Chapter 292
I don’t know if it’s psychological, but since Yang Tongguan’s death, Ye Guhong has resumed using the Chiyou spear, and he feels that his killing intent is not as fierce as before, and he is much calmer.
Amidst the shouting and neighing of horses, Ye Guhong pulled back his horse and looked around. He saw that most of the Yuan army had gathered together and formed a formation to defend themselves to the death.
The Emei army and the Miao army under the command of Wan Dashi were like beasts stuck in a quagmire, moving more slowly the further they advanced.
Ye Guhong frowned and thought to himself: This is bad. Our Emei army has just been in a major battle and is outnumbered, so I’m afraid it won’t last long. Those Miao soldiers are unreliable too. If Yang Zhengheng arrives and shouts a command, many of them might defect. Hmm…
suddenly shouted, 鈥淐hang and Xu, you are the vanguard, charge the enemy!鈥�
Chang Yuchun shouted, 鈥淲atch this, brother!鈥�
He swung his spear and charged forward recklessly. Xu Da, Tang He and Hua Yun roared and charged forward, gradually loosening the formation that had begun to solidify.
The Yuan army also knew that it was time for a decisive battle, and they howled as they pressed forward, forming a wall of soldiers to break the opponent’s spirit.
Ye Guhong galloped out on his horse, circling far away, but relying on his superhuman speed, he swept like the wind to the side and rear of the Yuan army. He thrust his Chiyou spear forward and charged in, roaring.
Although these Yuan army armored soldiers had sharp weapons and were considered diligent in training, they had not experienced any real battles. The two princes leading the army were even worse generals. Seeing the Emei army charging fiercely, they just sent teams of soldiers to the front to block them, creating a situation where the front was strong but the back was weak, and the army was strong on the outside but weak on the inside.
Ye Guhong saw through his shortcomings and used a tactic of feigning one thing while doing another. Relying on his fierce men and fast horses, he used the Thousand Year Killing Power to blow the Yuan army’s chrysanthemums away.
These Yuan soldiers in the back were either wounded or exhausted from fighting. Not to mention Ye Guhong’s fierce spear, even if they obediently charged like such a giant beast, they would be hard to stop.
As Ye Kuhong charged forward, he looked like a gust of wind razing the wilderness, like a fierce tiger charging into a flock of sheep. The blood surged everywhere as he passed, and the two princes watched in horror.
One cried, 鈥淏rother, you go and hold him off!鈥� The other cried, 鈥淏rother, you go and fight him!鈥�
They pushed and shoved, then each turned his head and cried out in unison, 鈥淪omeone come quickly and hold this man off! Whoever kills him will be handsomely rewarded.鈥�
However, the generals under the two men had all been sent to the front line, and at the moment they only had a few dozen guards around them. They gritted their teeth and killed their way out to protect their masters, but how could they possibly stop Ye Guhong’s awesome power?
They saw Chiyou’s spear swing wide and open, and in a few breaths, they were all killed and fell to the ground.
The brothers of the crown prince were terrified and scattered, and they panicked and fled to the front line. Ye Guhong chased after them a few steps, swung his spear horizontally, and first smashed the banner of the Weishun Royal Family.
The banner was three zhang high and as thick as a man’s waist. When it fell, it made a loud noise that shook the heavens.
The Yuan army’s front line turned back one after another. When they saw the commander’s banner fall, they were all stunned. Then some clever people understood and shouted, 鈥淥h no, our army has lost!鈥�
As more and more people shouted, the Yuan army became panicked. Everyone was afraid that if they didn’t escape first, they would be left behind to die.
So they simply fled themselves 鈥� everyone was thinking the same thing. A large army immediately broke up and everyone fled in all directions.
The two men, Baitu Ermu and Dataitu Ermu, were going to hide in the front ranks to avoid Ye Guhong, but unexpectedly, the troops suddenly collapsed. The defeated troops, running like headless flies, suddenly blocked the two men’s horses.
The two men were at a loss for a moment, but Ye Guhong had already arrived from behind. With a sweeping motion of his spear, the two heads flew up together, and Ye Guhong lightly stabbed them twice in midair, skewering them on the tip of his spear like sugar-coated skewers.
At this point, the victory was already decided. Ye Guhong held the spear aloft with one hand, the heads of the two people on the spear grinning. Ye Guhong gathered his energy and shouted, 鈥淭he Emei army has won its first battle, defeating ten times the number of Tartar soldiers with the courage of a thousand soldiers, a great victory!鈥�
Zhu Chongba raised his bushy eyebrows, raised his sword and shouted, 鈥淓mei has won a great victory!鈥�
Chang Yuchun and his brothers also roared, 鈥淓mei has won a great victory!鈥�
At this time, of the more than 1,000 Emei militia, only 800 or so remained. This was the first time they had experienced such a major battle. After fighting until now, they were already weak and their limbs were numb, but at this moment, they felt their blood rushing back to their hearts once again. An unprecedented sense of pride filled their bodies, and they could not help but cry out passionately, 鈥淓mei has won the battle!鈥�
They suddenly felt as if they had endless strength, and they picked up their swords and spears and charged at the retreating Yuan army.
Wan Dashi thought to himself, 鈥淵ou’ve defeated tens of thousands with a thousand, so what’s the deal with my three thousand troops?鈥� But he couldn’t help but yell along, 鈥淓mei has won a great victory!鈥�
Ye Guhong laughed heartily, looked up at Wuxian Ridge, and saw that hundreds of people were standing on the edge of the first platform, watching. He then summoned his Jiuyang Xuan Gong, roared, 鈥淥mei disciple Ye Guhong, I come to marry the Wuxian immortal with the 10,000 Tartar heads as a gift!鈥�
Snakes and scorpions crawled all over the platform, spiders spun webs, toads hopped and centipedes scurried. The Five Immortals were all covered in blood from the battle. Even the leader of the Five Immortals, Long Kongkong, who usually dressed lightly, donned a set of bamboo body armour depicting the five poisons and personally wielded a snake staff to kill the enemy on the mountainside.
When the Yuan army that had previously attacked the mountain retreated, they were shocked, and when they discovered that the leader of the army was Ye Kuhong, they were both shocked and overjoyed. They were shocked because the enemy was outnumbering them, and they were afraid that he would lose and they would lose.
At this moment, they heard Ye Guhong announce that he would take the heads of his enemies as a bride price. Xuewu and Yuchen were so happy that they hugged each other and kept saying, 鈥淭he Emei Sect is giving such a heavy bride price, Brother Guhong is so generous!鈥�
Although Long Kongkong was also happy, he could not bear to see the two of them acting like such fools. He rolled his eyes and said, 鈥淪tupid people, they are the kind of people who are sold but still help count the money.鈥�
Yuchen was so happy that he forgot himself and dared to retort, 鈥淓ven if Brother Guhong really sold me, he would definitely do it for my own good.鈥�
Long Kongkong was furious, but White Snake hugged her arm and giggled, 鈥淢aster, don’t be angry. Although Guhong is crafty, his heroic spirit is better than gold and jewels, isn’t it?鈥�
Hua Wu helped the injured Pang Shen and smiled, persuading him, 鈥淵es, Master, if he hadn’t come to the rescue, Wuxian Ridge would have been broken by the army in a day or two. Alas, it is indeed very different to attack a mountain with an army than to fight in the arena.鈥�
Long Kongkong sighed, 鈥淵ou are right. I never thought that Ye Kuhong would be such a talented general, able to defeat the enemy with a small force! Come, follow me down the pass. The Tartars can come and fight me, but these Miao people are hateful. No village has not received the benefits of our religion, and today they are actually helping the devil. They must be taught a lesson.”
At this time, at the foot of the pass, Yang Zhengheng led thousands of elite Miao soldiers to attack. When they saw the Yuan army in disarray, they were shocked: the strength of the Yuan army was originally no better than that.
Then he saw Ye Guhong and heard him announce his name. He was shocked and said, 鈥淵e Guhong? Aren’t you surnamed Yang? Who the hell are you?鈥�
Ye Guhong glanced at him and suddenly shouted, 鈥淚 am here by order of the leader of the Wuxian Sect to kill Yang Zhengheng, the great traitor who collaborated with the Tartars and betrayed Miaojiang. Whoever dares to block me will be treated as a traitor!鈥�
After saying this, he pinched the horse’s belly and charged straight at Yang Zhengheng. The surrounding Miao soldiers and generals, who had already felt intimidated after seeing the Yuan army defeated, heard this and looked at Yang Zhengheng and then at Wuxianling, at a loss for what to do.
Yang Zhengheng angrily said, 鈥淭he Wuxian Sect killed King Weisun and angered the imperial court. If you are with the Wuxian Sect, you will all die when the imperial army comes!鈥�
Ye Kuhong laughed loudly, 鈥淗ahahaha, Uncle Yang, let me teach you a lesson 鈥� the master who killed the Tartar king is none other than my master, the head of Emei Sect, Master Mie Jie! My master dares to kill the Imperial Preceptor, let alone a mere king!鈥�
Yang Zhengheng was furious, 鈥淭raitorous scoundrel!鈥�
Ye Guhong shouted, 鈥淵ou are the leader of the Hmong people, but you want to cling to the Tartar’s thigh, killing the fairy of your own clan to please a foreign clan. You are undoubtedly a Hmong traitor! As the son-in-law of the Hmong family, I, Ye Guhong, will kill the traitor and avenge the prince today!鈥�
As he said this, he swung his spear, and with a whoosh, two human heads flew out like projectiles. Yang Zhengheng was caught off guard and quickly swung his sword, cleaving the heads in half with a crack.
Ye Guhong said, 鈥淥h, you are a dog of the Tartars, how dare you harm the remains of the princes, is that not a great sin?鈥�
While he was speaking, the horse had already galloped up, and with a twist of the spear, it stabbed at a distracting angle.
Yang Zhengheng fought with him for a few moves, and he felt that Ye Guhong’s spear contained strange power. When the weapons touched, his arms went numb. Knowing that he was no match for him, he was about to call for help when Ye Guhong suddenly used the killing move 鈥渙ne horse, seven spears鈥�. In the blink of an eye, he stabbed seven times, each spear full of power.
Yang Zhengheng shouted and swung his sword, barely blocking the first three shots. He was unable to defend against the remaining four shots, and could only let them leave four holes in his chest and abdomen. He blinked in disbelief and fell off his horse.
Yang Zhengheng was originally quite generous and heroic when he was the leader of the Feishan barbarians, and was very popular with the Miao people.
However, since climbing the ladder of the Wei Shun Wang and becoming an official of the Yuan court, he had gradually become arrogant, proclaiming himself the great leader, and killing any leaders of other tribes or owners of other villages who disobeyed him.
At this moment, he died at the hands of Ye Kuhong, and the remaining Miao generals looked at each other, but no one came to his defense.
Ye Kuhong raised the Chiyou spear high and shouted at the top of his voice as he rode around, 鈥淭he ancestral Miao spear is now mine, and the Five Immortals Saintess is my wife! I will now exterminate the Miao traitors for you. If anyone wants to avenge these Miao traitors, please come and fight.鈥�
He shouted three times, but no one came out to fight. Ye Kuhong knew that the die was cast. He was about to call the leaders of each department to meet the Wuxian Sect leader when suddenly there was a commotion in the southwest. Many Miao people shouted, 鈥淭he Yi soldiers are coming! The Yi soldiers are coming to kill!鈥�
Ye Kuhong shouted, 鈥淒on’t panic! I will go and stop the Yi people!鈥�
Then he galloped off, spearing his horse, and went straight to Zhu Chongba, telling him, 鈥淒o this and that!鈥�
He then galloped off to the southwest, where he saw thousands of elite Yi soldiers charging headlong. Ye Guhong brandished his spear and shouted, 鈥淚, Ye Guhong of Emei, am here! Answer me, commander of the Yi army!鈥�
His shout was full of internal strength, and the sound rolled like a tide. The Yi soldiers were startled and couldn’t help but slow down.
Fortunately, the sound of a horn came from the rear of the main camp soon after. Taking advantage of the situation, the Yi soldiers stood still and separated the two ways, and seven or eight fierce Yi warriors surrounded a peach-colored horse and walked slowly out.
Seated on the horse was a slender woman wearing silver armor and carrying an Yi knife at her waist. Her eyebrows and eyes were picturesque, and she looked solemn. Ye Guhong smiled when he saw her and recognized her as Xie Xiang!
The two looked at each other for a moment, and Lady Xie Xiang said in a trembling voice, 鈥淚t really is you! So you are Ye Kuhong of the Emei School.鈥�
Ye Kuhong laughed and said, 鈥淵ou’ve grown up into a young lady in just a few years.鈥�
Lady Xie Xiang’s pretty face turned red, and the Yi people next to her shouted, 鈥淗ow dare you! How dare you be rude to our lord?鈥�
Xie Xiang whispered, 鈥淒on’t be rude to him,鈥�
She was about to speak when she heard a few whistling sounds, and there were already several figures around Ye Guhong. They were the Five Immortals Sect leader Long Kongkong, and the four women White Snake, Snow Centipede, and Jade Toad, with their eight magical eyes, all staring at Xiexiang’s face.
Long Kongkong made a sound and pursed his lips, saying, 鈥淵oung Master Ye is really a womanizer. It turns out that you also have a lover in the Yi tribe.鈥�
Xie Xiang’s eyebrows wrinkled slightly, her face tilted slightly, and her expression turned proud: 鈥淲ho are you, a reckless Miao woman?鈥�
The white snake said, 鈥淢y master is the leader of the Five Immortals Sect. When an Yi woman sees him, she should kneel and worship.鈥�
Xie Xiang’s expression changed, and several Yi people behind her already stood with frowning faces and said, 鈥淪o you are the old demon of the Five Immortals Sect! Today, I must kill you to avenge the old country lord.鈥�
After saying this, they each urged their horses to charge out fiercely, and Long Kongkong sneered, about to use his skills. Ye Guhong tugged on the reins, and he was already charging out.
The horse was like a dragon, and the spear was like a python. In just a few exchanges, all seven Yi soldiers fell from their horses.
Xiexiang exclaimed in shock, 鈥淵e Guhong, you lured me here just to help the Miao kill me?鈥�
Bai She jumped up and said, 鈥淏rother, kill her. Tonight, I’ll show you the difference between a snake and the other four immortals!鈥�
Xue Wu immediately said angrily, 鈥淚t’s just winding around, is that something to brag about? Brother, I have a hundred-legged miracle technique, that’s awesome.鈥�
Yu Chan whispered, 鈥淏rother, I, I actually also know the toad-swallowing method…鈥�
Ye Guhong was itching to hear more, but he had to put on a stern face and shout, 鈥淒on’t say anything for now.鈥�
Then he looked at Xie Xiang and said, 鈥淚 naturally won’t harm you, and I didn’t expect you to dare go deep into enemy territory alone. In fact, I came on this trip to reconcile the two of you.鈥�
At this time, more than ten Yi people ran to Xie Xiang’s side. Judging from their clothing, they were all people of some status in other countries. One of them shouted, 鈥淵ou are just a barbarian from the rivers and lakes. Why should you reconcile for us?鈥�
Ye Guhong pointed with one hand and swung it horizontally, saying indifferently, 鈥淏ecause your lives are in my hands!鈥�
As soon as he finished speaking, there was a commotion in the rear ranks of the Yi army. Zhu Yuanzhang had led his troops to cut through the rear of the Yi army and form a line to block their retreat.
The Yi man who spoke looked back and sneered, 鈥淎 mere few hundred people want to stop us?鈥�
Ye Guhong said nonchalantly, 鈥淛ust these few hundred people have just defeated 10,000 Manchurian soldiers. I wonder who is a better fighter, you thousands of people or 10,000 Manchurian soldiers.鈥�
The man’s expression hardened, and he looked behind Ye Guhong. The Yuan army corpses were strewn all over the place, and a group of Miao army, most of them standing in formation, really did not look like they were fighting.
Xie Xiang’s face paled, and she bit her lip and said, 鈥淢r. Ye, what exactly are you going to do?鈥�
Ye Kuhong looked sincere: 鈥淚 told you, I want to reconcile the two of you.鈥�
Seeing that Xie Xiang didn’t seem to believe him, and the rest of the Yi people were sneering, Ye Kuhong wasn’t annoyed, and smiled slightly, 鈥淚 originally planned to quell the chaos among the Miao people, and then go to Shun Yuan City to invite you for a chat. Unexpectedly, you are so deeply in love that you have even chased me here, so it’s just as well to talk about it here.鈥�
He straightened his back, looked around, and said something serious.
Note:
In the original time and space, after Yang Zhengheng unified Miaojiang, he was ordered by the imperial court to lead tens of thousands of Miao troops to Hunan and western Guangdong to suppress the rebel army. He continued to serve as the deputy envoy of the Imperial Secretariat of Longxing Province, the right vice-governor of Huguang, and the special-grade grand doctor of honor.
After Yang Zhengheng died in battle, his son Yang Tongguan inherited his command. He defeated Guo Tianshu (son of Guo Zixing) and Zhang Shicheng one after the other, and his reputation spread throughout the southeast. He had 200,000 Miao troops under his command, which was the most powerful army of its time. The Yuan court bestowed upon him the titles of Right Deputy Minister of Jiangzhe Province and General of the Cavalry. He was also given the name 鈥淵ang Wanzhe鈥� for his 鈥渃omplete loyalty and righteousness鈥�.
Later, many of the Miao army were lawless and reckless, plundering the wealth of the people. Wherever they went, they left nothing behind. Yang Wanzhe was even more arrogant because of his great achievements, and forcibly married the daughter of a Mongolian nobleman as his wife. His superior, Dasite Muye, was jealous of, colluded with Zhang Shicheng to attack and kill him, and the Yuan court posthumously bestowed him with the title of 鈥淟oyal and Afflicted Lord of Tan鈥�. However, it was difficult to appease the anger of the remaining members of the Miao army, so they defected to Zhu Yuanzhang’s banner.