Records of Mysterious Things in the Southern Dynasties

Chapter 418 My Brother-in-Law is Here
"Oh?!" Upon hearing this, Li Changjun's expression brightened, and he hurriedly rushed up to the lookout tower, shading his eyes with his hand as he looked out.

Then a troop of soldiers came galloping from the northeast.

Shouyang City is in the northwest, so it definitely wasn't reinforcements sent by his father.

"Whose army is this?" Li Changjun was puzzled for a moment.

"Who cares where they come from, as long as they're reinforcements!" the generals shouted, as if they had grasped at a straw.

"Yes, they're wearing the uniforms of our Wei army, they're definitely one of us!"

"It's just that these clothes are a bit tattered..."

"Who cares? Even if he's naked, if he can save my life, I'll kowtow to him no matter what."

As they were speaking, they saw the large group of people rush up the relatively gentle north slope and burst into the north gate of the West Village, which had been opened by the defeated army!
This group of people clearly took Liang Jun by surprise, throwing them into disarray.

The iron cavalry charged wildly, driving the Liang army away from the beacon towers in the blink of an eye. The Liang soldiers had no choice but to flee to the south wall of the city, where they were no longer afraid of being charged by the cavalry and were able to reorganize their defenses.

The general of the reinforcements reined in his horse and came to the foot of the beacon tower.

As soon as he took off his helmet, Li Changjun exclaimed in surprise, "Brother-in-law, it's you!"

"Oh my, Ah Jun!" It was Yuan Jian who arrived, and he was equally delighted. "It was you who was guarding the city!"

"Brother-in-law!" Li Changjun jumped off the beacon tower excitedly, and Yuan Jian quickly dismounted and rushed to greet him.

Li Changjun hugged him tightly and burst into tears. "Brother-in-law, if you had come any later, you would never have seen me again."

“I didn’t expect my father-in-law to send you here, otherwise I would have arrived even faster.” Yuan Jian said with a face full of relief, “Fortunately, it was just in time, otherwise your sister would never forgive me in this lifetime.”

"Brother-in-law, how did you get here?" Li Changjun, having released his initial shock, realized how unseemly he had been acting. He quickly stood up from his brother-in-law's embrace, wiping away his tears sheepishly, and asked:
"I heard you suffered a defeat in Xuzhou, I thought you were dead..."

"Ugh, don't even mention it." Yuan Jian rolled his eyes. He really wasn't used to the way these aristocratic youths spoke, completely disregarding other people's feelings.

"When I was in Pengcheng, the situation was very favorable, but who knew that we were caught off guard and attacked by that scoundrel Chen Qingzhi, which resulted in the defeat of our army."

He sighed and said, "Under the siege of Liang's top warriors, I had no choice but to fake my death and escape. I then gathered several thousand remaining troops and planned to return to Yanzhou, but I was blocked by Du Luozhou's men. I fought them fiercely, but I was no match for them, so I had no choice but to come south to seek refuge with my father-in-law."

"The journey has been fraught with danger, but we've finally arrived safely in Yuzhou. We've discovered a large contingent of Liang troops is being mobilized, and it seems they intend to besiege Shouyang City." He quickly reminded Li Changjun as he spoke.

"Quickly find a way to inform my father-in-law that there are at least 50,000 Liang troops heading straight for Shouyang in the direction of Xia Cai."

“My father already knows, which is why he didn’t send troops to support me,” Li Changjun said resentfully. “If it weren’t for your timely arrival, brother-in-law, he would have no descendants.”

"At times like these, let's prioritize the bigger picture..." Yuan Jian's eyes reddened, as if something painful had been stirred up.

But Li Changjun clearly lacked empathy and didn't react at all, continuing to say to himself, "What big picture? Shuangcheng Village can't be defended anymore."

“Yes.” Yuan Jian nodded. He saw that the Liang army had regained its footing and, using the city walls as a high vantage point, were firing arrows at the cavalry he had brought.

"I brought too few men; we only caught them off guard. Let's retreat quickly. Once their main force arrives, none of us will be able to leave," Yuan Jian sighed.

"Let's go!" Li Changjun said without hesitation. He had wanted to escape for a long time, but he hadn't managed to escape just now.

Now that they had a second chance, how could they possibly dawdle? Yuan Jian immediately ordered his men to give Li Changjun a horse, and then the two of them took the lead and withdrew from the Battle of Shuangcheng.

Seeing that their commander had fled, what reason did the defending soldiers have to continue fighting?
They all abandoned their armor and fled as fast as they could, wishing they had more legs.

In the blink of an eye, all the Wei soldiers still able to move on the western city wall had fled. Only those who couldn't escape remained, groaning and whimpering as they became prisoners of the Liang army.

When Chen Qingzhi moved from Dongcheng Village, the generals rushed to greet him, all smiling and asking:
"Chen Shuai, how was our acting just now?"

"Exaggeration," Chen Qingzhi laughed. "When morale is high, how can we crumble at the first sign of trouble and flee at the mere sight of the enemy?"

"It does seem a bit illogical," the generals said with a wry smile. "But if we really fight, people will die."

"Can't you even pretend to be dead?" Chen Qingzhi laughed. "Forget it, I'm asking too much of you."

"Commander Chen, did Li Changjun believe it?" the generals asked hurriedly.

“He’s terrified, he should believe it without a doubt,” Chen Qingzhi said. “But whether he believes it or not is not important, what’s important is whether Li Xian will believe it.”

"Yes." The generals nodded in agreement. They hadn't put on this show for Li Changjun; they were doing it to deceive his father.

"Only if Li Xian also falls for it will he obediently open the door for us."

"No matter what, we can only proceed according to plan," Chen Qingzhi ordered in a deep voice. "It's about time we pursue them."

"Yes!" Ma Fonian, the cavalry commander of the White Robe Army, immediately accepted the order and led his light cavalry to follow the trail left by Yuan Jian and Li Changjun's group towards Shouyang.

~~
Shuangchengzhai is twenty li away from Shouyang. Yuanjian Li Changjun led his remaining troops in a miserable escape and returned to the city of Shouyang around noon.

Shouyang City has high walls and thick walls. The city bricks are covered with mottled scars and black soot from repeated attacks. These are the marks left by the repeated attacks on the city, and also the proud medals of the defending soldiers.

News of the Southern Dynasty army's imminent advance had already reached the city. Li Xian ordered the city gates to be closed and the entire army to prepare for battle. This was actually his first time experiencing such a large-scale conflict, and he was naturally extremely nervous, even ignoring his son's pleas for help…

As he was asking his subordinates how much grain and fodder was left in the granary and how long it could last, the general guarding the city suddenly came to report that the eldest son had returned.

"What?" Li Xian was stunned, then exclaimed in alarm, "Why did he come back? What about Shuangcheng Village?"

"There are still many remnants of the defeated army who came back with the young master," the garrison commander said, swallowing hard. "They say that Shuangcheng Village has already been lost."

"I...you..." Li Xian's vision went black, and he almost fainted. He cried out, "From the time the beacon fire was lit until now, it's only been half a day, and he's already lost Shuangcheng Village, which has never fallen before?!"

"Well, this humble general doesn't know either. Commander, why don't you just ask the young marshal?" The garrison commander naturally didn't want to take the blame for others.

"Where is he? Bring that bastard son here!" Li Xian gritted his teeth, rolled up his sleeves, and prepared to beat his son to vent his anger.

“Outside the city,” the garrison commander replied. “According to regulations, the city gates can only be opened in wartime with the order of the commander-in-chief.”

"Do we have to be so rigid? Can't I stop my son from coming to the city?!" Li Xian said irritably.

"Yes, but there was another person who escaped back with the young marshal," the garrison commander said, panting heavily.

"Who?" Li Xian asked in a deep voice.

(End of this chapter)