Seeing that the head of the Wang family had agreed, Lao Nanfeng turned and left without another word.
He swiftly led his men back to the southern slope of Huangcaoping Hill, settling among scattered rocks and dense trees.
One subordinate who had accompanied him could not help voicing his confusion. "Brother Nanfeng," he said, "I don't quite understand the arrangement you just made."
Lao Nanfeng asked calmly, "What is there not to understand?"
The subordinate explained, "That local gentry would never obediently 'sacrifice himself for the country.' There's no way he'd really hold the fortress. If we hadn't told him the Manchus would arrive in half an hour, he might have foolishly stayed inside and defended it until their cavalry arrived, leaving him no chance to escape and forcing him to fight to the death. But you told him the Manchus were coming—so he'll definitely flee beforehand and won't defend the fortress at all. Then how are we supposed to ambush the Manchus from behind when they attack?"
Lao Nanfeng replied, "Exactly. I know."
The subordinate fell silent.
Lao Nanfeng chuckled softly. "Imperial troops have always had a terrible reputation, and our militia has no standing here in Datong Prefecture. If we raised the militia banner, he wouldn't trust us and wouldn't cooperate. So I told him to 'sacrifice himself for the country,' knowing full well he would run. I'm just waiting for him to flee into the mountains."
The subordinate blurted out, "Huh? Then we're not ambushing the Manchus from behind anymore?"
Lao Nanfeng scoffed. "Ambushing Manchu cavalry on open plains? That would be madness. It's far better to lure them into the Huangcaoping mountains and ambush them there. That local gentry will make perfect bait."
The subordinate's eyes widened. "Oh!"
Only then did understanding dawn on him.
Sure enough, the head of the Wang family had no intention whatsoever of meekly "sacrificing himself for the country" inside the fortress. The moment Lao Nanfeng disappeared from sight, he immediately mobilized his entire household.
"The Manchus will be here in half an hour!" he shouted. "Quick! Pack up all the valuables and treasures! We're fleeing—fleeing! We're heading to Huangcaoping Hill to the south!"
Men, women, and children of the Wang family, along with the surrounding villagers who had taken shelter in the manor, all sprang into frantic motion.
Gold, silver, and other valuables had already been packed and were slung over shoulders. Calligraphy, paintings, and antiques of any worth were hastily rolled up and loaded onto handcarts. Provisions for hiding in the mountains had to be prepared as well, filling even more carts.
Moving an entire extended family was no simple task. The preparations alone took a great deal of time.
By the time the Wang family's procession of large and small carts finally set off toward Huangcaoping Hill, Manchu scouts had already appeared on the plains to the northwest.
From afar, the scouts saw numerous handcarts rolling out of the large estate, heading for the southern mountains. They panicked at once.
"The Han are trying to escape!"
They immediately spurred their horses forward.
The Wang family was not entirely defenseless. Their household guards and village militiamen seized bows and arrows and loosed a volley toward the Manchu scouts.
Seeing that the enemy was numerous and well-prepared, and that a handful of scouts could not possibly stop them, the scouts quickly wheeled their horses around and galloped back.
They were clearly going to call for reinforcements.
The Wang family grew even more frantic.
"Run!" they shouted. "The Manchu scouts have seen us! Their main force will be here any moment!"
"Faster! Everyone, faster!"
The Wang family desperately scrambled toward Huangcaoping Hill. But burdened with the elderly, children, and handcarts, their speed was painfully slow. No matter how frantically they hurried, they barely managed to make it a mile or two into the foothills.
On the plains to the northwest, the thunder of hooves rolled across the land. A large body of cavalry surged forward, with infantry trailing behind in the distance.
"The Han are fleeing into the mountains!"
"Catch them!"
"All that wealth belongs to us!"
Howling, the Manchu cavalry charged in pursuit.
This raid had no strategic objective—it was plunder, pure and simple. Faced with such fat sheep, they had no intention of letting them escape.
With guttural cries, they surged onward.
Meanwhile, scattered across Huangcaoping Hill, the riflemen of the Gao Family Village Militia were already in position.
Skirmisher trenches had been dug everywhere, the soldiers concealed within, their heads covered by sod.
Rifles were loaded, their muzzles protruding silently from beneath the earth.
Not a single person was visible on the entire hillside, yet it was thick with killing intent.
The Wang family and their carts rushed along the mountain path beside these trenches. Some passed extremely close, but the Gao Family Village soldiers remained perfectly still, as though they did not exist.
The panicked Wang family noticed nothing at all.
"Pursue them!"
"Catch them, and their wealth is ours!"
Roaring, the Manchu cavalry burst onto the hillside.
The Wang family had already entered the mountains by two li, and the cavalry could not overtake them in a single charge. With no choice, they followed the winding mountain path upward. The road twisted and turned, and where there was no clear path, scattered rocks blocked the way.
The cavalry could not charge through the rocks and were forced to climb along the narrow, spiraling path, turning again and again as they ascended.
Before long, they were halfway up the slope.
Ahead, the Wang family wailed in terror. Some of the slower elderly, weak, women, and children were already crying in despair, realizing that escape was impossible and that capture by the Manchus was only a matter of time.
At that moment, Lao Nanfeng let out a low chuckle. He suddenly sprang from his hidden trench, raised his rifle, and fired.
"Bang!"
It was a casual shot—and it missed entirely.
But that single shot was merely the opening note.
From every trench on the hillside, rifles erupted at once.
"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!"
The gunfire echoed across Huangcaoping Hill almost instantly.
The Manchu cavalry saw only flashes of light and bursts of white smoke erupting all around them, followed by sharp pain in their chests, screams, and bodies pitching backward from their saddles.
In an instant, they suffered heavy casualties.
The Wang family was utterly dumbfounded.
They had never imagined that people would suddenly emerge from the seemingly empty ground beside them, rifles in hand, firing indiscriminately at the Manchus behind them.
The Manchu ranks collapsed into chaos, horses rearing and men tumbling to the ground.
An elderly member of the Wang family, too exhausted to continue, had collapsed onto a patch of grass beside the path, gasping for breath as he waited for death. He never imagined that, less than half a zhang away, men would suddenly rise up and begin shooting the Manchus.
The shock nearly scared him to death—but once he grasped what was happening, joy flooded him. Clapping his hands over his ears, he shouted at the top of his lungs, "Kill them! Kill every last one of those damn Manchus!"
"We… we ran straight into an imperial ambush?"
The Wang family went from confusion to utter shock.
Only the head of the Wang family stood there, his face burning with embarrassment. Watching Lao Nanfeng slide down the hillside toward him, he suddenly dropped to his knees with a heavy thud.
"General Nan…" he stammered. "I… this humble commoner… I…"
Lao Nanfeng patted him on the shoulder.
"Excellent," he said. "Absolutely excellent. Luring the enemy deep, feigning defeat, fleeing in panic—you played the role perfectly. You're a natural, a top-tier actor. Do you want to become famous? I'll make you a star."
The head of the Wang family stared at him, utterly dumbfounded. "I wasn't acting! I really was running for my life!"
Lao Nanfeng burst out laughing. "Nonsense. Of course I knew you were genuinely fleeing. I was just teasing you."