Chapter 127: Seizing the Opportunity to Attack

Li Yi was in the middle of his inspection when he suddenly received the news that the rebel forces were retreating, which caught him somewhat off guard.

Buyan, accompanied by two Uriankhai cavalrymen, had ridden out of the city to scout the enemy's movements and immediately galloped back with the report.

"You mean Miaomei took the initiative to attack us because He Renlong instigated him from behind? And now, having suffered heavy casualties, Miaomei is furious and has gone to settle accounts with He Renlong?"

Buyan nodded and replied, "That is what the frontier soldiers who fled to Suijin Town are saying."

Li Yi gave a dry chuckle. "I never imagined He Renlong would lift a rock only to drop it on his own feet."

Gao Jie, Liu Zongmin, and the others standing nearby burst into loud laughter.

"Where has He Renlong fled to now? And what are his losses?"

"He Renlong has fled northward. The casualties among his cavalry are not severe, but fewer than a hundred of his infantry managed to escape. His forces have taken a heavy blow."

Originally, He Renlong's command consisted of two hundred cavalry and two hundred infantry, which meant this battle had cost him just over a hundred casualties.

It seemed He Renlong had not retreated because he was completely outmatched, but rather to preserve his strength and avoid being swallowed whole by the rebels.

A cold smile played on Li Yi's lips.

While this move allowed He Renlong to preserve his forces, he had lost the water fort and returned in defeat; Grand Coordinator Hong Chengchou would certainly not let him off lightly.

"Liu Zongmin, Gao Jie, take your two units and follow me out of the city. Everyone else, hold the fortress."

At Li Yi's command, Gao Jie looked startled and asked, "Commander, what are you planning to do?"

Li Yi smiled faintly. "Since Miaomei's main force has gone off to pursue He Renlong, we should naturally charge into their camp and destroy all their siege weapons."

The others suddenly understood.

During Miaomei's previous assault on the city, had it not been for their numerous scaling ladders, the frontier rebels would never have breached the walls so easily.

Now that Miaomei's main force had not yet returned from chasing He Renlong, the siege weapons were left unguarded in the camp—this was the perfect window of opportunity to strike.

Li Yi immediately instructed Buyan, "Have the cavalry form teams of three and keep a close eye on the movements of Miaomei's main force. The moment they turn back, report to us at once."

After a moment of thought, Li Yi added, "Send a few more men to monitor the main force of Wang Zuogua in the west."

Buyan nodded and went to make the arrangements.

Before long, Li Yi led over two hundred Suijin soldiers out of the southern gate.

The rebel camp, located ten miles away, never expected the government troops to sortie from the city. Thrown into utter panic, they were beaten into a disorderly rout.

Li Yi led the Suijin soldiers to breach the camp, slaying fifty defending frontier rebels and three hundred local bandits, while dispersing a large crowd of coerced refugees.

Then, they burned the siege engines and returned in triumph.

Upon their return, Gao Jie and the others wore beaming smiles, loudly cheering that it had been a thoroughly satisfying fight.

At that moment, Buyan came forward to report.

"My lord, I went west to scout the enemy situation around Hancheng and spotted a large army heading toward Longmen Town. By a rough estimate, there are about five thousand men."

"Five thousand men? Where did so many soldiers come from?" Gao Jie exclaimed in shock beside him.

Li Yi looked at Buyan, his expression turning grave.

Buyan immediately explained, "Judging by their formations and banners, they are clearly the rebel main army. The frontier soldiers in the vanguard are already armored, numbering close to a thousand."

"Nearly a thousand?" Li Yi was startled.

Buyan nodded, indicating he could not have mistaken it.

"The only rebels in the west are under Wang Zuogua, who was attacking Hancheng. Hong Chengchou previously stated that he had only seven thousand men in total. Yet the forces of Feishanhu and Miaomei alone already number five thousand; if we add this newly arrived army, Wang Zuogua's forces must exceed ten thousand."

Li Yi turned to Feishanhu and asked, "Do you know the reason for this?"

Feishanhu explained, "My lord, your information was incomplete. Aside from major chieftains like Miaomei and Dahonglang, Wang Zuogua's personal command consists of eight hundred frontier soldiers, two thousand local bandits, and countless coerced refugees."

A chill ran through Li Yi's heart, and his expression darkened.

While local bandits were fierce yet lacked strong combat capability, and refugees were even weaker, the true threat to the Suijin forces were the veteran frontier soldiers.

He had assumed Wang Zuogua commanded very few frontier soldiers, but nearly a thousand more had suddenly emerged, making them a formidable opponent.

Not only Li Yi, but Gao Jie, Liu Zongmin, and the others nearby also saw their expressions change.

Previously, the assault by several hundred frontier soldiers had stretched the Suijin forces to their limits. Now that Wang Zuogua's main army was approaching, how could they possibly continue to hold Longmen Town?

Many of them lost their confidence.

The commander of the rebel forces approaching from the west was none other than Wang Zuogua, a major rebel leader as renowned as Wang Jiayin.

After capturing Longmen Ferry, he had led his troops to besiege Hancheng. However, Hancheng was defended by over a thousand government soldiers, bolstered by the retainers and able-bodied militia of the gentry families within the city, successfully repelling his continuous assaults for days.

Just at that juncture, Li Yi captured Longmen Town and seized the money and grain the rebels had plundered.

With his offensive stalled and his retreat cut off by the government forces, the rebel morale grew unstable. Left with no other choice, Wang Zuogua decided to lead his main army to root out Li Yi's thorn before resuming his advance.

No sooner had Wang Zuogua marched within twenty li of the western side of Longmen Town than Miaomei hurried over with his personal cavalry guard.

Catching sight of Wang Zuogua—who wore a mountain-patterned armor, an iron helmet, and a saber slung at his waist—Miaomei hurriedly dismounted and ran up to him.

Wang Zuogua, of medium build with thick eyebrows and large eyes, sat heavily in his saddle, his expression stern.

Glaring down at the approaching Miaomei with wide eyes, he roared furiously, "Miaomei, you bastard, you actually have the guts to show your face to me. What on earth happened at Longmen Town?"

Swallowing his fear, Miaomei stepped forward and said submissively, "Great Commander, it is not that this subordinate failed to give his all. Before I could lead my troops to Longmen Town, the government soldiers had already broken in. Those government troops simply moved too fast."

"Spew your dogshit! Longmen Town is only sixty li away from Hancheng, and you had Feishanhu leading two thousand brothers to guard it. Do government troops have wings? How could they have captured the city so quickly?"

Not knowing the full sequence of events and facing a barrage of curses, Miaomei could only stand in place, tilting his head and sighing endlessly.

"Didn't you lead your troops to launch an attack afterward? What is the situation now?" Wang Zuogua demanded sternly.

Miaomei let out a long breath and quickly reported, "There are about a thousand men inside the city, while our forces number only three thousand. After we scaled the walls, we were driven back down. However, this subordinate then led the men to capture the water fort by the Yellow River and defeated the government troops stationed there."

Hearing that Miaomei had secured a victory, Wang Zuogua's expression softened slightly.