Chapter 342: Wang Jiayin is Coming

Bai Yuan had long since discussed the militia matters with Feng Jun.

Feng Jun had also long since agreed that Gaojia Village would fund the militia of Heyang County.

Now that he had also secured Zhang Yuanwai’s cooperation, the following steps became much simpler.

“Brother Zhang,” Bai Yuan lowered his voice and said, “Once you return, start expanding the militia recruitment right away. As for the food and weapons needed for the militia, our Gaojia Village can provide you with all of that. First, let’s build up the troop size, so it will be easier for us to join forces later to deal with those large groups of bandits.”

Zhang Yuanwai nodded vigorously. “I’ll listen to what Brother Bai says,” he said, “I’ll start working on this as soon as I return. And my brother, I know many militia instructors from villages and towns across Heyang County. I will bring them all to meet with Brother Bai. From now on, we will act together under Brother Bai’s command.”

Bai Yuan laughed inwardly, but outwardly remained unmoved. Cupping his hands, he said, “As long as we are united, I am confident that we can block that Wang Jiayin from Fugu County.”

Zhang Yuanwai replied, “Then I rely entirely on Brother Bai.”

……

Wang Jiayin from Fugu County had just hit great misfortune!

As the leader of a peasant uprising army who came from a border army background, Wang Jiayin had a very smooth start in the beginning. He gathered a part of the border army as his core team, then won the support of a large crowd of famine victims, building up strong momentum. He successively recruited two major generals: King of Disruption (Gao Yingxiang) from Ansei, and Zijin Liang (Wang Ziyong).

Next, Bai Shui Wang Er came north from the Yulin region and joined forces with Wang Jiayin.

Relying on Wang Er’s reputation as the top rebel in this world, a large number of forest heroes came to join, boosting Wang Jiayin’s military strength greatly. By the Third Year of Chongzhen, his total troop strength had surpassed fifty thousand.

With fifty thousand troops at his command, Wang Jiayin felt a bit cocky and didn’t use an alias; he used his real name Wang Jiayin. That was how brazen he was.

He attacked Fugu County town in one move, opened the granaries to distribute grain, then pushed down the city walls, flattening Fugu County into a wasteland. Next, he breached Huangfuchuan Fort and toppled its fortress wall, turning it into level ground too.

Basically, everywhere he went, he flattened everything into level ground.

Destruction was easier than construction. Cities whose walls he destroyed were hard to rebuild; it would take time, effort, and countless porters, and they couldn’t get it done within a few years. In those years, he could return anytime to raid again.

A town with no wall protection was just like open ground.

This trick was something he had learned from the Mongolians during his time as a border army soldier. It worked very well.

All this commotion had been very satisfying.

Winning battle after battle made him forget he was just a roving bandit.

He actually dispatched water forces with great fanfare, crossing the Yellow River to attack Hequ County in Shanxi, carrying out a “cross-river assault” that even regular armies dared not attempt lightly.

This reckless move definitely brought punishment upon him!

The Shanxi troop commander did not indulge him. He had Western cannons mounted on the county town walls and blasted Wang Jiayin’s water forces until they cried for their parents and husbands, retreating back to Shaanxi.

Wang Jiayin refused to back down. He began moving south along the Yellow River, intending to enter Huanglong Mountain. Then, using Huanglong Mountain as a base, he could attack Yan’an Prefecture and surrounding counties at will.

His plan sounded good, but to enter Huanglong Mountain, he first had to pass through Yichuan County.

Just as he swaggered proudly at the head of his fifty thousand troops, “passing through Yichuan County,” he came across a man: Hong Chengchou, Shaanxi Grain Transport Supervisor.

If Wang Zuogua had been there, he would have told him to escape upon meeting Hong Chengchou.

Unfortunately, Wang Zuogua was already dead, so no one told Wang Jiayin about this.

Wang Jiayin completely dismissed this Hong Chengchou who had only brought a few hundred retainers and a thousand-strong militia. With a F2A maneuver, he charged with his fifty thousand troops straight at Hong Chengchou.

Then…

Wang Jiayin was now hiding in a small fishing village along the Yellow River, surrounded by a group of ash-faced subordinates, all looking utterly wretched.

His brother-in-law Zhang Liwei, who was married to his sister, had dust all over his face. He took a sip of water just scooped from the Yellow River and spat it out with a “pfft.” “Damn it, that tastes awful,” he cursed.

Wang Jiayin said, “Don’t drink river water straight; it’ll cause diarrhea. Boil it before drinking.”

Zhang Liwei answered, “No mood for boiling water now. Screw that Hong Chengchou. What kind of monster is he? We charged at him with fifty thousand troops, yet he wasn’t scared? Instead, he led two thousand men straight at us and actually beat us. Damn it.”

Wang Jiayin’s cousin Wang Guozhong spoke up. “Brother, that Hong Chengchou is just a civil official, yet he fought unreasonably fiercely. I’m afraid we can’t get through this Yichuan County. There’s no way we can enter Huanglong Mountain.”

Wang Jiayin nodded. He was a bit puzzled too. Fifty thousand against two thousand! His side still had a core border army team. How did he lose? He really couldn’t understand.

The more he didn’t understand, the less he dared to provoke them again.

Failure was the mother of success only if one learned from it. But if he didn’t even know how he lost, it showed the gap between them was too wide, with nothing to learn from the experience.

Another battle would definitely end in defeat again.

Just at that moment, a fleet of boats drifted into view on the river. Most were small fishing boats, with a few medium-sized merchant vessels mixed in. At the prow of the leading merchant ship stood a sturdy man, none other than Bai Shui Wang Er, whom they hadn’t seen for a long time.

Wang Er at this time was worlds apart from the Wang Er who had just started rebelling. His face now bore weathered marks, and he sported a beard with wistful stubble. The only thing unchanged was his gaze, still resolute, still full of passion and boldness.

Wang Er jumped off the boat and ran toward Wang Jiayin. “Brother,” he asked, “how is it that you’ve come back?”

Wang Jiayin looked crestfallen. “Couldn’t get past Yichuan County,” he answered. “That Hong Chengchou, Shaanxi Grain Transport Supervisor, blocked us and pushed us back.”

Wang Er exclaimed, “Huh? That Hong guy is that tough?”

Wang Jiayin replied, “Extremely tough! I’m afraid we can’t get through Yichuan County. We can’t enter Huanglong Mountain.”

Wang Er said, “Then let’s forget about entering. We can still go to Shanxi.”

Secretly, he truly didn’t want this group to march into Huanglong Mountain. South of Huanglong Mountain lay two places that held special meaning for Wang Er: Bai Shui County, his hometown, and Chengcheng County, where he had joined his relatives to start his rebellion.

He knew Wang Jiayin’s subordinates were all a band of roving bandits; killing and plundering were like eating and drinking for them. Once they entered Huanglong Mountain, it would be hard to ensure they didn’t devastate Bai Shui County and Chengcheng County.

Zhang Liwei spoke up. “How easy is entering Shanxi?” he said. “That Shanxi troop commander brought out Western cannons even. Back in Shaanxi, the Five Troop Divisions have all entered the capital to serve Wang. Shaanxi is still better to operate in. We should find a way into Huanglong Mountain.”

Wang Guozhong chimed in. “I have an idea!”

Wang Jiayin asked, “Oh?”

Wang Guozhong explained, “Take the water route, head south along the Yellow River, land at Qiachuan Port in Heyang County. From there, we go west through Heyang County, pass Chengcheng County, and enter Huanglong Mountain.”

Wang Er cursed inwardly: Screw this!

Wang Jiayin declared, “This plan is excellent. Let’s do that.”

Wang Er quickly spoke up. “Our boats aren’t enough for fifty thousand men to move together,” he warned. “Brother, how about stationing the main force here for a few days? Let me lead my unit ahead to scout the path first.”