Farmers of Shu Han

Chapter 1419: Under the City of Ji County
Glancing at the crowd of prisoners, General Zhendong asked:
"Where is the thief?"

No one answered.

Zhao Guang, who was riding his warhorse and standing behind General Zhendong with an excited look on his face, blinked when he saw that no one stood up. He felt that the scene in front of him seemed somewhat familiar.

General Zhendong looked fierce and said coldly:

"What? If you don't come forward, you think I can't find it?"

Zhao Guang swallowed and quietly took a step back, trying to weaken his presence.

A man walked out tremblingly and saluted General Zhendong:

"I am the military commander, and I am here to see you, General..."

"Military Commander?" General Zhendong frowned. "Where is your commander?"

"Dead, dead."

Zhao Guang shrank his neck.

This scene feels more familiar.

General Zhendong seemed to have noticed something. He tilted his head slightly and his eyes seemed to sweep over Zhao Guang.

But fortunately, she didn't say much.

After recruiting these surrendered soldiers and interrogating the surrendered generals, it was already nightfall.
-
A hundred miles away in Ji County, Wang Xiong had no idea that the 5,000 reinforcements he had sent out had been completely wiped out, and not a single horse returned.

But that didn't stop him from feeling uneasy.

As the governor of Youzhou, and one who had been in office for more than ten years, Wang Xiong knew the situation in Youzhou far better than Zhao Kai, the prefect of Yuyang.

In his early years, he was able to easily squeeze out Tian Yu. In addition to his own background, another important reason was that he saw the direction of the court's strategic adjustments and the emperor's thoughts.

But his advocacy of appeasement towards the Hu people does not mean that he would make unconditional concessions or indulge the Hu people.

In fact, compared with Tian Yu's tough and reckless approach towards the Hu people, Wang Xiong just wanted to weaken and divide the Hu people at a smaller cost and with minimal backlash while maintaining stability on the border.

From this perspective, although Wang Xiong and Tian Yu's approaches seem to be completely opposite, their goals are the same.

Why were the Xianbei Buyao tribe so obedient?
In addition to the huge benefits they could get from trade with Youzhou every year, Wang Xiong also promised that their tribe could spend the winter in Liaoxi County.

The Huayao Department is extremely grateful for this.

But they did not know that they were allowed to operate in western Liao not because Wang Xiong had good intentions, but because he wanted to use their tribe to prevent the Gongsun clan of Liaodong from harassing Youzhou.

Just as Sima Yi promised the Tuoba tribe that they could live in Liaodong in the future, even if they could not conquer Liaodong in the future, they could be allowed to live in Liaoxi temporarily.

By then, given the habits of the Hu people on the grassland, it wouldn't take long for a dispute to arise between the Tuoba and Buyao tribes. If the Wei Dynasty mediates, it would be able to balance the two major tribes.

Precisely because of this thought and purpose, Wang Xiong has arranged many spies outside the Great Wall over the years.

If Mohuba, the leader of the Buyao tribe, had ulterior motives, Wang Xiong would cut off his head while he was sleeping.

So when Wang Xiong received the news from the Yuyang messenger about the war at the ancient Yuyang Pass, he felt something was wrong the moment he saw it.

He was 90% sure that the wolf smoke had nothing to do with the Hu people.

The remaining reason was that the Buyao tribe, which was responsible for the security outside the Great Wall, did not send any news in advance.

Even if we take a step back and assume that the Buyao tribe really betrayed the Wei Dynasty, what about those spies?
Why didn’t even the spies send any secret reports?

So, who else but the Hu people?

Wang Xiong didn't dare to imagine it any further. He just felt extremely confused.

This mood almost reached its peak two days after the reinforcements set out.

"Why hasn't the messenger from Yuyang sent the message yet?"

After waiting for three days, Wang Xiong couldn't help but get angry, "What on earth is Zhao Kai doing!"

Logically speaking, after sending out the messenger for the first time, he should have immediately verified the situation at the pass and then sent the news to Ji County immediately.

No matter how late it is, the second batch of messengers should not arrive later than today.

But he waited for a whole day, and as the sun had set and dusk began to fall, there was still no sign of Yuyang's messenger, which made Wang Xiong even more uneasy.

He called Zhao Kai by his name, which showed that he was anxious and angry.

"No, we can't wait any longer. We must send a fast horse to question them tomorrow."

The Wei army has been seriously short of horses in recent years, and many of the horses used by the cavalry are already considered poor horses.

But even so, when the war broke out in Hebei, the messengers in Ji County had to first ensure the smooth flow of information from the west.

So it cannot be used carelessly.

Because of Yuyang's slowness, Wang Xiong was forced to decide to send messengers there in advance.

This made him, who was already restless and irritable, even more angry.

"Once the war is over, I will report you to the Grand Tutor for your dereliction of duty!"

Just when Wang Xiong was getting restless, a subordinate suddenly came to report:
"Sir, it's bad! A group of defeated soldiers are coming from outside the city, clamoring to enter the city!"

When Wang Xiong heard this, he immediately felt an ominous feeling in his heart: "Rulers? What rulers?"

The subordinates looked panicked: "It seems that they are the reinforcements sent to Yuyang the day before yesterday. I heard that they were ambushed. Now the defeated soldiers are gathering under the city, clamoring to enter the city."

Wang Xiong was shocked and stood up: "What? Let's go and take a look!"

The dusk was as chaotic as the ink in an inkstone. Hundreds of defeated soldiers dragged a dozen broken flags across the drawbridge of the moat and came to the foot of the city. They shouted in a chaotic manner to the top of the city:

"Open the door, open the door quickly!"

"Open the city gate! The Shu invaders are chasing us!"

"We're going in!"

……

The guards on the city wall were alarmed. Some of them stuck half of their heads out to look down, but saw chaos below the city, and the city gate was even more crowded with people.

Among the dozen or so broken flags dragged back, five or six were stuck upside down, and there were half-coagulated bloodstains on many people's faces.

The dozen or so “ruiners” running in the front pushed and cried, throwing horse manure mixed with broken bones at the defenders on the city wall:
"Open the door! Are you deaf? Open the door!"

Some even held up a flag that was so stained with dirt that it was hard to tell apart, with a hole the size of a bowl in the middle, and shouted at the torches on the tower:

"Are you blind? Can't you see what this is? Open the door and let us in!"

Seeing such a commotion below, the captain guarding the city was even more afraid to open the door easily. He could only send someone to invite Envoy Wang as quickly as possible.

Seeing that the city gate remained unopened for a long time, a soldier with a broken arm among the fleeing soldiers below the city suddenly knelt in the mud, with his raised broken limb revealing white bones - in fact, they were sharpened sheep leg bones wrapped in blood-stained linen.

He kowtowed madly to the tower, his forehead hitting the gravel and bursting into blood:
"Captain Cui! I'm Wang Aniu from the third song! Have you forgotten? I worked at your farm last year..."

The captain on the city wall couldn't see clearly what the guy who called himself Wang Aniu looked like.

Even if he saw it clearly, he wouldn't know who the other person was, because there were so many people working on his farm every year.

But among the reinforcements sent out two days ago, there were indeed people from his farm.

Of course, he didn't care about the lives of these untouchables in the city.

But he cares a lot about his own life and death:
In less than three days, the reinforcements sent out became like this. What on earth did they encounter?
Most importantly, where are the Shu Lu? !
"Where are the Shulu?!"

As if someone heard his inner thoughts, they shouted these words into his ear.

Wang Xiong lay on the city wall, stretching his neck to look down, as if he wanted to see everything at the city gate.

But by this time the sky had begun to darken, and the torches on the top of the city were not enough to dispel the darkness below.

There was chaos outside the city, no one answered his question, or perhaps no one heard him.

Wang Xiong asked several times, but all he got in response was a mess of insults and pleas.

He turned his head in anger and ordered:

"Throw down some torches!"

Then he ordered people to shoot several arrows downwards, which slightly stopped the chaos at the city gate.

"Where is your general? Who is your leader?"

There was another round of shouting, and after a while, a disheveled officer in armor was pushed to the front.

"Envoy Wang, it's me. We were ambushed by the Shu invaders on the way. The general was killed in the battle. Only we escaped. This is the general's body..."

The military commander held the torch in front of himself so that Wang Xiong could see his face clearly, and then ordered the people behind him to carry out a corpse.

But the corpse's clothes and armor were torn apart by something unknown, and there were bloody and minced meat on the chest and abdomen. The head was missing.

Except for the armor that indeed belonged to a senior general of the Wei Dynasty, the rest of the body was so blurry that it was impossible to tell who the body originally belonged to.

The firelight below the city flickered, and although it was not very clear, it still made Wang Xiong almost vomit.

"Envoy Wang, the Shu invaders may catch up with us at any time. Our lives are in danger. I beg you to have mercy on us and open the city gates to let us in..."

The military commander burst into tears and begged bitterly.

The fleeing soldiers behind him also cried out.

There was wailing outside the city.

Some people even prostrated themselves on the ground and kowtowed continuously.

"Why were you ambushed? Where is Yuyang? How is Yuyang?"

"We don't know Envoy Wang! We were ambushed by the Shu captives when we were crossing the Baoqiu River before we even reached Yuyang City. We didn't even know where the Shu captives came from..."

When Wang Xiong heard this, he almost got so angry that he cursed "waste".

Wang Xiong turned around and ordered, "Open the door and let them in."

When Captain Cui heard this, he stepped forward and whispered:

"Please think twice, sir. The situation outside the city is unclear and it is already late. Wouldn't it be inappropriate to open the gate rashly at this time?"

When it comes to local governance, Wang Xiong is quite confident.

However, when it comes to military management and leading troops, he has many shortcomings.

Hearing Captain Cui's words, he hesitated:

"What do you think?"

"You can hang some food down and let them stay under the city wall for one night. After confirming everything is fine tomorrow morning, you can let them into the city."

Wang Xiong hesitated for a moment, then nodded and said:
"Then it's up to you."

Then he gestured to the people below the city and asked Captain Cui to make a speech.

Captain Cui was stunned for a long time, then hesitantly pointed at himself and uttered silently: "Me?"

Wang Xiong nodded.

Captain Cui wanted to slap himself.

What more can I do?

He stuck his head out and shouted:
"It's getting late, the city gates are closed, according to the law they can't be opened at night, please bear with me and stay under the city for one night until tomorrow..."

"I'll treat you like a mother!"

Before Captain Cui could finish his words, the expected curse came at him.

Some of the fleeing soldiers under the city shouted curses in Youzhou dialect:

"Cui Laoliu! Your mistress is in the house in Hulu Lane! Others may not know, but do you think I don't know?"

"Will you open the door or not? If you dare not open the door now, you'd better ask your ancestors to bless you and let your grandfather die by the sword of the Shu invaders tonight!"

"If not, when your grandfather comes to the city tomorrow, ask your brothers to help you take care of your mistress every day! Cao!"

"You don't know others, but don't you know me? What about your mother's rules? Why are you pretending?"

……

He used foul language and scolded Captain Cui so much that his face turned purple.

Although Captain Cui was not from the direct line of the Qinghe Cui family, he was still related and usually boasted of being a descendant of an aristocratic family.

Where have you encountered this scene before?

Unfortunately, there was chaos outside the city, and I didn't know who was calling me names and scolding me.

Captain Cui was so angry that he was shaking all over.

ordinary man!

Dead soldiers!
Gross and disgusting!

……

Seeing Captain Cui gagged by the scolding, Wang Xiong stepped forward and asked softly:
"Captain Cui, do you really have a mistress in Hulu Lane?"

When Captain Cui heard this, he wished he could just jump off the city wall with Wang Xiong in his arms to put an end to it all.

"Go down, go down. Indeed, there is indeed a concubine's room, in, in ..."

Wang Xiong saw that the other party did not deny it, looked down at the city, and sighed slightly:
"You and I both know that military commander. Now there is someone who even knows your private affairs. It seems that the troops sent out from the city were definitely dispatched three days ago."

"Why not just let them in, so as to avoid any trouble."

There is a serious shortage of garrison troops in Ji County nowadays. The hundreds of people under the city can at least supplement the defense force inside the city.

Moreover, due to the massive invasion by the Han State, Youzhou, which was already short of military force, had to temporarily conscript civilians to form an army, which was mixed with many young hooligans and even prisoners.

It would be easy on normal days, but now that we have been defeated by the Shu barbarians and our main general has been killed, it is already very difficult for us to escape back.

It would be unreasonable to expect them to obey military orders and stay under the city for one night.

I'm afraid they will all scatter in the middle of the night.

The most important thing is that the situation in Yuyang is unclear at the moment. No one knows where the Shu barbarians came from, who their main general is, and how many people there are.

The only people who have seen the Shu captives are the people living outside the city. If they are not allowed to enter the city, and they all escape in the middle of the night, who will he turn to for information about the enemy?

On the surface, Wang Xiong seemed to be asking for Captain Cui's opinion, but what other choice did Captain Cui have at this time?

"Your Excellency is right. It was my fault for not thinking carefully before I left."

Wang Xiong nodded, then poked his head out from the parapet and said to the people below:

"I am Wang Xiong, the governor of Youzhou. I know all your requests. Since you are soldiers of the Wei Dynasty and citizens of the Wei Dynasty, how can I refuse to let you out of the city?"

"Come here, open the city gate!"

He shouted several times, and the fleeing soldiers under the city heard this and cheered like thunder.

"Your Majesty, your grace is great!"

"The lord is benevolent and righteous!"

"Thank you, Envoy!"

……

Listening to the voices of gratitude from outside the city formed a sharp contrast with the previous shouting and cursing.

Captain Cui pressed the hilt of the sword hard and looked at Envoy Wang who had easily won over the retreating soldiers. He felt that something was wrong.

He felt as if he was being used as a stepping stone, but he had no evidence.