The Great Rebel at the End of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 072 Release

"Chief Wang, killing prisoners is an ominous sign!"

Zhou Lun glanced at the corpse on the ground, took two steps forward, and spoke in a low but unquestionable voice.

"Ominous? What ominous sign?" Wang Er sneered, retorting, "My brothers suffered heavy casualties in this battle. More than a hundred of my old comrades who followed me all the way north from Baishui and Chengcheng have perished! More than a hundred!"

His eyes were bloodshot, his hand gripped the broadsword tightly, his chest heaving violently, his anger almost overflowing: "If it weren't for these damned government soldiers, how could my old brothers have lost their lives? This battle was fought with my life on the line, and now that we've won, it's only right that I avenge my brothers! These bastards deserve to die, but I won't rest until I've used their heads to appease my old brothers!"

After saying that, Wang Er ignored Zhou Lun completely, turned around and swung his knife at him.

With a flash of light, another head was severed. He kicked the headless corpse aside, his face contorted with rage, and he let out bursts of maniacal laughter.

"This guy is completely insane!" Zhou Lun cursed inwardly.

Wang Er is a born killer! This young man looks frail and delicate, but his bloodthirstiness is overwhelming. Zhou Lun experienced it firsthand when they attacked Anding. Back then, Wang Er would stop at nothing to achieve his goals, even forcing the people to swarm and attack the city. Such methods are beyond the reach of most people; among their rebel army, only Wang Er possessed such ruthlessness. Although Zhou Lun harbored some resentment about that incident, he never mentioned it, and even offered some words of advice to Li Wanqing when he expressed his dissatisfaction.

But the battlefield is the battlefield, and war is naturally cruel, but things are different after the war is over.

Wang Er was killing prisoners so recklessly and without any scruples in the camp. If Zhou Lun didn't know about this, that would be one thing, but if he knew or even saw it with his own eyes, he couldn't possibly remain indifferent.

Although the battle was won, the rebel army suffered heavy losses. The total number of casualties across all units exceeded 3,600, with Wang Er's unit, which was the main attacking force, suffering the most casualties, accounting for a full third of the total.

With so many casualties, Zhou Lun understood Wang Er's heartache for his old comrades who had followed him. But what war doesn't end in death? Dying in battle is unavoidable. But how could Wang Er allow prisoners to be killed in broad daylight?

Zhou Lun was not a pedantic person. Killing people was not a big deal in chaotic times, and it was a matter of life and death on the battlefield. But Wang Er's actions after the war were too unscrupulous and too ostentatious.

Wang Er hadn't considered the consequences of killing prisoners like this. But Zhou Lun was different; in his view, Wang Er's actions were unwise and would bring great trouble to the rebel army.

Although the rebel army won a great victory in the Battle of Gaohanling, almost annihilating the main force of the government army coming from the north, don't forget that after this battle, their next goal is to take Fugu and then use Fugu as a base to establish a firm foothold in the north.

In this battle, the two main generals of the government army—Lu Jinchun—were killed in action, and Mai Danian committed suicide. Of the less than five thousand government troops, nearly half were killed or wounded, and the rest surrendered. The number of surrendered government troops is now close to three thousand, which is no small number, including more than three hundred of the most elite border troops.

Zhou Lun hadn't had time to discuss with Li Wanqing and Gao Yingxiang how to settle or deal with these people when Wang Er took such action.

"Idiot!" Zhou Lun cursed inwardly.

Even if you're going to kill prisoners, you can't do it like this! Either learn from Bai Qi and massacre all the captured government troops, then it's over and you'll be completely at ease. Or hold off for now and wait for the leaders to discuss it before making a decision. Right now, in front of so many people, under everyone's watchful eyes, you, the leader of the rebel army and the third-in-command of Gao Yingxiang's troops, are you going to pick up a big sword and start beheading people one by one? Are you out of your mind?

If they did this, not to mention what the remaining prisoners would think, the rebels might even completely lose the opportunity to recruit and incorporate these prisoners.

Zhou Lun had been considering this matter ever since the war. His old camp had also suffered considerable losses, and he was already thinking about how to replenish his troops, restore the old camp's combat effectiveness, and even further expand his own forces.

Today's battle alone has impressed Zhou Lun with the fighting prowess of the garrison troops.

Lu Jinchun's garrison troops were merely second-rate local forces in the Ming Dynasty, and at present, the garrisons were in disarray, with combat effectiveness far inferior to what it used to be. Yet, even such a force was still considerably stronger than the rebel army.

With equal numbers, Zhou Lun's main camp, relying on rigorous training and coordinated battle formations, could only manage a stalemate with the garrison army. If it weren't for their advantageous terrain, the cooperation from Huang Long's side, and Lu Jinchun's hasty and misguided command—his mind filled with the thought of breaking out and the panic of being ambushed—Zhou Lun truly didn't believe they could have been absolutely certain of victory against Lu Jinchun in a direct confrontation.

This was only the garrison troops.

Mai Danian's border troops were much stronger.

Mai Danian personally led the vanguard, completely disregarding the rebel army as he marched south. His arrogance wasn't entirely due to conceit, but rather stemmed from solid confidence.

His border troops were indeed elite and capable fighters. Under the circumstances of being ambushed, regardless of the weather or terrain, Mai Danian was at a complete disadvantage. Moreover, his forces numbered only a thousand men, yet he faced a combined ambush from Wang Er and Zhao Sheng's rebel army, which outnumbered him several times over. Even so, Mai Danian's border troops nearly annihilated Wang Er's forces, and Zhao Sheng's side also suffered significant losses.

The combined losses of the two units exceeded 2,300 men, representing the majority of the entire rebel army's losses in this battle. Only after Gao Yingxiang and Li Wanqing's units dealt with Lu Jinchun and then turned to reinforce Wang Er, forming a united front that forced Mai Danian into a corner, ultimately leading to his suicide. Even in his final desperate counterattack, Mai Danian's troops still inflicted considerable damage on Gao Yingxiang and his forces.

If Mai Danian's border troops hadn't had the advantage of terrain and initiative, and instead engaged in direct combat, their fighting prowess would have been even greater. In the worst-case scenario, the ambushing forces might have been routed by Mai Danian's army, making the outcome of the battle uncertain.

Zhou Lun coveted the remnants of Mai Danian's surrendered troops. If he could take these surrendered border troops under his control, his old camp would not only be able to restore its fighting strength, but also reach a higher level.

Furthermore, setting aside the border troops for the time being, the handling of prisoners of war from the garrison troops alone requires careful consideration.

The Ming Dynasty's garrisons were all stationed locally, especially Lu Jinchun's garrison, which was drawn from various garrisons in Fugu and the surrounding areas.

It's a fact that the Ming Dynasty's garrison system is corrupt, but even in its decay, it's still a force to be reckoned with. There are hundreds of garrisons throughout the Ming Dynasty. If you include the smallest centurions, the total number of garrisons in the entire Ming Dynasty is easily several thousand.

In Shaanxi alone, there were hundreds of garrisons of varying sizes. The military households in these garrisons were father-to-son, and military households in different places were intermarried, with relatives connected by blood, and everyone could be linked together.

If they killed all these prisoners, the local garrisons would be furious once the news got out. Besides, they were going to attack Fugu next, and according to the scouts, there were still more than 300 garrison troops left behind by Lu Jinchun stationed in Fugu.

Zhou Lun had originally planned to use these prisoners to persuade Fugu to surrender, taking it back without bloodshed. But Wang Er's actions had effectively blocked that path. Once news of the killing of prisoners reached Fugu, the garrison in the city would surely fight desperately. Taking Fugu back then wouldn't be so easy.

"Chief Wang!"

Seeing that Wang Er not only did not stop, but instead went berserk and chopped off another person's head right in front of him, Zhou Lun's heart was filled with rage. He took two steps forward and shouted at him in an unpleasant tone to stop him.

"What's wrong? Chief Zhou can't stand it?" Wang Er looked at Zhou Lun with a half-smile, and drawled, "Heh, Chief Zhou is young after all, soft-hearted, and can't stand bloodshed."

Wang Er had always been somewhat at odds with Zhou Lun, especially after Gao Yingxiang had chosen Zhou Lun as the vanguard twice instead of Wang Er, which made him resentful.

In his view, Zhou Lun was just a young man who had just come of age. He had somehow gained Gao Yingxiang's favor because of his good looks, and Gao Yingxiang even married his niece to Zhou Lun.

In addition, there is Li Wanqing, who is Zhou Lun's sworn brother, the second-in-command of the rebel army, and also Zhou Lun's backer.

Between the two, Wang Er, who started from scratch, naturally couldn't compare to Zhou Lun, who had a powerful background. Seeing that Zhou Lun's position in Gao Yingxiang's heart was becoming more and more important, Wang Er, who always considered himself Gao Yingxiang's most capable subordinate, felt increasingly unbalanced and became more and more displeased with Zhou Lun.

"Chief Wang, it would be more appropriate to wait until King Chuang discusses the matter with the other leaders before deciding on a course of action," Zhou Lun said coldly, his expression stern. "As a leader of the rebel army, you have acted improperly by killing prisoners without King Chuang's permission!"

Wang Er was slightly taken aback, then laughed heartily: "Don't try to scare me with the name of the rebel king! I made the greatest contribution in this battle, so what's a few bastards I killed? Besides, these people are my prisoners, I can do with them however I want!"

"Chief Wang! Don't you respect the King of Chuang?" Zhou Lun knew he didn't hold much sway over Wang Er, so he directly brought up Gao Yingxiang to put him in his place.

Wang Er gave Zhou Lun a cold look, chuckled, spat on the ground, and said nonchalantly, "What does our business have to do with the Rebel King? Besides, you, Zhou Lun, have no say in my affairs. Why don't you go talk to your wife? Maybe she'll give me some face because of the Rebel King..."

"Wang Er!"

Just as Wang Er was becoming increasingly arrogant and his words were getting more and more offensive, a sudden angry shout rang out.

The crowd parted, and Zhao Sheng led several men in. Despite being just a scholar, Zhao Sheng possessed the air of a great general. He walked steadily to Zhou Lun's side, coldly appraising Wang Er, and asked directly, "Brother Zhou can't speak for himself? What about adding me, Zhao Sheng? What then?"