vstars Chapter 465: Capturing Gao Yingxiang alive
Chapter 465: Capturing Gao Yingxiang alive
Gao Yingxiang listened for a moment, and when there was no other sound outside the cave, he crawled out. The darkness inside the cave made the sunlight outside seem particularly dazzling, and he involuntarily squinted. After his eyes adjusted, he looked around and was horrified to find that he was surrounded by soldiers in red uniforms, aiming their short guns at him.
A giant, as tall as an iron tower, stood atop a large rock, looking down at his opponent with a ferocious grin, and said, "King Chuang, you have nowhere to run. Surrender now!"
Several refugees who were close to the giant were unwilling to surrender. They exchanged glances, raised their knives, and leaped up to slash at the giant.
The giant roared and swung an iron bar as thick as a child's arm, smashing the brains of the first man to pieces. He then reached out his left hand and grabbed the neck of another man in mid-air, as easily as grabbing a chick, snapping his throat with a "crack" before throwing the body to the ground.
Several soldiers nearby raised their pistols and fired at the remaining two men. After the gunshots rang out, the two men fell into pools of blood, their bodies still twitching.
Having witnessed the giant's prowess and the power of his short gun, the refugees lost their last bit of courage, and they all knelt on the ground, begging for mercy.
"Master, spare your life!"
"The small one has been demoted!"
……
Gao Yingxiang was utterly despondent and let out a long sigh. He never imagined that after years of dominating northern Shaanxi and Henan, leading tens of thousands of troops against elite government soldiers, and gradually becoming the leading figure in the rebel army after the death of Prince Ziyong of Zijinliang, he would be so humiliatingly captured at the entrance of a cave in Anhui.
Huang Long said smugly, "Gao Yingxiang, a wise man knows when to yield. Now that you're cornered, you might as well follow my example and surrender to the Heavenly Army! We're brothers, and I can't bear to see you end up with your head separated from your body." All the fawning he had shown towards the rebel king just moments before was gone.
Gao Yingxiang gave him a disdainful look: "You surrendered to the government troops without firing a single shot and even betrayed your own people. I, Gao, don't have a brother like you."
The giant was none other than Lin San. After leading his troops to the cave entrance, he was thinking about how to enter the cave with the fewest casualties. Unexpectedly, Huang Long, who was in charge of the rearguard, took the initiative to throw out his weapon and surrender, saying that he was willing to lure Gao Yingxiang out of the cave. Thus, the scene just now occurred.
He impatiently interrupted their conversation and said to Huang Long, "You, go and tie up the thief, and come with us out of the mountains. You'll get a lot of credit for it."
Huang Long beamed and bowed to Lin San, saying, "Thank you, General!" Then he walked behind Gao Yingxiang and said, "Excuse me." He then used a thick rope to tightly bind Gao Yingxiang's upper body, leaving only his feet free to move.
The bandit leader bowed his head; the mission to pursue them had been accomplished beyond expectations. Lin San waved his hand and said, "Tie them all up and take them with you. Get out of the mountains!"
Outside the mountains, Liu Ye, who had been anxiously waiting, received the best result: Lin San led the special forces to wipe out the bandits who had fled into the mountains, and finally captured Gao Yingxiang alive!
Seeing the famous first rebel leader standing before him, bound hand and foot, Liu Ye laughed heartily and said to Yan Guang and the others, "It's a pity Zhang Xianzhong escaped, otherwise this campaign to suppress the rebels would have been perfect!"
Seeing the young military officer grinning from ear to ear, Gao Yingxiang couldn't help but say, "Young man, nothing lasts forever. Don't be too smug. Your master, Chongzhen, is not easy to please. Today you win a battle, and he'll just give you a minor promotion and a little silver. But if you lose a battle tomorrow, he'll arrest you and bring you to the capital for questioning. Let's see if you'll still be smiling then!"
Upon hearing Gao Yingxiang's "advice," Liu Ye laughed until tears streamed down his face. He said between laughs, "Hey, Mr. Chuang Wang, don't worry about me. You should worry about yourself! I heard that Emperor Chongzhen wants nothing more than to skin you alive. Would you rather go to the capital to suffer, or let me give you a quick death here?" In the original historical timeline, Gao Yingxiang was ambushed and captured alive by the famous general Sun Chuanting, then sent to the capital, where he was executed by slow slicing by the Emperor Chongzhen, who hated him to the core.
Gao Yingxiang's heart skipped a beat. This young man not only did not try to persuade him to surrender like the civil and military officials of the past, but also kept calling him "Chongzhen" and directly addressing the emperor by his name, which was extremely treasonous. This approach was quite different from that of the officials and soldiers of the past!
He asked suspiciously, "Which branch of the army are you from? Are you under Hong Chengchou?"
Yan Guang answered from the side: "This is Liu Ye, the newly appointed Commander-in-Chief of Qionghai Town, who has been granted the title of General of Dragon and Tiger and the Right Commander-in-Chief of the Five Armies Commandery!"
Gao Yingxiang was taken aback. Seeing his young age, he had assumed he was just a guerrilla or brigade commander under the general, but he never expected him to be the general guarding a region! He had fought with government troops for many years and knew a little about the court's movements. He had also heard about the major event of establishing a new military town in the south, but he never expected that the general was this man in front of him.
Liu Ye asked those around him, "What do you think we should do with this guy? In my opinion, we should just kill him on the spot to avoid future trouble." In his view, these bandit leaders should be killed one by one. The mistakes made by Chongzhen and his governors-general of the three border regions and five provinces could not be repeated. It was precisely these indecisive civil officials who, in their vain attempt to subdue the bandits through appeasement, gave Li Zicheng and his men repeated opportunities to breathe, ultimately leading to the downfall of the Ming Dynasty. Although killing a few leaders would not fundamentally solve the problem of the displaced people, at least it would leave them leaderless, making them relatively easier to suppress later.
Gao Yingxiang felt a chill on his neck and was terrified. He hadn't expected this young general to be such a formidable fighter and a ruthless killer of prisoners. Was he going to die here today? If it were someone like Zhang Xianzhong, he might have begged for mercy with tears streaming down his face, but Gao Yingxiang was always arrogant and would never do something so shameless.
Yan Guang waved his hands repeatedly, trying to dissuade him: "General, please think it over! Since the first year of Chongzhen's reign, various bandits have been led by Zijin Liang Wang Ziyong, and this rebel leader is his most powerful general. After Zijin Liang died in battle in Henan two years ago, the rebel leader inherited his mantle and became the leader of all the forces. It would be a great pity to kill such a person. It would be better to send him to the capital and present him to the emperor. This would be of great benefit to you, General!"
"Benefits?" Liu Ye thought for a moment, and figured it would probably be another official title and rank. Although he was already a general, another title would just be icing on the cake, but it wouldn't cost him anything, so he could consider it.
Seeing that he was indifferent, Yan Guang continued, "Although official rank does not bring immediate benefits to a general, the higher the rank and the greater the reputation, the easier it will be to win over heroes from all walks of life in the future."
A person's reputation is like a tree's shadow. Unlike modern people, the ancients did not value money over people. Whoever paid the highest salary was the boss. This was especially true for scholars, who valued reputation and word of mouth. Otherwise, Cao Cao would not have been able to control the emperor and command the princes, thus gathering most of the heroes and talents in the world. Among the Three Kingdoms, the Wei Kingdom had the most outstanding talents, far surpassing Wu and Shu.
Liu Ye slapped his thigh: "If you've convinced me, then send this guy to the capital." Anyway, Chongzhen wouldn't let Gao Yingxiang go; it's just a matter of replacing him with someone else to kill. It's a cost-effective thing, so why not do it?