Jinting Han people

While the two armies outside the city were locked in a fierce battle, the city of Jixian remained peaceful.

Although war is brutal, for the local people, whether farmers outside the city or citizens inside, their lives have not been greatly affected. After all, life must go on, and no matter who the emperor is, not working for a day will definitely affect their diet. The war may be stopped, but food cannot be taken away even for a day.

As the war dragged on, many people realized that as long as the soldiers didn't trample on their own farmland or seize their homes, fighting wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

The large number of soldiers gathered caused enormous daily consumption in the military camp. Although the imperial court delivered provisions daily, the soldiers were not passive recipients of food; they preferred eating, drinking, and having fun outside the camp to the communal meals provided by the military. Furthermore, being former imperial guards from Luoyang, most of them were wealthy. Merchants, sensing an opportunity, flocked to Ji County to start businesses, temporarily setting up casinos, taverns, and brothels, and subsequently making a fortune.

As a result, within just two or three months, the markets in Ji County actually expanded rather than decreased. Especially after the Zhao King's army won the Battle of Huangqiao, merchants from all over flocked to the area, on an even more extravagant scale than before. They all came to curry favor with Sun Hui, hoping to take this opportunity to establish a relationship with Sun Xiu. So those with money sent money, those with grain sent grain, and treasures, beauties, delicacies, and exotic animals were all brought along. Sun Hui himself couldn't even count how many gifts he received, only knowing that even if the imperial court didn't send any more provisions, his wealth would be enough to last him for a while.

At this momentous time of war, merchants were also closely watching the developments. Some hid in the suburbs to spy, some climbed to the treetops to look out, and many more gathered at the city gates, whispering about the outcome. At the same time, they silently prayed that they would bet big and seize the opportunity to rise to prominence.

Among these people was a young man who secretly slipped out from the crowd at the city gate. After circling around twice and looking left and right to make sure no one was following him, he entered a courtyard to the south. As soon as he opened the door, he saw about a hundred people sitting cross-legged inside, all with eager expressions.

Upon meeting, Ji Sang, the leader, immediately asked, "Ah Le, what's the situation outside the city? Have they started fighting yet?"

"They're fighting! Brother, they're fighting! Both sides have brought their troops in, and it's a very lively battle!"

The young man was Shi Le. He described the situation outside the city with a cynical attitude: "It's terrifying! When I see so many people and horses running, I feel like I'm mud, about to be trampled flat."

Everyone present laughed at this, but Ji Sang's expression immediately changed, and he said solemnly, "Alright, stop joking around here. According to the plan, we should start stealing the city now."

This was precisely the backup plan Liu Xian had prepared beforehand. Upon discovering the large number of merchants entering and leaving Ji County, he immediately devised a scheme: he could send a troop disguised as merchants to infiltrate the city. Once the fighting began outside the city and the city was undefended, this troop would seize the opportunity to raid it. If successful, the Zhao King's army, seeing their retreat cut off, would surely be thrown into chaos, making victory effortless.

Among the people under his command, Shi Le and Ji Sang's group were the most suitable.

This group of men were genuine bandits, able to use the pretext of delivering horses to seek an audience with Sun Hui. Given their short time in the army, Sun Hui was likely unaware that the Leping bandits had joined the rebel army. Furthermore, these bandits were well-known locally, and they even carried gold and silver jewels recently stolen from Zhangwu, indicating their motives were not unfounded. From all sides, they could easily gain Sun Hui's trust.

The only concern is whether Ji Sang and his men, being newcomers, are truly loyal to the rebels. If they betray the rebels, the plan will fail.

But Liu Xian wasn't worried about these things. First, even without the bandits of Leping, he was confident he could win head-on; it was just a matter of how many he would win. Second, he knew what kind of person Shi Le was. This guy was incredibly audacious and liked to do the most dangerous things. Moreover, he wouldn't like to associate with a fool like Sun Hui.

So, six days earlier, Ji Sangshi Le and his entourage had arrived in Ji County, claiming they wanted to join Sun Hui. They then gave Sun Hui the 1,500 warhorses they had brought with them, as well as the precious jewels and jade they had plundered, which were worth a thousand gold pieces.

This was perfectly suited to their tastes, as Sun Hui had previously been a horse trader and had a particular fondness for fine horses. Seeing Ji Sang and his group come to deliver horses, he naturally accepted them without hesitation, gladly welcoming them in. He then provided them with two courtyards to stay in the city for a while, promising to later bestow upon them the title of general.

In this way, Ji Sang and his group were able to openly infiltrate the city and have been lying in wait until now, finally ready to play their part.

As the saying goes, birds of a feather flock together. Shi Le was an incredibly audacious man, and his accomplices were naturally just as daring. The thought of stealing a city filled them with such excitement that they wanted to laugh out loud.

Ji Sang clapped his hands and said, "Calm down first. We can't afford to mess up such a great opportunity to make a name for ourselves."

He asked Shi Le, "How is the city's defense now?"

Shi Le, confident in his plan, used a table as a city and cups as soldiers to recreate the city's layout, saying, "There are now two thousand guards in the city. Five hundred are stationed at the eight city gates, eight hundred are on the city towers, four hundred are stationed at the county government office, and three hundred are stationed in the market."

Upon hearing this, Ji Sang analyzed, "We now have six hundred men who have infiltrated the city. It may not seem like many people, but they are in the open while we are in the shadows. That's enough to get things done."

Everyone nodded, and then Ji Sang assigned tasks: "Kong Chang, you have sharp eyes and run fast. You take thirty men and set fire to the treasury to lure the city guards there. You need to keep track of the time; run away as soon as they arrive."

Kong Chang was a taciturn young man. He didn't say a word, but simply cupped his hands and nodded, which was his way of agreeing.

Ji Sang then said to another man, "Ji Bao, take fifty men and go to the crowded area near the north gate. Once you see a fire, set it on fire and spread the word that there are ambushes in the city! Make the city as chaotic as possible, so that the enemy will be confused and unable to defend themselves!"

Ji Bao was thin, but faced with such a request, he smiled and nodded, saying, "No problem, I guarantee they won't be able to tell anything!"

Ji Sang nodded, always trusting his companions. He then said to the remaining brothers, "When chaos breaks out on both sides, we'll storm the county government office and wipe out the prefect and magistrate inside! We're not afraid the remaining county soldiers won't listen to us. Then we'll raise the banner of our righteous army, haha, and we brothers will become famous throughout Hebei!"

At this point, he couldn't help but pat Shi Le on the shoulder and laughed, "Ah Le, Lord Liu is truly remarkable. At such a young age, he's already a marshal and has come up with such a brilliant idea. It's amazing that he's your friend; we can't let him lose face!" Shi Le was also proud and replied, "You don't need to say more. I've known for a long time that he's a dragon in the sky, but we're not ordinary people either!"

Having said that, everyone smiled. At this moment, this group of bandits from Leping were still insignificant little people, even the most despicable of the despicable. But there is a saying in later generations: "Everyone has their own unique talents." Although they didn't know how to say it yet, they firmly believed in their hearts that even despicable people have meaning, and even despicable people can live a fulfilling life.

Kong Chang and Ji Sang quickly split up and went out. They brought few men, so their movements in the city wouldn't attract attention. The rest of the men waited in the courtyard. To be honest, even the most audacious rats can be nervous, but not for their own lives—for rats' lives are too insignificant to be remembered. Their nervousness stems from waiting for fate to smile upon them; for them, any sign of success would be enough to excite them for a long time.

About fifteen minutes later, they saw white smoke rising from the south of the city, followed by a commotion in the streets.

Ji Sang stood up and said to everyone, "Remember, we have already won. Now we are going to the county government to give them a chance to surrender!"

Shi Le led the crowd in repeating, "We have already won. Going to the county government now is giving these corrupt officials a chance to live!"

After repeating it twice, they gathered a batch of Xuanwu flags from a corner of the courtyard, and then each of them took a ring-pommel sword and filed out of the street, walking proudly and arrogantly down the street.

These items were smuggled into the city under the guise of goods. Due to Sun Hui's lax management, the guards were too lazy to search them. When pedestrians on the street saw this, they were all taken aback, wondering: Where did these people come from? But seeing their aggressive demeanor, they were also somewhat afraid and did not stop them.

A short while later, they arrived at the entrance of the county government office. Shi Le waved his hand and shouted, "Acting on behalf of Heaven! Kill the traitor Zhao!"

The bandits shouted, "Act on behalf of Heaven! Kill the traitor Zhao!" and then swarmed in.

The guards inside the county government office were completely bewildered. Hearing the shouts outside and the faint commotion in the distance, they felt utterly lost. Among them, Ji Sang rushed to the front, slashing down two men wielding knives, then stepping on their corpses and threatening them, "Our loyalist army has arrived! Lay down your weapons and surrender now, or don't blame us for being impolite!"

Putting aside everything else, these bandits, having grown up in the lower classes, all carried a reckless and unruly air about them. They seemed to believe their own words, raising their ring-pommel swords high, as if they would immediately strike if the guards inside said a word of disagreement.

At this time, the prefect of Ji County, Liu Teng, was in charge of the county government. He usually dealt with local gentry and merchants, most of whom fawned over him. Even his superiors would give him some face. He had never seen such bandits before. He was immediately terrified and tried to jump out the window, but he was too fat to run fast. He had only taken a few steps after jumping out the window when he was already out of breath. Before he even reached the back door, he was caught by Ji Sang and his men.

When Shi Le held the blade to his neck, he immediately knelt down and begged for mercy, saying, "Brave warrior, spare my life! I was only coerced by the traitor Zhao, and I had no choice but to do it in the midst of the army! I will turn against them! I will turn against them!"

Having said that, he was immediately taken to the center of the county government office and ordered the guards inside to lay down their weapons. With him taking the lead, the other officials in the county government office either surrendered or scattered like birds and beasts.

Seeing that things were going so smoothly, Ji Sang and Shi Le burst into laughter. Shi Le slapped Liu Teng's fat face with the flat of his knife and teased, "I used to think that fat people like this were repulsive, but I didn't expect that seeing him today, he's actually quite cute with his silly look!"

Having said that, they did not delay and escorted Liu Teng up the city wall. At that moment, they saw the two armies fighting fiercely outside the city, with no clear victor yet. Shi Le then held a knife to Liu Teng's neck and said, "Quickly give the order to take down all your flags and replace them with the flags we brought."

By this time, seeing that Ji Sangshi Le and the others only had so many people around them, Liu Teng realized he had fallen into a trap. But he valued his life above all else, so he could only regretfully say, "Alright! Alright! Let's change in right away!"

Within an instant, all the yellow dragon flags in Jixian City were replaced with the Xuanwu flags of the Northern Expeditionary Army brought by Ji Sang and his entourage. After the flags were changed, Ji Sang ordered the horns to be sounded on the city walls to attract the Zhao King's army outside the city to look into the city.

The fierce battle between the two armies had only been going on for a short time, and the fighting on the front lines was treating everyone on the battlefield equally. Some had their flesh torn open, some had their bones broken, some died in fear, and some died in anger, but at least at this moment, they knew why they were fighting and why they were dying, and the course of the war was within their understanding.

But this strange bugle call was beyond their comprehension. Many people instinctively looked towards the source of the sound, only to see dark blue banners fluttering in the wind atop the city walls of Ji County in the distance, while thick smoke billowed from within the city. This scene exceeded their expectations, and the battle froze for a brief moment; many people stopped fighting.

At that moment, a loud shout came from the left flank of the army, announcing to those around: "Lord Liu sent out a surprise force long ago, and they have already captured Jixian City! The enemy's retreat has been cut off, they are finished!"

With these words, the outcome of the battle between the two armies became crystal clear.

Although the loss of a city is not directly related to the outcome of the battle at the front, what people fear most is the unknown. The presence of an unknown army behind them instilled deep panic in the soldiers of King Zhao. They immediately believed that they had already failed, and they lost the motivation to continue when they thought they had already failed.

Similarly, the morale of the rebel soldiers was high. Liu Xian rallied the troops, saying, "Gentlemen, our army has already won. Now it's up to you to see how much merit you can achieve! Kill the enemy!"

"Kill the traitors! Kill the traitors!" After the rebel army shouted, they immediately launched a counterattack southward with overwhelming force.

At this point, only an hour had passed since the two armies officially began their battle. (End of Chapter)