Chapter 1734: Ambush

Ever since they had fallen into their present predicament, Qi Xuansu and Zhou Mengyao had worked together with a fair degree of tacit understanding.

After all, they used to be master and disciple for so long back in the day. Another reason was that both Qi Xuansu and Zhou Mengyao had each compromised and taken a step back.

At the very least, Zhou Mengyao no longer looked down upon Qi Xuansu but regarded him as someone on relatively equal footing. As a result, certain remarks no longer grated on her nerves. After all, the very same words had entirely different effects depending on whether they came from an equal or from someone of lower status.

Qi Xuansu deliberately humored her. He had dealt with his fair share of respectable women, like Madam Qi, Madam Wu, Sage Cihang, Tantai Qiong, and so on. He also had many female colleagues and had even dealt with female deities like Ixchel, the Heluo God, and True Lord Ziguang.

It was only because Qi Xuansu had no interest in womanizing that he did not build a harem.

After interacting with so many women, Qi Xuansu had actually managed to summarize a set of rules. Aside from rare or exceptional cases like Zhang Yuelu and Yao Pei, most of the time there was no point trying to reason with most women, since they were usually more emotional. As long as a woman was upset, everything a man did would be wrong.

Therefore, as long as Qi Xuansu could overcome his psychological barriers, temporarily set aside what had happened in the past, and take Zhou Mengyao’s feelings into consideration, then they could cooperate well under the pressure of their external circumstances. But accommodating her emotions did not mean he had to grovel and fawn over her.

What mattered was the common interests shared by both sides, which was escaping this place. Only by uniting could they overcome their predicament.

Since there were no major problems within the core leadership, the Taiping Religion developed at a remarkably rapid pace. It was no longer confined to a single fortified village and quickly began expanding into other fortified villages.

The names of the Great Teacher and the General of Heaven had already begun circulating throughout several regions.

The Great Teacher was primarily responsible for preaching and spreading the faith. Zhou Mengyao had already selected a group of eloquent and persuasive individuals whom she intended to train as Daoist priests.

Meanwhile, Qi Xuansu formed the Yellow Turban Army. Following the longstanding tradition of successive dynasties recruiting soldiers from respectable families, Qi Xuansu selected men of good character from among the village militia. Marching and fighting wars were not about individual ferocity. What mattered was absolute obedience to orders and discipline.

Although Qi Xuansu had never trained troops before, nor was it taught at the Wanxiang Daoist Palace, no one was born knowing how to do it. Every great uprising throughout history had started from nothing.

However, Qi Xuansu had participated in two large-scale wars, so he managed to make a respectable showing of it. His main emphasis was on discipline and coordination. Naturally, these troops were nowhere near the level of the professional Black Robes or Spirit Guards. But out here in the middle of nowhere, their standards were already remarkably high. Quite a few people were thoroughly impressed and came to admire the General of Heaven.

However well troops were trained, their training still had to be tested in actual battle. Only by leading them to victory could Qi Xuansu establish his prestige and earn the people’s genuine respect.

Soldiers entrusted their lives to their commanders. If a commander could lead his soldiers to victory and bring them back alive, then the soldiers’ trust in that general would far surpass their trust in an emperor far beyond their reach.

This opportunity soon presented itself.

The Commander’s Office had presumably received word of what was happening and dispatched 500 soldiers to wipe out the unruly populace and the heretics who were bewitching the people with their false teachings.

After sending a few men to scout the enemy’s situation, Qi Xuansu decided against defending from behind the fortifications. Instead, he would take the initiative and set an ambush along the enemy’s route.

This would be a battle in the open field, something almost unimaginable to commoners who had survived by staying within the walls of their fortified village.

With walls standing in their way, the soldiers would have to dismount and fight on foot. But without those walls, the villagers had virtually no chance of fighting back against a cavalry. It could easily turn into a one-sided massacre.

Thus, there were many voices of opposition and doubt.

Qi Xuansu made the decision despite tremendous pressure, relying on the still-fragile authority of the Taiping Religion to push it through. At this moment, he was stubbornly insisting on having his own way.

If they won, those who had opposed him would naturally become stepping stones beneath Qi Xuansu’s feet, further proving his unerring judgment and godlike command of troops. But if they lost, then Qi Xuansu and Zhou Mengyao’s great mission of spreading the faith would come to an untimely end halfway through.

The reason Qi Xuansu dared to make such a decision was because Zhou Mengyao had begun receiving small amounts of incense power since the establishment of the Taiping Religion.

Although this amount of incense power was insignificant compared to the immense power of an Immortal, it was good enough for them in their present state, like a drizzle after a long drought. With this, they could accomplish many things, like another “miracle.”

In this way, a military victory combined with an even grander “miracle” would further consolidate the people’s faith and generate even more incense power. Thus, they could keep the snowball rolling until it grew larger and larger.

After completing all the necessary preparations, Qi Xuansu and Zhou Mengyao set out with 600 warriors.

Although Qi Xuansu would have loved to train them in some classic military formations and indulge himself in playing the role of some god of war, there simply was not enough time. Moreover, Qi Xuansu only had a superficial understanding of military matters. For now, the most he could manage was to have them march neatly so that they could maintain some semblance of a battle formation while advancing or retreating according to commands.

At present, all their hopes rested upon Zhou Mengyao, while Qi Xuansu merely played a supporting role. The consequence was that the people’s faith would become increasingly concentrated upon Zhou Mengyao, making her stronger and stronger. Given enough time, she might even be able to break through the limitations imposed upon Heavenly Beings in this place.

But if the two of them were to fall out again over some matter, Qi Xuansu would not have the slightest ability to fight back.

Qi Xuansu felt somewhat helpless about the situation, but in the short term, there was simply no other choice.

Soon, Qi Xuansu led his men into the ambush site he had selected beforehand.

Terrain was crucial when ambushing an enemy, so Qi Xuansu had chosen a valley along the route the enemy was certain to take. Slopes rose on both sides of the road, making them ideal positions for archers to shoot from above, while everyone else concealed themselves in earthen ditches along either side of the road, covering themselves with grass and foliage as camouflage.

This was to allow their forces to rapidly deploy from concealed positions. Before the soldiers could react, they would charge forward with lightning speed and lock the enemy in close combat, preventing the cavalry from gaining an advantage.

Qi Xuansu lay concealed in the ditches below together with the infantry, while Zhou Mengyao waited with the archers on the high slopes to either side, fully focused and ready.

During this period, aside from training the Yellow Turban Army, Qi Xuansu had also ordered the commoners to refine saltpeter on a large scale for the production of gunpowder.

Although black powder typically used for fireworks in the outside world was quite limited in power and could not remotely compare with the gunpowder used by the Tianji Hall, what it lacked in quality could be made up for in quantity. As long as there was enough of it, it could still produce tremendous effects.

With little time and much to accomplish, they had scraped together whatever they could and barely managed to produce a little over 50 kilograms of black powder. Compared with the massive armies of the Steam Evangelical Sect, this amount would have been a mere drop in the ocean. But these soldiers could hardly be compared with the armies of the Western Daoist Order, so this black powder could still play a considerable role.

Qi Xuansu did not hold anything back. He used all of it at once, burying the entire stockpile beneath the road the enemy was certain to take.

About two hours later, the soldiers appeared. At the very front was the elite cavalry, clad in armor that ordinary blades could barely damage. Even without their horses, if these men charged into a crowd, each could take on ten opponents. That was why, throughout successive dynasties, privately hoarding armor had been considered a grave crime of treason, while rebels sought to seize the armories at the earliest opportunity.

Following behind them were the ordinary infantry, who were not as imposing as the cavalry. Their clothing varied wildly. Those who did not know better might easily have mistaken them for bandits.

Since the road was somewhat narrow, the troops could not fully spread out their formation and were forced to advance slowly.

Finally, the elite cavalry at the front reached the predetermined ambush point. Qi Xuansu personally detonated the buried black powder. With a deafening boom, seven or eight elite cavalrymen were blown to pieces. Severed limbs and mangled remains rained down from the sky amid a shower of blood.

That thunderous explosion was the signal to begin the attack. Three sparse volleys of arrows immediately poured down from the high slopes.

Then, the Yellow Turban Warriors with yellow scarves wrapped around their heads threw aside their camouflage and charged forward all at once, crashing into the opposing army. The two sides became entangled in a chaotic struggle.

The archers also put away their bows and joined the close-quarters fighting.

Caught completely off guard by the ambush, the rebel troops’ commander was killed instantly in the explosion and the rain of arrows. Many of them were left utterly stunned. Before they could even comprehend what was happening, the charging Yellow Turban Warriors cut them down.

Naturally, Qi Xuansu led from the front. He casually picked up a cavalry saber and slashed three men in succession, his advance seemingly unstoppable.

The ordinary Yellow Turban Warriors following behind him could not yet be considered professional soldiers, but they were not fighting for an emperor, nor were they fighting for religious doctrine. They were fighting to defend their homes, their wives and children, and their families. Driven by these most fundamental interests and emotions, a fierce and bloody courage arose within them. Under Qi Xuansu’s leadership, they threw themselves into the battle without regard for their own lives.

The clang of weapons colliding, the sickening sounds of blades tearing through flesh and bone, the screams of dying people, the furious roars of men maddened by bloodlust, the thuds of bodies hitting the ground, the neighing of horses, and the crash of violent impacts—all these sounds intertwined, converging into a symphony of war.