"Zhou Fugui? Commander Zhou, you mad dog, what do you want?"
Tu Boyan, the banner commander of the Gaukham Infantry's Guantun Banner, clutched his still bleeding nose and cursed Zhou Fugui loudly.
The Guantun Banner's Tu Boyan and his men were utterly baffled. They had captured quite a few "rebels" and were happily on their way to claim merit when they ran smack into the White Tiger Banner. Without a word, Zhou Fugui and his men from the White Tiger Banner had knocked down several of Guantun Banner's men, including Tu Boyan. Naturally, Tu Boyan and his men were furious and greatly perplexed.
The Guantun Banner and the White Tiger Banner both belonged to the Gaukham Infantry. Although the banner commander of Guantun Banner, Tu Boyan, knew that Zhou Fugui and the camp commander Arbu Gu were at odds, the Guantun Banner and the White Tiger Banner had always kept to themselves, with almost no interaction. For them to start fighting right away left Tu Boyan utterly confused.
Could this mad dog Zhou Fugui have mistaken him for Arbu Gu? Tu Boyan thought to himself, but Arbu Gu looked like an old turtle, while he was so handsome and dashing. How could he be mistaken?
"Heh heh, so it's Commander Tu Boyan!" Tu Boyan and his men cursed loudly. Zhou Fugui didn't get angry. He walked forward and smiled, "I've heard so much about you, Commander Tu Boyan! I've long admired your name!"
"Not at all, not at all. Commander Zhou, your words are like flowing gold. I, Tu Boyan, am quite impressed," Zhou Fugui said politely. Tu Boyan's anger subsided slightly, and he also replied courteously. However, having inexplicably taken a few punches, he still wanted to vent. So, he sarcastically implied that Zhou Fugui had risen through the ranks by his words alone.
"Heh heh, well said, well said." Zhou Fugui smiled, then his expression suddenly turned grim. He pointed at the dozen or so "rebels" tied up and led by the men of the Guantun Banner and said, "These traitors are from my White Tiger Banner. Why are they in your hands?"
"What? Yours?" Tu Boyan heard this and burst into laughter, enraged. "Heh heh, where were you and your men when this banner commander led his men to capture them? By what right do you claim they are yours? Ah, Commander Zhou, if you want to claim merit, just take your men and capture people yourself. There are plenty of them. Why make things difficult for me?"
Zhou Fugui and his men were clearly not here for pleasantries. As the saying goes, a wise man doesn't fight when the odds are against him. It was better to send these "rebels" to Murong Bole to claim merit first. Thus, Tu Boyan chose to back down for now, with the intention of getting even later.
"Nonsense!" Zhou Fugui unceremoniously pointed at Tu Boyan's bloody nose and roared, "My men had already set up the trap and were ready to move, but you snatched it away."
"Brothers, don't you agree?" Zhou Fugui then turned to the men of the White Tiger Banner and asked.
"What the banner commander says is absolutely true!" the men of the White Tiger Banner responded loudly in unison.
"We had laid out the bait and cast the net, ready to catch our fish, but the fish ended up in your hands. How can we swallow this insult?" shouted Feng Cheng, who was from a hunter's background.
"Hand them over quickly, or your nose won't be safe!" Zhou Fugui also bellowed.
"I... you... Fine, Zhou Fugui, you dare to steal merit from my very head? Good, good! Zhou Fugui, do you really think I'm afraid of you? Brothers, attack! Beat these mad dogs to death!" Tu Boyan was seething with rage and roared.
Tu Boyan, being a pure Xianbei, had never been treated with such disrespect by a Han person. Therefore, he felt he could no longer endure it. He waved his hand and ordered his men to charge and brawl with the White Tiger Banner.
"Damn you, Guantun Banner, you're going too far! Brothers, charge!" Zhou Fugui also roared, raising his arm.
Thus, hundreds of men from both banners clashed. However, both Zhou Fugui's White Tiger Banner and Tu Boyan's Guantun Banner understood that they could not draw their weapons at this moment, as that would escalate the situation into a major incident. Therefore, both sides tacitly put down their weapons and engaged in a bare-handed fight.
Unless they were truly enraged... then they would disregard everything.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
"Ouch, this is truly vicious!"
"Cui Laowu, I'm your... Bang! Ouch!"
"Who do you think I am? Even if you were the King of Heaven, I'd beat you until you were reborn as Buddha and then ascend to heaven!"
The two sides fought fiercely, with the sounds of blows, kicks, and cries of pain echoing one after another. The fierce generals of the White Tiger Banner, Dian Meng, Xu Mancang, and Suo Dacheng, led the charge, clearing the path. Dian Meng, with his immense strength, grabbed two men with each hand, swung them, and hurled them into the enemy ranks, knocking down several people. They tumbled into a heap, groaning in pain. Xu Mancang, with his arms crossed, acted as a gatepost, rushing forward and knocking down several more men. Suo Dacheng rolled on the ground, kicking with his legs and knocking down many opponents.
Dian Meng, Xu Mancang, and Suo Dacheng, like three mighty generals cleaving through waves, carved out three gaps in the ranks of the Guantun Banner. The formation of the Guantun Banner was thrown into chaos. The soldiers of the White Tiger Banner were greatly emboldened and beat the men of the Guantun Banner black and blue, forcing them to retreat in disarray, finally scurrying away with their heads covered, utterly defeated.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
As the saying goes, soldiers fight soldiers, and generals fight generals. Thus, Zhou Fugui confronted Tu Boyan and began to punch him, aiming specifically at his nose. One punch followed another, each striking Tu Boyan's large nose, making it bob and weave, bulging and indenting. As a result, Tu Boyan's large nose bled profusely, like a faucet that never stopped.
Tu Boyan was also a brave general and a decent warrior. In the beginning, he managed to exchange blows with Zhou Fugui. However, Zhou Fugui relentlessly targeted his injured nose. Who could withstand that?
Zhou Fugui was also a master of brawling. He knew that attacking multiple points was less effective than focusing on one. Therefore, his every move was aimed at Tu Boyan's prominent nose.
After continuous barrage, Tu Boyan's large nose became numb, and blood flowed down like a small stream. Finally, Tu Boyan simply buried his head, hugging Zhou Fugui, and letting Zhou Fugui beat him elsewhere. After all, his body was tough and thick-skinned.
"Bang!" But unexpectedly, Zhou Fugui threw a left hook, a punch from below that struck Tu Boyan's protruding nose again.
"I... Tengger, oh great Tengger!" Tu Boyan, beaten to tears, cried out, turned his head, and fled. As he ran, he wailed, "Someone help! Zhou the Madman is rebelling, he's killing people!"
As the saying goes, a cowardly soldier is led by a cowardly general, and a cowardly general leads a cowardly army. When Banner Commander Tu Boyan fled, the remaining soldiers of the Guantun Banner who were still resisting lost their morale and followed Tu Boyan in their rout.
The White Tiger Banner's morale soared. They shouted and pursued the fleeing Guantun Banner soldiers, beating them soundly. The dozen or so "rebels" thus fell into the hands of the White Tiger Banner, and the merit for their capture naturally went to Zhou Fugui and his men.
"Wulansi, Balhu, you two are here at the right time! Quickly, someone is rebelling!" Tu Boyan, having been beaten by Zhou Fugui, fled in disarray and ran for his life. He happened to encounter the Flying Vulture and Iron Fox banners, who were escorting dozens of "rebels." Thus, Tu Boyan shouted for help.
"Who is rebelling? Are they those rebels?" Wulansi and Balhu, the two banner commanders, were startled and asked in unison.
"No..." Tu Boyan replied, panting. "It's Zhou the Madman from the White Tiger Banner. He, he, he... I, Boyan, captured over ten traitors, but he ambushed me halfway and claimed they were his first choice..."
"Haha, so it's a dispute over merit?" Banner Commander Wulansi of the Flying Vulture Banner heard this and laughed heartily. "He, a Han, dares to steal our merit?"
Disputes over merit happened from time to time, but they were mostly verbal arguments. A physical brawl like this, especially with a Han person stealing merit from the Xianbei, was extremely rare.
"He's gone rogue? Let's go and see," Balhu said angrily.
Thus, the three banners joined forces, numbering about six to seven hundred men, and advanced aggressively towards Zhou Fugui's White Tiger Banner.
Wulansi and Balhu led the charge, with Tu Boyan, his worry turning to joy, following them. However, he put on a helmet and lowered his faceplate, ensuring his large nose was safe.
"Brother Fugui..." Xu Mancang, one of the vanguard, rushed back to report, sensing the danger. "That old rascal Tu Boyan has called for reinforcements."
"How many men?" Zhou Fugui, who was pondering how to deal with these "spoils of war," asked.
"Approximately six to seven hundred men, more than three times our number!" Xu Mancang replied anxiously.
"What's the rush?" Zhou Fugui glared at Xu Mancang, then asked, "Do they have weapons?"
"It seems not..." Xu Mancang replied. "I didn't see any weapons, at most some wooden sticks."
"Good!" Zhou Fugui pondered for a moment, then ordered loudly, "Tell the brothers to grab their weapons. Remember, only wooden sticks are allowed. This is called 'give them an inch, and they take a mile.' Heh heh. Order Dian Meng's unit to be the vanguard, the sharp knife, and hold the front line, not a step back! Order Suo Dacheng's unit to guard the left flank. Mancang, you lead your men to guard the right flank. Pan Jianguai's unit will cover the rear. Feng Cheng's unit will patrol outside the formation, looking for opportunities to flank and harass the enemy!"
"Yes!" Everyone responded loudly in unison.
The vanguard, the two flanks, the rear guard, and the harassing force were all arranged. Zhou Fugui took command from the center.
Zhou Fugui picked up a wooden stick, weighed it in his hand, then raised it high and ordered loudly, "White Tiger Banner! Form ranks!"
"Roar! Roar! Roar!" Nearly two hundred soldiers of the White Tiger Banner, holding wooden sticks, roared low according to their usual training and formed three-man formations. Two three-man formations plus one man formed a "Seven Star Big Dipper Formation," and the larger formation was composed of these "Seven Star Big Dipper Formations."
"Sons of the White Tiger Banner, let them see how powerful our White Tiger Banner is!" Zhou Fugui shouted again, raising his stick.
"Long live! Long live! Long live!"
The sons of the White Tiger Banner raised their wooden sticks and shouted in response.
"Charge! Charge back and beat them to death!" Wulansi, Balhu, the banner commanders of the Yan Army, and Tu Boyan led the three banners with six to seven hundred men, charging forward in a swarm. Seeing that the White Tiger Banner had fewer men, their morale surged, and they roared as they charged towards the White Tiger Banner.