The Death of King Heishi

In a mountain village in the Qi Great Wall Ridge.

"W-what!?"

Upon hearing that a large contingent of government troops was entering the mountains, Zhou Yaode, who had changed his title to King Pingshi, was shocked. Coming to his senses, he hurriedly said:

"Where are my left and right marshals? Quickly summon them for a meeting!"

"Your Majesty,"

Zhou Yaode's strategist knelt on one knee, "The left and right marshals have led their troops down the mountain to Wang Sheren's shop to requisition grain!"

The left and right marshals, Zhang Jixu and Zhang Wenlang, only had a little over two hundred men under their command.

However, many of the key members had participated in the battle to capture Anqiu County and followed the two men through Yishan and Yuanshan.

There were also a considerable number of followers who had fought several battles with the government army, and their fighting strength was the best under King Ping Shi, far surpassing that of other tribes.

"Your Majesty, why don't we abandon our camp and temporarily avoid the enemy's advance?"

The strategist suggested to Zhou Yaode, "Why don't we retreat south to Guanshan?"

"...No!"

After hesitating for a moment, Zhou Yaode refused the strategist:

"My left and right marshals have not yet returned. How can I abandon them?"

Furthermore, without the main camp's food reserves, how will my soldiers and their families survive the harsh winter?

Laiwu County, where Guanshan is located, has suffered severe disasters in the past two years, and even with salvage, it is difficult to obtain much grain.

Moreover, if they flee in haste, they will probably starve to death on the way to Guanshan.

"This...the government troops are about to arrive, Your Majesty, you must make a decision!"

"Let me think about it, let me think about it..."

The government army camp at the foot of the mountain.

In the eyes of Li Changgeng, the governor of Shandong, these bandits were extremely arrogant, daring to use a banner with the character "王" (king).

In the case of ordinary popular uprisings, after suppression, a lenient approach can be taken, punishing only the ringleaders and not those who were coerced.

But the banner is still the proper "King of Ping Shi", not the previous incongruous "King of Red Pole".

The thieves' den was even located at Qi Changcheng Ridge, not far from Jinan City!?

court death!

Li Changgeng mobilized the provincial governor's battalion, the military garrison of the commander-in-chief, the Jinan garrison, and other troops, and also summoned Xu Bengao's admiral battalion, a guest army.

They boasted an army of ten thousand men and were determined to achieve their goal in one battle, wiping out all these arrogant and ignorant bandits!

......

"Listen up, all of you! I am here by the mandate of Heaven to punish the rebellious King Ping Shi!"

Zhou Yaode was dressed in a magnificent armor made from a theatrical costume, and carried the Guan Gong sword he had stolen from the temple on his shoulder.

He rode a donkey to the front lines, completely immersed in the performance, and shouted in a theatrical voice to the distant government troops:

"The Ming Dynasty has lost its mandate of heaven. You should quickly surrender and join me in building a new dynasty. You will enjoy high-ranking positions and rich rewards, and your descendants will be dukes and marquises for generations!"

"If you do not surrender, do not blame me for being ruthless and slaughtering you all—heads rolling!"

"What is this guy muttering about?"

The burly officer in charge muttered something, patted the musketeer next to him on the shoulder, and said, "Shoot him!"

boom!

Zhou Yaode was hit in the thigh by a lead bullet, but he desperately endured the pain without crying out, and cursed angrily:

"You scoundrel, how dare you attack me with a sneak attack?!"

Turning his head to look behind him, he raised Guan Yu's sword with all his might and shouted in a shrill voice, "All soldiers, listen to my command! Follow me and kill..."

Bang bang bang!

A few lead bullets and a few arrows struck Ping Shiwang, causing his Guan Gong sword to fall to the ground. He then fell off his horse and died on the spot.

The government army camp at the foot of the mountain.

"General Yu, beat the drums and advance!"

Upon hearing the gunfire, Li Changgeng gave orders to the central military officer in charge of the battle, then closed his eyes.

A staff member suddenly spoke up, adding, "Refuse to surrender! Slaughter all the traitors!"

Yu Zhongjun was taken aback upon hearing this. "Grand Commander, are you really going to kill them all?"

Li Changgeng did not open his eyes or reply.

The pacification campaign required grain, but Li Changgeng did not have enough.

There are still many starving victims in various places who need relief, not to mention these thieves who have proclaimed themselves kings and are courting their own destruction.

Then pick up the butcher's knife!

Boom boom boom!

The cold drumbeats sounded, and squads of government troops slowly pursued the fleeing bandits through the mountains and forests.

The bandits were more familiar with the terrain, but they often suffered from cold and hunger, and soon the bandits who were too weak were caught up by the government troops.

The drumbeats grew more urgent, and more and more thieves were cut down by knives and stabbed by short spears.

On the tip of the knife and spear, the warm blood quickly cooled and crystallized into tiny ice crystals.

Upon reaching the mountain stronghold, some bandits peeked out from behind the walls to fight back, but were quickly suppressed by the government troops' bows and arrows and muskets.

With a deafening roar, the flimsy gate of the stockade was blasted open by government troops using a thunderclap bomb.

Meanwhile, some government troops, caught up in the killing frenzy, had already scaled the low stockade walls and stormed into the stockade!

The bandits who followed Zhou Yaode into battle lacked experience in fighting against government troops and had little understanding of the government troops' combat capabilities.

Aside from a few quick-witted individuals, most instinctively fled back to their mountain stronghold, only to be trapped inside by government troops...

Less than half an hour later, with a snap, the royal flag bearing the seven large characters "By the Mandate of Heaven, Punish the Rebellion and Pacify the King" was cut down.

The government troops tore down the flag, chopped the flagpole into several pieces, and threw them onto the pile of headless corpses that had been stacked into a small mountain.

Under the protection of his household guards, Yu Zhongjun personally entered the mountain stronghold to finish up the work, just as the guards who had been acting as scouts ran back to report:

"There are about a thousand thieves behind the mountain..."

It turned out that Zhou Yaode and the guards of the village had risked their lives to delay the attack.

Approximately a thousand people had already crossed the mountain ridge and fled south, mainly consisting of the elderly, women, and children, presumably the families of the bandits.

They often suffered from cold and hunger, and they carried a lot of food and belongings, so they could not run fast.

After hearing the report, the military officers present all looked at Yu Zhongjun, asking questions with their eyes.

"The order from above is to execute them all!"

With a blank expression, Yu Zhongjun ordered the military officers present, "Chase after them! Leave no one alive!"

Behind Yu Zhongjun, the government troops demolished the houses in the village, piled up wood and thatch next to the headless corpses, and poured oil on them.

Flames erupted, quickly engulfing the royal banner atop the pile of corpses and burning it to ashes.

......

A dilapidated temple near Wang Sheren's shop.

"Grand Marshal, hurry back and save the King!"

Unable to dissuade Zhou Yaode, the strategist secretly fled the mountain stronghold and ran towards Wang Sheren's shop.

At the dilapidated temple, he caught up with Zhang Jixu and Zhang Wenlang, and tearfully said to Zhang Jixu, who was in the lead:

"The king wants to stay behind to cover the retreat, so let our families escape first..."

Zhang Jixu and Zhang Wenlang exchanged a glance, and the latter suddenly lunged forward, grabbing the strategist by the neck.

With tremendous force, a crisp crack was heard, and the strategist's throat bone was crushed!

Before the few people who had escaped the mountain stronghold with the strategist could react, they were also cut down by the Zhang brothers' confidants.

"Brother, should we still rob Wang Sheren's shop?"

Zhang Wenlang released the strategist's corpse, kicked it aside, and said urgently to Zhang Jixu, his eyes filled with panic.

"Of course we'll grab it!"

Zhang Jixu tried to calm himself down and said in a deep voice to Zhang Wenlang and his confidants:

"Our money is all in the village. How can we run away or hide without money?"

But we need to be realistic, we can't take many people with us this time, so don't say anything carelessly after we get out!

You're thinking of saving him, but in the end you won't be able to escape either!

Zhang Wenlang nodded repeatedly, then said menacingly to his confidants:

"Anyone who dares to talk nonsense, I'll strangle them right now!"

"etc!"

Zhang Jixu suddenly wondered if there might be government troops lying in ambush at Wang Sheren's shop. He instructed Zhang Wenlang and his confidants:

"Tell the man surnamed Yang to take the remaining dozens of brothers and go scout out Wang Sheren's shop first!"

The leader surnamed Yang joined the Zhangs in Yishan, and he wasn't particularly close to them.