu addressed as "Third Brother" wasn't a Yang family member. His surname was Shao, the third child in his family. Polite people called him "Third Master" or "Third Brother"; impolite ones called him "Old Shao the Third" (Shao Laosan). Shao Laosan had been a village rascal in youth. After growing up, he joined the army, daring to fight and kill, with black heart and ruthless hands. He'd mixed his way up to squad leader in the battalion. Originally, he wasn't the same type of person as local gentry children like Yang Erhu, but Yang Erhu valued his ruthlessness and paid special attention to winning him over ordinarily, even becoming sworn brothers.

"That's easy!" Shao Laosan said immediately. "I'll go and be right back!" He immediately selected seven or eight regiment braves and entered the mountain forest.

On the narrow mountain road, the 1st Platoon's two point men, Li Luhu and Xiong Pi, held machetes, hacking away roadside weeds and shrubs while paying attention to movement on both mountain road sides.

Both were green recruits who hadn't joined the army long ago. Their first battle was the Guangzhou attack some time past. The Fubo Army expanded rapidly—most veterans who'd participated in actual combat before landing in Guangdong had already been promoted to commanders at various levels as seeds. The lowest were squad and platoon leaders. Li Luhu hailed from the Southern Metropolitan Region, twenty years old, who'd come to Lingao on Master Zhao Yingong's immigrant ship. Xiong Pi was of Guangdong Danka (boat people) origin. When the two first arrived at recruit camp, they fought several times due to language barriers, and subsequently arranged fights over various trivial matters. But in the army's big melting pot, these things were nothing. After carrying guns together, suffering corporal punishment together, and taking several military stick beatings together from the company commander on the drill ground, they'd settled down.

This mountain road section wasn't too difficult to traverse. The road ran north-south. To the west was a cliff, not excessively steep—falling would at most result in being bloodied by thorns and shrubs, but death wasn't easily achieved. To the east was dense forest. If ambushed, the sole terrain the enemy could exploit was this dense forest. According to infantry manual, Li Luhu held his gun on alert, and Xiong Pi held a machete to clear vines blocking the mountain road's center—Australian instructors attached great importance to regulations; one even had to follow regulations to shit and piss. Green recruits had quite a few complaints about this. Li Luhu, who'd worked in his southern hometown, managed somewhat better, but Xiong Pi, accustomed to being free and unfettered on boats, grumbled considerably. He didn't know that the regulations he resented so deeply today would save his life, nor did he know that in the future he'd become an "old fogey" who held regulations sacred.

In woods on one road side, Shao Laosan was leading a few regiment braves, creeping quietly closer from the dense forest. In the early summer mountain forest, vegetation was lush. Shao Laosan's hands and feet were extremely light, and the regiment braves were also adept at walking mountain roads. He was confident that even if he reached the woods' edge, the Hair Rebel scouts wouldn't discover him.