Traveling through the late Ming Dynasty to promote Chinese civilization

Chapter 462 Chasing the Rebel King or the Eighth King?

The pursuit lasted for two hours, and both sides were starving. They hadn't eaten a single grain of rice since the fierce battle at the foot of Qiuyu Mountain, and the intense fighting and chase had exhausted them; they were almost at their limit. The chase ultimately became a test of willpower.

The first to collapse were the refugee army. Many of them couldn't even get enough to eat on a regular basis, and this extremely intense exercise had exceeded their physical limits. Many were seeing stars, had dry mouths, and could barely walk, let alone run. They simply stopped running, sat down on the ground, and decided to surrender as soon as the government troops arrived, since it wasn't the first time they had done this.

When the Qionghai Army caught up, they were surprised to find that the roadside was full of people. Upon seeing them arrive, these people casually threw down their weapons and shouted, "We surrender! We surrender! Please don't pursue us anymore!"

Xu Yifan ordered the Third and Fourth Battalions to continue the pursuit, while the First and Second Battalions were to confiscate the weapons of these prisoners and then gather them together to await Liu Ye's arrival and instructions on how to deal with these prisoners who had voluntarily surrendered.

After Liu Ye caught up, he said without hesitation, "Of course we should tie them up and take them away! One of the purposes of our fight against the bandits is to gather refugees. These people are just cannon fodder who can take up arms. Once they lay down their arms, they are farmers with no land to cultivate and no food to eat. We should pack them all up and take them back to Lingao to cultivate land and train troops."

Xu Yifan agreed and ordered each infantry battalion to send a company to receive these displaced people who could no longer run along the way. After disarming them, they were escorted to the rear and put on ships to be transported away when the main force returned in triumph. He instructed them: "Remember not to rush to give them food, just give them water. Don't let them have the energy to cause trouble. Wait until the main force returns before we talk about it."

Liu Ye rode slowly through the crowd of refugees, some squatting, some sitting, searching for traces of the two leaders of the allied army. Although he didn't know what Gao Yingxiang and Zhang Xianzhong looked like, those in power couldn't hide among a group of beggars; a little scrutiny would reveal them. However, he searched the entire crowd without success. It seemed these two notorious bandits had already fled far away.

At this moment, several soldiers brought over a man dressed as a refugee and reported, "General, this man claims to be a spy sent to the bandit army and says he wants to see you."

Liu Ye was overjoyed and ordered someone to summon Wang Qinian. He then asked the man, "Are you from the Military Intelligence Bureau? Who sent you?"

The man replied, "Reporting to the general, I am from Fujian. I was sent by Lord Wang Qinian to infiltrate the bandit ranks and gather information."

At this moment, Wang Qinian arrived. He mingled with the staff officers of the Military Affairs Office. During battles, he could only be a spectator and a bystander. Now it was his turn to appear. After seeing this man, he said to Liu Ye, "General, this man is indeed the spy I sent out, named Wen Aping."

After confirming their identities, Liu Ye hurriedly asked, "Where are Gao Yingxiang and Zhang Xianzhong?"

Wen Aping replied, "General, please forgive me. I have only been among the refugees for a short time and my status is too low to get close to the two bandit leaders, so I could only watch from afar. Just now, during the escape, I saw Gao Yingxiang and Zhang Xianzhong whispering to each other for a few minutes before they each led a group of men and went their separate ways. Gao Yingxiang led several hundred men north into the mountains, while Zhang Xianzhong continued eastward."

"Splitting into two groups?" Liu Ye was somewhat surprised. He had originally thought the two would stick together for mutual support, but he hadn't expected them to be so ruthless. Now they faced a choice: pursue the rebel leader or the Eighth Prince? If they pursued both, they might end up losing on both.

At this moment, Wen Aping's words tipped his scales in favor of pursuing Gao Yingxiang.

“General, there’s another fellow Fujianese who infiltrated the bandit army with me, named Yu Bao. His ancestors were village doctors who learned a little bit of medicine, and he became quite popular in the bandit army after only a few days…”

Liu Ye's eyes lit up: a folk doctor who can cure illnesses? Considering that Gao Yingxiang and his men would inevitably encounter mosquitoes, snakes, rats, and perhaps even miasma after venturing into the mountains, he would certainly want to have a half-baked folk doctor with them. He pressed further, "Did you agree on any secret codes or symbols for communication?"

Wang Qinai replied, "I have instructed all my spies that whenever they infiltrate the enemy ranks and it is inconvenient to pass messages to their own people, they should carve a triangular mark along the way, with the pointed end used to indicate the direction."

Liu Ye was overjoyed and patted Wang Qinian on the shoulder heavily: "Old Wang, if we can kill or capture Gao Yingxiang alive this time, I'll give you the credit!"

Wang Qinian winced in pain in his shoulder, but forced a smile: "Thank you, General! This is all within my duty."

Liu Ye ordered: "Abandon Zhang Xianzhong and pursue Gao Yingxiang with all our might."

Zhang Xianzhong took the official road, making the pursuit easier. However, tens of thousands of refugees remained, and even with the existing strength of the Qionghai Second Regiment, it would be difficult to control them all. Zhang Xianzhong could easily hide among the refugees and escape in the chaos. Gao Yingxiang, on the other hand, chose the difficult path through deep mountains and forests, with only a few hundred men. With an inside informant pointing the way, the chances of catching up with him and killing or capturing him alive were much greater. Such bandit leaders were not only the gravediggers of the Ming Dynasty in their original historical timeline but also obstacles to their own future progress; eliminating them one by one was preferable.

Lin San volunteered: "I am willing to be the vanguard and clear the way for the general. Most of my men are local soldiers from Lidong, and crossing mountains and valleys is commonplace for them. In this respect, the rebels are definitely no match for the warriors of Zhanjiaodong."

Liu Ye slapped his forehead, realizing there was a mountain infantry unit right there; he had almost forgotten about it. You see, back then, Lin San was a bandit chieftain who was famous throughout the surrounding Li villages. Even going hunting required traversing mountains and valleys. The Five Finger Mountain, the ridge of Qiongzhou Prefecture, was nothing special to him. This old mountain, only ten miles from the coastline, was nothing to worry about.

He immediately made the decision: "Very good. We've been training for a thousand days to use this one. You will be the vanguard. The heavy responsibility of pursuing Gao Yingxiang is entrusted to you. I will lead the men to follow."

Lin San rubbed his hands together and grinned, "Please rest assured, General, I will definitely capture that traitor alive and bring him to you."

Yan Guang advised, "The deep mountains and forests are filled with miasma, snakes, insects, and rodents. General, your precious body should not venture into such dangerous territory. I suggest that Lin San lead the pursuit, while you set up camp outside the mountains and wait."

Liu Ye initially wanted to refuse; he wasn't that delicate. However, considering Yan Guang's perspective, it wasn't unreasonable. As the leader of the Qionghai Army, and currently without an heir, he lacked a suitable successor. Liang Xiaoming, a science and engineering nerd, was clearly not the ideal monarch in Yan Guang's eyes. If something happened to him while he was deep in the mountains, the Qionghai Army would collapse in an instant. To appease his subordinates, some things were indeed not suitable for him to handle personally.

He sighed, "Mr. Yan is right. We'll do as you say."