This place is located fifty miles north of Xingshan County, on the bank of Xiangxi River and surrounded by mountains. It is the only way to Xingshan from Yunyang!
It’s called ‘Ping’ here, but it’s actually a very small village with a population of only a dozen households and less than a hundred people. Most of them are local Tu people, and they mainly make a living by collecting herbs and fishing in the Xiangxi River!
In the evening, Yang Shien and Luo Anbang led five thousand officers and soldiers to this small village!
Further south from Xiangyouping, the mountains are extremely dangerous and the roads are winding. If you want to go to Xingshan County from here, the best way is to take the Xiangxi Water Road.
Yang Shien and Luo Anbang are both local generals in Jingchu, so they are familiar with the terrain here!
When the army set up camp at Xiangyouping, Luo Anbang ordered his soldiers to capture several local villagers and inquire about the situation of nearby ships!
Most of the villagers nearby are from the local Tu ethnic group, and they cannot speak Chinese well. Facing Yang Shien and Luo Anbang's 5,000 troops, they have never seen anything like this in the world. They are so trembling that they cannot say a word!
Yang Shien couldn't help but became furious and ordered these villagers to be killed directly before going to look for them again!
With great difficulty, Yang Shien's soldiers finally captured several local Han people who understood Chinese and brought them to Yang Shien's tent.
"Let me ask you! Where can I get a ship near here? If you say it right, the money will be yours! If you say it wrong, this will be your fate!" Yang Shien pointed to his table.
He placed a pile of silver and pointed at the heads of several villagers on the side.
One of the elders of the Tu tribe hurriedly knelt down and kowtowed: "General, there are very few people in our Xiangyouping within a radius of fifty miles! If the general wants to find a boat, that little old man is really powerless! However, if the general wants to
To go to Xingshan County, I know a small way!"
Yang Shien was overjoyed. If there was a path, why would he waste so much effort to find those ferries?
"Old man, what kind of path is this? Can my army be allowed to pass? Tell me quickly!" Yang Shien asked quickly.
The Tu tribe elder glanced at the silver in front of Yang Shien, swallowed hard, but stopped talking!
How could Yang Shien not understand what he meant? He hurriedly pushed the pile of silver, nearly a hundred taels in total, in front of the elder, "Hurry up, old man! These silvers are all yours!"
The elder was overjoyed and quickly lifted up his clothes and put all the money into his arms. Then he came to Yang Shien one by one...
Early the next morning, at dawn, Yang Shien ordered the army to set off!
They bypassed the mountains on the east side of Xiangyouping and turned all the way into the mountains. Under the leadership of the son of the Tu elder, they climbed over several mountains and finally found a path in the dense forest.
"General, keep walking along this road. There is a valley in front of you. After passing the valley, go straight south and you will see Xiangxi! Follow Xiangxi all the way south and walk less than ten miles. There is
This is the county seat of Xingshan!" the guide explained to Yang Shien.
Yang Shien nodded, glanced at him, and suddenly asked suspiciously: "What? Aren't you going to accompany us?"
The guide hurriedly said: "General, my mother is weak and has been bedridden, and my father is old and can't live without people. The younger one is really unable to do all the things he wants!"
"Hmph! How dare you bully me? Someone is here! Drag this guy down and chop him alive!" Yang Shien said angrily.
In the past few years, there have been constant wars between local generals in Jingzhou and chieftains from various places. Yang Shien really didn't have any good impression of these native tribes, and he would kill them at every turn!
"General, spare my life, spare my life! My dear, my dear, I am willing to lead the way for the general!" The guide hurriedly kowtowed and begged.
Only then did Yang Shien sneer, "If I had known this, why bother asking for trouble! Hurry up and lead the way!"
"Yes! Yes!" The guide kowtowed repeatedly, with a fierce look in his lowered eyes!
The army walked for half a day, and finally arrived at the valley the guide mentioned at noon!
This valley is located at the bottom of the mountains and has a warm climate. The bottom of the valley is covered with unknown fallen leaves. The mountains on both sides are steep and extend deep into the valley with no end in sight.
But the bottom of the valley is very flat and open, with few traces of human beings. Yang Shien couldn't help but be overjoyed and said to Luo Anbang: "God is really helping me! With this secret passage here, we don't have to worry about big things happening! Haha, Luo Anbang
General, this time, we are afraid we will achieve great achievements!"
Luo Anbang also didn't expect that they were so lucky. As long as they could rush to Xingshan County quickly, wouldn't the "three thousand" handymen under Luo Rucai fall apart immediately?
"General, this time, even God is helping us! Without further ado, let the brothers take a break, we should hurry up as soon as possible!" Luo Anbang laughed.
Yang Shien nodded and hurriedly notified the soldiers to rest on the spot and have lunch!
Soon, smoke rose from the valley, and the thick aroma of the food filled the air, attracting many birds and animals in the valley to watch.
The officers and soldiers ate and drank heavily. Marching under such conditions was simply not a job for humans. After finally finding such a warm place, everyone's nerves relaxed!
But at this moment, ‘whoosh~whoosh~whoosh’, a shower of rockets rushed past, and the fallen leaves on the ground were ignited one after another!
Countless refugee armies were killed from both sides of the valley. The leader was none other than Luo Rucai's confidant, "Chuangtantian!"
Chuang Taotian held a Xuanhua ax more than two meters long and shouted: "My sons, kill the officers and soldiers! Don't let anyone go today!"
"Ouch~~~!" In an instant, countless refugee troops shouted loudly, like a pack of hungry wolves going crazy, rushing towards the unsuspecting officers and soldiers!
Yang Shien and Luo Anbang were shocked and hurriedly stood up to meet the enemy, but it was too late...
In fact, Chuang Taotian and Babu have been ambushing here for a long time. The local Tu people have no love for the government and the army. Coupled with Babu's coercion and inducement, those villagers have long become Babu's eyes and ears!
It can be said that Luo Rucai is bound to win this battle!
~~~~~~
The battle lasted for an entire afternoon. Neither side had heavy weapons and could only fight with their hands!
Although the five thousand officers and soldiers were brave, there were too many refugees. In the end, the officers and soldiers were outnumbered and completely defeated!
Yang Shien was captured on the spot by Chuang Taotian and his head was cut off, while Luo Anbang, guarded by more than a hundred soldiers, fought his way out and fled towards Baokang County!
"General Zhendong, you must make the decision for your brothers! Vice General Yang and the brothers, they, they really died tragically!"
When Liu Ruyi saw Luo Anbang again, he was no longer as arrogant as before, kowtowing desperately, with a lot of tears and runny nose, and panicked like a bereaved dog!
Although Liu Ruyi had predicted that Yang Shien and Luo Anbang's trip would not go smoothly, he did not expect that they would be defeated so miserably that all five thousand elites would be lost!
This, this is killing five thousand chickens. I'm afraid it will take a few days, right?
It's a pity that the two of them lost their entire family fortune in just one afternoon!
"Brother Luo, please get up first! What has happened has already happened. What's the use of crying and begging like this? Will Deputy Yang survive?" Liu Ruyi waved his hand impatiently, signaling Luo Anbang to get up.
When things develop to this extent, Liu Ruyi really wants to scold her!
Yang Shien and Luo Anbang can be said to have failed more than succeeded!
The morale of the officers and soldiers was low, and their morale was low. If word of this defeat reached Xiangyang City, Yang Sichang would be so angry that he would vomit blood!
But now that it was like this, Liu Ruyi had to hide this defeat from the two of them!
The refugee army is in full swing, but the official army can no longer withstand such a blow! Especially if Zuo Liangyu and his son want to send troops, they must see the 'prospects'!
"Brother Luo, please tell me the details of this defeat in detail! Don't say a word!" Liu Ruyi said with a cold face.
Luo Anbang was startled, but for a moment he was overjoyed, "Thank you, General Zhendong, thank you, General Zhendong!"
Liu Ruyi's question meant that he was no longer pursuing their negligence. This made Luo Anbang feel at ease, and he quickly described the cause and effect of the matter to Liu Ruyi in detail.
After Liu Ruyi listened, he couldn't help but think deeply.
Luo Anbang explained with some embarrassment: "General Zhendong, Bei Zhi and Deputy General Yang originally thought that Luo Rucai was in Xing County with only three thousand troops and horses, so they rushed in overnight! But who knew that there were probably no less than ten thousand people in the valley!
The general at the head is Luo Rucai's confidant~Chuang Tuantian! This is his main force! If not, the brothers will definitely not be wiped out, at least Vice General Yang can fight his way out!"
Liu Ruyi nodded and asked: "You said you found the local Tu people to be your guides? What's going on here?"
Luo Anbang hurriedly told Liu Ruyi about the guide, but at this moment, he also knew that this was a trap, and he just wanted to eat the guide alive!
Liu Ruyi couldn't help but rub her temples. The west side of Jingzhou, at the junction with western Sichuan, has complex terrain and many toasts. If you are not careful, it will cause a chain reaction!
In later generations, the first generation of heroes, the Optimus Prime of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom ~ Wing King Shi Dakai, failed to handle the relationship with the local Tu people. In the end, he was defeated at Dadu River and himself was executed by the Qing army Lingchi!
It's really complicated to open up a situation here!
But the matter has come to this, and it is no longer possible to retreat. For the sake of the overall situation, Liu Ruyi can only bite the bullet and move forward to wipe the butts of these two people!
Otherwise, if the situation in western Sichuan also collapses, it will really be impossible to end!
Thinking of this, Liu Ruyi grabbed Luo Anbang's chest and asked fiercely: "Brother Luo, you can be considered a man in charge! Do you dare to go to Xingxian again to lead my army?"