Three Kingdoms: Jiangdong is no longer a rat

Chapter 61 Another Insider

Upon hearing Si Qing's news, Yan Yi's worries were greatly relieved. At the same time, he also made up his mind to capture Yuncheng as soon as possible: "Order the entire army to rest for a day and march to Yuncheng at noon tomorrow!"

The generals were excited and responded loudly.

As there were still many things to be dealt with in the city, after the military agreement was reached, everyone hurried out of the house.

Yan Yi called Xu Sheng aside and smiled slightly, his tone filled with trust and expectation: "Wen Xiang will be in charge of the city garrison tonight."

Through recent observations, he has realized that although Xu Sheng is well versed in military strategy and extremely brave, he still lacks some experience in military affairs, so he intends to train him more and let him grow as quickly as possible.

Since ancient times, most of the famous generals were made up of piles of bones, otherwise they were just generals who talked about war on paper but were not good at it.

Xu Sheng was also fully aware of Yan Yi's good intentions for him, and was deeply moved. "Thank you, Young Master! I will do my best to live up to your high expectations!"

Yan Yi looked at Xu Sheng's departing back and sighed slightly in his heart. Only when he actually led the troops into battle did he deeply feel the lack of good generals under his command. Otherwise, how could he have spared the life of a mere Fan Yi.

A cavalryman entered, carrying a pile of bamboo slips. "Young Master, these are the newly sorted treasury files. General Fan ordered them to be delivered immediately. Also, you'll need to personally inspect the four hundred soldiers we've temporarily recruited from the civilian population and refugees."

Yan Yi looked at the scrolls of bamboo slips and couldn't help but smile bitterly.

Just as he was forcing himself to stay awake and burying himself in documents, Qian Tong, who was waiting for news of victory in Yuncheng, also received the news from the defeated soldiers.

Qian Gong Lei was lost, and all 2,000 defenders were killed!

Of the 1,500 reinforcements, only 20 to 30 escaped!
When he heard the news, Qian Tong was stunned, his hands were shaking, and his face was as pale as paper.

He stood there as if under a spell, his body swaying a few times, his eyes dizzy, and he screamed, "How could this happen? How could this happen!"

Wan Bing and several generals were standing in the conference room, looking at each other in dismay. It took them a while to recover from this shocking news.

A battle that absolutely could not be lost, yet it was lost just like that? And it was defeated by a newly recruited army of less than 2,000 men?
Wan Bing's breathing became a little rapid, and the battle between Huang Tian and Cang Tian ten years ago suddenly emerged in his mind.

What a vigorous and ambitious General Tian Gong was back then! With a single wave of his arm, he rallied his troops. Within a few months, hundreds of thousands of them gathered under his banner, conquering cities and territories with unstoppable force. Upon hearing this, the Han Emperor was horrified, and the entire government and the people were terrified.

But the result was that generals such as Huangfu Song and Lu Zhi led only tens of thousands of Han troops and defeated hundreds of thousands of Yellow Turban troops in less than a year.

Today's scene is quite similar to the scene back then, as if time has gone back, causing the shadows buried deep in his heart to quietly surface again, making him feel uneasy.

Thinking of the three million coins Yan Yi had given him before, and then thinking of the whole process of Yan Yi's troops taking advantage of the march to Haiyan to raid Qian Gonglei, Wan Bing was certain in his heart that Yan Yi was by no means as simple as he had thought before, and the combat effectiveness of this newly recruited army was also extraordinary.

What should he do next? Qian Gonglei had already fallen, and Qian Tong only had 1,500 soldiers left. Even if Yan Yi didn't come to attack, how could Yan Baihu let go of this opportunity?

Wan Bing thought deeply and his hands and feet turned cold. He then realized that he needed to make plans early.

Clang
The clear sound of a gong came from outside the mansion.

Yuncheng was in chaos, and the people were in a state of panic. The figures of soldiers rushing up the city walls only exacerbated the panic.

Si Qing was carrying earth and rocks on the city wall. When he heard the news that Yan Yi led his troops to capture Qian Gonglei, he was very excited.

He waited patiently until the afternoon 3 p.m., and after returning to the house, he quietly went to see Zhou Bian.

After Zhou Bian secretly delivered the sword and bow to Si Qing that day, he had been speculating on Si Qing's intentions. It wasn't until the news of Yan Yi's capture of Qian Gong Lei arrived that he truly understood Si Qing's purpose in sneaking into Yuncheng. Just as he was in shock, he suddenly heard a confidant come to report: "Mr. Zhou, that man is here again."

Zhou Bian knew who that person was, and said urgently, "Bring him in quickly! You personally lead your men to keep a close watch on the surroundings and don't let anyone get close. If you encounter someone you can't stop, sound the alarm immediately!"

A moment later, Si Qing, wearing a bamboo hat with the brim pulled down low, walked in from the small door in the backyard of Zhou's house.

Zhou Bian quickly took him to the inner room.

The two sat down on the couch, and Si Qing smiled slightly: "Mr. Zhou, you should know why I came here today."

Zhou Bian also laughed and said, "Young Master has caused quite a stir. If I still can't guess what's going on, I'd be a fool."

Si Qing said solemnly, "Young Master will attack Yuncheng within two days, and I will need Lord Zhou's help then."

Zhou Bian knew that once Yuncheng changed hands, his name would definitely be on the list of achievements, so he asked eagerly, "How many people do you have now?"

"Less than two hundred." Si Qing stared into Zhou Bian's eyes and said solemnly, "There are more than a hundred people scattered in several other villages, and this is also the reason for my visit today. Besides that, can Mr. Zhou find some more weapons for me?"

Zhou Bian thought for a moment and said, "The city is in chaos right now. It wouldn't be difficult to arrange for the other one hundred or so people to stay in the North City's inner quarters. However, it's impossible to get the weapons. You should be able to guess the current situation of the various government treasuries."

Without waiting for Si Qing to speak, he continued, "I also have some trustworthy people under my command who can work with Lord Si."

Si Qing clenched his fist and said, "That's great!"

The two of them hurriedly discussed some details. A quarter of an hour later, Si Qing put on a bamboo hat and quietly left Zhou's house under the cover of Zhou Bian's two confidants.

Time passed quickly and it was late night in the blink of an eye.

All four gates of Yuncheng have been closed, and no one is allowed to enter or leave. The city walls are filled with soldiers patrolling the city.

A garrison commander was patrolling the east gate with his men. After patrolling several times, he was about to return to the gatehouse when he suddenly saw a soldier walking down the horse path below the city.

He was about to yell, but after seeing the man's face clearly, he suddenly stopped and motioned a captain beside him to take his men back to the gatehouse. He then led his soldiers to a corner and asked in a low voice, "What are you doing here?"

The soldier looked around and whispered, "The military advisor wants to send someone out of the city."

The captain's face turned grim. "All four gates are under martial law. Can we leave the city another day?"

The soldier said firmly, "No, we must leave the city tonight. If you don't respond, the military advisor will summon you for questioning."

The village chief said helplessly: "Okay, I'll find a way."

At one o'clock in the morning, a hanging basket was suddenly lowered from a corner of the east gate of Yuncheng. A black shadow sat in the basket, came to the foot of the city, quickly disappeared into the darkness, and headed straight for Qian Gonglei.

At the hour of Yin, Yan Yi was awakened by a personal guard. He sat up on the bed with an unhappy look on his face, put on his clothes, and went to an ear room next to the bedroom. He pushed the door open and entered. Fan Yan was already waiting in the room.

After hearing the information reported by Fan Yan, he looked puzzled. "What? Wan Bing wants to assist our army in conquering Yuncheng?"

(End of this chapter)