Chapter 349: Prepared in Advance

After Wang Er finished speaking, the tent fell into silence.

The atmosphere was eerie!

But this situation wasn’t beyond Wang Er’s expectations. He knew those words, once spoken, would have this kind of effect. Wang Jiayin needed to think it over, and the deliberation wouldn’t be short.

Wang Er cupped his hands in respect. “My words are finished. I will go back and rest first. Brothers, perhaps you should carefully consider this matter.”

With that, he withdrew from the tent, returned among his own battalion, found a corner to lean against his clothes, lay down, and rested.

Quite some time after Wang Er left, Wang Jiayin finally spoke. “Brothers, come, let’s discuss. What are your thoughts?”

The King of Disruption and Zijin Liang (Wang Ziyong) exchanged a look; neither spoke up first.

Zhang Liwei, Wang Jiayin’s brother-in-law, spoke. “Wang Er has already grown distant from us.”

His clansman Wang Guozhong also spoke. “We sent him south to open the path from Qiachuan Port to Huanglong Mountain. But he just circled around and came back without opening the road. Instead, he went off to find some… ‘rebel band in Guyuan’… Hmph! His meaning is that we aren’t as capable as the rebel band in Guyuan, that we should listen to them, is that it?”

Wang Jiayin’s face darkened.

Zhang Liwei said, “I say we should kill him. Otherwise, his poisonous words will deceive the masses and disturb our army’s morale. Or, if he just defects to that rebel band in Guyuan, many who joined us because of him will follow.”

Wang Guozhong said, “I agree with that.”

Wang Jiayin, his face black with anger, turned to the King of Disruption and Zijin Liang. “You two, what do you think?”

The two had been planning to stay silent; suddenly questioned, the King of Disruption spoke. “I think those aiming for great achievements need to have a bit of magnanimity. If Wang Er feels the rebel band in Guyuan is better, just let him go there. There’s no real need for us to kill him. An act like that sounds bad, harms the ‘loyalty in jianghu’.”

Zijin Liang also spoke up. “I agree with Brother King of Disruption. Although we’ve gathered here to act together, we aren’t a solid block, a ‘Piece of Iron’. Each brings his own battalion; no one commands another. If we kill Wang Er just because he wants to leave, what will the other leaders think? Full Sky Star, Sky Dragon, Old Tiger Wang, Lone Wolf, Hao Lin’an, Liu Liu… if they see Wang Er killed, they too will become distant.”

Hearing this speech, Wang Jiayin’s expression grew even more grave.

Zijin Liang spoke sense!

Although everyone paid respect to Wang Jiayin as the Big Brother, every righteous army leader had arrived bringing his own band of fellows and kin from home. Each commanded his own battalion; who didn’t have some core followers?

Once they killed Wang Er, what if every leader started thinking: If I want to break away later, will Big Brother kill me too?

An uproar like that could tear the whole force apart.

Better to be generous, let Wang Er walk away. Let him have the vast sea and open skies. Meeting again later in the jianghu, they might still be brothers.

Wang Jiayin finally spoke. “Alright! That settles it. If Wang Er wants to defect to the rebel band in Guyuan, let him. We won’t hinder him. We preserve the brotherly bond of loyalty. That way, word won’t spread that we lack the capacity to tolerate others.”

Zhang Liwei was terribly anxious. “My sister’s husband! You cannot have the unreasonable softness of a woman!”

Wang Guozhong also said, “Killing him is better. Cut off future trouble. Make an example of him.”

Wang Jiayin declared, “Say no more. My mind is made up. All of you, leave.”

Zhang Liwei and Wang Guozhong walked out resentfully.

Once outside, Zhang Liwei muttered quietly, “Brother Wang, you also think Wang Er ought to be killed, right? Letting that man go, he’ll surely fight us for territory later.”

Wang Guozhong nodded. “We should just disobey Big Brother. Slit Wang Er’s throat swiftly. Afterwards, when Big Brother asks, the man is already dead. He won’t have any choice; he can’t feud with the living over a dead man. You’re his wife’s brother, I’m from the same clan; he certainly won’t dare do anything to us.”

Zhang Liwei chuckled darkly. “I’ll bring along a few trusted men. Each a fierce warrior.”

Wang Guozhong said, “I’ll also bring a few trusted men. We’ll act together.”

They hastily went back to gather manpower. To avoid drawing attention, each brought only three or five men, totaling less than ten. Pretending to patrol the camps, they approached Wang Er’s camp area.

They saw Wang Er wrapped in clothes, lying on his side in a corner by a broken wall.

The two gave each other a signal, and their trusted subordinates all pounced on Wang Er together…

Several waist knives simultaneously struck at Wang Er.

But as they struck down, they heard the “ding ding ding” sound of blades hitting stone. Looking closely, what was lying on the ground was not Wang Er at all, but Wang Er’s clothes wrapped around several large stones.

Wang Er himself had long since vanished without a trace.

Zhang Liwei: “Damn it!”

Wang Guozhong: “This guy was actually prepared all along.”

From behind a distant tree, half of Xi Ying Eighth Great King’s face appeared. It turned out he had been following the two, secretly watching the commotion. Seeing them fooled by Wang Er, he couldn’t help but chuckle softly: “Two fools, good for nothing and always messing things up. With these two troublemakers under Wang Jiayin, they’ll get him killed sooner or later.”

He had originally planned to join Wang Jiayin’s army to act together. But after this incident, he felt there was no need to stay here—it was better to make his own way alone.

Xi Ying Eighth Great King quietly slipped out of Wang Jiayin’s camp and headed north with his own men.

…

Led by Zhang Yuanwai, the Heyang County militia arrived at Qiachuan Port.

They saw Bai Yuan standing by the port with a group of people dressed shabbily.

This group was naturally White Cat and the Wangjia Villagers.

They had waited there for a day without seeing Wang Er return. They knew in their hearts that Wang Er had run into trouble. But Wang Er had taken all the boats and forbidden them to follow, so White Cat, aside from waiting, had no other option.

The whole group was extremely anxious, waiting restlessly, scratching their heads in frustration.

Zhang Yuanwai saw this group looking strange and not like good people, and he muttered to himself with doubt. He approached and said, “Brother Bai, who are these people?”

Bai Yuan turned around: “Brother Zhang, you’re here? No worries, these people are common folk from Wangjia Village in my Chengcheng County. They’ve been wandering outside for over two years and only just returned a couple of days ago.”

Zhang Yuanwai, hearing this, was utterly confused: Wandering outside for over two years? How did they wander? Could it be… cough…

Bai Yuan: “Brother Zhang, don’t worry too much. They’re all good people. Since your men have come, let’s quickly build a temporary fort by the port. We’ll first put up a wooden fort. When the porters arrive, we’ll have them use cement to build a fortress—that way, Qiachuan Port will be foolproof.”

This task, of course, had to be done immediately!

Zhang Yuanwai quickly ordered the militia to chop trees and logs, first setting up a wooden fort by the port. A wooden wall could at least provide some defense.

White Cat, seeing this, quickly said to the hundred Wangjia Villagers: “Everyone, get moving and help the Heyang County folks construct the fort together.”

…

The early history of Zhang Xianzhong was poorly recorded, with many historical sources contradicting each other and few reliable ones. The exact time of his uprising wasn’t clearly noted.

Generally, people believe he rose up in response to Wang Jiayin’s uprising. But he didn’t follow Wang Jiayin’s movements; most of the time, he operated alone with his own army and seldom merged with other rebels for joint actions.

It might have been because he was well-educated, had some insight, and could even write poems—he simply didn’t fit with those uneducated bandits.

What’s more, he acted with great brutality and slaughtered people mercilessly. Other rebel leaders, seeing his fierce aura, would probably get scared and keep their distance.

Zhang Xianzhong started out with only about three hundred men. Later, he gathered more and more followers, and his power grew stronger. He eventually became an enormous force that could rival Li Zicheng.