Chapter 71

"Do not pursue the defeated enemy!"

Liu Jun rode his horse in front of the formation of long spears, shouting orders as he galloped. The battle was simpler than Liu Jun had imagined. Although he had only fifteen cavalrymen and 120 new recruits, the bandits they faced were not much better. There were about ten mounted bandit elites leading over three hundred disorganized and undisciplined foot soldiers. When facing the twenty or so patrol archers led by Zhao Dagu, the bandits could still rely on their numbers. However, when facing Liu Jun and his experienced officers leading a group of brave new recruits, they were no match.

Several rounds of gunfire had already frightened the bandits, and the neatly arranged eight-foot-long spears made it impossible for them to find a way to attack. When Liu Jun and his men killed the mounted bandit leaders, the remaining bandits, seeing their comrades impaled on the spears, finally shouted and turned to flee.

The new recruits wanted to pursue them, but Liu Jun stopped them. A group of disorganized bandits, once they fled, would not be able to regroup and return. Killing them would be pointless. Even if they cut off the heads, the authorities would not give Liu Jun much silver. Instead, for each head, Liu Jun would have to pay twenty taels of silver himself. These were all old and weak people, and even if they were captured, they would only waste food.

The purpose of this mission was to rescue Zhao Dagu. Since the bandits had been defeated, the goal had been achieved.

"New recruits, go and cut off the heads. Each of you must have blood on your blades!" Liu Jun shouted at the new recruits. These new recruits were of excellent quality. Although it was their first battle, no one panicked. When the bandits charged on horseback, they did not turn and run but followed orders and thrust their spears. This was quite remarkable.

However, Liu Jun still hoped to help the new recruits adapt to war more quickly. Having them cut off the heads of the bandits and stab the corpses would help them adapt faster.

After the battle, the formation was disbanded, and the new recruits, armed with machetes, sickles, and axes, went to practice on the bandit corpses under the leadership of their team leaders. Many of the new recruits, who had performed well just moments ago, could not help but vomit when cutting off the heads of the corpses. Liu Jun smiled; this was normal.

Zhao Dagu, supported by the archers, came down the mountain.

"Liu Jun, deputy commander of the Nine-Headed Bird cavalry."

"Zhao Dagu, patrol officer of Hu Tou Pass." Zhao Dagu straightened his body and introduced himself. "Thank you, Brother Liu. If you hadn't arrived in time, we would all have been killed here today." He was genuinely grateful. This ambush due to overconfidence was extremely dangerous, and they had almost been wiped out. On the mountain, he had already thought they were doomed, and the county would not have been able to send help in time. Sending someone to seek Liu Jun's assistance was just a last-ditch effort, but Liu Jun actually came and defeated the bandits so easily.

"All of us are brothers-in-arms, and it was my duty to help," Liu Jun waved his hand.

Zhao Dagu looked at the new recruits who were cutting off the bandits' heads on the battlefield. "These are all strong young men. Are these the brothers of the Nine-Headed Bird? I've heard that you and Brother Li led the Nine-Headed Bird brothers to great victories at the Zhongyi Inn, wiping out the bandits. Impressive."

Liu Jun turned to look at the new recruits who were covering their noses while cleaning up the battlefield and smiled. "These are indeed my brothers from the Nine-Headed Bird, but they were recruited just a few days ago in Taiping Township. Thanks to the martial spirit of the people in Taiping, they are bold and fierce. Otherwise, with just me and a dozen brothers, we might not have been able to break the siege."

Zhao Dagu and the archers were stunned. "These are new recruits, not the brothers who fought at the Zhongyi Inn?"

"After the bandit suppression, we took a seven-day leave, and the team members went home. I and a few brothers came to a brother's home in Taiping Township, intending to recruit some new recruits. We didn't expect to encounter this situation and felt it was our duty to help. Fortunately, we didn't fail."

Zhao Dagu was greatly shocked. He had been wondering how Liu Jun could bring the Nine-Headed Bird team to rescue them so quickly. Now he learned that they were all new recruits recruited just a few days ago. Despite this, Liu Jun had managed to defeat over three hundred bandits with just a hundred new recruits and a dozen experienced brothers.

It was hard to imagine.

If Liu Jun hadn't said it himself, Zhao Dagu wouldn't have believed it. From his vantage point on the mountain, he had seen the disciplined formation and the new recruits' fearless thrusting of their spears. It was hard to believe they were just a few days' recruits.

Zhao Dagu felt a deep admiration for Liu Jun. Despite his youth, his abilities were truly remarkable.

"This place is not safe. The bandits might return. Let's head back to Hu Tou Pass first," Liu Jun suggested, and Zhao Dagu nodded in agreement.

By this time, the battlefield had been mostly cleaned up, and Zhang Shan came to report the results.

"Thirteen mounted bandits and thirty-seven foot bandits were killed. We also captured seven good horses and various weapons, including swords, spears, bows, and armor. None of our men were killed, and only two were lightly wounded, but they are fine."

In the end, five or six mounted bandits managed to escape.

Zhao Dagu's casualties were severe. He had almost taken all the patrol officers with him, leaving only a deputy and two clerks behind. Zhao Dagu had brought a scribe and twenty archers, and now, apart from the archer Xiao Wu who had escaped to report, only sixteen remained. Five were killed, and the remaining sixteen were all injured. Zhao Dagu had arrow wounds on his leg and shoulder, and two archers were severely injured, with a grim outlook. A few others might be permanently disabled.

This was a significant blow to the Hu Tou Pass patrol.

After a quick cleanup, the new recruits of the Nine-Headed Bird took fifty bandit heads, used the seven captured horses to carry the injured archers, and made several stretchers from the captured spears to carry the dead archers. Leaving the battlefield bloody and smoky, they slowly retreated to Hu Tou Pass.

Meanwhile, the other messengers from Taiping Post rushed to the county and Shen Zhuang Bao Sheng Fort.

"What? Zhao Dagu of Hu Tou Pass was ambushed while pursuing bandits and is now surrounded by hundreds of bandits in the mountains? Are they the bandits from the eastern Left Fifth Camp?" County Magistrate Lu Jinxi had just finished distributing rewards to the militiamen and constables after the previous bandit suppression and was in a good mood, having had a few extra drinks.

Just as he was about to take a nap, he was woken up by his clerk, only to receive a shocking piece of news.

The patrol officer and his men at Hu Tou Pass in the northern part of the county had been lured into an ambush and were now in grave danger. However, what truly alarmed Magistrate Lu was the appearance of the bandits from the Left Fifth Camp in Macheng County.

As the county magistrate of Macheng, with the support of the local gentry and their armed militias established by Mei Zhihuan, the bandit situation in the county was much better. Apart from some minor bandit activities, there were no major bandit groups that could establish a foothold in Macheng. Thanks to Mei Zhihuan, his life had been much easier.

However, he knew that on the other side of the Dabie Mountains, a large bandit force, the fierce bandits of the Left Fifth Camp led by Old Hui, had been entrenched in the Yinghuo Mountains. Fortunately, in recent years, the bandit forces had been inactive, and Old Hui and his group had remained in the east, not crossing into the Huguang region.

Now, Old Hui's forces had crossed the boundary and even ambushed and surrounded the patrol officer at Hu Tou Pass. Were the bandits finally crossing the boundary? The thought of thousands of bandits invading Macheng made Lu Jinxi's scalp tingle. He had just managed to resolve the massacre at Lin Family Village, and now this. Was his term as county magistrate really coming to an end?

"Quick, prepare the sedan chair. We must go to Shen Zhuang immediately."

Faced with such a major event, Magistrate Lu was powerless to solve it on his own and could only seek help from Mei Zhihuan. If the Left Fifth Camp really intended to cross the boundary, the only hope would be the Bao Sheng Fort militia and the armed gentry in the region.

Shen Zhuang was only ten miles from the county, and Bao Sheng Fort was nearby, forming a triangular defense with the county and Shen Zhuang, allowing mutual support.

At this moment, inside Bao Sheng Fort, Mei Zhihuan had also received the urgent report from the messenger of Taiping Post. After confirming the information, he immediately summoned the officers of the militia.

"The patrol officer at Hu Tou Pass is at the northernmost point of the county, seventy miles away. The place where Zhao Dagu was ambushed is even further north. By the time we gather our forces and reach there, it will be too late," said Hu Gongguo, the commander of the main battalion of Bao Sheng Fort, after some thought.

"The patrol officer and his men at Hu Tou Pass are probably beyond saving. It's too late to rescue them. What we need to discuss now is how to deal with the westward advance of the Left Fifth Camp. It seems likely that the rebels in Xiangyang and Junzhou, such as Zhang Xianzhong and Luo Rucai, have contacted Old Hui and invited him to join them," said a team leader.

Lu Jinxi, being Zhao Dagu's superior and having a good relationship with him, was very anxious when he saw the militia officers' intention to abandon the rescue. He couldn't help but say, "The messenger said that although Zhao Dagu was ambushed, he fought his way back to a mountain and held his position. The one who broke through and reported this also went to Taiping Township to seek help from Liu Jun. Perhaps Liu Jun has already gone to rescue him. We must send reinforcements now."

Mei Zhihuan heard this information for the first time and frowned. "Liu Jun?"

"Liu Jun of the Nine-Headed Bird, Liu Jiye. I heard he was in Taiping Township recruiting new recruits. That's why Zhao Dagu sent the archer who broke through to find Liu Jun for help."

"Liu Jun's Nine-Headed Bird is on leave, right? Even if Liu Jun is in Taiping Township, he probably doesn't have many soldiers. How can he rescue Zhao Dagu? What can he use to rescue him?"

No one believed that Liu Jun would take such a risk to rescue Zhao Dagu. After all, although he was brave, he had no soldiers. How could he rescue Zhao Dagu with a group of newly recruited soldiers?

How could this be possible!

...