The steward stopped outside the threshold and whispered, "Master, Vice General Xu has sent word."
"Explain."
"Deputy General Xu said he's willing to accompany you, but he needs a guarantee from the Prefect."
Lu Hongjian breathed a sigh of relief, opened the drawer under his desk, and took out a handwritten letter that had been prepared beforehand, stamped with the official seal of the Yi Province.
He handed over the handwritten letter.
"Give this to Xu Dengyun, and tell him that there's no time to lose, we should take action tonight!"
The butler accepted the gift with both hands and left.
Lu Hongjian then summoned a trusted servant. "Go to the Xu residence and ask Master Xu to send men out tonight to assist Xu Dengyun in securing the city's defenses."
The servant obeyed and left.
Lu Hongjian then had Zhou Zhengqing, who was temporarily residing at his residence, summoned to the mansion.
Zhou Zhengqing arrived quickly, dressed neatly, clearly having also been awake.
He bowed to Lu Hongjian and said, "Greetings, Your Excellency."
Lu Hongjian waved his hand. "Guo Jiwang guessed correctly, Fan Yu indeed dared not make a move. However, I have been secretly contacting all parties these past two days, and we will take action tonight. Regardless of success or failure, I will send someone to escort you out of the city before dawn so you can deliver the results to Guo Jiwang. Go and prepare."
Zhou Zhengqing cupped his hands and said, "Yes!"
He turned to leave the study, but Lu Hongjian behind him suddenly called out, "Wait!"
"Grown ups?"
"If we fail tonight and Yi Prefecture City ultimately falls... tell Guo Jiwang and ask him to do his best to save the people of this city..."
Zhou Zhengqing turned to look at Lu Hongjian, said nothing, and simply bowed deeply.
The night was as dark as ink.
A dozen or so miles Yi Prefecture City lies the garrison.
The Wu Dynasty had more than 300 prefectures, and at its peak, it had more than 800 military prefectures!
Later, the country's strength declined and its finances became insufficient, so most of the military prefectures were abolished, and the military prefectures in each prefecture were changed into garrisons, with the garrison of a prefecture commanded by a deputy general.
In theory, a deputy general was responsible for the defense of all the territory of a state. But in reality, local warlords rose up everywhere, and local militias were everywhere.
A provincial military commander can only be responsible for the defense of the provincial capital at most.
Fan Yu, the military commander of Yi Province, was at his residence in the garrison. He was forty-three years old, with a broad face and square nose, and looked extremely dignified.
Song Qi stood in front of him and relayed Lu Hongjian's words back to him without missing a single one.
After listening, Fan Yu sneered, "A mere scholar, only good at theoretical discussions. What does he know? Countless people in this garrison have been secretly bribed by the Mist Hidden Temple. The city is teeming with their spies. Does he think he can deal with the Misty Mist Hidden Temple Mist Hidden Temple by sitting in his residence writing a few letters and finding a few people? What a joke!"
Song Qi nodded in agreement, hesitated for a moment, and then asked, "General, what should we do if Mist Hidden Temple really joins forces with Mount Liang to rebel?"
Fan Yu fell silent.
The Mist Hidden Temple had given him a lot of money over the years, so he turned a blind eye to some of their outrageous behavior.
They could rebel...
Fan Yu gritted his teeth, about to speak, when suddenly hurried footsteps came from outside.
A guard rushed in, knelt on one knee, and cried out, "General! Xu Dengyun has launched a sudden attack in the city and killed Commander Liu!"
Fan Yu's expression changed drastically. He abruptly stood up, kicked over the table in front of him, and shouted fiercely, "Xu Dengyun! I'm going to chop him up with my own hands!!"
He strode out and gave the order, "Gather all personal guards and proceed to the city immediately!"
A moment later, the sound of hooves thundered from the garrison, and more than a hundred personal guards followed Fan Yu out of the garrison and galloped towards Yi Prefecture City.
Earlier, Song Qi had just left the city.
At the east gate, Xu Dengyun, the deputy general of Yi Province, received Lu Hongjian's handwritten letter.
This lieutenant was not tall, but had broad shoulders and a thick back, and his eyes showed signs of hardship.
After carefully reading the letter several times, Xu Dengyun took a deep breath, folded it, and tucked it into his robes. Then he summoned a guard.
"Have Zhao Xiong take his men to the west gate immediately, capture Fei Ling, and take control of the city's defenses!"
The guards obeyed and left.
Xu Dengyun stood up, took only ten personal guards with him, and rode his horse toward the south gate.
At the south gate tower, soldiers guarding the gate were dozing off in twos and threes against the city wall, while under a nearby bamboo shed, a group of people were playing cards and gambling, creating a lively scene.
Xu Dengyun rode his horse to the spot, dismounted, and walked towards the bamboo shed.
Under the bamboo shed, Liu Yong, the centurion in charge of the defense, put down his playing cards and led his men to greet him, "Deputy General Xu, what brings you here so late at night?"
Xu Dengyun strode forward, nodding as he spoke, "There's an urgent military order!"
Liu Yong was taken aback, finding it rather strange.
He was Fan Yu's confidant; if there were any urgent orders, he should have received them first.
"What order? How come this humble general is unaware of it?"
Xu Dengyun had already walked up to him, his face showing just the right amount of anxiety, and lowered his voice. "The general has ordered that this matter can only be known to you and me."
Liu Yong, recalling the recent troop movements in the city and Fan Yu's instructions, suspected nothing and quickly approached, asking, "What is it?"
"The general said..."
Xu Dengyun suddenly placed his right hand on the hilt of the knife.
Liu Yong's pupils contracted, and he instinctively tried to back away, but Xu Dengyun was faster than him!
Clang—
With a flash of light, Xu Dengyun drew his sword from its sheath and slashed Liu Yong's neck!
Liu Yong's eyes widened in horror. He clutched his neck tightly with both hands, but couldn't stop the blood gushing out.
Before the soldiers behind him could react, Xu Dengyun had already stepped forward, his blade slicing across the chest of the nearest guard, knocking him to the ground. The third strike landed on the neck of another guard who had drawn his sword, and his head flew off.
In the blink of an eye, three corpses appeared on the ground!
The soldiers behind him were horrified, never knowing that this Deputy General Xu was so skilled!
They instinctively drew their knives and pointed them at Xu Dengyun.
Xu Dengyun, carrying a blood-dripping knife, pulled out Lu Hongjian's letter from his robes, channeled his Internal Skill, and shouted sternly, "The Prefect has ordered! Liu Yong has secretly contacted traitors, intending to surrender the city! I am ordered to execute him on the spot! If you dare to lay a hand on him, you will be joining him in rebellion!"
"Those who rebel shall have their entire families executed!"
The ten guards behind Xu Dengyun roared in unison.
For a moment, the soldiers at the south gate were stunned.
The words 'rebellion' and 'execution of the entire family' had a tremendous impact on ordinary soldiers!
Xu Dengyun seized the opportunity to capture several more of Liu Yong's confidants, thus gaining control of the south gate.
The Xu residence.
The head of the family Xu Rangzheng sitting upright in the hall. His silver beard reached his chest, and his back was ramrod straight. Although he had been out of office for many years, he still carried the air of someone who had long held a high position.
The Xu Family is a prominent local family in Yi Province, but with Xu Rangzheng being dismissed from his post and living in seclusion at home, their power has inevitably weakened. In recent years, they have been suppressed by the Mist Hidden Temple, and many of their businesses, both overt and covert, have been taken away from them, which has been very frustrating!
Xu Rangzheng instructed his son, Xu Shiqing:
"Take your household servants and go to the south and west gates to help reinforce the city's defenses. Follow the instructions of Deputy General Xu Dengyun. If anyone disrupts or obstructs your takeover of the city's defenses, regardless of their origin, kill them on sight!"
Xu Shiqing, already clad in full armor, received the order and led a hundred fully armed servants out of the Xu residence...
That night, fires blazed in many places throughout Yi Prefecture City, and fierce battles broke out in several locations, making it a very lively scene!
Fan Yu led more than a hundred personal guards to the west gate of Yi Province overnight, only to find the gate already closed and the drawbridge raised.
Fan Yu spurred his horse to the moat, raised his head, and shouted, "I am Fan Yu! Open the gate immediately!"
On the city wall, a man leaned out, clasped his hands in a respectful gesture, and said, "General, there is unrest within the city, and the defenses are currently unstable. Please forgive me for not being able to open the gate for you!"
Fan Yu was both shocked and furious.
Normally, the defense of the city was handled by two centurions on a rotating basis, but after learning of the Mount Liang rebellion, he added two more centurions to the defense. Both of them were his trusted confidants.
It now appears that Simon's trusted confidant has been taken down!
Fan Yu spurred his horse and circled the city walls several times, then shouted towards the walls a few more times, but the walls remained unmoved.
He dared not delay and immediately led his personal guards on horseback to the south gate.
No one opened the south gate for him either.
As dawn broke, Fan Yu led over a hundred cavalrymen around the city all night, but no matter how much he shouted or threatened, he couldn't get into the city!
Fan Yu finally reined in his horse, his brow beaded with sweat and his armor covered in dust.
He slammed his fist on the saddle, gritting his teeth. "You bastards Lu Hongjian! You bastards, Xu Dengyun! You're trying to kill me!"
5:00 AM (卯时).
At the east gate, a bamboo basket was slowly lowered onto the city wall.
Zhou Zhengqing sat in the basket, with two militiamen escorting him beside him.
The bamboo basket landed, and the three jumped out, immediately running towards a small grove of trees ahead, where someone was already waiting with three horses.
The three mounted their horses and galloped off towards the Yi Province Wharf.
Behind them, the Yi Prefecture City gradually blurred in the morning mist.
Overnight, the Yi Prefecture City changed hands!
129. Using power to intimidate, the general bows his head.
Before dawn, the Yi Province Wharf was already bustling with activity.
All the supplies from the three cargo ships were unloaded, and bundles of leather armor were dismantled and distributed to the militiamen so that everyone could put on the armor.
The shields were also distributed, with dozens of shields for each battalion.
Grain, medicine, cooking utensils, and other supplies were all loaded onto handcarts and wheelbarrows, forming a long line of vehicles along the riverbank.
Of the He Family servants and laborers who surrendered yesterday, more than 500 remain. At this moment, these people are responsible for moving supplies. Those with carts push them, and those without carry them on shoulder poles. They have all become auxiliary soldiers.
After what happened yesterday, these people are now behaving themselves and dare not resist.
Marching is not simply about traveling; it requires ensuring that soldiers are always physically fit for battle. The journey of over forty miles from Yi Province Wharf to Mist Hidden Mountain, carrying all the supplies, would take a whole day.
With these additional 500-plus auxiliary soldiers, the team's speed can be increased by at least 30%!
Bai Jinhuan and his group arrived by boat first, which attracted the local forces to take action. In the end, they not only gained a batch of weapons, but also a batch of auxiliary soldiers.
If the He Family does not take the initiative, Wu Shuangren can forcibly recruit them after arriving with a large force, but it will damage his reputation.
Now, everything has fallen into place naturally.
The main force then set off.
With the horses brought by Xu Jing, plus those captured from He Family Town, the team now had over a hundred usable warhorses.
Wu Shuangren left a few horses for Xu Jing, while he himself led a hundred personal guards and Xu Yu, with Guo Jiwang riding ahead.
On the official road, after traveling for half an hour, Wu Shuangren and his companions encountered three riders ahead.
It was Zhou Zhengqing and the other two.
"Zhengqing!"
Guo Jiwang breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing Zhou Zhengqing and waved back.
Zhou Zhengqing arrived on horseback, looking exhausted. He bowed from his horse and said, "My lord, Militia Commander Wu, the matter in the city is settled!"