From beggar to emperor: I am not Zhu Yuanzhang

As soon as Xue Huai led his troops to the foot of Crouching Tiger Mountain, he received a report from the scouts and discovered the outpost of the bandits in front.

Great, the time has come for me, the general, to make great achievements.

Xue Huai patted his horse and went forward to check with his gun, and saw that there was indeed a group of troops on the opposite side. Judging from the formation, there should not be many people. The big flag in front of the formation was embroidered with the words "Dai" and "Yang".

Xue Huai squinted at the men and horses on the opposite side, but did not order an attack. He wanted to wait.

At this time, the second scout also returned to the camp in a hurry. He brought back the issue that Xue Huai was most concerned about. The team opposite was not an elite team, but mostly the old, weak, sick and disabled. After hearing the news, Xue Huai felt confident and boldly ordered the entire army to advance together, and he himself rushed over brandishing his spear.

Yang Xingmi asked Dai Yougui to stay behind, and he straightened up his spear and rushed over on horseback.

The two of them had fought for less than ten rounds when they heard Yang Xingmi yell: "I'll fight you again tomorrow, withdraw——"

After saying that, he immediately jumped out of the battle, led his men to retreat quickly, and raced against time to return to the gourd mouth.

"Want to run? Where to run -"

Xue Huai chased after Yang Xingmi, and the officers and soldiers behind him swarmed over, chasing Yang Xingmi's men into the gourd mouth.

All this was seen by Dai Yougui on the mountain. When Xue Huai entered the gourd mouth, he waved his hand and ambushed troops everywhere with a loud killing sound.

Xue Huai on horseback was shocked, he was in a trap!

Xue Huai quickly turned the horse's head, ordered the rear team to change to the front team, and immediately rushed out of the gourd mouth.

Unfortunately, it was too late. The pass in and out of Hulukou had long been blocked by Dai Yougui's men. At this time, Yang Xingmi, who was running away, also made a gorgeous transformation, leading a group of tiger and wolf warriors to fight back.

Xue Huai couldn't resist and retreated in panic.

The defeated troops retreated to Hulukou in a swarm. Tian Kai, who was ambushing there, had long been impatient. Seeing that Xue Huai led his men to retreat here, he immediately ordered an attack.

Suddenly, ambushes were everywhere, the sound of killing was loud, and the trip ropes set in advance also exerted great power. Xue Huai was not careful and was hit by an arrow in his leg, falling off his horse.

He quickly got up, endured the pain caused by the arrow wound, and limped away to escape.

He didn't run far before he was captured alive by Tian Kai's people.

After Xue Huai was captured, the army collapsed. Except for a few people who escaped, most of them surrendered.

The victory was a success, which made Tian Kai, Dai Yougui and others extremely happy.

Xue Huai and other prisoners were taken back to the stronghold one after another to wait for retribution. According to the old rule in the past, when officers and generals were caught, they usually killed Ji Qi. This time Tian Kai wanted to follow the old rules, but was opposed by Yang Xingmi.

Yang Xingmi's reason was simple. Killing Xue Huai would mean a complete break with the government, which would not be a good thing for Crouching Tiger Village.

Tian Kai didn't understand and couldn't figure it out.

Yang Xingmi patiently advised: "Brothers can't be the king of the mountain all their lives, and be scolded in the spine all their lives. There is no way out. Brothers must think about their own future."

Yang Xingmi's meaning is actually very clear, that is, by treating Xue Huai well, he can establish contact with the government and pave the way for future recruitment negotiations.

What's more, there are only a few hundred people in Wohu Village. Killing Xue Huai would be tantamount to a complete break with the government. How many rounds of sieges can these hundreds of people withstand?

This question silenced both Tian Kai and Dai Yougui. Yes, how long can we resist?

Yang Xingmi ordered a reception banquet for Xue Huai and other captured generals. During the banquet, he intentionally or unintentionally revealed his willingness to recruit troops. In order to save his life, Xue Huai promised to report to Zheng Xu after returning to Luzhou and speak kindly to them.

With Xue Huai's promise, Yang Xingmi immediately went to persuade Tian Kai, Dai Yougui and others to release Xue Huai and others back to Luzhou.

Before leaving, Xue Huai patted his chest and promised to report to Zheng Xu immediately after returning, saying a few nice words for them and trying to facilitate their recruitment as soon as possible.

However, when Xue Huai ran out of the boundary of Crouching Tiger Mountain, his face immediately changed.

He sternly warned his subordinates that no one was allowed to reveal to outsiders what he had promised at the Jie Feng Banquet. If this matter reached the ears of Zheng Xu or Gao Pian, he would be doomed.

When Xue Huai returned to Luzhou, he did not mention Yang Xingmi's request. Instead, he kept exaggerating the numerous crimes committed by the gangsters in Crouching Village in Zheng Xu's ears, and requested that troops be sent to exterminate them.

After listening to Xue Huai's words, Zheng Xu fell into deep thought.

Although he had just arrived, he didn't know much about the situation in Luzhou, but during his visit and investigation, he also heard some news about Crouching Tiger Village.

Many people told him that the strongmen in Crouching Village were different from ordinary bandits. They never harassed the people, and those who usually robbed were the local tyrants and evil gentry who oppressed the people. When villagers encountered difficulties in life, they often sent people to deliver things for relief, which was the legendary "rob the rich and give to the poor."

Because of this, the people in the Wohu Mountain area live and work in peace and contentment and are no longer displaced.

Zheng Xu asked Xue Huai to confirm the authenticity of the news. Xue Huai became anxious when he heard it:

"Sir, please don't listen to the deceptive words of these unscrupulous people. I have been in Luzhou for more than ten years, and I know best what the gangsters in Crouching Mountain are like. My lord, you have just come to Luzhou and don't understand. It will become clear to them later.”

"Then according to General Xue's words, how should we act?" Zheng Xu talked about business.

Xue Huai replied: "The general believes that the army is newly defeated and needs to rest for a few days before gathering troops..."

"Do not--"

Zheng Xu interrupted him: "We will send troops tonight to catch them by surprise."

Xue Huai's eyes widened and he couldn't believe his ears: "Sir, this..."

Zheng Xu explained: "The gangsters have just won a game, so they will definitely celebrate and relax their vigilance. They will never expect that we will launch another attack on the day of failure and go straight to Crouching Tiger Village by surprise!"

"Your Excellency, what a wonderful plan. I admire you so much that I will make arrangements now."

After Xue Huai finished speaking, he turned around and left.

"and many more--"

Zheng Xu stopped Xue Huai: "This time, Benzhou will go with you to see what kind of people are in Crouching Tiger Village."

That night, the Luzhou government once again mobilized elite troops, under the personal command of Zheng Xu. Under the leadership of Xue Huai, they secretly left the city and attacked Wohu Mountain.

As expected, a grand celebration banquet was being held on Crouching Tiger Mountain to celebrate the great victory in Hulukou.

Tian Wei, Tao Ya, Dai Yougui and others were all drunk and drunk. Even the sentry who was on guard duty outside sneaked in to drink. The whole village was immersed in an atmosphere of indulgence.

Yang Xingmi didn't drink well, so he stopped drinking after a few drinks. He put down his glass and left the banquet hall on the pretext of going to the toilet.

Walking out of the hall door, looking at the cottage shrouded in night, a cool breeze hit him, and he suddenly felt much more awake. At this time, he accidentally discovered that many sentry posts were deserted, and everyone had slipped in to drink.

Yang Xingmi suddenly felt uneasy, as if he had a premonition that something might happen. Thinking of this, he walked around the wall and checked the conditions of various sentry posts along the way.

Finally, he came to the village gate in the southeast corner and found that it was pitch black in the night and seemed unusually quiet. Yang Xingmi saw a sentry sleeping in the corner and asked, "Little brother, what's going on?"

No one answered him.

Yang Xingmi asked again, but still no one answered him.

Yang Xingmi was very angry, thinking that this kid must have slept too hard, so he walked over to see what was going on. Yang Xingmi walked up to him, patted the sentry on the shoulder, and was about to scold him, when the sentry fell straight down.