plumnovel Chapter 047 Light the lamp
Chapter 047 Light the lamp
Liu Zhe's words moved Gao Yingxiang.
However, Gao Yingxiang rejected Liu Zhe's suggestion to directly send women to Zhou Lun.
In his view, it was certain that Zhou Lun knew about the young woman; there's an old saying that goes, "Even heroes have difficulty resisting the charms of a beautiful woman."
Even if they were to do that, they couldn't just force it on him. Gao Yingxiang felt that Zhou Lun wasn't a roughneck like Huang Long or Liu Zhe, someone who could be easily won over by just giving him two beautiful women.
If this is to be done, it needs to be carefully planned. When to send the gift, to whom to send it, how to send it, how to make Zhou Lun accept it willingly, and how to win him over afterwards... every step needs to be carefully planned.
The rebel army stayed in Anding for six days, which is not a short time. Moreover, Gao Yingxiang had been paying close attention to what the government army would do after taking Anding.
According to scouts, the surrounding prefectures were in great panic after the loss of Anding, but had no immediate plans to send troops.
After all, facing this sizable rebel army, none of the nearby prefectures and counties were confident they could defeat them. So they all focused on self-preservation, guarding their cities and hoping that the regional military command and border troops would send troops as soon as possible, or that the imperial court would directly send governors or viceroys to lead troops to encircle and suppress them.
In particular, a government army in the south, which originally planned to march north, stopped near Anzhai after learning that Anding had fallen. The general leading the army was clearly afraid of the large number of rebels and wanted to wait for reinforcements to arrive before launching a joint attack.
Faced with this situation, Gao Yingxiang did not choose to linger in Anding. According to the plan, they not only captured Anding, but also rested and expanded their army there. Now their strength had greatly increased, and their supplies were plentiful, making it a good time to continue their northward march.
Based on their previous route of advance, after passing Anding, the next place the rebel army was to go was Qingjian.
Gao Yingxiang was originally preparing to convene everyone to discuss the next course of action: whether to directly launch an attack to capture Qingjian, or to bypass the city and head north towards Suide. But at this moment, unexpected news suddenly arrived.
Scouts reported that an uprising had broken out in Qingjian, with the rebels also raising the banner of "acting on behalf of Heaven." Moreover, the rebels captured Qingjian County in a very short time, gathering more than 3,000 people, making their momentum extremely strong.
Not only that, this hero named "Dian Dengzi" also took the initiative to send someone to contact Gao Yingxiang and his men, strongly inviting Gao Yingxiang to lead his troops eastward to Qingjian to meet him, and then head north together.
This news brought Gao Yingxiang, who had been pondering whether or not to attack Qingjian just moments before, to great joy. Once he confirmed it was true, Gao Yingxiang didn't hesitate and immediately gathered everyone to inform them of the matter.
Upon hearing this, Li Wanqing, Zhou Lun, and the others could hardly believe their ears. It was like a pillow appearing just as they were about to fall asleep? Could such a coincidence truly exist?
After confirming the matter was true several times, and even meeting the messenger sent by Dian Dengzi, Gao Yingxiang couldn't help but burst into laughter. Since the uprising, apart from the initial unsuccessful attack on Anzhai, every step that followed had gone smoothly and unexpectedly well.
Gao Yingxiang, who was planning to relocate after his uprising in Anzhai failed in its attack on the city, received an invitation from Li Wanqing.
After he led his troops to Bao'an County, he not only merged with Li Wanqing's troops, but also directly became the leader of the rebel army after the merger.
In addition, they obtained a lot of supplies in Bao'an County, which temporarily eliminated their worries about insufficient supplies. After the allied forces marched north and passed Jinmingchuan, Wang Er from the south led his troops to surrender, giving Gao Yingxiang's army another valiant general and further strengthening their forces.
After capturing Anding County, the entire army rested and reorganized there, further expanding their forces. Just as they finished consolidating their forces and were preparing to head to Qingjian, news arrived from Qingjian that the county seat had been captured by the newly risen rebel army, who had even sent people to contact them and invite them to join them in Qingjian.
Each and every one of these events is interconnected and proceeds with utmost efficiency!
If Gao Yingxiang hadn't been so calm and collected, he probably would have been beaming and boasting to others, "I'm having such a lucky time! So incredibly lucky! I'm just having the best luck imaginable!"
With such a good opportunity right in front of him, how could Gao Yingxiang possibly refuse? Besides, what kind of person was this hero who called himself "Lighting the Lamp"? How could he have captured Qingjian in one fell swoop? Gao Yingxiang couldn't help but become quite interested in this man.
Furthermore, once the forces in Qingjian are combined, his rebel army will have an additional leader, and there will be a third party to check and balance the two factions of Wang Er and Li Wanqing. In this way, his position as the chief leader will be more secure.
After discussing the matter with everyone, Gao Yingxiang did not hesitate any longer and immediately ordered the troops to set off.
The rebel army marched out of Anding City in a grand procession, heading east towards Qingjian.
Qingjian is not far from Anding, only about a hundred li apart. After two days of rapid march, the vanguard of the rebel army quickly arrived at Qingjian County.
Meanwhile, Dian Dengzi, the leader of the Qingjian rebels, learned of the arrival of Gao Yingxiang's vanguard and personally led his men to welcome them outside the city.
Because Wang Er's previous behavior displeased Gao Yingxiang, and because he now harbored the intention of winning over Zhou Lun, he specifically chose Li Wanqing's troops for this trip to Qingjian, and had Zhou Lun lead the vanguard.
Zhou Lun led nearly half of the elite veterans to Qingjian, and they saw a troop waiting for them outside the city.
"Second Uncle! Qingjian County is just ahead. The leader of the Lantern Lighters is waiting for you not far away!"
Li Zhong is now the captain of the scout team; this kid is truly born to be a scout.
After agreeing to appoint him as a scout, Zhou Lun specially assigned several men from the old camp to Li Zhong, allowing him to form a scout team. Following the successful recruitment efforts, Li Zhong's scout team had grown to thirty-seven men. Although small in number, each one was an elite soldier. Despite his young age, Li Zhong managed the team with remarkable efficiency.
"Brothers! Cheer up! Don't let them underestimate us... Let's go!"
Zhou Lun turned around and shouted to his men. The brothers in the old camp straightened their chests and followed Zhou Lun forward in accordance with the training steps.
Although they cannot yet achieve the perfect formation of a hundred men as one, their troops already demonstrate an elite level of discipline and character compared to ordinary rebels.
Indeed, this was the case. When the troops appeared before Dian Dengzi, his eyes lit up. He hadn't expected Gao Yingxiang's vanguard to be so elite and formidable. It seemed that his decision to invite Gao Yingxiang's troops to join forces in Qingjian was the right one.
"Is that the leader of the Lamplighters up ahead?"
They were still nearly a hundred paces away from the lamplighters when Zhou Lun raised his hand, and the troops behind him instantly stopped. This immediate and decisive command stunned the enemy.
"I am Zhao Sheng, the lamplighter!" A young man stepped forward from the crowd and loudly asked Zhou Lun, "Are these the vanguard of the Rebel King?"
"Indeed!" Zhou Lun replied, "I am Zhou Lun, the deputy general under the leader of the rebel army of King Chuang, who is also known as She Tatian!"
"Zhou Lun?" Zhao Sheng's eyes lit up, and he asked eagerly, "Is that the Zhou Lun who's known as the 'Heaven-Shattering Leader'?"
Zhou Lun was both amused and exasperated. He rarely used the nickname "Shocking Sky," and had never openly proclaimed it in such a setting. How did Zhao Sheng know his name? Could it be that his nickname had already gained such widespread fame?
However, despite thinking this in his heart, he replied aloud, "I am indeed the humble Jing Potian!"
"Oh my! It's Brother Zhou! I've long admired your name; it's an honor to meet you today!"
Zhao Sheng said with undisguised joy, and quickly walked towards Zhou Lun. His words surprised Zhou Lun for a moment...
Isn't Zhao Sheng the leader of the rebel army? Why does he speak so politely, with the air of a scholar? Could it be that this kid not only wants to rebel, but also wants to take the imperial examinations?
Just as Zhou Lun was wondering what was going on, Zhao Sheng arrived in a few steps. Zhou Lun didn't dare to be negligent and quickly went to greet him.
As they drew closer, Zhou Lun carefully examined the leader of the rebel army from Qingjian.
To his surprise, Zhao Sheng was not very old, looking no more than twenty years old. Moreover, he was different from the rebel leader Zhou Lun had imagined.
Zhao Sheng was dressed in a straight-cut robe, wearing a scholar's cap, with a fair complexion, no beard, and of medium height, with a humble expression. This was clearly the attire of a scholar, lacking the fierceness and murderous aura of other rebel leaders, and instead exuding an overwhelming scholarly air.
"Chief Zhao?" Zhou Lun was still somewhat unsure when he saw Zhao Sheng in this state, even though he had seen him walk out of the crowd on the other side.
"I am Zhao Sheng!" Zhao Sheng smiled and bowed respectfully to Zhou Lun.
His greeting was different from that of ordinary people in the countryside; it wasn't a simple fist and palm salute, but a formal ceremony. Upon seeing this, Zhou Lun, who had originally intended to return the salute with fist and palm salute, quickly changed his posture and returned the salute to Zhao Sheng in accordance with the same ceremony.
After the ceremony, the two looked into each other's eyes.
Zhao Sheng asked with a smile, "Brother Zhou, why are you looking at me like that? Is there something wrong with me?"
"No, no, no!" Zhou Lun quickly explained, "When I first met Chief Zhao, I was just wondering... why was Chief Zhao dressed like this?"
"Hahaha!" Zhao Sheng laughed heartily, pointing to his own attire and saying self-deprecatingly, "I'm a scholar by nature, so what if I don't dress like this?"
"What? Brother Zhao is actually a scholar?" Zhou Lun asked in surprise.
Zhao Sheng nodded: "I am not only a scholar, but also a student of the lowest level of the imperial examinations..."
Upon hearing this, Zhou Lun was even more surprised.
He never expected that Zhao Sheng was actually a proper scholar. He couldn't help but look Zhao Sheng up and down, his mind filled with doubts.
Scholars in the Ming Dynasty had a high social status. Why would Zhao Sheng, a student of the Imperial Academy, abandon his promising future and instead of taking the imperial examinations, gather a crowd to rebel?