Chapter 236: Defeating the Bandits
Chapter 236: Defeating the Bandits
The soldiers sat cross-legged, each looking strong and full of energy.
They took out dry rations and water. The dry rations were mostly fried rice or dry steamed cakes, which were very hard to swallow.
But everyone quietly ate as much as they could.
A fierce battle was coming, and they were ready.
…
Elsewhere, Fang Jinglong hid behind a tree root to urinate. He wiped his hands back and forth on his torn armor. He was one of the few in the army who cared about cleanliness.
He sat down. Old Wang handed him a bamboo tube. Fang Jinglong opened the tube, took a sip of water, then spat and showed his teeth.
“Same rules as usual later.”
“Understood. If things look bad, I will slip away first.” Old Wang nodded very familiarly.
“Mm.” Fang Jinglong patted his shoulder and sighed. “When people die, everything is gone. Dying in vain is pointless. So if anything happens to me, you must live. You remember the way we came, and you hid dry rations along the path. Just go back the same way. I will have died in battle. Dying in battle means compensation. His Majesty will honor our Fang Family. When you return to Guiyang, or even the Capital, to the Ministry of War, do you still remember those words?”
“I remember them all.” Old Wang pointed to his own forehead and nodded very seriously. “My ancestors all remembered them.”
“Say it then.” Fang Jinglong said with no expression.
Old Wang said familiarly, “The Earl fought to the death and refused to retreat. Unfortunately, the bandits grew in number. The Earl was surrounded. He killed more than ten bandits but was covered in wounds. There was a horse by the Earl’s side, but he did not escape on it. Instead, he kept fighting to the death, shouting a line of poetry before the bandits finally cut him down with their swords.”
“Good job!” Fang Jinglong looked at Old Wang with relief. “Recite the poem now. I am afraid you forgot it.”
Old Wang said without thinking, “Loyalty penetrates the bright sun, integrity leans on the blue sky…”
“Change it. The Xinzou Earl who died in battle at Datong last time used that line.” Fang Jinglong shook his head.
But Old Wang refused. He spoke very solemnly.
“Ah, Earl, the Fang Family has always used this one for generations. If we change to a new one, I am afraid I will not remember it.”
Fang Jinglong rolled his eyes at him. After a moment of careful thought, he said, “Last time I heard Jifan recite a line. It was quite original. I am no scholar and do not understand poetry much. Our ancestors picked this line and passed it down through generations, fearing that if we died in battle and reported to the imperial court, it would not sound heroic enough. The biggest flaw of the cabinet ministers and those damned officials at the Ministry of War is that they are too literary. If you do not recite a poem when you die, they will not be moved. Then the compensation and posthumous honors will not be upgraded. What did Jifan recite last time… Oh, ‘If it benefits the country, I would risk life and death; how could I avoid danger because of personal fortune or misfortune?’ Remember this. Even if we are lucky not to die this time, your sons and grandsons should use it in the future. Pass it down through generations. This poem sounds new; I suppose no one else has used it yet.”
Old Wang quickly repeated the poem several times until he barely remembered it, but he sighed. “Earl, you are already an Earl. Why are you still planning for posthumous honors?”
Fang Jinglong frowned. “What do you know? A general must either achieve a great merit or die. The former brings glory, the latter brings ‘death merit.’ If we do not rely on this to benefit our descendants, should we become deserters? For generations, our Fang Family has had no cowards, except for your great-grandfather, who was my father. But my father was saving people, carrying his old brothers back from Tumu Fortress. That was for loyalty; it is not shameful.”
At this point, he sighed and became emotional again.
“If I run away or become a defeated general, that would be a disgrace. This disgrace would fall on Jifan. Even if His Majesty is generous and does not blame us, Jifan would still feel ashamed. He has become sensible now and is getting better and better. As his father, I am happy to see it…”
As Fang Jinglong spoke, tears suddenly fell from the corners of his eyes. Glittering tears streamed down his cheeks. He used his old hand to wipe the tears from his face.
“So I only have two paths. Even if I die here, it is not bad. At least the current His Majesty is a generous person. If I die, the favor will be added to Jifan. If Jifan ever causes trouble in the future, His Majesty will remember that the Fang Family served for generations and that I, Fang Jinglong, gave my life here. He might show extra mercy.”
Old Wang nodded silently in strong agreement. A moment later, he sighed with emotion. “The Nanhe Bo Mansion received the nation’s favor for generations, and it was not without reason.”
Fang Jinglong smiled, tears still in his eyes. “To be honest, I really hope to survive and see Jifan get married and have children, to hold my own grandson. If I do not get to see it, you must watch for me. When the time comes, remember to come to my grave and report!”
Old Wang nodded heavily, his eyes also filling with tears.
“Enough!” Fang Jinglong stood up abruptly. His smelly armor clattered. He drew his sword and spoke with great passion.
“Assemble! Everyone, follow me, Fang Jinglong! Watch carefully! I will be at the very front. I am the Guizhou Regional Commander. I charge ahead. If I hesitate, you behind me, kill me. But if you hesitate, then the rear squad will kill the front squad. Now we have no more food. We are at the end of our rope. Either you all follow me, Fang Jinglong, to a life of luxury, or we die here!”
With that order, the entire Mountain Brigade quickly assembled. Each held their swords, like tigers and wolves.
That day.
Stone Stream Stronghold was attacked. The Ming Army descended from the sky. In the evening, they charged into the stronghold like hungry tigers pouncing on sheep.
A group of ragged official soldiers went mad, wildly slashing with their swords, destroying everything effortlessly.
The native people in the stronghold never expected Ming Army troops to appear here. By the time they realized what was happening, they had no time to pick up their weapons. These jackals with green eyes were already upon them, performing open chest and belly surgery.
Each twisted face showed no pity at all.
Just two incense sticks later, inside a stilt house, Fang Jinglong, covered in blood, walked heavily up the wooden stairs.
On the second floor, a woman sat cross-legged. Several official soldiers pointed spears at her body.
Fang Jinglong stood still, squinting his eyes, staring straight at her.
One of the officers reported.
“Regional Commander, this is the woman. She had the most guards here. She must be the leader of this stronghold.”
Fang Jinglong was overjoyed.
A woman… A woman as the leader… Then who this woman was became self-evident.
He shuddered.
His son’s words in the letter were finally confirmed.
That guy Jifan truly had foresight. Planning strategies and winning victories from a thousand miles away… it must be like this.
Fang Jinglong was very excited. He sharply said to the officer beside him, “Bring the portrait.”
For any imperial criminal, the imperial court would do everything possible to create a portrait showing the criminal’s appearance. The rebellion-suppressing army was filled with such portraits.
So Old Wang did not hesitate. He took out an oilpaper package from his chest, unwrapped it layer by layer, and finally, a portrait fell out.
Fang Jinglong looked closely and began to feel uneasy.
The person in the portrait was clearly an old woman with triangular eyes, a collapsed nose, buckteeth, and eyebrows like a door god…
But the woman sitting cross-legged was quite beautiful, a well-maintained young woman.
This…
He blinked, thinking hard.
Could it be… a mistake?
“It is me.” The woman looked calmly at Fang Jinglong and spoke with composure. “You do not need to confirm anymore. I… have lost.”
Huu…
Fang Jinglong breathed a sigh of relief.
He shouted sharply, “Tie her up! This place is dangerous. The soldiers will rest in the stronghold for one night. Slaughter all the cattle and sheep in this stronghold. Eat and drink your fill. Bring some dry rations. We depart tomorrow!”
He sheathed his sword, feeling somewhat excited. The rebellion that had troubled the Great Ming Dynasty imperial court for two years, this hateful imperial criminal whom all the officials and the sovereign wanted to tear to pieces, was finally captured. Guizhou… would soon be peaceful.
He said to Old Wang beside him.
“Send someone to Guiyang to report our success! Tell everyone that I, Fang Jinglong, keep my word. Your children will have milk to drink in the future!”
As if… afraid that his promise was too big and he could not fulfill it, leading to embarrassment, he added, “Listen carefully, it is goat’s milk!”
…
Mr. Wang cried.
It happened during class at the school. This strange teacher came in the evening and began to explain to the students what the Analects were and why Confucius wrote the Analects. But as he spoke, his eyes turned red, and then he began to cry uncontrollably.
The students, who had been holding their breath and listening quietly, immediately became chaotic. They laughed loudly. Some threw books into the air; some jumped onto their desks.
“The teacher is crying! It must be Xu Jie’s fault.”
“Nonsense! I will beat you! It is you, Zhang Xiaohu, who made him cry because you are so ugly.”
Wang Shouren felt heartbroken and could not breathe. By the time Tang Yin arrived, suppressed the students, and helped Wang Shouren out of Minglun Hall, Wang Shouren was saying, “Mentor… Mentor… I finally understand. I finally understand my Mentor’s good intentions. Mentor… you are so great!”
Tang Yin’s eyes nearly popped out. What? Did Mentor give extra lessons to my junior brother?
After finally calming Wang Shouren down, Fang Jifan hurried over upon hearing the news.
Wang Shouren crying?
He did not believe it at all. This was a sage, a remarkable person skilled in both martial arts and literary arts.
But when Fang Jifan saw Wang Shouren with red eyes, he knew the truth was before him.
Seeing Fang Jifan arrive, Wang Shouren quickly stood up and bowed respectfully to him. “Your student pays respects to Mentor.”
“What happened?” Fang Jifan put his hands behind his back. Although concerned inside, he kept his hands behind his back, chin slightly raised, maintaining a certain upward angle, looking like ‘I am your father.’
“Mentor’s teachings… I finally understand. Mentor is so great. I am deeply grateful for the teaching I received.”
“…”
What? Fang Jifan remained confused, his eyes showing no understanding. Did I teach you anything recently, Young Lord?