Tiger Guards

Chapter 642 Hengfang kills the horse
It has been three nights since Zhang Chang was murdered in Jicheng.

The city's military camp remained unconquered. With the addition of powerful local figures from surrounding counties, nearly 20,000 rebel troops had gathered in Jicheng, more than half of whom were armored soldiers.

As a frontline stronghold for suppressing rebellions during the reign of Emperor Ling, and with the armor accumulated during the reign of Emperor Huan, the powerful families of Tianshui all possessed a huge stockpile of armor and weapons.

A cold wind blew through the night. Yang Fu climbed the city wall to observe the situation and saw that the two sides would occasionally exchange more than a dozen arrows at each other in the military camp.

Even so, the soldiers in the camp still went about their business in full armor, collecting timber and adobe bricks from outside the camp, and some even dragged corpses into the camp to use these frozen bodies as building materials to reinforce the fortifications.

Suddenly, Yang Fu heard a burst of neighing horses. Through the dim firelight, he could roughly see the garrison slaughtering their warhorses.

Even though Yang Fu's family also owned a valley with a stable pasture, he still felt heartbroken.

The most notable feature of Zhao Ji's forces was their large number of horses. Furthermore, the three battalions under the command of Sima Hengfang, a separate commander, were under the jurisdiction of Wang Qi, who was responsible for transporting siege equipment. Therefore, they had no shortage of horses.

Within the Hengfang military camp area, there are approximately three thousand horses under their control, of which only a little over a thousand are fine horses or warhorses, and the majority are draft horses and trotting horses.

But if it's a military horse, then it's not an ordinary horse.

The fact that Hengfang has now killed Ma indicates that the garrison is determined to fight to the death, or it may simply be that they want to reduce their fodder consumption and eat meat to replenish their strength.

To find out the specifics, we'll have to see if any horses are still alive tomorrow.

As long as there are still a considerable number of horses, it means that the defending troops are simply lacking supplies and have no choice but to kill the horses.

But if there isn't a single live horse, that would be truly terrible.

Yang Fu dared not think too much, and carrying a torch, he went down from the city tower to the prefectural government office.

With the recommendation of the heroes of Tianshui, Xin Pi, the governor of Dunhuang, became the governor of Liangzhou and served as the general who quelled bandits; Zhao Rong, the former general who quelled bandits, naturally reorganized the bandit-quelling army and restored the functions of the general who quelled bandits.

The government office was brightly lit, and Yang Fu had been recruited by Xin Pi to serve as an official in the government.

After a brief announcement, Yang Fu entered the council hall, where Xin Pi was quietly inquiring about the new prefectural registrar, Zhao Pan.

Yang Fu, not wanting to be a petty person by listening in, went to the side of the Prefect Yin Feng and said, "Brother Ci Zeng, the Prefect Heng is currently slaughtering horses. I don't know if he is killing the horses to eat or to show his oath and resolve."

Yin Feng, dressed in a tunic and armor with a cloak over it for warmth, turned to look at Yang Fu: "Yishan suspects the latter?"

"It is out of concern for the latter. Heng Fang was originally a Tiger General, ranked alongside the bandit Zhao. He must have been a hero of Hedong."

Yang Fu felt a bit cold, so he went to pick up the copper brazier not far away and warmed his palms and the backs of his hands, saying, "Such a decisive and heroic man, serving under the bandit Zhao as a battalion commander and a separate department's acting commander, must be feeling frustrated and unfulfilled. In my opinion, we might as well send an envoy to persuade him, to explain the greater good of the court, and perhaps he can be recruited as an ally in the fight against the bandits."

Yin Feng nodded upon hearing this: "I think it's feasible, but I'm afraid he'll cut off his horse and swear an oath to fight to the death with his troops. In that case, I will persuade Lord Xin to open the west gate so that he can lead his troops to retreat, and our army will not pursue him. To gain Heng Fang's trust, I hope Yi Shan can go out of the city to persuade Jiang Shuming."

Jiang Jiong was born into one of the four prominent families in Tianshui, and his overall influence was even greater than that of Yang Fu. In contemporary times, only Yin Feng and Zhao Ang could be considered equal to Jiang Jiong. Among the other four families, the Ren and Yan families had become less influential than the Zhao and Jiang families since the beginning of the chaotic era.

Faced with the difficult question posed by Yin Feng, Yang Fu responded with silence.

How could Jiang Jiong possibly come back to vouch for them?
Hengfang's two thousand garrison troops were only holding on with their fighting spirit. If they were allowed to pass peacefully, that fighting spirit would dissipate, and how could they possibly stop the combined forces of the powerful Tianshui forces, which outnumbered them ten to one?
Therefore, this problem is difficult to solve. Yang Fu did not want to use his sword to coerce Jiang Jiong, as Jiang Jiong was not someone he could threaten. Seeing Yang Fu remain silent, Yin Feng said, "I also know that this matter is unreasonable. How about this, we will open the west gate tomorrow and let Heng Fang decide whether to stay or leave. Our army will also rest for a day. If their army is lax, some of them may take the opportunity to escape."

"clear."

Yang Fu cupped his hands in farewell, having lost all interest in further discussion, and simply took his leave after reporting the military situation.

Yin Feng was also exhausted after a long day, so he didn't try to persuade him to stay. He simply leaned against a pillar and fell into a light sleep.

As Yang Fu walked out of the council hall, he saw the minor official Shangguan Guang adding pine wood to the brazier for lighting in the courtyard.

Shangguan Guang turned around and saw Yang Fu, cupping his hands in greeting: "Servant."

"Yangming, how much longer do you think we can hold out?"

As Yang Fu extended his arm in invitation, Shangguan Guang stepped forward and followed, then asked after a moment's thought, "What do you mean by that, Yishan?"

"Heng Fang was just an unknown junior officer under Zhao. Although he came from the Tiger Warriors, Zhao did not follow the rules when it came to people. Therefore, Heng Fang's talent was probably ordinary, which is why he was not successful. Such an unsuccessful person suddenly encountered great chaos, gathered people to hold on, and his strength was tenacious... This strength was not Heng Fang, but the morale of the army that Zhao had gained."

As Yang Fu walked, he spoke with a sigh: "If we see Heng Fang slaughtering all the horses in the camp tomorrow morning, we'll know he's determined to serve the Zhao family to the death. How many of us will have to die to destroy these two thousand daredevils?"

"Slaughter the horses in the camp?"

Upon hearing this, Shangguan Guang was horrified: "I've only heard that when the Zhao family was waging war in the Central Plains, they charged into enemy camps on horseback and, together with Lü Bu, decisively defeated Cao Cao at the Bian River. How could a mere general like Heng Fang dare to kill three thousand horses?"

His family didn't have the same wealth as the Yang family, which he truly regretted.

Upon hearing the footsteps of others, Yang Fu fell silent and shook his head slightly at Shangguan Guang.

The two of them walked down the corridor to the restroom, one after the other.

There were no lights in the toilet, so Yang Fu said, "If you see Heng Fang behead all the horses tomorrow, Yangming, do not hesitate. Immediately lead your wife and children out of the city and go to rely on Jiang Shuming. With him there, Yangming's family can be protected."

Shangguan Guang was taken aback, then asked, "What about Yishan?"

"Don't worry about me, I really can't get a pardon from the Zhao family. Yangming should also not help his own clan, but carefully protect himself and wait for a better opportunity."

Yang Fu said in a light voice, "If my descendants have any chance of survival in the future, Yangming will lend a helping hand if he can. If he cannot, I will not complain."

After saying that, Yang Fu patted Shangguan Guang on the shoulder, then turned around and quickly walked out of the restroom.

After composing himself, Shangguan Guang followed and then went about his business.

However, when Shangguan Guang returned home late at night, he smelled a strong odor of horse manure. He immediately realized that Heng Fang must have killed a large number of horses. Even if he didn't kill all of them, he must have killed no less than two thousand.

Only when so many dead horses are cut open and their dung is dumped can there be such a strong odor throughout the entire process!

Remembering Yang Fu's warning, Shangguan Guang dared not hesitate any longer. He immediately began to have his wife put on makeup, waiting for an opportunity to leave the city on official business after dawn!
(End of this chapter)