My eunuch godfather

Chapter 66 Battle of the T-junction

After hearing his confidant's report, Zhang Jixu gripped the hilt of his sword tightly. After a moment's thought, he sternly addressed Zhang Wenlang and his confidants:

"Brothers, the government troops have horses, we must give it our all!"

If we seize a horse from the government troops, we can escape on horseback! If we don't, we won't get far before the government troops catch up with us!

By then, you won't even have enough effort to earn a decent living; you'll be slaughtered like livestock!

"Brother, I'll do it with you!"

Zhang Wenlang first echoed Zhang Jixu, then said bitterly to his confidants:

"I used to have a family business, and I also had a mistress in addition to my first wife!"

Who would have thought that Heaven would be blind, sending down disasters one after another, starving my whole family to death! The corrupt officials are inhuman, giving us neither food nor a way to survive!

"Give it your all! If you succeed, you'll earn a living; if you fail, you'll be a hero again in eighteen years!"

In fact, Zhang Wenlang deliberately killed his wives and concubines to appease his stomach.

But even his closest confidants, driven mad by the disaster and slaughter, their eyes either numb or fierce, echoed his sentiments:

"Listen to the Marshal!" "Killing one is enough, killing two is a huge bonus!" "Kill those bastards!"

Zhang Jixu immediately began making arrangements, "We're here..."

Not far away is the T-junction of Wang Sheren's shop.

Concerned and confused, Zhang Jingzhen had already left the guards behind and led the servants of the Duke of Ying's mansion through this area, continuing eastward.

Dividing forces is a poor strategy when manpower is insufficient and intelligence is lacking.

If these bandits are extremely fierce, they might not flee upon seeing government troops, but instead set up an ambush somewhere.

As night fell and the terrain became more complex, it was not impossible for them to wipe out a contingent of government troops.

However, Zhang Kun needed to find Zhang Zhiyuan as soon as possible to stop Zhang Jingzhen from acting recklessly, so he could only give the order:

"Slow down the horses!"

Once the guards had stopped, Zhang Kun called over Cao Meng and Xu Xin, and they split into three groups:

"Old Cao, you lead one group north, I'll lead the other group east to catch up with Miss Zhang, and Old Xu will lead the other group to stay here."

He then instructed Xu Xin, "If attacked by thieves, immediately fire your pistols into the air and run east!"

Seeing that the government troops had split up, leaving one group at the T-junction to ambush Zhang Jixu in the market, he was overjoyed.

The government troops who had passed through the T-junction earlier rushed through too fast; there was simply no time to react.

Once the other two groups of government troops had gone some distance, he immediately raised his saber and shouted, "Charge out and seize the horses!"

There are still 140 to 150 thieves under the control of Zhang Jixu and Zhang Wenlang.

More than twenty of the thieves had climbed onto the roof of the shop and emerged to attack the government troops with bows and arrows and stones.

More than thirty thieves emerged from the shops and houses lying in ambush at the north, west, and east entrances of the T-junction, attempting to block the road.

Zhang Jixu led more than fifty bandits out of the market and surrounded the more than twenty government troops led by Xu Xin.

boom!

"Run east!"

Remembering Zhang Kun's instructions before dividing his troops, Xu Xin immediately raised his pistol and fired a warning shot, then spurred his horse and fled eastward.

However, just as they picked up speed and hadn't gone far, they ran head-on into a tall thief whom they couldn't avoid in time.

The thief was knocked backward and flew out, coughing up blood and dying! But Xu Xin also fell to the ground along with his horse.

Several soldiers were either struck head-on, injured by stones, or blocked by obstacles thrown onto the road by the bandits, resulting in falls and tumbles.

The remaining dozen or so government troops successfully broke through the blockade of the bandits at the east entrance and fled eastward.

"Don't chase! Don't chase!"

Zhang Jixu hurriedly shouted loudly, calling out to his reckless bandits while giving orders to his trusted confidants:

"Quickly capture those government soldiers alive; there might be a high-ranking official among them!"

In Zhang Jixu's view, those who split up to pursue were all low-ranking officials, while those who stayed behind at the T-junction must have been high-ranking officials.

At the same time, upon hearing the gunshot, Zhang Kun immediately ordered his horses to slow down, turn around, and head towards the T-junction.

Damn it, Zhang Kun's previous worries have unfortunately come true; these thieves actually dared to ambush the government troops!

Could it be that Zhang Zhiyuan has already been...?

Seeing that Xu Xin was not among the dozen or so people who had escaped and joined them, Zhang Kun's heart sank even further.

The bandits on the other side of the T-junction were moving various obstacles in an attempt to defend against a possible cavalry charge by the government troops.

"At a distance of forty paces from the enemy, dismount and fight on foot!"

"This terrain is disadvantageous to cavalry," Zhang Kun ordered the forty-odd cavalrymen guarding the camp.

Then he instructed Chen Jishi, "Jishi, you take ten men and stay behind to watch the horses."

"Don't be afraid, those bastards won't dare to charge!"

Zhang Jixu loudly encouraged the thieves whose resolve was beginning to waver:

"We've already captured their high-ranking officials, they..."

"Brother, that's not a high-ranking official."

Zhang Wenlang leaned closer, secretly showing Xu Xin's ceremonial badge, and whispered to Zhang Jixu:

"He's some kind of 'loyal follower,' as Brother Guozhu said. 'Loyal followers' are just confidants of high-ranking officials."

"...They don't dare to really charge in; they're just trying to scare us!"

Zhang Jixu immediately adjusted his words, turned to Zhang Wenlang and whispered:

"If they really attack, we'll run south!"

Da da da!

The sound of horses' hooves rang out, and the government cavalry in the distance began to slowly advance in this direction.

Although there were only forty-odd people, they were enough to fill the road.

The moonlight and firelight shone on the armor of the government troops, reflecting a metallic luster, as if a wall of bronze and iron were crashing towards them.

Many of the thieves' legs began to tremble, some started to take steps backward, and a few turned and ran.

No refunds allowed!

Zhang Wenlang immediately pounced, grabbed one of them and crushed his throat, then blocked the rest, threatening them:

"Whoever abandons his brothers, I'll kill him first!"

The government troops began to increase their horse speed, which, although not fast, still made the bandits even more terrified.

When they were still more than a hundred paces away, the government troops suddenly slowed down and stopped at a distance of seventy or eighty paces.

"Hahaha, they're scared!"

Upon seeing this, Zhang Jixu burst into laughter, stepping onto a fallen cabinet. "They won't dare rush in!"

The other bandits were also greatly encouraged, shouting and cursing at the government troops.

Bang bang bang!

More than a dozen lead bullets came whistling through the air, instantly piercing the bodies of several thieves.

Before they could react, more than a dozen arrows pierced the air and struck several bandits.

The government troops were not afraid and dismounted to fight on foot!

"Fight! Fight!"

Zhang Jixu realized what was happening and shouted at the thief standing on the roof.

The thieves on the roof of the shop hurriedly shot arrows and threw stones at the government troops, but their arrows were too inaccurate and their bows were not strong enough.

The stones were indeed quite lethal; several government soldiers were injured, and one of them, whose helmet was hit, fell to the ground.

However, the government troops had more powerful bows and arrows and muskets, and some of the bandits were so frightened that they fell off the roof.

"charge!"

Zhang Kun threw the musket he had just fired onto the ground, drew his sword, pointed at the bandits' makeshift camp, and roared.

The garrison officer named Tang Sheng took off his horse-slaying sword and bravely took the lead.

Dodge the short spear thrust at him and cleave his head open with a single stroke!

Another thief stabbed Tang Sheng with a short spear, but it was blocked by the armor plate on the dark side.

Tang Sheng swung his sword and slashed off the opponent's arm. Then, he flicked his sword upwards and cut the opponent's throat open!

Having killed two men, Tang Sheng tore a hole in the bandits' defenses and successfully broke through!

More and more government troops, relying on their superior armor, broke through the enemy's makeshift camp and began a massacre!

The thieves began to break down, retreating and fleeing.

Zhang Jixu and Zhang Wenlang, along with their cronies, drew their swords and slashed wildly, unable to stop the deserters from fleeing.