Wei and Jin did not submit to Zhou

Chapter 124: The bottom overcomes the top (6)

September 12th, late at night.

Chengdu West Gate.

Two dark figures were hiding behind a large tree near the city gate. They were Liu Shan, who had secretly run out of the city, and Qiao Zhou, who had come to meet him from a suburban residence.

To maintain secrecy, Liu Shan and Qiao Zhou told no one. At this moment, they demonstrated exceptional survival skills.

From maintaining secrecy to traveling secretly, they kept it a secret from everyone.

If they had used this ability for military affairs, how could the Shu Kingdom have perished?

It can only be said that things in this world are ever-changing.

Why haven't Zhong Hui's men arrived yet?

Liu Shan complained in a low voice that he hadn't even brought any personal attendants with him, and that he hadn't had a drop of water for two hours and was extremely thirsty.

"General Liu, let's wait a little longer."

Qiao Zhou reassured Liu Shan.

This is indeed a risky matter, but if what was said in that letter is true, staying in Chengdu is even more risky!

Between two evils, choose the lesser; this is a gamble!
Suddenly, a cavalry caravan approached from the front, estimated to be about a hundred people.

"coming!"

Qiao Zhou was overjoyed.

The two quickly ran out from behind the big tree and waved to the group of people.

However, as the cavalry approached, Liu Shan's expression suddenly changed!
It wasn't Zhong Hui's troops that arrived, but rather Tian Xu, a general under Deng Ai!

"Oh no, it's Tian Xu inspecting the city defenses!"

Liu Shan whispered to Qiao Zhou.

Seriously?! This is unlucky?

Qiao Zhou was so frightened that he almost knelt on the ground. How could their luck be so bad?
"Hey? Isn't this General Liu? Why aren't you staying in the palace? What are you doing out here in the suburbs of Ximen so late at night?"

Riding on his horse, Tian Xu squinted at the bewildered Liu Shan and asked.

Liu Shan, the deposed emperor, appeared near the west gate of Chengdu late at night, as if waiting for someone to pick him up. This seemed suspicious no matter how you looked at it!
"I came out to admire the moon. Does General Tian have any objections?"

Liu Shan spoke calmly, appearing to have regained his composure. He even exuded a certain air of authority!
Without comparison, there is no discernment. Compared to Qiao Zhou, who was terrified and paralyzed with fear beside him, Liu Shan was very manly at this moment.

Liu Shan knew that even if Deng Ai captured him, he couldn't do anything; at most, he would just send him back.

In truth, Tian Xu was also hesitant, mainly because his job tonight was simply to patrol outside the city and check for bandits looting the area. This was also part of Deng Ai's routine military duties.

Sending Liu Shan back to Deng Ai wouldn't do any good!

"Well then, General Liu, I'll escort you back to the palace. As for whether General Deng asks about it or not, that's none of my business."

Tian Xu said with a straight face, clearly intending to handle this strictly as a business.

Just then, the sound of horses' hooves approached from afar.

Tian Xu's expression changed drastically, a cold glint flashed in his eyes, and he turned his head to stare at Liu Chan, looking as if he wanted to chop Liu Chan up and roast him over a fire!
"I'll deal with you later! Prepare for battle!"

Tian Xu shouted, but it was no use, because his troops had already stopped, while the enemy's cavalry was still accelerating, even getting faster and faster!

He could react, but his hundred-man cavalry force couldn't!

boom!
The two cavalry teams collided, and instantly men and horses were thrown to the ground!

"kill!"

Completely bewildered, Tian Xu shouted as he turned his horse around. Suddenly, a wooden stick appeared out of nowhere and struck him squarely on the arm!
With a crack, a bone broke in one arm, and the arm drooped instantly. The immense force caused Tian Xu to fall from his horse.

That cavalry unit was cunning; they used clubs to smash Tian Xu's cavalrymen off their horses, their charge not intended to kill at all.

Soon, none of Tian Xu's cavalrymen were still standing; they were all lying on the ground groaning. As for their warhorses, they had all been frightened and fled. The darkness made them difficult to track down.

The leader of the group dismounted and approached Liu Shan, saying, "General Liu, please mount your horse! This is not the place to talk! Let's hurry to Fucheng."

"Good, good! You've finally arrived!"

Liu Shan's face was full of joy at surviving a disaster. He didn't bother to ask who the people in front of him were; he just followed them.

"What to do with these people?"

Liu Shan pointed to the cavalrymen from Tian Xu's tribe lying on the ground groaning and asked.

He desperately wanted to kill these people, but he couldn't say it directly.

Sure enough, the leader on the other side casually replied, "Let them stay here. We are here on the orders of Grand Commander Zhong Hui to take you to his camp, not to kill anyone. Once we have you, our mission is complete."

This man refused to reveal his name, but he spoke of Zhong Hui's military orders with absolute certainty. Those lying on the ground were not dead; everyone heard them clearly.

Liu Shan knew this was intentional, but he did not stop it. He sighed softly and had no choice but to mount his horse.

"withdraw!"

The man shouted something, and the cavalrymen in this group were all dressed in robes commonly worn by ordinary people, making it impossible to tell which army they belonged to. However, Liu Shan knew in his heart that it could only be Zhong Hui's troops.

It could even be the same person Liu Yue refused to name in the letter, the "righteous and chivalrous" member of his own unit.

The team moved swiftly, disappearing into the night and heading towards Fucheng.

Tian Xu's men gradually got up from the ground. They hadn't actually fallen from their horses and lost their fighting ability, but were worried that if they stood up, they would be cut down by that mysterious cavalry.

It's not easy for soldiers to earn a living; they don't make much money. It's not worth risking your life for something like this!

"General Tian, ​​what should we do now?"

Everyone gathered around and asked Tian Xu, whose arm was broken.

"What else can we do but go find Ma! Anyone who tells anyone about what happened today, I'll kill them first!"

Tian Xu roared at the crowd. "What are you going to do? Of course, just leave it as is! Pretend nothing happened! Are you really going to tell Deng Ai that Liu Shan ran away?"
Why didn't you chase after the person who ran away?
There's no way to say that; we can only pretend nothing happened.

The most urgent task now is to find the runaway horses. If the cavalry is missing horses, their secret will be exposed as soon as they are questioned.

"Everyone, disperse and go find the horses! Don't just stand there!"

Tian Xu shouted something to his men, then walked into the city on his own. His arm was broken; he needed to find a physician immediately. For a military officer, a broken arm was a matter of life and death, not to be taken lightly!

……

Early that morning, Shi Shouxin was brought to the central command tent by Qiu Jian. Shi Shouxin originally thought that Zhong Hui had something important to discuss with him in private.

Unexpectedly, all the generals in the army were gathered together, and everyone had a grim expression. Even the supervising officer, Wei Guan, stood aside with a gloomy face and remained silent.

Shi Shouxin was the last to arrive.

As soon as he entered the military tent, Zhong Hui looked at him and asked, "Supervisor Shi, have you seen Yang Xiu these past two days?"

Zhong Hui's question came as abruptly astray.

Shi Shouxin was clearly still recovering, and after a moment he shook his head and said, "I haven't seen him in a long time."

Zhong Hui nodded without speaking. The reason he called Shi Shouxin to the central army last was because he had a grudge against Yang Xiu, which was almost an open secret.

Anyone could harbor Yang Xiu, but Shi Shouxin was the only one who couldn't.

"Where did Yang Xiu go? He deserted the camp without permission. Did something happen to him, did he run away, or was he kidnapped? Is no one saying anything?"

Zhong Hui looked around at everyone and asked.

The commander of an army, whose whereabouts are unknown and who has deserted his troops without authorization, is committing a capital offense punishable by immediate execution!

The generals in the military tent looked at each other, all wondering what trouble Yang Xiu was causing.

"Could it be that he was captured and killed by remnants of the Shu army?"

Hu Lie asked.

Upon hearing this, all the generals shook their heads.

Yang Xiu wasn't very good at leading troops in battle, but he was very clever and had a lot of tricks up his sleeve.

He's more likely to frame others, but who else could it be among those remnants of the Shu Kingdom? Could it be Jiang Wei? Why don't these people kill Deng Ai, or Zhong Hui? What's so special about Yang Xiu? Why kill him?
"If you don't know the situation, don't ask questions rashly."

Zhong Hui waved his hand impatiently.

"Could it be... that they went to Jiange?"

Suddenly, Shi Shouxin spoke slowly.

What are we going to Jian Ge for?

Wei Guan looked at Shi Shouxin with some confusion and asked in return.

Shi Shouxin chuckled and said, "I was just guessing. Yang Xiu has been dissolute and has violated military law for quite some time now. It's not surprising that he deserted his post to go sightseeing in Jiange."

Almost everyone in the command tent knew that Shi Shouxin had a grudge against Yang Xiu, so no one would say anything if Shi Shouxin spoke ill of Yang Xiu behind her back.

It's just human nature. I heard that Yang Xiu even wanted to assassinate Shi Shouxin, but as long as no one finds any concrete evidence, it's just hearsay.

Shi Shouxin is just talking now, too.

"Everyone, disperse. Supervisor Shi, please stay for a moment. I have some questions for you about Yang Xiu."

Chairman Zhong sighed and waved his hand gently, signaling the generals in the command tent to leave quickly and not linger there.

Soon, the generals filed out, leaving only Shi Shouxin and Qiu Jian in the command tent, besides Zhong Hui.

"Yang Xiu ran away?"

Zhong Hui looked at Shi Shouxin and asked directly. There was some information that no one else knew, except for Shi Shouxin and Qiu Jian!

Qiu Jian's brain is clearly not up to par; he's good at killing, but not at giving advice.

"Yang Xiu has most likely gone to Jiange to seek refuge with Yang Hu, after all, Yang Hu is his cousin."

As for the military order, a new one can be issued afterward.

Shi Shouxin said in a deep voice that although he did not expect Yang Xiu to run away, given that Yang Xiu was being suppressed to the point of near death by Zhong Hui, it was normal for her to run away.

Especially since Yang Hu was already stationed in Jiange, going to seek refuge with his cousin was a perfectly reasonable choice.

"so what should I do now?"

Zhong Hui looked annoyed because he knew he had no way to deal with Yang Xiu.

"This place is only a little over a hundred miles from Jiange, a day's journey. If I take men and ride fast horses to catch up, we might not be unable to catch up."

Will definitely come back tomorrow. "

Shi Shouxin asked Zhong Hui for instructions.

"Alright! Then set off now!"

Zhong Hui slammed his fist on the table, his anger blazing! This time, if Yang Xiu was caught, he was determined to kill him. Zhong Hui was worried that Yang Xiu would go to Sima Zhao and complain, which could potentially influence Sima Zhao's decisions!
The relationship between the Yang family and the Sima family is there for all to see.

"Farewell!"

After bowing, Shi Shouxin turned and left. Zhong Hui watched his retreating figure and let out a long sigh.

"Shi Gandang of Luoyang, true to his name, was a hero!"

Zhong Hui couldn't help but sigh.

Back then, Li Yin's daughter preferred to marry Shi Shouxin rather than be with Sima Yan.

Zhong Hui had initially laughed at this woman for being blind, but after seeing her today, he realized that she wasn't just lacking in discernment; she had incredibly sharp eyes and an exceptional eye for choosing a husband.

(End of this chapter)