Reborn in the Three Kingdoms: Da Qiao Doesn't Want to Be a Widow Anymore

Chapter 328 Xu Xiang
Huang Zhong could only say he dared not.

The deputy general patted Huang Zhong on the shoulder to comfort him, saying, "Hansheng's character is evident to everyone in the army. As for those rumors, they are all nonsense. In fact, they are just Wu Ju's old subordinates who are resentful and want to make a fuss over these things."

After all, they were newly recruited troops, and the general couldn't be too ruthless in killing them. The bandits from Jiangdong and the southeast were eyeing them covetously from both sides, and if war broke out, they would still need to work together.

The general has already issued a warning, and they should know to behave themselves. If any of them dare to cause trouble, the general will not let them off easily.

Huang Zhong knew that Liu Pan meant to settle things peacefully; if he were to pursue the matter of spreading rumors further, it would seem rather aggressive.

Huang Zhong had no choice but to swallow his anger.

After seeing Huang Zhong off, the deputy general went into the tent to see Liu Pan.

The deputy general's words were not all excuses; Liu Pan's wound was indeed not in a good condition. The military doctor had applied medicine repeatedly, but the wound still became infected.

He gritted his teeth and made the soldiers squeeze out all the pus. "Did he say anything?"

"Having discussed the pros and cons, Hansheng is a smart man."

Liu Pan nodded. "He's a smart man, but his son might not be so. Keep a close eye on him, and take him down immediately if he makes any unusual moves."

The lieutenant replied.

Unbeknownst to them, in the dead of night, a figure emerged from the labor camp and, under the cover of darkness, set fire to the haystack near the granary.

Not long after the autumn harvest ended, the army's provisions were at their most complete. In the afternoon, a large batch of supplies and provisions were received and piled up in the granary. The entire camp was also at its busiest, as there was a shortage of manpower. Even the prisoners in the labor camp were all sent to move the provisions and supplies.

The officials and soldiers who escorted the supplies had been traveling for more than ten days and were exhausted after finally handing over all the matters related to the supplies.

To reward the grain transport team, the army's grain officer had already prepared a feast and invited them to drink to their hearts' content. After a meal of turbid wine, they all fell asleep peacefully.

Adding to the fact that it was a dark and windy night, and the guards were at their most tired and lethargic as their shift was about to end, by the time they smelled the burning and woke up, the fire had already started to spread.

The pile of hay, which was twice as tall as a person and was originally intended for the military horses to overwinter, has now become a man-eating flame, and the fire is spreading extremely fast.

The soldier who first discovered the fire watched as sparks were swept up by the wind and scattered from the dry grass onto the top of the granary.

"The water is gone! The water is gone!"

The soldier grabbed the gong at his waist and banged it with all his might, creating a deafening roar that jolted the soldiers awake from their sleep.

In an instant, tent flaps fluttered in the camp, and a dense crowd of people—armored, bare-chested, carrying water, or filling sand—surged toward the granary.

But the wind tonight was malevolent, and the fire, fueled by the wind, grew even more rampant. In just a quarter of an hour, several granaries near the haystacks were already ablaze.

In the blink of an eye, the entire military camp was engulfed in flames, and the heatwave made the faces of people three zhang away ache.

"Cover it with sand! Don't pour water on the grain!"

The captain's voice was hoarse as he directed the soldiers to split into two groups. One group brought dry sand and layered it onto the fire in the granary.

Another group set up buckets and desperately poured water onto the warehouse walls. A makeshift water channel also needed to be built between the warehouses to prevent the fire from spreading further.

Some soldiers were choked by the thick smoke and fell to their knees, coughing up phlegm with blood in it.

Anyone in the army who could still move their hands and feet was called up. Even in the wounded soldiers' camp, anyone who hadn't collapsed had to come and help, even if they were on crutches.

An hour later, as the wind subsided, the fire in the camp was gradually extinguished. But the grain that had filled the granaries just yesterday was now only half gone.

Looking at the ruins before him, the grain officer picked up a handful of burnt ashes from the ground and felt a lump in his throat, almost unable to catch his breath.

Now that we are in wartime, the burning of supplies is a top priority. If supplies are insufficient, morale in the army will inevitably waver.

The grain transport official will also be held responsible, and it's likely he won't be able to keep his official position.

Before they could recover from the burning of the granary, the bugle call for an enemy attack sounded from the watchtower.

The soldier, who had just collapsed on the ground catching his breath, suddenly looked up. The bugle call was sharp as a knife, cutting into everyone's tense hearts, making the veins on their temples throb.

"Enemy attack! Defend the granary!" The young captain in the camp, ignoring his exhaustion from a night's march, scrambled to his feet, drew his long sword from his waist, and shouted, "Archers, get on the wall!"

Panic still spread like a tide. Many soldiers' weapons were still lying in the mess of firefighting. Some people were barefoot, looking for their lost shoes. Others were shirtless, picking up a piece of armor from who-knows-who at their feet and haphazardly putting it on.

The war drums had already begun to beat, and the soldiers were scrambling to move stones and logs, but their faces betrayed their panic.

Everyone knew that with half of the granary burned down, the camp was already in a state of panic. At this critical moment, the enemy suddenly attacked, clearly having timed their most exhausted and weakest moment.

Sure enough, the enemy's vanguard cavalry charged in aggressively, and the gleam of their armor could be faintly seen in the dust kicked up by their hooves.

"Archers..."

The captain had barely raised his flag, and before he could even give any orders, it was shot down from the building by enemy crossbows.

Before the experienced archers could react, the crossbow bolts fired by the horse archers routed them.

When news of the attack on the granary reached Liu Pan, he was so angry he almost vomited blood.

"Idiot, idiot! How could this granary have been attacked?"

His eyes sharpened, and he suddenly realized something, turning to Huang Zhong who was standing outside the tent.

The deputy general sensed something was wrong and hurriedly spoke up for Huang Zhong, "Although Huang Xu is a loose tongue, it's impossible for someone of his rank to know the secrets of the granary."

Moreover, everything was too coincidental, as if Taishi Ci had planned and laid an ambush all along. Otherwise, even if one set off from Haihun on horseback, it would take at least half a day to reach the granary.

There were sentry posts along the way; how could they possibly raid the granary without anyone noticing?

After hearing this, Liu Pan slowly withdrew his gaze. "You're right. There must be spies in the army."

The order was given to Huang Zhong, who was instructed to immediately lead his troops to provide support.

Taishi Ci isn't that cunning; it must be that Xu Xiang.

He had spent several years with Taishi Ci, so he naturally understood him.

But that Xu Xiang, who was virtually unknown, was like a cunning old fox.

They deliberately sent Huang Xu back as a flag officer to create chaos in the army, while their eyes were actually on the granary.

To make something appear real while making it appear real, and vice versa—that's a truly ruthless tactic.