RPAGF 029 Old Friends from Zhang'an Village
029 Old Friends from Zhang'an Village
"What is it?"
Zhou Lun's heart tightened, and his voice unconsciously rose by half an octave.
Li Wanqing, equally tense, leaned forward and pressed for an answer: "Has the government received news? Have the government troops been mobilized?"
Li Shoutian shook his head: "It's not news from the government, it's something that happened in Fugu and Anzhai."
"Fugu? Anzhai?"
Zhou Lun and Li Wanqing were both taken aback.
Fugu County and Anzhai County are both located in Shaanxi Province. Fugu County is a small county in the northernmost part of Shaanxi, located between Hequ and Baode, close to the Shanxi border, and quite far from Anzhai County.
But Anzhai is different.
This place is very close to Bao'an County, where they are now, and both are under the jurisdiction of Yan'an Prefecture. The two places are less than 180 li apart.
Zhou Lun and Li Wanqing hurriedly asked what had happened. Li Shoutian, who had rushed over and was still slightly out of breath, caught his breath before telling them everything he had just learned.
After listening to what Li Shoutian had to say, Zhou Lun and Li Wanqing exchanged a glance, both seeing surprise and joy in each other's eyes.
They never expected that just as they captured Bao'an County, rebellions would break out in Fugu to the north and Anzhai to the east.
Let's start with Fugu.
A man named Wang Jiayin and his friend Wu Tinggui led a group of starving people to storm into the homes of wealthy and powerful families to seize grain, thus raising the banner of rebellion.
Although Wang Jiayin and his men failed to capture Fugu County, they caused chaos in the surrounding area, occupying several towns and villages, killing many local powerful and wealthy people, and gathering thousands of troops, making them a formidable force.
The same applies to Anzhai.
A local man named Gao Yingxiang also rose up in rebellion, shouting the slogan "Rather than sit and starve to death, why not steal and die?" He led the starving people in revolt, broke into the government granary, and gathered a crowd to rebel.
The situation is currently extremely tense in both places, and it is said that there is also a rebellion in Baishui, further south.
In less than half a month, apart from their own Bao'an County, two or even more rebel armies emerged, a piece of news that surprised and delighted Zhou Lun and Li Wanqing.
Surprisingly, no one expected that someone would join them in a mass rebellion.
The good news is that with so many people rebelling, the government will inevitably be overwhelmed and unable to concentrate its forces to deal with them for a while. As a result, the pressure on them will be greatly reduced.
Moreover, they were all heroes who rebelled, so they were essentially on the same side.
Fugu is to the north, Anzhai to the east, and Bao'an to the west. If they could join forces, the strength of the rebel army would surely increase significantly. By banding together for survival, their chances of survival would immediately increase considerably.
"You just said the person who started the uprising in Anzhai is named Gao Yingxiang?" Li Wanqing's eyes gleamed as he eagerly inquired, "Where is he from? What's his home?"
"That's his name." Li Shoutian carefully recalled the information he had obtained: "It is said that this person is a farmer from Gaochuan Village in Anzhai, and he is very skilled in martial arts! Oh, and it seems that he was also a horse trader..."
"Haha! Hahaha!"
Li Wanqing burst into laughter, slapping the table with joy.
"What's wrong?" Zhou Lun seemed to have noticed something and asked in surprise, "Brother, do you know this Gao Yingxiang?"
"If it were someone else, I might not be able to guarantee it," Li Wanqing laughed, his eyes crinkling with laughter, "but since Shou Tian just mentioned that Gao Yingxiang traded horses, then it's definitely him!"
He paused, then said with a smile, "I've met this man a few times. He's an excellent archer, with extraordinary strength—truly a hero! I never imagined that Gao Ruyue would also rebel against the Zhu family. The affairs of the world are truly full of coincidences! Hahaha! Hahaha!"
"As high as a mountain?" Zhou Lun asked, puzzled.
Li Wanqing then explained, "Ruyue is Gao Yingxiang's real name. His real name is Gao Ruyue, and Gao Yingxiang is an alias he uses when he's out and about. If Shoutian hadn't explained it so clearly just now, I wouldn't have remembered it at first. Since he said he was a farmer from Gaochuan Village and also traded horses, then it must be him—Gao Ruyue, Gao Yingxiang! Yes, it must be him!"
Upon hearing this, not only was Zhou Lun overjoyed, but even Li Shoutian, who came to deliver the news, beamed with joy.
Unexpectedly, not only did someone start an uprising in Anzhai, but the leader of the uprising was also an old acquaintance of his own elder brother.
"Brother, you just said that Gao Yingxiang is good at archery. Between you and him, who is better?" Li Shoutian suddenly thought of this question and couldn't help but ask.
Li Wanqing smiled and waved his hand, saying, "Gao Yingxiang is good at riding and archery, while I am good at foot archery. How can we compare them? If we really want to compare, we are only about equal."
Li Shoutian didn't react much to Li Wanqing's evaluation of Gao Yingxiang, but Zhou Lun was secretly alarmed.
He knew his elder brother Li Wanqing's martial arts skills all too well; his archery was exceptional, otherwise he wouldn't have given himself the nickname "Shooting the Sky Down." But Li Wanqing said that Gao Yingxiang's archery was no less than his own, and that Gao Yingxiang, because of his horse trading, was even more skilled in riding and archery, which was something that ordinary people couldn't compare to.
As for the name Gao Yingxiang, Zhou Lun was initially taken aback, but after hearing a few sentences, he realized who this person was.
Gao Yingxiang! Isn't he the future famous rebel leader, Chuang Wang?
Zhou Lun never expected that the other party was also a fellow townsman from Yan'an Prefecture, and that his Anzhai County was not far from Bao'an County. Even more unexpectedly, he was surprised that his elder brother, Li Wanqing, knew him.
The thought flashed through Zhou Lun's mind, but he didn't dwell on it. He was more concerned with what to do next.
According to their original plan, they intended to abandon Bao'an County and leave within the next few days. Zhou Lun, however, was not foolish enough to wait here and give the government a chance to come and suppress them.
Although Bao'an County was a good place, it was not a place to stay for long. Moreover, the drought in Shaanxi was getting worse. Even if they temporarily obtained the spoils from the county, with these things, they would not be able to support the rebel army and take care of the people of the county. The rebel army simply could not use this as a base to develop.
The only way to survive is to fight your way out.
Before the authorities could fully react, they left Bao'an County and headed elsewhere. While their numbers might be far from sufficient for conquering cities and seizing ordinary towns and villages to acquire resources from local powerful families, this shouldn't be a problem.
As long as they maintain their supplies along the way and don't stay in one place for too long, but instead roam around, it won't be so easy for the government to wipe them out. It's not too late to plan something bigger once their strength has gradually accumulated. Or they can look for better opportunities; these are all possibilities.
But now that he had received news from Fugu and Anzhai, Zhou Lun changed his mind and overturned his previous plan.
Since there are also uprisings in both places, let's leave aside Fugu for now. Anzhai is just a stone's throw away. In addition, Li Wanqing and Gao Yingxiang are old acquaintances. If the two rebel armies can be combined into one, their chances of survival will be much greater.
Furthermore, Zhou Lun knew better than anyone that Gao Yingxiang would become famous in the future.
This is the first generation of the rebel leader!
Although Gao Yingxiang was ultimately defeated and captured, suffering a brutal fate, that happened several years later. Before his defeat, Gao Yingxiang was one of the leaders of the righteous armies across the land, his reputation resounding throughout the land, commanding countless troops. If one could follow him temporarily, safety should not be a problem for the foreseeable future.
Thinking of this, Zhou Lun immediately suggested to Li Wanqing that they send someone to the east to contact Gao Yingxiang and invite him to come to Bao'an County to meet. The two groups of rebels could then join forces, band together to survive, and forge a path to survival.
Li Wanqing was intrigued by this suggestion.
Since he knew Gao Yingxiang, he naturally knew the other's abilities. Moreover, they were fellow villagers and old friends, so if they could join forces, it would be a good thing for both sides.
However, Li Wanqing also had a concern: once the two rebel armies joined forces, which one would take the lead?
"Is there any need to ask? Of course, our eldest brother will be the leader!" Li Shoutian said without hesitation. "Let's not talk about how many men Gao Yingxiang has, but just the fact that we took over the county town is enough for us to be the leader."
Li Wanqing frowned. That's what he said, but he felt that it was a bit inappropriate.
"Brother, why worry about this now?" Zhou Lun chuckled from the side. "It's not even close to being settled yet. Let's ask Gao Yingxiang if he's willing to join forces first. If he's willing, we can unite and fight side by side. As for who will lead, each of us will command an army; the title of leader will just be a formality. Besides, since Gao Yingxiang is capable of doing the same things as us, he's probably not a petty person. We'll see how things go. If we get along, we can stay together; if not, we can go our separate ways."
Li Wanqing pondered for a while, recalling Gao Yingxiang's character and temperament, and felt that Zhou Lun's words made sense.
If you get along, then get along; if you don't, then separate. As long as you can control your own rebel army, it really doesn't matter who is in charge.
The most important thing right now is how to deal with the impending government crackdown.
Time is running out for them.