Lu Bu: My wife comes from two thousand years later

The Yellow Turbans' invasion of the city was almost a disaster for the officials and gentry of Yangdi, but for Ma Du and others, it was like a timely rain.

"I was planning to rob the prison tonight, but I didn't expect the thieves to suddenly attack."

In an abandoned house west of Yangdi City, Ma Du laughed loudly, "Haha, the officials were either killed or escaped, and there's no one outside the prison. This is a good opportunity for us to act."

"Xu Fu will always remember your kindness in saving me."

Xu Fu clasped his fists in thanks, then said with some remorse, "I've caused trouble for you all this time, and I'm going to be on the run again."

Ma Du's smile faded, and he scolded, "Why are you being so coy? Who among us hasn't committed a murder? If we can't stay in Yangdi, we can just move to another place. What's the big deal? Besides, the city is now occupied by the moth thieves, so there's no need for us to flee."

Sun Huangpi said, "That's right. You took care of me when I first came to Yangdi. As brothers, there's no need to say thank you."

This group of heroes were all desperate criminals who had just fled from Chenliu to Yangdi a year ago. Since the magistrate of Yangdi County was lazy, they did not cause any major trouble and no one cared about them. However, they stayed here the longest.

As they were talking, there was a rhythmic knock on the door. Sun Huangpi looked through the crack in the door and saw that it was the person sent by his family to gather information, so he hurriedly opened the door.

Du Wandao flashed in, closed the door, and said, "The soldiers outside the city have already chased us and surrounded the east, south, and west gates. I saw that the bandits had a lot of arrows and weapons in the government storehouse. It will be difficult for the soldiers to break in."

Ma Du shouted, "That's perfect. It saves them from coming back to arrest us."

Others followed suit, hoping that the soldiers would not be able to break into the city. Only Xu Fu frowned and said nothing.

Now the city is full of thieves, and Ma Du and others have money but nowhere to find food. With Xu Fu's invitation, they all sneak back to Xu's house.

……

Outside Yangdi City, Huangfu Song looked at the city wall that was more than three feet high, his brows furrowed so much that he could pinch a fly to death.

Yangdi is the seat of Yingchuan. Not only are its walls high and strong, but the city is also well-stocked with supplies for defense. There are also more than 40,000 bandits. It is really harder than climbing to the sky to capture such a city.

"Now, we can only take advantage of the fact that the moth thieves have just entered the city and all matters have not been properly arranged. We can only try to storm it once. If we cannot take it, we will have no choice but to withdraw."

Li Min's face turned pale. "General, this won't do. Yangdi has over 100,000 people. We can't just ignore them."

If Huangfu Song withdrew his troops, Yangdi would be truly finished.

"Manage? How can we manage? We are all elite soldiers of the royal family. Are we going to use them to fill the city walls?"

Huangfu Song glared at him angrily and ordered, "Let your county soldiers lead the charge, and the archers follow in the rear. Attack the city!"

As a prefect, he can't judge people and can't even guard his own door. What a waste! If these bandits hadn't fled to Yangdi, he would have destroyed them by now. There wouldn't be so many problems.

When everyone arrived outside the city, they saw no signs of war anywhere, and knew that Yangdi was captured without any resistance. There were only two reasons for this: either the officials surrendered directly to the enemy, or they fled in advance.

No matter which one it was, it was always the fault of the prefect Li Min.

Li Min did not dare to say another word and ordered the county soldiers to carry several hastily made ladders and start attacking the city.

This group of bandits had just been defeated in Changsha and were afraid of the government soldiers like tigers and wolves. How could they be allowed to attack? They resisted very hard. At the end of the day, more than 500 government soldiers were killed, but they could not even reach the top of the city wall.

Seeing that the strong attack would fail, Huangfu Song ordered a temporary halt after a day of trial.

The government troops were unable to capture the city, and the Yellow Turbans did not dare to leave the city to fight against the elite troops of the imperial court, so the two sides were deadlocked.

Huangfu Song did not really ignore Yang Di after all. He thought of many ways to lure the thieves out of the city, but all failed. Li Min then placed his hopes on the wealthy families in the city. If someone could secretly open the city gate at night, his plan would be successful.

Besides, Ma Du and others had been staying at Xu's house for a few days, and their food supplies were almost gone. All the shops in the city were robbed by bandits, and they had money but nowhere to buy anything. Everyone felt very sorry. It would be fine if they starved themselves, but they couldn't let the Xu family go hungry. Everyone then felt that it might not be a good thing for the bandits to occupy the city.

Now, apart from the common people, only the Yellow Turban bandits have food. Big brother Da Madu waved his hand and decided to snatch food from the Yellow Turban bandits.

"No, I can't. I can't go."

Hearing about the food robbery, Xu Cai turned pale with fear and was the first to jump out to object. "The moth thieves are so numerous and powerful. How can you, a mere handful, gain any advantage?"

"What about that?"

Ma Du frowned. "If we don't rob them, we'll all starve in three to five days. Rather than starve to death, I'd rather die by sword or gun. At worst, I can burn down the granary, and the bandits will retreat."

Sun Huangpi followed up with a shout, "That's right. Breaking in and robbing might be a bit troublesome, but secretly setting fire outside is more likely to work."

"You can shoot it with a rocket!" Niu Dadao said.

"We only have one bow, it would be a wonder if it can be lit on fire!" Du Wandao rolled his eyes.

"Then wrap yourself in a yellow scarf and sneak in to set fire when the moth bandits change their guard." Niu Da said again.

"That's a good idea!"

Everyone discussed the plan of setting fire.

"Brother." Xu Fu, who had been silent all the time, suddenly interrupted everyone, "The granary cannot be burned!"

"Why?" Everyone looked at Xu Fu strangely, including Zhang Mo.

Burning grain and grass was one of the sure-win strategies for winning ancient wars. For example, in the Battle of Guandu, Yuan Shao’s strength completely overwhelmed Cao Cao, but because the grain and grass at Wuchao were burned, Yuan’s army began to collapse. Cao Cao turned defeat into victory with a slight advantage, creating a famous example of the weak defeating the strong in Chinese history.

"The bandits were recently defeated in Changsha and are afraid of the government soldiers outside the city. Even if they burn the food, without reinforcements, I guess they won't dare to leave the city. Instead, they will plunder the people due to lack of food, which will bring a devastating disaster to Yangdi." Xu Fu explained.

After he reminded her, Zhang Mo remembered that in addition to Wang Yun and Cao Cao who had come to support before, there were also Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun leading the troops outside the city. The reason why the Yellow Turban Rebellion was suppressed so quickly was almost entirely due to these two killing gods. No matter how stupid the moth bandits were, they would not go out to fight against the elite troops of the court. With their equipment and combat effectiveness, they would definitely be slaughtered in a field battle.

Everyone came to their senses and looked at each other in bewilderment.

Aunt Xu said, "We still have some beans at home, which should last for a few days. Don't take any risks. Wait until there's nothing left to eat. Perhaps by then the soldiers will have broken into the city."

After that, he turned and went into the kitchen, calling Zhang Mo, "Mo, come and help mother light the fire."

Sitting under the stove and lighting firewood, Zhang Mo rested her chin on her hands, staring at the flames burning in the stove in deep thought.

She was not interested in the war between the government soldiers and the moth bandits, nor did she have the time to worry about whether the government soldiers could break into the city. She was just worried about Xu Fu and the Xu family.

Xu Fu is now a fugitive. If the officers and soldiers return to the city and everything settles down, the family of the murdered ruffian will definitely go to the authorities to file a complaint. If the Xu family does not want to be beheaded, they can only leave their hometown and Yangdi.

There were bandits everywhere outside, and she really didn't want to escape unless she had to.

Although they were wrong to kill people, they were also the thugs who extorted and beat people first. If they could find a way to help the officers and soldiers break into the city, they would have the opportunity to meet high-ranking officials and their crimes would be mitigated.

Break the city? How?

Yangdi was guarded by the rebel army like an iron wall, and it was impossible to communicate with the outside world. Even if the city gate was opened by chance, the personnel inside the city could be dispatched much faster than those outside the city. By the time Huangfu Song sent troops over, the rebels had already closed the gate again.

Assassinating Qu Shuai Bocai? It seems a little more reliable than opening the city gate, but... if that were the case, Ma Du and his men would most likely die.

After pondering for a long time, Zhang Mo came to the conclusion that this matter could not be won by force, but only by wits.