The Great Rebel at the End of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 118 Shocking News

After galloping away for a while, Wang Er looked back—and upon seeing it, his heart sank.

The pursuers behind him were not stopped, but instead got even closer, and the subordinates he sent to stop them could no longer be seen.

At this moment, he couldn't care less about anything else and hurriedly ordered his personal guards to continue blocking him, buying himself time to escape.

The problem is that his personal guards are far inferior to Cao Wenzhao and his personal guards in both horsemanship and combat ability. Apart from letting Cao Wenzhao take action again and easily kill the two men, they have no effect at all.

One fled, the other pursued.

In the short time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Wang Er, who had been fleeing for his life, was left all alone, with no one by his side.

At this point, he had only reached the south side of the city, and to get back, he would have to go around half a circle to the west side. Cao Wenzhao was getting closer and closer behind him. He desperately spurred his horse, sweating profusely, but he still couldn't shake off the pursuer.

Three hundred steps... two hundred and eighty steps... two hundred and fifty steps... two hundred and twenty steps...

Without Wang Er's men to continue blocking them, Cao Wenzhao's warhorse grew faster and faster.

His warhorse was already better than Wang Er's, not to mention his horsemanship was far superior to Wang Er's. When the distance between the two closed to one hundred and fifty paces, Cao Wenzhao reached out and hung the lance in his hand on the side of the saddle, then took the bow from the other side.

Without stopping, he rode his horse with his legs firmly gripping its belly, holding a bow in his left hand and an arrow nocked in his right.

The war bow that had accompanied him in battle for many years was instantly drawn to its full extent. With a shout of "Go!" from Cao Wenzhao's mouth, he released the bowstring with his right hand, and the arrow shot out instantly, emitting a sharp whistling sound as it pierced the sky and flew straight toward Wang Er, who was fleeing ahead.

With a scream, the arrow struck Wang Er squarely in the back.

How could Wang Er, who had been shot by an arrow, possibly stay still on his warhorse? He swayed and fell off.

The warhorse, unaware of its master's absence, continued its galloping escape, disappearing far away in the blink of an eye. Wang Er, who had fallen from his horse, was already half-dead. The arrow hadn't killed him instantly, but it was close enough.

With a single arrow, Cao Wenzhao struck the enemy and laughed heartily. He put away his bow and arrow, picked up his spear again, and rode his horse to Wang Er's side.

Mounted on horseback, he looked down at Wang Er, who was lying on the ground, barely alive. He saw that Wang Er's face was deathly pale, blood was foaming at his mouth, and the arrow had pierced his right chest, with the arrowhead protruding from his chest.

"Who...who...who are you?"

Wang Er knew he was doomed to die today. He never imagined that he, the leader of the rebel army, a man who once commanded tens of thousands of soldiers and was incredibly powerful, would lose his life in such a way.

Not long ago, he was full of ambition, attempting to form a battle array in front of the city and annihilate the enemy's cavalry in one fell swoop. But in the blink of an eye, not only was his army directly defeated, but he himself also met this end.

Who was the one who defeated him? This was the only question left in his mind. If he couldn't figure out who had defeated him, and who had killed him, Wang Er, he wouldn't be able to die in peace. Enduring the excruciating pain in his chest and the passing of life, he struggled to ask this question.

"And who are you? Which leader of the rebel army?" Cao Wenzhao sized up Wang Er and asked coldly.

"Haha! Hahaha!" To everyone's surprise, Wang Er laughed upon hearing this, a laugh so bitter and desolate.

After all that fuss, the other side doesn't even know who he is? What kind of battle is this?! And Wang Er's defeat was so unjust!

He chuckled twice, then burst into violent coughing, more blood seeping from the corner of his mouth. Gasping for breath, he forced a snarl through the excruciating pain, "Who am I? Listen up, I'm Wang Er of Baishui!"

"White Water King Er?"

Cao Wenzhao was slightly taken aback when he heard the name, then his face lit up with undisguised joy.

Wang Er of Baishui was a notorious figure, not only as the leader of the first rebel army in Shaanxi, but also as one of the important leaders under the bandit leader Gao Yingxiang.

He never expected that the man on the verge of death would be Wang Er. To kill Wang Er in this battle would be a great achievement!

"Who...who are you? You asked me, so you should at least tell me your name, right? I, Wang Er, have been a hero all my life. I must know who defeated me and who took my life, right? What, do you not even have the courage to give me your name?" Wang Er asked these questions with all his might. After he finished speaking, he had no strength left and could only breathe heavily.

Cao Wenzhao raised an eyebrow and immediately smiled.

What a joke! He's not even afraid of Wang Er when he's alive, so why would he be afraid of someone who's about to die? Let alone Wang Er, if Gao Yingxiang were here, he'd dare to twist his head off.

"Listen carefully!" His voice rang out steadily: "I am Cao Wenzhao, Vice Commander-in-Chief of the Eastern Route of Yansui, a commander of the Great Ming Dynasty! After you leave, don't forget to tell the Black and White Impermanence to remember my name!"

After saying that, Cao Wenzhao said no more, slightly swung the horse spear in his hand, and thrust it forward.

Wang Er, lying on the ground, was struck squarely in the chest by the spear. His eyes widened instantly, and his body stiffened as if electrocuted. Then, his body went limp again, his eyes became unfocused, but a faint smile remained on his lips.

It's hard to tell whether the smile was from the relief of being freed or the satisfaction of finding out who killed him.

And so, Wang Er, who had once been a powerful and influential figure in the rebel army, died at the hands of Cao Wenzhao.

After killing Wang Er with a spear, Cao Wenzhao dismounted, drew his sword, and beheaded him.

Holding his head, he casually tore off a piece of Wang Er's clothes, wrapped it haphazardly around his neck, hung it on the saddle, remounted, and called to his arriving guards to turn around and head towards Sancha City.

At this time, the rebel army in Sancha City had completely collapsed and was repeatedly attacked and killed by Cao Wenzhao's cavalry.

When Cao Wenzhao returned to the battlefield, he used his spear to lift Wang Er's head and rode his horse to the front of the battle, shouting: "The bandit leader Wang Er is dead! His head is here! Surrender now!"

When they saw that what he was holding was indeed Wang Er's head, the remaining rebels completely lost the will to resist and surrendered one by one.

The same applies to the garrison inside Sancha City. With their commanders all dead and their main force suffering such a crushing defeat outside the city, how could the remaining troops possibly hold out?

Thus, Sancha City surrendered. In just one day, Cao Wenzhao captured Sancha City, which was heavily guarded by Wang Er, and even killed the bandit leader Wang Er in battle. Combined with the previous victory at Bajiaosuo, his first encounter with the rebel army was a resounding success, and his reputation soared.

In less than five days, Cao Wenzhao, with only two thousand cavalry, captured Bajiaosuo and Sanchacheng, annihilated more than ten thousand bandits, and killed the bandit leader Wang Er.

This battle can be considered the greatest victory won by the government forces since the uprising of the Shaanxi rebels.

It should be noted that Hong Chengchou's great victory in Hancheng was also extremely hard-won.

If Wang Zuogua and his men hadn't been careless and allowed Hong Chengchou to launch a night attack, it's uncertain whether Hancheng could have been held. Even if Hong Chengchou had ultimately forced Wang Zuogua to retreat, the results would have been far inferior to those achieved by Cao Wenzhao.

After all, in the two battles, Cao Wenzhao eliminated more than 13,000 rebels, and even killed leaders like Wang Er, as well as several minor leaders.

After the war, he did not execute the prisoners as he had done before.

Because the number of prisoners was simply too large this time. A headcount revealed that Wang Er's forces suffered over 3,000 casualties and more than 8,000 prisoners. Cao Wenzhao's cavalry, aside from one killed in battle and two seriously injured after falling from their horses, had only a few dozen lightly wounded – a truly remarkable achievement.

Taking Sancha City effectively blocked Gao Yingxiang's main route to the east, and the battle that wiped out Wang Er and his main force was tantamount to crippling Gao Yingxiang.

The battles that followed were not so easy. To the west of Sancha City were Hequ, where Gao Yingxiang was stationed, and Baode, where Zhao Sheng was stationed. Attacking either city was not easy.

It wasn't that Cao Wenzhao's cavalry was weak. If it were a battle outside the city, he wasn't worried at all. He was absolutely confident that he could defeat Gao Yingxiang and Zhao Sheng's troops in open battle with the Guan Ning Iron Cavalry, even if the enemy had several times more men.

However, Wang Er suffered a crushing defeat and death in the Battle of Sancha City, and Gao Yingxiang and Zhao Sheng were no fools; they would soon learn of the news. Furthermore, after two consecutive major battles and a long-distance raid, his Guan Ning cavalry was no longer invincible, and the troops needed rest. Besides, they couldn't possibly kill all eight thousand prisoners!

Left with no other choice, Cao Wenzhao had to temporarily station himself in Sancha City.

On the one hand, he sent reports of the two great victories to the court, and on the other hand, he put Wang Er's head in a box and sent it to the capital to show his military achievements; he also ordered the Shanxi Provincial Governor to send people to deal with the prisoners as soon as possible.

In addition, he had to wait for friendly forces to arrive.

He was fierce in battle, but not a true brute. He knew very well that the upcoming battles would not be won by cavalry alone; infantry support was essential.

The infantry he was waiting for were the troops of Zhang Shujia, the military commander of Beitang, and Zuo Liangyu, the military commander. These two troops had already arrived in Datong and were being urged by him to come quickly. Once they reached Sancha City, Cao Wenzhao would have enough confidence to attack Hequ and Baode.

News of the Battle of Sancha City reached Hequ three days later. At that time, Zhou Lun was at home with Gao Guiying.

Her due date is just around the corner. Childbirth is extremely risky for women in this era, and even though Gao Guiying is usually healthy, he still has to be careful.

After all, there was no specialized gynecology department in that era, let alone medical techniques like cesarean sections. Even in later generations, women could still die if they didn't have a proper childbirth.

For safety's sake, Zhou Lun specially found two experienced midwives and a doctor in Hequ, and invited them to the mansion to be ready at any time. He also promised them a generous reward, telling them that as long as Gao Guiying's delivery went smoothly, they would be treated well afterwards.

Under the allure of the gleaming silver, these people settled down in the mansion. Zhou Lun rarely went out these past few days, staying with Gao Guiying and eagerly awaiting the day of her delivery.

The couple were chatting casually when Gao Yigong rushed in from outside.

"Brother-in-law! Something terrible has happened!" He said anxiously as soon as he entered the room.

Zhou Lun was taken aback, as was Gao Guiying beside him. The two of them subconsciously looked at Gao Yigong.

"The Eight-Cornered Fortress is gone, the Three-Forked City is lost, and Chief Wang... Chief Wang Er is gone..."

"What did you say?"

Zhou Lun was immediately startled and subconsciously stood up. His face changed drastically, and he could hardly believe his ears.

Wang Er is gone? What's gone? Could it be the kind of thing I'm thinking of? This... how is this possible! Wang Er was stationed in Sancha City, and his troops, plus some of Huanglong's troops, numbered over ten thousand. How could so many people guarding a city suddenly disappear?