Chapter 19: Hua Rong, Eager to Prove Himself, Meets His Demise, A Treacherous Scheme Leads to the Annihilation of the Entire Army

Hua Rong, leading the Liangshan army, charged ahead of his troops, pursuing the imperial army, aiming to kill Han Ren, reclaim Wang Ying’s head, and avenge him.

He didn’t notice that although the imperial army was retreating without fighting, their formation remained intact, clearly a feigned retreat, a ploy to lure the enemy deeper into their trap.

Seeing that Hua Rong had pursued them for several miles, Wang Wende, fearing that Hua Rong would become wary and stop the chase, ordered his troops to counterattack. The two armies clashed, and a fierce battle ensued.

Hua Rong, eager to fight, charged into the enemy ranks alone. His long spear moved like a dragon emerging from the sea, a tiger descending from the mountain, killing several men in a row. No one in the imperial army could withstand him.

Hua Rong was like a ghost in the midst of the soldiers, wreaking havoc, searching for Han Ren everywhere.

But a general of the imperial army charged forward, blocking his path with a horizontal saber, and roared, “I am General Li Kun, under the command of Vanguard Officer Wang Wende, the commander of the Jingbei and Hongnong militia. You thief, killing a few soldiers is nothing. Do you dare to fight me?”

Hua Rong, hearing that his opponent was a fifth-rank militia commander, was immediately energized. If he could kill him, it would be a decisive victory!

As soon as Li Kun finished speaking, he swung his saber directly at Hua Rong’s head. Hua Rong quickly raised his spear to block. The two weapons clashed with a loud clang.

Li Kun’s blow had a force of thousands of pounds, causing Hua Rong’s arms to go numb and his head to buzz. Before Hua Rong could react, Li Kun swung his arms again, delivering another horizontal sweep, aiming for his waist. Hua Rong dared not engage him. He grabbed the reins, clamped his legs against the horse’s belly, and leaned back.

The saber brushed past Hua Rong’s face, severing a lock of his hair. Hua Rong, terrified, shouted, “Anyone who captures this enemy general will be rewarded with a thousand taels of gold and made a leader!”

He turned his horse and fled. The Liangshan soldiers around him, hearing the reward, rushed forward, surrounding Li Kun, allowing Hua Rong to escape.

He saw an imperial army captain wielding a broadsword, cutting down a group of Liangshan soldiers. Hua Rong shouted, “You all retreat! Hua Rong is here!”

With a single spear thrust, he knocked the broadsword out of the captain’s hand and pressed the spear against his throat, asking fiercely, “Where is the auxiliary officer, the dog thief Han Ren?”

The captain pointed ahead. Hua Rong looked in the direction he indicated.

He saw a man riding a tall horse, wielding a six-foot long spear, charging through the Liangshan army’s encirclement, stabbing left and right, as if cutting through melons and vegetables. In an instant, a group of Liangshan soldiers were killed!

Hua Rong looked closely and saw that it was Han Ren, the auxiliary officer who had killed Wang Ying.

Hua Rong thrust his spear, killing the captain, and charged directly at Han Ren. He roared, “Dog thief Han Ren! Give me back my brother Wang Ying’s life!”

As fate would have it, Han Ren was also searching for Hua Rong in the midst of the thousands of troops. Seeing Hua Rong coming towards him, he was overjoyed. He swept his spear, clearing the soldiers around him, and roared like a thunderclap, “Han Ren is here! Who dares to challenge me?”

“Liangshan’s Little Li Guang, Hua Rong!” Hua Rong replied, killing several more imperial soldiers as he charged towards Han Ren.

Han Ren laughed, “Hahaha, you’ve come at the right time. I was just about to get you. Take this!”

Before he finished speaking, he charged forward, engaging Hua Rong in battle.

Hua Rong was burning with vengeance, and Han Ren was a fearless young bull.

One wanted to kill the traitor to avenge his brother, the other wanted to kill the thief and gain fame.

The two of them clashed back and forth, turning and twisting, entangled in a fierce battle.

No matter how experienced Hua Rong was, how skillful his spear technique, he couldn’t gain the upper hand against the inexperienced Han Ren. As they fought for more than thirty rounds, neither had gained the upper hand.

Suddenly, there was a cannon blast from both sides of the valley. On the left, the vanguard officer, Xu Jing, the commander of Shanxi and Taiyuan, led five thousand troops into the fray. On the right, the vanguard officer, Mei Zhan, the commander of Yingzhou and Runan, led five thousand troops into the fray.

Wang Wende’s troops, seeing reinforcements arrive, were greatly encouraged. Their morale was now higher than that of the Liangshan army.

With the arrival of reinforcements, the imperial army now had 30,000 troops, equal in number to the Liangshan army, and they had formed a pincer movement, making Liangshan’s defeat inevitable.

Wang Wende was confident. He leaped from his horse, brandished his saber, and shouted, “Reinforcements have arrived! Soldiers, listen up! Follow me and annihilate the Liangshan bandits!”

Logically, Hua Rong should not have continued fighting. He should have retreated as soon as the cannons fired, but he had made up his mind to die a glorious death. This was a tragedy for the 25,000 troops he led.

“Hua Rong, today is your death day!” Han Ren roared.

“You little thief, don’t be arrogant! Today, I, Hua Rong, will die, but I will take you with me!”

Hua Rong, eager for victory, no longer cared. He wanted to die with Han Ren. He charged forward, aiming his spear at Han Ren’s heart.

Seeing Hua Rong’s fierce attack, his determination to die, Han Ren didn’t meet him head-on. He turned his horse and fled.

Hua Rong’s spear missed its target. He spurred his horse forward, swinging his spear to strike Han Ren’s back of the head.

Han Ren feinted, leaning forward and clinging to the horse’s back, dodging the blow. He kept his eyes on Hua Rong, who was pursuing him.

Seeing that Han Ren was leaning forward, Hua Rong straightened up, gripped the end of the spear shaft with both hands, extending his attack range, aiming to strike Han Ren in the back with a downward thrust.

Han Ren was unwilling to let such a heaven-sent opportunity slip away. It was Hua Rong’s fate to die here.

If not, how could he, a seasoned veteran and a master of spear technique, commit such a taboo, take such a risky move, gripping the end of the spear shaft and blindly pursuing an undefeated enemy general?

Sure enough, Hua Rong leaped from his horse, thrusting his spear with all his might. Although the spearhead reached Han Ren’s back, seemingly unstoppable, aiming for his vital point, it was actually unstable, more showy than substantial.

Han Ren seized the opportunity. He reversed his spear, holding the spearhead, using the spear as a staff, and used a staff technique called “猛虎撅尾” (猛虎撅尾, literally “fierce tiger’s tail wag”). He used the spear shaft to deflect Hua Rong’s long spear.

Han Ren then pulled on the reins of his steed, twisted his waist, reversed his spear, and delivered a powerful, swift, and decisive counterattack, thrusting from under his armpit.

The six-foot long spear shot out like a golden snake emerging from its hole, like an arrow leaving the bowstring, aiming straight for Hua Rong’s heart.

Hua Rong’s attack missed its target. He and his horse plunged down from the air, meeting Han Ren’s cold, gleaming spearhead in a head-on collision.

With the force of gravity, the spear pierced through the breastplate, entering from the front and exiting from the back. The secret letter from Song Jiang that Hua Rong had hidden in his breastplate was instantly soaked in blood!

Han Ren, with Hua Rong’s body impaled on his spear, ran back and forth through the two armies, shouting, “The thief leader, Hua Rong, is dead! Surrender, and you will be spared!”

For a moment, the imperial troops shouted, “Hua Rong is dead! Surrender, and you will be spared!”

The Liangshan army, hearing this, was terrified. They threw down their weapons and fled in all directions.

Wang Wende immediately ordered his troops to capture those who surrendered, kill those who resisted, and pursue those who fled!

The Liangshan army was instantly defeated, like lambs to the slaughter, being killed, captured, and surrendering. More than half of the army, nearly 30,000 cavalry and infantry, were killed or captured. Only a few thousand escaped back to camp.

Wang Wende, Xu Jing, and Mei Zhan each led their troops in pursuit, relentlessly chasing after the Liangshan army to gain merit. The imperial troops were like wolves and tigers, and they quickly reached the Liangshan camp.

The Liangshan troops who had fled back were unable to set up barricades or deploy spiked carts to form an effective defense.

The imperial troops had already reached the camp gate. Li Jun, in the water stronghold, saw this and dared not go out to meet them. He could only follow Hua Rong’s last order and defend the stronghold to the death, watching helplessly as the imperial troops slaughtered his Liangshan brothers!