Taiheiki

Chapter 242 Great Victory
"What do you mean I was hiding in the back?" Qi Tie roared. "Without my fleet transporting your supplies, troops, and baggage, and defeating the government navy, could you have fought your way all the way from Xiakou to here on foot? You'd starve to death. Not only are you ungrateful, but you also say such things—"

"Alright, we're all family, stop arguing!" Liu Xin finally spoke up: "Qi Tie, what exactly are you trying to say?"

"It's time to retreat!" Qi Tie replied decisively. "Wei Cong is causing trouble behind our backs, and the government troops are increasing in number. There's no point in staying here any longer; we might as well retreat!"

"Retreat first? What about the prefectures and counties we've already occupied?"

“Apart from Xiakou, we can give up everything else!” Clearly, Qi Tie had already prepared a plan before Liu Xin asked the question, and his answer was very straightforward.

"No!" Zhang Song finally couldn't hold back any longer and stood up. "These prefectures and counties were bought with the lives of tens of thousands of brothers. If you just give them up like that, wouldn't those tens of thousands of brothers have died in vain? No, absolutely not!"

Qi Tie's face once again revealed a look of disdain: "Senior Brother, do you think this is a business transaction? Haven't you seen the current situation? Wei Cong's fleet has already left Jiangling. He'll be sailing down the river and will reach Xiakou in a few days. If he takes Xiakou, our fleet will be stuck on the Han River. Once August is over, the rains will stop, and the Han River will only be half its current width. Hundreds of thousands of our brothers will be like fish out of water, completely at their mercy. So we must first move our fleet back from the Han River and drive Wei Cong's fleet away. Anyway, as long as Xiakou is in our hands, when the spring floods rise next year, we can sail north from the Han River and take it back!"

“Then your fleet can leave, but my men won’t!” Zhang Song insisted.

Qi Tie laughed in anger: "My ship is gone, what use are your men if they stay behind? Without my ship, your men will only be surrounded by government troops in the city and starve to death!"

"Alright!" Liu Xin raised his right hand, stopping the argument between his two disciples. The facts were clear: Qi Tie's judgment was obviously more accurate. However, Zhang Song had been the first to follow him in preaching among the miners, and since the uprising began, he had repeatedly distinguished himself in battle, earning him immense prestige among the followers. Moreover, as he had said, too much blood had been shed to conquer those prefectures and counties. If they were to give up so easily, it would be difficult for the followers to accept it. Even he himself had to consider these objections.

"Qi Tie is right, we can't afford to lose Xiakou!" Liu Xin paused for a moment. "However, the counties we've gained were won through the soldiers' hard work. How can we just give them up like this? Let's do this: split the fleet in two. One half will go back to Xiakou to deal with Wei Cong, and the other half will remain on the Han River. As for the counties, we'll only hold the fortresses along the Han and Dan Rivers. We'll abandon the rest so that we can resupply our ships!"

"Here!"

This compromise left both Zhang Song and Qi Tie dissatisfied, but they still habitually expressed their obedience. As they left, Qi Tie lagged slightly behind and said to Liu Xin, "Master, in my opinion, Fancheng is of paramount importance. We must leave a large force to defend it. The other cities can be left relatively undefended. If we divide our forces in every city, we'll only be defeated one by one by the government troops. Senior Brother is too petty; he can't bear to sacrifice this or that. In the end, he'll lose everything and only harm everyone!"

"I understand!" Liu Xin nodded. "Be careful when you return to Xiakou!"

"Don't worry, teacher!" Qi Tie laughed, "He's coming to fight on our turf. Even if I can't beat Wei Cong, I certainly won't lose to him!"

----------------------

Sangluozhou.

“Everyone returned on time, except for Nie Sheng!” Wen Sheng said in a low voice.

"Hmm? What happened?" Wei Cong frowned. He trusted his adopted son, but anything could happen in war.

“He sent a messenger back; he’s outside!” Wen Sheng said.

"Let him in!" Wei Cong stood up. Had something gone wrong? Wei Cong found himself filled with anxiety. He loved this child; although they weren't related by blood, he still admired his courage, loyalty, and straightforwardness. He hoped nothing had happened!
"General! This is a letter from the young master!"

A letter arrived, so it seemed nothing unexpected had happened. Wei Cong secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He took the letter, opened it, and read it. Immediately, a satisfied smile appeared on his face. He handed the letter to Wen Sheng beside him and laughed, "Unbelievable, truly unbelievable! That kid Nie Sheng actually managed to take down Shucheng with just two thousand men!"

"really?"

"That's a huge achievement!"

"Is there really such a thing?"

The generals inside the tent exclaimed in surprise. Like many counties during the Han Dynasty, Shu County was inherited from the State of Shu, a vassal state during the pre-Qin period. During the Spring and Autumn Period, there were seven vassal states in the Jianghuai region with the surname Shu. These vassal states were all descendants of Gao Yao and had very close ties, gradually forming a rather powerful vassal state.

Although the State of Shu was later destroyed by the State of Chu, its capital city remained a vital economic and political center in the Jianghuai region, renowned for its fortified city walls and large population. The seat of the Prefect of Lujiang was located there. Its territory far exceeded that of present-day Shu County. After the bandits occupied a large area of ​​Yangzhou between the Yangtze and Huai Rivers, they made Shu City their ruling center. Unexpectedly, Nie Sheng managed to capture it with only two thousand men.

"After capturing Juchao City, the young master, leveraging the prestige of the Zhou family of Lujiang, recruited righteous soldiers. With 5,000 men, he marched towards Shucheng, winning thirteen battles in seven days, each a resounding victory. Soldiers along the way rose up in revolt and followed him. By the time he reached Shucheng, his forces numbered 50,000. The young master divided his troops into four groups, personally leading the attack with drums. In just three drumbeats, the city fell! Over 7,000 were beheaded, and tens of thousands surrendered. Armor and weapons were seized, piled high like mountains, beyond calculation! Now, all the cities of Lujiang Prefecture have beheaded bandits and raised their flags in response!" The messenger said in a deep voice, "My subordinates carried a portion of gold and jewels on board, all acquired by the young master in Shucheng, which I now present to the general!"

Victory is like fine wine, intoxicating, and even Wei Cong was no exception. No, it should be said that Wei Cong was the most deeply immersed among them, for besides the joy of victory, he also felt a father's delight at his son's success. This sweet joy made him even forget the most important thing—under what name would Nie Sheng govern this newly conquered land?
"A petition to the court to appoint Nie Sheng as the Prefect of Lujiang? Right, right! I almost forgot!" Wei Cong slapped his forehead in frustration, realizing he had completely forgotten about that. He clapped his hands: "Right, quickly draft the document and submit it to the court to report this matter. At this point, the court will surely grant it!"

"Yes, they recovered an entire prefecture in one fell swoop. If the imperial court doesn't reward them handsomely, who will be willing to work hard to kill the enemy!"

"Yes! With the young master taking over Lujiang County in one fell swoop, the situation has changed dramatically!"

“However, this will definitely speed up the Moth Bandits’ return! General, the pressure on our side will be much greater!” Wen Sheng said cautiously.

"Hehehe!" Wei Cong laughed, "If my son can conquer a prefecture with two thousand men, then I, as his father, cannot fall behind! Don't you all agree?"

"Correct!"

"We can't let the young master lose this time!"

———————————————————— Shucheng.

Nie Sheng was not wearing a helmet and was riding a chestnut mare. Over his chainmail armor was a brown overcoat commonly worn by ordinary soldiers. Apart from the guards following behind him, he looked no different from an ordinary cavalryman. But as he passed through the city gate, everyone bent their knees and knelt down to show their respect to this still somewhat childish boy.

This is the magic of victory; even the defeated enemies had to admit to showing respect and admiration for this young man. As for the victors, needless to say, the local tyrants of Lujiang were completely in awe of Nie Sheng, and many even secretly called him "Xiang Ji reincarnated," believing that Nie Sheng possessed the courage of Qing Ji.

They witnessed firsthand how this young man, in just over ten days, accomplished the miracle of leading a force of tens of thousands from two thousand soldiers to capture Shucheng. So much so that the envoys from various counties of Lujiang knelt outside the tent, crawled in on their knees to pay their respects, and dared not look directly at Nie Sheng's face.

"Son!"

Zhou Yi bowed to Nie Sheng with stiff politeness. To be honest, he still hadn't fully accepted reality. Victory came too quickly and too easily.

“Let’s talk inside!” Nie Sheng nodded, dismounted, and didn’t pay much attention to the fact that Zhou Yi only bowed instead of kneeling like the others. He had too many things to worry about right now. Now Nie Sheng finally understood what his adoptive father had once said: As a general, it is not enough to just win battles, you must also know how to use the benefits of victory!

"Yes!" Zhou Yi followed Nie Sheng into the house, and coughed. "Lu'an, Qianxian, and Anfeng are all willing to send hostages and grain! But they have one condition!"

"What conditions!"

"You need to send troops to protect them!" Zhou Yi said, "Not many, five hundred men will be enough!"

"They want me to send troops to protect them?" Nie Sheng laughed. "Are they joking? Aren't they afraid my men will do something to them?"

“General! You don’t understand your current prestige!” Zhou Yi explained, “Let me put it this way! Shucheng is more fortified and has a larger population than these places, but you took it in one fell swoop. They are very afraid that you will be dissatisfied with the terms and send troops to punish them, so—”

"I understand!" Nie Sheng nodded: "Then send two hundred men, and treat the hostages well!"

"Yes!" Zhou Yi replied, but didn't leave. Nie Sheng glanced at him curiously: "Is there anything else?"

"What should I use to reply to them?" Zhou Yi asked. "I mean, your official position!"

"You say I'm the Commandant Who Subdues Barbarians! Don't you know my rank?"

"This is just a low-ranking captain!" Zhou Yi said. "If word gets out, it will probably cause people to look down on him!"

"There's nothing we can do about it!" Nie Sheng said. "My godfather is only a Left General of the Army, how high can my rank be? Let it be!"

"My suggestion is that you temporarily assume the title of Prefect of Lujiang!" Zhou Yi said. "This way, your authority over local affairs will be more legitimate. With your achievements, it's only a matter of time before you are appointed Prefect!"

"No need!" Nie Sheng shook his head. "This kind of thing will only cause trouble. Official positions are not something we should worry about! You may leave!"

"Yes!" Zhou Yi had no choice but to acknowledge and step back. He walked out of the door and along the corridor, lost in thought, when someone came from around the corner and he almost bumped into them.

"Goro!"

"It's you!" Compared to not long ago, Zhou Jin was a completely different person, radiant and full of energy. He was wearing a Shu brocade robe and a Jinxian hat, looking every bit the smug county official. He grinned at Zhou Yi: "What's wrong? You look so dejected? Did you get scolded by the young general for not doing your job well? Don't worry about it, I know him, he forgets things easily and doesn't hold grudges! Look at me, we had such a big grudge, but we're fine now, aren't we?"

"No!" Zhou Yi shook his head: "The young general didn't blame me!"

"Then what are you unhappy about?" Zhou Jin asked curiously, "Aren't you happy about this situation? Forget it, come with me tonight to have some fun. Good wine, good meat, good women. Now it's our turn to be in power, everyone is begging for our favor!"

"I'm not unhappy!" Zhou Yi shook his head. "I'm just a little confused!"

"What's weird?"

"I just advised the young general that he is currently only a minor officer with a miscellaneous title, which is not enough to enhance his prestige. I suggested that he temporarily assume the position of Prefect of Lujiang. After all, given his achievements, this official position is only a matter of time! But he refused!"

"So that's how it is!" Zhou Jin touched his chin and suddenly laughed. "I understand. Here's what we'll do: I'll go see the young general first, and after we're done, we'll find a place to have a drink and I'll tell you everything. You'll understand then! Wait here for a bit, don't go!" With that, he quickly walked inside.

A moment later, Zhou Jin came out. He led Zhou Yi to a half-closed door outside, skillfully pushed it open, and said loudly, "Quickly bring out the wine and meat! My brother is here today, let's have a drink together!"

A voice answered from inside, and a beautiful woman came out. She first curtsied to Zhou Yi, then said "hello" in a sweet, coquettish voice before going inside to prepare wine and food. Zhou Jin pulled Zhou Yi to sit down and laughed, "A woman without a husband is like meat in this world; everyone wants a bite. With me here, at least we can have some peace. Brother, don't be so serious. We're soldiers now, and swords don't have eyes; we might be gone any day. Enjoy your moment of triumph!"

As they spoke, the woman came out with a wine pot and bowls, pouring wine and setting out the dishes on the table. Zhou Yi glanced at her and noticed fine wrinkles at the corners of her eyes, suggesting she was around thirty. However, her fair skin and beautiful features had prevented him from noticing her age earlier.

"Not bad, right!" Zhou Jin saw Zhou Yi sizing up the woman, but instead of being annoyed, he boasted, "It's good that this woman is a bit older, she'll know how to take care of people. Anyway, it's not like we're getting married through proper channels, so why all the formalities? If you like, I can help you find someone. I have all kinds, I guarantee you'll be satisfied!"

(End of this chapter)