lovenovelstory Chapter 030 The Rebel King
Chapter 030 The Rebel King
Things in this world are just so coincidental.
Just as Li Wanqing was thinking about sending someone to contact Gao Yingxiang, Gao Yingxiang also sent someone to contact Li Wanqing.
The two uprisings started around the same time, but if you calculate carefully, Gao Yingxiang's uprising started a couple of days earlier.
However, compared to Li Wanqing, Gao Yingxiang failed to capture Anzhai County.
He led his men in an uprising in his hometown, killing the officials and yamen runners who came to collect taxes. Then, he gathered able-bodied men from several nearby villages and marched towards Anzhai County. Unfortunately, no matter how fast Gao Yingxiang acted, he couldn't capture the county town before the government could react.
When the magistrate of Anzhai County learned of the rebellion, he was terrified and hastily mobilized men to close the city gates. He sent messengers to the prefectural city for urgent assistance while simultaneously contacting wealthy families in the city to organize able-bodied men to defend the city.
When Gao Yingxiang arrived in the county town with his men, the city gates were already tightly closed, and the city walls were prepared for defense.
Gao Yingxiang attempted to organize an attack, but his rebel army consisted mostly of peasants who had just put down their hoes. Although they outnumbered the enemy, they were not a real army. Not only were they short of weapons, but they didn't even have a decent siege weapon.
After fighting for several hours, they hadn't even reached the city wall, and their side had suffered dozens of casualties.
Seeing that the situation was hopeless, Gao Yingxiang had no choice but to retreat. After circling Anzhai for several days without any solutions, he finally gave up the idea of attacking the county town.
Unable to capture Anzhai County, Gao Yingxiang had no choice but to settle for second best and start with the surrounding towns and villages.
Although they robbed several wealthy and powerful families and even captured an official granary, the spoils were quite limited. As the days passed, Gao Yingxiang knew that he would soon have to face a counterattack from the government after they realized what was happening.
Just as he was pondering what to do next, news that suddenly came from Bao'an County gave him a boost of energy.
He never expected that there would be a rebellion in Bao'an County. Moreover, the hero who called himself "Shooting the Sky" actually took over the county seat directly, which was far more impressive than Gao Yingxiang's actions.
What impressed him even more was that after She Tatian captured the county town, he posted a proclamation to reassure the people. He not only publicly tried the corrupt officials, including the county magistrate, the county assistant, and the clerk, but also opened the granaries to distribute grain and provide relief to the local area. Now, whenever the local people mention She Tatian, they give him a thumbs up and sincerely praise him as a "hero."
Gao Yingxiang started the uprising to find a way to survive for his fellow villagers. If it weren't for the excessive oppression and exorbitant taxes levied by the government, everyone would be struggling to survive, and who would be willing to risk their lives to rebel?
Therefore, Gao Yingxiang felt that no matter who this She Tatian was, as long as he could do the same righteous deed of resisting the imperial court, they were all on the same side. In the current situation, it was only natural for them to stick together for warmth. More importantly, he really wanted to meet this hero and plan something big together.
As a result, Gao Yingxiang had the idea of joining forces with Li Wanqing, which coincided with Li Wanqing's own thoughts.
Before Li Wanqing's men even reached Anzhai, they encountered Gao Yingxiang's men on the way. Both sides were overjoyed upon meeting.
When Gao Yingxiang received the letter from Li Wanqing, he was both surprised and delighted after reading it. He never expected that the famous She Tatian was actually an old friend of his!
What are you waiting for?
We must combine our forces! We absolutely must combine our forces!
Just then, the Yan'an Prefecture had already reacted to the emergence of the two rebel armies led by Gao Yingxiang and Li Wanqing. With Bao'an County fallen and Anzhai County being very close to Yan'an Prefecture, the government acted swiftly this time in the face of the increasingly powerful rebel army. The prefect urgently reported to the provincial capital, Xi'an, while simultaneously sending a report to the imperial court via express courier.
Local garrisons have begun mobilizing troops to prepare for the encirclement and suppression of the rebel army.
Gao Yingxiang lost the initiative because he failed to capture Anzhai. Although he occupied the surrounding towns, Anzhai remained in government hands, severely restricting his movements. Gao Yingxiang had originally planned to move outwards to avoid the approaching government troops, but Li Wanqing's invitation was exactly what he wanted.
Upon receiving the letter, he did not hesitate and immediately gathered his men and headed west.
"They're here! They're here!"
It is three miles outside the east gate of the county town.
Li Wanqing led his men out of the city to personally welcome Gao Yingxiang. Just after noon, dust could be seen flying in the distance on the official road. The scouts sent out first hurriedly reported that Gao Yingxiang's righteous army had arrived.
Zhou Lun stared intently ahead.
After an incense stick had burned for a while, they could already see faint figures in the distance. A little while later, the figures gradually became clearer, and a long line appeared before them.
Tap tap tap...
The sound of horses' hooves pounded the ground, growing louder as they approached. A rider broke free from the ranks at the front and galloped straight toward them.
Wang Tieniu subconsciously took a step forward, his right hand resting on the hilt of his knife, adopting a defensive posture.
However, Li Wanqing was not nervous at all. He reached out and patted Wang Tieniu on the shoulder, indicating that he didn't need to be nervous. Instead, he took the initiative to go forward to meet him.
The horse was very fast, covering a distance of about a hundred paces in the blink of an eye, and then suddenly stopped a dozen paces away from Li Wanqing.
"Where is the hero who shot down the sky?"
"The Sky-Shooting Demon is here! Where is the King of Rebels?" Li Wanqing shouted.
"The rebel leader is here!"
"Haha! Hahaha!"
Li Wanqing and Gao Yingxiang burst into laughter at the same time.
Gao Yingxiang nimbly dismounted and strode forward. Li Wanqing quickly went to meet him, and the two soon met face to face, looked each other up and down, took each other's arms, their faces full of joy.
"You little rascal—you're astounding!" Gao Yingxiang, dressed in white with a white headscarf, was a burly and handsome man. He chuckled, clenched his fist, and lightly punched Li Wanqing in the chest. "What a prestigious name! What a show of power!"
"King Chuang! King Gao Chuang!" Li Wanqing beamed, grabbing Gao Yingxiang's left arm. "You're not bad either!"
The two looked at each other and then burst into laughter again.
The meeting between the two leaders was very amicable, which secretly relieved their respective subordinates.
Zhou Lun then carefully examined this figure who had left a great name in history. It could be said that Gao Yingxiang was the first truly important person Zhou Lun had ever met since he came into this world.
It must be said that Gao Yingxiang is no ordinary person.
His white robes and white turban made him stand out among the rebels. He was in his thirties, tall and robust, half a head taller than Li Wanqing, and almost the same height as Zhou Lun. However, in terms of sheer size, Gao Yingxiang was clearly superior. Gao Yingxiang's appearance was also undeniably handsome: a square face, thick eyebrows, and large eyes, bearing a resemblance to a young Zhu Shimao—the kind of person who exuded a righteous aura.
Looking at Gao Yingxiang before him, Zhou Lun couldn't help but wonder what Li Zicheng looked like. Rumor had it that Gao Yingxiang was Li Zicheng's uncle? As the saying goes, a nephew resembles his uncle; perhaps Li Zicheng and Gao Yingxiang looked quite alike.
Li Wanqing and Gao Yingxiang were old acquaintances; when they first met, they were both just ordinary farmers. Now, upon meeting again, they were both leaders of a rebel army. Amidst their joy, a sense of melancholy arose. One was now the infamous She Tatian, and the other was Gao Chuangwang, who had stirred up unrest in Anzhai.
They never imagined they would have such different identities, let alone that they would reunite in this way.
After exchanging a few friendly words, Li Wanqing came to his senses and quickly turned around to greet Zhou Lun and the others behind him, introducing them to Gao Yingxiang.
"This is my sworn brother, Zhou Lun. This is my cousin Shou Tian, and this is my cousin Wang Tie Niu. And this is my adopted son, Li Zhong..."
"Good! Good man!" Gao Yingxiang smiled, his gaze sweeping over Zhou Lun and the others.
"Brother Gao!" Zhou Lun, Li Shoutian, and Wang Tieniu stepped forward and bowed. Li Zhong called out in a clear voice, "Uncle."
Gao Yingxiang nodded repeatedly, then turned and beckoned two men forward, introducing them to Li Wanqing and the others. These two were brothers who had started the uprising with Gao Yingxiang; one was dark-skinned and named Liu Zhe, and the other, a younger man, was named Huang Long. The two men stepped forward, clasped their hands in a respectful greeting, and were very polite.
After the two sides met and exchanged pleasantries, Li Wanqing invited Gao Yingxiang and his team into the city.
Gao Yingxiang readily agreed. He didn't ride a horse and walked side by side with Li Wanqing towards Bao'an County. His men led the rebel army behind them, with Zhou Lun and others leading the way, and they marched in a grand procession towards the county town.
Along the way, Zhou Lun carefully observed the rebel army.
The more I looked, the more alarmed I became.
This rebel army was poorly dressed, armed with a motley collection of weapons, and comprised of people of varying ages. Yet, they showed no signs of lethargy as they marched. On the contrary, their morale was high, and they were full of energy.
This rebel army outnumbered Zhou Lun's forces considerably, numbering around 1,300 to 1,400. The fact that Gao Yingxiang could muster such a large and well-organized force in such a short time was enough to demonstrate that he was no ordinary man.
It's important to understand that Gao Yingxiang is not Li Wanqing; he did not take over Anzhai County.
Zhou Lun had put a lot of effort into Li Wanqing's rebel army. Not only did he meticulously train and equip them, but he also relied heavily on spoils from Bao'an County as a backing, and it took considerable effort to achieve their current form. If it weren't for this, Zhou Lun felt they might not even be as strong as Gao Yingxiang's army.