novelraw Chapter 289: Meeting at Duzhucun
Chapter 289: Meeting at Duzhucun
Five hundred military horses—that was a large number. Xing Honglang stood before Cheng Xu: “I only have thirty-eight men, and there’s no way I can safely transport so many military horses back. Instructor He, I need your help this time.”
Cheng Xu, upon hearing it was the Deity’s command, immediately agreed without hesitation: “No problem, I’ll personally lead the militia to escort these military horses back.”
This time, Gao Chuwu and Zheng Daniu did not repeat their foolish talk about carrying the horses back. Instead, they raised their hands with proud smiles: “We know how to lead horses!”
Xing Honglang flared up in anger: “Shut up, you fools! What’s so great about knowing how to lead horses? Tell me, who in this world doesn’t know how to lead a horse?”
Gao Chuwu and Zheng Daniu: “…”
Cheng Xu chuckled: “If we can get these horses back, we can form a cavalry unit in Gaojia Village.”
Xing Honglang nodded: “The Deity must have that in mind too.”
Cheng Xu said: “Good, we must do this well. Have you discussed the delivery location with the seller?”
Xing Honglang replied: “I’m thinking about it. The delivery location can’t be too close, lest it bring trouble to Gaojia Village, but it can’t be too far either, or the journey back with the horses won’t be safe.”
The two unfolded the map…Li Daoxuan also looked at the map and instantly picked out a good spot.
Huanglong Mountain southeast, Duzhucun.
This place was right at the edge of Li Daoxuan’s field of vision, a place he could “keep an eye on.” It was about forty li straight-line distance from Gaojia Village, a small mountain village that had long been uninhabited.
He was about to print the name “Duzhucun” and put it into the box when he saw Cheng Xu and Xing Honglang almost simultaneously point to it: “Duzhucun!”
Xing Honglang said: “This place is within Huanglong Mountain territory. Trading with Wu Zimian here, afterwards we can say that some bandit hiding in the mountains bought the horses, so they won’t suspect Gaojia Village.”
Cheng Xu nodded: “The surrounding terrain is complex, making it easy to secretly lead the warhorses back to Gaojia Village.”
Xing Honglang said: “Good, it’s settled then.”
Cheng Xu said: “I’ll first take people over to scout ahead, get familiar with the detailed terrain around, and hide the militia nearby. You send someone to contact Wu Zimian.”
As for Li Daoxuan, he tapped the three characters “Duzhucun” outside his box, and his view shifted over instantly…
This was the outermost edge of his field of vision, a declining small mountain village. There were only about a dozen houses in the village, and it seemed it had only contained a few dozen people. After the severe drought outbreak, Duzhucun had become an empty village.
The view didn’t extend much north of the village, only about two li, but to the south, Li Daoxuan could see all the terrain—several mountain paths winding through valleys and over slopes, leading towards Chengcheng County and Hancheng directions…
It was late in the evening. Yansui General Wu Zimian was preparing to sleep.
A close confidant servant came in from outside and whispered: “General, we’ve finally found a buyer.”
Wu Zimian was overjoyed: “Five hundred first-rate warhorses—the silver required isn’t a small sum. Have you carefully verified the buyer’s capability?”
In good times, a warhorse cost about twenty taels of silver, but now times were bad—not only were bandits rampant, but Jurchens beyond the passes were frequently invading, so the price of warhorses had risen to between fifty and seventy taels of silver each.
Five hundred warhorses would require between twenty-five thousand and thirty-five thousand taels—really not a small sum. A buyer without resources wouldn’t dare take the goods.
The servant whispered: “The buyer refused to reveal his true identity, but from his accent and build, I suspect he’s a salt smuggler from Shanxi.”
Wu Zimian frowned and thought for a moment: “A salt smuggler from Shanxi? Heh! Could it be Yongji Xing Honglang? If it’s really her, well, she has the resources to handle this. Fine, let’s sell to her.”
The servant added: “The other party said they want to make the delivery at Duzhucun on the southeast slope of Huanglong Mountain.”
Wu Zimian brought out his military map, looked, and said: “It’s not far from here, either. Alright, ship the goods to Duzhucun.”
“Then we need to pass through Huanglong Mountain,” the hired guard whispered, “Wang Zuogua of Yichuan is stationed there.”
Wu Zimian laughed heartily: “If I don’t go looking for trouble with Wang Zuogua, he should count himself lucky. Does he dare to provoke me? I’d advise him to hide well; otherwise, I might just eliminate him and report to the court for some rewards.”
The hired guard laughed: “What the general says is true.”
Wu Zimian continued, “Send someone to report to Provincial Governor Zhang Mengjing. Tell him this general is dedicated and tireless, determined to eliminate Wang Zuogua of Yichuan, and I will personally lead the way into Huanglong Mountain. Hehe… At the same time, order the entire army to gather tomorrow and cross Huanglong Mountain, aiming for Duzhucun.”
The hired guard replied: “The general’s wisdom is unmatched.”
…
Meanwhile, on the eastern slope of Huanglong Mountain, in Hancheng.
More than a hundred disheveled riders, looking like thieves, were fleeing in panic.
Behind them, a group of hired guards was desperately chasing after them.
Leading the escape was the famous female horse thief of Yichuan County, Zao Ying (a historical figure).
Chasing after them were the hired guards of Shaanxi Grain Transport Supervisor Hong Chengchou.
Zao Ying was a fierce female horse thief, and her appearance was, well… quite similar to Xing Honglang.
As she ran at full speed with her subordinates, she yelled angrily: “Damn that Hong Chengchou! I just wanted to steal his grain, and he sends troops to chase me for over ten miles!”
Zao Ying prided herself on being a righteous thief, only robbing the wealthy and powerful, never the common folk. She was known for her exceptional riding skills, disappearing without a trace, often raiding official transport teams. Items like the birthday tribute and the official silver convoy were her prime targets.
This time, she had come out to raid an official grain transport team, which happened to be under the charge of Hong Chengchou.
It was a wrong move.
Zao Ying and her subordinates were beaten severely by Hong’s hired guards, causing them to lose their helmets and armor, becoming scattered and disorganized, and they had no choice but to flee. Had it not been for their superb riding skills, they likely would have been captured by now.
After running for over ten miles, they finally reached the eastern slope of Huanglong Mountain.
Seeing Huanglong Mountain, Hong’s hired guards stopped chasing them.
Military strategy states that when faced with a forest, do not pursue; the same goes for mountains.
The hired guards shouted after them, “You damn horse thieves! We’ll let you go this time. If you ever see our Hong family banner again, get as far away as you can. If you dare to disturb us again, we’ll chop you into pieces!”
Zao Ying was furious, but this anger meant “powerless rage”; expressing it would only lead to mockery. She couldn’t afford to lose focus, so she kept her head down and fled into Huanglong Mountain, needing to run deeper into the mountains to avoid being chased again by Hong’s men.
As Zao Ying and her group ran, they spotted a dilapidated little mountain village ahead. Finally, they could stop and rest. She turned to her subordinates and asked, “Where are we now?”
One subordinate replied quietly, “Huanglong Mountain, Duzhucun.”
…
Like Xing Honglang, Zao Ying was one of the leaders of the Yiyang Meeting’s thirteen households and seventy-two camps of the righteous army. Historical records only left names without any deeds, and it was uncertain if they were male or female, so in the novel for storytelling purposes, Zao Ying was portrayed as female.
Here are the names of six of the armed forces’ leaders:
He Shuangquan, New Tiger, Nine Dragons
King of Disruption (Gao Yingxiang), Leading Mountain, Brave General
Mantianfei, A Dragon, One Zhengqing
Hong Tianxing (Huntianxing)
Three Hands, One Character King, Chuang Jiang (Li Zicheng)
Scorpion Block, Mantianxing, Seven Dragons
Guan Suo (Guan Suo), Eight Kings
Zao Ying, Zhang Miaoshou, Eight Kings of Xiying (Zhang Xianzhong)
Old Zhang Fei, Zha Shou, Xing Honglang
Chuang Taitian (Liu Guoneng), Horse Hawk
Southern Camp’s Eight Heavenly Kings, Hu Claw, Hong Shi Wang (Hun Shi Wang)
One Cloud, Lawless King, Great General
Guo Tianxing (Hui Dengxiang), Second General
Hong Tianwang (Hun Tianwang)
Meng Hu, Alone Tiger, Old Huihui (Ma Guangyu)
Gao Xiaoxi, Sweeping King, Neat King
Five Dragons, Five Kings of Hell, Xing King of Disruption
Cao Cao (Luo Rucai), Rice Straw, Forcing on the Road
Four Tigers, Huanglong, Great Heavenly King, Pizhizhen
Zhang Fei, Stone Taitian (She Taitian Li Wanquing)
Xue Rengui, Golden Winged Roc, Eight Golden Dragons
Shoe Sole Shine, Roof Tile, Liu Bei
Drilling Sky Hawk, Sky Dragon
From their names, it is clear that many in this group have read “Romance of the Three Kingdoms” and “Water Margin.”