Taiheiki

Chapter 222 Long March
"What do you mean?" Wen Sheng asked.

"How to deal with these fickle villains is not important. The most important thing is how to deal with the Wuling Barbarians!" Wei Cong said. "If we defeat the Wuling Barbarians, these people will stand firmly on our side. If we lose—" He paused slightly, "we will have too many things to worry about, and I'm afraid we won't be able to attend to these matters for the time being!"

The officers inside the tent laughed, clearly unconcerned about the problem their superior had raised. Liu Jiu chuckled, "You're right, but what are the Wuling barbarians to you? Can they be any more difficult to deal with than the bandits of Lin Yi?"

"If it's really as you say, that would be best!" Wei Cong's fingers rubbed the letter. "Time is of the essence. Wen Sheng, send out more scouts. I need to find these thieves as soon as possible!"

On the evening of the fourth day, Wei Cong's scouts' efforts paid off—they discovered an army of about a thousand men approaching along the west bank of the Xiang River. Just as Wei Cong was preparing to deploy his troops to meet them, he learned that the army had stopped about a day's journey away and had sent an envoy.

"A thousand people?" Wei Cong shook his head. "That number is really a bit awkward. It's too few for an army, but too many for a delegation! Bring them up here, let me hear what bad news these guys have brought!"

The large tent was filled with armor plates, helmets, ornate feathers, and various wild animal tails as accessories. Wei Cong's generals were all impeccably dressed, standing in two rows, striving to display an imposing and fierce aura. The Wuling barbarian envoy finally managed to reach Wei Cong after weaving through a large group of guards, generals, and captains. At this moment, Meng Gaogong, who was standing in front of Wei Cong, roared, "Kneel before the Marquis!"

The messenger instinctively bent his knees and bowed to Wei Cong, who held the highest position, before presenting the silk scroll with both hands. Wei Cong took it from Meng Gaogong but did not open it, asking, "Whose letter is this?"

"It is from the Chief of the Jingfu!" the messenger replied cautiously, keeping his head down to avoid eye contact with Wei Cong, a behavior often considered disrespectful when a subordinate is facing a superior.

"Oh? Where is he? Among those thousand people?"

"No, he sent us with a message after he learned of your arrival! He himself is with his army!"

"A large army?" Wei Cong's lips curled up slightly, revealing a mocking smile: "Then why don't you come and fight me? Let's settle this once and for all?"

"Because the Great Chief believes that you are a friend rather than an enemy of our side, he sent me first to express his goodwill!"

"Friends, not enemies?" Wei Cong smiled. He didn't press further, but instead opened the letter. The letter was simple: Jingfu inquired about Wei Cong's purpose, explaining that there had been no prior conflict, the Wuling barbarians had no intention of invading Jiaozhou, and their presence could even hinder the imperial army from the north—a situation beneficial to Wei Cong's control of Jiaozhou. At the end of the letter, Jingfu advised Wei Cong to emulate Zhao Tuo, retreating to Jiaozhou to defend himself, observing the world's development, and passing on his legacy to future generations—this was the act of a wise man. If Wei Cong insisted on continuing, he might not even win, and even if he did, he would be replaced by someone sent by the imperial court the very next day—then it would be too late for regrets!
"I can't believe even a barbarian knows the story of Zhao Tuo as the King of Nanyue!" Wei Cong thought to himself. "The officials in the court must know even more!" After pondering for a moment, he said to the messenger, "I won't write a reply. Take my message back to your chieftain: I thank him for his advice in the letter, but the current situation is different from that at the end of the Qin Dynasty. The Mandate of Heaven still rests on the Han Dynasty. If we try to resist the Mandate of Heaven with human wisdom and strength, even someone as brave as Xiang Yu or as wise as Han Xin will die." "With our clan annihilated, how can we cling to outdated methods and misguided approaches? I have been ordered by the court to lead our battle-hardened troops to Jingzhou to subdue the Moth Bandits. If they do not wish to fight me, then let them clear the way, return to their mountain lair, and await the outcome. Afterwards, I will naturally speak to the court on their behalf, requesting that they send an envoy to appease them with lenient terms; otherwise, then they should lead their armies, employing their wits and courage to the fullest, and settle the score on the battlefield, letting Heaven decide who is right and who is wrong, who is strong and who is weak!"

"I understand!" The messenger kowtowed twice, crawled backward on his knees to the entrance of the main tent, and then stood up and left.

The next day, the messenger returned, bringing another letter, fifty horses, and some gold and silver treasures. He said to Wei Cong, "My chieftain, after hearing your reply, praised you as a rare hero, saying that heroes should not harm each other. He also said that if you had been appointed governor of Jingzhou, things wouldn't have turned out this way. These horses and treasures are gifts from the chieftain. He wishes you a safe journey and hopes that after your victory, you will not forget yesterday's promise!"

"Heroes shouldn't harm each other?" Wei Cong laughed. "This guy is really shameless, actually calling himself a hero!"

"To be able to gather a horde of barbarians and create such a situation, that man truly deserves the title of hero!" Lu Ping laughed. "But could it be that he's just feigning friendship, letting us pass first, and then attacking us from behind?"

"That's not a problem! Once we get into Dongting Lake, we can go downstream to the Yangtze River and then head to Jiangling. He doesn't have any navy, so he can't pull off any tricks!"

"That's good!" Lu Ping said with a smile, "Otherwise, I would have had no choice but to take Ah Li and take his life!"

"You managed to take that shrew's life in the middle of the army?" Wei Cong looked at Lu Ping in surprise.

"It didn't work before, but since I've been with you, my strength has been growing every day!" Lu Ping said with a smile. "If you think it's necessary, I can give it a try?"

"Forget it!" Wei Cong hesitated for a moment and shook his head: "This Jingfu is different from the Moth Thief. His strength is at most limited to the four counties of Jingnan. It would be difficult for him to even cross the Yangtze River. He is a self-defending bandit. It would be difficult to eliminate him. Even if you kill him, it will only cause his followers to scatter. In a few years, a new leader will emerge. It won't be of much practical significance. It's better to keep him for now. He might be useful in the future!"

Wei Cong's army stayed in the area for a day before continuing their journey along the Xiang River. As it turned out, the strategist had not lied; the Wuling barbarian army carefully maintained their distance and took no hostile actions. They even took in any Han soldiers who had fallen behind or gotten lost, sending them to the counties along the way. Under this strange situation of semi-escort and semi-vigilance, Wei Cong's army completed the long journey from Lingling to Baqiu in just sixteen days, once again seeing the Yangtze River.

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"I killed Wang Gui, the county magistrate of Baqiu, right here! And Cai Buyi, he saved my life too, but he's buried here! I left the army to Yan Nian and fled for my own life. Now I'm still alive, but Yan Nian is gone!" Wei Cong looked at the grave before him with deep emotion. The tombstone he had erected was now covered in moss. He reached out and brushed away the moss, looking at the inscription below. In reality, only about two years had passed, but to him it felt like a century. So much had happened. Things had changed, and people were no longer the same. How could he bear it?

"My lord!" Wen Sheng said in a low voice, "These are all predestined, so please don't worry about them too much!"

Wei Cong sighed deeply and remained silent. If anyone in the world was least inclined to believe in fate, it was probably him. The reason was simple: without him, the calamity of the Partisan Prohibitions would have continued for decades until the Yellow Turban Rebellion. The court, fearing the Partisans would merge with the Yellow Turbans, had only pardoned them. And the high-ranking General Dou Wu would have long been killed by the eunuchs; the Yuan brothers wouldn't have achieved such fame and merit at such a young age; and the Kingdom of Linyi wouldn't have suffered such an undeserved disaster, with him capturing the entire royal family and handing them over to Luoyang. All of this, directly or indirectly, was related to him.

"If you hadn't met me, you might still be alive and well, working as a patrolman in Xinye!" Wei Cong sighed. At this moment, he no longer harbored any hatred for Wang Gui. After all, Wang Gui was long dead, while he was still alive and doing well. Unconsciously, he had walked so far that when he looked back, he could no longer see the countless corpses he had stepped on.

A gust of cold wind blew, and Wei Cong instinctively shrank his neck. Compared to Jiaozhou, winters in Baqiu were much colder. He turned around, and his subordinates' faces were full of concern and tension. Regardless of the cause, fate had woven these people's threads together with his own. All he could do was lead them forward, even if it meant facing an abyss. This was the responsibility of a leader. "Warmth rises!"

"Your subordinate is here!" Wen Sheng hurriedly stepped forward and replied.

"Tomorrow I will cross the river and go upstream to Jiangling!" Wei Cong paused slightly. "You will stay behind in Baqiu to keep watch on the Wuling barbarians, understand?"

"Here!"

"The rest of you, come with me to Jiangling!" Wei Cong smiled slightly. "It would be good to see some old friends!"

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Jiangling City, Huang Mansion.

"Master, master, master!"

Huang Wan raised his head from the bamboo slips on the table and looked at the servant who rushed in from outside the door with displeasure. Although he had always treated his servants kindly, it was too much for him to rush in like this. Where had the face of the Huang family of Jingzhou gone?

"What happened?"

"The city, and the river outside the city, are all boats!"

"What?" Huang Wan could no longer maintain her composure. After the Moth Rebels captured Anlu County and their fleet entered the Han River, General Feng moved his headquarters to Xiangyang. Anyone with eyes could understand what this meant—General Feng's current defensive focus was on the north, preventing the Moth Rebels from sailing upstream along the Han River, capturing Xiangyang, entering Nanyang, attacking Wancheng, and threatening Luoyang. As for Jiangling, a key city in Jingzhou, it was no longer so important.

Of course, this does not mean that the imperial court has abandoned Jiangling. However, there are always priorities on the battlefield. All military strategists throughout history have emphasized the need to concentrate superior forces in decisive locations as much as possible. The other side of this statement is to weaken one's forces in secondary directions. Otherwise, where would the superior forces in decisive locations come from?
As a learned man, Huang Wan naturally understood this principle, so when he heard the news, his first reaction was that the moth thieves had arrived!
"Quick, help me change my clothes, let's go to the city to take a look!"

When Huang Wan arrived at the city wall, it was already packed with people. He had to order his servants to light up their own lanterns so that others could make way for him.

"Brother Ziyan, you've arrived too!" someone said from not far away.

"So it's Brother Kuai!" Huang Wan recognized Kuai Sheng's cousin, Kuai An: "You've heard about it too?"

"Yes, I heard that many boats have come on the river!" Compared to his elder brother, Kuai An's appearance was much more ordinary. He lowered his voice and said, "I heard that there are hundreds of boats along the river for four or five miles, which means there are at least tens of thousands of people. Prefect Han has already gone up to the city!"

"We must hold on!" Huang Wan said in a low voice. "Not to mention that this is our homeland, Jiangling is an important town in Jingzhou. If it falls, then the entire Jingzhou will be in danger!"

“Yes!” Kuai An sighed, “That’s really something. The court ordered him to lead troops to quell the E’er rebels, but instead, he’s been heading further and further north. If he keeps going like this, he’ll be right at the gates of Luoyang!”

"Forget it, now is not the time to talk such nonsense!" Although Huang Wan was also quite dissatisfied with Feng Kun, she still waved her hand: "Let's go to the city wall together and discuss the defense of the city with Prefect Han!"

The two of them went up to the city together. The prefectural officials and powerful clans of Jiangling had almost all arrived. Everyone's face was full of worry and anxiety. Obviously, this sudden bad news had exceeded everyone's expectations and had broken their spirits.

"Please do not panic, everyone!" Han Chun maintained the composure of a prefect. "We do not yet know whether the visitors are friend or foe. I have already sent people to gather information, and the order to defend the city has been given. You are all pillars of Jiangling, so please work together with me to defend this city!" When he spoke of the last matter, his voice trembled slightly, revealing a hint of fear.

"Yes, sir!" the crowd responded in unison. They had no doubt about defending the city; after all, they were all locals, their families and businesses were based there. Han Chun could run, but they couldn't.

"Alright!" Han Chun nodded. "Now I will assign tasks. Huang Gong, go check the east gate; Kuai Gongcao, check the west gate..." Han Chun divided the city's defenses into several tasks, instructing each person present to lead their own retainers to reinforce the defenses. These people all possessed considerable armed strength; they might not be good at open field battles, but their combat effectiveness in defending their own city was still quite formidable.

"Yes, sir!" Huang Wan responded to his command and was about to go and carry out the order when he heard panting from below the city wall.
Shouts rang out: "Lord, Lord, it's not the enemy, it's not the enemy, it's reinforcements!"

"Reinforcements?" Everyone was stunned. Although they wanted to believe it, they dared not, fearing that this wonderful news was just a soap bubble that would burst at the slightest touch.

(End of this chapter)