Wei and Jin did not submit to Zhou

Chapter 149 The Last Samurai
In a large farm in the northern suburbs of Chengdu, although it started snowing heavily early in the morning, wisps of smoke were still rising from the chimneys on the rooftops.

Smoke was rising from every household!

According to the eating habits of villagers in that era, usually one family would cook, and many families in the village would bring their grain to that family to cook in a large pot, either steaming or boiling, and many people would eat together.

This approach can greatly save on fuels such as firewood and cooking costs, thus enabling people to survive better in difficult times.

Generally speaking, in a large village, it's enough for two or three families to cook a meal each day. However, what's strange is that in this large farm, almost every household has smoke rising from their chimneys, as if many people are waiting for their meals.

At the village entrance, Zhao Lun pointed with his riding whip at the smoke rising from the village chimneys and said:

"General Hu, please take a look. This is the dry rations the army is making, in preparation for an immediate departure to deal with the unrest. Once the rations are ready, each soldier can carry three days' worth, enough to march on the imperial palace or the Wei army camp."

General Hu, please consider whether this makes sense.

Zhao Lun himself was a hereditary military commander and had previously been the lord of a fortified village. Since he was a child, he had eaten this kind of food every day, with hundreds of people in the fortified village eating from one large pot.

They eat together, burn firewood together, and those who eat are also those who participate in daily labor, so they are naturally managed like an army!

Hu Yuan nodded. He was from the Hu family, a prominent family in the Northwest. Although he didn't personally manage the fortified village like Zhao Lun, he often saw similar cooking methods.

Without a doubt, this was one of the former garrison points of the Shu Kingdom's officials. And these men were just about to eat; after they finished, they would pack their rations and march on the Chengdu imperial palace!
It's the perfect time, not too early and not too late!
"I'll lead the charge ahead, and you guys stay behind, keep an eye on things, and provide cover."

Hu Yuan said to Zhao Lun.

In a battle between two armies, being the first to charge is not necessarily a good thing, but looting and plundering is a different matter entirely. In Hu Yuan's view, what fighting power could these former Shu troops possibly possess?

It's just a pure stomp on noobs anyway, just smash through them and get through as soon as possible so we can go loot the spoils!

Grab it early and enjoy it early!
"General Hu, please proceed!"

Zhao Lun gestured for them to enter, and led his men to step aside, clearing the way into the village.

His main force consisted mostly of people from Zhao Family Fortress, and many of them were related by blood or marriage, so naturally they wouldn't compete with Hu Yuan to step forward.

In the case of a mutiny, merit lies in attitude and whether the mission was accomplished, not in how much money was looted or how many people were killed.

"Then thank you, General Zhao. You will get a share of the spoils of war."

Hu Yuan laughed loudly, but before his smile could fade, he saw a large number of people carrying spears emerging from the village and approaching in formation!
"kill!"

Hu Yuan made a decisive move and roared, leading his cavalry to charge forward and scatter the group of soldiers who appeared to be former Shu troops.

But people kept pouring out of the houses ahead, one group after another, and at a glance, there were more than a hundred people.

Hu Yuan felt overconfident and quickly led his cavalry to retreat behind the infantry, then beat the drums to send the swordsmen and shieldmen to the front.

On the narrow village road, soldiers on both sides began to fight each other, their blood staining the white snow red, looking from a distance like a painting being created on a huge canvas!
The bright red paint was applied stroke by stroke!

Zhao Lun watched from afar, showing no intention of joining in.

The number of Wei troops needed for this campaign to eliminate the remnants of the Shu army was carefully calculated, with one division of 3,000 men and four divisions totaling 12,000 soldiers.

If the Wei army has too many men, without mid-level officers of the rank of Yamen General or above, they simply cannot control the situation.

With fewer men, they might not be able to defeat those former Shu troops.

This is similar to how Jiang Wei settled his old troops in the Chengdu palace; there were only two or three thousand of them. Too many would arouse Zhong Hui's suspicion, and too few would be unable to guard the palace gates.

Before long, the battle ended. Hu Yuan's armor was stained red with blood, and after the blood dried, it left dark red marks, which looked terrifying from a distance.

The soldiers pushed open the doors of the houses, rushed in and took whatever they could find. If they encountered a living person, they would simply stab them, without caring whether they were old, weak, women, or children, and without asking a single question.

Zhao Lun, who had been observing from the sidelines, couldn't help but sigh. This mutiny really didn't depend on the technical skill of the military tactics employed, but rather on the skill of the strategists on both sides.

Just then, a group of people hurriedly approached from the distant official road, seemingly with ill intentions.

Zhao Lun immediately perked up and shouted to the messenger beside him, "Beat the drums! Prepare to engage the enemy! The enemy is coming to reinforce!"

Why would the former Shu troops stationed there support each other?
Zhao Lun had asked Shi Shouxin about this issue before, and the answer he received was: the army's assembly might involve a leading general commanding a group of "seed players" (elite troops), and then visiting each troop gathering point one by one, thus snowballing the army's gathering.

There might only be two hundred people when they set off, but after they've all assembled, there could be more than two thousand. This avoids the potential for multiple groups to gather and then be discovered, leading to their eventual defeat one by one.

It must be said that Shi Shouxin's considerations were very thorough.

Now, this "seed team" has arrived!
"kill!"

Zhao Lun turned his horse around and led his elite troops toward the small army on the official road! The two armies clashed and engaged in fierce fighting.

The leading general was probably over sixty years old, with white beard and hair, yet he was still wearing armor and looked very energetic.

He immediately noticed Zhao Lun, who was riding a horse and looked tall and strong. Without saying a word, he rushed over and thrust his spear at him!
The two fought fiercely on horseback, while the soldiers behind them also clashed and fought, and the battle quickly became intense.

Since fighting on horseback was inconvenient, the two continued their fight after dismounting!
However, the old general seemed to have less than two hundred men under his command, while Zhao Lun had a thousand hereditary soldiers, most of whom were trained fighters from the Zhao family's fortified village, and they were exceptionally fierce.

The old Shu army was quickly surrounded and annihilated, and had no choice but to form a circular formation to protect themselves.

Zhao Lun's troops surrounded the enemy, thrusting and stabbing them relentlessly. Their dense, impenetrable spears pierced the shields, searching for gaps in the circular formation. Every now and then, they managed to strike an enemy!
A strong stench of blood emanated from within the circular formation. Blood, flowing like a stream, soaked the snow-covered ground, but dried up before reaching the ditches on either side of the official road.

Before long, the soldiers in the circular formation fell to the ground, leaving only three or four men standing tall, surrounding the old general. They were completely surrounded, and Zhao Lun's soldiers ceased their attack, showing great respect for these men.

"Who are you? No nameless ghosts fall under Zhao's blade!"

Zhao Lun stepped forward, holding a long spear, and came to the front of the formation, staring at the old general.

"He never changed his name or surname; he was Liao Hua, a great general of the Shu Kingdom!"
"You little thief, prepare to die!"

Liao Hua shouted and charged forward, gripping his spear tightly. With a sweeping motion to the left and right, he drove back the Wei soldiers beside him, and then aimed his spear at Zhao Lun's face.

However, just a few steps away, the Wei soldiers with swords and shields who had already surrounded him used their shields to squeeze and shove Liao Hua, while their other hands slashed incessantly with their ring-pommel swords!
Before Liao Hua's spear tip could even touch Zhao Lun, he was struck in the limbs and back by several ring-pommel swords. One of the swords pierced through his lamellar armor and went through his chest, causing blood to gush out.

Under the barrage of blades, Liao Hua collapsed, his body powerless, becoming a corpse in a pool of blood, no longer moving.

He left no last words, continuing to fight even in his dying moments. Though the weather was cold, his blood burned hot!

Upon learning that enemy troops had reinforcements, Hu Yuan, who had already finished fighting, hurriedly sent troops to reinforce Zhao Lun. However, he witnessed firsthand the fierce and unyielding spirit of Liao Hua, a former general of Shu.

"Is it done?"

Hu Yuan looked at Zhao Lun, who was panting heavily, and asked.

"That's it, let's move on to the next place."

Zhao Lun sighed and instructed his personal guards, "Give Liao Hua a proper burial, and collect the other bodies as well."

These people are all worthy of respect, even though they are enemies.

"It is truly astonishing that the Shu Kingdom had such a fierce and valiant warrior."

Hu Yuan sighed from the side.

If he had known he might encounter such people on this trip, he probably wouldn't have come.

The two silently gathered their troops and quickly rushed towards the next gathering point, no longer daring to underestimate the enemy.

The pools of blood on the snow resembled medals of loyalty and bravery, adding a touch of sunset glow to the crumbling empire.

……

The night was pitch black, and the snow continued to fall.

In a small room inside the Chengdu Imperial Palace, Zhong Hui was staring intently at Wei Guan, hoping to find a breakthrough from him.

The Wei generals who attended the banquet were all placed under house arrest, without food or water!

"How about the military supervisor go and persuade the generals to obey orders?"

"Since you are a subject of Wei, why did you disobey Empress Dowager Guo's dying wish?"

Zhong Hui looked at Wei Guan and asked.

Zhong Hui had already asked a few people, but no one paid him any attention. Not wanting to ask Shi Shouxin for help, Zhong Hui thought of Wei Guan, whom Shi Shouxin had previously imprisoned.

"Zhong Hui, now that things have come to this, it's no use saying anything. Just pray for your own good fortune."

Wei Guan spoke coldly, showing no respect for Zhong Hui. "Damn it, at this critical juncture, still bringing up Empress Dowager Guo's will? It's an insult to intelligence!"
Wei Guan truly looked down on Zhong Hui!

"Alright, I'll kill you as a sacrifice to the flag first."

A cold glint appeared on Zhong Hui's face, and his eyes were filled with icy intent.

Unfortunately, Wei Guan didn't take Zhong Hui's threat seriously at all.

He has now seen through Zhong Hui's true intentions and doesn't want to get involved.

Wei Guan lay on the wooden board, turned his head so that his face was facing the wall and his backside was facing Zhong Hui, showing that he didn't want to listen to the other party at all.

Zhong Hui was so angry at Wei Guan's lack of respect that he stormed off.

After he left, Wei Guan sat up, staring intently at the doorway, seemingly waiting expectantly for someone to come in.

Sure enough, half an hour later, Shi Shouxin pushed open the door and entered with a smile on his face.

"What do you have to say now?"

Wei Guan asked irritably, and just like before, lay down on the bed.

Shi Shouxin took a letter out of his sleeve and handed it to Wei Guan without saying a word.

Wei Guan glanced at the letter casually, but quickly sat up straight.

He swallowed the letter, then asked in astonishment, "You've taken care of Jiang Wei's troops?"

"If this isn't tidied up, how can the military supervisor still sleep peacefully here? Aren't you afraid of having your head chopped off by Jiang Wei?"

Shi Shouxin asked in a low voice.

For a moment, Wei Guan's expression was quite interesting, constantly changing between joy and worry.

"I've come today to discuss a business deal with the military supervisor."

Shi Shouxin chuckled.

"There's no need to mention the fact that he helped Zhong Hui persuade the commanders of the various armies to surrender to the bandits."

Wei Guan sighed.

"No, these matters do not require the supervision of the army. All you need to do now is write a letter to summon the soldiers of all armies to the palace to kill Zhong Hui and rescue the commanders of each army. There is nothing difficult about it."

Shi Shouxin waved his hand gently.

Wei Guan thought he had misheard.

"In that case, taking down Zhong Hui would be my achievement, is that what you mean?"

Wei Guan was a smart man and had already understood the implied meaning in Shi Shouxin's words.

"That's natural. Everything was orchestrated behind the scenes by the Imperial Guard, and I was merely following orders."

Shi Shouxin said meaningfully.

Wei Guan stared at him for a long time before suddenly asking, "After you return to Luoyang, how about divorcing Li? I want to marry my sister to you!"

(End of this chapter)