Jinting Han people

Chapter 219: A Plan to Earn Niyang (4k)

At first, when Liu Xian chose to take over the post of governor of Beidi, there were many arguments in the Xiayang County government.

Sun Xi objected, saying, "The situation in the north is so dire! Why would you seek hardship?"

Xi An also objected, saying, "I heard that Beidi County is poor and its people are even worse than Xiayang. This is simply self-deprecating!"

Zhang Gu said worriedly, "Even if I want to take the position, there will be many difficulties along the way!"

Xue Xing spoke for the people of Xiayang, saying, "At this critical moment, if the county lord leaves Xiayang, the people will be in chaos."

Even Lu Zhu was worried about being separated from Liu Xian for a long time, and couldn't help but plead, "Sir, do you really have to go? Can't you think of another way?"

But Liu Xian was determined to leave. He said to everyone, "Perhaps there is another way, but I can't think of it. Now that such an opportunity is before me, it would be shameful to give it up."

"My teacher once told me that life is like catching fish in a river. Don't regret the fish you missed in the past, and don't fantasize about the fish that haven't appeared in the future. Instead, do your best to catch every fish that swims by."

Having said this, he calmed down the argument and handed over the affairs of Xiayang to Li Sheng, Xi An and others. Then he began to think carefully about how to recover the north, which led to his current solo trip to Niyang.

The reason he rode alone was that he considered that a group of people would be too conspicuous and easily spotted by the Hu people. When he rode alone, he relied on the strength of his feathered horse to gallop through the mountains and forests at high speed, and he could scout the enemy at will, making it impossible for others to catch up.

Thanks to this, Liu Xian got to know the general situation around Niyang in more than ten days.

It was precisely because he went to take up the post alone that he moved to Zhuoyinwu and received the support of the Fu family in the north, which enabled the plan to successfully carry out the first step.

The timing was just right. The Fu family had just reached a preliminary agreement with the rebels. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Liu Xian could just realize his plan to lure and kill the bandit leader.

At noon on the third day, Zhuoyinwu saw the Tiele people coming to collect food from afar.

It was late autumn, but the sun still shone brightly. A profusion of reeds grew beside the turbid water, drenched in glistening dew. Tiele people pulled their horse-drawn carts along the weedy path, chatting and laughing, occasionally looking up toward the fort.

"Master, there are probably only about a hundred people." Fu Chang counted the number of people from the high wall of the fortress and said to Liu Xian beside him, "But it looks like their leader, Chi Nu Luo, has arrived after all."

"Oh? Who is it?"

After Liu Xian asked this question, he looked in the direction of Fu Chang's finger and found a large man in the crowd, riding a large horse and wearing red armor. He knew that man was Chi Nu Luo and couldn't help but sigh:
"I heard that the Tiele people now prefer red armor, and only officers can wear it. How daring! Aren't they afraid of being made into sitting ducks on the battlefield?"

"That's what I want to ask you, Lord Fu. You came here alone to take up your post. Don't you feel afraid?"

Fu Chang was quite curious about this prestigious new governor, because his temperament was both unfamiliar and familiar.

If you think about it carefully, it is probably because this person's words and deeds are completely different from those of the celebrities I know.

Many notable scholars valued elegance and grace, self-will and unrestrained freedom, often disdaining propriety or indulging in unbridled behavior. While Liu Xian's words revered propriety and his unwavering commitment to loyalty, filial piety, and morality, his inner self shone with a reckless and barbaric air, making the styles of the other notable scholars seem artificial and contrived, as if he were the truly willful individual.

Just now, Fu Chang had come up with a perfect metaphor to describe the new governor: a Han Dynasty knight-errant from the annals of history, typical to the point of being old-fashioned. But this old-fashionedness didn't diminish his mystery and interest, for he was so incompatible with the world that it was inevitable that people would be left with a moment of disbelief and curiosity about how he had become what he was.

A typical knight-errant would take this question as an insult and reply, "Life and death are determined by fate. As long as I follow the right path, what is there to regret about my life?"

But Liu Xian was different. Facing Fu Chang's question, he pondered for a moment and smiled, "Who wouldn't be afraid of death? It's just that I have something more to fear. Thinking about it, I'm not afraid of these anymore."

Fu Chang felt that this sentence was very familiar, but he couldn't remember the original text for a moment. Just as he was about to continue the conversation, the Tiele people approached. They quickly stopped talking and acted according to their original plan.

Due to the mutual distrust, it was impossible for them to open their doors to conduct trade. Therefore, the Fu family opened a small gate on the south wall of the fort, allowing only one cart to pass through. The Tiele people would pull the cart in, the people inside the fort would load a cart with grain, and then the Tiele people would pull it out, thus ensuring the security of the trade. In this way, even if either side suddenly fell out, few people would be harmed.

This arrangement was extremely sincere. As Chi Ganluo watched cart after cart of food being dragged out of the fort, his originally tense face gradually relaxed and his mood became cheerful.

Who could have imagined this? Four months earlier, they had been beaten like dogs by the Xianbei, left without even a place to live. But just four months later, under the leadership of Lord Wannian, they had achieved feats unimaginable to their predecessors, practically conquering the entire Guanzhong region and even becoming a county magistrate.

And this is just the beginning, everything will get better in the near future.

With this in mind, Chi Ganluo sat down beside a loaded grain cart to rest. It was noon, smoke rose from the fort, and only half of the promised grain had been loaded.

At this time, Fu lowered three men down from the wall of the fort, causing some commotion among the Tiele people. Chi Ganluo opened his eyes and asked what happened. The guards replied:
"Sir, the Fu family sent three people here to express their condolences to you."

"Oh?" Chi Ganluo stood up after hearing this and asked, "What do you want to ask me?"

He looked over and saw three shaved-haired men outside the crowd carrying three boxes. They had no other weapons, so he smiled and said, "Let them come over."

The leader came over and said, "Your Excellency, this is a welcome gift from the Fu family in the north. I hope we can leave each other alone in the coming days."

"Of course. Even though you Han people laugh at us and say we are barbarians and don't know etiquette, we still know the principle of living in harmony with our neighbors."

Seeing that the other party was trembling, Chi Ganluo thought that he was afraid of him, so he laughed and said:

"What gifts do you have? Let me open my eyes."

The first person immediately opened the box, revealing a jar of wine. The aroma was immediately palpable. Chi Ganluo, a wine lover, couldn't contain himself and immediately took a swig. His mouth was filled with the refreshing aroma, a stark contrast to his usual drinks. He couldn't help but exclaim, "What a wonderful wine!"

The wine lowered his guard and piqued his interest, so he asked, "What's the second gift?"

The answer was soon revealed: the second box contained a hundred or so bright yellow dried persimmons. Chi Ganluo had eaten some persimmons before, but he had never seen dried persimmons before. He picked one up and took a bite. It was soft, glutinous, and sweet, without the astringency of persimmons. He was overjoyed, saying, "Delicious! I've never tasted anything like this in Shuofang!" This made him even more curious about the next gift, so he walked over to the third person and asked, "What's the third gift?"

Liu Xian opened the box and pointed inside, saying, "Please look, sir."

Chi Ganluo looked inside impatiently and was stunned: there was a sword shining with cold light in the box!

At that moment, Liu Xian's eyes and hands were swift. With his right hand, he suddenly picked up the Zhaowu Sword from the box and, before everyone's eyes, slashed at Chi Ganluo with lightning speed! He had prepared for this strike for a long time, and now, as if a sword had appeared out of thin air without any warning, the blade was at Chi Ganluo's neck in an instant.

Chi Ganluo was also a warrior who had been on the battlefield for a long time. Facing this sword, he had time to react instinctively, but it was only an instinctive reaction - he leaned to the right and subconsciously raised his left hand to block it.

With a "swish", his left hand was severed at the wrist, and the sword's momentum was blocked for a while, but it eventually cut the carotid artery under his neck.

This sudden change stunned all the Tiele people. Firstly, they had not expected an assassination attempt, and secondly, they had never seen such exquisite swordsmanship. It was not until Chiganluo fell to the ground and howled in pain twice that they woke up from their dream.

But by then the gates of the fort had already been opened, and hundreds of retainers rushed out like a tide, while hundreds more shot arrows from the fort walls, their arrows swarming like locusts. The situation of being outnumbered quickly dispelled the remaining Tiele people's fighting spirit.

They knew they were outnumbered and without a formation, so they had no chance of victory, so they fled in all directions. Those who had horses rode them, those who didn't grabbed horses, and those who had no other choice either lay on the ground pretending to be dead or simply rolled down the hillside with gritted teeth.

All in all, the assassination plan, which seemed extremely risky and adventurous to the Fu family, ended so easily, as simple as cracking an egg.

In fact, this was indeed the case. Fu's initial show of weakness served as the best cover, causing Chi Ganluo to mistakenly believe that Fu really didn't dare to use force, so he relaxed his vigilance. At the same time, he would never have thought that a master like Liu Xian would personally take the risk to act as an assassin.

But if you are not careful, it will end in such a tragic way.

After killing most of the Tiele people who didn't escape, Fu Xi and others came over, picking up the heads and asking Liu Xian:

"Master, what should we do next?"

Liu Xian didn't answer immediately, instead looking at the Tiele people in the distance, who were trying to escape. Fu Xi followed suit, and watching those tiny figures, he felt a little worried. If these people escaped back to Niyang, Niyang would know about the Fu family's uprising. If they then held the city, it would become very difficult to deal with them.

"Brother Shidao, please call all the servants in the fort and have each of them prepare two torches. We will go to fight Niyang after dinner."

Hearing Liu Xian's answer, Fu Xi felt a little surprised. If they went to Niyang after dinner, wouldn't it be late at night? There were no siege equipment in the fort, so how could they attack Niyang? Relying on torches?
But this wasn't a military meeting; Liu Xian was merely making a one-sided announcement. Seeing Fu Xi's surprise, he reassured him, "Don't worry, I've arranged for special forces."

Niyang and Zhuoyinwu were only more than 20 miles apart. That night, 600 strong men under Fu's command arrived in Niyang City.

Under the cover of night, only the vague outline of Niyang City could be seen. It stood atop a towering plateau. The space outside the city was extremely narrow, with only the north and south sides accessible. At first glance, it was clear that the city was extremely difficult to capture. Looking closer, the city walls were lit with torches and many defenders were moving back and forth. However, judging by the overall number, there were no fewer than a thousand people.

This startled Fu Xi and the others. Following Liu Xian's advice, they had already conducted a scouting operation the day before and discovered that there were indeed only 500 defenders inside the city. How could the number suddenly have multiplied so many? They quickly sought out a Han Chinese living on the outskirts of the city to question them. They discovered that the Tiele people, after fleeing from their grain-collecting mission, had immediately ordered the surrounding Hu people to come into the city to assist in the defense. In just one afternoon, they had gathered over 2,000 soldiers.

Upon hearing this news, everyone was a little frightened and planned to evacuate, but Liu Xian smiled calmly and said:

"Don't panic, my plan has worked. Follow my strategy and spread out. First, set fire to the plateau. Then, from a distance, wave torches and shout loudly, urging you to move towards the city. As long as we circle the city, the city will be ours."

This plan sounded absurd—did they expect to scare off the Tiele people? But after careful consideration, it would not cause any loss to the others, so they accepted it.

Soon, the servants split into two groups, one in the south and one in the north, setting fire to the withered grass and branches of the autumn night. Black smoke billowed into the sky. Under the low night, the blazing flames dyed the edges of the low-hanging clouds a fiery red.

As the fire gradually weakened, countless torches appeared near the north and south of Niyang City. Looking from inside the city, the two torches in the north and south looked like a prairie fire, and thousands of troops were invading Lincheng.

At this moment, shouts of victory were heard, and the cheers went straight into the sky and then reflected back, as if carrying thunder and lightning. In such a situation, the Hu people defending Niyang City suddenly became agitated, as if they were frightened by the scene.

But what happens next? As they neared the city gate, the servants wondered, should we stop and retreat?

The result was beyond their expectations. Before they reached the city of Niyang, the city gate had already opened.

Immediately afterwards, a group of Hu people filed out of the city gate and waved a white flag in the firelight - that was a symbol of surrender.

Fu Xi and the others were still confused until Hu Mogen and He Ganlin came out, carrying several bloody heads and approaching Liu Xian, chatting and laughing with him. Only Fu Chang immediately realized what had happened:
The governor had sent a group of Hu people to guard the city of Niyang beforehand. After the Tiele people fled back to Niyang, he called on the Hu people to defend the city together. They took the opportunity to sneak into Niyang.

Late at night, Liu Xian was bluffing and threatening outside. The people in the city were leaderless and had different opinions. This group of people took direct action and captured the diehards in the city. Surrender was a natural thing.

What a clever trick!

After Fu Chang admired him in his heart, he immediately straightened his expression and asked Liu Xian, "I wonder if the Lord is married?"

"Ah!" Liu Xian was about to enter the city for inspection when he heard this unexpectedly. He was startled and asked, "Why are you asking this?"

"If the Lord is still unmarried, Chang still has a sister, eighteen years old, both talented and beautiful, but she has no suitable partner and is still waiting to be married. If the Lord does not mind..."

Liu Xian was sweating profusely after hearing this and quickly waved his hand to refuse, "Thank you for your kindness, but I already have a wife, Cao, who is still in Luoyang."

"Cao..." Fu Chang was startled when he heard this. After realizing what was happening, he asked again, "Does the Lord have any unmarried sisters?"

Liu Xian was surprised again. He heard Fu Chang continue, "Fu Chang is seventeen years old and still unmarried. If the Lord of the Mansion does not reject me, I am willing to marry your sister..."

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(End of this chapter)