Taiheiki

Chapter 224 Entanglement
"Feng Kun has been leading troops for quite some time now, but the Moth Rebels' power is growing stronger with each passing year. Isn't it obvious who the court should appoint?"

Huang Wan turned around in astonishment and saw a female Taoist priest in a pale yellow robe standing at the tent entrance. Beside her knees was the largest leopard Huang Wan had ever seen in her life. Its green-gold eyes gleamed with the light unique to feline predators, causing Huang Wan's angry rebuke to freeze in her throat.

"Ah Li!" Wei Cong shouted to the leopard, "We have distinguished guests. You go to the outer room first!"

The leopard looked up at Lu Ping, and after receiving confirmation from the mistress, it yawned, walked out of the tent, nimbly climbed up the big tree next to the tent, and perched on a branch like a sentry on guard duty.

"Brother Ziyan, don't panic!" Wei Cong laughed. "This leopard is tamed and won't hurt anyone! Ah Ping, Brother Ziyan, you are a renowned scholar from Jingzhou. We met back when I was still working as a clerk in Nanjun. I haven't even paid my respects to you yet!"

Lu Ping clasped his hands together, bowed slightly to Huang Wan, and said with a smile, "Grand Commandant Huang Qiong's grandson, Chen Zhongju's good friend, and the leader of the Jingzhou literati, how could I not know him? Greetings, Lu Ping!"

"This female Taoist must be the one Wei Cong mentioned earlier, the one who shared a tent with him. What a stunning beauty! No wonder Wei Cong couldn't bear to part with her even when leading troops into battle, keeping her by his side. But judging from her attire and the leopard that was with her just now, she's probably more than just an ordinary woman who pleases men with her looks!"

"By the way, her surname is Lu, so she should be from Hebei. Wei Cong is also from Hebei, so she's probably an arranged wife!" Huang Wan thought to herself. At that time, Daoist teachings were very popular among scholars, and it wasn't unusual for a few women to be interested in them and dress as Daoists.

"Greetings, Daoist Lu!" Huang Wan dared not underestimate Lu Ping, and rose to return the greeting. However, he said to Wei Cong, "Although General Feng has suffered repeated defeats against the Moth Bandits, there are reasons for it. Besides, General Feng has 100,000 troops under his command, and he still cannot defeat the Moth Bandits. Lord Wei, you only have 10,000 troops. How dare you say that you will definitely win?"

"Brother Ziyan, you jest. I just clearly said that only by obeying my orders could we defeat the enemy, not that I was leading these ten thousand men to quell the rebellion! Besides, you are also from Jingzhou. In the current situation, Feng Cheqi is already focusing all his efforts on defending Xiangyang and Nanyang. If I hadn't marched thousands of miles to Jiangling, and the E'zhai had divided their forces to attack Nanjun, would Nanjun have been able to withstand the attack with its current strength?"

Huang Wan was immediately stumped. After losing control of the stronghold at the confluence of the Han and Yangtze Rivers, Feng Kun, in order to prevent the Moth Rebels from advancing by both land and water along the Han River and entering the Nanyang Basin via Xiangyang and Wancheng, had to withdraw his main forces towards Xiangyang. Meanwhile, Jiangling, facing attacks from the Wuling barbarians to the south and the Moth Rebels to the east, was effectively left to its own devices. This was why the first reaction of the officials in the city when they learned of a fleet approaching on the river was extreme panic; the reason was simple: their situation was utterly hopeless.

“Since Brother Ziyan is silent, then I will speak for him!” Wei Cong said, “Jiangling is a well-fortified city with ample food and armor, and it is also located on the river with a naval force connecting it to the outside world. Even though the E'er bandits are powerful, we should have a 60-70% chance of holding it. But it’s hard to say about other places. Even in the best-case scenario, if we can repel the E'er bandits, the population will be devastated, with less than one in a hundred surviving. You would be lucky if half of your estates and fortresses were still intact. Am I right?”

Huang Wan found herself speechless. The man before her smiled, but beneath that smile lay a dagger pressed against her heart. He was right; Jiangling had indeed been abandoned by Feng Kun, left to its own devices, while Wei Cong's army was just outside the city. For the Jingzhou gentry gathered in Jiangling, supporting Wei Cong was undoubtedly the right thing to do.

"It's getting late!" Wei Cong stood up. "Prefect Han and the others in the city must be eagerly awaiting your return. If I were to detain you any longer, it might cause unnecessary misunderstandings among the people of the city! Guards!" He raised his voice and said to the guards who appeared at the door, "Immediately arrange for someone to escort Lord Huang back to the city. If anything goes wrong along the way, he will be severely punished!"

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“This person seems quite wary of you, my lord!” Lu Ping said, glancing at Huang Wan’s retreating figure.

"No wonder, anyone would be annoyed after smelling elephant dung for so long!" Wei Cong laughed nonchalantly. He reached out to touch Ali's fur, but Ali nimbly dodged and hid behind its mistress.

“I don’t think it’s because of that!” Lu Ping shook her head: “It must be for some other reason. Do you have some old grudge against him?”

"It's not about old grudges! It's more that I was promoted too quickly!" Wei Cong laughed. "Besides, his family has been officials for generations, so he probably doesn't like someone like me who seized power and became a governor and marquis through trickery!"

"If that's the case, then there will be many things about him that you won't like in the future!" Lu Ping laughed. "Do you think he will relay what you said to Prefect Han verbatim when he goes back?"

“He has no choice! Unless he’s willing to risk the annihilation of his entire clan to stop me. But what’s the point? If I’m not mistaken, other people will come to me soon; I have far too many old acquaintances in Southern County!”

As it turned out, Wei Cong's guess was correct. Less than half an hour after Huang Wan left the camp, a new guest arrived: Kuai An, Kuai Sheng's cousin. Compared to Huang Wan, Wei Cong's attitude towards him was completely different. He personally went to the camp gate to greet him, took Kuai An's arm as if he were a long-lost friend, and led him into his tent.

"Come, come, sit down and let's talk!" Wei Cong warmly pressed Kuai An into a leather folding chair. "Aping, this is Brother Kuai. He and his brother have been very kind to me. When I led my troops to attack the Wuling barbarians, his elder brother gave me fifty fine horses and one hundred thousand arrows, using all his family's wealth. I have always remembered this. When I return this time, I will repay you tenfold, a hundredfold!"

"Lord Wei, you flatter me!" Kuai An was dazzled by the magnificent furnishings in the tent. He forced a smile and said, "Your arrival with such a large army has certainly frightened the people of the city. However, that scoundrel Huang Wan still has that old-fashioned, pedantic face of his, which is truly detestable. Please don't take offense. Right and wrong, justice will prevail!" With that, he slapped his thigh, pulled a letter from his sleeve, and handed it to Wei Cong. "My elder brother went to Wancheng a few days ago. This letter was sent back by someone he sent a few days ago. He said he would find a way to deliver it to you in Jiaozhou. I didn't expect that you would come yourself before the messenger even set off. Isn't that a coincidence?"

"A letter from Brother Anping?" Wei Cong took the letter, carefully checked the seal to make sure it was undamaged, and then opened it. A few minutes later, he put the letter into his sleeve and sighed, "Brother Anping has treated me so kindly, I really don't know how to repay him! How about this! If you don't mind that Jiaozhou is remote, then come to Jiaozhou and serve as the Prefect of Hepu County!"

"Ah! This, this is possible?" Kuai An's mouth gaped open, speechless for a long time, utterly astonished. It's no wonder he was like this. Although the Kuai family was a prominent clan in Jingzhou, they were not particularly prominent nationwide. Kuai An was not considered outstanding among the Kuai family members of his generation. Wei Cong had promoted him directly from a county official to a prefect with a salary of two thousand shi (a unit of grain), which was like taking a helicopter ride in the political life of the Han Dynasty.

"There's still a bit of trouble right now, but it should be fine once I finish this battle! Don't worry, given the kindness and friendship between your brother and me, the Kuai family of Jingzhou will be my responsibility from now on, and I will definitely not let you suffer any losses!"

Kuai An wasn't completely stupid after all. He quickly prostrated himself and kowtowed, saying, "Lord Wei has treated us so kindly. Our Kuai family of Jingzhou will definitely follow your lead! Please rest assured, I will go to see Prefect Han and the other county officials as soon as I get back tonight, so that they know about your kindness and righteousness, and so that the villains won't spread rumors and disturb people's peace!"

"Well said!" Wei Cong personally helped Kuai An up. "From now on, we'll have to rely on your family for the affairs of Jingzhou!"

The following day at noon, Han Chun, the prefect of Nan Commandery, led dozens of local scholars to pay their respects to Wei Cong. Wei Cong, of course, did not want to embarrass his former superior. He ordered an elephant corps and infantry to line the road to welcome them. When these still-shaken guests arrived at the camp gate, Wei Cong dismounted from a huge white elephant and personally walked to greet them, preventing Han Chun from kneeling before him.

“We are old friends, so let’s skip these formalities!” Wei Cong said with a smile.

"That bastard's using that 'trick of carrot and stick' again!" Huang Wan muttered to himself, though he knew the method, though old, was undeniably effective. Even he himself had to admit that the colossal beasts lining the road had left a deep impression. They were taller than horses, could bear thicker armor, the ground trembled when they ran, their roars were deafening, and they exuded a terrifying aura. It didn't take much imagination to understand the devastation these beasts could cause on the battlefield.

Wei Cong was demonstrating to the scholars of Jingzhou that he had the power to defeat the bandits and protect their safety and property. The choice between Feng Kun and himself was obvious.

"Lord Wei's arrival this time is truly a divine intervention!" Han Chun had already shaken off the awkwardness of their earlier meeting and showed no sign of discomfort. "To be honest, when I first heard that there were hundreds of large ships on the river, I thought it was the army of the Moth Rebels and was prepared to die for their country!"

"You flatter me, Your Excellency!" Wei Cong laughed. "Do you think I don't know the defenses of Jiangling? The Moth Bandits don't have any siege equipment. How could they possibly take down such a fortified city with just a large number of people? At most, the people outside the city will suffer, but the people inside the city will be safe!"

"Yes!" someone nearby laughed. "But with Marquis Wei here, even if the Moth Bandits attack, the people outside the city should be fine, right?"

Wei Cong glanced at the speaker, finding him vaguely familiar but unable to recall his name. However, anyone present today was undoubtedly from a wealthy and powerful family in the area. His question was actually on behalf of everyone present—could you protect our businesses?
"Let me put it this way!" Wei Cong said, "Everyone here today is an old acquaintance of mine, so I won't beat around the bush. I came from Jiaozhou this time, a long journey, and Jiaozhou also needs to leave troops to guard it. So it's impossible to bring too many soldiers. Of the 10,000 men I brought, most are elephant cavalry, cavalry, archers, and slingers, with fewer infantry."

"In fighting the Moth Bandits, there are different strategies depending on whether you have a small force or a large one. If you were to use these ten thousand men to annihilate two hundred thousand Moth Bandits, even if Han Bai were resurrected, he couldn't do it; therefore, if you all want to protect your homes, you must give me sufficient troops, even if they are just hastily recruited civilians, at least enough to defend the camp!"

"I understand what Marquis Wei means!" Han Chun turned to the crowd and said, "As you all have heard, this matter concerns our own lives and deaths, so we must not be careless. How about this: within ten days, raise ten thousand men for Marquis Wei, and within a month, raise another thirty thousand men. Is that alright?"

"no problem!"

"Your humble servant will certainly do his utmost!"

"Please rest assured, Prefect!"

Han Chun turned around and looked at Wei Cong. Although he didn't speak, his meaning was clear. Wei Cong stepped forward and said loudly, "Please rest assured, everyone, even if I have to risk every last soldier, I will ensure the peace and tranquility of Jingzhou!"

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Lecheng County, Hejian State.

Tavern.

"Do you think I can hit the target?" Han Wen took an arrow out of his quiver and fiddled with it between his fingers.

"Stop talking and hurry up and throw! I bet you won't hit it!" Wang Kuang urged from the side. He was a county official in the county and had an extra finger on his left hand since he was a child, so he was nicknamed "Six Fingers".

“Then I’ll bet on him making the shot! What am I betting on?” Cui Heng was the youngest among them, a chubby man with a red face. He was Wang Kuang’s colleague and usually liked to go against him.

"Five thousand coins, no, I'll bet ten thousand!" Wang Kuang pointed at Han Wen and urged, "Hurry up and throw the ball, I don't believe you can hit it!"

"If only this ten thousand coins were mine!" Dong Zhong thought to himself. He sat there shifting restlessly. "I could spend the night with Xie Wan'er. Her smooth skin and beautiful face would all be mine."

Widow Xie's laughter drifted from the narrow window above, mingling with the deep voices of her patrons—she was the mistress of the tavern, a woman of mixed Han and non-Han descent, over forty years old, yet still voluptuous and alluring. Xie Wan'er was her daughter, fifteen years old. Widow Xie had already announced that her daughter's virginity would cost ten thousand coins. Dong Zhong had tried everything, but money seemed to flow like water, slipping through his fingers, leaving him with nothing. For him, coming up with ten thousand coins was harder than climbing to heaven.

"The bet has been settled, Han Wen, hurry up and place your bet!" Wang Kuang urged again. This kid was handsome, and all the women liked him. Even Xie Wan'er would occasionally take the opportunity to touch his arm when serving wine. Dong Zhong could only grit his teeth and pretend not to see it.

"Alright!" Han Wen replied. With a flick of his wrist, the arrow flew out, touched the mouth of the pot, bounced off, and did not enter the pot.

(End of this chapter)